Category Archives: unemployment

Know your enemy. Keep the Brawny boys in the news.

Posted on March 14, 2011 by oddmanout215

Interesting reader’s comment on a Crooks and Liars story about the Saturday rally in Madison, WI, that drew 100,000 protesters: I think that the Koch brothers may finally have unwittingly jumped the shark. While it may be a bit premature … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, enviromentalism, food, Great Recession, mainstream media, Politics, taxes, unemployment | Tagged Bastille Day, boycott, Brawny paper towels, collective bargaining, French Revolution, Georgia-Pacific, Gilded Age, guillotine, Jean-Paul Marat, Koch Brothers, Robert LaFollette, Scott Walker, Steinmaster, Wisconsin | Leave a comment

Anti-unions bill OK’d. (Don’t sit still for it, Tom.)

Posted on March 10, 2011 by oddmanout215

Because these wings are no longer wings to fly But merely vans to beat the air The air which is now thoroughly small and dry Smaller and dryer than the will Teach us to care and not to care Teach … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, economic collapse, Great Recession, mainstream media, Obama, Politics, pop music, unemployment | Tagged Ash Wednesday, Budget Reform Bill, collective bargaining, Gov. Scott Walker, Gov. Tom Corbett, Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller, T.S. Eliot, Warren Zevon, Wisconsin | 1 Comment

DiCicco drops out, but has DROP to console him

Posted on March 8, 2011 by oddmanout215

And so it comes to pass that one of Philly’s most consistently [GASPS, GRABS FACE]-inducing City Council members would rather just take the DROP money and run, rather than deal with your broke asses for another cringe-inducing term. And it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in casinos, City Hall, Great Recession, Philadelphia, Politics, taxes, unemployment | Tagged Casino-Free Philadelphia, casinos, City Council, Frank DiCicco, Independence Hall, Market East, Philadelphia, Philebrity, waterfront | Leave a comment

Consumer confidence & the price of Cheez Whiz

Posted on March 4, 2011 by oddmanout215

Pat’s Steaks, in South Philadelphia, which raised the price of its cheesesteak from a tourist-targeted $8 last year to $8.50, is getting by with a bit less profit to keep from raising prices again, said spokesman Tommy Francano. “Last year … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, enviromentalism, Great Recession, Gulf, health care, immigration, livable cities, mainstream media, Philadelphia, Politics, unemployment, world-wide economy | Tagged Cheese Whiz, cheesesteaks, food prices, Geno's, Hummer, junk food, Ninth and Passyunk, Pat's Steaks, South Philadelphia | 3 Comments

Media likes Sheen, but angry workers? Not so much

Posted on March 2, 2011 by oddmanout215

Three blivets wreathed in American flags and automatic weapons could stand on a streetcorner with signs reading “Keep Your Damn Government Hands Off My Medicare,” and they would find themselves surrounded by camera crews from CNN, MSNBC and, of course, … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, economic collapse, Great Recession, mainstream media, Politics, unemployment | Tagged 2008, Charlie Sheen, corporate media, financial crash, Lindsay Lohan, Madison, mainstream media, Oscars, Susan Madrak, unions, Will Pitt, Wisconsin, workers | 2 Comments

Karl & Groucho assess GOP’s war on labor

Posted on March 2, 2011 by oddmanout215

Before I started writing this column on why paychecks are likely to keep shrinking even if unemployment starts to inch down, I consulted Google to see if the term Marxism was trending upward. It was and has been ever since … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, mainstream media, Politics, unemployment, Wall Street, world-wide economy | Tagged end of history, First World, Francis Fukuyama, GOP, Groucho Marx, Karl Marx, Marxism, organized labor, Rana Foroohar, shrinking paychecks, The End of history and the Last Man, Time magazine, workers | 1 Comment

Obama to workers: Can’t find those shoes!

Posted on February 28, 2011 by oddmanout215

If Americans workers are being denied their rights to organize and collectively bargain when I’m in the White House, I’ll put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself; I’ll walk on that picket line with you as president of the … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, mainstream media, Obama, Philadelphia, Politics, unemployment, world-wide economy | Tagged collective bargaining, comfortable shoes, Lawrence Summers, LOVE Park, Obama, Philadelphia, Scott Walker, Tim Geithner, union workers, Wisconsin | Leave a comment

Money for (next to) nothing on WXPN

Posted on February 27, 2011 by oddmanout215

But there’s nothing, really nothing, to turn off. — Bob Dylan, “Visions of Johanna,” 1966 I turned on the car radio this morning and noticed the DJ on WXPN was yakking for a long time between songs. “Oh no, a … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, economic collapse, Great Recession, mainstream media, Philadelphia, pop music, unemployment | Tagged "alt" rock, American Routes, Beck, Cee-lo Green, Death Cab for Cutie, Fleet Foxes, funding drive, Philadelphia, radio, Tinicum, WXPN | 1 Comment

Media guy blames media for Wisconsin turmoil

Posted on February 26, 2011 by oddmanout215

Wisconsin says a lot about our political discourse, none of it good… Complex issues are reduced to sound bites. Talking points of the extreme left and right dominate. Americans obediently fall into line, either for “free enterprise” or the “working … Continue reading →

Posted in David Brooks, economic collapse, Great Recession, mainstream media, New York Times, Philadelphia, taxes, unemployment, Wall Street | Tagged collective bargaining, David Brooks, Elysian Fields, labor unions, Michael Smerconish. Philadelphia Inquirer, pension funds, right-wing commentators, unemployment, Wisconsin | Leave a comment

Blow them up good, then corporatize

Posted on February 25, 2011 by oddmanout215

Here’s a thought: maybe Madison, Wisconsin, isn’t Cairo after all. Maybe it’s Baghdad – specifically, Baghdad in 2003, when the Bush administration put Iraq under the rule of officials chosen for loyalty and political reliability rather than experience and competence. … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, Great Recession, Iraq war, mainstream media, New York Times, NJ, Philadelphia, Politics, unemployment | Tagged Baghdad, Bill Keller, budget crisis, Cairo, Gov. Scott Walker, Krugman, Madison, Naomi Klein, Obama, Paul Bremer, Rortybomb, The Shock Doctrine, Wisconsin | Leave a comment