You know that the going is going to be tough for the new Libya when the first thing the liberators do is sodomize the deposed dictator with a knife in a kind of revenge fantasy, when their leaders promise accountability and then refuse to fess up about the circumstances of the deposed dictators death, let alone where he was buried. If in fact he was buried. And so while I … [Read more...] about The New Libya Is Not Off To A Good Start
Wall Street threatens to become a productive member of society
Someone has been dropping a flyer around the Occupy Wall Street protests that recycles a rant first circulated over a year ago. It reads: “We are Wall Street. It’s our job to make money. Whether it’s a commodity, stock, bond, or some hypothetical piece of fake paper, it doesn’t matter. We would trade baseball cards if it were profitable. I didn’t hear America complaining … [Read more...] about Wall Street threatens to become a productive member of society
Cain Chaos, Perry Nuttiness, Jindal Swooning, Mitt Flip-Flops (Yet Again), Pat’s Pissed & More
Those wild and crazy Republican presidential wannabes are outdoing themselves this week as they scramble to take the wheel of the GOP clown car. And it's only Thursday. * * * * * Herman Cain, who is rising faster in the polls than a French souffle, likes to brag about his management chops, but if the way he has managed his own campaign is any indication, he should go back … [Read more...] about Cain Chaos, Perry Nuttiness, Jindal Swooning, Mitt Flip-Flops (Yet Again), Pat’s Pissed & More
We’re Living in Those Great Depression Movies
Hard times in the 1930s produced a golden age in Hollywood as Americans, helpless in real life, sought escape at neighborhood movie houses. Today, those Depression classics are being remade and brought into our living rooms to be sold as reality. The GOP is doing the horror films. Frankenstein has morphed into mad scientists working feverishly in the lab to animate a new … [Read more...] about We’re Living in Those Great Depression Movies
Outsourced Automated Traffic Tickets Pit Safety Against Profit
And you can bet safety is the more likely loser. AP says that one out of every five Americans lives in a community that pays a for-profit company to install and operate cameras that record traffic violations. That's 700 communities in nearly half the states have for-profit deals. USA Today: Some contracts restrict police from doing things like lengthening the yellow signal … [Read more...] about Outsourced Automated Traffic Tickets Pit Safety Against Profit
Fox News Poll: Republicans Voters Are Raising Cain and Running from Romney and Perry
A new Fox News poll finds former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain on the rise faster than a thick pan pizza -- as GOP voters continue to show signs that they are not ready to hold their noses and give definitive support to previous front-runner Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney: Herman Cain takes the lead in the Republican presidential nomination contest as GOP voters … [Read more...] about Fox News Poll: Republicans Voters Are Raising Cain and Running from Romney and Perry
GOP Blinded by Anti-Tax Madness this Halloween (Guest Voice)
GOP Blinded by Anti-Tax Madness this Halloween by Karl Frisch Every year at about this time, I break out my DVD of the 1936 anti-drug propaganda flick Reefer Madness. No, it's not exactly the scariest movie one might choose when getting into the Halloween spirit, but few things are funnier than watching a film made more than 70 years ago as it attempts to frighten the … [Read more...] about GOP Blinded by Anti-Tax Madness this Halloween (Guest Voice)
Congress Bows To Hollywood, Introduces Bill To Fundamentally Alter Internet Infrastructure
All In The Name Of Copyright Protection Two years ago, the Obama Administration, despite the behest of moneyed interests in Hollywood, was unable to insert language into an international treaty that would have required ISPs to remove content that allegedly infringed on copyright: no evidence or trial required. On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced … [Read more...] about Congress Bows To Hollywood, Introduces Bill To Fundamentally Alter Internet Infrastructure
The View from a Recovering Partisan
WASHINGTON - My e-book is scheduled to be published in less than two weeks, on November 8th. It will be available on Amazon, to download on Kindle, or on Barnes and Noble, as well as iPad. It's a busy, exciting time in my world. Since I announced my book two weeks ago, I've had a lot of feedback on the cover. This article from the Atlantic, which appears in the … [Read more...] about The View from a Recovering Partisan
The Vatican Meets the Occupiers
WASHINGTON -- Will we soon see a distinguished-looking older man in long white robes walking among the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators in New York's Zuccotti Park? Is Pope Benedict XVI joining the protest movement? Well, yes, and no. Yes, the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace issued a strong and thoughtful critique of the global financial system this … [Read more...] about The Vatican Meets the Occupiers
Will Saudi Succession Impact the Country’s Energy Exports? (Guest Voice)
Will Saudi Succession Impact the Country’s Energy Exports? by John C. K. Daley The death apparently in New York City on 22 October of 80 year-old Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, throws a spotlight on the question of who will succeed ailing 87-year-old King Abdullah, currently recovering from a third operation to resolve back problems in less than a year. … [Read more...] about Will Saudi Succession Impact the Country’s Energy Exports? (Guest Voice)
The Stimulus Worked
Not that I would know. But Martin A. Sullivan, now he's convincing: In the United Kingdom the government is led by Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron. His government did not adopt stimulus. Instead it boldly enacted an economic program that cut spending and raised taxes. The chart below shows the results and compares it to the U.S. experience. After three and a half … [Read more...] about The Stimulus Worked
Rick Perry’s Camp Suggests He Plans to Duck Future Debates (UPDATED)
Could it really be that the Republican Party -- in a year when they are facing one of the most vulnerable Presidents in recent years -- could nominate an ongoing political train wreck named Rick Perry? The latest CRASSSSSSSSSSH we hear is THIS STORY that suggests that Perry, whose poll numbers have zoomed south as debates have revealed him to be an unenergetic, ill-prepared, … [Read more...] about Rick Perry’s Camp Suggests He Plans to Duck Future Debates (UPDATED)
Perry on a Texas Confederate License Plate (UPDATED)
Texas has been toying with the idea of issuing a so-called “vanity” license plate that contains the Confederate battle flag. A vote on this controversial issue could come as soon as next month. A previous vote on this issue this past April ended in a 4-4 tie. “The plate has been proposed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, an ancestral history group involved in … [Read more...] about Perry on a Texas Confederate License Plate (UPDATED)
The Huffington Post and The Washington Post Serve the Same Demon
At least a dozen demons answer to the name Anonymous. At one time these demons had names, but they've lurked so long under the cloak of anonymity that their names have simply been forgotten. They abide in just about every corner of the blogosphere. Mean spirited comments attached to meaningless user names. Wickedness with a handle. Sin with a disembodied avatar. In the … [Read more...] about The Huffington Post and The Washington Post Serve the Same Demon
Republican Presidential Candidates’ Tax Plans Would (No Surprise) Reward Rich, Screw Poor
IF CAIN BECOMES PRESIDENT, GET READY TO PAY MORE FOR STAPLES I am not an economist nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I have enough smarts (barely) to understand that the tax proposals being pushed by Republican president wannabes are, for the most part, flapdoodle in service of coddling the rich while further screwing the middle class and poor. That, … [Read more...] about Republican Presidential Candidates’ Tax Plans Would (No Surprise) Reward Rich, Screw Poor
Not Borrowing Big To Improve This Country’s Infrastructure? Absolutely Crazy!
My friend Kay suffers from two afflictions that cause her great difficulties in this political season — common decency and common sense. It was the latter that brought on a very strong reaction the other day while we were driving in Philadelphia, and she noticed a bridge that had just undergone repairs with federal funds. "How can the government not be spending big on … [Read more...] about Not Borrowing Big To Improve This Country’s Infrastructure? Absolutely Crazy!
PETA Sues Seaworld For Slavery
Now I am a big animal right supporter and I am concerned that all animals in captivity are treated properly, but as usual PETA is making themselves look ridiculous. They are asking a federal judge to award constitutional rights to a group of whales. Of course to a degree this is a PR stunt, but I am sure there are people who really think this makes sense... … [Read more...] about PETA Sues Seaworld For Slavery
Rick Perry, the Flat Tax, and the Road to Political Recovery
I've been arguing for some time now that it's way too early to count Rick Perry out. He's still the most formidable conservative in the race, the overwhelming majority of Republicans are anti-Romney, or at least uncomfortable with Romney, and he can certainly rebound off his recent lows and remake himself as the voice, and choice, of the right (and hence of the GOP … [Read more...] about Rick Perry, the Flat Tax, and the Road to Political Recovery
How Amazon Changed My Life — And Yours
NO, NOT THAT AMAZON ! It is hard to believe that Amazon is now 15 years old and keeps on growing. No, make that growing relentlessly as it announced last night that its third-quarter earnings were up a staggering 44 percent to $10.88 billion. I used to feel a bit guilty about spending my dinero at Amazon and not a local mom and pop store, but when you consider that the … [Read more...] about How Amazon Changed My Life — And Yours