|
by fairleft Chilly drafts of wind pour through cracked windows and holes in the roof of Bethlehem Steel's tool shop. The interior looks like life had suddenly stopped, as though men had simply abandoned work stations and left their equipment to rot. Pigeon dirt covers rolling tables where streams of steel billets used to flow. In nearby sheds, hundreds of dies, once meticulously cut by skilled craftsmen, sit rusting and neglected because someone else's dies are now shaping this nation's tool steel. Abandoned oil refining plant, near Philadelphia, 2007 America began de-industrializing 35-40 years ago, but the process continues. It is a problem that free market capitalism cannot solve, because it is natural for capital to avoid long-term investment, in particular avoiding high-wage nations. It will be hard on us here in the U.S. if our Ivy League masters fail to understand what America's basic economic problem is, or are too sold out to do anything about it even if they do understand. Only government can do anything here, and foregoing short-term profit for long-term benefit would involve short-term pain for the capitalist class. One person who does understand the underlying problem is Michael Perelman, who writes (emphasis added):
With all the attention to the current financial crisis, the time has come to look at another part of market failure -- the reluctance to invest in long-lived plant and equipment. I'm not merely thinking about the deindustrialization of the US economy, but a more general reluctance. . . . Read more... (3 comments, 949 words in story) by fairleft
The Obama doom and gloom vibe is not rooted just in poll numbers, though those are fairly bad, and it's not so much the 'surprised leftist' complaint that he has 'tacked right' in recent weeks and months (he actually hasn't, he was already there (but that's another, deleted by Peeder diary)).
No, it's the smell of fear, insecurity and typical Dem conventional wisdom. The vice president thing showed the real Obama (one I've been talking about for months (in many many deleted by Peeder diaries)), an insecure guy very strictly obedient to wuss party conventional wisdom. The recent sky-is-falling was "They say WE'RE WEAK ON FOREIGN POLICY!!!!" and so (showing poor judgment even there) Obama chose the insider-as-parody Biden. Then McCain and his advisers, showing good strategic judgment, chose a candidate who resonates with and amplifies McCain's maverick theme. (Biden resonates only to the sound of his own voice.) Obama should've chosen as McCain did, a candidate like Bill Richardson who resonates with and amplifies Obama's (apparent) 'ethnics r the shit' message. Spengler, an asshole over at atimes.com, sums up:
McCain's choice of vice presidential candidate made obvious after the fact what the party professionals felt in their fingertips at the stadium extravaganza [Obama's acceptance speech] yesterday: rejecting Clinton [well, Spengler is wrong on a lot of things] in favor of the colorless, unpopular, tangle-tongued Washington perennial Joe Biden was a statement of weakness. McCain's selection was a statement of strength. America's voters will forgive many things in a politician, including sexual misconduct, but they will not forgive weakness. As I said, Spengler's an asshole: McCain's as much a maverick as James Garner was, i.e. he plays one on TV (well, in that lame-ass movie with Jodie Foster too). And Palin's 'reform credentials' are all bullshit. But, anyway, Spengler's right about McCain refurbishing his image and Obama messing up his (the article also goes into Spengler's psycho-analysis of Obama, which is a worthwhile read imho). FAIRLEFT'S Predictable ADVICE TO OBAMA: Read more... (813 words in story) by fairleft
As the Daily Howler wrote on Friday, it was a week for peering inside the dead souls of the U.S. media elite. And the most revealing two paragraphs came from the corporate media's least self-aware disinfotainer, Chris Matthews. Jealousy probably underlay the MSNBC Hardballer stating, immediately after hearing of boss Tim Russert's death, that Russert was the targeted dupe for the 'scary nukes' issue that Bush/Cheney used to get us into Iraq. Here's Matthews on Thursday, June 13 (emphasis added):
One other thing, and may be tricky to say this and I'll say it. When we went to war with Iraq, he and I had a little discussion about that and this is where he is every man. This is where Tim is Mr. or Miss America or Mrs. America. He is us as a country. I said, why--how can you believe this war is justified? And he said, "The nuclear thing. If they have a bomb that they can use, we've got to deal with. We can't walk away from that." In sum, Cheney felt that Russert was the key guy he had to dupe, and it couldn't have been easier: 'TRUST ME TIM, SADDAM'S GOT NUKES!' That's all: no push back, no inquiry, End of F-cking Story. The Howler quotes Matthews and adds (emphasis by fairleft):
Matthews, of course, is describing a private discussion. There's no proof that this discussion occurred . . . But did Russert really get played, as embellishments led us to war in Iraq? You don't have to rely on Matthews. Who can forget the embarrassing exchange Russert had with Bill Moyers, just last year? Had Russert been duped by the war machine? Fairly plainly, Moyers was asking--and as he answered, Russert made one of the most embarrassing statements a big journalist ever has made: Read more... (4 comments, 900 words in story) by fairleft
As for US President George W Bush, he had just spoken praising Maliki for waging a "historic and decisive" battle against the Mahdi Army, which he said was "a defining moment" in the history of a "free Iraq". Both Maliki and Bush look very foolish. . . .
. . . nothing infuriates Cheney more than when US oil interests are hit. Thus, the most critical few weeks in the decades-long US-Iran standoff may have just begun. Yes, the terrorists have won again. Or, as the Asia Times headlines it, Iran torpedoes US plans for Iraqi oil. The excellent M K Bhadrakumar writes:
It appears that one of the most shadowy figures of the Iranian security establishment, General Qassem Suleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) personally mediated in the intra-Iraqi Shi'ite negotiations. Suleimani is in charge of the IRGC's operations abroad. Read more... (1329 words in story) by fairleft
according to the Drum Major Institute, if you average their newly released 2007 grades with earlier ones:
Hillary Clinton:
Barack Obama: Obama received a poor grade in 2005 for two votes. First, he voted for H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The Drum Major Institute commented:
The most startling thing about this legislation is what it does not do. In the first place, the 1,700-page multi-billion dollar bill fails to help middle-class consumers squeezed by high gas and fuel costs. The rollback in public safety protections also puts middle-class families at risk, for example by exempting oil and gas companies from the provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act when these companies inject carcinogenic chemicals into the ground. At the same time, the deregulation of public utilities exposes the middle class to a different kind of risk: stemming from increased consolidation of utilities that could raise electric rates and manipulate energy markets. What the bill does do is provide massive taxpayer subsidies - to the tune of $85.1 billion dollars - for some of the world's most profitable corporations, so that, among other things, they can drill on public land while paying the public less, ultimately leaving middle-class families to pick up a bigger share of the cost of public services. Finally, although the legislation comes at a time of overwhelming scientific evidence about the dangers of global warming and increased concern about the nation's dependence on foreign oil, it does very little to address either problem, neglecting to even increase fuel efficiency standards for cars. Read more... (1 comment, 1049 words in story) by fairleft ![]() Yeah, I'm a sucker for a little optimism, and this guy Mark Perry* makes some sense. And like anybody awake, I appreciate his honest 'one-party government' take on U.S. foreign policy, in this case specifically Israel/Palestine policy. Anywho, he talks optimism after naming the politically near-identical 'bipartisan foreign policy' suspects guiding all three of the major candidates:
Clinton's advisors include a large number of near-greats from her husband's administration (Richard Holbrooke, Madeleine Albright, Sandy Berger and Wes Clark), while Obama's list is peppered with experienced officials (former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig, Africa expert Susan Rice and former NSC chiefs Zbigniew Brzezinski and Tony Lake) and some surprises (former Clinton envoy Dennis Ross and Reagan Defense Department stalwart Noel Koch). John McCain's administration-in-waiting, however, is by far the most interesting - and imposing: Richard Armitage, Brent Scowcroft, Colin Powell and Lawrence Eagleburger. Read more... (2 comments, 717 words in story) by fairleft
It was Prozac. And let the drug-money-addled MSM's defense begin before that word drops onto the page. Hey, do you think Jeremy Manier might drop in a quote next time from Elliot Valenstein or David Healy?
Doctors: Prozac, violence rarely linked Read more... (13 comments, 5185 words in story) by fairleft Police have yet to uncover a motive. [Stephen] Kazmierczak was an NIU graduate student in sociology in the spring of 2007, but was not currently enrolled, according to a release on the school's Web site. http://www.cbs46.com/news/15304821/detail.html When's the medication going to be named? Who has the police chief chosen to serve and protect, and who to put in danger? Eat or stop eating yer Prozac, Paxil, or Zoloft, and have uncontrollable urge to commmit suicide and mass murder?
