– A first hand account from Occupy Oakland (h/t)
– Not sure I care much one way or the other what Meghan McCain thinks of the Occupy movement.
– The city budget is going to have more pain, I’m afraid.
– Unprincipled, Illiterate, Hypocritical Douchebags
– Upcoming events for transit types
– Finally an explanation of Lord Monckton.
We need some positive news around here.
Here’s an uplifting story: Consumerist.com has rated Bank of America the country’s second-worst company.
“Why was Consumerist so hard on Bank Of America? Well, perhaps after doing a little bit of thinking, they realized, ‘Oh, hey, we’ve published tons of pieces attesting to Bank Of America’s awfulness! Like the time the bank got an address wrong and foreclosed on the wrong home. Or the time they made mortgage payment demands from someone who wasn’t their customer. Or the time they threatened a customer with foreclosure if he didn’t make a prompt payment of $0.00. I mean, I could go on and on. In fact, I think I will! Other Bank of America Greatest Hits include giving the same account number to two different people (isn’t that a basic thing that banks are supposed to be able to handle?); opening credit card accounts for people who don’t ask for them; ‘hindering’ a federal review of FHA-insured housing loans; and two class-action suits — one settled, one pending — that arose when indifference to customer satisfaction crossed the line into grifterdom.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....33296.html
(When you open the link, don’t miss the Jon Stewart video!)
Oh, and btw, guess who the worst company is?
We get a first glimpse of supercommittee Democrats’ deficit reduction proposals — a mix of spending cuts (especially in Medicare benefits and vendor payments) and revenue increases, with a little bit of stimulus thrown in.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....32811.html
The Lohan’s – America’s Heterosexual Family Values
http://www.nydailynews.com/gos.....r_tab.html
Argentine Torturers Get Life In Prison]
“A court in Argentina has sentenced … former military and police officials to life in prison for crimes against humanity committed during the country’s 1976-1983 dictatorship. The men were convicted of kidnapping, torturing and killing leftist dissidents at a torture center called the Navy Mechanics School.”
“Among those sentenced was Alfredo Astiz, a 59-year-old former navy spy nicknamed ‘the Angel of Death.’ Astiz is accused of participating in the disappearance, torture and murder of two French nuns, a journalist and three founders of a human rights group that he infiltrated while spying for the dictatorship.
“The leafy former military campus, now home to a museum dedicated to preserving evidence of crimes against humanity, also housed a maternity ward where pregnant detainees were held until they gave birth and then were made to ‘disappear.’ A separate trial alleging that systematic baby thefts were part of the junta’s anti-subversion strategy is under way in another courtroom.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45.....-americas/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Astiz asserts he’s being persecuted for “combatting terrorism.” Where have we heard that line before?
“Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday he opposes his state allowing specialty license plates featuring the Confederate flag — despite his past defense of the historical value of Confederacy symbols.
“The Republican presidential hopeful was in Florida for a fundraiser and told Bay News 9’s ‘Political Connections’ and the St. Petersburg Times that, ‘we don’t need to be opening old wounds.'”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45050980/ns/politics/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Strange things happen when a southern good ol’ boy decides he wants to be president.
“After days of questions, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said unequivocally that he believes the president is an American citizen. ‘I don’t think I was expressing doubts,’ he said of his previous comments about the validity of the president’s birth certificate in an interview with Tampa’s Bay News 9 to be aired Sunday, per the St. Petersburg Times.”
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com.....-a-citizen
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Strange things happen when a birther decides he wants to be president.
‘Waffles’ Flip-Flops On Anti-Union Vote
“A day after he refused to endorse an Ohio ballot measure that limits public employee union rights, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said Wednesday that he is ‘110 percent’ behind the effort.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45.....sion_2012/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Strange things happen when a presumptive nominee suddenly finds himself trailing in the polls behind a pizza guy.
Next time you hear a Republican slapping a “waste, fraud, and abuse” label on programs to help poor Americans, ask him:
“Where’s the $40 billion?”
http://www.cnbc.com/id/45031100/
Many conservatives agree Rick Perry is too dumb to be president.
http://www.economist.com/blogs.....s-tax-plan
@8
Romney has a habit of finding himself on all four sides of a two sided issue. He’s the Republican’s John Kerry.
