Relax, It's the Weekend!, Part 5

See the previous post: Relax, It's the Weekend!; Relax, It's the Weekend!, Part 2; and Relax, It's the Weekend!, Part 3, and Relax, It's the Weekend!, Part 4.

Why Is America Great?, Part III, The Case for 'Spreading the Wealth Around'

"In an article last year in The American Interest, Philip Auerswald and Zoltan Acs of George Mason University suggested that the defining characteristic of American capitalism is not only an entrepreneurial culture that generates great wealth but also a philanthropic infrastructure that recycles that wealth in ways that create more opportunity, more growth and more wealth. . .

The problem with this approach, however, is that it focuses on only one of the institutions that have corrected for the inequalities inevitably created by a capitalist system. Yes, philanthropy has been important, but so have unions, which ensured a fair distribution of corporate profits. So have antitrust laws that prevented successful companies from snuffing out entrepreneurial competition. So have norms of corporate behavior that made it socially unacceptable for top corporate executives to pay themselves 350 times what their workers made. And so have tax-supported schools, playgrounds and hospitals that were good enough to be used by rich and poor alike.

All of these institutions accounted for the vibrancy of the American economy by ensuring that prosperity was widely shared. But with the erosion of those institutions, that is no longer the case. . .

[I]n recent decades, there has been a dramatic erosion in both the ideal and the reality of shared prosperity that threatens to paralyze our political system and undermine economic growth. "

Read the Washington Post, Why sharing the wealth isn't enough.

The lesson, there is not much of a future in the Republi-con everyman-for-himself philosophy.

For another reasons, read Why Is America Great?, Questioning the Status Quo and Why Is America Great?, Part II, The Case for Diversity.

Republi-CON Flimflam on the Deficit

"The Beltway crowd gets fooled again, this time by Representative Paul Ryan’s plan for a major overhaul of federal spending and taxes." So says the 2008 winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics. Read The New York Times, The Flimflam Man.

Voodoo economics -- more proof that Republi-con zombie lies never die.

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

UPDATE: As discussed, see:

The State of Hawaii Certification of Live Birth for Obama, and

Images of two separate newspaper announcement's of Obama's birth in the State of Hawaii.

Read them and weep you birthers!

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics:

Local and regional: WEBY's very own Pastor Poppin's delusion birther rants, will Crist ride the national anti-incumbent, anti-establishment wave to D.C. and health care lawsuit update;

and

Nation and international: I now pronounce you Ms. and Mrs. Married; Happy Mocking Birthday from the mean-spirited Republi-cons (but I'm confused, I thought Republi-cons deny that Obama was ever born, wasn't Obama the Alien Lizard hatched, just ask Google); is it time to tax that vice?; why Is America great?, part II; victory for religious freedom over Republi-con religious fearmongering; Republi-con less government election fraud (President Bush increased government spending more than how many of the presidents that preceded him); where is Gore's igloo, AKA enjoying that global heat wave yet?; is Mama Grizzly poisoning her cubs; does Republi-CON election = Tea Party agenda?; why Republi-CONs are like OBL; yet another example of how fear, anger, hatred = violence;

and

Oil Spill Fallout to Date: finally, the well is capped, now what to do about 205.8 million gallons of oil in 643 quadrillion gallons of water (a quadrillion is one thousand million million or 10¹⁵, imagine 0.8934545... drops of oil in a 22,000 gallon pool, assuming 90,840 drops/gallon and the oil evenly dispersed), maybe we should just leave it to Alcanivorax, who was suggesting that the government push aside BP and take over?, what did more harm, the oil spill or media hype and political grandstanding?; fraud, waste and abuse, in Fl the 3 counties farthest from the spill received over 1/2 of the money, one of them, Franklin, received over 1/3 of the $40 million; well meaning stupidity is still stupidity, lost compensation, should you get extra money after lying to the IRS?, did ya hear bout Big Oil's Big Daddy, Dick 'Chickenhawk' Cheney's secret energy task force, discounts for deepwater drilling, tell me -- the oil deposit now leaking would have provided how many days' worth of oil to Americans?, Obama's energy pipe dreams, is it time for N2N, was it God's wrath for destroying his planet?, shocking realization that bottom-line influences corporate policy, political grandstanding, and Republi-CON 'less government' hypocrisy;

and

Trivia and Humor: Happy 60th Birthday Bikini!

But I'll discuss anything. Disclaimer: the host reserves the right to end any discussion and hang up on you.)

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events.

And remember: I'm still God's favorite Gulf Coast talk show host, just ask the capped well!

Summertime Questions

Ever wonder why they called it a bikini?

And what publication said that it was "inconceivable that any girl with tact and decency would ever wear such a thing."

For answers to these and other questions you might have about the the swimsuit that made its debut at a poolside fashion show in Paris 60 years ago, read Slate, A Brief History of the Bikini, How a tiny swimsuit took America by storm.

Tax That Vice

Will the government’s desperate need for revenue lead to the legalization and taxation of drugs? Read the Ereakonomics Blog at The New York Times, What Prohibition Can Teach Us About Marijuana Legalization — and Other Tales From Last Call Author Daniel Okrent.

Don't laugh, "[a]ccording to an estimate by the Joint Tax Committee, legalizing and taxing online gambling could raise up to $42 billion in revenues over the next decade." Think, who is your numbers bookie?

Why Is America Great?, Part II, The Case for Diversity

"A concert of Broadway show tunes sung by a diverse cast brings to mind reasons why it is O.K. to build a mosque near the World Trade Center site." Read The New York Times, Broadway and the Mosque, which quotes a Newsweek essay on creativity: “To be creative requires divergent thinking (generating many unique ideas) and then convergent thinking (combining those ideas into the best result).”

For another reason, read Why Is America Great?, Questioning the Status Quo

Enjoying That Global Heat Wave Yet?

UPDATE: For more proof that the planet is warming, see Foreign Policy, They're Really Melting,Three glaciers that are fast receding from their icy peaks.

There may be more to come. Read The New York Times, Is It Hot in Here? Must Be Global Warming.

It's the Ecomony, Stupid!

UPDATE: Who said: "President Bush increased government spending more than any of the six presidents preceding him, including LBJ." Read the Washington Post, GOP shows historic amnesia on spending cuts.

And it ain't lookin good. For an update, read the New York Times article:

A Sin and a Shame, which posits that "[s]o long as American corporations keep squeezing their work forces, there can be no real economic recovery,"

What They’re Not Telling You, which discusses the federal budget and "the tough truths about the causes of the deficit and the painful choices that will have to be made,"

Defining Prosperity Down, which argues that "[t]here is growing evidence that our governing elite just doesn’t care about the prospects of American workers — that a once-unthinkable level of economic distress is in the process of becoming the new normal," and

Four Deformations of the Apocalypse, written by David Stockman, a director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan and which outlines how the "Republican Party destroyed the American economy." he writes:

That "new policy doctrines have caused four great deformations of the national economy, and modern Republicans have turned a blind eye to each one.

The first of these started when the Nixon administration defaulted on American obligations under the 1944 Bretton Woods agreement to balance our accounts with the world. . .

The second unhappy change in the American economy has been the extraordinary growth of our public debt. In 1970 it was just 40 percent of gross domestic product, or about $425 billion. When it reaches $18 trillion, it will be 40 times greater than in 1970. This debt explosion has resulted not from big spending by the Democrats, but instead the Republican Party’s embrace, about three decades ago, of the insidious doctrine that deficits don’t matter if they result from tax cuts. . .

The third ominous change in the American economy has been the vast, unproductive expansion of our financial sector. Here, Republicans have been oblivious to the grave danger of flooding financial markets with freely printed money and, at the same time, removing traditional restrictions on leverage and speculation. As a result, the combined assets of conventional banks and the so-called shadow banking system (including investment banks and finance companies) grew from a mere $500 billion in 1970 to $30 trillion by September 2008. . .

The fourth destructive change has been the hollowing out of the larger American economy. Having lived beyond our means for decades by borrowing heavily from abroad, we have steadily sent jobs and production offshore. In the past decade, the number of high-value jobs in goods production and in service categories like trade, transportation, information technology and the professions has shrunk by 12 percent, to 68 million from 77 million. The only reason we have not experienced a severe reduction in nonfarm payrolls since 2000 is that there has been a gain in low-paying, often part-time positions in places like bars, hotels and nursing homes."

Mama Grizzly's Endorsements

UPDATE II: How does the Mama Grizzly choose her cub? Is it the tea party-esque alternative, except in key primary states? Read the Washington Post, Palin makes her most surprising endorsement yet.


UPDATE: Come November, Mama Grizzly may have poisoned her cubs. Read the Washington Post, Still more proof Sarah Palin is toxic outside her bubble.

"Sarah Palin has thrown her support behind more than two dozen candidates, a mixture of Tea Party favorites and more established Republican types. Use this graphic to explore Mama Grizzly's endorsements, and see how they fare." Read the Washington Post, The Politics of Palin: Endorsement tracker.

Health Care Lawsuit Update

UPDATE: "A federal judge has refused to block the challenge to the law by Virginia, one of 21 states bringing similar suits." To read the opinion click here.

Having trouble sleeping. Never fear, the heath care lawsuit update is here. Read the federal government's memorandum in support of their motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by the states, and you'll be asleep in no time.

To read the memorandum and some of the other recent court documents, click here.

Sweet dreams.

Cheer Up Monday, Bonus

From a friend:

Why Some Men Have Dogs And Not Wives:

1. The later you are, the more excited your dogs are to see you.
2. Dogs don't notice if you call them by another dog's name.
3. Dogs like it if you leave a lot of things on the floor.
4. A dog's parents never visit.
5. Dogs agree that you have to raise your voice to get your point across.
6. You never have to wait for a dog; they're ready to go 24 hours a day.
7. Dogs find you amusing when you're drunk..
8. Dogs like to go hunting and fishing.
9. A dog will not wake you up at night to ask, "If I died, would you get another dog?"
10. If a dog has babies, you can put an ad in the paper and give them away.
11. A dog will let you put a studded collar on it without calling you a pervert.
12. If a dog smells another dog on you, they don't get mad. They just think it's interesting.
13. Dogs like to ride in the back of a pickup truck.