Lilly fights journal article on Prozac Read more... (6 comments, 1335 words in story) by fairleft
Does this look like a comment expanded into a dairy? Morning ramblings inspired by TheHater's late night ramblings:
Hill or Bama, 2009 Summarized (0.00 / 0) Read more... (4 comments, 446 words in story) by fairleft Damn, she's taking (some of) my advice! If she pushes this stuff in Obama's face and the MSM lets the populist Hillary through (uh, here's yesterday's AP Obama press release 'news' on Hillary's populist speech), we might actually have a Democratic nomination race on our hands, and it will be a left vs. right race as it should be. Three highlights from Hillary's speech yesterday to Ohio GM workers: Restore fairness to our tax code by making sure Wall Street investment managers never pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries, and by rolling back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Read more... (5 comments, 773 words in story) by fairleft Saying Social Security is in crisis is anti-Social Security; it is repeating a Republican lie, the same one Prez Bush tried to use in 2005 to get Social Security cutbacks and private accounts started. Saying 'everything is on the table' twice in early 2007 is anti-Social Security, message effectively sent to Wall Street even when he later backtracks from it. But Tuesday in Wisconsin Barack Obama proposed forcing employers to open private accounts for workers: A Secure Retirement - Obama will require employers to enroll every worker in a direct deposit retirement account that places a small percentage of each paycheck into savings. Workers would be able to retain this account even if they change jobs, and the federal government will match the savings for working families. Why the heck do that? If you support Social Security, why not instead force employers to contribute more money to Social Security? Read more... (546 words in story) by fairleft
Upstate Dem nails Mr. Bipartisan, Barack Obama, with this dairy over at mydd (bold added):
President Obama's Compromises Read more... (6 comments, 612 words in story) by fairleft ![]() Kill That Arab! A Marine crosses a downtown Toledo street during 2005 urban warfare training exercise. (All Toledo photos are from the Toledo Blade.)
Toledo mayor defends decision to send Michigan Marines away Of course, if you want the way the right-wing media plays this 'abuse of our heroes', watch CNN 'news':
Read more... (812 words in story) by fairleft ![]() Which you have to be to make Chris Matthews look good. You'd think every leftist would be celebrating after the stupid right-wing asshole got taken down for a typically coarse Hardball anti-Clinton remark. But, oh yeah, it was about a Clinton, and, oh yeah, we're in the middle of irrational Obamamania, even at increasingly myleftwingian fleshfeast. Let's take a walk through some of Shuster the Nose Picker's greatest flubs, courtesy mostly of the Daily Howler. Here he is 'truth squading' after the Dem debate last August (my bold):
SHUSTER (8/7/07): There were a few instances in this forum tonight where Democrats gave some untruthful descriptions of the Bush administration and the impact of administration policies on the nation. Watch. Read more... (2 comments, 1485 words in story)
|
Login
Recommended Diaries
Great White Junta
by Jeff Huber - Dec 1 10 comments TARIFFS: The Smoot-Hawley Fairy Tale by unlawflcombatnt - Nov 30 1 comment Exit Poll Analysis Suggets Obama Victory Due to Surge in... by Project Vote - Nov 26 2 comments Confidence is high... by btchakir - Dec 1 Recommended World Diaries
Recent Diaries
The Recession is Real!
by btchakir - Dec 1 George W. Bush Belongs In Prison by statusquobuster - Dec 1 Confidence is high... by btchakir - Dec 1 Great White Junta by Jeff Huber - Dec 1 10 comments TARIFFS: The Smoot-Hawley Fairy Tale by unlawflcombatnt - Nov 30 1 comment Saturday Painting Palooza Vol.173 by boran2 - Nov 29 5 comments Breaking the Bailout by danps - Nov 29 1 comment I got yer Thanksgiving. Right HERE!!! by Arthur Gilroy - Nov 28 6 comments Libya sends 3,000 tons of aid to Gaza SHIP TURNED BACK by shergald - Nov 28 8 comments Friday Foto Flogging by AndiF - Nov 28 95 comments In honor of the First Thanksgiving, some history: by btchakir - Nov 27 2 comments We interrupt this broadcast for an example of competence. by stormbear - Nov 26 Process Patented to Identify "Unknown Unknowns" by Knoxville Progressive - Nov 26 7 comments Back when Gates was a "shoot first crazy neocon". by Pen - Nov 26 2 comments Honor the Taxpayer! by btchakir - Nov 26 Stimulating whose economy? by Frank Schnittger - Nov 26 3 comments Exit Poll Analysis Suggets Obama Victory Due to Surge in... by Project Vote - Nov 26 2 comments Blumner: "Universal Voter Registration Needs to Be... by Project Vote - Nov 25 Hillary, Rahm and Other Wild Turkeys by Jeff Huber - Nov 25 11 comments PLO advertises peace deal in Israeli newspapers by shergald - Nov 24 15 comments More Diaries... Blogroll
THE TRAIL BLAZERS
LOCAL BLOGGERS
BLOG AMNESTY STEVEN D's PICKS
Empire Burlesque
|
||||||||||||
Booman Tribune Homepage admin@boomantribune.com powered by Scoop
More blogs about Blogs at Technorati.
|
||||||||||||||
© 2007 Booman Tribune