Friday, September 30, 2011
Huckleberry Half-Truth Sez "No"
Huckabee: I'm not reconsidering decision not to run - Political Hotsheet - CBS News: He plans on keeping his newly won position of radio propagandist and GOPer cheerleader. Paul Harvey continues to spin in his grave.
Recontracting With America
So when that first contractor overcharges you and botches the job, you're bound to hire him again. Newt Gingrich presents another 'Contract with America' - latimes.com:
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Gamers Planet Hunting
The Escapist : News : Gamers Help Scientists Discover New Planets: "...To help scientists deal with the massive amounts of data that Kepler sends home, researchers from several universities teamed up to build Planet Hunters, a browser-based game which tasks you with finding evidence of exoplanets in Kepler's data. Now, after their first month of searching, the game's users have found their first two possible exoplanets..."
AL Law Disputed
Alabama Immigration Law Barred in Part by Federal Judge - Businessweek: " Alabama can’t enforce provisions of its new immigration law that bar undocumented people from applying for jobs or working in the state and that prohibit their being harbored or transported, a federal judge ruled..."
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
To Film, Or Not...
Fox Host: "You're Being A Jerk When You Film A Cop" | Media Matters for America:-- and if you're the cop, then what are you? (btw, I have skin in law enforcement too so don't bother with the old anti-cop bleed heart storyline.)
Race Carding And Cain
Report: Cain says Obama supporters 'play race card': " GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain reportedly says in his upcoming book that President Obama's supporters "play the race card..."
Monday, September 26, 2011
Winning The Class War
6 Ways the Rich Are Waging a Class War Against the American People | | AlterNet: "... The belief that there exists a large pool of “undeserving poor” who suck the lifeblood out of the rest of society lies at the heart of the Right's demonstrably false “culture of poverty” narrative. It's a narrative that runs through Ayn Rand's works. It comes to us in bizarre spin that holds up the rich as “wealth producers” and “job creators.”...
Sunday, September 25, 2011
The Refuge Of Scoundrels
"Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels" is an old saw attributed to Samuel Johnson, among others, and is an apt description of much right-wing vaporing. Well, racism is the last refuge of those who lost the performance argument. I never supported Obama, not because of hue, but because he was a gaseous corporate puppet of little accomplishment. Too late, many of my deluded fellows are seeing the fading light. Racism might have urged some to vote for Obama but it won't work twice. Some display of tenacity and competence might rewin the liberal vote, but it better come sooner than later. Black President, Double Standard: Why White Liberals Are Abandoning Obama | The Nation:
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Lest We Forget: Apple Edition
Being a Jobs anti-fan, I present another case of Apple buttkissery. Note that Microsoft is the lesser player in this tale even though it saved Apple's fruit. The day Steve Jobs saved Apple - John Shinal's Tech Investor - MarketWatch:
Friday, September 23, 2011
Paul v. Knuckleheads
Ron Paul scores some good points in this post. Reaction to Ron Paul shows some Americans are exceptionally stupid | NJ.com: -
What's Wrong With America
The Social Contract - NYTimes.com:
"...As background, it helps to know what has been happening to incomes over the past three decades. Detailed estimates from the Congressional Budget Office — which only go up to 2005, but the basic picture surely hasn’t changed — show that between 1979 and 2005 the inflation-adjusted income of families in the middle of the income distribution rose 21 percent. That’s growth, but it’s slow, especially compared with the 100 percent rise in median income over a generation after World War II.
Meanwhile, over the same period, the income of the very rich, the top 100th of 1 percent of the income distribution, rose by 480 percent. No, that isn’t a misprint. In 2005 dollars, the average annual income of that group rose from $4.2 million to $24.3 million..."
"...As background, it helps to know what has been happening to incomes over the past three decades. Detailed estimates from the Congressional Budget Office — which only go up to 2005, but the basic picture surely hasn’t changed — show that between 1979 and 2005 the inflation-adjusted income of families in the middle of the income distribution rose 21 percent. That’s growth, but it’s slow, especially compared with the 100 percent rise in median income over a generation after World War II.
Meanwhile, over the same period, the income of the very rich, the top 100th of 1 percent of the income distribution, rose by 480 percent. No, that isn’t a misprint. In 2005 dollars, the average annual income of that group rose from $4.2 million to $24.3 million..."
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Warren Rebutts
Elizabeth Warren On ‘Class Warfare’: There Is Nobody Who Got Rich On His Own (VIDEO) | Election 2012: "Former White House financial reform adviser Elizabeth Warren, who is now running to challenge Republican Sen. Scott Brown in Massachusetts, is turning out to be one Democrat who is not shying away from the Republican cries of “class warfare” against President Obama’s proposals to raise taxes on those with very high incomes — instead offering up a full-throated rebuttal about the benefits that the wealthy were able to obtain from society at large, and the need to give something back..."
Who Should Replace Obama?
Steve Chapman: Why Obama should withdraw - Chicago Tribune:
"... The ideal candidate would be a figure of stature and ability who can't be blamed for the economy. That person should not be a member of Congress, since it has an even lower approval rating than the president's.
It would also help to be conspicuously associated with prosperity. Given Obama's reputation for being too quick to compromise, a reputation for toughness would be an asset.
As it happens, there is someone at hand who fits this description: Hillary Clinton. Her husband presided over a boom, she's been busy deposing dictators instead of destroying jobs, and she's never been accused of being a pushover.
Not only that, Clinton is a savvy political veteran who already knows how to run for president. Oh, and a new Bloomberg poll finds her to be merely "the most popular national political figure in America today..."
"... The ideal candidate would be a figure of stature and ability who can't be blamed for the economy. That person should not be a member of Congress, since it has an even lower approval rating than the president's.
It would also help to be conspicuously associated with prosperity. Given Obama's reputation for being too quick to compromise, a reputation for toughness would be an asset.
As it happens, there is someone at hand who fits this description: Hillary Clinton. Her husband presided over a boom, she's been busy deposing dictators instead of destroying jobs, and she's never been accused of being a pushover.
Not only that, Clinton is a savvy political veteran who already knows how to run for president. Oh, and a new Bloomberg poll finds her to be merely "the most popular national political figure in America today..."
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Taxing The Rich
Why (and how) to tax the super-rich - latimes.com: "...The more serious inequality problem facing the United States involves overall wealth, not just income. While the top 1% of Americans earned 21% of the nation's income, they owned a staggering 35% of the wealth in 2006-07, the most recent year for which statistics are available. We should be taxing that wealth directly, and not merely focusing on million-dollar incomes..."
O v. W. v. The Constitution
KNIGHT: Obama tears up the Constitution - Washington Times: Of course, Skippy Bush was a staunch defender of the Constitution .
Monday, September 19, 2011
Evil GOP Job Blocking
Gov. Martin O'Malley: GOP will block jobs if Obama would get credit (VIDEO) - CSMonitor.com: "... O'Malley also charged that “Republicans in Congress, driven ... by a concerted group, have decided that it is not in their party’s political interest to have the president succeed in creating any jobs." He continued, "I believe therefore they will do their very best to deny him any victories that could lead to job creation or a speedier recovery...”
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Big Brother's GPS
N.Y. Worker Accuses State of Illegal GPS Spying | Threat Level | Wired.com: "... A New York state worker has accused government officials of violating the state constitution after they installed a GPS tracker on his private car and recorded its whereabouts for a month..."
Cowardly GOPers?
"Let him die": A debate question exposes the incoherence—and cowardice—of the Republican candidates' opposition to Obamacare. - By Jacob Weisberg - Slate Magazine: "... This was indeed an appalling, mob-mentality moment—more medieval, even, than the crowd applauding Gov. Rick Perry for winning the death-penalty derby at the previous debate. What it clarified, however, was less the cruelty of the Tea Party crowd than the absurdity of the health-care positions of all of the Republican candidates. The GOP contenders relentlessly attack "Obamacare" as "socialized medicine." But they won't speak up for either of the other two choices available to them: the arguably more socialized system we have hitherto lived with or the Blitzer option of letting the uninsured die in the street..."
Bachman & The HPV Story
Michele Bachmann Reveals That She Is Not a Doctor, Scientist | Story | POWERWALL: "... You know who else is busy? Voters. That's why it's wrong for a presidential candidate to tell them that Rick Perry tried to infect their kids with mental retardation."
Friday, September 16, 2011
Lest We Forget: 9/11--The Greatest Rescue Ever
More people rescued than even Dunkirk-- a true picture of American selflessness.
O'Panic Time?
If the Republicans nominate Huntsman, Obama is doomed. Time for panic at the White House? Some say yes - latimes.com:
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The Pro-Life Hypocrisy
For Perry, only some lives are precious - - The Washington Post:
"... It has always been my position that “pro-life” supporters are not pro “life” in an inclusive, panoramic sense, but rather in a very narrow sense; they support unborn babies, but once those babies are born, if they belong to an “unacceptable” part of society, they are ignored and discriminated against.
That is the feel I get when listening to Perry; that is the feel I get when I hear people talk about the death penalty. The United States has more people in prison than any other country in the world; in spite of some who say it is cheaper to legally murder people via executions, studies seem to indicate the opposite, according to Petro in False Justice. In that book, Petro writes that “an Indiana gubernatorial commission’s research concluded in 2003 that it is about a third more expensive to pursue a capital case to its conclusion than to house a person sentenced to life without parole.” (p. 104)...
"... It has always been my position that “pro-life” supporters are not pro “life” in an inclusive, panoramic sense, but rather in a very narrow sense; they support unborn babies, but once those babies are born, if they belong to an “unacceptable” part of society, they are ignored and discriminated against.
That is the feel I get when listening to Perry; that is the feel I get when I hear people talk about the death penalty. The United States has more people in prison than any other country in the world; in spite of some who say it is cheaper to legally murder people via executions, studies seem to indicate the opposite, according to Petro in False Justice. In that book, Petro writes that “an Indiana gubernatorial commission’s research concluded in 2003 that it is about a third more expensive to pursue a capital case to its conclusion than to house a person sentenced to life without parole.” (p. 104)...
O Outsmarts GOP?
Fantastic headline-- if only it were true. First Read - First Thoughts: A trap for Republicans?:
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Our Best Ex?
Jimmy Carter: 'We never dropped a bomb. We never fired a bullet. We never went to war' | World news | The Observer: "...In Britain we assumed that a politician that upright, that pure, could only be fictitious, and the expenses scandal has only reinforced that. But everything about Jimmy Carter's life – what he did as president, and what he's done since – has proved that "certain moral tone". And his home somehow encapsulates this. Inside, there's no hallway, just a patch of carpet separating a small dining room from a tiny sitting room. Then, all of a sudden, there's Jimmy..."
The Other Foot: Russia Edition
Syrian Activists Call for 'Day of Rage' Against Russia | News | English: "Syrian opposition activists are calling for a "day of rage" Tuesday to protest what they see as Russian support for the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad..."
Monday, September 12, 2011
A Real Ponzi Scheme
Is the 401K a Ponzi Scheme? Discuss « The Confluence:
"...So, to recap: the 401K promises gigantic returns to people who get in on the ground floor. More and younger investors are required to also contribute to prop up the stock prices of the companies your funds are dumped into. Older investors can withdraw all of their funds penalty free; younger investors cannot. The savings are not guaranteed and can be wiped out by market conditions, or diminished by the withdrawal of the generation above you.
Sounds fairly Ponziesque to me.
That’s my theory and I’m sticking with it."
"...So, to recap: the 401K promises gigantic returns to people who get in on the ground floor. More and younger investors are required to also contribute to prop up the stock prices of the companies your funds are dumped into. Older investors can withdraw all of their funds penalty free; younger investors cannot. The savings are not guaranteed and can be wiped out by market conditions, or diminished by the withdrawal of the generation above you.
Sounds fairly Ponziesque to me.
That’s my theory and I’m sticking with it."
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Lest We Forget: 9/11 Investigations
The Mysterious Saudi Family That Vanished Two Weeks Before 9/11:"Did you know that a Saudi family living in Sarasota, Fla., that met with 9/11 mastermind Mohammed Atta disappeared without a trace—leaving behind their cars, food, and furniture—two weeks before the attacks? Neither did Congress, or the 9/11 Commission! The FBI didn't think to tell them..."
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Can You Kill An Innocent Man?
Maybe that should be the keystone question for all potential GOP candidates. Perry's Death Penalty Defense - NYTimes.com:
Friday, September 09, 2011
Thursday, September 08, 2011
The Help Complains
Her family hired me as a maid for 12 years, but then she stole my life and made it a Disney movie | Mail Online: -- There's a simple solution here-- write your own book.
Lest We Forget: Rich Pigs Edition
Jobs Will Follow a Strengthening of the Middle Class - NYTimes.com: "...During periods when the very rich took home a larger proportion — as between 1918 and 1933, and in the Great Regression from 1981 to the present day — growth slowed, median wages stagnated and we suffered giant downturns. It’s no mere coincidence that over the last century the top earners’ share of the nation’s total income peaked in 1928 and 2007 — the two years just preceding the biggest downturns..."
