Pollster.com

Lincoln's Grave Warning Realized

...a letter from President Abraham Lincoln to William F Elkins on 21 November 1864:

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country...corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."

Eight Principles of Uncivilization

by Paul Kingsnorth and Dougald Hine


‘We must unhumanise our views a little, and become confident
As the rock and ocean that we were made from.’


  1. We live in a time of social, economic and ecological unravelling. All around us are signs that our whole way of living is already passing into history. We will face this reality honestly and learn how to live with it.

  2. We reject the faith which holds that the converging crises of our times can be reduced to a set of‘problems’ in need of technological or political ‘solutions’.

  3. We believe that the roots of these crises lie in the stories we have been telling ourselves. We intend to challenge the stories which underpin our civilisation: the myth of progress, the myth of human centrality, and the myth of our separation from ‘nature’. These myths are more dangerous for the fact that we have forgotten they are myths.

  4. We will reassert the role of story-telling as more than mere entertainment. It is through stories that we weave reality.

  5. Humans are not the point and purpose of the planet. Our art will begin with the attempt to step outside the human bubble. By careful attention, we will reengage with the non-human world.

  6. We will celebrate writing and art which is grounded in a sense of place and of time. Our literature has been dominated for too long by those who inhabit the cosmopolitan citadels.

  7. We will not lose ourselves in the elaboration of theories or ideologies. Our words will be elemental. We write with dirt under our fingernails.

  8. The end of the world as we know it is not the end of the world full stop. Together, we will find the hope beyond hope, the paths which lead to the unknown world ahead of us.



The Dark Mountain Manifesto

(excerpt)
Walking on lava

The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilisation
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Those who witness extreme social collapse at first hand seldom describe any deep revelation about the truths of human existence. What they do mention, if asked, is their surprise at how easy it is to die.

The pattern of ordinary life, in which so much stays the same from one day to the next, disguises the fragility of its fabric. How many of our activities are made possible by the impression of stability that pattern gives? So long as it repeats, or varies steadily enough, we are able to plan for tomorrow as if all the things we rely on and don’t think about too carefully will still be there. When the pattern is broken, by civil war or natural disaster or the smaller-scale tragedies that tear at its fabric, many of those activities become impossible or meaningless, while simply meeting needs we once took for granted may occupy much of our lives.

What war correspondents and relief workers report is not only the fragility of the fabric, but the speed with which it can unravel. As we write this, no one can say with certainty where the unravelling of the financial and commercial fabric of our economies will end. Meanwhile, beyond the cities, unchecked industrial exploitation frays the material basis of life in many parts of the world, and pulls at the ecological systems which sustain it.

Precarious as this moment may be, however, an awareness of the fragility of what we call civilisation is nothing new.

‘Few men realise,’ wrote Joseph Conrad in 1896, ‘that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief in the safety of their surroundings.’ Conrad’s writings exposed the civilisation exported by European imperialists to be little more than a comforting illusion, not only in the dark, unconquerable heart of Africa, but in the whited sepulchres of their capital cities. The inhabitants of that civilisation believed ‘blindly in the irresistible force of its institutions and its morals, in the power of its police and of its opinion,’ but their confidence could be maintained only by the seeming solidity of the crowd of like-minded believers surrounding them. Outside the walls, the wild remained as close to the surface as blood under skin, but the city-dweller was no longer equipped to face it directly.

The remainder of the essay can be read online: Dark Mountain manifesto.


Paul is the author of One No, Many Yeses and Real England. He was deputy editor of The Ecologist between 1999 and 2001. His first poetry collection, Kidland, is forthcoming from Salmon Poetry. His website is www.paulkingsnorth.net

Dougald writes the blog Changing the World (and other excuses for not getting a proper job). He is a former BBC journalist and has written for and edited various online and offline magazines. His website is www.dougald.co.uk

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Editorial Notes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The "Eight principles of uncivilisation" are expanded in the Dark Mountain manifesto (also available as PDF or purchased as a limited-edition, hand-stitched pamphlet.

See the site for the blog and information about their upcoming festival May 28-30.

Several Energy Bulletin contributors are on their Blogroll, including John Michael Greer, Sharon Astyk, Rob Hopkins and Dmitry Orlov. Also mentioned are Wendell Berry and Ivan Illich.

George Monbiot recently wrote a column in the Guardian about Dark Mountain Project: I share their despair, but I'm not quite ready to climb the Dark Mountain.

On Common Dreams, Robert C. Koehler wrote a related piece: Dark Green.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original article available here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our American Objectives

"Our national goals must be to rejuvenate the domestic economy; transfer the economic basis of our nation from consumptive to productive; recapitalize education and the technologies industries; achieve complete energy independence; move towards renewable energy sources;
restore public confidence in the government's ability to undertake large national infrastructure projects, and re-assert its right to set goals and policies to ensure those projects proceed smoothly; define the overarching standards for a reconstructed America including a federal review of the building and planning codes now in use, and probably the writing of new mandates that set out 21st-century standards and priorities for energy use, urban and transportation planning, and environmental design, which once put into law and accepted into general use, will be very difficult to change; commit funding for a massive 10- or 20-year program that will upgrade or replace failing components of America's infrastructure as the nation is broke (as it was in FDR's day) and this kind of spending needs to be seen as the long-term investment in our economic future that it is; restore a fair, honest, broad-based system of public contracting that will put large numbers of Americans to work on these new projects (and write the new rules in a way that ensures that the firms doing the most innovative work don't have to compete with unfair behemoth corporations like Halliburton and Lockheed for the lion's share of the funding) so that once there is a healthy, competitive construction industry that knows how to build sustainable projects—and is relying on the government to keep it in business—we will get a political constituency that will fight to ensure that the rebuilding will continue for the next several decades, regardless of what political party is in power; use the forces of globalization and information to strengthen and expand existing democratic alliances and created new ones; employ these alliances to destroy terrorist networks and establish new international security structures; lead, through our historic principles, on international cooperative efforts in spreading economic opportunity and democratic liberties, nation building, counter-prolification, and optimum environmental protection and safeguards; and cherish, honor, and protect our history and traditions of liberty and freedoms domestically particularly with respect to the Bill of Rights."

"The renewed social contract for America with its middle class and poor must:
  • Raise the minimum wage still higher and on a regular basis. It has fallen far behind increases in inflation since the 1970s, and that affects higher level wages as well.
  • Encourage living-wage programs by local governments. Governments can demand that their contractors and suppliers pay well above the minimum wage. There is substantial evidence that this does not result in an undue loss of jobs.
  • Enforce the labor laws vigilantly. Minimum-wage and maximum-hour laws are violated to a stunning degree. American workers shouldn't be forced by their employers to understate the number of hours worked or be locked in the warehouse so they can't leave on time. Workers often make only $2 and $3 an hour.
  • Unions are not seeking a free pass to organize secretly when they advocate for open check-offs on cards to approve of a union vote. They are seeking to organize without persistent and often illegal management interference. Penalties for illegally deterring such organizing are so light, it makes little sense for management not to pursue strategies to stop organizing even at the cost of prosecution.
  • Request that trading partners develop serious environmental standards and worker-protection laws. This is good for them, bringing a progressive revolution and a robust domestic market to their countries. It is good for America, which will be able to compete on a more level playing field.
  • Demand that the president, governors and mayors speak up about unconscionable executive salaries and low wages. The influence from the top cannot be underestimated. A president who looks the other way sends a strong signal to business. A president who demands responsible treatment of workers will get a response. Business does not like such attention.
  • These measures should be accompanied by serious investment in modernized infrastructure and energy alternatives, which can create millions of domestic jobs that pay good salaries. It should also be accompanied by a policy that supports a lower dollar -- contrary to Rubinomics -- in order to stimulate manufacturing exports again. Accomplishing this may require a new system of semi-fixed currencies across the globe. The unabashed high-dollar policy of the past twenty years has led to imbalances around the world that have contributed fundamentally to US overindebtedness.
  • And finally, the nation needs more balance on the part of the Federal Reserve between subduing inflation and creating jobs. Americans can live with inflation above 2 percent a year. There is no academic evidence to support a 2 percent annual target, although the Fed has made this its informal target."

The Continuing Case for The Second Bill of Rights for All American Citzens

...from Michael Lind on Salon.com on 11 January 2010 ....

The Case for Economic Rights

FDR said it and it holds 66 years later: There are benefits and opportunities every American should expect to enjoy

Three score and six years ago, the greatest president of the 20th century gave one of his greatest speeches. On Jan. 11, 1944, in a State of the Union address that deserves to be ranked with Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" and King's "I Have a Dream" speech, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for recognition of a "Second Bill of Rights." According to FDR:

"This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights -- among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty. As our nation has grown in size and stature, however -- as our industrial economy expanded -- these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness."

Roosevelt did not argue that economic rights had superseded basic, old-fashioned political and civil rights. The argument of authoritarians and totalitarians that economic rights are more important than non-economic liberty was abhorrent to him. Instead, with the examples of the fascist and communist regimes of his time in mind, he argued that the purpose of economic rights was to support and reinforce, not replace, civil and political liberties:

"We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. 'Necessitous men are not free men.' People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all -- regardless of station, race, or creed."

President Roosevelt was not promoting economic rights that were necessarily enforceable in court, but rather economic benefits and opportunities that every American should expect to enjoy by virtue of citizenship in our democratic republic. Many of the rights he identified have been secured by programs with bipartisan support. These include:

"the right to a good education" (the G.I. Bill, student loans, Pell Grants, Head Start, federal aid to K-12 schools) and

"the right of every family to a decent home" (federally subsidized home loans and tax breaks for home ownership). But even before the global economic crisis, the U.S. fell short when it came to full employment --

"the right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation"

-- and a living wage --

"the right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation."

Roosevelt's vision was controversial at the time and is contested today. When it comes to providing a safety net for Americans, there are three distinct paradigms, which I would describe as economic citizenship, welfare corporatism and faith-based charity.

Supporters of faith-based charity among "theoconservatives" such as Marvin Olasky argue that modern social insurance like Social Security and Medicare was a mistake. The medieval British and colonial American systems of relying on religious institutions to care for the sick and poor should have been continued and built upon, with government subsidies to "faith-based institutions."

The secular business-class right, however, has shown little interest in faith-based charity, perhaps because it is difficult for rent-seeking bankers, brokers and other private sector actors to extract huge amounts of money from tax-exempt church hospitals and church soup lines. The right's preferred alternative to the progressive vision of economic citizenship is what I call "welfare corporatism." Whereas economic citizenship views protection against sickness, unemployment and old age as entitlements of citizens in a democratic republic, welfare corporatism treats these necessities of life as commodities like groceries or appliances, to be purchased in a market by people who are thought of as consumers, not citizens.

Let's contrast ideal versions of the two approaches. In the ideal America of economic citizenship, there would be a single, universal, integrated, lifelong system of economic security including

single-payer healthcare,

Social Security, unemployment payments and

family leave

paid for by a single contributory payroll tax (which could be made progressive in various ways or reduced by combination with other revenue streams). Funding for all programs would be entirely nationalized, although states could play a role in administration. There would still be supplementary private markets in health and retirement products and services for the affluent, but most middle-class Americans would continue to rely primarily on the simple, user-friendly public system of economic security. As Steven Attewell points out, the Social Security Act of 1935 was intended not merely to provide public pensions for the elderly but to establish a framework for a comprehensive system of social insurance corresponding to President Roosevelt's "right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment." Attewell writes: "We need to go back to the original drawing board -- the Social Security Act of 1935 -- to finish the job it began and create a truly universal and comprehensive social welfare state."

In the utopia of welfare corporatism, today's public benefits -- Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance and, in a few states, public family leave programs -- would be abolished and replaced by harebrained schemes dreamed up by libertarian ideologues at corporate-funded think tanks like the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation. Tax subsidies would be funneled to insurance companies, brokers and banks. Social Security would be replaced by a bewildering miscellany of tax-favored personal savings accounts. Medicare would be replaced by a dog's breakfast of tax subsidies for purchasing health insurance and personal medical savings accounts. Unemployment insurance would give way to yet another Rube Goldberg scheme of tax-favored unemployment insurance accounts. As for family leave -- well, if you're not wealthy enough to pay out of pocket for a nanny for your child or a nurse for your parent, you're out of luck.

The strongest case for economic citizenship instead of welfare corporatism is economic. Economic citizenship is more efficient and cheaper in the long run, because the government need only meet costs, while subsidized private providers must make a profit. The Democratic and Republican supporters of welfare corporatism justify their system of massive subsidies for for-profit healthcare and retirement security with the claim that market competition will keep down prices. If only that were true. Competitive markets are probably impossible to create, in the highly regulated insurance sector and the highly concentrated financial sector that sells private retirement goods and services.

It follows that a policy of subsidizing oligopolies and monopolies, via government subsidies to consumers, in the absence of government-imposed price controls, is a recipe for cost inflation, as the providers jack up their prices, sending the consumers back to Congress to demand even more public subsidies. By its very nature, welfare corporatism funnels public resources, in the form of tax breaks, to rent-seeking, predatory firms in the FIRE (finance, insurance, real estate) sector, with ever-swelling dead-weight costs on the economy. Welfare corporatism equals corporate welfare.

Unfortunately, most progressives have failed to make the case against the libertarian myth of market competition in the provision of social insurance. All too many, including President Obama, have made the too-clever-by-half argument that the public option would keep prices down by means of market competition. In other words, the center-left has borrowed a bogus argument about competition from right-wing free-market fundamentalism in order to defend a token public program that ceased to be of any interest once Obama and the Democrats in Congress ruled that Americans with employer-provided insurance would be banned from joining the public option. When you're reduced to parroting the opposition's erroneous theories, in the process of begging for a slight modification of the opposition's pet program, you clearly don't have the nerve or the patience to play the long game in politics.

In a response to one of my earlier columns, Will Marshall wonders how I can dare to criticize the legacy of Bill Clinton, a Democrat. My reasons should be clear by now. I am not a partisan Democratic operative focused on winning the next election. I am interested only in strengthening the republic through a gradual expansion of economic citizenship in the tradition of Franklin Roosevelt's Second Bill of Rights. If this means criticizing Democratic presidents who expand welfare corporatism instead of economic citizenship, so be it.

As part of his opportunistic policy of triangulation between his own party and the opposition, Bill Clinton joined the Republicans in a three-pronged assault on New Deal economic citizenship. He and the Republican Congress abolished Aid to Families With Dependent Children, a flawed and unpopular means-tested program for the poor that should have been reformed as a national program rather than turned over to the states as the neo-Confederate right insisted. Instead of piecemeal expansion of single-payer healthcare, Clinton pushed a version of employer-based welfare corporatism plus subsidies that came out of the playbook of moderate Republicans like Nixon. And we now know that Clinton secretly agreed to support Newt Gingrich's drive to partly privatize Social Security, in return for dedicating the federal government's imaginary future surpluses to what was left of Social Security. In 2005, Will Marshall argued in favor of private accounts, on the grounds that they would soften up Americans for cuts in Social Security: "If today's workers start saving and investing more in stocks and bonds, the returns they earn would allow us to trim their Social Security benefits later, without reducing their overall standard of living."

While George W. Bush pushed for partial privatization of Social Security, he failed because of massive public opposition. But Bush and the Republican majority in Congress succeeded in enacting the Social Security drug benefit, a flawed but genuine expansion of economic citizenship. Clinton is the only president to have successfully supported the destruction of a New Deal entitlement, while Bush presided over the greatest expansion of the Rooseveltian entitlement system since Lyndon Johnson passed Medicare.

For his part, Barack Obama, like Bill Clinton, rejected single-payer in favor of a moderately conservative welfare corporatist approach to healthcare reform. In contrast, Obama's proposal for student loan reform, an idea discussed in the Clinton years, would move in the right direction, away from welfare corporatism and toward economic citizenship, by replacing subsidized third-party lenders with direct government provision of student loans to needy college students.

Parties are coalitions of interest groups, they are not public philosophies, and presidents, great and minor, are and have to be opportunists. In contrast, reformers only have a chance of succeeding if they stick to their basic principles and keep their eyes on the prize. Progressives should support any politician, Democrat or Republican, who expands economic citizenship to the detriment of welfare corporatism, and they should oppose any politician, Democrat or Republican, who expands welfare corporatism to the detriment of economic citizenship.

Any more questions?

Monetary Cost of Iraq War

26 June 2009

This Blog is on Hiatus

This blog is inactive and on hiatus indefinitely for a number of varying reasons. It will return at some point in the coming months.
Posted by at No comments:

20 June 2009

Recent News Articles of Interest

Strong Hostile Economic Winds Are Blowing In

http://www.truthdig.com/report/print/20090614_the_american_empire_is_bankrupt


The Future is Not Very Pretty

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2009/06/june-17-2009-40-ways-to-lose-your.html


Author Jack London Saw It All Coming Over a Century Ago

http://professorsmartass.blogspot.com/2009/06/author-jack-london-made-financial-elite.html


Canadian Health Care System is the Model to Pursue

http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_12523427


The Brain Chemistry of Love

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-love22-2009jun22,0,6897401.column


Fuel Efficient Motor Vehicles

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12600344?source=most_viewed

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bestworst.shtml


Hawaii Beset by Economic Turbulence

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/20/opinion/20sat4.html?_r=1


Austin TX and New Age "Green" Toilets

http://www.statesman.com/green/content/news/stories/local/2009/06/18/0618humanure.html


Three More Banks Fail

http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/19/news/companies/bank_failure/index.htm?postversion=200906191

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/finance/banks----nc-georgia----fail/


Denver Economic Performance Now in Middle of the Pack

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/06/15/daily44.html?surround=lfn&ana=test


Continuing Income Inequality Fuels Economic Collapse

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009/05/boom-bust-and-inequality.php


Facing Death

http://www.hcn.org/issues/41.10/natural-comfort


Being Frugile

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=7823657&page=1


The Wonders of Red Yeast Rice

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/MedicineCuttingEdge/story?id=7846751&page=1&nwltr=WN_mostviewedstories_hed3


Greenland Ice Sheet Melting Much Faster Than Anticipated

http://www.grist.org/article/greenland-ice-sheet-could-raise-east-coast-sea-levels-an-extra-20-inches-by/


Major Climate Change Looming Much Sooner For Pacific Northwest

http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-16-pacific-nw-climate-report/


Building a New Fair, Just, Equal Capitalism

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/140681/the_ideology_of_unfettered_capitalism_is_crumbling_--_it%27s_a_huge_opportunity_for_alternative_economics/


Best American Mass Transit Systems

http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-12-best-u.s.-transit-systems/

http://rockymountainrail.org/

http://www.rideuta.com/projects/frontlines2015/default.aspx


Bob Bogle, 1934 - 2009

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2009342986_bogleobit16.html

http://www.theventures.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ventures

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Bogle


Fixing the Dastardly and Corrupt Financial System

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2009/06/reich-and-soros-steps-to-financial-market-reform.html


James "Dusty" Rhodes, 1927 - 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/19/sports/baseball/19rhodes.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2009/06/18/2009-06-18_dusty_rhodes_hero_of_1954_series_dies.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-dusty-rhodes19-2009jun19,0,5154499.story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dusty_Rhodes_(baseball_player)


*****
Posted by at No comments:

19 June 2009

Summer Solstice 2009 Facts and Trivia

The word solstice comes from the Latin solstitium or sol (the sun) + -stit-, -stes (standing).

The summer solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, which is located at 23.5° latitude North, and runs through Mexico, the Bahamas, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, and southern China. Because of the Earth's tilt, the sun will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer at 1145 pm MDT on June 20, 2009. For every place north of the Tropic of Cancer, the sun is at its highest point in the sky and this is the longest day of the year.

The winter solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, which is located at 23.5° latitude South of the equator and runs through Australia, Chile, southern Brazil (Brazil is the only country that passes through both the equator and a tropic), and northern South Africa. The winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and will occur at 1047 am MST on December 21, 2009.

We all know that the Earth makes a complete revolution around the sun once every 365 days, following an orbit that is elliptical in shape. This means that the distance between the Earth and Sun, which is 93 million miles on average, varies throughout the year. During the first week in January, the Earth is about 1.6 million miles closer to the sun. This is referred to as the perihelion. The aphelion, or the point at which the Earth is about 1.6 million miles farther away from the sun, occurs during the first week in July. This fact may sound counter to what we know about seasons in the Northern Hemisphere, but actually the difference is not significant in terms of climate and is NOT the reason why we have seasons. Seasons are caused by the fact that the Earth is tilted on its axis by 23.5°.
The summer solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, which is located at 23.5° North, and runs through Mexico, the Bahamas, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, and southern China. Because of the Earth's tilt, the sun will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer at 1145 pm MDT on June 20, 2009. For every place north of the Tropic of Cancer, the sun is at its highest point in the sky and this is the longest day of the year. As stated above, the winter solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, which is located at 23.5° south of the equator.
There are two times of the year when the Earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in an equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes. These events are referred to as equinoxes and occur near March 21 (Vernal Equinox) and near September 21 (Autumnal Equinox). At the equator, the sun is directly overhead at noon on the two equinoxes. The Vernal Equinox occurred at 544 am MDT on March 20, 2009. The Autumnal Equinox will occur at 318 pm MDT on September 22, 2009.

For a complete listing of the dates of the winter and summer solstice's and spring and fall equinox's through 2020, check out this site from the U.S. Naval Observatory.

*****

Posted by at No comments:

14 June 2009

Monday 15 June Links

World Wheat Crop Strongly Imperiled

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-wheat-rust14-2009jun14,0,1661589.story


The Story of the Demise of Montana's Exclusive Yellowstone Club

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/business/14yellow.html?_r=1&hpw=&pagewanted=all


The Giant Debt Bomb is Ticking

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/06/36-trillion-leveraged-loan-wall-of-debt.html


Will Mankind Ever Return to the Moon ?

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/06/14/20090614moon-debate.html


Creating Imaginary Controversy with Medicare

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/business/economy/14view.html?hpw


The Forgotten Poor, Eternally in Pain and Hardship

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/opinion/14ehrenreich.html?pagewanted=all


The Tragedy of Jaguars in Arizona

http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/297000

http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/296994.php


Eastern Utah Getting Hammered by Economic Collapse

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12578192


Much Ado About Nothing by PETA

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-flying-fish13-2009jun13,0,7652933.story


Battle Just Beginning Over SoCal - Vegas Train Choice

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jun/14/maglev-or-desertxpress-could-be-your-new-ride/

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jun/14/public-or-private-rail-line-will-need-major-subsid/

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jun/14/trade-offs-between-technologies-include-speed-cost/

The Full Story Behind the Demise of The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.5280.com/issues/2009/0906/feature.php?pageID=1740


The Story of Taxation in Oregon

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/06/businesses_taxed_more_people_s.html


Navahos Oppose Long Walk Trail Concept

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/For-many-Navajo--painful-history-best-left-in-past


Major Tragic Crime Issues Beset Albuquerque

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DESERT_BODIES_CHIEF_NMOL-?SITE=NMSAN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


America's Most Fit Cities

http://health.msn.com/fitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100239135&OCID=eml_msnnl_6005.11.2.11&REFCD=emmsnnl_6005.11.2.11



The Looming End of Glacier National Park's Ice and Glaciers

http://billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/06/14/news/state/21-glacier.txt

http://billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/06/14/features/magazine/18-glacier.txt


Dust Bowl Exodus Now in Reverse in Today's Woes Stricken California

http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1944947.html


Heart Warming Story

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jun/14/lz1n14vet22533-vietnam-vet-and-his-long-lost-frien/?military&zIndex=116348


*****
Posted by at No comments:
The Mountain Time Zone Perspective Blog has made it to the mid - morning of Sunday 14 July and the internet connection is still up and running, but for how much longer is unknown.

Generally this writer is trying to provide a list of critical, interesting, and sometimes light hearted links on a daily basis on weekdays. In the coming several days to week and beyond, if two to three days go by without any columns with these links information, or another column, one can assume the internet connection is no longer available and maybe for an extended period of time due my personal financial circumstances becoming even more grievous.

One caveat, however: whem this writer once again begins his mindless and inane employment on MON 15 June and continues with in the coming days to weeks, the workday may be of enough a length and result in fatigue which will prevent postings from occurring regularly. If this does become the case, this writer will place a note on this blog informing its readers of just such that case.

At this time, this blogger is hoping and planning to relocate from Cheyenne WY to Colorado Springs CO sometime in either September or October 2009, the earlier the better. The thought of another Wyoming winter is simply too much to contemplate bearing again, but the relocation will be strongly dependent on one's financial standing, and physical health in actually getting the move done as he will be doing it almost entirely on his own, with repeatedly going up and down a flight of stairs a large obstacle to overcome in the process.

*****
Posted by at No comments:

13 June 2009

Saturday 13 June Links

Excellent Public Hands Up Program in Oregon

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/06/oregon_helps_laidoff_workers_s.html


The Vicious Unjust Downward Slope Continues

http://existentialistcowboy.blogspot.com/2009/06/feast-of-unrepentant-wingnuts.html


Single Payer is Simply the Only Answer

http://www.theyoungturks.com/story/2009/6/11/142559/991/Diary/Four-Reasons-Why-the-Public-Health-Care-Option-is-Irrefutable


Arizona State Government Readies for Shutdown

http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2009/06/13/20090613budgetcrisis.html


Cubicles vs. Factories: Both Have Drawbacks and Plusses

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/140437/let%E2%80%99s_get_physical%3A_what%27s_so_great_about_working_in_a_cubicle/?page=entire


Mercury the Wild Card in Our Solar System

http://news.aol.com/article/earth-collision/522850?icid=main|main|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Fearth-collision%2F522850


Climate Change is Happening and Will Continue to Happen Far More and Worse

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/06/11-7


Obama Adminstration to Reinstate Coal Capture Project Plant in Illinois

http://www.casperstartribune.com/articles/2009/06/13/homepage_lead/doc4a330aee99c34338038149.txt



The Better Democrats We Can Look To

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/13-2


Sirota on Politics and Change

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090611_all_politics_and_change_is_still_local/


The Price of the Great Economic Collapse

http://www.blueoregon.com/2009/06/when-workers-lose-the-great-recessions-casualties-of-employment-.html


Nader: Is Televison Really Worth Anything ?

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/13-1


Single Payer is the Absolute Best We Can Strive For

http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2009/06/apparently_were_not_getting_mu.html

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/061109.html


Naomi Klein on Obama Adminstration Policy

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/13


Things Are Not Going to Return as They Were In the Past

http://www.theweekbehind.com/2009/06/10/lower-expectations/


The Means Exist for Public Care in Federal Health Care Legislation

http://newmexicoindependent.com/29436/its-been-a-long-hard-comedown-since-fdr-on-taxes-and-health-care


Where House Prices Have Crashed Unbelievably Hard

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/06/medium-home-prices-in-detroit-fall-to.html


Bulldoze Empty Parts of Rustbelt Cities ?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5516536/US-cities-may-have-to-be-bulldozed-in-order-to-survive.html


The State of The Rockies 2009

http://www.headwatersnews.org/p.SOTR2009061109.html


Obama Administration May Restore Some of Controversial Utah Oil and Gas Leases

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oil-leases12-2009jun12,0,5467237.story


The Worst Public Education Very Well May Be in Nevada

http://www.lvrj.com/news/47510187.html


Stiglitz: Capitalism Failures Modeled in US to Rumble Across Globe

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/07/third-world-debt200907?printable=true&currentPage=all


Mamia Abu-Jamal Writes from Prison

http://www.phillyimc.org/en/journalism-hell


A New National Anthem to Replace The Star Spangled Banner ?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/11/AR2009061103039.html?hpid=opinionsbox1


A Wonderful Great Idea

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/all-for-good-a-new-craigs_b_208407.html


Restaurant Chains on the Brink

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/12/sbarros-krispy-kreme-amon_n_214931.html


The Numbers are Still Going to Be All Bad

http://www.mybudget360.com/the-economic-recovery-decoy-bank-refuge-and-auto-and-home-sales-plummet-two-largest-purchases-for-americans-still-treading-water-number-of-renters-increases-by-748000-in-one-quarter/

What Businesses to Be Entrepreneural In

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/soundeconomywithjontalton/2009331797_what_kind_of_businesses_will_t.html


Its All Due to Debt

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2009/06/june-10-2009-one-simple-four-letter.html


The Doomsday Scenario

http://theaffordablemortgagedepression.com/2009/06/11/doomsday-scenarios-could-the-net-home-equity-value-of-the-entire-us-housing-stock-fall-to-zero.aspx


Kristoff on the Necessity of a Public Option in Health Care Reform

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/opinion/11kristof.html


Light Speed Computing

http://www.gizmag.com/manipulating-light-on-a-chip-quantum-computer/11948/


Remembering the '80's Country Group Highway 101

http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/drivin_and_drinkin_highway_101_and_whiskey/C564/L564/


*****
Posted by at No comments:

12 June 2009

Ten Fastest, Ten Slowest Cities to Come out of Economic Downturn

From Forbes Magazine:

Ten Slowest

-1] Flint MI
-2] Fresno
-3] Detroit - Warren - Livonia
-4] Modesto CA
-5] Salinas CA
-6] Bakersfield
-7] New York - No. New Jersey - Long Island
-8] Stockton CA
-9] Youngstown - Warren - Boardman OH
10] Los Angeles - Long Beach - Santa Ana

Ten Fastest

-1] Austin - Round Rock
-2] Fayetteville - Springville - Rogers AR
-3] Boulder
-4] Huntsville AL
-5] San Antonio
-6] Mobile
-7] Dallass - Fort Worth - Arlington
-8] Washington - Arlington - Alexandria
-9] McAllen - Edinburgh - Mission TX
10] Seattle - Tacoma - Bellevue

*****
Posted by at No comments:

Friday 12 June Links

Big Showdown Now Underway on Public Health Care Legislation This Writer is Depending on in Coming Years to Keep Him Healthy and Alive


http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2009/06/healthcare-war-is-now-official.html


South Korea Masses Troops at DMZ on North Korean Border to Face Rising Threat

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.1b6599410a650557dad3d729d3f62a37.391&show_article=1


Danger of China and US Resuming Pre-Economic Collapse Irresponsibility and Recklessness

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2009/06/rogoff-rebalancing-the-uschina-economic-relationship.html


Krugman on Right-Wing Extremists, Terrorists, and Their Roots in Talk Radio

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/opinion/12krugman.html?_r=1


Ospreys Return to Next in Great Britain

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/ospreys-nest-again-after-two-centuries-1702160.html


The End of the Television Era

http://ltradio.blogspot.com/2009/06/its-end-of-tv-as-we-know-it-and-i-feel.html


Tobacco Legislation Gets Through Senate In Spite of Corruption

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/69925.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124474789599707175.html


Federal Reserve a Hidden Disaster Filled with Deep Problems

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/06/lack-of-transparency-in-fed-balance.html


McDonalds Includes Custer as Happy Meal Toy in Sioux Country

http://rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2009/06/12/news/top/doc4a32923a69ee5375792066.txt


Declining Optimism on Obama Administration Policy Building

http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2009/06/what-are-odds-obama-will-win-his-bet-on.html


Ten Most Costly Natural Disasters in Texas

http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/archives/2009/06/what_are_the_10_costliest_hurricanes_to_strike_tex.html


Down With the Snake and Columbia River Dam System

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/business/energy-environment/12bonneville.html?hpw=&pagewanted=all


More Lies, Damn Lies, and Government Statistics

http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/8651/

http://www.shadowstats.com/

http://www.shadowstats.com/imgs/sgs-emp.gif


Brooks: The Age of The Great Unwinding

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/opinion/12brooks.html


Large Solar Energy Project Development Announced for Southern New Mexico

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_12574651


Full Time Work Largely Disappearing

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2009-06-11-workweek_N.htm


Attempting To Rid Oneself of Their Motor Vehicle Lease

http://www.denverpost.com/theeconomy/ci_12565042


The Sad Perpetual Turnover of Friendships

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/friend-turnover/

http://www.narcis.info/publication/RecordID/oaidspacelibraryuunl187433616/Language/NL/repository_id/uu_bibonly/


Price Gouging on HDMI Video Cables

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2009/06/the-mysterious-hdmi-cable-ripoff.html

http://reviews.cnet.com/hdmi-cable/?tag=rb_content;rb_mtx


Back to the Past in the Future for Residential Developments Here Today in NW Denver

http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2009/06/not-so-new-urbanism_highlands.php#more


A Trip Worth Making

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/07/SPRS180D85.DTL&type=travel


*****
Posted by at No comments:

11 June 2009

Thursday 11 June Links

State and Local Governmetn Financial Woes Grow

http://tigerhawk.blogspot.com/2009/06/crumbling-municipal-finance.html


Rapidly Rising Oil Prices Cause Grave Concerns and Fears

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jun/10/oil-market-reserves


The American Economy as It Stands in June '08

http://www.newgeography.com/content/00843-state-economy-june-2009


Senator Jim Webb on Criminal Justice Reform

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-jim-webb/why-we-must-reform-our-cr_b_214130.html


A Sign of Things to Come Nationally with Housing Prices ?

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cheaphomes10-2009jun10,0,4802553.story


The Good and Bad of the Internet and World Wide Web

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-moore/the-inelegant-internet_b_214047.html


Hopes for EFCA Enactment Remain Alive

http://www.seiu.org/2009/05/colorado-needs-the-employee-free-choice-act.php


The Benefits of the Proposed Climate Change Legislation

http://climateprogress.org/2009/06/09/waxman-markey-energy-efficiency-savings-jobs/


Controls on Excessive Corporate Executive Pay Sought

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-executive-pay11-2009jun11,0,4081733.story


Rating the Best Cities Globally to Live and Work In

http://www.mercer.com/referencecontent.htm?idContent=1128060#Top50_qol


The Ranally Economic Indexing of Cities and Metros

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranally_city_rating_system


More on Quality of Life Ratings of Cities

http://www.eiu.com/index.asp?rf=0


Info on Digital Television Signal Change Coming Friday 12 June

http://tech.msn.com/news/articlepcw.aspx?cp-documentid=20271195&gt1=40000


Make it Single Payer Says Health Professionals

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/06/10-9


New American Industrial Policy Urged

http://www.suntimes.com/news/jackson/1612977,CST-EDT-jesse09.article


Most Comprehensive Recycling Policy Enacted in San Francisco

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/10/MN09183NV8.DTL


Emissions from China Overwhelms Any Anti-Global Warming Efforts Elsewhere

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/09/china-sandalow-stern-emissions


Tent Cities Increasing Nationwide

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090622/ehrenreich/single


Upbeat Forecast by Economic Analysts Working for Gannett Media

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/economic-outlook.htm



But This is More the Likely Scenario Economically to Eventuate

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/06/king-report-not-a-real-recovery/


Greider: The Eternal Greed of Wall Street Has Yet to be Reined In

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090622/greider2


*****
Posted by at No comments:

10 June 2009

Wednesday 10 June Links

Is Educational Failures Thwarting American Technological Innovation ?

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2009/06/education-and-technology-supply-demand-and-income-inequality.html

http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/09_24/b4135000953288.htm


The Federal Reserve is Indeed Broken: One Viewpoint on Addressing That

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/06/eight-step-program-to-improve-feds.html


What was Once Was For Phoenix Can Never Be Again: The Lost Future of The Valley of the Sun

http://roguecolumnist.typepad.com/rogue_columnist/2009/06/phoenix-101-lost-opportunities.html


Vermont's Bernie Sanders: The Ideal for What a US Senator Should Be

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut/440938/a_seat_at_the_table_for_single_payer

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/health-care-is-a-right-no_b_212770.html


The Monsters of Evil Strike Hard at Health Care Insurance Reforms Efforts

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/06/08/reich/


The Biggest Monster of All, Communist China, Lurks Mightily

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE5560M120090607


The Eternal Abyss of the American Federal Government Budget Deficit

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/business/economy/10leonhardt.html?hp

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/06/09/business/economy/20090610-leonhardt-graphic.html


Are the TARP Repayments a Ruse or Worse ?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/soundeconomywithjontalton
/2009318322_why_the_bank_bailout_repayment.html

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/06/treasury-ten-large-banks-can-repay-68.html


Another Stimulus Is Likely to be Needed in the Coming Months

http://business.theatlantic.com/2009/06/do_we_really_need_another_stimulus_already.php


Cash for Clunkers Legislation Draws Closer to Reality

http://www.freep.com/article/20090609/BUSINESS01/90609078


The Increasing Life in the Workplace is Just Part Time

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/06/08/56756/the-part-timezation-of-america/?source=rss


Arguing Successfully Against Krugman

http://fistfulofeuros.net/afoe/economics-and-demography/david-takes-on-goliath-and-loses-the-ferguson-krugman-exchange/


The Best is Behind Us and Ahead Lies Only The Worst

http://agonist.org/brian_downing/20090608/the_decline_and_fall_of_the_baby_boom_empire


Outer Space Scientific Discovery

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090608/sc_space/arealwhopperblackholeismostmassiveknown


Superb Economic Analysis

http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2009/06/what-jobless-recovery-really-means.html


Significant Supreme Court Ruling on Conflict of Interest Issues with Judiciary

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/us/politics/09scotus.html


Interstate 80 Through Wyoming Under Consideration to Become a Tolled Highway

http://billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/06/09/news/wyoming/42-i80.txt


Sixtieth Anniversary of Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four Being Published

http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2009/06/dayintech_0608/


Long Overdue Further Regulation of Tobacco Industry Nears

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-06-08-tobacco_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip


The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly of American Corporations

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/ConsumerActionGuide/10-companies-that-treat-you-right.aspx

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/ConsumerActionGuide/how-companies-were-ranked.aspx

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/ConsumerActionGuide/the-customer-service-hall-of-shame-2009.aspx



The End of Middle Sized GM Trucks Announced

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2009-06-08-GM-trucks_N.htm


Corporate Welfare Utterly Bad for Americans

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2009/06/too-big-to-be-restructured.html


Credit Disasters Revisited

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/06/a-brief-history-of-credit-disasters/


The Best and Worst Cities to Be Living In

http://www.eiuresources.com/mediadir/default.asp?PR=2009060801


Disturbing Scientific Finding

http://news.aol.com/article/large-mammal-migrations-disappearing/520190?icid=main|main|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%
2Farticle%2Flarge-mammal-migrations-disappearing%2F520190


Making a Choice on High Speed Rail in the Mohave

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jun/09/reid-sides-desert-xpress-fast-train-option/


The Beautiful Wonders of Nature Captured on Camera

http://blogs.usatoday.com/sciencefair/2009/06/rare-snow-leopards-caught-on-camera.html


Place Worth Visiting in the Northern Rockies

http://www.beartoothnaturecenter.org/Site/Welcome.html


If You Liked Sims Games, More are on the Way

http://247wallst.com/2009/06/09/cant-kill-the-sims-erts-aapl/#more-37165


The Peaceful Beauty of Slow Cooked Southern Barbeque

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/dining/10United.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all


The Saddest News of the Day

http://blogs.usatoday.com/sciencefair/2009/06/plastics-cigarettes-food-packaging-littering-the-worlds-oceans.html


The Nicest Story of the Day

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/garden/04cabin.html?hpw=&pagewanted=all


Copying, Not Creating, Seems to be the Thrust in Today's Hollywood

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2009-06-09-remakes_N.htm


*****
Posted by at No comments:

09 June 2009

Blog Hiatus Still Looms

We have made it to the morning of Tuesday 9 July and the internet connection is still up and running, but for how much longer is unknown.

Generally this writer is trying to provide a list of critical, interesting, and sometimes light hearted links on a daily basis on weekdays. In the coming several days to week and beyond, if two to three days go by without any columns with these links information, or another column, one can assume the internet connection is no longer available and maybe for an extended period of time due my personal financial circumstances becoming even more grievous.

One caveat, however: if this writer does miraculously manage to acquire employment in the coming days to weeks, the workday may be of enough a length and result in fatigue which will prevent postings from occurring regularly. If this does become the case, this writer will place a note on this blog informing its readers of just such that case.

*****
Posted by at No comments:

Monday 8 June Links

A Great Collection of Facts, Video, and Links about D-Day

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2009/06/a-struggle-to-preserve-our-republic.html#more


Easier Method for Doing and Amassing Discount Coupons

http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive/2009/05/01/free-coupons-no-printing-no-clipping.aspx


A Viewpoint on the Economy

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/opinion/07cohanWEB.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&pagewanted=all


Warning About the Huge Dollar Meltdown Looming

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/ContrarianChronicles/the-next-crisis-has-already-begun.aspx


The US Economy is Really Bad - [Second Link is in an Informative Graph]

http://womensvoicesforchange.org/patricia-yarberry-allen-economy-worries-hard-realities.htm

http://womensvoicesforchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/employmentpercentlosses.jpg


A California Coastal Beer Drinking Road Trip

http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-tr-sfbrewpubs7-2009jun07


The Business Cycle Dooms Any Real Global Warming Legislation

http://www.federalreview.com/2009/06/gore-blames-tyranny-of-financial.htm


Size of Law Firms on the Decline

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/nyregion/07law.html?em


Robert Samuelson on the Question of What is Next Concerning Prices

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/07/AR2009060702098.html?hpid=opinionsbox1


The Perils of Early Pregnancy Gender Tests and Abortion

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10577091


Where the Economy is Seemingly the Most Robust

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/06/looking-for-work-try-university-towns.html


The Post-Bankrupt GM New Cadillac Models

http://blogs.chron.com/carsandtrucks/2009/06/is_2010_cadillac_duo_ripe_for.html


Mortgage Rates Increasing Slowly but Steadily Due to Bonds Market

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090606/D98L67500.html


More on the Dismal Employment Situation

http://www.mydd.com/story/2009/6/8/13650/02294

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/06/unemployment-rate-and-level-of.html

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDY9TxeLCKR4ifiW00b02U-Ll3gVze4vxqEHJ06UlTTc1OwwUVOBWTHDr7L0qM-SmNyK_c88m-Wqij-GUAF5OIuJuc1UJhFdaj-IOdnb7gERzLJvzVylV2DaMBk26agC2a-Som45Zl22o/s1600-h/UnemploymentEducation.jpg


Hedging On Hyperinflation

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/thriving-firms-new-bet-hyperinflation.aspx

The Crisis of No Rural Broadband Internet

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-06-07-rural-broadband-digital_N.htm


US Marine Corps Running Some Public Schools and Successfully

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-06-04-marine-schools_N.htm


Comparing The Great Depression to the Current Economic Collapse

http://www.mybudget360.com/tracking-the-great-recession-global-industrial-output-and-world-stock-markets-following-the-great-depression-40-months-from-the-peak/


The Battle over Health Care Legislation

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/060509.html


Imporant Findings Concerning Alzheimers

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/revealed-how-alzheimers-infects-the-brain-1699214.html

Kennedy Draft Health Care Bill Emerges

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aLaFojFVR704


Stimulus Act Tax Breaks Fund Scooter Purchases

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_12542039


"This oughta be good. Wal-Mart will now learn the real result of massive shrinkage. In Russia, they not only steal the merchandise, they'll steal the real estate and entire enterprise."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wal-mart-confident-about-entering-russia


Dealing with Awful Financial News on Television

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/06/how-to-fix-financial-television/


Lack of Trust in Latest Unemployment Numbers

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/06/king-report-more-bls-chicanery/


Homemade Solar Powered Vehicle

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/06/homemade-solar/


Recommended Book for Reading

http://intrepidliberaljournal.blogspot.com/2009/06/billy-graham-rise-of-republican-south.html


Ban on Plastic Bags Urged

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/69691.html


Stunning Summer Climate Forecast

http://www.accuweather.com/news-story.asp?partner=netweather&traveler=0&zipChg=1&article=9


End of Welfare Coming in California ?

http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1917387.html


Infrastructure Federal Legislation Lacking Sufficient Revenues

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/06/us/06highway.html?_r=2&ref=todayspaper


Good Food For You

http://www.newwest.net/city/article/food_for_your_brain/C108/L108/


End of Another Long Time Stalwart Bookstore

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2009-06-04/article/33030?headline=Black-Oak-Books-Moves-Out


Communist China to Begin Further Censorship with Personal Computers

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_12549641?nclick_check=1

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124440211524192081.html#mod=mktw


*****
Posted by at No comments:

06 June 2009

Saturday 6 June Links

Klaus Wolter Regional Forecast Outlook for Coming Months

http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/people/klaus.wolter/SWcasts/index.html


Comparing The Great Depression to Our Current Near Depression

http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/3421


Silver Instead of Gold as Best Instrument for Investment

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/silver-outshining-gold-as-an-inflation-play


Opening Announced of Great Recreational Area Along Colorado - Wyoming Border

http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2009/06/06/featured_story/01top_06-06-09.txt


The Deeply Troubling and Disturbing Growing Unemployment Crisis

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/06/employment_numbers.html


The Hope of Returning to a Steady - Steady Economy

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/5464#more


Scaremongering Compared to Scariness

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ann-pettifor/ignore-the-scaremongers_b_211842.html


Feel Good Great Story; Could Not Have Happened to a Better or Nicer Guy

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/05/neal-wanless-sd-rancher-w_n_212081.html


A Look Back at a D-Day Not So Historically Glorious

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Graignes

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8084210.stm


Solving California's Budget Woes are Simpler Than Most Imagine

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/06/how-to-balance-california-budget-you.html


Another Viewpoint on Health Care Public Policy and Legislation

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-fi-healthcare7-2009jun07,0,3229853.story


Continuing the Current Corporate Insurance Based Health Care System will Only Create a Much Greater Level and Intensity of Bankruptcies

http://www.gizmag.com/over-60-of-all-us-bankruptcies-attributable-to-medical-problems/11895/


Mass Ownership of Motor Vehicles on the Decline

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/06/01/chart-of-the-day-car-ownership/


*****
Posted by at No comments:

65th Anniversary of D-Day: 6 June 1944







Posted by at No comments:

Progressive Public Health Care Legislation Going Down

One of the biggest reasons many citizens voted for Barrack Obama for President last November was due to his promise to get health care reform with a dependable inexpensive public element and option for those without an inexpensive private insurance option available or affordable. It now strongly appears legislation that would accomplish that is going nowhere and that we Americans are going to be stuck with a national program that furthers insurance companies control and domination, resulting in higher premiums, less coverage, and overall a poor system that leaves much to be desired and lacking.

This is the first powerful setback for the Democratic President, who will take the blame within months for failing to provide leadership and support for a legislation package broadly wanted by most Americans in the form of a single payer national government program where insurance corporations would be minor players. It is the first real defeat and the start of a negative trend for the Obama Administration. The honeymoon is over and first 100 days are done with. Expect little if any constructive and progressive legislation of any kind originating from and supported by the White House over the next 3 1/2 years now.

Expect the number of uninsured Americans to only increase in numbers in the coming months and years with premiums becoming far too expensive, too limited in coverage, and the continuing and growing ramifications of the ongoing economic collapse that has no end in sight. An additional consequence will be an increasing number of personal bankrupcies which will only further impact the overall economy on a diverse and widescale basis

Plainly, our government is about to blow it, largely due to bribery, graft, and corruption on the part of insurance corporations, the mega pharamaceutical industry, and other agents of treason.

http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2009/06/public-option-smokescreens-and-what-you.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-payer_health_care

*****
Posted by at No comments:

05 June 2009

Friday 5 June Links

Stock Markets Due to Resume Crash Direction Soon

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-hindenburg-omen


A Solid Explanation of Why The Great Depression Occurred and Why Things are Going to Get Worse This Time Around

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogjune09/depression06-09.html


Economic Collapse Leading to Broad Increases in Murder and Suicide

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/140455/economic_fallout_has_spurred_an_epidemic_of_murder_and_suicide_that_has_gone_largely_
unnoticed_/?page=entire


The Dirty Ugly Secrets Inside the Vatican with It's Banking History and Policy

http://www.alternet.org/story/140435/the_vatican%27s_dirty_secrets%3A_bribery%2C_money_laundering_and_mafia_connections/


Government Benefits to Citizens and Corporations Skyrockets

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-06-03-benefits_N.htm


Unemployment Numbers for May

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t12.htm


Memories of a Phoenix Now Long Gone

http://roguecolumnist.typepad.com/rogue_columnist/2009/06/phoenix-101-the-old-city.html#more


The Hard Ugly Truth About the Coming Months Economically

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/06/an-inconvenient-truth/


Where and When Job Losses Have Occurred

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/06/the-geography-of-job-loss/


Big Greedy Insurance Corporations Come First, Way Ahead of Citizens

http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/gop-more-concerned-with-insurance.html


Pollution Will Continue to Grow, but We Will Be Paying More For It

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2009/06/carbon-tax-vs-labor-tax.html


Worthy New Mexico Blog to Bookmark

http://clearlynewmexico.com/


California is the Future of All of Us


http://www.reason.com/news/show/133828.html


*****
Posted by at No comments:

Blog Hiatus Looming

Due to matters largely beyond my control - successfully securing full time employment - there is a growing likelihood this blog will be going on a lengthy indefinite hiatus as this writer will be without electricity and internet access within the next ten days, followed by the loss of his home unit within the next month to six weeks.

Events like these are indeed unfortunate, but the economic collapse coupled with my age being at a level where employer interest is already minimal is likely to push me over the edge and out. There are simply no jobs hiring that offer fulltime or even half of that, and the indifference towards job seekers is all but universal. And there are simply no resources this writer can turn to do to keep the wolves from crashing through the door and consuming me, as all my resources have been now exhausted.

The blog posts and columns should continue at least until the middle or end of next week, but the outlook beyond that is quite grim and unfavorable unless this is a stunning and surprising turn in the course of events that is anticipated currently.

This report will be updated in the coming days to week.

*****
Posted by at No comments:

United States Unemployment Rises to 16.4 %

Given the inaccuracies of statistics and the overall malaise effecting the US economy, the actual real number is in excess of 20 % if you factor in all the people who are underemployed working part time and in positions beneath their experiences, education, and intellect.

Unfortunately, these numbers are destined to continue to rise for at least the next several months, and most probably deep into 2010 and now possibly 2011 or 2012. Unemployment could very well peak at 27 - 28 % before inching down. Levels seen currently will not be revisited until at least 2012.

On a personal note, yours truly has now been out of work for six months and there is an almost universal indifference towards him by employers in his prolonged unsuccessful job search. This unmitigated failure is leading towards major issues.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t12.htm

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/06/jobs-contract-17th-straight-month.html

http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/06/futile-task-of-projecting-unemployment.html

*****
Posted by at No comments:

Mike "Mish" Shedlock on the Economy, The Fed, Unemployment, No Demand

Posted by at No comments:

04 June 2009

Thursday 4 June Links

Worst Decade of Jobs Creation Continues Unabated

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/half-million-jobs-washed-away-in-may-survey-says


Inexpensive Print Yourself Solar Panels on the Way

http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2009/06/future-of-solar-energy.html


The New Good Paying Job: Just $12 per Hour !

http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/04/news/economy/green_jobs/index.htm


George Will: Presage or Cuckoo Bird ?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/03/AR2009060303240.html


The Trials, Ordeals, and Perpetual Disappointments of Being an Older Job Seeker

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/06/04/20090604biz-boomers0604.html


Why A Baby Boomer Should be Hired over a Gen Xer or Those Younger

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/AzJobTawk/54493


No Federal Policy Change Yet on Destructive Appalachian Land Abuses

http://www.creators.com/opinion/jim-hightower/stopping-the-desecration-of-mountaintop-removal.html


Norm Coleman Continues Fruitless Struggle and Quest with Diminishing GOP Support

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/54_140/news/35511-1.html


David Carradine, 1936 - 2009

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/06/04/obit.david.carradine/index.html?eref=rss_topstories


Plenty of Natural Gas Available to Allow Deep Cutbacks of Arab Oil Imports

http://climateprogress.org/2009/06/03/climate-action-game-changer-unconventional-natural-gas-shale/#more-7472


Economic Collapse Hammering Hotel and Lodging Occupancy

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/06/hotel-occupancy-rate-falls-to-516.html


A Little American History Not as Well Known

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/06/other-reason-for-american-revolution.html


Dangerous and Foreboding News Concerning Communist Chinese Treachery and Greed

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/06/china-corners-97-of-market-for-rare.html


Don Albury, 1LT, USAAC, retired, 1920 - 2009

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1081080.html


States' Budgets Getting More Troubled

http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/06/state-vs-federal-schism.html


The Massive Vast Problem of Underemployment is Everywhere

http://newmexicoindependent.com/28282/underemployment-presents-challenges


Most Never Bounce Back Economically After Suffering a Layoff

http://www.idahostatesman.com/235/story/790098.html?storylink=omni_popular


Where We Stand

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2009/06/june-2-2009-not-worry-in-world.html

Ron Paul is Leading the Way on This Great Policy Idea

http://www.ronpaul.com/on-the-issues/audit-the-federal-reserve-hr-1207/

New Generation of LCD TV Design

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/06/nec-widescreen-display/


*****
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)