Fundamentalist Consumerism

"Your whole life is narrowed to just buying stuff as a way of feeling better."

This is an interesting idea.

Sam Seder posits that this is why riots include looting and destroying businesses.

The Majority Report, July 11 2011: Bruce E. Levine joins us today to talk about his latest article at Alternet, 8 Reasons Young Americans Don’t Fight Back: How the US Crushed Youth Resistance.

What does Shared Sacrifice Really Mean?

It means that you will have to share your can of tuna with your grandma and sacrifice your retirement savings to the Gods of Capitalism.

That is what it means.

A Nation of Criminals

This is what the world looks like when we have inadequate or non-existent public social services, for-profit jails, and a captured judicial/legal system.

Instead of getting the parenting and anger management classes she so desparately needs, a bad mom is facing a year in jail.

‘Hot Sauce Mom’ Faces A Year In Jail, Jezebel

36-year-old Jessica Beagley from Anchorage, Alaska is now facing misdemeanor child abuse charges after a home video she sent in to the Dr. Phil show completely backfired. The "Angry Moms" episode featured Beagley shouting to her son, "What happens when you lie to me? You get hot sauced!" And then she poured said hot sauce down his throat. As if that wasn't enough punishment for the small crimes of wriggling in his seat and pencil sword-fighting at school, she followed it up with a cold shower. Mother Of The Year, anyone?

Viewers that tuned into the episode of Dr. Phil contacted authorities, who charged the mom with misdemeanor child abuse. Despite the fact that her defense lawyer equates the treatment to "eating Mexican food," the trial began on Wednesday and Beagly is facing a year in jail

Why Rick Perry Doesn't Print Money -- He's Just Lazy.

You know the reason why Rick Perry doesn't have to print money? Because whenever he has a budget shortfall, he gets the Federal Government balance his books.

Rick Perry Accepts Stimulus Funds from the Federal Government, Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/16/rick-perry-ben-bernanke_n_928380.html

Think Progres: States That Cut The Most Funding Lost The Most Jobs: Analysis

The equation hasn't changed since I wrote about a month ago.

Cutting Spending = Job Loss
Politics + Busines = Unemployment


Think Progres: States That Cut The Most Funding Lost The Most Jobs: Analysis

BIRTH CONTROL: IT'S JUST ONE OTHER THING THAT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS

Jezebel reports on the new guidelines handed down by the Obama administration concerning co-pays for birth control: There should be none. Which is good news, but of course extremist anti-choice people and groups do not want to do anything to enable women control over their own reproduction.

So let me just clarify a couple of things:

The fact of birth control. The use of birth control. Who pays for birth control. Where women get birth control. What women use it for, how much they use, when they use it, and where they  put it. All of it.

It's none of your business. It's not the insurance company's business, it's not the church's business, it's not random clergy's business, it's not someone's mother's business, or someone's boyfriend's business or anyone's bosses' business, or pharmacist's business. Or any other person's business.

It's none of your fucking business.

There should be NO exemption for any reason. Because birth control used by other peope is NOT YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS.

Link: Jezebel: The Next Birth Control Battle: Exemptions

I know that I'm supposed to be angry

but I'm not. One trillion over 10 years?  That's completely reasonable. No cuts until 2013? Just what President Obama wanted. SS and Medicare is not on the table. Although revenues did not make it to this agreement, it didn't make it because Reid forced Republicans to vote against it. And when the cuts come into play, they will come into play in 2013 at exactly the same time the Bush tax cuts expire, so once again either the Bush tax cuts expire, or Republicans go on record as believing that the wealthy should not pay their fair share under any circumstances, which is a terrible platform to run on.

I'm fine with this.