2011 archive
Letting the Foxes into the Henhouse 0
Matt Taibbi on how the SEC buried its investigations:
The Presidential Race 0
No, not the horse race.
It seems to me that the incidence of overt racist conduct and comments has increased in the past two years; I don’t have the resources to do a valid study, but I do believe that a cursory reading of the news during that period supports my impression.
The election of President Obama, rather than signaling an America transcending racism, has shown how deeply invested are some folks in perpetuating and propagating bigotry.
Chancey de Vega explores this in a long article. I’ve excerpted his descriptions of two of the concepts he uses in his analysis, because I think many white folks just don’t want to look at the evidence.
If they don’t see white sheets and burning crosses, they don’t see racism.
The second concept is symbolic racism. Because racism has evolved over time from the classic slavery, hood and sheets type known as dominative racism, to the more contemporary “colorblind” variety, the language and theory has had to shift as well. These types of White racism often overlap, and one does not necessarily preclude the other. I would suggest that as we unpack the hostility of the White Right and the Tea Party GOP to President Obama, symbolic racism, and its auxiliary white racial resentment, remain the most revealing and useful frameworks for making sense of the foolishness we are witnessing.
Racism is much more than white sheets and burning crosses.
I recommend that you click to read the rest.
Rhince Cycle 0
Chris Matthews grills Republican Party Chairman Rhince Priebus on the anti-intellectualism and hypocrisy of the Republican Party.
Priebus’s ability to avoid giving direct answers to direct questions is awe-inspiring.
Excerpt:
“Do you have a hard time with the fact that your party left this country in wreckage?” Matthews said. “…You think you left this bed all made for him.”
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Via Bob Cesca.
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.