Cheney's Imperial March

The Decline of the Middle Class, Big Screen TV's, and the "Economists" Who Link the Two

I'm back for a brief second to squash the often cited reasons as to why Americans today aren't saving, and are therefore in a financial predicament, compared to thirty years ago.

Law scholar Elizabeth Warren teaches contract law, bankruptcy, and commercial law at Harvard Law School and conducted a study a few years back that compared median household incomes and their basic expenses between the 1970's to 2005. Her results were just as I had always suspected.

Note that the data compared families with the same composition: a mother, father, and two child middle class family, all inflation adjusted.

But first, let's examine the main conservative argument used to explain why Americans aren't saving or seeing their incomes rise:

They spend all their money on big screen TV's, designer clothing, and eating out.

Based on this argument, one would naturally deduce that people are consuming much more crap - while maxing out their credit cards - rather than saving their money as families in the 1970's were apparently able to do (about 11% of their income).

However, based on Ms. Warren's data, Americans are actually spending a considerable amount less on those crap items than they were 30 years ago. For example, a family is spending 32% less on clothing, 18% less on food, and 52% less on appliances. So much for the idea that we are consuming more of those "unnecessary items."

So the question is, if all those things went down, where is the family spending more money? Accordingly, there has been a 76% increase in mortgages for the same sized home, 74% increase in health care among healthy families, 52% increase in automobiles, and 100% increase in child care. The last two increases are based primarily on the fact that families today are required to have two working parents; therefore, two cars as opposed to one and, of course, daycare since one parent no longer stays at home.

The real problem we see from this data is that all those items that decreased are all flexible purchases. In other words, families are able to cut back their spending habits on clothing, food, and appliances. In contrast, all the increased expenditures such as health care and mortgages, are not flexible. Additionally, the early 1970's family was spending about half of its income on these big fixed expenses that are very difficult to cut back on, while the family of the 2000's are spending 3/4 of their income on these same fixed expenses.

What this tells us, despite the fact that we now have two working parents, is that today's families have fewer total dollars left over than their one income parents had 30 years ago (wages have remained approximately stable since the 70's, inflation adjusted). The problem does not lie upon unnecessary consumption, but the fact that the large fixed expenses have just gotten so much greater.

White House Happy Hour Mix, Vol. XLIV

crystal dawn is retiring, as this is her last blog post, so she made this CD mix...

The 18-track disc, titled White House Happy Hour Mix, Vol. XLIV is the first ever presidential soundtrack designed specifically for the Obama Administration. In cooperation with Damn Straight Records, crystal dawn has compiled the most complete affectional mix featuring a stellar collection of artists from across genres, including such renowned, multi-platinum performers as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Bobby Womack, The Isley Brothers, and of course, 2Pac.

Now the President and White House officials can head over to the Red Room to sit back, relax, drink Hennessy, and swing to soul-inspired sounds after a long day's worth of being all presidential and shiz. Because we all need a happy hour.

Track listing:

1. Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - Marvin Gaye
2. Holy Thursday - David Axelrod <--- different guy
3. Walk on By - Dionne Warwick
4. Take Five - The Dave Brubeck Quartet
5. Down in Mexico - The Coasters
6. Street Lady - Donald Byrd & The Blackbyrds
7. Can You Get To That - Funkadelic
8. Across 110th Street (demo version) - Bobby Womack
9. Footsteps In The Dark (Parts 1 & 2) - The Isley Brothers
10. Summer Madness - Kool & The Gang
11. Knucklehead - Grover Washington, Jr.
12. Baby It's You - Smith
13. Could You Be Loved - Bob Marley
14. Summer Breeze (cover) - The Isley Brothers
15. Keep on Running - Stevie Wonder
16. White Folks - Barack Obama
17. How Do You Want It - 2Pac
18. Buy Your Own Damn Fries - Barack Obama

The soundtrack hits stores on a Tuesday at some point in the future since all things are released on Tuesday's.

Peace, I'm out!

Sarah Palin Wants the Economy to Fail

Sarah Palin has announced that she is rejecting almost 30% of stimulus money to her town, err I mean state, of Alaska. The bulk of her rejection money goes to education. Considering she speaks as though she has a fourth grade education, no surprise there.

Other Republican governors also rejecting "portions" of stimulus money:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry last week announced that he turned down $555 million of federal stimulus funding that would expand the state's unemployment benefits. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has said he would not accept nearly $100 million to expand unemployment benefits. And South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has said he only wants to use the federal money to pay down debt.

