System of a Down

Janet Reno, err, Napolitano has issued clarification of her ridiculous weekend statement that the "system worked" during the Great Northwest Airlines Underwear Bomb Attempt.

This of course comes in light of facts like Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab of Nigeria was on a terrorist watch list, yet not on a no-fly list. Terribly sorry for the racial/ethnic insensitivity you are about to read. However, anyone with a name and country of origin such as Umar's should be subject to immediate and invasive scrutiny.

But we've also been treated to uncorroborated reports that the, uh, "suspect" had paid cash, checked no luggage, been aided by an airline employee through security, that another passenger 20 rows back had filmed the entire flight, and that al Qaeda practices methods to evade advanced detection techniques.

Naturally, the only rational response is to........ invade the privacy of, increase the hassle to, and maximize confusion among the 99.999% of innocent flyers worldwide, particularly infants and the elderly. Seriously.

Imagine you're a 74 year-old guy with a bum prostate who's been fed only salty peanuts and several half-cans of diet Coke during the first 4 hours of your cross-continental flight. On a very good day you're capable of squirting a couple ounces at a time, usually every 10 to 15 minutes. Now, you've gotta hold that for the entire last hour of your flight while strapped in between two fat people and jostled in heavy turbulance?

Or what about the 2-year old who sucked down 20 sippy cups worth of juice, water, and ginger ale in that same span? Now she's gotta pee like Sea Biscuit or puke over an entire 3-row quadrant.

So now the calls are coming loud from hard-ass security types, well-connected scanner manufacturers, and politicians looking for cover alike: INSTALL FULL-BODY SCREENERS EVERYWHERE IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!

Sorry, I'm not sold. As Dr. B commented in the post below, we're looking for folks of a "certain type". They're not all that hard to find. Especially when their own prominent & wealthy fathers call their home government and the US freaking Embassy -- several times! -- to express grave concern about their son's increasing radicalism.

In the words of George Clooney's "Up in the Air" character when charged with being racist: "I'm like my mother, I stereotype. It's faster."

Oh, by the way, we have an exclusive image of Dr. B crossing security at Edmonton Airport:

"Life is a waterfall

we drink from the river,

then we turn around and put up our walls..."

Diesel Power vs Ox Power

I'm not sure which one I feel safer with, but they both remind me of each other.

Janet

- or -

Ox

Pantywaists

Foreigners wear messed up underwear. This jackass who tried to blow up a Northwest Airlines (why is it NWA? the pictures all show a Delta jet.) is a case in point.

Now I realize the dainties pictured below are cut up and singed. But these are a man's pair of u'tralls?? I guess that cotten liner is to absorb the flames. At least that stupid sonovabitch burned off whatever junk he had.

Hot Air and Global Warming

You might already know I'm a Global Warming skeptic. Or more specifically, an Anthroprogenic Global Warming skeptic. A key reason is well explained by the linked article below.

In an age of teleconferencing, our leaders can't even understand the even simpler concept of carpooling. If the planet's viability were truly on the line, wouldn't they (yes - "THEY", not 'us' who have to live by rules they'd like to impose) show as much honesty & consistency as urgency?

PS President Obama cut short his Copenhagen visit to get back to Washington DC in advance of an impending blizzard. Now this doesn't necessarily refute warming. But if the Warmists want better visuals to bolster their case, I suggest future Global Warming Conferences be scheduled during August. In the Sahara.

From the UK Daily Mail:

50 Days to Save the World? I Might Listen to the Doomsayers If They Weren't Such Ludicrous Hypocrites

by Steven Glover

Not many people understand climate change. But they can recognise hypocrisy when they see it, and are also likely to count their spoons whenever wild-eyed politicians invoke the impending end of the world.

On Tuesday, Prince Charles flew to Copenhagen to attend the climate change summit, where he delivered a keynote speech. He informed his audience that 'the world has only seven years before we lose the levers of control'. Not at all long, then.

For the Prince this was an important speech with an important message. If we have so little time, and man-made climate change is such a terrifyingly imminent threat, he might have taken a boat or train to Copenhagen, or even, as a symbolic gesture, decided to walk. But he commandeered a jet belonging to the Queen's Flight, generating an estimated 6.4tons of carbon dioxide, 5.2tons more than if he had used a commercial flight.

Meanwhile his fellow prophet of doom, Gordon Brown, was making his own way to Copenhagen the same day. This is the man who proclaimed in October that we had '50 days to save the world'. Before leaving he conjured up on a television programme the certainty of 'floods and droughts' with 'climate change evacuees and refugees' if agreement is not reached in Copenhagen.

Mr Brown chartered a 185-seat Airbus to take him and 20 aides to Denmark. Was a smaller plane producing less carbon dioxide not available?

Could he perhaps have shared an aircraft with Prince Charles? Might he have considered taking a scheduled flight to the Danish capital, of which there were 16 on Tuesday?

Evidently not. It is odd, isn't it, how climate change doomsayers such as Prince Charles and Mr Brown are so often unprepared to make the smallest sacrifice in their own daily lives to address a threat which they assert is literally deadly. Presumably any contribution would be helpful. And it is not easy in life to persuade people to give up things if you are almost ostentatiously unwilling to do so yourself.

The Copenhagen summit, supposed to produce an agreement limiting greenhouse gases, has, according to experts, the same carbon footprint as a medium-sized African country such as Malawi.

There are an amazing 34,000 delegates attending the event, and the grander among them are forced, says my colleague Robert Hardman in Copenhagen, to park their private jets in Norway because Denmark has run out of Tarmac, and to procure their gas-guzzling limousines from Germany.

Show me a climate control zealot and I can often show you a hypocrite, and a hypocrite, moreover, who speaks in apocalyptic terms about the world coming to an end - at a time not long hence and usually implausibly specific - if the rest of us do not immediately curb our lifestyles so as to produce fewer greenhouse gases.

The double standards and the grotesque exaggeration go hand in hand.

Some, at least, of the zealots do not really, honestly believe that things are as bad as they say. If they did, they might not go on serenely generating carbon emissions on such a scale. They are trying to shock us into action by employing emotive language and invoking terrible dangers. In other words, they are treating us as fools. Politicians shamelessly twist the facts to scare us witless.

There has been an appalling case in Copenhagen this week.

full story...

Carousel

"In Greek, nostalgia literally means the pain from an old wound."

- Don Draper, in full seduction mode

Naturally, he's showcasing love and relationships when he own life is in total meltdown. A fine line between dissonance and hypocrisy indeed.

Jazzy Spies #7

It ain't Mambo #5. But its one of the all-time classic counting shorts from 40 years ago. That's Grace Slick on vocals. The series includes no.'s 2 thru 10, where the spies almost get killed by race cars after breaking out into a chorus line.

Watch out for the turtle in this one...

Pearl Devo

Devo Jam? Tip o' the hat to Dr. Eddie for this one. Absolutely hilarious to see PJ on Halloween. A finer cover band ne'er found. Whip it good.

Great Scenes in Cinematography

Done in a single continuous tracking shot. Choreographed to a tee. Henry impresses Karen on their first date. I don't think he's in construction either...

The Miracle of Birth

Just brilliant. Ah irony, my old friend.

Ambrosian Economics

Perhaps my favorite columnist these days is Ambrose Evans-Pritchard. He writes about global finance and related events for the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph, steeped in pragmatic economics and historical observations. While not a fear monger his commentary is bold and unflinching.

The latest column is a good example. Evans-Pritchard sees a migration away from the US Dollar; an end to its dominance in global finance & trade. As an American, I find this a deeply troubling development, though unsurprising for anyone paying attention. However, the Dollar's fall is equally troubling the rest of the world as well.

In the US, a declining currency -- fueled by zero interest rates, severe trade imbalances, and sky-rocketing public debt -- foreshadows inflation, lower living standards, and general malaise. Yet, worldwide decoupling from the US Dollar translates to vanishing treasury holdings (heavily dollar-denominated), fiscal instability, and negative export growth.

That last point is extra salient in my view today. If Americans are unable to afford the world's goods -- til now, the USA has been the market of first, middle & last resort for many countries -- where are they to sell their goods? US Dollar dominance has provided ballast in global markets these last 20 years. But it has also fostered a mercantilist philosophy particularly in Asian economies, most notably China. Very relevant update.

For its part, China has pegged the value of its Yuan (aka Renminbi or RMB) to the Dollar. Only recently has China begun slowly -- and incompletely -- adjusting the Yuan's exchange rate to meet its true strength. Without relief, dams burst when overloaded. And despite its bluster to undermine confidence in the dollar, China's economy would suffer more than the US if exchange rates suddenly snap.

Think about it, China would have no US market to sell its goods, a huge & affluent population (notorious savers with a now over-valued currency), and a devastated domestic industrial base made completely uncompetitive with the Yuan's new strength. Reconsider that notoriously frugal population. Will this society, groomed by years of famine & subsistence, be transformed overnight by its new-found wealth into big spenders? The declining competitiveness of its production base and associated job losses will certainly act as a drag on spending. And what about the increasing opposition to the Communist Party, its clamp on liberty and corrupt governance?

Demographically, two lost generations loom in China:

a) the 65+ crowd who are too old to work, too set in their ways, unable to understand technology and without any social safety net to help them live and

b) 15 to 25 year-olds, majority male, coming into adulthood without job prospects and likely to remain that way since another cohort will come along behind and be hired instead.

Morality aside (a statement that always makes me feel like pond scum), the system of casting aside millions of your own people is doomed to fall. The implosion will be epic. Be careful what you wish for though. Implosions cause earthquakes. Earthquakes breed tsunamis. And tsunamis can devastate 1000's of miles away.

So when you think the US has major problems, pause and consider the alternatives. It'll all work out. For us.

Never you let life problems get you down. There is always a solution to be found.

Right, Mr. MacIntosh?

Ask Philbony - DirecTV vs. Versus

Mucous writes: So is DirecTV (screwing) us or Comcast or both? I don't know who to believe, but I will believe you.

Philbony says:

My dearest Mucous,

Yours is an interesting question, one by which I too have been consumed.

DirecTV has unilaterally taken Versus off "air" because it says Comcast -- Versus' owner -- is demanding an exorbitant license fee increase that is not being assessed on other providers (Dish Network, Time Warner Cable, et al). If this is accurate, my sympathies tend toward DirecTV.

Comcast says, "No no!" It is DirecTV that is to blame for the fee increase because it plans to move Versus to a pricier programming tier. This robs Versus of viewers because current subscribers who don't care about hockey or bull riding will just let it go. Meanwhile, DirecTV would make money off the loyal Versus customers held hostage by the lack of alternatives to exclusive NHL or PBRA action and reduce its carriage payments to Versus because it garners fewer viewers. In this case my heart goes to Versus.

Ah, but the plot thickens. Notice the NHL is backing Comcast/Versus in the matter. There is an open letter on NHL.com advising afflicted fans to express their displeasure to DirecTV. The layman might logically suppose the NHL is wounded by the dispute, but impartial in its assessment. This would be a faulty assumption. Comcast owns the Philadelphia Flyers via its subsidiary, Spectacor (eerily similar to James Bond's nemesis, SPECTRE). So the NHL plainly has a conflict of interest and is not to be trusted in the matter.

Versus recently ran advertisements in the LA Times, Houston Chronicle, and other newspapers twisting the knife in DirecTV's side, particularly with regard to the pending NHL searson. It ended with the advice to DirecTV customers to switch providers. This is rich! Cable giant Comcast telling people they should drop a satellite provider over a carriage dispute manufactured partly or largely by the cable giant itself. For its part, DirecTV calls Versus "basically a paid programming and infomercial channel with occasional sporting events of interest." Childish.

Bottom line: Both sides suck. All three, if you include the NHL.

In summary,

1. While it bills itself as the "fastest growing sports cable network" in the USA, Versus clearly isn't ESPN. It isn't even USA, TNT or A&E.
2. DirecTV is displaying naked greed and callousness toward its own customers by extorting those who are passionate about the premier offering on an otherwise low-rated network.
3. The NHL is being disingenuous about telling people to complain to DirecTV only. And they are being downright deceptive about their relationship with Comcast.

I propose a short-term solution to at least built goodwill and save face: Any DirecTV subscriber who currently buys the NHL Center Ice package should receive Versus for free. DirecTV should return -- or be allowed to return -- Versus to "air" forthwith!

That problem solved. On to health care!

Marketing 101

So I'm walking through Giant Eagle the other day. Just picking up a few sundries for dinner -- lettuce, apple butter, Dawn -- from one of Consumer Reports' bottom 10 supermarkets in the USA. Walking through the aisles I heard one of my favorite tunes from 1998: "Closing Time" by Semisonic. Catchy little ditty, that.

And a confusing one for me during its release. For the longest time I was entranced not only with a well-put-together pop/rock song, but by the way it always sounded different every time I heard it. Well, I'm happy to report that I'm not crazy (at least for this reason). The song was different every time I heard it.

Several months after its release I recall hearing a report -- on NPR of all things -- how the music industry was targeting itself to different audiences. The report used "Closing Time" as a case study, with at least 3 versions released to various market niches.

First, and truest to the band's sound, was the album version. While certainly poppy, it had a grungy production quality and heavy tone; certain to appeal to the Nirvana/Soundgarden/Pearl Jam crowd prevalent at the time.

Second was the Top 40 edition, which featured a modified acoustic intro, more prominent vocals, and accent on the plinky-piano for a good hook. This version was directed at the mothers of the cohort above. In addition to MOR radio, it received heavy rotation in supermarkets and dentist offices.

Third, traditional rock stations got a more electric guitar-centric version, complete with overdubbed power chords. This track was aimed at the 20/30-somethings who weren't quite into the Seattle sound, yet rocked nonetheless.

Check out Versions 1 & 2 linked below. Cut & paste if the links don't work. You should know the drill by now...

Alt-Rock / Album

Top 40

Update - AOR ? - See, now I'm not sure anymore. Again. Semisonic! you bastards!

Memory Lake

So I decided to play hooky from work last week.

I had been slated to meet a customer near Toronto on Wednesday. But after 2 hours into the four-hour trek to Canada the afternoon before, my contact calls to postpone the meeting. For the 3rd straight time. I'm guessing this particular customer is still in development.

Now I still had firm appointments later in the week. But what to do with the newly open day? Being disgusted with the cancellation -- on top of the regular stream of nonsense & noise in these troubled times -- I resolved to bag the day completely.

Hmm, got a car. A night in a hotel is expected. Meals too. The boss just left for China. Freedom.

But where to go?

As it turns out, I've been having recurring dreams lately about a cabin my family owned back in the day. I recall it was great -- accessible only by boat across a lake in the Canadian wilderness, on a small bay nestled among the trees in solitude and peace. It lacked electricity and indoor plumbing and all manner of modern luxuries. But it was absolutely perfect for swimming, hiking, boating, chilling. I could still find it though I was entirely sure it wouldn't be nearly as good as remembered.

But hell! I suddenly had an extra 10 hours to spare for the round-trip drive.

And drive I did -- after kidnapping my father to ride shotgun. He loved the old place too. We got there just before 9 AM, after overnighting an hour & a half away and reminiscing the whole way.

It was two days after Labor Day. We found Aylen Lake deserted at the end of the summer season. The weather was glorious.

Dad & I rented a boat at the landing store from a guy with no other customers, who was simply excited to get an extra 80 clams -- more than he ever could have hoped to rake in that whole week.

When it all was over I found myself a little more at ease with life. The cabin and its surroundings turned out to be nearly identical to how I remembered -- aside from a hideous paint job and half-assed addition. A few less pines perhaps, but made up for with a bounty of white-bark birch, poplar and Canadian maple trees.

I was deeply struck by how little was had changed - from the natural serenity to the two-man saw hanging in the rafters, right down to the hinges on the outhouse.

It was perfect.

In fact, I'm going to get in touch with the owner (as it turns out, the same guy to whom my Dad sold) to see if he's interested in renting it out for a week next Summer.

Who's in?

Some candid photos below to entice and envy.

Landing Approach

Landing/Marina

I'm on a Boat!

Cabin Approach - 2 new / 1 old

35 Years ago vs. Today

Porch with a View

Through the window [very little different aside from most -- MOST -- of the furniture, some paneling and vinyl flooring]

Kitchen [I'm telling you, it is exactly the same from the propane fridge to the stove to the manual water pump (not seen) to the freakin' bread box!]

Bridge to Outhouse (that's right!) - today & yesterday

Shit House - Old School & New

Hey! Look at these!

I guess it's the day for this kind of stuff...

So my wife is browsing pictures on a friend's "Head Space" page. Her friend's daughter just returned to college to start sophomore year and she posted shots of a bunch of sorority sisters getting back together.

During said browsing, my charming & lovely wife called out: "Philbony! Look at this 19-year old girl's boobs!" To which I replied: "Okay honey. If I have to."

They were nice; a small tight package on an attractive girl. Apparently though they were pushed up too high for my wife's tastes. I had to intently study them for about 10 minutes -- there were over a dozen photos mind you -- before I could agree.

Though I'm still not sure and might have to look again. I'd post the photos here. But my wife won't let me back on her page.

Why does the world always give so freely, then take away so quickly only after the gift is so firmly appreciated?

Comedy in Another's Tragedy

I'm always struck by the inconsistencies in human behavior. This includes amusing quirks to downright ugly pathology. In between, we're treated to hypocritical talk, hollow promises, asymmetric reactions, willful ignorance...you know, people sucking.

As example, I offer the following exchange on a popular social networking site. Let's call it "Head Space".

An old friend from high school has used her status update to announce another former classmate is terminally ill. Just an update for people who, though out of contact for a quarter century, still have no animus toward each other and perhaps a warm memory or two.

The typical responses follow: "oh that's so sad", "tell her I'm praying for her and her family", "she's a kind person", etc. Personally, I found the news sad; a reminder of life's fragility and the good fortune I and my close ones have. She really is / was a nice person. So far no one's sucking too much.

Enter, uh, let's call him "Cleatus", who writes -- again, after nearly 25 years from 1000 miles away about a person with whom he had mere friendly childhood acquaintance: "What can I do...!!!??? Anything, thanks for letting me know."

I guess the reply should be obvious: "Cleat, you're welcome. A cure for cancer would be nice. Or a tray of brownies. Good to hear from you."

Now that's a symmetric response to an asymmetric reaction.

The Way I Am

...and it helps in itself to relieve

all this tension; dispensin' these sentences,

Gettin' this stress that's been eatin' me recently off of this chest

And I rest again peacefully

I don't know it's just the way I am...

- Marshall

Profiles in Consistency

Well, during war a month is a long time...

"The President does not describe this as a 'war on terrorism'."

- John Brennan, Chief of White House Office of Homeland Security

8/6/2009

"You can't under-resource the most important part of our war on terror."

- Robert Gibbs, White House Press Secretary

8/31/2009

Americathon

Okay, this movie was made in 1979. Though I remember seeing it, I don't recall any details except it being pretty cheesy (saying a lot since I was 12 at the time). It was probably more than somewhat lame. After all, it starred John Ritter as the President of the United States of America.

The rest of the cast included Harvey Korman (as a cross-dressing TV star), Peter Reigert (better known as "Boon" from Animal House), Fred Willard (please comment if you know of ANY good movie he was ever in), Jay Leno (this guy's been around forever!), Meatloaf, Elvis Costello, Howard Hessman, and George Carlin (as the narrator).

Americathon was set in 1998. And incredibly, if not entirely on schedule, many of its predictions of future world affairs came true. These include:

• America is deeply in debt to foreign lenders
• The US Dollar is severely devalued
• The US President is young, charismatic, and compassionate; exuding hope during the most desperate of times.
• The USSR has collapsed, no longer of serious world consequence
• China has become a global superpower and embraced capitalism
• Oil reserves have been almost totally depleted
• Nike is a huge multi-national conglomerate
• Jogging suits are fashionable casual wear
• Network television has been given over to reality-based programming - much of which deals with non-traditional, taboo, absurd, and even dysfunctional themes
• Several Indian tribes have become wealthy
• The Beach Boys are still together

I'm not sure when the Arabs & Jews will overcome their differences. But with this movie's track record, it's gotta be any time now.

Stuck in the Middle With You

Hey Mr. Blond

All Grown Up

All grown up

and you don't care anymore

- Elvis

On the Other Side

So I'll drink some more

I'll love them all

I'll drink even more

I'll hate them even more than I did before

- Casablancas

No Matter How Much I Booze

I lose so many nights of sleep worrying about my responsibilities

Are the problems that screw me up really down to him or me

My ego will just confuse me

Someday it's gonna up and use me

- Pete

Breaking News from 1971

I got a tee shirt back on Father's Day.

Reasonably nice, light blue, with a guitar motif and the words "Rolling Stone" scrawled across the front. Attached to the label was a postcard for a free subscription to the iconic -- if no longer cutting edge -- music magazine.

How about that for progress? Buy a tee-shirt and get a free magazine subscription. It used to be the other way around. How many SI football phones, TimeLife screwdriver sets, Alfred E Neuman alarm clocks and the sort litter my parents' basement (or more likely their local landfill)? Does this mean if I buy a toaster, Black & Decker will give me a free bank account?

Anyway, I got my second issue last week. And what would you think I found -- in these modern times! -- on the cover of the Rolling Stone?

The weighty importance of Blink-182's reunion tour? Revelations about pop's latest plastic creation, Lady Gaga*? Hip college favorites like Wilco or Modest Mouse? The coolness of being Jack White?

Nope. Not even close.

No, Rolling Stone parodies its own irrelevance with THIS cover:



Seriously? In 2009? The Editor's Note at front of the mag says the Beatles were pretty popular back in the day. And apparently, a lot of people still like their music.

The story inside says the band succumbed to the excesses of success: inflated egos, hurt feelings, drug use, corrupt management, creative differences, Yoko, bad hygiene, shoddy English dentistry; the exact same stuff that got David Lee Roth kicked out of Van Halen. I guess not everyone got the memo.

Well, at least there's always hope for a reunion someday! Unless one of them dies or something.



* Lady Gaga was already on it, naked, covered in bubbles. Original. Right Marilyn?

Methinks you, Sir, are a douchebag

Letter from FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, to Scottish Minister Kenny MacAskill

August 21, 2009

The Honorable Kenny MacAskill, MSP
Cabinet Secretary for Justice
Scottish Government
St. Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
EH13DG

Dear Mr. Secretary:

Over the years I have been a prosecutor, and recently as the Director of the FBI, I have made it a practice not to comment on the actions of other prosecutors, since only the prosecutor handling the case has all the facts and the law before him in reaching the appropriate decision.

Your decision to release Megrahi causes me to abandon that practice in this case. I do so because I am familiar with the facts, and the law, having been the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the investigation and indictment of Megrahi in 1991. And I do so because I am outraged at your decision, blithely defended on the grounds of "compassion."

Your action in releasing Megrahi is as inexplicable as it is detrimental to the cause of justice. Indeed your action makes a mockery of the rule of law. Your action gives comfort to terrorists around the world who now believe that regardless of the quality of the investigation, the conviction by jury after the defendant is given all due process, and sentence appropriate to the crime, the terrorist will be freed by one man's exercise of "compassion." Your action rewards a terrorist even though he never admitted to his role in this act of mass murder and even though neither he nor the government of Libya ever disclosed the names and roles of others who were responsible.

Your action makes a mockery of the emotions, passions and pathos of all those affected by the Lockerbie tragedy: the medical personnel who first faced the horror of 270 bodies strewn in the fields around Lockerbie, and in the town of Lockerbie itself; the hundreds of volunteers who walked the fields of Lockerbie to retrieve any piece of debris related to the breakup of the plane; the hundreds of FBI agents and Scottish police who undertook an unprecedented global investigation to identify those responsible; the prosecutors who worked for years--in some cases a full career--to see justice done.

But most importantly, your action makes a mockery of the grief of the families who lost their own on December 21, 1988. You could not have spent much time with the families, certainly not as much time as others involved in the investigation and prosecution. You could not have visited the small wooden warehouse where the personal items of those who perished were gathered for identification--the single sneaker belonging to a teenager; the Syracuse sweatshirt never again to be worn by a college student returning home for the holidays; the toys in a suitcase of a businessman looking forward to spending Christmas with his wife and children.

You apparently made this decision without regard to the views of your partners in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the Lockerbie tragedy. Although the FBI and Scottish police, and prosecutors in both countries, worked exceptionally closely to hold those responsible accountable, you never once sought our opinion, preferring to keep your own counsel and hiding behind opaque references to "the need for compassion."

You have given the family members of those who died continued grief and frustration. You have given those who sought to assure that the persons responsible would be held accountable the back of your hand. You have given Megrahi a "jubilant welcome" in Tripoli, according to the reporting. Where, I ask, is the justice?

Sincerely yours,

Robert S. Mueller, III
Director

Witch Aircraft

So my 11-year old rides his bike up to the local air museum and scores a flight in a WWII vintage B-24 bomber. Gets a seat in the cockpit no less. Proof that 'just showing up' can get you places.

O Canada!

Does anyone have my rant on Canada? Wrote it a couple years ago. Went off on the hosers' insecure identity. Something to the effect: "How deep in crisis is your identity, Jean-Pierre?"

Roger Wilco

This evening's dedication goes out to all the unsung singers, underplayed musicians, and unsigned bands rocking in obscurity. I'm not partial to the horns, but this is the best free copy available on the internet.

In other words, I was over Unger and Unger was over Dunn. Roger, over. Huh?

Always on Your Mind

Today's dedication goes out to Mucous. For a subject always on his mind (and offering correction to his recent comment), I give you Aerosmith cuttin' a serious rug. Proof too that old ugly people can rock.

One for the Doctor

A Saturday dedication to Dr. B with special thanks for the article on primordial yeast. Mmmm, mmm good! Proof too there's always a future for late bloomers and community college grads.

No video on this, but does include the extended guitar solo.

Beer for a Saturday Morning

Well it's been a full week in the jar. All signs point to another fine batch of Dortmunder Export.

That said, I'm still disgusted about all the sediment. 2 steps forward, one step back I suppose. But criminy! Just depressing to see.

Of course, this is partly because the focus at this stage is on a big glass jug full nothing really going on. Geysers still occurring, bubble too. Very infrequently. So all you see is a good looking beer - color, clarity, body - and a pile of crap on the bottom.

At other steps in the process you see different stuff. During mash, temperature control is the mission. Visually, the grains froth while stewing in hot water. Chemically, starches are breaking down into fermentable sugars; pure water now stained in golden, amber and bronze tones.

The subsequent boil stage is even more action. There's fire control, maintaining a balanced roll. Hop additions that release a foamy green scum; volume evaporating all the while. Will transfer to the secondary fermenter this weekend and bottle in another 5 to 10 days. Then wait 3 weeks for a drink.

This whole process is an exercise in preparation, patience, forbearance, and controlled execution. The ultimate goal achievement activity. Outward Bound for the sedentary lush.

Or like church. 'Cause all previous sins are forgiven once the beer meets bottle. At least until you get to taste it. That's when the real party starts. Or ends.

Guess we'll see...

On top of the sky

there's a place where you go

If you've done

nothing wrong

And down in the ground

is a place where you go

If you've

been a bad boy

- Entwhistle

Sediment Sucks!

I hate sediment! This batch brewed great. Everything perfect from mash to boil...right up until filling the fermenter.

Then all Hell broke loose. My new $20 strainer failed to strain the silt. So it hit the fine funnel screen and immediately clogged. The funnel overflowed, spilling precious beer over the deck. I had to wait for the funnel to slooooowwwwly drain, then remove that screen altogether.

Because of this, the repeat batch has about a GALLON of sediment on the bottom. So even if everything goes without a hitch from here, yield will still be 42 bottles max.

That said, fermentation is going great. Had a bubble within 7 hours, and full gurgle after half a day. The stuff was swimming and frothing and exploding with life. Things have calmed down now, with only the occasional geyser. Sediment is still (!) settling out. I put a wedge under one side of the carboy to tip the sediment toward one side. This step is claimed to help extract trub-free when transferring to the secondary. We'll see. There will be plenty of trub - regardless.

I mean, what's a brother gotta do man?

Obama Gets Back

My President and yours, folks! A lot (and I mean lot) to love...

I like big butts and I cannot lie

You other brothers (Sarkozy) can't deny

That when a girl walks in with an itty-bitty waist

And a round thing in your face

you get sprung

Satire Can Be Pretty Ironic...

The King is dead. Long live the king*!

I personally believe, U.S. Californians can't do so because uh, some people out there in our nation don't have satire. And I believe that our education like such as San Diego, LA, and uh the San Francisco everywhere like such as. And I believe they should, uh, our education over here!

* Ohio

Beer in the Headlights

So I get home from July 4th festivities with one thing on my mind: brewing.

Went to the Grape & Granary yesterday and bought another batch of Dortmunder Export. "Philbony Gold" was a big hit under warm weekend sunshine. That case was devastated by early Saturday afternoon, as was Dot & Feather's Batch 001. Very gratifying to have made good stuff.

Anyway, I will mash & boil again Friday evening. Could even have company - if Chopes gets permission from the ex. Quoth Mucous, "Ouch babe."

Got additional good news courtesy of the G&G. Their beer expert assures me the Imperial Pale Ale -- my second solo batch -- is indeed not yet ready. Just as I surmised, it needs a lot more time to bottle condition because it's so malty. "Leave it in your basement and forget about it until Christmas. Will make a perfect present to yourself," he says. Nice.

I need to brew much more, soon. Running out sucks...

Raiders of the Lost Art

A fine quote of the day:

"My complaint simply concerns the decay of the art of lying. No high-minded man, no man of right feeling, can contemplate the lumbering and slovenly lying of the present day without grieving to see a noble art so prostituted"

– Mark Twain

Don't lose your Head

Wait for it...30 seconds in. No comment from PETA for the unethical treatment of mannequins...

You're kidding, right?

Just a few stories today to let you know it's okay. You're not crazy, it's the rest of the world.

First up: "PETA wishes Obama hadn't swatted that fly" from the AP.

Now when it comes to, say, oh I don't know, flushing puppies down toilets I stand haunch to haunch with PETA. And I'm certainly uncomfortable with animal testing. Though that seeming cruelty needs to be balanced against benefits to humans (yeah, I'm a bigoted humanist).

I actually find the PETA/KFC debate downright amusing: While people shouldn't just whale on chickens for fun, let's be real. They're chickens. That we're gonna kill. To eat. With hot sauce.

And we'll be swattin' the flies to keep 'em away from our meal.

Next, "Gold sold like chocolate from German vending machines". So let me get this straight, you can conveniently get a 1-gram "wafer" of gold for 30 Euros to take home to the kids as a great gift or just carry around as a great thing to have in your pocket during uncertain times? There's a lot of "greatness" in that story.

Let's concentrate on the math instead. Gold trades for ~$900 / oz and 1 Euro is worth about $1.40 and there's 28 grams to the ounce. That's a $275 / oz premium from the vending machine.

I'd rather get the kids a Toblerone bar from the vending machine. Or better yet, from the Duty-Free Store. Could get a bottle of scotch for myself too.

Finally, "Mom fights off Cougar, saves daughter". Listen closely. Old, hot women on the prowl shouldn't mess with a mother's kid. At least that girl didn't go to cycling class at the gym. It's full of spinners.

Tasting Day

So the Dortmunder Export was in bottles for exactly 2 weeks last night. A Friday night. Hmm, 2 weeks. You know, it takes exactly 2 weeks to fully carbonate beer after bottling. What should I do? What...should...I...do?

I think you know what I did. Oh yes. I did. And I liked doing it.

Let's just say it was tasty -- with a fine, steady effervescence. Not much head retention on the first try. But by the third bottle I learned it was okay to let it slosh in the glass while still pouring carefully enough to keep the sediment in the bottle. After that it, I got a nice creamy foam similar to a good German Pils.

You'll like it too.

And if you don't, well screw ya then. I got mine.

