A little bit me, a little bit you

Hey, hey, we're the Monkees....

So little to cover, so much time...oops, reverse that....

How bad is your budget plan when even the blue dog leaning Free Press (they of the Gov. Snyder is a bold leader, or we endorsed him so we're stuck with him, take your pick) questions its effectiveness, basically calling it a scheme for the rich to get richer at the expense of the rest of America.  Rep. Paul Ryan, your fifteen minutes of fame are just about over....

Susan Tompor tells us to watch out for goblins and ghouls--the S & P issued a negative outlook for the U. S. credit rating which could lead to an eventual downgrade, all because of that nasty little federal deficit.  And don't we need to take the "federal budget by the horns" and fix that nasty little problem?  Anybody remember how well financial analysts like Tompor predicted the economic crash of 2008?  This guy does--and it's why he's not buying the bullshit.  By the way, neither is Nobel Prize winner for Economics, Joseph Stiglitz--he suggests it may the worst move we can make, as evidenced by the the ill effects of austerity measures in Europe.  Remember, boys and girls, NEVER trust a financial analyst--they're just like those traveling medicine shows in the Old West selling their "elixirs."

Brian Dickerson wonders who'll play fair when everyone feels cheated--and I continue to wonder how Dickerson ever got into Princeton (or wish that I had applied).  Apparently social scientists who study dishonesty find a disproportionate amount of people who cheat feel they have been cheated themselves, and Dickerson is afraid that if we all feel cheated, no one will abide by the rules.  I think I can honestly say that a good portion of us feel fucked over by our employers, but we continue to try to do a good job--for simple reasons such as respect and concern for our co-workers, and perhaps that we don't want (or our children) to sink to the level of our tormentors.  It's called "class."  Stupid is as stupid does, I guess.

Rochelle Riley continues her quest to go from respected liberal voice on the Free Press to idiotic buffoon a la Mitch Albom with her column on the release of President Obama's birth certificate.  She claims it's Obama's fault...what the mother fucking fuck?  Afraid not, ma'am--it's your fault.  You and your traditional media colleagues who have spent the past two years giving voice to the birthers in the name of objectivity, instead of calling them the idiots they are in the name of truth and honor.  Obama's a long way from perfect for this Liberal, but I think he handled this exceptionally well--if the traditional media had taken his cue and ignored the dimwits, a lot of time and wasted news space could have been saved for the issues really affecting America.  Or even better, like these folks, have a little courage and call it what it is:  racism.

And finally, with leadership--and analysis--like this, is it any wonder that we're fucked?  It seems that Oakland County here in Michigan (my home county) is the silver lining for the state on the economic recovery and job creation front because our leaders "...have long been engaged in long-term fiscal planning, which helped them anticipate the downturn far earlier than most."  Hell, our County Executive, republican L. Brooks Patterson, had a smile on his face which he claimed came from the good news he had to present.  The good news?  Oakland County's unemployment rate will be at 9.8% by the end of the year, and by 2013 (a fucking year and three-quarters from now) it will be at 9.1% as projected by a couple of University of Michigan economists.  Holy Owl Shit, Batman--unemployment as low as 9%--that's some good fiscal planning there, yessiree.  Have we completely lost our collective fucking minds?  Since when is 9% unemployment a cause for rejoicing?  How much fucking worse could it have been without such adept fiscal planning--10%?  11%?  I mean, really--is this the republican plan for claiming success on job creation--letting us believe that somehow they've done good to keep it under 10%?  For Christ's sake, you could not make this shit up--republicans are tuned into some planet in this universe, but earth it ain't.

Peace,
emaycee