Saturday, September 20, 2008

McCain on banking and health - Paul Krugman - Op-Ed Columnist - New York Times Blog

McCain on banking and health - Paul Krugman - Op-Ed Columnist - New York Times Blog:

"So McCain, who now poses as the scourge of Wall Street, was praising financial deregulation like 10 seconds ago — and promising that if we marketize health care, it will perform as well as the financial industry!"

I really really really hope people are paying attention.

How much financial CEOs got paid to ruin their companies - Network World

How much financial CEOs got paid to ruin their companies - Network World

My economics prof. told us that CEOs make so much more than regular workers because they work that much harder. That was obviously bullshit. I stopped going to class.

He could have tried the line that CEOs make so much more than regular workers because they create value - or something like that - but that is also, now, obviously bullshit.

There should be some sort of law - if you are a CEO and yr company goes bankrupt or has to be bailed out - yr salary and bonuses should be forfeit to yr shareholders or the American taxpayers. The rewards for failure should be a lot less.

AKMuckraker: Palin Lies: One Man's Protest on the Juneau Cruise Ship Docks

AKMuckraker: Palin Lies: One Man's Protest on the Juneau Cruise Ship Docks:

A great story about a one man Palin protest in Alaska - but I want to highlight this bit -

"Shortly thereafter, I was accosted by a couple of 60-year old women from somewhere in the South. They quickly grouped me into an unsavory collective 'you-all'. Suddenly they were quoting Palin's approval rating and Obama's record as America's most liberal senator (reminding me they got their information straight from CNN). They were joined by their husbands and a couple of other tourists. They stood over me and shook their fingers. Did I want to be a socialist? Did I remember Jimmy Carter's administration? Was I really for health care for 'all' people? Then they brought out the big gun: 'How about Ronald Reagan?' I have to admit at first I was a bit angry, but once Reagan was mentioned I had to laugh. I said something about Reaganomics. More clucking, head shaking and pointing. Finally I defused the situation by asking if they were enjoying their cruise. This seemed to settle everyone down and they walked away with only a small chunk of my butt between their teeth."

I know Obama can't spend time on this - he has a campaign to win - and running down Reagan probably won't help - but the rest of us - those of us who knew back in the 80's where Reaganomics were taking us - we need to speak up and let people know that this current economic crisis - this is Reagan's true legacy. The deregulation madness - the trickle-down sickness - these things along with bush's incompetence, graft and cronyism have left us in a country that needs a lot of fixing - on fundamental levels.

Hullabaloo

Hullabaloo:

"Basically, with no cause, police ran over and beat up some members of the progressive media. They did it because the money they will lose from civil suits over the matter has already been paid. So, of course the charges were dropped. There were no real charges. It was beating, paid for by the Republican Party, pure and simple."

The Washington Monthly

The Washington Monthly:

"At the exact same time the RNC was slamming the Obama campaign for using the Wall Street crisis to raise money, the McCain campaign was using the Wall Street crisis to raise money. In emails sent to McCain donors, the campaign explained, 'The American economy is in a crisis. It is in a crisis,' and promoted headlines such as, 'McCain Promises to 'Clean Up Wall Street.'' The McCain campaign email also connected the solicitation to a recent TV ad, which begins, 'When our economy's in crisis, a big government casts a big shadow on us all. Obama and his liberal Congressional allies want a massive government, billions in spending increases, wasteful pork.'"

Friday, September 19, 2008

Joseph A. Palermo: A Fitting Denouement to Eight Years of Miserable Rule

Joseph A. Palermo: A Fitting Denouement to Eight Years of Miserable Rule:

"Franklin D. Roosevelt told the nation that the economic collapse he inherited after twelve years of Republican Party dominance proved that unbridled greed is not only bad morals but also bad economics."

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

political comics i'd like to see

(postmodernbarney.com):

"'Doctor Blake...I'm a little confused. You say you want our school district to adopt geology textbooks that claim that earthquakes are 'the shaking of the Midgard serpent'?'
'Ja. I vøuld like før yøu tø teach der cøntrøversy.'"

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Nathan Gardels: Stiglitz: The Fall of Wall Street Is to Market Fundamentalism What the Fall of the Berlin Wall Was to Communism

Nathan Gardels: Stiglitz: The Fall of Wall Street Is to Market Fundamentalism What the Fall of the Berlin Wall Was to Communism:

"In this sense, the fall of Wall Street is for market fundamentalism what the fall of the Berlin Wall was for communism -- it tells the world that this way of economic organization turns out not to be sustainable. In the end, everyone says, that model doesn't work. This moment is a marker that the claims of financial market liberalization were bogus."


Can I get an "Amen!"?

Monday, September 15, 2008

The Washington Monthly

The Washington Monthly:

"Major bank failures? Financial fraud and greed? Political ineptitude? We're seeing these factors play out now in the financial industry, but we saw the same thing 20 years ago, in the biggest scandal of McCain's career."
Chocolate bar giving away cake in just a few minutes

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Police chief cites need for safety; new storm strikes | Front page | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Police chief cites need for safety; new storm strikes | Front page | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle:

"As the area endured another spate of potentially damaging thunderstorms a day after Hurricane Ike ravaged the area, Houston officials announced an overnight curfew for the entire city starting at 9 p.m. tonight."

damn. guess i won't be going to the bar tonight after all.

The Washington Monthly

The Washington Monthly:

"And four months ago, a Wasilla blogger, Sherry Whitstine, who chronicles the governor's career with an astringent eye, answered her phone to hear an assistant to the governor on the line, she said.

'You should be ashamed!' Ivy Frye, the assistant, told her. 'Stop blogging. Stop blogging right now!'"

Mayberry Machiavellis