The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
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    Charlie Rose Interviews Love Child Of Ayn Rand & Chauncey Gardner

    By Red Planet on Sat, 06/18/2011 - 12:59pm |

    Timeless words of wisdom from the man who wasn't there. And still isn't. Markets work. I did nothing to cause the melt-down. Low-income and minority home buyers to blame. Corporations aren't hiring, and won't, due to uncertainty about whether they will have to pay taxes and follow regulations. All that corporate money sitting idle = Oogey-boogey inflation. Anything government does makes it worse. Stimulus = no-no. Do nothing. Wait. Because markets work. 

    Oh, and by the way, when Greece goes down all bets are off because those markets, the ones that work, are so interconnected that they will lose confidence in themselves and panic. But it's all already pre-discounted. But it will be bad. Or not.

    Charlie Rose, as usual, plays sycophant to the powerful.

    Comments

    Markets works has an equivalent statement in medicine; "All bleeding stops". Of course one is not alive after exsanguination, but the statement is true. The cheerful response to all bleeding stops is: "At least it's not your blood".

    All markets work as long as you're on Wall Street.


    by rmrd0000 on Sat, 06/18/2011 - 1:33pm

    My stars, Red Planet; it is soooooo good to see you.  You were absolutely one of my favorites at the Cafe (whazzat, we all ask, memories straining to remember...).  ;o) 

    Excellent little diary; loved the 'love child of Ayn Rand', but lovER might have worked, too.  ;o)

    And hey; Waxman or someone got him to say, "I was wrong".  Isn't that good enough for ya?  Now I might even dig up the interview...


    by we are stardust on Sat, 06/18/2011 - 1:44pm

    Both wrong. How about male hooker and a cheap on at that.


    by cmaukonen on Sat, 06/18/2011 - 2:58pm

    Stardust! Maybe Alan is his own Grandpa! That's one to ponder.

    I was struck in the interview last night by how inane Greenspan's comments were, and the worshipful way in which Charlie Rose received them. Reminded me of Chauncey. 

    He clarified his mea culpa last night. Said what he was wrong about was his assumption that bank executives would do what was necessary to protect their institutions, and was surprised when they didn't. He misunderestimated human nature. Gosh, that could happen to anyone.

    But you're right about the nature of his relationship to the redoubtable Ms. Rand. At least, in his dreams.

    Wonder what might have happened if he'd been following her on Twitter?

    Cafe? What cafe? Pretty sad over there these days. 


    by Red Planet on Sat, 06/18/2011 - 4:04pm

    Now you're gonna make us answer riddles; crap.  I'm terrible at them unless they have a candle and a lamp and a match...er something, LOL!  Well, here's a bit o' history...love child adores mama maybe?  My gawd, though; what a hagwitch she is....  with all due respect, that is, Ms.  Rand...Innocent    (Alan in the specs)

    Speaking of due respect, I did a book salon ad FDL a few weeks ago with Bill Moyers, and he was talking about JMJ as one of the top-notch online journalists.  I ventured to disagree with him...Eeep.

                                       


    by we are stardust on Sat, 06/18/2011 - 4:44pm

    Oh the magic hand.

    Magic hands do not build infrastructure, do not build mass transit, do not build an educational network....

    F&^*& the magic hand. ha!


    by Richard Day on Sat, 06/18/2011 - 2:49pm

    Oops. I forgot to mention what instigated this post. Charlie interviewed Alan last night. The interview hasn't been posted to www.charlierose.com yet, but should be up in a couple of days, in case you missed it. It's recommended viewing.

    Alan, like all other serious people, didn't see the housing bubble, and did nothing to stop it. In fact, when asked about it during the heyday of bubble, he said he wasn't concerned.

    Let's tell a little bit of truth. The housing bubble was the Bush administration's answer to the dot-com recession. Insiders organized it to push (loaned) money into the hands of consumers, feed the high-stakes gambling activities on Wall Street and pump up revenues to justify tax breaks for the plutocracy. They facilitated it with policy changes and deregulation, and basked in the glow of rising consumption and enormous profits. They probably didn't think the party would ever end.

    Greenspan was in a unique position to recognize the housing bubble and nip it in the bud. Instead, he encouraged it. And Charlie Rose still thinks Greenspan is worth listening to.

    In a related development, here's a great post from Dean Baker, in response to the David Brooks column blaming the bubble on Barnie Frank:

    http://tinyurl.com/6j3g837


    by Red Planet on Sat, 06/18/2011 - 3:54pm

    You know who else I miss, Planet?  DonKey and VictorLazlo.  Any idea where they've gotten to?  I hear from Tao and Diachronic now and again, both great, IMO.  You should come by more often, friend.   ;o)  Or visit here.; some other old friends there...


    by we are stardust on Sat, 06/18/2011 - 5:00pm

    I am a recovering victim of P-OCD. P stands for Political. Some day, in the throes of an irresistible compulsion, I expect to expire in an apoplectic event of End-Times proportions (at least, for me). My family and friends are always alert to any sign of backsliding, so the nature of my participation is episodic. 

    In other words, I don't know where DonKey and VictorLazlo are hiding. My best wishes to them.

    One thing I know these days, and I keep reminding myself. The next election holds no answers. We have little to gain, and much to lose, regardless of who is elected. Politics is a shiny object that distracts the media and all the rest of us, while the real work of milking the country goes ahead.

    Now I can say it. Politics is dead.

     


    by Red Planet on Sat, 06/18/2011 - 5:59pm

    P-OCD, huh?  Uh-oh; you must have a lot of us for company, but we are still in partial de-Nile.  Larry H said awhile back that we are in an interstitial spot between two floors, hushed and waiting.  Kinda reminded me of a bit John Irving wrote as a children's book author.  He agonized to find just the perfect words, re-write and re-wrote, but I loved this:

    "It was a sound...like someone trying not to make a sound."  That may be the Red Planet just now.  When you backslide; do it here.  We'll have your back, so to speak.   And give ya a beer.  ;o)


    by we are stardust on Sat, 06/18/2011 - 6:08pm