Category Archives: economic collapse

At Berkeley, a literal meaning for ‘Beat Poets’


Robert Hass, former poet laureate of the U.S., describing how non-violent students and teachers were brutalized by UC Berkeley cops on the very site where the Free Speech Movement was born 50 years ago: … None of the police officers … Continue reading

Posted in arts, economic collapse, Great Recession, New York Times, Politics, The New Depression | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Me and the devil and a Dallas church


Blues great Robert Johnson’s songs include “Me and the Devil Blues,” “Hellhound on My Trail” and “Cross Road Blues.” The latter explains how he sold his soul to Satan in return for guitar-playing prowess. It looks like some Christians in … Continue reading

Posted in arts, economic collapse, food, Great Recession, health care, humor, livable cities, New York Times, pop music, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

From dystopia to reality, via NYPD


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…


… 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!


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


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.


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

Obama’s silence on OWS speaks volumes


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

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


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


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