Thanks, George Bush, for your anti-social, soul-sucking-religious, hate-mongering, anti-thinking, old-boy networking, pro-rich scaffolding policies and legacy. Thanks for the war, the recession, and the imminent depression. Thanks for conflating government with yours and your pals’ profit-making agendas. Thanks for ignoring, and in many cases dehumanizing, everyone not seated at your very small table, and thanks for being weak enough to allow big business and Dick Cheney to puppet you, and the rest of us, into creating the bloodiest century in human history. May you all, McCain and Palin included, find yourself donning disguises to stand in lines for your next drink of water, your next food stamp, learning what it really means to pray.

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Defeating the Bailout Looks Like Another Republican Ploy

John Boehner, Roy Blunt and other “leaders” of the House Republicans thought they could strike a public pose as if they really cared about the credit seizure that looms over the country while secretly hoping to pin the bill’s passage on Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, (and by association, Barack Obama). Republican House members would then be free to return to their home districts and run against the “Democrat” bailout. They wanted Speaker Pelosi to pass the bill without much Republican cover so they could tell their constituents that the Democrats were just “picking the taxpayers’ pockets again.” …

The gap between the super rich and everybody else has grown for decades, and the ruling elites are geniuses at passing the costs of their reckless speculation onto the backs of working people. All of a sudden I hear Bush Administration mouthpieces such as the billionaire Henry Paulson, who in the past have told us that we are all on our own and we shouldn’t rely on government for anything, speak about “our” financial markets as if working people have been the ones swapping “collateralized debt obligations” and “hybrid debt instruments.” …

There is going to be real suffering soon among our society’s most vulnerable people. Whatever Congress decides to do or not do the economy is already tanking and hurting working people across the country. I would rather see the leaders of this nation stabilize the markets at least until the Obama Administration can take over and begin the long arduous process of cleaning up after the worst president in American history. It is my hope we can seize the opportunity this crisis presents, hold President Obama’s feet to the fire, and construct a new social compact in this country, a New New Deal.

–Cont’d Huffington Post

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Krugman is so logical and generous in his understanding of how markets work. I don’t think he used the words “greed” or “selfishness” once in his column– or even implied the base instincts behind them. But that is what has driven us to the brink of disaster– and he knows it.

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McCain and O’Reilly on White Power

“White Christian males have done so well with the world. God forbid they lose their power structure.”

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The Man Who Wants To Bomb Iran

Do we really need a second “war”? Note where the last imperialistic endeavor has taken us.

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Olbermann Breaks Down McCain’s Economics

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HOW SOME OF THE MONEY FLOWS

“An earmark is a term used somewhat loosely regarding Federal budget appropriations. Basically, it refers to when a member of Congress allocates money within a bill for a very specific purpose. For example if the normal practice were to allocate money to, say, the State of Alaska for a broad concept like transportation infrastructure, but some shrewd politician instead found a way to specify the funds be used for a single project like, say, a $398 Million dollar bridge to Gravina Island (population: 50) with the full support of the Governor of Alaska, that would be considered an earmark. However, the term doesn’t apply in all circumstances. In defense bills, for example, it is standard practice to specify what the funds are being used for, so in that case an earmark would apply to any expenditure allocated to something more specific than the normal practice.”

By this time, the formerly curious passerby is looking for ways to excuse themself from the longwinded explanation I’m offering or trying to change the subject to one of Sarah Palin’s children or Michelle Obama’s sense of style. But I persist, offering a little insight on top of fact, saying:

“Now how earmarks have been abused is when a politician uses them as “pork”, or in other words an unnecessary project in their home state or Congressional district which probably benefits a company, interest group or individual close to the politician’s heart – who in many cases will have made a campaign contribution to the politician or bestowed them with favors. …

However the McCain-Palin Campaign like bringing up the issue – despite Governor Palin’s past associations with the practice – because it:

1. Allows them to appear to be talking about economic problems while not actually having to commit to anything that will actually change economic policy.
2. Furthers the image of them being ‘Mavericks’ taking on Washington that they’ve carefully tried to cultivate in order to escape from the Albatross hanging around their party’s neck.
3. Provides yet another distraction to keep the campaign from discussing substantive issues like energy policy that would offend some of their supporters.”

–Addt’l insight on how the money goes (usually upward) here —

Economics Political Campaign Politics Presidential Election 08 Sexy bail out banks crash depression Earmarks economic crisis Failure How the Rich Get Richer Immigration Lobbyists market marketplace McCain Palin paulson political bailout poor Pork Barrel Spending recession rich stock Wall Street waning middle class White Power