Scenes From The Dawning of the New Age

Obama's Pick to Head SEC Has Record Of Being a Regulator With a Light Touch, which is just what we need in the post-Crash, post-Madoff world. This is beginning to look like a weak pick. Shapiro gives every indication of being a wealthy, middle aged executive who speaks in the droning language of the Planet Corporatica. Her regulatory experience is based on years as a "private" regulator for entities (NASD and then FINRA) set up by the securities indsutry to regulate ... the securities industry! She was paid $3 million per year to do this. In exchange, she tended to come down hard on small fry for technical violations while Madoff (who was specifically referred to FINRA), and other Big Boys got away with murder. Like the liberals who ran Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Shapiro has made a fortune off the liberal ediface built over the last 75 years while simlutaneously destroying it (but they had Good Intentions!). She may turn out to be the George Tenet of the SEC.

Coal Industry Digs Itself Out of a Hole in the Capitol . Whew! Obama has declared a Brave New Age Of Coal!

Richardson Administration Hit by Another Allegation . This guy I will not miss.

For Homeland Security Nominee, Good Leadership Is in the Details - which is why Gov. Napolotano is learning about the policy directives for her department by reading its budget. Um, shouldn't your policy directives come from you and THEN be reflected in the budget. Most executives want to visit the component parts of their departments and meet the folks who are running things on the ground. It's probably none of my business, but she looks to be wasting her time. This reminds me of the story that Jimmy Carter tried to understand the tax system by reading the tax code from beginning to end. I expect the Homeland Security bureaucracy just got a lot more bureaucratic.

Budget Director Pick Sounds Alarm . This guy is one of the few Obamans who has actually provided us with numbers. And the numbers are quite numerous!