Boner may have been misunderestimating…like somebody mentioned today, looks like they’ve gotten this baby into the tub…Splish Splash!

Soon, we will see large groups of angry, unemployed workers–looking for Tea Partiers to thank.

The thing that amazes me is how half the country still approves of Obama. He has not lead in any capacity since he took office.

Did you see the movie Advance to the Rear? Obama has led, but not in the direction that was expected of him, given his campaign poses. I knew he wasn’t all that because there was plenty of background on the web with detailed accountings of his history, but I never imagined he’d be this bad. I figured status quo with a little decorative stitching around the edges. That was his style. People just can’t get past the cognitive dissonance: they hear the words, they really, really want to believe the guy means it. They don’t want to believe, it can’t be possible, that he’s grifting.

A few giggles in the morning never hurt anybody

Newt Gingrich has always been odd. Even if you share his politics –

And now, of course, he’s involved in the dweebiest of all scandals: lying about how popular he is on Twitter. Discussing his troubled presidential campaign, Gingrich scoffed at Michele Bachmann’s measly follower count of 59,000 (now 67,606): “I have six times as many Twitter followers as all the other candidates combined,”

Gingrich had paid firms to create fake Twitter followers; search company PeekYou analysed his follower list, and found that 92% of them were dummy accounts. Adding insult to injury, PeekYou added that Gingrich’s percentage of real followers was “the lowest we had ever seen”.

He is the Biggest Zero
Our Duke of Plaza-Toro

When that happens, it is not going to be a pretty site at all.
I still find it hard to believe that these tea partiers are not acting in their best interests if they are indeed middle class, many retired, dependent on SS and Medicare.

Good morning,

Stay away from the fan, as the stupid is going to get blown through it and mess up a lot of people on the other side.

How many did we pay our military to murder last night ?

Good morning, pups. It’s Prof. Krugman solo today. Roger Cohen and Bobo are off today, which is a good thing. Prof. Krugman says, yet again, that our gummint has been obsessing over “The Wrong Worries.” He says Washington has been obsessing over deficits and debt ceilings while the economy crumbles.

Here he is.

The coffee and tea are ready, the cold drinks are in the fridge, and I’ve got blueberry pancakes this morning. I’m feeling sort of numb, and most certainly don’t want to consider what my next statement from the broker will look like. Here’s a song for the market. Have a great day.

Marion,
Good luck with that statement.
Your breakfast sounds delicious this morning.

I guess it could be much worse. We could be on the receiving end of all those drones and precision air strikes we are inflicting around the world.

Thanks. That statement tells me whether I’ll ever be able to retire, or if my new retirement plan is “drop dead in the middle of a shift.” But I shouldn’t bitch — at least I’ve got a job.

next statement from the broker will look like.

As one who has resisted the temptation of playing in the rich man’s world I am always glad to see the stock market plummet knowing that there will be gnashing of teeth and silk suits jumping put of windows. I know that some “innocents” are hurt along the way but as my father used to say if you can’t afford to lose, don’t gamble.

Picking blueberries again today.

Hmph! Maybe the people that funded the teabeggers should have actually listened to them speak, rather than just writing checks as a “fuck you” to Obama and the Democrats. The 2010 ‘bagger candidates never hid the fact that they had no clue how economies work or how they were willing to blow up everything to bring the man down. Or maybe they thought they could control them once they were in office. Here’s a news flash: Gratitude is another concept that sociopaths don’t understand. If it weren’t for retirees being so hurt by this market, I’d be enjoying watching it free fall. The Wall Street Tycoons need to share some sacrifice after all.

Of course the real Dems are saying that this was actually a win for the Democrats because SS, Medicare & Medicaid are protected while on the same day Pelosi said all “entitlements” will be on the table in the Super Duper Congress.

Morning, Margaret. I don’t understand why Wall Street allowed this debt deal to go through. They had to have known it would be a catastrophe for us and them.

Share the sacrifice or be sacrificed.

He’s articulate and a smooth talker and Americans have always had a fondness for flim flam men and hucksters until they realize they’ve been had but by then it’s too late and the snake oil salesman has fled town.

Marion,
Retirement is not all it is cracked up to be just more time and less money.
I am still working as a substitute teacher to help with my wife’s meds which are out of sight thanks to the “donut hole” but I am not complaining because she survived a stroke and is still alive with little side effects. The meds are the real bummer for her.

Wishing her a complete recovery and for your sake and that of millions of others the “donut hole” is finally closed.

Thank you.

Morning, Margaret. I don’t understand why Wall Street allowed this debt deal to go through.

Ideologues don’t think, they just act according to their dogma. There are great examples of it over at Daily Kos where some of that community is incensed that anybody would have the temerity to criticize Obama over what is clearly a disastrous “debt deal™”.

the Nation makes the point that ending the brinksmanship violated the principles of democratic gov’t; ‘For months, poll after poll has showed that rank-and-file Americans of all political persuasions believe that revenues (the nice way to say taxes) should be a part of any deal to resolve our debt crisis. Seventy-two percent of Americans polled between July 14 and July 17 said taxes should be raised on those making more than $250,000 per year, including 73 percent of independents and a stunning 54 percent of Republicans. Fifty-nine percent wanted taxes raised on oil and gas companies, including 60 percent of independents and 55 percent of Republicans. Yet Republicans refused to vote for a deal that included any revenues at all, and the Democratic leadership capitulated despite the fact that the position was exactly the opposite of what large majorities wanted.’
http://www.thenation.com/article/162552/hidden-casualty-debt-deal

sorry, good morning, still breaking records here.

So glad she got through that, and yes, the meds are a nuisance, but not as bad as could be.

Not at all. Wall St can make money regardless of which direction the market is moving, as long an they know which direction it’s going to go. Think it’s going down? You can sign an agreement called a put which basically says you agree to sell Joe x shares at y dollars per share at some time in the future. You don’t own the stock at the time of the agreement. When the contract date comes due, you buy the shares at the current price and sell ‘em to Joe at the agreed price. if the market has gone down, you make money.

There are more complicated ways to bet against the market as well. Or you can move your money to gold.

Boxturtle (And Wall St. would rather take a chance on losing money than the guarentee of taxes)

It should also be pointed out that the same polling showed a vast majority of Americans of all persuasion thought that job creation was much more important than the deficit but what Obama and the Vichycrats agreed to will actually stifle and reverse job growth.

Ruth,
For any stroke victim as I am sure everyone here knows, time lost is brain lost.
We were able to get her to the hospital within the 3 hr. window so they could administer a drug called TPA and it really cut down on amount of disability she experiences. When I remind her to use her left hand more, she does by giving me the finger.

Job growth depends on financing public works, and how to get the right to let us do that has been infuriatingly hard to work out, but I do give credit to our left for trying to get it working.

Oh, I like that. Could be a left hook, you know.

I never thought of that Ruth, thanks for the warning.

It looks like the jobs numbers later today may amount to perhaps a third of what’s needed just to keep up with population growth. So, it amounts to a net decline when the whole picture is considered.

I wonder if that, plus the markets in turmoil, might perversely position Obama in a more favorable position to pull an FDR as Krugman wants. The public might quit snoozing.

There is also the dire problem in Europe, which is burning down. So we are in a global economy nowadays and everything is connected. But there must be some residual distinctions between our currencies and how badly the Eurozone has been managed for a decade. They made a bad mistake with the Euro, predators made money, and now the zone seems unable to dig itself out. The voters there could ultimately cause a crackup, no? Brussels seems to think so.

It’s hard to imagine investors wouldn’t untimately consider the US at least marginally safer.

might perversely position Obama in a more favorable position to pull an FDR as Krugman wants.

My bet: He’ll say either that things would have been much worse without the package and it shows the need for Catfood II to succeed or he’ll say something about giving it time to work.

Boxturtle (I dunno how he manages to get anywhere in his Limo, he can’t stand left turns)

Oops, the confidence fairy died. Guess they didn’t clap loud enough.

If that were to happen and hope does spring eternal Obama would have to get rid of his current economic team.

Sadly, that sounds about right.

The little bitty wings wouldn’t keep the fat cats afloat.

Good to hear Matthews talking shit about the great corporate conscience, which despite Obama’s bright, shining, gullibilitiy-slash-corruption, is non-existent.

And there’s “Rabbit” from one of John Updike’s novels:

“Gold loves bad news.”

Plenty of bad news to be mined, these days. Nearly all of it the result of Barack Obama’s hoarding of the mountain of political clout that american voters gave him in 2008…practically all of which has been pissed down the bi-partisan urinal.

Hmmm. . . The 117,000 just announced.

So it’s two thirds of what’s needed to stay stuck in the mud, instead of just one third I had guessed earlier today.

Hooray!

Apparently it’s not murder if they are brown skinned Arabs, Persians, Pakistanis, or Afghanis. It’s patriotism.

What great entertainment this will be! I’ll give the play-by-play and keep score!

Colbert had a great line, saying that the debt-ceiling deal averted a national catastrophe: giving the Democrats anything they wanted. He further stated that the only way the deal was two-sided is that the Democrats took it up both ends. Amen.

We need to target the one thing repubs love-war. How about an anti-war movement like the 60′s and early 70′s ? Or is this just the old hippie in me wanting one more shot at the establishment? American Spring 2012

I’ve had enough of the damned 2% solutions, the top 2% solutions. We now need a solution for the bottom 80% of Americans who’re sucking wind right now.