S&P Civil Suit

A civil suit filed for S&P is too little, too late and too feckless

http://www.forbes.com/sites/richardfinger/2013/02/07/standard-and-poors-lack-of-integrity-will-be-exposed/

And just how is it that only S&P gets this attention? Given that most issuances require at least two of the NRSROs to rate a deal, and, that the error correlation of all three (S&P, Moody's and Fitch) approaches 100%.

I wonder if Warren was able to get anyone to pick up the phone at DOJ or SEC?

Seriously, the ratings agencies as oligarchs are just like the "Big 3" auto makers of the early 70's. Crappy product, that's crappy in exactly the same way. Only in this case they are a government sanctioned oligarchy.

My election prediction

For the battleground states, going west to east, with limited expertise in most states, here’s my call and reason.

Nevada (6) – Obama;  Seems like Harry Reid has the place wired when he wants to. Small chance he doesn’t want to wire it for the President, But, he clearly can’t stand Romney. The guy is an evil genius.

Colorado (9) – Romney;  Pretty much just a guess her.  The state GOP  has screwed up so much recently, I’m thinking they may have bottomed out.

Iowa (6) – Obama;  I have some insight into my own state, and it’s this:  A recent bike trip took me out to what should be the reddest part of the red part of the state. That being the rural west center.  It’s been redistricted, but for the most part it’s Steve King’s (R) district. He’s being challenged by Kristi Vilsack (a rookie Democrat politician who is the current wife of our reasonably popular ex- Governor and current Sec. of Ag. Tom Vilsack). There were many more signs for her than there were for him. I think that’s as troubling as it is curious. The president carried Iowa by 9% in 2008. Although Iowa did elect a Republican Governor in 2010, I  just don’t see enough solid support for Romney to see him making up that ground.

Wisconsin (10) – Romney;  No particular insight here. However, the Sconie Repubs do seem to beat the spread lately and the spread seems to be close to nil.

Florida (29) – Romney;  Just going with the conventional wisdom here. Maybe you could make the argument that the Jewish community in southeastern FL just decides to sit this one out and makes it a more than comfortable Romney win. I don’t know.

Ohio (18) – Obama;  Who really knows?  Seems like the polls have all given him a small but steady lead. I don’t really think there are that many people who are going to change their minds in the last week or so. I’m sure the Dem’s using everything that they’ve got in to the GOTV there.

Virginia (13) – Romney;  On balance it seems more like NC, TN, KY and WV than it does MD.

Pennsylvania (20) – Obama;  It’s just too big a jump to call it any other way.

New Hampshire (4) – Obama;  Small enough state that the “broken glass” voters could make the difference, but in the end it’s really now just another Northeastern state.

Final EC -               Obama = 270 / Romney = 268

Popular vote – Obama      =   49.0

                               Romney    =   50.3

                               Other        =   00.7

Total Ballots cast = 135,442,071

States with litigable results Wisconsin and New Hampshire

Art, or not Art?

From the Walker's current exhibit in Minneapolis



Realism always catches my eye.

This is the piece "Rain" or "Regen" by the German artist Thomas Demand as presented in the Walker's "Lifelike" exhibition. Technically fascinating in a pre-digital way. But, art?

Tech support from the unlikelyest place (here)

I read this tremendously useful tip on Stephen Green's great blog, VodkaPundit.

He enthusiastically recommends this browser add-on: Do Not Track Plus. I second that endorsement.

I'm not quite as concerned about the on-line privacy issues as he is, however all-in-all I'd rather not have my hard-drive compromised nor my on-line browsing activity tracked. And, that is the signature functionality of this add-on. Importantly though, it does have the added benefit of speeding up page-loads as it (I believe) blocks the tracking scrips from running concurrently. That's a nice deal indeed. Please check it out as they have multiple versions for various browsers.

Just as was Claude Rains,

I am shocked, shocked to find rate manipulation going on in this establishment. Frankly, I'm surprised that this hasn't been investigated earlier. If you were starting from scratch, this is probably one of the first kinds of financial fraud you'd dream up. The only surprise is that apparently a few people were dumb enough to commit fraud with an auditable document trail. Well, I guess that's not much of a surprise either.

More on the man whose name should adorn TCF staduim

I'm looking forward to what I'm sure is a good mix of history and idealism about an alum:

From the Hoover institute: "Noel Vietmeyer’s Our Daily Bread, a gripping, touching, meticulously researched biography of Norman Borlaug, the plant breeder known as the Father of the Green Revolution, accurately portrays the kind of nobility, idealism and courage epitomized by Jimmy Stewart in the title role of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” and Gary Cooper in “High Noon.”"

Dr. Norman Borlaug - RIP

As a longtime Iowa resident, a graduate of the University of Minnesota, and frankly as a citizen of planet earth, I note with sorrow the passing of an absolutely remarkable man. Norman Borlaug died yesterday. Among other things he was a country boy, wrestler, scientist, teacher, humanitarian and statesman.

The man was a stud, the likes of which, the rest of us can only aspire.

God rest his soul.