Heaps & Barrels: Edition 2
January 23, 2008
TOP OF THE HEAP
Runner-up:
Eli Manning, East Rutherford, NJ Giants QuarterbackRewind to about 16 months ago for the NY Giants: the team’s star running back Tiki Barber seemed more interested in leaving football and pursuing a broadcasting career, coach Tom Coughlin’s job is on the line, and the famously vicious New York media wanted Eli and Tom Coughlin gone.Now to the beginning of the season: Coughlin is still the coach but he’s on notice, Tiki Barber (now a football analyst on the hideous NBC pre-game show) is declaring Eli Manning not much of leader, and the sports media pretty much declared Manning an average quarterback and nothing more.
Well surprise surprise, the Giants are in the Super Bowl, beating the two best teams in the NFC (Dallas and Green Bay) and doing it without tight end Jeremy Shockey and running back Brandon Jacobs. Eli Manning has been playing flawless football for the pst 3 months, and almost won the their final game of the regular season, against the now 18-0 New England Patriots.
That’s Eli’s next challenge, beating those same Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. He received high praise from more celebrated brother Peyton. Eli solicited advice from Peyton, and Peyton told Eli that he could offer him no advice since he has surpassed the point where Peyton could give him advice. If you’re keeping score, Eli made the Super Bowl in just his fourth year; Peyton reached the Super Bowl in his ninth year.
It’s about time the sports media, the New York media, and Tiki Barber lay off Eli. In fact Tiki, more and more it looks like you caused the Giants to flame out at the end of last year. Hope you enjoy rating fashion on the Today Show, while Eli and your former teammates play in the Super Bowl. For perserverance, Eli Manning is the runner-up to the Top of the Heap.
Top of the Top:
Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman
On January 22, before the markets opened for the week, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke took the bold step of reducing the federal funds rate by 3/4%. Recognizing that individuals and businesses are having an increasingly difficult time obtaining credit, Bernanke and the Federal Reserve lowered the funds rate to loosen the flow of money. Doing so will make loans more affordable in the hopes of stimulating the economy.
Recall several years ago right after 9/11, Alan Greenspan pursued a similar strategy to keep the economy from a more severe recession. Greenspan brought the funds rate down to 1%, which combined with the 2001 tax cuts, helped keep the 2001 recession shallow and strengthened the economy for years to come.
The downside to the Greenspan strategy is since credit was so cheap, it contributed to the housing bubble in the early and mid-2000’s, and when inflation increased (due to soaring energy prices), the funds rate had to be greatly increased to tighten credit and keep inflation in check. That caused the housing bubble to burst, and now housing valuations and construction are dropping precipitously.
Bernanke’s move will attempt to jump-start lending, which will jump-start the housing market and consumer spending, which will stimulate the economy. The problem is this rate decrease will not work its way through the economy for 6-12 months, and a recession may already have taken hold by then. Bernanke is using all the tools at his disposal to keep us out of a recession and doing so expeditiously. For that, Bernanke is at the Top of the Heap.
BOTTOM OF THE BARREL
Runner-up:
John EdwardsDoes anyone really buy this guy? Does anyone truly believe John Edwards genuinely wants to help the poor and downtrodden? Give me a break!John Edwards is exactly what’s wrong with politics today. His common theme is this “Two Americas” B.S. where he pits those with not-so-much against those who have much in order to generate anger in the electorate. This, he hopes, will give him votes, or at least favorable press.
The truth is, he could care less about those less well-off than he. Not only that, he knows he doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the Presidency. He garners just enough popularity to be a factor in the eventual nominee’s campaign. In 2004, John Kerry felt compelled to bring Edwards on the ticket, because Edwards sold himself as someone who could balance the ticket. Fast forward to today. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are locked in a bitter campaign, and now John Edwards is positioning himself as the one person who can help either Clinton or Obama to win. Beware to them; Edwards is looking for a quid pro quo, the high-level position in a Clinton or Obama administration.
But wait, there’s more. Edwards has the gall to say he feels like a victimized minority because of all the attention Clinton, a woman, and Obama, a black man, receive in the media, and Edwards can’t get a word in edgewise. What a slime! Any other week he would take up residence at the Bottom of the Barrel, but…
Bottom of the Bottom:
Center for Public Integrity Report
The headline “Study: Bush, administration made 935 false statements leading us to Iraq War” was plastered all over print, TV, and internet media. Sounds like an indictment on President Bush and how he distorted information to lead us to the Iraq War. The statements Bush and members of his administration made from 9/11 to the start of the Iraq War in 2003 regard Iraq’s alleged WMD stockpiles and links to Al Qaeda.
Unfortunately, things are not all that they appear with this study.
Let’s start with the time frame of the study, as it starts with 9/11. Starting with a date of 9/11 factors out all the faulty intelligence gathered prior to 9/11, in fact going back into the 1990’s when Bill Clinton was president.
Speaking of faulty intelligence, the study also neglects to mention this same intelligence was corroborated by numerous intelligence agenices all over the world, and had been since the 1990’s. Including these facts would not fit the study’s premise of painting Bush as a war-mongering liar.
Finally, the author of the study is an organization called “Center for Public Integrity.” This organization is far from an unbiased observer of ethics in government and public policy. In fact, this is another organization funded by billionaire smear-merchant George Soros, who has turned out to be a master manipulator of the mainstream media. The Soros link to the study is never made in the mainstream media.
Shame on the mainstream media for not looking deeper at the premise and flaws of the “study,” but for George Soros and this shadow faux-watchdog agency, they are truly at the Bottom Of The Barrel.
