In 2006, American stand up comedian and juggler Chris Bliss enjoyed widespread fame when an online video of his juggling finale became a viral internet sensation. The five minute video shows his energetic finale where he juggles three balls to Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End by The Beatles. It was widely circulated via email and blogs with an estimated 20 million viewings within 40 days. He later expanded his brief juggling act to include stand up comedy.

The first video below offers a taste of Chris’ “Smart Comedy for the Information Age” act, and the second is the juggling finale that made him famous. Sit back and enjoy!

HT: Michael

This photo from Zeke screams for a caption. Anyone?

Does anyone else think Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sound more like cartoon characters than mortgage finance companies? Kind of like Homer Simpson or Wile E. Coyote but not so funny…

Senate Democrats apparently think all that’s needed to entice a dozen more Republicans to sign on to their $750 billion bailout plan is to ring Pavlov’s “tax credit” bell. Doubling FDIC insurance on bank deposits and seasoning the package with a few tax credits, they reason, will be like tossing fresh liver to a starving dog. Never mind that most Americans are adamantly against the bailout and that, above all else, politicians want to protect their comfortable seats on the hill. But Democrats are betting a few “treats” will make Republicans forget who they work for, roll over and beg for more.

Sad thing is, that well may be all it takes.

The Internet is ablaze with a grand idea. Instead of bailing out AIG to the tune of $85 billion, why not divide the money among all 200 million or so U.S. adults? That gives $425,000 to every man and woman — $297,500 after taxes — at least according to the dozen or so emails I’ve received from readers including, most recently, my goombah, Michael. Great! Where do I sign up?

There’s just one small problem with the proposed plan: It only works out to $425 per person, not $425,000. Someone needs a refresher course in decimals. Oops.

Here’s the email:

I’m against the $85,000,000,000 bailout of AIG. Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.

To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18 and older. Our population is about 301,000,000 counting every man, woman and child, so 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and older. So dividing 200 million into $85 billion equals $425,000. My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18 and older as a We Deserve It Dividend.

Of course, it would not be tax free. So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%. Every eligible individual would pay $127,500 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam. But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500 in their pocket. A husband and wife have $595,000.

What would you do with $297,500 - $595,000 in your family?

Click to read more ...

If you missed SNL’s sendup of Katie Couric’s recent interview with Governor Sarah Palin, here’s your chance to watch Tina Fey at her best. Forget serious politics for the next 7 minutes…This is funny!

If you receive an email with “Nude Photos of Sarah Palin” in the subject line, do not open it. It may contain a malicious virus.

If you receive an email with “Nude Photos of Hillary Clinton” in the subject line, do not open it. It may contain nude photos of Hillary Clinton.

HT: James

Feeling the financial pinch? Giving up on ever taking that European vacation? Dan Piraro suggests this budget alternative…

Yeah, I know, I’ve beaten this drum for quite a few posts now, but it’s important to understand. For those less inclined to slug through my more lengthy attempts at explaining where we are and how we got here, watch this Special Report with Bret Hume which offers a more “capsulized” version:

And for those of you that really want to understand what happened, why, and how our elected (and a few appointed) officials are dealing with it, listen to this audio presentation by Mark Levin at his best. It’s long — about an hour — but you’ll get “extra credit” in Economics 101 for investing the time.

The Presidential election was too close to call. Neither the Republican candidate nor the Democrat candidate had enough votes to win. There was much talk about ballot recounting and court challenges, but a week-long ice fishing competition  seemed the sportsmanlike way to settle things. The candidate that caught the most fish at the end of the week would win the election.

After much back and forth discussion, it was decided that the contest would take place on a remote frozen lake in northern Michigan. There were to be no observers present, and both men would be sent out separately on the isolated lake, returning at 5 P.M. with their catch for counting and verification by a team of neutral judges.

At the end of the first day, John McCain returned to the starting line with ten fish. Soon after, Obama returned with none. Everyone assumed he was just having a bad day and would do better the following day.

At the end of the second day, McCain returned with twenty fish and Obama once again returned empty handed. That evening, Harry Reid met secretly with Obama and said, “Barack, I think John McCain is a low-life, cheatin’ SOB. I want you to go out tomorrow and don’t even bother fishing. Just spy on him and find out how he’s cheating!”

