Category Archives: mainstream media

New tickets to paradise from PA Lottery

Posted on January 26, 2015 by oddmanout215

Nothing says “lower-class desperation” more clearly than state-sponsored lotteries: A new Pennsylvania Lottery game debuts Tuesday, while other longtime drawings are getting new names. The new game is called PICK 2, a twice-daily drawing that allows players to bet on … Continue reading →

Posted in casinos, economic collapse, humor, life in the big city, mainstream media, taxes, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

If Comcast’s CEO had sucked up to Teddy Roosevelt

Posted on January 24, 2015 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit had an interesting thought today. You’ve got to wonder, he said, how many media companies Comcast CEO Brian Roberts would have gobbled up if recent U.S. presidents hadn’t been stooges for big business. Net neutrality is only one … Continue reading →

Posted in history, humor, mainstream media, Obama, plutocracy, sports | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘Deflategate’ a bigger story than state of union

Posted on January 22, 2015 by oddmanout215

I was on the porch at the shack with Swamp Rabbit, critiquing Barack Obama’s sixth State of the Union address. Obama was the embodiment of magical thinking for American liberals, an icon of hope because he was an articulate outsider. … Continue reading →

Posted in Congress, economic collapse, globalization, Great Recession, humor, mainstream media, Obama, plutocracy, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pope Francis vs. Bill Maher, pope of snark

Posted on January 18, 2015 by oddmanout215

Poor Pope Francis, cast into eternal darkness by comedian Bill Maher, host of Real Time and unofficial head of the Church of the Latter Day Snarks: “I was starting to really like this pope,” Maher said during his monologue on … Continue reading →

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Cat Stevens still can’t abide ‘blasphemy’

Posted on January 14, 2015 by oddmanout215

The hippie-era troubadour and Muslim convert Yusuf Islam, aka Cat Stevens, is on the comeback trail and already putting his foot in his mouth. For a recent Rolling Stone article, Yusuf was asked about his declaration that “[Salman Rushdie] must … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, mainstream media, pop music | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Notes on Anita Ekberg, ‘sex goddess’

Posted on January 13, 2015 by oddmanout215

News of Anita Ekberg’s death at 83 got Swamp Rabbit and I and other Federico Fellini fans thinking of Ekberg’s small but memorable role in La Dolce Vita (1960), her only good movie and one of the greatest movies ever … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, fiction, humor, mainstream media, movies | 1 Comment

The provocation game in France

Posted on January 8, 2015 by oddmanout215

Juan’s Cole’s analysis of the bloody assault on the office of the satiric magazine Charlie Hebdo wasn’t as stirring as Salman Rushdie’s, but Cole got to the heart of the matter: This horrific murder was not a pious protest against … Continue reading →

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Regarding Rushdie and the limits of satire

Posted on January 8, 2015 by oddmanout215

Salman Rushdie has issued an eloquent denunciation of the fanatics who slew 12 in Paris in the name of their god: I stand with Charlie Hebdo, as we all must, to defend the art of satire, which has always been … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, fiction, history, humor, mainstream media, plutocracy, terrorism, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Get 700,000 e-books for $9.99, then an Amazon crock-pot

Posted on December 31, 2014 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit and I were eating collard greens — the new kale! — and reading about Amazon’s all-you-can-eat strategy for handling books: …For much of the last year, mainstream novelists were furious that Amazon was discouraging the sale of some … Continue reading →

Posted in down and out, economic collapse, fiction, food, humor, mainstream media, The New Depression | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

‘Abundance without attachment’ is right-wing doubletalk

Posted on December 17, 2014 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit and I huddled next to the wood stove and pored over a cheery Christmas article by economist Arthur C. Brooks, who wants people to make an attitude adjustment regarding possessions. He urges readers to “collect experiences, not things,” … Continue reading →

Posted in apocalypse, down and out, economic collapse, food, globalization, Great Recession, humor, liar, life in the big city, mainstream media, philosophy, unemployment, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment