Oct
5
2008

URLs du Jour

2008-10-05

  • Craig Newmark excerpts an amazing bit of a CNBC interview with Warren Buffet where he was asked about where things went wrong with the "regulation" of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
    Mr. BUFFETT: Well, it's really an incredible case study in regulation because something called OFHEO was set up in 1992 by Congress, and the sole job of OFHEO was to watch over Fannie and Freddie, someone to watch over them. And they were there to evaluate the soundness and the accounting and all of that. Two companies were all they had to regulate. OFHEO has over 200 employees now. They have a budget now that's $65 million a year, and all they have to do is look at two companies.
    … and maybe you can guess what happened, but if there's the slightest doubt in your mind, click on through.

    If you have a strong belief in the benevolent omnipotence and omniscience of government regulation, perhaps Buffet's comments will make you at least an agnostic, if not an atheist. (Via Marginal Revolution.)

  • David Bernstein notes the Associated Press methodology for reporting on Obama's ties to unrepentant terrorist William Ayers. It appears to involve the AP reporter handing his keyboard over to an Obama flack so that campaign talking points can be typed directly into the story.

  • Stephen Green quotes Ms. Jane Smiley:
    Every time I think of William Ayers, I also think of John McCain, because they are of the same era, and they both believed in the efficacy of violence.
    Every time I think of Jane Smiley, I also think of Curly Howard, because even though they are not of the same era, they both share the same problem:
    "I'm tryin' to think, but nothin' happens!"
    (Should you be in the mood for lengthy screeds, previous Pun Salad posts on Ms. Smiley are here and here.)


Last Modified 2008-10-05 8:27 PM EDT