Plywood does not comprise the total cost of a house. However, this is not good news for job growth:

Vancouver � Reports that the U.S. government has made plywood purchases to support the war effort in Iraq have sent prices soaring to near record highs, a move that analysts say is already having ripple effects in the Canadian timber market.

South Knox Bubba relates anecdotal evidence that builder prices have gone from $6.50 to $17.00/sheet since February. If bush really cares about jobs (see previous post) then he might want to be paying attention to these real life impacts of his policies…

How could the IMF possibly reproach the US administration:

The U.S. budget deficit is hitting “record” levels and even the International Monetary Fund is making a fuss. …
The international bank is set to reproach the U.S. for being too optimistic in its assumptions on government spending and revenue, and lacking a coherent budget plan, according to Reuters.

when the administration is clearly following the plan of that master of public budgets Arnold Schwarzenegger who tells us:

“Let me tell you something. The public doesn’t care about figures. What the people want to hear is, are you willing to make the changes, are you tough enough to go in there and provide leadership.”

and if by chance they do care bush tells them not to:

“I am more concerned about somebody finding a job than about numbers on paper,” Bush told reporters Friday.

Yep, I think I’ll try out these ideas on to my mortgage holder when the next payment comes due.

bush, long an advocate (in words) of voluntary industry compliance now thinks some things should be mandatory

I don’t know if you know this or not, but for many years the reliability of electricity in America depended on companies observing voluntary standards to prevent blackouts. I don’t think those standards ought to be voluntary, I think they ought to be mandatory. And if there’s not reliability back up for electricity, there ought to be a serious consequence for somebody who misuses the public trust. And Congress needs to have that in the law.

This kind of talk won’t make his some of his conservative or libertarian supporters very happy (though many businesses like being absolved of responsibility by regulation). Anyway, by the time he’s done (next year.:) he’ll have everyone wanting him out of office.
Via uggabugga.

The Talking Dog is angry again and I don’t blame him:

This is how the fucking Soviet Union did things. It is, therefore, by definition, un-American. Forget the 16 words, ladies and gentlemen. If the New York Congressional delegation had any balls, this would be the subject of endless harpings until a full Congressional investigation of this was held. If this shit really did start in the Oval Office (i.e., Karl or Dick’s idea), then articles of impeachment aren’t good enough (though they would be a good start.)

I was nauseated this morning when I read in today’s Seattle Times that the White House directed the EPA to lie to the citizens of New York City. That this could possibly be justified by national security is ridiculous.
Update 8/24: The Mahablog
has a long piece on this today and suggests that New Yorkers may not be welcoming the liers with open armswhen they show up for their convention. (Still can’t find permalinks on this blog so look to the 8/24 entries)