Remember that moment in the 1988 presidential campaign, when Dan Rather was interviewing George H.W. Bush? Rather was pursuing a line of questioning that was embarrassing to Bush, and Bush changed the subject by bringing up the time Rather had walked off the CBS Evening News set in mid-broadcast. After several embarrassing moments during which Rather tried to get the interview back on track, he eventually cut it short. Rather was, not without reason, attacked by the conservative chattering class for doing so.
Well, it turns out that, now that the CCC (as I may call them from now on) has its own media foghorn, it gives them an opportunity to be embarrassed all by themselves. In other words, to have a "Dan Rather" moment. Take a look.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
That Bargain You Found Is Not Such A Bargain
Someone else paid a price for it, in working conditions that are not only dangerous, but often fatal.
Don't think this can happen here? Maybe not yet. Thank "union thugs" for that.
Don't think this can happen here? Maybe not yet. Thank "union thugs" for that.
Well, At Least Some Of Them Are Honest About It
The only way that Republicans can win elections is by suppressing the vote. Just ask the ones in Florida.
Happily for all of us, it didn't work.
Happily for all of us, it didn't work.
Top-Down, Or Bottom-Up?
I've always argued that real change comes from the bottom up, and not from the top down. Had we applied that principle to the Great Recession, we all might be in better shape now. In other words, punish the culprits in the business and banking community, and bail out the people.
Too idealistic, you think? Couldn't work?
Well, don't tell that to the people of Iceland. They gave idealism (or common decency, as some of us might think of it) a chance, and it actually worked.
Too idealistic, you think? Couldn't work?
Well, don't tell that to the people of Iceland. They gave idealism (or common decency, as some of us might think of it) a chance, and it actually worked.
A Free Society Needs A Strong Public Sector
Because the only alternative is to become a third world county. As Nicholas Kristof points out here, the effort to drown government in the bathtub of conservative hogwash has taken us far in that direction already.
You don't have more freedom without a strong government. You only have chaos, poverty, and death before its time. So long as it is monitored and controlled by a free people, it is not only right to have a strong government but also essential as well.
You don't have more freedom without a strong government. You only have chaos, poverty, and death before its time. So long as it is monitored and controlled by a free people, it is not only right to have a strong government but also essential as well.
What Does Small Business REALLY Want?
An end to the Bush tax cuts, as it turns out.
Remember, when Republicans complain that "small businesses" will be hurt by an end to the Bush tax cuts, they're talking about very big business. Namely, the ones that line their pockets.
Trust me. The only "small business" that would be hurt by an end to the Bush tax cuts is the current House majority. And without gerrymandering, it wouldn't exist, so don't shed any tears for its departure.
Remember, when Republicans complain that "small businesses" will be hurt by an end to the Bush tax cuts, they're talking about very big business. Namely, the ones that line their pockets.
Trust me. The only "small business" that would be hurt by an end to the Bush tax cuts is the current House majority. And without gerrymandering, it wouldn't exist, so don't shed any tears for its departure.
The Sky Is Falling! The Sky Is Falling!
That's what Republicans want you to believe.
But that big thing that's falling isn't the sky.
It's the Federal deficit.
Take a look (and, especially, click on this link).
But that big thing that's falling isn't the sky.
It's the Federal deficit.
Take a look (and, especially, click on this link).
Which Scares You More?
Peak helium?
Or peak fertilizer?
I would hope it would be the latter; after all, we need food for our survival much more than parade balloons. But both stories make the same point: we're running out of planet in a hurry.
If there should be tax breaks for anything, it should be for industries that develop, produce and market alternatives to dwindling resources. This is, in my opinion, the greatest economic and cultural challenge of the 21st century. You can have an environment without an economy, but you can't have an economy without an environment.
Or peak fertilizer?
I would hope it would be the latter; after all, we need food for our survival much more than parade balloons. But both stories make the same point: we're running out of planet in a hurry.
If there should be tax breaks for anything, it should be for industries that develop, produce and market alternatives to dwindling resources. This is, in my opinion, the greatest economic and cultural challenge of the 21st century. You can have an environment without an economy, but you can't have an economy without an environment.
No, Sad To Say, You Didn't Build It
As Nicole Tichon puts it, free enterprise isn't free. It would not even exist on the scale that it currently exists, without public spending and the tax dollars that pay for it. We would not have a budget crisis without a tax code that is so top-heavily in favor of a financial minority, one that repackages and often destroys existing wealth with debt-heavy mergers. Innovation? Risk-taking? Why, that's for the suckers who keep electing politicians that let us take more and more of their money, and hide it where they'll never see it again.
How many times do I have to say it? How many times do most of us have to do so? We need a level playing field. If that means a flat-tax structure, so be it. It can't be worse than what we've got now.
If change of this sort is good enough for Warren Buffett, it ought to be good enough for the rest of the 1%.
How many times do I have to say it? How many times do most of us have to do so? We need a level playing field. If that means a flat-tax structure, so be it. It can't be worse than what we've got now.
If change of this sort is good enough for Warren Buffett, it ought to be good enough for the rest of the 1%.
On A Happier, Theatre-Saving Note ...
My home town of Baltimore does not, sad to say, have a large number of historical preservation success stories. And that is especially true when it comes to historic theaters.
But, thanks to Everyman Theater, one of two Equity companies in the city, one theatre is magnificently coming back to life. And, given its proximity to the Hippodrome, where Broadway touring companies play, its enough to turn the area into a theatre district.
Projects such as Everyman's reclaiming of the former Empire (later Town) Theatre almost always boost the economy of the neighborhoods and cities in which they are located. In particular, they help to reclaim Main Streets all across small-town America, and protect local businesses from being Wal-Marted into oblivion.
If only there were more cities that recognized this fact, and acted on it!
Here's another example of theater in Baltimore bringing an older building back to life. Full disclosure: I have done legal work for them in the past. But you should still see their shows!
But, thanks to Everyman Theater, one of two Equity companies in the city, one theatre is magnificently coming back to life. And, given its proximity to the Hippodrome, where Broadway touring companies play, its enough to turn the area into a theatre district.
Projects such as Everyman's reclaiming of the former Empire (later Town) Theatre almost always boost the economy of the neighborhoods and cities in which they are located. In particular, they help to reclaim Main Streets all across small-town America, and protect local businesses from being Wal-Marted into oblivion.
If only there were more cities that recognized this fact, and acted on it!
Here's another example of theater in Baltimore bringing an older building back to life. Full disclosure: I have done legal work for them in the past. But you should still see their shows!
Strict Construction, My Foot*
When it comes to promoting "the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times
to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective
Writings and Discoveries" (Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the Constitution), its more like strict construction be damned. And, sad to say, this applies to Democrats as well as Republicans. Even when a young Republican law student has the temerity to point this out and, in the process, point out that it's an indictment of his party's alleged economic principles, his party does him the favor of allowing him to promote the truth for 24 hours--before they sit on it.
The basic problem here, sadly, is not limited to intellectual property. The basic problem is the reality of modern America as a multinational corporate state, one in which politics is bought out, money is shipped overseas, and the poor suckers on the outside (that's you and me) are expected to buy more and more with less and less.
It's never going to change until we wake up and fight. It's almost now or never. And I'm half tempted to leave out the almost.
*As opposed to a less attractive anatomical part.
The basic problem here, sadly, is not limited to intellectual property. The basic problem is the reality of modern America as a multinational corporate state, one in which politics is bought out, money is shipped overseas, and the poor suckers on the outside (that's you and me) are expected to buy more and more with less and less.
It's never going to change until we wake up and fight. It's almost now or never. And I'm half tempted to leave out the almost.
*As opposed to a less attractive anatomical part.
Even Forbes Gets It
If Forbes can publish an article such as this, calling to task millionaire business who attempt to fight Obamacare with blackmail, then clearly the magazine is much more than a capitalist tool.
And, in consequence, perhaps there's hope for the rest of us as well.
And, in consequence, perhaps there's hope for the rest of us as well.
A New Southern Strategy?
That's what this article attempts to advance. I'm inclined to agree with much of its reasoning, particularly as it relates to the urban-rural divide that exists in Southern states as much as it does Northern ones. It might be worthwhile for Democrats to invest resources in organizing and registering voters in Southern cities, and to do so now, with an eye toward 2014, rather than waiting for 2016.
There were a few states in various parts of the country where Obama lost by less than a landslide margin. Now may be the time to start finding out if those states can be flipped in time to help produce a Democratic Congress two year from now, and make the last two years of Obama's Presidency productive ones.
