Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
This is enemy action
"That's a lot of money, Bob."
- John McCain: Crisis Enabler - The Nation
- Why Wall Street Is Burning - OurFuture.org
- Seven Deadly Sins of Deregulation -- and Three Necessary Reforms - The American Prospect
- Bush and Bailout Package Refuse to Get at Root Causes - The Progressive
- A Wall Street Bailout Wouldn't Help Anyone But Rich Investors - AlterNet
- Whatever Happened to Personal Responsibility? - TruthDig
- The Moral Subtext of the Bailout Debate - Huffington Post
- Acts of Contrition - The Nation
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The worst cause
'Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency' by Barton Gellman' - LA Times
On the question of the war in Iraq and why Cheney pushed for it as he did, Gellman adds critical insight. Whether the vice president believed that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction is an open question, though it is clear that he knowingly lied about U.S. intelligence in this regard. What he did believe was that the war was winnable and, therefore, would make a valuable "demonstration" of U.S. power that would deter any other hostile nation from allowing itself to become a "nexus" of common purpose with the Islamic extremists who attacked New York and suburban Washington, D.C., on 9/11. The possibility of such a "nexus" was, in Cheney's view, the great threat to American security. He embraced the neo-conservatives' notion of the U.S. as liberator, bringing democratic regime change to the Mideast, as a convenient rhetorical counterweight to Jihadist propaganda. Personally, he doubted democracy even was possible in the Middle East.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Manufacturing consensus
The Complete (Though Ever-Changing) Elite Consensus Over the Financial Collapse - Salon
What is more intrinsically corrupt than allowing people to engage in high-reward/no-risk capitalism -- where they reap tens of millions of dollars and more every year while their reckless gambles are paying off only to then have the Government shift their losses to the citizenry at large once their schemes collapse? We've retroactively created a win-only system where the wealthiest corporations and their shareholders are free to gamble for as long as they win and then force others who have no upside to pay for their losses. Watching Wall St. erupt with an orgy of celebration on Friday after it became clear the Government (i.e., you) would pay for their disaster was literally nauseating, as the very people who wreaked this havoc are now being rewarded.
More amazingly, they're free to walk away without having to disgorge their gains; at worst, they're just "forced" to walk away without any further stake in the gamble. How can these bailouts not at least be categorically conditioned on the disgorgement of ill-gotten gains from those who are responsible? The mere fact that shareholders might lose their stake going forward doesn't resolve that concern; why should those who so fantastically profited from these schemes they couldn't support walk away with their gains? This is "redistribution of wealth" and "government takeover of industry" on the grandest scale imaginable -- the buzzphrases that have been thrown around for decades to represent all that is evil and bad in the world. That's all this is; it's not an "investment" by the Government in any real sense but just a magical transfer of losses away from those who are responsible for these losses to those who aren't.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Will the free-market fanatics please shut up?
The Corporate Financiers Are Wrong - Salon
LATE ADDITION: Free Market Ideology Is Far From Finished - The Guardian
All good questions. And Klein's right, of course. The free-market fundies will never give up, no matter how great a catastrophe they create. They are the Energizer bunnies of sociopathy. There's still more money to be stolen, after all!
Meanwhile, once the smoke has cleared, a learning-impaired public will be all too willing to let it happen again. Perhaps one useful new branch for a reinvigorated government would be a department of institutional memory. Then, the next time Americans start falling prey to these self-serving robber barons and their attractive propagandists, there will someone standing by to say, "Cue the 9/08 tape, Charlie. Okay now, people, remember this. This is what they do."
LATE ADDITION: Free Market Ideology Is Far From Finished - The Guardian
During boom times, it's profitable to preach laissez faire, because an absentee government allows speculative bubbles to inflate. When those bubbles burst, the ideology becomes a hindrance, and it goes dormant while big government rides to the rescue. But rest assured: the ideology will come roaring back when the bailouts are done. The massive debts the public is accumulating to bail out the speculators will then become part of a global budget crisis that will be the rationalisation for deep cuts to social programmes, and for a renewed push to privatise what is left of the public sector. We will also be told that our hopes for a green future are, sadly, too costly.
What we don't know is how the public will respond. Consider that in North America, everybody under the age of 40 grew up being told that the government can't intervene to improve our lives, that government is the problem not the solution, that laissez faire was the only option. Now, we are suddenly seeing an extremely activist, intensely interventionist government, seemingly willing to do whatever it takes to save investors from themselves.
This spectacle necessarily raises the question: if the state can intervene to save corporations that took reckless risks in the housing markets, why can't it intervene to prevent millions of Americans from imminent foreclosure? By the same token, if $85bn can be made instantly available to buy the insurance giant AIG, why is single-payer health care – which would protect Americans from the predatory practices of health-care insurance companies – seemingly such an unattainable dream?
All good questions. And Klein's right, of course. The free-market fundies will never give up, no matter how great a catastrophe they create. They are the Energizer bunnies of sociopathy. There's still more money to be stolen, after all!
Meanwhile, once the smoke has cleared, a learning-impaired public will be all too willing to let it happen again. Perhaps one useful new branch for a reinvigorated government would be a department of institutional memory. Then, the next time Americans start falling prey to these self-serving robber barons and their attractive propagandists, there will someone standing by to say, "Cue the 9/08 tape, Charlie. Okay now, people, remember this. This is what they do."
Friday, September 19, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
If you thought Tina Fey was good as Palin, wait till you see McCain as Herbert Hoover
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
This could be big
The following audio clip is from an Air America interview with media professor Mark Crispin Miller, who has studied and written extensively on issues of media and election reform.
More: The RoveCyberGate Campaign - Velvet Revolution
More: The RoveCyberGate Campaign - Velvet Revolution
We are working with Ohio election attorneys, Cliff Arnebeck, Bob Fitrakis and Henry Eckhart to find out the truth about recent information indicating that Karl Rove architected and directed a strategy to manipulate elections through the use of computers. Rove’s Cyber Guru, Michael Connell, has worked for the Bush family for over 20 years and helped Bush Sr., Jeb and Bush Jr. “win” their elections using his computer skills. Whistleblowers, including Republicans, say that several of these and other national elections have been rigged through various invisible and illegal means, including vote tabulation manipulation, improper partisan use of the Justice Department to target Democrats and uncooperative US Attorneys, and the laundering of hundreds of millions of corporate dollars funneled into fake advocacy groups directed against Democrat candidates running for public office. Ex-Alabama Governor Don Siegelman has stated publicly that Rove was the person who directed Siegelman’s rigged election and criminal prosecution. Here GOP cyber sleuth Stephen Spoonamore has stated publicly that the leadership of the GOP has been "lying and stealing elections" link and doing so through computers. link
According to the attorneys, Rove’s goal with this strategy is to establish a unitary Executive Branch with a supportive judiciary, a weak legislature and a fearful press. Corporate sponsors of this strategy, such as tobacco, energy, telecom, and pharmaceutical companies are rewarded with hands off government: deregulated oversight, stringent limits on class-action damages, the stacking of high courts with pro-business/anti-consumer Justices etc. link
Monday, September 15, 2008
It's time for "Bankrupting America!" starring Phil Gramm and John McCain!
McCain Blasts Wall Street Failure, Neglects To Mention His Adviser Helped Cause It - Mother Jones
McCain and the Mortgage Meltdown - The Nation
It seems Alan Greenspan won't be able to appear on tonight's program....
McCain Adviser on Economy: ‘Things Today Just Aren’t That Bad’ - TruthDig
McCain and the Mortgage Meltdown - The Nation
It seems Alan Greenspan won't be able to appear on tonight's program....
McCain Adviser on Economy: ‘Things Today Just Aren’t That Bad’ - TruthDig
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Interesting
What Makes People Vote Republican? - Edge
YourMorals.org
Of course, it would be helpful if conservatives made a similar effort to understand what progressives believe....
YourMorals.org
Of course, it would be helpful if conservatives made a similar effort to understand what progressives believe....
Saturday, September 13, 2008
You'd think this was...wait, who's worse than Belarus?
Sure, their employment rate is higher, but their health-care system is far worse--Belarus ranks almost as far below the U.S. as we rank below France! That's awful!
Dear God, Bootsie, that nun is tending to those wretches. My sides are positively splitting
Here's something I meant to highlight before I was swept away by the McCain camp's recent river of lies. That is Rudolph Giuliani's quip during the GOP convention's "community organizer" sneerfest:
Unwittingly, America's mayor put on display for the entire nation how Republicans think. They can't even grasp the concept of an unselfish act, of sacrificing personal gain to help others. The concept is so far removed from this group's self-serving universe, they are so astonished that one might be so incomprehensibly foolish as to actually turn away money, that they can only laugh. Beneficence! How droll!
Mother Teresa must have had these people rolling on the floor.
LATE ADDITION: Speaking of aristocrats.... The Aristocrats II: Starring George Will Attacking Firefighters on 9/11 - OurFuture.org
"You have a resume from a gifted man with an Ivy League education. He worked as a community organizer. (laughter) Okay. Maybe this is the first problem on the resume. He worked as a community organizer."
Unwittingly, America's mayor put on display for the entire nation how Republicans think. They can't even grasp the concept of an unselfish act, of sacrificing personal gain to help others. The concept is so far removed from this group's self-serving universe, they are so astonished that one might be so incomprehensibly foolish as to actually turn away money, that they can only laugh. Beneficence! How droll!
Mother Teresa must have had these people rolling on the floor.
LATE ADDITION: Speaking of aristocrats.... The Aristocrats II: Starring George Will Attacking Firefighters on 9/11 - OurFuture.org
Friday, September 12, 2008
Lacking ideas, programs or values, McCain and Palin are running on an fictional narrative of victimhood
The Scream Machine - Washington Post
Blizzard of Lies - The New York Times
It's so bad, even the MSM have noticed: The Anger Factor - Washington Post
LATE ADDITION: McCain Barbs Stirring Outcry as Distortions - The New York Times
Blizzard of Lies - The New York Times
It's so bad, even the MSM have noticed: The Anger Factor - Washington Post
LATE ADDITION: McCain Barbs Stirring Outcry as Distortions - The New York Times
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
It's no wonder candidate McCain can't define "honor"
Does the Truth Matter Anymore? - Washington Post
As Campaign Heats Up, Untruths Can Become Facts Before They're Undone - Washington Post
Note the McCain spokesman on Palin's lies: "...[T]here's a bigger truth out there and the bigger truths are she's new, she's popular in Alaska and she is an insurgent. As long as those are out there, these little facts don't really matter." Translation: Lies are fine, as long as they dupe the voters.
Here's a bigger truth: You're all scuzzbags.
(Aren't these campaign games to be expected? To an extent. As a counterexample see the Obama camp, whose mild instances of spin--all firmly rooted in reality and defensible even as stated--seem to me within bounds. What McCain & Co. are doing, on the other hand, is beyond spin--B.S., if you will.)
(For those of you who missed it: McCain on honor.)
LATE ADDITION: Why Do Lies Prevail? - Washington Post
As Campaign Heats Up, Untruths Can Become Facts Before They're Undone - Washington Post
Note the McCain spokesman on Palin's lies: "...[T]here's a bigger truth out there and the bigger truths are she's new, she's popular in Alaska and she is an insurgent. As long as those are out there, these little facts don't really matter." Translation: Lies are fine, as long as they dupe the voters.
Here's a bigger truth: You're all scuzzbags.
(Aren't these campaign games to be expected? To an extent. As a counterexample see the Obama camp, whose mild instances of spin--all firmly rooted in reality and defensible even as stated--seem to me within bounds. What McCain & Co. are doing, on the other hand, is beyond spin--B.S., if you will.)
(For those of you who missed it: McCain on honor.)
LATE ADDITION: Why Do Lies Prevail? - Washington Post
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Surely the American people are smarter than that. Aren't they?
Ok, so we Dems are nervous. But as Salon's Gary Kamiya points out, it's not without reason:
The Dominatrix - Salon
Let's hope, as Kamiya does, that such Caligulan fantasies are confined to the adult adolescents in the GOP base. There's far too much at stake in this election for the outcome to be decided by the penile vote. Likewise, there's far too much at stake even remotely to risk a Sarah Palin presidency.
[After the latest round of polls], the same Democrats who were crowing with glee a week ago about McCain's off-the-wall choice [of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for vice president] are suddenly panicking. And you can't blame them. Four years after Americans looked at the first term of the worst president in modern history and decided they liked what they saw well enough to sign up for four more years, it's all too plausible that just when victory is in sight, the most crucial election of our time could be tipped by the 11th-hour appearance of a slick, unqualified, right-wing extremist and religious zealot in designer glasses....
And large numbers of Americans think she's hot.
