Thursday, December 01, 2011

MEMO

TO: Fathead Newt Gingrich
 
FROM: Actor212
 
SUBJECT: Reponsibility
 
I quote you:

Gingrich tells about 500 insurance company employees at their Des Moines headquarters that they have responsibilities to their community and to their neighborhood, and “we’re all going to have to roll up our sleeves and be a little bit more responsible in the next 30 years.”

1) After 9-11, when President Bush told Americans to just relax and go shopping, we did.

2) When President Bush told us America was an ownership society, we took him seriously, went out and bought houses.

Why do you think we're in the mess we're all in, but we were being responsible according to the leader of YOUR OWN PARTY.

By the way, how many times you been divorced? Were you being responsible while Callista was suckign your dick in your office?

 

It Occurs To Me

 
 
If there were actual, real young Republicans, John Huntsman would be a slam dunk for the nomination.

NOTE to Self

 

Today In "So, ,We're Really Fucked"....

 
The Economist, that bastion of socialist thinking, sees no hope.

No Matter Which One He Chooses...

 
He's still not going to find the *best* pizza in New York City.

This Might Explain Steve Jobs' Deathbed Words

 

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, I Don't Think That's Going To Work, Boys

 
The Senate GOP are going to try to blackmail President Obama into fast-track approval of the XL pipeline, in the name of....get this...jobs.

The Law Of Unintended Consequences

 
Alabama passes immigrant-hate legislation.
 
A St. Louis newspaper suggests Mercedes pulls their factory out, after a German executive was arrested for not having his "Papers, please!"
 
You can't explain it.

How Serious Is Newt's Campaign?

 
Well, serious enough that Ron Paul senses an opening.
 
I swear, it's like watching a pro-wrestling battle royal as they try to dump each other over the top rope.

Yo! LoserCain!

 
I don' t'ink youse wanna take on Lawn Guyland, knowwhatImsayin'?
 
Now get the hell offa my lawn!

Just A Suggestion

 
Lobby your insurance companies to increase their coverage? You know?

Needless To Say

(photo courtesy)
 
 
It's sad to think we've said that thirty times.
 
(If you want more information, click here)

Here's A Weird Thought

 
Herman Cain is the Republican version of John Edwards.

No One Could Have Forseen This Coming

 
Dispossessed families, foreclosed from too-big homes, living in their next largest asset: the family car.

Never has unemployment been so high for so long. And as a result, more than 16 million kids are living in poverty - the most since 1962. It's worst where the construction industry collapsed. And one of those places is central Florida.

We went there eight months ago to meet families who'd become homeless for the first time in their lives. So many were living day-to-day that school buses changed their routes to pick up all the kids living in cheap motels. We called the story "Hard Times Generation."

Now, we've gone back to see how things have changed. It turns out some families are losing their grip on the motels and discovering the homeless shelters are full. Where do they go then? They keep up appearances by day and try to stay out of sight at night - holding on to one another in a hidden America - a place you wouldn't notice unless you ran into the people that we met in the moments before dawn.

But hey, those one-percenters, they have their yachts and second and third homes to live in if by some queer freak chance, they were foreclosed on by the banks, right?

Look, I don't want to sound alarmist, but I think the country...the world...is in deeper trouble than anyone realistically wants to admit. We seem to be devolving from a middle class society, with strong middle class values and an economy dependent on our middle class for both production and consumption, into an almost feudal serfdom, with itinerant workers grabbing scraps of work where they can and putting down their heads wherever they can.

Desperation sets in and pretty soon all sorts of behavior becomes the norm in places where there is no security, no safety net. Right whingers complain about the Occupy movement, claiming it's just a bunch of shiftless, spoiled kids who ought to take a bath and get a job. But as the people in the linked piece demonstrate, nearly all of them want to work, want to be productive members of society, but society has been slowly closing the gates on productive work paying a living wage that anyone can do in favor of the affluent and their minions.

It's going to stop, to be sure. and if the Right Whingers think Occupy is a sham movement fronting for socialism, well, they ain't seen nothing yet. The hungry, the destitute, the desperate, once they begin to march, they won't be polite. They won't be respectful. They won't merely shout and obstuct, they will be violent and raging, and tearing things up and down.