In fact, here's a little practical support for that idea.
There were a few states in various parts of the country where Obama lost by less than a landslide margin. Now may be the time to start finding out if those states can be flipped in time to help produce a Democratic Congress two year from now, and make the last two years of Obama's Presidency productive ones.
In fact, here's a little practical support for that idea.
And, Speaking Of The Bill Of Rights ...
As long as we're trying to get the Second Amendment right, let's do the same with the First.
Sign the petition referenced here, and tell the Internal Revenue Service to do its job and stop religion from being used as a cowardly hide-out for political influences that dare not speak their real names.
Sign the petition referenced here, and tell the Internal Revenue Service to do its job and stop religion from being used as a cowardly hide-out for political influences that dare not speak their real names.
27 Tragic New Reasons For Sanity About Guns
This past week, 27 innocent (and, in some cases, heroic) souls were sent to Heaven far before their time, because of the great American religion.
I'm not talking about Christianity.
I'm talking about guns.
We have, in our Constitution, an amendment that allows citizens to keep arms in their homes for the purpose of defending the nation. That purpose is made explicit by the amendment's qualification that "a well-regulated militia" is needed for this purpose.
Contrary to what a corrupt majority of the current Supreme Court thinks, the Second Amendment has never conferred upon anyone an unlimited right to own any arms that anyone might desire for any reason whatsoever. And it has never denied government the right to regulate the use of arms, if the safety of the nation was the reason behind the regulation.
Unfortunately, an equally corrupt minority in this country has twisted and destroyed the meaning of the amendment, for its own self-serving reasons. The hypocrisy of its doing so is evident in the fact that this same minority is the one that attempted to use the September 11th tragedy to turn our country into a police state.
Then again, maybe it isn't hypocritical.
Maybe the worship of unlimited gun ownership, combined with the lurch toward fascism under Bush and Cheney, are part and parcel of the same unpatriotic movement.
Maybe it's time to recognize the the loyal opposition is really a fifth column, one that is prepared to destroy America for the sake of maintaining an iron grip on its spirit.
And doing so in the name of patriotism. And yes, God. Who must surely weep at the abuse of His, Her, Its or Their Name.
And if the heretofore silent majority does not get serious immediately about the need for sane, sensible, national gun regulations that balance private ownership with the defense of innocent life, it might as well join the NRA parade and arm itself to the teeth.
But it would be better for everyone for the majority to put its faith in the power of self-government, and not bullets.
27 of us who are no longer here would doubtless agree with that. Let's not let them die in vain, and resolve to do the right thing.
I'm not talking about Christianity.
I'm talking about guns.
We have, in our Constitution, an amendment that allows citizens to keep arms in their homes for the purpose of defending the nation. That purpose is made explicit by the amendment's qualification that "a well-regulated militia" is needed for this purpose.
Contrary to what a corrupt majority of the current Supreme Court thinks, the Second Amendment has never conferred upon anyone an unlimited right to own any arms that anyone might desire for any reason whatsoever. And it has never denied government the right to regulate the use of arms, if the safety of the nation was the reason behind the regulation.
Unfortunately, an equally corrupt minority in this country has twisted and destroyed the meaning of the amendment, for its own self-serving reasons. The hypocrisy of its doing so is evident in the fact that this same minority is the one that attempted to use the September 11th tragedy to turn our country into a police state.
Then again, maybe it isn't hypocritical.
Maybe the worship of unlimited gun ownership, combined with the lurch toward fascism under Bush and Cheney, are part and parcel of the same unpatriotic movement.
Maybe it's time to recognize the the loyal opposition is really a fifth column, one that is prepared to destroy America for the sake of maintaining an iron grip on its spirit.
And doing so in the name of patriotism. And yes, God. Who must surely weep at the abuse of His, Her, Its or Their Name.
And if the heretofore silent majority does not get serious immediately about the need for sane, sensible, national gun regulations that balance private ownership with the defense of innocent life, it might as well join the NRA parade and arm itself to the teeth.
But it would be better for everyone for the majority to put its faith in the power of self-government, and not bullets.
27 of us who are no longer here would doubtless agree with that. Let's not let them die in vain, and resolve to do the right thing.
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