Thursday, March 12, 2009
U.S. of A-holes
Here's a great takedown of Ayn Rand and her Nazi acolytes. In her novel Atlas Shrugged, the "heroes" (industrialist John Galt and a herd of likeminded, solipsistic, overfed piggies) go "on strike" to protest the fact that they have a duty to contribute back to civilization an amount fractionally proportionate to the success that that civilization has made possible for them (though, of course, Rand frames it somewhat differently). Like many of today's self-deluded, self-regarding, "self-made" men, they whine at the notion of having some responsibility to support the system (the public laws, rules, and investments) and the people (the workers and consumers) who were instrumental in creating their wealth, preferring instead the twin roles of freeloader and de-facto thief. Apparently the present-day Randian catchphrase for this kind of toddler-level selfishness is "Going Galt."
If you are yourself one the aforementioned scumsacks, yearning to go Galt, I have a Word of my own: GO. Get your soulless eugenicist corpses as far away from the rest of us as you can. Spare the decent majority -- those with empathy, a conscience, and the self-honesty and strength to recognize their dependence on others -- from your so-called "truths," i.e., the schemes by which you have manipulated power and people's thinking to enrich yourselves and impoverish others. Find your own island homeland to pillage. In fact -- as usual -- we'll help you. We'll even film a reality show there: "Last Cannibal Standing." We don't expect there will be a winner.
UPDATE: Here's a fun Rand primer.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
And how about some pre-trial "enhanced interrogation techniques"?
Nothing too extreme. Like maybe dangling a big bundle of money in front of them, just out of reach.
Wall Street’s Socialist Jet-Setters - The New York Times
Wall Street’s Socialist Jet-Setters - The New York Times
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Republican solution? The ol' tried and untrue
Yes, tax cuts, the ineffective, fact-free solution.
LATE ADDITIONS:
Bad Faith Economics - The New York Times
Blind Unanimity - Washington Post
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
O-o-o-kay
Remember this post? Essentially the case has been on hold while prosecutors arranged for the testimony of a key witness, IT specialist Michael Connell.
As it turns out, while prosecutors recently were able to take a deposition from Connell, no one will be hearing him testify. He died two weeks ago when the private plane he was piloting crashed into a vacant home in an Ohio suburb. The official cause of the crash remains undetermined; the actual cause of the crash may never be determined. (Not to be Tin-Foil-Hat guy, but come on -- is there a way not to consider these circumstances suspicious?)
'Karl Rove's IT guru' Mike Connell Dies in Plane Crash - Raw Story
Republican IT Specialist Dies in Plane Crash - Democracy Now!
As it turns out, while prosecutors recently were able to take a deposition from Connell, no one will be hearing him testify. He died two weeks ago when the private plane he was piloting crashed into a vacant home in an Ohio suburb. The official cause of the crash remains undetermined; the actual cause of the crash may never be determined. (Not to be Tin-Foil-Hat guy, but come on -- is there a way not to consider these circumstances suspicious?)
'Karl Rove's IT guru' Mike Connell Dies in Plane Crash - Raw Story
Republican IT Specialist Dies in Plane Crash - Democracy Now!
High wages aren't the problem; they're the goal
Unions, which mean better jobs and more secure and stable families, families who attend more PTO meetings and give more to United Way, ought to be models for policymakers; instead, they're afterthoughts -- or enemies. It doesn't add up.
"If you ask me, American workers have been silently bailing out their companies for 35 years," says Nancy Holle, a leader in the advocacy group Central Indiana Jobs With Justice.
"Want an increase in profits? Take it out of the workers' pay. Have them work longer with no increase, or let them go, and the CEOs get a bonus. Time after time, time after time. The U.S. worker works harder and longer than workers in any other industrialized country. It has been a silent bailout."
It is no coincidence that fewer and fewer of those workers are organized. Republican presidents, governors and legislators have not been inclined to make life easy for Democratically-inclined labor; and sadly, laborers themselves have become so conditioned to going unprotected that they resent those who have some insulation.
Down on Upward Mobility - IndyStar.com
Who Wants to Kick a Millionaire? - The New York Times
A Race to the Bottom - The New York Times
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
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