Once those folks no longer have homes and jobs and prospects for work, they will turn their attention on those who do. Human survival, ultimately, comes down to ensuring your own personal survival first. This is what I would call "the capitalism of the cave."

If economic capitalism is defined as each individual acting in his own self-interest contributing to the greater good, the cave-capitalism will be equally cold-blooded. If economic competition is defined as being that much better than your rival, cave-competition is going to incorporate that, but on a scale that will not be limited to lawful means of satisfying your self-interest.

There will be no safe places. I don't care how carefully guarded your gated community is, or how many security cameras you have or attack dogs. At the end of the day, if fifty starving people swarm your walls, maybe five or ten will be caught. That still leaves forty to ransack your home, steal your car and things, and eat your food.

The Statue of Liberty has a line in its commemoration plaque:

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Translated to 21st Century language, it says "We were kicked out of all the cool countries because we didn't fit in with their notion of proper society."

You really expect their descendants to be any different?

The great liberal, John F. Kennedy, wrote in Profiles In Courage, "A man does what he must — in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers, and pressures — and that is the basis of all human morality."

But he also said, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."

This is not a war the 99% choose to wage, but we are willing to battle.

 

 

That Slapping Sound You Heard?

 
Wingnuts all over America responding to this bizarre story.
 
I'll be honest: I don't watch the Miss America pageant anymore, have no real interest in it, and I think it may be a dated product of a different generation, but I'm thinking in the heartland, there's still a significant number of people who follow it, and this is bound to give rise to a bunch of idiotic blogposts.
 
In addition to this one, of course.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

You Say That Like It's A Good Thing

 

It's About Time

 
Someone's starting to wake up to the bizarre contradiction in our legal system over marijuana.

You Will Dine Here

 
Chthulhu demands it.
 
Or here. He's not fussy.

The Day Should Not Pass

 

A Hint Of Desperation

 
Y'know how the old saying goes: Insanity is defined as trying the same thing over and over, expecting different results?
 
 
Look, we're down to the short strokes in the global economy. The desperation is both palpable and understandable. No one knows what comes after the collapse.

Is "Politico" Going Liberal?

 
The reliably right wing Politico (headed by former Reagan administration flunky Fred Ryan) has lately drawn the ire of the far right for daring to criticize such sacred cows as tax cuts and global climate change denial.
 
Well, get ready for some more poutrage...

Haiku? Really?

 
Can you confuse us?
Or do you need this street sign?
A load of bullshit.

It's About Fucking Time

This was, is, and always has been an huge scam and it's about time someone investigated the Teabaggers

UPDATE: Best comment:
The teatards can’t understand why they didn’t get the tasty, free vegetable spray. Or the fancy flashbang pyrotecnics. Or perhaps it’s the wonderful baton massage they feel left out of.



One Wonders Why

 
We need this here. Americans are too chicken to take what we deserve.

So....

...do you ever wonder why we don't hear much anymore from conservatives about the move to ban incandescent light bulbs?
 

School Choice, Without Vouchers

 
Here is a model of a progressive attitude melding with a conservative dynamic. Like him or not, Mkike Bloomberg has worked hard to synthesize a school system that is more responsive and flexible than the structure he took over.

First You Kill It...

And then you gloat about it:

How do religions die? Generally they don't, which probably explains why there's so little literature on the subject. Zoroastrianism, for instance, lost many of its sacred texts when Alexander sacked Persepolis in 330 B.C., and most Zoroastrians converted to Islam over 1,000 years ago. Yet today old Zoroaster still counts as many as 210,000 followers, including 11,000 in the U.S. Christopher Hitchens might say you can't kill what wasn't there to begin with.

Still, Zeus and Apollo are no longer with us, and neither are Odin and Thor. Among the secular gods, Marx is mostly dead and Freud is totally so. Something did away with them, and it's worth asking what.

Consider the case of global warming, another system of doomsaying prophecy and faith in things unseen.

As with religion, it is presided over by a caste of spectacularly unattractive people pretending to an obscure form of knowledge that promises to make the seas retreat and the winds abate. As with religion, it comes with an elaborate list of virtues, vices and indulgences. As with religion, its claims are often non-falsifiable, hence the convenience of the term "climate change" when thermometers don't oblige the expected trend lines. As with religion, it is harsh toward skeptics, heretics and other "deniers." And as with religion, it is susceptible to the earthly temptations of money, power, politics, arrogance and deceit.

This week, the conclave of global warming's cardinals are meeting in Durban, South Africa, for their 17th conference in as many years. The idea is to come up with a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which is set to expire next year, and to require rich countries to pony up $100 billion a year to help poor countries cope with the alleged effects of climate change. This is said to be essential because in 2017 global warming becomes "catastrophic and irreversible," according to a recent report by the International Energy Agency.

Yet a funny thing happened on the way to the climate apocalypse. Namely, the financial apocalypse.

The U.S., Russia, Japan, Canada and the EU have all but confirmed they won't be signing on to a new Kyoto. The Chinese and Indians won't make a move unless the West does. The notion that rich (or formerly rich) countries are going to ship $100 billion every year to the Micronesias of the world is risible, especially after they've spent it all on Greece.

So basically what this asshat neo-conderthal is crowing about is, the Republicans have so choked the life out of the national economy that we can't afford to join in and save our planet.

What's the phrase again? "Cut off your nose to spite your face"?

Stephens, you ain't got much of a nose to begin with.

Religions are about faith, jerk. Climate change is science. It would be really nice if you could find it within your addlepated little mind to distinguish between received wisdom and knowledge obtained through hard work and attention to detail.

 

Great Sport But...

...I draw the line at mocking Cain's consensual affairs.
 
All I'm going to say is, he exemplifies the "1 in a thousand" rule we learned growing up.
 
For you ladies, that rules says if a man walks into a bar with a thousand women and asks each "Hey, you wanna fuck?" the one who says yes makes the 999 slaps in the face worth it. 
 
Yes. That was intentional.

Worms Crawl In...Space

 

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Crap

 

Grand Ol' Prostitutes

 

Today In "Disgraceful Conservatives"

 
Governor Sam Brownback, who ought to a) grow a thicker skin, b) stop picking on girls and c) fire both his staffer and the high school principal who clearly fails his civics responsibilities.

Train In Vain

 

The Next Great Hack Attack

 

Is Your Bank On This List?

 
The Fed's new "stress test" list is out.

Save Occupy LA

 
Let's get behind these folks and give voice to our concerns.

I'd Have Waited

 
The Democrats have a rare opportunity to actually select the Republican nominee they will face in 2012 for Obama's re-election.
 
Usually, it's Republicans who settle out quickly on a candidate and the Democrats who leave a gaping hole in their selection process that can be manipulated by Republicans.
 
I mean, really, was John Kerry anyone's first choice?
 
This year, it seems the strategy for Democrats is to sit back and wait for the inevitable shake-out that will leave Mitt Romney standing, only nudging other candidates around a little to keep the focus off Romney's past until a strategic point.
 
So I'm not sure what to make of this. Romney's biggest weakness, and a hugely exploitable one in a general election, is his wavering on issues that matter to both the Republican base (like abortion) and to independents (like healthcare.)
 
It's too early for Democrats to be playing this card, unless....

Finally! A Refuge For The One Percenters!

 
No longer do they need to hassle with middlemen. They can hire serfs directly.

The End Of Facebook

 
 
If Facebook honestly believes that, with an installed user base of 500-750 million, they can raise 2,000 times that base in equity, think again. To believe that they somehow generate on average $2,000 per user is not even ludicrous, it's fuckign insane.

Run The Table

 

Not Sure If Serious, But...

 
Congressman Barney Frank has announced his retirement from the House. A feisty liberal, Frank has been at the forefront of progressive causes for decades, and is perhaps one of the only Congresscritters more liberal than Ted Kennedy was.
 
That said, I'm a bit troubled by his stances on financial issues. I understand the need for bipartisanship in Congress,  even in a Congress as bitterly divided as the last few have been. Frank, however, has a glaring smear on his recent record.
 
Frank's name appears on the Dodd-Frank bill reforming banking regulation, but half-heartedly. If I could be certain that the bill's components were more heavily driven by Dodd than Frank, I could be more supportive of the call for Frank to take over from Tim Geithner as Treasury Secretary in Obama's all-but-certain second term.
 
Frank has poo-pooed the idea, to his credit, but he would pass muster in the Senate pretty easily (even Republicans acknowledge him as one of the most consensual Democrats, altho they still tout him as one of the most partisan...go fig.)
 
That Frank understands there's a definitive role for Treasury in banking oversight, and it would be interesting to see how this would be implemented under a Frank regime, makes him a pretty good choice to be sure. I don't want to make it sound like I would flat-out oppose his nomination. There are other questions, particularly his liasing with Hank Paulson to get the TARP passed.
 
I get it: we were at a cross-roads and despite progressive head-shaking (myself included, at times), we really were a day or two away from a complete meltdown of the American economy. Which still may yet come. Which brings me to a proposal.
 
There are better candidates to replace Geithner: Nobel laureate Paul Krugman leaps to mind. Krugman has focused on the true victims of this financial crisis and has the wherewithal to articulate his vision in the face of the inevitable opposition from the economic royalists who would be wall-to-wall on FOX News.
 
Indeed, I'd bet as Secretary, Krugman would go on O'Reilly (possibly not Hannity, tho) and debate the merits of a homeowner/taxpayer bailout with Bill-O. Frank would probably "say the right things," but at the end of the day, we'd end up with a program and policy very much reliant on the corporatocracy. We can no longer afford that. They had their pie. It's time for us to get our own.
 
Too, dangling Krugman as a potential second term Cabinet member would probably be a very smart strategic move on Obama's part. His re-election campaign will rely on two things: the Republican nominee scaring off independents (something Romney has not done much of) and mobilizing the young, liberal base. Krugman would accomplish the second with minimal repercussions among independents.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Not Over By A Long Shot

 
Some good news came out of Europe overnight:

Europe markets were in a broad rally, with the Stoxx Europe 600 soaring 3.1%, after news reports over the weekend suggested euro-zone leaders were planning a new stability pact to contain the sovereign debt crisis. A new agreement, including measures to curb excessive debt by making budget discipline legally binding, could persuade the European Central Bank to take more action to halt the selloff in debt markets.

Investors' sentiment was also boosted after a report indicated the International Monetary Fund could provide between EUR400 billion and EUR600 billion in financial assistance to Italy.

"With a recession in Europe virtually certain, any movement in a positive direction, [anything] that stems the risks, is going to be interpreted very favorably by the markets," said Oliver Pursche, president of Gary Goldberg Financial Services. 

The reason this is good news is the bad news if it doesn't happen:

PARIS, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The euro zone's debt crisis has become the biggest threat to the global economy and a break up of the currency zone can no longer be ruled out, the OECD said on Monday, slashing its forecasts and urging the ECB to play a bigger role in defusing the crisis.

The euro zone has already entered a mild recession but much worse could follow unless policy makers take decisive action to get ahead of the market, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a stark warning[...]

A worst case scenario of continued inaction in the euro zone and the failure of U.S. lawmakers to agree a spending-reduction plan would usher in a devastating downturn for the world economy, the Paris-based OECD said.

Since the US debt deal is a dormant matter (get to that in a minute), the Euro crisis is front and center on world markets.

Here's the heart of the matter: right now, there are two European Union economies that could survive on their own. Germany, which has been gloating over that fact for a few years now, and France.

And France itself faces some very severe problems if things go sour. (paywall, sorry)

As bad as the American economy looks right now, and make no mistake about it, it's bad, the European economy could collapse at any minute. In geopolitical terms, it is dead but just doesn't know it yet.

Still, the framework of a bailout of Europe seems to be in place, which means that it's possible, a small possible, that Europe could avert a worldwide debt crisis. If the US Congress can find their way to a framework to drop our national debt, the world could recover within a decade.

And there's the nub of the American problem: the smartest solution would be to let the Bush tax cuts expire. That would immediately add $4 trillion in revenue to the pot, bring our national debt back to the $10 trillion range, and would make enormous inroads into our budget deficits.

By. Doing. Nothing. For every dollar cut after that, it's one dollar more to the budget surpluses we'd begin to run in the next few years. This isn't rocket science, but it's not going to be sufficient logic for the low-normals of the right.

So it'll be on us when the world economy falls flat into a Dark Age. And blood will flow.