Archive for September 11th, 2008


Economics 101

September 11th, 2008 by Oskar Kennedy

What’s the real lesson from the sub-prime mortgage mess? If you’re going to fuck up in America, fuck up BIG. If you fuck up, take out a loan you can’t afford, fall behind on your mortgage and lose your house, nobody gives a mouse’s balls. If you fuck up, underwrite millions of bad loans and get so deep in the hole that you’re hearing kangaroos mate, you’ll be such a threat to the entire economy that the federal government will climb up on your desk, drop its red-and-white-striped pants and shit out a trillion dollars just to fix your mistake.

There’s been a lot of talk about history, and how increased knowledge of said correlates with an ability to avoid repeating it. I’d suggest that the executives at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae took a long look at the Savings and Loan crisis, analyzed the government response, and said something that amounted to “full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes. If the economy tries to punch us in the sack, the government will deflect the blow with its soft, sensual (and conveniently located) mouth.”

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Coincidence (Unpleasant)

September 11th, 2008 by Oskar Kennedy

In my Advanced Legal Research class, we’re looking at resources for researching legislative history. This is the stuff that accumulates around a bill as it’s working its way through Congress: committee reports, floor debates, amendments, etc.

Right now we’re looking at a print resource called the U.S. Code Congressional & Administrative News, published by Thomson/West. It collects edited versions of that material for bills that seem to be of particular public interest. The professor passed out, at random, volumes of the October 2007 collection.

The first law in my volume is the Implementing Recommendations Of The 9/11 Commission Act of 2007. Meanwhile, the Bush administration is claiming denying, contrary to the Commission’s report, that Osama Bin Laden was responsible for the attack in the first place.

Does anybody else feel like all those people basically died for nothing?

EDIT: Sometimes my typing fingers get stupid when I’m choking with rage. See strikethrough above.

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The most important website you’ll find today

September 11th, 2008 by Scooter Grant

Has the Large Hadron Collider destroyed the earth yet?

Check it daily to see news about the LHC, or subscribe to the news feed in your favorite reader.

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