Good kids, good tidings.

Finding ways to effect change

When you're weary... feeling small... when times get rough... when you're down and out... (I know, butchering Simon & Garfunkel lyrics for fun and no profit) This is actually a heartening, "I can do SOMETHING," one-piece-at-a-time call to action:

I believe that the time is right to begin to explore these small and doable fixes and try, slice by slice, to fix fundamental problems that prevent the federal government from effectively serving us and our country. [Dina Rasor for t r u t h o u t]

Bernie into the fray

With Bernie leading the charge to block Obama/GOP tax "deal" with filibuster intentions:

"We are protecting the middle class by waging this fight and saying, 'You can't grow the national debt so that the Republicans can come back and slash benefits or move toward raising the retirement age or making other cuts in Social Security.'"

Hitchin' up our collective pants

The outrage really only goes so far, so it's time to start looking at solutions and directing energies into positive channels. But having ammunition for cogent arguments (even if whomever you're having a discussion with doesn't seem to adhere to the basic tenets of logic and facts) is nonetheless useful. What do you say, Dylan Ratigan?

When anyone starts lecturing you that the US has the highest tax rate in the industrialized world, just turn around, walk away, and pretend you never heard of them. This person is either ignorant about this country's taxation system, or is deliberately trying to deceive or mislead you.

According to a report released by the Internal Revenue Service, America's tax collection agency, the top 400 individual tax returns filed in 2009 reported an average gross income of $358 million each. The average amount of tax paid by these individuals came to under 17%, less than half the maximum Federal rate of 35%, which kicks in on annual income over $372,950 (click here for the 2009 tax tables).

This explains why Warren Buffet pays a much lower tax rate than his secretary. It really is true that in America, only the poor people pay taxes. [quoting The Tax Rate Fallacy on Zero Hedge]

And Michael J. O'Neil weighs in on the real equations at work vis-a-vis tax cuts for the rich, job creation, profit and the choices businesses make:

We are asked to believe that these businesses will no longer have the money to hire new employees if they don't get to keep these 2.2 cents on the dollar. Really?...[H]ow does any tax on profits inhibit the hiring of additional employees? In fact, quite the opposite is true. Incrementally higher taxes on profits actually are a slight incentive to hire additional employees. It costs a company in the 40 percent tax bracket about 60 cents to pay $1 in additional wages.

But I wouldn't make too much of this modest incentive. In thirty years of running a business, taxes on profits have never played any role whatsoever in decisions to hire new employees. Not ever. Why? We hire new people when our workload requires it. And for no other reason. And I find it hard to imagine any rational business making hiring decisions on any other basis.

Sally Kohn has some ideas on extending Bush tax cuts on tippy-top earners and a nifty Founding Father quote, along with advice on Dem pols to collectively grow a pair:

The strongest argument against extending tax breaks for the rich is the most obvious -- these tax breaks have been in effect the entire recession and have not spawned jobs and growth. What delusional insanity makes anyone think giving more money to the rich with magically help the economy now?

...John Adams, one of our Founding Fathers, wrote, "Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men." The tyranny from which the Founders sought to protect our nation was not the tyranny of government but the tyranny of wealthy elites. Remember, the King of England was a king. America was founded on hard work and community, not royalty. So why are our political leaders bowing to the financial kings and queens of our day with reckless and wasteful tax breaks?

At least crazy Iowa "conservative" Steve King has a finger on the pulse of what's wrong with the country:

In an interview with Right Side News, King was asked if he supported a recent conspiracy-laced speech by conservative media mogul Cliff Kincaid, in which he argued that the next Republican Congress should bring back the House Internal Security Committee in order to combat "the ugly spread of Marxism in America." King responded, "I would. I think that is a good process and I would support it."

The House Internal Security Committee was the followup to the highly controversial HUAC, a congressional body meant to serve as a counterpart to the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee in which McCarthy was heavily involved. The HUAC was notoriously involved in a Hollywood investigation of actors, directors and writers that were allegedly communist sympathizers.

Amy Dean proposes a useful broad strategy for progressives moving forward:

If progressives are going to rebound in 2012, we need to move beyond this and begin laying the groundwork for resurgence at the base. That means presenting an agenda, one that is compelling to working and middle class Americans. Progressives positioning themselves as being against Republican proposals will not be enough. We must be able to present a convincing program detailing what we are for.

Eric Margolis points out WikiLeaks' importance as well as potential weaknesses, outsized blustering reactions to the recent diplomatic cables, and some of the most notable information to be gleaned from them:

The US media and Congress have been blasting WikiLeaks for "treason" or "terrorism," and demanding it be silenced -- while gleefully using parts of the leaks to promote war against Iran. US media and Congress seem to have forgotten about free speech. Or the right of Americans to know what their government is really up to around the globe.

Some of America's dimmer Republican politicians called for charges of "terrorism" against WikiLeak founder Julian Assange. Terrorism has become America's catch-all charge for annoying or rebellious activity, much as the Soviets used to charge people with being "enemies of the state."

The uproar over WikiLeaks may also well spur efforts by the hard right to impose censorship on the internet.

...Meanwhile, WikiLeaks is at least doing part of what America's elected leaders and supposed free media should have been doing: telling citizens what's really going on.

Closing with some eye-opening commentary from retiring North Dakota Dem Senator Byron Dorgan on a topic the media keeps, well, ignoring (in favor of, say, Kate + 8 joining Sarah Palin in "her" Alaska) - fraud involving private military contracts for even the most insignificant stinking things. Hello? Deficit hawks? Is this thing on?:

Halliburton was to purchase towels for the troops, hand towels. You know, they were purchasing hand towels to be awarded to the troops. So he ordered some white hand towels for the troops, and his boss said: Well, you can't order those white hand towels. You have to order the hand towels that have the logo of our company, ``Kellogg, Brown & Root,'' on the hand towel.


Mr. Bunting said: Yes, but that would quadruple the cost.


His boss said: That doesn't matter. This is a cost-plus contract. Order the towels. Put our company name on them.

I mean, this is such a small but important symbol of the behavior that went on for most of the decade that fleeced the American taxpayers

What is it with me and 4am?

If the Beltway chatterers thought the "professional liberal left" was on Obama's case before, they'd better look out for the average amateur progs. Time for whomever is running the administration's show to open up their eyes. A few good reads here:

Obama's Choices: Big Weeks Ahead (Mike Lux)

The next couple of news cycles will be dominated by the deficit commission report, the attempts by Bowles and Simpson to round up votes on the commission for it, and the Obama administration's reaction to it. The way Obama reacts to this, in particular, will be one of the most consequential and politically significant early signs of which path the administration wants to take going forward.

Abdicating to the Right: The Ascendant American Aristocracy (Kathleen Reardon)

The Republican Party has staked out a position where anything to the left of extreme selfishness is on the slippery slope to socialism. But it hasn't occurred to Democrats to counter with the more real scenario of creeping aristocracy.

Obama's Naivete on Bipartisanship Has Finally Caught Up to Him (Howard Fineman)

There were some, including some in the media, who listened to President Obama's account of yesterday's meeting with Republicans and concluded that there was hope for a surprisingly bipartisan conclusion to the lame duck Congress. My questions are: What planet do he and they think they are on? And have they paid any attention to Sen. Mitch McConnell?

[note from me: I don't think his political naivete is the problem, though, since I've got ZERO political experience and can plainly see what Fineman observes - otherwise agreed.]

Why Exactly Is President Obama Acting Like George McFly? (Bob Cesca, with political commentary Griffin might be interested in)

[B]ipartisan cooperation in this era has been entirely redefined to the point of virtual extinction. There's no such thing as mutual cooperation between both parties. Modern bipartisanship is all about one party, the Democrats, flailing around and desperately struggling to appease the Republicans who return the favor by smacking the textbooks out of the president's hands then kicking him in the ass while he picks up his crap off the floor -- embarrassed and chuckling while muttering, "Oh, you guys."

The Big Economic Story, and Why Obama Isn't Telling It (Robert Reich)

Quiz: What's responsible for the lousy economy most Americans continue to wallow in?

A. Big government, bureaucrats, and the cultural and intellectual elites who back them.

B. Big business, Wall Street, and the powerful and privileged who represent them...

...B is closer to the truth. But A is the story Republicans and right-wingers tell. It's a dangerous story because it deflects attention from the real problem and makes it harder for America to focus on the real solution -- which is more widely shared prosperity.

Same words, different meaning: the bipartisanship gap between the GOP and Obama (Michael Maslansky)

The president [is] speaking to a more hopeful strain of political thought - that through discussion and compromise, the best ideas will often rise to the top. (Not coincidentally, this language is very consistent with the language he used as a candidate in 2008. It is fairly distinct from the language he has used for much of his first two years in office, where partisanship has been more the rule than the exception.)

While the language used by both sides appears similar, the implications are very different: Republicans concede common ground, but make difference a main point. Obama concedes difference, but makes common ground his main point.

Ted Strickland: Democrats Suffering From 'Intellectual Elitism'

Talking, unprompted, about the debate over the expiring Bush tax cuts, Strickland said he was dumbfounded at the party's inability to sell the idea that the rates for the wealthy should be allowed to expire.

Makes me wanna holler

We all know it's true - now here's someone brave enough to speak it. Seriously. What's the world to do with obnoxious old human sexuality experts?

Daily Caller: Draft lesbians, then turn them straight



Real mature, Senate Republicans. That's the way to govern.

Senate Republicans Plan To Block Virtually All Democratic-Backed Bills



I need a drink. It's 5:00 somewhere, right?

 

Blackest Friday - and the meaning of Thanksgiving

"Daddy, tell me about the first Thanksgiving."

"Well, kiddo, the Pilgrims were celebrating their successful flight from "unbiblical" socialism a few hundred years before it existed.  The Pilgrims were gifted with the Shine."

The Pilgrims Came To America To Flee ‘Unbiblical’ Socialism In The 1620′s



 

Turducken Eve

For your pre-Give-thanks-for-native-help-by-delivering-smallpox-blankets Day pleasure: I'm neither surprised nor saddened by Sarah Palin's Alaska second-week ratings and demo reports (from HollywoodReporter.com).

Sarah Palin's Alaska fell 40% on Sunday night to 3 million viewers.


Not many were in the key adult demo either. Only 885,000 viewers were ages 18-49, dropping 44% from last week.


In fact, the median age of the show is 57 -- that's 15 years older than TLC's average.

I do not <heart> Skeletor. I mean Michael Chertoff.

After last month's plot to send bombs from Yemen to the United States aboard a cargo plane, former U.S. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff's whiskerless visage was ubiquitous on cable news. Solemnly warning that the nation needed stronger security procedures, Chertoff patiently repeated his talking points on ABC News's "World News Tonight", "Fox and Friends", CNBC's "Squawk Box" and Bloomberg TV.


Almost unmentioned in these appearances: Chertoff has a lot to gain financially if some of these measures are adopted. Between his private consulting firm, The Chertoff Group, and seats on the boards of giant defense and security firms, he sits at the heart of the giant security nexus created in the wake of 9/11, in effect creating a shadow homeland security agency.


Chertoff launched his firm just days after President Barack Obama took office, eventually recruiting at least 11 top officials from the Department of Homeland Security, as well as former CIA director General Michael Hayden and other top military brass and security officials.

Yeah, that seems about right.

 

Four in the morning, came without a warning...

Gah!  I hate Night Ranger!  But that's what my brain vomited up when I awakened, once again, far too early.  Got a full day ahead of me, so I'd better get my outrage on now.

Posted this to FB, but it's so...  I don't know, horrifying and outrageous and sad, that I thought I'd brighten everyone's day with it.

What's wrong with this picture? The TEXAS OBSERVER reports that the single piece of forensic evidence - a human hair - that resulted in Claude Jones's conviction and eventual execution was found this week through DNA testing to NOT BE HIS. In other news, Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia said that the death penalty is not cruel and unusual punishment.

So yay for that.

Amitai Etzioni has a good but short piece comparing the rationale of military leaders vis-a-vis our engagement in Afghanistan to rainmakers in primitive societies:

Those of us who opposed the war in Vietnam and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, find all this all too familiar. Generals are wisely very reluctant to go to war, but once they do, they hate cutting their losses and calling it a day. This is why we must raise our voices. We cannot build a legitimate, effective government in Afghanistan. We should let the people of Afghanistan figure out what kind of government they want. And it is up to Pakistan and India to work out their differences, curb terrorist groups that aim to undermine their regimes. We never could be the world's policeman, and we are less equipped to do so now than we were in more affluent days. Above all, never mind the shamans' excuses. Look at the result, here and now.

Kudos to US military contractors in the Mideast. Well done. <sarcasm alert> (David Isenberg's Exposing Troops to a Carcinogen Is Not Part of Supporting the Troops)


But, best for last.  I leave you with Xtranormal on the Federal Reserve.  Absolutely brilliant.

President Obama, get your dominating mojo on

Because this weak-kneed simpering about parties working together is as good as saying, "Okay, Republicans and conservatives and neo-cons who got us into all these g--damn messes: Why don't you all just take over..."

Jeff Madrick on the Deficit Commission's "surprise" end-run recommendations (New Deal 2.0):

The current White House proposal is not merely preposterous, it will be a disaster economically if anything remotely like it is passed. It is a nation running backward in defeat, not looking forward to the challenges of a new century and rising competition around the world.

I posted a HuffPo comment on this article re: GOP Senators Back Earmark Ban After Requesting MILLIONS In Pork, but Mitch McConnell's comments of resistance struck me as apropos to the kill-Social-Security self-love they all are fwapping about:

"...a superficial and purely symbolic crusade that would do more to damage states than it would to cut spending."

Replace "states" with "nation," and you could say the same thing about the Social Security-slashing fetish you and yours share, Mr. McConnell.

Robert Borosage, on what may be the most important piece of post-midterm polling I've seen - Not Your Mother's Conservatives (so suck it and stick to baseball, George Will).


Elsewhere, in DADT, the gays, the military and etc.:

On Gay Bullying and DADT: Cindy McCain vs. John McCain, in which the platinum blonde gets her man-pants on and directly contravenes her crotchety old husband, who seems like he should be standing on his incongruously green Arizona lawn with a garden hose in hand, threatening those dang kids who mock his sock garters as they whizz by on their sk8boards.

Aaron Sorkin sez Bumper-Sticker Patriotism Is No Way to Honor Our Veterans.  I have always will always agree.  Put down yer pom-poms, self-righteous warmongers.


And FREEDOM OF TEH INTERTUBEZ IN DANGER.  This ain't just about the rassin-frassin' anti-Net neutrality boobs. (You can click through to a petition from the article.

Tubby Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are so classy.  But then, you already knew.

I've been awake so long, it's like another day

Just needed to get at least one more thing off my chest (leaving next to nothing there... ;)

The Bush Tax Cuts and the Republican Cult of Economic Failure:

There's no such thing as a free lunch, and there's no such thing as an honest case for extending the Bush tax cuts. Ten years of hard data prove they were a complete failure. They did not work while Bush was in office and they did not work during the first two years of the Obama administration. No wonder theCongressional Budget Office says that the GOP's proposed extension of tax cuts to the rich will reduce future economic growth.

To recap:

In terms of promoting economic growth, the Bush tax cuts were a complete failure.

The full article lays out the numbers.  Time to punch a hole in the drywall - peace out.

Yeah, it's just after 3am

This is why one must never take multi-vitamins at 8pm.  But, soft!  What light through yonder window breaks?  It is the east (DC, at least, where the disconnect with the rest of the country is staggering), and Richard Eskow is the sun!

Sit! Stay! A New York Times chew toy For Blue Dogs

"The conservative wing of the Democratic Party just drove it over a cliff, but you'd never know if from reading Matt Bai's latest New York Times piece. It's the latest in a series of Bai paeans to that odd mix of ideologies and opportunism that Washington types persist in calling "centrism," despite its ever-increasing distance from the real center of American opinion."

And, too:

"How can it be 'centrist' to defeat the public option, which was supported by 51% of Republicans and a decisive majority of all voters? How can it be 'centrist' to oppose tighter bank regulations when a poll taken earlier this year showed that 69% of voters (and 56% of Republicans) support them? How can it be 'centrist' to support cutting Social Security when that position is not only opposed by most Americans, but by 76% percent of Tea Party supporters???? Yet Matt Bai ghettoizes those who hold these popular positions by calling them 'liberals,' and elevates those who oppose them with the 'centrist' misnomer." 

Good news and bad news - first, the good:

Doctors Come Out Of Retirement To Serve San Francisco's Uninsured

Now the bad:

Nearly 59 million lack health insurance: CDC


.

Can you say "Let's start making - and exporting - tangible THINGS?"

Like for, say, India's infrastructure and renewable energy needs - not to mention our own.  Seems a reasonable idea.

America Makes What India Needs (Fred Hochberg of the Export-Import Bank of the United States)

.

The banking crisis ain't over yet

Dig the mess that BofA is in - good thing the original bailout money was paid back.

What in the world is going on inside Bank of America? (Nieman Watchdog)


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Food for thought, post-2010 midterms and beyond

First of all, "It does not matter much if you make change, if you do not communicate change."

Poll: Americans Don't Know Taxes Fell (Bloomberg Businessweek)


An equally important lesson from James K. Galbraith: "The original sin of Obama's presidency was to assign economic policy to a closed circle of bank-friendly economists and Bush carryovers."

It Was the Banks


 "[G]reat change is most often set in motion by small, but significant events -- and this can happen in a very short amount of time."

Democrats Must Stop Listing, Start Tipping (Framing the Debate author Jeffrey Feldman)


"[O]bessive concern about the deficits is dominating political discussion in Congress and in the media—at the expense of the more urgent issue of pursuing economic recovery and rebuilding the middle class."

Recovery Not Austerity (The American Prospect/Demos)


UCal Berkeley linguistics professor Robin Lakoff on the 2010 "bloodbath" meme, absolutism in modern punditry, the 24/7 wraparound media and the silver lining of the midterms:

It's not as bad as all that


So legislate what most people who disapproved of the healthcare reform law ACTUALLY wanted it to accomplish:

A Lame Duck Revolution: Take Another Shot at the Public Option (Martin Ford)


Johann Hari's (London Independent columnist) headline has been accurate in far too many ways for far too long, but here he focuses on the taking of the House by Republicans, headed by new Speaker John "here are your checks from the tobacco companies" Boehner:

The Laws and Policies of the United States Are Now Openly for Sale


You ain't seen nuthin' yet from the activist judges who brought you the Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United.  Hang onto your class action hats (David Lazarus/Los Angeles Times business):

Consumers' right to file class actions is in danger


Oodles of criticism for Fed chairman Ben Bernanke's Quantitative Easing economic fix-it plan: "Give the guy a printing press, he's going to run it as fast as he can."

• "With all due respect, U.S. policy is clueless" (William Allen - "Fed's Quantitative Easing Draws International Criticism")
• This is an "All-In" play on the philosophy of trickle down. But it is rife with risk and injustice. (The 14th Banker - "Bernanke Blows Bubbles")
• "The thought that you can create a prosperous economy by inflating is an illusion" (Kelly Olsen, AP - "Volcker: Fed bond plan won't do much to boost economy")