Meanwhile, in an alternate universe

Paul (you lost me at Krugman) Kruglman's column is entitled "The Austerity Debacle".

What austerity?

Basically a re-hash of "Keynes was right" and "we didn't spend enough".   Which I think sums up Paul's brand of economics.

A Post of His Own

Cylarz comment over a week ago over on Morgan's blog deserves a post of it's own.  I reproduce it here, unedited. :-)

So Buffett has pledged to match 1 for 1 all such voluntary contributions made by Republican members of Congress. “And I’ll even go 3 for 1 for McConnell,” he says. That could be quite a bill if McConnell takes the challenge; after all, the Senator is worth at least $10 million. As Buffett put it to me, “I’m not worried.”

Excuse me, Mr Buffett, but I am not seeing the ‘hypocrisy.’ Senator McConnell is not the one who stood before the American people (via an op-ed in the NYT) and told them that he thinks he doesn’t pay enough taxes. You did, sir.

McConnell doesn’t want pay more in taxes than he currently does. He wants to spend his money on the goods and services and investments of his choosing, rather than having the government pick and choose for him. The same could be said of you; instead of simply eating some crow and admitting the exact same is true of you, you upped the ante by offering to go “3 for 1.”

You’re an idiot, Mr Buffett…and more to the point, I do not appreciate you encouraging the president and members of Congress to raise taxes on the rest of us who aren’t millionaires and billionaires…which was sort of the point all along, wasn’t it? You may have money to throw around; the rest of us out here in middle America are having a hard enough time feeding our families, putting gas in our cars, keeping roofs over our heads, and running our businesses…without you and a bunch of other idle rich going around trying to get the government to take away even more of what was ours.

Just shut the hell up, will you?

I just don't think there's a clearer way to put that.

82%

CBS News touts This year, 82 percent of those who watched the speech said they approve of the president's plans for the economy ...

And what about those of us who just couldn't bring ourselves to wade through more political misdirection and double-speak?

Bill Whittle: The Working Class

Must See Whittle:

Waiting

One thing I'll say for Newt.  I've been waiting a long time for someone who will directly answer the baiting questions and call people out on it.  If he promises to keep doing this every time someone tries to frame the conservative argument as simple, callous "hate" or when someone obviously comes up with a unchecked bombshell allegation at the last minute to affect the outcome of a debate or election... he may win be back.
That's twice in just a few days.

"Secretive"

Obama ad claims he's under attack by "secretive oil billionaires".

Like who, right?

Hel-LO!?  Like, they're secretive!!!!   Shuuuuhhh!!

Oh, and psssst!!!! What are the attacks?  Are they valid?

Nah, let's not go discussing anything unimportant like who or what or especially whether or not they're right.  The important thing is, he's under attack!!!!

Don't Go There

Racist or realistic? Fears Microsoft 'Avoid the Ghetto' app will damage economies of poor communities

It takes some brain damage to make the leap from avoiding high crime areas to "racist" -- but that is the world in which we live today.  I mean, look at some of the quotes from the article:

'I can't imagine that there aren't perpetrators of domestic violence, petty and insignificant drug possession, fraud, theft, and rape in every area.'

Yeah, well neither can I. Tornadoes do occur in California and in all of the lower 48, but there's a reason the area where they occur with the highest frequency is called "Tornado Alley". Is that "stereotyping" the Midwest?

'Can you imagine me not being able to go to Martin Luther King Boulevard. because my GPS says that’s a dangerous crime area? I can’t even imagine that,'

Just because it's a dangerous crime area?!!!! These people have very poor imaginations, apparently. Besides, the app doesn't physically restrain you from doing anything.  You can go anywhere you want to.

'It’s almost like gerrymandering,'she said. 'It’s stereotyping for sure and without a doubt; I can’t emphasize enough, it’s discriminatory.'

Yeah. It discriminates high crime areas from areas with lower crime rates.  For sure and without a doubt.

'What happens in North Dallas certainly ought to be no different than what happens in South Dallas, so we can’t keep on doing this,'

What ought to be and what actually is is why people feel the need for an app like this.

Does the app say "avoid poor people"??? or "avoid black people"?? (and make no mistake, that's what the flap is about). Does it base its warnings on racial demographics, or does it base them on crime statistics?  It doesn't even have a name yet, it's just been dubbed "Avoid the Ghetto" by people on the outside (and probably by those who seem alarmed by it.)

What if it came out under the name "Avoid High Crime Areas", since that's what the app is about?   The ONLY way that could be considered racial is if one assumed that high crime has something to do with race.  And who is it that makes this assumption?

The very people who see an app to help people avoid high crime areas and  immediately call it "racist".