I'm starting to get over my bronchitis, but my voice is still raspy and works far better at the lower registers. I can do a killer Barry White imitation, but my Finding Nemo seagull (done best in French- a-moi, a-moi) is a no-go.
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Clarance Cain....almost. Right now, there is no accuser out there, so Cain's explanation is good enough for now. One gal gave a seemingly bogus claim after leaving the restaurant association and got merely standard severance pay; at least that's the story to date.
Now the media get to critique his response. If they can't pin anything on him, they get on his case for being slow to give a blow-by-blow refutation of the charges. Given that personnel privacy rules preclude a data-dump to defend Cain's version of the story, he's done about the best he can except waiting about 24 hours to give a detailed account.
At this point, there is no Anita Hill analogue to testify. Also, the audience for such is not swing senators but conservative Republican voters. So far, he seems to largely get a sympathy vote on the right, where Politico's lack of named sources is more of an issue than Cain's behavior or lack thereof.
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Meanwhile, the buck stops... with the Greek people. Rather than put their necks on the line, the Greek government is opting for a January popular vote on whether to put the country into receivership for the rest of the decade. That won't sell well, which will create a full meltdown if the vote fails.
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We've already seen part of that meltdown stateside, as MF Global went under, largely on losses from European debt markets. There are a number of interesting things going on, including a failure to keep company-owned funds and investor-owned funds separate, that the FBI is looking into.
MF Global is, as the VP might say, a MFing big deal for the Obama team; the head honcho there is Jon Corzine, former Democratic senator and governor of New Jersey. If the Occupiers are taking out their frustration on Wall Street, this is a good reminder that the politics of Wall Street plays both sides of the aisle.
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It will likely fizzle, but the Oakland version of the Occupiers are going for a general strike, including a evening blockade of the Port of Oakland. Given that the mayor is a fan of the movement, might it be up to Alameda County officials or state officials to keep the flow of goods through the port going? That's a major trade nexus, with a lot of goods heading for the Midwest from Asia going through Oakland.
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