The Warning and Brooksley Born on Frontline

The amount of dollars and intangibility of credit default swaps and derivatives make my head swim. This Frontline episode is a compelling story of how Brooksley Born tried to warn about the dangers of unregulated hidden markets back in 1998. Politically, she ultimately lost to the triumvirate of Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin, and Larry Summers, [...]

Fortune’s “How marijuana became legal”

Link via Fortune
As a small business owner, I regularly deal with the State Board of Equalization regarding sales tax reports and occasional audits. This Fortune article is quite enlightening regarding marijuana and the BOE. Key section:

In the early days of dispensaries the California Board of Equalization, which collects state and local sales tax, refused to [...]

Motorola Surfboard SB5101 and Comcast

The main reason I purchased the Motorola Surfboard SB5101 was because I kept getting “connection lost” while playing Horde mode on public XBox Live. There is nothing more frustrating than progressing many levels on Horde mode and then suddenly losing connection to the game. My other Internet services were all working fine, but I decided [...]

Paul Slansky: A Note to Bill Clinton

Paul Slansky: A Note to Bill Clinton
Given that we would never have had the odious George W. Bush in the White House in the first place if it wasn’t for your blow jobs, Bill, it seems obvious that you owe it to the people of this country, and especially to the parents whose kids died [...]

Asked about the Bush Doctrine… Palin is clueless

YouTube - Asked about the Bush Doctrine… Palin is clueless

FAIL
Charlie, you shouldn’t have to explain the Bush Doctrine to a potential President.

Mountain View Voice : Replacement workers force end to BMW strike

Mountain View Voice : Replacement workers force end to BMW strike
After eight weeks of picketing along El Camino Real with no pay, striking service writers and mechanics at BMW of Mountain View have come to an agreement with owner AutoNation.
The workers were forced to make a compromise when an overwhelming number of replacement workers began [...]

President Palmer, meet President Obama

Link via LA Times
Meanwhile, Hollywood is gearing up for pro-Obama events — concerts, parties and galas — between now and November.
A soundtrack CD with songs dedicated to Obama is in the works (think of all that musical hope available for download to your iPod.) A black and white ball is planned for Aug. 21 in [...]

Eliot Spitzer

Even with the history of Cisneros, Hart, and Clinton, I’m still a little bit surprised about the recent revelations regarding Spitzer’s use of a high-end prostitution service. He had campaigned and based his career on being a hard-ass devoted to cleaning things up. It’s hard to be effective and stay in office when you betray [...]

blog.pmarca.com: An hour and a half with Barack Obama

blog.pmarca.com: An hour and a half with Barack Obama
One of the reasons Senator Obama comes across as so fresh and different is that he’s the first serious presidential candidate who isn’t either from the World War II era (Reagan, Bush Sr, Dole, and even McCain, who was born in 1936) or from the Baby [...]

Gonzo Gone

I thought Bush was going to keep Gonzales around because of his loyalty, and because Bush didn’t give a damn what others thought. Well, today, Alberto announced his resignation. With Rove gone too, it’s looking a little more lonely at the top.