Archive for September 24th, 2009

All Aboard For Jellyfish Lake

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

A country that does not fear the rule of law would do the right thing: try or release all those still being held at Guantanamo, Bagram, and elsewhere.

Allow sentences to be served either in the United States or the home country of those found guilty (assuming they won’t be tortured).

Allow those who are released without trial to live in the United States or return to their home country (assuming they won’t be tortured).

But a country of cowards ships ‘em out to Palau!

palau

Seems only right for us quivering, spineless, and fearful Americans to give the Palau Visitors Authority a plug. They provided the picture above and the courage of our failure at convictions.

Gorilla says: “Be sure to wave to our brave politicians when you see ‘em at Jellyfish Lake!”

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This Week’s George T. Platter And Bait

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

The tidetime folkorist wonders why it’s called a summit when mostly it’s a race to the lowest common denominator.

This Week’s Platter: Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off by George Gershwin (for settling the Netanyahu Blues)

This Week’s Bait: The Gaza Strip Wooly Bugger Fly (Hamas is that doggie in the window?)

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Corny Is As Corny Does

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Why does anyone think the US is serious about climate change and global warming?

Ethanol requires more energy, and hence contributes more to global warming, to produce a gallon of ethanol than it does to produce a gallon of gasoline.

But it is a great subsidy resource for corn farmers and the Senators who represent them.

The obvious solution to reducing the country’s reliance on fossil fuels is a stiff tax on carbon. Until that happens, there’s no economic viability in alternative energy development. And it’s never going to happen.

So, while it’s lovely that the world’s biggest polluter has decided to acknowledge the climate change problem, it’s a lot tougher to do anything meaningful about it. Americans aren’t into sacrifice of any kind these days.

Gorilla thinks: “The corn is as high as a pie in the sky!”

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Clear As The Driven Slushfund

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

The Treasury Department Inspector General says it’s unlikely the taxpayer will recover all the money spent so far on the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP).

More ominously, the IG criticizes Treasury for a lack of transparency in disclosing just how the funds have been spent by recipients.

“We remain puzzled as to why Treasury refuses to adopt our recommendations to report on each TARP recipient’s use of TARP funds.”

Barofsky also said that Treasury also has refused to adopt regular disclosures of borrowers that fail to repay loans obtained through a Federal Reserve securities lending program aimed at easing pressures in consumer credit markets.

He also said the Treasury does not intend to disclose trading activities, holdings and asset valuations in so-called public-private investment partnerships that are being created to buy troubled assets. About three quarters of the $40 billion in nine funds will be supplied by the Treasury.

Gorilla says: “These are the known unknowns of our lives!”

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