Now that would make good television

"The only person qualified to interview Sarah Palin on national television is Judge Judy. She has experience with blizzards of lies and non-sequiturs."
-Andrew Sullivan

Nice

It's good to see some national ad dollars in this race.

That's a call to arms of the governing sort

"To Democrats: I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve problems, not run for the hills. And if the Republican leadership is going to insist that 60 votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town -- a supermajority -- then the responsibility to govern is now yours as well. Just saying "no" to everything may be good short term politics, but it's not leadership. We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions." -Barack Obama, SOTU 2010.

Call the bluff

Ed Rendell finally says what I've been thinking for quite some time.


I have stayed more silent that I should have about the health care bill. But one thing I've felt all along is that it is simply ridiculous that somehow the 60-vote supermajority displaced a simple 51-vote majority as the only way to go. Young as I may have been, I do remember Strom Thurmond filibustering, and honestly, I don't think Republicans in the Senate have someone of his caliber to carry the inane filibustering torch...SO MAKE THEM FILIBUSTER!

Death Panel

Aside from being a funny name for a prescient agit-punk band, what amazes me about this whole death panel nonsense going around is that they are already in place! They're called YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY (if you're lucky enough to have one). I mean, at least a government-run death panel would have to have some semblance of fairness and regulation...

VOTE, DAMMIT

Tuesday, May 5th. Local election day. Go fill out a ballot.

Reminder: Vote today!

City primaries in Lincoln & Omaha. Here's your Lancaster County slate card.

Vitamin D

I spent the afternoon on the dock at The Mill, first meeting with Brent about our project, then reading the New Yorker (specifically this article on solitary confinement) while listening to the Afro-Cuban All-Stars, and later running into Ben, Kaleb, and Conrad. It was an excellent day for making Vitamin D.

Often Overlooked

I haven't made a political post in a while (mostly just shared bits from the ever-excellent New Nebraska Network), but it's almost time for the Lincoln/Lancaster Primary, so here's the Democratic slate card....reminder to follow...


I've personally worked for Kathy Danek & Barb Baier, and Don Mayhew's was the first campaign -- as a senior in high school -- that I really invested serious work into. Great folks all around.

This American Life Impresses Once Again

Do yourself a favor, sit down without distractions, and listen to this.

Episode 375: Bad Bank

The collapse of the banking system explained, in just 59 minutes. Our crack economics team—the guys who explained the mortgage crisis, Alex Blumberg and NPR’s Adam Davidson—are back to help all of us understand the news. For instance, when we talk about an insolvent bank, what does it actually mean, and why are we giving hundreds of billions of dollars to rich bankers who screwed up their own businesses? Also, two guys go to New Jersey to look at a toxic asset.

Other shows on the financial crisis: Giant Pool of Money and Another Frightening Show About the Economy. And you can get daily updates about the financial crisis on Alex and Adam's Planet Money podcast and blog.

These recent episodes of the Planet Money podcast go into more depth on the issues in this week's show:

2/9/09 Get Tougher Please—especially the interview with Adam Posen
2/27/09 He Nationalized a Bank
2/2/09 Japan's Lost Lesson

Simon Johnson, the former IMF official on this week's show, has a blog called BaselineScenario.com.

Also, on C-Span—Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner praises this episode.

---

Prologue.

Host Ira Glass plays clips from TV in a recent senate hearing and talks about how confusing the current banking crisis is. But fortunately today, we have the team that brought us our show that explained the mortgage crisis a year ago, back to explain entire the banking system in 40 minutes. (3 minutes)

Act One. The Collapse of the US Banking System Explained in Just 39 Minutes.

Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson tackle a very tough subject: trying to explain exactly what a bank is and does. They talk to a number of experts about what has gone wrong in banking, but not before bringing us all up to speed on some banking basics, like understanding a bank balance sheet, and a bank’s assets and liabilities, and the squishy business of what banks say about their balance sheets compared to what they are.

Alex and Adam walk us step by step through the complications of the US government buying up bad assets from banks, and explain why, when it comes to footing the bill, the government might just prefer to not be in charge of the very banks it is having taxpayers bailout. From a dollhouse, to a hypothetical bank worth tens of dollars, to the trillions of dollars being spent to keep banks afloat, Alex and Adam talk economy, and where we might be headed. (39 minutes)

Act Two. Clean Up Crew.

Not everyone hates the idea of “toxic assets.” Reporter Lisa Chow goes to New Jersey to follow two guys on their quest to clean up some of America’s bad mortgages—by buying them, and going straight to the homes themselves to have a look at how dire the situation really is. (13 minutes)

Song: "The House Song," Peter, Paul and Mary

Technology can't possibly be educational!

Cornfed Gamer summarizes it better than I could, suffice it to say there are bigger fish our auditor ought to be frying...

Neal chimes in, too:

Animated Education

Nicely done, and certainly made me understand things better:


The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

The Short and Simple Story of the Credit Crisis.

Crisisofcredit.com

The goal of giving form to a complex situation like the credit crisis is to quickly supply the essence of the situation to those unfamiliar and uninitiated. This project was completed as part of my thesis work in the Media Design Program, a graduate studio at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

For more on my broader thesis work exploring the use of new media to make sense of a increasingly complex world, visit jdjarvis.com.

Inaugural Blog

Wow. And it is done, and it is good.
11:51 AM CST
...

And, three minutes to go.
10:57 AM CST

Trying out the flurry of Facebook/CNN live status updates.
10:37 AM CST

E, regarding Lynne Cheney: What did she ever see in him?
E & Mom, in unison: Power.
10:25 AM CST

Transfer of power happens exactly at noon eastern time. What if the president hasn't taken the oath yet? "Give the f*ing oath on time. Let's not leave that up to chance." -Mom
10:20 AM CST

Mama Biden!
10:13 AM CST

Both Obama and Biden voted against the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts, who will be swearing them in. Mom says "Well, that's democracy!"
10:05 AM CST


Apparently, whilst moving boxes, Cheney pulled a muscle in his back. He'll be attending the inauguration in a wheelchair. Just one last bit of icing on the looking like Mr. Potter cake. Schadenfreude? Jawohl!
9:02 AM CST

ABC is showing the crowd on the Mall. People are now packed in all the way to the grounds of the Washington Monument. That's a mile and a half from the Capitol.
8:42 CST

A loss for the world of televisual manipulation

I've just learned that it is quite common among new flat-screen LCD or plasma HD type televisions not to have a video output. This means one cannot record the signal emanating from the TV (i.e. broadcast television) onto another medium such as a tape or into a computer editing program. First, I am bummed because I can't record the inaugural address tomorrow. However, this has far broader implications for those of us media manipulator types who enjoy bastardizing the drivel spit out at us. After all, it's better to mess with your television than to kill it.

Read This

It's over tomorrow. A Harper's Index retrospective of the Bush years.

Proud of Friends Edition

My friend Rob Sand (b. Decorah, Iowa), one of the first people I met in college & also one of very few fellow Brunonians to return to the Midwest (currently in year 2 at University of Iowa Law), has just had his undergraduate thesis written up by Harvard Law scholar Larry Lessig. It's some solidly interesting research into the effects that public financing of campaigns has on political participation. Read it here.

Rob is a super-solid guy (bloke would be apropos if I were more of a Brit), so it's great to see his work garnering some serious respect. Not only is he an academic, but here's a shot of him onstage with our friends Elvis Perkins in Dearland.

More Cabinetting

So my former boss is being suggested as a candidate for Secretary of Education in the Obama Administration. I urge you to look into the matter, and write a few words in support, if you agree. Perhaps I'll bloviate on the subject a little more later....

NYTimes.com: Obama's 'Secretary of Food'?

Obama has name-dropped Michael Pollan....sign this petition!

OPINION | December 11, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist: Obama's 'Secretary of Food'?
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

When Barack Obama chooses his agriculture secretary, we need a bold reformer in a position renamed “secretary of food.”

Purple State

cafe press gear

BREAKING: Obamaha

Obama clinches the electoral vote from Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District.