Reason Morning Links: Bad Weather, Gay Divorce, and the Sex Life of the Late-Night TV Host

Jesse Walker | October 2, 2009

• Green shoots watch: Unemployment rises to 9.8 percent.

• A devastating typhoon moves toward the Philippines while Indonesia reels from a devastating quake.

• Ben Bernanke heads to the Hill, learns the Fed isn't so popular these days.

• The political conflict intensifies over the proper approach to Afghanistan.

• "Court to hear gay divorce in Texas, despite gay marriage ban."

• Cash for clunkers: the aftermath.

• That Letterman business you've been hearing about.

Comments

|10.2.09 @ 8:45AM|#

NPR just reported that unemployment held steady in September at 9.8%. As in, unchanged. As in, things are getting better.

Rich|10.2.09 @ 8:48AM|#

This *is* good news! When the stimuli kick in they'll have even *greater* effect!

Kevin|10.2.09 @ 9:28AM|#

Don't forget those eleventy billion jobs that were saved! Hallelujiah!

Grammar Czar|10.2.09 @ 8:46AM|#

"There's nobody more sick and tired of bailouts than me," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee.

Than I.

Ben Benanke|10.2.09 @ 9:14AM|#

You misunderstood. What I meant was, people are sicker of me than they are of bailouts!

Grammar Czar|10.2.09 @ 9:27AM|#

Wow, is my face red.

Dr. Bernanke FTW.

|10.2.09 @ 8:55AM|#

What this country needs is a late night talk show czar.

Rich|10.2.09 @ 9:29AM|#

I sure hope Dave gets to announce the total economic collapse.

The Seinfeld Defense|10.2.09 @ 9:05AM|#

The Letterman video/story doesn't mention whether any of the staffers were 7th-graders. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Letterman|10.2.09 @ 9:15AM|#

She was not unresponsive.

Untermensch|10.2.09 @ 10:14AM|#

Of course not. You only gave her part of a Lude. If you wanted unresponsive you should have given her the whole thing.

Jonas|10.2.09 @ 1:51PM|#

Hmm... now I'm wondering how many people voicing support for Polanski are going to turn around and say what a sick fuck Letterman is for consensual sex with (gasp!) subordinates.

Muttley|10.2.09 @ 9:19AM|#

And how about this link?
Gov. Rick Perry to shake up the Texas Forensic Science Commission days before hearing of Willingham's case take place

John Tagliaferro|10.2.09 @ 9:27AM|#

"Court to hear gay divorce in Texas, despite gay marriage ban."

Okay reality, damnit! Stop happening 20 years too early! Wait, this will work. Same sex marriage and divorce will be more common in the future with great amounts of wealth transferred to attractive people from unattractive rich people. Just like in hetero world.

PantsFan|10.2.09 @ 9:42AM|#

The National Parks: Amercias Best Idea?
discuss.

|10.2.09 @ 9:50AM|#

I've saaid stupid things in the past when I didn't bother to think about it. I'll give Burns a pass on this.

Vi Agra|10.2.09 @ 3:00PM|#

I have thought about this and I would say that they were America's best idea as long as one agrees that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were America's greatest contribution to the world.

|10.2.09 @ 9:44AM|#

The Obama administration wants to add to the Fed's portfolio by giving it the task of supervising large financial firms, such as investment banks, that currently fall outside government banking regulation. That increased power would be offset somewhat by the administration's proposal to take away the Fed's authority to write and enforce consumer protection rules for financial products. That power would go to a new consumer agency.

Although the Fed still could end up securing new authority, Bernanke has his hands full just trying to keep his agency from losing power, said Jaret Seiberg, a financial policy analyst with Concept Capital's Washington Research Group.

Great.

Will Bernanke be sitting in on General Electric board meetings, to keep tabs on GE Finance?

|10.2.09 @ 9:45AM|#

Payrolls fell by 263,000, ...

Jobs that Obama's (and Bush's) profligacy didn't save.

Cue some leftist retard to opine "But it would have been much worse! Billions would have lost their jobs without the stimulus".

Isaac Bartram|10.2.09 @ 10:36AM|#

"Billions would have lost their jobs without the stimulus."

And women and minorities would have been hit hardest.

Frankly, given the size of the bubble we will be exceedingly lucky to have unemployment sttlr at the ten+/- percent marke for six months or so.

That said, of all the threats to my decoder ring status unemployment insurance is probably the greates. Unemployment sucks and the small cash relief that UI affords impacted workers is probably one of the least expenses that governments incur when they "respond" to a crisis.

|10.2.09 @ 9:45AM|#

Me want preview. Me want it bad,

Isaac Bartram|10.2.09 @ 10:39AM|#

No preview needed, J sub D.

Garbled sentences full of mispelled words are just one more feature giving H&R its charming zaniness.

|10.2.09 @ 9:48AM|#

B B @9:14.

Very nice.

Untermensch|10.2.09 @ 10:13AM|#

How could the LA Times write an article about curbing the Fed and not once mention Ron Paul? Didn't they routinely label him a wacko last year for that, but now that the cool(er) kids are starting to call for oversight on the Fed, they don't want to associate them with him? Is that it?

EJM|10.2.09 @ 10:16AM|#

• A devastating typhoon moves toward the Philippines while Indonesia reels from a devastating quake.

Nice AlertNet plug, Jesse; of course, though, I still need to plug ReliefWeb as well. ;)

EJM|10.2.09 @ 10:20AM|#

Ack! I guess the link tags work differently now:

AlertNet -- http://www.alertnet.org

ReliefWeb -- http://www.reliefweb.int

|10.2.09 @ 10:39AM|#

Any word from the fundies on how the Phillipines and Indonesia earned this retribution from God?

Art-P.O.G.|10.2.09 @ 11:31AM|#

John Tagliaferro. Yup. Progress!

|10.2.09 @ 2:48PM|#

Brotherben,

I think you meant to say is there any word from Pat(sy) Robertson.. The rest of the Christian conservatives are too busy packing relief supplies to ship down there with crises missionaries. Ohh and they aren't famous so noone gives a crap what they say, you will rarely hear any of them on the news..

So please stop giving the shitweasel mentioned above the privilege of speaking for all of us. He doesn't deserve so much authority.. I mean its not like he's God or anything..

Rhywun|10.2.09 @ 11:41PM|#

The media are handwringingly confessing that we have to treat Letterman the same way we treat the myriad politicians who get into sex troubles, while completely ignoring the difference between "politician" and "celebrity".