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Banker O
Daily PUMA (bookmark here): I'm pretty Sure Barack Obama still does not get it when it comes to job creation.: "...Barack Obama is a banker in a suit, portending to be our president. Obama will say nothing in his jobs speech about extending the infrastructure value of main street's wealth generating capabilities by simply reducing onerous interest rates such as Target charging it's customer's 22.90% interest on the purchase of their food..."
Why They Win And Why They Lose
This article doea an extraordinarily thorough job of explaining the modern American political process.
Goodbye to All That: Reflections of a GOP Operative Who Left the Cult | Truthout: "...You know that Social Security and Medicare are in jeopardy when even Democrats refer to them as entitlements. "Entitlement" has a negative sound in colloquial English: somebody who is "entitled" selfishly claims something he doesn't really deserve. Why not call them "earned benefits," which is what they are because we all contribute payroll taxes to fund them? That would never occur to the Democrats. Republicans don't make that mistake; they are relentlessly on message: it is never the "estate tax," it is the "death tax." Heaven forbid that the Walton family should give up one penny of its $86-billion fortune. All of that lucre is necessary to ensure that unions be kept out of Wal-Mart, that women employees not be promoted and that politicians be kept on a short leash..."
Goodbye to All That: Reflections of a GOP Operative Who Left the Cult | Truthout: "...You know that Social Security and Medicare are in jeopardy when even Democrats refer to them as entitlements. "Entitlement" has a negative sound in colloquial English: somebody who is "entitled" selfishly claims something he doesn't really deserve. Why not call them "earned benefits," which is what they are because we all contribute payroll taxes to fund them? That would never occur to the Democrats. Republicans don't make that mistake; they are relentlessly on message: it is never the "estate tax," it is the "death tax." Heaven forbid that the Walton family should give up one penny of its $86-billion fortune. All of that lucre is necessary to ensure that unions be kept out of Wal-Mart, that women employees not be promoted and that politicians be kept on a short leash..."
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Moore Causes Hell To Freeze
Michael Moore on New Book 'Here Comes Trouble' and 9/11 Annivers - The Daily Beast: "...Now he is directing his outrage at President Obama, a man he helped win office in 2008. “I don’t understand why he’s chosen the path he’s chosen, why he did not come in fighting for the working people of this country,” Moore tells Newsweek. “He could have been a great president. He could have pulled us back from the abyss.” Instead, “he came in more as Neville Chamberlain, wanting to appease Republicans.” Moore hasn’t even decided whether he’ll vote for Obama again in 2012; he likes Jon Huntsman on the Republican side, saying “it’s crazy time over there” and Huntsman is the only “sane candidate.” “If the Republicans were smart, they would nominate [him].”..."
More Congressional Corruption
Rep. Shelley Berkley’s Cause Is Often Her Husband’s Gain - NYTimes.com: "... Ms. Berkley’s actions were among a series over the last five years in which she pushed legislation or twisted the arms of federal regulators to pursue an agenda that is aligned with the business interests of her husband, Dr. Larry Lehrner. In addition to the hospital contract, he operates a dozen dialysis centers in Nevada and has played a central role in an industry campaign to lobby members of Congress — including his wife — on behalf of kidney care providers..."
Monday, September 05, 2011
Getting O's Number
Barack Obama: Still Acting Like a Wimp, Refusing to Fight for Jobs - The Daily Beast:"... The capitulation on next week's jobs speech showed, again, a White House that just refuses to understand the kind of opposition it's dealing with. It was foolish of the White House to schedule the event opposite the GOP debate to begin with (greatly complicating life for MSNBC, the debate's sponsor and the one friendly cable channel). However exactly the timeline unfolded, the fracas is emblematic of the White House's lack of political savvy. One hopes at least that Obama reflects on the fact that Boehner is (evidently) the first speaker in history to refuse a president's requested date and starts to come to terms with his reality..."
Sunday, September 04, 2011
Keep The Poor Down!
Here's some first order claptrap wrapped in some fancy prose. Required reading for all who think the Right is neither crazy nor dangerous. Articles: Registering the Poor to Vote is Un-American
Saturday, September 03, 2011
Evil Apple Strikes Again
Cops Helped Apple Hunt for Lost iPhone | PCWorld: "...Just a few hours later after denying any involvement in the iPhone 5 prototype hunt, San Francisco police spilled the beans. SFPD says four of its officers accompanied in plainclothes two Apple investigators in the unusual search, led by Apple’s GPS trace on the device. The officers apparently never entered the man’s house, while Apple’s security officials scoured the 22-year-old man’s house and computer for any trace of the lost iPhone 5..."
Friday, September 02, 2011
Thursday, September 01, 2011
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