Category Archives: economic collapse

Blow them up good, then corporatize


Here’s a thought: maybe Madison, Wisconsin, isn’t Cairo after all. Maybe it’s Baghdad – specifically, Baghdad in 2003, when the Bush administration put Iraq under the rule of officials chosen for loyalty and political reliability rather than experience and competence. … Continue reading

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The NYT’s ‘no shit’ style of news analysis


There are deeply divided opinions and shifting allegiances over whether unions are helping or hurting people who have been caught in the recent economic squeeze. And workers themselves, being pitted against one another, are finding it hard to feel sympathy … Continue reading

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Why Madison, Wis., looks like Egypt-land


Credit where it’s due: Not all mainstream reporters are treating what’s happening in Wisconsin as a budget-related spat over cuts in benefits. In today’s Philadelphia Daily News, Will Bunch considers the global context of the story and ponders the likelihood … Continue reading

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Wis. workers try to slip pharoah’s yoke


I dig a ditch, I shape a stone/Another battlement for his throne/Another day on earth is flown/We’re all working for the pharaoh. — Richard Thompson, “Pharoah” The nicest thing you can say about the mainstream media’s skimpy coverage of the … Continue reading

Posted in economic collapse, Egypt, Great Recession, mainstream media, New York Times, NJ, Obama, Politics, taxes, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Egypt, Iraq and neocon doubletalk


The post-2003 democratic wave was brief and somewhat shallow, and it indirectly benefited Hamas and Hezbollah as well as the Kurds and Shiites of Iraq and the Lebanese democracy movement. But the regime-change school in America can claim a degree … Continue reading

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

Working at the Inky/DN will be a hard habit to break


Tighten your fingers around a teaspoon, feel its metal pulse, its mistrustful warning. How it hurts to refuse a spoon, to say no to a door, to deny everything that habit has licked to a suitable smoothness. — Julio Cortazar, … Continue reading

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The Great Oz explains the state of the union


Practicing civility means never having to say you’re sorry. It mostly involves learning to speak in a civil manner, never using words that might cause anger or tears or indigestion. This takes time and effort and — the hard-to-learn part … Continue reading

Posted in Congress, economic collapse, Great Recession, health care, mainstream media, Obama, Politics, unemployment, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Coming soon to a town near you — Camden-ization


Somebody send out the cadaver dogs to search for my midwinter optimism. In the fall, at least, I was able to bike across the Ben Franklin  from Philly to take care of business. But after the first dusting of snow, … Continue reading

Posted in Camden, Delaware River Port Authority, economic collapse, globalization, Great Recession, livable cities, mainstream media, NJ, Philadelphia, Politics, taxes, Wall Street, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

David Brooks, a weasel in preacher’s clothing


Civility is a tree with deep roots, and without the roots, it can’t last. So what are those roots? They are failure, sin, weakness and ignorance. — David Brooks, Jan. 13, The New York Times Brooks should write speeches for … Continue reading

Posted in David Brooks, economic collapse, Great Recession, mainstream media, New York Times, New York Times op-ed, Obama, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Fast Eddie’s casino freakout on 60 Minutes


I’m Fast Eddie Rendell, and I’m smarter than the rest of you guys, always have been. It took me years to make you understand that casino gambling is the solution to shuttered factories and tens of thousands of lost jobs. … Continue reading

Posted in casinos, economic collapse, livable cities, mainstream media, Philadelphia, Politics, sports, taxes, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment