Author Archives: oddmanout215

NYT to 99ers: Chances for new benefits ‘slim to none’


Senate Democrats, on six-week vacation, seem to agree Reporter Michael Luo came through this week with a story on the long-term unemployed, which was more or less a case study of how dangerous it is to lose your job in … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, mainstream media, mid-term elections, New York Times, Obama, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A moment of clarity at the coffee shop


Consumer protection starts with saying no to ATM fees A small example of how banks take advantage of customers and why Elizabeth Warren should be appointed to lead the soon-to-be-established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: On most days I stop for … Continue reading →

Posted in Congress, economic collapse, finance reform bill, Obama | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Robbing banks, the new-fashioned way


St. Louis bandits were slick, but not as slick as the Wall St. gang Monday’s big story in the Midwest: “Masked gunmen steal huge stash of cash in predawn heist at St. Louis ATM servicing business.” So who’s bolder, the … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, Goldman Sachs, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

We’re mad as hell, Friedman!


Our enemies are not our friends. The world is not flat. Thomas Friedman is a widely read pundit and an optimistic chap. Wrong most of the time, but optimistic, and very thorough in explaining the madness of U.S. foreign policy. … Continue reading →

Posted in globalization, mainstream media, New York Times op-ed, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Out of work, out of sight, out of mind


In the  1930s, the jobless were big news. Now they’re invisible. Media coverage of the unemployment problem pretty much ended on July 22, when President Obama signed a bill extending coverage to 2.5 million Americans whose benefits had been blocked … Continue reading →

Posted in Congress, mainstream media, Obama, Philadelphia, Politics, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The mystery of the vanishing oil spill


The Times seems stumped. Maybe the Hardy Boys should be on the case. I clicked on the New York Times link this morning and there it was — “On the Surface, Gulf Oil Spill Is Vanishing Fast; Concerns Stay” — … Continue reading →

Posted in BP, Gulf, New York Times, Obama | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Hey, Dem girls — time to wake up


David Lynch fans may remember the scene in Mulholland Drive where The Cowboy says “Time to wake up” to the Naomi Watts character, whose real life turns out to be a nightmare. Democrats will wake up in a nightmare, too, … Continue reading →

Posted in mainstream media, mid-term elections, Obama, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Politico reels in another red herring


The issue is right-wing lies, not ‘media recklessness’ Once upon a time, the news was dictated to us by a handful of corporations that professed to be non-partisan in their methods and goals. Then along came revelations that non-partisanship – … Continue reading →

Posted in mainstream media | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Memo to Obama: Show some fight


Be an aggressor, or a counterpuncher. Anything but a stiff. It seems the administration’s spokespersons, from Robert Gibbs all the way down, are motivated more by fear of Glenn Beck than by a desire to push the Democratic agenda. You … Continue reading →

Posted in Obama, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Brooks appalled by Gibson, but not by Bush


In the Weekly Standard, back in 2003, David Brooks bemoaned the fact that “Many Democrats feel that George Bush is just running loose, transforming the national landscape and ruining the nation, and there is nothing they can do to stop … Continue reading →

Posted in David Brooks, New York Times op-ed | Tagged , , | Leave a comment