Hmmmm.....more rain......
1/ Looking for a Leader
Thomas Friedman on the Tea Party movement and the anger out there, and he correctly says that what we are ALL looking for is a true leader, not another politician. There have been a spate of really rich people trying [and in most cases succeeding] to buy party nominations, but what if one of the billionaires ran on the premise of "I've got enough money, I don't need theirs, and I'm going to look out for YOU!" And meant it......
Good article......
The issues that upset the Tea Kettle movement — debt and bloated government — are actually symptoms of our real problem, not causes. They are symptoms of a country in a state of incremental decline and losing its competitive edge, because our politics has become just another form of sports entertainment, our Congress a forum for legalized bribery and our main lawmaking institutions divided by toxic partisanship to the point of paralysis.
The important Tea Party movement, which stretches from centrist Republicans to independents right through to centrist Democrats, understands this at a gut level and is looking for a leader with three characteristics.
2/ Bob Herbert reminds us again how neither party have any plans to help the middle class, and how both political parties but especially the Republicans are living in a parallel universe....
Election Day is approaching, but neither party cares to focus on the nightmare facing millions of Americans who have been laid low by unemployment, home foreclosures, personal bankruptcies, and jobs that offer only part-time work, lousy pay and absolutely no benefits.
In an era of extreme economic inequality (which is another way of saying economic unfairness), Wall Street can be on a roll and corporate profits can streak toward the moon at the same time that ordinary American families are stuck in depressionlike conditions with precious little hope of relief.
..............................
But at least the Democrats are still rooted in the real world. The Republicans, when they aren’t behaving as though they’ve lost their minds completely (see O’Donnell, Angle, Paladino, et al.), are peddling a fantasy that has already damaged the country profoundly. The party’s ludicrous “Pledge to America” promises to reduce federal budget deficits while, among other things, making all of the Bush-era tax cuts permanent and jacking up already insanely high defense costs.
The pledge is as dangerous as it is transparent. Economists have calculated that the tax cuts alone will cost nearly $4 trillion over the next decade.
3/ UK Budget cuts - Guardian UK
In two weeks the Chancellor will announce major spending cuts affecting every part of the British government's expenses, and it will be brutal. This is coming on top of news from Ireland where the Irish have done the same, sparking widespread anger and protests......and Britain will be the same, and the anger will be why do the citizens on the UK have to pay for the excesses and greed of the big banks.....
This story from a British newspaper is most interesting - read it and substitute US for UK to see what is coming if and when the Republicans take over all of the levers of power, which they will if the President or someone at least doesn't tell the truth, which is taxes have to go up. Period. Start with gasoline. To reduce our debt and get the budget back in balance.
But this isn't going to happen with the tiny pair of cojones our politicians are blessed with......so we just keep piling debt on to our kids and grandchildren.
Given this, the first and simplest question people ask is whether any of this is necessary. The short answer, from pretty much every economically literate person in the world, is yes. In the years building up to the crash, the government had accumulated a structural deficit, in other words a permanent gap, every year, between the money it was raising in tax and the money it was spending. (A word about the distinction between deficit and debt. The best description of a deficit is the one given by Dickens's character Mr Micawber: "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery." When your annual income is less than your expenditure, you have an annual deficit.
4/ Oh lordy - another Christine O'Donnell clip from Bill Maher.....she would have become a Hare Krisna but she liked meatballs.....she'd make a fine Senator, don't you think?
1 minute....
5/ I love Gail Collins's dry wit.....she is dead on today with a summary of the awful election choices some of our states have.....note she missed Florida.......
But for overall awfulness, I’m going to go with Nevada, where Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, is in a battle with Republican Sharron Angle in a race in which the voters have made it clear they loathe everybody. Both Reid and Angle have decided the wisest course might be to stay out of sight and just run attack ads, helping to turn this into the Year of the Burrowing Candidate. They did both appear at a forum at a Christian school recently but made sure they were never on stage at the same time.
6/ Unusual one - the Singing Anesthesiologists rendition of "Waking Up Is Hard to Do".....five real doctors from Minnesota....funny.....2 minutes......
7/ China and its currency
Most insightful article about why the Chinese are being so stubborn about revaluing the Renembi - it's because they have a deep fear of causing unemployment in their marginal factories, which in turn would cause protests, riots etc.......in a way this confirms Paul Krugmans Friday article, which is the Chinese government needs to be strongly threatened to get them to do anything.....go Congress go.....
Good analysis.....for you pointy headed ones.....
A sudden change in the value of the Yuan could have the effect of throwing a wrench into the works, potentially setting off a chain reaction of factory closures and layoffs across the interconnected networks that drive China’s export-oriented economy. In the short term, China might be able manipulate legislation, the banking sector, and welfare levers to prop up key industries or regions. But in the long term, it is uncertain if these steps would be enough to preserve social stability or continued loyalty to the Communist Party.
8/ News report on how President Obama's home teleprompter malfunctioned and how he coped when Melia asked him a question.....from Onion News....2 minutes
9/ Big Ag - Guardian UK
Like the nice cheap pineapples we get in Publix? We haven't seen this story in the US media. Dole and Del Monte, who supply most of the worlds inventory from their plantations in Costa Rica, have a secret. These Big Ag oligarchs are poisoning their workers, the land and the water with gross overuse of chemicals......hmmmm....so what's the residue left in the fruit from the poisons they use?
What are you really eating when you have a Del Monte pineapple?
• The constant use of agrochemicals has led to contamination of drinking-water supplies to communities around the plantations. One group of villages, bordering plantations that either supply or are owned by Del Monte, has been forced to collect water from tankers for more than three years.
• Repeated chemical accidents have inflicted serious damage on the local environment. In June this year, a fire at a chemical dump used by the multinational trader Dole caused a toxic cocktail to spill into the nearby river. Fish and other wildlife including crocodiles were killed along miles of waterways.
10/ California has reduced possession of an ounce or less of weed to a $100 ticket - no court, no criminal record..... this is in advance of the vote coming next month on full legalisation. Hmmmm.....just imagine Venice Beach.......
11/ Random notes from London
You can open British packages with your fingers....no tough terrorist-resistant plastic......
Oxford Street in Central London on a Saturday from the top of a double decker bus - a sea of bobbing heads, the most crowded street we've ever seen, a nightmare.....
Police cars, ambulances, fire trucks have LOUD sirens....fingers in the ears loud....and constant.....
Their technology works in daily life - you buy an Oyster card for the bus and tube with a stored money value, and just pass it over a pad when you get on a bus......of course this doesn't resonate in Florida as there is no public transportation to speak of....
Big cities are crowded, but there's an energy in the air......everybody walks, even in the rain......
Todays video - Gunfight commercial
Todays drunk joke
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Todays excellent philosophical jokes
***I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.***Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.***I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.***Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.***The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on the list.***Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.***If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong.***We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.***War does not determine who is right - only who is left.***Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.***The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.***Evening news is where they begin with 'Good evening', and then proceed to tell you why it isn't.***To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.***A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station.***How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?***Some people are like Slinkies ... not really good for anything, but you can't help smiling when you see one tumble down the stairs.***Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them
fish.***I thought I wanted a career, turns out I just wanted pay checks.***A bank is a place that will lend you money, if you can prove that you don't need it.***Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says "If an emergency, notify:" I put "DOCTOR".***I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.***I saw a woman wearing a sweat shirt with "Guess" on it...so I said "Implants?"***Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?***Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.***Why do Americans choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America ?***Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.***A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.***You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.***The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!***Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won't expect it back.***A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you will look forward to the trip.***Hospitality: making your guests feel like they're at home, even if you wish they were.***Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.***I discovered I scream the same way whether I'm about to be devoured by a great white shark or if a piece of seaweed touches my foot.***Some cause happiness wherever they go. Others whenever they go.***There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.***I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure.***I always take life with a grain of salt, plus a slice of lemon, and a shot of tequila.***When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.***You're never too old to learn something stupid.***To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.***Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.***Some people hear voices. Some see invisible people. Others have no imagination whatsoever.***A bus is a vehicle that runs twice as fast when you are after it as when you are in it.***If you are supposed to learn from your mistakes, why do some people have more than one child?***Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
Todays Jewish joke
Schwartz, Cohen and Ginsburg were all close friends since childhood.
They decided they wanted to go into business together.
Schwartz says, "OK! I'll invest $100,000."
They decided they wanted to go into business together.
Schwartz says, "OK! I'll invest $100,000."
Cohen says, "I will go for $200,000".
Ginsburg says, "All right, I'll put in $1,000."
Cohen says, "If I'm putting in $200,000, I'll be the President and
CEO of the corporation. You, Schwartz, for your $100,000, you can be Vice
President and CFO, and Ginsburg, for your $1,000, you will be our Sexual
Adviser."
Puzzled, Ginsburg asks Cohen, "What is a Sexual Adviser?"
Cohen replies, "When we want your fucking advice, we'll ask for it."
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