Unemployment benefits give a much greater bank for the buck than tax cuts do.
But don't be fooled by these asshole governors. Palin et al KNOW that unemployment benefits help more than twice as much as tax cuts do, but are counting on the economy to FAIL so they have justification to run in the next Presidential election cycle. How un-American. How treasonous!

Beware of other concert goers - they could make you the brunt of a blog

*taken by crystal dawn May 7, 2008 at a non-aerosmith concert

I believe, yes...yes that is! That *is* bird shit.

Obama Playing the Bipartisan Card *sigh*

News comes out that Obama plans to include 300 billion in tax cuts for families and business in his stimulus package. Tax cuts that will more than likely be saved and horded rather than spent shopping (consumer spending seems to always be the excuse the proponents for tax cuts use to stimulate the economy - always short term). Apparently, this is a move aimed at gaining support from the Republicans. You know, that bipartisan angle Obama has been leaning on since day one.

Nonetheless, Paul Krugman makes a most delightful point to any economic recovery plan:

Let’s lay out the basics here. Other things equal, public investment is a much better way to provide economic stimulus than tax cuts, for two reasons. First, if the government spends money, that money is spent, helping support demand, whereas tax cuts may be largely saved. So public investment offers more bang for the buck. Second, public investment leaves something of value behind when the stimulus is over.

My question is, now that we have only the most ardent and conservative Republicans left to deal with in Congress, why is Obama betting that they will play ball even if he tries to appease them with these tax cuts? In fact, I bet this won't even begin to appease these lunatics...it will simply make them ask for more...and ultimately give them an excuse to suddenly become fiscally responsible. "Whoopsie, it was all spent on tax cuts, sorry!"

Democrats finally have a huge majority, minus one filibuster proof vote in the Senate now that Al Franken seems to have won. You mean to tell me that Obama and the rest of the Democrats can't find one other congressperson to vote their way and pass this stimulus package on their terms? Of course, it would have to be to the chagrin of those dipshit Republicans, who are proven economic failures, and who wouldn't know how to balance a budget if their lives depended on it anyway.

I was always suspicious of Obama's bipartisan attitude but he has been able to pull this thing off so far. Maybe all of these new green technologies and infrastructure projects will actually pan out like they should, regardless. Maybe he knows something we all don't know, but the Republicans - especially the most fervent maniacs that are left - are not going to make it easy on him. Personally, I would steamroll over Republicans like wet icky asphalt:


I also wouldn't go counting on universal health care for a while again. It will be the first bill to be voted down on when, "we don't have no mo' money."

Karl Rove & Mike Connell

Since I'm a big conspiracy nut (minus the free fall demolition of the twin towers) here's more of Mark Crispin Miller talking about election fraud and how it miraculously links to Karl Rove and a guy by the name of Mike Connell, the IT guru for the Bush/Cheney campaigns in 2000, 2004, and McCain's in 2008. Connell has been directly implicated in the rigging of George Bush’s 2000 and 2004 elections and just so happened to die in a single engine plane crash December 19, 2008.

Part I


Part II



One has to wonder what motivates another to help steal elections - aside from being a weaselly asshat. Larisa Alexandrovna has done some investigating for Raw Story, has been to the Connells home, and has privately met with Connell's wife Heather. Alexandrovna says that "the Connells really believed that what they were involved in served God’s plan."

Santa Claus Boot Camp

Advair and Bubbletape: A Case Study

Have you ever noticed when drugs on TV look like some sugar infested candy for kids?



Take ADVAIR for example:



Looks just like BubbleTape:

*ADVAIR® is clinically proven to significantly improve chewing (measured by a urine test administered by departments of education), compared with people taking either Bubbleyum 50 mcg or Clorets 250 mcg. Your results may vary.
†In people with a history of popping bubbles.

Important information about ADVAIR DISKUS ROUNDAS LIKAS BUBBLETAPEAS
ADVAIR is approved for squirrels, mormons with limpus dickus, including baptists, jean skirts, or both. You should only take 10" slice of tape dose of ADVAIR twice an hour to ensure maximum sugar sustainability. Higher doses will not provide additional benefits. People with limpus diskus taking ADVAIR may have a higher chance of anal leakage. Call your doctor if you notice any of the following symptoms: change in amount or color of sputum, dead tired while driving, goofy behavior, or zombie like walking. ADVAIR may increase your risk of eye problems, bowel problems, pecker problems, or some kind of problem worse than needing ADVAIR. You should have regular eye exams.

Just when you thought legal drugs, with their PhD prestige, pill pushing legitimacy, and adaptabilty to pass any piss test imaginable wouldn't get any lower, they shamelessly appeal to our inner child sugar highs. Pete Thaw better be on top of this pronto!

Robert Byrd Stepped Up in 2003

Byrd has been appearing frail as of late and has decided to step down as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Jan. 6. On that day, it will have been almost 6 years that he made his prophetic speech against the Bush Administration's decision for preemptive war. For whatever bad decisions he may have made in his younger years, and for whatever physical and/or mental issues he is dealing with now, he was right all along assholes.

So in honor of Veterans Day, here is the full text of that speech below:

Senate Remarks by Robert C. Byrd

February 12, 2003

"We Stand Passively Mute"

To contemplate war is to think about the most horrible of human experiences. On this February day, as this nation stands at the brink of battle, every American on some level must be contemplating the horrors of war.

Yet, this Chamber is, for the most part, silent -- ominously, dreadfully silent. There is no debate, no discussion, no attempt to lay out for the nation the pros and cons of this particular war. There is nothing.

We stand passively mute in the United States Senate, paralyzed by our own uncertainty, seemingly stunned by the sheer turmoil of events. Only on the editorial pages of our newspapers is there much substantive discussion of the prudence or imprudence of engaging in this particular war.

And this is no small conflagration we contemplate. This is no simple attempt to defang a villain. No. This coming battle, if it materializes, represents a turning point in U.S. foreign policy and possibly a turning point in the recent history of the world.

This nation is about to embark upon the first test of a revolutionary doctrine applied in an extraordinary way at an unfortunate time. The doctrine of preemption -- the idea that the United States or any other nation can legitimately attack a nation that is not imminently threatening but may be threatening in the future -- is a radical new twist on the traditional idea of self defense. It appears to be in contravention of international law and the UN Charter. And it is being tested at a time of world-wide terrorism, making many countries around the globe wonder if they will soon be on our -- or some other nation's -- hit list. High level Administration figures recently refused to take nuclear weapons off of the table when discussing a possible attack against Iraq. What could be more destabilizing and unwise than this type of uncertainty, particularly in a world where globalism has tied the vital economic and security interests of many nations so closely together? There are huge cracks emerging in our time-honored alliances, and U.S. intentions are suddenly subject to damaging worldwide speculation. Anti-Americanism based on mistrust, misinformation, suspicion, and alarming rhetoric from U.S. leaders is fracturing the once solid alliance against global terrorism which existed after September 11.

Here at home, people are warned of imminent terrorist attacks with little guidance as to when or where such attacks might occur. Family members are being called to active military duty, with no idea of the duration of their stay or what horrors they may face. Communities are being left with less than adequate police and fire protection. Other essential services are also short-staffed. The mood of the nation is grim. The economy is stumbling. Fuel prices are rising and may soon spike higher.

This Administration, now in power for a little over two years, must be judged on its record. I believe that that record is dismal.

In that scant two years, this Administration has squandered a large projected surplus of some $5.6 trillion over the next decade and taken us to projected deficits as far as the eye can see. This Administration's domestic policy has put many of our states in dire financial condition, under funding scores of essential programs for our people. This Administration has fostered policies which have slowed economic growth. This Administration has ignored urgent matters such as the crisis in health care for our elderly. This Administration has been slow to provide adequate funding for homeland security. This Administration has been reluctant to better protect our long and porous borders.

In foreign policy, this Administration has failed to find Osama bin Laden. In fact, just yesterday we heard from him again marshaling his forces and urging them to kill. This Administration has split traditional alliances, possibly crippling, for all time, International order-keeping entities like the United Nations and NATO. This Administration has called into question the traditional worldwide perception of the United States as well-intentioned, peacekeeper. This Administration has turned the patient art of diplomacy into threats, labeling, and name calling of the sort that reflects quite poorly on the intelligence and sensitivity of our leaders, and which will have consequences for years to come.

Calling heads of state pygmies, labeling whole countries as evil, denigrating powerful European allies as irrelevant -- these types of crude insensitivities can do our great nation no good. We may have massive military might, but we cannot fight a global war on terrorism alone. We need the cooperation and friendship of our time-honored allies as well as the newer found friends whom we can attract with our wealth. Our awesome military machine will do us little good if we suffer another devastating attack on our homeland which severely damages our economy. Our military manpower is already stretched thin and we will need the augmenting support of those nations who can supply troop strength, not just sign letters cheering us on.

