If you thought the two stories posted yesterday [on the 1%'s control of the country and the destruction of our education system] were depressing, here's a follow-up that is also a doozey. Things are coming to light, crawling out from under the rocks and slime, detailing how the giant banks, hedge funds and connected rich folk pillaged the Treasury during the bailout madness of 08 and 09.
Matt Taibbi's story in Rolling Stone, due out in a week, has details of some of this and he describes the secret deals and sweetheart loans given to "the boys"......there's a whole shadow world out there of the rich getting richer, quietly using our money.....
America has two national budgets, one official, one unofficial. The official budget is public record and hotly debated: Money comes in as taxes and goes out as jet fighters, DEA agents, wheat subsidies and Medicare, plus pensions and bennies for that great untamed socialist menace called a unionized public-sector workforce that Republicans are always complaining about. According to popular legend, we're broke and in so much debt that 40 years from now our granddaughters will still be hooking on weekends to pay the medical bills of this year's retirees from the IRS, the SEC and the Department of Energy.
Most Americans know about that budget. What they don't know is that there is another budget of roughly equal heft, traditionally maintained in complete secrecy. After the financial crash of 2008, it grew to monstrous dimensions, as the government attempted to unfreeze the credit markets by handing out trillions to banks and hedge funds. And thanks to a whole galaxy of obscure, acronym-laden bailout programs, it eventually rivaled the "official" budget in size — a huge roaring river of cash flowing out of the Federal Reserve to destinations neither chosen by the president nor reviewed by Congress, but instead handed out by fiat by unelected Fed officials using a seemingly nonsensical and apparently unknowable methodology.
This is an excellent article from the Guardian, a UK newspaper on the recent budget cut [$38 billion] deal and how the Republicans outmaneuvered the President. He also discusses at length how the right wing is imploding, unable to face the backlash from angry voters who don't approve of the extremism.
This was written before the President's speech yesterday, where he appeared to take a stand and draw a line in the sand with principles his administration stands for. It's great he gave this speech, but we've heard speeches before......
If Obama has finally grown a pair this is a good thing for the country and the middle class.....if it's a smoke screen, oh well we were toast anyway.....
Anyway a very good essay on his performance, Republican Governors and the Tea Party influence....
The Republican victory in November would better be described as a Democratic defeat in which the bottom fell out of the coalition that carried Obama to victory, as youth, black, Latino and progressive voters stayed at home. Sadly, on the week when he relaunched his re-election campaign, the president seems to be doing everything in his power to demotivate them from turning out again.
For if Wisconsin has shown how Republicans can be forced into retreat through collective action, then last week's budget negotiations illustrated how they can be emboldened by capitulation. Once again Obamaabsented himself from the debate, thereby allowing Republicans to frame the debate and ceding many of the substantive points. Then he clinched a deal that will do least for those who elected him, and declared victory.
While he lacks a clear ideology, this is most definitely his style. Like a canny long-distance runner, he hangs back and lets the pack exhaust itself before stirring. The distance he allows to build between him and the frontrunner at times seems unbridgeable. Since he does not set the pace, the terrain on which he joins battle is chosen for him by others. Then, finally, comes the sprint – the final dash to the finish line in which he just manages to reach the tape first. But when he gets to the podium the medal is not gold but tin. His presidency thus far is littered with partial victories. Not quite universal healthcare; troops not yet out of Iraq; a stimulus bill that coincided with rising unemployment.
There's nothing better that great sleight of hand card tricks....here's "Sam the Bellhop" will magician/comedian Bill Malone....very funny....5 minutes....
Jon Stewart on the Congressman Ryan plan to cut spending......excellent.....3 minutes....
I love irony.....here is a story about how the Chinese are under pressure from the US to improve it's human rights record, stop locking up dissidents etc.
So the Chinese have come out with their own report on the state of Human Rights in the US, basically giving us the finger [metaphorically speaking]....
Ironic eh?
Its Foreign Ministry on Saturday dismissed the U.S. report as meddling, and its own annual report about U.S. human rights stressed Beijing's dismissive view.
"Stop the domineering behavior of exploiting human rights to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries," it said, according to excerpts published by the official Xinhua news agency.
"The United States ignores its own severe human rights problems, ardently promoting its so-called 'human rights diplomacy', treating human rights as a political tool to vilify other countries and to advance its own strategic interests," said a passage from the Chinese report
Produced by the State Council Information Office, the government's public relations arm, the report dwelled on what it said were severe deprivations and threats facing many Americans, as well as Washington's invasion of Iraq.
It also cited the United States' refusal to ratify a number of international human rights pacts, and listed poverty, hunger and homelessness as stains on the country's rights record.
"The United States is the world's worst country for violent crimes," said the report. "Citizens' lives, property and personal safety do not receive the protection they should."
"Racial discrimination is deeply rooted in the United States, permeating every aspect of social life," it said.
Really clever music video disguised as a movie trailer ......The New Pornographers sing "Move".....and the video has three "Daily Show" stars in it as well.....fun, different and the song is nice too.....you've wasted 4 minutes in worse ways I'm sure.....
Remember the deal the President and the Dems made with the Republicans to get the budget passed, and gave up $38 billion in social and other federal programs? Want to know exactly what those cuts were? So did the lobbyists.......
Here's a story that isn't over, because they still haven't given detail of exactly what was cut.....
This just shows the corruption in Washington.....they're all whores....
With $38 billion in cuts on the line in a $3.5 trillion budget, the clash over federal spending played out in numbers so big that most standard calculators had trouble tracking all the zeros. But in the end, a handful of relatively small-bore line items affecting particular industries attracted some of the most aggressive lobbying behind the scenes, as business interests, health care providers and others fought to hold on to, or kill, proposals that affected their bottom line.
Much public attention focused on the social issues that appeared in the spending bill in the final weeks as social conservatives tried to use it to advance their causes, particularly the unsuccessful effort by abortion opponents to cut the financing of Planned Parenthood. In the end, the budget agreement reached late Friday night banned the District of Columbia from using its own money to provide abortions for low-income women in the city — a measure with a bigger social impact than fiscal.
But there was also intense but ultimately unsuccessful lobbying by General Electric and other military contractors to revive financing for an alternate engine for a costly jet fighter project. Proponents of tougher regulations for the politically influential and beleaguered commercial college industry succeeded, for now, in beating back an effort to block restrictions on how the schools get federal aid.
An analysis by the Congressional Budget Officefound that the Wyden proposal had no short-term impact on federal spending and could actually save money over the next four years.
The plan to allow some employees to “opt out” of their employer-sponsored plans and choose their own coverage drew opposition from an unusual alliance of unions and businesses. Supporters said the vouchers would give employees more options and spur competition in the marketplace. Critics contended that younger, healthier employees would leave the plans and make insurance costlier for older, less healthy workers.
The American Benefits Council — a group that represents employers and insurers and spent nearly $1 million on federal lobbying last year — wrote its members that the Wyden proposal would have a “destabilizing” impact on employer insurance plans. The A.F.L.-C.I.O., which employs a formidable Washington lobbying force, warned that the proposal would create a “death spiral” of higher costs.
But the measure also had strong supporters. Charles Kolb, president of the Committee for Economic Development, said Tuesday that Mr. Wyden, in taking a different tack to managing health care costs, “was trying to introduce the type of structural reform that the system is crying out for.”
The measure did make it into the final health care plan signed by President Obama last year — only to be cut at the eleventh hour in Friday night’s budget agreement. “This is a lost opportunity,” Mr. Kolb said.
So who axed the program?
A DDD favourite - "Jewel Undercover Karaoke".
Jewel puts on a disguise and enters a karaoke contest singing Jewel songs.....sounds hokey, but it's really, really good....actually a little kleenexey.......5 minutes....
Todays video - 3 ways to fail a drunk test.....and I'll bet the third guy ended up black and blue.....
Todays school joke
First Grade Drawing
A first grade girl handed in a drawing for her homework assignment.
The teacher graded it and the child brought it home.
She returned to school the next day with the following note:
Dear Ms. Davis,
I want to be perfectly clear on my child's homework illustration.
It is NOT of me on a dance pole on a stage in a strip joint surrounded by male customers with money.A first grade girl handed in a drawing for her homework assignment.
The teacher graded it and the child brought it home.
She returned to school the next day with the following note:
Dear Ms. Davis,
I want to be perfectly clear on my child's homework illustration.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Harrington
Todays Jewish joke
Several centuries ago, the Pope decreed that all the Jews had to convert or leave Italy.
There was a huge outcry from the Jewish community, so the Pope offered a deal.
He would have a religious debate with the leader of the Jewish community.
If the Jews won, they could stay in Italy, if the Pope won, they would have to leave.
The Jewish people met and picked an aged but wise Rabbi Moishe to
represent them in the debate. However, as Moishe spoke no Italian and the
Pope spoke no Yiddish, they all agreed that it would be a "silent" debate.
There was a huge outcry from the Jewish community, so the Pope offered a deal.
He would have a religious debate with the leader of the Jewish community.
If the Jews won, they could stay in Italy, if the Pope won, they would have to leave.
The Jewish people met and picked an aged but wise Rabbi Moishe to
represent them in the debate. However, as Moishe spoke no Italian and the
Pope spoke no Yiddish, they all agreed that it would be a "silent" debate.
On the chosen day, the Pope and Rabbi Moishe sat opposite each other for
a full minute before the Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers.
Rabbi Moishe looked back and raised one finger. Next, the Pope waved his
finger around his head. Rabbi Moishe pointed to the ground where he sat.
The Pope then brought out a communion wafer and a chalice of wine. Rabbi
Moishe pulled out an apple.
With that, the Pope stood up and declared that he was beaten, that Rabbi
a full minute before the Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers.
Rabbi Moishe looked back and raised one finger. Next, the Pope waved his
finger around his head. Rabbi Moishe pointed to the ground where he sat.
The Pope then brought out a communion wafer and a chalice of wine. Rabbi
Moishe pulled out an apple.
With that, the Pope stood up and declared that he was beaten, that Rabbi
Moishe was too clever and that the Jews could stay.
Later, the Cardinals met with the Pope, asking what had happened. The
Pope said, "First, I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity. He
responded by holding up one finger to remind me that there is still only
one God common to both our beliefs. Then, I waved my finger to show him
that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground to
show that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and
wafer to show that God absolves us of all our sins. He pulled out an
apple to remind me of the original sin. He had me beaten and I could not continue."
Pope said, "First, I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity. He
responded by holding up one finger to remind me that there is still only
one God common to both our beliefs. Then, I waved my finger to show him
that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground to
show that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and
wafer to show that God absolves us of all our sins. He pulled out an
apple to remind me of the original sin. He had me beaten and I could not continue."
Meanwhile the Jewish community were gathered around Rabbi Moishe. "How
did you win the debate?" they asked. "I haven't a clue," said Moishe.
"First he said to me that we had three days to get out of Italy, so I
gave him the finger! Then he tells me that the whole country would be
cleared of Jews and I said to him, we're staying right here."
"And then what," asked a woman.
"Who knows?" said Moishe, "He took out his lunch so I took out mine."
did you win the debate?" they asked. "I haven't a clue," said Moishe.
"First he said to me that we had three days to get out of Italy, so I
gave him the finger! Then he tells me that the whole country would be
cleared of Jews and I said to him, we're staying right here."
"And then what," asked a woman.
"Who knows?" said Moishe, "He took out his lunch so I took out mine."
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