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Monthly Archives: December 2014

Yet another year

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Off and on I’ve ventured predictions for the New Year in this space. I actually started doing it this year, but sadly, at least in the political realm, there is nothing to be optimistic about, and, even more sadly, the prospect is so depressing that it’s not easy to find anything funny to say. As […]

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Torture is just alright with them

Sunday, December 28, 2014

This post was written on Christmas Eve, but I've delayed posting it, since even to me posting something anti-religious on Christmas seems a bit tacky. Or is it residual Catholic guilt? Anyway… I came across this post at Pharyngula, in which we learn that our Christian brethren are far less likely to oppose torture than […]

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Step into that frame

Monday, December 22, 2014

Something there is about liberals, progressives, or whatever we want to call ourselves, that seems to compel us to allow others to frame the terms of our debate. This is a somewhat trivial example, but because it is so blatant, I have to point it out. This mostly excellent post at Naked Capitalism argues that […]

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Sony Baloney

Friday, December 19, 2014

Okay, I agree that a foreign government shouldn't be hacking corporations, which as the Supreme Court tells us, are people too. But it strikes me that a movie whose plot revolves around a plan to kill an actual, non-fictional human being, is, to say the least, somewhat tacky. Imagine the response by this country's right […]

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A Mystery

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Tom Coburn, the poster child for the merits of repeal of the seventeenth amendment, is currently holding up funding for a suicide prevention program for vets: Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn continues to single-handedly block the Clay Hunt SAV Act, otherwise known as the Suicide Prevention for America’s Veterans Act. His reason: it will cost […]

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A capitalist explains things

Monday, December 15, 2014

This is hard to summarize, so all I can do is urge you to read this article by Nick Hanauer, who is a very rich person who is also, apparently, an honest man. A very rare mix these days. I confess I was totally unaware of the overtime rules he writes about, or of the […]

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Joe Courtney does us proud

Saturday, December 13, 2014

I've met a lot of politicians, and, truth to tell, most of them, even the ones with whom I agree, are self centered assholes. Joe Courtney is an extremely honorable exception; I've rarely heard him discussed without someone saying what a “nice guy” he is. Of course, being a nice guy would do us little […]

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Doomed to repeat

Friday, December 12, 2014

Paul Krugman once again warns about the very real possibility that Europe’s democracies may crumble due to the economic woes being visited upon them by the banker class: The important point here is that it’s not just the Greeks who are mad as Hellas (their own name for their country) and aren’t going to take […]

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Charter School madness

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

I read a lot of blogs about economics, so I've become educated about “rent seekers”; individuals or corporations that find ways of diverting public money into their own coffers without providing any significant service in return. Pro Publica has exposed a prime example in the charter school industry: “A couple of years ago, auditors looked […]

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Required reading on Andrew Ross Sorkin

Monday, December 8, 2014

A few days ago I mocked a recent column by Andrew Ross Sorkin, in which he defended, nay praised, Wall Streets practice of pre-bribing its own as they enter the revolving door to a government job. Of course, I only scratched the surface, pointing out the obvious. Here's what should be required reading about Sorkin […]

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