Saturday, December 03, 2016

Our country's basic economic problem in a nutshell

The price of goods and services is a runaway train while your wages stay roughly the same over the course of a lifetime. Sure there are minor raises here and there ("you're doing a fantastic job") and you can always try for that promotion down the road but generally speaking you're stuck in a rut caused by forces beyond your control although libertarians will probably disagree with this. When I was a wee lad the price of a brand new car cost maybe $7,000-$8,000 and a new house in my folks' day was just to pluck a number out of hat maybe $35,000-$40,000. Now that new Honda will cost you 22 GRAND and that house you wanna make a home in will be around $200,000 say and we're not talking mansion, Diddy digs. Of course the average rent for an average apartment these days is $1,200 and counting and that ain't nothin' fancy. Now it's not like your boss is gonna do the logical thing in your view and pay you $50/hour so you can buy that new car and house so the system seems kind of hard-rigged against your advancement in life. This is not a liberal post just an objective look at a basic problem.

125 comments:

  1. The new norm; fast track to nowhere.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Honda. I remember as I said a new one might run you $8,000 now you're talking $23,000 easy. Is it a better car? Do two hands come out and give you a shoulder rub? Can it do your taxes? Here's what the Trump protestors are missing: it's the system.

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  3. Not only what you said but Americans are working longer and harder than ever before. Conservatives are big on the work ethic. Morally speaking the work ethic in and of itself is a good thing but ultimately where does it lead? You might retire with a bad back and one testicle.

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  4. The metrics don't lie. Let's look at the last 43 years:
    While productivity rose 143%, wages went up 9%. Union membership went down from 32% to 11%. The income of the
    top 10% went up from 28% to 50%. Consider if the minimum
    wage was tied to productivity gain-it would now be %18.50
    an hour. IMO, we can conclude there has been a colossal
    screwing of Mr. Average: the harder he works, the richer
    the rich get. Like feudalism in the dark ages, no?

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't even care that the rich get richer. Let them have their caviar parties and bubbly. Mr. Average should have more to show for his efforts. Used to be known as upward mobility.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The crux of the matter is the way the system works.
      If you can be replaced by someone who works harder for
      less, the business profitability goes up. Better yet,
      if you are terminated and not replaced and the same amount of work takes place, profitability is even better. That is why every time a big company buys a
      smaller company, the resulting loss of jobs is so attractive business-wise that stocks go up. So though you care not, the rich get richer..at your expense.
      That is why IMO big business has been worse for society than big government. (My conclusion: Lord knows the Big Biz propaganda machine has pushed the
      reverse and most people buy it. Caveat emptor)

      Delete
  6. Then Everyman through the wonders of modern health insurance foots the bill for a large chunk of his own colonoscopy. You feel healthier but you're also disturbed.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I feel compelled to make a confession.

    This morning whilst perusing the national and international news on the Huffington Post I came across an article about the KKK's victory parade, held in Roxboro, North Carolina.

    Roxboro is a town of 8,000. It is in the middle of Person County, North Carolina, which is primarily a tobacco economy. It is the only town in the county. There is a community college. Most of the big manufacturing has left the town; there is still GKN and Eaton, both of which make automotive components; Diamond Candle Company, which makes the 'ring' candle, and Spuntech. I don't believe there are any other manufacturies in the county.

    There are two Food Lions and one Super Walmart. There's also a Just Save and an IGA.

    I live almost ten miles from Roxboro, in a area called Triple Springs. My mailing address is Roxboro.

    This is the town now known on an international level as the home of the KKK's Trump Victory Parade.

    I am thoroughly humiliated.

    Confession complete.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "whilst perusing" sounds a lot like Bronte's 'Wuthering Heights'. Indeed, tis been rather a fortnight, I daresay, since running across that most British of conjunctions. I shan't say more other than to observe..good job!

      Delete
  8. Trump's victory hasn't sunk in yet. It's one of those surreal things you can't wrap your head around like maybe we're in a coma and we're gonna wake up and it didn't happen. We have a man-child in the WH now who's still worried about Alec Baldwin and SNL.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Mrs. observed that Trump intends to place a 37%
      tax on any imports made by US companies overseas and how that is a great start. I informed her that other countries would follow suit and rather than US jobs we
      would have rapidly spiraling inlation leading to worldwide depression. She says "Oh my, what would he do then?. My reply, "Blame Obama, of course". We live in interesting times.

      Delete
  9. I honestly think with illegal immigration he'll make good on his promise to deport the criminal element which is a minority of the total illegals but he's not gonna round up 3 million and ship 'em back like on a huge ark of a UPS ship. Just my take.

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  10. While it is true it didn't begin with Obama nor will it end with him, the exacerbated reason for this is Quantitative Easing. Remember his American Recovery and Reinvestment Act?? It was a flurry of economic stimulus by the Federal Reserve Bank. It made the 1%ers even more rich while the domino effect of inflation spread like wildfire to the middle and lower economic classes.

    I don't feel sorry for those who voted for him and now are reaping what they hath sewn. Like I said...the road to serfdom is paved with good intentions.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Everybody reaps what they hath sown. That's the problem.

    ReplyDelete
  12. A most unfortunate consequence to be sure.

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  13. Replies
    1. Trump staffing up with billionaires, hedge dudes and
      big bankers. Doesn't sound too promising. I mean he
      could have a chef or two in the cabinet, no?

      Delete
    2. & Mr. and Mrs. Clinton never associated with these type people? As Ralph Kramden would say hardee-har-har.

      Delete
    3. Yeah, that goes back quite a ways- US Grant, Harding, FDR, Reagan. We note that 'associated with' and 'appointed to cabinet', while similar,
      are of different weight. According to al-reality,
      it says so in the constitution. We will wait for the 25 million high paying jobs before a pat on
      the holy hairdo.

      Delete
  14. Even business understands why the economy fails the 99%:
    it is most difficult to control
    greed .

    ReplyDelete
  15. He hasn't even been inaugurated and he's already making a mess of things.

    ReplyDelete
  16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc

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  17. RIP John Glenn. One of the greatest of the Greatest Generation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agreed. No disrespect intended but I wasn't sure if he had already died.

      Delete
  18. Pope Francis is an economic liberal. What's this I've been reading? Raymond Cardinal Burke and three other cardinals have sent him a letter asking him in effect if he's still upholding church teaching in a certain area.

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    Replies
    1. Burke is traditional in the extreme: he thinks that having girls serving at the altar is the sole cause of
      men failing to enter the priesthood anymore. I'm not
      saying he is a misogonyst, but bet he shorts his Holy
      Marys. Am currently reading the big shift against women in Christianity 150-350 AD. At one point, celibacy became so admired that the birth rate fell
      alarmingly, elsewhere, some monk added anti woman stuff to the Gospels of St. Paul. -whatever-

      Delete
    2. Have to say though Francis was way out of line calling into question Trump's Christianity not to mention constantly meddling in the political questions of the day and trying to pass off his liberal views as somehow being church teaching.

      Delete
    3. Rich people who see a brother or sister in need, yet close their hearts against them, cannot claim that they love God. (1 John 3:17) Is that a liberal view...or a Christian view?

      Delete
    4. Francis better mend his ways before Trump replaces him with that iron lady that ran the WWE. True, a woman Pope, but at least a politically correct strong conservative. How about it, Bill Donahue?
      Trump is turning out to be enjoyable in a sort of
      perverse way...just saying.

      Delete
    5. Well Trump can always claim he's created alot of jobs for people. Certainly the bellhops and doormen are happy.

      Delete
  19. Pope Francis is not just an economic liberal, he is a progressive who has and continues to bring this philosophy into the church. He has and continues to lower the bar of Catholicism to make it more palatable for the masses. This is in fact the opposite of Catholic tradition. You can go to any Novus Ordo Mass where there are girls serving at the altar during Mass, the laity give readings, they have special blessing of animals ceremonies where animals are brought into the church...

    Literally thank God for those willing to fight for tradition. The Catholic church is literally crumbling from the inside out. It's a church to be sure but it bears little resemblance to Catholicism and much more to Pentecostalism.

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    Replies
    1. Now I didn't know this was possible but apparently Cardinal Burke and co. can institute the long and complicated process of deposing a heretical pope. Kind of like theological impeachment.

      Delete
    2. I'm quite certain it wouldn't matter. He's already sidelined the traditionalists in favor of more progressive Cardinal picks. He recently named 17 new cardinals, including 13 who are under 80 years old and therefore eligible to participate in the conclave electing the next pope who is likely to continue the post Vatican II progressive trend.

      Delete
    3. Impeaching a Pope for being nice seems like a difficult task, even for 'traditional' canon law.
      It is so difficult that teenage Popes, adulterous Popes and horrific meddlers like Innocent III* were not impeached. So good luck to the Cardinal flock.
      (*Sending the Crusaders to rape/pillage
      Constantinople instead of taking Jerusalem, revoking
      the Magna Carta for his buddy Evil King John of England, ordering the massacres of the Albigensian
      Crusade which wiped out rural southern France for
      generations, claiming he was head ruler of all the
      rulers in Europe, etc). But, if Francis bothers you, feel free..maybe write up some alt-news and picket?

      Delete
    4. It's my understanding if it's proven a pope isn't upholding official church teaching then the process can begin. Me? I'm too busy spitting chickens.

      Delete
    5. Well his infractions in that regard are aplenty that's for sure. That whole Maundy Thursday affair was definitely one to consider.

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    6. Maundy Thursday Affair? Was she a porn actress?

      Delete
    7. http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/03/24/pope-francis-washes-feet-of-refugees-on-holy-thursday/

      Delete
  20. Well for what it's worth in the next 5 billion years our Sun will grow to 100X its original size and engulf Mercury and Venus and destroy all life on Earth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah...I really had high hopes for the Giant Meteor 2016 campaign.

      Delete
  21. Hillary is warning about the epidemic of fake news. Like all those polls showing she was gonna win?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No I think she means all the fake news reports saying Saddam had WMDs.

      Delete
    2. No. More like-
      " Welch’s ill-advised mission, during which he entered the restaurant and fired shots from his assault rifle in hopes of rescuing victims of a fictitious child sex ring, was the culmination of a long, politically-motivated rumor-mongering campaign.
      Besides the unsubstantiated claim that Hillary Clinton was at the center of a pedophile ring, specific conspiracy theory rumor allegations made against Clinton by Alex Jones, as documented by Right Wing Watch, included that she “personally murdered and chopped up and raped” children."
      IMO, Alex should either bring charges and back them up, or climb back into the slime...because there are
      people that actually, really believe him.

      Delete
    3. There isn't any need to have some heavy handed Big Brother "fake news" propaganda/media campaign where it's now the latest buzzword.

      People have recourse under current law to protect themselves against slander/libel.

      Delete
    4. The larger problem is what I alluded to which is the heavy handed disinformation/propaganda which ends up resulting in massive casualties and destruction.

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    5. Like throwing an election?

      Delete
    6. It's a great narrative that could be sold just as easily.

      Delete
    7. Regarding libel law, the most use it seems to beget
      is companies suing individuals who give them a bad review. Worse, even if true, the reviewers can and have been found guilty and ruined. Seems a lot of law isn't about justice. Damn, I hope Wells Fargo
      doesn't check my opinion about them!

      Delete
    8. You'll get no argument from about the law and justice. I have a hard time coming to grips with the fact that someone who grows marijuana in their basement ends up doing more time than some rapists and murderers.

      Delete
    9. Fake news BB, isn't that why we have snopes? "Hillary abuses pet Sasquatch"

      Delete
    10. That was no sasquatch. It was Anthony Weiner.

      Delete
    11. Brian Williams is bashing fake news which is kind of ironic.

      Delete
    12. Fake news: a PPP poll found that 39% of Trump voters believe the stock market went down under Obama. (It went up from 7950 to 19600)
      67% of Trump voters believe unemployment went up under Obama. (It went down from 10% to 6%) IMO,
      because some people are so influenced by fake news
      that when the National Parks have been privatized,
      fracked and turned into landfills; the Hudson River
      catches fire from pollution and unemployment rises
      to 30% in the next couple of years...they will believe der pumpkinfuhrer's tweet that it was Obama's fault. That strikes me as a problem.

      Delete
    13. Unemployment figures are always controversial. Chris can elaborate. For instance folks who have stopped looking for work a long time ago ain't even included. Inflation - how do you define it? The price of a new auto has gone up tremendously over the years but somehow that's not inflation. Just read hate crimes have not gone up since Trump's election. That's liberal fake news.

      Delete
    14. Probably Mandela Effect, but I recall Trump really ranting about the Wall Street bankers. But now he is putting them into his cabinet. Like that guy in
      Australia observed, 'like putting a Dingo in charge of the baby'. I gotta bad feeling. 'Hate crimes'
      is a slippery area, depending on which jurisdiction
      brings charges. But the statistical rise was reported by the FBI, and neither of us believes them after all their fake reports on Hillary. Can't
      listen or read news anymore without digging into the data. Always best to give a reference, like
      'well according to Alex Jones'.

      Delete
    15. Inflation is calculated using the CPI mostly which is an inaccurate methodology. It does not factor in many necessities like fuel/energy. Same goes for the unemployment calculations like Z said.

      Delete
    16. The cost-of-living is always high and rising no matter who the president is. Would a car or house cost less under a President Hillary?

      Delete
  22. How is Shaw doing? It can't be easy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As near as I can tell, she isn't real big on Fake News.

      Delete
    2. IMO jobless figures are ambiguous enough that they don't count as fake news. Like someone who's given up looking and watches Judge Judy everyday ain't even included in the numbers. A gray area imo doesn't automatically qualify as fake news. Also someone who believes Hillary is running a pedophile ring has other issues. I wouldn't trust him to slice my baloney.

      Delete
  23. About twice a month I get e-mail surveys, sometimes current events/politics, but mostly products. This morning's survey
    was on computer games. Of their list of 75 games I had to check 'never heard of'. Then they had a huge list of devices on which to play games. Again, 'never heard of'.
    I think they keep asking me that sort of stuff to establish
    a zero baseline for their statistical studies.

    ReplyDelete
  24. As a zero base line techie, I've never had a cell phone even. Friends were amazed when a few years back I decided to
    get an automatic garage door with remote. A couple days later, the thing started making a horrible noise when the door went up or down. Whole house shook. Called Bob's Garage Door and they sent a team over. After an hour, they
    found that the big spring was rubbing against a 2x10 on the wall. What do I do? "Nuttin, Mr. just get used to it." I
    went over to the hardware store, got a little can of axle
    grease and slathered the damn thing. Been quiet as a mouse
    ever since. Remember the old KISS philosophy? (Keep It Simple, Stupid) Or is that Occam's Razor..this Mandela stuff keeps popping up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RE Brian Williams own brand of fake news a few of his supporters are using the multiverse theory to defend him in which case NBC had given him a raw deal. Should have checked with Hawking first.

      Delete
  25. Since you opened up the fake news tackle box BB this is going way back but I kinda vaguely recall Hillary saying something like her plane came under enemy fire in Bosnia or is this just an Alex Jones thing?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh ouch! I once told the little kid next door that I
      used to do 100 pushups. I vaguely recall some pres
      explain about how Iraq was full of WMDs. The Alex Jones thing, as I recall exactly was "“When I think about all the children Hillary Clinton has personally murdered and chopped up and raped, I have zero fear standing up against her,..” One really bad thing about Fake News are the death threats against the parents of dead Sandy Hook children..accusing them of
      being part of a hoax. Sad and bad, ya know?

      Delete
    2. The only thing about that is ya know that tabloid you sometimes see in the supermarket. Weekly World News like "Photo of Elvis Riding the Loch Ness Monster" or "Sasquatch Now a Porn Star." You'd have to be an idiot to believe that stuff and second what can we do about it?

      Delete
    3. Chris is right fake news is now the latest liberal buzzword. I think what it is is while the rest of us have moved on the msm is still traumatized by the Trump victory. It's a shock to their system and so they're trying to come up with stuff. It's like somebody having a meltdown in the middle of traffic, they bring them to the ER and he keeps muttering to himself "fake news fake news."

      Delete
    4. The MSM isn't the aren't the only people traumatized by the Trump victory. Most of Europe, Australia and 65,527,625 Clinton voters. Granted,
      Vlad the Putin is overjoyed...

      Delete
    5. Yep. It is the latest buzzword and distraction until the next one. Allen Ginsberg's quote has never rung truer.

      "Whoever controls the media; the images...controls the culture."

      Delete
  26. My position has always been the system is rigged, doesn't matter who the president is. Oh these false polarizations!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You probably are right. Most systems seem rigged anymore. Makes us feel small and helpless. Like googling 'coatimundi' and getting an Amazon ad for
      a coat special on Monday. There was a time, probably still is, when 'systems analyst' was a high paying job. ..and about worthless, IMO. Systems practically dare to be rigged.

      Delete
    2. Systems like google searches. The same stuff keeps coming up on the front pages. I guess that has to do with traffic and/or importance. Snopes is always there (that's just a husband and wife team) if the subject is say urban 'gators and wikipedia is always right there on top no matter the topic (ingrown toenail - wikipedia). My blog which generally has a small niche readership is usually in google limbo. Doesn't have the same clout as a HuffPo.

      Delete
    3. Oh dear, small niche: we can see the Fake News headlines.."Rubio has small hands but Z-Man has a small niche"

      Delete
  27. Fake news is a thing. Will the Electors do the right thing? A lawyer is supplying them with advice gratis. We can only hope.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Was there some type of law of the universe the Dem party had to get behind Hillary from the getgo? Why her? Maybe that's part of the problem.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 1. No way that bunch would vote for Trump
      2. Experience-WH 8 year, Senate 8yrs, Sec State 4.
      3. While Bernie was attractive, many felt he would
      be labeled as a Socialist-kiss of death in the US
      4. Level headed, say compared the twitterer-elect
      5. A lot of women liked what she had to say.
      Just guessing, but the Law of the Universe in this
      case was 40 years of hate Hillary, dozens of politically motivated elections, Bill's pecadiloos, etc. If one hadn't been trained to hate her, she would have been most excellent. We will never know.

      Delete
    2. Most excellent at what exactly? Brokering arms deals to extremist groups? Utilizing said arms groups in an attempt to overthrow leaders of countries to do not tow the DC line and oppose the Rothchild central banks that end up getting setup following the overthrow? Bowing to the Saudi Royal family in exchange for the plethora of donations to her and Bill's foundation? Granting more perks to her Wall Street donors?

      Any disdain or dislike for her is of her own making.

      Delete
    3. You are describing Ronald Reagan, right?

      Delete
    4. No. 1953 Iranian coup d'etat.

      Delete
    5. Oh. That was ugly. Since Hillary was 6 years old at the time, she must have been an evil child.

      Delete
    6. My intent is not to pin that on Hillary but rather to point out the fact that the US has a long history of doing the very things that they seem to take umbrage with other countries doing.

      It could just be my perception here but I'm not sure why you seem to come to her defense rather than implore some objectivity into her culpability with regards to the flurry of destabilization for which she has had a heavy hand in engineering as SOS.

      Delete
    7. The VRWC and the moon landing was faked. They must meet at Hannity's house.

      Delete
  29. Seriously just think how completely absurd it is for the CIA to protest a right wing president (he's no more "right wing" than was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad if you can get beyond the Western propaganda) being installed by a foreign power.

    ReplyDelete
  30. CIA doesn't protest, just gather facts and report. If you don't like the facts, be like Dick Cheney and tell them to
    make up WMDs. Better yet, be like John Bolton and if the
    intel doesn't meet your beliefs, try to have them fired.
    Alt-reality. Rothchild, Rothbard..'Roth' meaning red in German. Interesting times.

    ReplyDelete
  31. They gather facts? Perhaps sometimes. So too do they also distort and manufacture the hell out of them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Case in point Operation Mockingbird.

      Delete
    2. MK-ULTRA and the Frank Olson file. The CIA does much more than gather facts and report on them.

      Delete
  32. "The phrase "fake news" has exploded in usage since the election, but the term is similar to other malleable political labels such as "terrorism" and "hate speech"; because the phrase lacks any clear definition, it is essentially useless except as an instrument of propaganda and censorship. The most important fact to realize about this new term: Those who most loudly denounce fake news are typically those most aggressively disseminating it." ~ Glenn Greenwald (The Intercept)

    Couldn't have said it better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fake and News seem pretty well defined. Lying internet
      seems more accurate. Greenwald, really? IMO, Fake News at it's best is the Onion. At least that has a modicum of literature.
      " During the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, online entrepreneurs and pranksters found that they could reach huge audiences via social media by fabricating sensational stories that played to readers’ partisan biases. These stories imitated the style and appearance of real news articles, and they were published on sites designed to look like established newspaper websites or political blogs. (Some pulled this off better than others.) The key facts were made up by the authors, but the successful ones sounded just plausible enough to pass the smell test of a significant subset of readers who were already primed to believe outlandish things about a given candidate."
      -Will Oremus, Sr. Technology writer, Salon, Business Insider, Stanford Daily, MS Columbia School of Journalism. (Greenwald also wrote for Salon and is a
      litigation attorney. John Edwards is a litigation attorney)

      Delete
    2. People have a tendancy, as you correctly indicated, to find "news" or articles that suit their bias or preconceived notions. Just as it was highly unlikely that any email that Wikileaks published was not likely to alter one's opinion (or vote for that matter) of Hillary or the DNC, so too is it unlikely that any "fake news" story is likely to result in a change of attitude or belief by one who reads it.

      Delete
    3. I don't know that fake and news are well defined. What's more, there are plenty of "news" agencies and reporters that sensationalize much of what they report.

      The most glaring example was the recent Ohio state affair which was widely reported as an active shooter situation when in fact it was nothing of the sort. Again..there is a narrative to sell.

      Delete
    4. It seems much of the "breaking new" is of that sort,
      not many facts, yet lots of speculation. However, IMO, good journalism like good science, is self
      correcting. I cannot disagree with Trump's suggestion that a lot of the made up tales on the net are 'probably some 400 lb guy in his basement'.
      As for Russian hacking, with your background in US
      CIA meddling in other countries should find it troublesome and problematic. The age of instant
      communication, wide distribution and lousy security
      can be a weapon, just like any other.

      Delete
    5. I don't buy the narrative regarding Russian hacking and the election. Even if it were true I don't care. Call it karma. Call it blowback. My faith isn't in elections and politicians.

      Delete
  33. For the record, I waded through thousands of the Wikileaks emails this time around just as I did when they were publishing the revelations of Chelsea (Bradley) Manning. Whether they came to light via Russian hacking (a claim unfounded) would be irrelevant to me. Their authenticity was never challenged and in fact the metadata from them has actually proven their authenticity. Their substance, in these particular instances, helped to vindicate what a great many had already believed to be taking place.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Look at what we learned from those DNC emails. The DNC practically undermined Bernie Sanders' campaign from the very beginning because they preferred her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You'd also have learned that Hillary's campaign worked in tandem with "news" organizations to promote and sensationalize stories for political gain. Fancy that.

      Delete
    2. Too bad the Ruskies didn't hack the RNC. Of course
      Reince Preibus is a pretty good password.

      Delete
    3. Ramesh Ponnuru ain't bad either.

      Delete
    4. Passwords: found this on a conservative blog:
      Resetting a Password:
      "Sorry, your password has been in use for 30 days and has expired - you must register a new one."
      roses
      "Sorry, too few characters."
      pretty roses
      "Sorry, you must use at least one numerical character."
      1 pretty rose
      "Sorry, you cannot use blank spaces."
      1prettyrose
      "Sorry, you must use at least 10 different characters."
      1fuckingprettyrose
      "Sorry, you must use at least one upper case character."
      1FUCKINGprettyrose
      "Sorry, you cannot use more than one upper case character consecutively."
      1FuckingPrettyRose
      "Sorry, you must use no fewer than 20 total characters."
      1FuckingPrettyRoseShovedUpYourAssIfYouDon'tGiveMeAccessRightFuckingNow
      "Sorry, you cannot use punctuation."
      1FuckingPrettyRoseShovedUpYourAssIfYouDontGiveMeAccessRightFuckingNow
      "Sorry, that password is already in use."
      -sometimes I agree with conservative blogs....

      Delete
    5. Since everything is online now and you even have to do your job applying online I have a small notepad at home chockfull of different passwords all so I could go onto Company XYZ and apply for a job. I have no use whatever for all those passwords right now.

      Delete
  35. Gallup Poll 12-12-16
    "President Obama on Monday hit a 59 percent approval rating in Gallup's daily tracking poll—territory he hasn't seen since July 2009. The president's approval rating dwarfs that of Donald Trump, who is still under water according to a PPP survey released Friday. It showed just 43 percent view Trump favorably"
    ..wonder where all the Trump voters came from?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They were mostly anti-Hillary voters. Re Obama's late high approval numbers I attribute that to a kind of nostalgia like the last few days of summer. I think even many of his haters are looking back and realizing we hated Bill Clinton more and also his wife. I don't recall Obama having many scandals.

      Delete
    2. Anti Hillary voters; gestalt example of cutting off
      one's nose to spite one's face. (Pardon my schadenfreude) BTW, where do Yonkersfolk go for
      thermonuclear attack?

      Delete
    3. That's an excellent question. I should ask my City Hall.

      Delete
  36. My mother is an anti Hillary voter. Imagine her dismay when she realizes they're going to gut her medicare and cut her social security. It would be schadenfreude except that it's affecting me just as adversely.

    There are no winners in this game. Only a question of how bad is it going to be. So far all signs point to pretty effing bad.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Libs are still looking for some way to get Trump out of office before he begins. The recount is failing so they're pushing the Putin hacking theory. NY Times going all out.

    ReplyDelete
  38. The Tweetmeister himself thinks there wes a voting scandal:
    "Mr Trump has previously responded angrily to people pointing out his defeat in the popular vote.
    Last month he tweeted: “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally."
    To paraphrase Churchill, 'never have so many votes lost to so few. It is sort of weird. Who picked up the Scientology
    vote?

    ReplyDelete
  39. Meanwhile the pres-elect, voted in by the suffering working
    class, and who promised repeatedly to "drain the swamp" in
    DC, has drained right into slimy muck. How come no one pays attention to stuff?

    ReplyDelete
  40. Trump ran on helping the middle class, the 99%. Each of his
    cabinet picks so far have come from the lucky class, the 1%
    "billionaires Betsy DeVos, Linda McMahon and Wilbur L. Ross Jr., and the multimillionaires Rex W. Tillerson, Ben Carson, Elaine Chao, Steven Mnuchin, Representative Tom Price, Andrew F. Puzder and Todd Ricketts". How will that
    work out?

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    Replies
    1. You have to remember I didn't vote for her or for him. I wash my hands of the whole affair.

      Delete
  41. Those on both sides of the aisle are wanting to investigate the Russian connection. He may never make it into office. At this point I would settle for anyone (democrat or republican) else. Romney would be a breath of fresh air. Trump has already admitted that the whole 'lock her up' thing was just a way to pander for votes and now that the election's over it doesn't matter. How many more lies have to come out before middle class America loses its love affair with this sociopathic fascist?

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  42. I'm thinking Americans watch way too much tv and that's why they voted for him. Americans are pixellated, does something to the brain. They probably would have put Dr. Phil in office too to say nothing of Judge Judy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ..and that Duck Dynasty bearded guy. Lucky Honey Booboo got canceled or there would be a Federal Law
      making us eat grits & chitlin. Me, I could see Dr. House as Surgeon General, "We are sorry Dr. House is not available for questions, he is working with Dr.
      Cuddy someplace..

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    2. House totally ruined itself, jumped the shark when he and Cuddy had sex. Then they broke up, he drove a car thru her place and went to prison. Whatever happened to curing Morgellons? Another show that had promise is the tv version of The Exorcist. Crappy downturn last episode. Angela Rance becomes possessed to rid her daughter of the demon. Later she twists her mother's neck and she falls down the stairs then later her demon kills a convent full of nuns. A Gothic dungheap if you ask me.

      Delete
    3. Wonder if they change script writers after a few episodes. You know, hire some cheap hacks?

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  43. There were 7 formal congressional committee investigations of H. Clinton over Benghazi. While they spent a lot of our
    taxpayer money, the found nothing. Even some of the GOP House members admitted it was politics to make Hillary look like "Lock Her Up! classic kangaroo court stuff, but IMO it
    worked. The last committee quit as soon as Trump won, so that is probably over. My take is if the GOP can do that,
    can the Dems at least have one committee to investigate Russian hacking, highly suspect appointments (my favorite so far Rick Perry for Energy Dept..the department he forgot
    he wanted to discard when he ran last time. That Dept. is responsible for a lot of stuff, including nuclear technology and weapons. Historically a PhD physicist is picked, sometimes even Nobel winners. Perry's last gig was
    on 'Dancing With the Stars'. So, you may be spot on Z-Man:
    Alt-reality TV is the new reality, real news is fake, fake news is real and Orwell and Kafka are spinning in their graves. :)

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    Replies
    1. Rick Perry probably doesn't even know what a mouon is. I'd also keep him away from a D-Wave quantum computer.

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    2. Apparently he bumped into a D-Wave quantum computer
      and accidently backed into the SEARCH button.

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    3. I'm guessing der Trumpet is leery of physicists.
      They talk funny.

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  44. "Hey Vlad, the Donald here. I'm quite concerned about your
    carpet bombing of Keiv." "Sir Trump, I've been meaning to call. We would like to have a huuuuge hotel-casino over in
    Leningrad". "Vlad, I like your style. How many floors we
    talking here?"

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  45. If only that wasn't such a plausible conversation.

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  46. Latent gay tendencies and homosexualism? Hell with all the fake news out there why not? Give the Donald a taste of his own medicine.

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