Category Archives: The New Depression

Poverty gets more expensive every day

Posted on January 5, 2014 by oddmanout215

Yesterday at the shack we woke to bone-chilling wind and a blanket of ice. Swamp Rabbit was huddled in a corner with a bottle from the case of Wild Turkey I stole to help him get through his post-holiday funk. … Continue reading →

Posted in down and out, economic collapse, food, humor, mainstream media, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Karl Marx gets a makeover

Posted on December 23, 2013 by oddmanout215

Just for a laugh, I read aloud from a Guardian UK article in which David Simon expressed qualified approval of some Marxist ideas. Sure enough, my friend Swamp Rabbit called me a commie before I was halfway through the piece. … Continue reading →

Posted in down and out, economic collapse, globalization, history, mainstream media, The New Depression, unemployment, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The curious case of the two Barack Obamas

Posted on December 10, 2013 by oddmanout215

My friend Swamp Rabbit laughed all week at the speech in which the president, in typically stirring style, called for better treatment of low-wage workers: Barack Obama warned that a “relentless, decades-long trend” of growing inequality and social immobility posed … Continue reading →

Posted in campaign finance reform, globalization, mainstream media, Obama, The New Depression, unemployment, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Schumer’s in a bubble with the banksters

Posted on December 5, 2013 by oddmanout215

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

Turkey Day with Lucretius and Eric Cantor

Posted on November 29, 2013 by oddmanout215

Last week I bought enough Wild Turkey to get Swamp Rabbit through the week, which left me just enough money to buy a real turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. But there’s no oven in my shack to bake a turkey, so … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, down and out, humor, mainstream media, philosophy, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Where were you when poverty became acceptable?

Posted on November 25, 2013 by oddmanout215

I’ve been thinking of JFK and of those hard-luck cases who work at places like McDonald’s and Walmart. (There but for the grace of God and the wearing of a clown uniform go I.) Those who are old enough can … Continue reading →

Posted in down and out, economic collapse, globalization, Occupy Wall Street, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Guess who pays for Walmart’s greed

Posted on November 19, 2013 by oddmanout215

Maybe you saw the news item about the Walmart near Canton, Ohio that’s holding an in-house canned food drive “so associates in need can enjoy Thanksgiving dinner.” It seems retail employees at the monster store are so badly paid, many … Continue reading →

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

Poverty, straight up

Posted on November 18, 2013 by oddmanout215

From a blog called killermartinis, a stark account of living in poverty: … Rest is a luxury for the rich. I get up at 6 AM, go to school (I have a full course load, but I only have to … Continue reading →

Posted in down and out, economic collapse, The New Depression | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Was Lou Reed rock ’n’ roll’s last outsider?

Posted on November 1, 2013 by oddmanout215

My friend Swamp Rabbit, who only likes bluegrass and Bulgarian folk music, asked me about Lou Reed: “If this guy was an outsider, how come insiders sing his praises?” The rabbit was referring to the subhed of The New York … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, history, mainstream media, police state, The New Depression | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Obamacare in the land of the yahoos

Posted on October 27, 2013 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit swam two laps around the swamp then dragged himself onto the porch, where I was commenting on the virtual secessionists who are still fighting Obamacare, a.k.a. the Affordable Care Act. “I can’t get my head around this one,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Recession, health care, humor, mainstream media, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment