A few extra stories as we missed a day.....make sure to watch the video in #6.....
1/ Does our President have a spine?
The signs aren't good....every day the White House is dancing, every day on the defensive.....the Obama was supposed to have a meeting with the new Speaker Boehner et al today but the boys blew off the President.....
When is Obama going to 'get it"? When is he going to realise the goal of the Republican party is to make him a one term President?
Paul Krugman on this and other straws in the wind.....
But the real question was whether Mr. Obama could change his tune when he ran into the partisan firestorm everyone who remembered the 1990s knew was coming. He could do uplift — but could he fight?
So far the answer has been no.
Right at the beginning of his administration, what Mr. Obama needed to do, above all, was fight for an economic plan commensurate with the scale of the crisis. Instead, he negotiated with himself before he ever got around to negotiating with Congress, proposing a plan that was clearly, grossly inadequate — then allowed that plan to be scaled back even further without protest. And the failure to act forcefully on the economy, more than anything else, accounts for the midterm “shellacking.”
Even given the economy’s troubles, however, the administration’s efforts to limit the political damage were amazingly weak. There were no catchy slogans, no clear statements of principle; the administration’s political messaging was not so much ineffective as invisible.
2/ And in the Blue corner......
Interesting story on Hilary Clinton and how she is attempting to kickstart the Palestinian peace talks by talking some sense into the Israelis.....
Hmmm.....she seems to have a spine....hmmm......
Clinton’s new role was evident last week. During a video conference with Fayyad, she announced $150 million in direct U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority (and said America was “deeply disappointed” by “counterproductive” Israeli housing plans in East Jerusalem). The next day she went into nearly eight hours of talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that opened the negotiations door a crack.
Before I get to that, some background. The Clinton of today is not the Clinton of a decade ago. Compare that sharp criticism of Israel’s East Jerusalem building with her 1999 position that Jerusalem is “the eternal and indivisible capital of Israel.” Somewhere in the past decade her conviction hardened that the state of Palestine is achievable, inevitable and compatible with Israeli security.
3/ Wal-Mart sales declined again for the 6th quarter in a row......yeay! The most evil corporate oligarch in America isn't doing well......however, some thoughts.....
If they aren't doing well, it reflects the plight of the middle and lower class....
Maybe this is a rejection of Chinese junk starting....I know this household tries not to buy "Made in China" whenever possible.....
Maybe, just maybe, this is a grass roots rejection of Wal-Mart? I hope it is, but probably not.....more likely it's just the recession crippling more and more families. They love Wal-Mart and feel at home there....you've seen the pictures.....
And why evil you ask?
Because Wal-Mart pioneered the shipping of American jobs to China, pressuring all of it's suppliers to set up factories over there in it's drive for cheaper prices.....
And they have destroyed small town America.....when a Wal-Mart opens up, all of the small businesses in towns across the country close down, and the store owners who were the backbone of these towns end up as greeters in the megastore at minimum wage....
And the Waltons as a group, the third richest family on the planet, give minimally in charitable contributions and help to communities.....spoiled, rich, greedy bastards.....
So think about this stuff as you dodge the obese rednecks in the Wal-Mart parking lot wheeling your Chinese junk out to your Japanese car.....
4/ Betty Bowers bestows Sarah Palin with the "Worst Mother of the Year" award......funny video....actually really funny skewering of the Mama Grizzly.....5 minutes......
5/ Two Florida stories that are a sign of things to come.....
The EPA was due to bring in new rules for discharge of pollutants into Florida's water supplies. The big offenders [including a Koch Industries subsidiary] figured it was cheaper to buy a few scum Florida politicians [including the new Governor] rather than comply with the new rules ....so they did.
Now the EPA has delayed the implementation of the program by 15 months, which gives the new Republican House plenty of time to build up pressure on the EPA to scrap the whole thing.
Bottom line - they don't give a shit about your water and how clean it is......
There will be a special session of the Florida Legislature to un-veto a few bills that Crist rejected......and off we go to a couple of years of blatant, wholesale corruption......and even if our new Governor wanted to veto anything he can't......but he wouldn't, would he....
Just two weeks after Florida voters delivered a veto-proof majority of Republicans to the Legislature, its new leaders are exploiting that power to try to force tax breaks for large landowners, roll back environmental regulations, help big business and rush privatization of Medicaid for the poor.
6/ Three stories on the financial system......
The Fed.
One of the cleverest and most insightful videos we have seen in a while - the Federal Reserve and it's actions, explained by cartoon characters. Trust me - it's excellent....and it's scary as well. Points up again how the oligarchy have corrupted everything in our government, including the theoretically independent Fed.
Goldman Sachs truly runs our financial lives......
And a follow up news story to this video on how the Fed is feeling the pressure.....but when you read it you will note the US Chamber of Commerce, the lobbying arm for the oligarchs, defends the Fed....it's a complex world.....
On Friday in Frankfurt, Mr. Bernanke intends to respond to international criticism of the Fed’s decision, which has come from officials in Europe, and in China and other emerging markets.
Those actions, along with rare on-the-record interviews this week by William C. Dudley, president of the New York Fed, and Janet L. Yellen, the central bank’s vice chairwoman, add up to an unusual and orchestrated attempt by the Fed to cast its decision in the most favorable terms and respond to a maelstrom of criticism — some partisan, some not — that has taken it by surprise.
Those objections persisted on Wednesday.
In a letter to Mr. Bernanke, four Congressional Republican leaders expressed “deep concerns” about the Fed’s plan, known as quantitative easing.
A third story [short] about the G20 summit last week, and what a failure it was for the Treasury and the President. The US just doesn't have clout or credibility any more....the rest of the world blames US banks [rightly] for blowing up the financial system....
It is hard to imagine how the summit could have gone any worse for the US Treasury and the president. The spin machine is now working overtime – and you’ll see big efforts to get more positive stories over the coming week – but on all fronts the outcome is very bad.
7/ Book Reviews
John Grisham's "Confessions", and Stephen King's "Full Dark, No Stars".....
Two best selling authors have new books out....and they're both good......
A year later the tables are turned. Mr. Grisham has stretched out into his usual full-length format with “The Confession,” about a wrongly convicted man on death row in Texas. And Mr. King has gone short-winded with “Full Dark, No Stars,” a set of four spooky moral tales. Two of our most dependably prolific and popular authors have both switched gears.
8/ Car review - Audi A8
There are few excellent choices of cars in the $80k range, such as the new Jaguar XF which is beautiful, but I have always liked the stealthy elegance of the A8....and this new model sounds wonderful.....
Audi’s largest luxury sedan has long flown below the radar. The A8 has been the nonconformists’ choice, for a select group that doesn’t care to join the prestigious clubs of the BMW 7 Series, Mercedes S-Class or Lexus LS.
The A8 was also the first mass-market car with a weight-saving aluminum chassis, the Audi Space Frame developed with Alcoa in 1997. But I wouldn’t expect you to remember that, either.
And while the A8 always drove well, its styling was clean and understated, as though Audi took aesthetic and ascetic pleasure in a machine that buyers might choose for its inner virtues.
Yet as Audi has risen to challenge the luxury kings directly
Todays video - no video today....slow connection!!
Todays robot joke
A guy goes into a bar, there's a robot bartender.
The robot says, "What will you have?"
The guy says, "Martini."
The robot brings back the best martini ever and says to the man,
"What's your IQ?"
The guy says, "168."
The robot then proceeds to talk about physics, space exploration and
medical technology.
The guy leaves, but he is curious...
So he goes back into the bar.
The robot bartender says, "What will you have?"
The guy says, "Martini."
Again, the robot makes a great martini gives
It to the man and says, "What's your IQ?"
The guy says, "100."
The robot then starts to talk about Nascar, Budweiser and John Deere tractors.
The guy leaves, but finds it very interesting, so he thinks he will
try it one more time..
He goes back into the bar. The robot says, "What will you have?"
The guy says, "Martini," and the robot brings him another great martini.
The robot then says, "What's your IQ?"
The guy says, "Uh, about 50.."
The robot leans in real close and says,
"So, you people still happy you voted for the Tea Party?"
Todays Thanksgiving joke
Things you can only say on Thanksgiving day
1. Talk about a huge breast!
2. Tying the legs together keeps the inside moist.
3. It's Cool Whip time!
4. If I don't undo my pants, I'll burst!
5. That's one terrific spread!
6. I'm in the mood for a little dark meat.
7. Are you ready for seconds yet?
8. Its a little dry, do you still want to eat it?
9. Just wait your turn, you'll get some!
10. Don't play with your meat.
11. Just spread the legs open & stuff it in.
12. Do you think you'll be able to handle all these people at once?
13. I didn't expect everyone to come at once!
14. You still have a little bit on your chin.
15. How long will it take after you stick it in?
16. You'll know it's ready when it pops up.
Todays short bonus joke
Marriage is like a deck of cards...
In the beginning all you need is two hearts and a diamond.
By the end.............. you'll wish you had a f*****g club and a spade.....Todays Ladies joke
Girlie Wisdom
One of the mysteries of life is that a two pound box of chocolates can make you gain five pounds.
The reason women over 50 don't have babies is because we would put them down and forget where we put them.
It's time to give up jogging for your health when your thighs keep rubbing together and starting your pants on fire.
What happens if you confuse your Valium with your birth control pills?
You have 12 kids, but you don't really care.
You have 12 kids, but you don't really care.
Skinny people bug me. They say things like, "Sometimes I forget to eat." Now, I've forgotten my keys, my glasses, my address and my mother's maiden name. But I have never forgotten to eat! You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat!
What is the best way to forget your troubles? Wear tight clothes.
Why is it harder to lose weight as you get older? Because by that time your body and your fat have become really good friends.
My mind doesn't wander, it leaves completely.
What happens when you leave an outfit hanging in your closet for a while? I shrinks two sizes.
It's nice to live in a small town, because if you don't know what you are doing, someone else does.
I read some article which said that the symptoms of stress are impulse buying, eating too much and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That's what I call a perfect day.
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