My “let the storm pass” theory now has verification from a guy who looks like this. Dan 1, Paulsen 0.
His name is Jeffrey A. Miron and he’s a senior lecturer in economics at Harvard. Says he:
This bailout was a terrible idea. Here’s why.
The current mess would never have occurred in the absence of ill-conceived federal policies. The federal government chartered Fannie Mae in 1938 and Freddie Mac in 1970; these two mortgage lending institutions are at the center of the crisis. The government implicitly promised these institutions …

Update #2: I have a better metaphor for this. Let the storm pass. I wrote about that here.
Update: Nancy Pelosi is on TV right now and she’s blaming Republicans. But something like 95 Democrats voted “nay.”
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News just broke that the House of Representatives voted 228-205 in favor of the Nays on the Big Bailout. You can see when the announcement happened by looking at that spike on the Dow chart today, around 2pm.
As I write this, the Dow is down about 525 points, about …

The first Presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama was on Friday, and seemed to pass without much attention thanks to all of the bailout talk.
Who won?  As usual, people generally think that their candidate won.  You could put the Cookie Monster up in one of these debates and Sesame Street fans would think he won because of his constant reference to, and insistence upon spelling, cookies.  I’m including a poll with the Message Board posting of this blog post.
It’s clear neither McCain or Obama had a blowout.  Obama …

Crises allow government to expand their influence under the pretense of solving problems.  Now Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson wants the authority to dole out $700 billion dollars as he pleases – an authority which is being called unconstitutional.
I say, rather than that, bring on the crisis.
Recall that we’ve been bailing out people already.  As tends to be with these kinds of problems, the “solutions” have only lead to the need for more, bigger “solutions.”  We bailed out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and now we need an extra $700 billion …

That’s the kind of headline that speaks for itself.  PETA, which kills animals, is going after Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for not using human milk in their ice cream.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cofounders of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc., urging them to replace cow’s milk they use in their ice cream products with human breast milk, according to a statement recently released by a PETA spokeswoman.
“PETA’s request comes in the wake of news reports that a Swiss …

Do you think Barack Obama wishes he could have a mulligan with his VP pick?
Joe Biden seemed to be a shrewd pick at first, the kind of guy who could supposedly plug the holes in Barack Obama’s presidential resume – long-time political experience with an emphasis in foreign policy.  Then, Sarah Palin comes along, blows the Biden pick out of the water, and McCain has ignited some of his conservative base.
While Barack Obama was busy filling the holes in his ticket’s resume, McCain was filling the holes in his campaign.
Meanwhile, …

Coverin’ the problems of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) in this podcast.
BPN Podcast #005:  Problems and Dissolutions
What you’ll find in this podcast:

They’re talking about “dissolving” MPS – why this is a great idea and it isn’t
The first appearance of the BPN robot
Guessmyparty.com – using your superficiality receptors to guess people’s political affiliations
Thoughts on the Bears-Buccaneers game
A nearly all-Beach Boys soundtrack

Joe Biden has a way out of America’s economic troubles.  Rich people: pull yourself up by your Gucci bootstraps, get the checkbook ready, and cut a piece of pie for Uncle Sam.
According to Biden, it’s what a patriot would do.
Noting that wealthier Americans would indeed pay more, Biden said: “It’s time to be patriotic … time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut.”
Yesterday I said that lefties have weird sacred cows.  They have weird virtues, too:  who ever …

“You know, the very fact that you oppose this makes me think that I’m on to something.”
-Seinfeld
Conservatives are calling it “Palin Derangement Syndrome.”  It’s how liberals react to conservatives with principles.  They get all up in a tizzy and talk about the imaginary “woman’s right to choose” and how suddenly gay people are our country’s highest priority.
Lefties have the weirdest sacred cows.
How do they hate Sarah Palin?  Let me count the ways:

Calling her kid retarded
Comparing her to Pontius Pilate
Lying about a pregnancy cover-up that claimed Sarah Palin’s fifth child was …

Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young is not having a good season.  In the first game, against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he was booed by the hometown crowd for throwing his second interception.
Nothing too unusual about that, except the fact that these boo birds apparently sent Young into a tailspin;  he looked so depressed about it even Jaguars players started trying to console him.
Then:
On Monday, September 9, 2008, a distraught Vince Young left his home without his cell phone. After speaking to members of Young’s family, [Titans Coach Jeff] Fisher called Nashville …