Just doing my part to spread the word. From Atheists.org
tnb
11.30.2010
WikiLeaks- Iranian Missiles Story
FAIR Blog » Blog Archive » NYT Oversells WikiLeaks/Iranian Missiles Story
I was on the fence about this round of dumps from Wikileaks but after reading this article, I've changed my mind. Our media is so crappy that we have no chance of getting the truth from them. Groups like Wikileaks are our only chance.
Keep up the good work Mr Assange. But,... considering your line of work, you might want to re-think that "James Bond Villain" look.
tnb
I was on the fence about this round of dumps from Wikileaks but after reading this article, I've changed my mind. Our media is so crappy that we have no chance of getting the truth from them. Groups like Wikileaks are our only chance.
Keep up the good work Mr Assange. But,... considering your line of work, you might want to re-think that "James Bond Villain" look.
tnb
Obama Killing the Internet?
Press Release - Level 3 Communications
I've said for years that it's not going to be an oppressive government that kills the Internet as we've known it, it'll be good old-fashioned capitalism that finally slays the beast. There's just no way the greedy bastards can allow all that free access to happen, they have to get their cut. I'm sure the Senators and Congressmen who represent them will make sure it happens.
tnb
On November 19, 2010, Comcast informed Level 3 that, for the first time, it will demand a recurring fee from Level 3 to transmit Internet online movies and other content to Comcast’s customers who request such content. By taking this action, Comcast is effectively putting up a toll booth at the borders of its broadband Internet access network, enabling it to unilaterally decide how much to charge for content which competes with its own cable TV and Xfinity delivered content. This action by Comcast threatens the open Internet and is a clear abuse of the dominant control that Comcast exerts in broadband access markets as the nation’s largest cable provider.
On November 22, after being informed by Comcast that its demand for payment was ‘take it or leave it,’ Level 3 agreed to the terms, under protest, in order to ensure customers did not experience any disruptions.
… With this action, Comcast is preventing competing content from ever being delivered to Comcast’s subscribers at all, unless Comcast’s unilaterally-determined toll is paid – even though Comcast’s subscribers requested the content. With this action, Comcast demonstrates the risk of a ‘closed’ Internet, where a retail broadband Internet access provider decides whether and how their subscribers interact with content.
I've said for years that it's not going to be an oppressive government that kills the Internet as we've known it, it'll be good old-fashioned capitalism that finally slays the beast. There's just no way the greedy bastards can allow all that free access to happen, they have to get their cut. I'm sure the Senators and Congressmen who represent them will make sure it happens.
tnb
11.29.2010
11.28.2010
Ireland
Ireland is Bankrupt...a letter from an Irish citizen | Angry Bear
A good read on Ireland. I couldn't stop thinking about our (the US) China financed spending spree of the last decade and the recent bank bailouts.
tnb
A good read on Ireland. I couldn't stop thinking about our (the US) China financed spending spree of the last decade and the recent bank bailouts.
tnb
WikiLeaks
US warns WikiLeaks against leak
I'm not sure what to think about this round of leaks. I thought the military leaks were valid, the people need to know what our military is up to, especially when they're srcewing-up and not telling us the truth, but this round could be a little different. These leaks sound like they could hold things like Bush calling Putin a dickhead or something like that which could damage our global relations for no good reason.
I'm not sure what to think about this round of leaks. I thought the military leaks were valid, the people need to know what our military is up to, especially when they're srcewing-up and not telling us the truth, but this round could be a little different. These leaks sound like they could hold things like Bush calling Putin a dickhead or something like that which could damage our global relations for no good reason.
11.27.2010
Liberal Media
Lesson Of The Day From The Joe Klein School Of Journalimism | Firedoglake
The mainstream media is not really liberal. They're just not very good at what they do.
As a kid I was taught that the media's job, the free press, was to hold government's feet-to-fire, to make sure they were acting in the people's interest or at least acting honestly. Corporate media has destroyed this. Today's media is inept or in bed with those in charge, caring only about ratings or profits.
This is one place where The Propaganda Network (Fox News) is better than the "Liberal Media". Fox at least doesn't pretend, they have an agenda and they go after it. Of course you can't really call that "News"
tnb
The mainstream media is not really liberal. They're just not very good at what they do.
As a kid I was taught that the media's job, the free press, was to hold government's feet-to-fire, to make sure they were acting in the people's interest or at least acting honestly. Corporate media has destroyed this. Today's media is inept or in bed with those in charge, caring only about ratings or profits.
This is one place where The Propaganda Network (Fox News) is better than the "Liberal Media". Fox at least doesn't pretend, they have an agenda and they go after it. Of course you can't really call that "News"
tnb
Beck-Palin: Nutty as Hell.
From: Boing Boing
Crazy, yet they're given a national stage on the propaganda network to spew this crap. Someday the country will wake up, like a drunk after a hard and mostly forgotten night, feel ashamed and wonder,.... Why did we believe those idiots. I just hope no one gets hurt.
tnb
Crazy, yet they're given a national stage on the propaganda network to spew this crap. Someday the country will wake up, like a drunk after a hard and mostly forgotten night, feel ashamed and wonder,.... Why did we believe those idiots. I just hope no one gets hurt.
tnb
11.24.2010
Palin-Korea
No More Mister Nice Blog on Palin on Korea
Palin realy is an idiot. She has the ability to cover up the fact that she doesn't know what she's talking about by stringing together enough words, fast enough, that no one can figure-out what the hell she's said.
She should be kept as far from the controls of this country as possible.
tnb
Palin realy is an idiot. She has the ability to cover up the fact that she doesn't know what she's talking about by stringing together enough words, fast enough, that no one can figure-out what the hell she's said.
She should be kept as far from the controls of this country as possible.
tnb
Rush vs Motor Trend
Rush to Judgment - Motor Trend Blog
More people need to stand up to Rush. Allowing liars to be successful without calling them out just encourages them.
I guess i'll renew my Moter Trend subscription.
tnb
More people need to stand up to Rush. Allowing liars to be successful without calling them out just encourages them.
I guess i'll renew my Moter Trend subscription.
tnb
Tucker Carlson and Taxes
Tucker Carlson doesn't want to pay more taxes. Tucker
Tucker Carlson - Wikipedia
He's just one of the privleged elite trying to hold on to his wealth, the wealth he got the old fashioned way,... inheriting it.
tnb
Tucker Carlson - Wikipedia
Tucker Carlson is the elder son of Richard Warner Carlson, a former Los Angeles news anchor and U.S. ambassador to the Seychelles who was president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and director of Voice of America.[3] His mother is Patricia Caroline Swanson (born 1945), former wife of Howard Feldman and an heiress to the Swanson food-conglomerate fortune.[3][4] He has a brother, Buckley Swanson Peck Carlson.[5][6] A great-uncle was Sen. J. William Fulbright.[4]
He attended St. George's School, a boarding school in Newport, Rhode Island. After graduation, he majored in History at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
He's just one of the privleged elite trying to hold on to his wealth, the wealth he got the old fashioned way,... inheriting it.
tnb
Modern Capitalism
A Good Line From Atrios found here: Eschaton
tnb
Modern Capitalism
Apparently it involves letting super rich people light hundreds of billions of dollars on fire, and then taxing poor people so they can afford to have a second bonfire.
tnb
11.21.2010
2010 Election
CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
So you think the 2010 midterms was an anti-incumbent year? Check this out... from Counterpunch.
In reality 100% of the winners were either Democrats or Republican. I guess the Tea party was sort of represented though they ran as republicans. Several of the non-incumbent wins simply gave the seat back to the person that was thrown out last time. We need a couple more parties and a none-of-the-above choice on the ballot.
tnb
So you think the 2010 midterms was an anti-incumbent year? Check this out... from Counterpunch.
"Out of 435 seats, 351 incumbents will be returning to the House in January. In the Senate, out of 100 seats, 77 incumbents will return in January. As the libertarian Joel Hirschorn puts it, "Welcome back to the reality of America's delusional democracy where career politicians will continue to foster a corrupt, inefficient and dysfunctional government because that is what the two-party plutocracy and its supporters want for their own selfish reasons."
In reality 100% of the winners were either Democrats or Republican. I guess the Tea party was sort of represented though they ran as republicans. Several of the non-incumbent wins simply gave the seat back to the person that was thrown out last time. We need a couple more parties and a none-of-the-above choice on the ballot.
tnb
Morning Rant
Deficit Reduction Plan Is Realistic - Economic View - NYTimes.com
Spending vs. Taxes is about choices. The problem is the Americans want everything from their government, social security, medical care, good roads, good public schools, top quality higher education, a stable financial system, a fair legal and business system, and the largest military the world has ever seen but they want it all without paying for it. It's not taxes or spending that's screwed up it's the connection in the American public's mind between the two, along with the inability to choose what we really want. Our broken, captured-by-the-money government and crappy media/propaganda networks don't help either.
Personally I want a government that does things that help Americans like, medical care, a secure but not necessarily wealthy retirement, good schools for my kids, roads, fair and stable but not oppressive financial, legal and business systems. Fuck the rich, the big corporations and let's leave the rest of the world alone.
Cut the military pending. We don't need to spend trillions of dollars on wars on the other side of the world whether they're for oil, markets, religion or racist reasons. Bring'em home and put the money and people to work building a better America.
Increase taxes on the rich. Wealth and income inequality in the US has increased to banana-republic proportions. The rich can pay more. An income of $250,000 is five times what an average American makes. We need to take the balance of wealth back to the 1960's range.
To do this we'll need to scrap the tax system as it exists. Start with rates similar to the current rates, eliminate all current deductions and see where we stand. Adjust as necessary.
End corporate favoritism, it's "We the People" not "We the Corporations". Stop treating corporations as a person. Hold CEOs and Directors personally responsible for illegal corporate actions. Put them in jail instead of allowing the company to pay a fine. If Michael Dell's company does something illegal, Michael Dell and the directors should go to jail. That's corporate responsibility.
Cut foreign aid to the bone, especially in the Middle East. We need to get our own house in order before we give billions to other countries.
Extend Medicare to all and regulate the healthcare system like we regulate utilities. Take the insurance companies out of health care. They are parasites in the system.
Change the campaign laws so the current parties don't have such a stranglehold on the political process. The two parties have both been captured by big money to the point that they are really just different factions of one party, the "corporate elite". We have room for three or four viable parties at this time. Viable choices like an Anti-war, Green, and The Tea Party may help keep our leaders in check. A "none of the above" choice on every ballot could help force the parties to put up better candidates.
The "all campaign, all the time" nature of our system needs fixed too. Maybe longer and limited terms for every office would give the public a chance to see how their choice panned-out and end the flip-flop elections we've seen recently. Oh, and if your spouse, parents, grandparents or siblings are in the current government, you can’t be. We don’t need royal families in this country. Fuck the Kennedy’s, Bush’s, Clinton’s, Gore’s, Bayh’s, Cheney’s, Quail’s, etc.
There you have it TNBs answer to all our problems. When I’m elected supreme being I’ll put these in place.
Maybe I’ve had too much coffee this morning?
tnb
Spending vs. Taxes is about choices. The problem is the Americans want everything from their government, social security, medical care, good roads, good public schools, top quality higher education, a stable financial system, a fair legal and business system, and the largest military the world has ever seen but they want it all without paying for it. It's not taxes or spending that's screwed up it's the connection in the American public's mind between the two, along with the inability to choose what we really want. Our broken, captured-by-the-money government and crappy media/propaganda networks don't help either.
Personally I want a government that does things that help Americans like, medical care, a secure but not necessarily wealthy retirement, good schools for my kids, roads, fair and stable but not oppressive financial, legal and business systems. Fuck the rich, the big corporations and let's leave the rest of the world alone.
Cut the military pending. We don't need to spend trillions of dollars on wars on the other side of the world whether they're for oil, markets, religion or racist reasons. Bring'em home and put the money and people to work building a better America.
Increase taxes on the rich. Wealth and income inequality in the US has increased to banana-republic proportions. The rich can pay more. An income of $250,000 is five times what an average American makes. We need to take the balance of wealth back to the 1960's range.
To do this we'll need to scrap the tax system as it exists. Start with rates similar to the current rates, eliminate all current deductions and see where we stand. Adjust as necessary.
End corporate favoritism, it's "We the People" not "We the Corporations". Stop treating corporations as a person. Hold CEOs and Directors personally responsible for illegal corporate actions. Put them in jail instead of allowing the company to pay a fine. If Michael Dell's company does something illegal, Michael Dell and the directors should go to jail. That's corporate responsibility.
Cut foreign aid to the bone, especially in the Middle East. We need to get our own house in order before we give billions to other countries.
Extend Medicare to all and regulate the healthcare system like we regulate utilities. Take the insurance companies out of health care. They are parasites in the system.
Change the campaign laws so the current parties don't have such a stranglehold on the political process. The two parties have both been captured by big money to the point that they are really just different factions of one party, the "corporate elite". We have room for three or four viable parties at this time. Viable choices like an Anti-war, Green, and The Tea Party may help keep our leaders in check. A "none of the above" choice on every ballot could help force the parties to put up better candidates.
The "all campaign, all the time" nature of our system needs fixed too. Maybe longer and limited terms for every office would give the public a chance to see how their choice panned-out and end the flip-flop elections we've seen recently. Oh, and if your spouse, parents, grandparents or siblings are in the current government, you can’t be. We don’t need royal families in this country. Fuck the Kennedy’s, Bush’s, Clinton’s, Gore’s, Bayh’s, Cheney’s, Quail’s, etc.
There you have it TNBs answer to all our problems. When I’m elected supreme being I’ll put these in place.
Maybe I’ve had too much coffee this morning?
tnb
Quantitative Easing
Econbrowser: Answering the bunnies
This is a good, plain and simple discussion of how "quantitative easing" works.
This is a good, plain and simple discussion of how "quantitative easing" works.
Bob Dylan vs Nostradamus
A cover of a Dylan song from the early 70s that seems to perfectly describe our current political discourse. Take that Nostradamus.
11.20.2010
US-Israel vs the Rest of the World.
Wait– we are giving who?? 20 F-35 stealth attack jets?? for what??
The Israeli settlements are a violation of international law and a UN security council resolution. We attacked Iraq for this. We're threatening Iran for this. But,.. we're giving Israel a billions to continue. WTF?
UN Resolution 446
Fourth Geneva Convention
Why are US taxpayers, in a time of record budget problems, giving billions to an evil outlaw state. That money could be better spent at home.
tnb
With 25 years of experience under my belt analysing the Middle East conflict, and as a close observer of US foreign policy with a pragmatic attitude toward its realist exigencies, I have never seen anything as destructive, humiliating and ruinously conceived as the “incentive” package now being offered by the US to Israel for a 3-month settlement freeze. It is our country’s foreign policy nadir: a deal is so damaging to US interests that it is hard to find words for it. What can be said plainly is that US citizens – yes, even those jaded, tired, embittered, disillusioned folks who have watched this stuff for too long – have to rise up and move fast to stop this, in the name of our country’s future.
Let us briefly consider just what’s being proposed here. Israel has been asked (asked!) to freeze illegal settlement construction in the West Bank for a lousy three months in the interests of the so-called peace process.
This brief hiatus is purely cosmetic. Jewish settlements in this occupied territory have been steadily and deliberately eradicating taking over East Jerusalem and the West Bank for over 40 years. The whole full-bore settlement construction programme makes open nonsense of partition now, as well as the putative “peace process”, by “eating the pizza”. But Israel has refused even a short-term freeze. And the US, egg all over its face, is being reduced to bribing the Israelis with a mind-boggling package of incentives – $3 BILLION in military hardware, equivalent to Israel’s annual automatic US package – just for three months of a partial freeze on construction, after which construction will continue unabated.
The Israeli settlements are a violation of international law and a UN security council resolution. We attacked Iraq for this. We're threatening Iran for this. But,.. we're giving Israel a billions to continue. WTF?
UN Resolution 446
In the Resolution, the Security Council determined: "that the policy and practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East"
Fourth Geneva Convention
Why are US taxpayers, in a time of record budget problems, giving billions to an evil outlaw state. That money could be better spent at home.
tnb
US, Israel and Iran
Explosive Truthout Story: Did Israelis Fabricate 'Evidence' Of Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program? | Crooks and Liars
...and US taxpayers give them 3 billion or more every year.
We should stop supporting this evil little country.
tnb
The investigative team at Truthout has a stunning story raising serious questions about the information that was thought to reveal a nuclear arms program in Iran -- and Israel's Mossad appears to have provided the false intelligence.Original Story Here: Truth-Out
...and US taxpayers give them 3 billion or more every year.
We should stop supporting this evil little country.
tnb
11.19.2010
The War on Christmas
From Pharyngula: The War on Christmas will be waged on the field of internet polls
My take on the Christmas Greetings war is that saying "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas" is like giving a gift. You are taking your time and effort to give the other person something. Saying it is what's important and just like those gifts we give at christmas, its the thought that counts. If you don't like what you're given, well,.. that's a problem on your side of the equation, deal with it.
Personally my favorite christmas greeting is "Ho! Fucking Ho!"
tnb
I suggest that everyone who is offended by being told either "happy holidays" or "merry christmas" should start wearing a little sign so we know not to hurt their delicate little feelings by using the wrong salutation. Instead, we'd greet them by thrusting a middle finger up at them and shouting, "Up yours!"Man, I like that guy.....
My take on the Christmas Greetings war is that saying "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas" is like giving a gift. You are taking your time and effort to give the other person something. Saying it is what's important and just like those gifts we give at christmas, its the thought that counts. If you don't like what you're given, well,.. that's a problem on your side of the equation, deal with it.
Personally my favorite christmas greeting is "Ho! Fucking Ho!"
tnb
What I Believe
A fun quick rant from uggabugga
What I now believe:
Liberals are Fascists. NPR are Nazis. Obama is Karl Marx without the beard. The United Nations is taking over your neighborhood school. Jesus invented the Constitution. George Soros has a plan. MSNBC is the thin edge of the totalitarian wedge. The Tides Foundation wants to put a microchip in your brain. Every White House "Czar" has been given a Faberge egg worth millions. Flat panel TVs manufactured in China have a hidden camera so they can watch what you're doing. The New Improved Black Panther Party is ACORN with nukes. Amendments other then the Bill of Rights diminish states' rights and should be repealed. All taxation is theft. The War of Northern Aggression should be recognized as such. God Hates Fags. Michelle Bachmann belongs on the Supreme Court. If you are suffering, it's God's plan; turning to the government for aid is blasphemy. If you hang a clove of garlic around your neck, no Democrat will bite you. Happiness is a 10 gauge shotgun. Dinesh D'Souza is the best journalist in America. If you're not listening to Limbaugh-Prager-Hannity-Medved-Levin, you're not paying attention. Swarthy immigrants are putting battery acid in our ketchup bottles. That liberal co-worker you think might be scheming to get you fired, really is. Every library should have a dozen copies of whatever Newt Gingrich has written. Even Glenn Beck has underestimated the conspiracy to destroy America. If Global Warming is real, then why are they still selling sweaters at Wal-Mart? We need more rootin' tootin' straight-shootin' common sense Christian constitutional conservatives running this country.
American Royalty
Eric Cantor and hs wife Diana Cantor
Washington struggles with working spouse syndrome Muckety - See the news
Washington struggles with working spouse syndrome Muckety - See the news
11.18.2010
A Hedge Fund Republic? - NYTimes.com
A Hedge Fund Republic? - NYTimes.com
Here's just one highlite from a good rant on income/wealth inequality in the US.
Here's just one highlite from a good rant on income/wealth inequality in the US.
But there is also a larger question: What kind of a country do we aspire to be? Would we really want to be the kind of plutocracy where the richest 1 percent possesses more net worth than the bottom 90 percent?
Oops! That’s already us. The top 1 percent of Americans owns 34 percent of America’s private net worth, according to figures compiled by the Economic Policy Institute in Washington. The bottom 90 percent owns just 29 percent.
That also means that the top 10 percent controls more than 70 percent of Americans’ total net worth.
Republicans: Old vs New
Gates v. Eisenhower and Obama v. Justice - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com
A good rant on military spending then and now, which also shows just how far this country has moved to the right since then.
Eisenhower was a republican! He'd be run out of crazy-town today.
A good rant on military spending then and now, which also shows just how far this country has moved to the right since then.
