Category Archives: Obama

Osama, we hardly knew ye!


Put on your waders, here comes the presidential bullshit: Tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. I know that it has, at times, frayed. Yet today’s achievement is a testament to the greatness … Continue reading

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, Iraq war, mainstream media, Obama, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Brooks, the Earnest Weasel, nips at Obama


This because it’s been a long while since my last installment of the Weasel Watch: President Obama and Paul Ryan are two of the smartest, most admirable and most genial men in Washington. It is sad, although not strange, that … Continue reading

Posted in David Brooks, economic collapse, Great Recession, mainstream media, Obama, Politics, taxes | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to negotiate like Neville Chamberlain


John Boehner’s target was $40 million in budget cuts. He got $38.5 million. And yet talking heads on MSNBC will almost surely try to spin the budget deal as some sort of victory for Democrats and working people, just as … Continue reading

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

How do Paul Ryan do that voodoo he do?


I vote “yes” on Robert Reich’s call for higher taxes on the rich: …Remarkably, taxes on the top have plummeted. From the 1940s until 1980, the top tax income tax rate on the highest earners in America was at least … Continue reading

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, mainstream media, New York Times, Obama, Politics, taxes, unemployment, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Obama trap is closing on progressives


From the Animals: My little girl you’re so young and pretty/And one thing I know is true/You’ll be dead before your time is due/Yes you will. From Michael Gerson in The Washington Post: Obama now has Republicans cornered in budget … Continue reading

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, mainstream media, Obama, Politics, taxes, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fox News VP: Sure, I lied about Obama


In case you wondered why Roger Ailes and his motley crew are barred from Canadian TV outlets, here’s this from Media Matters: In newly uncovered audio, a Fox News executive boasts that he lied repeatedly during the closing days of … Continue reading

Posted in mainstream media, Obama, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Denial is just a sign of the times


This is what happens in other democracies when bankers try to reward themselves for helping to ruin the world economy: Britain has a rival when it comes to bashing bankers. After a furious row over pay packages at Amsterdam-based ING … Continue reading

Posted in Congress, economic collapse, globalization, Great Depression, Great Recession, mainstream media, Obama, Politics, taxes, unemployment, Wall Street, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

First, Dems give away the store. Then they haggle.


This is what happens when you supposedly represent the interests of working people but are too timid, dishonest or stupid to fight for those interests: Republicans are poised to reject a White House offer, TPM has learned, that would cut … Continue reading

Posted in Congress, economic collapse, Great Depression, health care, mid-term elections, Obama, Politics, taxes, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

New Deal soon for the jobless? More like no deal


Frances Fox Piven recently addressed the plight of the long-term unemployed and, perhaps more strongly than she intended, linked it to President Obama’s failure to act as a forceful advocate for jobs creation. Piven cited Obama’s lukewarm efforts to persuade … Continue reading

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, Obama, Politics, unemployment, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

For labor foes, Triangle fire never happened


Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and a good time to acknowledge there are powerful people still determined to undo the progress made by organized labor in the aftermath of that disaster. Here’s Robert Reich … Continue reading

Posted in economic collapse, globalization, Great Recession, mainstream media, Obama, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment