links for 2008-09-04

• Home-Price Bottom May Still Be a Year Away - Real Time Economics
• Economy Stays Stuck as Consumers Cut Back - NYTimes.com
• Shared capitalism and employee ignorance - Vox EU
• Assessing the Value of Small Wind Turbines - NYTimes.com
• Nasty - The Edge of the American West
• Mattresses and Mortgages - Richard Green
• Why the inflation scare may not be over - Daniel Gross
• The Most Ridiculous Article I Have Ever Read - Exuberant Rationality
• Texas Railroad Commission - Spencer
• Boston's Rosengren on the Credit Crunch - Real Time Economics

Comments

[anne]

http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2008/08/sarah-hunting-w.html

August 29, 2008

1. Sarah "Hunting Wolves From Helicopters for Sport Is Fun!" Palin?

2. ...

3. ...

http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2008/09/elderly-politic.html

September 2, 2008

21. Elderly Politicians Are Unruly

22. A Third Salient Fact About Sarah Palin

23. Real Poker Players Look at Their Hole Cards

24. David Brooks Says McCain Is Not Competent to Be President

25. Slate Death Spiral Watch

26. John McCain Is Not Qualified to Be President

27. Washington Post Self-Parody Watch

28. Vetting?

29. John McCain Is Not Qualified to Be President of Anything

30. Washington Post Death Spiral Watch (Robert Barnes and Dan Balz Don't Know How to Do Their Jobs Edition)

31. Hilzoy on John McCain: "I'm Ready for My Closeup, Mr. DeMille"

32. The Unfitness of McCain's Staff

33. Phil Gramm vs. the Whiners of America

-- Brad DeLong

http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2008/09/palin-seeks-rev.html

September 3, 2008

34. Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin Complains of Unethical Behavior by Republican Alaska Governor Sarah Palin: She Asks Herself to Investigate Herself

35. Sarah Palin = Spiro Agnew

36. I Am Not Making This Up!

37. Some Pushback on Sarah Palin

The meme going around is that John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin is the most bizarre choice of deputy since the Emperor Caligula chose his horse Incitatus to be consul.

38. Peggy Noonan, Chris Todd, and Mike Murphy on Sarah Palin

39. I Am Confused...

40. Ezra Klein Listens to Sarah Palin

41. Republicans Lie, All the Time, About Everything

-- Brad DeLong

[For the fear of a woman....]

[anne]

http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2008/09/why-is-new-york-times-so-sexistly.html

September 3, 2008

Why is the New York Times so sexist in obsession with the personal life of Sarah Palin? "Ms. Palin's own pregnancy took Alaska by surprise this year. Even those who worked for her in the governor's office said they were surprised. Her announcement, in March, was reported in The Anchorage Daily News, which noted at the time that Ms. Palin 'simply doesn't look pregnant.' " * This is yet another low for the paper.

* http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/us/politics/02palin.html

-- As'ad AbuKhalil

[anne]

http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2008/09/some-pushback-o.html

September 3, 2008

37. Some Pushback on Sarah Palin

The meme going around is that John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin is the most bizarre choice of deputy since the Emperor Caligula chose his horse Incitatus to be consul.

-- Brad DeLong

[My oh my, my oh my, my oh my.]

[anne]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/opinion/04collins.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

September 4, 2008

Sarah Palin Speaks!
By GAIL COLLINS

ST. PAUL

Sarah Palin came out of hiding Wednesday night, and boy, she seemed ticked off.

“Here’s a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to win their good opinion,” said the moose-gutting, polar bear-trashing, aerobics-class-networking vice presidential nominee....

We had been waiting for a long time to hear from Palin, who went to the mattresses almost immediately after she was introduced to the nation by John McCain last week. What followed was a long line of unexpected revelations, from the fabled teenage pregnancy....

[Sometimes it takes a woman to promote stereotypes of women.]

[anne]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/opinion/30collins-.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

August 30, 2008

McCain's Baked Alaska
By GAIL COLLINS

DENVER

It is conceivable that some people will think John McCain picked Sarah Palin to be his running mate because she is a woman. I know you find this shocking, but I swear I have heard it mentioned.

McCain does not believe in pandering to identity politics. He was looking for someone who was well prepared to fight against international Islamic extremism, the transcendent issue of our time. And in the end he decided that in good conscience, he was not going to settle for anyone who had not been commander of a state national guard for at least a year and a half. He put down his foot!

The obvious choice was Palin, the governor of Alaska, whose guard stands as our last best defense against possible attack by the resurgent Russian menace across the Bering Strait.

Also a woman, but that's totally beside the point....

The idea that women are going to race off to vote for any candidate with the same internal plumbing is both offensive and historically wrong....

[anne]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/books/04butler.html?ref=arts&pagewanted=print

September 4, 2008

Author Gives Voice to Artists' Silent Muses, Their Wives
By PATRICIA COHEN

Years ago Ruth Butler was walking through the Musée Rodin in Paris when she glimpsed a small oil painting of a woman with short brown hair, intense eyes and pursed lips. It was labeled a portrait of Rodin's mother.

"I said, 'That's ridiculous,' " recalled Ms. Butler, who was on the museum's board and is now professor emerita at the University of Massachusetts in Boston and the author of a Rodin biography. She recognized the portrait as that of Rose Beuret, Rodin's model and later his wife.

"I thought that if even the Musée Rodin doesn't care about Rose, then I should write about this," Ms. Butler said as she sat sipping a cappuccino in the Petrie Court at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, gazing out at Central Park.

The book is "Hidden in the Shadow of the Master: The Model-Wives of Cézanne, Monet and Rodin," recently published by Yale University Press. In it Ms. Butler tries to rescue from obscurity the women who she argues were so much a part of the triumphs of these visionaries.

"These artists would find people whose body and face make a statement that they could not otherwise make," Ms. Butler said, arguing that the models have never been given their due. The women "made a contribution," she added. "They deserve to be seen, not just visually but biographically."

As artists in the second half of the 19th century shifted from painting historical, mythological and religious subjects to everyday life, they looked for a new kind of model. For the first time, Ms. Butler said, artists used the same model — often a wife or lover — over and over and over again in different paintings and in different scenes.

The switch was related in part to the end of official patronage, which centuries of artists had depended upon for support. The collapse of this system of sponsorship and the beginnings of an art market set off a series of changes for artists, not the least of which was often poverty.

The three artists that Ms. Butler focuses on — Auguste Rodin, Claude Monet and Paul Cézanne — all spotted their models on the streets of Paris, drawn to something unique in a face or manner. All later married and had sons. But the women were often treated badly.

Ms. Butler "provides good reason to look at these artists' work again," a reviewer in the British magazine The Spectator wrote, because "each look brings a lost soul back to life."

Very little is known about Hortense Fiquet, Cézanne's model and wife, who sat for 27 oil portraits and numerous drawings. Ms. Butler said she tried to get information from their descendants, but they either snubbed or misled her. The feeling in the family, she said, was that Hortense "was a lowlife, that she spent his money."

"They didn't like her," she added.

Leaving the Petrie Court, Ms. Butler walks to the second-floor gallery where two large portraits of Hortense Fiquet are hung. On the right is "Madame Cézanne (Hortense Fiquet, 1850-1922) in the Conservatory," from 1891. "She's extremely beautiful," Ms. Butler says. "Her body is full, round and powerful." Hortense is in a blue dress, seated in the center of a sunny room splashed in yellows and ochres. Two symmetrical lines form her eyebrows, which sit above a sharply sculptured nose; her pile of brown hair is shaped into a smooth cap atop her head.

A few feet away is "Madame Cézanne in a Red Dress." It is dated 1888-90, but Ms. Butler says it is almost certainly later than that, pointing to the radical change in style. Hortense is in the same Paris apartment, but the background is colored in cool blues, while the figure tilts to the right, as if she might slide out of the frame. Her right eye is in the shape of a small triangle with an arched eyebrow while the left is narrow and flat. "Her body is flattened out and off-kilter," Ms. Butler notes. "It's more abstract, angular."

This is the last portrait Cézanne did of Hortense. They were living apart, Ms. Butler says, she in Paris, he in Aix. "My conclusion is that she said, 'Well, I'm going to retire now.' "

In another room is a painting that was once titled "Camille Monet on a Garden Bench" but is now labeled "The Bench" (1873), an example of how these women have been erased from history, Ms. Butler says.

The picture was done when the Monets were living in Argenteuil, outside Paris, and were enjoying a flash of financial security. Camille, in an elegant gray-and-black dress, wide eyes and down-turned lips, is seated on a bench blankly gazing out, with a somewhat sinister-looking man hunched over her shoulder.

"Monet and Camille were a wonderful working couple," Ms. Butler says. "She just loved to pose." ...

[anne]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/world/asia/04attack.html?ref=world&pagewanted=print

September 4, 2008

American Forces Attack Militants on Pakistani Soil
By PIR ZUBAIR SHAH, ERIC SCHMITT and JANE PERLEZ

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — Helicopter-borne American Special Operations forces attacked Qaeda militants in a Pakistani village near the border with Afghanistan early Wednesday in the first publicly acknowledged case of United States forces conducting a ground raid on Pakistani soil, American officials said.

Until now, allied forces in Afghanistan have occasionally carried out airstrikes and artillery attacks in the border region of Pakistan against militants hiding there, and American forces in “hot pursuit” of militants have had some latitude to chase them across the border.

But the commando raid by the American forces signaled what top American officials said could be the opening salvo in a much broader campaign by Special Operations forces against the Taliban and Al Qaeda inside Pakistan, a secret plan that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has been advocating for months within President Bush’s war council.

It also seemed likely to complicate relations with Pakistan, where the already unstable political situation worsened after the resignation last month of President Pervez Musharraf, a longtime American ally.

“What you’re seeing is perhaps a stepping up of activity against militants in sanctuaries in the tribal areas that pose a direct threat to United States forces and Afghan forces in Afghanistan,” said one senior American official, who had been briefed on the attack and spoke on condition of anonymity because of the mission’s political sensitivity. “There’s potential to see more.”

While most American troops in Afghanistan operate under a NATO chain of command, the Special Operations forces who carried out this attack answer only to American commanders.

The Bush administration has criticized Pakistan in recent months for not doing enough to curb attacks by the Taliban and Al Qaeda, which keep bases inside the Pakistani tribal region and cross the border to attack American and NATO forces in Afghanistan. The action by the American forces on Wednesday in the border village appeared to be an effort to stanch the raids by Al Qaeda, the Taliban and other militants.

There were conflicting reports about civilian casualties in the operation. American officials said one child had been killed in the strike; a Pakistani military spokesman said the American troops had opened fire on villagers, killing seven people.

After the attack, Pakistan lodged a “strong protest” with the American government and reserved the right of “self-defense and retaliation,” said the Pakistani military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas.

Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld had weighed plans to kill or capture top leaders of Al Qaeda inside Pakistan, but Mr. Rumsfeld, for all his public bravado, wanted to tread cautiously in Pakistan for fear of undermining Mr. Musharraf. With Mr. Musharraf’s resignation, that issue is no longer a concern....

[anne]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/opinion/04thu2.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

September 4, 2008

Help for Georgia

The Kremlin's leaders continue to bluster and preen in the wake of their invasion of Georgia....

[Notice how the case is made in a sentence, but I wonder whether "America's leaders continue to bluster and preen in the wake of their invasion of Iraq" was ever a possible sentence in the Times editorial. I thought Georgia invaded Ossetia, but that is only because by chance I happened to watch the invasion.]

[anne]

Essentially liberal or centrist America has come to accept an indefinite war in Afghanistan, intermittent war in Pakistan, and a return to Cold War confrontations with Russia. There is simply no effective political opposition on this astonishing array of critical foreign policy matters, though I have no convincing explanation for myself as to why there is no meaningful opposition. The extent to which Obama and, lately, Biden have evidently made war in Afghanistan and Pakistan beyond question for so many self-styled liberals is distressing.

Still, beyond this, how did Russia come to be so quickly and easily vilified with never a word of tempering explanation from Democrats?

[anne]

http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2008/09/from-daily-star-these-are-very-common.html

September 4, 2008

From the Daily Star: these are very common in Lebanese newspapers:

"LOST

ETHIOPIAN HOUSEMAID

M***** G**********

left her employer's house on 17-8-08
and did not return. Whomever
employs her will be subject to
legal pursuit. (961) 3 ******
(961) 9 ******

(Daily Star, 25/08/2008, printed edition)"

As'ad AbuKhalil

[anne]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/world/europe/05cheney.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

September 5, 2008

Cheney Backs NATO Membership for Georgia
By STEVEN LEE MYERS and ALAN COWELL

One day after the United States proposed $1 billion in assistance for Georgia, Vice President Dick Cheney flew there to reaffirm support for its eventual NATO membership.

[Surprise.]

[anne]

http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2008/09/ummm-no-simply.html

September 4, 2008

42. Ummm... No. Simply No.

43. I Am Not Making This Up: John McCain's Bad Judgment, Part XLII

44. John McCain's Bad Judgment--and Ross Douthat's Too

45. John McCain's Awful Judgment, Part LXIII

-- Brad DeLong

[For the fear of a woman... Part, well, your know.]

[anne]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/us/politics/04assess.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

September 4, 2008

“It’s more difficult with someone of her background to go on the attack than it would be for Joe Biden,” said Warren Rudman, a former Republican senator from New Hampshire. “Before she attacks someone, she has to get out there and define herself.”

[The place for a woman is in the...? Women should be seen and not...?]

[Barkley Rosser]

anne,

Your denumeration of Brad DeLong's posts on Sarah Palin is getting increasingly pointless. Overwhelmingly these do not mention her gender or family, although some do the latter. He is mostly attacking her on policies and ideas, which you have elsewhere agreed is legit.

As someone else noted, if you have a problem with Brad's postings, take it up with him on his blog, not here.

[kthomas]

"Essentially liberal or centrist America has come to accept an indefinite war in Afghanistan, intermittent war in Pakistan..."

anne, until we have a draft and actualy PAY TAXES for this war, nobody will give a shat.

[anne]

Actually the matter is quite important. A Democratic candidate for President was beaten up gender-wise month on month to the evident satisfaction of many Democratic activists, even to the participation in beating-up. Howard Dean would in time even comment that he had not complained about the beating of Hillary Clinton during the campaign because we did not watch much cable.

John McCain was however sensitive enough to respond several time respectfully and graciously to Clinton as her candidacy continued, offering a tribute as her candidacy ended. Later, McCain turned to a woman as a Vice Presidential candidate, an historic turn for a Republican Presidential candidate, and immediately the candidate began to be beaten-up often in ways that only women are beaten and interestingly by people who had beaten on Clinton or refused to defend Clinton when necessary.

Me, I think this is awfully important.

[anne]

Watching international television was delightful, in finding the speech of Sarah Palin immediately and correctly politically praised, for the speech seemed for the purpose and under the forced circumstances politically effective immediately while evidently being widely watched.

That Republican activists came to understand quickly the need to defend Palin, by the way, should be an important lesson for Democratic activists who never understood the need to defend Clinton and who may have even beaten on her beyond the end.

[anne]

K Thomas:

"Until we have a draft and actually PAY TAXES for this war, nobody will give a darn."

This has been an increasingly common assumption that makes sense, but seems to leave out how many of us have been drawn to our recent wars even including Vietnam. There was a decided anti-war movement during Vietnam, but not nearly as much anti-war sentiment as I would like to believe that should have been.

[anne]

There is by the way a stark problem through wealthier communities in the Middle East in terms of the abuse of imported labor, possibly especially domestic labor, that I was only vaguely aware of. Human Rights Watch has just reported on this, but the subject I am told comes up continually in Asian newspapers since much imported labor is Asian. The "Lost Ethiopian Housemaid" ad is not out of the ordinary.

[kthomas]

Thank you, anne.

I see you are still bent out of shape over Sen. Clinton.

I never did understand what you saw in her. I would love having a female President, just not another Clinton. Now if she had the good sense to change her name back to the good name of Rodham, I might have been more inclined to listen. (At least then America would not look like it's electing disgusting blue-blooded royals.....Bush I, Clinton I, Bush II, Clinton II.....c'mon anne)

Obama will do just fine. It could be a lot worse, you have to admit.

[anne]

http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2008/09/some-pushback-o.html

September 3, 2008

Some Pushback on Sarah Palin

The meme going around is that John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin is the most bizarre choice of deputy since the Emperor Caligula chose his horse Incitatus to be consul.

[I suspect John McCain would not agree.]

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/palins-tv-ratings-nearly-match-obamas/

September 4, 2008

Palin’s TV Ratings Nearly Match Obama’s
By Katharine Q. Seelye

ST. PAUL — Sarah Palin is good for ratings!

She swept in 37,244,000 viewers on Wednesday night, according to Nielsen — about 13 million more than watched her Democratic counterpart, Senator Joseph R. Biden, last Wednesday night when he accepted the vice presidential nomination and, most astonishingly, just a million shy of Senator Barack Obama’s record 38.4 million last Thursday at Invesco Field.....

[anne]

That Republicans, possibly because of McCain lead, chose to fight the unfair attacks on Palin, will I hope set an example for political behavior in defense of a women candidate in coming campaigns. Democrats needed to defend Clinton from the beginning, and even now may not understand why Clinton was winning primaries to the end when being told continually to quit the campaign. I always thought how remarkable that Clinton finally and decisively won South Dakota at the close of primaries.

[anne]

I was never so much interested in Clinton as a candidate, as in the ways in which Clinton was treated. Now, I thought Clinton a fine candidate but that became less important than the lack of fairness beyond political toughness and roughness. Palin interests me as a symbol.

Obama will do just fine, in any event.

[anne]

The problem for me for months was the increasing conservatism of Obama, and an unwillingness of too many self-styled liberals to challenge this to force any change. Change now seems far to late to expect, and I expect as President Obama will be trapped by the conservative stances taken.

The case for this is made well by Adolph Reed of the University of Pennsylvania, who is taken for a pessimist but who I find all to correctly analytical.

[anne]

Barkley Rosser:

"Your denumeration of Brad DeLong's posts on Sarah Palin...."

I denumerate, he denumerates, she denumerates, we denumerate, they denumerate, so denumerate....