Category Archives: Politics

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

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

Panetta sounds like Strangelove


Ignore the jobless, kick people out of their homes, starve the kids. These consequences are grim but acceptable. The one thing we cannot afford, you slimy Congresspeople, is to cut the Defense budget. Doing so might set off a “doomsday … Continue reading

Posted in arts, Congress, humor, mainstream media, movies, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

‘Goons of August’ usher in new era


Nobody’s shooting yet, but I’ll bet Barbara Tuchman would appreciate Robert Kuttner’s headline. Kuttner does a good job summarizing Democratic stupidity regarding the debt deal, and of explaining why our government, in its current form, is in worse shape than … Continue reading

Posted in Congress, economic collapse, Great Recession, Obama, Politics, taxes, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bush/Obama’s ten years of torturing the truth


George Bush’s avuncular cheerleader for torture, Donald Rumsfeld, is facing another civil suit. Good news, but why no criminal charges from Barack Obama’s Department of Justice? It seems Eric Holder and the gang have yet to acknowledge arguments comparing Bush … Continue reading

Posted in Iraq war, mainstream media, Obama, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s … Super Congress!


Concerned that nations will soon fight over oil reserves? If you think that’s bad, wait until world population booms to 10 billion or so at the same time all the fresh water is drying up. But that’s long-term stuff. This … Continue reading

Posted in enviromentalism, Great Recession, Politics, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Onion’s birthday joke, with an edge


The Onion’s Obama birthday joke was satire, but only in the lamest sense of the word: After months of heated negotiations and failed attempts to achieve any kind of consensus, President Obama turned 50 years old Thursday, drawing strong criticism … Continue reading

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