Eisenhower was a republican! He'd be run out of crazy-town today.
Foreclosure Fraud
ginandtacos.com » Blog Archive » A MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE
Another good one from GinAndTaocs, this time ranting on just one of the crooked things happening to people caught in the Florida foreclosure process.
Also, this from Matt Taibbi at The Rolling Stone has more detail.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/232611?RS_show_page=0
A Woody Guthrie line that was something like "It's easier to rob people with a pencil than with a gun" seems fitting here.
tnb
but remember,.... the housing crisis was cause by the government forcing those good-guy banks to loan money to "those" people...
tnb again...
Another good one from GinAndTaocs, this time ranting on just one of the crooked things happening to people caught in the Florida foreclosure process.
Also, this from Matt Taibbi at The Rolling Stone has more detail.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/232611?RS_show_page=0
A Woody Guthrie line that was something like "It's easier to rob people with a pencil than with a gun" seems fitting here.
tnb
but remember,.... the housing crisis was cause by the government forcing those good-guy banks to loan money to "those" people...
tnb again...
Taxing the Rich
Deficit and taxes: Time to raise taxes on the rich - latimes.com
I agree, the top rates need to go up. Over the last 30 years the rich (over 250,000$) have been taking a larger and larger slice of the pie. Now to cut into the budget deficits they want the lower classes to take the hit by cutting social security, medicare, medicaid, infrastructure spending, public education etc.
Spending is always a choice, what do we get for our money? i'd rather help some old/poor people during retirement, provide medical care for everyone, rebuild the infrastructure and teach our kids than give a few millionaires a few extra dollars of income.
Of course both parties are dominated by the wealthy so I'm pretty sure they'll find a way to convince the people that we should take a social security cut instead of raising taxes. The Fox propaganda network will probably help a little if they ask nicely.
Of course it won't be a real cut to anyone getting social security checks now,... it will be a boost in the retirment age, benefit cuts for people that retire in a few years, the sort of thing they can sell now but won't be painful now. Something we can pay for in they future. so really it's sort of stealing from the future, just like the deficits they say are stealing from our kids. Why steal from our kids when they can steal it from us.
Oh, and cutting the war budget would hurt either.
tnb
I agree, the top rates need to go up. Over the last 30 years the rich (over 250,000$) have been taking a larger and larger slice of the pie. Now to cut into the budget deficits they want the lower classes to take the hit by cutting social security, medicare, medicaid, infrastructure spending, public education etc.
Spending is always a choice, what do we get for our money? i'd rather help some old/poor people during retirement, provide medical care for everyone, rebuild the infrastructure and teach our kids than give a few millionaires a few extra dollars of income.
Of course both parties are dominated by the wealthy so I'm pretty sure they'll find a way to convince the people that we should take a social security cut instead of raising taxes. The Fox propaganda network will probably help a little if they ask nicely.
Of course it won't be a real cut to anyone getting social security checks now,... it will be a boost in the retirment age, benefit cuts for people that retire in a few years, the sort of thing they can sell now but won't be painful now. Something we can pay for in they future. so really it's sort of stealing from the future, just like the deficits they say are stealing from our kids. Why steal from our kids when they can steal it from us.
Oh, and cutting the war budget would hurt either.
tnb
11.16.2010
The US vs Israel
Good Stuff from Mr Hitchens.
Why America will come to regret the craven deal Obama is offering Netanyahu. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine
The US offer seems crazy to me. The offer should have been..... "Stop the settlements or we're stopping all aid to Israel".
Why do we roll-over for this evil little country.
tnb.
Why America will come to regret the craven deal Obama is offering Netanyahu. - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine
Now we read that, in return for just 90 days of Israeli lenience on new settlement-building (this brief pause or "freeze" not to include the crucial precincts of East Jerusalem), Netanyahu is being enticed with "a package of security incentives and fighter jets worth $3 billion" and a promise that the United States government would veto any Palestinian counterproposal at the United Nations. Netanyahu, while graciously considering this offer, was initially reported as being unsure whether he "could win approval for the United States deal from his Cabinet." In other words, we must wait on the pleasure of Rabbi Yosef and Ministers Atias, Yishai, and Lieberman, who have the unusual ability to threaten Netanyahu from his right wing.
This is a national humiliation. Regardless of whether that bunch of clowns and thugs and racists "approve" of the Obama/Clinton grovel offer, there should be a unanimous demand that it be withdrawn.
The mathematics of the situation must be evident even to the meanest intelligence. In order for any talk of a two-state outcome to be even slightly realistic, there needs to be territory on which the second state can be built, or on which the other nation living in Palestine can govern itself. The aim of the extreme Israeli theocratic and chauvinist parties is plain and undisguised: Annex enough land to make this solution impossible, and either expel or repress the unwanted people. The policy of Netanyahu is likewise easy to read: Run out the clock by demanding concessions for something he has already agreed to in principle, appease the ultras he has appointed to his own government, and wait for a chance to blame Palestinian reaction for the inevitable failure.
The US offer seems crazy to me. The offer should have been..... "Stop the settlements or we're stopping all aid to Israel".
Why do we roll-over for this evil little country.
tnb.
Are Government Employees Overpaid? Still No. « Rortybomb
Rortybomb fighting the propaganda network: Are Government Employees Overpaid? Still No. « Rortybomb
11.15.2010
On Earmarks
Earmarks
I see Earmarks more as a corruption issue than a spending issue. This article makes the point that earmarks and spending are not necessarily related. However, earmarks are a great tool if my congress man want to reward some friend of his in the district. Still, in the list of problems facing the US right now, earmarks seem like a minor issue.
I see Earmarks more as a corruption issue than a spending issue. This article makes the point that earmarks and spending are not necessarily related. However, earmarks are a great tool if my congress man want to reward some friend of his in the district. Still, in the list of problems facing the US right now, earmarks seem like a minor issue.
Seniors Citizens
Seniors, entitlements, and the midterms : The New Yorker
This article leaves out an important point, Seniors are a top Fox News Demographic. Seniors don't have a lot to do during the day except sit at home and watch tv. The propaganda network did its job and got them all wound up with mis-information. In a world without Fox the midterms may have been different.
This article leaves out an important point, Seniors are a top Fox News Demographic. Seniors don't have a lot to do during the day except sit at home and watch tv. The propaganda network did its job and got them all wound up with mis-information. In a world without Fox the midterms may have been different.
11.14.2010
Indiana Farmers
Indiana farmers expected to enjoy near record income
Well good, maybe they can give back some of that farm subsidy cash they take from the tax payers. Of course they may need that cash to help organize those tea-party, smaller government events.
tnb
... unusually high grain prices should push Indiana's total 2010 farm income to just above $3 billion. That will be near 2008's record high of $3.2 billion. ...
Well good, maybe they can give back some of that farm subsidy cash they take from the tax payers. Of course they may need that cash to help organize those tea-party, smaller government events.
tnb
11.13.2010
Taxing The Rich
Martha Stewart's Perry Street Leftovers Now $2 Million Less
The argument for cutting taxes on the rich is usually that they know how tospend invest the money more wisely than the poor folk so their spending investing will help the economy more than the poor folks spending. I just don't see it.
This rich person's (13 million dollar property) investing bought a nicely decorated room including a couple of glass topped tables, some nice white (leather?) furniture and a piece of art (i guess) that is a rock hanging from the cieling. I don't know how much this rooom cost but i'd say its safe to assume, since its a multi-million dollar property, that its in the tens of thousands. How could this help the economy any more than say tens of thousands of people buying small things? The same amount of money is still ricochet-ing aound the economy but fewer poeple are being served by it. I don't get the argument maybe some economist out there can explain it to me.
The rock/art thing should have a sign that says "I wanted to feed 1,000 poor people but all i got was this lousy rock"
tnb
The argument for cutting taxes on the rich is usually that they know how to
This rich person's (13 million dollar property) investing bought a nicely decorated room including a couple of glass topped tables, some nice white (leather?) furniture and a piece of art (i guess) that is a rock hanging from the cieling. I don't know how much this rooom cost but i'd say its safe to assume, since its a multi-million dollar property, that its in the tens of thousands. How could this help the economy any more than say tens of thousands of people buying small things? The same amount of money is still ricochet-ing aound the economy but fewer poeple are being served by it. I don't get the argument maybe some economist out there can explain it to me.
The rock/art thing should have a sign that says "I wanted to feed 1,000 poor people but all i got was this lousy rock"
tnb
Treason Anyone?
ThinkProgress » In An ‘Unusual’ Meeting, Cantor Tells Netanyahu The GOP Majority ‘Will Serve As A Check’ On Obama’s Israel Policy
When was the last time you heard a powerfull US politician supporting a foreign government over the sitting US president?
More on this from Glenn Greenwald
When was the last time you heard a powerfull US politician supporting a foreign government over the sitting US president?
More on this from Glenn Greenwald
11.11.2010
Social Security and Medicare are not the problem.
Straight talk from The Booman
Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community
We choose what we spend our money on... we can spend it on our own people, to make our country better or we can spend it to bomb people on the other side of the planet or to give the millionaires a few more dollars. seems a simple choice to me.
tnb
Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community
Social Security and Medicare aren't the problem. The problem is tax cuts for the rich, the greatest inequality between those at the top and everyone else in income and net worth ever, and the stranglehold large corporations have on our government.
Some commentators blame recent legislation — the stimulus bill and the financial rescues — for today’s record deficits. Yet those costs pale next to other policies enacted since 2001 that have swollen the deficit. Those other policies may be less conspicuous now, because many were enacted years ago and they have long since been absorbed into CBO’s and other organizations’ budget projections.
Just two policies dating from the Bush Administration — tax cuts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — accounted for over $500 billion of the deficit in 2009 and will account for almost $7 trillion in deficits in 2009 through 2019, including the associated debt-service costs. [6] (The prescription drug benefit enacted in 2003 accounts for further substantial increases in deficits and debt, which we are unable to quantify due to data limitations.) These impacts easily dwarf the stimulus and financial rescues. Furthermore, unlike those temporary costs, these inherited policies (especially the tax cuts and the drug benefit) do not fade away as the economy recovers (see Figure 1).
