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Monthly Archives: January 2013

Shocking news (not)

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

A few weeks ago I reported that my New Year’s prediction of faux filibuster reform seemed about to come true. Well, it now looks like Harry Reid is about to embrace a version of “reform” that, to us unwashed, looks a lot like the status quo. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) still wants filibuster […]

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Unilateral Disarmament

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Obama has now unilaterally declared that he lacks the independent power to deal with the debt ceiling. There are some, actually there are many, who believe he has done so because an inability to act on his own is a condition precedent to his ability to claim he had no choice but to cut vital […]

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Friday Night Music-Great Unsung Lyricists

Friday, January 11, 2013

There have been some great lyricists over the years: the Gilbert of Gilbert & Sullivan, the Ira of Gershwin and Gershwin, Cole Porter, Dylan, Lennon & McCartney, Carole King… why their numbers are legion. But some lyricists remain unsung, like that fellow who put the ram in the ram-a-lang-a-ding-dong. Well, actually I guess he was […]

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Yet another installment of “What Could Go Wrong?”

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

I just finished Robert Sheer’s book, The Great American Stickup, which traces the roots of the current economic crisis back to the early 90s, when a bi-partisan (isn’t bi-partisanship great?) group of scam artists, including Phil Gramm and his wife Wendy on the R side, and Robert Rubin and Larry Summers on the D side, […]

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Meet the new guy, same as the old guy

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

I know nothing about Jack Lew, who appears to be in line to be the next Treasury Secretary, but watch to see if the Republicans allow his nomination to go to the floor without a real fight. (There will be some token huffing and puffing because of the debt ceiling and because they are, after […]

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Beggars can be choosers

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

What a great country! Beggars can be choosers, provided, of course, that they’re rich enough. Fresh from paying back a $182 billion bailout, the American International Group has been running a nationwide advertising campaign with the tagline “Thank you America.” Behind the scenes, the restored insurance company is weighing whether to tell the government agencies […]

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Shear those sheep!

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

I’ve commented before on the fact that there’s a lot of grifting happening on the right hand side of the political spectrum. Some of it is laid out here, and it occurs to me that there’s not much difference between the secular scammers and those working the spiritual beat. Nor is there  much separating the […]

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You’re welcome

Monday, January 7, 2013

Or, Great Minds Think Alike Paul Krugman, this morning, on the platinum coin: This still leaves the question of whose face goes on the coin — but that’s easy: John Boehner. Because without him and his colleagues, this wouldn’t be necessary. (via NYTimes.com) Yours truly this past Thursday: It occurs to me that if they […]

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Friday Night Music

Friday, January 4, 2013

This is getting a bit harder. I confess that I really don’t know much about newer music, except what I pick up on Colbert, and I’m running out of the old stuff. I’d appreciate any suggestions I can get (looking at you, MZ). Anyway, in rummaging through my mind’s back catalogue, I realized that I […]

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Fighting crazy with crazy

Friday, January 4, 2013

This, and a number of other posts on the subject, including Paul Krugman’s here, should be required reading for every progressive who is concerned about the probability possibility that the Democrats might sell us out in two months in order to “protect the nation” from the Republican’s refusal to raise the debt limit. The Republicans […]

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