Hey PuffyButt – you blamed Obama for the Stock Mareket’s bad days, are you going to give him credit for Toadys 300 Point gain and now that it is over 12,000? I didn’t think so. You Loser.
New York’s Libs are guilty of killing Lobsters!!
They are killing them with massive doses of poison used to supposedly stop West Nile Virus–
How do you Lefty’s justify this??
Michael–
I agree with you on this. Romney is so much like Kerry…and Obama too. When you look at statements and actions of each, it’s pretty laughable. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had candidates who say what they mean and mean what they say? It’s an indictment of our current 2-Party system in my eyes. That’s why I’d love to see at lease 4 Party’s (add Progressive and Tea Party) to the equation. The “establishment” 2 Party’s have failed us.
BTW, I just got out of the market in the past 30 minutes. I think this EuroDeal is filled with holes and another shell-game. The market may go up another 1000 points, but I don’t see it as a reasonable risk based on the underlying economy in the US and too many other countries.
Take your gains soon. I may have been a bit premature, but I don’t have to take unnecessary risks. Cynical called me this AM and told me to get out. Since he told me he got in a month ago & to get in a few weeks ago, I listen.
You should do the same.
14 – Give it up KLOWN friendo.. This pretense is like too cynical, Mr.
One sure sign this deal may work out in the end is this:
THE RICH IS GOING TO TAKE A BATH..
They didn’t have to extend the credit.. They could have done their due diligence.. But no… They depend on governments to bail out their poor decisions.
Iceland and Argentina told the banksters to go to hell and they still get the credit they need!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15478358
How is this possible KLOWN friendo? Your Obama Derangement Syndrome mental condition allows this??
When the market goes up 1000 points it has naught to do with Obama but when it goes down 200 points… Of course it’s all Obama’s fault!
Such is the behavior of the knee-jerk, ODS addled right wing degenerate.
And if Obama is a one-termer to be replaced by insane in the membrane Cain or scary Rick Perry or Willard “flip-flop” Romney why shouldn’t the market stay up?? Where is there to be weakness in the economy with such a bright future ahead?
There is naught but decay indeed between the ears in the Klown friendo’s golden years.
@13 – can you please provide the data that the pesticide being used is only being used by liberals. You lost me on the connection of the pesticide to liberal…are there any conservatives on long island? What about global warming, maybe the lobsters like cold water.
@13 “How do you Lefty’s justify this??”
It’s a matter of balancing human health against lobster supply. Outside the black-white bubble world inhabited by rightwing simpletons, most things in this world involve tradeoffs. Weighing the costs and benefits of a particular course of action requires intelligence and judgment, two things that are lacking in wingnuts, therefore only educated liberals are qualified to make these decisions.
YLB, I’ve never tied the stock market to any president’s performance. There are too many other variables that impact results. The market is about supply and demand, something you obviously know little about. The president is merely one component to consider. I still think the DOW will trade in a 10,500–13,000 range. When it goes over 12,000..the risk/reward becomes higher. The market has not been a friend of long-term investing for sometime. I refuse to daytrade. Cynical showed me his transactions and he has to some extent the past 3 years and quite successfully. But he is hardly a daytrader. I just made this short-term move..and only a couple others the past 4 years or so. The rest of the time I was out.
Gman23–
The NY State Government has endorsed this use of the West Nile Chemical. They are about as Liberal as you can get…as is the Governor. The buck stops there. The water temp issue doesn’t correlate with the lobster problem. The chemical release does. Time will tell.
@14 “BTW, I just got out of the market in the past 30 minutes.”
I’ve made almost $4,000 this morning — and that’s while 44% cash.
Long-term, I don’t think we see a bull market. How can we? Either Europe’s debt crisis gets resolved or it doesn’t; if it does European banks and private investors take a big hit, if it doesn’t they take an even bigger hit. Either way, Europe goes into recession, which hurts American companies selling in European markets. Meanwhile, on the domestic front, corporate profits weaken and growth remains elusive. Where are the elements in here for a stock rally?
But selling out today may not be such a hot idea. Just because the underpinnings for a sustained rally are lacking doesn’t mean stocks can’t go higher from here. They can and probably will, simply because stock prices are so low and produce several times the total return of investment alternatives. You don’t need a healthy economy for stocks to crawl out of a hole. But once they’re back on level ground (i.e., fair value), they don’t soar up into the sky, they just lay on the ground panting.
Trying to time this market is very tricky, but I don’t think today is the right time to get completely out. I’m half-in and half-out, waiting to see if the bear goes over the mountain.
Oh, the bear went over the mountain
The bear went over the mountain
The bear went over the mountain
To see what he could see.
Chorus
To see what he could see
To see what he could see
Oh, the bear went over the moun-tain …
To see what he could see.
All together now …
“Cynical called me this AM and told me to get out. Since he told me he got in a month ago & to get in a few weeks ago, I listen.”
“Cynical showed me his transactions and he has to some extent the past 3 years and quite successfully.”
WTF? Isn’t this kind of like the Loon talking to his sockpuppet MWS about his dick?
Helping Trolls Understand ‘Occupy’ And WTO
Globalization isn’t an act of nature, or an act of God, it’s a deliberate public policy choice made by our political leaders.
So we ought to ask, who does it help or hurt?
It’s very clear that globalization boosts corporate profits and CEO pay, while driving down wages and driving up unemployment. So, it helps the rich, and hurts workers.
“Ultimately, the fall in middle-class wealth and the rise in food prices may share a root cause: globalization. One effect of offshoring has been a drop in domestic wages, as American workers have increasingly found themselves competing with labor in cheaper overseas markets. … On the other end of the spectrum, as overseas workers have made more money, they’ve spent more of it on food, driving up prices …. [F]ood prices — and, in all likelihood, income inequality — are going to keep growing for the foreseeable future, as American families compete with people in other countries for jobs and food.”
http://www.dailyfinance.com/20.....ing-costs/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: What kind of un-
American bastards would intentionally adopt a policy like this? Well, just ask yourself who’s been running America for the last 30 years. Republicans.
America’s young people face a future of lower wages, fewer jobs, higher living costs, and oppressive indebtedness. In other words, life will just continue getting worse. What’s to like about that? The “Occupy” protests shouldn’t surprise anyone; what’s surprising is we haven’t had riots like those in Greece. In America, the only rioting so far has been the police riots against peaceful protesters.
BULLSHIT!
http://horsesass.org/?p=37161#comment-1108784
Roger, I was tempted to just get half out today. Cynical & I discussed that, but when the market hit 12,200..he said pull the plug. You may be right, but at least you understand this isn’t about the President very much and the complexities of the market. You are an investor and YLB is apparently an angry anti-capitalist who refuses to get a job and makes his wife support him so he can whine all day rather than make money. He’s pathetic, you are in the game.
YLB-Huh? Your post isn’t me fool. What a paranoid idiot you are YLB. Get a job and help your wife you selfish bastard
The stock market is affected by government policy. Quantitative easing, which has increased inflation for consumers, was deliberately intended to boost stock values and had that effect. Although the stock market obviously is being affected by factors other than monetary policy, the end of last spring’s stock market rise coincided with the end of QE2, and that’s not coincidence.
Although the president may not affect the stock market directly, he affects it indirectly by appointing the Federal Reserve chairman, by his choice of a Treasury Secretary, and through a variety of economic policy options within the administration’s purview. Policy options often present an either-or choice between policies that boost stocks (which primarily benefits the rich) and hurt the majority of Americans, or helps savers and consumers (e.g., by boosting interest rates on savings and investments or keeping prices low).
The Obama administration, Secretary Geithner, and Chairman Bernanke generally have opted for boosting stock prices, and the rest of us are paying for these policies at the gas pump and grocery checkout.
@24
Turning a poor, starving, Bangladeshi, peasant farmer into a poor, starving, cardboard box dwelling factory worker doesn’t help him. It also doesn’t save us any money. The products that he will help produce will have a shorter lifespan and be of a poorer quality than the same product had it been made in America. Had that product been made in America we’d also have a factory worker making enough money to help pay local state and federal taxes and the environmental damage done in the creation of that product would be greatly reduced. It doesn’t even help the factory owner, who makes more money by off-shoring production as he now lives in a poorer country do to that off shoring.
Herman Cain says he doesn’t need to know the details of foreign policy issues.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com.....cy-details
Roger Rabbit Commentary: He doesn’t if he’s not going to be president, and since I don’t think he should be president, I agree with him.
People are FINALLY getting fed up with Tea Bag nutjob DO NOTHINGS!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....35371.html
Oh really??? From that “post”..
LMAO!!!
So we have a Klynical Klown fan club huh friendo? We have a troika of man love.
Too damn funny…
Capitalism to the likes of you is any activity that yields a profit – that unfortunately includes thievery disguised in “respectable” right wing clothing – charging usurious rates of interest and other egregious economic rents that make a few richer at the expense of everyone else.
Capitalism to me is increasing production of goods and services and lowering costs and prices through greater economies of scale.
Get that friendo?? Didn’t think so…
YLB–you forgot profit for those who risk capital and create jobs. The likes of you believe folks should invest for free. The market ultimately determines a reasonable return. Yes, the rich are getting richer. And the reason is the fault of both R’s and D’s. You simply cannot deny Obama’s supermajority in the House and filibusterproof Senate. What did Obama do with that??
He extended the Bush Tax Cuts!!
Once you Progressives understand what the Tea Partiers have figured out and get off your asses to force change or run your own candidates, you will continue to look like angry fools. The evidence is clear. Obama will do anything for a 2nd term…and you all will support him rather than run your own candidate. You deserve what you’ve gotten you silly sockpuppets! Grow a pair for God’s sake.
I’d respect that a lot more than your constant whining and ludicrous blaming of Bush and the R’s. I thought Progressives had intelligence and a pair? A-Pair-ently not
YLB–
Yeh I posted from Rasmussen for Cynical. So what is your point. The issue is about blaming the president for the successes and failures of the stock market. Other factors have much greater influence..or I wouldn’t have invested. Cynical knows that too or he wouldn’t have reinvested the way he did. Roger Rabbit obviously gets it too. He made lots of money when Bush was President.
It’s only losers like YLB that incessantly complain, don’t get involved, stay losers and complain while others are getting wealthy.
YLB is a Sad Sack.
Hey YLB, is your idea of getting ahead making your wife work overtime!? Seems like you are the type who needs a mommy or a nanny state.
Do you drink Bud Light…or the other brand sissy?
@36 Lots of middle-class wives work overtime thanks to Republican wage policies and price gouging.
Guns Don’t Kill People Dep’t
Here’s today’s mass shooting:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45.....nd_courts/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Guns don’t kill people; people with guns kill people. Guns are inert objects until picked up by a human wacko. So, we shouldn’t outlaw guns; we should outlaw humans. After all you humans disappear, rabbits are gonna run this place, and there won’t be any more mass shootings of humans. Just a bunch of rabbits kicking and biting each other; but that doesn’t hurt anybody, because rabbit wars only result in a few hickies and furless bare spots.
Seems like some people can’t be bothered to generate a sufficiently large crowed to be used on their websites, so they borrow pictures of crowds of people waiting to see President Obama and his family instead. Hey, what’s a little photoshoping to the wingnuts?
Obama Picture Mis-Used by Right-Wing Website
Insane in the membrane Cain is a cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap labor right winger:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....35157.html
?????
The point is you dumbass YOU DENIED THAT WAS YOU!
You also said IN THE SAME COMMENT this:
which contradicts what YOU SAID IN 20!
Typical right winger – when caught they start spinning, changing the subject, making shit up.
YES I CAN YOU IDIOT!
Ever hear of Lieberman, Nelson of Nebraska? These days even your own Jon Tester is buckling to the tea-baggers.
The Bush tax cuts were set to expire AFTER Brown took Kennedy’s seat YOU DUMBASS!
GEE I HOPE SO! There’s nothing but a rash of bat guano insane idiots on the other side with maybe one reasonable sounding guy – Jon Huntsman who DOESN”T HAVE A PRAYER!
And splitting the Dem Party worked so well against the origin of our current mess – Ronald Raygun!
And so would Reagan, Bush, Clinton & Bush…. Nixon really stole the show in that department.
Here come the petrol bombs… Been telling ya they were coming.
ya, but you didnt tell us from WHO were they coming from?
ahahahahhaahhahhahahahahhaahahhah
here come the fucking freaks…
today in Vancouver, WA kids were greeted with a cross-dressing substitute teacher.
how much you wanna bet he’s a “progressive”
freak should have never been let on campus..
Texas Republicans are sometimes greeted by cross-dressing candidates…
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4739100
Was he a “progressive” Republican?
@41 Christ, the Klown is talking to himself in threads, calling himself on the phone and giving himself investing tips, posting Rassmussen polls for himself, and indulging in a rather unhealthy display of self-love and adoration. Did the goat fucking die or something? Who knows? But I tell you what, YLB, that motherfucking Klown has got some real serious fucking mental problems. There’s actually a clinical term for his condition. heh. Clinically speaking, the Klown is “all fucked up in the head”.
@46
Sounds like at this point they don’t know who they’re coming from. Considering what’s been going on in Germany lately, it’s more likely the far left than the far right.
My points been that as long as we stay on the same track we’re on that its a historical inevitability that either the far left or the far right or maybe both will start throwing petrol bombs, shooting people, and what not.
LMAO! Here’s a couple of right wing White House wannabes having an intense powow over political strategy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rudragpic.png
Freaks?
49 – It’s too weird Steve. I mean this right wing freak expresses the SAME opinions as the KLOWN, shows almost identical behavior in just about every respect, yet he keeps denying he’s the KLOWN..
Well it’s entertaining to a point I guess but it’s getting old fast..
well I cant argue that….the fringe keep getting fringier…
Steve-0
how you been man? keeping busy over there?
Woo-hoo, par-tay!
I can see how someone might not like the Democrats or Obama, but how anyone could like the Republican knuckle heads in the house is beyond me.
@55
just more evidence that every single of these bastards, from both parties, needs to be sent home packing.
alas, the lemmings will always keep these fools in power.
55, 56 – Don’t know how objective this is, but a fundraising email I received from the DNC tonight says tracking polls in 12 congressional districts held by Tea Party Republicans shows all 12 losing re-election.
This wasn’t the work of both parties. It was the work of the Republicans (not that the Democrats don’t suck eggs to).
@54 Hey, I’m doing good! I hope all is well with you too.
@58 The main reason Democrats suck eggs is because they don’t stand up to Republicans.
Fudging The Numbers
It turns out that Herman Cain’s “9-9-9” tax plan is actually a “9-9-10” plan:
“Mr Cain … wants to cut personal and corporate income taxes to 9%, abolish most other federal taxes, and make up for the lost revenue with a 10% sales tax (billed as 9% thanks to a mathematical sleight of hand).”
As further proof that GOP silliness is in full bloom, Rick Santorum is now trying to outcompete Herman Cain by touting his own “0-0-0” tax plan.
Meanwhile, “the only tax scheme that wins approval from most Americans is the one pushed by Mr Obama and other Democrats, to raise rates for the rich.”
http://www.economist.com/node/21534799
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Looks like voters are waking up to the fact that rich people are making out like bandits under the current tax code; they realize some billionaires pay no taxes at all. Under the circumstances, running on a platform of raising taxes on the poor and middle class to give massive new tax cuts to the wealthy doesn’t seem like a real smart political ploy. But then, when were Republicans ever smart?
Herman Cain claims he would bring executive experience to the White House, but his campaign is chaotic and poorly managed.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/45064213/
From the link in 62:
Insane in the membrane Cain indeed…
TIED! 9-9!
Doh!
ST LOUIE! YEAGGGHHH!!!
SEVENTH GAME!!!
The look on Nolan Ryan’s face was classic!
I love 7 game World Series..
@66 “Twice down to their last strike, the St. Louis Cardinals kept rallying to win one of baseball’s greatest thrillers. … It was as great a game as baseball has ever witnessed ….”
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/.....-baseball/
Nolan Ryan is the greatest pitcher in history…period…bar none…no exceptions.
there is no way that nolan is even human…he is closer to a god.
@59
steve,
glad to hear you are doing well. Things are great on this end…work is good and busy, side biz’s doing great….all I need to do is lose 5 strokes off my game and the world would be nearly perfect.
still need to have that beer sometime..
The Mrs. and I were gabbing about Mensa tonight because we have a neighbor who claims to belong to Mensa. I’ve always been a little suspicious of that organization and never had any urge to join. But to answer Mrs. R’s question, I looked Mensa up on Wikipedia, and found American Mensa accepts numerous test results to validate your standing in the top 2% of the I.Q. curve — including the Law School Admission Test. If you’ve ever applied for law school, here’s what you need to get into Mensa:
“LSAT*** prior to 1982 – 662
effective 1982 (total percentile rank) 95”
http://www.us.mensa.org/join/t.....ingscores/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: I took the LSAT in 1968 and my score was above 700. I’ll let you do the rest of the math. So I could join Mensa if I wanted to — but why should I want to?
Hmmm, while I’m on the subject of smarts, here are the published IQs of some famous people. (I don’t know how reliable these data are.) Some of the results are surprising.
Prodigies
Kim Ung Yong – 210
Christopher Langan – 195
Chess Players
Gary Kasparov – 190
Bobby Fischer – 187
Judit Polgar – 170
Scientists/Mathematicians/Intellectuals
Phillip Emeagwali – 190
Andrew Wiles – 170
Albert Einstein – 160
Stephen Hawking – 160
Politicians
Benjamin Netanyahu – 180
John Sununu – 180
Jimmy Carter – 156
Hillary Clinton – 140
Bill Clinton – 137
Lyndon B. Johnson – 126
George W. Bush – 125
Dwight Eisenhower – 122
John F. Kennedy – 119
Lee Harvey Oswald – 118
Business/Entrepreneurs
Bill Gates Jr. – 160
Paul Allen – 160
Entertainers
James Woods – 180
Judy Holliday – 172
Quentin Tarantino – 160
Dolph Lundgren – 160
Ellen Muth – 156
Carol Vorderman – 154
Sharon Stone – 154
Brendan O’Carroll – 153
Jayne Mansfield – 149
Steve Martin – 142
Madonna – 140
Shakira – 140
Geena Davis – 140
Arnold Schwarzenegger – 135
Nicole Kidman – 132
Jodie Foster – 132
Sports Stars
Reggie Jackson – 160
Muhammed Ali – 87
http://www.kids-iq-tests.com/famous-people.html
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Bill Gates, Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking are only middling smart. Presumably Christopher Langan, a tavern bouncer, would kick their asses in any serious problem-solving exercise. (Langan is considered the smartest person in America.) Now, you’re probably wondering, if John Sununu is so damned smart, how come he wasn’t president? And why are so many of our presidents relative dumbasses? Obviously because dumb voters elect dumb leaders. Okay, so Lee Harvey Oswald wasn’t a politician; I threw him in there for comparison purposes. And who the hell is Kim Ung Yong? I never heard of him, and I’ll bet you haven’t, either. I mention him (and Langan) to show that IQ isn’t everything; lots of smart people never amount to a hill of beans. I don’t know about you, but I’m surprised to read that Reggie Jackson was as smart as Albert Einstein, but not surprised that Bobby Fischer was smarter than both of them. But Langan probably could kick Fischer’s ass in chess, once he learned the game; after all, Kasparov beat Fischer, and Langan is smarter than Kasparov. Are you surprised by how many smart people gravitate to entertainment careers? I’m not, that’s where the money and adulation is.
Too Many Lawyers
America has 1 lawyer for every 300 people. Many recent law graduates have trouble getting jobs. Why so many lawyers? Because law schools are cash cows, so more colleges have gone into the legal education business without regard for market demand for law grads.
http://economix.blogs.nytimes......-by-state/
There’s only two ways for the U.S. to get out of debt: Growth or inflation. This article is worth reading. It says, “we have to shift from a consumer economy to a production economy.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/bus.....on/247168/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: The national debt isn’t a problem. It simply isn’t. The federal government can cut the public debt in half overnight. All they have to do is print twice as much money. And that’s exactly what the government will have to do if the Party of No keeps saying “no” to investments in infrastructure, education, and other things essential to creating jobs, increasing productivity, and stimulating economic growth right here in the U.S.A. On the other hand, if you love inflation, then vote for politicians who favor tax policies that reward companies for outsourcing and offshoring American jobs and technology to cheap-labor countries. You know which politicians I’m talking about.
