Harvard Economist, Claudia Goldin, On Income Inequality

"Is equality of income what we really want? Do we want everyone to have an equal chance to work 80 hours in their prime-time productive years? Yes, but we don't expect them to take that chance equally often."

On General Motors's Tax-Break Possibly Being as Much as 45 Billion

Can you say, corporate welfare, Obama style?

On the Lancet's Claim of 1.4 Million Dead Iraqi Civilians

WE ARE LED TO BELIEVE that the Iraq Body Count has underestimated the number of Iraqi civilian deaths by 91.7%. WE ARE LED TO BELIEVE that the Associated Press has underestimated the number of Iraqi civilian deaths by 92.1%. WE ARE LED TO BELIEVE that the Iraq Family Health Survey has underestimated the number of Iraqi civilian deaths by 89.2%. AND WE ARE LED TO BELIEVE that the Wiki Leaks Iraq War Logs have underestimated the number of Iraqi civilian deaths by 92.2%. These assertions, folks, we are led to believe. Duh yuh think that there might be some politics involved here?

Beyond Bush and Evil

One of the things that has most gotten lost in this whole "Bush is a war criminal" debate is the fact that ethics is almost as much a concept of intention as it is one of consequence. Saddam Hussein INTENTIONALLY tried to exterminate the Kurds. Pol Pot INTENTIONALLY tried to exterminate the intellectuals, Christians, professionals, Chinese, etc.. Hitler INTENTIONALLY tried to exterminate the Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals. Leopold 2 INTENTIONALLY tried to brutalize the black Africans of the Congo. The Turks INTENTIONALLY tried to exterminate the Armenians....President Bush has consistently said that he'd do it all over again, even knowing what he currently knows. I cannot believe that, folks. I refuse to believe it.

The Proof of the Pudding is in the Bleeding

Lyndon Baines Johnson lied us into Vietnam; a war that caused 10 times more casualties than the Iraq War, a war that didn't have a U.N. resolution OR a Congressional approval. According to the very same criteria that has been put forth by those who have argued most vociferously that George W. Bush is a war criminal, LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON WAS A WAR CRIMINAL. Now, let us see if these individuals agree. 

A Quick Undressing of a Myth

The assertion - that the United States economy is rigged and that only certain people can benefit from it.............The refutation - a) 58% of the people in the bottom quintile in 1996 were out of it by 2005 AND their income had risen substantially (91%).......b) More than half of the people in the top 1% of income earners in 1996 were out of the top 1% by 2005 AND their income actually went DOWN (26%).......c) At least 70% of the people on the "Forbes" richest 400 list were described as ENTIRELY SELF MADE and only 19% of them had inherited their fortune.......d) The age range for the highest average income earners is 45-54. This strongly infers that the people in the highest income bracket have only achieved this level after having first risen from the lower levels.......Yep, there it is, folks; our country, a country in which the people not only can make it but do make it, and in which a person's wealth isn't necessarily a guarantor of future success. Let the spinning begin.

Channeling Chris Hayes

oops

wd on George W. Bush

"Perhaps Bush isn't as bad as Hitler, but he's still a war-criminal."...PERHAPS Bush isn't as bad as Hitler. PERHAPS....Seriously, though, does anybody want to take a quick stab at this one?

In the Interesting/Did You Know? Category 7

That, according to the "Economist" (April 4, 2009), in 1982, only 84 (21%) of the 400 richest people in America (according to "Forbes") had inherited their fortune, and that by 2006, that figure had shrunk all the way to less than 2% (7)? Youza, huh?

Damsel for a Dude

I'm going to say something that a lot of people have probably thought but haven't had the chutzpah to utter. I really think that President Obama should stand down and let Mrs. Clinton run (I would prefer Mr. Clinton but he obviously can't run). The gal is far more popular (to the point where she could conceivably defeat Mr. Romney handily), far more competent (face it here, folks, Mr. Obama is flailing), and, while she may in fact have been a polarizing figure at one time, far more respected by both sides of the aisle (the Tea Party members of Congress, quite possibly excepted)..........................................................................................And, please, this is not in any way an indictment of Mr. Obama as a human being. The fellow, while I haven't always been enthralled by some of his rhetoric of late, is a solid patriot and a good and decent family man. I'm just not entirely certain that he's up to the job any longer. Sadly. Time to move on.

In the Interesting/Did You Know? Category 6

That, according to Dallas Morning News business reporter, Richard Alm, 7 out of 10 of the new jobs that the U.S. economy created between 1993 and 1996 (the years immediately following NAFTA) actually paid wages that were HIGHER than the national average?......So much for that whole progressive talking-point that protectionism drives down wages.

Oh Yeah, She's a Real Thomas Edison

I always get such a kick out of people saying that Madonna "always reinvents herself". It's like, reinvents what!!? The fact that she changes up her image every once in a while, from sleazy to sleazier? Pablo Picasso, Bob Dylan, Orson Wells, Emmylou Harris, Miles Davis, Eduard Manet, Bette Davis, Ornette Coleman, Daniel Day Lewis - those frigging people reinvented themselves, and substantively so. Frigging Madonna reinventing herself. LOL

A Woman's Corn

"Red River" is clearly one of the finest westerns that Hollywood ever filmed (top 10 on most of the critics' lists); John Wayne at his finest, Montgomery Clift in his screen debut, the inimitable Walter Brennan as the sidekick, the obligatory hottie in Joanne Dru, the skillful direction of Howard Hawkes, etc.. But, damn/I'm sorry, I STILL have a whole hell of a lot of problems with the ending. The fact that Joanne Dru can simply have a hissy-fit and that that alone would be sufficient for John Wayne and Montgomery Clift to realize that they really weren't all that mad at each other after all (and, please, keep in mind here that the Duke Wayne character was tantamount to a vicious cattle-driving Captain Bly) is really, REALLY, a major stretch, I'm thinking. I'm sorry here, folks, but the Dukester really needed to take a bullet in this one.

The Top 2-5%?

According to USA Today, 19% of Federal employees earn more than $100,000 a year (and, no, this doesn't even include overtime and bonuses). And it's even more egregious than that at the Defense Department where there are over 10,000 employees making over $150,000 a year and the Transportation Department where there are nearly 1,700 employees making over $170,000 a year. Of course, the fact that the rest of the country was going through a recession at the very same time that these salaries (not to mention those at the state and local levels of government) were mushrooming is probably the most nauseating aspect of all. Hey, folks, maybe we should start a 95-98% movement  and see if we can get these people to pay their "fair share". Huh? Yeah?

Death of a Drum-Major

Robert Champion was beaten to death, literally. And if that alone wasn't enough of a tragedy, just try and get your arms around this. The most that any of the people who contributed to this senseless act can get for it is six years (the maximum for death due to hazing in Florida). SIX YEARS! That's all that Mr. Champion's life is worth, apparently.......................................................................................I mean, can you even begin to imagine being his parents; losing their son and then having to deal with this bullshit? The only, ONLY, saving grace here is that maybe some of these colleges will finally come to grips with these brutal rituals and end them, permanently (not that I'll be holding my breath for it any time soon, obviously).

The Ultimate Jordanless Team For the Ages

The starters; point guard - Walt Frazier, shooting guard - Joe Dumars, center - Bill Russell, power forward - Dave DeBusschere, small forward - Scottie Pippen.............The bench; guards - Manu Ginobli, Nate McMillan, Rory Sparrow (his hard foul on Larry Bird in the 1984 playoffs showed enormous guts, I'm thinking), center - Alonzo Mourning, forwards - Detlef Schrempf, Michael Cooper, Anthony Mason..................................................................................................Rationale. a) I tried to commit myself to starters who were great at playing defense. b) I tried to find great players who would be willing to come off the bench and who in fact had some experience doing so. c) I tried to find players with a winning pedigree and who were also very unselfish.

For the Love of God, Man, Change Your Name!!

AKA, Beauty and the Douche.

Survey Question - Who's Least Evil?

Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot, Slobodan Milosevic, Francisco Franco, Ismail Pasha, Benito Mussolini, Idi Amin, Mao Tse-tung, Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, Leopold 2, Kim Il Sung, or George W. Bush? Me - I'm kinda leaning toward Georgie.

Dead-Weight Ringers

Sports can be an exceptionally cruel endeavor. I mean, just take a look at the people who have rings and those who don't. Kurt Rambis, the serviceable, hard-working, but ultimately limited former forward of the Lakers (circa, the '80s) has a total of four of them. John Stockton, Karl Malone, Elgin Baylor, Patrick Ewing, Steve Nash, Charles Barkley, and Reggie Miller (Hall of Famers or future Hall of Famers - all) - those fellows have a grand total of zero, ZERO. I mean, talk about a frigging unfair situation. Oh well, I guess that if in fact you're lucky enough to hitch your wagon to Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and James Worthy, in Rambis's case, or Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in Steve Kerr's case (yet another individual of modest skills), some pretty decent shit is inexorably bound to happen.

Now Here's a Fellow Who SHOULD be President

Virginia's junior Senator, Mark Warner - he's sane, civil, and well respected by both sides of the aisle. Too bad that the party apparatus in this country has a majorly stiff aversion to people like this.

Stand Your Ground, Chumps

We haven't heard much from MSNBC on the Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case lately. Hm, I wonder if it has anything to do with the recent rush of developments to it; the fact that the police basically admitted at the bail-hearing that they still don't know who started the confrontation, the recent release of photos that show the injuries to the back of George Zimmerman's head, the fact that the FBI experts haven't been able to ascertain whose voice it is screaming for help, the recently released photos of Zimmerman's family that show the fellow to be at least 1/8th black himself (not to mention the fact that he's partly Mestizo, too), the recently released records from Mr. Zimmerman's doctor which verify the broken nose and black eyes, the fact that the autopsy report discloses that Mr. Martin had some cuts on his knuckles, the realization that, far from being some sort of bigot, Mr. Zimmerman actually volunteered his time tutoring disadvantaged black kids, the recent revelation that Trayvon Martin's own father purportedly told the police that those screams on the tape were NOT those of his son, etc.. I mean, it's certainly gotta be something here, folks, 'cause back when it looked like this Zimmerman fellow was a drooling at the mouth, knuckle-dragging racist who simply couldn't wait to slaughter this poor black kid whose only crime was having a frigging sugar-buzz, they were handsomely all over the sucker. Big time.

On Slade Leeds's Own Glass Having Naught

It was essentially an applause line for him. I shit you frigging not.

On Leeds and "Starvation"

The only thing that Leeds is starving for is attention and a spate of clear-cut dichotomies.

On Leeds Channeling Errol Flynn

"It's all yurn, pee pee."

Davis - Not Just Whistling Down There in Dixie

http://blog.al.com/wire/2010/08/former_hale_county_clerk_sente.html.......s3.amazonaws.com/thf_media/2008/pdf/lm31.pdf.......http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/us/10fraud.html.......http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100528/news/100529584.......http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/metro.ssf?/base/news/1225876564181250.xml&coll=2.......http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2008/09/absentee-ballot-fraud-a-stolen-election-in-greene-county-alabama.............And the thing is, folks, the victims of this voter fraud in Alabama are mostly AFRICAN-AMERICAN candidates getting reamed by other African-American candidates in various Democratic primaries. How, I ask you, can trying to stop THAT be considered voter suppression?

Stacking the Decades

The left has been playing games with income inequality FOR DECADES. a) The income that they talk about is always of the pre-tax variety. The wealthy pay the bulk of federal and state income tax (the top 10% of earners, for example, pay 70.5% of all Federal income taxes) and local property tax. The actual disposable income is obviously considerably less. b) The income at the bottom rung is almost always calculated absent the plethora of transfer payments that the poor in this country frequently receive. When you factor in the value of the food stamps, the housing and energy assistance, the earned income tax credit, etc., the disparity once again is lessened. c) The left almost always cites statistics relative to household income. This is highly deceptive in that the number of workers per household in the upper quintile is roughly 4 times the number of that which exists for the lowest quintile (an average of 2 earners per family in the upper quintile and .5 in the lowest quintile). Obviously they're going to have a SIGNIFICANTLY higher household income. d) The majority of households in the bottom quintile of earners DO NOT have even one full-time year-round worker. These households are comprised predominantly of single mothers on welfare, Social Security recipients (retirees or those on disability), and people who work part-time and/or sporadically (as I pointed out in a previous thread, 97.5% of people who work full-time/ year-round are NOT below the poverty level). e) The left rarely, if ever, brings up the concept of social mobility. According the IRS's very own numbers, more than half of the people in the top 1% in 1996 WEREN'T there within a decade. Add to that the fact that 58% of the people in the bottom quintile in 1996 had moved out of their situation by 2006 and it really does underscore the reality that America is in fact an opportunity society....................................................................................................Look, I'm not saying here that being poor is any sort of cakewalk. It obviously isn't. And nobody who I know (even my most conservative colleagues) is even remotely saying that we should do away with the social safety net. But the level of the hand-wringing from the progressive left has really reached a tipping-point, in my opinion.You work, you make money. You work hard (and, yes, staying in school is helpful, too), you make more money. You sit behind a keyboard and bitch.......

1% THIS, 99%ers

 Yes, folks, the top 1%'s share of the country's total AGI DID go up from 1996 to 2005 (from 16.04% in 1996 to 21.20% in 2005). BUT, if you also look at the ACTUAL human beings who ACTUALLY comprised that 1% in 1996 - their income actually WENT DOWN from 1996 to 2005. It went down because more than half of the people who comprised that top 1% in 1996 were clearly out of it by 2005. This whole idiotic notion that America is some stratified society in which the poor are poor forever and the rich are rich forever is purely and absolutely a myth. I'm sorry, but it is.............Source - "Income Mobility in the U.S. from 1996 to 2005," Report of the Department of the Treasury, November 13, 2007.

Jack White and Loretta Lynn (With Apologies to Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy)

What would be my answer to the question, "So, what, in your opinion, was the most blisteringly hot musical collaboration from the past 10 years?"

Liberals on the Effects of Unemployment Insurance

"government assistance programs contribute to long-term unemployment by providing an incentive, and the means, not to work. Each unemployed person has a ‘reservation wage’—the minimum wage he or she insists on getting before accepting a job. Unemployment insurance and other social assistance programs increase [the] reservation wage, causing an unemployed person to remain unemployed longer." Lawrence Summers, 1995............."Public policy designed to help workers who lose their jobs can lead to structural unemployment as an unintended side effect. . . . In other countries, particularly in Europe, benefits are more generous and last longer. The drawback to this generosity is that it reduces a worker’s incentive to quickly find a new job." Paul Krugman, 2005.............“more generous unemployment insurance benefits have been found to be associated with longer spells of unemployment.......the job finding rate jumps up around the time benefits are exhausted. Most importantly, we find that job search intensity is inversely related to unemployment insurance benefit generosity for those who are eligible for it.".............Alan Krueger (President Obama's Assistant Secretary of the Treasury), 2002.

Empowerment Care 2

I hope that at least some folks took note of what happened here. I put forth a health-care proposal that a) achieved universal coverage, b) seriously cut back on the power of those dreaded insurance companies (yes, a smidgen of sarcasm), c) treated the rich and poor identically, d) provided minimum standards of care, and e) put the patient much more in charge of his own health-care decision. But, because it had one, ONE, Republican idea (health savings accounts), it was essentially rejected out of hand by the progressives. Nice, huh?..................................................................................................We are a country that is WAY divided, folks. And, while, yes, there are people on the right such as the Tea Party who are hugely responsible for it, I would also dare to say that there are a fair number of recalcitrant people on the left as well - this particular topic prototypically illustrative of it, I think.

Shades of Black Success

 The discrimination theory relative to African-American underachievement is an exceedingly flawed one, and all that you really need to do to see this is to look at just how well that West Indian blacks (who were also the victims of slavery) and African immigrants do by comparison.....................................................................................................I mean, think about it here. For the discrimination theory to be even remotely logical, the following in fact would have to take place: A West Indian black or an African immigrant goes into into a company and applies for a job. The white manager sees the dark-skinned person come onto the room and right off the bat starts thinking to himself, "Alright, this is a dark-skinned person. I'm going to have to try to give him the 1,2,3,4 and get him the hell out of here." But THEN the dark-skinned person speaks and once the white manager hears that the individual speaks with an accent, his mental process rapidly shifts to one of, "Oh, wait a minute, this dude has an accent and this probably means that he's in fact one of the good ones. I will definitely have to give this fellow a fair shake."............................................................................................................You see what I'm saying here? It's absurd. There has to be something above and beyond simple discrimination that's driving this issue; a cultural/familial component, a disincentive component, a government component, an educational component, etc.. There has to be, and we have to figure it out quickly.

On Voter Fraud/ID

 I'm sorry, but I think that both sides have probably engaged in some exaggeration here; the right in terms of the amount of voter fraud and the left in terms of the possible voter suppression resulting from these voter ID laws. I mean, yeah, there probably have been some dead people who have voted and, yeah, there probably will be some inconvenience due to voter ID laws but, come on, enough already with these constant, wearisome battle lines...........................................................................................And it isn't as if this were a purely intractable problem, either. Chris Matthews, for instance (and in one of his increasingly rare moments of lucidity) suggests that, for those people who don't have a picture ID on the day of voting, we take their picture (at the polling place) and file it away. In an even better idea, Ohio's Republican Secretary of State, Jon Husted, suggests that, for those people who don't have a picture ID on the day of voting, we simply ask them for the last 4 digits of their Social Security number. Hell, folks, even I had a reasonable suggestion. When people register to vote, we take their damn picture then and "grandfather" everybody else in.............................................................................................I mean, I know that both sides would probably prefer to continue demagoguing on this issue FOREVER but enough is enough is what I'm thinking.

The Weakest Links 2

Danny Bonaduce (Partridges), Submariner (Marvel Comics superheroes), people who constantly try to blame others for their own lack of success (marginal individuals).

The Weakest Links

Shemp (Stooges), Porthos (Musketeers), Ringo (Beatles), Tito (Jacksons), Greece (European Union), Brown (Ivy League schools), males (genders), Promo Carnera (heavyweight champions), James Buchanan (U.S. Presidents), Zeppo (Marxes), all of them (Osmonds), Betty Joe (Petticoat Junction imaginary sisters), Mrs. Howell (castaways), Joseph Sr. (Kennedys), Daniel (Baldwins), Chris Elliot (SNL alum), Timothy Dalton (Bonds), The ACC (BCS football conferences), she-males (porn choices), Dick Sargent (Darrens), rap (musics), Clarence Thomas (current Supreme Court Justices), Natural Ice (Anheuser Busch "varietals"), Charles (British Royal Family members), a toss-up between "Braveheart" and "Around the World in 80 Days" (Oscar winning Best Pictures), Connecticut (New England states for stuff to do), Craig Biggio (members of the 3000 hit club), lip syncing (Dick Clark's contributions to American culture), sporks (utensils), The "Rumsfeld Doctrine" (military doctrines), "Godfather 3" ("Godfather" movies), Art Garfunkel (members of Simon and Garfunkel), Gentleman Jerry (Valiants), wd (progressive bloggers), NONE!! (famous Motown acts from the '60s), take your pick (the current Red Sox rotation).

On Elizabeth Warren's Minority Status

Yeah, right. And I'm a damned Viking.

On the President's "Evolving" View Relative to Gay-Marriage 4

And what did he essentially say about it? He said that he was personally in favor of it but that it should ultimately be left up to the states. That's not a courageous position! I mean, how in the hell would he have liked it if LBJ had said that he was personally in favor of doing away with segregation but that he was ultimately going to leave it up to the states to decide. I am telling you here, people, the more that I examine what Mr. Obama actually said, the less frigging impressed I am by it.

In the Interesting/Did You Know? Category 5

That, according to study from the Harvard Business Review ("The Dangerous Allure of the 70-Hour Workweek", December 2006), 62% of the people in the top 6% of wage-earners worked more than 50 hours a week and 35% of them worked more than 60 hours a week?....Wow, huh? So much for the affluent of this country coasting and only making their cash off the toil of others.

Top 5 All-Time Favorite Steely Dan Songs

5) Daddy Don't Live in that New York City No More.......4) My Old School.......3) Bad Sneakers.......2) Kid Charlemagne.......1) Night By Night.

They Say that We Use What % of Our Brain?

And who in the hell are these frigging "plutocrats"? I mean, if you listen strictly to these 99%ers, you'd think that they were all frigging investment bankers and hedge-fund managers. Yeah, well, guess what, folks, THEY'RE NOT!!! Yeah, that's right, 31% are executives, managers, and supervisors in fields TOTALLY UNRELATED TO FINANCE, 16% are in the medical field (doctors, dentists, chiropractors, podiatrists, etc), 8% are lawyers, 5% are engineers or in other tech-related fields, 5% are in sales, 5% are retired, 3% are entrepreneurs, 2% are farmers, 2% are in real estate, and, hell, there are even 4% of them that are in the blue-collar field. Not exactly a monolithic entity, in other words. And, yes, for the hard-left (of which I do NOT include most mainstream Democratic politicians, btw) to so moronically homogenize them is pretty God damned divisive, in my opinion........................................................................................P.S. Actually, aside from the part where he referred to the President as a "fucking asshole", I really DO tend to agree with Jon Lovitz. The President totally IS pitting one group against another and, while, yes, the rich in fact probably do need to pay a little bit more, for him to say that they aren't ALREADY paying a great deal is flat-out "bullshit". You go, Jon.

On the President's "Evolving" View Relative to Gay-Marriage 3

Yes, I absolutely give President Obama credit for coming out in favor of gay-marriage. And I especially give the fellow high marks for his having done so prior to the election. But, before we all start slobbering all over each other and getting multiple orgasms over it, let us also get a little real here. The only reason that Mr. Obama probably addressed this issue at all was because of Vice President Biden and HIS yapper....He was prompted into it, essentially, and, yes, political considerations probably did come into it, too, I'm sure.............................................................................................I guess what I'm saying here is that it isn't like he was staring down Nikita Khrushchev or something.

On Free-Trade and Protectionism

An economic policy that disproportionately helps A, while disproportionately harming B, doesn't help the economy. It helps A. This whole antiseptic notion that, if we simply put stiffer tariffs on certain countries in an effort to help certain industries, the entirety of the nation will somehow benefit from it is absurd. There are always, ALWAYS, unintended consequences............................................................................................And the fact of the matter is that we can certainly stimulate the economy without these measures. Reducing and simplifying the corporate income tax rate (right now we have companies like G.E. paying zero and other companies like U.P.S. paying a shit-load), continuing to explore and market domestic sources of energy (even as it stands now, a lot of new manufacturing jobs are being created here in at least some small measure due to the cheap natural gas that we have), reducing the amount of red-tape necessary to start a new business (according to Dallas Mavericks' owner, Mark Cuban, he probably wouldn't have been able to start his businesses in today's highly troubled environment), loosening up visa restrictions in an effort to boost the tourist industry (prior to 9/11, the U.S. garnered 17% of the world's tourism business and we're currently down to 11% - Mr. Obama, to his credit, is absolutely addressing this), etc. - all of these initiatives would greatly expand the economy, I'm thinking............................................................................................And, besides, if tariffs were in fact such a wonderful thing for the ENTIRE country, then why, pray tell, did we almost fight the frigging Civil War 30 years prematurely over them? And why in the hell aren't they allowed BETWEEN the 50 states? Certainly Connecticut should be able to protect its citizenry from those terrible and backward Mississippians, no?

On the President's "Evolving" View Relative to Gay-Marriage 2

Another example of the President having greater "flexibility" after the election?

Adam Smith on Free-Trade Versus Protectionism

"It is the maxim of every prudent master of a family, never to attempt to make at home what it will cost more to make than to buy. What is prudence in the conduct of every private family, can scarce be folly in a great kingdom."........................................................................................So, in essence, what we have here is Adam Smith, David Hume, John Stuart Mill, David Ricardo, Frederic Bastiat, John A. Garraty, and Milton Friedman versus wd, Thom Hartmann, and three modern-day economists whose names are utterly unrecognizable. Gee, I wonder who in the hell that I'm going to listen to here, NOT!........................................................................................Look, I think that I have been very intellectually honest on this topic. I have consistently stated that there are pros and cons to BOTH free trade AND protectionism. I just happen to agree with highly respected and bipartisan Council on Foreign Relations that free trade is ultimately preferable. Read it and weep, me-buckos.

On the Far-Left's Knee-Jerk Reaction to ANY Criticism of Obama - In a Nutshell

Two words, essentially; Romney's worse.

On the President's "Evolving" View Relative to Gay-Marriage

What an absolute load of bullshit. "Evolving". You're either for gay-marriage or you're against it. I'm for it. And I would fight for it even if it was before an election (i.e., I wouldn't give a rat's ass as to what the people in Virginia, Indiana, North Carolina, and the other swing states thought about it), for Christ. It's a little something called leadership, people - and not of the evolving caliber, either. Evolving - LOL!

How 'Bout You, Ms. Maddow, "Investing" in Some Research?

 Rachel Maddow is so full of bullshit. In one of her recent promos, she claimed that, while we were investing in two long military conflicts, the rest of the world was investing more in education and that we clearly needed to play catch up. That's bull. I mean, yeah, the wars were a mistake and all but the state, local, and federal education budgets all went up markedly under Bush. And in terms of where we stand with the rest of the planet, we currently spend MORE per pupil than any other country on the face of the earth that isn't called Switzerland. That, and the outcomes literally keep getting worse.........................................................................................Look, I don't have a problem with spending on education. But for the left to so constantly point out the obvious lack of bang for the buck in terms of health-care and NOT show a similar concern when it comes to our crappy and overly bloated and bureaucratic educational system seems a little inconsistent (not that I'm necessarily expecting any consistency, mind you).

On Michele Bachmann's "Endorsement" of Mr. Romney

It was about as sincere as Louis Farrakhan peddling kosher stuff.

Channeling Ray Milland

There are a number of things that bother me about Mitt Romney. The one that probably bothers me the most, though, is the fact that the fellow has never really come to grips with/adequately addressed neoconservatism. I mean, it's almost as of it never existed. Yes, he has in fact delivered the litany of stock Republican pro-strong military phrases. But, still/to this day, I have absolutely no idea what the fellow thinks about Iraq, nation-building, preemptive military strikes, counter-insurgency, etc....................................................................................I mean, is he simply going to do a redux of President Bush's foreign policy and flat-out extend us? Or, is he going to adhere more to the Clinton and Powell doctrines? It's pretty damned important information, I think.

On Tonight's Mayweather-Cotto Fight

I know that it isn't going to happen but I would really love, LOOOOOOOVE, to see Mr. Cotto punch the feces out of this Mayweather punk. I mean, just the miserable little bastard's smugness alone....

Note to Tavis Smiley and Cornell West

 Look, I agree with you fellows. The job losses that took place during the first 12 months of the Obama administration shouldn't in any way be counted against him. But you gotta be consistent, OK? You can't let Mr. Obama off the hook and then try to blame President Reagan (who I've admitted on many occasions was an overrated President) for the rise in black poverty that took place during the earliest stages in HIS administration (i.e., prior to his policies haven taken effect). I mean, I know that you fellows hate Reagan and all....and that, even though you claim to be disappointed in President Obama, you clearly have a preference for him but, come on! What do you say that we use a non-malleable yardstick for a frigging change, huh?.......................................................................................P.S. And, yes, I would definitely say the same thing to Sean Hannity, too. Absofrigginglutely.

Question For Laura Ingraham (Substituting For O'Reilly on the "Factor" Tonight)

Is there a question somewhere in that diatribe?

Coulda, Woulda, and Absolutely Shoulda

Jon Huntsman (in my opinion, the most reasonable of the Republicans who ran) now appears to be pulling a "Colin Powell". Remember how Mr. Powell wrote that book in which he said that he was against the Iraq War and of just how much that he regretted that now infamous U.N. speech? Well, it appears that Mr. Huntsman is having a regret or two of his own these days. In a recent interview in New York, the former Utah governor and United States ambassador to China thoroughly lambasted the Republican party and especially regretted the fact that he was one of the ten who raised their hands over that silly 10-1 budget cuts to tax increases question...............................................................................Now, to be fair, it isn't exactly certain (given the idiotic format of such a debate) whether or not Mr. Huntsman would have been given the opportunity to explain himself; "Well, Bret, it kind of depends on what the particular cuts and taxes are. 10-1 - that's not exactly a bad deal if in fact you're looking to spread the sacrifice around a tad. I guess that you really need to be more specific here." But, still, a little bit of political courage, especially when you weren't going to win anyway - that alone would have been refreshing, no?

On Metta World Peace

I prefer to call the fellow Mega Big Douche.

Empowerment Care

I've changed my mind on health-care reform. I no longer have Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel's "Healthcare Guaranteed" model as my number one choice. Not that I no longer like that plan, mind you. I still consider it light-years better than Obamacare, single-payer, and obviously the present-day situation. I just happen to think now that health-care savings accounts replete with generous subsidies, minimum standards of care, and a catastrophic care provision would in fact be superior......................................................................................a) It largely eliminates the middle-man (i.e., the government and/or the insurance companies). b) It totally gets rid of this whole anachronistic health insurance tied to employment concept that quite clearly drags the economy. And c) there will finally be a huge incentive for people to actually start shopping around for a change..........................................................................................And, yes, folks, it's that third one that's really the key here. I mean, as it stands now, we basically have a system in which the patient rarely if ever even looks at the bills. The way that I see it, if the people themselves were the ones who were actually responsible for payment, they would finally start shopping around and, yes, this would absolutely prompt health-care providers to compete for a change.......................................................................................Oh, and, if you happen not to believe that this would lower the costs and also improve services, I ask you, just take a look at those procedures in which this is already happening; lasik eye surgery, hair transplantation, lipo, etc.. The cost for these procedures has actually been coming down and the technology better. When, people, was the last time that you were able to say that about a government monopoly. Markets, folks - they work. You just have to allow them.