Quote of the day

“We are here today to say that we are not economic units whose only function is to behave ourselves and to pay off the gambling debts of our masters, we are not children who must take our medicine or be sent to bed without our supper, we are not subjects, we are citizens and we want our republic back”

~ Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole

You might be a Progressive....

If you think that every patriotic American(including the mega-rich and the corporations) should pay their fair share of taxes, in order that We the People can invest in infrastructure that would benefit us all.

Sweet Summer

Oh, sweet summer, where have you gone?

Backlash?

I want to make a trip to OR soon, but now that Bradley Field has installed a new Porno-Scan machine, I'll be buying the Winnabago that I've always wanted, and I'll not be flying any more.

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Update:

They may as well herd us all into a big gymnasium, have us strip down and don hospital Johnnies and booties, stop and grab ankles at the door for the gratuitous body cavity check, and fly that way.

You might be a Progressive....

If you think a strong public education system is a good idea.

Friday Cat Blogging

I can haz nap, K?

Still napping.

Quote of the Day

James Galbraith is an economist and the Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. chair in government and business relations at the University of Texas at Austin.

This is his take on the deficit:

"
Since the 1790s, how often has the federal government not run a deficit? Six short periods, all leading to recession. Why? Because the government needs to run a deficit, it's the only way to inject financial resources into the economy. If you're not running a deficit, it's draining the pockets of the private sector. I was at a meeting in Cambridge last month where the managing director of the IMF said he was against deficits but in favor of saving, but they're exactly the same thing! A government deficit means more money in private pockets.

The way people suggest they can cut spending without cutting activity is completely fallacious. This is appalling in Europe right now. The Greeks are being asked to cut 10 percent from spending in a few years. And the assumption is that this won't affect GDP. But of course it will! It will cut at least 10 percent! And so they won't have the tax collections to fund the new lower level of spending. Spain was forced to make the same announcement yesterday. So the Eurozone is going down the tubes.

On the other hand, look at Japan. They've had enormous deficits ever since the crash in 1988. What's been the interest rate on government bonds ever since? It's zero! They've had no problem funding themselves. The best asset to own in Japan is cash, because the price level is falling. It gets you 4 percent return. The idea that funding difficulties are driven by deficits is an argument backed by a very powerful metaphor, but not much in the way of fact, theory or current experience.
"

God help us through these next few years!


From: EZRA KLEIN

F*ck the Death Penalty...

...Just get Steven Hayes OFF my TV!

I would much rather that the heinous murderer be condemned to life without parole in solitary confinement than get the death penalty. Now we have to have his increasingly ugly mug on our news over and over and over as the mandatory appeals go on and on and on. Not to mention all the money it will cost.

Someone as disgusting as Steven Hayes should go into prison never to be seen or heard from again. He should get his meals slid through a slot in his 15 cubic foot compound, with no tv, no radio no contact with another human being ever again. He should have the clothing he stood up in when he goes in and nothing else ever. He should have a windowless, black stall, with no daylight- only fluorescents on 24/7, no greenery, no flowers. No tv, no radio, no human voice or face or warmth ever again.

Make available at all times a fatal dose of his medicine, and let him do it himself, if he has the courage.

Pic of the Day

first snow

oh woe

no grow

too slow!