A note on Recovery.gov

It's not going to be much good if euphemisms such as "protecting the vulnerable" are used to describe where the money is going.

We'll see.

The Lies, Man

There's a a reason why Steve Liesman writes for the New York Daily News -- no other self-respecting paper would pay him for his gibberish.

Let's review where, in a few paragraphs, he gets things wrong.

1. He goes for the easy Obama versus Reagan analogy.

Pretty impressive. Obama has been in power for just about a month and gives one speech to Congress. He is compared to the man who brought down Communism and started a thirty year economic expansion. I shudder to think who he will be compared to after two months.

But who does Obama battle? Why it's the veritable strawman. Especially when he uncorks quotes like this:

"I reject the view that says our problems will simply take care of themselves, that says government has no role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity."

So does most of the GOP but that doesn't matter. Rather than calling him on it, Liesman give him a pass.

So how is Obama challenging Reagan in terms of reviving a sputtering economy? For starters, Obama hasn't revived anything. (Unless, reviving the notion that his Veep is a bumbler counts.) Liesman, doesn't say but perhaps it's because there isn't any comparison. Reagan's only faul it seems was that he was the chief executive when the movie, "Wall Street" was released.

2. It's here where Liesman is at his most unpardonable. He doesn't give the fictional character, Gordon Gekko, his due. Rather than providing the context of his quote, he just gives a snippet, where, of course, it's going to sound stupid.

In full, it goes like this:

"The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind."

In other words, it's the private sector that makes things happen.

Alas, Liesman looks at the back end of greed, where Leonard Abess, after securing a $60 million pay day, shares his windfall with those who helped him get there.

Tellingly, Abess did it voluntarily and there was probably a tax benefit as well. Even likelier, Abess made his fortune with a minimum of government intervention and red tape. Now, with bank nationalization, the likes of Leonard Abess aren't likely to be seen for quite some time.

3. It's only at the end, where Liesman gets to the nub, that he's on terra firma -- Obama's plan is going to be costly. Liesman actually gets it right by calling it "massive." He also falls for the hype that this will be paid for by simply cutting programs and by raising taxes on the wealthiest 2% of Americans."

At the end of the day, the economy is going to be restored by the private sector -- whether it's helped or hindered by Washington. Why? Because as Gordon Gekko once stated -- "It's not always the most popular person who gets the job done."

Betting on Mike

The New York Daily News certainly has a lot of faith in Mike Lupica. Because his "take" on the topic du jour is usually advertised on either the front or the back of the paper.

Decades ago, Lupica was an interesting read. His love of sports was infused in his writing. He did an admirable job replacing the legendary Dick Young's omnibus Sunday column when Young bolted to the New York Post. He was even big enough to let his readers have the last laugh when he published some of their more pithier comments.

Yet that all changed somehow.

He's become jaded -- big time. He doesn't cerebrate sports as much as he berates the athletes and executives who make it happen. Who wants to read that over and over?

If you have read any of his anti-Bonds, anti-A-Rod, or anti-Isiah Thomas jeremiads, you have read them all.

His Sunday (ostensibly sports) column is riddled with anti-conservative jabs. Hey, there's a place for that -- but if I wanted to read politics, I'd go to the front pages. Tellingly, he no longer has space for his reader's comments.

Now Lupica passes off conventional liberal thinking on the front pages every Monday in the imaginatively entitled "Monday with Mike" column. You can go through a month of them and you'll be hard pressed to find an original thought. Like his sports columns, he's got his his heroes and rogues. On Mondays, he is reflexively pro-Obama and anti, well, just about anyone who isn't Obama. It may please his liberal readers but it still doesn't make for an interesting read.

So why the big push?

Seems to be that the New York Daily News is becoming a daily tabloid form of Newsweek. Less news -- ESPN has cornered that market -- and more commentary. It may sell. Then again, it may not.

With the departure of Jimmy Breslin years ago, the Daily News lost its best (and Pulitzer Prize winning) journalist. Their other columnists, well, "bland" would be considered a step up.

So the News is betting on its big dog to come through for them. (Hey, there may be an award or two in it for Lupica as well -- that would certainly be a capstone for a long life in sportswriting.)

Unfortunately, though, the big dog lost his bark a long time ago.

Where's the Imagination?

Obama plans to cut the deficit significantly during his first (and only?) term.

We can always dream can't we? Especially if Timmy Geithner is the go to guy.

First, he's going to scale down the Iraqi War. Perhaps. If money, rather than strategy drives the train when it comes to Iraq, he might be successful. But it could be a case of being a penny wise and pound foolish. Iraq, to use Democratic Party parlance, is an investment rather than just an expense. Then the events in Afghanistan may take some of those "savings" away. It will be curious to see how General Jones, the national security advisor, reacts. But then again, he can be rolled.

Tax the rich. Well, so much for an economic recovery. Why work harder when the result will be heading to the government's coffers? "Rich" is a fairly flexible term.

Streamline the government. Gee, why didn't anyone think of that before?

What's curious, and perhaps we'll see a glimpse of it on Tuesday, is any cut in non-defense discretionary spending. If not, this will be an exercise in enumerating the same old bromides on the deficit.

However, those bromides didn't come in the wake of an $800 billion spending bill.

Ruminations

For a guy who wants to get out of the cocoon, I wonder if Obama got the following message on his BlackBerry: "Gr8 idea about that housing bailout!"

As for the housing bailout, Team Obama may have crossed a threshold. When times are tough, perhaps it can be assumed that people will dig a bit deep to help out. More taxes will mean more people working? Well, ok. More taxes to help a guy who bought too much house for too little money? Now, you're playing me for a sucker.

Good to see David Brooks paying attention during his weekly chat with Mark Shields. The latter was talking about all the problems that confront the President, to include the formation of a right-wing government in Israel. Brooks countered that that development wasn't exactly bad. (Well perhaps it is for BHO.)

Conan O'Brien has left New York. Somehow, I think they'll manage.

Timmy Geithner didn't have a bad week. It may not last though -- there's always next week.

I hear that a share of the New York Times Company is going for less than $4 a share. So I guess publishing a liberal-infused broadsheet isn't quite a successful business model.

George Pataki for Senate? New York could do worse (i.e., Carolyn Maloney) I hear that Pataki has the White House in his sights, though.

When I was in the Army, there was a torrent of activity before "block leave" would start. Then everyone was gone for two weeks. Seems Congress is the same way. They pass a dreadful spending bill and take off. Why?

For a Speaker, Nancy Pelosi sure lacks that vision thing. From writing a book, that nobody would read to traveling all the way to Rome to get rebuked by the Pope.

Better get your steroids now. With baseball season around the corner, the demand, and the price is likely to go up.

Violent Violets

Yesterday, I had business down at Greenwich Village. I did have time to take a look at the student protest at New York University.

The local CBS affiliate had a camera crew on hand. I was surprised that there wasn't more. A protest -- in this case -- students (allegedly) have barricaded themselves in a cafeteria in the student union. The visuals are great -- signs, cops, onlookers -- what more could you ask?

Yet, it had a ho-hum quality to it.

For starters, it seemed that there were more cops than onlookers. And most of New York's finest -- who could be out preventing crime -- looked bored. They were in bunches talking amongst themselves. Everyone on the scene knew one thing -- sooner or later the protestors would have to come out. Unless they're wearing a uniform, today's teenagers are unbelievably soft.

So why the protest? The usual boilerplate about a greater role in the university's operations, greater transparency (gee that word is getting a workout of late) with the budget and of course, solidarity with the Gazans.

As to the a greater role in the school's business, I thought that was the student government's responsibility. Of course, the sad truth of the matter is that student government is nothing more than a resume padder for law school wannabes and future politicos.

As for the finances, well, it's only a big tuition bill, if you pay it. Last time I checked, NYU wasn't the only college in New York City. You can always hop on a West Side train and head uptown to Columbia. (Barack Obama, with no visibile means of support, was able to pay his way there for a couple of years.)

Curiously, in the referenced news article, some students had no idea that NYU was so expensive. Obviously, these folks are so lacking in awareness, that perhaps they should start thinking about residing in an assistance living facility upon graduation. The real world will eat them alive.

As for supporting the Gazans, that's going to be a tough sell at a school that was always known as "NYJew". I think that demand is reminiscent of Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber character in Die Hard when he made a list of demands. It was made to distract the police from his real intent and was based on something he had read in Time magazine. I think the students read something on line and figured, what the heck, let's throw this into the soup as well. In business, it's known as the "throwaway demand."

Already one deadline has come and gone. No doubt the intent was to prevent NYU from paying overtime.

The likely scenario will have the protestors giving up yet claiming victory. A few days later they will be expelled or suspended.

Life will go on and the CBS camera crew will be elsewhere.

UPDATE: After 40 hours, it's over. However, rather than suspensions or expulsions, perhaps these jokers should take an expository writing course.

Revolution Coming?

When I was in the Army, my biggest fear was losing an eye. Not in combat mind you. Rather when things went south whether it was downrange or in garrison -- there was a whole lot of finger pointing. Some of your leaders now are first class blame shifters. It was amazing how some guys could distance themselves from an error.

I highlight this episode because I have a bad feeling about the economy. I think it's worse than what we're led to believe. Stimulus, or not, things aren't going to be the same when, if ever, we get ourselves out of it. Back in '87 when the stock market tanked, Reagan & Co. repeated the cry that the fundamentals of the economy were fine. In fact, the economy held on although there was a bit of a downturn in '92 which made the elder Bush a one-term President.

Nobody is saying that now.

In fact, as a friend remarked, the economy is akin to someone suffering from heart disease, cancer, and pneumonia. There's a lot of things wrong -- the recession; the credit crunch; and a whole lot of "toxic debt."

However, I have my doubts about the doctor.

When a guy gets gooey about a girl -- he can only focus on her best attributes. (Apologies for all the metaphors.) Her annoying habits are moved to the background. So it is with Obama -- the voters selected an "expectation" -- the anti-Bush who will magically make things better -- from the economy, to our foreign relations, to the environment.

Well, a month has come and gone, and things are pretty much the same. That's probably unfair but it's, well, accurate. In other words, Obama doesn't have a clue. He has no guiding philosophy (of if he does, he keeps it to himself). His supporters praise his pragmatism. I view it as mere improvisation.

The prescribed cure for what ails us economically is more spending. Lots of of it. Alas, most of it's not timely, targeted, or temporary. It's more of what got us here in the first place. This debt has to be paid off -- if it's not, well can anyone say game over? The pneumonia may come and go, but heart disease and cancer require tougher treatment -- we haven't seen anyone step up and offer to make a hard decision. Rather, we get distractions like discussions about "truth" commissions, the "fairness" doctrine; silly Illinois politicians and steroid-enhanced athletes.

So in a year's time, when we have more of the same -- a lack of confidence in our government and the economy -- someone is going to take the blame. Obama has greased the skids already -- claiming that his action will "save" jobs that would have been lost otherwise. That sophistry will work on some knaves but most will see it for what it's worth.

However the stagnant economy and it's attendant upheaval -- is going to cause anger. Especially at our elected leaders who got us here in the first place. The blame game will commence. Someone will have to pay -- electorally -- for this. (Bush is gone; get over him.) The finger pointing will begin. It will not be pretty. More than figurative eyes will be lost.

More Troops, Then What?

It appears that the Obama Administration will deploy up to 17,000 additional Soldiers and Marines into Afghanistan (up from a current total of 30,000).

If we continue to fight the war that we've been fighting, then an additional 17,000 troops will not solve the issue.

During the insurgency against the former Soviet Union, the modus operandi of the resistance was to refit during the winter in Pakistan. There would be the sporadic attack to keep the Soviets on their toes, but most of the violence occurred in the late spring, summer, and early autumn. It can get mighty cold in those mountains. We see the same cycle of violence twenty years later.

Since the war started, more than seven years ago, the Taliban and their cohorts have learned a thing or two. For starters, they know that when they mass their forces, they will lose. So, we're unlikely to have a set-piece battle with them anytime soon. Rather, they have resorted to terrorism -- IEDs and suicide attacks -- to instill fear in the populace. More, importantly they are demonstrating the impotence of the regime in Kabul and their NATO protectors. (It doesn't help much when the U.S., Canada, and the United States is doing most, if not all, of the heavy lifting of actually fighting the Taliban.) It can be said that the Taliban's goal is to provoke the people into preferring the dark days of the Taliban rather than the uncertainty of today.

One thing hasn't changed -- the use of Pakistan as a relative sanctuary.

We've been fighting a war of opportunity ever since 2001. During my hitch there, we would set up elaborate plans based on sketchy intelligence. Only to be stood up by the enemy. Our brigade's biggest firefight was when we came across a an insurgent group by surprise. We have conceded the initiative to the enemy. More importantly, coming from my limited perspective, they seemingly copped on to our tactics, techniques, and procedures, and have developed ways to counter them.

So, if we are to send an additional 17K into theater (and don't even get me started on our ever-tightening supply line) they will have do something other than execute the same defensive type war that we've been doing since 2002. If there is a new strategy, it's a top secret.

More troubling, however, is this influx of troops demonstrates an already identifiable trait in President Obama -- to do something. The economy is in a mess -- legislate a dubious stimulus bill. The world's lefties want us to close Gitmo -- let's close it down and oh, by the way, come up with a plan to house those detainees elsewhere. Violence spiraling out of control in Afghanistan -- send a brigade or two. It's a troublesome act first, think later approach.

Then again, if this were easy, we wouldn't be in Afghanistan for seven years now.

Musings

Sooner or later, the media is going to have to conclude that Joe Biden is a bigger embarrassment than Dan Quayle. The Daily News pathetically runs cover for the Veep by claiming he's got a great resume. They spend one paragraph on that great resume the rest of the article discusses various Bidenisms. Geez.

When President Obama signs the spending (er, stimulus) package. It will be his recession, depression, whatever.

Now that the New York media has beaten up Alex Rodriguez -- what can they do for an encore? It's going to an awkward baseball season, that's for sure.

Timmy Geithner had a bad week last week with his poorly planned TARP II plan. Geez, he had gone a whole week without having a bad week. A country of 300 million and he's the best we can do for a Treasury Secretary?

I like a winter thaw as much as the next guy, but there's something about winter bodies trying to fit into summer clothes that just isn't right. There's a reason why we have a spring, after all.

Maybe the movie, Shopaholic, is a year too late?

Those "Brett's going to do two years with the Jets" stories were only half right after all.

Things that Obama Will Not Be Known For...

...the "smart policy" president. When his political capital was at its height, he outsourced his stimulus package to a pair of big-government types. Then he "campaigned" on it by offering its chief virtue -- it's something. You may call it pragmatism -- I call it indecision. (BTW, his pick of Joe (Loose Lips) Biden hasn't gotten better with age.)

...the "post-partisan" president. Sure there were a couple of photo ops with the GOP as the stimulus was winding its way through Congress but Obama spoke as it the Republicans didn't have a plan to revive the economy. His denunciations of GOP criticism wouldn't be a big deal except for the fact that his campaign was all about crossing the aisle. I suspect when 2011 comes around, he may regret his clenched fist.

...the "ethical" president. When it comes to waivers for erstwhile lobbyists to work in his administration -- well, let's just say they've become "tidal waivers." When you have way too many exceptions, you really don't have a rule. And as long as poor Timmy Geithner is the Treasury Secretary, he'll remain the poster child for tax-dodgers everywhere.

The good news is that it's only the first month in office. The bad news, I suspect, is that it won't get any better.

A-Rod's Fans

David Wright, the third baseman for the New York Mets, is one of my favorite players. He plays with a sense of hustle, seems like a good guy, and has impressive stats.

Unfortunately, he's not a champion. I can't revel in his high batting average, his RBIs, and his home runs. They are meaningless to me. Now, for Dave Wright, these will be what gets him elected into the Hall of Fame.

Such is the case with Alex Rodriguez. He has some of the gaudiest numbers in baseball -- to include his phenomenal salary. However, despite his 15 years in the big leagues, he has never won a championship. (In fact, he's a bit of choker when it comes to the playoffs but that's another issue.)

Nobody revels in his stats since he has never brought the fans what they are paying for -- a world championship.

So when A-Rod admits to having used performance enhancing drugs -- expect a world of grief. (If you read today's NYDN, you would not be aware that we're fighting two wars and we're mired in a recession but you would know everything about A-Rod.)

This is a long way of saying that if A-Rod had been part of a championship team, he'd be getting less flack now.

In the end, always give the fans what they want.

The Troubadour's Lament

You have to hand it to the liberal troubadour -- Bruce Springsteen. He gouges his fans and then apologizes. Obviously, the phrase "talk is cheap" wasn't part of the lexicon in working class New Jersey. We do know that "optimizing profits" is the talk of his new home in California


For starters, he pitches yet another greatest hits compilation by retailing it solely through Wal Mart. (You know, the place where the working class goes to shop.) Anyway, this rubbed the anti-union types wrong. So Bruce, wishing to maintain his liberal street cred, apologizes.


Then there is the issue of his ticket prices. Apparently, Ticketmaster, which was selling tickets for his upcoming tour, directed potential buyers to another website which charged higher prices for the tickets. Uh-oh.

Springsteen doesn't need the cash and it seems that the only thing he's getting from these deals is grief. Nonetheless -- the myth will remain because he croons about the suffering masses. (That has to be the reason why he has such an ironic nickname of "The Boss.")

By the way, $90 seems a lot for a nostalgia show.

What Ails Obama

In a campaign, the candidate has two responsibilities -- smiling and dialing. For the former, it's a matter of greeting the public and soliciting votes. The second is to get on the phone and plea for money. Everything else is handed over to the staff to get done.

From this past November through January, Big Media was focused on the transition from Bush 43 to Barack. News in and of itself. However, the big transition was changing a campaign staff to a governing staff. At first blush, it looks like things haven't gone well.

As Obama had pointed out in a slew of interviews given the day that Tom Daschle stepped aside to be the HHS secretary -- he has erred.

In short, as a candidate he was dependent upon the staff. Now, he needs to play a more critical role in a host of issues -- otherwise, he will be at the mercy of his staff. He's pushing a stimulus bill that he didn't create; he's had to accept the resignation of potential Cabinet secretaries; and his administration looks silly when they can't accomplish the simple task of assigning an ambassador to Iraq.

If you take a look at the Presidents over the past 40 years -- those who didn't have executive experience --both Ford and Johnson -- reached the office through death and resignation. Johnson won "Kennedy's second term" and Ford -- well, he never won a Presidential race. (I'm giving Bush 41 credit as he ran the CIA.)

It doesn't help that his Vice President was never an executive at any level.

Rather than doing something he's good at -- getting on the stump and campaigning -- it may behoove the new President to focus on running the government. Otherwise, it will be left to a staff that seems not be ready for prime time.

Ruminations

My biggest nightmare? Being trapped in a room with those pitchmen for The New York Times weekender subscription plan. The guy who is "fluent" in three sections scares me.

Those folks who sell Eight O'Clock Coffee are limiting the appeal of their product, right?

The Pro Bowl and the Grammys were held yesterday. The day when the nadirs for both the sports and cultural world collide. Quick -- who won what in 2007? I thought so.

Give credit where it's due: The New York Times has been steadfast on the unsuitability of Geithner and Daschle for Cabinet positions. Moreover, they have been a thorn in the side of Congressman-for-Life Charlie Rangel.

In grammar school, I had a friend pitch a dumb idea to the teacher. He almost had his head ripped off. Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid have Obama Barack pitching their stimulus plan. When it fails -- like my dumb idea -- who do you think's going to feel the heat from the voters?

