Fun Friday: A Debt Ceiling Default?

The Congress and the President have to agree on a deal to lift the debt ceiling by Oct 17th in order to avoid a default on the US’ obligations. The House Republicans seem hell bent to extract some big concessions from the President in order to agree to lift the debt ceiling. And the President is refusing to negotiate over the debt ceiling. Seems like yet another deadline driven drama in Washington.

So let’s have some fun today and guess whether this thing is going to get resolved or not. I am voting that they will figure it out once again and avoid a default.


#Politics

Comments (Archived):

  1. Dave W Baldwin

    The whole thing is a positioning point regarding health care and what it will mean next year during election. So it will be resolved.

    1. pointsnfigures

      heard some analysis that if there is a tipping point on being able to blame the other side, the “winning” side will go through with shutting down the govt. Funny thing is I get the feeling the Republicans ought to just extend the debt ceiling, and let Obamacare go ahead. Nothing is ready, and it will collapse anyway. It’s the dumbest thing we have ever done as a country (Obamacare)

      1. Dave W Baldwin

        I know, but I worry about those impacted by collapse. I’m a softy. I would go after the delay and demand the health experts to get right since it isn’t. Otherwise remember the president wants the shutdown to blame someone, nothing more.

  2. takingpitches

    This is not very fun 😉

    1. Ana Milicevic

      Gallows humor.

    2. kidmercury

      i disagree, i find this great fun. not as much fun as discussing something more controversial like trayvon martin, or something more important like 9/11. but still great fun! 🙂 too bad most people don’t care (which is the true source of the problem) or shy away from beefing (which minimizes the fun).

      1. Emily Merkle

        I love me some beefing.

        1. kidmercury

          best part of social media!

      2. Brandon Burns

        it’s not that no one cares. I think Fred put it best:”Seems like yet another deadline driven drama in Washington.”Its just all so boring and silly at this point. I know this is bad to say, but I’m starting to move from the mindset of “figure out a way to fix our government!” to “our government is what it is, figure out how to move on.”

        1. Kasi Viswanathan Agilandam

          “our government is what it is, figure out how to move on.” that is a copyright and patent violation of Indian mindset.

          1. Brandon Burns

            ha!

          2. SubstrateUndertow

            That would be funny if it weren’t such a disastrous case of level-mixing !

        2. kidmercury

          that is essentially not caring, because most people’s definition of “moving on” is “not caring.” i understand the mentality and its incentives, though i think it will only result in larger problems.

          1. Brandon Burns

            probably.or we can ignore our government, go make things and start businesses, and take more control of our own lives.geeze, i sound like a republican…

          2. kidmercury

            folks can ignore government, though that won’t reduce government’s interest in you, or your bank account. sort of like how you can ignore the robber going to each house in the neighborhood. at least until the robber shows up at your door…..

          3. Emily Merkle

            Nah. Libertarian.

          4. Brandon Burns

            I’m down with that.

          5. Emily Merkle

            If Ron Paul didn’t have one foot in the grave, he’d be a great candidate. But his son…not so much.

          6. pointsnfigures

            Like his son.

          7. CJ

            Though Ron has some questionable ties in his past. Not sure if he’s a racist or not and that’s a problem for me. Still, I do like a lot of his ideals but others are just plain nuts. LOL

          8. Emily Merkle

            I find his plain spokenness (sp?) to be refreshing. He is not a politician. He is open to alternative views. As I was reminded today, “It is the mark of an educated mind, to be able to entertain an idea without accepting it.” – Plato.That’s what’s missing in our country’s elected officials. We deserve better.

          9. CJ

            ” “It is the mark of an educated mind, to be able to entertain an idea without accepting it.” – Plato.That’s what’s missing in our country’s elected officials. We deserve better.”- Quite well said Emily.

          10. Emily Merkle

            I’ll share the credit with Plato 😉

          11. CJ

            Sure, as soon as they throw in some realism. Libertarian society is an awesome idea and could be an awesome society but it’s not a FIX for THIS society. There are certain things that need to happen first, which mostly revolving around teaching men to fish that need to occur before we can move on to the Libertarian utopia.

          12. Emily Merkle

            Sometimes, you gotta just burn the house down…Alternatively, we could colonize Mars. I hear it’s nice this time of year.

          13. CJ

            It wouldn’t help though. You gotta fix the people, not just the system. That’s my biggest beef with the cause.

          14. David Lloyd-Jones

            Emily,The belief “Sometimes, you gotta just burn the house down” is a mental illness. ‘Course it’s a very profitable mental illness for people who want to use the empty lot…-dlj.

          15. Emily Merkle

            I truly have so many comments for you at this time that my official reply is, “No comment”.

          16. pointsnfigures

            It’s a big tent. Feel free to join the Cruz/Paul/Rubio small govt coalition.

          17. Brandon Burns

            Ha! I’m not there yet, Jeff, but keep nudging. 😉

          18. kidmercury

            very impressed with ted cruz of late. have to give him props.

          19. Emily Merkle

            His Green Eggs and Ham was just defeated and Obamacare is now funded.

          20. kidmercury

            yes, i understand the poverty-creating disaster that is obamacare has passed, though i admire his valiant effort.

          21. CJ

            Poverty creation? How so?

          22. kidmercury

            obamacare = higher insurance premiums, less employment. i honestly think it is the most economically destructive law in US history, even worse than the personal income tax.

          23. CJ

            People need healthcare, bottom line. Government should make it so that it’s affordable for everyone, even those without employment or provide it. This is a step on the path towards that. It’s not perfect but it’s not horrible. It won’t kill any jobs, we’re doing that fine enough with Globalization. It won’t increase insurance premiums that much because Obamacare also caps the amount of money that can be collected in premiums that doesn’t go towards healthcare.Really though, the only thing Obamacare has done is make a transparent tax obvious. The high premiums have been paid by the insured forever to cover those who don’t have insurance, now everyone gets to have insurance. Win/win.

          24. Emily Merkle

            I would tweak your opinion slightly. All Americans need free, basic and preventative care. It takes the load off the overcrowded hospitals that are treating the indigent for free because they have no where else to go. Preventative car reaps rewards in the longer term – a new way of thinking for Washington.

          25. CJ

            I don’t disagree with you, I just don’t think it goes far enough. To be honest, I would think free healthcare is a very Libertarian ideal rather than a socialist one. Taking care of those who can’t take care of themselves, I hear that all the time from Libertarians. The fact that we have to use government to force that is the ultimate proof on why Libertarian-ism isn’t workable in our society.*I think I’m combining comments. LOL

          26. Emily Merkle

            Baby steps, Malcolm. There are many, many very powerful entities with a vested interest in this whole morass. They will not succumb easily.

          27. Pete Griffiths

            If you want a poverty creating disaster we can’t do better than not reform our healthcare system (irrespective of your views on Obamacare). We spend way more on governement healthcare programs than any other serious industrialized country (>x2 per capita) and don’t even cover our population. It’s pathetic.

          28. kidmercury

            yes spending a lot is the problem and spending more, which is what obamacare will end up doing, will make things worse. a vote for obamcare is a vote for poverty.

          29. Pete Griffiths

            It’s not clear to me that it will result in spending a lot more and I haven’t seen any serious evidence that it will. It may work out that way but for me at least it is too soon to say.I think it’s the wrong approach. I’d rather see a full on single payer system that radically cuts costs but that is apparently a political impossibility in our corrupt money driven system. The people who fund massive lobbying on health care ‘reform’ aren’t truly interested in providing cost effective healthcare to our population, they are interested in preserving their own interests whether they be drug companies, doctors, hospitals… It’s a mess.

          30. Emily Merkle

            Check out the animated Affordable Care Act dissection on Upworthy.com.

          31. Pete Griffiths

            Watched it. Thanks.

          32. Emily Merkle

            Fantastic. Thanks!

          33. CJ

            Exactly, let’s not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

          34. kidmercury

            ask employers if obamacare is costing more. premiums are going up resulting in employment is going down as employers shun full-time employees to circumvent obamacare costs. regulation almost always pushes cost up and, as a result, total output down. obamacare will not be an exception.

          35. Pete Griffiths

            ‘Regulation’ doesn’t always push costs up. Ironically the overwhelming majority of advanced industrial countries have highly regulated heathcare and it is enormously cheaper.

          36. kidmercury

            we can watch this unfold in real-time. the higher costs of obamacare are already manifesting. healthcare costs in the US are high because it is already overly regulated; they are trying to solve that problem with even more regulation.

          37. Pete Griffiths

            It’s the wrong approach for sure. Single payer!

          38. Capitalistic

            What’s scarier is that the public voted for these elected officials. I stopped paying attention to domestic politics in 2010. Best decision I ever made. Now I focus on more important things like Amish Mafia.

        3. btrautsc

          i think we’re close to a precipice where change in behavior is truly demanded. Even talking to the generations above me, they seem to actively admit that all of the posturing and shenanigans don’t help anyone’s position, and its time to get shit done.but that may be just wishful thinking.

          1. Brandon Burns

            wishful thinking. but maybe i’m just in a “meh” mood today.

          2. Emily Merkle

            All I hear is a lot of bitching by the older set, and some apathy by the young’uns. But there is a growing activist movement of those with a vested interest in the future – mainly college students.

          3. Emily Merkle

            ….or maybe the bitching is just my family. Seems like the greater public because there are so many of us.

          4. btrautsc

            this sounds ridiculous, but shows like Newsroom are changing perceptions in my office/ social circles2 things I see in my social bubble: 40s-60s saying “this is bullshit posturing, I want results” and 20’s saying, I want to have a career, a great life, opportunities (which for those of us outside of the startup bubble > are pretty slim for recent grads) – they want an economy that is working and a government that doesn’t legislate their life

          5. Emily Merkle

            Problem is, the older set is not taking action to get their results. People don’t understand how gov’t works. It’s not all about the head honcho. If more of us (myself included) not only voted but petitioned the Congress – the people’s voice – perhaps things would change.

          6. SubstrateUndertow

            “the people’s voice”Doesn’t that imply some sort or rational consensus ?We are the borg, we and only we are responsible for conjuring up new processes for reframing our collective Mythic-Mind-Control.Where are the network startups aimed at reshaping “the Manufacture of Consent” around collective evidencece-based processes ?

          7. ShanaC

            even in the startup bubble, life is harder than you think. Things just appear to be easier

          8. jagorfain

            everything seems easier from the outside.

          9. CJ

            ” an economy that is working and a government that doesn’t legislate their life” I’ll take two of these to go please.

          10. ShanaC

            also post college. The friends of mine who were involved in occupy are not happy about this.

          11. SubstrateUndertow

            What Future !Let’s all sing along now ;-)”the way things are going. . . their gonna crucify US”

          12. CJ

            Old people want it like it was, young people want the promise they were sold when they were little. Everyone is disappointed except the rich who have crafted the present to resemble their own twisted ideals.No one will do anything until they remember that money doesn’t make the government, the people do. But the people are too divided to override concentrated dollars.

      3. Matt A. Myers

        is it exciting, or is it fun? fun can be exciting, exciting isn’t necessarily fun – exhilarating is probably a better term than fun

      4. Emily Merkle

        Damn, did I miss Trayvon Martin Day?

      5. LE

        “more controversial like trayvon martin”Would love to hear your thoughts on that one.

        1. kidmercury

          i don’t know the inner workings of the case, though i know most people don’t either, and i view those who are not deeply informed about the case but have interpreted the verdict as unequivocally racist are in fact racist themselves

          1. Emily Merkle

            No one knows how that sausage was made, but the bottom line is that the prosecution/state could not/did not – in the eyes and minds of the jury, prove guilt without a reasonable doubt.

          2. Emily Merkle

            And that’s all, folks. No matter what your color or creed. I firmly have faith in our justice system.

          3. CJ

            “I firmly have faith in our justice system.” – Well that’s the big difference. Justice in this country is far from blind and I have little faith in it. If you were a young black man maybe you wouldn’t either. There is nothing inherently fair about our system, you are still judged by people who bring their own baggage to the trial. Some put it aside, some don’t. But ultimately it has failed a lot of people who share the same race as me.

          4. Emily Merkle

            What do you mean by “it has failed for people who share the same race as you”? How would you know it has “failed”? We do the best we can. Justice aspires to act without prejudice. And that applies to every race, color, and creed. I don’t know your race, and it is unfortunate that you have so little faith in your fellow man. Whatever color he or she may be.

          5. CJ

            We do NOT do the best we can. That’s why it has failed. We stare at evidence of bias all the time and ignore it because of how it makes us feel about ourselves. We acknowledge bias and fail to address it because it would be unpopular to those with whom we associate. What justice aspires to and what it achieves are miles apart. You need only look at the number of unarmed black men killed by cops that have gone unconvicted. The fact that you can’t even trust those that are specifically hired to be just shows how justice has failed. Justice, like the current state of our freedom, is a show pony brought out to bolster support among those who believe that America is perfect and put away when it’s inconvenient for those who don’t have the power, wealth or status to demand it.

          6. Emily Merkle

            Whoa. Some sweeping generalizations there.Maybe you’ve watched a few too many episodes of “Cops”..(That was a joke.)

          7. Emily Merkle

            Gotcha. I gather you are African American and feel very strongly about this topic. I do not wish to bring out your ire.We’ll have to agree to disagree. We are an imperfect society. I am sorry you feel that those who share your race have been unfairly persecuted.

          8. CJ

            No ire. This is just a beef in the @kidmercury:disqus sense of the word. 🙂 Yes, I’m Black, raised that way anyway. I’m of mixed race but you wouldn’t know it to look at me.That said, I do think we have been unfairly persecuted by society both intentionally and unintentionally. It’s not in America’s DNA to acknowledge our historical wrongs and that has caused a lot of problems for America both here and abroad. The abroad part is easier to live with as it largely goes ignored and when it surfaces typical American jingoism usually rebuts it as we cast ourselves as the victim and coin phrases like ‘Why do you hate our freedoms?’Domestically it has created a fractured social environment and an increasing schism between the haves and have nots. This is great for those in power, at least in the short-term, but ultimately it will lead to the fall of an empire. All because we have too much hubris to ever admit that we are or were wrong.

          9. Emily Merkle

            Malcolm, I hear you and feel you. I do not believe in nor endorse nor encourage inequality of any kind. I personally have my own struggles with mental illness, for which I have been discriminated a great deal.In that sense, I understand what it is to be a minority – even as a blonde, green-eyed girl. I know it is frustrating – but raging against the machine is exhausting and futile. The best we can do is lead by example, educate when possible, and keep ourselves open to the possibility of change. I know that sounds trite…and maybe the empire will indeed fall – for it has certainly deteriorated in my 38 years on this planet. The question is, what is the tipping point?

          10. CJ

            “but raging against the machine is exhausting and futile” … “The question is, what is the tipping point?”We can never give up raging against the machine. We owe it to ourselves and our society to stand up for what’s right and fight the good fight. That fight can come in different forms but if we give it up then there will never be a tipping point.Discrimination is a horrible thing, the basis doesn’t matter. If we allow it to fester it will do more than remain, it will grow and history will repeat itself. I’m not willing to allow that to happen.Emily, I understand the fatigue that develops from fighting for so long with little to show for it, maybe even with opposite results than intended. But if we don’t fight that fight, then the people who win the fight will ensure that we CAN’T fight when we’re re-energized. We can’t allow that.

          11. Emily Merkle

            By saying “rage against the machine”, I mean experiencing discontent without taking effective action. Think globally, act locally, as they say.

          12. Emily Merkle

            As kid said, people can be intentionally intellectually lazy. Or raised with belief systems that are skewed. Not everyone is educated. That’s what I mean by “we do the best we can” – with what we have to work with.

          13. CJ

            That’s just not good enough and in no way qualifies as justice.

          14. Emily Merkle

            Then what would you propose in lieu of our justice system as it stands today?

          15. CJ

            Truthfully, and this is going to be controversial, I think jury selection needs to be more representative of the person on trial. We are not a post-racial homogenous society and bias has not been eradicated. When a black guy is gunned down by a white cop and the jury is composed of 12 white people it invites the accusations of racial bias. It may seem anti to the overall cause but the appearance of justice is just as important as the execution of it.

          16. Pete Griffiths

            Surely the question is not just whether we do the best we can. We have to judge a system not just by its stated ideals, or people’s efforts, but by its outcomes. And the evidence on this is extremely clear – the system does not operate ‘fairly.’

          17. SubstrateUndertow

            Our perceptions may be coloured by experience ?or put another wayOur perceptions may be experienced by colour.

          18. CJ

            Quite well said.

          19. Pete Griffiths

            Do you have faith in its ideals? Or in its operation?I for one think the ideals are laudable – justice for all, for example.But the evidence is extremely clear that the operation does not by any means match the ideals.Imho – to have faith in the ideals is principled, to have faith in its operation is uninformed, or naive.

          20. Emily Merkle

            Ideals. There is next to nothing we can do about operation.

          21. CJ

            I disagree. People make decisions and opinions with less than 100% of the facts all the time. This case isn’t any different.

          22. kidmercury

            sure, i suppose it is subjective. all decisions are made with less than 100% of the facts since the totality of the universe is not consciously recalled by any individual, or at least not 99.99%+ individuals. i suppose i demand a higher degree of study before labelling a person a racist because of info I got casually surfing through mainstream media reports.

          23. CJ

            Well therein lies the problem. That’s all we ever get. Until we get more fact based reported rather than ratings based entertainment this is what we’re stuck with. I don’t fault people from coming to conclusions based on what they read or hear, I do fault them if they were biased before they read or heard those things of if they find out what they read or heard was incorrect yet refuse to revisit their opinions.

          24. kidmercury

            i think people know they don’t know much, generally don’t care to learn, but because of their racist pre-disposition, have already made their minds up.

          25. Emily Merkle

            And such is life.

          26. CJ

            Which is a great indictment of Zimmerman as well as those who made up their mind on this case.

          27. Pete Griffiths

            I don’t think it is necessarily racist pre-disposition. In some cases you may well be right but in others it may be because people know the facts about the way in which the justice system indisputably operates differently for different races.

          28. Pete Griffiths

            I think your impressions suffer from one important omission. This case was important not just because of itself – and people may indeed know more or less about this particular case – but because it pointed to one fact which is extremely clear. There is racism in our society and it profoundly affects the way the legal system operates. The metadata doesn’t lie it is what made this case so charged. Contrast the fate of those in the Martin case for example with another with a different racial profile such as that of Marissa Alexander http://patdollard.com/2013/

          29. kidmercury

            i don’t know how people can say it is extremely clear there was racism. i’m not saying it was or it wasn’t, just that i don’t understand how people who didn’t even study the case much can be so sure in their conclusion. from what i gathered from the inescapable media coverage, it was not a slam dunk case.

          30. Pete Griffiths

            You misunderstand me.I am not saying that it is extremely clear that there was racism in this case.I am saying that the evidence (and there is a lot of it) makes it extremely clear that the justice system is not blind to race. And that if you happen to be of a race that suffers from such systemic racism or happen to by sympathetic to others who suffer it, then cases such as this tend to be viewed through that lens. You don’t need to be racist to be suspicious of cases like this (even if this case was well handled), because of the systemic problem.

      6. Ryan Frew

        I’m late to the party, but literally rushed down to the comments to see your reaction. Where do I go to have more @kidmercury:disqus oriented discussions?

        1. kidmercury

          lol thanks! i have kidmercuryblog.com, although unfortunately i don’t blog much. i should do it more.

    3. ShanaC

      agreed. I was hoping for “what’s your favorite kind of baked good?” Politics is exhausting

      1. Andrew Kennedy

        +1 — exhausting. fwiw — i’ve really been into the almond croissants from financier coffee shop recently. they’re pretty good if you get them early when super soft.

        1. ShanaC

          hmmOf bought bakes goods, I seem to really love Maison Kayser’s fig bread.Of what I make – super chocolate cookies, french style (american cookies and french cookies have a different butter:sugar:flour ratio, which at some point I should write down so I can kill cookbooks)Maybe this should be our fun friday next week?

          1. Emily Merkle

            We’ll all gain 5 lbs just participating.

          2. Andrew Kennedy

            interesting re: butter/sugar/flour ratio. i can cook a steak and run a tight grill, but do very little baking. love to bbq.

          3. Anne Libby

            I think that most are either bakers or cooks. #baker

          4. Andrew Kennedy

            my wife to be is a tremendously talented women and I am truly amazed by her drive, intellect and beauty. That said, she can’t turn on a grill and it is very hard for her to bake frozen sweet potato fries (not joking)… she just has no interest in baking or cooking whatsoever. #Iwishshecouldbake

          5. LE

            I once dated a very accomplished woman who didn’t know that if you put a pizza in a box in the oven above “warming” temperature it would catch fire. True. She never learned it in school. She didn’t know that paper catches fire in the oven above a certain temperature. Common sense she did not have.She also microwaved salmon.

          6. Andrew Kennedy

            microwaving salmon —–> an instant classic. oh man that’s good.

          7. Emily Merkle

            I can identify. I recently tried to make a German chocolate cake from scratch for my man…it was a hot mess. We are still scraping dark chocolate off the cabinets and stepping on the shards of the measuring cup that somehow spontaneously combusted in my hands.I can make a mean Hamburger Helper, though.

          8. Andrew Kennedy

            so funny. i know exactly what you are talking about. like for real. it’s part of who she is.

          9. Emily Merkle

            And a part of my DNA as well. Story: wanted to make cherry cobbler for my mom. Recipe – as I read it – called for 6 pounds of cherries, pitted. When I got to checkout, the cashier said – you do realize these cherries will cost you $20. I thought…well, I need them, so c’est la vie. Spent 2 hours pitting the goddamn cherries. Ready to bake, I revisited the recipe…which called for 6 CUPS of cherries. Hands stained with the fruits of my labor (;) I proceeded to construct 5 cherry cobblers with my cherry overage.

          10. Emily Merkle

            I am simply an eater.

          11. pointsnfigures

            I smoked some homemade bacon on the grill early this morning. Photos are on instagram.

          12. Andrew Kennedy

            that sounds delicious. #mouthwatering

          13. LE

            See now some people (who don’t eat meat and particularly don’t eat bacon even if they do eat meat) would frown on that. But I know you probably thoroughly enjoyed the entire ritual of smoking that bacon, cutting it or whatever is involved in doing that. I would definitely take a schnit of that salty meat if I was passing by.One of my favorite things to do is pick up lox in the morning then drive to a different place and get the bagel. The lox has to be cut thin. The entire process beginning when I know that I will be picking it up puts me in a great frame of mind. And well, lox has all those omegas.I used to do the same with cooking lobster or crab but my wife doesn’t like it so I no longer have that joy (less fun by yourself). That’s one thing that’s not perfect in our relationship. The ex wife liked it though.

        2. Anne Libby

          Those madeleines they give you with the coffee are pretty good, too.

          1. Andrew Kennedy

            sometimes they forget to give me one and I frown and then leave quietly.

          2. Anne Libby

            Oh, no! I’ll bet they’d step up to an “excuse me, please”!

          3. Donna Brewington White

            Oh Andrew, why don’t you just ask for one?

      2. Kasi Viswanathan Agilandam

        politics is like macaroon … my favorite baked good.

        1. Emily Merkle

          I’d say politics is like fortune cookies (kind of a baked good) – Looks yummy on the outside, great anticipation of your fortune, then…losing lottery numbers or a trite message inside.

      3. Emily Merkle

        New York cheesecake. Hands-down. Can I get a hell-yeah?

    4. Donna Brewington White

      There has to be a better name for it.

    5. Donna Brewington White

      I’ve got it: Weary Friday.

      1. Matt A. Myers

        doesn’t it need to start with an f?

        1. Emily Merkle

          Fillet Mignon Friday.

      2. kidmercury

        #upvoted. i always wanted beef friday

    6. fredwilson

      well we have learned that this community thinks there is a 30% chance of default.

      1. CJ

        There is 0% chance of default because the party that benefits the most from a default doesn’t want it and the party that wants it would be killed by it. Obama has already won this one when he started taking the stand that he wouldn’t negotiate something that was this essential to our country. He’s refused to play hostage so this drama is largely just a manufactured training exercise by wouldbe extortionists.

      2. takingpitches

        True – your bar is at least as good as intrade 🙂

  3. awaldstein

    Such drama government has become.I’m voting but my new rule is not to engage in any conversation where the instigator is simply looking for a fight not a conversation. My time is too precious.Whenever I see the someone wearing the tshirt that says” I’m smart and I’m right so f*ck you’, I move on with my day. And nothing brings out the shock commentors and IQ bullies like politics.

    1. Michael Elling

      Starting with lower income levels and gradually reducing, everyone gets 5,4,3,2,1% off their income taxes if they prove they voted (every year; even local school board elections).

      1. kidmercury

        then they just sell their vote. get paid twice, winner still ends up beingw whoever can buy the most votes. the poor are most likely to sell their vote, in spite of being the ones who most need a vote with integrity.

        1. Emily Merkle

          As if that weren’t even happening already? ..

        2. Michael Elling

          Not the same thing. There you are paid for whomever gives you the money. That’s a payoff. Here, it’s something you do of your own accord and you get a relatively fair share back and are reminded of that at tax time that you at least have some say in where your money is going. Will some people just go and pull the lever to get the money? Of course. But in the process many more people will be engaged and they’ll be reminded at tax time of the consequences of their actions. So you reinforce the process 2x/year across a much larger base.

          1. kidmercury

            it is the same thing. everything is of your own accord as even the bought off voters still need to go into the booth “of their own accord.” if they don’t have the education to understand what is going on, they will just be voting against their long-term interests for a lousy short-term buck.

          2. LE

            “if they don’t have the education to understand what is going on”I wouldn’t put as much emphasis on “education” as a reason. There are many people that came to this country and didn’t receive a formal education or degree and are able to digest and comprehend information and are smart in what they do. And there are people who never received a formal education in a particular area but excel in that area despite what others may feel is a handicap.

          3. kidmercury

            i don’t mean education in the sense of going to school, i mean it in the sense of educating oneself and having the basic requirements necessary to do so.

      2. Emily Merkle

        Very cool idea. Even better would be incentives for communication with their elected officials to make their voices heard. The pols are BS.

        1. Michael Elling

          Pay for comments.

      3. LE

        That would be a “throw shit at the fan vote”. Would benefit those who can advertise more for example and just amplify the existing voting bias.What does it matter if people “vote” if they are still voting and not understanding or following the lead of what thought leaders say?

        1. Michael Elling

          Tax time is the best time to get people engaged for fall elections as they will be questioning what they are getting in return for the taxes they’ve paid and been reminded of in April.

    2. Emily Merkle

      Totally with you. I can’t even speak with my parents about these matters for the reasons you stated.

    3. Anne Libby

      +1000

    4. LE

      What are “IQ bullies”?

      1. awaldstein

        Made it up on the fly–to me, those comments of a super well articulate, closed argument that people run around with and beat others over the head with.

  4. Tom Labus

    What an embarrassment!What happened to long term planning?

    1. Emily Merkle

      What’s long-term planning?

      1. Tom Labus

        The largest economy should be able to plan it’s finances for more than 3/6 months at a time.

        1. SubstrateUndertow

          Again. . .That would be considered a “redistribution of wealth attack” on the banksters and arbitrage-everything crowd that presently run the place.

    2. SubstrateUndertow

      It has been moved offshore !China I think ?

  5. jason wright

    what obligations?

    1. fredwilson

      the gazillions of treasury debt that we owe to everyone around the world including our citizens

      1. SubstrateUndertow

        Is it realistic to thing that will ever be paid ?

      2. jason wright

        default and enjoy a simpler lifestyle for a couple of centuries. it’s good for the soul.

        1. lonnylot

          The U.S. government doesn’t have the same protections from defaulting that the U.S. government gives to its citizens. A default by the U.S. government would be a very bad thing and cause life to be a lot more hectic.

  6. Tracey Jackson

    They will pull it out of the hat somehow. It will just mean someone else is left hatless.

    1. William Mougayar

      ah, musical hats!

  7. WA

    Saber rattling equals equity inflection point 🙂

  8. Emily Merkle

    Obama knows how to play ball. Why give in to GOP concessions when everyone know that the “party of no” will get blasted in the media and limp into the (rapidly) upcoming election?Sad fact is, most Americans do not fully understand the issue, and in doing so just follow lock-step with their party affiliation.Has to happen. Will happen. Some community outreach on the matter would help voters get it.

  9. Kasi Viswanathan Agilandam

    If it is just about voting without thinking …just …yah or nah … then that may be fun.Discussing the most powerful nation on earth’s debt defaulting by the congress is dead serious.

  10. kidmercury

    i think it’ll probably get resolved. to me that seems like the safe bet and is what i voted in this poll.doesn’t really matter though. the government cannot pay its bills and neither of the two parties that people restrict themselves to are interested in fixing the problem. default of epic proportions is only a matter of time.

    1. Emily Merkle

      The problem is intractable at this point.

  11. pointsnfigures

    Even if the two factions don’t agree, Gentle Ben can just print more money and cover the tab…..Dealing with politicians always feels like you got invited out to a fantastic steakhouse. It was a great dinner with some real good wine, then everyone leaves and they stick you with the tab.

    1. kidmercury

      yup! and that’s what will happen. and when ben decides he wants to get out before all hell breaks loose he can hand the job off to yellen or whoever who will do the exact same thing.

    2. Emily Merkle

      As it always has been, and always will be (in the foreseeable future).

  12. pointsnfigures

    Disqus ate my comment, so I apologize if it appears twice.Even if both factions don’t agree, Gentle Ben can print more money and pick up the tab.Dealing with politicians feels like being invited to a steakhouse for a great dinner. You order some awesome read wine-good conversation. Then at the end of the night, everyone leaves and you get stuck with a massive tab.

    1. ShanaC

      Ben did that already.

  13. William Mougayar

    American politics are interesting to watch. This will be the 8th time since 2002, whatever that means. It’s like a drug.

    1. Emily Merkle

      A drug? Maybe cocaine cut with too much baby powder…politics is depressing to watch. But today’s leading story in the Washington Times – not politics. Good stuff.

    2. Cam MacRae

      Agreed.We don’t have these problems in a constitutional monarchy; if the senate blocks supply the Governor General simply dissolves both houses. 🙂

      1. William Mougayar

        But have done it before? i don’t recall the GG in Canada having done it. I think they can do it on the advice of the Premier.

        1. Cam MacRae

          Once. See The Dismissal.

    3. SubstrateUndertow

      Do I detect a smile ?

