Category Archives: Great Recession

If you prick corporations, do they not bleed?


“Corporations are people, my friend,” says Mitt Romney, who looks like a middle-aged Ken doll and acts like he has an industrial coolant coursing through his veins. Or maybe I’m just prejudiced against soulless enemies of the poor and jobless, … Continue reading

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

London looters bypass bookstores… Sign o’ the times?


Looter A: Listen, mate, two quid will get you ten boxes of the latest Franzen, in hardcover. Looter B: Bollocks! What about the new Xbox 360 games? Cutbacks in social services for the poor helped trigger riots this week in … Continue reading

Posted in arts, economic collapse, globalization, Great Recession, humor, livable cities, mainstream media, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Obama a liability in Wisconsin recall efforts?


To establish a majority in the state Senate, Wisconsin Democrats needed to defeat three of the six Republicans challenged in recall elections held Tuesday. They defeated two. A good day but not good enough, arguably because Barack Obama and other … Continue reading

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, mainstream media, Obama, Politics, taxes, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

SugarHouse workers to bet on unionizing


Sure, the SugarHouse Casino next to the Delaware River is an eyesore and a sick solution to the scarcity of good jobs in Philadelphia. However, casino workers deserve job security and a fairer share of the loot that’s not being … Continue reading

Posted in casinos, City Hall, City Paper, economic collapse, Great Recession, Philadelphia, Politics, taxes, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Philly’s turf war against flash mobs


I had to laugh when I saw the Agence France-Presse story about the “flash mob curfew” now in effect in my obscenely humid hometown: The measure was the latest effort to secure a city famous as the site of the … Continue reading

Posted in City Hall, economic collapse, Great Recession, humor, livable cities, mainstream media, Philadelphia, Politics, unemployment | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

London calling… for more firefighters


Fans of the Clash must feel nostalgic watching events unfold in London and other English cities, where economic austerity (starve the poor) and rioting are back in style. The New Yorker quotes a Labour Party official who warned last fall … Continue reading

Posted in Congress, economic collapse, globalization, Great Recession, mainstream media, Politics, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

A no-class-system-in-America joke


Oldie-but-goodie found on the Internet — Two English professors run into each other and start shooting the breeze: Professor A: “B, old chap, I haven’t seen you for a long while.” Professor B: “I’ve been away in America researching my … Continue reading

Posted in Congress, economic collapse, Great Depression, Great Recession, humor, mainstream media, Obama, Politics, taxes, The New Depression, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Satan sandwich, or the seitan?


I needed caffeine badly, so I stopped in a vegan coffee shop — soy milk only — and ordered a macchiato. Reading the menu board, I noticed the seitan sandwich and asked the barista if this item was inspired by … Continue reading

Posted in Congress, economic collapse, food, Great Recession, humor, mainstream media, Philadelphia, The New Depression | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Ayn Rand would rap Ryan’s knuckles


Paul Ryan has always insisted on “revenue neutral” tax reform, but now that congressional Dems have been trounced, he’s singing a slightly different tune. The Wisconsin wing-nut said today he’d

Posted in Congress, Great Depression, Great Recession, mainstream media, Politics, taxes, The New Depression, Uncategorized, unemployment | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

What if the passion was never there?


Obama blew it. That’s the point of a long piece in today’s NYT by an exasperated academic who has stopped pretending Obama is the second coming of Martin Luther King: …[King] preached the gospel of nonviolence, but he knew that … Continue reading

Posted in Congress, Great Depression, Great Recession, mainstream media, New York Times, Obama, Politics, taxes, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment