This is tough. It always is. I haven't settled on a resolution I can keep for the coming year. Time's running out on 2011, and I suspect you're having the same problem. Here's what I've got at the top of a long list.
I'm thinking of trying vegetarianism. But if I were to go for it, it would have to be all out; which is to say whole hog. No animal products whatsoever, neither of the land or the water, would find their way onto the menu. It would be a bear trying to decide what to pair with the vegetables, grains, nuts or fruits at every meal.
Of course, holidays would be easy. They could all be celebrated like the 4th of July, with good old American hot dogs. No meat in those, that's for sure. As for the rest of the year, there are such venerable animal free standbys as Vienna sausages, Spam, and potted meat. But I just don't know if I can come up with a sufficient variety of recipes to cover the entire calendar. I'm still doing the research. Times like these are when I miss Julia Child the most.
Well, that's where I am right now. Good luck with your resolutions. And, oh yeah, Happy New Year!
New Orleans Labor Voice
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Faith In The Market?
Many people nowadays subscribe to the notion that the market is a great and supreme power outside of ourselves, and that rules are anathema to its operation. They treat this conviction as religious doctrine. They also tend to belong to the same near theocratic contingent of the polity known as the religious right. And they are as fervent about one religious view as the other.
But when these two elements of their worldview are subjected to scrutiny, a great divergence is revealed. They display unshakable faith in the omnipotence of one religious object, and nothing but doubt and worry regarding the actual power of the other. The codification of strictures for appropriate conduct in one sphere does nothing to diminish its power to inform and enrich human life. But in the other, any requirement for humane conduct is seen ironically as a lethal threat to its capacity to provide for our well being.
Think of it this way: If the Children of God had not received the Tablets from the hand of Moses, they would have been destined to wander forever, blindly suffering self-inflicted cruelty after cruelty, insensible to the relief and comforts of God's infinite mercy. Rules certainly did not diminish the power and beneficence of their God, but served to enlarge both. Remember, in the beginning there was but one rule; and that was proven so easy to play the devil with, that any snake could quickly do the job. What is more, imagine how Divine guidance might have been expanded at the time of the Tablets to include such admonitions as: Thou shalt not own slaves, Thou shall not make war, and Thou shall not shun the leper. Would the Children of God have seen Him as a greater or a lesser God as a result? Who doesn't know the answer? Indeed, in time all of these ideas have come to be accepted as worthy precepts for the moral conduct of life by these same Children of God. Of course, they are also often ignored, but that is another matter.
Now to the Market. The doctrinaire right see it as an inviolable and pristine beacon in an otherwise dark and perilous economic sea. They have absolute faith in it, they say. But in reality, they see it as susceptible to mortal failure from human contact. They exhibit fear and trepidation that any rule restraining or seeking to offset our base and willful instincts will destroy its capacity to provide us with abundant life. Experience has shown the opposite is true, just as in their other religious area of concern. What we suffer from is an insufficiency of rules to govern our relationships under a market economy. It has been shown how easily the devil can be played with the present ones. The dynamism of the market is not threatened by our efforts to insure that none is super empowered and none left destitute by its operation, nor any supremely exalted while others are abused. Just as The Children of God were told to go forth, be fruitful, and multiply in accordance with the proper code of conduct, the participants in a market economy can likewise invest, be productive, and prosper when the appropriate rules are in place and observed.
But when these two elements of their worldview are subjected to scrutiny, a great divergence is revealed. They display unshakable faith in the omnipotence of one religious object, and nothing but doubt and worry regarding the actual power of the other. The codification of strictures for appropriate conduct in one sphere does nothing to diminish its power to inform and enrich human life. But in the other, any requirement for humane conduct is seen ironically as a lethal threat to its capacity to provide for our well being.
Think of it this way: If the Children of God had not received the Tablets from the hand of Moses, they would have been destined to wander forever, blindly suffering self-inflicted cruelty after cruelty, insensible to the relief and comforts of God's infinite mercy. Rules certainly did not diminish the power and beneficence of their God, but served to enlarge both. Remember, in the beginning there was but one rule; and that was proven so easy to play the devil with, that any snake could quickly do the job. What is more, imagine how Divine guidance might have been expanded at the time of the Tablets to include such admonitions as: Thou shalt not own slaves, Thou shall not make war, and Thou shall not shun the leper. Would the Children of God have seen Him as a greater or a lesser God as a result? Who doesn't know the answer? Indeed, in time all of these ideas have come to be accepted as worthy precepts for the moral conduct of life by these same Children of God. Of course, they are also often ignored, but that is another matter.
Now to the Market. The doctrinaire right see it as an inviolable and pristine beacon in an otherwise dark and perilous economic sea. They have absolute faith in it, they say. But in reality, they see it as susceptible to mortal failure from human contact. They exhibit fear and trepidation that any rule restraining or seeking to offset our base and willful instincts will destroy its capacity to provide us with abundant life. Experience has shown the opposite is true, just as in their other religious area of concern. What we suffer from is an insufficiency of rules to govern our relationships under a market economy. It has been shown how easily the devil can be played with the present ones. The dynamism of the market is not threatened by our efforts to insure that none is super empowered and none left destitute by its operation, nor any supremely exalted while others are abused. Just as The Children of God were told to go forth, be fruitful, and multiply in accordance with the proper code of conduct, the participants in a market economy can likewise invest, be productive, and prosper when the appropriate rules are in place and observed.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Where's The Magic?
Do you believe in magic? I don't. But I do believe that some people are more dazzlingly and consistently right than others. I believe this results from being smart, learned, and open minded. In the field of economics, as always, I commend you to Mr. Paul Krugman. He and a very small number of other economists and public commentators have gotten virtually every call right about the current catastrophic downturn. Broadly speaking, they are all Keynesian in macroeconomic terms and Liberals. So, I lean heavily on his data and analysis. The following is taken from a recent post of his titled, The Defeatism of Depression.
"All around, right now, there are people declaring that our best days are behind us, that the economy has suffered a general loss of dynamism, that it’s unrealistic to expect a quick return to anything like full employment. There were people saying the same thing in the 1930s! Then came the approach of World War II, which finally induced an adequate-sized fiscal stimulus — and suddenly there were enough jobs, and all those unneeded and useless workers turned out to be quite productive, thank you.
There is nothing — nothing — in what we see suggesting that this current depression is more than a problem of inadequate demand. This could be turned around in months with the right policies. Our problem isn’t, ultimately, economic; it’s political, brought on by an elite that would rather cling to its prejudices than turn the nation around."
Once again, I believe Krugman has it exactly right. But what if both he and I are wrong, at least partially. Suppose that because of globalization or technological advancement or whatever, there really is a higher rate of natural unemployment. Say, instead of 4% it is now 8%. What then? Should we simply say to our fellow citizens and future generations, Just suffer, Baby?
Hell no. We should write new economic rules of the road, as have been promulgated to answer past crises. What is so magical about the 40 hour work week, the 8 hour day, retirement after 60, and a minimum wage so low workers need two jobs to rise above poverty? Nothing. But once upon a time, all these rules represented large steps forward. Now we need social progress to once again keep pace with technological advancement. We need stronger unions, higher wages, shorter work weeks and days, earlier retirement, more people employed under better conditions than ever before, and a much reduced rate of unemployment. It's not that we don't have the money, it's that we don't have enough of it.
"All around, right now, there are people declaring that our best days are behind us, that the economy has suffered a general loss of dynamism, that it’s unrealistic to expect a quick return to anything like full employment. There were people saying the same thing in the 1930s! Then came the approach of World War II, which finally induced an adequate-sized fiscal stimulus — and suddenly there were enough jobs, and all those unneeded and useless workers turned out to be quite productive, thank you.
There is nothing — nothing — in what we see suggesting that this current depression is more than a problem of inadequate demand. This could be turned around in months with the right policies. Our problem isn’t, ultimately, economic; it’s political, brought on by an elite that would rather cling to its prejudices than turn the nation around."
Once again, I believe Krugman has it exactly right. But what if both he and I are wrong, at least partially. Suppose that because of globalization or technological advancement or whatever, there really is a higher rate of natural unemployment. Say, instead of 4% it is now 8%. What then? Should we simply say to our fellow citizens and future generations, Just suffer, Baby?
Hell no. We should write new economic rules of the road, as have been promulgated to answer past crises. What is so magical about the 40 hour work week, the 8 hour day, retirement after 60, and a minimum wage so low workers need two jobs to rise above poverty? Nothing. But once upon a time, all these rules represented large steps forward. Now we need social progress to once again keep pace with technological advancement. We need stronger unions, higher wages, shorter work weeks and days, earlier retirement, more people employed under better conditions than ever before, and a much reduced rate of unemployment. It's not that we don't have the money, it's that we don't have enough of it.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Human Nature
Santa's gone, again. Whew ... hallelujah, just in time. I was about given out. Holidays are hard work.
Still, Christmas has always been my favorite time of year, and always will it be so. Even without small kids, even with the apprehensions and doubts of experience, even with the takings of time, even through the dour gaze beneath my ever more chiseled brow, it stands Shakespeare on his head. It is grand theatre well past imagining every hidden corner and surprising turn of the heart; it charges the heart to imagine its own mystery.
When it's gone, considerations of the present remain. So, what have we got? Herewith a quick rundown on what we've been trying to ignore and what it is time to face:
--- Republicans finally "lost" a high-profile showdown of sorts in the Congress. Never mind that their public complaint of dissatisfaction with a two month tax relief deal was obviously spot on correct from any logical standpoint. That was not the actual reason for the brief holdout. Alas, it never is. What they wanted was another pound of flesh out of the hides of the poor and the working class. This battle comes on. Stay tuned.
--- The Eurozone turmoil has gone into a period of relative quiescence. But the brutal moans of widespread pain and suffering by working people across the continent are about to sound forth. The temporary Christmas truce, like the famous one day battlefield event during WWI, will give way to raw struggle again as the hard facts of the ECB bailout of the eurozone banks in exchange for more economic contraction and hardship for the people is recognized.
---Then, there are the stunning and growing street protests in Russia. Not to mention Egypt. And, oh yes, the OWS campaign is not dead.
Meanwhile, the consumers here seem to be acting like the characters in the shopworn joke about campers stalked by a bear. One camper quickly laces on his boots, explaining to the other that he need not outrun the bear, just his fellow camper. Right now, those who have managed to avoid the shock of unemployment or its near term likelihood are behaving as though they have outrun their fellow workers. Now they can go shopping. It's human nature. Heaven help us all.
Still, Christmas has always been my favorite time of year, and always will it be so. Even without small kids, even with the apprehensions and doubts of experience, even with the takings of time, even through the dour gaze beneath my ever more chiseled brow, it stands Shakespeare on his head. It is grand theatre well past imagining every hidden corner and surprising turn of the heart; it charges the heart to imagine its own mystery.
When it's gone, considerations of the present remain. So, what have we got? Herewith a quick rundown on what we've been trying to ignore and what it is time to face:
--- Republicans finally "lost" a high-profile showdown of sorts in the Congress. Never mind that their public complaint of dissatisfaction with a two month tax relief deal was obviously spot on correct from any logical standpoint. That was not the actual reason for the brief holdout. Alas, it never is. What they wanted was another pound of flesh out of the hides of the poor and the working class. This battle comes on. Stay tuned.
--- The Eurozone turmoil has gone into a period of relative quiescence. But the brutal moans of widespread pain and suffering by working people across the continent are about to sound forth. The temporary Christmas truce, like the famous one day battlefield event during WWI, will give way to raw struggle again as the hard facts of the ECB bailout of the eurozone banks in exchange for more economic contraction and hardship for the people is recognized.
---Then, there are the stunning and growing street protests in Russia. Not to mention Egypt. And, oh yes, the OWS campaign is not dead.
Meanwhile, the consumers here seem to be acting like the characters in the shopworn joke about campers stalked by a bear. One camper quickly laces on his boots, explaining to the other that he need not outrun the bear, just his fellow camper. Right now, those who have managed to avoid the shock of unemployment or its near term likelihood are behaving as though they have outrun their fellow workers. Now they can go shopping. It's human nature. Heaven help us all.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Killing Time
This is not an excursion into extreme popular art, as threatened at the conclusion of the previous post. I'm not teasing, but that tour may yet come to a blog near you. And though it may somewhat seem so, this is not even a rehearsal. Still, I'm not just killing time, the times themselves are. Hip hop with me to the beat of what passes for and passes away in everyday life.
At the bottom, where class hardens into caste, kids - little kids - Sunday's kids are being mowed down at play by Friday's kids in the process of slaughtering one another in the cramped caged coliseum confining furiously fatal fights impelled by life's irresistible insistence to be realized.
Call it the underclass, the lumpen, the dissociated, the alienated, the marginalized, or whatever term of art you choose. Just don't call it the problem.
Let the puffed-up civil functionaries strut and strain and swear to solve that which can only be suppressed. The Mayor, the Police Chief, and others are elected, appointed, and paid to pretend that the human horror show produced by the remorseless grind of a severely striated society can be closed down by yanking a few bad actors off stage. But the huge cast of understudies anxious to audition for the starring parts are already made up.
And the theatre of poverty is growing and spreading by the day. It's insinuating itself into the neighborhoods of the formerly more settled, genteel and restrained classes. Folks who once were terrified by the idea that their kids were experimenting with marijuana, find themselves threatened by the bloody bluntness of violence and social decay. Still, they find it easier to assail their fellow victims than to stand together against the common oppressor.
Hence, the Tea Party founding activists were motivated by an angry resentment towards those whom they believed had irresponsibly indebted themselves when the real estate market crashed. This movement congealed to decry any demands for relief by these so-called scofflaws. Similarly, the OWS activists have been pilloried by many of their peers for not just quietly accepting a life of limited and declining economic opportunity. Be just like us, get over it, they say. You really are just a bunch of spoiled brats. The system was always top heavy and unjust. We can't do anything about it. Just shut-up, cry baby.
It is always easier to attack the powerless than to take on the power. But what does that get you? More of the same.
At the bottom, where class hardens into caste, kids - little kids - Sunday's kids are being mowed down at play by Friday's kids in the process of slaughtering one another in the cramped caged coliseum confining furiously fatal fights impelled by life's irresistible insistence to be realized.
Call it the underclass, the lumpen, the dissociated, the alienated, the marginalized, or whatever term of art you choose. Just don't call it the problem.
Let the puffed-up civil functionaries strut and strain and swear to solve that which can only be suppressed. The Mayor, the Police Chief, and others are elected, appointed, and paid to pretend that the human horror show produced by the remorseless grind of a severely striated society can be closed down by yanking a few bad actors off stage. But the huge cast of understudies anxious to audition for the starring parts are already made up.
And the theatre of poverty is growing and spreading by the day. It's insinuating itself into the neighborhoods of the formerly more settled, genteel and restrained classes. Folks who once were terrified by the idea that their kids were experimenting with marijuana, find themselves threatened by the bloody bluntness of violence and social decay. Still, they find it easier to assail their fellow victims than to stand together against the common oppressor.
Hence, the Tea Party founding activists were motivated by an angry resentment towards those whom they believed had irresponsibly indebted themselves when the real estate market crashed. This movement congealed to decry any demands for relief by these so-called scofflaws. Similarly, the OWS activists have been pilloried by many of their peers for not just quietly accepting a life of limited and declining economic opportunity. Be just like us, get over it, they say. You really are just a bunch of spoiled brats. The system was always top heavy and unjust. We can't do anything about it. Just shut-up, cry baby.
It is always easier to attack the powerless than to take on the power. But what does that get you? More of the same.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Barnum Meets Bailey
Send in the clowns, again. That's the call from John Boehner to Harry Reid, anyway. In the previous post we described the absurdity of crafting a tax policy - any tax policy - with a two month expiration date. As of last Friday, just such a silly policy had been agreed upon among John Boehner, Harry Reid, and the U.S. Senate (by a vote of 89-10). But the wild animals in the House rebelled this weekend, and refused to perform to the whistle and whip of Mr. Boehner. Now, he is calling for Ring Master Reid in the other tent to bring the clowns back for an encore.
Problem is the the other tent folded and left town for the holidays, after voting in favor of the absurd. Now, clowns like Senator Schumer of New York and other red noses are threatening not to return for an extended engagement, so as to make the point that Boehner and his Animal House Republicans are unfit to govern. Oh, well. Or rather, Orwell.
Next post I'm thinking of taking on a couple of more enlightening topics: Punk Rock and Tatts. If it happens, it will be an evening show, no matinees. You're all invited.
Problem is the the other tent folded and left town for the holidays, after voting in favor of the absurd. Now, clowns like Senator Schumer of New York and other red noses are threatening not to return for an extended engagement, so as to make the point that Boehner and his Animal House Republicans are unfit to govern. Oh, well. Or rather, Orwell.
Next post I'm thinking of taking on a couple of more enlightening topics: Punk Rock and Tatts. If it happens, it will be an evening show, no matinees. You're all invited.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Who Do You Blame?
The absurdity is in place. Late Friday, Congress and the White House agreed on a two month extension of the payroll tax break. Surely, never in the history of the Republic (or likely any other nation state, republic or not) has discrete tax policy been rendered into law with a two month expiration date attached to it. It is qualitatively different, in profound ways even more perverse, than last minute, temporary overall budget extensions employed during times of threatened government shutdown. If the government can decide to collect a particular tax or not for as little as two months, why not two weeks, two days, or two hours? Why not have individual time limits on every other prescribed tax, tax rate, or fee within a given budgetary period? The mind reels. It's like chaos dressed in a suit. And not that I want to keep you up nights, but it is well to remember that the yahoos who call this governance are in charge of the most powerful nation on the planet.
Also, notwithstanding inaccurate news reporting, talking head blather, and misleading statements from the likes of Senator McConnell and Speaker Boehner, the impediment to a longer term agreement had not so much to do with the disputed oil pipeline from Canada, as it did with arguing over how to pay for the revenue lost to the Treasury because of this middle class tax beak. The issue was resolved with a decision to increase lender guarantee fees charged on every Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae backed mortgage, enough to cover the two month extension. So, from now on the average home buyer will have to pay more for mortgages, as the lenders pass on the fee increases. Hence, the middle class payroll tax relief will be in some part immediately offset by fees mostly paid by the middle class. Such giving with one hand and taking with the other just dilutes the stimulative effect.
You may wonder who is most responsible for such exercises in Quixotic policy adventures. The Republicans are only too happy to lie about how tax breaks "pay for themselves" when it comes to giving billions away to billionaires who never do anything productive with it, but completely abandon that position when it comes to giving relief to the broad majority of wage earners. It is the later tax break, in fact, which will be spent in the economy immediately, thereby increasing demand, vitality, hiring, and income. That pick-up in overall economic activity can later be tapped to replace the revenues which are foregone to make it happen. That is the way to construct a sensible macroeconomic strategy for rejuvenating a stalled economy, and repairing an imbalanced budget. But the Republicans propose nothing of the sort, therefore those lying hypocrites can take a lot of credit for this joke of a policy.
But it is well to remember that today's Democratic party is nothing like the Democratic party of decades gone by. No, these Democrats are economically pretty damn stupid. They can't even spell macroeconomics. As a result, zerObama and the rest of these clueless dolts have completely bought into the notion that every stimulus expenditure must be offset by some form of revenue increase or outlay reduction. Unless increased revenues were to be had through rescinding the egregiously wasteful Bush billionaire tax give aways, the insistence that any stimulus simultaneously begin to suffer the effects of erosion is ridiculously stupid and self-defeating.
So, we find ourselves the subjects of misrule by a combination of lying Republicans and stupid Democrats. Seems only fair to blame the stupid liars.
Also, notwithstanding inaccurate news reporting, talking head blather, and misleading statements from the likes of Senator McConnell and Speaker Boehner, the impediment to a longer term agreement had not so much to do with the disputed oil pipeline from Canada, as it did with arguing over how to pay for the revenue lost to the Treasury because of this middle class tax beak. The issue was resolved with a decision to increase lender guarantee fees charged on every Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae backed mortgage, enough to cover the two month extension. So, from now on the average home buyer will have to pay more for mortgages, as the lenders pass on the fee increases. Hence, the middle class payroll tax relief will be in some part immediately offset by fees mostly paid by the middle class. Such giving with one hand and taking with the other just dilutes the stimulative effect.
You may wonder who is most responsible for such exercises in Quixotic policy adventures. The Republicans are only too happy to lie about how tax breaks "pay for themselves" when it comes to giving billions away to billionaires who never do anything productive with it, but completely abandon that position when it comes to giving relief to the broad majority of wage earners. It is the later tax break, in fact, which will be spent in the economy immediately, thereby increasing demand, vitality, hiring, and income. That pick-up in overall economic activity can later be tapped to replace the revenues which are foregone to make it happen. That is the way to construct a sensible macroeconomic strategy for rejuvenating a stalled economy, and repairing an imbalanced budget. But the Republicans propose nothing of the sort, therefore those lying hypocrites can take a lot of credit for this joke of a policy.
But it is well to remember that today's Democratic party is nothing like the Democratic party of decades gone by. No, these Democrats are economically pretty damn stupid. They can't even spell macroeconomics. As a result, zerObama and the rest of these clueless dolts have completely bought into the notion that every stimulus expenditure must be offset by some form of revenue increase or outlay reduction. Unless increased revenues were to be had through rescinding the egregiously wasteful Bush billionaire tax give aways, the insistence that any stimulus simultaneously begin to suffer the effects of erosion is ridiculously stupid and self-defeating.
So, we find ourselves the subjects of misrule by a combination of lying Republicans and stupid Democrats. Seems only fair to blame the stupid liars.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Can't Argue With Success
Republicans are on a roll. They are headed for a clean sweep. Think not? Argue with this.
They can and do openly carry guns to political rallies where elected officials are sometimes shot in the head. Right-wing militarized political parties are on the rise across Europe.
The ten year Bush billionaire tax break broke the federal budget, squandered the Clinton era surplus, now endangers Social Security and Medicare, but was extended unchanged and made all but permanent.
The one year middle class payroll tax relief, however, will likely see only a two month extension. And then its continuance certainly will be used as a cudgel to pound the average working stiff down ever more to a state of permanent penury. After all, if child labor laws, as Newt says, are subject to repeal, what is off limits, what is sacred, what is beyond, and what is above the crass, craven idolatry and worship of money and power for these bastards?
And speaking of permanent, let's not forget the twisted justice system, which after years of scathing criticism on this class besotted and bigoted score, still allows suburban cocaine users and traders to get rehab or early release, but makes sure that those who do or deal crack in the hood disappear for good.
Finally, as we mentioned yesterday, almost one-half of the country is now living in poverty, and more are moving in with relatives every day.
Mission accomplished.
They can and do openly carry guns to political rallies where elected officials are sometimes shot in the head. Right-wing militarized political parties are on the rise across Europe.
The ten year Bush billionaire tax break broke the federal budget, squandered the Clinton era surplus, now endangers Social Security and Medicare, but was extended unchanged and made all but permanent.
The one year middle class payroll tax relief, however, will likely see only a two month extension. And then its continuance certainly will be used as a cudgel to pound the average working stiff down ever more to a state of permanent penury. After all, if child labor laws, as Newt says, are subject to repeal, what is off limits, what is sacred, what is beyond, and what is above the crass, craven idolatry and worship of money and power for these bastards?
And speaking of permanent, let's not forget the twisted justice system, which after years of scathing criticism on this class besotted and bigoted score, still allows suburban cocaine users and traders to get rehab or early release, but makes sure that those who do or deal crack in the hood disappear for good.
Finally, as we mentioned yesterday, almost one-half of the country is now living in poverty, and more are moving in with relatives every day.
Mission accomplished.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Dear Santa
Don't be surprised or confused by how thin is the envelope conveying my note this year. For I really do have a lot to ask. Pour yourself a drink.
We trimmed our tree last night, the wife and I. Yes, the kids were there from the many Christmas trees before. All the bicycles, watches, gloves, toys and stocking candy from years gone by ... oh, but you know about all that.
And when we were done, the Mrs. and I plugged in the light stringer, turned off the overheads, and the world once again brightened in the night. Later, we let it all go dark, and turned in.
Today, the tree and I awoke before the sun, and the morning paper thudded on the porch as I prepared for work. It carried two stories on consecutive pages: one reported that the proposal to ask millionaires to stop being so greedy and return to carrying just a smidgen of the tax burden they shouldered back when the country worked much better had been dropped, and the other indicated that 1 in 2 of our population now live in poverty or subsist on low incomes.
I crossed the room and let the tree go dark again, then sat down to write this request. Santa, this year make it stop. Please.
We trimmed our tree last night, the wife and I. Yes, the kids were there from the many Christmas trees before. All the bicycles, watches, gloves, toys and stocking candy from years gone by ... oh, but you know about all that.
And when we were done, the Mrs. and I plugged in the light stringer, turned off the overheads, and the world once again brightened in the night. Later, we let it all go dark, and turned in.
Today, the tree and I awoke before the sun, and the morning paper thudded on the porch as I prepared for work. It carried two stories on consecutive pages: one reported that the proposal to ask millionaires to stop being so greedy and return to carrying just a smidgen of the tax burden they shouldered back when the country worked much better had been dropped, and the other indicated that 1 in 2 of our population now live in poverty or subsist on low incomes.
I crossed the room and let the tree go dark again, then sat down to write this request. Santa, this year make it stop. Please.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
A Recession Knot ... Or Not?
Among the most despicable items on the Republican blackmail wish list for extending the payroll tax break and unemployment benefits, is the provision that out-of-work payments be limited to a maximum of 59 weeks. That would constitute almost a 50% cutback from the current 99 weeks. Mind you, every economic survey or bit of research since the Great Downturn began has shown that unemployment is not only higher than that of any period since WWII, but is perniciously longer lasting for most individuals than ever before. In fact, much longer than the current maximum benefit period.
And, of course, all the while this has been going on, the Republicans have relentlessly blamed Obama and the Democrats for these terrible times. To be clear, it was the GOP which was most responsible for the collapse, but the Democrats sure haven't done an awful lot to make things better. Nevertheless, even as the pitifully painful circumstances continue without relief or let up in sight, now Republican Representative Dave Camp of Michigan, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, comes out arguing that the unemployment benefit period should be restricted to "the more normal level typically available following recessions."
So, we are hearing the Republicans blaming the Democrats for unabated bad times, while simultaneously claiming this to be a post recession period. Is this a recession knot ... or not?
And, of course, all the while this has been going on, the Republicans have relentlessly blamed Obama and the Democrats for these terrible times. To be clear, it was the GOP which was most responsible for the collapse, but the Democrats sure haven't done an awful lot to make things better. Nevertheless, even as the pitifully painful circumstances continue without relief or let up in sight, now Republican Representative Dave Camp of Michigan, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, comes out arguing that the unemployment benefit period should be restricted to "the more normal level typically available following recessions."
So, we are hearing the Republicans blaming the Democrats for unabated bad times, while simultaneously claiming this to be a post recession period. Is this a recession knot ... or not?
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
A Rotten Apple ... But He Has A Core
Alright, if you're tired of endlessly hearing that (Williard) Mitt Romney has no core, you're in luck because I don't buy it. Oh, to be sure, he has been on every side of every political issue you can name. But, hey, this is politics. He just keeps trying to go where the votes are. At least up to a point.
Yes, he is a crass opportunist; he would deny his own name if he thought it a political liability (he does), drive to Canada - rich as he is - with the family dog caged and strapped to the roof of the car to save a buck (he did), reverse his position completely on gay rights, health care, and a woman's right to choose (he has), and might even sell his own mother for all I know (hey, I'm just making a point here). So he surely is a rotten apple. But he has not chosen to do the one thing he could have done to sew up this nomination a long time ago. You know what it is, don't you? Yeah, come on admit it, you know.
Okay, a little help. It was alluded to in the earlier post, Simple Cainianity. Turns out the Republican/Teacan base is most particularly and peculiarly focused on Romney's religion. That is the one standout characteristic they cite about him when polled. This focus by the base of that party bespeaks obvious bigotry, it is not simply some casual awareness or curiosity. And Newt's campaign went there in a very dirty, intentional and premeditated way today. I know that the flunky functionary who made the public play was supposedly "forced" to step down from the campaign, but anyone who thinks that all of this was anything but choreographed, can't spell politics. I would be shocked if the so-called step down for this ass isn't actually a promotion of one type or another in the public money lobby/shakedown machine that is Newt Gingrich nowadays.
My point in all of this, though, is that Romney has to have long known his party's hard core base is comprised of raw boned bigots on this as well as many other matters. That bigotry, no doubt, is what stopped him from getting the nomination four years ago. If he had wanted above all else in this world to get the nomination this time, he could have flipped his religious faith over to one Christian sect or another during the electoral interim. That flip would not have flopped, not with that crowd. So, there is a real person struggling to maintain a consistent core identity within Mitt Romney after all. And that is more than can be said for Newt, with him all you get it the rot. Can I get an Amen?
Yes, he is a crass opportunist; he would deny his own name if he thought it a political liability (he does), drive to Canada - rich as he is - with the family dog caged and strapped to the roof of the car to save a buck (he did), reverse his position completely on gay rights, health care, and a woman's right to choose (he has), and might even sell his own mother for all I know (hey, I'm just making a point here). So he surely is a rotten apple. But he has not chosen to do the one thing he could have done to sew up this nomination a long time ago. You know what it is, don't you? Yeah, come on admit it, you know.
Okay, a little help. It was alluded to in the earlier post, Simple Cainianity. Turns out the Republican/Teacan base is most particularly and peculiarly focused on Romney's religion. That is the one standout characteristic they cite about him when polled. This focus by the base of that party bespeaks obvious bigotry, it is not simply some casual awareness or curiosity. And Newt's campaign went there in a very dirty, intentional and premeditated way today. I know that the flunky functionary who made the public play was supposedly "forced" to step down from the campaign, but anyone who thinks that all of this was anything but choreographed, can't spell politics. I would be shocked if the so-called step down for this ass isn't actually a promotion of one type or another in the public money lobby/shakedown machine that is Newt Gingrich nowadays.
My point in all of this, though, is that Romney has to have long known his party's hard core base is comprised of raw boned bigots on this as well as many other matters. That bigotry, no doubt, is what stopped him from getting the nomination four years ago. If he had wanted above all else in this world to get the nomination this time, he could have flipped his religious faith over to one Christian sect or another during the electoral interim. That flip would not have flopped, not with that crowd. So, there is a real person struggling to maintain a consistent core identity within Mitt Romney after all. And that is more than can be said for Newt, with him all you get it the rot. Can I get an Amen?
Oh, By The Way
Herewith a brief follow-up on the "You Deserve A Break Today" post. Perhaps the most important factoid in the EPI piece by Lawrence Mishell is the finding that the most desperate and despairing of the unemployed are those with the most education, not the unskilled and uncredentialed. This gives lie to the ugly charge the Republican right wing plutocratic propaganda machine relentlessly churns out, that the jobless are unemployed because they lack education and skills. The data say just the opposite. In other words, there are no "good" jobs to be had out there. Mickey D's is looking better all the time.
Also, this is the link for the EPI. Sorry for the oversight.
Also, this is the link for the EPI. Sorry for the oversight.
You Derserve A Break Today
In reading the following from Lawrence Mishell of the Economic Policy Institute the other day, I was reminded of an old MacDonald's commercial which included the tag-line, "change back from a dollar." Unfortunately, the message in Mishell's blog post is that there has been no real change in the unemployment catastrophe, despite misinterpretations of the data by some politicians and clueless news reporters.
And like another of Micky D's ads had it, "You deserve a break today ..." from this needlessly bleak and hopeless situation. But zerObama has given us less change than you could get from a Big Mac and fries out of a greenback. Now, we are watching helplessly as all of Europe runs history backwards, and the best Republicans can do is show us one candidate who is willing to bet 10K that another can't even read.
And like another of Micky D's ads had it, "You deserve a break today ..." from this needlessly bleak and hopeless situation. But zerObama has given us less change than you could get from a Big Mac and fries out of a greenback. Now, we are watching helplessly as all of Europe runs history backwards, and the best Republicans can do is show us one candidate who is willing to bet 10K that another can't even read.
Snapshot: Why the drop in the unemployment rate isn’t what you think
Unemployment in November dipped to 8.6 percent, its lowest point since March 2009, down from its 10.1 percent recession high in Oct. 2009. The unemployment rate fell because the share of the population seeking work or working—the labor force participation rate—has fallen considerably. We know this because the share of the population employed last month—58.5 percent—is the same as when the unemployment rate peaked. The lack of change in the share of the population employed—known as the employment-to-population ratio—indicates that the growth in employment has only kept pace with the growth of the working-age population. The figure shows the erosion in the labor force participation rate of people age 25 and older by education level over the last two years.
For the 8 percent of the labor force who have not completed high school, there was no real fall in labor force participation as the small decline from 2009–10 roughly offset the small increase from 2010–11. In contrast, labor force participation of those with a high school degree or some college declined by 1.6 percentage points, with the greatest decline occurring in the last year. There was a somewhat smaller but still sizable 1.3 percentage-point decline in labor force participation of those with a college degree or further education (such as a master’s or professional degree). Thus, this deep recession led to a widespread shrinkage of the labor force that encompasses all but the least-educated workers.
For the 8 percent of the labor force who have not completed high school, there was no real fall in labor force participation as the small decline from 2009–10 roughly offset the small increase from 2010–11. In contrast, labor force participation of those with a high school degree or some college declined by 1.6 percentage points, with the greatest decline occurring in the last year. There was a somewhat smaller but still sizable 1.3 percentage-point decline in labor force participation of those with a college degree or further education (such as a master’s or professional degree). Thus, this deep recession led to a widespread shrinkage of the labor force that encompasses all but the least-educated workers.
Monday, December 12, 2011
The Big Irony ... No, Lie
Oh my G............... eorge Orwell and Aldous Huxley! The Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, commented on the Eurozone accession to indentured servitude under German and financial sector domination as constituting "a brave new world." Unlike Huxley, however, he was not being the least bit ironic. He and others really do seem to believe it. Most worrisome though is they also believe a lot of economic nonsense, which is continuing to hamstring and cripple virtually every country on the continent. They have swallowed the Orwellian "double speak" prescriptions for growth through contraction, which is what the German steamroller is pressing on its lesser Eurozone partners, in exchange for the promise of ECB loans to keep their sundry budgets afloat.
Worse, the members of the zone are also being required to adopt ridiculous balanced budget strictures, to be overseen and enforced by some onerous mechanism pleasing to the Germans. All of this is being insisted upon to protect the global banking system, which has a lot to lose should any of several possible national defaults occur. What is more, it is happening at the worst time possible, at a time when government spending and market shoring is most needed to pick up employment and increase economic demand. These measures, taken anytime, would be wrong, wrong, wrong, taken now, they are disastrous.
We have seen these mistakes made on a large scale before, but apparently have forgotten how unwelcome are Depressions. And how violently destructive of democracy are the political changes they facilitate. For more on this discussion, see the two earlier posts:
The Scarecrows Of Europe ... Or Return To Oz
The Straw Man Of Europe
Worse, the members of the zone are also being required to adopt ridiculous balanced budget strictures, to be overseen and enforced by some onerous mechanism pleasing to the Germans. All of this is being insisted upon to protect the global banking system, which has a lot to lose should any of several possible national defaults occur. What is more, it is happening at the worst time possible, at a time when government spending and market shoring is most needed to pick up employment and increase economic demand. These measures, taken anytime, would be wrong, wrong, wrong, taken now, they are disastrous.
We have seen these mistakes made on a large scale before, but apparently have forgotten how unwelcome are Depressions. And how violently destructive of democracy are the political changes they facilitate. For more on this discussion, see the two earlier posts:
The Scarecrows Of Europe ... Or Return To Oz
The Straw Man Of Europe
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Hear, Hear!
The Brits go it alone, again. I make no investment in cosmic connections. Heaven forefend. But the echoing developments in Europe are so eerie as to shake one's lack of faith.
I also have no sympathy for Prime Minister Cameron's conservative domestic political and economic policies. So, even if he is opportunistically and disingenuously grandstanding, even if he has walked away from an expansive modern Anschluss for all the wrong reasons, he's made exactly the right move. The German hammer and the French poodle sycophancy are once again combining to strip down democratic rights and liberty across the continent, to punish the people of Europe, and to protect the banks now running and ruining their not-so-super corporate state. Unfortunately, the implied next Act in this drama is pretty damn dark. But at least there is a chance now for resistance to harden, as some worthy battle lines are drawn .
There was much in Churchill to admire, and much to disavow. He stayed foolishly wedded to Empire fantasies his whole long life. But there appears to remain much of his humanely grounded - if rocky edged - Anglicized view of and imperishable commitment to democracy and a liberal society among all of the Islands' inhabitants. Cameron, whatever his internal calculus, has - like Churchill before him - appropriately answered, not nien, but hell no, to the insatiably aggressive and jack-booted demands of Old Saxony.
So, for now, it is a sober nod and somber toast of the claret to Mr. Churchill and Mr. Cameron. Let's hope it's in our stars to sooner rather than later move on to the Champagne.
I also have no sympathy for Prime Minister Cameron's conservative domestic political and economic policies. So, even if he is opportunistically and disingenuously grandstanding, even if he has walked away from an expansive modern Anschluss for all the wrong reasons, he's made exactly the right move. The German hammer and the French poodle sycophancy are once again combining to strip down democratic rights and liberty across the continent, to punish the people of Europe, and to protect the banks now running and ruining their not-so-super corporate state. Unfortunately, the implied next Act in this drama is pretty damn dark. But at least there is a chance now for resistance to harden, as some worthy battle lines are drawn .
There was much in Churchill to admire, and much to disavow. He stayed foolishly wedded to Empire fantasies his whole long life. But there appears to remain much of his humanely grounded - if rocky edged - Anglicized view of and imperishable commitment to democracy and a liberal society among all of the Islands' inhabitants. Cameron, whatever his internal calculus, has - like Churchill before him - appropriately answered, not nien, but hell no, to the insatiably aggressive and jack-booted demands of Old Saxony.
So, for now, it is a sober nod and somber toast of the claret to Mr. Churchill and Mr. Cameron. Let's hope it's in our stars to sooner rather than later move on to the Champagne.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Hypocrisy, You Wear It ... Well, You Wear It
The morning Times-Picayune brings two classic right wing embarrassments in columns from sanctimonious Cal Thomas and conservative Charles Krauthammer.
You know pious Cal, he's one of the humble servants of God who all but wanted to lynch Clinton by his testicles during the impeachment tarring and feathering. Now, desperately seeking to make a case for a Republican nominee who can go the distance for morality and righteousness against the infidels on the other side, he avers as how the voters may have to not be so rigid on the question of personal morality in deciding on the next president. You see, that's because the current as well as the most recent leader of the nominating process on the Holy side of our political life has none of what Thomas would regard as personal morality. For the record, they are immoral as hell in my eyes as well, but for other reasons much more than the ones Thomas cites.
As for Krauthammer, he is once again mounting the ramparts on the class warfare front. He excoriates Obama for trying to channel Hugo Chavez. But we all know that at the President's last public seance, he was really calling down a past Republican hero, Teddy Roosevelt. And laughably so, as zerObama's sway-back mount was not ridden to storm Capital Hill, like TR rode his stallion to assault San Juan Hill under withering enemy fire. No, instead he tied his nag up to the Capital country club hitching post and bought John Boehner a drink. As usual, Krauthammer is phony in pretending to fight a war the rich have long ago won, in order to make sure their victory remains unassailable. But the chink in this armor is and always will be that these puffed up holy crusaders for righteous self-reliance are actually cowards when their personal interests are on the line. Krauthammer, who is on every other issue religiously reactionary, favors stem cell research. Of course, he is confined to a wheel chair, and might hold out some hope that releasing a flood of tax dollars for this research would someday allow him to walk again. I hope it would, too. Just so I could walk up to him and, face to face, ask how he likes liberals now.
You know pious Cal, he's one of the humble servants of God who all but wanted to lynch Clinton by his testicles during the impeachment tarring and feathering. Now, desperately seeking to make a case for a Republican nominee who can go the distance for morality and righteousness against the infidels on the other side, he avers as how the voters may have to not be so rigid on the question of personal morality in deciding on the next president. You see, that's because the current as well as the most recent leader of the nominating process on the Holy side of our political life has none of what Thomas would regard as personal morality. For the record, they are immoral as hell in my eyes as well, but for other reasons much more than the ones Thomas cites.
As for Krauthammer, he is once again mounting the ramparts on the class warfare front. He excoriates Obama for trying to channel Hugo Chavez. But we all know that at the President's last public seance, he was really calling down a past Republican hero, Teddy Roosevelt. And laughably so, as zerObama's sway-back mount was not ridden to storm Capital Hill, like TR rode his stallion to assault San Juan Hill under withering enemy fire. No, instead he tied his nag up to the Capital country club hitching post and bought John Boehner a drink. As usual, Krauthammer is phony in pretending to fight a war the rich have long ago won, in order to make sure their victory remains unassailable. But the chink in this armor is and always will be that these puffed up holy crusaders for righteous self-reliance are actually cowards when their personal interests are on the line. Krauthammer, who is on every other issue religiously reactionary, favors stem cell research. Of course, he is confined to a wheel chair, and might hold out some hope that releasing a flood of tax dollars for this research would someday allow him to walk again. I hope it would, too. Just so I could walk up to him and, face to face, ask how he likes liberals now.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
DeOccupy The Dark
Not much time this morning for a post. But just a word about a word I have been preoccupied thinking about. It was brought to mind by the comment on the recent post:
The People Are Ready ... Or Music To Occupy By
For now, let me say that what I get from this ex-post modern outlook is, "Irony is dead, long live irony." It is certainly a tough thought to tangle with. But you don't have to fear or embrace the dark to seek an alternative. The power of the present is an illusion, no matter how oppressive. Change is not only certain, it is unchanging. The King is dead, long live the King; no, the King really is dead.
All the tiny revolutions are what make for the status-quo, which is constantly revolving or evolving. If Darwin wasn't a revolutionary, then I'm a monkey's uncle. And to lock down the point until I have the time to get into it more, remember Eve was the first revolutionary when she said, "Look, here's an apple, let's have something to eat."
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
What's Today?
You know what today is, right? Perhaps not, and if not, then FDR really did get something wrong after all. That should make all the Republican right wing crazies happy, in more ways than one. But it should shock and awe the rest of us. It should tell us something riveting about the ultimate tragedy of war.
This day has not lived even in mere memory for most, let alone in infamy. Several decades ago, there was a survey conducted by Gallop or one of the other reliable firms in the social research business regarding the recollection of WW II by the American people. Most could not even name the combatants, let alone tell which side each was fighting on. So, let's all remember Pearl Harbor, right?
Well, right, in fact. Some wars just have to be fought. And some, like WW II really do stop god-awful evil from conquering the world. But remember this, too, some days the "others" are with the terrorists and not us, but shortly after are our buddies so that we can buy their oil and they our wheat.
This day has not lived even in mere memory for most, let alone in infamy. Several decades ago, there was a survey conducted by Gallop or one of the other reliable firms in the social research business regarding the recollection of WW II by the American people. Most could not even name the combatants, let alone tell which side each was fighting on. So, let's all remember Pearl Harbor, right?
Well, right, in fact. Some wars just have to be fought. And some, like WW II really do stop god-awful evil from conquering the world. But remember this, too, some days the "others" are with the terrorists and not us, but shortly after are our buddies so that we can buy their oil and they our wheat.
The Scarecrows Of Europe ... Or Return To Oz
Angela Merkel and Nicholas Sarkozy, the leaders of Germany and France, respectively, are acting like the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz. That is, as if they had no brains. Also like the scarecrow, though, they do have a piece of paper which they hope will make others believe they are smart; in fact, smart enough to have come up with a solution to the eurozone crisis. It is a new eurozone treaty proposal, and if what we have read about it so far is accurate, it may as well have been issued by the same Wizard who gave the brainless scarecrow a diploma.
It aims to further burden those members of the zone already on the critical list and struggling with crashed economies, as well as strained budgets. In addition to maintaining them as wards of the zone without the ability to regulate their own currency, it would commit them to a regimen of fiscal austerity and constraints which will needlessly punish their citizens and make it virtually impossible to reinvigorate their domestic economies. This should not find wide acceptance.
The only thing smart about the treaty proposal from Merkel and Sarkozy is that it plays well with their political constituencies back home in Germany and France, who smugly, if stupidly, consider themselves more responsible than all the others, and therefore in a moral as well as financial position to dictate terms. They are ultimately going to be proven wrong on both counts. In order to find a way out of this mess, Merkel and Sarkozy are going to have to revisit the Wizard and petition for other gifts, like the courage of the lion to face down their own outraged citizens, and the heart of the tin man to see the plight of the eurozone periphery with more empathy. Otherwise, the European financial storm is just getting started.
It aims to further burden those members of the zone already on the critical list and struggling with crashed economies, as well as strained budgets. In addition to maintaining them as wards of the zone without the ability to regulate their own currency, it would commit them to a regimen of fiscal austerity and constraints which will needlessly punish their citizens and make it virtually impossible to reinvigorate their domestic economies. This should not find wide acceptance.
The only thing smart about the treaty proposal from Merkel and Sarkozy is that it plays well with their political constituencies back home in Germany and France, who smugly, if stupidly, consider themselves more responsible than all the others, and therefore in a moral as well as financial position to dictate terms. They are ultimately going to be proven wrong on both counts. In order to find a way out of this mess, Merkel and Sarkozy are going to have to revisit the Wizard and petition for other gifts, like the courage of the lion to face down their own outraged citizens, and the heart of the tin man to see the plight of the eurozone periphery with more empathy. Otherwise, the European financial storm is just getting started.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
The People Are Ready ... Or Music To Occupy By
Curtis Mayfield once sang, People get ready, there's a train a comin'. Today we can plainly see the people are ready, it's the train that needs to stay on track and keep a'comin'. The eviction of the Occupy demonstrations from overnight encampments on public property brings into focus something we have known all along. The call for change, meaningful change, has been heard. The next phase, to be successful, will require responsible and thoughtful leadership.
Yes, there will again be instances in which actions of civil disobedience should be employed to capture certain tactical goals. I would rate the initial high-pitched cry of outrage through the illegal demonstrations on public property as an example of the efficacy of such actions. But there must be an intelligent predicate for such moves. In this case, there simply was no other way of breaking through the blather of nonsense which passes for news reporting and political debate nowadays to simply make the point that the status quo cannot hold. Well done.
Now, peaceful as well as lawful actions must be the course to travel in laying out the road to a better day. Only if these watchwords are kept to, will there be any hope of continuing to build public support. As that support grows, it then makes more and more sense to directly challenge immoral and unjust legal burdens by calling for such protests as resisting foreclosures by staying put or refusing to pay usurious interest and bogus bank charges. Such moves help point to the areas where legal changes need to be made. But they must be folded into a wider strategy of large and lawful protest. That is the track the train must roll on. Lots of folks are waiting to get on board.
Yes, there will again be instances in which actions of civil disobedience should be employed to capture certain tactical goals. I would rate the initial high-pitched cry of outrage through the illegal demonstrations on public property as an example of the efficacy of such actions. But there must be an intelligent predicate for such moves. In this case, there simply was no other way of breaking through the blather of nonsense which passes for news reporting and political debate nowadays to simply make the point that the status quo cannot hold. Well done.
