I guess Palin believed what dumb people say. For example:

Vernon L. Smith, 2002 Nobel Laureate in economics, said fannie and freddie are "implicitly taxpayer-backed agencies."

The Economist has referred to the implicit government guarantee of fannie and freddie.

Alan Greenspan said that the markets believe that the U.S. Government would never allow Fannie or Freddie to fail.

Now, the U.S. government has taken over the companies under a plan to inject lots of new capital (at tax payer expense) in the form of purchasing an issuance of new stock.

Dumb, dumb Palin. Saying that the companies had become too expensive for the taxpayers. It's almost as if she didn't want the U.S. government to take conservatorship.

Both McCain and obama voted the same on offshore drilling. Both flip-flopped on the issue. leonard takes the time to infer McCain flipped for the promise of Hess Co. campaign contributions. Why did obama "compromise"?

Ah, I see your point. obama and the majority democrats had no choice in the matter. Regardless, I'd like to know who greased obama's wheels. The liberals won't investigate because he's their man. The conservatives won't investigate because - in this matter at least - he's their man.

Dick Whitman has been living a lie by acting as he thinks Don Draper would. He's not Don. He's the whisky-trango kid that his parents raised. Every episode brushes against the the fear Dick feels of losing his Draper existence and turning back into Dick. That's what the plummet from the heights in the opening credits is all about.

Then there's the Warholish question of whether anything but presentation matters. Don's boss knows the truth but doesn't care. Don is only a veneer over Dick. So what. The only problem is that, on Madison Ave, having anything under the veneer is a flaw.

It's like Piero Manzoni's little cans of love. Who cares what's inside there, because it is it!

My greatest joys watching Mad Men are those scenes in which they glaringly highlight how much has changed in a few short generations. Throwing the beer can into the woods wasn't an asshole maneuver. It's what people did without a second thought because, well, that's what people did. Back then you admired the scenery, threw in some trash, and then admired the scenery some more. It was at least a decade before that ad with the pesky single teared Indian.

Remember the movie Trading Places? As it ends the newly destitute Duke brothers walk bickeringly past the victorious Akroyd and Murphy.

I used to believe they had cut the last scene where a government limo complete with mini bar and bullion bars comes by and sweeps up the Duke brothers.

It looks like the limo ran out of gas and the Dukes were asked to get out and push. They didn't, of course. They'll just walked away with the bullion. The next rider, hopefully, will merely get drunk and be left passed out on the curb.

You should be jumping for joy. You're only 28 and the markets are crashing. A 60 year old should be suicidal. You should be happy. Markets turn. It can take years, but they do turn. It's all a matter of looking for deals in a down market. Never try to time the bottom. Just look for bargains then wait.

So, you wanted to retire by 30. Tough shit. Now is when fortunes are lost and the foundations for new fortunes are laid. What are you waiting for?

You currently enjoy the advantage of time. Use it, enjoy it. Otherwise you'll be another suicidal old fart in 30 years.

If the winner of the popular vote won the race, then hillary would be the dem nominee.

Whenever I read an article like this, I get a mental image of a sensitive yet confused man cupping his own balls in angry disgust.

Most adolescent males are psychopaths. It really is that simple. They don't know how to feel or empathize yet. Telling them how to feel about things is pointless because they will merely act socialized until they get a chance to indulge themselves. They'll sincerely say what they are supposed to, then go vandalize something.

They like to do stupid and dangerous things for excitement, amusement, and unity. By unity, I mean the creation of tribal type bonds among the guys. For many of us, those bonds are extremely strong and last a lifetime.

The only thing that seems to work is a strong masculine role model. Most therapists, psychologists, and women can not be that role model. The reason is basic communication. People who have never been poorly socialized psychopaths can rarely communicate well with those who are. It's a whole different language.

When there isn't an adult masculine role model, the kids will invent one. Perhaps an older kid, perhaps a TV or movie character. Regardless, invented role models almost always lead to trouble.

It constantly amuses me when when us men are accused of suppressing our emotions and acting out false roles. Sorry, we're just not fulfilling the expectations of people who want us to emote, talk, and act in ways that we find very unnatural. You can try to teach us, but all you're really doing is teaching us to act like you, not ourselves. In the end, you pat yourselves on the back while prescribing us meds because we're profoundly depressed and unhappy. Besides, men can read each other like open books.

Perhaps one of the barriers is that so many of us try to fix things. It drives our women nuts. They want to talk and we latch onto something they said and try to fix it. Hijinks ensue.

In man world, if it can't be fixed, then there's no need to talk about it. We view most emotional things as either good or bad. Good means don't fix it. Bad generally means someone needs to quit reacting like a baby and fix the damn thing.