And last, but certainly not least:

14. If a dog leaves, it won't take half of your stuff.

Ultimate True Test: Lock your wife and your dog in the trunk of your car for an hour. Then open the trunk and see who's the happier to see you.

Cheer Up Monday

From a friend:

Best 'Out of Office' Automatic Email Replies:

1. I am currently out of the office at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. Please be prepared for my mood.
2. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn't have received anything at all.
3. Sorry to have missed you, but I'm at the doctor's having my brain and heart removed so I can be promoted to our management team.
4. I will be unable to delete all the emails you send me until I return from vacation. Please be patient, and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.
5 . Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged $5.99 for the first 10 words and $1.99 for each additional word in your message.
6. The email server is unable to verify your server connection. Your message has not been delivered. Please restart your computer and try sending again. (The beauty of this is that when you return, you can see who did this over and over and over...)
7. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.
8. Hi, I'm thinking about what you've just sent me. Please wait by your PC for my response.
9. I've run away to join a different circus.
10. I will be out of the office for the next two weeks for medical reasons. When I return, please refer to me as 'Lucille' instead of Steve.

Relax, It's the Weekend!, Part 4

See the previous post: Relax, It's the Weekend!; Relax, It's the Weekend!, Part 2; and Relax, It's the Weekend!, Part 3.

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

UPDATE: For the website of Mathias Venditto, no party affiliate candidate for Florida State Representative, District One, see FloridaVotes2010.com.

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics:

Local and regional: will Crist ride the national anti-incumbent, anti-establishment wave to D.C.; and politics, local Republi-CON Riviera style (Merry Christmas, Ferd)

and

Nation and international: make that man President; does Republi-CON election = Tea Party agenda?; 'leaking' the obvious; "Top Secret America": The Rest Of The Story; is it the end of the world, the Arizona immigration law; why Republi-CONs are like OBL; praying for the rapture; irregardless of what I said in the past, I refudiate it; like mother like daugter -- cha-ching, baby, cha-ching; Republi-CONs are sooooo gullible; and oil spill fallout to date: what did more harm, the oil spill or media hype and political grandstanding?; well meaning stupidity is still stupidity, lost compensation, should you get extra money after lying to the IRS?, did ya hear bout Big Oil's Big Daddy, Dick 'Chickenhawk' Cheney's secret energy task force, discounts for deepwater drilling, tell me -- the oil deposit now leaking would have provided how many days' worth of oil to Americans?, Obama's energy pipe dreams, is it time for N2N, was it God's wrath for destroying his planet?, shocking realization that bottom-line influences corporate policy, political grandstanding, and Republi-CON 'less government' hypocrisy;

and

what is it?

But I'll discuss anything. Disclaimer: the host reserves the right to end any discussion and hang up on you.)

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events.

And remember: I'm still God's favorite Gulf Coast talk show host, just ask the capped well!

Make That Man President

"Can a nation remain a superpower if its internal politics are incorrigibly stupid? Read the Washington Post, In American politics, stupidity is the name of the game.

But there is hope. Read the Washington Post, Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) speaks fiscal truth. Watch his response when a teacher complains of benefits contributions and a wage freeze:

Does Republi-CON Election = Tea Party Agenda?

That is the Naive-ocrat election strategy. See the newly unveiled DNC website, RepublicanTeaPartyContract.com.

And the 2010 election season begins in earnest.

What Is It?

In 1967 a scientist invented this substance "with a slightly granular surface that prevented complete adhesion." Today it is the key part of more than 1,000 products sold in 150 countries. What is it?

Read The New York Times, Turning 30, an Office Product Works at Home.

"Top Secret America": The Rest Of The Story

"The Monday, July 19, 2010, edition of The Washington Post featured an investigative report entitled "Top Secret America," with the subtitle, "A hidden world, growing beyond control." The report begins, "The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work." Read Chuck Baldwin,"Top Secret America": The Rest Of The Story.

A story to remember the next time those Republi-cons parrot their electioneering slogan about less government and more person freedom.

'Leaking' the Obvious

Is it a secret to state the obvious? No say two writers for the Washington Post:

"The war in Afghanistan cannot be won as winning is now defined -- defeat of the Taliban, eradication of al-Qaeda and the preservation of a functioning central government run by someone like our close friend and cherished ally, Hamid Karzai. This is not going to happen." Read Wikileaks, telling us the obvious in Afghanistan.

"The tens of thousands of classified military documents posted on the Internet Sunday confirm what critics of the war in Afghanistan already knew or suspected: We are wading deeper into a long-running, morally ambiguous conflict that has virtually no chance of ending well." Read Wikileaks reveal the obvious dangers of Afghanistan.