Left/Right--Right/Left What's missing?

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What you contemplate you imitate

Vulgar Commentators Pounce On Shooting To Justify
DHS[Department of Homeland Security]Extremism Report

​
Right and left at each others throats in coarse and pointless point scoring exercise

By Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Excerpts from:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/vulgar-...shooting-to-justify-dhs-extremism-report.html

<!--start-->In an utterly disrespectful display of vicious political point scoring, bloggers and commentators have jumped on yesterday?s[6/10/2009] tragic shooting at the Holocaust museum in Washington DC, insinuating that it justifies the Department of Homeland Security?s recent classification of gun owners and veterans as dangerous right wing extremists.
One case in point is Washington Post blogger Ed O?Keefe?s column, which is today titled"Does Holocaust Shooting Validate Homeland Security Report?"​

?Did that controversial Homeland Security report on right-wing extremists get it right?? O?Keefe asks, referring to the recently leaked Homeland Security intelligence assesment that characterized millions of American citizens as potentially violent terrorists who are a threat to law enforcement.
All the usual politicized groups that masquerade as ?civil rights? organisations, while at the same time lobbying for the complete elimination of liberties have pounced on the incident in their droves.​

?I think this latest round of killing once again shows how ridiculous the criticism from the right of the Department of Homeland Security report was. That whole brouhaha was absurd,? said Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the group cited as a research source in the recent MIAC report, which characterized Ron Paul supporters as extremists.​

?We felt the DHS report was pretty right on,? said Deborah Lauter of the Anti-Defamation League. ?Clearly the election of Obama, the current financial crisis, and the discussion of immigration reform ?those things have certainly fueled the right wing extremist movement in this country?.There are clear indications that the rhetoric is manifesting. We hope it?s not the tip of the iceberg.?​

Vern
Posted on Jun 10, 2009
By Mr.Fish

Cartoon from:
http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/20090610_vern/​

The left and the right are so obsessed with bickering and winning pointless moral victories over each other that the absolute destruction of everything America stands for becomes a secondary concern.​
Highlighting how completely isolated from reality they are, those attempting to exploit this awful tragedy to score political points, whether it be from the right or the left, is so far beyond contemptible, it defies belief.
Meanwhile, the corporate and financial elite are happy to play both sides off against each other while they carry on, almost completely undeterred, with their freedom destroying Social Darwinist agenda.

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What you contemplate you imitate
Re: Left/Right--Right/Left What's missing?



Subscription
Posted on Jun 10, 2009
By Mr Fish


By JDK, June 11 at 9:08 am
The New York Times isn?t primarily a newspaper, it?s a propaganda wing of the government. Judith Miller didn?t even report to her nominal editor. She reported straight to Washington (which also gave her a high security clearance). Her job was to impersonate a journalist, the NYT?s is to impersonate a newspaper.
http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/20090610_subscription/
Fly Creationism
Posted on Jun 8, 2009
By Mr Fish

By mwb, June 9 at 12:49 am
My apologies, perhaps, to Gerard Manley Hopkins.
Have we now the inspiration for ?God?s Manure? and ?Flied Beauty??
Or, less blasphemously (perhaps), a rereading of ?Repeat that, repeat? and ?Carrion Comfort??

<!-- END comment-footer -->
By Eso, June 8 at 12:03 pm
However, we, flies were already there, and we loved God for his genius!

http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/20090608_fly_creationism/

​
 
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What you contemplate you imitate
Re: Left/Right--Right/Left What's missing?



The Self-Employed Depression
By EMILY BAZELON
</NYT_BYLINE>Published: June 2, 2009
Excerpt from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/magazine/07unemployed-t.html?_r=2&hpw

Especially in personal services, the freelance economy of New York and other big cities is stumbling along with the national economy. Yoga teachers, private tutors, gym trainers, massage therapists, drivers, personal chefs ? they all count on high hourly earnings, private sessions and tips from wealthy clients. When cities were flush, the clients rolled in and the perks of self-employment ? freedom, flexibility, entrepreneurship ? seemed to outweigh more traditional benefits like job security and health insurance.

As laid-off workers look for other ways to make money in a downturn, the ranks of the self-employed tend to increase. This means more competition among tutors and yoga teachers and trainers even as demand falls for personal services. ?When people had a lot of money and not much time, they were more willing to pay for home-fitness instructors, private tutors, personal chefs,? says David Autor, an economist at M.I.T. who studies long-term changes in wages and economic inequality. Elizabeth Gold, a 34-year-old tutor and freelance writer, put it this way, ?When the recession started, I went down the list of people I know and realized almost all of us were employed because of the boom of riches in the city in the last few years.?
Click to expand...
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Why the Present Depression Will Be Deeper than the Great Crash of 1929 (June 4, 2009)
Excerpt from:
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogjune09/depression06-09.html

Galbraith then turns to the causal relations between the collapse of the speculative stock market and the ensuing Depression. Once again, Galbraith fingers income disparity: 5% of the populace garnered a full third of personal income.
This highly unequal income distribution meant that the economy was dependent on a high level of investment or a high level of luxury consumer spending or both. The rich cannot buy great quantities of bread. If they are to dispose of what they receive it must be luxuries or by way of investment in new plants and new projects.
​
As the stock market crashed, those with the most to lose--the wealthy--found their cashflow and capital massively crimped. Since the entire economy was dependent on them spending and investing freely, the economy crashed, too.

You see where this leads in terms of the 1990s-2006 boom. The stupendous profits skimmed in the great dot-com boom flowed disproportionately into a few hands, who then mal-invested the gains (in a macro context) in a completely unproductive burst of overbuilt housing and commercial real estate. The ensuing bubble drew in all those who in Galbraith's words believed they deserved to be rich and as those hapless speculators crashed they took the entire middle class of homeowners with them.
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M

Munchkin Man

EOG Dedicated
Re: Left/Right--Right/Left What's missing?

Greetings:

The following comes from the courtesy of Mr. Scrimmage:

Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">The Self-Employed Depression
By EMILY BAZELON
</NYT_BYLINE>Published: June 2, 2009
Excerpt from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/ma....html?_r=2&hpw

Especially in personal services, the freelance economy of New York and other big cities is stumbling along with the national economy. Yoga teachers, private tutors, gym trainers, massage therapists, drivers, personal chefs ? they all count on high hourly earnings, private sessions and tips from wealthy clients. When cities were flush, the clients rolled in and the perks of self-employment ? freedom, flexibility, entrepreneurship ? seemed to outweigh more traditional benefits like job security and health insurance.

As laid-off workers look for other ways to make money in a downturn, the ranks of the self-employed tend to increase. This means more competition among tutors and yoga teachers and trainers even as demand falls for personal services. ?When people had a lot of money and not much time, they were more willing to pay for home-fitness instructors, private tutors, personal chefs,? says David Autor, an economist at M.I.T. who studies long-term changes in wages and economic inequality. Elizabeth Gold, a 34-year-old tutor and freelance writer, put it this way, ?When the recession started, I went down the list of people I know and realized almost all of us were employed because of the boom of riches in the city in the last few years.?

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

This article really hits home for the Munchkin Man.

The Munchkin Man is a private math tutor who drives to the homes of his students or meets them at the libraries of their choice.

The Munchkin Man cannot meet with his students at his apartment, because the Munchkin Man's landlord prohibits it.

During the past week, the Munchkin Man has had 5 cancellations alone, which has cost the Munchkin Man nearly $200 in income from his tutoring business.

In addition, the Munchkin Man had a flat tire last weekend and had to get it fixed.

The Munchkin Man's air conditioning in his car is also broken.

Some of the Munchkin Man's tutoring appointments take an hour to an hour-and-a-half to drive to, especially during the rush hour traffic.

In thiis recent spate of hot and humid weather, by the time the Munchkin Man gets there, the Munchkin Man is dripping with sweat, and his clothes are soaking wet.

The deodorant the Munchkin Man put on before coming, just after his shower, has already worn off, much to the chagrin of his students.

No wonder students have been cancelling.

The state inspection on the Munchkin Man's car is due by the end of June, and the Munchkin Man has already been informed that it is not going to pass.

The Munchkin Man has received several estimates for the needed repairs, and they average out to about $1,000.

That doesn't count the cost to get the air-conditioning fixed.

The Munchkin Man doesn't have it.

The Blue Book trade-in value on the Munchkin Man's car is only about $350.

The Munchkin Man has no money for a car payment on another used car.

This means the Munchkin Man's tutoring business could come to an end by the end of June.

If this happens, the Munchkin Man's doctor has already agreed to put the Munchkin Man in the hospital for a couple of weeks.

If you don't hear from the Munchkin Man for a couple of weeks, that is where the Munchkin Man will be.

The Munchkin Man will be in good hands and will be receiving professional care.

At the very least, the hospital will provide the Munchkin Man with a source of food and will make sure the Munchkin Man is taking his medication.

When the Munchkin Man is left to his own devices, the Munchkin Man sometimes forgets to take his medication.

Please do not worry about the Munchkin Man.

The Munchkin Man is determined to survive.

Best Wishes,

Munchkin Man
 
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What you contemplate you imitate
Re: Left/Right--Right/Left What's missing?

Unfortunatley The Munchkin Man's plight is not unique in Amerika today,and the description of his current situation echoes John Dolan's experiences described in the article below.
Unequal income distribution worked fantastically during the boom times as top earners could hire armies of workers to cater to their every whim,and enhance their lifestyles,future prospects,features,etc.
Excess profits could be loaned out,and leveraged for maximum paper profits instead of being put into productive investment,and the every-person could take advantage of easy credit to temporarily boost their way of life too.
It couldn't last...
Eventually it's a long way down from the heights until a new equilibrium is reached.
​
Dispatch/ October 15, 2008
Tips For New Paupers
By John Dolan
Excerpts from:
http://exiledonline.com/tips-for-new-paupers/



Little did I know that when I lost everything last year, I was doing research. At the time I thought it was just stupidity or bad luck or both. But now that the economy?s crashing, it turns out I?ve been out there gathering valuable tips for millions of new paupers.

And let me clarify, I?m talking real poverty.

My wife and I fell through many layers of poverty in a few months. First we revisited the genteel poverty known to grad students, the sort of poverty where you have scary dreams about the rent and eat a simple, wholesome diet towards the end of the month. But we fell right through that into the sort of Dickensian privation spoiled first-worlders like me never expected to experience. That?s the kind of poverty a lot of people are going to be experiencing soon?because I?m here to tell you, it can happen here and it can happen to you. And it?s remarkably unpleasant. You may be saying ?Duh!? here but you?re probably not imagining the proper sort of unpleasantness. So I?ll try to lay out what to watch for, how to hunker down when it?s not just a matter of cutting back or selling your second car but having no car at all, having no money for heat or food.

Car. Got one? Maybe you should sell it. Cars drain the last dollars out of you. And there?s something worse: cops can smell desperation, and they hate the poor. I didn?t use to hate cops much, except drug cops, but God, I hate them now. The real purpose of cops is to keep poor people off the roads. That?s their only real goal. On my way to an interview for a job that could have gotten us out of the gutter, a cop stopped me because my insurance was two weeks overdue?for the simple reason we didn?t have money to pay it. She gave me a $600 ticket for that, plus $120 for not having an updated address on my driver?s license. Then she called for a tow truck and told me, ?So, a lesson learned here today!? as I watched my car towed away and trudged off with our terrified dog down a typical Western suburban road: four lanes of fast traffic with no sidewalks. Are you poor? The cops are your enemy now. Accept it. The car is how they?ll try to get you. Sell it if you can?which is to say, if there?s any decent public transportation?hah!?where you live.

Antidepressants. Get on them right away, if you?re not already. If you are, up your dose. Because it?s going to hurt. Doesn?t matter how much Marxist theory you?ve absorbed, doesn?t matter that you can put your fall into global context; it?s happening to YOU now, and it?s going to hurt like you wouldn?t believe. You?re an American, and you share that culture?s values whether you like it or not. So you define yourself by your job, car and house. When they go, you?re going to hate yourself. Don?t even bother arguing about it. It?s going to happen. Just take the damn Prozac. Would you refuse a coat in Siberia? Refusing Prozac after falling into poverty makes about as much sense. Tom Cruise can go fuck himself. Prozac saved our lives. I won?t go into the sordid details but really, I don?t think we?d be here now if Saint Prozac hadn?t extended a sacred hand to us.

No internet. You need the net if you?re ever going to claw your way back. You need a working shower, which that boat lacked. Otherwise you develop that look, that smell you first encountered in the Free Clinic waiting room. It?s not a good look, job-wise. Maybe if we?d gotten rid of the dog I?d have had a chance.


<LI class=comment id=comment-4>4. tommy| March 5th, 2009 at 9:15 am
I guess my question is do the people who could benifit from reading this have access to the internet? The public library maybe?

6. Mudhead | March 20th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
This is the absolute gospel truth. Dolan, as always, knows what he?s talking about. And it CAN happen to YOU. Don?t doubt that for moment. In November I was a card-carrying member of the American professional middle-class, with all the privileges and comforts that suggests. Two months later I was, for all intents and purposes, homeless, washing pots and pans in a County-run crisis house, with absolutely zero money, and nowhere to go. Dolan doesn?t mention debt, but I was - am - also deeply in debt after losing my livelihood, home, and health in rapid succession. Dolan gives some sound advice in this piece on setting priorities and dealing with the situation.
...Oh, and whatever else you do, keep your cell phone account going. Sell your blood if you have to, but keep the cell phone working. Email?s great, but when someone wants to talk with you NOW, there has to be a way for him or her to get in touch with you. Depending upon your location, a cell phone is much more important than a car, which, as Dolan indicates, simply sucks up your money in payments, insurance, gas, maintenance (I had to drop a new battery into mine, which cost $100, when I had $120 to my name), etc. Good luck. You?re going to need it.
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