tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143926882011-11-13T14:56:07.386-08:00Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8671100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-91164442543686127552011-10-20T05:48:00.002-07:002011-10-20T06:01:50.123-07:00

The WaPost reports that despite frosty relations with the titans of Wall Street, President Obama has still managed to raise far more money this year from the financial and banking sector than Mitt Romney or any other Republican presidential candidate, according to new fundraising data.As a result, Obama has brought in more money from employees of banks, hedge funds and other financial service

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-33801932911855687852011-09-30T06:44:00.003-07:002011-09-30T06:50:10.628-07:00

Jerry Schad died on Thursday, September 22, 2011. He was 61. Jerry wrote the Roam-O-Rama outdoors column for the Reader from 1993 to 2011. The undisputed expert on San Diego backcountry, Jerry loved to explore the desert ... and the rougher it got, the better he liked it.Jerry also authored 16 books, including “Afoot & Afield in San Diego County,” the bible of San Diego hiking.Jerry was

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-14941060026378494162011-09-28T06:22:00.002-07:002011-09-28T06:32:45.542-07:00

The NYTimes has an important story on the growing "wariness, even contempt, toward traditional politicians and the democratic political process they preside over."“Our parents are grateful because they’re voting,” said Marta Solanas, 27, referring to older Spaniards’ decades spent under the Franco dictatorship. “We’re the first generation to say that voting is worthless.”I always suspected

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-82004314100381464422011-09-21T06:51:00.003-07:002011-09-21T07:11:12.947-07:00

Have you ever done volunteer work you really loved, but found yourself saying, "Wow, I wish I could do this a a 'real' job"? Well, chances are that in the past it would have been a paid job. However, the U.S. is so awash in people who are willing to do the work for free, that those who benefit from this spirit of volunteerism -- non-profits, institutions, and even for-profit healthcare and other

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-11187190415642274102011-09-21T06:38:00.002-07:002011-09-21T06:45:33.448-07:00

The UK Guardian reports that masked gunmen have blocked traffic on a busy avenue in the Mexican coastal city of Boca del Rio and dumped the bodies of 35 murder victims in front of motorists. Veracruz state attorney general Reynaldo Escobar Pérez said the bodies were left piled in two trucks and on the ground of an underpass. The Gulf and Zetas drug cartels have been locked in a bloody war for

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-30255039659647650562011-09-07T06:18:00.002-07:002011-09-07T06:23:57.128-07:00

If you can't wrap your head around the need for Government-stimulated job growth, Jim Jubak notes another rationale for spending on transportation. While both Dems and ReThugs dither about how best to drown government in Gover Norquist's bathtub ...China is building airports, expanding its railway freight network, and adding thousands of miles of roads. U.S. ports fall further behind Hong

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-65397850910162441492011-09-05T06:46:00.005-07:002011-09-05T07:07:06.422-07:00

The Obama administration has vastly expanded the shadow war against foreign terrorists, using military special operations units and the C.I.A. to track down and kill thousands of individuals in a dozen countries.There is a running argument about how many "non-combatants" have become collateral damage during all this extra-territorial killing. The C.I.A. claims that since 2001, 2,000 militants,

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-24285922903747946992011-09-05T06:30:00.004-07:002011-09-05T06:42:28.821-07:00

A story in the Guardian details how US and British intelligence quickly embraced Col. Gaddafi after he came in from the diplomatic cold in 2004.One of Libya's senior rebel commanders has demanded an apology from the British and American governments following the discovery of secret documents which show MI6 and the CIA were involved in a plot that led to his capture and torture. Abdul Hakim

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-53950988695222967922011-03-18T04:52:00.003-07:002011-05-26T11:43:10.099-07:00

As do I ...I still don’t know why the Obama administration was so quick to accept defeat in the war of ideas, but the fact is that it surrendered very early in the game. In early 2009, John Boehner, now the speaker of the House, was widely and rightly mocked for declaring that since families were suffering, the government should tighten its own belt. That’s Herbert Hoover economics, and it’s

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-68401488589423457602011-03-18T04:17:00.003-07:002011-03-18T04:25:04.795-07:00

Shocking! Who would have ever thought The Man would exploit "social media" for his own ends?!Personally, I always thought that the curious widespread governmental endorsement of "social media" was about getting Americans more and more comfortable with the idea that they have no privacy anymore. What better way to do that than by getting the masses to bare all willingly on-line?But this works

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-76859181374811022362011-03-16T05:52:00.002-07:002011-03-16T05:56:30.268-07:00

The USFWS reports that free-roaming domestic cats may kill hundreds of millions of songbirds and other avian species every year. That's despicable. Please keep your damn cat in the house. While you're at it, spay or neuter it.

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-36267664481594473662011-02-14T05:56:00.002-08:002011-02-14T05:59:09.856-08:00

Indeed. George Bush pissed away uncounted hundreds of billions waging an illicit, unnecessary war. Then hundreds of billions more bailing out Wall Street. But it's Spelunker Obama who fell for the fiscal restraint scam.Dems are dopes.

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-26970764858028887282011-02-09T05:48:00.003-08:002011-02-09T05:56:33.791-08:00

The Post reports that the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has analyzed the drinking water in 35 cities across the United States and found that most contained hexavalent chromium, a probable carcinogen that was made famous by the film "Erin Brockovich."The study, which will be released Monday, is the first nationwide analysis of hexavalent chromium in drinking water to be made public. It comes

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-43968473430251651962011-02-09T05:22:00.003-08:002011-02-09T05:29:33.680-08:00

Jim Kunstler's been warning about peak oil for years. But now, via Wikileaks, we learn that the US secretly fears that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, really may not have enough reserves to prevent oil prices escalating, confidential cables from its embassy in Riyadh show.The cables, released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from a senior Saudi

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-435838749703879162011-01-13T05:54:00.002-08:002011-01-13T05:59:35.383-08:00

It's sad and telling that we have heard plenty the past few years about moronic assholes like Sarah "blood libel" Palin, and Michelle 'Batshit Crazy' Bachman. But before Saturday, I'd never heard of Gabrielle Giffords, whose only claims to fame seem to be reasonableness and hard work.

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-61969769553964396112010-12-30T05:41:00.002-08:002010-12-30T06:05:57.348-08:00

Chew on this from the Weather Channel:Record warm January: SeattleHottest so early in the season: Cleveland (86) and Pittsburgh (85) on April 2...Caribou, Maine (82) on April 3. Boston's earliest 90+ of the season on April 7.Record warm April: New York City...Hartford...Portland, Maine...Springfield & Peoria, IL.Globe's record warmest April (per NASA analysis; records date back to 1880)All-time

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-77982932935194695232010-12-27T06:22:00.001-08:002010-12-27T06:24:44.134-08:00

Did the bill pledging federal funds for the health care of 9/11 responders become law in the waning hours of the 111th Congress only because a comedian took it up as a personal cause?And does that make that comedian, Jon Stewart — despite all his protestations that what he does has nothing to do with journalism — the modern-day equivalent of Edward R. Murrow?While New York’s two senators, as well

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-48884972721477109992010-12-11T07:23:00.002-08:002010-12-11T07:27:05.029-08:00

I've always been fascinated by the way Spain went from being a world hegemon in the 16th Century, to the third-rate economic power it is today.Well, Jim Jubak has answered that question pretty aptly. And along the way, he explains why it might be foolhardy to bet against the short-term economic resilience of a big, bloated country like the 21st Century U.S.

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-84331791596546178362010-11-30T05:55:00.003-08:002010-11-30T06:13:41.807-08:00

1) This is more unwise, unilateral bipartisanship: It's one thing for the president to concede something to Republicans in negotiations. It's a whole other to simply do it himself in return for nothing -- and that includes Republican support. But that's what the White House did on the tax cuts in the stimulus -- and President Obama has since lamented that decision -- and it's what they did

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-19420966939247510112010-11-24T07:19:00.002-08:002010-11-24T07:25:08.475-08:00

The eminently reasonable Gretchen Morgenson writes about the disagreement over reality between a Congressional Oversight Panel trying to put a price on bank errors on the one hand, and the Treasury Department trying to cover its ass on the other hand.Sadly, she's right that only time will tell if the panel’s estimates are low, high or right on the money. She's also right that if once again

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-88478128457395218242010-11-17T06:50:00.002-08:002010-11-17T06:58:19.809-08:00

It's hard to believe that the DHS and TSA stooges entrusted with our homeland and travel security were stupid enough to think they could shove virtual strip searches for men, women, and children down the throats of Amercans.Sure, as a rule Americans are compliant to a fault. But in this body scanner issue, TSA has created a perfect storm where hide-under-the-bed fear of terrorists, runs head-on

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-68101539065376872162010-11-17T06:30:00.002-08:002010-11-17T06:35:38.083-08:00

David Leonhardt makes some lion-hearted (hah!) good points:We should focus on growing the economy, not just shrinking the Government.We shouldn’t plunge ourselves back into another economic slump by raising taxes and cutting spending too quickly. (President Franklin Roosevelt made that mistake in 1937, and this time (one hopes) the country won’t be able to rely on war mobilization spending to

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-81047224574859014612010-11-15T05:27:00.000-08:002010-11-15T06:19:28.836-08:00

The Times reports that women in Afghanistan are burning themselves to death to escape poverty, forced marriages, and the abuse and despondency that can be the fate of Afghan women.This is what we're fighting for? Please ... end it now.UPDATE: Sweet Jeebus ... even our hand-picked stooge in Kabul doesn't want us to keep fighting. WTF, over?

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-45277880692753682812010-11-15T04:58:00.002-08:002010-11-15T05:12:40.212-08:00

The AP reports that the ranks of college and university presidents earning seven figures is swelling. Thirty presidents received more than $1 million in pay and benefits in 2008, and more than 20 percent of chief executives at 448 institutions surveyed topped $600,000.This is obscene. As millions of students enter their working years saddled with crippling school debt, these a$$holes are adding

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-61033751288249149952010-11-14T07:06:00.002-08:002010-11-14T07:08:34.455-08:00

Now that tea-bagging wingnut Joe Miller seems destined to lose the Alaska senate seat, will the media finally quit proclaiming Teabaggers as the winner in 2010?No. It's too good a horse race story to let die.

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-5560555019385101012010-11-14T06:40:00.003-08:002010-11-14T06:52:04.596-08:00

... and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton (Lord Acton), in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887The NY times has obtained an un-redacted copy of a super-secret Government report showing that, when it comes to WWII Nazis, the U.S. sometimes took an, er, expedient view towards justice.A sub-lesson concerns which

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-32857975750453510522010-11-12T06:02:00.003-08:002010-11-12T06:24:50.149-08:00

Ezra Klein observes that late in the negotiations over the public health care option, a group of five conservative Democrats and five more-liberal Democrats seemed near to a smart compromise: Allow adults over 55 to buy into Medicare.This would have opened up an effective and cheap program to a group of Americans who often have the most trouble finding affordable insurance. The CBO also said it

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-1186852155508579842010-11-12T04:54:00.004-08:002010-11-12T06:43:14.907-08:00

"So the Bowles-Simpson proposal is basically saying that janitors should be forced to work longer because these days corporate lawyers live to a ripe old age."This and more prescient observations from Krugman.Kevin Drum also does a good job of explaining why these a$$holes aren't really serious about solving the deficit problem.On the upside, it's enlightening to see this clearly whose side

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-47428116014804089522010-11-06T05:10:00.003-07:002010-11-06T05:19:20.863-07:00

In addition to Nancy Pelosi voluntarily stepping down as Speaker, health care gave the ReThugs a never ending talking point with which to hammer Dems.What could they have done differently?Instead of the Rube Goldberg concoction we got, and that no one loves, Dems should have championed one idea: amend Medicare to make everyone who wants it eligible for it. No one would be required to use it, so

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-84452807333465251582010-11-06T05:03:00.002-07:002010-11-06T05:10:02.499-07:00

Brilliant move.Here's what Ms. Pelosi should have done for the good of the party and nation. About six months ago, she should have announced that vitriolic personal partisan attacks against her were distracting the House from it's important work, and were distracting her from the equally important work of representing her home district constituents. As a result, she would turn over the reins to

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-79486255936801431262010-10-26T06:38:00.001-07:002010-10-26T06:41:12.257-07:00

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have taken a leading role in preparing and endorsing an agreement between banks and title insurers that is designed to help restart foreclosure sales. The agreement would reportedly be similar to one signed between Bank of America Corp. and the nation's largest title insurer, Fidelity National Financial Inc., to indemnify the insurer against any losses that result

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-1482162038698092122010-10-24T08:28:00.003-07:002010-10-24T08:32:01.925-07:00

By Dave JohnsonEight of the biggest myths:1) President Obama tripled the deficit.2) President Obama raised taxes, which hurt the economy.3) President Obama bailed out the banks.4) The stimulus didn't work.5) Businesses will hire if they get tax cuts.6) Health care reform costs $1 trillion.7) Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, is "going broke," people live longer, fewer workers per retiree, etc.8)

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-19734511994686045862010-10-23T07:32:00.001-07:002010-10-23T07:33:21.971-07:00

Bob Herbert nails it:The war in Afghanistan, the longest in our history, began on Oct. 7, 2001. It’s now in its 10th year. After all this time and all the blood shed and lives lost, it’s still not clear what we’re doing. Osama bin Laden hasn’t been found. The Afghan Army can’t stand on its own. Our ally in Pakistan can’t be trusted, and our man in Kabul is, at best, flaky. A good and humane

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-70254424599549292762010-10-18T06:15:00.003-07:002010-10-18T06:39:47.934-07:00

The Times reports that, although there are no firm figures, "hundreds" of well-disciplined fighters — many of whom have gained extensive knowledge about the American military — appear to have rejoined Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. Beyond that, officials say that even many of the Awakening fighters still on the Iraqi government payroll, possibly thousands of them, covertly aid the insurgency.Yeah.

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-76366392362512504112010-10-16T06:15:00.001-07:002010-10-16T06:18:18.034-07:00

From our friends at PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility):Without an expectation that things would be better there would be no disappointment. President Obama came into office promising “Change We Can Believe In” but the ranks of believers thin with each passing month because the administration’s actions do not match its lofty rhetoric.The latest disappointment is the

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-34708764191020661632010-10-14T18:05:00.000-07:002010-10-17T18:10:56.665-07:00

Frank Rich:Don’t expect the extremism and violence in our politics to subside magically after Election Day — no matter what the results. If Tea Party candidates triumph, they’ll be emboldened. If they lose, the anger and bitterness will grow. The only development that can change this equation is a decisive rescue from our prolonged economic crisis. Not for the first time in history — and

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-69987223322138618052010-10-14T17:25:00.000-07:002010-10-17T17:28:26.206-07:00

Tommy Boy gets one right:***Build ’Em and They’ll ComeBy THOMAS L. FRIEDMANKishore Mahbubani, the dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, is over for tea and I am telling him about what I consider to be the most exciting, moon-shot-quality, high-aspiration initiative proposed by President Obama that no one has heard of. It’s a plan to set up eight

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-27016319090932239532010-10-08T08:21:00.002-07:002010-10-08T08:29:55.641-07:00

From the Irish TimesOctober 5, 2010Paul KaneIn 2003, I was an unlikely and unexpected participant in the Iraq war. At age 39, I was a “recovering venture capitalist” who’d made millions, and lost them and his business in Ireland, everything lost in the tech-stock crash of 2000. I lost everything I thought at the time was important.Following Hemingway’s invocation that the world is a fine place

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-18136223963466253212010-10-08T06:29:00.007-07:002010-10-08T07:11:36.675-07:00

A Senate investigation reveals that Afghan private security forces with ties to the Taliban, criminal networks, and Iranian intelligence have been hired to guard American military bases in Afghanistan, exposing United States soldiers to surprise attack and confounding the fight against insurgents.Moreover, the Pentagon’s oversight of the Afghan guards is virtually nonexistent, allowing local

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-67239801556784752482010-10-08T06:25:00.001-07:002010-10-08T06:26:43.449-07:00

UM honeybee researchers and their partners have discovered a one-two-punch combination that may cause Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious malady that is depopulating beehives around the globe.UM biology Research Professor Jerry Bromenshenk said his research group has learned that a honeybee virus previously unknown to North America, as well as a fungal pathogen, were found in all their samples

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-17321686794929855862010-10-04T06:57:00.002-07:002010-10-04T07:00:59.758-07:00

Hadley Freeman, answering a reader's letter in The Guardian, sums up perfectly one of my longest-running beefs with the idiocy of those around me:***Hadley, long-time reader, first-time contributor. Why is it that so many people these days wear clothes that absurdly advertise the shop?To David Walker, LondonHello David, long-time ranter, first-time replier (to you). The answer to your question is

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-3101727366409732242010-09-10T14:16:00.004-07:002010-09-10T14:26:20.423-07:00

That's what Carl Malamud, who has made a name for himself by running public.resource.org, said in a recent speech:At the Constitutional Convention, Ben Franklin stated his belief that public servants should not be paid a salary, for in paying the civil service, our government would not be made of "the wise and the moderate ... the men fittest for the trust" but instead by "the bold and the

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-16048112699663996042010-09-09T05:54:00.002-07:002010-09-09T06:40:35.991-07:00

The NYTimes reports that the booming Chinese clean energy sector, now more than a million jobs strong, is quickly coming to dominate the production of technologies essential to slowing global warming and other forms of air pollution. Problem is, just like its other industries, China’s clean energy success lies in aggressive government policies that the industry in ways most other governments do

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-79552121545495291872010-09-07T06:34:00.001-07:002010-09-07T06:35:48.989-07:00

From Michael Moore:Dear Rahm Emanuel:Happy Fuckin' Labor Day! I read this week that — according to a new book by Steven Rattner, your administration's former "Car Czar" — during White House meetings about how to save the tens of thousands of jobs that would be lost if GM and Chrysler collapsed, your response was, "Fuck the UAW!"More -- a must read.

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-27621251847202563972010-09-07T06:03:00.002-07:002010-09-07T06:13:54.427-07:00

The NYTimes reports that President Obama on Labor Day 2010 called on Congress to approve major upgrades to the nation’s roads, rail lines and runways — part of a six-year plan that would cost tens of billions of dollars and create a government-run bank to finance innovative transportation projects.Central to the plan is an “infrastructure bank,” which would be run by the government but would

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-20537983088892181682010-09-06T08:30:00.002-07:002010-09-06T08:33:09.728-07:00

Krugman gets it:But the story of 1938 also shows how hard it is to apply these insights. Even under F.D.R., there was never the political will to do what was needed to end the Great Depression; its eventual resolution came essentially by accident. I had hoped that we would do better this time. But it turns out that politicians and economists alike have spent decades unlearning the lessons

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-53851391940911112932010-09-06T08:03:00.004-07:002010-09-06T08:21:57.137-07:00

The NYTimes weighs in:The unexpectedly deep plunge in home sales this summer is likely to force the Obama administration to choose between future homeowners and current ones, a predicament officials had been eager to avoid.Over the last 18 months, the administration has rolled out just about every program it could think of to prop up the ailing housing market, using tax credits, mortgage

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-86738602029049284012010-09-06T07:42:00.002-07:002010-09-06T07:45:16.130-07:00

Krugman on the Witch-Hunt Season:The last time a Democrat sat in the White House, he faced a nonstop witch hunt by his political opponents. Prominent figures on the right accused Bill and Hillary Clinton of everything from drug smuggling to murder. And once Republicans took control of Congress, they subjected the Clinton administration to unrelenting harassment — at one point taking 140 hours of

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-62510326196829367312010-09-03T06:39:00.001-07:002010-09-03T06:41:18.095-07:00

Despite Southern California’s laid-back image, it appears that workers throughout the region are working harder and longer than their counterparts in Northern California - and they’re more fearful of losing their jobs, according to a Harris/Decima poll released this week.More than half of all Californians say they have heavier workloads than they had two years ago, according to the poll, which

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-88309848498122003262010-09-03T06:27:00.001-07:002010-09-03T06:28:28.608-07:00

Dear Congress,The correct reply would be, "Fuck you, you tone deaf assholes."

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-60181104715558167632010-09-03T05:37:00.001-07:002010-09-03T05:39:52.442-07:00

Great. Is the Fed gonna bail them out too?

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-16741262979699924822010-08-30T06:27:00.002-07:002010-08-30T06:32:38.833-07:00

When Meg Whitman gets selected governor of my beloved home state of California, her ads suggest she'll allow corporate malefactors to go on their merry way. What other conclusion can you draw from her TV ads railing against Jerry Brown and his crew of AG lawyers?But Meg won't sit quietly. She also wants to create a statewide Grand Jury "charged with investigating government wrongdoing and

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-49472191446851177642010-08-30T06:22:00.002-07:002010-08-30T06:25:23.103-07:00

Frank Rich in the Times:There’s just one element missing from these snapshots of America’s ostensibly spontaneous and leaderless populist uprising: the sugar daddies who are bankrolling it, and have been doing so since well before the “death panel” warm-up acts of last summer. Three heavy hitters rule. You’ve heard of one of them, Rupert Murdoch. The other two, the brothers David and Charles Koch

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-42444587185099904572010-08-14T07:05:00.004-07:002010-08-14T07:11:03.982-07:00

Rather than wasting billions on fences, walls, enormous fleets of Border Patrol units, highway checkpoints, and other expensive enforcement tactics, there’s a much more efficient way to handle this problem.The Federal law should be amended now to (1) make hiring even one illegal a felony, and (2) mandate 100% forfeiture of any and all business property plausibly associated with a conviction for

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-77522908147138129902010-07-11T07:26:00.002-07:002010-07-11T07:29:15.607-07:00

So says the cheer-leading NY Times.But a cynic might conclude that because the markets have become nothing more than a giant Ponzi scheme, Golden Slacks and the rest have no choice but to maintain their ability to keep pumping in new rubes at the bottom.

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-4564263708870982182010-06-30T06:04:00.003-07:002010-06-30T06:17:21.508-07:00

Jim Jubak writes:Jobs are the world’s scarcest commodity -- and likely will be for decades to come. But we're not even really talking about it, much less doing anything about it.In the U.S., including discouraged workers, workers in temporary jobs who would like full time work, and other workers that the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls “marginally attached to the labor force,” the total

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-38173781051132505602010-06-27T07:03:00.004-07:002010-06-27T07:10:13.602-07:00

Well, dying anyhow.Liane Hansen, host of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday for 20 years, and one of George Bush's biggest drum beaters in the lead up to the pointless and illegal Iraq invasion in 2003, is stepping down. Or being fired. Hard to say exactly from her self-serving farewell message.But why do we have a wait almost another year for this blessed relief? NPR, please show this bitch all the

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-5520450225063360782010-06-17T06:11:00.003-07:002010-06-17T06:18:39.400-07:00

The StarTrib reported on 13 June 2010 that according to the Lundberg Survey, the average price of regular gasoline in the United States has dropped more than 11 cents over a three-week period to $2.72.Mind you, that's the same post-Memorial Day period when gas prices normally undergo their annual ramp-up for summer driving.Does anyone seriously doubt that the American oil cabal got together and

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-53934099095296987532010-06-16T06:19:00.003-07:002010-06-16T06:25:21.590-07:00

U.S. officials are crowing over the discovery of nearly $1 trillion worth of previously unknown mineral wealth in Afghanistan. Pentagon officials and U.S. geologists have mapped "huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium"—"enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself." The NY Times quotes an internal Pentagon memo

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-52686041867574986432010-05-14T05:49:00.006-07:002010-05-14T06:18:35.857-07:00

As if all those TV ads in California for two of the most unappealing would-be governors in recent memory weren't enough, now comes a spate of "Carly for California" ads."Carly" is Carly Fiorina. And in this age of 15-minute fame, it took me a little while to recall why I knew that name.Fiorina was indeed, as she crows in her ad, one of the most powerful women in American business for a time …

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-78879395660319846322010-05-13T05:41:00.003-07:002010-05-13T05:43:55.237-07:00

The great Wendell Berry, writing in 2008 in Harper's Magazine, suggested a very good reason for erring on the side of caution WRT climate change, GHGs, peak oil, etc. It's better to hit a brick wall when going 30 rather than 70.

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-39416013086609839872010-05-13T05:18:00.002-07:002010-05-13T05:40:36.370-07:00

Patrick J. Deneen, an associate professor of government at Georgetown University, aptly explains the connection between the housing bubble, the financial crisis, the energy crisis. the "financialization" of the American economy, colleges as beer-and-sports luxury franchises, “Globalization,” 9/11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Federal Reserve’s printing presses ... whew ... China, India,

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-23375108208371319912010-05-13T05:08:00.002-07:002010-05-13T05:10:13.013-07:00

... and lazy passive consumptiveness at the bottom.That about sums us up. More ...

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-83494414802761803592010-04-15T06:35:00.004-07:002010-04-15T07:08:34.248-07:00

Jon Henley has a beef about DIY government. But there's a larger point.At the risk of sounding like an old codger, there's more, much more: at the supermarket, we are now expected to pass our own shopping through an automated checkout machine (which invariably either fails to read the barcode, or accuses us of placing unrecognised – and thus, obviously, unpaid-for – items in our bag). We

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-61303961317346441652010-04-12T07:15:00.001-07:002010-04-12T07:16:45.534-07:00

The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.More from Matt Taibbi on how Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression ...

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-1087807473644114892010-03-28T06:38:00.002-07:002010-03-28T06:40:07.821-07:00

Frank Rich:If Obama’s first legislative priority had been immigration or financial reform or climate change, we would have seen the same trajectory. The conjunction of a black president and a female speaker of the House — topped off by a wise Latina on the Supreme Court and a powerful gay Congressional committee chairman — would sow fears of disenfranchisement among a dwindling and threatened

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-8854044014502555562010-03-04T06:01:00.001-08:002010-03-04T06:03:00.312-08:00

Morons. These are the jackasses directing flights I'm on? I don't blame the little tykes for a second ... but Sweet Jeebus.

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-11725962309974342010-03-03T06:40:00.003-08:002010-03-03T06:53:53.889-08:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/03/opinion/03friedman.html?hpLong story short, there were once upon a time two possible permutations of Tom's beloved flat world.In one, the rest of the world would have been guided and cajoled towards a higher standard of living in return for access to the holy grail of international trade -- the U.S. consumer.In the other, the U.S. would lead the charge to the

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-73937667943552668312010-03-03T06:27:00.003-08:002010-03-03T06:33:23.847-08:00

From the Times UK:A curfew in Chile's second city, Concepción, was extended to 18 hours of the day, while in the city of Talca, to the north, police maintained fragile order at one of the few functioning supermarkets by letting in only those who looked able to pay for food.Similar stories have emerged from the Haiti catastrophe. Welcome to the Brave New World, where only the wealthy deserve to be

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-18026090686169651732010-02-27T07:09:00.002-08:002010-02-27T08:34:26.926-08:00

Mark Mitchell thinks that by endowing immortal corporations with all the trappings of personhood, we've created a real beast. I agree completely.

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-28560401064931473472010-02-27T06:46:00.002-08:002010-02-27T07:00:04.983-08:00

I'm disheartened that Pres. Obama won't speak the plain truth necessary to distance himself from the previous cabal of losers and destructors who occupied the White House. At the risk of repeating myself, we worked our asses off to give Mr. Obama to reverse the utterly failed policies of the previous eight years, NOT to defend those policies and players.But I'm disgusted that the Right will say

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-74030370882718709032010-02-05T05:22:00.004-08:002010-02-05T05:31:44.453-08:00

Like the planetary alignment that will end all time in December 2012, the Mighty Jims -- Jubak and Kunstler -- appear to be in increasing harmony about future economic alignments.Says Jubak (acct required):I’m increasingly convinced that the behavior of global consumers in general, and U.S. consumers in particular, over the last twenty years was an aberration. And that what we’re seeing now isn’t

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-7876839703112850362010-01-24T06:18:00.003-08:002010-01-24T06:48:05.474-08:00

As 2010 opens, I find myself thoroughly disheartened with Barack Obama and Dems generally. Oh, I'll never stop believing in progressive principles. But the massive failure of nerve and brains exhibited by the Dem POTUS and COTUS this past year suggest it's pointless to keep pouring water in that leaky bucket.Long story short, the Dems' pussified approach to the ReThuglican menace makes me want

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-87438080768585115822009-12-31T07:01:00.003-08:002009-12-31T07:10:39.232-08:00

The NYTimes has a useful discussion going on the topic.The main problem is the shear volume of air travel into, and around the U.S. A proper fix would include (1) shifting the billions now subsidizing domestic air travel to high-speed rail and other 21st-century ground transport; and (2) burdening those who still feel the need to fly with whatever costs and inconveniences may be necessary to

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-9512476213203885512009-12-30T05:26:00.002-08:002009-12-30T05:39:23.170-08:00

Gray Lady worried:Just as the economy is finally beginning to strengthen, the real estate market is showing new signs of deterioration.* * *“I’m worried. Everyone’s worried,” said Karl E. Case, the Wellesley College economist who helped design the housing index that provided fresh cause for alarm on Tuesday. “If prices sink 15 percent from here, which is a possibility, and the 2008 and 2009

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-12134358353165070802009-11-23T06:15:00.004-08:002009-11-23T06:26:31.997-08:00

According to Randstad’s 2009 World of Work survey, 83% of workers surveyed feel fortunate to still have a job.Nothing could be better testament to the success of the ReThuglican program. In one short generation we've gone from being a country of empowered, unionized workers, to being a country of cowering sheep people ... groveling sheeple who are grateful to their corporate masters for keeping

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-54966866501673270002009-09-08T06:00:00.002-07:002009-09-08T06:06:35.601-07:00

Govexec.com reports that leaders of some of the largest federal employee unions are set to aggressively pursue a broad set of legislative priorities when Congress returns on Tuesday.One of the first issues on the horizon is the fate of the Defense Department's much-hated National Security Personnel System (NSPS). A panel appointed by the Obama administration to examine NSPS has recommended that

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-62371149209905262242009-09-03T07:56:00.004-07:002009-09-03T08:09:10.815-07:00

Maureen Cavanaugh and Natalie Walsh on NPR's These Days have posted up the transcript of their conversation with paleontologist Peter Ward.Ward's new book, The Medea Hypothesis: Is Life on Earth Ultimately Self-Destructive?, has a very different take on nature and extinction.Named for Medea, the subject of a Greek myth telling of a pitiless and vengeful woman who killed her own sons, Ward's book

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-1903438883393173262009-09-03T06:38:00.005-07:002009-09-03T06:51:36.253-07:00

The jerks -- e.g., self-styled funnyman Glenn Beck -- who liken health insurance reformers to Nazis are truly despicable.On the other hand, evidence continues to mount that the Bushites were more like Nazis than anything we've seen since 1945. For instance, now comes forward a medical ethics group which says that CIA physicians monitoring 'enhanced interrogation techniques', and studying their

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-82538720850920968282009-08-26T08:43:00.002-07:002009-08-26T08:49:29.410-07:00

Yup ... that's what Renee Montagne said on the NPR this morning.Let me go on record again as being an "admitted Liberal" myself.And f*ck you, Renee and NPR.Rest in peace, Ted.

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-38056878583342148892009-08-19T06:58:00.000-07:002009-08-19T07:09:02.779-07:00

From NPR:Bowing to Republican pressure and an uneasy public (sic), President Obama's administration signaled Sunday it is ready to abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run insurance as part of a new health care system. (more)Shocked? Not me. Max Baucus had quit this fight ... before it even started.UPDATE: Congress Daily says, not so fast...

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-83255687451370572162009-08-17T06:50:00.002-07:002009-08-17T06:58:05.888-07:00

According to a story this morning on NPR Morning Edition, men who take vacations tend to live longer. The Washington Post Leadership blog seconds the idea that wise time management combined with regular vacations are a sign of good leadership.Unfortunately, the U.S. is the only developed country where paid vacations are not a right protected by law. Aw yeah ... freedom!

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-29649457108291571122009-07-22T15:48:00.004-07:002009-07-22T15:55:13.577-07:00

Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry called for a dramatic shift in attitude toward federal workers during a conference in Washington on Monday, saying it was "a matter of necessity" in order to attract the necessary resources and personnel to government.Biden seat "caretaker" Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) is also speaking up for civil servants. "It's bothered me for the last almost 30

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-59917273846278723972009-07-18T08:42:00.007-07:002009-07-20T07:47:08.153-07:00

If you're looking for a textbook example of how to be a dangerously ineffective leader, look no further than Michael Lewis' article, "The Man Who Crashed the World," in the current issue of Vanity Fair.It's the story of Joseph Cassano, the jackass who ran AIG Financial Products from the end of 2001 to 2008. Lewis describes the "reign of terror" of this "cartoon despot" that ended up crashing

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-19850594052279262232009-07-18T07:31:00.008-07:002009-07-18T08:19:30.474-07:00

Elizabeth Newell writes in Government Executive magazine that Federal agencies are "making strides in management of real property." Nevertheless, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has told lawmakers that the challenges that led real property management to be placed on GAO's high-risk list persist, and that the new administration must ensure continued progress.Having worked in three

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-55871465345701496642009-07-09T10:33:00.000-07:002009-07-09T11:23:45.682-07:00

That's the question Ron Elving asks on his NPR blog. Personally, I agree with Josh Marshall:It looks like a duck and quacks like a duck. Either Palin is resigning ahead of some titanic scandal (which should emerge in short order if it exists) or her resignation was triggered by an even more extreme mental instability than we'd previously suspected.I'm even more disgusted with John McCain for

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-32368009956836304172009-07-02T05:58:00.002-07:002009-07-02T06:08:55.990-07:00

Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer, reports that California could lose millions of dollars in federal grants and the National Park Service could seize land in six parks, including Angel Island, if the state goes through with a proposal to close 219 state parks.My new hero, Jon Jarvis, is a regional director of the National Park Service. Jarvis sent a letter to Schwarzenegger on June 8 warning

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-45944294923779043562009-07-02T05:38:00.002-07:002009-07-02T05:43:38.455-07:00

Alyssa Rosenberg in govexec.com reports that students and young professionals interested in public service careers just got a graduation gift from Congress and the federal government on Wednesday. On July 1, a new law went into effect that will help keep payments on some student loans affordable, and provide dramatic loan forgiveness to students who commit to 10 years of public service."When I

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-42354124940312424472009-07-01T04:57:00.005-07:002009-07-01T16:26:50.703-07:00

... an unhealthy dose of sunstroke, a dash of astrology and more cherries than you can poke a cocktail stick at."That's what a NASA climatologist has called the report -- whose existence was first publicized last week by the industry-funded Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) -- written by the Uber-Right's latest darling in the climate change, er, "debate."Oy. These people are reeeeealy

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-51497013312360782392009-07-01T04:57:00.001-07:002009-07-01T04:59:07.165-07:00

The ReThuglicans finally cave. Now we'll see which "Dems" ... are real.

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-86246423677112770852009-06-29T08:57:00.004-07:002009-07-01T16:23:10.424-07:00

"Maybe in grieving so exorbitantly over this freak America is grieving for itself. All the loose talk about "love" from the media and the fans gives off the odor of self-love. America is 'the man in the mirror', the gigantic, floundering Narcissus, sailing into the stormy seas of history." -- Jim Kunstler, 2009.Indeed.

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-40479359506326906392009-06-29T08:06:00.003-07:002009-06-29T08:43:10.555-07:00

On Hardball recently, Chris Matthews' Big Number was 23: The number of prominent political sex scandals (Mark Sanford, John Ensign, John Edwards, Eliot Spitzer, Larry Craig, David Vitter, Mark Foley, Gary Condit, Jim McGreevey, Rudy Giuliani, Bob Livingston, Newt Gingrich, etc.) that have come to light since the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal in 1998.So what's with these guys? (And they are all guys,

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-32691941056965566732009-06-23T10:27:00.001-07:002009-06-23T10:28:51.669-07:00

The prouder I am of Iranians who have taken to the streets in defiance of the right-wing theocrats ... the more embarrassed I am at the way Americans rolled over in 2000 and 2004.

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-14264376231509647292009-06-16T07:18:00.002-07:002009-06-16T07:20:48.536-07:00

This is kind of what I hoped for in the dark days in early 2001 following the award of the office of POTUS by the SCOTUS. Oh well ... I guess democracy is alive somewhere in the world.

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-41218319393298457322009-06-16T07:12:00.002-07:002009-06-16T07:17:35.265-07:00

By George C. Wilson in CongressDaily, an idea so scary it can't be properly excerpted:Is this Global War on Terror going to last forever? Has it already changed our nation from an historically defensive Athens to an offensive Sparta whose military looks everywhere for trouble and finds it? Who is calculating the cost-to-benefit ratio of sending Green Berets and other Special Operations troopers

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-21919764002580379412009-05-08T10:43:00.001-07:002009-05-08T10:47:51.793-07:00

The great Bill Greider answers:As Franklin Roosevelt understood, Americans will postpone immediate gratification and endure hard sacrifices -- if they must -- so long as they are convinced the future can be better than the past. But we face a far more difficult problem at our moment in history. What do you promise people who have been told they can have anything they want, who are repeatedly

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-73850193911370187762009-04-28T07:49:00.003-07:002009-04-28T08:03:17.255-07:00

How is that Progressives can't stop letting assholes like Dick Cheney, Lush Rimjob, and Bush fluffer Michael Gerson frame the debate?The issue isn't whether or not torture "works"? Of course it works ... sometimes. As does busting down doors and conducting warrantless searches. As would have nuking all of Afghanistan (or maybe the entire Middle East?) after 9/11. As would totalitarian rule ..

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-52879484974632687652009-04-15T06:46:00.002-07:002009-04-15T06:52:26.058-07:00

All I can say is, if it's okay by the RNC for Norm Coleman to leave Minnesota under-represented in the Senate for more than three months just to satisfy Norm's enormous ego and inflated sense of self-entitlement -- then God help any Dem who does a JohnKerry in the future and caves the morning after a close election.Hmm ... to "JohnKerry." Works well as a verb, no?

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-40977560798634429702009-04-08T08:01:00.002-07:002009-04-08T08:05:53.751-07:00

So sayeth Jim Kunstler:President Obama will have to starkly change his current game plan if this outcome is to be avoided. I think he's capable of turning off the mob -- of preventing the grasshoppers from turning into ravening locusts -- but it may take an extraordinary exercise in authority to do it, such as the true (not pretend) nationalization of the big banks, engineering the exit of Ben

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14392688.post-47399628259880716012009-04-08T07:49:00.003-07:002009-04-08T07:55:35.922-07:00

Mark Gimein of The Big Money argues that there is no reason to think home prices will ever (at least in our lifetimes) return to 2006 peak levels.If you think Americans are down emotionally now ... wait till the sheeple finally wrap their brains around this new reality.Read it and weep ...

Chainsawnoreply@blogger.com