March Madness!!!

I haven't blogged in a couple of days. Why you ask? OK, maybe you didn't ask; but I am going to tell you anyway. It is March Madness baby!!! There is plenty of madness out there. You just have to know where to look. Here are some of my top picks:

• I have seen more details from Obama regarding who his favorite college basketball teams are, then regarding how Geithner is going to fix up this economy. And by the way - what about those AIG players? They get better bonuses that a kid signing on to the NBA. Here are Obama's NCAA picks, in case you wanted to check them out:

• And speaking of Obama, how about last night's appearance on Jay Leno? Anyone is entitled to an occasional gaffe. But, never never base any joke on the Special Olympics. You just don't do that. And, how long before a group of special needs kids is marched into the White House to bowl with Obama? I can see the bowling shoes lined up at the door as we speak. He is a video of the oops moment, in case you didn't see it:
  
  
  
• This next madness moment I call, "the pot calling the kettle a prostitute." It is brought to us by Elliot Spitzer, the former NY governor and self proclaimed, "Sheriff of Wall Street." CNN explains that Spitzer had this to say in recent interviews: Spitzer says the AIG bonus issue is "penny ante" compared to the billions of the insurer's bailout money funneled to bad banks, and that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner owes America an explanation, quickly. As for all those politicians piling on AIG this week? Been there. Done that. "We pursued AIG and Wall Street's structural failures in a way that others shied away from because it was politically unpalatable for them to address those issues," Spitzer told host Brian Lehrer Wednesday on WNYC Radio in New York City. "Now it is the flavor of the month. Everybody is jumping up and down serving subpoenas, beating their chests trying to be tougher than the next person."
  
  
• The entire AIG, large corporation in general, bonus issue, seems like madness to me. There is such hypocrisy surrounding it. If our economy were not in the toilet, would there be such outrage from congress, etc., regarding the huge corporate bonuses? Heck no. There hasn't been any outrage for the last 10 years, while upper management and lower level employee salaries/benefits have been steadily drifting apart for years.

Before I go, I want to wish everyone a peaceful first day of Spring. I bet there will be more madness, even once we head into April.

Always after me lucky charms!!

Top of the Blog to you, everyone. It is St. Patrick's Day. What is the likelihood of any leprechaun finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, this year? Unless he is a CEO with AIG, probably not very likely. Since the economy seems to be the only thing in the pot this year, here is a list of 2009 "pot of gold" replacements for what may be at the end of the rainbow:

• 2 months of Cobra medical coverage

• 30 tickets for production of Love Letters, starring Hal Linden and Marki Post

• One month supply of Jimmy Dean breakfast, "Flapsticks"

• 10 "Spend the day with Nancy Pelosi Makeovers"

• 5 - Bristol Palin-Levin Johnston Getaway stays at Birdridge Motel and RV Park

• Train ride with Joe Biden (round trip)

• Slum Dog Millionaire Game - play at home version

• Life time supply of colonoscopies (free limo and accompaniment by Katie Couric)

• Chance to be on Ty Pennington's new ABC show - Extreme Makeover: Foreclosed Home Edition

• Partner with Ruth Madoff on Season 9 of Dancing with the Stars

Say Goodnight, Dick.

Dick Cheney has certainly been vocal for the last couple of months, and I have to say, that I am somewhat surprised. Not completely surprised, but somewhat. I think it was his wheelchair appearance at President Obama's inauguration that led me to believe that Cheney might recede into the woodwork. It did seem a little morose.

Well, anyway, he is definitely no where even near the woodwork. In early February, the New York Times had this to say regarding a Cheney interview: In an interview two weeks after leaving office, former Vice President Dick Cheney predicted a “high probability” of a nuclear or biological attack in the next few years and said the Obama administration was approaching a “tough, mean, dirty, nasty business” of keeping the country safe from terrorists too timidly.

Cheney was interviewed just yesterday on CNN's, State of the Union; during this interview, Cheney said that President Obama had made the country less safe, and that the new administration’s changes to detention and interrogation programs for terrorism suspects would hamper intelligence gathering. Oh, and according to Cheney, our current economic woes have nothing to do with the Bush administration.

Well, so much for the woodwork. In fact, I don't perceive any "goodnight, Dick" in the near future. Remember that line from Rowan and Martin's, Laugh-In? At the end of each show, Dan Rowan would usually tell Dick Martin to, "say goodnight, Dick." That was pretty risque for the 1960s. Just in case you want a little dose of Laugh-In humor, here you go:

Kramer vs Cramer

I admit it, you had me fooled Kramer. You can across as this quirky but interesting guy, who was very fun to watch. I believed that you were an every man's man, who just happened to make it big on television. I trusted you and felt like I knew you. I thought that you were real and genuine. But, alas, you fooled me and millions of others. Once you thought that the cameras were not rolling, you exposed the darkness that lurks in your heart - and possibly all humans to some extent. Now, when I see you on television, you will never be the same to me.

OK, I am not actually talking about Cosmo Kramer from the Seinfeld show (although if the story fits...). Remember his racially-driven, hate-filled, tirade a while back? I will never forget it. Actually, in this case, I am speaking of money "expert," Jim Cramer, from MSNBC's - Mad Money. He was on Jon Stewart's show last night; he and Jon had been going back and forth for a while now, making comments about each other in a pretend but not-so-pretend barb fest. A recorded interview with Cramer was aired yesterday, and Jon Stewart did a phenomenal job at picking at the scab of hypocrisy that exits within the economic world. I am including a portion of the interview below:


Was some of Stewart's anger misdirected? Well, I guess to some extent. But, Jim Cramer is just one of the millions of money-advising talking heads out there, who told us to invest, while at the same time knowing that the "house of cards" (our economy) was on the brink of collapse for years. So, when does advice stop and entertainment begin? In Cramer's world, it seems that it makes the jump when his advice is wrong. So, if Cramer and those like him tell the public some good advice - it is because they are knowledgable. If Cramer tells us some bad advice (like buy Bear Sterns for example), than we can't get angry, because it is just entertainment. It kind of reminds me of that old Psychic Network with Dionne Warwick. But, who actually pays attention to those disclaimers anyway?

