This weekend is Seattle Hempfest. I usually spend my time there at the Hemposium stage, listening to panels and other speakers, but there’s plenty more to do, especially if you like spending a nice summer day outside listening to music. Once again, Rick Steves will be there, giving a presentation at the Hemposium stage at 2:40 on Saturday on why he’s fighting so hard to change this country’s marijuana laws. And possibly also about the backwards attitudes of far too many in the media.
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Eager to share our brilliant political commentary and blunt media criticism, but too genteel to link to horsesass.org? Well, good news, ladies: we also answer to HASeattle.com, because, you know, whatever. You're welcome!
The big news today is the July inflation report. Consumer inflation is way up for the 3rd straight month. The July inflation rate is 0.8% which is just under a 10% annual inflation rate — and remember, inflation is accelerating.
This was predictable, and I predicted it. Inflation is not a natural phenomenon or act of God; it is entirely man-made, and it’s intentional. While most policymakers don’t actually want inflation, they opt for inflation as a tradeoff against what they consider to be worse alternatives, such as a recession in an election year.
Fed chief Bernanke has known for at least 2 years that he should be raising interest rates, not lowering them. Low interest rates are the primary culprit in the falling dollar, which in turn is one of the two primary culprits in skyrocketing oil prices (the other being exploding demand in China and India caused by the export of American jobs and money to those countries by the economic policies of the pro-globalization cheap labor conservatives running our government). Low interest rates pump more money into circulation, which is what causes the monetary inflation we’re experiencing now — when the government prints money everyone’s wages and savings are worth less.
The reason Bernanke is deliberately pursuing an interest rate policy that produces inflation is because he was appointed by a Republican president who doesn’t want to eat a recession in an election year in which his party is the underdog. That’s understandable — but it’s not good economic policy. In fact, it will cost the rest of us dearly. Its practical effect is to lower wages and devalue savings. Such a policy punishes thrifty people and rewards borrowers for going into debt. But above all, it reduces the purchasing power of wages and transfer wealth from workers to rich owners of fixed assets that appreciate with inflation.
We’re going to have a recession, period. The worse inflation gets, the worse a recession we’ll have to take to wring inflation out of the economy. This is exactly what happened the last time a Republican president put an expensive war on a credit card. The Nixon-Ford Inflation got so bad that America’s workers had to endure the worst economic slump and the highest unemployment since the Great Depression, and under Reagan and H.W. Bush high unemployment persisted for a decade.
Bernanke should raise interest rates now. We’re already in a slump, and we might as well take the full dose of medicine now, rather than let the economic ulcers created by Bush’s misguided economic policies fester, and require even larger doses of even stronger medicine if we proscratinate with taking the cure.
And if doing that helps elect a Democratic president this fall, that’s to the economic benefit of most Americans, too. A McCain victory would help only 10% of the population, and the other 90% of us would continue to pay for the elitist economic policies of the self-serving Selfish Party.
So now it comes out that the real reason for the California state budget impasse may be that Ahhh-nold wants to give the sleazy bankers a free pass:
http://www.latimes.com/news/lo.....7449.story
@2 Goddam commies! I’m sick and tired of wealth redistribution! If socialism is gonna be forced on this country the working class should get some of it too … not just the rich!
By the year 2050, whites will be a minority in America. Personally, I can’t wait! I can’t wait to claim minority victim status, and blame all my troubles on an anti-minority bias. I freakin’ cannot wait!
4 Playing the race card, are we?
@5
It’s the only card he has. In other words, he’s 51 cards short of a full deck.
@6
That is hate speech! Goldy, help me! Lee is attacking a future minority!
RR @ 1: Dang, you beat me to it. Next time, I’m going to have it written up in an MSWord document so I can cut and paste as soon as an open thread appears.
One small correction. You said “Such a policy punishes thrifty people and rewards people for going into debt”. It’s true that inflation punishes thrifty people. But this time around, there will be no reward for going into debt. The financial interests which currently run this country have protected their portfolios consumer loans by making most of it based on variable (floating) interest rates.
The interest on almost every credit card can be “adjusted” as needed by the credit card company, by fair means or foul. That “guaranteed” sucker rate they promised you? Well, it can be adjusted if your credit ranking falls. All it takes is a slight increase in your loan balances, applying for an additional card, or even a “credit inquiry” or two, and your credit rating can drop by a few points. A drop in a few points won’t mean much to you if you aren’t planning on applying for a new loan, but it can be enough for the credit card companies to declare, under the terms of that sixteen page booklet they sent you last month, in a tiny font barely readable, that they can adjust your interest rate if “information becomes available to (the company) that your credit risk has changed”.
Likewise, over the past five years there was a big push towards adjustible interest rates on mortgages. The difference in interest rates were substantial – enough to convince many a young borrower (who weren’t around to experience the interest rate roller-coaster in the early 1980’s) to jump in with both feet. Now many of the mortgages are guaranteed to have a profitable return – as long as the borrowers don’t default.
By the way, if the Republicans had retained control of Congress in 2006, I’m confident that they would have passed laws which insured that borrower’s could not walk away from foreclosed homes without having to pay the difference. The Republican policy is that “responsible behavior” should only be reinforced against the little guy; bankers engaging in risky and reckless lending schemes should have the government protecting their profits, at all costs.
Supporters for obama will all be in attendance at the convention.
The city of Golden has rolled out the welcome mat for a global Arab news network that the Bush administration has condemned for its reporting of the Iraq war.
When Al-Jazeera comes to Colorado to cover the Democratic National Convention this month, it will use Golden as the backdrop to show the Arab world what life is like in a typical U.S. town.
The enemy of bush is the friend of the democrats.
8 And what happens when home-“owers” (more like sharecroppers, actually) can’t meet the obligations of their…uh, “creative” mortgages and get foreclosed or walk away? Well, there’s been plenty of profit taken already, because the banks bundled all those dicey mortgages up in “derivatives” that under what’s left of the regulations on the financial industry, could be labeled as high-rated corporate bonds. These in turn were sold to other institutions like the mutual funds that you and I have been putting money into (or our employers have been kind enough to do for us) for our now largely hypothetical “retirement”. So, even if you’re sitting in a nice little home with a paid-off mortgage, you’re still pretty well screwed, as those nice shiny funds start sending you reports talking about how happy you should be that they didn’t lose more than they did.
Welcome to the “ownership society”, buster…meaning that you’re owned.
9 Golden? Boy, the folks at Coors no doubt will be overjoyed at Al-Jazeera setting up shop in their backyard.
@9
The enemy of bush is the friend of the democrats.
How is this a bad thing? The man has close to a 70% disapproval rating. Do you think Americans give a damn any more over who Bush is upset at. We’re all upset with him.
Jump, Marvin, jump!
@7
That is hate speech! Goldy, help me! Lee is attacking a future minority!
I rest my case.
I liked that one stoner in Knocked Up who on a bet started growing his hair and beard really long. He played stoned really good. That’s how I get.
Oops, he’ll learn his lesson for not bowing down to “the one we’ve all been waiting for.”
The democrat party is splintering apart as I type. Anyone that knows anything about charlie knows he carries a grudge.
I hope the liberal media reports the truth at the DNC and doesn’t ignore what everyone else sees.
al-Jazeera setting up shop in Coorsville? There’s a shitload of irony to be had there…..
UPDATE: Just read the RMN article – al-Jazeera will even broadcast from in front of a bar in Golden. That’s almost ridiculous.
@15
The democrat party is splintering apart as I type.
Hey, you dodged my question yesterday. Are we still betting on whether more left-leaning protesters cause problems at the DNC or more right-leaning protesters cause problems at the RNC?
Is this another case of Marvin being unable to back up his own words?
Jump, Marvin, jump!
You’re serious?
Hell yeah I’ll make this bet.
If I lose, I go away?
What are you offering up??
@18
I already told you, if I lose the bet, I post something to the front page. We never decided what you’d have to do if you lose, but if you want it to be that you can’t post comments here, that’s fine by me (although I’ll certainly miss you).
Consider the source. Glenn Thrush wrote that article. “Newsday’s star political reporter–and Hillary Clinton chronicler–Glenn Thrush is leaving the Long Island-daily for Politico.” From the articles he’s got on the web, Hillary can do no wrong, and Obama can do no right. So I take this as an attack piece by a bitter Hillary supporter.
I’ll wait and see what the real facts are. Did you learn nothing from yesterday?
How are you going tell the real left-leaning protesters from the right-leaning project chaos rush ditto heads just there to cause trouble? I expect there will be a lot of project chaos-ers, just rabble rousing for the fun of disrupting the Dems, making them look bad.
Great new McSame video on YouTube. Tells the McSame life story. It’d be funny if it wasn’t so sad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Oot9IbQxrI
@15
Just wait until those Hillary supporters nominate her for President from the floor of the state convention. . .and when more Obama superdelegates swap BACK to Hillary, who knows what happens? Some Democrats are wondering if they have chosen the _wrong_ candidate! (He can’t pull away from Johnny Mac)
By the way, a warehouse has been rented in the area and metal cages installed in order to hold “protesters” (will that be Hillary or Obama supporters?)
If Hillary gets the nomination, mccain will easily win.
Rasmussen Today–
Thursday, August 14, 2008
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows Barack Obama attracting 43% of the vote while John McCain earns 42%. When “leaners” are included, it’s Obama 47% and McCain 46%
Rasmussen–
Thursday, August 14, 2008
The race for Colorado’s Electoral College votes is about as close as it can be on the eve of the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Colorado voters shows John McCain attracting 47% of the vote while Barack Obama earns 45%. When “leaners” are included, it’s McCain by a single percentage point, 49% to 48%.
While McCain’s advantage is statistically insignificant, it is the first time he has been ahead in Colorado in seven monthly polls conducted by Rasmussen Reports this year.
Rasmussen–
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Much of Barack Obama’s 12-point lead over John McCain has disappeared in Minnesota. He is now ahead of his Republican rival by only four percentage points 46% to 42%, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Minnesota voters.
With “leaners” factored in, Obama leads 49% to 45% (Demographic Crosstabs available for Premium Members.)
Last month the Democrat had a 49% to 37% lead on McCain. In June he was ahead 52% to 39%.
I have a relative in Minneapolis..
She said her entire office, including 5 Dems, are supporting McCain.
She said the concensus is O-blah-blah is too inexperienced and has shown repeated questionable judgment in terms of who he affiliates with.
Methinks old MO-mentum has turned..drastically.
O-blah-blah is being uncovered.
The Emporer has no clothes!
And all you see is a typical Chicago political thug.
@21
How are you going tell the real left-leaning protesters from the right-leaning project chaos rush ditto heads just there to cause trouble?
The average dittohead is just like Marvin, yelling loudly from the safety of his mom’s basement, never willing to put anything on the line. That’s why he has to comment anonymously. Those people will be nowhere near the Denver convention area.
There’s a much greater chance that the Ron Paul contingency of the Republican delegations will cause problems at the RNC. They’ve already done so at a number of state conventions and they are still being shut out of the process.
@28
I have a relative in Minneapolis..
She said her entire office, including 5 Dems, are supporting McCain.
I think your story needs more unicorns, time machines, and talking sandwiches. You’ve got the fantasy part down pat, but it’s still not very interesting.
Just like stevie. And even worse, stevie isn’t a troll, his opinion is shared by the locals.
hahahahaha
Rather interesting that over at Sound Politics there was not word one about John Edwards. No gloating or finger wagging. I was puzzled and even thought, well maybe they just shrugged and said what’s new?
