Category Archives: The New Depression

It takes a village of ‘experts’ to craft Hillary’s POV

Posted on February 10, 2015 by oddmanout215

The headline — “Economic plan is a quandary for Clinton ’16” — was provocative. The lede was downright bizarre: With advice from more than 200 policy experts, Hillary Rodham Clinton is trying to answer what has emerged as a central … Continue reading →

Posted in campaign finance reform, economic collapse, humor, liar, mainstream media, New York Times, plutocracy, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

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

Ivan Klima covers the NFL playoffs

Posted on January 12, 2015 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit and I were hungry, so we took a two-day job — strictly commission, unfortunately — peddling magical electricity in a suburban mall. There were flat-screen TVs and football fans all over the place. We caught some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, humor, life in the big city, Philadelphia, sports, The New Depression, unemployment | 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

Damn lies and statistics in the NY Times

Posted on December 6, 2014 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit and I were jawing about a NY Times report on the high unemployment rate in France. The story seemed to imply that those left-leaning Frenchies had turned their country into an economic basket case by not scrapping a … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, health care, mainstream media, New York Times, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street, world-wide economy | Leave a comment

Casinos to laid-off workers: Happy Labor Day!

Posted on September 1, 2014 by oddmanout215

I was telling Swamp Rabbit about my Labor Day Weekend trip to Atlantic City, where three casinos are closing and more than 5,700 casino workers are being laid off over the next two weeks. “Closed” stickers were slapped onto the … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, fiction, Great Recession, humor, mainstream media, NJ, The New Depression, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Preaching to the choir about the GOP

Posted on May 6, 2014 by oddmanout215

I read to Swamp Rabbit part of Charles Pierce’s reaction to the Republicans’ successful effort last Wednesday to block a Senate vote on whether to raise the minimum wage to $10.10: Can we just drop the pretense now and admit … Continue reading →

Posted in Congress, economic collapse, mainstream media, plutocracy, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A buy from Amazon is a vote for wage slavery

Posted on March 6, 2014 by oddmanout215

I read a piece in Salon about Amazon’s business model and almost throttled my friend Swamp Rabbit, I guess because he was the only creature in sight. But I was glad to see that at least one media writer wasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in down and out, economic collapse, globalization, humor, mainstream media, plutocracy, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Regarding Coca-Cola (corporate America’s rotgut)

Posted on February 12, 2014 by oddmanout215

I recently discussed with my friend Swamp Rabbit the sappy Coca-Cola commercial that features, as Guardian UK put it, “a multi-lingual rendition of ‘America the Beautiful’ sung by children and illustrated with a diversity of New Americana scenes…” The usual … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, campaign finance reform, Congress, down and out, globalization, humor, mainstream media, movies, Occupy Wall Street, plutocracy, The New Depression, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

‘Ever-so-gentle rabble-rouser’ Pete Seeger dies

Posted on January 28, 2014 by oddmanout215

I was away from the swamp, stealing potatoes at the local Super Fridge, when I heard about Pete Seeger. This will be a rough day, I thought. Swamp Rabbit is an old leftie with a soft spot for New Deal-influenced … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, Great Depression, history, humor, mainstream media, Obama, Occupy Wall Street, pop music, The New Depression | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments