1/ Ah...... Detroit's car industry, GM and Chrysler.....bailed out by the taxpayer, and they vowed to reinvent themselves as car companies of the future. The problem is we the consumers haven't got it yet........when gas went up to $4 a gallon everyone freaked out, but when prices went down to the mid-$2 range we went back to buying gas guzzlers again......
So the Detroit car companies are doing quite well, but only because they are selling lots of big SUV's and trucks.....
In particular, what Mr. Obama called his “one goal” — having Detroit “lead the world in building the next generation of clean cars” — is nowhere near being achieved. While the idea of improving G.M.’s and Chrysler’s fuel efficiency was doubtless a politically popular justification for the bailout, American consumers have not embraced the goal with equal fervor. Sales of fuel-sipping compact and subcompact cars have actually dropped this year, while pickup and sport utility vehicle sales grew by double-digit percentages.
2/ Economics. This story is a little dry and written in biggish words, but the gist of it is the political world has Insiders and Outsiders in it - the Insiders are highly organized and determined - an example would be the banking lobby. Outsiders are basically all the rest of us, and we are unfocused, easily swayed and make emotional decisions. This is why the oligarchies always win....they are single issue lobbies.
Another point he makes in this most interesting essay is that every now and then the Insiders allow us Outsiders to win a small one to divert attention.....otherwise we might suspect the political game is rigged......his example of this would be Elizabeth Warren and the Consumer Protection law...
If you can cope with the dry writing, well worth reading.....
Insiders are basically special interests: small in number but well organized and with specific goals. Outsiders, or the “unorganized masses,” are the rest of us: we have some interests, but we are poorly organized to pursue them and therefore are generally unsuccessful. In particular, Outsiders suffer from poor and limited information, and therefore are especially susceptible to political symbols. In Kling’s words:
“Given these differences, the Insiders use overt political dramas as symbols that placate the masses while using covert political activity to plunder them. What we would now call rent-seeking succeeds because Outsiders are dazzled by the symbols while Insiders grab the substance.”
This seems like a pretty straightforward description of why interest groups are politically powerful. I think Edelman’s additional contribution is the emphasis on the use of symbols by the Insiders to distract the Outsiders: “For Edelman, symbolic reassurance and political quiescence were somewhat troubling phenomena. The masses were being lulled by symbolic gestures into accepting adverse political outcomes.”
3/ Parents - Onion News has some excellent advice about how to choose a Halloween costume for your effeminate little boy....2 very funny minutes.....
4/ The START treaty - we get our nuclear weapons inspectors back into Russia, good for national security and good for the world. No brainer to pass it, right?
Not according to Jon Kyl, who is turning into the most evil sleazebag in a Senate full of unprincipled whores.....
There are six living secretaries of state from Republican administrations, and every one of them — from Henry Kissinger through Condoleezza Rice — endorses the New Start arms control treaty with Russia. Yet, as of this writing, the treaty is far from assured of support from even the one in four Republican senators needed for ratification.
Why the divergence between the Republican Party’s foreign policy brain trust and its legislators? Hoping to find out, I spent part of the past weekend watching C-Span, notably the impassioned utterances of Jon Kyl of Arizona, the leading treaty opponent.
5/ Not everyone agree Goldman Sachs bankers don't deserve their
massive bonuses.....
NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report
executives have received howls of protests from the banking giant's
legion of critics, but not from its most ardent defender: Satan.
In a rare press conference, the usually reclusive Prince of Darkness
defended Goldman's bonuses today, inviting reporters to meet with
him at his apartment in New York's Trump Tower.
"I don't doubt for a minute that my friends at Goldman deserved
those bonuses," Satan said, adding that "buying their souls was the
best investment I ever made." "It really is the gift that keeps on
giving," he chuckled.
The Evil One said that the bloated Goldman bonuses were "just the
cherry on top" of what has been "one of my best years ever."
"From Glenn Beck to Tony Hayward to the gang at Goldman, 2010
has had more than its share of heroes," he said. "I salute them all."
Satan added that his banner year was even going out with a bang:
"Just when I thought this year couldn't get any better, this weekend I
saw 'Yogi Bear.'"
The Lord of Misrule said he was looking forward to the holiday
season, a time when some of "the greatest evil against humanity" is
perpetrated: "Every time someone puts on a Christmas sweater, I
give myself a high five."
In other news, President Obama congratulated the New York Giants
for compromising with the Philadelphia Eagles.
6/ I don't know about you but I don't think I know anyone who believes in Creationism....but then the subject doesn't really come up in conversation much. Which is why the results of a new poll are so astonishing - 40% of Americans believe the earth was created about 10,000 years ago, men riding dinosaurs etc.
This is beyond stupidity - it's a complete rejection of science, of history and frankly intelligence in favor of believing what you are told to believe by obviously unscrupulous "Men of God"......a massive failure of the American education system and the triumph of the forces of ignorance. Amazing......and noone calls them out on these beliefs.
Anyway the stats also go some way to explaining where we are today, and the deep hole this country is in. The less education you have, the more you believe in Creationism, and 52% of Republicans subscribe to this nonsense.....
Have these people ever been to a Natural History museum? Do they ever wonder about how their cellphones work, i.e. science? How about astronomy? Yech.......
The poll also revealed that beliefs in creationism and evolution are strongly related to levels of education attained. When results are narrowed to those with college degrees, only 37 percent of respondents maintain beliefs in creationism. Meanwhile, the belief in evolution without the aid of God rises to 21 percent.
With regards to political affiliation, a majority of Republicans (52 percent) subscribe to creationist beliefs. This is compared to only 34 percent among Democrats and Independents.
Views on human origins vary based on church attendance. Of those who attend church on a weekly basis, 60 percent believe in creationism while a mere 2 percent subscribe to "secular evolution". These numbers are flipped among those who rarely or never attend religious services. In this group, only 24 percent believe in creationism while 39 percent believe in evolution without divine guidance
7/ A DDD favourite
Jewel goes to a karaoke bar in disguise and stuns the crowd.....a fun, positive and nice video......and what a voice!!!
8/ According to Fox News there's no such thing as climate change.......however......
Torrential rains in California causing havoc.....
LOS ANGELES — A powerful storm system with drenching rain, heavy snow and high winds lashed California on Monday, but forecasters warned the worst was yet to come.
Even stronger storms were bearing down on the state and threatened to dump another 5 to 10 inches of rain during the next two days.
Virtually the entire state was affected by the bad weather.
Some locations in Southern California had received more than 12 inches of rain, said meteorologist Jamie Meier of the National Weather Service. It was the most rainfall from one storm event since 2005, he said.
"That will make for a pretty good wallop, especially considering how dry things have been for the last two years," Meier said.
Downtown Los Angeles got 5 1/4 inches of rain since Friday morning, more than a third of the average annual precipitation.
The National Weather Service said a record .98 inches of rain fell at Los Angeles International Airport Monday, the most for the date since 1952.
Europe under a blanket of snow , airports closed, Christmas travel in chaos.....
Things are bad across Europe, which is in the midst of an icy cold snap that has disrupted transportation across much of the continent. Paris has been battered for days by alternating rain, sleet and snow, with temperatures hovering around freezing. On Monday, the French authorities asked airlines to cancel 30 percent of their flights from Orly and Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airports after a worse-than-forecast snowstorm. Eurostar urged travelers to postpone their journeys if possible.
In Germany and Amsterdam, the Frankfurt and Schiphol airports warned passengers to check with their airlines before leaving home.
In Britain, average temperatures have sagged to four or five degrees below normal, and the month is shaping up to be the coldest December in a century and the snowiest in 30 years. Except for a few days when the temperature lifted into the 40s, December has been relentlessly cold, windy, icy and unpleasant.
Australia is having snow in the middle of their summer......
It may be summertime "down under," but instead of sunshine and warm breezes, Australia has been hit with severe weather conditions, including unseasonable flooding and even a snowstorm, the BBC is reporting.
Dozens of residents were evacuated from their homes in the remote town of Carnarvon, some 900 kilometers north of Perth, after a staggering 30 centimeters of rain caused what the Telegraph hascalled the region's worst flooding in 50 years, damaging crops and cattle stations. Meanwhile, residents in east coast states New South Wales and Victoria experienced a rare "White Christmas"-style start to their holiday week, after a cold spell left up to 10 centimeters of snow covering many of the area's ski resorts, which are usually snow-free this time of year.
9/ California and the foreclosure crisis
The state of CA passed a law recently to target the foreclosure mill racket, where if you're in trouble these sleazy law firms offer to "help" you avoid losing your home. Just listen to AM radio in Florida and you'll hear them all the time.
Well the new law had the "unintended" consequence of shutting down real and legitimate lawyers from taking on any foreclosure cases.....thereby helping the banks, who now have free reign to kick people out of their homes.
Wonder who slipped the ambiguous language into the bill......could it be the bank lobbyists? Hmmm.....
They're powerful, smart and ruthless.....so the answer is probably yes....
Lawyers throughout California say they have no choice but to reject clients like Ms. Bell because of a new state law that sharply restricts how they can be paid. Under the measure, passed overwhelmingly by the State Legislature and backed by the state bar association, lawyers who work on loan modifications cannot receive any money until the work is complete. The bar association says that under the law, clients cannot put retainers in trust accounts.
The law, which has few parallels in other states, was devised to eliminate swindles in which modification firms made promises about what their lawyers could do, charged hefty fees and then disappeared. But foreclosure specialists say there has been an unintended consequence: the honest lawyers can no longer afford to assist Ms. Bell and all the others who feel helpless before lenders that they see as elusive, unyielding and skilled at losing paperwork.
10/ I know some of you say "David why do you send us all of this depressing political stuff".
I hear your cries and your whining, so here is a lovely Christmas tale from Ireland about the 12 days of Christmas......4 funny [and uplifting of course] minutes.....
Todays DDD favourite joke - I received a lot of good feedback from guys saying thank you for this advice, so boys - read it again....and learn.....
. 
What women really mean in an argument
Fine - I am right. This argument is over. You need to shut up.
2. That's Okay - One of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. "That's okay" means she wants to think hard and long before deciding when and how you'll pay for your mistake.
3. Nothing - The calm before the storm. This means "Something" and you better be on your toes. Note: Arguments that start with "Nothing" usually end with "Fine" (See #1).
4. Five Minutes - If getting dressed, this means half an hour. (Don't be mad about this. It's the same definition for you when it's your turn to do some chores around the house.)
5. Thanks - A woman is thanking you. Do not question this or faint. Just say, "You're welcome," and let it go.
6. Loud Sigh - Not actually a word but rather a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. It means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is standing here wasting her time arguing with you about "Nothing." (See #3)
7. Go Ahead - This is a dare, not permission. (Don't Do It!)
8. Don't worry about it, I got it - The second most dangerous statement a woman can make. It means that a woman has asked a man several times to do something and is now doing it herself. (This will result in you asking at a later date, "What's wrong?" For the woman's response, see #3.)
Todays redneck jokes
You won't ever hear a redneck say things like...
- I'll take Shakespeare for 1000, Alex.
- Duct tape won't fix that.
- Honey, I think we should sell the pickup and buy a family sedan.
- Come to think of it, I'll have a Heineken.
- We don't keep firearms in this house.
- Has anybody seen the sideburns trimmer?
- You can't feed that to the dog.
- I thought Graceland was tacky.
- No kids in the back of the pickup, it's just not safe.
- Wrestling's fake.
- Honey, did you mail that donation to Greenpeace?
- We're vegetarians.
- Do you think my gut is too big?
- I'll have grapefruit and grapes instead of biscuits and gravy.
- Honey, we don't need another dog.
- Who gives a crap who won the Civil War?
- Give me the small bag of pork rinds.
- Too many deer heads detract from the decor.
- Spittin' is such a nasty habit.
- I just couldn't find a thing at Wal-Mart today.
- Checkmate.
- She's too young to be wearing a bikini.
- Does the salad bar have bean sprouts?
- Hey, here's an episode of "Hee Haw" that we haven't seen.
- I don't have a favorite college team.
- Be sure to bring my salad dressing on the side.
- You ALL.
- Those shorts ought to be a little longer, Darla.
- Nope, no more for me. I'm drivin' tonight.
Todays lawyer jokes.....
No comments:
Post a Comment