Roger, trying to convince most of us you are smart is a losing proposition!
Actually, I do think you are a smart guy…not because of your politics, but because of your investment assessments.
Obama is really tanking because of the economy. Trying to convince unemployed people and small business owners that Obama has the answers is much more difficult than convincing us you are smart.
Who owns your Mortgage?
Chances are nobody knows. The private corporation MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc.) which the banks said would do a much better job than the Gov’ment has screwed the paper trail.
My question is:
Are we sending in our mortgage payments to the proper party, and if not, what do we do when the real owner shows up demanding payment in full because he has not receive any mortgage payments himself?
Mr. Psycho. You’re so funny. As if you speak for anyone else here, let alone “most of us.”
@70 That’s good to hear. A friend and I just formed an LLP as consultants in something we dabbled when teens. I still have a few projects going on as well, one actually being quite interesting. Well, for me anyway.
We’ve got to have that beer. heh. Then we should visit the protestors. We’ll see which of us can make the other guy laugh the most.
doun wiD deh ZeOJooo walL steeters!
@75 “Roger, trying to convince most of us you are smart is a losing proposition!”
Why do you assume I care what you think?
It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that wingnuts believe liberals are dumb.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/kym-as.....1258144221
@75 “Obama is really tanking because of the economy.”
At least you didn’t say “the economy is really tanking because of Obama,” which makes you marginally smarter than most wingnuts.
“Trying to convince unemployed people and small business owners that Obama has the answers is much more difficult than convincing us you are smart.”
It doesn’t help that Obama is being blocked by Republicans whose “solution” is more tax cuts for millionaires; but in general, Obama has been more right than the Republicans. There’s no quick fix but economists agree that short-term austerity (which the GOP is shouting for) is a bad idea — so is letting the banking system go under (yet Tea Partiers are angry because Bush and Obama saved the banks — how smart is that?). Republicans also want to re-deregulate the financial industry — how dumb is that?!
Obviously, there are things wrong with the current picture. Wall Street paid for Obama’s campaign — the most expensive in history — and Obama staffed the key economic positions in his administration with Wall Streeters. Now, Wall Street is prospering, while Main Street wallows in pig shit. Under the circumstances, it’s fair to conclude that Obama is just another bought politician owned by the Big Money interests.
Stocks have done great, the banksters are making huge bonuses again, and the banks want to make retail customers pay for their losses. And CEO pay never backed off; it’s higher than ever, even though workers and consumers are doing terribly. Wealth is concentrating faster than ever. Lots of things wrong with this picture.
Here’s what we don’t need:
Going back on the gold standard
Giving companies tax incentives to offshore jobs
Privatizing Social Security and Medicare
Cutting off unemployment benefits
Raising taxes on the poor and middle class
Laying off teachers, cops, and firefighters
Replacing progressive income tax with regressive sales tax
Slashing spending during a recession
All of these are Republican/Tea Party policies. Why would I vote for them? Why do you?
@76 “Who owns your Mortgage?”
Nobody. I don’t have a mortgage. I own my burrow free and clear.
@84 Braggart!
Not everyone is so well off or as disciplined as you. We all should be so lucky.
@85 Not luck, discipline.
I guess I’m lucky in one respect, though — I don’t have an ego that needs status symbols. That was kicked out of me long ago.
Remember the adage,
“Most people work at jobs they hate to earn money they don’t need to buy things they don’t want to impress people they don’t like”
and you’ll go far.
Mrs. Rabbit and I are not “well off.” We both worked at low-paying public sector jobs. We have modest pensions. (Neither of us was ever in a position to double-dip or inflate our pensions; those prerogatives usually are reserved only for politicians and top managers — worker bees like us enjoy no such special privileges.) We got where we are by doing without. All our furniture is 30 to 60 years old; our lawn mower is 50 years old (and still runs); our cars are 8 and 10 years old; our burrow is a nondescript plywood box worth less than the land it sits. We’re simply a pair of rabbits not weighed down by human nature; and, being rabbits, we’re smart enough to know the difference between “wants” and “needs.”