October, 2010 archive
QOTD 0
John Dewey, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
We can have facts without thinking but we cannot have thinking without facts.
Dismal Discussion 0
When I was a young ‘un and we visited our grandmother in South Carolina twice a year, our route nicked the northern portion of the Great Dismal Swamp.
Even those few miles of it impressed one that it was a most unusual place.
Yesterday’s HearSay, the news and information show on our local NPR station, included an interview with the author of a book on the Great Dismal.
It is worth a listen.
Follow the link to listen or to download the mp3. The interview starts approximately 35 minutes in.
Musical Money 0
If a person did it, it would be called “money laundering” (emphasis added):
(snip)
The U.S. corporate income-tax rate is 35 percent. In the U.K., Google’s second-biggest market by revenue, it’s 28 percent.
Google, the owner of the world’s most popular search engine, uses a strategy that has gained favor among such companies as Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp. The method takes advantage of Irish tax law to legally shuttle profits into and out of subsidiaries there, largely escaping the country’s 12.5 percent income tax.
Bloomberg links to an interactive graphic on Google’s tax strategy.
CSA Propaganda 2
The South seceded from the union to protect and preserve the institution of chattel slavery.
Too many white Southerners not only refuse to admit that, but also lie about it to our children.
From today’s local rag:
That claim has been widely discredited, according to historians. Moreover, they say, it is often made by groups looking to rewrite history.
The book is being used by fourth-graders in Norfolk and fourth- and fifth-graders in Chesapeake. In Suffolk, it is not the official textbook, but it is used as a resource for fourth grade.
To countenance this lie is despicable. To spread it . . . .
Vivian Paige reacts.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
For all practical purposes, no change:
The pace of firings has persisted since the start of the year, indicating it will take longer to reduce an unemployment rate that’s near a 26-year high. A Federal Reserve report yesterday showed the economy is growing at a “modest pace” with companies still hesitant to hire, a reason central bankers may ease monetary policy.
Barbierians at the Gate 0
If this were part of the plot of an episode of CSI: New York, you’d think it was too stupid for words.
Voting Is Not a Right. It Is a Duty. 0
Republicans try to convince persons to throw away their votes.
One must ask oneself, why are they afraid of voters?
Actually, one needn’t ask oneself.
Their policies are inimical to the polity, therefore they fear the polity. Can there be any clearer evidence than an advertising campaign such as this one?
The prosecution rests.
Seeking (Fore)closure 0
Yesterday, I listened to a Diane Rehm show on “The Foreclosure Crisis.” Guests included
- Tom Deutsch, deputy executive director, American Securitization Forum.
- Greg Ip, U.S. economics editor, The Economist, and author of “The Little Book of Economics: How the Economy Works in the Real World.”
- Kathleen Day, spokeswoman, Center for Responsible Lending; ethics teacher at Georgetown University’s graduate program in real estate studies.
Mr. Deutsch demonstrated, in his attempts to defend the banksters, an ability to teach tap dancing to Sammy Davis, Jr., and a superlative skill at dodgeball.
Follow the link to listen to the show.
If you listen to nothing else, fast forward to the 27:21 mark and consider Mr. Deutsch’s attempts to justify the treatment the caller received from the holder of her mortgage.
The Voter Fraud Fraud 0
The best thing since poll taxes and literacy tests.
The Night before the Morning after 1
One of the distinguishing characteristics of Republicans is their willingness to say whatever seems advantageous at the moment, regardless of the facts and regardless of what they said yesterday or might say tomorrow, because it could help them get what they want! right! now!
You might call it the of-course-I’ll-respect-you-in-the-morning style of campaigning.
Steve Benen looks at Mike Huckabee’s complaint about Jack Conway’s ad in Kentucky:
And we know what comes after of-course-I’ll-respect-you-in-the-morning . . . .
Unleash Operation Repo (Updated) 1
Richard Peisser, a professor of real estate (whatever that means) at Harvard, argues against a moratorium on foreclosures.
Short version: Expecting the banks to follow the rules now would inconvenience them and slow down legal foreclosures.
I’m not saying I favor a moratorium–as if my opinion matters all that much, but I have a website and I’m going to use it–but this seems to me like arguing against traffic cops because they might slow down the speeders.
Addendum:
Someone realizes that there’s more riding on this than the bonus for some bankster who already has two or three houses. From Bloomberg (emphasis added):
The new rule, released in a statement by the New York state Unified Court System, is effective immediately.
(snip)
“We cannot allow the courts in New York State to stand by idly and be party to what we now know is a deeply flawed process, especially when that process involves basic human needs — such as a family home — during this period of economic crisis,” (Chief Judge Jonathan–ed.) Lippman said in the statement.
QOTD 0
Lewis Mumford, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
Adding highway lanes to deal with traffic congestion is like loosening your belt to cure obesity.
Tipsy Topsy Turvy Wingnut Logic Swervy 0
This evening, I attended a forum for city council candidates so as to show my support (not that anyone knows or cares who I am) for one of the candidates.
During the question and answer session, someone asked a question about taxes.*
One of the candidates (who if he were the only candidate on the ballot would cause me to miss my first election in years) decided to discuss economic policy. I did not record his remarks, but I will paraphrase them to the best of my ability.
Right now, the banks have mucho money in their reserves and they aren’t giving loans. Businesses which are profitable are making lots of money, but they are storing it up and not creating jobs.
Therefore, we must cut taxes so that banks will grant loans and businesses will create jobs.
I am a blogger of small mind.
I do not understand how, if the banks and businesses aren’t granting loans and creating jobs now, giving them more money to hoard will motivate them to start doing so.
I searched this article on logical fallacies but could not find this in the classification, probably because it’s completely illogical.
It boils down to
-
If A then NOT B,
Therefore if MORE A then B.
I guess I will call it the contradictory fallacy, as illogic is fundamental to wingnut logic.
I need a drink.
____________________
*He asked whether, given that senior citizens (God I hate that term–I look forward proudly to being a cantankerous old man; with any luck, I’m already there) have no need of schools, can some consideration be given to reducing the portion of their property taxes that pay for schools.
I respond, who the hell helped pay for his schooling when he was in public schools?
Public schools are one way to pay it forward, for Pete’s sake.
Give me a break.
