Author Archives: oddmanout215

Did the Earth move for you, too, baby?


At Front and Lombard, a woman with a British accent approached me and said “Did you feel the earth shake?” or “Did you feel an earthquake?” There was passion in her voice. I wondered if she’d mistaken me for someone … Continue reading

Posted in livable cities, Philadelphia, The New Depression | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Gold’s up again. Is Blankfein going down?


The bald little man in the oversize suit who lives in a $26 million apartment next to Central Park may yet have that smirk wiped off his face. He hasn’t been charges in any civil or criminal case — up … Continue reading

Posted in economic collapse, Goldman Sachs, Great Recession, Politics, The New Depression, Uncategorized, unemployment, Wall Street, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

NY Fed’s bottom line: Banksters above the law


Most people who buck the system are easily pressured to change course, but a few are more likely to get their back up and hold steady, at least until the pressure becomes unbearable. Gretchen Morgenson wrote today of one such … Continue reading

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, Obama, Politics, The New Depression, Wall Street, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Support our couch-potato patriots


What’s with The New York Times? Week after week this summer, its editors have been running thoughtful essays on the Sunday Review section’s front page. Maybe they’ve decided to move away from predictable analysis pieces by staffers to guest writers … Continue reading

Posted in humor, Iraq war, mainstream media, New York Times, Obama, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Obama bans war criminals. Very funny.


It’s good to see something by Nat Hentoff, who wrote for Village Voice when it was worth reading and is still fighting the good fight against people in powerful positions who break the law. The subject matter of Hentoff’s recent … Continue reading

Posted in Congress, enviromentalism, Goldman Sachs, Great Recession, mainstream media, Obama, Politics, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Some ‘Rain’ to keep us sane in Philly


At last the rain god intervened to clean the stinking streets — am I paraphrasing Travis Bickle? — after the hottest July on record in Philly. And now there’s a chance this will be the city’s wettest August on record. … Continue reading

Posted in arts, humor, livable cities, Philadelphia, pop music | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

You can’t tell the cops (SEC) from the robbers


As you probably know, e-mailed information often ends up in databases that can be used against us by government agents, corporate spies or even acquaintances out to avenge real or imagined injuries. (I spent two years unsuccessfully trying to salvage … Continue reading

Posted in economic collapse, Goldman Sachs, Great Recession, mainstream media, Politics, Wall Street, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

A jobs-led recovery — what a concept!


A report written by Rutgers law and economics professor Philip Harvey pushes for a jobs-led recovery in place of the jobless recovery over which Barack Obama has chosen to preside up to now. Harvey’s plan involves quick creation of a … Continue reading

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, livable cities, mainstream media, Obama, Politics, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Cost of Bush’s wars? At least $12K per American


The U.S. in Afghanistan is looking a lot like the U.S.S.R. in Afghanistan. The cost of the war there and in Iraq, our other quagmire, is one of the two main causes of our record deficit, the other being lowered … Continue reading

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, humor, Iraq war, Politics, taxes, The New Depression | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

More songs about buildings and bikes


I was watching a sunburned woman with red hair in a thick braid. In the corner of my eye, a bike rider zoomed past and disappeared behind a bus. I stepped into the street for another look, but the rider … Continue reading

Posted in arts, enviromentalism, Great Recession, humor, livable cities, Philadelphia, pop music, The New Depression | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments