The sequence is a classic from the Tonight Show during the 1965 season.
This open thread offers a respite from the last few open threads relating to war.
Feel free to coment on this thread (Knowing the subject, keep it clean!) or any others that may open below.
TheZoo 
Krugman Blames Reagan For Current Economic Woes
This was over a week ago, but it slipped by me, until I saw a headline referencing it as a co-worker was surfing the internets last night. Krugman reminds us of some old, but still important facts concerning not only our recent problems, but the problems of the 80s which laid the foundations for what we are experiencing today.
My search for the Krugman article turned up an even more interesting one somewhat disagreeing with him, however, placing the blame a little closer to the future, and adding a bit more sunlight (for me anyway) to the way this mess was created.
Check out the Krugman piece, then the Robert Scheer article that is linked here.
As I was listening to Mike Malloy last night, he reminded that James Madison introduced his proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution, later to be known as the Bill Of Rights, on June 8th, 1789. That was 220 years ago yesterday. That one slipped by me also.
Y’all have a good morning and I’ll join you after a nap.
Wayne’ll be happy when he sees this thread, he LOVES this Ed Ames bit. It’s definitely one of the funniest moments from the Tonight Show.
Its how all the great empires crash, HOR – comsumed from within by greed, arrogance and ignorance until the outer shell can no longer withstand the hordes from Asia crashing over the decaying walls.
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” – Mark Twain
(why is it that the quotes that stick with me are almost always either Twain’s, Paine’s or HL Mencken?)
(and you thought I was going to say Automowbwiles, didn’t you?)
Additional case for the “hordes from Asia crashing over the decaying walls” comment:
You might also substitute:
“hordes of heavily-armed Germans crashing into Belgium”
I really miss the old variety shows. Laugh In, The Smothers Brothers, Carol Burnett, even Sonny & Cher had their moments.
Now what we get are programs where people get to show the rest of the world how stupid and venal they can be for some air time and a few bucks.
Med, you just listed all my old favorites. Those were the best laughs.
Today’s “reality” shows are just bread and circuses for the idiot masses.
Zooey, I think they are much worse than that. They are prime time examples of justifying bad, selfish and generally stupid behavior. They encourage people to sell their souls for their 1/2 hour of public display.
One of the big reasons shows like the ones I listed were popular was they always managed to throw in some biting political humor. You got to laugh but they also gave you things to think about.
Flip Wilson was my other favorite.
I became a liberal watching Laugh In and The Smothers Brothers. If my parents had known… 😉
Med, I’ve watched segments of “reality” shows, and it’s bad enough seeing the things people are willing to do do expose themselves for money they’ll spend in one year — but what’s more painful is hearing say things like “this is so important,” or “I’ve never done anything so important in my life.” Wow. That’s sad.
I would like to see cable companies run like a Chinese restaurant. You know, 1 from column A, 1 from column B so that customers could pick just the channels they want. That would be a great indicator for ratings. I get 100 channels and watch about 10.
I would love that, Med. I have to get expanded cable to get the channels I like: Discovery, History, TLC, MSNBC, Travel Channel, Food Network, HGTV, CSPAN. I don’t watch any of the old networks, cuz it’s all junk.
Of course, it’s pretty much all junk. 😀
Ten Banks Repaying TARP Money
“The big banks are anxious to be free of political oversight and are keen to shed the “Tarp taint” associated with the money. But their policies on executive pay and bonuses for star traders will still be subject to policing by a “compensation czar” shortly to be appointed by the Obama administration.”
Obama’s Compensation Czar
Are these banks using money obtained from the Federal Reserve and Ben Bernanke to repay these loans? You betcha! Taxpayers are on the hook for TARP money, but have at least minimal oversight via the law passed by Congress creating the bailouts. Now the taxpayers are on the hook for the money Bernanke is handing out like free candy, but without the oversight, because Congress has virtually no control of the Fed.
And where in the legislation does it say that the TARP money is now a revolving charge account?
House, where in the legislation does it say it isn’t?
They aren’t too big to fail, they are too big to survive. We got sold a bill of goods, not surprising seeing who the salesmen are.
The Travel Channel? And I thought I was weird for wanting the Cartoon Network. 😉
There’s some good stuff on there sometimes! I love their tours of National Parks and food shows (except that guy who eats gross stuff).
I found it!
TARP Money IS a Government Charge Account
“During a hearing before the Joint Economic Committee on April 23, 2009, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) pointed out that Treasury expects approximately $25 billion in TARP funds to be returned by banks by the end of the year and asked Barofsky (Neil M. Barofsky, formerly an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, was sworn in as Special Inspector General on December 15, 2008) whether these funds could legally be re-deployed by Treasury as part of the TARP program, thus treating TARP in part like a “revolving fund.” Barofsky testified that Treasury does in fact have the ability to re-use returned funds under TARP until the end of 2009.”
All I remember about the Smothers Brothers: A bit about Pumas in crevices, Leigh French, and Pat Paulson running for President every four years.
All I remember about Laugh In: You bet your sweet bippy! Goldie Hawn and Judy Carne doing the go-go dancing, Sock It To Me! and Arte Johnson harassing Ruth Buzzi.