  14. Salt Shaker

    Two words –“Term Limits.” You’d see less posturing, greater accountability and less influence by special interest groups. Right now, it’s all a game to raise one’s profile, be heard and stay in office, regardless of the consequences. If a member of Congress can’t get it done in 1 or 2 terms, then step aside. I think our elected officials will be far more results driven, with considerably less grandstanding and obstructionist behavior.

    1. pointsnfigures

      Bruce Rauner is running for governor of Illinois and has term limits as part of his campaign. I agree with them-as long as we shrink the bureaucracy. I don’t want bureaucrats to be running the show more than they are.

    2. LE

      If a member of Congress can’t get it done in 1 or 2 terms, then step aside.How do you know that that won’t result in thinking whereby it doesn’t matter the consequence years down the road of a decision made today? Because said member is not around to clean up the mess. (Happens in corporations it’s called short term thinking). [1]A decision that Fred makes or that I make in 2003 matters in 2013. You don’t get to exit out you have to live with the wrong decision. Same with many things in life (raising kids).This is not to say that term limits don’t have benefits. Just to point out that the solution is not as simple as you are making it out to be.As far as “1 or 2 terms” keep in mind that things take time. You probably spend the first part of term one just figuring out the lay of the land.[1] Same with all those bad loans that were repackaged and sold.

      1. Salt Shaker

        I’m not suggesting term limits is a panacea for all our political woes, but it is a step in the right direction. There’s currently no motivation to really try and get things done. It’s all posturing and pandering w/ no accountability. Ted Cruz is an embarrassment to public office. He may have legit ideas, but he doesn’t know how to channel or express them in an effectively manner. It’s solely about increasing his profile to serve a personal agenda. I’d rather see Victor Cruz (NY Giants) in Congress than Teddy Bear. At the very least, Victor could teach them all how to Salsa and accomplish something!

    3. fredwilson

      i agree

    4. Jim Ritchie

      100% upvote! Lets rid ourselves of the “professional” politician class at the federal level. Politics is not, and should not, be thought of as a profession in of itself. It should be time spent giving back to serve your fellow citizen and away from your primary job.12 years in senate and 8 in house are plenty. I’d say we make reps term 4 years from 2 with half elected every 2 years. We need a constitutional amendment with backing from from some deep pockets.

    5. lonnylot

      I disagree with this. I think that the posturing is due to the entertainment media (t.v. news) and that needs to stop and campaign finance laws need to be reformed.

  15. Luke Chamberlin

    The debt ceiling is authorization to pay back money we have already borrowed. It is not authorization to borrow more money.This vote should not even exist. You should always pay back money you borrow. If you don’t want to pay it back you shouldn’t borrow it in the first place.

    1. Emily Merkle

      That may be the rule of law for us commoners, but not for the world’s greatest superpower.

    2. kidmercury

      what you are saying is technically true, though i would argue it is a bit more nuanced than that.congress can vote to spend as much as it’d like regardless of the debt ceiling stuff, so in that sense this vote does not impact the ability to spend more. however, if the debt ceiling is not raised, creditors may not be willing to lend to the US, which may result in higher interest rates, which may in effect make borrowing more money more painful and thus more difficult.

      1. Luke Chamberlin

        I would have been sad if you had not replied to my comment!

    3. Kasi Viswanathan Agilandam

      “Carry Forward” ?

      1. Emily Merkle

        More like kicking the can down the road. Harmless fun – until you run into a cul-de-sac.

  16. JJ Donovan

    I have voted “No” to the question. I would add that my “no” vote does not support the fact that they will find a long term solution, but will once again extend the provisions they have and deal with this in 2014. Working in government contracting and dealing with government deadlines, everything gets extended or rescheduled. While the governing bodies have set a date, that is a mere “placeholder” to try and work towards, but government deadlines get extended. They afford the taxpayer extensions with taxes and they get to extend their deadline.I am hopeful that the governing bodies are utilizing the principles that I have had to execute when a project deadline is slipping or needs a lot of collaboration. These methods include, hourly calls and twice daily stand up meetings. Furthermore, all parties should be put into a “War Room” and throw away the “rules of engagement” in order for subordinates to talk to superiors. Furthermore, they need to stay in Washington. Since it is now Friday, many have already left for the weekend as DC is the “Monday-Thursday” work schedule for contractors and government officials.The answer is still “no”, the default will not occur, but it won’t be solved.JJD – Watching it all unfold…

  17. Matthew Baker

    I must say that the use of the word “default” by everyone is misleading and I feel only seeks to use fear to prevent a real conversation from occurring. Using that word assumes that when (if) we stop paying for certain government services that we also stop making interest payments on our government debt. The choice to do so would be voluntarily and knowingly destructive. However, refusing to raise the debt ceiling only prevents the issue of NEW debt, it doesn’t decree that we stop making payments on existing debt.The government still collects tax receipts on a regular basis, so some operations and all interest payments will be able to continue, even without the issue of new debt. But because we use debt to cover 40% of our government operations, not raising the debt ceiling calls for an immediate 40% reduction in Government spending, a correction long overdue and something I’m all for. The longer we wait the more violent the retraction will be. This additional debt spending is injecting false demand into markets, not to mention the fact that it’s insane to use debt just to cover day-to-day operations. It should only be issued for value-add infrastructure projects with real power to enable/amplify future growth, and debt ceiling increases should be tied to specific project proposals in kind.The claim that “interest rates will rise” if we choose not to raise the debt ceiling is also only partially true. Rates on existing government debt will not change since those rates are already decided, but because most consumer debt uses the Government note of similar maturity as the baseline for rates (e.g. Mortgages and the 30 Year Treasury) if we stop issuing government debt we lose that baseline. This forces the debt markets to set rates based on a true market that competes against peers and assesses risk, and I don’t think most people will like that outcome. The bond market may tank due to uncertainty, the specter of rising rates, or may even go up due to lack of inventory, but it will recover nonetheless.Another thought: if government is propping up prices by injecting false demand into the market, what happens to prices when that stops? Maybe Americans will get some of their spending power back.Bottom line: refusing to raise the debt ceiling just prevents the government from taking on more debt, it doesn’t remove its ability to make payments on existing outstanding debt, so there will be no default. However, because we use that debt to cover 40% of all government operations, they either need to “get more for their money” or cut programs.

    1. Emily Merkle

      Which is happening. Veteran and servicemen have had salaries slashed. WIC and the food stamp program budget was just cut nearly 40b just this week.

      1. Matthew Baker

        Yes, and choosing to slash there is a sign of severely misaligned priorities in Washington. There are way more effective places we could slash with the same outcome to the bottom line. And sadly, $40b is a drop in the bucket.America needs to decide what is important for the Federal Government to spend on, and what is superfluous. That conversation has unfortunately not moved forward.

        1. Emily Merkle

          Ever.

        2. SubstrateUndertow

          Or maybe what America needs is a whole new set of industrial and trade policies that put the nation back to work producing enough output to cover the cost of doing the nations business.But that would be considered a “redistribution of wealth attack” on the banksters and arbitrage-everything crowd that presently run the place.

    2. Emily Merkle

      ….and Obamacare is designed to bring in cash in two ways: fining companies who do not provide coverage, fining individuals who opt to go uninsured (accounting for financial ability, squeezing insurance companies, higher income citizens as well as young people over 26. It also saves $ by subsidizing preventative care.

      1. Matthew Baker

        Even if that strategy works and isn’t break even or net negative as a result of inflating total costs across the heathcare market due to increased demand (which appears to be the current trend), there is no way that revenue generated from Obamacare would come anywhere close to filling the gap between tax receipts and spending.

        1. Emily Merkle

          Oh no – not healthcare alone. Per below I said – they have already taken from vets and active duty, and this week cut SNAP by almost $40b. Which strains the entire nourishment ecology.

