How much could a person usually haul in after a mere four months on the job followed by resignation in disgrace? How about … $56,000 a day, every day, including weekends and vacation days: [Read more…]
No one really believed the excuse WI Gov Scott Walker dredged up when trying to take away workers’ rights. But the wingnut band played on. Now a video has surfaced showing Walker briefing a billionaire contributor on his scheme to destroy workers’ rights, divide and conquer, starting with public sector unions for civil servants like teachers, firefighters, paramedics, and police. The clip comes at the worst possible time for Walker, he faces a statewide recall election in early June. Walker responded to the video today: [Read more…]
This is the kind of thing that makes me think about buying long term put options. The masters of the universe and their fearless leaders have stumbled again and the primary culprit is allegedly one trader in one class of derivatives who racked up at least $2 billion in losses. No one can say for sure if it’s just an isolated hiccup on the way to recovery or the start of another giant Wall Street heist: [Read more…]
Here’s two examples of not just how far gone the average wingnut has become, but how they got there. First, the obligatory whopper: [Read more…]
Several nations across the EU foolishly experimented with “austerity” and one name-brand casualty has paid with his political career. Others will almost certainly follow: [Read more…]
Trick question, easy answer: whenever Paul Ryan needs it to be. Back when Obama weakened the original Romneycare requirement so that it only covered birth control pills and not terminal pregnancies, it was a full-scale war on religion, over ruling the view of the Catholic Church, ZOMG, Jefferson wept! In a moment of unadulterated satire even Romney tried to jump on that bucking bronco before being thrown. But when a Republican capo pushes legislation against the core beliefs of the exact same church, that’s totaalllly different! [Read more…]
The symptoms of the Great American Demise are all around me. In the end, when we have finally reached full-blown third-world status and our grandkids compete in contests for best rat trap, we’ll be able to look back and know we did it entirely to ourselves. One beautiful example of how we managed to blow a massive US lead in wealth and technology can be found in one Dan Samuel Senor, a man too wrong to fail. [Read more…]
Back in 2009, Paul Ryan, GOP reptilian baby eating loser who wants to end Medicare and send the surplus to his zillionaire cronies, loved himself some Ayn Rand. Saying “Ayn Rand, more than anybody else, did a fantastic job explaining the morality of capitalism, the morality of individualism, and that, to me, is what matters most.” You know already what happened, don’t ya? [Read more…]
In the last budget showdown, a last-minute deal was reached with House leaders to avert a government shutdown. It was only possible because public opinion had turned against the GOP. It was either agree to the deal or face eroding support and eventual voter backlash. But House Republicans have been openly breaking the deal ever since, mostly by cutting programs benefiting the middle class and poor — what a surprise. Today, the acting WH budget director, Jeffrey Zients, laid down the gauntlet, saying the President will sign no further appropriations until the deal is honored: [Read more…]
Most people know this, but there is a device in the Senate called a filibuster. It was made famous by Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, but the way it works today is very different. If a 60 member super majority of the Senate does not vote for Cloture, the measure fails, end of story: [Read more…]