Author Archives: oddmanout215

Shoeshine boys debate job creation

Posted on March 17, 2013 by oddmanout215

[The job creators] have no intention of creating jobs now or in the future. They don’t have to create jobs and there’s nobody out there to make them do it. They simply will reduce the number of jobs they have … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, Great Compression, life in the big city, mainstream media, Philadelphia, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Being white in Philly Mag

Posted on March 10, 2013 by oddmanout215

[Update: I walked into a South Philly CVS and saw that headline again, screaming at me in bold white caps, and I thought oh no, race war, end of the world!] It’s hard to read Philadelphia Magazine‘s March cover piece, … Continue reading →

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Chavez was flawed, but he had Bush’s number

Posted on March 7, 2013 by oddmanout215

Right-wingers celebrated the death this week of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, calling him a dictator and much worse, but only because he wouldn’t play ball with American oil companies or refrain from criticizing hypocrites who put a noble spin on … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Iraq war, liar, mainstream media | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Thank Obama, the anti-FDR, for the sequester

Posted on March 4, 2013 by oddmanout215

America is waiting for a message of some sort or another. – David Byrne and Brian Eno It ain’t pretty, the damage Barack Obama has done to working people by trying to cozy up to Republicans over the last four-plus … Continue reading →

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Scalia’s mission: resurrect Jim Crow

Posted on March 1, 2013 by oddmanout215

The idea that progress is an inexorable force is naive. Civilization’s big steps forward are often followed by big steps back. The civil rights movement triggered a backlash that continues to this day. Progressive laws are still on the books, … Continue reading →

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Throwing truth to the lions

Posted on February 26, 2013 by oddmanout215

There’s no such thing as the simple truth. The goodness of the good guys is always exaggerated by the media. History is written by the victors. From Laura’s Miller’s review of The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a … Continue reading →

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Bits and pieces, Oscar night

Posted on February 25, 2013 by oddmanout215

We all know the Academy Awards are more about commerce than art, that the best picture award rarely goes to the film that deserves it. But how is it that a film can win for best picture but not best … Continue reading →

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On the links (Obama and Big Oil)

Posted on February 22, 2013 by oddmanout215

It will be interesting to see how Rachel Maddow and her liberal-lite colleagues at MSNBC spin the story if Barach Obama ends up backing the Keystone XL Pipeline. They speak no evil of the chief, ever. From Common Dreams: So … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, climate change, environmentalism, mainstream media, Obama, pop music | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sun flurries and sportswear in South Philly

Posted on February 21, 2013 by oddmanout215

On Sunday there were sun flurries. Very pretty, swirling on the parking lot under a semi-clear sky, but only for a few minutes. I was working outside a big-box store that sells sportswear. Ball caps bearing team logos, shiny clown … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, life in the big city, pop music, sports, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

There will be blood (or more apathy)

Posted on February 19, 2013 by oddmanout215

There’s nothing new about eras in which the rich grow richer as the majority slips into the ditch. Or about gilded ages being followed by periods in which worker incomes rise. In between are those interesting chapters in which the … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, globalization, Great Depression, history, mainstream media, Occupy Wall Street, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment