Monthly Archives: November 2011

From dystopia to reality, via NYPD

Posted on November 18, 2011 by oddmanout215

At what point does the near-future depicted in a novel stop seeming dystopian and become more-or-less realistic? This is from Super Sad True Love Story, the bestseller by Gary Shteyngart, who read Wednesday at Rutgers-Camden: An armored personnel carrier bearing … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, Camden, economic collapse, fiction, globalization, Goldman Sachs, Great Recession, humor, mainstream media, Occupy Wall Street, Politics, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Why Republicans love privatization…

Posted on November 17, 2011 by oddmanout215

… and high incarceration rates: Last year the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the nation’s largest private prison company, received $74 million of taxpayers’ money to run immigration detention centers. Their largest facility in Lumpkin, Georgia, receives $200 a night … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, Politics, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Anarchy in Occupy Philly!

Posted on November 17, 2011 by oddmanout215

Daniel Denvir in The Naked City, regarding a rumor Philadelphia Daily News helped spread yesterday with its cover story (sub-head: “How the homeless hijacked Occupy Philly”): I received a call nearly two weeks ago touting the same conspiracy theory: anarchists … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, City Paper, economic collapse, humor, mainstream media, Philadelphia, Politics, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Camping without tents or tarps

Posted on November 17, 2011 by oddmanout215

Cold ground was my bed last night, And rock was my pillow, too.

Posted in arts, economic collapse, Occupy Wall Street, pop music, The New Depression | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Occupy without encampments? I don’t think so.

Posted on November 17, 2011 by oddmanout215

I share Robert Reich’s opinion of the corporate kingpins who are working to drive a stake through the ailing heart of our democracy: A funny thing happened to the First Amendment on its way to the public forum. According to … Continue reading →

Posted in campaign finance reform, economic collapse, Great Recession, mainstream media, Occupy Wall Street, Politics, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

A glass-half-full take on OWS clearout

Posted on November 16, 2011 by oddmanout215

Tuesday was a career-defining day for Mike Bloomberg. First he ordered Zuccotti Park cleared by paramilitary cops who roughed up and/or arrested many protesters and a few reporters in the process. Then he ignored a court order to allow the … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Recession, mainstream media, Occupy Wall Street, Politics, The New Depression, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Obama’s silence on OWS speaks volumes

Posted on November 15, 2011 by oddmanout215

Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed, weighed in today on the OWS mess, lest we forget the abandonment of the poor and middle-class by Barack Obama, the anti-FDR: “One of the appalling things here is that there are so … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, Obama, Occupy Wall Street, Politics, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Bloomberg’s doubletalk on park evictions

Posted on November 15, 2011 by oddmanout215

Here, from Raw Story, is all you have to know about the integrity of the billionaire mayor from Wall Street: After ordering the eviction of protesters from Zuccotti Park, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday explained that the … Continue reading →

Posted in liar, Occupy Wall Street, Politics, The New Depression, Wall Street, weasel | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

It ain’t broke, but Mitt would fix VA health care

Posted on November 14, 2011 by oddmanout215

From ThinkProgress: Mitt Romney floated the idea of partially privatizing the veterans health care system during a roundtable discussion with vets in South Carolina on Veterans Day, saying, “When you work in the private sector and you have a competitor, … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, health care, Mitt Romney, Politics, The New Depression, weasel | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The weasel David Brooks satirizes inequality

Posted on November 13, 2011 by oddmanout215

Never let it be said that NYT columnist David Brooks, the Earnest Weasel, doesn’t have a sense of humor, even though his attempts at social satire are about as amusing as a buyout by Mitt Romney’s private equity firm. Here’s … Continue reading →

Posted in David Brooks, economic collapse, Great Recession, humor, liar, mainstream media, Mitt Romney, New York Times, Occupy Wall Street, Politics, The New Depression, unemployment, weasel | 1 Comment