Memorize this graph, kids. This isn't a game. The American economy is in a nosedive, and action needs to be taken, and fast.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Nosedive
Memorize this graph, kids. This isn't a game. The American economy is in a nosedive, and action needs to be taken, and fast.
Deep Thought
With "moderates" like these, who needs enemies?
And shouldn't an emergency economic stimulus bill include things like money to states? Isn't that, like, the whole point? How is slashing $40 billion in aid to states considered a good thing?
It's sad that we all have to suffer so that the precious egos of a few "moderate" Senators can be fluffed. They'll hold the fort until President Sarah Palin takes over in 2013.
And shouldn't an emergency economic stimulus bill include things like money to states? Isn't that, like, the whole point? How is slashing $40 billion in aid to states considered a good thing?
It's sad that we all have to suffer so that the precious egos of a few "moderate" Senators can be fluffed. They'll hold the fort until President Sarah Palin takes over in 2013.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Obama Stands Up and Fights Back
Watch the video here.
President Obama - and, yes, I still get a smile when i hear those words - made the case for the economic rescue bill yesterday. Basically, he does what everyone in the blogosphere has been clamoring for since the beginning - Obama gets out in front, takes charge, lays punches on the Republicans (although carefully avoiding them by name), and makes the case for the stimulus package to the American people. Good job!
This is exactly what needs to be done, and the case must be made again and again. Obama is really the only person in Washington to carry great support with the people. They will trust him. But I think the realization has finally hit home that this issue has been almost entirely directed by the Republicans, who are doing everything they can to scrap this bill and leave us with nothing. Well, I suppose you could add in another insane round of Bush-era tax cuts and far-right fantasies like the flat tax.
But the point everyone has been making is that the GOP has been setting the terms of the debate. They've been the ones on the telescreens. The Dems have been almost completely AWOL. And I certainly hope Obama gets it. He needs to stop playing the nice guy, Waylon Smithers role and take charge. This stimulus bill cannot be allowed to fail. Unless, I suppose, you actually want to sleep under a bridge and sell pencils on street corners.
President Obama - and, yes, I still get a smile when i hear those words - made the case for the economic rescue bill yesterday. Basically, he does what everyone in the blogosphere has been clamoring for since the beginning - Obama gets out in front, takes charge, lays punches on the Republicans (although carefully avoiding them by name), and makes the case for the stimulus package to the American people. Good job!
This is exactly what needs to be done, and the case must be made again and again. Obama is really the only person in Washington to carry great support with the people. They will trust him. But I think the realization has finally hit home that this issue has been almost entirely directed by the Republicans, who are doing everything they can to scrap this bill and leave us with nothing. Well, I suppose you could add in another insane round of Bush-era tax cuts and far-right fantasies like the flat tax.
But the point everyone has been making is that the GOP has been setting the terms of the debate. They've been the ones on the telescreens. The Dems have been almost completely AWOL. And I certainly hope Obama gets it. He needs to stop playing the nice guy, Waylon Smithers role and take charge. This stimulus bill cannot be allowed to fail. Unless, I suppose, you actually want to sleep under a bridge and sell pencils on street corners.
Terence McKenna - Surfing Finegan's Wake
Terence McKenna is a figure whose name rumbles and grows daily among the cultural underground. Coming from the generation that saw the birth of punk and hip-hop, I'm always thrilled to see these things happen, this emergence of new ways of thinking and new paradigms free from the control of global corporatism. It's good to see that the kids can still figure out that authority is a sham and raise lots of questions.
Anyway, you should know who Terence McKenna is, and have a sizeable amount of his raps and lectures sitting on your iPod. Heck, I've considered getting an iPod just to play McKenna. How's that for a killer ap?
I've been listening to this long lecture today. He begins talking about James Joyce's sprawling and confusing masterpiece Finegan's Wake. Eventually, the rap changes direction and veers into Marshall MacLuhan, his thoughts on Joyce, and then his commentaries on media past, present, and future.
You can listen to McKenna on his "official" website here. Be sure to bookmark this site and spread the word, yadda yadda.
Anyway, you should know who Terence McKenna is, and have a sizeable amount of his raps and lectures sitting on your iPod. Heck, I've considered getting an iPod just to play McKenna. How's that for a killer ap?
I've been listening to this long lecture today. He begins talking about James Joyce's sprawling and confusing masterpiece Finegan's Wake. Eventually, the rap changes direction and veers into Marshall MacLuhan, his thoughts on Joyce, and then his commentaries on media past, present, and future.
You can listen to McKenna on his "official" website here. Be sure to bookmark this site and spread the word, yadda yadda.
Thank Goodness For Our Librul Media
Like I've always said, kids, it's just a sick little game to the ruling class. Videogames of the Damned.
Deep Thought
I don't think this is what Terence McKenna had in mind when he talked about the world ending in the year 2012.
Krugman's Latest
Essential reading, as always:
It’s time for Mr. Obama to go on the offensive. Above all, he must not shy away from pointing out that those who stand in the way of his plan, in the name of a discredited economic philosophy, are putting the nation’s future at risk. The American economy is on the edge of catastrophe, and much of the Republican Party is trying to push it over that edge.
Robert Reich - Depression
Well, it's a good thing we let the Republicans control the debate on the economy, right? How's that working? We've been screaming this point for weeks, nay, years. Bill Maher had the perfect slogan on his show a couple years ago, "Republicans want your children to die." It's really that simple, in all its twisted ideological glory.
Reich's latest blog essay helps somewhat to make the case for the economic rescue plan, specifically over the GOP's endless obsession for tax cuts tax cuts tax cuts. It's almost maddening that this case must still be made, after two electoral wipeouts and the threat of economic collapse.
I remember when Roubini was the only pessimist in the room. Now everybody is Dr. Doom.
Reich's latest blog essay helps somewhat to make the case for the economic rescue plan, specifically over the GOP's endless obsession for tax cuts tax cuts tax cuts. It's almost maddening that this case must still be made, after two electoral wipeouts and the threat of economic collapse.
I remember when Roubini was the only pessimist in the room. Now everybody is Dr. Doom.
Krugman Lays the Smack Down
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Is it just me, or is Paul Krugman developing a rebel punk vibe? He just looks pissed, almost sneering, like Bob Dylan on Highway 61 Revisited. Maybe he should appear on shows in a leather jacket and a Ramones t-shirt. But, hey, when your day involves battling the inanity of the zombie hordes on tv, you'd get an attitude, too.
Great job in fighting back against the Republican onslaught. You can see how they're firing on all cylanders to stop Obama's budget stimulus from being passed. But, as is usually the case these days, we have the facts on our side. It's just a matter of getting in there and fighting it out. And that's something Democratic leaders should be doing every day. Obama has begun to fight back in the last couple days, and God bless him for it. But I honestly can't think of any other prominent names, except for Krugman here.
Pay attention, kids. One side is trying to stave off another Great Depression. The other side is holding a can of gasoline and lighting matches. If you don't want President Sarah Palin shipping your children off to Jesus Camp in the year 2013, you better pay attention and do something.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
ABC News Royally Sucks
ABC News is stupid. Pathetic, drooling stupid.
The name of the game here - and this really gets to the heart at DC's pushback against Obama - is "class war." The ruling class has held sway without opposition for a generation, and now that the economic crisis threatens a return to New Deal policies, the wealthy are fighting hard to preserve their turf. Saving capitalism from itself, ultimately, means a redistribution of wealth in this nation, and as every good student of George Orwell knows, wealth means power.
The ideal solution for America's ruling class would be for the dumb peasants - that's you in the bottom 99% - to foot the bill for the bailout, without ever seeing a dime of that money returned in any fashion. So what if your bridges are collapsing and your schools crumbling? It's God's way of punishing you for not having good stock.
The name of the game here - and this really gets to the heart at DC's pushback against Obama - is "class war." The ruling class has held sway without opposition for a generation, and now that the economic crisis threatens a return to New Deal policies, the wealthy are fighting hard to preserve their turf. Saving capitalism from itself, ultimately, means a redistribution of wealth in this nation, and as every good student of George Orwell knows, wealth means power.
The ideal solution for America's ruling class would be for the dumb peasants - that's you in the bottom 99% - to foot the bill for the bailout, without ever seeing a dime of that money returned in any fashion. So what if your bridges are collapsing and your schools crumbling? It's God's way of punishing you for not having good stock.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Deeper Thoughts
President Obama needs to give in more to the Republicans. As the losers of the 2008 election, it's their due.
Deep Thought
So how's that "bi-party-san-ship" working with the Republicans? Are they on board for the stimulus bill yet?
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Make the Case
It seems puzzling to me that President Obama is not making the case to the American people about the need for the emergency stimulus bill. He remains immensely popular, the Republicans remain immensely unpopular, and everyone you know is convinced our economy is teetering off a cliff. So why just sit back and let the GOP control the terms of the debate?
What is the point here, Smithers? The whole idea of pursuing the magic pony of "bi-partisanship" is to fashion crucial legislation like this. And it's plainly obvious the Republicans want this stimulus bill to fail. So it's time to stop playing games and start making the case to the public. And this needs to happen now.
What is the point here, Smithers? The whole idea of pursuing the magic pony of "bi-partisanship" is to fashion crucial legislation like this. And it's plainly obvious the Republicans want this stimulus bill to fail. So it's time to stop playing games and start making the case to the public. And this needs to happen now.
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