Plot seemingly inspired by "Office Space" fails

Insider plot to take down Fannie Mae's servers thwarted

Washington (DC) - On October 29, 2008, a vigilant senior Unix engineer happened across a "logic bomb" that was allegedly planted by a contractor, Rajendrasinh Babubhai Makwana, who had worked in their Urbana, MD facility until October 24, 2008 when his contract was terminated. The script was set to activate on January 31, 2009 and would completely wipe all of Fannie Mae's 4,000 servers. According to engineers, had it done so it would've caused "millions of dollars in damage, and possibly shut down operations for a week."

The audacity of Chris Matthews

Chris Matthews was in rare form during MSNBC's inauguration coverage on Tuesday. I'm glad that somebody (specifically, Jack Shafer at Slate) captured this particularly incredible interchange:

After noting the many smiling faces in the assembled inauguration crowd, Matthews took a shot at explaining the happiness. Sure, it's the festivities, but it's also the proximity of the crowd to the MSNBC booth, he insisted.

"This is the network that has opened its heart to change, to change and its possibilities. Let's be honest about it. These--these people watch this network out here," Matthews said.

.... Olbermann approached his colleague like a teetotaler trying to talk down a drunk, offering the opinion that people might be smiling about the shared experience of the Obama inauguration. But Matthews wasn't having it.

Matthews: No, this is the network of the 21st century, MSNBC. And I think we're open to it. And that's why this crowd knows us. And I think--

Olbermann: He's Chris Matthews, and he approved that message.

Matthews: We're not crotchety about change, stuffy.

It was soooo weird! And only one of many memorable Matthews moments that day. Was he high? Is he always? I wouldn't rule out powerful stimulants or aggression-promoting steroids, to be honest.

L8er

From TNR blog.

It's great to live in a two-newspaper town

This Washington Times headline is pure gold.

Obama climate czar has socialist ties
Group sees 'global governance' as solution

Until last week, Carol M. Browner, President-elect Barack Obama's pick as global warming czar, was listed as one of 14 leaders of a socialist group's Commission for a Sustainable World Society, which calls for "global governance" and says rich countries must shrink their economies to address climate change.

Socialist czars...global governance....the world is indeed turn'd upside down. Cue the black helicopters.

Paging Dr. Gupta

Howard Kurtz is reporting that Obama has offered CNN's Sanjay Gupta the position of U.S. Surgeon General.

Fabulous! Our first hot Surgeon General. Anderson Cooper for U.S. Ambassador to Iraq!

Back in the saddle

I've been a little neglectful of the blog over the holidays, but only because I was busy.

We visited my brother and sister-in-law for Christmas:


Adopted kittens!


And had a mellow New Year's Eve with friends.


But regularly scheduled blogging returns now.

Rumble in the Capitol?

Doubt it will come to this, but Senate leadership is planning to post armed guards to keep Roland Burris out of the Senate, if necessary. (TPM) Rod Blagojevich is a mad, narcissistic genius for this pick.

2009 is going to rock. I can already feel it.