October, 2011 archive
John Moss for City Council 0
I am supporting John Moss for city council.
I met him during the last campaign; he is a man of integrity. There is much in his views on economic issues that I disagree with; they are substantially more conservative than mine.
Nevertheless, as I have said here before, I think there is a divide in any resort town, including this one, that is more important than left and right.
That’s the divide between in the pocket of the developers and not in the pocket of the developers.
John is decidedly not in the pocket of developers.
He will ask the questions they don’t want to answer. Given that council is dominated by the “in the pocket” party (some more in the pocket than others), I find this a valuable quality deserving of support.
Yesterday’s Wars 0
The Commander Guy points out the time -arped:
Click to read the rest.
Update from the Foreclosure-Based Economy 0
Job prospects for process-servers continue strong, according to the Chicago Trib:
Several factors will be working against the housing market in the upcoming months, including an increase in foreclosure activity and sustained high unemployment, explained David Stiff, Fiserv’s chief economist.
Should home values meet Fiserv’s expectations, it would make it the third (and lowest) trough for home prices since the housing bubble burst.
Point Counterpoint, Bah! Humbug! Dept. 0
In the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daniel Daegler reviews the history of All Hallows’ Eve; it’s quite interesting:
. . . while another little story presages the future of Thanksgiving. Interesting it’s not. Indeed, it’s rather vile, in a filthy mammon kind of way:
Aside:
And pfui on the whole zombie thing.
Fox News is eating enough brains already.
QOTD 0
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
Madness is rare in individuals – but in groups, parties, nations, and ages it is the rule.
A “Wealth Creator” Unburdens Himself 0
To Dr. Gerry Mander, the therapist the stars trust, at the Guardian:
I’m fed up with people saying I’m rich. My basic pay is quite modest and the tributes I get are approved by my remunerations committee. Yes, I got an increase of 49% last year. So what? I am a wealth creator. Attacking me is just the politics of envy.
King Croesus of Lydia
Dear Croesus
The “wealth creator” line might be more persuasive if your empire wasn’t built on plunder and slavery.
See the rest of Dr. Mander’s column at the link.
Flat Tax Flummery 0
Robert Reich points out the many ways in which the flat tax is yet another fraudulent Republican scheme for robbing the poor to give to the rich.
Click to read.
How Journamalism Occupies Occupy’s Occupation 0
Andrew Ralmsley, writing in the London Observer, demolishes the notion that participants in the “Occupy” protest don’t know what they want. It’s a long and detailed rebuttal of that idea.
Frankly, the pundits who promulgate that notion are doing the pundit equivalent of sticking their fingers in their ears and going “Na na na I can’t hear you–and neither can anyone else.”
(snip)
On top of the billions of taxpayers’ money already committed to rescuing the banks, the eurozone leaders have just signed up to providing billions more. Yet from the nabobs of finance there is still not a whisper of a hint of a scintilla of humility or penance. The Institute of International Finance, the main industry organisation, reports that banks are handing more guaranteed bonuses to new employees than they were before the financial crisis. Governments have neither punished those who wrecked the economy nor taken adequate steps to ensure that they will be more accountable and responsible in future. Sir Fred Goodwin – why the hell is he still Sir Fred Goodwin? Three years have elapsed since the bubble burst in 2008 and yet we are still waiting for the fulfilment of promises of systemic reform. The wonder is not that people have been provoked to occupy parks and squares in every continent but Antarctica. The wonder is that this did not happen earlier.
The Icing on the Rose 0
Check out this picture from this Chicago Trib slideshow.
The Galt and the Lamers, Republican Deregulation Paradise Dept. 0
The Denver Post examines the effects of cutting back on federal food inspectors and replacing them with private “auditors.”
An inspector hired by Jensen Farms gave the cantaloupe operation a “superior” safety rating the same month contaminated melons were sorted by an unsanitary potato machine and sent to stores. Probing the subsequent listeria outbreak that has killed 28, Food and Drug Administration inspectors found multiple problems, and experts say an auditor should have flagged the issues.
It was only the latest incident when a “third-party” audit — slammed as an inherent conflict of interest by safety experts — failed to note deadly mistakes in a food operation.
Read the whole thing.
You will want to start a garden and raise your own livestock.
Mitt the Flip, Last Man Standing Dept. 0
Steve Chapman analyzes Mitt the Flip’s campaign strategy:
Read the whole thing. It’s a hoot.
One small problem.
The last guy left standing at the party usually turns out to be a disaster.
If he’s at that that kind of party, well, birds of a feather and all that.
He just hides it better than the others.
Afterthought:
You don’t find out what the last man standing is like until he straps you to the roof of his car and heads into the wilderness.
QOTD (Updated) 0
Upton Sinclair:
Addendum:
In an appropriate coincidence, today’s QOTD is cited in this item in the Inky.
And it is quite on target, to boot.
Golf Goes to the Dogs 0
This dog shot a one-in-hole.
The Rich Get Richer 0
Eugene Robinson runs the numbers:
If Americans were to realize they’ve been the victims of Republican-style redistribution — stealing from the poor to give to the rich — the whole political atmosphere might change.
One more time, Truman was correct.