Closer, Mein Weimar, To Thee

Class War And A Simple Country Hyperchicken

I've mentioned Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize-winning Economist and regular columnist for the New York Times, before.

In today's column, Krugman says flatly that there is no 'bipartisan' Washington; Republicans are determined to force the Democrats to fail, even if by doing so they appear less like fiscal conservatives and more like people who kick dogs and ignore starving orphans.

What Krugman used as his initial focus was the recent, one-man Filibuster by Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky. Bunning was determined not to allow a bill to pass which would provide a one-month extension of unemployment and COBRA medical insurance benefits to approximately 100,000 workers -- and these were former Federal employees (Talk about biting the hand that used to serve you, huh?).


Former Phillies' All-Star Turned Nasty Greedy Crazy™
(Photo: SALON)

Bunning has been acting... a little weird, lately; angrily pushing away reporters and yelling at a Rotary Club questioner, and delivering heavily scripted remarks at campaign events in a halting monotone. Bunning travels with a special police escort, at taxpayer expense -- he says, because Al-Qaeda is out to get him.

Then, Bunning -- who is virtually unopposed in the upcoming midterm elections, spent nearly a full month in the U.S. Senate raging against a bill, almost single-handedly slowing the work of the Senate to a crawl and forcing all eyes on him.


Bunning Begins His Famous Filibuster

Democrats and Republicans live in different universes [Krugman noted], both intellectually and morally...

During the debate over unemployment benefits, Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat of Oregon, made a plea for action on behalf of those in need. In response, Mr. Bunning blurted out an expletive. That was undignified — but not that different, in substance, from the position of leading Republicans.

Merkley once ran Habitat For Humanity, the non-denominational organization which builds homes for the poor, in Oregon. Bunning, in addition to his Senate salary of $174,000, takes a hefty annual paycheck home as the head of the 'Jim Bunning Foundation' -- which, basically, does nothing but sell autographed baseballs, and is supposed to donate the funds to charity -- something that's now coming under more scrutiny.

When Merkley spoke on the senate floor about the direct effects upon people of Bunning's month-long Filibuster, the esteemed Senator From Kentucky (who was standing at another podium) said, "Tough Shit".


Obligatory Photo Of Cute Animal, Embedded In Political Rant
(Now With 52% More Handgun!)

The extension bill directly affected families trying to feed themselves and stay in their homes, and have COBRA health insurance. Even so, Little Jimmy was determined to use every possible avenue in the Senate's rules to delay or kill the bill's passage.

Krugman held up Brunning, his use of his position in the Senate, and power as a U.S. Senator, to show three things: (1) Washington is so polarized that it would be a comedy program, if it weren't so deadly serious in its consequences for the United States; (2) Brunning's actions, and those of Republicans in Congress generally, point out what part of America they really represent -- and the same for the Democrats; and (3) this is disastrous for our country, and isn't going to end anytime soon.



Take the question of helping the unemployed in the middle of a deep slump. What Democrats believe is what textbook economics says: that when the economy is deeply depressed, extending unemployment benefits not only helps those in need, it also reduces unemployment... But that’s not how Republicans see it.... Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, [said] defending Mr. Bunning’s position...: unemployment relief “doesn’t create new jobs. In fact... continuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek new work.”

Bottom Line: The Republicans, while very organized, seem to represent The Rich. The Democrats don't appear to be very well organized, but they represent the Rest Of Us. If it were left to the Rethugs, the spirit that controls our government, and our culture, would be that deep belief of the Protestants who came to settle in North America in the early 1600's... that the world is separated into the Elect of God (chosen by predestination for salvation and eternal life), and The Rest Of Us (not chosen, and so already damned to Hell For Ever).



The Chosen are, of course, the wealthy -- to those same early Prots, worldly success being proof of god's favor. The reverse, then -- Poverty -- is proof of god's disfavor -- and who cares what happens to people who will burn for all eternity, anyway? Screw 'em.

(Incidentally -- d'ya think this might be one reason that the period of intellectual flowering which began in the 1700's was called 'The Enlightenment'? Huh?)

Part of me believes that the Right wants a polarized, paralyzed central government. The more effective a strong centralized government is, the more economic and legal rights of the largest number of its citizens is protected. The less effective it is, life comes down to how much money and power you have -- and, as usual, the ordinary citizen has less of both.


1936 Poster Advertising The New Social Security Program
(Photo: Smithsonian Collection; Common Use)

The struggle between Left and Right in America is ultimately about something that we're not supposed to have -- a Class Structure. The Left says we shouldn't have one, and the kind of laws Democrats enact, by and large, are social programs which benefit the majority of the population -- who are the people (at least, supposedly) that the Democratic party represents.

And, the Left believes it's fair that taxes are used to pay for those social programs, since we all have a stake in what those programs do for the country, and our culture.

Cooperation and collaboration are hallmarks of this kind of political philosophy -- summed up by Robert Kennedy's quoting Shaw: Some people see things as they are and say, why? I dream of things that never were and say, why not?

The Left believes that 'Market Forces' or 'Private Interests' don't keep the welfare of individual citizens -- their health, safety or longevity -- in mind, unless forced to do so by law and regulation. And when they aren't, you get what's just happened: Powerful Banking and Investment interests out of control; an economy kicked to the curb; millions of people who may be without steady employment for years. The effect upon millions of lives of the acts of a relatively small group of men, allowed to do almost anything they wanted, hasn't even begun to be calculated or felt.


Italian Poster For The Venice General Association --
A Riskier Form Of Retirement; The 'Association' Is
Part Of The Free-Market (Ayn Rand Hearts Mussolini)

The Right doesn't care about protecting citizens from the excesses and predations of Wall Street, or a chemical company polluting the air or our water. Republican legislation promotes and defends those interests. They don't represent the largest section of our population, but that smaller, wealthier and more influential number of Americans -- the ten or so per cent who own 60%-plus of the nation... that's who the Republicans represent.

Republican legislation reflects a world view of 'free enterprise', and 'less government meddling with individual and property rights'. In fact, it reflects Social Darwinism, nature red in tooth and claw -- and aggressive competition, where the winners step on the faces of the losers as they march forward into that bright, new Tomorrow. It's an old-school-tie, who-you-know (or who you can pay off) kind of world, and if you can't pay, then (as Little Jimmy Bunning would say) Tough Shit.

A good quote for the Right (wherever it came from) is, The Future Is For The Strong. There's no room in that future for the poor, the sick, the weak. They're going to burn, anyway, so to hell with 'em.

So, Krugman goes on to say ... what are the implications of this total divergence in views [between Democrats and Republicans]?

The answer, of course, is that bipartisanship is now a foolish dream. How can the parties agree on policy when they have utterly different visions of how the economy works, when one party feels for the unemployed, while the other weeps over affluent victims of the “death tax”?

I don't know who will win that contest. But I do know who will lose, in the meantime -- and what we stand to lose if the wrong crowd is the winner.

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They're Cute -- But They Screw Around With You

(Photo: Freshmandy.org [Warning! Not All Images Work-Safe!])

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It Can't Already Happened Here

Goldman-Sachs May Have Sold Very Bad Paper.
Gosh; What A _______ Surprise.



According to the McClatchy newspapers, in the period 2005-2007, Goldman-Sachs (VAMPSQD) knew it had invested heavily in the now-infamous Derivatives -- which it sold to wealthy clients (which included other investment houses, pension funds, wealthy consortiums, etc).

What wasn't known until now is that Goldman-Sachs knew the Derivative market was very likely to implode, and pushed them to clients anyway, as solid investments, knowing that in truth the risk was higher than with any other kind of investment vehicle:

When financial titan Goldman Sachs joined some of its Wall Street rivals in late 2005 in secretly packaging a new breed of offshore securities, it gave prospective investors little hint that many of the deals were so risky that they could end up losing hundreds of millions of dollars on them.

McClatchy has obtained previously undisclosed documents that provide a closer look at the shadowy $1.3 trillion market since 2002 for complex offshore deals, which Chicago financial consultant and frequent Goldman critic Janet Tavakoli said at times met “every definition of a Ponzi scheme.”

The documents include the offering circulars for 40 of Goldman’s estimated 148 deals in the Cayman Islands over a seven-year period, including a dozen of its more exotic transactions tied to mortgages and consumer loans that it marketed in 2006 and 2007, at the crest of the booming market for subprime mortgages to marginally qualified borrowers.

In some of these transactions, investors not only bought shaky securities backed by residential mortgages, but also took on the role of insurers by agreeing to pay Goldman and others massive sums if risky home loans nose-dived in value — as Goldman was effectively betting they would.

You have to marvel at the arrogance, the cynical manipulation, the greed behind this kind of thing. As Ritholz' The Big Picture site noted, "... the implication ...is not that these were possible losses, but rather, based upon what GS understood about the ways these papers were structured and then hedged (insured with the client), it was a sure loss. So rather than hold on to the money losing mortgage based securities, GS devised a way to sell it to clients!"

But; hey!! Doncha love it?? "[investors were] agreeing to pay Goldman and others massive sums if risky home loans nose-dived in value". Little Lloyd Blankfein's outfit was making money coming and going! They were all over it! They were Masters Of The Universe !!!!

And, they're still doing business. And our government is loaded with current former G-S Employees in key positions at SEC, the Fed... courtesy of Our President, who appointed them.

Has anyone said the United States is "Too Big To Fail"?

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...And How Ignorant Does That Make Us?

Jay Ackroyd is another blogspot Blogger, who is also friends with The Great Curmudegon, and occasionally is allowed to guest-post at his site.

Tonight, Ackroyd left such a post about seeing Daniel Elsberg at a conference this past week [additional paragraphing and two small edits for clarity are my own]:

... Ellsberg recounted a time in 1969 when he explained to Henry Kissinger what would happen after he was given the dozen or so clearances above Top Secret (the existence of which is also classified, of course).

What happens first is you feel like a fool. You've published books that you now discover were filled with stuff that was wrong. You have believed you understood how things worked for your entire professional life, but you now find out you were completely wrong, that the real world is entirely different from what you have been told. The books you've written, the lectures you've given are based on a false understanding of the world.

But this stage only lasts a few weeks. After you have been reading this material for a while, hitherto unavailable ... you begin to see everybody else as fools.

Only people with these top level clearances know the truth. People whom you previously regarded as experts become ignoramuses -- doubly so because they don't realize that they actually know nothing.

And so your conversations with them become telling them what you want them to think.

Henry Kissinger is still an Eminence Gris in the world, but he's been outclassed by others, now -- and I can't say there's anyone who could be considered a modern counterpart to Henry. Even so -- how many layers of influence and power are there between people with this level of awareness about how things really work such as Kissinger... and the Street, where we live?

And, down here at the bottom of the information food chain -- what does this perspective which Ellsberg shared with Ackroyd say about us?

And -- what is it these people with Clearance know, that we don't?

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Trent Franks: All-Too-Typical Whack Job

...And He Should Know


Who Names Their Male-Child 'Trent'? What Is That?
(Screencapture: The Little Rupert Goebbels' Channel)

Congressional Representative Trent Franks (R - AZ), last seen in September of 2009 calling President Obama an "Enemy Of Humanity", said yesterday that African-Americans were even worse off today, than under conditions of slavery, which existed from the mid-17th Century in America (and continued under the guise of segregation and discrimination from then until... well, they're pretty much still around to one degree or another, aren't they Trent?)

Trent is a Birther (though his open support of the Oily Taitz Project depends upon his audience), and at a minimum, a supporter of Xtian Thug points of view; abortion and freedom of religion seem to be all he really cares about.

I guess the denizens of Northwestern Arizona he represents face mandatory abortion procedures from their diabolical Liberal overlords -- who have also apparently also denied religion, and E-meters, from their cruelly oppressed population.

Trent was the premiere signator on a May, 2009 letter (which went out on his official Congressional letterhead) attacking a French nonprofit organization for its criticism of Scientology, on the grounds of 'freedom of religion'. Also signing the letter were fellow Republicans Frank Wolf (R-VA), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Dianne Watson (D-CA), Bob Inglis (R-SC), Dan Burton (R-IN), and Xenu (R - Hubbard).


Obligatory Leavening Cute Animal Photo Inserted In Blog Rant
(via ICanHazCheeseburger)

The nonprofit, which tracks cult and sectarian pseudo-religions in France, was involved in their courts in a lawsuit against the famed creation of a failed science-fiction writer, for fraud. The trial ended with a conviction of the organization's leaders in October, 2009, which has been appealed (aber natürlich).

Yesterday, in an interview with a conservative Blog, Ol' Trent said that

It seems like humanity is very gifted at hiding from something that's obviously true. I mean in this country we had slavery for God knows how long... And we should look back on that with criticism... And yet today, half of all black children are aborted. Half of all black children are aborted. Far more black children, far more of the African-American community is being devastated by the policies of today, than were being devastated by the policies of slavery.

Uh-huh.

The only comment I can offer is, it's plain, in looking at a photograph of the man, that Franks suffered from a congenital, facial disfigurement from birth, for which he would have had to undergo a number of reconstructive surgical procedures.


Exaggeration To Make A Point: Segregated Drinking Fountain, 1931

Knowing what children can say and do, Franks' childhood couldn't have been an easy time -- and no matter how gifted his surgeons, the act of having a conversation with someone else, walking into a store; going to a party; or (the unthinkable) going out on a date were all tests of endurance and courage to overcome learned feelings of embarrassment and shame.

You'd think Trent could draw the most positive inferences from those experiences -- that it would provide him with a greater store of empathy and understanding; particularly about being stigmatized, singled out as 'different', and discriminated against simply because of how you appear.

That isn't the same experience as People Of Color have had in American society; as Franz Fanon would point out, even with a disfigurement, Franks is still White. He's still automatically part of the dominant social and political structure, and Franks understands this on a subconscious level.

But, and perhaps I'm just too fookin' stupid to breathe, I believe his own experience should be enough to allow him to make a connection on a human level with several hundred years' experience and history of slavery and discrimination... which is on a completely different level of things than some religious argument over abortion.

It's why people shouldn't say that the practice of terminating a pregnancy is like the Holocaust -- which was a specific set of acts in human history, as the history and experience of African-Americans is, here. It's a false analogy. There's just no equating those historical events with something else. It could be argued that Franks' doing so is fairly typical for a Caucasian male (who hasn't experienced slavery, poverty, or pregnancy), and I'd agree.

We can't solve four hundred years of race relations in America in a single day, or with a single act. But by the grace of whatever supreme power makes this Rat-Maze run, we might do it one act of human kindness at a time, day after day; until the generations who have had it all the other way are dust in the ground.

You'd think Franks might have had just a glimpse of that, somehow. But he didn't; and that makes him a continuing part of the problem, not of a solution.

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Ahhhlll Duuh Ahhnhnng Huuu Uuukk Eeehnee *

We Will Look Like Idiots To Alter Ourselves


*"I'll do anything to look pretty."

Just sayin'.

Oh, and while you're here... You were involved in September 11th, weren't you? WEREN'T YOU!! CONFESS!! TELL US OBAMA AND OSAMA ARE THE SAAAAME!!!

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What's New In Before Nine ©

Important Information For Donka Ufman

Ingredients

water/aqua/eau, glycerin, behenyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, vodka, Jennifer, silica, alimony isononanoate, ascorbyl glutosides (cheek shavings), hordeum distichon (barley) extract, barely legal minimum age glucoside, cetearyl alcohol, available alcohol, DVD copies of Debbie Does The Sound Of Music, penyl trimethicone, niacinamide, regicide, Regis Philbyncide, dipalmitoyl duck-o-line, potassium cetyl phosphate, retinyl palmitate, Rheinish Palitinate, Thurn-und-Taxis palmitoyl tripeptide-3, beta-glucan, sodium hyaluronate, arginine, allantoin, santalum album, The White Album, Ozzy Osbourne Bat Head Juice, Scandal extract, phellodendrons, Bungchau Offal bark extract, JoyJoy esters, Esther Williams, Uncle Fester extract, butyrospermum sparkii (Sherpa squeezings), coffee, Gung-Ho seed, Hoo-Ah!! Big Powder, camellia sinensis leaf, Intubular Causus Belli, tocopheryl acetate, glucosyl membrane fixative (now with 63% more Love), c13-15 alkane, WD-45 hydroxyethyl acryloyldimethyl tautaurate copolymer fetang ang ang ang (Repeating this as quickly as possible three times is the new Field Sobriety test used by the CHP in California), Paraffin, generous helpings, sympathetic understanding, small animal residue (tetramethyl hydroxy-piperidino), Zenon-Three gum, ground match heads, table salt, potassium hydroxide, potassium sorbate, hexylene glycol, phenoxyethanol, chlorphenesin, caprylyl glycol, mica (ci 77019), titanium dioxide (ci 77891), choice sweepings, full faith and credit of the United States Government, and a twist of lemon.

Directions:

Serve chilled, as if it isn't already cold enough in here. Gently apply a small amount to the affected area with remote-control robotic arm. Do not allow fingertip to come in contact with Before Nine™; if this should occur, contact the Department Of Defense Interdimensional Emergency Hotline at 1-866-866-8666. If you can successfully answer the Question Of The Week (e.g., "Compare and contrast the major themes of William Faulkner and those of any major postmodern author [Salinger, Pynchon, Barth, Grass or Stevenson]") in under sixty seconds, a crack team of Delta Force commandos will be dispatched to rescue you.

Otherwise, you're on your own. Tentacles not included.


"Wait A Minute -- What do you mean, 'I missed a spot' ? It's clean!"

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Remembering Where We Are

(Photo: NASA's Chandra Observatory, New York Times Online)

It's not actually possible to say why we're here. Because of that, we need to find a perspective that allows us to remember where we are, just as an exercise in humility.

This is an important story in a cosmological sense. But it's also happening in a galaxy, far, far away.

So, pause to consider that across an unimaginably far, cold distance, there are other stars. And, possibly, some other being -- also worried about his job as a Flumjarrng Urompter, and the state of the general economy of his habitation on his homeworld; and the fact that he's growing older and his mandibles are fraying and that means he's less attractive as a potential Zarrrrng-partner during the Festival Of Barooooooo.


The Andromeda Galaxy, Actually Milky Way and You.

And he has a favorite Stickyfish team, and occasionally thinks about taking Mandatory rest periods in the ammonia baths; and, he's a little concerned about that spot that appeared on his third-right Elliptical Tarng (Is it the early stage of Arngfoomer? No!!! That's never appeared in my genetic Skreel!), and that he might be dying, and have to go to the composting facility without having ever known true Yognod.

You know; the usual stuff we all think about.

Then I remember that the galaxy pictured at the top of this post is about 500 septobazillion miles away... and it's not even at the end of the Universe we can see.

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Stuff Out There

Dude; Where's My Spacecraft


Extraterrestrial Pere Ubu; Or, The Klan In Space
(Alien Captured On Someone's Cell Phone Video)

I rant and rave about the world's hereditary wealthy and that The Fix Is In ©; but, that's nothing. In an attempt to put our fingers on the truth behind how the world operates; to answer The Big Questions, many people are drawn to varying degrees of conspiracy theories. You go down the rabbit hole of the Intertubes, and don't be surprised at what you find.

For example: Did you know that we are all "soul cattle", and that Grey Aliens and "The Nordics" ( ! ) are battling it out in the skies above, over whether to guide us as carriers of souls, or harvest us for what we're dragging around?

Or, that 'The Elites' are preparing for a round of nuclear exchanges and bioweapon releases to eliminate 50% of the world's population, and ensure the worldwide rule of Caucasians of Northern European extraction?

And This is just the tip of the scary events coming. There are tons of things you need to know. Like how all kinds of ancient cultures have always known. Polar shift has happened before and so has global destruction. We aren't bigger than the universe! If Planet X Nibiru is going to come, they can't control what the solar system does to Earth.

Because ... it's all perfectly clear now - after being up all night thinking about it: Everyone is nothing more than a small captured 'piece of Light Being' in a bag of skin and bones. And, since light has both wave and particle functions, the expression of this duality in real life must be exemplified in the air conditioning conundrum. I hope this helps. Have a snick and think about it.

My God; if it wasn't "stayin in denial by being co-oppted by the Power Struktur", I'd say it's probably better that people be employed full-time.

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Speak, America -- Speak! Good Boy.

Mongo Is Listening

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