O’REILLY: All right, so you are agreeing with me then that there is a conscious effort on the part of The New York Times and other liberal media to basically paint as drastic a picture as possible, so that when Barack Obama takes office that anything is better than what we have now?
ROVE: Yes.
But three? Three’s a wurlitzer. And a big, fat tell on wheels:
Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell…is drawing a clear line in the sand….But the GOP has got to do more. It must start talking about tax cuts to grow the economy. And it must get back to the supply-side by talking about lower marginal tax rates on individuals, businesses, and investors….
Social historian and early supply-side activist Irving Kristol taught us three decades ago that the top earners are the economic activists. They’re the ones with the highest propensity to consume and invest. They’re the ones who buy the yachts, which are built by blue-collar workers. And they’re the ones who run the small businesses and provide the capital for the new entrepreneurial start-ups that are the lifeblood of the economy. It is they who energize free-market capitalism.
If we had an economy without rich people we wouldn’t have much of an economy. That’s why lower tax rates to reward the economic activists — the most prominent capitalists — are so essential.
Um…yeah…roger that, Larry. "Economic activists?" With a heavy coat of Lunztian whitewash. Because, obviously, supply side economics has worked out swimmingly for the rest of us. The demand side is missing entirely…literally.
Nothing says fabu strategery like pimping greed and misinformation to the masses in the midst of a craptastic recession caused by the very policies being cheerleaded.
Brace yourselves, kids. We’re headed into misdirection season at the Yacht Club Corral. Good faith, bi-partisan negotiations, my ass.
(YouTube — Super secret Limbaugh, Rove, O’Reilly and Kudlow’s GOP Miss Direction Phil "Mental Recession" Gramm Memorial Cheerleader competition video. And a word of wisdom: don’t pay the mutually reinforcing ass-slappery any mind — keep your eye on the ball.)
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(((Christy!))) G’morning.
Oh, thank the good Lord, you’re here.
And, I agree with the eye on the ball suggestion, as long as it’s the prize or we’re playing football. In a magic act though, keeping our eye on the ball means we are missing the slight of hand that happening elsewhere.
Otherwise, Good Morning CHS.
“If we had an economy without rich people we wouldn’t have much of an economy. That’s why lower tax rates to reward the economic activists — the most prominent capitalists — are so essential.”
If we had an economy without rich people, who would steal our pensions, close our factories and send our jobs to the other side of the earth?
If we had an economy without rich people, who would be soaking up all our tax dollars and our futures in the
big going out of business free-for-alleconomic bail-out?Morning all. I couldn’t help myself with the video. After reading the Kudlow battle cry for more yacht buying to save the economy, I had to mock…
Maybe they were all still drunk from New Years…first Schieffer gets very nostalgic about his long relationship with Cheney (come to find out a very warm one with this murderer, liar, outer of the CIA, etc etc, not to mention Shooter) only to be reinforced by affable Harry Smith praising the interview. Sigh…what is left to watch on the TV. Gibson never had it, Smith losing it. No good news here.
The invisible hand!
And now, more coffee…
Speaking of keeping your eye on the ball…
So is Zombie Greenspan nowhere to be found?
Uh. Mah. Gawd. That is fricking amazing stuff. I’m going to have to use that one of these days — just…wow.
Now when you say you’re going to have to use that, do you mean…??? *g*
Round 4,572 in the Class War..
People are worried about having a job and feeding their families and clueless twits like these guys are worried about yacht sales and (GASP!) cutting MORE taxes for their rich buddies.
My question is, is anybody actually listening to these pigs?
I don’t.
Somewhat OT – do you wonder what’s been happening in Greece? Part of the problem is corruption in government with none of the government officials being punished for it. Riots are now involving trade unions. If the similar problems we have are not addressed soon, this could be us:
http://therealnews.com/t/index…..mival=3048
I don’t watch much tv. A few movies, here and there, Bill Moyer and some history channel stuff. There are so many other things to do. Throw down the channel changer. :)
In a post, dearie. Lord knows my flexibility isn’t nearly that good. *G*
Need to substitute the word greedy people for rich people. Lets control the debate. Aside from that how many ways can the rethugs say trickle down.
We have had trickle down shit since Raygun and the only thing that has trickled down is a major fucking.
361 hrs & 39 min
Was it Bullwinkle who said Wanna see me pull a rabbit outta my hat?
Im getting there. Almost never miss Moyers. But have usually enjoyed the morning/am early programs. Esp disappointed in Harry Smith; somehow I had thought better. Thanks
Presto!
So who is in charge of the Wurlitzer nowadays?
OT – Did anyone watch ‘Morning Joe’ this morning? The segment where Joe confronted Mika over Zbig’s ’shallow’ remark was like watching someone scrape their front teeth on a blackboard.
I prefer the phrase “trickle on,” which I think is a LOT more accurate.
Ok, so Supply-Side doesn’t work in your mind. What is the alternative? There are some Socialist/Communist models, but the dirty little secret with that is there are still rich people, with a lot more poor people, and a government telling the poor people what to do/how to live.
Rich people are the one’s who have the money, its that simple. You can always count on them being greedy and wanting more money. The only way to do that is opening other businesses to build things/provide services (legally anyway, or become a politician). Unfortunately for a few of ‘these’ rich people, ethics has gone out the door, kinda like here: http://www.iht.com/articles/20…..linton.php .
Then again, greed is one of the seven deadly sins. Maybe we are screwed no matter which way we go.
There are funny things in the 10 ten list of articles by The Onion in this article by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship:
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/010209a.html
You know, I’m not certain. I think Grover Norquist still has his weekly meetings, but I have no idea whether his influence is the same or on the wane because there is so much disarray on the margins at the moment in usual wurlitzer circles due to anxiety and reprisal season.
Anyone have any theories on whose hand is on the wurlitzer keys most strongly?
Ooooooh — missed it. Do tell!
“That trick never works.”
Good with me
361 hrs & 33 min
Sounds like he is back doing cocaine again. Let the Big 3 go but invest in yacht builders? Could CNBC make itself even more ridiculous?
Uhm……interesting video !
Hoenstly, it cries out for mockery, doesn’t it? How could I not oblige? *g*
Evidently a full court press is in play on this locally as well as nationally. A Fargo business owner opined at length in the Forum Saturday about how really swell things are and there’s plenty of jobs for those who want to work and it’s only that the media are playing booga-booga….
Of course this morning, the lead front page story is about layoffs of 20% of the workers at a wind power manufacturer here in ND. But then they’re hiring in other states, so it does beg the question, just how many tax breaks did they suck up before they started to bail on us?
I’m surprised we haven’t heard from the Usual Suspects–Dobbs, Limbaugh, Hannity–yet.
It might be nice if there were some Presto Fixes, but, then, would we learn anything? *g*
Try reading Krugman’s latest book — where he talks about balancing supply side with demand side, and the need for oversight to balance unfettered greed which leads to excesses and imbalance in the market. I’m not talking about socialism, I’m talking about recognizing that human beings are flawed and that an unfettered market is not the answer to everything. No matter how much Kudlow and his greedy buddies might like us to think otherwise.
All Friedman and no Keynes gets wealth concentration and then economic ruin. But it does sell a lot of yachts for a little while, so it’s all good, right?
Imus is back from vacation. ’nuff said.
I knew someone would get around to watching it eventually. *g*
I did not see any of it,,,,but sounds like he was afraid to take on the good Dr/Prof. face to face. Hysterical.
Ha. You have a mind like a steel trap. I forgot that part. I think we’ve found yet another allegory…
The WSJ and IVB have been preaching this nonstop for months…until the numbers got so bad that the WSJ could no longer sustain all sunshine alla time.
Ah, bathtub-ginning-up the Goopers.
Hey Americans have not been doing their patriotic duty of using as much gas Those yachts use it big time. What a plan!
361 hrs & 25 min
Ahhh, Barbara, looks like you may get a new Senator today. Good luck
Clearly, Dick Cheney and George Bush need more retirement capital from those oil stocks. Now get out there and drive and shop!
Ever hopeful. EPU’d from below, but there is a seven-day waiting period before the certification sticks, during which time court actions can take place. Someone needs to tell Normie to sit down and shut up. Oh. I’m someone. “Normie, stifle yourself!!”
Okay, not to derail CHS’ thread, but really, save the Onion link above to read later. We’re rolling on the floor here this morning, and I almost Never lol. Example:
Typo in Prop 8 defines marriage as between ‘one man and one wolfman’. And, that’s not the funniest by far, but I don’t want to get into trouble here.
Somthing I read said that Reid has too..reminding him of his own call to Franken “to accept” the results. Yep, I know…the same rules never apply. But, here’s thinking it will all come together.
Cool!!
She must have a rubber skeleton!
Anyone get the feeling that Kudlow invested big time in yacht companies?
just going with what looks like common sense to me here…..
first, we’ve really don’t ourselves a disservice by insisting that the rest of the world follow economic models acceptable to our elite. if there lots of different models had been tried we’d be in a better position to judge what works in different situations.
second, part of what i see our problem is wrt to the widening gap between the very wealthy and everyone else is that we seem to have diverging interests and when one group has far more power than the other then that group’s interests are pursued, even at the expense of everyone else’s (including future generations). i’d like to see policies that would help us get out interests aligned.
If those two are getting rich from me driving my truck,maybe I should get a horse and buggy!!
Screw them!!
Dammit, I’ve got “If I only had a yacht!” stuck in my head to the Wizard of Oz tune. Damn you, Larry Kudlow!!!
really
don’tdone ourselves… there’s probably more typos. sorry, i’m listening to democracy now!’s report on the situation in the gaza and not multitasking too well.
see, e.g., what had to be done during the last Gilded Age to right things during the Great Depression. Just as one example of excess being reined in by re-regulation and adjustments to the economic marketplace for long-term stability.
Ooops — that should have been after the last Gilded Age, not during. Not multi-tasking well here either, I’m afraid.
One of the responses to the Gilded Age was Teddy Roosevelt’s Trustbusting. As concentration continues in the financial industry with the creation of more and more companies which are too big to fail, the current Gilded Age will need its own trustbuster.
That comment worked. You got me.
“Is lap dancing a style?”
But, that’s a post of a different color. Ha.
Gotta go!
Have a good day !
And keep up the snark!!!
It just seemed like a perfectly illustrative scene for the aforementioned wurlitzer ass-slappery. I couldn’t help myself. *G*
Poppy Bush apparently cannot open his mouth w/o whining about the unfair treatment of junior by the press (…and trying to keep Jebbie as a viable national candidate.) Maybe Kudlow is just the messenger for Poppy’s other important concerns.
That said, my guess is Larry is shilling the yacht bidness partially on behalf of Poppy. The manufacturer of his beloved boat (Fountain Powerboats, located here) he keeps in ME is in serious trouble — maybe about to be delisted. Not certain how viable their business actually is. They even had to buy Bahia Boats recently gasp! in an effort to appeal to the less wealthy.
Pop and Bar have flown in a few times when his various purchases were being customized. She is not a favorite among the local shopkeepers.
“you have such a stunningly superficial knowledge of what went on that it is almost embarrassing to listen to you”
dr. brzez to joe at 6:48, but listen to the whole thing to see what drove him there. couldn’t find the mika follow-up yet.
Zbigniew Brzezinski on Gaza conflict
Dec. 30: ‘Morning Joe’ host Joe Scarborough discusses the escalating conflict in the Mideast with former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30…..3#28433263
Hmmm…that takes me back to my temp and retail days in college and the “serve me” set who want instantaneous needs service or else. Ugh.
That wonderful boat Poppy loves so much was given to him by the owner of the company who a few short years later was arrested on drug smuggling charges. Drugs are never far from a Bush family endeavor.
Speaking of Kudlow, he was a financial advisor with Bear, Stearns before it tanked. Why he still has any credibility is beyond me. Listening to the financial channels (mostly CNBC) you get the feeling that they’re all talking to each other with some concern about how this sinking ship is gonna be saved until you get to the lunatic Kudlow and the ever more frantic Maria Bartiromo. Every time Bartiromo talks about Obama and what he’s likely to do with taxes her head starts to inflate and her greedy little Money Honey eyes start to bulge like her head is about to explode because she and her billionaire husband stand to pay more taxes.What a shame!! A couple from among the millions of people in finance who produce not a fucking thing except numbers on one side of a ledger or the other. Not a widget made between them and no shame about using our airwaves to cry about how poorly they’re being treated.
Try explaining to your kids why they have to change schools or why mommy and daddy stay at the table and look so worried all the time. Why daddy’s out working somewhere on the weekends and mommy’s at Wal-Mart early in the morning stocking the greeting cards section or why there are all those envelopes around the house that we’re constan tly stuffing things into and sealing. All things that people I know are doing more and more of while living and enjoying the American Dream less and less.
Poppy is on his third boat of that ilk. Have always thought it a bit nauseating that each one has been named “Fidelity”.
Until the culprits that gave those bad loans are prosecuted the rovies of the world will blame it on the Dems.
http://www.portfolio.com/news-…..Boom#page1
Add the execrable Mitch McConnell. His annoying perpetual “pres. Obama” gaff is an unsubtle attempt to tie the depression to Barack. I don’t think this lie can be repeated enough to gain traction Mitch.
The people responsible for the financial crisis must be prosecuted.
http://www.portfolio.com/news-…..Boom#page1
http://www.portfolio.com/news-…..Boom#page4
Watch this video. It good for a laugh.
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=…..#038;gl=us
Kurt @ 23 — whoa there, dude? You’ve been watching too much mainstream media.
I am the guy who has been an independent economic thinker & skeptic since I was a bratty little 4th grade know-it-all several decades ago, I got an honors degree with a sub-specialty in economic history from a reasonably good school, and I’ve been an independent entrepreneur for like 31 out of 37 years of my subsequent business career(s).
Yes, under capitalist and many socialist systems we will always have rich people. The greed seems to be well distributed among both the haves and the have-nots, though of course the haves get more opportunities to express that greed in socially approved ways.
Yet it is a fundamental mistake to think that the rich are “driving” or “pushing” the economy as a whole. An even more fundamental myth is that there is any “basic cause” or “prime mover” in the economy — other than the human appetites for food, clothing, shelter, meaning, prestige, bling and so on that we can already see — or that the economy “needs” to have a fundamental causation or prime mover in order to prosper.
Our appetites are sufficient cause. The economy IS built on taking in each other’s laundry.
Prosperity and progress ARE and CAN BE built solely on taking in each other’s laundry, based on what we already know about our human appetites for physical and mental satisfaction.
There is no deeper fundamental cause, there is no prime mover or necessary ingredient for economic progress (except perhaps the peace and social stability that allows several generations to live in peace under a non-oppressive to the majority, socially legitimate government).
Taking in each other’s laundry, feeding each other’s appetitites, that’s all it is.
I self-published a version of my overall social science meta-theory in 1980 and sold over a 1000 copies, I have been refining it ever since and pretty soon will have it down to a few hundred simple words, as today’s market demands. A little preview for you all: no human thought or action “has to be” anything. No abstract theory or conception of “should be’s” will ever compare to vast width and breadth of actual human thought and action. Human reality is plastic, malleable, it is continually re-constructed daily and hourly by the actual thoughts and actions of human beings.
We do create and re-create our religious/scientific/philosophical reality, our reality of our own psychological structures, our reality of creating systems of rank, status and honor (which evolve into political theories and political systems), and our reality of our relationships to material goods and systems of value (which evolve in economic theories and economic systems), we re-create all these aspects of our realities simultaneously and continuously.
That’s the secret prime mover of it all.