Deal or No Deal

US Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner was interviewed by Charlie Rose last evening. I have a short clip of the interview below:


Here is a portion of the Huffington Post's take on the interview: Towards the end, the Treasury Secretary said that American capitalism "will be different" and the financial system too. But he expressed confidence that a plan that involved putting banks through stress test, shoring up the housing market, and removing the toxic assets away from the books through a combination of public and private capital would, in the end, get the economy running. American capitalism "will be different" and the financial system too. But he expressed confidence that a plan that involved putting banks through stress test, shoring up the housing market, and removing the toxic assets away from the books through a combination of public and private capital would, in the end, get the economy running.

All of this money talk got me thinking about the game show, "Deal or No Deal." You know, the flashy one hosted by comedian, Howie Mandel - with all of the girls and their bright gold suitcases. The part that always fascinates me about the show, is how so many people - many of whom really need the money - pass up good deals (sure things) to go for the unknown - the chance to win a million dollars. In listening to Geithner and all of the other talking heads on the news recently, I realized that for the last decade or so, our banks/government have been playing one big game of, "Deal or No Deal." They, and the millions who invested in them, were lured by the shiny suitcases, while having no idea what the suitcases actually held.

In some topsy-turvey world, it's like the role of Howie Mandel is being played by Bernie Madoff (I don't mean this as an insult to Howie - I love Howie). Except, instead of the contestants just losing the game - they lose much more - like homes and life savings. I have a clip from Deal or No Deal below. I always said that if I ever were on the show, I would go for the sure thing...but you never know:

If it's in a commercial, it must be good for you.

Have you seen those recent commercials advertising the virtues of high fructose corn syrup. The ads are bright, cheerful, and have a bouncy little tune accompanying them. I am attaching one above. Of course, if something is in a commercial, it has to be good for you. I know, I am being sarcastic - but come on. Even cigarettes used to be advertised on television.

The commercials (there are several of them now playing), remind me of an old Saturday Night Live piece with John Belushi. It was a take-off on the Bruce Jenner-Wheaties era. This was long before the Kardashian family was even heard of. Here is the ad below:

OK, so what is the deal with High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) anyway? Well, it is made out of corn and is comparable in taste to sugar. Those manufacturing giants like Coca-Cola and Pepsi love it because it is a lot cheaper than sugar. In his recent book In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, journalist Michael Pollan claims that the way that the body processes HFCS is different from the way it processes the glucose and fructose found in other sugars. A study in mice suggests that fructose increases obesity.

Many were hoping that Pollan would actually become President Obama's choice for Secretary of Agriculture; this did not happen. Instead, the honors went to Tom Vilsack, former Governor of Iowa. Back in November of 2008, Ezra Klein had this to say about Obama's choice: Iowa, of course, is a corn state. For the last 14 years, they've been the leading corn producer in the nation. In 2006, they grew almost 2.1 billion bushels. But they don't just grow corn. They also demand subsidies. And they get them. Tens of billions of dollars of them. And corn subsidies are far and away the worst of our food policy abominations -- they make processed food cheaper, meat cheaper, sweeteners cheaper, and create a market for ethanol that would not naturally exist.

So, does Vilsack have anything to do with these recent corn syrup commercials? Who can really say. Probably as much chance of that, as of HFCS being bad for you.

"W"

I finally watched Oliver Stone's, "W" last night (on-demand), and I liked it much more than I thought that I would. I had heard so many negative things about the film from family and friends when it was in the theaters, that I did not go to see it in the movies. The most common negative comment that I had heard, was that Oliver Stone had portrayed George W. Bush as being more "misunderstood," than "evil." I can understand that point, but perhaps Stone attempted to do something else with the dramatic biography.

There was something "Forrest Gumpish" about the depiction, but I did not feel that it in any way detracted from Stone's portrayal of Bush as egocentric, power-driven, and rigid. It often seemed that we were viewing George W. Bush's life story from W's own perspective - which brought with it the fantasy, almost dream-like presence of the film. In the story, you saw a man whom life happened to, more than a person who made life happen. Even the famous "pretzel choking" scene seemed to bring this to light. Bush was choking on a hard pretzel and couldn't dislodge the food from his throat himself. When he finally fell before passing out, the pretzel piece came flying out when his gut hit the floor. By a fluke of luck, he saved himself.

Stone's subtle portrayal of Bush's egocentricness, played out beautifully in the scenes when he was walking through his ranch with his cabinet members behind him. Bush was enjoying himself, having not one clue - or care - that Condi Rice, Dick Cheney, and others were shvitzing through their suits and ready to pass out. To me, I don't feel that the subtleties in Stone's depiction in any way detracted from the film audience being able to view W as the egomaniac that is was/is. The fantasy-like quality actually made me more angry, than if Stone had portrayed him as full, in-your-face, evil-doer.

Now, Barack Obama is left dealing with the full brunt of the fantasy world that George W. Bush resided in. To put it mildly, that is a heck of a lot of reality. I am thankful that Obama won. Sarah Palin was a little too close to Bush's, "Frontier Land" to me.