“A bailout creates perverse incentives. Rather than punishing their behavior, it encourages fiscal irresponsibility among bankers, mortgage brokers, speculators, and refinancers. These folks made money hand over fist in the past nine years (remember, homeborrowers who tapped their home equity received cash money to pay for Escalades, vacations, and stainless steel appliances; now they want you to pay for it!). Why change your behavior when you benefit from it?”
“[T]he inequities [of a bailout] smell to high heaven, and that is one of the huge problems in dealing with it. It runs against the streak of basic fairness in a lot of Americans. You’re going to provide a handout to the fool. The fool is going to be rewarded and I, the taxpayer, will be put at risk at the margin for that handout to the fool. When all I did was exactly what I was supposed to do. Where is the fairness here?”
In Venice today, it was a record 90 degrees, windy and bone-dry. When I woke up, I could see huge walls of smoke rising just north of the Santa Monica Mountains, then billowing west and south out of the San Fernando Valley from the Sylmar Fire, presently raging 20 miles north of here.
As the afternoon wore on, it really began to feel like the outer edge of a fire zone. Ash and smoke passed over the eastern portion of the Santa Monica mountains and rolled down into the western section of the Los Angeles basin, casting a reddish-grey, eerie smoky darkness over this area for much of the late afternoon and into the evening.
The sun burned an angry alien red all afternoon until suddenly letting go behind the wall of smoke now hanging over Santa Monica Bay to the west.
I am amazed and thankful that, despite all the damage so far, there appear to be few injuries. The Los Angeles Timeshas more, and the LA Fire Department blog is being updated often.
I’m certainly safe where i am for now. From a personal standpoint, I’m more worried about new fires than I am the Sylmar Fire. Compounding this worry is that in the last 24 hours, I’ve seen two separate cretins throw lit cigarettes out of their car windows. Who the fuck are you people??
Let’s transcend politics and look at the arc of history today. The hard work will come - but for now, I wish to revel in some starry-eyed honeymooning. No matter who you voted for, here are some reasons to be proud of your country today:
Senator John McCain’s Call For Unity
Senator McCain’s concession speech was the most gracious and patriotic I have ever heard. While his crowd seemed to want almost none of it, he - and most of his supporters - are better than that. This is the man I was excited about in 2000. Had he run like this - had he been this guy all year - and avoided the neocons who sunk their claws into him, we’d very possibly be looking at a different outcome today. I continue to believe - as I always have and as I have said publicly loud and often - that John McCain is a good man who wants the best for his nation. It wasn’t particularly obvious these last few months, and that was tragic. This speech - and the action that will undoubtedly follow it - serves as a powerful exclamation point on a distinguished career.
I’m really thrilled - more excited about this Election Day outcome than any since ‘94, when my friend Angus King won the Maine Governorship.
Our nation is confronting once-in-a-lifetime challenges, so the road ahead is rough. But this outcome makes us far better equipped to face them. I’m proud of us, and not just for the choice we made, but for the impressive numbers of people who engaged, spoke up, and turned out.
Shortly, the real work begins - but for now, maybe let’s celebrate a little. Fireworks have actually erupted here in Venice.
Leading into the MSNBC announcement, Chris Matthews said: “The world will look at us - thank God - with wonder again.” NBC called it at exactly 20:00 PST, with a clearly emotional Keith Olbermann delivering the news:
Everyone - please, for the love of all that is holy, get out and vote tomorrow. If you can vote early (at this point I guess that’s just today), do. Those of you who can’t vote early, please be sure you know where your polling place is, and that you bring anything you may need to bring (some states require ID for first-time voters.)
RockTheVote has a great resource center that helps you figure out where to go and what you need to bring. Use it. Now. And DO IT.
“A bailout creates perverse incentives. Rather than punishing their behavior, it encourages fiscal irresponsibility among bankers, mortgage brokers, speculators, and refinancers. These folks made money hand over fist in the past nine years (remember, homeborrowers who tapped their home equity received cash money to pay for Escalades, vacations, and stainless steel appliances; now they want you to pay for it!). Why change your behavior when you benefit from it?”