Now, peaceful as well as lawful actions must be the course to travel in laying out the road to a better day. Only if these watchwords are kept to, will there be any hope of continuing to build public support. As that support grows, it then makes more and more sense to directly challenge immoral and unjust legal burdens by calling for such protests as resisting foreclosures by staying put or refusing to pay usurious interest and bogus bank charges. Such moves help point to the areas where legal changes need to be made. But they must be folded into a wider strategy of large and lawful protest. That is the track the train must roll on. Lots of folks are waiting to get on board.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Back Home Among Friends
It stinks. No, not the payroll fraud case against Aaron Broussard, which correctly seems to have found him as Jefferson Parish President illegally paying his wife for duties she did not and could not fulfill. We will say, though, it sure smells like a small haul for such a big fishing expedition by Jim Letten's U.S. Attorney's Office.
What really reeks is the collective body odor of the Letten, Landrieu, Serpas gang. Every newspaper or radio/tv report on the New Orleans crime plague seems to center on a theatrically staged press conference featuring these three characters acting like Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday and Marshall Dillon. The U.S. Attorney, the Mayor, and the Police Chief have formed their own crime syndicate repertory company. Following on each new heinous event, they raise the curtain and collectively perform the latest dramatic plot turn in their epic effort to write crime off the streets.
Meanwhile, in the back rooms where the paper shuffle is danced about, it has been discovered that Chief Serpas's hire-in date (actually he is a re-hire) on his pension reinstatement form was entered incorrectly, in order to secure him a 3xs higher retirement payout, once he goes again. The fact that an apparently overlooked technicality would have allowed the desired result without the false dating of the form is of no moment in scoring this a blatant and obvious example of payroll fraud. None of the three crime fighters, however, admits to knowing or having much interest in finding out who was guilty of falsifying the document. Serpas claims to be clueless, much the same as he is often found to be regarding police work.
But, a casual observer might be forgiven for thinking that Serpas could only know as little about the form as Sean Payton does the Saints' playbook. Coach Payton drew up the football plays, and it is hard to believe that Serpas didn't fill out his own paperwork when the Mayor appointed him Chief. Moreover, the fact that the phony submittal was accepted without question is an obvious indication of internal corruption at City Hall. The lack of concern by U.S. Attorney Jim Letten regarding the possible collusion of his two buddies to game the system is itself a crime.
What really reeks is the collective body odor of the Letten, Landrieu, Serpas gang. Every newspaper or radio/tv report on the New Orleans crime plague seems to center on a theatrically staged press conference featuring these three characters acting like Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday and Marshall Dillon. The U.S. Attorney, the Mayor, and the Police Chief have formed their own crime syndicate repertory company. Following on each new heinous event, they raise the curtain and collectively perform the latest dramatic plot turn in their epic effort to write crime off the streets.
Meanwhile, in the back rooms where the paper shuffle is danced about, it has been discovered that Chief Serpas's hire-in date (actually he is a re-hire) on his pension reinstatement form was entered incorrectly, in order to secure him a 3xs higher retirement payout, once he goes again. The fact that an apparently overlooked technicality would have allowed the desired result without the false dating of the form is of no moment in scoring this a blatant and obvious example of payroll fraud. None of the three crime fighters, however, admits to knowing or having much interest in finding out who was guilty of falsifying the document. Serpas claims to be clueless, much the same as he is often found to be regarding police work.
But, a casual observer might be forgiven for thinking that Serpas could only know as little about the form as Sean Payton does the Saints' playbook. Coach Payton drew up the football plays, and it is hard to believe that Serpas didn't fill out his own paperwork when the Mayor appointed him Chief. Moreover, the fact that the phony submittal was accepted without question is an obvious indication of internal corruption at City Hall. The lack of concern by U.S. Attorney Jim Letten regarding the possible collusion of his two buddies to game the system is itself a crime.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Oh, My Stars, Does The Truth Not Hurt?
Some prominent commentators, like Paul Krugman, have lamented the lack of truthful political reporting in the mainstream media. I am in total agreement with this point of view, and find it truly lamentable as well. However, I believe there is something far more worrisome going on than the unexposed and unassailed lying.
My concern is not so much the degree to which the media fail to report the plain facts regarding this or that issue in dispute. Rather, it is that so many truly absurd and outrageous positions by some candidates have been faithfully reported, but the truth seems not to hurt them at all. Of course, you may have guessed I mostly have Republican politicians in mind.
It seems the crazier their ideas or complaints, the better that side of the political spectrum seems to like it. Even a good portion of the so-called swing or independent voters appear willing to abide and entertain truly remarkable idiocy in the public conversation today. Since Newt is the current hot property over there beyond the pale, let's review just a few examples of his nonsense to make our point.
Back in the days of Speaker Newt, he once got so personally offended at President Clinton for consigning him to the rear of Air Force One, that his ridiculous fit of pique wound up tangled in the decision to shut-down the federal government. Only a few years earlier, he had admitted that the whole Republican drive to starve the government of essential revenue was aimed at causing programs the hard right wants to kill, such as Medicare, to wither and die on the vine. And now, we find Newt campaigning to erase what he calls the "stupid laws" against a truly despicable form of child abuse, child labor. He wants to replace the janitorial staff in public schools with poor children, so they would learn the habits of hard work. Uh, huh.
What else would they learn in educational institutions operating under the mandate to raise blisters instead of test scores? Ironically, it might be something vaguely literary. With Mr. Shakespeare's indulgence to twist a phrase, they may well conclude that the fault is not in our political stars, but in ourselves.
My concern is not so much the degree to which the media fail to report the plain facts regarding this or that issue in dispute. Rather, it is that so many truly absurd and outrageous positions by some candidates have been faithfully reported, but the truth seems not to hurt them at all. Of course, you may have guessed I mostly have Republican politicians in mind.
It seems the crazier their ideas or complaints, the better that side of the political spectrum seems to like it. Even a good portion of the so-called swing or independent voters appear willing to abide and entertain truly remarkable idiocy in the public conversation today. Since Newt is the current hot property over there beyond the pale, let's review just a few examples of his nonsense to make our point.
Back in the days of Speaker Newt, he once got so personally offended at President Clinton for consigning him to the rear of Air Force One, that his ridiculous fit of pique wound up tangled in the decision to shut-down the federal government. Only a few years earlier, he had admitted that the whole Republican drive to starve the government of essential revenue was aimed at causing programs the hard right wants to kill, such as Medicare, to wither and die on the vine. And now, we find Newt campaigning to erase what he calls the "stupid laws" against a truly despicable form of child abuse, child labor. He wants to replace the janitorial staff in public schools with poor children, so they would learn the habits of hard work. Uh, huh.
What else would they learn in educational institutions operating under the mandate to raise blisters instead of test scores? Ironically, it might be something vaguely literary. With Mr. Shakespeare's indulgence to twist a phrase, they may well conclude that the fault is not in our political stars, but in ourselves.
Friday, December 2, 2011
How To Survive Newt
Imagine you woke up one day and Newt was the President. Com'on, you can do it, have some fantasy Friday fun with me. What's the first thing you'd do?
Pray? No, that didn't keep him out of there to begin with.
Pack? Nah, if anything is more aggravating than putting up with Prez Newt for four years, it's clearing airport security.
Worry? Umm ... already there 24/7. Brow is more furrowed than a soybean field. Maybe planted the wrong crop, should have gone with a pea patch to have something from zerObama's menu.
Wait it out for five minutes? Check, he'll get bored and move on to the next Newt thing.
Pray? No, that didn't keep him out of there to begin with.
Pack? Nah, if anything is more aggravating than putting up with Prez Newt for four years, it's clearing airport security.
Worry? Umm ... already there 24/7. Brow is more furrowed than a soybean field. Maybe planted the wrong crop, should have gone with a pea patch to have something from zerObama's menu.
Wait it out for five minutes? Check, he'll get bored and move on to the next Newt thing.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
All (Fish) Hands On Deck
Ever been fishing? After you snag and reel 'em in, fish behave like they were internally loaded with some kind of inertia driven Newtonian spring. Equal and opposite explosions of energy produce irrepressible flips after flops and flips after flops, until they're finally unhooked, only to be thrown on the ice. And that's the way it goes, or my name isn't (Willard) Mitt Romney. Oh, wait, that's another subject. Back to the fish.
You may be among those smiling at the recent reports of high consumer spending over the "Black Friday" weekend, and the near 500 point leap of the stock market yesterday. That's understandable. What's a lot tougher to see is any good reason for the good news. Is the larder really being reloaded, or is everyone being baited?
Wall Street was sucked into a feeding frenzy over the much ballyhooed and overrated (please read Paul Krugman and baseline scenario blog sites for factual information on the Eurozone crisis) announcement by the Central Banks of England, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, and the U.S. that they stand ready to lend the European Central Bank (ECB) all the dollars it wants at a more attractive rate than the almost zero interest which was already being offered prior to the "big announcement." Go figure what real help that could be, given the inability of the ECB to act aggressively while in the death grip of Germany; my guess is zip. As for the consumer binge to match the Thanksgiving feasting, well that's what holidays are all about. But the rest of the year comes on.
Personally, I see or feel no inrush of a flood tide from which the parching fish gills can extract life-giving oxygen. Be careful not to get hooked into queuing up for the gutting, scaling, and skinning, like so many who've been baited before.
You may be among those smiling at the recent reports of high consumer spending over the "Black Friday" weekend, and the near 500 point leap of the stock market yesterday. That's understandable. What's a lot tougher to see is any good reason for the good news. Is the larder really being reloaded, or is everyone being baited?
Wall Street was sucked into a feeding frenzy over the much ballyhooed and overrated (please read Paul Krugman and baseline scenario blog sites for factual information on the Eurozone crisis) announcement by the Central Banks of England, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, and the U.S. that they stand ready to lend the European Central Bank (ECB) all the dollars it wants at a more attractive rate than the almost zero interest which was already being offered prior to the "big announcement." Go figure what real help that could be, given the inability of the ECB to act aggressively while in the death grip of Germany; my guess is zip. As for the consumer binge to match the Thanksgiving feasting, well that's what holidays are all about. But the rest of the year comes on.
Personally, I see or feel no inrush of a flood tide from which the parching fish gills can extract life-giving oxygen. Be careful not to get hooked into queuing up for the gutting, scaling, and skinning, like so many who've been baited before.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Not Reverend Al ... Your Ever Irreverent Al
For OWS, kicked out of the camps, keep kicking down the streets. You have kicked the doors of political discourse wide. Even the slow, the halt, and the snarky lame soon will be running to catch-up as their crutches and toys are taken away.
The Best Insurance
Suppose you had worked with a very good young apprentice for the better part of a year. Imagine you had thought him talented, hard working, and at the beginning of a bright future as a solid and productive craftsman in the electrical industry. Then one day, you heard that he had been suddenly separated from employment after a random drug test. What would you think? Bet most of you would probably say, "Tough luck, kid, that's what you get for doing illegal stuff."
But what if you also knew that he had just returned from a short vacation in another country where his lady friend is working, and where marijuana is legal? Assume you had never observed any actions by him outside of serious and sober exemplary behavior, as well as a respectful and easy going personality on and off the job. What's more, his attendance and timeliness record overall matches your own, which is pretty damn good, being old school as you lamentably are. Throw in the fact, that as a veteran of the sixties, you also know that weed is far less debilitating of motor skills, and nowhere near as harmful, on the whole, as booze. Additionally, you are aware that the body can require up to 30 days to purge the residue of cannabis sufficiently to avoid detection by a drug test, whereas even a somewhat intoxicating amount of alcohol can be oxidized and not found by testing in as little as two hours.
Would you then perhaps be tempted to conclude that employers are foolishly allowing their insurance carriers to push them into decisions which often only insure that they not retain the best employees, and that your union should be ashamed of itself for cooperating in this invasive stethoscope -up-our-rear-end warrant less search activity, rather than opposing it? I would.
But what if you also knew that he had just returned from a short vacation in another country where his lady friend is working, and where marijuana is legal? Assume you had never observed any actions by him outside of serious and sober exemplary behavior, as well as a respectful and easy going personality on and off the job. What's more, his attendance and timeliness record overall matches your own, which is pretty damn good, being old school as you lamentably are. Throw in the fact, that as a veteran of the sixties, you also know that weed is far less debilitating of motor skills, and nowhere near as harmful, on the whole, as booze. Additionally, you are aware that the body can require up to 30 days to purge the residue of cannabis sufficiently to avoid detection by a drug test, whereas even a somewhat intoxicating amount of alcohol can be oxidized and not found by testing in as little as two hours.
Would you then perhaps be tempted to conclude that employers are foolishly allowing their insurance carriers to push them into decisions which often only insure that they not retain the best employees, and that your union should be ashamed of itself for cooperating in this invasive stethoscope -up-our-rear-end warrant less search activity, rather than opposing it? I would.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
What's In A Name?
Back to the Great "D" word question, but briefly, I promise. Even though, really, you should get used to it, you are going to soon be hearing it a lot, not from me but from those blow-dried, air-head corporate flacks on television; the ones you continue to trust and rely on for most of your information, whether you admit it or not.
Many analysts today say that the key economic numbers do not indicate a full-fledged depression is underway. They make a point, but it should be qualified. Here are the stats, and the qualification.
Within one year after the 1929 crash, economic output shrank by 25%. In a little more than a year, unemployment climbed to slightly more than 20%, and stayed there until the New Deal kicked in. In the current collapse, output only shrank by some 4.9%, while unemployment (if the discouraged and no longer seeking work are counted, as they were in the depression) has topped-off at 16-17%.
What should leap off the page at us here is how much greater the unemployment factor is as a function of overall production shrinkage than it was in the past. The obvious implications are that with advances in technology and production techniques, overall economic output requires fewer workers than ever before. And, should we get to the point where we see anything like a 25% productive downturn again, as a result of ever sagging demand, unemployment could go to 60-70%. That is simple math.
We need a shorter work week, more people employed, and much higher wages. And we need to demand and start building those things in right now, or we are liable to see suffering like never before. Besides, why shouldn't working people share in the benefits of greater production with less labor demand, instead of having all the abundance creamed off by the greedy in the top 1%?
Many analysts today say that the key economic numbers do not indicate a full-fledged depression is underway. They make a point, but it should be qualified. Here are the stats, and the qualification.
Within one year after the 1929 crash, economic output shrank by 25%. In a little more than a year, unemployment climbed to slightly more than 20%, and stayed there until the New Deal kicked in. In the current collapse, output only shrank by some 4.9%, while unemployment (if the discouraged and no longer seeking work are counted, as they were in the depression) has topped-off at 16-17%.
What should leap off the page at us here is how much greater the unemployment factor is as a function of overall production shrinkage than it was in the past. The obvious implications are that with advances in technology and production techniques, overall economic output requires fewer workers than ever before. And, should we get to the point where we see anything like a 25% productive downturn again, as a result of ever sagging demand, unemployment could go to 60-70%. That is simple math.
We need a shorter work week, more people employed, and much higher wages. And we need to demand and start building those things in right now, or we are liable to see suffering like never before. Besides, why shouldn't working people share in the benefits of greater production with less labor demand, instead of having all the abundance creamed off by the greedy in the top 1%?
Monday, November 28, 2011
All's Well That Ends Well
Mr. Shakespeare used the proverb which heads this post as the title for one of his plays. Sounds comforting, but be careful. While that conviction, much like any proverb, is almost axiomatically true, some things may not be what they seem.
Think of it this way, the four day Thanksgiving weekend is over. No problems to report. Time to start another common work week, oh boy! Well, there you go.
Mr. Shakespeare's play happens to be one of several of his known as "problem plays." When all is said and done, it is impossible to classify it as a tragedy or a comedy. Turns out, he seems to have been using the proverb ironically. And so am I, in order to make another point about the smug stupidity of conservative economics.
The clamor on the right today is basically what it always has been: just let the economy fix itself. Get away from it (as far as public intervention is concerned, at least) and let it purge itself back to good health. Um, among the purged, of course, will be an awful human toll of innocents, especially among the children. Oh well, some sacrifices have to be offered on the altar of free market fanaticism if our belief system is to have any meaning; it's all so biblical, don't you know.
Meanwhile, when the burnout has ended, we may likely only be left knee deep in a pile of ashes. Now that we're back to work (at least those of us lucky enough to still have a job) and can get serious once again, pay attention because this week may see the final act of an indisputable financial tragedy in Europe. If the euro is allowed to collapse (I would even argue it has been pushed into collapsing), things will not end well. Can you say the Great "D" word, dammit?
Think of it this way, the four day Thanksgiving weekend is over. No problems to report. Time to start another common work week, oh boy! Well, there you go.
Mr. Shakespeare's play happens to be one of several of his known as "problem plays." When all is said and done, it is impossible to classify it as a tragedy or a comedy. Turns out, he seems to have been using the proverb ironically. And so am I, in order to make another point about the smug stupidity of conservative economics.
The clamor on the right today is basically what it always has been: just let the economy fix itself. Get away from it (as far as public intervention is concerned, at least) and let it purge itself back to good health. Um, among the purged, of course, will be an awful human toll of innocents, especially among the children. Oh well, some sacrifices have to be offered on the altar of free market fanaticism if our belief system is to have any meaning; it's all so biblical, don't you know.
Meanwhile, when the burnout has ended, we may likely only be left knee deep in a pile of ashes. Now that we're back to work (at least those of us lucky enough to still have a job) and can get serious once again, pay attention because this week may see the final act of an indisputable financial tragedy in Europe. If the euro is allowed to collapse (I would even argue it has been pushed into collapsing), things will not end well. Can you say the Great "D" word, dammit?
Friday, November 25, 2011
The Real Problem With Even "Honest" Conservatives
Let's face it, almost all Conservatives in the public discussion today are a bunch of phony and radical hooligans, as the following piece from Paul Krugman's blog indicates. But anyone with good common sense already kind of knows that.
So, I would also advance the observation that the real problem with even "honest' conservatives like David Frum is that their core philosophy is selfish, wrong-headed, and punishing. We live in a time of towering accomplishments in the economic capacity to produce abundant material wealth as well as in the scientific and medical developments for safeguarding human health and prolonging independent, vital and enjoyable life-spans. The criminal fact is that the Conservative philosophy is permanently wedded to an outmoded and repeatedly proven misguided set of social norms and relations.
This general construct, if you will, insists on the inevitable concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a very few at the expense of the disadvantage, deprivation, and denial of democratic rights for the vast majority. Such inevitably results from the operation of crass capitalism when unbridled, unregulated, and utterly untempered by humane rules of the road. But Frum and others like him remain married to it regardless the needless massive pain and social pathology it causes. Frum acknowledged as much himself in an NPR interview the other day concerning the piece Krugman cites. Frum said the problem which is causing all the extremism on the Conservative side is that "we are entering a period of economic austerity" and no one wants to responsibly address that exigency.
And that my friends is as precise a statement of the baseless conclusions a pinched and puritanical moral overlay to economic analysis produces. We as a society and a species have worked hard and successfully to be able to progress beyond being repeatedly cast down as victims to an eternal roll of the Wheel of Fortune which alternately turns up the good and the bad. All we need is a sufficiently humane moral outlook to allow our productive skills and scientific prowess to provide a more abundant and secure life for all.
From Krugman:
November 25, 2011, 8:26 am
So, I would also advance the observation that the real problem with even "honest' conservatives like David Frum is that their core philosophy is selfish, wrong-headed, and punishing. We live in a time of towering accomplishments in the economic capacity to produce abundant material wealth as well as in the scientific and medical developments for safeguarding human health and prolonging independent, vital and enjoyable life-spans. The criminal fact is that the Conservative philosophy is permanently wedded to an outmoded and repeatedly proven misguided set of social norms and relations.
This general construct, if you will, insists on the inevitable concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a very few at the expense of the disadvantage, deprivation, and denial of democratic rights for the vast majority. Such inevitably results from the operation of crass capitalism when unbridled, unregulated, and utterly untempered by humane rules of the road. But Frum and others like him remain married to it regardless the needless massive pain and social pathology it causes. Frum acknowledged as much himself in an NPR interview the other day concerning the piece Krugman cites. Frum said the problem which is causing all the extremism on the Conservative side is that "we are entering a period of economic austerity" and no one wants to responsibly address that exigency.
And that my friends is as precise a statement of the baseless conclusions a pinched and puritanical moral overlay to economic analysis produces. We as a society and a species have worked hard and successfully to be able to progress beyond being repeatedly cast down as victims to an eternal roll of the Wheel of Fortune which alternately turns up the good and the bad. All we need is a sufficiently humane moral outlook to allow our productive skills and scientific prowess to provide a more abundant and secure life for all.
From Krugman:
November 25, 2011, 8:26 am
Their Own Facts
David Frum of “Axis of Evil” fame — who is some kind of distant cousin of mine — has an excellent piece in New York explaining his apostasy from the modern GOP. Best line:
Still, it’s a good piece; would that more old-style Republicans were willing to open their eyes and see that the party they once supported has been transformed into a madhouse.
Backed by their own wing of the book-publishing industry and supported by think tanks that increasingly function as public-relations agencies, conservatives have built a whole alternative knowledge system, with its own facts, its own history, its own laws of economics. Outside this alternative reality, the United States is a country dominated by a strong Christian religiosity. Within it, Christians are a persecuted minority. Outside the system, President Obama—whatever his policy errors—is a figure of imposing intellect and dignity. Within the system, he’s a pitiful nothing, unable to speak without a teleprompter, an affirmative-action phony doomed to inevitable defeat. Outside the system, social scientists worry that the U.S. is hardening into one of the most rigid class societies in the Western world, in which the children of the poor have less chance of escape than in France, Germany, or even England. Inside the system, the U.S. remains (to borrow the words of Senator Marco Rubio) “the only place in the world where it doesn’t matter who your parents were or where you came from.”Frum himself isn’t completely free of this alternative reality. He still insists that Obama is building a much bigger government, which just isn’t true; there’s health reform, which will require subsidies in the vicinity of 1 percent of GDP to operate, but there are no other major expansions of government on the table.
Still, it’s a good piece; would that more old-style Republicans were willing to open their eyes and see that the party they once supported has been transformed into a madhouse.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
The Lucky Ones
Some people go to fancy restaurants on days like these, and others have hired help to prepare their daily meals, as well as splendid holiday feasts. At the end of such a day, those folks are not as spent and tired as I and my family and friends.
For us, this has been a good day's work. It has been a good day and good work. Our family and close friends have always been of modest means and rich traditions. On Thanksgiving and Christmas we come together and spend long hours cooking for and serving and eating with and laughing with one another. We even manage to keep laughing and celebrating our own company as we work through the clean up chores at the end of it all. Given the food and celebratory culture of New Orleans, you can just imagine the storm my family stirs up in a kitchen when we all put our best effort into it. Awesome.
When the day is gone and the evening grows late, as now, I often find myself remembering this part of a line from an Emily Dickinson poem, "The plenty hurt me ..." Yes, it really does hurt, but even though tired and spent from the work, and painfully overfed, as well as worn from being all talked and laughed out, the "hurt" is really plenty good. You see, we are the lucky ones. The plenty enjoyed by those accustomed to buying all the good work of days like these hurts them differently.
We have much to be thankful for. I hope you do as well, and have had a happy Thanksgiving.
For us, this has been a good day's work. It has been a good day and good work. Our family and close friends have always been of modest means and rich traditions. On Thanksgiving and Christmas we come together and spend long hours cooking for and serving and eating with and laughing with one another. We even manage to keep laughing and celebrating our own company as we work through the clean up chores at the end of it all. Given the food and celebratory culture of New Orleans, you can just imagine the storm my family stirs up in a kitchen when we all put our best effort into it. Awesome.
When the day is gone and the evening grows late, as now, I often find myself remembering this part of a line from an Emily Dickinson poem, "The plenty hurt me ..." Yes, it really does hurt, but even though tired and spent from the work, and painfully overfed, as well as worn from being all talked and laughed out, the "hurt" is really plenty good. You see, we are the lucky ones. The plenty enjoyed by those accustomed to buying all the good work of days like these hurts them differently.
We have much to be thankful for. I hope you do as well, and have had a happy Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Victims Victimizing Victims
Just a side thought which will not sit well with many. Good. I say good because I have knocked around this gritty old world long enough to have acquired some rough edged opinions, sufficiently abrasive to scrape down to the bullshit buried truth, and candid enough to piss off the weak willed and willfully blind among us. And that's not a bad thing. So, here goes.
The now universally viewed "pepper spray" video shows nothing but victims. Clearly the innocent and peaceful student protesters are being victimized by heinously abusive tactics most of us are shocked to see employed in a supposedly free society. But there also is suffering by others in events like these, not usually registered or commented upon.
The sprayers themselves are victims.
They are a comic book version of gestapo thugs, outfitted in ridiculously highly stylized Star Warish uniforms and equipment. Awesomely and evilly ugly scary looking, they are got up so as to blot out all human identity. And it almost works. Then, the ponderous waddle in the walk which has worn the shoe leather down unevenly on the sides comes into notice, the bulging middle against the obligatory fat belt can be seen to test even its limits, and the simple effort required for crouching down to better aim the sinister canister at the face of a target is palpably difficult for the unfit hireling and tool of social oppression. As hard as it is to imagine that anyone would do it, you know why they do it. And you know they are not the ones who cause it all to come into being. They are themselves trying to survive it by joining it. Victims, too. No doubt.
The now universally viewed "pepper spray" video shows nothing but victims. Clearly the innocent and peaceful student protesters are being victimized by heinously abusive tactics most of us are shocked to see employed in a supposedly free society. But there also is suffering by others in events like these, not usually registered or commented upon.
The sprayers themselves are victims.
They are a comic book version of gestapo thugs, outfitted in ridiculously highly stylized Star Warish uniforms and equipment. Awesomely and evilly ugly scary looking, they are got up so as to blot out all human identity. And it almost works. Then, the ponderous waddle in the walk which has worn the shoe leather down unevenly on the sides comes into notice, the bulging middle against the obligatory fat belt can be seen to test even its limits, and the simple effort required for crouching down to better aim the sinister canister at the face of a target is palpably difficult for the unfit hireling and tool of social oppression. As hard as it is to imagine that anyone would do it, you know why they do it. And you know they are not the ones who cause it all to come into being. They are themselves trying to survive it by joining it. Victims, too. No doubt.
When No Is Yes
Okay, stop the hand wringing over the Stupid Committee and the clapping for Obama ... uh, excuse me, that is zerObama - he's back.
In reality, the Democrats were mildly surprising and pleasing in that they managed not to allow the Republicans to make the Stupid Committee into something even stupider than its very existence already ordained. As we have said many times, now is precisely the wrong time to cut almost anything in federal government outlays, let alone the desperately needed social safety net programs. And none of this revisiting of Herbert Hoover era mistakes could have happened in the first place without zerO caving in to extortion over the debt ceiling hike earlier in the year.
So, when the Prez comes out and acts tough by insisting on continuing in the wrong policy direction, his "no" is really a great big "YES" to reclaiming his former zerObama name.
In reality, the Democrats were mildly surprising and pleasing in that they managed not to allow the Republicans to make the Stupid Committee into something even stupider than its very existence already ordained. As we have said many times, now is precisely the wrong time to cut almost anything in federal government outlays, let alone the desperately needed social safety net programs. And none of this revisiting of Herbert Hoover era mistakes could have happened in the first place without zerO caving in to extortion over the debt ceiling hike earlier in the year.
So, when the Prez comes out and acts tough by insisting on continuing in the wrong policy direction, his "no" is really a great big "YES" to reclaiming his former zerObama name.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
The Auguries
A portentous weekend calls for a Sunday night dispatch. The news is very bad, and the signs for the coming week even worse. Beware.
The Louisiana election cycle, which was completed on Saturday with the disposition of various runoff contests, spoke convincingly of the power of money. It starkly displayed the determination of the rich corporatist right to use the naked power of their wealth to destroy the democratic process itself, and with it a fundamentally critical element of a free and open society, public education. Yet, around the country and the world, the picture is even uglier.
A form of police state force was turned on innocent, legal, and peaceful protests. There were graphic videos of the gratuitous abuse of helpless citizens by police laying on needless suffering, even to the point of pepper spraying and endangering the life of an 84 year old woman.
And speaking of protests, the petition drive to recall the rabidly anti-union Wisconsin Governor, Scott Walker, kicked off. This may seem to be a welcome sign, but it is more telling to remember that this comes in reaction to a uniquely vile and unprecedented assault on the democratic rights of public employees in that state. The fact that Walker and the Republican controlled legislature attacked these rights so viciously in the first place underscores the dangers of the times occasioned by the rise of the extreme political right.
Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich, the new front runner contender to Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination, came out today against laws which prohibit child labor. He labeled such prohibitions on child labor "stupid." He then went on to call for the firing of school janitors so that poor children could be paid some pittance to perform that work. This, Newt said, would encourage them to take pride in their schools, give them some cash, and allow them to "start to rise." This is the kind of villain currently rising to the top of one of the major political parties in this country.
But the Democrats, mind you, are all together not much better. That party's members on the so-called Super Committee, which has been empaneled to essentially give political cover to the Congress as a whole when it cuts Social Security and cripples Medicare, were all over the talking head shows today proclaiming their willingness to inflict such needless and inexcusable pain on the elderly, if only the Republicans would give them the pretense of a fair deal by agreeing to at least slightly raise taxes on the very wealthy. At some point, we the people are going to have to resolve to fight off the attacks levied against us by both the Republicans and the Democrats.
Finally, the impending Eurozone financial catastrophe is showing signs only of worsening. The European Central Bank and Germany are pushing all the wrong policies as hard as they can. And that is very hard, indeed. Unfortunately, it appears that the leader's heads are as hard as the stupid policies. It looks very bad from here.
Make no mistake, the Eurozone crisis is not a problem for Europe alone. We do not live (at least financially and economically) "over the edge of the world and far beyond the perilous seas," to borrow a phrase from an ancient king of the Britons. It is foolish to think this disaster is not as much ours as theirs.
I know that this is a hell of a way to start the roll out of a new week, but the real hell is yet to come. Be forewarned.
The Louisiana election cycle, which was completed on Saturday with the disposition of various runoff contests, spoke convincingly of the power of money. It starkly displayed the determination of the rich corporatist right to use the naked power of their wealth to destroy the democratic process itself, and with it a fundamentally critical element of a free and open society, public education. Yet, around the country and the world, the picture is even uglier.
A form of police state force was turned on innocent, legal, and peaceful protests. There were graphic videos of the gratuitous abuse of helpless citizens by police laying on needless suffering, even to the point of pepper spraying and endangering the life of an 84 year old woman.
And speaking of protests, the petition drive to recall the rabidly anti-union Wisconsin Governor, Scott Walker, kicked off. This may seem to be a welcome sign, but it is more telling to remember that this comes in reaction to a uniquely vile and unprecedented assault on the democratic rights of public employees in that state. The fact that Walker and the Republican controlled legislature attacked these rights so viciously in the first place underscores the dangers of the times occasioned by the rise of the extreme political right.
Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich, the new front runner contender to Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination, came out today against laws which prohibit child labor. He labeled such prohibitions on child labor "stupid." He then went on to call for the firing of school janitors so that poor children could be paid some pittance to perform that work. This, Newt said, would encourage them to take pride in their schools, give them some cash, and allow them to "start to rise." This is the kind of villain currently rising to the top of one of the major political parties in this country.
But the Democrats, mind you, are all together not much better. That party's members on the so-called Super Committee, which has been empaneled to essentially give political cover to the Congress as a whole when it cuts Social Security and cripples Medicare, were all over the talking head shows today proclaiming their willingness to inflict such needless and inexcusable pain on the elderly, if only the Republicans would give them the pretense of a fair deal by agreeing to at least slightly raise taxes on the very wealthy. At some point, we the people are going to have to resolve to fight off the attacks levied against us by both the Republicans and the Democrats.
Finally, the impending Eurozone financial catastrophe is showing signs only of worsening. The European Central Bank and Germany are pushing all the wrong policies as hard as they can. And that is very hard, indeed. Unfortunately, it appears that the leader's heads are as hard as the stupid policies. It looks very bad from here.
Make no mistake, the Eurozone crisis is not a problem for Europe alone. We do not live (at least financially and economically) "over the edge of the world and far beyond the perilous seas," to borrow a phrase from an ancient king of the Britons. It is foolish to think this disaster is not as much ours as theirs.
I know that this is a hell of a way to start the roll out of a new week, but the real hell is yet to come. Be forewarned.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Arrivederci Euro
Germany, which tried to run the whole continent of Europe during most of the twentieth century, has finally taken control. This time with paper rather than hot lead. But they are still Germans.
Today, we find out if Mario Monti can screw the people of Italy hard enough to appease Germany's Angela Merkel, or whether Germany takes a walk and watches (happily?) its fellow Europeans collapse.
Why do we care? Because it matters to us, it always has.
Today, we find out if Mario Monti can screw the people of Italy hard enough to appease Germany's Angela Merkel, or whether Germany takes a walk and watches (happily?) its fellow Europeans collapse.
Why do we care? Because it matters to us, it always has.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Louella Givens, Ax Murderer
Louella Givens is an ax murderer. Not really, but I thought I would say so to save the Political Action Committee (PAC) known as the Alliance For Better Classrooms from having to send me yet one more hate filled flyer this election cycle regarding her personal failings. I do not know Ms Givens, but if only 1% of the terrible things these flyers say about her were true, she long ago would have been bumped off or put away.
Ms Givens is a candidate for a seat on the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. She is a genuine supporter of public education. Her opponent, Kira Orange Jones, is a fresh-faced kid from somewhere far from Louisiana, come here to tell us how to do things. She is all eaten-up with the young hipster ideas for reforming public schools by making little businesses out of each one of them. She had a fellowship in education entrepreneurship at the Aspen Institute. Among other plutocratic cretins, David Koch is on the Board of Directors of that outfit. 'Nough said.
Kira also voted for Obama, she claims. But this apparently happened before she was even registered to vote. Well, maybe she'll fit in down here after all. Those lurid flyers attacking Kira's opponent are being produced by a PAC which boasts of having Buddy Roemer on its Steering Committee. This is our clownish former Governor who is now tramping round the country in pursuit of the Republcian nomination. His entire campaign is based on his steadfast opposition to PACs.
Maybe I'm missing something, or maybe I'm just not young enough to be this hip and stupid anymore.
Ms Givens is a candidate for a seat on the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. She is a genuine supporter of public education. Her opponent, Kira Orange Jones, is a fresh-faced kid from somewhere far from Louisiana, come here to tell us how to do things. She is all eaten-up with the young hipster ideas for reforming public schools by making little businesses out of each one of them. She had a fellowship in education entrepreneurship at the Aspen Institute. Among other plutocratic cretins, David Koch is on the Board of Directors of that outfit. 'Nough said.
Kira also voted for Obama, she claims. But this apparently happened before she was even registered to vote. Well, maybe she'll fit in down here after all. Those lurid flyers attacking Kira's opponent are being produced by a PAC which boasts of having Buddy Roemer on its Steering Committee. This is our clownish former Governor who is now tramping round the country in pursuit of the Republcian nomination. His entire campaign is based on his steadfast opposition to PACs.
Maybe I'm missing something, or maybe I'm just not young enough to be this hip and stupid anymore.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Historical Rewind
In the trenches lately, but still paying attention. In the last post here we welcomed Mario Monti's appointment as "senator-for-life" and then as Italian Prime Minister with a hearty "Hail Caesar!" That, largely, was just for fun. Something we all could sort of relate to courtesy of the Bard, Mr. Shakespeare.
A more serious look at the history of ancient Rome actually reveals Julius Caesar to have been quite the radical reformer on behalf of the dispossessed and landless citizens. He was also, by any measurement, a remarkable military leader (in all of time, Alexander ... and, perhaps, U.S. Grant ... could compare, but few - if any - others) and writer. His bloody demise was a murderous assertion of the return to full power and authority by the decidedly dictatorial Senate, which itself had long since put an end to any semblance of a genuine Roman Republic.
What we see in Italy today has a far nearer historical antecedent. Il Duce (the leader) of Italian Fascism was able to take iron-fisted control of the Italian government with the mandate to "make the trains run on time." In other words, bring discipline, calm, routine, and normalcy to day-to-day life, by any means necessary. And he did, for a while anyway. But the price was greater than that of any train ride in recent times.
Now, roiling markets, financial collapse, and the nascent rise of social unrest has the plutocratic corporatists on the march against democratic rights again. The technocrat/economist known as Super Mario is Italy's new "Il Duce." So far, his prescriptions have registered little resistance for being only a mild sedative on the social standing of the average citizen, but the real deal is yet to come. Meanwhile, it is easy to make it appear the trains run on time when you're going in reverse. The euro is kaput - or should be, given the lack of sufficient political structure in the overall Eurozone. The pain is going to be very severe; it is now only a question of who will be the prime recipient.
Why do we care, you ask? Well, without a healthy Europe our economic malaise will not lift. And, besides, we have seen this movie before. Ultimately, that Duce wound up being drug through the streets by his heels, and hung upside down.
A more serious look at the history of ancient Rome actually reveals Julius Caesar to have been quite the radical reformer on behalf of the dispossessed and landless citizens. He was also, by any measurement, a remarkable military leader (in all of time, Alexander ... and, perhaps, U.S. Grant ... could compare, but few - if any - others) and writer. His bloody demise was a murderous assertion of the return to full power and authority by the decidedly dictatorial Senate, which itself had long since put an end to any semblance of a genuine Roman Republic.
What we see in Italy today has a far nearer historical antecedent. Il Duce (the leader) of Italian Fascism was able to take iron-fisted control of the Italian government with the mandate to "make the trains run on time." In other words, bring discipline, calm, routine, and normalcy to day-to-day life, by any means necessary. And he did, for a while anyway. But the price was greater than that of any train ride in recent times.
Now, roiling markets, financial collapse, and the nascent rise of social unrest has the plutocratic corporatists on the march against democratic rights again. The technocrat/economist known as Super Mario is Italy's new "Il Duce." So far, his prescriptions have registered little resistance for being only a mild sedative on the social standing of the average citizen, but the real deal is yet to come. Meanwhile, it is easy to make it appear the trains run on time when you're going in reverse. The euro is kaput - or should be, given the lack of sufficient political structure in the overall Eurozone. The pain is going to be very severe; it is now only a question of who will be the prime recipient.
Why do we care, you ask? Well, without a healthy Europe our economic malaise will not lift. And, besides, we have seen this movie before. Ultimately, that Duce wound up being drug through the streets by his heels, and hung upside down.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Hail Caesar!
The government of Italy has been handed over to a "technocrat" professional economist who was not elected to anything by the people. Mario Monti (you must admit, it has an emperial ring - in an Italian sort of way) was named "senator-for-life" in order to put him "in line" to lead. He will replace the formerly elected leader, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The Italian Senate fell all over itself handing him the power to start screwing the Italian people with the austerity measures demanded by the Eurozone bankers.
Let the "nut-cutting" begin. Yes, I know it is a rather vulgar expression, but there really is none better to describe the pluotcratic emasculation of democracy underway across Europe. The long knives are out, and the people will bleed.
And they're not even trying to disguise the coup. As Herman Von Rompuy, President of the Eruopean Council, said, "The country needs reform, not elections."
I will spare you the form any comment of mine would take, and instead offer the milder and more eloquent thoughts of Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman:
"It’s a dubious idea to supplant democratic governance with allegedly non-political management even in the best of times. But to assign authority to unelected men whose actual record suggests that they govern based on prejudices rather than analysis is even worse."
Let the "nut-cutting" begin. Yes, I know it is a rather vulgar expression, but there really is none better to describe the pluotcratic emasculation of democracy underway across Europe. The long knives are out, and the people will bleed.
And they're not even trying to disguise the coup. As Herman Von Rompuy, President of the Eruopean Council, said, "The country needs reform, not elections."
I will spare you the form any comment of mine would take, and instead offer the milder and more eloquent thoughts of Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman:
"It’s a dubious idea to supplant democratic governance with allegedly non-political management even in the best of times. But to assign authority to unelected men whose actual record suggests that they govern based on prejudices rather than analysis is even worse."
Friday, November 11, 2011
A Royal Mess
So, we have here made the point more than once that the Eurozone disaster follows as a consequence of being united by the euro but divided in every other way. Maybe it is somewhat a hangover from the European monarchical legacy, but the sovereign nations of Europe remain as jealous of one another today as Madonna is of Lady Gaga.
Hence, the way it looks from here is that they should all either go it alone completely, or learn to sing in greater harmony. Seems the better path would be, in the words of a famous son of Europe, to "come together, right now ..." But that clearly is not going to happen unless Christmas is celebrated in Hell this year.
Keep this in mind, though, the worst and most likely course will be to patch together a European rescue plan for the criminal banks, and tell the commoners to limp along until the pain wears off. Here's hoping they somehow find the courage to stand up for the people and screw the banks.
Hence, the way it looks from here is that they should all either go it alone completely, or learn to sing in greater harmony. Seems the better path would be, in the words of a famous son of Europe, to "come together, right now ..." But that clearly is not going to happen unless Christmas is celebrated in Hell this year.
Keep this in mind, though, the worst and most likely course will be to patch together a European rescue plan for the criminal banks, and tell the commoners to limp along until the pain wears off. Here's hoping they somehow find the courage to stand up for the people and screw the banks.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
The Straw Man Of Europe
Last night, the Republican candidates' debate proved to be more a contest of ignorance between the questioners and the candidates than it was any sensible policy arguments by anyone. It was sad to watch a panel of clueless "financial" reporters lead the contingent of equally lost presidential wannabes into a scrum over who could promise most forcefully to - never, ever, ever, ever, never - bailout Europe from its current currency crisis. It was a tie between the idiocy both of the question and the unanimous response. Neither should elicit anything from us but guffaws all around, and perhaps some concern that one of these dolts might actually get elected to the highest office in the land. Think we're in trouble now?
As we have said here in an earlier post, the Euro experiment carried a fatal flaw from its very beginning. There can be no prospect for long term success with any system that seeks economic unity in the form of a common currency, absent political unity. We have made our own version of this sort of sovereignty surrender mistake through trade and labor standards dissolution, by way of NAFTA and Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China. They are different iterations of the same false step aimed at enlarging and facilitating market growth.
More on all of this later, when time permits. For now, though, please put me on record as noting that the only way in which it is even conceivable that we could offer anything like a "bail-out" to Europe in this particular situation would be to lend that continent our Constitution.
Here is that earlier post on the subject of the Euro, if you care to read it again:
As we have said here in an earlier post, the Euro experiment carried a fatal flaw from its very beginning. There can be no prospect for long term success with any system that seeks economic unity in the form of a common currency, absent political unity. We have made our own version of this sort of sovereignty surrender mistake through trade and labor standards dissolution, by way of NAFTA and Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China. They are different iterations of the same false step aimed at enlarging and facilitating market growth.
More on all of this later, when time permits. For now, though, please put me on record as noting that the only way in which it is even conceivable that we could offer anything like a "bail-out" to Europe in this particular situation would be to lend that continent our Constitution.
Here is that earlier post on the subject of the Euro, if you care to read it again:
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Debunking Exercise
So, by now everyone has heard - endlessly - from the scaremonger, panic stampeding Republicans and Teacans that unless we adopt stringently austere contractionary policies now, America will turn into umm .... Greece or maybe Spain or maybe even Italy. The ensuing horrors would be endless and awful, they say.
And, of course, we would deserve these punishments for our persistent crazed attempts to do what we can to maintain a middle class in this country. That is, for continuing to press for creation of well paying jobs - and lots of them, insuring good schools, nutrition and health for all children, as well as insisting on maintaining a secure and stable income stream and health care system for the elderly.
I have two questions.
Why do these people hate children, workers and elderly Americans so much? I dunno.
But I sometimes think they should be made to answer after at least five minutes of personal face time in front of a mirror.
How is America like Greece or any other Eurozone country? Not at all.
Only the economically illiterate imagine the slightest comparison is valid. The literate who say so, by contrast, are consciously spreading unfounded fears to force acquiescence to their own self-interested, greedy policies. I hardly know a better definition of evil. It makes you want to ask a strongly implied third question.
Why do these people hate America so much that they would make us out to be economically on a par in any way with the likes of Greece or Spain or even Italy?
The Eurozone countries are basket cases for having surrendered autonomous monetary power to the euro system, without simultaneously forging political unity and responsibility for overarching social needs. The dracma, the pesepa, the lira, the franc, etc. have all gone away. The euro is now the common currency of the sundry European countries. And its supply is controlled through the operation of a euro central banking mechanism, outside and beyond the control of individual members of the zone. That means there is no longer any independent state capacity for financing governmental activities.
However, all social needs such as transportation (railroads, roads and bridges, air travel infrastructure, etc.), schools, health care, old age income maintenance, armies and navies, and many, many more remain the function and duty of individual nation states.
We are like this in no way whatsoever. It would be as if overnight the federal government informed, let's say, um .... Alabama, that from now on you will be responsible for all social security, medicare, medicaid, transportation, education, flood control, defense, and on and on, expenses. But we will control and limit the overall amount of dollars you will have to do all these things.
Who in their right mind could wish such a stupid state of affairs be visited upon us and our people? Yet, that is precisely the kind of policy course Republicans and Teacans, especially, advocate. A thoroughgoing decentralization of governmental functions. They call it federalism, they don't call it catastrophe or disaster, but that is precisely what it would be.
So, it is, at the end of the day, incumbent upon the rest of us to ask the strongly implied question.
Why do these people hate America so much?
And, of course, we would deserve these punishments for our persistent crazed attempts to do what we can to maintain a middle class in this country. That is, for continuing to press for creation of well paying jobs - and lots of them, insuring good schools, nutrition and health for all children, as well as insisting on maintaining a secure and stable income stream and health care system for the elderly.
I have two questions.
Why do these people hate children, workers and elderly Americans so much? I dunno.
But I sometimes think they should be made to answer after at least five minutes of personal face time in front of a mirror.
How is America like Greece or any other Eurozone country? Not at all.
Only the economically illiterate imagine the slightest comparison is valid. The literate who say so, by contrast, are consciously spreading unfounded fears to force acquiescence to their own self-interested, greedy policies. I hardly know a better definition of evil. It makes you want to ask a strongly implied third question.
Why do these people hate America so much that they would make us out to be economically on a par in any way with the likes of Greece or Spain or even Italy?
The Eurozone countries are basket cases for having surrendered autonomous monetary power to the euro system, without simultaneously forging political unity and responsibility for overarching social needs. The dracma, the pesepa, the lira, the franc, etc. have all gone away. The euro is now the common currency of the sundry European countries. And its supply is controlled through the operation of a euro central banking mechanism, outside and beyond the control of individual members of the zone. That means there is no longer any independent state capacity for financing governmental activities.
However, all social needs such as transportation (railroads, roads and bridges, air travel infrastructure, etc.), schools, health care, old age income maintenance, armies and navies, and many, many more remain the function and duty of individual nation states.
We are like this in no way whatsoever. It would be as if overnight the federal government informed, let's say, um .... Alabama, that from now on you will be responsible for all social security, medicare, medicaid, transportation, education, flood control, defense, and on and on, expenses. But we will control and limit the overall amount of dollars you will have to do all these things.
Who in their right mind could wish such a stupid state of affairs be visited upon us and our people? Yet, that is precisely the kind of policy course Republicans and Teacans, especially, advocate. A thoroughgoing decentralization of governmental functions. They call it federalism, they don't call it catastrophe or disaster, but that is precisely what it would be.
So, it is, at the end of the day, incumbent upon the rest of us to ask the strongly implied question.
Why do these people hate America so much?
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