Monopolisto Man Commences

Monopolisto Man Commences | Monopololisto Man: "I started out losing. They say losing is best when you start. Worse later. Take it on the chin the first day out. Get toughened up. Get knocked down. Hard knocks heal. Tomorrow is another day.

Bullshit. That's why I left school. Too many goddamned cliches. That's why I moved here. "

Yes a new blog. I like certain games. Among them Monopoly. So why not share my notions on a little blog?

Global Online Privacy

Rachel talks differently on Lawrence than on her own showshow.

More measured less breathless, much better.

Global Online Privacy

The Wall of Shame in America Is GOP Senators in Lockstep

Yes the GOP would not even let first responders work

From an email

That's because every single Republican senator filibustered the bill -- meaning they wouldn't even let an up-or-down vote happen. Republicans have unilaterally decided not to allow even that simple majority vote on anything that might help the economy before the next election.

To be clear: This bill would have created jobs, and both parties have supported similar measures in the past.

But, sadly, some in the Congress do not feel any responsibility to act. As someone who has spent a lot of time working in and with the Senate, I can tell you that it's a particularly low moment for the legislative branch of our government.

Cap tip Jim M.

Please send this to every GOP Senator

Global Online Privacy

Big oil will run out this century

Big oil is a big spoiled child

Ravaging the planet

Leaving our poor world world defiled

We'd do well to ban it

Just the tip of the oil subsidy nightmare

Hidden Oil Subsidies: We Need to END Them : TreeHugger: "One of the many problems with subsidies is that they are almost impossible to repeal. That's because they usually give big benefits to a small group of people at a relatively small cost to a huge number of people. For example, corn-ethanol subsidies are going to be very hard to phase out because they might mean hundreds of thousands of dollars to farmers, while their cost is spread over the rest of the population and almost invisible. Farmers are a lot more motivated to lobby politicians than the average taxpayer, even if they only represent 1% of the population. The green impact of this is that corn-ethanol, a biofuel that would not necessarily be used much otherwise, is now made competitive with taxpayer dollars (and by putting tariffs on the greener Brazilian sugarcane ethanol), and that makes it harder for other alternative fuels to supersede it (and it also drive food prices up, something that affects most the poor)."

'via Blog this'


Global Online Privacy

Meanwhile in India

Business in India: Building India Inc | The Economist: "A weak state has given rise to a new kind of economy. Without reform, it will hit limits"

'via Blog this'

Bread for the hungry water for the thirsty

http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/audioPop.jsp?episodeId=21585&cmd=apop
Who is the one who saidWho is the one who saidAs you did it to the leastSo you did it to meWho is the one who said

The New Tao is universal in scope

The Tao shines bright within each life that lives | New Tao Posts: "The Tao shines bright within each life that lives"

All ways and religions are now transiting into the universal

The world cannot function any more as binaries

This is the century of shift and change

The walls come down the universal reigns

The Tao shines bright within each life that lives

The Tao shines bright within each life that lives

The Tao the power of life that lives in all

All who daily forgive the Tao forgives

All who daily walk with the Tao stand tall

Exposing the GOP's frail free ride lies

CHART OF THE DAY: The '47 Percent' Pay Their Fair Share | TPMDC: "Conservatives are continuing their counter-protest against the so-called "47 percent." Specifically, that's the share of recession-era households that pay no federal income taxes. Most of them pay payroll taxes and other federal taxes (not to mention state taxes), but Republicans have chosen to depict them as the free-riding half of the country."

'via Blog this'

Forgiveness as a political obligation of all (Podcast)

http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/audioPop.jsp?episodeId=24753&cmd=apop

Looking at recent years we can see that the resolution of conflict depends on forgiveness and that this requires a process of back and forth between past oppressors and victims. This is what Jesus most likely had in mind before Christianity was turned into an uther-worldly religion.
Global Online Privacy

Higher and lower learning (as it was)

The Theory of the Leisure Class: XIV: "Learning, then, set out by being in some sense a by-product of the priestly vicarious leisure class; and, at least until a recent date, the higher learning has since remained in some sense a by-product or by-occupation of the priestly classes. As the body of systematized knowledge increased, there presently arose a distinction, traceable very far back in the history of education, between esoteric and exoteric knowledge, the former -- so far as there is a substantial difference between the two -- comprising such knowledge as is primarily of no economic or industrial effect, and the latter comprising chiefly knowledge of industrial processes and of natural phenomena which were habitually turned to account for the material purposes of life. This line of demarcation has in time become, at least in popular apprehension, the normal line between the higher learning and the lower."

'via Blog this'

Global Online Privacy

John Watters was murdered by Tiger Ward

Markman: A Film About Jesus:

"MAYOR: (cont.) What can I do for you?

DAVID: I need your help.

MAYOR: Glad to. Any way I can.

DAVID: I need your help to a solve a murder.

MAYOR: A murder.

DAVID: John Watters was murdered by Tiger Ward.

Carolyn is shocked.

MAYOR: That was suicide.

Markman looks deliberately at Carolyn.

DAVID: It was murder."


Global Online Privacy

All governments are fragile these days

Gaddafi’s Death Starts a Perilous Race for Power in Libya - Global Spin - TIME.com: "The ignominious end of Col. Muammar Gaddafi may mark a milestone of liberation beyond the wildest dreams and prayers of his long-suffering people just a short year ago, but it also represents a huge headache for Libya's fragile transitional rulers"

That's sort of what happens when people realize that the governance lies on their shoulders.

Global Online Privacy

Teachers were the bullies back then

Manhattan Bully Wars (1947):

"Adam's head exploded. He felt the searing, crystalline pain of a vintage Maldbar tweak.

"Owwww!" he yelled.

"That'll teach you," Maldbar said.

The teacher had a firm grip on a substantial tuft of Adam’s longish hair. Maldbar did not let go. He yanked upward. Adam stood involuntarily. He said "Owwww" again. Someone chuckled. It was Slake the bully. Other chuckles ensued. Adam felt coals of fire being heaped upon his head."

'via Blog this'

Global Online Privacy

I knew someone would deign to criticize Keller

Robert Scheer: Let Them Eat Keller - Robert Scheer's Columns - Truthdig: "Funny, he doesn’t look like Marie Antoinette. But when former New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller asks his readers if they are “bored by the soggy sleep-ins and warmed-over anarchism of Occupy Wall Street,” it displays the arrogance of disoriented royal privilege. "

I did not think it was worthy of criticism.

The 2004 Obama-Bush Parallel is Nonexistent

Can Obama 2012 Replicate Bush 2004? - NYTimes.com: "Can Mr. Obama overcome the bad economy, and perhaps even turn it to his advantage in certain ways, in the same way President George W. Bush overcame and in a sense turned to his advantage the bloody, expensive and increasingly unpopular war in Iraq eight years ago?"

The NYT has it wrong. But then it had Iraq wrong too. George W. Bush did not have a righteous wind at his back. Obama does. George Bush won because the ghost of Lee Atwater ruled the GOP. The filthy politics of the GOP managed to besmirch everything and to ensure that evil would reign another four years. This time is different. This time a wiser Democratic party is starting (yesterday) to build the blocks of victory. A righteous victory. 2004 was smoke and mirrors and tacky hubris. 2012 will be removing the emperor's clothes. Activating the people. Crossing the t's. Dotting the i's Try again Caucus.

Global Online Privacy

War is hell now war was hell then

Herodotus meets Ellroy: "Both sides continue to test the waters. Battles are costly. Every time a blade does its appointed work, a sorry subject falls. Such sorry subjects pile up on both sides. Pteria is filled with nameless corpses, Cyrus and Croesus called it even and retired with boasts of victory. The dead were soon eaten. Their bones dried by the sun."

We are gradually learning to dislike it. This century we may simply abolish it.

Global Online Privacy

Ohio GOP Could Care Less About Vets

Anti-union law SB5 would cause Ohio veterans to lose out on benefits, protections | The Washington Independent: "While Ohio’s Senate Bill 5, legislation approved in March that curbs collective-bargaining rights for public employees, has been viewed largely as an attack on teachers, firefighters and police officers, the legislation could also have major implications for Ohio’s veteran community"

Not to mention the rest of us.

Global Online Privacy

Seeing some things for the first time

Come on. Life stages are meaningless.Here I am going on 76 and seeing for the first time.I have worn thick specs all my life.The other day my right eye received a new lensA cataract was removedIt took a half hourThat is about three times longer than normalI don't careI am seeing colors brighter than everIt's a gasNo more specsWhen the other eye is done I will have new eyes plural
Global Online Privacy

See what the GOP is denying the American People

American Jobs Act | The White House: "Cutting the payroll tax cut in half for 98 percent of businesses: The President’s plan will cut in half the taxes paid by businesses on their first $5 million in payroll, providing a tax but targeting the benefit to the 98 percent of firms that have payroll below this threshold."

Much more here. Tell your GOP reps to pass this bill.

Global Online Privacy

The imbalance between public and private is killing us (Video)

Beyond Pattern Language: "This is excellent background thinking for Occupy oriented individuals.Comunity (gemeinschaft) was the very heart of a sociology that recognized the deleterious effects of society (gesselschaft) when the balance between the two is skewed. "

'via Blog this'

Global Online Privacy

Gambling is cyclical

On the Call: Wynn Resorts CEO Steve Wynn - Yahoo! News: "Wynn, who said he "probably" has supported more Democrats than Republicans in the past but has been a vocal critic of President Barack Obama, said economic uncertainty is why he isn't planning to grow more in the United States."

We are learning that games are more fun if they do not involve the prospect of losing the farm. Maybe Macao will learn that next year.

Global Online Privacy

Suburban anxiety attack

Adam Panflick: The Boston Car Wars (1980s): "The east gate of the Auditorium T station was opened and Panflick could not resist running down a short flight of steps to see what was doing underground. He produced a crumpled dollar bill at the cashier's window and received one token and fifteen cents in change. A panhandler stood by. Adam held the nickel and dime up. "Want 'em?" There was no reply. Panflick pocketed the shiny coins with a shrug."

'via Blog this'

Global Online Privacy

Let's get the Obama critique straight

Qadhafi death blunts GOP's critique - Yahoo! News: "The death of Libyan strongman Muammar Qadhafi Thursday has sharpened the contrast between President Barack Obama’s recent successes on the foreign policy front and the scattershot criticism offered by his Republican challengers."

The recipe is this. One part racially based disdain reflecting McCain's pathetic change upon actually losing to this man. One part envy mingling with a primal sense that one might be seen as inferior. And one part habitual party rancor. The media avoids parts one and two.

Global Online Privacy

Occupy started with an email

How An Occupation Is Made: "It all started with an e-mail. On July 13 Adbusters magazine sent out a call to its 90,000-strong list proclaiming a Twitter hashtag (#OccupyWallStreet) and a date, September 17. It quickly spread among the mostly young, tech-savvy radical set, along with an especially alluring poster the magazine put together of a ballerina atop the Charging Bull statue, the financial district’s totem to testosterone."

'via Blog this'

Global Online Privacy

Some weary souls seek heaven with one leap

Abba's Way:

"Some weary souls seek heaven with one leap,
The ultimate in but a single bound.
That’s how religion’s gods all came to be,
Custodians of fictional beyonds."

'via Blog this'

Global Online Privacy

Roachlike Robot Versus Building Properly

Roachlike robot can find earthquake survivors (video) | ZDNet:

Video. A win win would be reducing potential victims. Via intelligent building and locating.

Global Online Privacy