          1. ShanaC

            the cutting of snap was by far the stupidest thing the government does. Cut aspects of OSHA (too much regulation there already) – SNAP is one of those programs that just work, and cutting it is equal to hating on poor kids, who can’t vote and didn’t do anything wrong to deserve being hungry…

          2. SubstrateUndertow

            GOP”let em eat cake”

      2. Richard

        Obamacare has winners and looses , but there is no scenario in which obamacare reduces the budget deficit.

    3. Emily Merkle

      Just finished reading your dissertation. Agree with the perils of artificial market demand. Debt markets may be forced to adjust to a New Normal. The bond market is global and bulletproof. We are all in this together.

    4. Richard

      Einstein’s theory of economics, same facts lead to same outcomes.

      1. Matthew Baker

        I can’t determine if you agree or disagree, lol. If I am missing facts, please enlighten me.

        1. Richard

          i agree.

    5. ShanaC

      In a free floating currency market, cutting bonds does some wacky things…

  18. baba12

    none of the Republicans want to have blood on their hands directly. I have never understood what their grandstanding is all about time and time again. It is worse than a bunch of 3 year old un-supervised kids playing in a bakery.

  19. mikenolan99

    Congress spends the money, the executive branch writes the check… Seems every four years or so we forget that

  20. bsoist

    Sometimes the headlines of your posts are a real jolt. This is one of those times.

  21. christopolis

    dems allow it to close, economy tanks so does market, blame republicans, allows for unlimited future raises. more special interest money flows to dems, more power for dems. this guy would not push for a debt ceiling raise. its irresponsible its unpatriotic or at least it was in 2008.https://www.youtube.com/wat

  22. Donna Brewington White

    I vote yes but this is not a vote of confidence.There will be no satisfaction in being right and no surprise at being wrong.Reminiscent of that feeling of watching a movie and having this vague feeling of having seen it before.

  23. jagorfain

    Meh. This is the political equivalent to chicken. Though, ultimately, the GOP have the advantage here because if the US does default they can just point the finger at Obama and ~maybe~ get away with it.Politicians need to really start getting back to being focused on the greater good (“The greater good!” – if you seen Hot Fuzz, you get the reference) rather than their own petty little needs. But what do I know, I’m just a simple caveman recently unfrozen from a block of ice.

    1. ShanaC

      Maybe we do need a captain americaI’m not sold the GOP has an advantage. I do think we need a Teddy Roosevelt type who does care for the greater good and have the political balls and money to get away from it.I also don’t think dismantling the great society is helping anyone get votes

      1. jagorfain

        tell that to the Tea Party GOP

        1. pointsnfigures

          So, I know the left has done a great job demonizing the “Tea Party”-and so has the establishment right wing. Get rid of folks like John McCain, Trent Lott, and the pork barrel corporatist Republicans. We need more people like Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul.But what does the Tea Party really stand for? Small government, limited government and more personal freedom. Lower taxes, less regulation. The Tea Party hates Monsanto as much as it does the USDA.Read the book America 3.0 and you will get the drift of where the real “Tea Party” stands. Probably needs to be rebranded as Freedom Party. The only good news is they are growing in numbers.

          1. SubstrateUndertow

            You forgot the:-)at the end.Its not so much their theoretic goals but their refusal to compromise with the constraints of really that make the tea-party dangerous.

          2. Timothy Meade

            Doesn’t that really depend on what ‘Tea Party’ we are talking about? That sounds a lot like the original group of Paul (Ron) supporters that organized after he withdrew from the election, it doesn’t sound much like the current group using that moniker, funded by the same interest as earlier groups and ultimately promoting the same approach.The media is completely ignoring this story, as it’s easier to claim that the ‘tea party’ is taking over the Republicans than to admit that it’s the same core groups that have controlled their agenda since the early 90’s and who have been behind most of these manufactured crises since.It’s hard to be both populist anti-corporate and big business pro-corporate at the same time, it’s easier to confuse voters and conflate the two approaches as a ‘freedom agenda’, supporting bail-outs for banks in the chambers of Congress and opposing it on the Mall.

          3. Timothy Meade

            This is one of the reasons that I don’t personally gravitate towards a major party, I find it hard to take them seriously as the put on this show for the American people, keeping the core constituencies for the various parties together as long as possible. Older Americans are going to vote their core economic interests, which continuing to voice public support for their own personal well-established ideological leanings, meaning they can hate on health care in whatever guise or social program, but ultimately will support it or at least prefer it succeeds.My personal hope and belief is that we will come together, libertarian right and civil libertarian left, moderate right and practical left, and support a true freedom agenda, one where government isn’t shrunk or grown, but made as efficient and effective as possible, regulating the things that are necessary, protecting the few things that we hold so sacred as to have enshrined them in our Constitution, and rolling back encroachments on the public liberty.

    2. SubstrateUndertow

      The other guy has”petty little needs”mine however are so proximal as to seem monumental 🙂

  24. ShanaC

    This is fools’ bet that we should not be making.I’m actually angry this is a fun friday. This is not fun. This is dysfunctional on so many levels. And I officially wish I was a billionaire so I could go into every district I could with holdouts on this issue and say “You voted in fools who want to make you poor and stupid”

    1. jagorfain

      be careful for what you wish for.

    2. bsoist

      You’re not a billionaire? I assumed that’s how you found the time to hang out here.

  25. Matt Zagaja

    We haven’t seen a default happen but I don’t think that the scariness is overblown. It’s important to note that the sequester wasn’t supposed to happen either. Will saner heads eventually prevail? I hope so!

    1. Emily Merkle

      The saner heads are in the situation room, egoless, nameless, faceless, not within the media’s purview. But they do exist.

  26. Friv Jogos

    It can bring an element of fun and spontaneity.

  27. DotLang

    Before we get to the debt ceiling, we have to worry about the government shutdown on October 1st! That’s the day I arrive with friends at Grand Canyon National Park, a long-time dream for all of us . . . and we might not be able to see it! There will be tens of thousands of tourists and campers at all the national parks. It’s awful to imagine that we’ll be turned away or asked to leave if we’re already there.

  28. CJ

    If the government shutsdown, we should all shutdown and go camp out outside the Whitehouse and Capitol Hill. Also, if the government defaults then we should all just stop paying our bills. Can you imagine if 100 million people simultaneously delayed payment of their household and business bills by just one or two weeks?The new civil disobedience.

    1. SubstrateUndertow

      They will just automatically add the extra interest on to you bill 🙂

  29. Pete Griffiths

    Some of the teaparty are totally nuts, but there’s not enough of them to burn the house down.

  30. sigmaalgebra

    Well, the poll says that 30% of the people who votedare taking a default seriously.So, maybe the politicians looking for publicity know that,just by having a little ‘drama exercise’ something like professional wrestling, 30% of the people will payattention.Then at the last minute some simple, obvious solutionwill be voted on and passed, and the politicians cantry another exercise in fictional drama to get attention.

  31. John

    You should have done this poll as a Wedgie: https://www.wedgies.com/que… I tweeted it out with @fredwilson:disqus which is why it would have been a better wedgie poll than a poll daddy one.

  32. Nick

    Another interesting debate: what would happen to the dollar if the US does indeed default on the 17th? Will it decline or will the US default have a knock-on effect on the global economy and will money flow into the dollar as a safe haven?

  33. jason wright

    as i write (Saturday 11:40 Greenwich Mean Time) we have the poll standing at;Yes 141No 333so that what people think will happen, but is it what people want to happen?

  34. Pete Griffiths

    We are now 20 minutes from a shutdown. I confess I didn’t think it would come to this. I knew the tea party were crazy idealogues but I hadn’t realized they were this crazy.

  35. awaldstein

    Thanks Charlie!

  36. Abdallah Al-Hakim

    I need to check it out!

  37. kidmercury

    the S has the biometric stuff though, which i think is huge and will enable a new set of apps. i don’t want crapple having my biometrics, but then again we are already under 24/7 surveillance, so what’s a little more tyranny at this point.

  38. Matt A. Myers

    i am waiting to see what Fairfax does with Blackberry – hoping they become a real competitor again; i realize in most people’s eyes it would be a long-shot, though they must have a plan for being so confident in the purchase – and they said they are staying in Canada and keeping the company whole

  39. ShanaC

    You voted 2x?I’m anti ID and biometrics. I find incredible about the american democracy (that’s left) the actual minimal amount of voter fraud.Don’t make something more political and complicated…

  40. Elia Freedman

    I debated whether to upgrade this year but am very interested to see what happens with the M7 chip.

  41. fredwilson

    ha!

  42. pointsnfigures

    Hope you caught the last South Park episode.

  43. awaldstein

    A down vote even. Maybe a first so I’ll wear it proudly.Have a great one. Off to make the journey to Jersey (thank you Zip Car) to chat with my mom and get some early NY stories about life in the 20s and 30s.

  44. kidmercury

    lol looks like polldaddy and diebold are bff’s at heart

  45. bsoist

    haha – very witty this morning

  46. Emily Merkle

    Nah – just means if you wander off and get lost or rendered unconscious, your chip can be scanned to identify you and everything about you, so you can be returned to your rightful owner. Like a dog.

  47. Emily Merkle

    We surf Ocean City every summer.

  48. awaldstein

    Nowhere near the beach. Just a day trip, heading out shortly.

  49. Emily Merkle

    What did you do with all that power?

  50. Michael Elling

    like i said… i wonder how many people actually review their school board budgets and how their tax money is spent.

  51. ShanaC

    was there a lot of partisan issues in that election? No one cares about local until it is too late to care (IMPE)

  52. LE

    Correct me if I am wrong but I always thought that the people who run for those things are more likely to be local realtors or attorneys who need exposure and do it for the networking. Although obviously realtors have a vested interest in getting good schools since it raises property values and makes their jobs easier.

  53. Timothy Meade

    What would happen if 18-24 year old former students ran for school board across the country with 18-24 year old former students coming out to vote in mass?Maybe we could even talk about allowing younger voters in school board elections.

  54. Emily Merkle

    Did you run attack ads or something and chase everyone away?

  55. Emily Merkle

    Oh yes LBI is bitchin’.

  56. Cam MacRae

    Chowderfest. OMG.

  57. Emily Merkle

    And that is why we have the situation we do now. The best and brightest are not inclined to lead in the corrupt, broken system we call the voice of the people.

  58. Emily Merkle

    Ugh. Charlie is that an up or down vote? I agree with you but your statement is depressing.

  59. Cam MacRae

    My chowder palette is willing and able, but unfortunately I’ll miss it this year.

  60. bsoist

    That’s good to hear. We haven’t been since. We lived there right before we moved to DE in 2002. OC before that, St. Aug, FL before that, and I grew up in Brigantine.It took us about five years in DE to realize that now we have to make plans to go to the beach. 🙂

  61. Emily Merkle

    Thankless job. But honorable.

  62. Emily Merkle

    I am willing to bet 2 per district.

  63. Emily Merkle

    What’s the line on that?

  64. bsoist

    We were there to visit my sister on her birthday in July and both my daughter and my nephew surfed for the first time. My brother and I laughed about how my nephew could have surfed almost every day when they lived there, and now he’s got the bug and he lives five hours from the beach. :)Fortunately, trips to the beach are something the kids here in DE do frequently. Maybe I’ll get Becky a board next summer.

  65. Emily Merkle

    Did you do OC proper? Mack & Manco’s pizza? Koror’ custard? Shriver’s salt water taffy?

  66. ShanaC

    i need to visit this place

  67. bsoist

    It’s Manco & Manco’s now ( stupid ). My wife used to eat lunch there every day in the summers during high school, and loves the pizza, so we do eat there every time. A couple of guys from her school ended up running the place now. The kids don’t care for it, but when I was very young I learned how to eat pizza at Pasquini’s and they served the same oily mess so I kinda dig it.And we filled our popcorn bucket and picked up some taffy, of course.

  68. ShanaC

    ha

  69. Elia Freedman

    So… The company is failing but Fairfax is changing nothing? Sure sounds like a recipe for a turn around to me.

  70. Emily Merkle

    Blackberry’s ship sailed long ago..hit a reef…never to be recovered.

  71. Pete Griffiths

    They will strip it and sell the resultant assets. They have already done the math and know they will make hundreds of millions in the sell off. They are insiders so can do accurate math which is why they are so confident.

  72. Emily Merkle

    I know (duh). Blasphemy. It will always be Mack & Manco’s in my heart. Oh yes!!! The caramel corn is irresistible! Did you know they ship?Do you guys slip over the causeway for booze?

  73. Emily Merkle

    It’s a dry town, but the beach is nostalgic – no model-types or muscle men traipsing all over. Boardwalk is awesome. Putt-putt, carousel, you name it. We rent a couple houses and make it a reunion.

  74. Elia Freedman

    Yes, the motion API is available. I have an S2 here, too. Definitely an inadequate device.

  75. bsoist

    shipping? yes, but we don’t really like to have it in the house that much. booze? no, my brother-in-law has that covered :)funny story about Manco’s … my sis was upset she didn’t really get to see my son this summer ( he was only in DE for June ), so he thought it would be nice to take a bus down to catch up with us. I picked him up in AC and by the time we got to OC he was starving so we parked behind M&M and since we were going to walk through we decided to grab a few slices. I see one of Terri’s high school buddies and yell “hey Tony” Until Tony looked up and we chatted, Billy thought I was just playing – you know, playing the odds, yelling the name Tony into a bunch of pizza throwers.I wasn’t but my kids know that’s the kind of thing I would certainly do. 🙂

  76. Anne Libby

    Or more creepy and invasive.

  77. Pete Griffiths

    Poll rigging in today’s America doesn’t take the form of ballot box stuffing but rather in jerrymandering districts and passing laws designed to systemmatically discriminate against specific socio-economic or ethnic groups. Much more efficient.

  78. Matt A. Myers

    staying in Canada and keeping the company whole is not the same as changing nothing

  79. Matt A. Myers

    until you bring in past failing-to-successes like Apple as an example

  80. LE

    Are you going to film it? You should film those stories.

  81. Emily Merkle

    Oh wow. I have a similar story. My aunt & uncle live In Mays Landing, and until just recently, I lived in Brooklyn. They came up for a Mets game (yes we love the punishment) – rain delay. For 3 hours. Needless to say, we all got sloppy drunk – I mean, what else are you gonna do? 😉 So…it’s like the 7th inning and my uncle is sloshed. A Hispanic food vendor is walking up and down the aisles. My uncle starts yelling “Hey Pedro, throw me a taco!” – about 5 times. Who knows if he was a Pedro – but he wasn’t selling tacos. Mortified. My husband and I sprinted to the parking lot immediately, wishing to avoid a lawsuit or some such retribution as accessories to drunken racism. Good times.

  82. LE

    Remember “American Wedding” the strippers dressed as cops scene? “They’re here to protect and serve”.I don’t have the time to watch the entire clip but I think it’s in here:http://www.youtube.com/watc

  83. SubstrateUndertow

    Now that really is a long shot 🙂

  84. Timothy Meade

    It’s interesting to see what happens with Ford acquiring Livio (http://www.wired.com/autopi…, after their very successful partnership with Microsoft. I believe that in-vehicle communications is the next big market for one of these mobile companies to control, Microsoft is too distracted to get apps right, Apple continues to bet on iPhone integration and is doing pretty well with their latest protocols for that, Google has their ‘car’ but it’s so far from a commercial product that the benefits are not making it out to the public in a meaningful way other than inspiring interest in automation.When RIM acquired QNX I expected them to at least make a play for this space, partner with or ideally merge with a hardware partner with experience in selling vehicle systems, and start building that platform.Nobody is doing voice apps well, and that is truly disappointing. We speak of ‘walled gardens’ but it’s the complete lack of open APIs for the major emerging voice platforms that are the real threat to a future without monopoly control of mobile application platforms.Voice is a requirement to do vehicle-based systems well of course.I wonder if there will really be a third OS platform in mobile communications though, developer interest drops off sharply after the first two and it’s not clear that anybody, Microsoft/Nokia, Blackberry, or anyone else can make that work.I would like to see something like Firefox OS or ChromeOS (Chrome becoming the dominant delivery platform for applications on Android replacing Dalvik/API, which Play Services seems to be at least a step towards), though people are going to have to stop thinking about “native” as a thing. (Chrome’s V8 is just as native as Dalvik and almost as native as Apple’s GC driven Objective-C runtime, games implemented in C++ and C are an exception, for now.)

  85. Matt A. Myers

    of course, though there are lots of brilliant people out there – unfortunately most of the time they don’t have control of the systems or companies they may have brilliant ideas and strategy for – perhaps Fairfax can fill this role

  86. Donna Brewington White

    Hey, Elia. Great to meet you on Monday. (Was that actually THIS week?)I have an S2 and am sitting at an airport with my phone plugged into an external battery. I bought my phone when Fred still had the S2 and wrote about carrying extra batteries.

  87. awaldstein

    As smart as your suggestion is, not going to happen.Honestly, as much as these stories make sense to preserve in that sense, I’ll just internalize and maybe some day write them up.She’s a remarkable lady. Spent some time today discussing this photo and her life at the time it was taken. Amazing discussion.

  88. awaldstein

    Nope–should but I just relish talking with her.Maybe I’ll write it up some time.Spent a bunch of time today talking over a tiny chunk of film that I pulled from super 8 and digitized of me and her when I was maybe 2. Cool sensuous discussion.

  89. LE

    Those blinds slats are back in style. A great photo. Almost looks like the Chrysler bldg. in the background.Interesting given what happened with my dad. A friend of a friend wanted to interview him about the holocaust. This actually happens pretty frequently (or to talk about it to a class). He loves to do that.So he tells me that the person is writing a book but they want to video him.And all the sudden I’m the one that’s all “danger will robinson”. [1]I start throwing out things like “once you are on film you will lose control it doesn’t matter what she is telling you about what she will use it for”. Truth is I was afraid that he might say something screwy and it would be on film. [2] Loose canon type of thing. Totally possible at that age.And since I couldn’t police it I simply thought it was better to not do it at all. So I really went off on him and did what I could to prevent him from doing it. Which worked. It wasn’t easy either. I had to use all the logic in the world to get him to not go ahead. It was quite an accomplishment. He doesn’t buckle easily.Anyway my dad had already told her a time to come over. But he’s the type that has no sense of that type of obligation (which I never was able to pick up from him that well.) So he just called and said “nah sorry I’m not going to do this at all”. I figured she had another agenda. Then I found out that she did and that she was just gathering material for a fictional novel that she was writing (I saw a speaking engagement that she had for the book). She never told him that of course. More to it than that but that’s the short version.Funny how as they get older you have to protect them. I think he liked the fact that I cared so much over that.[1] Which I learned from him ironically.[2] My saying is that once you are no longer the “owner of the information” anything can happen.

  90. sigmaalgebra

    Ah, it never fails — the old contactcomfort ploy! It’s not just for kittensand puppies anymore!Just came back from McD’s. Leavingthere was a man holding on to hispretty, smiling, little daughter about 4.Of course, when I looked at her, likea healthy human female of 4, she noticed,looked back, and smiled. Yup, that’s justsome of how things work! So, I told her,”You have him wrapped around your littlefinger.”She smiled some more, and I said,”Of course, he will never say ‘No’to you. And you know this already.”and she nodded and smiled more!It looked like some of this was news toher father. Poor father; Mother natureand his daughter were way ahead ofhim!

  91. LE

    I pulled from super 8 and digitized of me and her when I was maybe 2.You should take some clips of that and work it into arnoldwaldstein.com. And/or frame grabs.I can’t put in words the reason behind why I think you should (on the spot) but I’m convinced it would be a positive addition. Maybe has something to do with balance and sensitivity. I think it’s appealing and would pull at the heart strings.By the way “teamblendy” is a great concept. You need to register that one for sure.

  92. Matt A. Myers

    Fairfax has stated they will keep the company whole – perhaps thy are liars and dishonest

  93. Elia Freedman

    It was great meeting you, too. Hard to believe that was only a few days ago!It’s a fine device. I was not impressed with its speed and Android OS 2.3 was horrible. It’s better with Android 4, which I now have on it. The SIII was a huge improvement over the SII.

  94. awaldstein

    The world can’t get enough kittens in my opinion. My charity dollars go to pet rescue shelters.

  95. Matt A. Myers

    google’s car isn’t that far from a commercial vehicle – they just do it differently, they improve on design instead … which they can afford to do, because they have a lot of billions to play with – company like tesla motors didn’t have that money to play with early onone factor with voice is that there are a lot of patents around it, which probably makes it impossible to navigate as a new business or even an existing one with a budgeti hope ‘html5’ keeps evolving to have a lot of the functionalities built-in

  96. Pete Griffiths

    I very much doubt they will. But they would be fools to say they would dismember it. The exodus of staff and clients would lose them billions. They will doubtless start talking in terms of restructuring to meet operational requirements and better serve their customers into the next decade.But I will be very very very surprised if they truly do keep it whole.

  97. Matt A. Myers

    i think it is possible if they have someone in power that knows what needs to be done and isn’t afraid to command things

  98. bsoist

    funny stuff! are you originally from Atlantic County?

  99. Emily Merkle

    My mom grew up in Paramus. Then my grandparents moved to OC. We lived in FL in my childhood and would drive up to the shore every summer to see them. It really was/is just such a wholesome family experience. But with beer from the first liquor store over the causeway 🙂 So now, every other year we rent 2 houses next to each other, and all my mom’s sibs and their kids (and now THEIR kids) and my sibs and their kids pile in to stuff ourselves with nostalgic food and spend some time, since everyone is far-flung.

  100. bsoist

    I was born in Stratford, but my dad lost his driver’s license when I was an infant and thought he needed to move to Philly or AC. He chose AC and got a job as a chef at Haddon Hall ( what became Resorts ). As he worked his way out of poverty, we moved to Pville, then Galloway Twp, then Brigantine ( and EHT after I had moved out).My wife and I lived in OC right after we married, then FL, then LBI, now DE. My parent’s, brother and sister all lived within a mile of one another in EHT until about a year ago when my brother moved to VA. My parents are both gone, so my sister is all alone in EHT. That’s why we make an effort to visit at least twice a summer and holidays.Of course, my sis and her family also visit us at least once to experience “mostly vegan” grilling and what my brother-in-law calls “cold ones” ( we are slowly educating him on the benefits of drinking from the proper glass instead of straight from the bottle :)as I finish this comment, George (from Delaware) comes on WMMR with “I drink alone” 🙂

  101. Emily Merkle

    Oh, we have many a Merkle and Gormley who imbibe the cold ones straight from the bottle…or worse – the can. Yup. Good ole Catholic family.

  102. Pete Griffiths

    Let’s wait and see. 🙂

  103. Matt A. Myers

    indeed, let’s

  104. Pete Griffiths

    This kind of thing won’t help them as a gong concern. Gartner Group just wrote them off in its recommendations to IT shops.http://www.computerworld.co