This latter point cannot be underestimated. Iraq may be a quagmire, a new cold war may be looming, the economy may be tanking and the world may be heading toward environmental doom, but the presidential race may be decided by the perceived doability of the governor of Alaska.
The Dominatrix - Salon
Let's hope, as Kamiya does, that such Caligulan fantasies are confined to the adult adolescents in the GOP base. There's far too much at stake in this election for the outcome to be decided by the penile vote. Likewise, there's far too much at stake even remotely to risk a Sarah Palin presidency.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Palin and Giuliani ridicule Catholic charity work
The difference between the GOP's standard-issue demagoguery and the headline above is (a) the headline is merely intended to make fun of their dishonest, inflammatory rhetoric and (b) my inflammatory rhetoric is true.
Palin, Giuliani Mocked Obama's Organizing Work, But It Was Sponsored By The Catholic Church - Mother Jones
Community Organizers - The American Prospect
Leave it to Republicans to sneer at those who do good in the world. Such Christians they are! To borrow a post-convention quip, "Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor."
LATE ADDITION: GOP Mocks Public Service - The Nation
Palin, Giuliani Mocked Obama's Organizing Work, But It Was Sponsored By The Catholic Church - Mother Jones
Community Organizers - The American Prospect
Leave it to Republicans to sneer at those who do good in the world. Such Christians they are! To borrow a post-convention quip, "Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor."
LATE ADDITION: GOP Mocks Public Service - The Nation
The difference between Palin and a Capra hero is sincerity
It seems that today's theme is "GOP bullshit."
Consistency is not their forte
Sorry, that's MSM-speak. I should have said, "Honesty is not their forte." Noooo, still pretty MSM-y. How about "What a collection of lying weasels"? There we go.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Are St. Paul's stormtroopers following the Nixon playbook?
Twin Cities Violence: Just What The RNC Ordered - OurFuture.org
In other news:
St. Paul Mayor and Media Mum on Journalism Crackdown - The Huffington Post
Welcome to Burma!
UPDATE: Why We Were Falsely Arrested - TruthDig
In other news:
Democracy Now's Goodman reports that a U.S. Secret Service agent ripped her press credentials from her neck the moment she identified herself to him as a member of the media. Her producers emerged yesterday from their jail cells bloodied and scarred, reporting unusually harsh treatment at the hands of local and federal authorities.
St. Paul Mayor and Media Mum on Journalism Crackdown - The Huffington Post
Welcome to Burma!
UPDATE: Why We Were Falsely Arrested - TruthDig
Ok, but what do you really think?
Some accidental honesty on the Palin pick from some top GOP pundits (profanity in original):
Oy ... Live Mics Are Such Dangerous Things - Talking Points Memo
LATE ADDITION: Candidate McCain’s Big Decision - The New York Times
Oy ... Live Mics Are Such Dangerous Things - Talking Points Memo
LATE ADDITION: Candidate McCain’s Big Decision - The New York Times
Monday, September 1, 2008
More news from Beijing St. Paul
Scenes from St. Paul -- Democracy Now's Amy Goodman Arrested - Salon
While the protesters here may believe their free-speech rights are being smashed by the heavy fist of an aspirationally totalitarian state, what they fail to realize is that spying on meetings of nonviolent groups, arresting those who peaceably assemble, and performing random acts of violence against them are merely peacekeeping activities. And if these noisy freedomites want to continue speaking and assembling and petitioning their government for a redress of grievances, they should just move back to America where they belong.
While the protesters here may believe their free-speech rights are being smashed by the heavy fist of an aspirationally totalitarian state, what they fail to realize is that spying on meetings of nonviolent groups, arresting those who peaceably assemble, and performing random acts of violence against them are merely peacekeeping activities. And if these noisy freedomites want to continue speaking and assembling and petitioning their government for a redress of grievances, they should just move back to America where they belong.
If you listen closely, you can hear their jackboots crushing your freedoms
I don't know whether to be more appalled by the police-state tactics here or by the fact that our alleged protectors--even at the highest levels--believe that "vegan=danger" ("Watch out, Bob! He's got a cucumber!").
Massive Police Raids on Suspected Protesters in Minneapolis - Salon
Federal Government Involved in Raids on Protesters - Salon
Massive Police Raids on Suspected Protesters in Minneapolis - Salon
Federal Government Involved in Raids on Protesters - Salon
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)