INSIDE THE MELTDOWN – PBS – To Air Feb. 17, 2009

In this sneak peek from “Inside the Meltdown,” FRONTLINE examines the final hours leading up to the deal between Bear Stearns and JP Morgan, and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s attempts to discourage moral hazard. In “Inside the Meltdown,” airing Tuesday, February 17 at 9 pm on PBS, FRONTLINE investigates the causes of the worst economic [...]

If Iranian women can put themselves forward, U.S. women have no reason not to

(Cross-posted from Heidi Li on Equality, 51 Percent) Today’s New York Times has a front-page story, above the fold, headlined “Starting at Home, Iran’s fight for Women’s Rights”.  At home in Iran things obtacles to putting women forward are more obvious than they are at home in the United States. In Iran: Despite the gains [...]

Friday: {{Gasp!}} Judd Gregg is a REAL Republican??

Not a fake Democrat, like Obama, but a REAL Republican? “I’m a fiscal conservative, as everybody knows, a fairly strong one,” Mr. Gregg told reporters at a news conference in the Capitol. “And it just became clear to me that it would be very difficult, day in and day out, to serve in this cabinet [...]

Paraskavedekatriaphobia

That’s “fear of Friday the 13th” for those of you who don’t speak Greek. Have a nice day!

Conflucians Say: Before and After

Well, the basement is finished.  Yeah.  I’m worn out.   Actually, all of the construction, priming, painting, flooring is done.  I still have some shelving to put in as well as figuring out what the heck I’m supposed to sit on down there.  I should have some decisions made this weekend.  Stimulating the economy is both [...]

Hypocrite Watch: NOW’s Kim Gandy Opines about Misogyny

Of course it has nothing to do with Obama, Favreau, or the shocking media misogyny that went on during the 2008 election season, but still…it’s something. MTV asked the President of NOW, Kim Gandy to explain why so many people–even women–are blaming pop singer Rihanna for getting beaten up by her boyfriend, R&B star Chris [...]

Dissension Over Revised Stimulus Bill

According to The Boston Globe: While President Obama and the Senate are fine with the stimulus deal that appears headed for final votes in Congress on Friday and Obama’s signature on Monday, the House is another matter….And it’s not just Republicans….Some House Democrats are upset with some of the changes made to preserve the support [...]

Just a nice story about some people who aren’t corrupt politicians or greedy bankers

I read this story in The Boston Globe this morning, and it renewed my faith in humanity. I couldn’t resist sharing it with my fellow Conflucians. The firefighter crawled on his stomach through the pitch-black apartment, the smoke so thick he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. Somewhere inside was a baby [...]

Robber Barons

Definition: Robber baron is a term that revived in the 19th century in the United States as a reference to businessmen and bankers who dominated their respective industries and amassed huge personal fortunes, typically as a direct result of pursuing various anti-competitive or unfair business practices. The term may now be used in relation to [...]

Thursday: What the bankers bought with $600 million.

No seppuku for them. Last week, we briefly discussed Japan’s lost decade.  In short, it goes like this: Japan’s bubble burst back in 1990-91 with the collapse of their real estate market.  The Japanese government took a mostly hands off approach to the recovery and even imposed some austerity measures, like tax increases.  That made [...]