November 1, 2010 archive

A sign of the times: armed guards in unemployment offices

  The unemployment rate in Indiana is 9.9%, more than 4% less than states such as Nevada. Yet Indiana can see trouble coming in the form of desperate people.

 Armed security guards will be on hand at 36 unemployment offices around Indiana in what state officials said is a step to improve safety and make branch security more consistent…

  Lotter said the agency is merely being cautious with the approach of an early-December deadline when thousands of Indiana residents could see their unemployment benefits end after exhausting the maximum 99 weeks provided through multiple federal extension periods.

  “Given the upcoming expiration of the federal extensions and the increased stress on some of the unemployed, we thought added security would provide an extra level of protection for our employees and clients,” he said.

Desperate people do desperate things. What would you do if you couldn’t afford to put a roof over the heads of your family? What would you do if you couldn’t afford to feed yourself?

The story isn’t 100% accurate because starting December people who have collected just 26 weeks of unemployment can become a “99er”.

Amen.

Open Gershwin

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Listening for the Greater Good

2010 has been granted the dubious honor as the year of the angry voter.  Unfortunately, far too much of that anger has been bolstered by means of a religious appeal.  Tea Party members, for example, have been quick to justify what they believe by using pseudo-intellectual, reductionist conceptions of Christianity.  A quick survey of signs held aloft at rallies will find many who display pure hatred, then cite a verse of Scripture at the bottom.  One sees this also at anti-abortion rallies or those challenging same-sex marriage rights.  A God which always agrees with us no matter what the issue or the circumstance is not God at all.  Christianity may find more of an audience among conservatives, but the gross distortions of many continue to damage its reputation.  

Shit Town Chronicles: Apples and Oranges



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It was a fight broke out over apples and oranges which led to the law of One for One. The old saying went “Don’t mix apples and oranges,” as though they were two different things. But really isn’t fruit; apples, oranges, bananas and pears, just fruit?

Anyway Bill and Tom came to blows because Bill looked down on oranges and thought Johnny Appleseed was a “Saint and Prophet.” And all Tom had to defend oranges was Anita Bryant. Bill wanted five oranges for three apples. So Tom socked him one and broke three fingers. This is the time when before this time everyone did their fighting vicariously through Hollywood or video games. When you sock someone in the real world, it hurts.

Anyway this brought up the notion of value. In the New World of Shit Town, we struggle with the very quintessence of civilization. Why is gold more valuable than strawberries?

Which Section of the Elites Will Govern After Tuesday?

Real News’ CEO Paul Jay’s commentary on the top six ways Obama and the Democratic Party allowed a resurgence of the Republicans:



Real News Network – November 01, 2010

How Dems Allowed the Tea Party to Rebrand the GOP

..transcript follows..

Who Knows Benefits of Conserving Fuel

A short but good article pointing out two extremely important issues Not being talked about during this campaign cycle especially by those getting the most press {and their very own 24/7 cable channel hyping them}, the so called Mad electorate calling themselves the TEA party. Many, or most, are from the same that brought us these two long running occupations and are supporting those seeking representative jobs from the same political party with no ideology but quickly rubber stamped the credit card of dept and already have stated they won’t Work for the Country, in no way to compromise but to raise the obstruction within!

Veterans know the benefits of conserving fuel

Fear and Hate.

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 This will be a relatively short essay.  No photos.  No links.  

 Someone brighter than me recently hit upon a simple but insightful truism regarding American “major party” politicians:  Republicans fear their base, Democrats hate theirs.

 Spot on.

 At least for the last generation, Republican politicians live in more or less constant terror that their base will rise up against them if they don’t take the hardest-Right, most frothingly partisan position available (or which they can create).  Or, if they’re already inclined towards John Bircherism, they cruise along in the smug assurance that they can be found with the proverbial “live boy or dead woman” and it won’t matter one whit to their forgiving base (as long as they, the politician, admit that he’s a sinner and rails against whatever the Democratic cause de jure is).

 Democratic politicians, on the other hand, treat their base like the crazy uncle who lives in the guest room and whose Social Security checks help pay the household bills.  They need them around in order to keep those checks coming in, but they live a life of dread and resentment:  dread that nutty Uncle Lonny will pick the lock on his bedroom door and shamble into the living room at the next dinner party and strike up conversations with the decent people in attendance, and resentment that they have to keep this burdensome and onerous relative around as the bills, alas, keep coming in and must be paid.

 Of course one of the ironies of this dynamic, of these relationships, is that these days the Republican base are much more likely to be radicalized, to resort to violence, to behave like political jihadists (which should embarrass or repel most people within shrieking distance), which your basic Democratic base member merely wants to be able to go to the doctor without risking bankruptcy, corrupt Wall Streeters to be held no less criminally culpable as petty pot dealer from whom he, the Wall Streeter, buys his grass, and wants gay people to not get beaten or bullied to death.  All in all, rather modest demands, as demands go.  Also, Democratic base members are more likely to spell check their placards before putting them on public display.

 Nevertheless, these principles hold true.  Thus the average Republican politician during the average election season has little trouble “firing up” his or her base because during the course of their life in public office, or, if they’re a newcomer, during the course of their campaign, they’ve said, “How high?” whenever their base has screamed, “Jump!”  The Democrat, on the other hand, has to “rally” their base and “fire them up” because during the course of their time in office they’ve kept that same base at arm’s length (at best) and when their Democratic base has yelled, “Jump!” their officer holder has said, “Sit down and shut up!.  And don’t forget to support me (read:  send money) come next election.  And don’t forget to vote!”

 So there you have it.

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Krugman: Is Obama More of a Coward, or More of an Idiot?

Paul Krugman, November 1, 2010…

John Boehner, the House minority leader, was widely mocked last year when he declared that “It’s time for government to tighten their belts” – in the face of depressed private spending, the government should spend more, not less. But since then President Obama has repeatedly used the same metaphor, promising to match private belt-tightening with public belt-tightening. Does he lack the courage to challenge popular misconceptions, or is this just intellectual laziness? Either way, if the president won’t defend the logic of his own policies, who will?

Is Obama more of a coward, or more of an idiot?

You decide.

Docudharma Times Tuesday November 2




Tuesday’s Headlines:

Immune discovery opens up new line of attack against viruses

USA

The war the election forgot

Is the American Dream Over?

Europe

Britain and France to seal defence pact

Sarkozy government in ‘final act’, says leading socialist

Middle East

Yemen’s splendid isolation

Al-Qaeda claims Iraq church attack

Asia

Census-takers begin visiting China’s 400 million households

Myanmar’s polls a headache for ASEAN

Africa

War-era guns linked to recent murders in Uganda

Côte d’Ivoire awaits results after millions vote

Latin America

Mexico violence casts shadow over Day of the Dead

Finding Clues to the Future in Flood of Midterm Data



By MICHAEL D. SHEAR

Published: November 1, 2010


WASHINGTON – Even for a nation that is, by now, used to drinking in political news through a fire hose, election night on Tuesday could be a difficult one to absorb.

More than 500 House, Senate and governor’s races will be decided, if not by the end of the night, then over the course of the nail-biting days ahead as write-in ballots are counted and recounts are requested.

Beyond the individual results, the nation will be looking at the returns for answers to bigger questions: Was this election about President Obama? How powerful a phenomenon is the Tea Party movement? How will the new Congress address the still-weak economy? What will it mean for the crop of likely 2012 Republican presidential candidate?  Did anonymous campaign money sway the outcome?

Docudharma Times Monday November 1




Monday’s Headlines:

Spooky stuff from NASA

USA

Federal Reserve’s, Bernanke’s credibility on line with new move to boost economy

Conservative Donors Lay a Base for 2012 Elections

Europe

Priest abuse victims protest at Vatican

One in four voters support Austria’s freedom party

Middle East

Investigation falters as female bomber suspect is released

Hostages killed as Iraqi police storm Catholic church

Asia

Burma’s regime prepares for victory despite poll boycott call

With wealth comes fat, China finds

Latin America

Rousseff wins Brazil election

Stimulus bill plays a larger role in campaigns than in some voters’ lives

Many voters can’t see any direct benefit from the federal money, even when they live near a marquee infrastructure project. They see a static economy but differ on what that means for candidates.

By Maeve Reston, Los Angeles Times

November 1, 2010


Reporting from Concord, Calif. – The upcoming election was far from cabinetmaker Kevin Rodriguez’ mind as he and his 5-year-old son watched a Halloween parade last week in a downtown plaza of this East Bay community.

Over the last two years as the nation slid into recession, the 46-year-old independent voter lost his business and was forced to sell his house. He has scraped together a living from side jobs, savings and unemployment benefits, which are about to run out. He even contemplated the once-unthinkable: applying for food stamps.

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

Time for a break from poetry…in order to create some art.

One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea.

–Walter Bagehot



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