America's wealth and power arose because we had a strong vibrant large middle class and a safety net in place in the form of social security and medicare and other government programs that helped people buy homes, pay for college tuition for their children, clean up our air and water (reducing public health costs), keep our food safe, financial regulation that made our markets the most stable and trusted in the world, Labor laws that protected the rights of unions and individual workers, etc.
Those used to be Democratic Party accomplishment of which Democrats were proud and that they defended. Not anymore, apparently.
Destroying that safety net and making the middle class small enough to drown in a bathtub is a recipe for disaster, both in the short and long terms. You want a libertarian paradise? Go to Somalia. You want lack of regulation of major corporations? See what that has done to the environment and health of the people of China, India and Russia. In relative terms the deficit is significantly lower than it was after WWII, the period that jump started America's rise as the most dominant economic force on the planet. Yet after WWII, instead of demanding reparations and other financially punitive measures, we used our economic strength and targeted foreign aid to build up the economies of our former enemies and a devastated Europe. That spending created the global economy that we have today which reduced much suffering, even if it did not eliminate all global inequities.
We choose what we spend our money on... we can spend it on our own people, to make our country better or we can spend it to bomb people on the other side of the planet or to give the millionaires a few more dollars. seems a simple choice to me.
tnb
Corporate Profits
Believe It Or Not, Corporate Profits Are Hitting An All Time High Right Now
How can this be happening with that liberal, socialist, marxist, capitalism hating kenyan in the white house?
tnb
How can this be happening with that liberal, socialist, marxist, capitalism hating kenyan in the white house?
tnb
11.10.2010
Netanyahu - Settlements
A couple of articles on Isralei settlements:
Netanyahu: Settlements row 'overblown' - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News
And from Booman Settlements
We really should just give up on the peace process. It's not working and the feeble attempts along with Israel's incredible arrogance just makes us look corrupt and stupid to the rest of the world. It obvious to everyone we're not an honest broker in the deal. Israli money in the US dominates the converstion. It helps corrupt our government while the "Israel First" attitude that money buys makes us look bad to the rest of the world. We should cut US funding of Israel, stop trying to broker a peace and let Israel and the Palestinians/Arab world work with the rest of the world to sort it out.
Netanyahu: Settlements row 'overblown' - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News
And from Booman Settlements
We really should just give up on the peace process. It's not working and the feeble attempts along with Israel's incredible arrogance just makes us look corrupt and stupid to the rest of the world. It obvious to everyone we're not an honest broker in the deal. Israli money in the US dominates the converstion. It helps corrupt our government while the "Israel First" attitude that money buys makes us look bad to the rest of the world. We should cut US funding of Israel, stop trying to broker a peace and let Israel and the Palestinians/Arab world work with the rest of the world to sort it out.
11.09.2010
What America Wants
What America Wants,.... from GinAndTacos
1. Social Security reform that guarantees my current level of benefits, alters someone else's, and cuts everyone's Social Security taxes to boot.
2. A world-class national infrastructure that can be built and maintained without tax dollars.
3. A balanced budget that doesn't sacrifice any of the government programs – especially the sacred military-industrial complex and the various old age benefits – that we like.
4. Clean air without pollution controls, clean water with a neutered and underfunded EPA, and businesses that do socially responsible things without any regulation whatsoever.
5. Consumer goods at Made in China prices that create high-paying jobs in America.
6. Giant trucks and SUVs that drive like Formula One race cars, look cool, fit into small parking spaces, cost under $18,000, and get the fuel economy of a Toyota Prius.
7. Complete freedom and complete security at the same time.
8. An America that acts like a swaggering, sociopathic asshole on the global stage yet is beloved by all the nations of the world.
9. Wars against every enemy, real or imagined, all of the time, with no U.S. casualties and no effect on the budget.
10. Incredibly rich and rewarding professional lives while supporting our employers' right to do whatever they want to us without recourse.
11. A vibrant, consumption-based U.S. economy with good jobs for anyone willing to look for one resulting from free trade policies that encourage money and capital flows to cheap labor markets.
12. A highly educated workforce produced by a school system that requires no tax dollars to achieve excellence, students who have no interest in learning, and a virulently anti-intellectual society.
13. Closed borders and an endless supply of cheap labor to keep prices low.
14. To buy whatever we want irrespective of what we can afford while maintaining the drumbeat of personal responsibility.
15. Health care that is cheap, superior, and readily available to me without the danger of the same being enjoyed by anyone I deem undeserving.
It couldn't be any clearer: we want a government that will resolve every problem we currently face with solutions that require no effort, no sacrifices, and no money. And I have no doubt that we have elected a group of people brave enough to promise exactly that.
11.08.2010
Tax Cut Debate
If we're going to debate whether to keep the tax cuts, shouldn't we look at how well they actually worked rather than argue about what we think will happen if we do or don't change them?
here's a start:
Models & Agents: The “misoverestimated” surpluses and the tax-cuts debate
here's a start:
Models & Agents: The “misoverestimated” surpluses and the tax-cuts debate
War on Iran
Juan Cole on the War Party here:
Gates, the Adult in the Room, Rebuffs Israeli, Republican Warmongering on Iran | Informed Comment
Gates, the Adult in the Room, Rebuffs Israeli, Republican Warmongering on Iran | Informed Comment
11.07.2010
Rasmussen Polls
Rasmussen Polls Were Biased and Inaccurate; Quinnipiac, SurveyUSA Performed Strongly
Rasmussen is just a partner in propaganda network. Slanted polls are just a tool to help manipulate the masses. People like to be associated with winners. Big money, corporations, foreign governemts, etc, will invest in the politicians they think are going to win so they can have a say in future policy. If you slant your poll and can get it delivered to the masses (thanks Fox News) you'll pull both people and money to you side.
I guess eventually both sides will be doing it and "we the people" won't be able to believe any poll. Much like we can't believe the current media or any politician.
tnb
Rasmussen is just a partner in propaganda network. Slanted polls are just a tool to help manipulate the masses. People like to be associated with winners. Big money, corporations, foreign governemts, etc, will invest in the politicians they think are going to win so they can have a say in future policy. If you slant your poll and can get it delivered to the masses (thanks Fox News) you'll pull both people and money to you side.
I guess eventually both sides will be doing it and "we the people" won't be able to believe any poll. Much like we can't believe the current media or any politician.
tnb
11.06.2010
MSNBC - Olbermann
MSNBC’s - Olbermann
WTF?
The most liberal network, of the supposed "evil liberal, lame-strem media" suspends one of it's most popular people over a few small political donations!? WTF? Is it a call-out to the other news media to cleanup their act? Maybe a marketing move to place MSNBC as the fair and balanced? Did Olbermann piss someone off or,... are we really just ruled by the rich and powerful who don't like people stepping on their toes?
I guess one side of the "yeah,.. Fox is right-wing but what about that left-wing MSNBC" argument just disappeared.
It's also going to be fun listening to the right-wingers defend Olbermann's right to free of speech like they did juan williams. Do you think Murdoch will give Olbermann a fat contract?
tnb
Update - More on Olbermann from No More Mr Nice Blog.
tnb
WTF?
The most liberal network, of the supposed "evil liberal, lame-strem media" suspends one of it's most popular people over a few small political donations!? WTF? Is it a call-out to the other news media to cleanup their act? Maybe a marketing move to place MSNBC as the fair and balanced? Did Olbermann piss someone off or,... are we really just ruled by the rich and powerful who don't like people stepping on their toes?
I guess one side of the "yeah,.. Fox is right-wing but what about that left-wing MSNBC" argument just disappeared.
It's also going to be fun listening to the right-wingers defend Olbermann's right to free of speech like they did juan williams. Do you think Murdoch will give Olbermann a fat contract?
tnb
Update - More on Olbermann from No More Mr Nice Blog.
tnb
11.04.2010
Fate of the Governed
I'd leave "bankers" off of the banner but this still pretty much says it all.
"Of the people, by the people, for the people", my ass!
tnb
"Of the people, by the people, for the people", my ass!
tnb
Thursday Morning Links
From GinAndTacos: ginandtacos.com » EFFECTIVE REPRESENTATION
A great paragraph from a great rant from The Rude Pundit: Rude Pundit
wow!
tnb
A great paragraph from a great rant from The Rude Pundit: Rude Pundit
The overwhelming feeling that the Rude Pundit has this morning is utter disgust with a vast number of the people of his nation, this America, for they have demonstrated, once again, that they are selfish, vain, cruel buffoons who are scared by the wrong things and have decided that the best way to handle it is to say, "Fuck it," build isolated bunkers all over the nation, and tell everyone else to leave them the fuck alone. For what is the end result of the vaguely-conceived ideology that was affirmed last night? It is that each of us should have the right to squat in our shitpiles of ignorance, isolated from one another, coveting our precious money, fellating our guns and fucking ourselves against our 50-inch LED screens in our multi-mortgaged, soon-to-be foreclosed on hovels, and if the world outside our caves goes to hell, well, that's because people don't understand how wonderful it is to engorge your faces with poisoned food and asthmatically heave your chest through polluted air and travel on shattered roads and bridges while picking your unmedicated scabs in order to get to work at Wal-Mart for shit wages but at least there's a wall that keeps the Mexicans and the gays out because that's what pissy God and the screaming ghost of Samuel Adams would fucking want for us. Their ultimate goal is to dismantle society itself in favor of Darwinian anarchy. Thomas Hobbes in action, motherfuckers, the animalistic Yahoos gutting the evolved Houyhnhnms.
wow!
tnb
11.03.2010
U.S. Midterms
doesn't this make you feel better?
U.S. midterms: AIPAC lauds re-election of pro-Israel stalwarts - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News
tnb
U.S. midterms: AIPAC lauds re-election of pro-Israel stalwarts - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News
tnb
11.02.2010
Blame the Government?
A good interview with Robert Reich here
Robert Reich
tnb
Robert Reich
"In the US, when there is a sense that government and business are in cahoots, the tendency is to blame government rather than business."
tnb
Bogus Grass-Roots Politics on Twitter
Bogus Grass-Roots Politics on Twitter - Technology Review
Bogus grass-roots politics on Twitter !? imagine that! Hell, our entire political system borders on bogus. I see no reason Twitter should be exempt.
tnb
Bogus grass-roots politics on Twitter !? imagine that! Hell, our entire political system borders on bogus. I see no reason Twitter should be exempt.
tnb
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