The 1% are not at war with the 99%

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Sunday March 11, 2012 · 2:20 PM PDT

2012/03/11 · 14:20

In the world of the rich, the 99%ers are not important enough to go to war with. In my experience, the 1% want money. And they will pull all the levers of power to get it. How do I know? Well, I have been an engineer in industry for 35+ years, but that doesn't mean much. I haven't known a lot of 1%ers --- just a few.

But if you believe that there is a "war", think about this: if the one percent care so much about screwing the little people ---- why is the Dow Jones Industrial Average almost at 13000? Why is the NASDAQ at the highest level since 2000? Logically, if they wanted to screw the little people, they would ensure that the economy would tank in an election year. This would guarantee that Mitt Romney (or equivalent) would become President and Voila! More tax cuts for rich people! WHY HAVEN'T THEY DONE IT?

Poll

75 votes Show Results

Is there a war on the poor by the rich?

75 votes Vote Now!

Is there a war on the poor by the rich?

Yes

54 votes

5 votes

Yes, but an unintentional one

16 votes

Who's Zoomin' Who?

Saxman

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday February 12, 2012 · 9:21 AM PST

2012/02/12 · 09:21

"Who's Zoomin' Who" was the title of an Aretha Franklin album many years ago, but the phrase jumped into my head while watching the Catholic talking heads and their Republican pals this week...They may be foolin' somebody, but it ain't me.

All the babble about violating the religious freedom of Catholic organizations has been dealt with successfully here on DKos by pointing out that 28 states already have rules similar to the new White House rule regarding employee contraception (and no one bitched when such "Kenyan Muslim" states as GEORGIA put the rule in place). And there is the argument that 98 or 99% of women use contraception during their lives -- meaning contraception is not a "nice to have", but a must.

But I want to point out that the live birth rates in the most Catholic countries in Europe are actually LOWER than the predominantly Protestant ones. Below are the birth rates for Europe in ascending order (as of 2009 - from World Bank). Bolded countries are majority Catholic (as best I could determine).

Note: NONE are at replacement level --- considered to be at least 2.1.

Poll

4 votes Show Results

To what degree are Catholics violating the birth control rules of their religion?

4 votes Vote Now!

To what degree are Catholics violating the birth control rules of their religion?

Massively

3 votes

Hugely

0 votes

Enormously

0 votes

Ginormously

1 vote

Humongously

0 votes

Some

0 votes

Not at all

0 votes

Why Tebow-Mania is Important...

Saxman

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday January 15, 2012 · 5:11 PM PST

2012/01/15 · 17:11

...even if Tebow is not. Until the Protestant reformation, Catholicism had a monopoly on miracles. The bubonic plague changed that. The priests urged prayer, but instead were themselves felled by the disease. The people, seeing that Catholicism had no power over the disease, turned first to mysticism --- and ultimately the new Protestant religions that began to appear. Of course the church didn't go down without a fight. Jews and others were accused of witchcraft and murdered. After all, the church couldn't be wrong. It must be Satan...

Churches have always needed miracles to justify their existence. In modern America, sports heroes are ideal choices. What they do routinely seems miraculous to the average person. When events in games are unusual, it is an easy step to start assigning credit to the almighty. Until recent decades, it was always easy to find a nice Caucasian fellow to represent Christian miracles...But lately it has been tough...

Poll

112 votes Show Results

Is Tebow-Mania Dangerous?

112 votes Vote Now!

Is Tebow-Mania Dangerous?

Yes

55 votes

17 votes

Meh

40 votes

Obama should have a TV show -- soon

Saxman

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday December 26, 2011 · 4:04 PM PST

2011/12/26 · 16:04

For 3 years, President Obama has been the grown-up in the room, while all manner of garbage has been thrown his way. As a result, his personal "favorability" ratings have held up pretty well, even in the face of a bad economy.

But "memories will fade" (a line from the song "When Sunny Gets Blue" for you musicians out there), and it is extremely important to portray the right as irrationally hateful and unfair -- particularly in an election where Obama's performance will be seen as (perhaps) mediocre by the majority of the persuadable independents.

The question is: how do we remind people of this history in a compelling way? How does the campaign show the vitriol, the hatred, the vulgarity of the opposition, in a way that appeals to the sense of fairness that (I believe) most independents possess?

Poll

30 votes Show Results

Would a TV show of the sort described here be effective in the 2012 campaign?

30 votes Vote Now!

Would a TV show of the sort described here be effective in the 2012 campaign?

Very

10 votes

Somewhat

5 votes

No effect

2 votes

Somewhat ineffective

2 votes

Ineffective

11 votes

About that 2nd Great Depression...

Saxman

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday August 15, 2011 · 5:00 PM PDT

2011/08/15 · 17:00

Next week it will all come together... One thing is going to lead to the next. Wall Street is going to collapse, the European markets are going to follow suit. There will be panic.

That prediction was made by a Kossack diarist on August 5th as a result of the fools at S&P downgrading US debt. It generated 132 comments. But, as of today the Dow is at 11,483. That is HIGHER, repeat HIGHER than the Dow was when this 2nd Great Depression prediction was made. Some panic! The Dow is higher than when S&P made their downgrade. American treasury securities are now safer than ever. The whole S&P downgrade was a tempest in a teapot.

This probably won't make me popular (with some) on DKos: there will not be a 2nd Depression this year, or the next. There won't even be a recession (as defined by economists) this year. Unfortunately, we will muddle along --- unless the Europeans are much dumber than I think they are.

Poll

41 votes Show Results

Will there be an economic recession in 2011? The usual definition is two down quarters of GDP.

41 votes Vote Now!

Will there be an economic recession in 2011? The usual definition is two down quarters of GDP.

Yes

18 votes

6 votes

I don't know

5 votes

The Depression started last week

12 votes

In 2011, Keynesian Economics can fail

Saxman

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday July 16, 2011 · 4:26 PM PDT

2011/07/16 · 16:26

A famous and beloved Kossack has been writing diaries bashing Obama for his failure to stimulate the economy through further Keynesian (fiscal) stimulus. It is a appealing argument to make, because Keynesian economics did get us out of the Great Depression, about SEVENTY years ago --- though it took MANY, MANY years to do so. A chart in that recent diary seemed to show that 4 years after taking office, Roosevelt's unemployment rate was something like 14-16%, which is awful, except that it started at 25%.

But a few things have changed since 1941 --- and I'm not talking about ipads or ipods or tablets, or whatever it is you newfangled kids call technology these days.

No, the difference is that we live in a world economy now. An economy where places like Brazil, China and India really matter. An economy of shortages and panics over shortages in food, water and raw materials. A world where currency traders are critical....

Poll

57 votes Show Results

Can a Keynesian stimulus get us out of this mess?

57 votes Vote Now!

Can a Keynesian stimulus get us out of this mess?

Yes, it worked for FDR

24 votes

Yes, but you have a point

12 votes

No, world-economics prevents it

15 votes

Maybe, we don't know what else to try

0 votes

I have a headache....

6 votes

Why Republican Governance Always Fails

Saxman

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday January 08, 2011 · 7:05 AM PST

2011/01/08 · 07:05

As we learned in the 2010 elections, the public holds Congress and the President responsible for the unemployment rate. PERIOD. They don't hold big business responsible; they don't hold small business responsible. They look at the unemployment number (and the direction) and pull the R-lever or the D-lever.

[BTW, I think it's much fairer to hold the government responsible for foreign policy & war/peace issues, IMO, because the Feds are pretty much responsible for that].

When Democrats are in charge of the economy, they tend to be relatively responsible. They try to make sure there is a level playing field for business --- by enforcing the laws (e.g. Anti-trust). They stimulate the economy when it is down; they take their foot off the pedal when the economy is strong....

Poll

94 votes Show Results

What will it take for Republicans to adapt to the 19th, 20th and 21st Centuries?

94 votes Vote Now!

What will it take for Republicans to adapt to the 19th, 20th and 21st Centuries?

Aliens coming in from outer space to tell them

4 votes

God making an announcement

10 votes

The Democrats slaughtering them in 5 straight elections

11 votes

Nothing can change a Republican

69 votes

Other

0 votes

How the Mighty are Fallen...

Saxman

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday December 12, 2010 · 3:50 PM PST

2010/12/12 · 15:50

From the 12/12 NYTIMES:

http://www.nytimes.com/...

...it’s a measure of Mr. Obama’s uncertainty in this moment of peril that he would summon not only the spirit but also the person of Mr. Clinton, whom he disparaged during the 2008 campaign for small-ball politics that made him less of a transformational president than Ronald Reagan. Lately, Mr. Obama has been reading accounts of Mr. Clinton’s presidency.

Does anybody remember this Obama pearl of wisdom?

"Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that, you know, Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it."

I resented that crap then and I resent it now. Reagan transformed America into a country that no longer believes in arithmetic; that believes tax cuts lead to balanced budgets; that believes that markets never make mistakes. That government has no role in making sure Wall Street thieves are regulated. That government workers are the enemies of ordinary Americans. That defense spending isn't really spending (etc, etc).

Poll

57 votes Show Results

After Obama's term in office is over, who will have had the more transformational Presidency?

57 votes Vote Now!

After Obama's term in office is over, who will have had the more transformational Presidency?

Bill Clinton

34 votes

Barack Obama

23 votes

When America was lost

Saxman

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday December 05, 2010 · 10:49 AM PST

2010/12/05 · 10:49

I said to friends at the time of the Clinton tax increases in 1993 that it was a very dangerous moment for America...Ronald Reagan had convinced the majority of the people that lowering taxes RAISED revenue (remember the aptly named Laffer curve?)--- and that all we needed to do to balance the budget was to cut taxes for everyone. Especially millionaires and billionaires.

By the end of Reagan's Presidency it was apparent to grownups that lowering taxes simply increases the debt. That's why, when George H.W. Bush raised taxes, it was a welcome relief. After all, the deficit had reached ~$290B, and Bush 41 was genuinely worried about out fiscal future. But there was an open revolt in the Republican party and Crazy Alan Greenspan was seriously pissed.

Saxman

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday September 26, 2010 · 8:19 AM PDT

2010/09/26 · 08:19

I read Dailykos (to some degree) almost every day, and like many others, I get tired of the whining about the Obama "betrayal du jour". But this short diary will be discussing something that happened long ago.

Yes it is true that the products of the Congress are kind of ugly (Healthcare, Financial Reform), but that's really the fault of Congressional rules and the poor decision of the founding fathers which permits (e.g.) Wyoming to get the same number of Senators as California with 68 times the population. BTW, it is this mistake that causes right-wing pundits to say that this is a center-right nation.

I forgive Obama for everything but this one error. The one mistake that is unforgivable is the mishandling of the housing crisis. More below...

Poll

89 votes Show Results

What one thing that Obama did/didn't do is "unforgivable"?

89 votes Vote Now!

What one thing that Obama did/didn't do is "unforgivable"?

Mishandling the housing crisis

2 votes

Messing up the healthcare bill

20 votes

Messing up the financial regulation bill

1 vote

Not ending DADT

7 votes

Increasing troop strength in Afghanistan

7 votes

Not fighting back against right-wing slander

9 votes

Other

14 votes

None, his mistakes have been minor

29 votes

The Kernel of Truth in Jim Webb's Op-Ed

Saxman

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday July 25, 2010 · 9:55 AM PDT

2010/07/25 · 09:55

Yesterday I spent a good part of the day on DKos, defending Jim Webb against all kinds of charges. The main reason I did it is that Webb has spent a good deal of time trying to get prison reform in this country. No politician would EVER take on prison reform just to get votes. The American people seem to want to lock everyone up and throw away the key. Webb's involvement in that project showed me that he is a stand-up guy. A stand-up guy with some weird/sick viewpoints (DADT!) but a sincere fellow nonetheless.

The insane level of hatred between poor whites and poor people of color in the US reminds me of stories my (Bengali) Indian friend at work told me about the British Empire in India. The British wanted to take as much good stuff from their colonies as they could. The best way to do that (they reasoned) was to keep the locals concentrating on their resentment against each other. That way, the locals would never rise up against the Brits.

Saxman

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday July 18, 2010 · 5:30 PM PDT

2010/07/18 · 17:30

Today I watched the McLaughlin Group on TV, and, I must say I deserved a medal for getting through the thing without losing my mind. The notion they were peddling is that Obama has "been a divisive figure", an ideologue, blablabla....

After I regained my IQ points (watching drivel always costs me for a while), I began thinking that the DKos community could write ads for the DNC (and/or the DCCC & DSCC) debunking these idiotic notions.

It always seems to me that the recent messages sent by these organizations ignore the most important fact: the Republican party has morphed into an organization that is really ---- Un-American. I don't know how else to say it concisely.

Poll

48 votes Show Results

Can the DKos Community write more effective Ads than the Democratic Party Establishment

48 votes Vote Now!

Can the DKos Community write more effective Ads than the Democratic Party Establishment

Yes, let's go for it

25 votes

Yes, but no one in the party will ever listen

10 votes

No, let the pros handle it

1 vote

No, we are loony leftists; we'd do more damage than good

12 votes

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RSS

The 1% are not at war with the 99%

Who's Zoomin' Who?

Why Tebow-Mania is Important...

Obama should have a TV show -- soon

About that 2nd Great Depression...

In 2011, Keynesian Economics can fail

Why Republican Governance Always Fails

How the Mighty are Fallen...

When America was lost

The One Unforgivable Obama Act

The Kernel of Truth in Jim Webb's Op-Ed

Suppose you had to write a 60-second DNC ad?