Speaking of the stimulus plan, do you recall when you waited until the final weekend for that high school or college term paper? It was a rush job but you were OK with the "C" grade because, well, you didn't really apply yourself -- despite the fact that you had a month to get it done? I get that feeling with the "stimulus" proposal.

If I were Manny Ramirez, I'd be checking my investments about now. Why? Because the days of the million dolar plus incomes may have abruptly come to an end.

On a sad day, I sing a happy song and realize that I'm not Plaxico Burress.

On a really sad day, I sing a happier song and realize that I'm not Roger Clemens.

The General is Overturned

I wondered as to why the Obama Team selected retired Marine Corps General James Jones to be the national security advisor.


At first, I thought it may be the case that none of the inner circle Obama, Biden, and H. R. Clinton had any military expertise. (Dr. Gates of the DoD, if memory serves, was a reservist in the Air Force -- but how long will he stay in the administration?) I suspected that they wanted their own "in-house" military perspective rather than being dependent upon the Joint Chiefs of Staff.


The second point in his favor was the fact that he publicly turned down a deputy national security position (with responsibility for on-going military operations) in the in the Bush Administration due to what he believed was their poor prosecution of the war in Iraq. Bush-bashing is always OK with Team Obama.


Perhaps.


The news that career diplomat Christopher Hill has been chosen to be the new Ambassador to Baghdad suggests that Jones was hired because he can be rolled.


A host of reports indicate that Jones (who coordinated this move with Clinton) informed retired Marine Corps general Anthony Zinni that he was the administration's choice to be the Ambassador. (I'm not sold on the wisdom of the former CENTCOM commander being the ambassador but I'll let that slide for now.)


However, it seems that Richard Holbrooke went behind the back of Jones and lobbied -- successfully with Secretary Clinton -- for Hill to be the new envoy.


Tellingly, Zinni had to call Jones in order to find out that the job offer was no longer on the table. While this may be a slap in the face for Zinni it certainly makes Jones look just as foolish.


In late November, when Team Obama's vetting process was thought to be a well-oiled machine, a "senior advisor" praised Jones as a "...a strong player who isn't dwarfed by any of the other personalities around the table."


Well if this incident doesn't make him look small, what does?

History Repeating Itself?

The New York Daily News devotes 21 paragraphs to a review of the life of Mayor David Dinkins -- the first African American mayor of the Big Apple. (Not sure if it's online -- it's part of the paper's dead tree "Black History Month" insert.)

Only 2 paragraphs are actually devoted to his time in office. All of the sentences are in the negative -- crime and budget deficits. It wasn't pretty.

Fast forward from 1989 and we continue to celebrate a President's historical election.

But in twenty year's time will only a handful of sentences do justice to Obama's term -- especially all of them in the negative?

We can only wait and see.

Monday Musings

In today's New York Daily News -- dead tree edition -- there are four quarter-page ads for sex stimulants; two dreary Mike Lupica columns and an advertisement on the front page. Trust me -- they are all inter-related.

Given his soft spot for tax cheats, I won't be surprised if Obama selects Marc Rich for an ambassadorial appointment some time soon.

Since his last two movies have disappointed both in terms of grosses and a profound lack of of humor -- it seems that Will Ferrell has decided to "special effects" his way back to the top in "Land of the Lost". That odor you smell is the desperation in the air.

Ever since he's been on the air -- since what '92 or '93 -- I can count on one hand the number of times that I've watched Conan O'Brien. Maybe it's just me, but he doesn't seem to be, well, funny. I was totally clueless as to his Super Bowl ad.

There is no way the "stimulus" bill is going to be ready for signature on President's Day weekend. More like St. Patrick's Day -- alas with plenty of green still to be found.

I fear for the republic when Barney Frank says silly things such as. "No tax cut builds a road. No tax cut puts a cop on the street. No tax cut educates a child ..." Frank, of late, seems to be like the drunk at the end of the bar who knows what's best for America, if only people would listen. Alas, he's drunk with power.

Jim Farber, the NYDN music critic is a dolt. "Master of Puppets" by Metallica is not an S&M anthem -- it's about drug abuse. Geez.