the GOP has got their groove back, and it’s groovier than ever. They’re offering the same policies and direction only worse for the economy, the climate and the country. They’re heading the for same ditch, only deeper. They offer the same leaders, only they’re even more irresponsible and making even more insane statements.

Dr. Wolff is a prominent Marxist economist who teaches at U. Mass and The New School. The book is composed of scores of short essays he did for Monthly Review beginning in 2005. The publicity blurb sent to potential reviewers states that Dr. Wolff “predicted the economic meltdown years ago.” The book does not contain specific predictions of the meltdown beyond the omnipresent Marxist prediction that capitalism is inherently unstable. Dr. Wolff’s articles take note of the bubble and nonprime assets in the articles in the book after the collapse of the bubble and after the crisis in nonprime assets were obvious. Readers interested in the scholars that predicted the specific crisis should consult Jamie Galbraith’s article.

Dr. Wolff’s emphasis is explaining his overall Marxist critique of capitalism’s defects. The articles can be read easily by the general reader. No economic expertise is required and Dr. Wolff writes in English without the Marxist jargon that non-specialists find confusing.

Our country and its legislators have been considering cutting the food allowance to those suffering most in this recession in order to keep some teachers on the job, all while we appropriate $33 billion to fight around 350 al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The American Small Business League (ASBL) has released the first analysis of the government’s fiscal year (FY) 2009 small business contracting data, and found 61 percent actually going to corporate giants.

Rule of law means that people responsible for crimes lose their liberty. That’s what it means for most people, anyway. Not so on Wall Street. Sen. Ted Kaufman name-checks Jamie Galbraith, but Galbraith would like to see people who break the law go to prison. That would be an effective deterrent, not a slap on the wrist.

We are beginning to see signs of severe PTSD and incidents of suicide among soldiers tasked with torturing and abusing prisoners in the Iraq war. The guilt some of them have experienced has altered their personalities and caused them to suffer psychological distress.

The disconnect between the Masters of the Universe, whether on Wall Street or at the Fed, could not have been clearer in this last week. When you compare the mindset of Wall Street and the Fed with the economic conditions that local city managers are seeing, people notice that city services are being squeezed and jobs are being lost. In places like Topeka, the city budget for next year envisions lower revenue, which is hardly a sign of economic recovery. When the monthly consumer sentiment survey showed people are losing confidence in the economy, Wall Street was shocked. Maybe they ought to get out a little more, and talk to some city managers.

Timothy Geithner doesn’t like Elizabeth Warren, she is mean to him. Who, then, can we get to head up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau?

If any of the Democrats in the race — Margaret Kelliher, Mark Dayton, or Matt Entenza — said something as blatantly wrong (not to mention nutty) as what Emmer’s been uttering, it would be described as such on the front page of both local papers and be a big story in local newscasts for weeks, and none of the Dems would have dared repeat it, even in front of a friendly group.

When and/or where did you get your first home — and what would you have done differently if you had the chance?