There is no easy way out.
Comfort: It says here that the Euro/European debt crisis will be over in two or three years. Nice to know. But others are sure the Eurozone is headed for a crash...
Can't Win: Homeland Security, The Weather Channel, Mayor Bloomberg, and governors from North Carolina to Massachusetts all are accused of over-reacting to the Hurricane Irene threat. Good for them. Now let's hope they note the infrastructure weaknesses the storm pointed out and over-react to them, too.
The Longest Day War: August 2011 has seen more Americans killed in Afghanistan than any in the previous ten years. Does anybody remember why we are there? Does anybody think it is worth the lives, the money?
The General Idea: “We have in our power the ability to amend the Constitution of the United States to vastly limit the power of money to manipulate and control the electoral process. Let's do it. Those in our society who unfairly use the power of money to oppress us do not have to prevail” Yes, indeed, let's do it. And soon.
Health vs Profits: The administration says that seven new regulations will cost the economy more than $1 billion a year, but will improve American health, reduce our energy dependence and slow the production of greenhouse gases. The Republicans say that the cost us way overstated because they intend to prevent them from ever being enforced. It is a mater of profits vs. people, and to the GOP profits come first.
Made In the USA: “By debasing the U.S. and its commitment to the rule of law, encouraging unjustified foreign wars, and attempting to re-legitimate torture in a way not seen since the Middle Ages, Dick Cheney has likely done more damage than any other Bush administration official – or anyone else in US history — to our nation’s security and future prospects." - Chip Pitts of Amnesty USA
Grapevine: Did the government funnel every but if America’s electronic communications through NSA's computers? Yes. Do they still? Yes. Did they have a warrant? No. Do they need one? Ah. Yes, under the Fourth Amendment. But, no, under the national security state, where we have to lose our freedoms in order to preserve them.
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: The GOP - witness Perry, Bachmann and Romney - is becoming the “anti-science party”, where embracing willful ignorance is required. Some day soon we may wake up and find that our leaders believe in science by opinion poll – or prophetic scribbling.
What Took Them So Long? Republicans want to change the UN budget process so that countries (or Republicans, in the case of the US) can pick which parts of the UN budget they want their money spent on. No more US money would find its way to Palestinians, peace-keeping, etc. This is another in a continuing series of useless noise made by adolescent House Republicans made with the full knowledge that it will never pass the Senate.
Lesson Learned, Briefly: Lenders are making more subprime auto loans again – over 40% of car loans go to people who cannot afford the new car they are 'buying'. No problem, the lenders know that when the loans g0 sour en mass, the taxpayer will once again bail out the lenders and the car companies. They hope.
States (Far) Rights: Republican governors want to 'reform' Medicaid, by 1) giving the money to the states and 2) let them decide who lives and who dies design their own programs, 3) with no federal oversight 4) of the managed-care programs run by their largest contributors for 5) a few – very few – qualifying voters.
Porn O'Graph: Hey, big spender!
5 comments:
As someone who has been tracking hurricanes now for over a decade the USA authorities did not over react. There was a big one on the way and they took the relevant action. That it slackened a little may have been due to nature or to prayer was always possible but never probable.
Comfort - Why can't it be both? Crash in 4th qtr 2011 and finish most of the recovery in 3 years.
Can't Win - They didn't over react, the storm just did the most damage outside of a major media market.
Be Afraid - You can't nail Romney down that specifically. His position on science is determined by the audience he is addressing at the time. Bachmann will say anything that grabs headlines.
Lesson learned, Briefly - To be fair, just because the loan is subprime doesn't mean they can't afford the car. Subprime in this case (according to the article) means their credit score has been a bit bruised from the years of bad economy. Credit scores take years to recover even though income/debt has been resolved.
Can't Win - Well, Don't know if they over reacted or not, even sitting on the West Coast, seems not to me . . . but I did read this bit of insanity on Reuter's that proves Republicans can't miss any opportunity to mis-represent the facts:
Special report: Irene wallops flood insurance program
"What I do regret tremendously is because the federal government can undercut the private sector, it is now the only insurer in the floodplain management arena," said Joe Allbaugh, the former director of FEMA under President George W. Bush, who now runs his own disaster management company.
Pure bullshit. Never mind the small detail that private insurers BAILED-OUT of the flood insurance business because of the spate of losses over the last decade . . . and left it to the Feds to deal with.
Okay, Okay. The sarcasm intended in "Can't Win" didn't seep through, so I've re-written it to - hopefully- make clear that I think that those charged with the general welfare and safety of the citizenry did not "over-react". They did what they were supposed to in view of the threat.
Now I'd like to see them act with the same good sense and concern for the welfare of the public and continue their leadership by capitalizing on the moment, and the threat, and continue to be admirable leaders by undertaking to shore up and improve the general welfare of the citizenry by initiating comprehensive infrastructure repair and replacement programs.
I sincerely apologize for misrepresenting my sentiments.
ckm
The Longest Day War:
The government does not want their soldiers to come back, it is as simple as that!
There are no jobs for them, except the kind of "jobs" that require millitary training and a casual attitude to shooting people: Organised Crime!
Homeland Securety is already bloated to well over capacity and everywhere else there are so many poxy security-goons that it looks like the USSR already - and I have been to both the old USSR, the DDR and the USA.
PS:
IMO is worth avoiding travelling to/in the USA *just* because of the TSA morons. Now I only go when work demands it.
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