And to reply to Jane at 7:29am, my favorite Carson bits were Carol Wayne as Art Fern’s Matinee Lady.
Pat Paulson was often the best candidate. 😉
Class is canceled! I’m outta here for a while. 🙂
House, the really neat thing is they get to use the money, charging higher interest rates than they pay.
Notice that home mortgage rates are going up? This isn’t a bailout or even a bait and switch. We just handed them megabucks to continue their old crap.
Arte Johnson rising out of the bushes, holding a cigarette from the bottom…”Ridiculous but stupid’
“Verrrry Interesting!”
Back in a bit.
And where would we be today if Pat Paulson had defeated Richard Nixon in 68?
We didn’t elect a comedic actor to the presidency until 1980.
The part that sort of disappoints and depresses is that many of the people in power today are children of the 60’s. They lived through a stupid and useless war and a corrupt Republican administration.
I have great deal more respect for the ‘establishment’ types of that period. They had no track record and yet things evolved. We should know better today the ‘establishment’ types have a record to learn from, their own personal experience, and they are ignoring it.
keep it clean??????……..geeezzzzzzzzz…….*yawn*
“And where would we be today if Pat Paulson had defeated Richard Nixon in 68?”
That would be a good one for BnF to tackle. He seems to have the knack for predicting alternate courses of history!
Some possible changes: The Vietnam war would have ended, with 40,000 less US casualties, and South Vietnam might have retained its democracy. Less war debt might have made Jimmy Carter’s economy smoother, allowing for his re-election and expansion of alternative energy 28 years sooner. Deregulation of the financial world would not have taken place, and ten trillion dollars of debt would not have taken place. Much less pollution in air, water, and food.
After that the possibilities can diverge in many directions.
The “children of the 60s” lived through the corrupt Nixon Administration, which manipulated the ’68 election, by sabotaging the Paris peace talks, were caught spying on their opposition for the ’72 election. Then the same people manipulated the ’80 election through the “arms for hostages” deal with Islamic extremists, “cratered” the economy in 1983, managed to blame it on Carter, to get re-elected. Daddy Bush covered up for Reagan with Presidential pardons.
W appears to have corrupted everything he touched. When has there not been a corrupt Republican administration? Eisenhower? I was four when Ike left office, so I don’t remember good old Ike.
House, I disagree on your Viet Nam assessment. If Paulson had pulled us out in 68, the result would have been the same only 8 years earlier. Just fewer US casualties.
No Nixon. Less of a foothold for the MI complex. Jimmy Carter would have remained a governor in a southern state. Ted Kennedy would probably been the candidate in 76. The whole Kopechne thing would have become the Repub attack that he may have been able to weather. If Ted had been elected and not assassinated we would have had 8 more years of Democratic policy.
Our history was defined by the killings of JFK, RFK and MLK. They were the biggest threat to what we have today and they were silenced.
HoR,
Ike was not too bad. He got us out of Korea and lead the nation through an economic expansion sans inflation. Kennedy was not that bad either, except he got us into Nam. Johnson was key to the civil rights movement but dug us deeper into Nam. Then in 1968, Nixon won and things really started to fall apart.
I was 17 plus 10 months when Ike left office.
Walt, Ike was more than decent. He was the one who sounded the first warning about the MI complex. Not too shabby for an establishment type.
Ike had one failing – he let General Motors start to disassemble mass transit and the national rail system.
No one is perfect, Walt. There was money and politics even then.
If the Paris peace talks had ended the Vietnam war, we would have negotiated a surrender of S. Vietnam?
Ike was the last “war is bad” Republican.
I never would have believed Ted would actually run for Pres. Even in ’76.
I’m off to work for awhile.
If Nixon hadn’t been elected there would have been no Paris peace Talks for him to sabotage. In this fantasy, Paulson would have removed our troops, hopefully prior to the Tet Offensive. This would have left the South in the exact same position they were in in 1976.
Ike was quite possibly the last ‘war is bad’ Republican President. He had the same rational as Kennedy about Viet Nam and resisted it.
I may be wrong but if Teddy had had a clear shot in 76, he would have run.
med,
Try this link:
No comment!
I have been reviewing the funds that are objecting to the Fiat buy-out of Chrysler. They collectively own .66% of the total secured debt which they purchased at 43 cents on the dollar in July, 2008.
They entered this decision fully aware of the risk.
Their recovery of that investment would be 70 cents on each dollar invested if they capitulated today. In three weeks, their return will be about 20 cents on each dollar invested when the intellectual stock in the company disappears.
Did Ed Ames play Tonto on the Lone Ranger?
Cats,
No, that was Jay Silverheels.
No, Cats, Ed Ames was on whichever show it was with Fess Parker – Daniel Boone? Damn, I can’t remember Ames’ character’s name either – f*cking senior moments! Wayne would know but I think he went to bed.
Ed Ames played Daniel Boone’s “Native American” friend Mingo, and I didn’t have to look it up either. Prior to his acting career he and his three brothers had a sucessful singing group named the Ames Brothers, who were favorites of my parents.
Thanks for the update. I knew that I recognized Ed Ames face but I couldn’t place what TV show he appeared on. And I didn’t realize that he was once a member of the Ames Brothers. Makes sense, though.
Daniel Boone, on the other hand, was a phony folk hero.