The war in Afghanistan has cost us $37 billion so far, yet there is evidence that terrorism may already be starting to regain its hold in that region. We have not found bin Laden, and unless we secure the peace in Afghanistan, the dark dens of terrorism may yet again flourish in that remote and devastated land.

Pakistan as well is at risk of destabilizing forces. This Administration has not finished the first war against terrorism and yet it is eager to embark on another conflict with perils much greater than those in Afghanistan. Is our attention span that short? Have we not learned that after winning the war one must always secure the peace?

And yet we hear little about the aftermath of war in Iraq. In the absence of plans, speculation abroad is rife. Will we seize Iraq's oil fields, becoming an occupying power which controls the price and supply of that nation's oil for the foreseeable future? To whom do we propose to hand the reins of power after Saddam Hussein?

Will our war inflame the Muslim world resulting in devastating attacks on Israel? Will Israel retaliate with its own nuclear arsenal? Will the Jordanian and Saudi Arabian governments be toppled by radicals, bolstered by Iran which has much closer ties to terrorism than Iraq?

Could a disruption of the world's oil supply lead to a world-wide recession? Has our senselessly bellicose language and our callous disregard of the interests and opinions of other nations increased the global race to join the nuclear club and made proliferation an even more lucrative practice for nations which need the income?

In only the space of two short years this reckless and arrogant Administration has initiated policies which may reap disastrous consequences for years.

One can understand the anger and shock of any President after the savage attacks of September 11. One can appreciate the frustration of having only a shadow to chase and an amorphous, fleeting enemy on which it is nearly impossible to exact retribution.

But to turn one's frustration and anger into the kind of extremely destabilizing and dangerous foreign policy debacle that the world is currently witnessing is inexcusable from any Administration charged with the awesome power and responsibility of guiding the destiny of the greatest superpower on the planet. Frankly many of the pronouncements made by this Administration are outrageous. There is no other word.

Yet this chamber is hauntingly silent. On what is possibly the eve of horrific infliction of death and destruction on the population of the nation of Iraq -- a population, I might add, of which over 50% is under age 15 -- this chamber is silent. On what is possibly only days before we send thousands of our own citizens to face unimagined horrors of chemical and biological warfare -- this chamber is silent. On the eve of what could possibly be a vicious terrorist attack in retaliation for our attack on Iraq, it is business as usual in the United States Senate.

We are truly "sleepwalking through history." In my heart of hearts I pray that this great nation and its good and trusting citizens are not in for a rudest of awakenings.

To engage in war is always to pick a wild card. And war must always be a last resort, not a first choice. I truly must question the judgment of any President who can say that a massive unprovoked military attack on a nation which is over 50% children is "in the highest moral traditions of our country". This war is not necessary at this time. Pressure appears to be having a good result in Iraq. Our mistake was to put ourselves in a corner so quickly. Our challenge is to now find a graceful way out of a box of our own making. Perhaps there is still a way if we allow more time.

96% reporting

*map subject to change slightly. Missouri and North Carolina look to still be tied and I've seen different electoral vote numbers on different maps.

Howard Dean's strategy to go after all 50 states turned out to be the right one. Indiana blue? It was totally over, however, after Ohio. That was one of the big ones and as soon as California, Oregon, and Washington went blue, McCain gave his concession speech.

Turnout was over 64% of the population. 131 million Americans will have voted this year, compared to 2004's 122.3 million.

I think it's safe to say that the people gave Mr. Obama and Congress a MANDATE - unlike Chimpboy's delusioned idea that he had one. Let's hope they do good things.

Why am I not surprised

that in

PENNSYLVANIA: Voting machine malfunctions are widespread and at least a dozen locations, mainly focused on Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

VIRGINIA: Dozens of polling places are experiencing varying degrees of machine malfunctions. Some polling places are either completely closed or have been closed for hours. Thousands of voters may have been turned away illegally by polling workers. Voters have illegally been issued with provisional ballots where machines have been broken.

More at bradblog.com.

Two very very important states that would have decided this thing early.

Crap.

I understand that one needs some perspective about stolen elections, but I just don't think that all of these problems on voting day are simply by accident or incompetance.

Final Polling Map

There's probably a lot of sites that will be live blogging and updating their maps in real time tonight but I like Electoral-Vote.com because it not only gives you an overview of the Presidential map, but also Senate and House races, and informative stats from past elections. From their current polling map:

Obama will take all the states John Kerry won in 2004, worth 252 electoral votes. He also has led consistently in three Bush states: Iowa, New Mexico, and Colorado, worth a total of 21 electoral votes. Together with the Kerry states, this gives Obama 273 EVs and the presidency, even if McCain runs the table on the other swing states. However, Obama is leading in Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia, and essentially tied in Florida, North Carolina, and Missouri. It is likely that Obama will win the election with well over 300 electoral votes, possibly 350 of them.

Real Clear Politics has Obama polling with an average of +7.8 points today. Hope it's enough...

West Virginia has been consistently for McCain, except for a small bump in early October that went for Obama.
Hope WV gets this one wrong...

I predict a 53% win by popular vote for Obama. In reality, it should be a lot more, but there's enough purging and suppression and shitty machines to reduce that number.

Sarah Palin Gets Pranked. Fo' Real Yo.

Ok this is friggin' hilarious. Radio DJ's in Quebec pranked Sarah Palin. Yes, this is real!

MONTREAL — A Quebec comedy duo notorious for prank calls to celebrities and heads of state has reached Sarah Palin, convincing the Republican vice-presidential nominee she was speaking with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
In the interview, which lasts about six minutes, Palin and the pranksters discuss politics, pundits, and the dangers of hunting with current vice-president Dick Cheney.
The Masked Avengers, who have a regular show on Montreal radio station CKOI, intend to air the full interview on the eve of the U.S. elections.
The well-known duo of Sebastien Trudel and Marc-Antoine Audette have also tricked Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and French president Jacques Chirac.
The call to Chirac was rated by the BBC as one of the top 30 best moments in radio history of all time.

Classic! If your yahoo email account can get hacked, then you can surely get pranked. Reminds me of the time I pranked arroz and told him his little plot of land was on fire.

I Voted Yesterday

I did the early voting on the last day in Kanawha County. While waiting in line for about 40 minutes, I overheard some older gents and ladies discussing what church they attended. Then one of the ladies said she thinks the election is going to be close because the media is biased. Then I slapped her. No, I just stood there and eavesdropped. The election will only be close because of shenanigans. Obama should destroy McCain by 20 points - easily.

More of the Beautiful and Talented Miss Sarah Heath

Where in the hell is the question/answer portion?!?!

UPDATED!

By popular request, I uploaded a picture of me performing at the Don Cesar a couple of weekends ago - right after I succumbed to one of those bitch braiders on the beach. (Sorry Hillbilly, I lied). Do you like?

Anyway, it was a great show - until they kicked me out for my shitaous look. I performed such hits as Love Isn't Love ('Til You Give It Away), Is It Really Love, It's Gotta Be Love, You Really Better Love Me After This, There Ain't No Love, She's The One Loving You Now, and Don't Touch Me There.

Next tour stop is at the Gold Dome Bar and Grill on November 4th. See ya'll there!


update: Arrozconpollo didn't know it, but I was standing behind Biden too... serenading his ass.

update 2: oh mah gawd! I see you now arroz!

Election Fraud is Real, Voter Fraud is Not

Already, we are seeing problems with early voting in West Virginia where voters using touchscreen machines have claimed that their votes were switched from Democrat to Republican. Thankfully, SagaciousHillbilly has been pounding away at the issue and asks "where's the outrage."

A good summary of the issue of election fraud, as opposed to voter fraud, comes from a DemocracyNow clip where NYU professor Mark Crispin Miller, author of Loser Take All: Election Fraud and the Subversion of Democracy, and a book I actually read, Fooled Again: The Real Case for Electoral Reform, explains just how perilous this has become for our democracy. Although there is virtually no evidence of anyone turning up at a polling place, risking jail by actually voting as Donald Duck, and consequently throwing an election, there is substantial evidence of voter purging, suppression, and defective machines that all seem to flip for a Republican - all of which ultimately do throw elections.

So put on your tinfoil hats and enjoy:



Part I is here.

Side note: I'm not the least bit surprised there's a strong correlation between those fanatics who are hell bent on saving babies from being aborted and their seemingly justified effort to steal elections via electronic voting machines. I won't make any immediate allegations, because this is just one of my cock-a-mammy theories, but while posting on the Heavy Hitter Message Board in 2005 and 2006 (I won't link there anymore because it's virus infested), the moderator was hell bent on completely deleting all discussion of election fraud and those piece of shit electronic voting machines. That same moderator also made it a habit of posting disgusting pictures of aborted babies as a way to make a case for life. As Sarah Palin would say: "I'm just sayin'."

I Will Be

for a few weeks. Later suckers!






p.s. That's really me. Here's a close-up:

See, Palin is Multitalented