The next night (after McCain had returned with another fifty fish), Reid met with Obama and asked, “So, tell me, how is the old snake cheating?”

Click to read more ...

In their September 23 Wall Street Journal article, Charles Calomiris and Peter Wallison opined the vast accumulation of toxic mortgage debt that poisoned the global financial system was driven by the aggressive buying of subprime and Alt-A mortgages, and mortgage-backed securities, by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The poor choices of these two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) — and their sponsors in Washington — are largely to blame for our current mess.

Well, sure. But, as I wrote yesterday, Fannie and Freddie chose that path because they were pressured by the Clinton administration to loosen loan requirements for minorities and others unable to qualify for conventional financing. And, as Ben commented, Clinton relied on the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), passed under Carter in 1977, for authority.

Didn’t anyone realize what was happening and sound the alarm? Sure, many. And in the wake of Freddie’s 2003 accounting scandal, even Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan became a powerful opponent, calling for stricter regulation of the GSEs and limitations on the growth of their risky retained portfolios. But by presenting themselves to Congress as the champions of affordable housing, Fannie and Freddie retained the support of many in Congress, particularly Democrats, and they were allowed to continue unrestrained.

…Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass), for example, now the chair of the House Financial Services Committee, openly described the “arrangement” with the GSEs at a committee hearing on GSE reform in 2003: “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have played a very useful role in helping to make housing more affordable … a mission that this Congress has given them in return for some of the arrangements which are of some benefit to them to focus on affordable housing.” The hint to Fannie and Freddie was obvious: Concentrate on affordable housing and, despite your problems, your congressional support is secure.

Eventually, of course, the bubble burst just as Alan Greenspan and others had predicted. Now Congress is trying to get out from under the weight of responsibility by pointing at everyone else while the Bush Administration is working with the Fed to propose a way for Congress to repair the damage with the least negative impact on American taxpayers.

And what were our current presidential candidates doing while all this was going on?

Click to read more ...

Normally I wouldn’t mention what looks to be an obvious email fabrication, but I’ve received several emails (you may have too) alleging that a high ranking DNC official (of course) leaked that Senator Joe Biden will cite health concerns, possibly related to an another aneurysm, as his reason for stepping down as the vice-presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket, to be replaced by Senator Hillary Clinton soon after the VP debate.

Such email rumors aren’t uncommon; remember the one in 2004 claiming Bush was about to dump Dick Cheney? And more recently, that McCain was about to replace Sarah Palin? In fact, there hasn’t been such a swap since McGovern did it in 1972 (with disastrous results).

I know, anything’s possible, but I wouldn’t put much stock in the idea. The Dems probably realize that whatever boost they might enjoy with a switch to Clinton could be offset by making Obama seem a weak, indecisive, vacillating presidential candidate.

While Democrats bluster about the nation’s financial meltdown and the President’s proposed bailout, remember that all their finger pointing is a desperate attempt to divert attention from their own responsibility at this crucial point in the election campaign. Where did all these sub-prime loans come from, anyway? Whose bright idea was that?

Frequent contributor Mike points to a September 30, 1999, New York Times article (Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending) that pinpoints the genesis of the current financial crisis and exposes why current Democratic finger pointing is aimed in the wrong direction:

In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.

The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets — including the New York metropolitan region — will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.

Fannie Mae, the nation’s biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration [emphasis added] to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.

In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called sub-prime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates — anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.

”Fannie Mae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990’s by reducing down payment requirements,” said Franklin D. Raines [emphasis added*], Fannie Mae’s chairman and chief executive officer. ”Yet there remain too many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below what our underwriting has required who have been relegated to paying significantly higher mortgage rates in the so-called subprime market.”…

*As recently as August 2008, Raines was identified as an economic adviser to the Obama campaign. He’s apparently now been pushed into the shadows. Good decision, but not soon enough to go unnoticed.

To be continued…

Indeed. (Thanks Kelly!)

Michael provided these stunning HDR (high dynamic range) images. The first is of a people-mover system in Hong Kong, an example of HDR done right. The second HDR image was taken in Kuala Lampur and, although striking, I think it’s been over processed. Your thoughts?