August, 2011 archive
Texas Jobs through the Perryscope 0
Yosemite Sam Perry is fond of talking about the number of jobs created in Texas with federal stimulus funds (though he usually leaves out the “stimulus funds” part).
But what about those Texas jobs. Renee Loth decided to look more closely. A nugget:
Further, to quote another governor who tried to ride his state’s economic miracle to the White House, are they “good jobs at good wages?’’ Apparently not, since a third of Texas workers earn too little to stay above the federal poverty line. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Texas is tied with Mississippi for the highest percentage of workers earning the minimum wage, the lowest-paid workers of all 50 states.
Perry: All hat. No cattle. Much bull.
Goldman’s Sacks 0
Thom Hartman explores Congressman Darrell Issa’s (R–Banksterz) campaign to give the banksters a free hand in everything.
More here.
These are not nice people.
Climate Change 0
If you don’t want to believe the scientists, believe your fellow inhabitants of the planet:
In the largest study of its kind to date, researchers looked at the effects of temperature on over 2,000 species.
They report in the journal Science that species experiencing the greatest warming have moved furthest.
Weather is not climate, but I know that it is hotter now in this part of the world than it was when I moved away 35 years ago.
Warren Buffet, Fellow Traveler 0
Excerpt:
So closing a few corporate tax loopholes and returing the top marginal tax rate to the 90s economic boom time levels is “class warfare.”
Via Raw Story.
Facebook Frolics 0
Science 2.0 reports that social media does little to drive traffic to external sites. Facebook Frolickers, Twitter Twits (and by extension likely Google Geeks) tend to stay in the safety of their walled gardens.
Which is exactly what the walled gardeners want:
Overall, Facebook may drive nearly as much traffic as The Drudge Report, for example, but it is a million submissions to do it – if you get an article on The Drudge Report it will crash your server with the traffic and you will only notice traffic from Facebook if you are really looking. And many people look at linked Tweets as bordering on spam.
This is consistent with my little experience. The few persons who comment on one of my posts on Facebook and those who comment on the blog out there in the Big Wide Internet world are completely different sets of people.
Charts and graphs at the link, as should be expected from a blog called “Science 2.0.”
Ducks on a Pond 0
Here’s a little video. Unfortunately, PodPress does not have an option for “center.” As its creator is fond of saying, “It is what it is.”
If you have trouble using the player, you can download the video.
Ripping Open the Tea Bag 0
In four words, Timothy Snyder rips apart taxation teabaggery:
Follow the link for the rest of his words.
“Yosemite Sam with Better Hair” 0
Rick Perry, per Bob Cesca on the Bob and Chez Show.
The relevant portion of the discussion starts at about the 37 minute mark.
Update from the Foreclosure-Based Society 1
Er, yeah.
Seventy-year-old Sharon Bullington may lose her home because she paid her mortgage a week early.
That may not make much sense to the thousands of homeowners who are behind on their mortgages in Florida. But it seems it does to Bank of America, which has filed to foreclose on Bullington and her husband, James, 78, who is terminally ill.
Read the whole thing. It lays out the details.
As has happened so often, they did what the bank told them to.
Of course, one should never question the good faith of the bank.
Also, pigs, wings.
More Koch in Schools 0
Decoding the code.
I’m a Southern Boy. I know the damned code.
Dustbiters 0
The FDIC has resumed its program of rewarding responsible fiscals for their mastery of the universe.
- First Choice Bank, Geneva, Illinois
- First Southern National Bank, Statesboro, Georgia
- Lydian Private Bank, Palm Beach, Florida
- Public Savings Bank, Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania
Cantor’s Cant 0
Another example, this one from the Booman.
Prayer Meeting 0
H/T Susan for the pic.
Lessons Unlearned 0
If we cannot learn from our own past, we certainly cannot expect the United Kingdom to do so.
Cord Jefferson considers the riots in the UK in the light of findings on the causes of the 1992 Rodney King riots:
(snip)
“Like other urban conflagrations—from Watts to Miami—the 1992 Los Angeles Crisis was sparked by a single incident, yet rooted in grievances and tensions which had accumulated for years,” the report’s introduction said. And later: “As they pleaded for immediate assistance and demanded long-term change, the frustration, anger, and pain of the people of Los Angeles was unmistakable.”
