Saturday, December 08, 2012
Nobody Has To Own It
The real reason for bipartisan deals is so Congress can pass horrible things that the public hates and it isn't clear who you can blame. Throw in a bunch of retiring members of Congress in a lame duck session, and you have a recipe for accountability-free democracy. Otherwise known as not democracy.
Oy
I'll say what I always say when these avertable tragedies happen. We have a society structured around both drinking as a social activity and driving as a means of transportation. These things are not very compatible. But if you're a rich guy, hire a damn driver.
3:51PM EST December 8. 2012 - Dallas Cowboys nose tackle Josh Brent was arrested on charges of intoxication manslaughter after flipping his car in Irving, Texas Saturday morning in an accident that killed Cowboys practice-squad player Jerry Brown, according to Irving police.
Good Luck With That
I'm certainly all for greater variety in the rental market, but as I've said before (I think I've said everything before) I really don't think the big money boys are going to be able to master large scale single family home rental management.
Dealing
The older people get the more likely it is they'll have some slipping faculties. Programs to help them need to be easy to navigate, without tragic consequences for, say, a couple missed insurance payments.
Jeebus It's Not High School
No it's not personalities and grudges and Jon Chait gave me a wedgie once so now I'm gonna be mean to the poor defenseless guy.
It's that people have hard fucking lives and raising the Medicare eligibility age will cost money, not save money, and also kill people.
So, no, not calm.
It's that people have hard fucking lives and raising the Medicare eligibility age will cost money, not save money, and also kill people.
So, no, not calm.
Nerdrage
Often the left political internet seems to go something like this:
Firebagger: Obama's going to do something bad!
Obot: No he's not, but it would be ok if he did anyway but please stop saying he's going to because he's not shutupshutupshutupshutup
Firebagger: Obama's going to do something bad!
Obot: No he's not, but it would be ok if he did anyway but please stop saying he's going to because he's not shutupshutupshutupshutup
Insanity
I guess it's just corruption.
But insanely bad public policy shouldn't be "on the table." Dancin' Dave shouldn't be expressing joy at the counterproductive imposition of pain.
We just had a fricking election. We won. Let's keep the social insurance infrastructure. It's working really well. So well that Republicans won't actually oppose it.
We just had a fricking election. We won. Let's keep the social insurance infrastructure. It's working really well. So well that Republicans won't actually oppose it.
I lose money every Thanksgiving at the family Texas Hold'Em table. But even I can see a winning hand here. Why doesn't our president?
I guess it's just corruption.
Friday, December 07, 2012
We've Come A Long Way
I'll leave it to the fancy law talking types to speculate about what the Supremos will do with Prop 8 and DOMA, but it's worth remembering that same sex marriage was a nonissue in this election (there could have been some targeted stuff, but nothing that was part of the main campaign).
Coming At Ya From Many Serious People
Not that I support that either, obviously, but this is worse than raising the Social Security eligibility age. Insane on the politics, insane on the policy.
Should Barack Obama's Life Been Destroyed By A Drug Bust
Obama did drugs as a young guy, and not just pot. Fortunately for him, he managed to avoid arrest and imprisonment. I have no idea why any sensible person thinks the enforcement of federal marijuana laws against the will of certain states deserves one cent or one minute of time.
We're All Keynesians Now
All the "fiscal cliff" nonsense is just acknowledging that contractionary policy is contractionary. That all the serious people have been advocating contractionary policy for years seems to have been lost.
Maybe we take the next step and learn that expansionary policy is expansionary.
Maybe we take the next step and learn that expansionary policy is expansionary.
What's He For?
There must be some reason The Hill pays Dick Morris to write columns.
I honestly have no idea what it is.
I honestly have no idea what it is.
They Know Even Less Than What They Say
It's fascinating how it the Villagers can't get rid of the ZOMGTHEDEFICITWILLEATUS frame. It's all they know, even though it's wrong and they're stupid.
Villagers think the deficit will kill us all. Right now, if Congress does absolutely nothing, a deficit reduction plan that is current law will be enacted. This fiscal cliff will also kill us all, because deficit.
Villagers think the deficit will kill us all. Right now, if Congress does absolutely nothing, a deficit reduction plan that is current law will be enacted. This fiscal cliff will also kill us all, because deficit.
The Cuomo Coalition
Heckuva job.
Yet all of its statewide elected officials are white politicians. And in Albany, Republicans and a group of dissident Democrats have taken control of the State Senate by forming a coalition that would consist almost entirely of white lawmakers.
Thursday, December 06, 2012
Wanker of the Day
Antonio Villaraigosa
Joe Lieberman called. He wants his schtick back.
When asked about the opposition to his alignment with the lobbying group, the mayor stressed the need to compromise and reach across party lines, echoing his many previous calls for a "radical middle" philosophy for solving the nation's economic woes.
"I am a Democrat and a progressive, but you know what? The country is evenly divided. They won too," Villaraigosa said. "We've got to work together."
He later added: "The problem is that Democrats just talk to Democrats and Republicans with Republicans.... That's what's broken with politics right now. Too many people polarized and too many people addicted to their ideologies and orthodoxies."
Joe Lieberman called. He wants his schtick back.
The Conversation
Right now most of the public simultaneously believes that the deficit is going to destroy the economy, and that an already passed plan to cut the deficit will destroy the economy.
Heckuva job, media.
Heckuva job, media.
The Best Way To Kill Somebody
I don't know if any of these hit and run deaths were deliberate, but given the lack of resources devoted to such cases it would be a pretty good way to kill somebody and get away with it.
Let Them Rot
I really hope I'm wrong, but I'm not optimistic that Congress will come up with a single cent for Sandy-affected areas.
Bus Blocking
One of the more maddening things about urban life is how drivers think it's always ok to park somewhere "just for a minute," including the middle of the street. They frequently park on corners with clear no parking signs. The signs are there for a reason, often to make it possibile for buses to turn. So your little 5 minute errand blocks the travel for 20 people.
Nobody Could Have Predicted
This never happens!
The Obama administration secretly gave its blessing to arms shipments to Libyan rebels from Qatar last year, but American officials later grew alarmed as evidence grew that Qatar was turning some of the weapons over to Islamic militants, according to United States officials and foreign diplomats.
Also, Too, Jesus, George Washington, Gandhi, and Churchill
Pretty much all the great men of history would do precisely what Joe Klein thinks Obama should do.
We have dumb pundits.
We have dumb pundits.
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
Good For Pelosi
Raising the eligibility age doesn't save much public money, and I'd bet that it actually would increase health care costs overall (public+private). It's a stupid horrible idea.
Which is why Villagers love it.
Which is why Villagers love it.
Maybe The Strategists Can Debate The Experts
Back in the beginning of blog time, 6000 years or so ago, the most pressing danger our nation faced was that some blogger somewhere might have some undisclosed financial conflict of interest and then the world would end. It was hilarious basically because various journalist-types would call for some sort of code of ethics that existed nowhere else in the known universe, least of all in their own world of journalism. Shills and lobbyists are everywhere.
Priorities
I imagine if there was some Red Dawn (original, not remake) style invasion which destroyed a bunch of our cities, after repelling it we'd spend all of our money destroying the other country, and nothing to rebuild our cities.
Because that's how we roll.
Because that's how we roll.
Posh Boys
Osborne enacts austerity policies with 100% predictable effects. The economy goes to shit. The solution, of course, is more austerity, all paid for by the bottom half of the income distribution.
I can respect (not approve of, but respect) the evil side of what he's doing, but he's also stupid. Make the pie higher, and rich people will get even more rich.
I can respect (not approve of, but respect) the evil side of what he's doing, but he's also stupid. Make the pie higher, and rich people will get even more rich.
Delusions (Maybe)
I suppose I have no idea if Cuomo thinks he's going to be president, but he isn't.
It's Not Working, So We'll Do More Of It
The problems we have are not inevitable. We are ruled by the worst fucking people on the planet.
Contractionary policy is contractionary. Shrinking our way to prosperity!
LONDON — Britain is facing an additional year of austerity after the government said Wednesday it missed one of its self-imposed debt reduction targets because the economic recovery was weaker than expected.
George Osborne, the Chancellor of the exchequer, said it would take four years instead of three for Britain to start reducing its debt as a share of national income.
Contractionary policy is contractionary. Shrinking our way to prosperity!
The Worst Idea In The World
Obviously the opinion of this righteous blogger is that we should have Medicare for all, or be incrementally lowering the eligibility age, but now it appears we're getting into the crazy season and the Very Serious People have decided that increasing the age is the appropriate punishment for the olds for being olds.
No one listens to me, but one thing people should consider is significant numbers of married couples have one spouse with decent employer-based insurance which covers them both. Also, significant numbers of married couples are separated by a few years, with the older spouse being the one with the employer-based insurance.
This is an issue already, of course, but if you increase the eligibility age it becomes even more of an issue. How does that 57 year old spouse of a 67 year old retiree get health insurance?
Yes the great and glorious era of Obamacare will (hopefully) improve the individual market for health insurance a bit. But it's still going to cost. A lot.
No one listens to me, but one thing people should consider is significant numbers of married couples have one spouse with decent employer-based insurance which covers them both. Also, significant numbers of married couples are separated by a few years, with the older spouse being the one with the employer-based insurance.
This is an issue already, of course, but if you increase the eligibility age it becomes even more of an issue. How does that 57 year old spouse of a 67 year old retiree get health insurance?
Yes the great and glorious era of Obamacare will (hopefully) improve the individual market for health insurance a bit. But it's still going to cost. A lot.
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
The Internet Is Made Of Answers
The Hobbit 48 fps stuff reminded me of a nagging question I've had for years. Not an important one, of course, just something which bugged me decades ago and back then it would have been very difficult to find an answer.
There was The John Larroquette show on teevee. I could never watch it because it just looked... weird. Like there was a little bit of a ghost trail following all of the actors, or that they didn't move at the right speed. Whatever it was it drove my brain crazy and I literally had to turn it off.
Now we have the internet to answer questions like this. It isn't a full answer, but it gives me a pretty good idea.
There was The John Larroquette show on teevee. I could never watch it because it just looked... weird. Like there was a little bit of a ghost trail following all of the actors, or that they didn't move at the right speed. Whatever it was it drove my brain crazy and I literally had to turn it off.
Now we have the internet to answer questions like this. It isn't a full answer, but it gives me a pretty good idea.
The show was videotaped, but processed by NBC to make it look like it was recorded on film. Network promos even showed "unprocessed" clips. When it was rerun on the USA Network, the processing was gone and the show had the look of a videotaped sitcom.
Grifter Mad At Other Grifter Grifting His Grift
And that's Republican politics.
Armey was concerned that Kibbe structured the deal to personally profit from the book, despite relying on FreedomWorks staff and resources to research, help write and promote it — an arrangement he and others at the group believed could jeopardize its tax exempt status. (In 2010, Kibbe and Armey co-authored a book through HarperCollins, “Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto,” that was written with significant help from FreedomWorks staff and all proceeds had gone to the organization.)
What's It All About Then
People think the fiscal cliff means MOOOOOAR DEFICIT. Pundits tell the people that the deficit is the worst thing ever. Same pundits think massive deficit reduction plan, aka fiscal cliff, is also worst thing ever.
Maybe they don't really care about the deficit?
Maybe they don't really care about the deficit?
The Black-Sanders Plan
All the cool kids are joking about the Panetta-Burns plan, but I wish there would be some polling on the actual Black-Sanders* plan to have the Federal Reserve give lots of free money to everybody in the country. I imagine it would be popular. And it would reduce the real value of the debt by nudging up the price value. Also, too, more demand, more jobs, less misery and suffering.
*Sanders did not actually have any role in devising this plan.
*Sanders did not actually have any role in devising this plan.
GOP Daddies
Oh Lord. Apparently they're leaking that Chuck Hagel is on the SecDef shortlist. Why oh why must Democrats appoint GOP Daddies to these positions all of the time.
How About Nothing
I'm betting Cuomo and Christie will get approximately nothing.
Because austerity. It's what's for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner!
Because austerity. It's what's for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner!
New Entry On The Shitlist
Antonio Villaraigosa.
Like his support of trains, but Fix The Debt is the most transparent Steal The Social Security Money crowd we've ever seen.
Like his support of trains, but Fix The Debt is the most transparent Steal The Social Security Money crowd we've ever seen.
Haven't We Been Here Before
David Brooks wants to replay this game in 3 months.
We are facing a crisis, so let's manufacture another one!
As I said before, this involves Congress taking itself hostage and threatening to shoot the country.
But the big demand would be this: That on March 15, 2013, both parties would introduce leader-endorsed tax and entitlement reform bills in Congress that would bring the debt down to 60 percent of G.D.P. by 2024 and 40 percent by 2037, as scored by the Congressional Budget Office. Those bills would work their way through the normal legislative process, as the Constitution intended. If a Grand Bargain is not reached by Dec. 15, 2013, then there would be automatic defense and entitlement cuts and automatic tax increases.
We are facing a crisis, so let's manufacture another one!
As I said before, this involves Congress taking itself hostage and threatening to shoot the country.
Actually Surprising
Warren to Banking.
Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), one of the banking sector's harshest critics, is being tapped to serve on the Senate Banking Committee.
Retire
One thing I don't get about these rich assholes is why they don't...just retire and start counting their money and spending it on whatever they can. They really can't spend it all. I dunno if Adelson really fears corruption charges of any kind, but even if he does I imagine, given our rich people don't face justice policy, that he could just sail off into the sunset with some hookers and blow and enjoy.
Monday, December 03, 2012
Gun Nuttery
It really is just bizarre. I get that people (mostly wrongly, but it isn't totally insane) think that there's some value in owning a gun for self-defense, but to deny the obvious - that in heated situation, if gun, death more likely - is mind boggling.
It's really easy to kill somebody with a gun. It's pretty hard otherwise, even if you really want to.
It's really easy to kill somebody with a gun. It's pretty hard otherwise, even if you really want to.
No Money There
As Krugman says, many of the preferred by the Villager solutions to nonexistent problems don't actually save the government any money. Raising the Medicare age a bit wouldn't save much public money, and would likely end up costing more in the net. Also, too, suffering, bankruptcy, and misery.
But we know this, as the preferred method for cutting the deficit is... cutting taxes.
But we know this, as the preferred method for cutting the deficit is... cutting taxes.
Blue PA
A Republican can win Pennsylvania, of course, but if a Republican does win Pennsylvania it will be because there's been a national landslide.
The Philly suburbs turned blue, and that was the end of the game.
The Philly suburbs turned blue, and that was the end of the game.
Fracking Our Way To Hell
My first reaction to the Marcellus Shale finds in PA was that we're screwed.
Resource extraction economies are never pretty. Except Norway, but they do things differently there.
Resource extraction economies are never pretty. Except Norway, but they do things differently there.
Mint The Coin
I really don't know why the administration doesn't take the "mint the trillion dollar platinum coin" option seriously. It is, as far as I can tell, perfectly legal.
Sunday, December 02, 2012
Fire Bob Costas
I don't have a transcript and for all I know it could've been dumb or wrong or whatever, but apparently Bob Costas said to the football audience that absent a gun a football player probably would not have murdered his girlfriend and then killed himself.
Fire him!
Anyway, whatever one thinks the laws/constitution should be, or what the constitution/laws are, this isn't really debatable. As human beings we're capable of losing our shit, especially if we throw some drugs and alcohol into the mix. If you're a big football playing dude it's probably pretty easy to seriously hurt your less than big girlfriend in a moment of rage, but it's actually pretty hard to kill her. Unless you have a gun.
Fire him!
Anyway, whatever one thinks the laws/constitution should be, or what the constitution/laws are, this isn't really debatable. As human beings we're capable of losing our shit, especially if we throw some drugs and alcohol into the mix. If you're a big football playing dude it's probably pretty easy to seriously hurt your less than big girlfriend in a moment of rage, but it's actually pretty hard to kill her. Unless you have a gun.
THAT MAN CUT YOUR MEDICARE
I know we mostly can't count on the press to highlight the contradictions, but I wonder if any of the Republican voters who probably were genuinely worried about their Medicare will notice that the Republican demand is that Obama cut Medicare.
Because You're A Stupid Git
The worst man in England.
George Osborne admitted it was taking longer for Britain to recover from the financial crisis than he hoped today amid warnings that the Government would miss its key economic targets..
Regular Reminder
Official DC is obsessed with solving fake future problems that they can't actually solve. This Congress cannot tie the hands of future Congresses. Nothing done today can prevent more tax cuts, more unpaid for wars, and more free money for banksters in the future.
Of course they're not really obsessed with solving fake problems, they're obsessed with using fake problems to steal the Social Security money.
Of course they're not really obsessed with solving fake problems, they're obsessed with using fake problems to steal the Social Security money.
Poor People Must Suffer
For Villagers, tax increases on rich people are worse than Hitler and Very Serious Politicians are the ones who want old people to go bankrupt and die.
Shorter Everybody
We must replace this economy killing deficit reduction plan with an economy killing deficit reduction plan.
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