Tuesday, March 18

Robert Kaercher is the guest editor today. 

 

At Least 43 Killed in Karbala Attack

“The blast was the deadliest in a series of attacks that left at least 72 Iraqis dead, including six youths killed when mortar rounds slammed into a soccer field in eastern Baghdad.”

 

Phillip K. Dick, Meet George W. Bush

“Imagine, for a moment, that you live in a small town somewhere near the Southern California coast. You're going about your daily life, trying to scrape by in hard times, when the missile hits.”

 

Recession Began in December, Signposts Say

“Although the official word won't come for months, the economic data now available show that the recession probably began in December.” So much for our Fearless Leader’s economic analysis.

 

Poll: Three-Quarters of Americans Think US Is in Recession

“Nearly three-quarters of all Americans think the economy is in a recession, according to a national poll released Monday.” And they, after all, have the last word on the matter.

 

J.P. Morgan Chase to Buy Bear Stearns for $2 Per Share

“U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the Bush administration is ‘quite pleased’ with moves the Federal Reserve has made to bolster the financial system.” The ruling elite’s central bank lowers the discount rate, one of the most politically entrenched Wall Street firms buys up another for chump change…Yup, all the greedy little piggies are quite happy. You, however, are F*CKED. (Unless you’ve invested in some gold, that is.)

 

Memo to the Fed: Stop Those Rate Cuts

“The Fed needs to quit chasing declining GDP growth and instead focus on curbing inflation and anchoring inflation expectations. Recent allusions to the stagflation of the 1970s are appropriate. Gold has been hitting all-time nominal highs, and oil prices have shattered the inflation-adjusted record set in 1980 during the Iranian hostage crisis. The dollar, meanwhile, is trading at all-time lows against the euro.” Robert P. Murphy and Lee Hoskins offer advice that the central banksters will no doubt reject.

 

Hillary Clinton: ‘I Think the Whole Bible Is Real’

“Maybe all the religious nuts haven't dropped out after all.”

 

The Bland, Unthreatening Religion of the Ruling Class

“You might recall that the threat Jesus represented to the powerful elites of his time was so extreme that they killed him because of it. But in a pattern that is repeated over and over again throughout history, the ruling class found a very clever way to disembowel the threat Jesus represented, once they had disemboweled the individual in question. The ruling class appropriated the religion he had preached, purged it of each and every element that criticized them, and repackaged it as a bland, easily digestible pablum.” The latest from Arthur Silber.

 

Frugalista Philosophy

“The goal is to spend your time -- which is your life and, so, irreplaceable -- in a manner you value, a manner that contributes to your health. One of the most destructive assumptions of our culture is that people should act to maximize their profit, their self-interest and that profit is defined by money. I define profit as an increase in the quality of my life, which often means less money.”

 

Disintegration

“A recurring theme among anti-immigrant arguments seems to be that, ‘If they would just integrate themselves into our society, assimilate into the culture, and above all SPEAK ENGLISH! then I would be fine with them coming here’.”

 

Homeland Security…For Kids!

 

More Apathy, Please

 

Jen Patton Photography

A photo blog.