Re: Hilary had nothing to do with UBS
 

Hillary was pretty damn busy at Sec of State.

If she had time to fly around the world dealing with wars and treaties and killing bin Laden and stuff while still using her free time to oversee the reconstruction of the financial system, man, we need her!

Re: Hilary had nothing to do with UBS
 

Did you know that the whole "ostrich burying its head in the sand" thing is a myth? Speaking of flightless (or mainly flightless birds), today's Daily Dose is "Chicken Strut" by the Meters, one of the first songs that turned me on to the Meters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Eg8zYUFqiE

Re: Hilary had nothing to do with UBS
 

How about, she's better than the alternative. Isn't that the only question?

Re: Hilary had nothing to do with UBS
 

Who is the alternative?

Re: Hilary had nothing to do with UBS
 

A. A lengthy period of time between an original post from the wee hours and an edit always makes me wonder what was said.

B. I don't presume to speak for young Mr. Slothrop, but at this point in the campaign, the alternative to Hilary (or Bernie) is likely to be either Trump or Cruz. I suppose that someone else can come out of the convention with the GOP nomination, but that would be pretty unlikely, no? And I don't know enough about the Libertarian former governor of New Mexico (?) to assess how bad of an alternative he would be to Hilary (or Bernie).

As for others, I get the sense from something SEC said (IIRC, she called him a pro-life libertarian) that he's in favor of keeping the government out of "everything" (loosely defined) other than social issues like abortion and things that the religious right opposes. That seems bad to me.

C. I finally got GGG's nostalgic joke several hours after you pointed out my whiff. What can I say? I am the Dave Kingman of the lawyer-chatting Lawtalkers board.

And I look forward to Sidd@60 - I imagine a cross between Larry David and Uncle Junior.

Re: Hilary had nothing to do with UBS
 

Just to clarify, Gary Johnson, former governor of NM is a traditional libertarian. In the debate he said that he thinks Jewish bakers should have to bake a Nazi wedding cake, and he's pro choice. So he's not a social conservative or a religious libertarian. He won in a state where Ds outnumber Rs 2 to 1.

Austin Peterson is the pro-life libertarian who does not think one should have to bake a Nazi wedding cake, if one so disagrees. And when I followed him on Twitter he sent me a lengthy direct message and offered to personally call me to earn my support.

Re: Hilary had nothing to do with UBS
 

Well then he should definitely be President.

TM

Re: Hilary had nothing to do with UBS
 

Thanks for the clarification - I apparently conflated the two guys you mentioned. I suppose I could have googled, but what fun is that?

Re: Hilary had nothing to do with UBS
 

Someone whom Wonk will like less.

Re: Hilary had nothing to do with UBS
 

I was snide about how much thought he has ever put into the general election.

Re: Arise, ye workers from your slumber.
 

I like Bernie, but he's a legislative lightweight with grand ideas and zero follow through. He's not Liz Warren, who can get into the nitty and gritty of how she's execute. Ask him how to execute, and he'll tell you it's all about the class struggle.

I think your approach is a recipe for lightweights. Do nothing and it's hard for people to criticize what you've done.

Re: Hilary had nothing to do with UBS
 

Ah. To be honest, I've probably not put much thought into the general election, either. I think it's unfortunate how the current GOP presidential nomination purity tests reminds me of the Democratic Party between just after Humphrey lost in 1968 through (mostly*) 1992. I think that it's possible that 2020 will be different as a result of this year's process.

*Carter tricked the party's activists into thinking that he was more liberal than he actually was. And one could argue that Gore's campaign in 1988 showed the growing power of the moderates/DLC pro-defense wing of the party.

Re: Hilary had nothing to do with UBS
 

Oh, c'mon. If you were a bank looking to get an easy deal on criminal conduct, wouldn't you plan to pay the current Secretary of State a large speaking fee a few years from now, after that person retires, in order to secure that deal?

Makes total sense. Let's talk about Vince Foster!

Re: Arise, ye workers from your slumber.
 

So Bernie's central policy plan is reduced to "I'm going to have the Fed require larger reserves"?

Interesting, that it is reduced to that, and that he doesn't actually know that himself.

Re: Hilary had nothing to do with UBS
 

Has Bernie said he would end drone strikes? I do not think that he has.

But I guess that's okay, in Wonk's view. When he casts his protest vote for Bernie, he will be safe in the knowledge that he isn't voting for anyone who will actually become President and use drone strikes. Problem solved!