But then I remembered that John McCain cheated on his first wife. Yes, he came back from imprisonment and she wasn’t a model anymore (she suffered severe injuries from a car accident). They both say it wasn’t the war. He says he was selfish and she says he wanted to be 25 at 40.
They are good friends now but the Republicans probably want to say little about Edwards because of the spotlight it would put on McCain. (Doesn’t matter the passage of time; once a dog, always a dog and I mean that about Edwards too.)
Funny, too, you never see his kids from that marriage. It will be interesting to see if any of them are at the convention.
@31
Just like stevie. And even worse, stevie isn’t a troll, his opinion is shared by the locals.
This isn’t about Steve. It’s about Marvin. And about how Marvin is a pussy who talks of cowardice, but hides behind a fake name.
Got balls?
Of course not.
@15
Um… No it isn’t. The right however doesn’t look so good just now.
Cynical @ 28: Gee, that’s funny. My sister lives in central Pennsylvania. She and her husband have voted Republican since the 1980 election. She informed me last Saturday that her husband surprised her by informing her that he couldn’t bring himself to vote for McCain this year, and would probably vote for Obama. My sister said she had reached the same conclusion, but wasn’t going to tell her husband about it because she didn’t want to go through several months of arguments.
Their reason for changing? The Republican party’s moral bankruptcy. They finally realized the vast gap between the rhetoric and the reality.
Of course it is. What is stevie hiding from?
Why are you so scared of that question.
I’m an admitted troll, stevie thinks he actually adds something here.
We all know why stevie hides.
hahhahahahaha
Hey lee,
How come no new posts on your blog about me? Don’t you want the top 3 google hits?
hahahahaha
Yet look how often the posters here bring up mccain cheating.
Nothing like the petty little folks here. Go figure. Proves the point that the left is less civil than the right.
Back to the economy:
Oil prices have dropped somewhat, but I was surprised to see that in Tennessee they had dropped below $3.50 per gallon. That’s a puzzler.
So, why would oil prices on the world market be dropping? Surely the excuse the oil companies have given for the rise – increased consumption in China and other 2nd & 3rd world countries – hasn’t abated. And although there is a small drop in consumption here (compared with expected summer driving), it’s a drop in the bucket compared with global oil consumption.
Could it be that the oil companies believe that the high gas prices are having an impact on the current political campaign, and that the negative aspects to their interests (i.e., a potential Democratic victory) is now greater than than any positive aspects (the potential for more offshore drilling rights)?
I used to not be a conspiratorist with respect to the oil companies. I figured they acted in their own self-interest, which was frequently along the same lines, but that they didn’t do so in a coordinated fashion. But the events of the 2006 election changed my mind – gas prices declining rapidly in the few weeks immediatly before the election, only to rise right back up beginning the day after the election, and reaching the pre-election high point within only a week.
New WORD!!
The obamaclark site has a word for the compuslive supporters of Hillary Clinton, they are now the
VILLAGERS!!
Cool!
I wonder how many female breeders are Villagers? Does it take more gay folks than breeders to make a village??
Can guys be villagers or is membership restricted to her female supporters?
Actually I do not think Bill Clinton supporters qualify as villagers. For that matter, is Bill hisself a villager? I will bet that he is not!
Of course this leaves us with an interesting question. John Edwards endorsed Obama, his wife is a villager. Is there a message here?
A couple of comments…
Rasmussen is a right wing poll of no value whatsoever. In legit polls – President Obama has a 3-6 point lead.
Wasn’t the right supposed to be the national security party? So when the shit jumped off in Georgia/Russia where were our so-called leaders? On vacation – Bush at the Olympics and that Oreo cunt Rice somewhere else. They finally got engaged. Sort of like Bush staring into space reading MY PET GOAT when his family friend Osama bin Laden attacked New York!
“Speaking to reporters about the situation in Georgia, Sen. John McCain denounced the aggressive posture of Russia by claiming that:”in the 21st century nations don’t invade other nations.”
Are you fucking kidding me? Hasn’t anyone told this 1000 year old fuck about what that chickenshit chickenhawk Bush did in Iraq???
41 No kidding re: Rasmussen. Today they’re also running a load of tripe countering the Congressional Democrats’ mumblings about reinstating the Fairness Doctrine with an attempt to claim that an increasing percentage of the public wants some sort of government-imposed “fair-and-balanced” content control of political blogs.
(That’s “fair and balanced” as in Hannity, Limbaugh, Malkin, Coulter, Savage…you know, that which Moon and Murdoch have proclaimed the “political mainstream”.)
@36
I’m an admitted troll, stevie thinks he actually adds something here.
Excuse me? You’ve said several times before that you add something here – although what you really add is not what you think you add.
And no, it’s not about Steve. It’s about the guy who seems to think he can identify cowardice while cowering anonymously behind his keyboard in California. Poor baby Marvin, always getting picked on…
@37
How come no new posts on your blog about me? Don’t you want the top 3 google hits?
You’ve gotta step it up my friend. When we make fun of you, you just run away now. Where’s the old Marvin who would continue to dig the hole? I guess we finally taught you how to respect your intellectual boundaries.
Jump, Marvin, jump!
41 I’d sure like to have heard whatever passed in conversation between Smirk and Putin in Beijing this week. If Bush actually tried to make any threats, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the reply had been a common Russian curse about having oral sex with one’s mother.
Roger Rabbit, I am calling you out! I DEMAND you answer you answer my question!
You said in another thread that war is worse than terrorism, after I asked you if you agreed with the saying “War is Terrorism.” My question to you now is, if believe that war is worse than terrorism, do you then believe that Darcy Burner’s brother is worse than a terrorist for participating in the Iraq war? Because if war is terrorism, doesn’t that make him a terrorist, or worse?
Now stop ducking the question, you stinking coward!
@8 Correction accepted.
Nevermind. I think I know the answer. I think I know how you feel deep down. But I also think you’re too chicken to admit it here.
You do not have to answer.
Gorbachev agrees with me: Georgia started the war. Russia was provoked.
Oh, and if South Ossetia is a part of Georgia, why is it called “South” Ossetia when it’s in the northern part of Georgia?
Free Tibet and South Ossetia now!
If an independent were to just stumble upon Goldy’s backwater swamp here and read one thread from the stable of jackasses he has posting on it, they’d become an overnight Republican.
…that’s the G.O.P. for the short-bus taking liberals.
EEEEEEEEEEEEAWWWWWWWWWW
@51 RickyD/AKA Puddylicker and if the independent did NOT become a republican – you’d get an inbred pal of yours to go kill him!
Lee @ 29:
I would agree with you that the Paulites are going to be causing much more (real) chaos than Limbaugh’s chickenhawks. They hijacked the Nevada GOP Convention, and managed to start electing their own delegates before the convention came to an abrupt halt (supposedly they’d run out of time, that the convention center had to be prepped for the next tenants, but who’s to say that someone asked for a leetle favor from the Reno Peppermill?). IIRC, there will actually be two separate groups of Nevada delegates headed to the National GOP Convention, each claiming to be the legitimate delegates of the Silver State.
‘Operation Chaos’, indeed.
More about Rangel.
It could be that Obama is punishing Hillary supporters, which seems out of character for him. I think he’s punishing Rangel for letting his position go to his head.
Obama is trying to “drain the swamp”, even in his own party. I think he’s sending a message to start acting better. He’s living up to his convictions, even if it hurts. Like how he limited his dealings with Max Cleland because Cleland was a lobbist. Now this. How amazingly refreshing. I admire Obama more and more.
Any examples of the mccain camp doing anything like that? Really. Any?
Dave Neiwert is saying that the shooting of Bill Gwatney is starting to look like it was politically motivated.
http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/2.....lness.html