P.S. The second batch (the Ruination clone) is going into bottles today. Just finished sterilizing everything. Will have a case of each for the July 3rd tasting party. Plus the 18 IPA's already at Chopes' house.

P.P.S. Rainus - bring scotch.

And now for something completely different...

...back to politics and the economy. Interesting headlines of late. U.S. Auto Industry Bailouts, Right Turn in EU Elections, Air France meets Atlantic off Brazil, North Korean nukes, lions and tigers and bear-markets oh my!

Economically, I can't help but think the world in general, and the USA in particular, are going to get a high-velocity lesson in economics. Someone recently said, when you ignore facts too long then life assigns you a new negotiating partner: reality.

That is happening with the auto bailouts, where for decades the Big Three and UAW ignored facts -- global competition, unsustainably high wages & legacy costs, mediocre product quality, over-reliance on gas guzzler trucks & SUV's, ad infinitum.

So now Chrysler files for bankruptcy and is to be sold to Fiat. Fiat. Really?

I find it hard to believe Fiat is in any better condition than Chrysler. Well, at least as a car company. Chrysler -- a marginal company to begin with -- was bought by Daimler several years ago, ignored & neglected, then promptly dumped to a private equity firm intent on milking the assets dry while hoping to sell them to GM. A scenario so improbably ludicrous as this actually makes Italian management practices glow by comparison.

Besides, the Italian government still subsidizes Fiat. So the US dumps its non-performing asset on another country's taxpayer. Within a few years, we'll buy it all back at half the price to help Italy out of its own economic hell.

At least we still have the rule of law. You know, the one that says government shall not seize or coerce the sale of privately held property. Except of course when private property owners are a bunch of unsympathetic (evil!) bondholders insisting on their currently unpopular contractual rights to that property. How does this economy lift itself back to prosperity when no one is allowed to make a profit?

Oh, and those unsympathetic bondholders happen to include quite a few sympathetic pensioners and retirees. Does that change the picture? Should it?

Meanwhile, much of the EU had parliamentary elections over the weekend. While the USA turns leftward, Europe marches to the right. Conservatives picked up substantial coalition wins in Germany, France and England.

This is partly due to corruption in the English liberal labour party. Ahh, corruption! It's not just a Republican disease; just for anyone & everyone who's been in power for too long.

However, the main cause is the economy. Folks seem to intuitively understand that credit crises created by excessive spending and debt should not be solved by MORE spending and debt.

What's the first rule when you find you've dug yourself into a hole? Stop digging.

Unfortunately, while not solely a liberal trait -- as clearly demonstrated by the Bush administration -- spending & debt are popular tools of the Left. Conservatives will rise again, me hearties. With eyeshades and adding machines at the ready.

Oh don't worry libs. The Dems will be back in charge after a couple years of rightward frenzy. See, the pendulum (wrecking ball?) swings ever more wild.

The only real solution, I'm afraid, is balance and perspective (quoth Sonia, "Empathy?") -- something quite foreign to our schizophrenic American way.

But then, with balance and perspective, things like plane crashes over radar-less portions of the Atlantic Ocean won't be instantly suspected as nefarious. There is a certain segment -- larger than you'd like to believe -- that believes:

a) Holes in radar coverage are intentionally maintained by the cryptic, power elite

b) Computer glitches are covertly written into flight computers to cause unexplainable crashes

c) Unexplained catastrophes are exploited by the shadow-kings to break down established society to be replaced by a new world order.

d) Antipsychotic medication prescribed by a certified medical doctor should not be taken.

And now you know why I've started making beer.

Paul Harvey....Good Day!

IPA - Transfer Day

Today was transfer day at Philbony's Place. Batch #2 is now in the secondary fermenter. Siphoning went without a hitch. Clean, sanitary, very clear. Got a 1.025 gravity measurement - a tad high perhaps, but right on track.

But the yield is waaaay low. Out of a 5-gallon start, I ended up with only 4-1/4 gallons in the secondary.

This is almost entirely due to all the sediment carried over from the boil pot. No real surprise there. This beer had 5 hop additions and started with 15.5 pounds of grain. That, plus I haven't really gotten a good feel for letting sediment settle out in the boil kettle and/or filtering during transfer to the primary fermenter. Still, it's more than the first batch, so I'm getting better at this! Live and learn.

This beer tastes good. Sharp hoppy flavor, that allegedly will balance with strengthening malt character during bottle conditioning. That's supposed to take a month and I won't bottle for another week or more. So you eager patriotic beavers will have to endure a good, but not yet great beer. Ahh, life and the compromises we're forced to make.

Photos for posterity:

Prepping for transfer (note heavy layer of sediment on bottom and ring of kraeusen around the top of the liquid)

Transfer begins (No aeration!)

Complete!

Yuck

Back to the lager (basement)

A Sample

Philbony's Brewery - Part II

Got a bee in my bonnet late Saturday. Decided to brew a new batch now that the first one is bottled. Started at 7 PM Saturday night and finished around 2 AM. Perfect evening for a night brew - cool, calm, clear. Held a much tighter temperature range on this batch.

BTW: Jake is an excellent brewer's apprentice. He stayed up 'til it was all done: opening doors, fetching water, prepping the hops, manning the hose, and holding the lid, funnel & various accoutrements. Good worker that one. He'll be the most popular 19-year old in his dorm if he keeps this up.

This is an Imperial Pale Ale, reputedly a clone of Stone's Ruination. It is BIG (15.5 lbs of grain) and HOPPY (5 hop additions). It should be pretty ruinous as well since the OG is supposed to be 1.084 (which means alcohol content could be as high as 8%).

I say "supposed OG" because once again I screwed up the gravity measurement. During the first batch I dropped the hydrometer and it shattered on the hardwood floor. This time, after buying a new hydrometer, I forgot to get a sample until the boil kettle was near empty. By that point there was more trub (sediment) than beer.

Anyway, I got five full gallons in the primary. And it is absolutely teeming with life! The airlock is bubbling every second. There's a thickening kraeusen (foam) on top. The beer is full of eddies and currents; muddy like the Nile during rainy season. Except I cleaned and sanitized like a fiend.

A new video below, hopefully giving additional insight and stoking the taste buds:

Mothra

Oh yeah. Check out this crazy bug I found on the bumper of my car yesterday morning. Weird.

Bottling Day

"Lend me some sugar. I am your neighbor."

- the Outkast

Today was bottling day at Philbony's Brewery.

I got 39 full twelve-ounce bottles from a 5-gallon batch. That's a 73% efficiency! The recipe assumed only 70%. For a first-time solo brewer I'm ecstatic. I did not top off with water after boil either -- nothing diluted.

Once again I tasted the uncarbonated BEER. I originally tasted it about a week ago when I transferred from the primary fermenter to the secondary. This time I chilled it in the fridge. No off flavors to speak of. Hoppy flavor with a strong beer-y aroma.

Looking forward to the finished product. The bubbles should be interesting since temperature was so hard to control during the mash. Higher mash temps allegedly equate to more aggressive bubbling.

Lagering in the basement now. Temperature is up to 70 degrees now that spring is kicking. Will take 2 weeks for bubbles, plus time to condition the flavor further.

Photo to whet the appetite for your 4th of July pleasure...

Stewing My Juices

Okay people. Philbony's brewery is open for business. I got so excited making a batch last week with Chopes, I went out & bought a full set up as a birthday present to myself.

The mashing and boiling went pretty well. Started Friday at about 10 AM. Temperature control is a real b*tch. Could be my ultimate downfall. But post-boil, things were pretty sanitary and easy. Pitched the yeast Friday night around 6:30. By early Saturday morning the bubble was going real strong (every couple seconds).

See for yourself, see-for-yourselfers...

(Sorry for the cockeyed view. I don't have the technical capability to rotate the view -- yet.)

Why is this Man Smiling?

Hello, laughing boy!

Mashing

Sparging

Ferment

Clearing up a bit. Darker than I thought an IPA would be. I'm okay with that though...

Pickin' & a Grinnin'

UPDATE (4/30): According to the WHO this is no joking matter. I'm dubious that 'all of humanity is under threat'. Let me know if any of you die and I'll re-consider the matter.

Roy: Say Buck!

Buck: Uh, yes Roy?

Roy: Uh, Buck...how come Pink Floyd was so prophetic?

Buck: I don't know, Roy. Why was Pink Floyd sooo prophetic?

Roy: Because long ago they predicted the Swine Flew. Ha haaaa

Buck: Charade you are, Roy.

Natural Wizardry

Hat tip to Dr. B for this one...

Naked Wizard Tased By Reality from Tracy Anderson on Vimeo.

Now first, I don't believe for one moment this guy is an actual wizard. His wand is far too short. But there is something magical in the dichotomy of how the spectacle clashes with Mr. Wizard's claims of how beautiful 'it' is. In the words of Faith No More:

It's in your face

But you can't grab it

What is it?

It's IT

Word.

Next, Dr. B pointed out the plaintive cries against police tyranny from the crowd. If only Jesus had such stalwarts back in the day. Dr. B insightfully asks: "Does the tasering of a combative naked guy at a music festival equate to the police riot at the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention?" The only adjoinder I can offer is to point out the guy chastising the cops with "Freedom of speech, homes. Freedom of fuckin' speech."

Nudity is to speech as shit is to silverware, say I.

I guess it should also be noted that, while Naked Guy is always fun to see at any concert, he is always best seen from an absolute minimum distance of 20 paces. I wager real cash money (by fiat, not gold standard, natch) not a single one of these sympathetic souls wants Naked Guy dancing in their vicinity or moshing in the same pit when the music starts. Handshakes and water bottles aside, no one wants to know Naked Guy.

Finally, who was on the playbill at Coachella? Too many artists to count (>30 major & minor acts). Perry Farrell is apropos, as I suppose are the Ting Tings. But I didn't see Limp Bizket or Twiggy in the lineup. Anyways, after this episode the cops were probably looking for A Place to Bury Strangers...

In the words of Bernais to Count DeMonet:

"I don't like your cuffs, I don't like your cuffs. A man's cuffs

should be even with the tip of his 'pee-pee'. Yours hang all

the way down to your balls."

Think about it.

P.S. Henry Rollins - "spoken word artist". Really? I'd turn to drugs and try to shed my skin too.

Wait. What?

Things I don't believe:

* Perez Hilton is gay. C'mon, my gaydar is very good. This guy is straight for sure. Next thing you'll try to tell me is that Vin Diesel is bi. BTW: wouldn't it be hilarious if he had a lesbian sister? Dyke Diesel!

* New swine flu epidemic is a coincidence. They say a mutated virus jumped species, resulting in at least 7 recent US deaths. No way, it's an act of terrorism. I hate these Terrorist Pigs!

* Janeane Garofolo is a liberal. Dude, this chick is a plant. Not plant as in dumb flora, which she's obviously acting like. But a Republican mole to see how gullible people are into making liberals live up to stereotypes of disgruntled smelly hippies with an ax to grind with 'the man' insisting the CIA is responsible for every ill in the world while declaring anyone who doesn't agree is a racist, mentally ill, or Darth Vader. Aren't comedians supposed to be funny?

* A Facebook quiz I recently took called "How Black Are You?" Three out of 4 black acquaintances I know that took the quiz scored "white". The fourth scored "Tupac" but I know from personal experience he's clearly "Steve Urkel". By the way, yours truly rated as "Pharelle"...it's 'cause I talk to the movies at the theatre, isn't it?

* The solution to the global economic meltdown lies in providing more credit. I've been saying this since October, people are up to their eyeballs in debt they can't afford leveraged by distressed assets they don't need. Now 'they' want us to go deeper in the hole? BTW: Watch the credit card companies. They're next in line for the bailouts (if I default on a mortgage, the bank gets my house. But if I default on my credit card, the bank gets...uh, what? Dinners I already ate? Vacations I already took? That's why fees are so high folks).

* The NFL is worth following. Football played by criminals and egoists, managed by sharks and hostage takers, marketed by sycophants and drones; all nourished on endless riches and adulation. I'm pulling the plug on the Sunday ticket once and for all.

* Change you can believe in. O is the new W.

A-E-I-O-U and sometimes W...

Enjoy the weekend, boyz.

Version I - Official Video

Version II - Extended Version (Song Only)

Playoffs

Hey Sabre Fan,

How you doin'? Time to think of the playoffs...

Catching Ambivalence

Hey Bills fan,

How you doin'?  Welcoming T.O. -- with his undeniable talent and natural athleticism -- to the herd?  Cursing the prospect of a divided locker room and media circus from football's top diva?  Yep, me too.

It's hard to figure Buffalo's 1-year, $6.5 million dollar deal for Terrell Owens.  The guy has top-notch speed, moves and hands.  His instinct for the ball is incredible.  T.O.'s addition takes huge pressure off Lee Evans and puts a serious gun in Trent Edwards' holster.  I realize Owens is 35 and well past prime.  Nonetheless, he's good.

He better be.  Because T.O. also comes with a lot of baggage. Controversy surrounds the man.  Owens has demonstrated a habit of calling out his quarterback -- questioning the ability, motives, and even sexual orientation of his "main men".  His behavior has been described as disruptive to his teams;  from players to coaches, from water boy to owner, everyone else in between, and even bystanders around.

That's why I end up liking this deal.  If any team in the league needs disruption from top to bottom, it is the Buffalo Bills.  What's the worst that could happen?

They miss the playoffs?  Big deal.  Buffalo hasn't made it out of the regular season since the last century.  Ultimately Terrell Owens wants T.O. to win.  And if he brings the Buffalo Bills along for the ride, I'm okay with that.

Maybe T.O. alienates his fellow players, gets them good and P.O.'d. Again, fine by me.  A little passion in Orchard Park (or, for God's sake!, the other T.O. -- Toronto, Ontario) would be a nice change of pace.

He might start by demanding James Hardy give up #81.  Then he could start racking up 100-yard games before calling out Evans and Edwards as lovers conspiring to keep the ball away from T.O.

By the time that gets to a head, the 1-year contract is up.  I hope.

Your truly,

Buffalo Phil(bony)

P.S.  Send Vicodin.

Keeping it Real

Observation of the day:  It's good to put down the newspaper, turn off the TV, and just watch the sun shine on a not-so-chilly winter morning.  Anyone with a view of the ocean ought to thank whatever god they acknowledge for the pleasure.  There is beauty still in this messed up world.

If you got a kid or two, watch 'em play.  Join in the fun for a while. In business, recognize the guy across the negotiating table is in the same soup as you.  The boss and the warehouse trolls* too.  With friends, just keep it real.

While the glass may indeed be nowhere near 1/2-full, it's not yet empty either.

* I love trolls.  They keep it way more real than gnomes, always on their flights of fancy & worried about whether their red hats are pointy enough...

Chopes, I'm watching you!

...I see what you're doing.  Stop touching that.

Business Votes "No"

Required reading from the Wall Street Journal - Tue - Mar 3rd

The Obama Economy

As the Dow keeps dropping, the President is running out of people to blame.

As 2009 opened, three weeks before Barack Obama took office, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 9034 on January 2, its highest level since the autumn panic. Yesterday the Dow fell another 4.24% to 6763, for an overall decline of 25% in two months and to its lowest level since 1997. The dismaying message here is that President Obama's policies have become part of the economy's problem.

Americans have welcomed the Obama era in the same spirit of hope the President campaigned on. But after five weeks in office, it's become clear that Mr. Obama's policies are slowing, if not stopping, what would otherwise be the normal process of economic recovery. From punishing business to squandering scarce national public resources, Team Obama is creating more uncertainty and less confidence -- and thus a longer period of recession or subpar growth.

The Democrats who now run Washington don't want to hear this, because they benefit from blaming all bad economic news on President Bush. And Mr. Obama has inherited an unusual recession deepened by credit problems, both of which will take time to climb out of. But it's also true that the economy has fallen far enough, and long enough, that much of the excess that led to recession is being worked off. Already 15 months old, the current recession will soon match the average length -- and average job loss -- of the last three postwar downturns. What goes down will come up -- unless destructive policies interfere with the sources of potential recovery.

And those sources have been forming for some time. The price of oil and other commodities have fallen by two-thirds since their 2008 summer peak, which has the effect of a major tax cut. The world is awash in liquidity, thanks to monetary ease by the Federal Reserve and other central banks. Monetary policy operates with a lag, but last year's easing will eventually stir economic activity.

Housing prices have fallen 27% from their Case-Shiller peak, or some two-thirds of the way back to their historical trend. While still high, credit spreads are far from their peaks during the panic, and corporate borrowers are again able to tap the credit markets. As equities were signaling with their late 2008 rally and January top, growth should under normal circumstances begin to appear in the second half of this year.

So what has happened in the last two months? The economy has received no great new outside shock. Exchange rates and other prices have been stable, and there are no security crises of note. The reality of a sharp recession has been known and built into stock prices since last year's fourth quarter.

What is new is the unveiling of Mr. Obama's agenda and his approach to governance. Every new President has a finite stock of capital -- financial and political -- to deploy, and amid recession Mr. Obama has more than most. But one negative revelation has been the way he has chosen to spend his scarce resources on income transfers rather than growth promotion. Most of his "stimulus" spending was devoted to social programs, rather than public works, and nearly all of the tax cuts were devoted to income maintenance rather than to improving incentives to work or invest.

His Treasury has been making a similar mistake with its financial bailout plans. The banking system needs to work through its losses, and one necessary use of public capital is to assist in burning down those bad assets as fast as possible. Yet most of Team Obama's ministrations so far have gone toward triage and life support, rather than repair and recovery.

AIG yesterday received its fourth "rescue," including $70 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program cash, without any clear business direction. (See here.) Citigroup's restructuring last week added not a dollar of new capital, and also no clear direction. Perhaps the imminent Treasury "stress tests" will clear the decks, but until they do the banks are all living in fear of becoming the next AIG. All of this squanders public money that could better go toward burning down bank debt.

The market has notably plunged since Mr. Obama introduced his budget last week, and that should be no surprise. The document was a declaration of hostility toward capitalists across the economy. Health-care stocks have dived on fears of new government mandates and price controls. Private lenders to students have been told they're no longer wanted. Anyone who uses carbon energy has been warned to expect a huge tax increase from cap and trade. And every risk-taker and investor now knows that another tax increase will slam the economy in 2011, unless Mr. Obama lets Speaker Nancy Pelosi impose one even earlier.

Meanwhile, Congress demands more bank lending even as it assails lenders and threatens to let judges rewrite mortgage contracts. The powers in Congress -- unrebuked by Mr. Obama -- are ridiculing and punishing the very capitalists who are essential to a sustainable recovery. The result has been a capital strike, and the return of the fear from last year that we could face a far deeper downturn. This is no way to nurture a wounded economy back to health.

Listening to Mr. Obama and his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, on the weekend, we couldn't help but wonder if they appreciate any of this. They seem preoccupied with going to the barricades against Republicans who wield little power, or picking a fight with Rush Limbaugh, as if this is the kind of economic leadership Americans want.

Perhaps they're reading the polls and figure they have two or three years before voters stop blaming Republicans and Mr. Bush for the economy. Even if that's right in the long run, in the meantime their assault on business and investors is delaying a recovery and ensuring that the expansion will be weaker than it should be when it finally does arrive.