Category Archives: taxes

How much are essential workers worth?

Posted on August 6, 2020 by

I heard caterwauling: “I’m gonna have to throw all this trash into the swamp if they don’t pick up soon. The frogs and the possums ain’t gonna like that.” Swamp Rabbit was standing outside his shack, jamming empty beer cans … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, humor, mainstream media, Philadelphia, taxes, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Al Green’s impeachment song is a flop

Posted on July 17, 2019 by

I was in the little shack behind my main shack, rooting around for a rusty old window fan. Swamp Rabbit was in the main shack, watching the rerun of a cable news story from last night. “It’s Al Green, check … Continue reading →

Posted in health care, history, humor, immigration, mainstream media, Nativism, Obama, taxes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Trump’s snake oil still potent

Posted on November 7, 2018 by

Yesterday I showed Swamp Rabbit a line from a pre-election news story: Two years of political volatility will culminate Tuesday, when voters for the first time since the stunning 2016 election render a nationwide judgment on whether Trumpism is a … Continue reading →

Posted in history, humor, immigration, mainstream media, mid-term elections, Nativism, Politics, taxes | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Times’s Trump story is a few years too late

Posted on October 3, 2018 by

“I built what I built myself,” Mr. Trump has said, a narrative that was long amplified by often-credulous coverage from news organizations, including The Times. Certainly a handful of journalists and biographers, notably Wayne Barrett, Gwenda Blair, David Cay Johnston … Continue reading →

Posted in casinos, humor, mainstream media, mid-term elections, taxes | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A big victory for vile-but-discreet

Posted on December 21, 2017 by

Last week, after Roy Moore lost the race for a Senate seat in Alabama, I wrote “Old-guard Senate Republicans don’t like over-the-top vile. They like guys who are vile but discreet.” In other words, they prefer colleagues who are like … Continue reading →

Posted in mainstream media, mid-term elections, plutocracy, Politics, taxes | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

New tickets to paradise from PA Lottery

Posted on January 26, 2015 by

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

Schumer’s in a bubble with the banksters

Posted on December 5, 2013 by

From New Republic’s interview with New York Sen. Charles Schumer, who, in a weasel-y way, links Sen. Elizabeth Warren with “left-wing blogs”: CS: …You’ve got to look at the effect on average folks. The vast majority of the people employed … Continue reading →

Posted in Congress, economic collapse, mainstream media, Obama, taxes, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street, weasel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

If at first you don’t secede…

Posted on November 12, 2013 by

I handed Swamp Rabbit a bucket of epoxy and put him to work fixing a new crack in the shack that’s deep enough to let in plenty of water if there’s a downpour. While he worked I talked politics, I … Continue reading →

Posted in health care, humor, mainstream media, NJ, taxes | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Today’s GOP — morons or monsters?

Posted on October 4, 2013 by

Swamp Rabbit and I were laying down planks to fix the hole in the floor of my shack and arguing about Republicans in Congress who shut down the government this week. Is their bad behavior grounded in stupidity or malice? … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, Congress, health care, history, humor, mainstream media, taxes | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The sport of kings, and of corporate welfare

Posted on September 19, 2013 by

Most non-fans of horse-racing, if they think of the sport at all, probably picture frantic racetrack patrons at ticket windows, or at computers, placing last-minute bets as horses and jockeys mosey up to the starting gate. But an article on … Continue reading →

Posted in casinos, Philadelphia, sports, taxes, The New Depression | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment