1 Hell yeah, Sam Cooke is awesome.

2 I just hope the Irish default doesn't send another wave of immigrants here. God knows we have enough Irish.

3

I prefer Sam Cooke's "Cupid"

also i believe he was a militant black supremicist if my memory serves me right

4 That Crudmann article was chock full of stupid, but this paragraph jumped out at me:

But beyond that, the proposal seemingly ignores a crucial point: while average life expectancy is indeed rising, itÂ’s doing so mainly for high earners, precisely the people who need Social Security least. Life expectancy in the bottom half of the income distribution has barely inched up over the past three decades. So the Bowles-Simpson proposal is basically saying that janitors should be forced to work longer because these days corporate lawyers live to a ripe old age.

Let me get this straight.  While the average life expectancy is rising, it's only seen among "high earners", which is a smaller segment of the population?  Crudmann needs to go back to school and learn some basic statistics.  (And note that Crudmann provides few, if any quantitative values for his analysis.  Just half-assed "snark"). 

5 How is California boned???  Aside from the obvious reasons. 

1.  Create an unsustainable self perpetuating bullshit system of public sector leech fuckheads.
2.  Borrow money from the Fed when the whole thing takes a giant shit all over itself.
3.  Elect a cockholster like Jerry Brown to run things.
4.  Default on everything you get from the Fed after your state goes completely tits up, but that's OK because yer California after all.
5.  Profit.

6 The Chinese have responded by telling him to roll his pimp ass up and bust a move if he's so inclined. (Or words to that effect.)

Give Cali to the Chinese.  Two problems immediately solved. 

7 3.  Elect a cockholster like Jerry Brown three fucking times to run things.

FIFY. 

8 Let me get this straight.  While the average life expectancy is rising, it's only seen among "high earners", which is a smaller segment of the population?

Math is racist.

9 If anyone has the intestinal fortitude to wade through the psychotic ramblings of a fucking idiot hard-left fool, then take a look at Krugman's blather.

He sees the world through shit colored (and smeared) glasses. It must be an odd existence. But one thing jumped out at me. He described the report of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform as a "compromise between the center-right and the hard-right."

Wow. Just...wow.

10

California must have something even better than pot or coke in the water supply to have elected Brown AGAIN

 

 

11

Sorry to bring this into this thread but:

Embattled Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele has often turned to the subject of race in his nearly two-year tenure.

But last week, in a radio interview with Al Sharpton,  Steele ratcheted up the rhetoric, appearing to agree with Sharpton that if he is not reelected as RNC chairman, it will be because the GOP is racist, making “the brother take the fall

That's fantastic. Great choice RNC, and good job Steele, way to put your personal pride and self interest ahead of the party you were put in charge of for the last two years.

12 Yes. all the socialist governments worldwide have run out of other people's money. At a time when Europe is running from socialism as fast as it can the U.S. is pushing into it. Perhaps the Soros groups think the U.S. can bail them out once again. But the U.S. has run out of other people's money as well. It is over and the day of reckoning is here.

And Sam Cooke...always dis like his stuff. I have one of his CDs on my "to order" list now. A great singer who screwed up one time in a situation and paid for it with his life.

I don't think they ever did figure out exactly what happened in that motel when he was killed.

13 So... apparently investing in lean hogs is a sin. It felt dirty. I must be punished.

Funny,

the bunch of cockroaches who rail against "privatizing" are the same bunch of cockroaches who use commodities to grow their funds,

isn't it.

14  Steele ratcheted up the rhetoric, appearing to agree with Sharpton

That right there is enough reason to axe him find someone else more qualified for the position.  ASAP.  Like ripping off a band-aid--get it over with quickly and move on.

15 11, Damn, that Steele dude is a lame stuck turd. Just fall into the water and go away, man. And take your race-card with you.

16

Steele ratcheted up the rhetoric, appearing to agree with Sharpton

That right there is enough reason to axe him find someone else more qualified for the position.  ASAP.  Like ripping off a band-aid--get it over with quickly and move on.

go to the daily caller and read the entire article. It's embarrasing.

interestingly enough they interview some republicans who are quoted as saying that his management has been so bad that the optic of firing a black man from the republican party don't even matter any more.

He's as good as gone. Now they just need to dump the head of the NRSC.

17 Who knew California Uber Alles would come back into relevance?

(And no, the lefties invoking it against Reagan didn't count.)

18

CharlieBrown'sDildo: Krugman... sees the world through shit colored (and smeared) glasses. It must be an odd existence.

No he doesn't.

These nihilists are professional liars - if he thought that it would advance the cause of nihilism, then Krugman would immediately spin on a dime and adopt exactly the opposite position.

Lying isn't just in their DNA - lying is their very nature.

What's odd about their existence - from your point of view - is their divorcement from the truth.

You can't understand them, and really grok their "oddness", until you accept the fact that the truth is utterly foreign to them.

 

19 Scientists figure out how cats drink.

And it only took them 3 years!

20 It's going to take an armada of supertankers full of holy water to forgive all that debt!

21 Sam Cooke makes me feel soooo good about feelin so bad.

22 Lord knows I love Sam Cooke's music, but Otis Redding's version of Long Time Comin' is far superior.

23 Among other reasons, why I started referring to it as 'Californicated'

24 the optic of firing a black man from the republican party don't even matter any more.

Hey, they'd fire an incompetent white man.  Equality, baby!

25 Posted by: Ben at November 12, 2010 09:13 AM (wuv1c)

I'm not a republican so maybe I missed something but, didn't the republicans have a record setting election?  And wasn't Michael Steele the guy who would have been blamed had it not been a "record setting election".  So why isn't Michael Steele being praised and reassured that he will keep his job? 

This whole business that the radio talk show hosts have alluded to, that the old white powerful guys of the GOP want steele out, makes no sense to most people.   What CEO would replace someone who is successful?  I don't get it?

26

You can't understand them, and really grok their "oddness", until you accept the fact that the truth is utterly foreign to them.

Or maybe I should say that "any sense of devotion to an ideal of truth" is utterly foreign to them.

Because they know damned well that they're lying through their teeth.

 

27 I live in CA and it seems to be ok. Sort of like how everything still seems ok even though you know the asteroid is fast approaching. Here's to the riots staying on the East side of the Bay.

28 Sam Cooke was big while my older siblings lived at home. Lyrical American melodies with traditional harmony and instruments were still what radios played all the time, FM and AM reflected even in early rock music. The year of JFK's assassination, "I wanna hold your hand" hit the rock charts in '63. The Beatles' were only getting started big time when Cooke was murdered in 1964 "justifiably" by a Los Angeles motel manager.

"Wonderful World" was remade into another big hit around 1972 by some light rock band, slower and without the vocal harmony.

Get yourself another fool.

It is a crying shame that the beauty of black popular/gospel music has eroded into monotone thug crap. It isn't as if there's no market, and a neo-renaissance of lyrical musical expression wouldn't succeed in competition with rap.

Country has managed to corner a big market with young listeners preferring it to heavy metal and rap, Country having never abandoned the concept of lyricism meshed with expressive electronic elements.

29 I can't decide if Krugman's picture screams 'pedophile' or 'crazy guy on the bus,' so I'm defaulting to both.

30 25, The GOP was successful despite Steele not because of him. The TEA Party won these elections; the GOP was just the vehicle.

31 This whole business that the radio talk show hosts have alluded to, that the old white powerful guys of the GOP want steele out, makes no sense to most people.   What CEO would replace someone who is successful?  I don't get it?

Posted by: curious at November 12, 2010 09:37 AM (p302b)

The R's had a record setting election IN SPITE OF Steele.  He had little if anything to do with the election.

32 Here's to the riots staying on the East side of the Bay.

and west of the coastal mountains.

33 Posted by: Lindsey Grahamnesty licking Rahm Emanuel's salty shaven balls at November 12, 2010 09:25 AM (pfMMA)

I think that your description is valid with many of them (Rahm and Pelosi come to mind), but Krugman is a special case. He is so convinced of his own infallibility that he will contort himself around the facts, or simply ignore them, to reach his preordained conclusion. But deep down he believes in his blather. That Nobel went straight to his head, and there is no chance of him recovering.

34
"The GOP was successful despite Steele not because of him.

The TEA Party won these elections; the GOP was just the vehicle.

Posted by: eman at November 12, 2010 09:40 AM (sTdjn)"

Ok, people keep saying this.  But no one is specific.  this sounds like a campaign pushed by that irrelevant guy, what's his name, oh yeah karl...

You all want to sell Steele down the riven but no one is being specific.

35

I'm not a republican so maybe I missed something but, didn't the republicans have a record setting election?  And wasn't Michael Steele the guy who would have been blamed had it not been a "record setting election".  So why isn't Michael Steele being praised and reassured that he will keep his job? 

This whole business that the radio talk show hosts have alluded to, that the old white powerful guys of the GOP want steele out, makes no sense to most people.   What CEO would replace someone who is successful?  I don't get it?

we were successful in spite of the NRSC and RNC.  Michael Steele is gaffe prone. You need the head of the party to be more measured when making statements. You don't need an off the cuff type guy.

Also we won a wave election the same reason Obama won his election, the hatred or disdain for the party in power.  We didn't win 60+ seats because of Michael Steele's GOTV plans, if anything the wave was smaller because the RNC didn't do what it should have in certain states, specifically Colorado.

The wave happened organically because of the energized tea party and disaffected democrats, not from the top down.

tell me this, did you even see michael steele on tv prior to the election?

Now it may not entirely be his fault, being the head of a party is a diminished role now that most people are donating to directly to candidates instead of the RNC, however the RNC is still the place for the big money donors, and most of them don't like Steele or his style. I don't think it's because he's black. I think poor managment is poor managment regardless of color.

36 Posted by: maverick muse at November 12, 2010 09:41 AM (H+LJc)

Too many guns and clingers in the valley. It should be safe.

37 Posted by: Ben at November 12, 2010 09:42 AM (wuv1c)

For a whole host of reason I don't agree with you.  But I'm not a big conservative or a republican party insider, I'm just a dumb independent.  But ben, what I see, if Steele is fired is a public relations night mare and the beginning of independents wondering about the republicans.

38

curious see my post at 35.

The GOTV was poor and in some cases skipped, like colorado.

He is gaffe prone.

He's used his position at the RNC to write and promote a book while head of the RNC.

The most important job is getting donations from big money Republican donors. Most of them don't like his managment style or him. That's his main job and he wasn't good at it.

Anyone who runs a company knows if a big time client doesn't like your sales person, you send a different sales person.

Personally I don't mind Steele, I wanted him to beat Cardin for Senate in Maryland back in 2004(or was it 2006?).

He's not a bad guy, he just isn't a good head of the RNC.

39

Wow. Now I see where Steve Perry got his influences and why he was always compared to Sam Cooke.

Cooke demonstrated that true talent can indeed be overlooked.

40

For a whole host of reason I don't agree with you.  But I'm not a big conservative or a republican party insider, I'm just a dumb independent.  But ben, what I see, if Steele is fired is a public relations night mare and the beginning of independents wondering about the republicans.

I'd be willing to bet you 99% of independents don't even know who michael steele is.

And I am not a big "insider" either, but that doesn't mean I can't tell when someone isn't suited for specific position.

Again, I like Steele, he's a good guy, just not as head of the RNC. It's kinda like how I feel about Palin.  I llike her a lot and respect her, but I don't want her to be our candidate.

41 37, Well then maybe you should rethink how you analyze these things. That position belongs to the GOP, not to Steele. Steele just occupies it, and if he is not leading the charge, not making things a hell of a lot better for the GOP, a hell of a lot better, then someone else should give it a try.

42 27
I live in CA and it seems to be ok.

Sort of like how everything still seems ok even though you know the asteroid is fast approaching.

Hope you have a fall-back position.  If not, I'd suggest making one now. 

43

"the SEIU, which represents some of the lowest-paid manual- labor jobs in state government"

So, California state government is just another jobs program for the uneducated and unskilled.  With any luck, when the zombie apocolypse comes, SEIU workers will get eaten first.

44 Posted by: Ben at November 12, 2010 09:48 AM (wuv1c)

Ben I hear what you are saying.  However, there are many ways to get a job done.  You don't always have to follow some arbitrary set of standards, particularly if they have been shown to be highly ineffective. 

You got your wins.
you got your money.
you have fiscal and subpoena power in the congress.

what did he do wrong.   Maybe he didn't get this stuff the way you normally should.  Personally, I think the book and the bus were nothing short of absolute brilliance.

Look it's like if you have a brand new top of the line 60 inch television.  And you put out the box on the curb in front of your house.  And a criminal can't help but decided, since he/sh saw the box, to rob you.  So when he/she tries to rob you when you leave the house they find out that the entire house was booby trapped and the police arrest them and the tv's fine...

45 A tip of the hat to you Monty. You rarely see financial writing that includes zombies, medieval references, and the word "wastrel" all in one post.

Nice work sir. Very nice work.

/not sure however, about calling Obama a wastrel. Typically, I think wastrels had a more interesting lifestyle. The Kennedy's are wastrels, so is John Edwards, and possibly even John Kerry, but Obama is kind of too... boring to be a true wastrel.

46 Hope you have a fall-back position. If not, I'd suggest making one now. Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) I'm good a fading into the background.

47 Posted by: eman at November 12, 2010 09:51 AM (sTdjn)

I can remember Nanny p, years ago saying the dems were broke and they were having trouble finding money for the elections.  I remember wondering what she was up to. 

The world is different.  I think Steele played this beautifully.  Maybe he didn't play it "rich white old guy" style but man he was effective.  Problem is, you won't see how effective he was for years.  If they fire him, the republicans will look short sighted at the very least and petty too.

48 Thanks for the excellent musical selection this morning. I love oldies. My personal favorite is Sinatra and I love the 40's and 50's era "swing" and "lounge" music. But I do so enjoy old time R&B. The crap on the radio today, on ALL the stations, is just not music to me. Which is probably why I listen to CDs and talk radio.

49 I hate to say this but, as regards Steele, you are behaving like the kos kids with GWB.

50 I don't mean "you" to mean a specific poster or commenter, I mean "you" to mean the republican party.

51 And what other RNC chairman has gone on the Al baby show?

52 2 I just hope the Irish default doesn't send another wave of immigrants here. God knows we have enough Irish.

Posted by: Ben at November 12, 2010 09:04 AM (wuv1c)

The Scott-Irish culture is the American spirit, anyone who'd leave everything they know and everyone they know for a months long boat-ride to America is gonna be pretty damned independent. And, they'd speak English.

I wish we'd take in every damned one of them that could pay their own way here. Reverse Teddy K's most destructive legacy.

53 I'm always amazed that the level of talent concentrated in the R&B scene in the early 1960's. Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Lou Rawls, Sam and Dave, Otis Redding, Bobby Womack -- and that's not even counting the blues guys who did crossover stuff, like B. B. King, Freddie King, and Ray Charles. And it just got crushed when the British invasion hit. (Well, kind of...Led Zep and Cream were really just doing electrified Delta Blues covers.)

54 If you are a beauty queen and you wake up the morning of the pageant with a giant zit that looks like a third eye, do you go to the pageant and pretend it's not there or do you acknowledge it and use it to your advantage?

Everyone sees it, everyone knows it's there, no one can cover it with makeup, they all tried, you have a giant zit and you are competing for a national title. 

55 I hate to say this but, as regards Steele, you are behaving like the kos kids with GWB.

Oh, bullshit. And you know that's bullshit.

There's no photoshops with Hitler mustaches, no effigies being guillotined, no spit, no breathless orgasmic declarations he's a fascist...there's just a quiet discussion about his lack of effectiveness as a leader, and sadness that he can't stop talking about his skin.

You take that back and apologize.

56 And how in god's name could I forget Wilson Pickett?! The man-and-a-half, the hardest working man in the business.

57 When no one has any money, it's kind of hard to decide how to spread all that nothing around.

Note that that didn't slow down the crooked moochers who went there pushing the special "rich nation" banking tax to fund poor down trodden leaders for life.

The G-20 has to do something other than provide a location for the commies and anarchists to throw paving stones and riot.

58 Give Cali to the Chinese.  Two problems immediately solved.

I thought of that a while ago, but people have convinced me the Chinese aren't that gullible.

59 Binging:

Michael Steel Gaffes:   244000 hits

Obama Gaffes:  85000 hits




hmmm........

60 Posted by: HeatherRadish at November 12, 2010 10:09 AM (Vz9lf)

ok, I do take it back and I do apologize.  But man when you think  of them, just from the short list you enumerated, they are truly nuts....

61 (Well, kind of...Led Zep and Cream were really just doing electrified Delta Blues covers.)

Since Cream was mostly Clapton that is logical. 

62 Looks like the stock market is tanking on fears that China is going to tighten the money supply to head off inflation (not that it'll do much good -- that horse is out of the barn already). Pull quote from this article: "Demand for Treasurys declined, sending the 10-year note's yield up to 2.70%. Crude oil prices slipped, while gold futures also declined." Those bonds are getting harder to move, aren't they, Uncle Sugar? That's what happens when piss away the market's trust.

63 Everyone is saying that Steele was not an effective leader but no one is giving specifics. 

An effective leader does what is right for the time.   That's what I'm trying to tell you all.

64 When the Zombie Apocalypse comes, SEIU Workers will be the first Zombies.

65

The Scott-Irish culture is the American spirit, anyone who'd leave everything they know and everyone they know for a months long boat-ride to America is gonna be pretty damned independent. And, they'd speak English.

Scotch-Irish aren't Irish-Irish.

Scotch-Irish are scottish people that England sent into ireland to breed with the irish to dilute the irish identity and create a group loyal to Great Britain and not Irish independence movements.

Also, i was joking a bit. I don't mind the Irish, but don't get me started on the Italians. I still can't believe we let them in.

66 Posted by: Monty at November 12, 2010 10:07 AM (4Pleu)

I thought I was the only person alive who isn't impressed by The Beatles. Honestly, outside of the R&B scene, a good chunk of the stuff from the 60s and 70s doesn't impress me. I can't stand a lot of the rock music that came from it. Hendrix was good, and I like SOME of the stuff from the Doors. But outside of that, a lot of it's way too trippy for me. This is probably borderline sacrilegious for me to say, being from the South and all, but I don't care for Southern rock, either. But when it comes to rock, I'm more of a Boston kind of gal than anything. That's good music, both lyrically and melodically.

67 Mornin' Morons.  I think last night's hobos had been taking The Good Stuff, on account of coming scarily close to keeping Ace's hours on a holiday.

In the interests of sharing the pain, h/t to the Internet home of the Weak Tea Party (all you can make with Tepid Air, y'know) for this proof that, well, we didn't nuke Japan hard enough.  Enjoy!

68 I just hope the Irish default doesn't send another wave of immigrants here. God knows we have enough Irish.

Posted by: Ben at November 12, 2010 09:04 AM (wuv1c)

 

that's a really dumb thing to say man.......

69

Posted by: HeatherRadish at November 12, 2010 10:09 AM (Vz9lf)

ok, I do take it back and I do apologize.  But man when you think  of them, just from the short list you enumerated, they are truly nuts....

Could I ask you, what you think Steele did that was so sucessful and great?

I assume you can't claim that the wave was a result, in large part or small part, of Steele's chairmanship of the RNC?

70

I'd be willing to bet you 99% of independents don't even know who michael steele is.

Hell, a lot of us conservatives don't know who he is... When the party and conservatism needed him most, he was invisible, silent or at best, giving out the lamest of all lame platitudes.

The GOP, if it wants to stay viable and be seen as part of this century, needs a fighter, a scrapper--- someone vocal, visible and on fire.  Not weak whimpy dishwater and self serving (so how many of those do we have now?)

71

68 see 65.

it was facetious, I don't hate any group, except for that damned dirty Latvians.

72 Kratos -

This is from the NYT a few years ago, so take it with a big grain of salt..

http://tli.tl/wKfe4x

“If you look at the extremes in 2000,” Dr. Singh said, “men in the most deprived counties had 10 years’ shorter life expectancy than women in the most affluent counties (71.5 years versus 81.3 years).” The difference between poor black men and affluent white women was more than 14 years (66.9 years vs. 81.1 years).

People that need social security the most would be hurt the most by an increase in eligibility age.

I know your argument is with the use of "average".. as average would mean all ages are improving on longevity. they are.. but wealthier are increasing a little more.

Just more ammo for the lefties to use in their arguments for income redistribution.

73 I thought I was the only person alive who isn't impressed by The Beatles. Honestly, outside of the R&B scene, a good chunk of the stuff from the 60s and 70s doesn't impress me. We're like Mike and Ike. We think alike!

74 71 68 see 65.

it was facetious, I don't hate any group, except for that damned dirty Latvians.

There's two kinds of people that offend me.  Those who are intolerant of other people's cultures... and the Dutch! 

75 I hate to say this but, as regards Steele, you are behaving like the kos kids with GWB.

Posted by: curious at November 12, 2010 10:03 AM (p302b)

This is ridiculous.  Steele has engaged in lots of questionable activity by doing things to personally make money as RNC head.  Couple that with his record of very bad gaffes when he was sold as a great communicator, and what exactly is to his credit?

Meanwhile, kos kids exhorted for GWB to be murdered or face war crimes, and they called him all manner of vile epithets.  You don't see that here with Steele.  All you see is people saying that he sucks at his job and needs to get ousted for someone better.

We didn't pick up 60 house seats because of the RNC anymore than the Democrats won in 2006 because of Howard Dean.  Claims that Steele set up some wunderengine of the future...where exactly is the proof of that?

76 66, The Beatles were just another band. A shitty one.

77 I'm always amazed that the level of talent concentrated in the R&B scene in the early 1960's. Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Lou Rawls, Sam and Dave, Otis Redding, Bobby Womack -- and that's not even counting the blues guys who did crossover stuff, like B. B. King, Freddie King, and Ray Charles. And it just got crushed when the British invasion hit. (Well, kind of...Led Zep and Cream were really just doing electrified Delta Blues covers.)
Posted by: Monty
---------
Crushed? meh.. more pushed to the side a bit..

The British invasion happened partly because of the sheer volume of new music coming from those bands.  Look at how prolific the Beatles were.. and I would argue that their songs still stand up today every bit as well as Sam Cooke's.  But nobody had a voice like Cooke!

78 Wow, you do not see how steele's style played into this election, do you?  You guys have amazingly short memories.  do you not remember the wave of Americans that swept BO into office.  Do you not remember how republicans were persona non grata and nancy, harry, and barry had all the power and all the adoring fans?  do you not remember how no one wanted steele's job?   do you not remember the view of republicans most Americans had and how laura ingram on o'really show last night outlined for those who forgot what went wrong with GWB and how it could have impacted the republicans for years.

Do you not see that Steele's job was "walking on egg shells"

Steele had the right management style for the climate at the time.  

79
66
beauty in the eye

80 Posted by: Ben at November 12, 2010 10:20 AM (wuv1c)

And the Joos. Don't forget them!

81 Chi-town Jerry - so your saying that do to demographics we get more bang for our buck from a eligibility age change and a means test. Thats all good, right - or are you trying to be "fair".

82

I loved this song after I saw it in the movie Inner Space, which was an underrated film.

83
So, if Ireland is boned, that means we can get their whiskey and beer for cheap? and maybe sweeten the deal with some fine Irish lass?

84 74, Every single Bulgarian is a mini-Satan. Plus, they smell funny.

85 From the disco era: http://tinyurl.com/yjafew5

Ignore the outfits (or laugh at them, if you will). I just love Heatwave. Notice, they're actually singing it. No lip syncing back in the day.

86 Michael Savage could augment his show's music selections from that era with more Cooke.

87 The Beatles were just another band. A shitty one. I wouldn't go that far. I just don't understand the fanatic insistence that they where THE GREATEST BAND EVARRRRR! I dunno. Maybe it's just because I was born too late to get the "vibe" -- I didn't happen along until 1967. I just don't hear what other people seem to hear when I listen to the Beatles. Even at the time, the soul, funk, R&B, and blues music seem to have a lot more heart than anything the Beatles did.

88 Posted by: Ben at November 12, 2010 10:28 AM (wuv1c)

That's great! He had such a rich voice.

89 My complaint about Steele is when he would end up on some show, he would end up apologizing for Republicans. Be it the party in general or for something Rush Limbaugh said. No, as the head of the GOP, you don't apologize for that. You advance your message. And he did a horrible job of that. But he had no issue claiming credit on the night of Nov. 2 for all the wins. And you can bet he would have blamed the Tea Party if the election went the other direction.

90 Ben: "Twistin' the Night Away" is one of the greatest party-songs in human history. Pickett's "Land of 10,000 Dances" is a great one too.

91

I wouldn't go that far. I just don't understand the fanatic insistence that they where THE GREATEST BAND EVARRRRR! I dunno. Maybe it's just because I was born too late to get the "vibe" -- I didn't happen along until 1967.

I think it was the nonstop hits, every album had catchy and marketable singles. Much of their music was perfect for the radio format.

I do like the Beatles, or at least a decent amount of their music, but the best band ever stuff is a bit much. Also the insane devotion of some of their fans can be offputting, but I feel the same way about Elvis.

Also give them credit, there were a ton of bands like them in the 1960s, but most of them were one or two hit wonders. The Beatles were able to keep cranking out hits.

92

been meaning to ask this, might as well do it here. has anyone seen LoppyD? I remember spotting her here occaisionally after we (and dozens of others) fled LGF. I have not seen her post here in awhile. she's from Mass, IIRC. think she was in a legal/law profession somewhere.

anyone? thanks in advance.

93 I've got 10K (after tax) burning a hole in my pocket; what to do: dividend paying stocks, aggressive stock fund, TX and VA Bonds, gold/silver, money market fund, on the Steelers giving 4 to the Patsies, 4 new M1A1s, or just let it cower in fear in my checking account?

94 Wow, you do not see how steele's style played into this election, do you?

Yes, his "off the hook" decision to bring hip-hop into the Republican party is clearly why Bob Schilling defeated Phil Hare.

95 Posted by: Dave C at November 12, 2010 10:32 AM (poJjg)

The candidates Steele recruited won.  Not all the tea party candidates won.

OMG guys stop getting on the republican white old guy bandwagon and use your brains, just for a moment.  Steele did a good job in a terrible environment for republicans. 

Ok, so he wrote a book.  As did BO, Rush, O'really, Lavin, Palin, Beck, Savage....it's the thing to do, it makes you oodles of money and give you grivitas.

96 The Beatles were just another band.. Some good songs, some bad. Now The Who, on the other hand...

97 ARETHA!

http://tinyurl.com/2adc9cj

98 Curious, nobody wanted Steele's job? Do you not remember how his opponent was savaged as a racist for belonging to an all-white country club twenty years ago? Fuck Michael Steele. He did NONE of the heavy lifting in this election. It was done by outsiders like Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and let's not forget Saint Christine of O'Donnell, The One True Hope For Conservatism. Michael Steele is a sandbag tied to our ankle, chosen by a bunch of "me too!" assbags in the RNC so they could pretend they were establishing their non-racist bona fides with the MFM. He's an embarassment and a leech on the Party. Time to burn him off with a cigar.

99

The term is Scot-Irish. Scotch is a beverage, and a very good one.

Reminds me of the scene from Blazing Saddles. Blacks and Chinese, but no Irish.

100 On the subject of the boning of California.  I recall during the campaign one and future governor Brown said that a welfare check is better than a paycheck.  That causes me to formulate Walrus's Rule:  A community that thinks a welfare check is better than a paycheck will soon have neither welfare checks nor paychecks.  I smell a Nobel Prize in economics!

101

Ben: "Twistin' the Night Away" is one of the greatest party-songs in human history. Pickett's "Land of 10,000 Dances" is a great one too.

Yeah, Twistin the Night Away was in that movie too.

I've always been a big R&B and Motown fan. That's partially why I hate Rap so much. Music by black muscians in the field of R&B and Pop(if it can be fairly called that) used to be so good. So good. Now it's terrible. My biggest problem with rap isn't the lyrics or message, but its the quality.

 

102 Posted by: curious at November 12, 2010 10:36 AM (p302b) He apologized for the Republican party being racist. He apologized for Rush saying, "I hope he fails" Among others. Why should I want someone at the head of an organization who continuously apologizes for said organization? As for the elections, it's a process, not an event. For being so new to the scene, the Tea Party did pretty well.

103 Mallamutt - I'm Mormon'ed up ( and not mormon) on the basics; this is an investment and I'm see no safe harbors.

104 Jean - someone will get "hurt" by any changes in SS funding/expenditures..  Everyone has a different meaning of the word "fair". 

But if, in fact, poor people live less long and thereby collect SS for fewer years, then, yes, raising the eligibility age seems less "fair" to me from their perspective.

Seems to me if we're going to make changes, everyone should hurt a bit.. some means testing.. some increase in eligibilty age.. and even a slight increase in the FICA cutoff - currently at $106k.  I would throw in changes in benefit rates as well as another way to play with the numbers.  All should be on the table.

105 "Steele had the right management style for the climate at the time." The kind of style that made this fundraising wunderkind leave the GOP campaign coffers halved on his watch by as late as early 2010. Steele is a fucking fundraising failure. You don't want to die on this hill, friend.

106

Also give them credit, there were a ton of bands like them in the 1960s, but most of them were one or two hit wonders. The Beatles were able to keep cranking out hits.

Posted by: Ben at November 12, 2010 10:36 AM (wuv1c)

Meh. Look, I'm a child of the 80s, so maybe this is off base. But from what I gather by talking to my aunts and such is that The Beatles were the 60s equivalent of NSYNC. Obviously their music significantly better (and I'm not a Beatles fan, but I'd never EVER say that their music was as crappy as that of the modern boy band). But my feeling is that they were initially very popular because they were good looking (for that era, I guess) and it kind of evolved from there. Kind of like the Twilight thing. Crappy content + the "it guys" in the teen-o-sphere = blockbuster movie franchise.

107 Posted by: Empire of Jeff at November 12, 2010 10:37 AM (D9kBV)

Nope, you are totally wrong.  totally.  Michael Steele was exactly who the party needed at the time.  He still is.  Getting others to do "the heavy lifting" is also part of an effective management strategy and you guys fail to recognize that.

Steele got the job done.  Maybe not the way you would but he got it done.  he brought the republican party down to a point where it is within reach of hispanics and blacks who would not ordinarily even look at the thought of being republican.  You haven't heard the "the republicans are only a party for the rich "meme much lately, that's due to Michael Steele and his bus ride.   And his going on Al baby's show.  (where people who would never hear him, suddenly hear him)

108

Monty...Funnier than heck.

I was informed...painlessly. Thank you.

109

Also the insane devotion of some of their fans can be offputting, but I feel the same way about Nirvana Elvis.

FIFY

Posted by: Mallamutt at November 12, 2010 10:41 AM (OWjjx)

Yep.

110 I've always been a big R&B and Motown fan. That's partially why I hate Rap so much. Music by black muscians in the field of R&B and Pop(if it can be fairly called that) used to be so good. So good. Now it's terrible. My biggest problem with rap isn't the lyrics or message, but its the quality. I dunno -- I'm not fond of rap as a genre, but it has it's moments. Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice" is a favorite of mine. Biggie had some good stuff. I just prefer the old style R&B: melody, harmony, a good rhythm section. Newer music is either *all* rhythm (and samples), or all percussion. There's not much melody/harmony to it any more, and I'm old-school enough to find that off-putting.

111 Also with The Beatles.. Why is it that Paul and John get all the praise and accolades when many of the their great songs were penned by George?

112 Posted by: Dave C at November 12, 2010 10:41 AM (poJjg)

geez last night I heard another guy at the head of the country apologize for the country, again.

113 The state song of California ought to be I Fought the Laws of Economics and the Laws of Economics Won.

114

78
66
beauty in the eye

Awesome technique!

115 Posted by: Empire of Jeff
Don't forget Karl Rove in that list.. like him or not, his organizations put tens of millions into this election backing GOP candidates.

116 "The Beatles were just another band. A shitty one." Any band that popularized the bowl haircut, even for a week, needs to be cut down several notches.

117 ChiTown-Jerry - my issue is that by considering the "fairness" of a proposal, you continue the masquerade that SS was a "fund" that an individual paid into - when in reality it was just another tax. Fair in the correct context is everyone paying and getting the same - don't want to get into the "progressive" nature of the pay in (% of income) versus the flat nature of the payout.

118 George wrote only a few of their hits.. John and Paul wrote 90%..

119 geez last night I heard another guy at the head of the country apologize for the country, again. Is it too much to ask for one elected official to say they are proud of this country? *sigh*

120 Monty, does Fatboy Slim count as rap?

121 Is it too much to ask for one elected official to say they are proud of this country? *sigh* Posted by: Dave C at November 12, 2010 10:48 AM (poJjg) Vote Republican

122 Posted by: shibumi at November 12, 2010 09:54 AM

I'd say Osama Obama lives a "pretty interesting" life. Or is it just me who thinks living the life of an Arab potentate at the public's expense and having a coterie of unquestioning, slavering followers wouldn't be kinda cool? Being empowered to give orders, toss money around without ever running out of the stuff  and put all your pals into unearned and inappropriate positions of power has gotta make a guy feel good, too.

Add on being relatively young and set for life without ever having displayed any effort or skill, and you've got a gig I'd be down with.

123 SS doesn't have a flat payout.. you put in more, you get out more.  It's all based on your past earnings which affected how much you put in.. I'm really confused by what you're saying.

124 By the way, couldn't Paul McCartney and Sting go to Massachusetts, get married, play house and just go away?

125 Mallamutt - I read Liddy's book as a teenager; that was a good investment (as was the Penthouse article) -- I just can't buy golds now when I have some that I bought at less then 500 sitting in the box.

126 ChiTown-Jerry - until you max, I don't think that max indexes to the FICA cut-off

127 49 I hate to say this but, as regards Steele, you are behaving like the kos kids with GWB.

Posted by: curious at November 12, 2010 10:03 AM (p302b)

Seriously?

128 Calling any one band the greatest of all time is an exercise bound to fail. Personal taste and all that. But it's pretty hard to argue that the Beatles weren't the most influential band of all time. They were true innovators both stylistically and musically and as far as I know they are still they only band that has sold over 1 billion albums. Look at the number of top 10 hits, the things they introduced like feedback and the use of unique instruments like sitas (yeesh), songs like Helter Skelter which is widely considered the first metal song, etc.. When they did the Sullivan Show in '63, over 70 million people watched in a considerably smaller country. They opened the door that let other bands flourish. Not my favorite band of all time but hard to argue they aren't the most influential band ever.

129 ChiTown-Jerry - I should mention that I have completely written off getting any SS from all of my planning, so I could be fuzzy on the details.

130 71

68 see 65.

it was facetious, I don't hate any group, except for that damned dirty Latvians.

Posted by: Ben at November 12, 2010 10:20 AM (wuv1c)

and the scandis. don't forget those dirty snow-wops.

131 look, maybe the GOP has to decide how the RNC will be run.  Maybe you need more than one person at the top, like how the PTA often has an "at home mom" and a "working mom" sharing the top job.  

But Michael Steele has been the best at PR of anyone I've ever  seen and you guys are totally failing to recognize this.  In two years, two years, he picked the maligned republican party up and it can have some pride again.  Come on, give the guy his due for gosh sakes.

132 Monty, does Fatboy Slim count as rap? I'd call it R&B myself. I'm not sure how you'd define "rap" these days. The genre seems to have been morphed since the 1990's into a variety of other forms: it's been folded into funk, punk, rock, soul, and other stuff. The style of music most people think of as "rap" hasn't really existed since 1995 or so. The "gangsta" stuff is old-school even to gang-bangers (though I may be wrong; again, I don't follow the genre all that closely). The iPod revolution seems to have made the musical landscape into a real gumbo -- styles intermixing and changing all the time. It makes me happy. It keeps the music fresh and alive. I suspect I will always be an old-school dude, but the stuff kids are listening to now is miles ahead of the shit we had back when I was in high-school in the mid-1980's. There was more bad music in the 1980's than any other decade in American history.

133 @77 /@66

The Beatles were just another band.  A shitty one.

Interesting -- when I first heard them, back in 1964 when they  arrived in NY under the auspices of DJ Murray the K, they sounded to me like a rough, slightly off-key version of the Everly Brothers.  I never understood why the kids 6 or 7 years or more younger than I was turned them into religious cult figures.  The triumph of PR, hype, and herd mentality, I guess.

(P.S.  -- re the Everly Brothers comment -  I read a decade or so later that one of the favorite American groups of the Beatles was -- the Everly Brothers.)

134 OK, i apologized for the "Kos Kids remark" up thread, almost immediately....

135 The Beatles concerts looked like a Klan rally. Please buy my book.

136

Saw several stories out there about "Qualitative Easing". 

What complete and utter bullshit.  Bureaucrats have gotten so used to believing that if they come up with some clever bureaucratic term, idiot Americans will believe them obviously because they are clever enough to come up with a bullshit bureaucratic term, and they are so, so very smart... and clever.

The rest of the socialist world is holding it's nose at America's QE and QE2 bullshit.  Their countries have already gone over the line of sustainibility of their socialism.  America has too, its just that our socialists, because they never got to take the field in the grand game of socialism, are too self deceived and too fucking stupid to see it.  They either want a chance at bat or they will take their ball and go home.

Fucking idiots are too stupid to see that their are a lot of balls in this game and if they leave, it will only help.  They won't be missed... except we won't have idiots around to make fun of anymore.  I can live with that.

137 Vote Republican conservative...Posted by: nevergiveup at November 12, 2010 10:49 AM

"Republican" doesn't mean what it used to. Pretty hard to give a political party any props when it is currently dominated by power-hungry unscrupulous loons like Mitch McConnell and Michael "What up?" Steele, fields unqualified candidates like Christine O'Donnell and Scott Brown, and has intellectual pygmies like Hannity pimping for it.

Fortunately, things are starting to change, but for the moment I'm not liking the Repubs. When they're absorbed (and replaced) by the conservatives, it'll be a different and better story.

138 But if, in fact, poor people live less long and thereby collect SS for fewer years, then, yes, raising the eligibility age seems less "fair" to me from their perspective.

All of that is absolute horse shit predicted on a myth created by the MFM. Especially quoting one from the damn NYT.

Forget everything you think you know about longevity differences and SS. They have absolutely NOTHING to do with one another.

Once you get past the "dangerous youth" ages where most poor poeple die from violent/risky related causes the longevity rates are pretty much the same.

Someone killed in a drug related turf war in the inner city when they are 25 years old will never collect SS and will never contribute to it either way.

139

Just as long as we can all agree that I f'ing hate The Eagles.

140 Didn't Michael Steele recruit Rubio and West?

Not O'Donnell, not scott brown?

141 Ok, I agree that you hate The Eagles.. next!

142 When they're absorbed (and replaced) by the conservatives, it'll be a different and better story. Posted by: MrScribbler Agreed. And here's hoping it doesn't go the other way around..

143 Look, has Steele made mistakes....sure everyone does.  If you are human, you make mistakes....but it is those mistakes that made people take a little peak at the Republican party.....people who were being told by the union that the republicans were a party of evil old white guys and not to even look over there.....and then this soft spoken, well educated, black dude rides in on his bus and you can't help but go down and see what he has to say....

144

Was there a 15 cent per gallon gas tax in the Simpson plan? I think i just read that somewhere

My biggest fear about this plan is that they enact it, and then undue all the cuts a few years later and keep the taxes, like they always do

145 Eli "Paperboy" Reed. Has anyone heard of this guy???

 http://tinyurl.com/yjbzznd

First I'd ever heard of him was 20 minutes ago when my cousin sent me this video. WOW. Classic style. I'm going to check out some of the other stuff I've found by him on youtube and may have to purchase his album.

146 curious, if you really want to know, google/bing AoSHQ & Michael Steele. You're convinently forgetting every time he's shot himself and the GOP in the foot publicly in the last two years.

He's not as nearly as effective as you think he is, and that's why he's been so under the radar this election. So he'd stop killing us in the media.

147 @ 140  -

Let's all pray that the socialists do take their ball and go home in a huff.   We don't need to financially Californicate the rest of the country.

And I am hereby organizing a movement to deny California the right to pick the pockets of the rest  of the country, when the inevitable collapse occurs.  With their fabled Mediterranean climate, they can pretend they are Greece and stew in their own avoglemono.  They can work their own way out of their self-created disaster.

148 You haven't heard the "the republicans are only a party for the rich "meme much lately, that's due to Michael Steele and his bus ride. Seriously?! That's all you hear! What do you think Obama is saying when he's refusing to accept the Republican proposal to extend tax cuts for the wealthy? Michael Steele has eliminated class warfare? Please tell me someone is sockpuppeting curious.

149 Greatest Band Evah? Lipps Inc.

150
I have a dumb question for Monty (my economics is pretty dismal). Do you think QE2 is being done specifically to cause inflation, so that would investors sitting on cash would be forced to put their cash into more tangible stuff such as starting businesses or boosting stocks?

151 The Tea Party in FL recruited-- at the very least got behind and supported Rubio-- early on. Crist was the actual endorsed candidate by the NRSC months before the Primary even happened. Not sure where the RNC fell in line but I doubt they would get in the way of their Senate Betters.

152 Didn't Michael Steele recruit Rubio and West?

Not O'Donnell, not scott brown?

Posted by: curious at November 12, 2010 10:59 AM (p302b)

I dunno about West, but Steele did not recruit Rubio.

153 The Beatles concerts looked like a Klan rally. Please buy my book.

Yeah, they were as white as a Stewart/Colbert political rally.

154 Just as long as we can all agree that I f'ing hate The Eagles. Sweet Jeebus on a Stratocaster... I had to hear "Hotel California" so many times on the store radio during my teenage job in retail that I wanted to check out permanently.

155 Posted by: Empire of Jeff at November 12, 2010 11:04 AM (5pIHA)

no it is me, what I'm saying is what I'm hearing from regular average people who like Steele and are surprised that the Republicans want him out.

The fact that Al had him on the show shows that the black community is very well aware of who he is.

Maybe he is important for the strides he is making among hispanics and blacks...young people in their twenties.

People do know who he is.  People are way more informed than ever before....if the republicans throw him out now they will look like a bunch of racists.

156 Michael Steele has eliminated class warfare? Michael Steele cured cancer.

157 Let's all pray that the socialists do take their ball and go home in a huff.   We don't need to financially Californicate the rest of the country.

And I am hereby organizing a movement to deny California the right to pick the pockets of the rest  of the country, when the inevitable collapse occurs.  With their fabled Mediterranean climate, they can pretend they are Greece and stew in their own avoglemono.  They can work their own way out of their self-created disaster.

Posted by: Minnie Rodent at November 12, 2010 11:04 AM (PZLW0)

The federal government will either starve California or be California.

158 Mandy,

When bands left the suit and skinny necktie behind, band attire through the 60s and 70s reflect highly stylized zeitgeist fads, to say the least.

Look at the band Paul Revere and the Raiders to see 1966 and 1967 band attire and the evolution of a band. But like the BeeGees ("The Most Significant New Talent Of 1967"), the Heatwave soft rock hits came earlier, just before disco overwhelmed the dance scene and hence the music market.

159 Maybe he is important for the strides he is making among hispanics and blacks...young people in their twenties.

Link?

160 143 Just as long as we can all agree that I f'ing hate The Eagles.

The band or the football team?  Both?

161 The federal government will either starve California or be California. Michael Steele has a plan that will make California's government flush with cash overnight, just like he did for the GOP's campaign warchest. Also, Michael Steele invented the atom smasher.

162 Minnie Rodent, You know who sounds like the Everly Brothers? Pothead favorite 311. Every time they harmonize, in my head I hear "Wake Up Little Suzie." I note with some shame that the first "concert" I ever attended was The Everly Brothers / Anne Murray at the 1984 Worlds Fair. You have only yourselves to blame for my rebellion, Mom and Dad.

163 Posted by: eh at November 12, 2010 11:10 AM (H+LJc)

It's so funny that would be classified as soft rock. You can obviously hear the origins of disco in there. I love Heatwave. Got their first album in the $5 bin at Circuit City in the late 90s. Talk about a gem!

164 Posted by: WalrusRex at November 12, 2010 11:09 AM (xxgag)

they fully expect all of you to bail them out....

the libs say "well there are so many republicans in other parts of the state, they'll have to bail us out"....

although, where were those alleged republcians when they elected jerry?

165 You know, Kratos. I'm kinda waiting for an answer here.

166 Just as long as we can all agree that I f'ing hate The Eagles.

The band or the football team?  Both?

Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at November 12, 2010 11:13 AM (9hSKh)

My hubby's a Bucs fan, so to maintain peace in my household I'll say both.

167 Posted by: Tami at November 12, 2010 11:11 AM (VuLos)

There is no link, I"m going by being out there and talking to people.  And you won't know how effective he was at planting seeds for years.

It's my own opinion based on what I'm observing.

and, even if I had a link it would just be some "journalist" giving their opinion and building a case for it...

heck you republicans should have Karl Rove and Michael Steele run the republican party.....rove could do the heavy lifting and Steele could do the quiet PR......

168

Just as long as we can all agree that I f'ing hate The Eagles.

The band or the football team?  Both?

both. I was originally thinking of the band, but the football team as well. However it is easier to hate the band because "Hotel California" is on the radio all the time, whereas the Eagles can't win superbowls. So its harder to hate losers.

169 can jews and muslims invest in pork belly futures?  I thought that is where that Interfaith Center for Stupid Nonsense press release was going.

170 You haven't heard the "the republicans are only a party for the rich "meme much lately, that's due to Michael Steele and his bus ride.   And his going on Al baby's show.  (where people who would never hear him, suddenly hear him)

Posted by: curious at November 12, 2010 10:43 AM (p302b)

You're either completely clueless, or busting our chops now, and I can't figure out which.

171 Re: California, the boning of

Schwarzenegger calls special session
November 11 2010

The governor will declare a fiscal emergency and bring in newly sworn state legislators early next month to start dealing with the budget issues that couldn't or wouldn't be dealt with in the previous legislature. Schwarzenegger, who still has another couple of months in his term, made his move a day after the state's chief budget analyst said the shortfall had grown to $25.4 billion - $6.1 billion of that in the current fiscal year.

172 "and then this soft spoken, well educated, black dude rides in on his bus and you can't help but go down and see what he has to say...." you have to be fucking kidding me. Steele is using this position as a personal gravy train to promote himself and his stupid book, has spent more than he's raised, and has raised a whole helluva lot less than expected. he was nowhere to be seen on any of the campaigns that mattered. nice doesn't matter; results do. skin color doesn't matter, results do. Steele's results suck donkey balls. Epic fail. Next.

173 People do know who he is.  People are way more informed than ever before....if the republicans throw him out now they will look like a bunch of racists.

Oh come on.  The media is going to call Republicans racist no matter what. 

Steele didn't help matters when he said that the fact he was black meant he had less room to make mistakes, "just like Obama."  This latest decision to go on Al Sharpton's show and commiserate about his impending firing isn't helping much either.

174 I have a dumb question for Monty (my economics is pretty dismal). Do you think QE2 is being done specifically to cause inflation, so that would investors sitting on cash would be forced to put their cash into more tangible stuff such as starting businesses or boosting stocks? I'm coming around to the idea that it was mainly a gun pointed at China's head -- since they refuse to appreciate the Yuan as fast as Uncle Sam wants them to, we instead flood them with a bunch of USD liquidity so they have to appreciate in self-defense. Problem: China is a Communist, authoritarian nation with absolute control over their financial sector. So instead of ramping up appreciation of the yuan, they are instead implementing currency controls. Trade war, baby. And yes, there probably was some motivation to heat up the stock market -- but it's a pretty half-assed idea, if that's what they intended. The market pretty clearly isn't buying it.

175 You know who was a great band? The 1910 Fruitgum Company. Their single "Simple Simon" is a biting critique of the heavy-handed Establishment's role in defining gender roles and the military-industrial complex. Plus, one of them looks just like Austin Powers.

176 Posted by: Unclefacts, Summoner of Meteors, Bacon Raconteur at November 12, 2010 11:18 AM (eCAn3)

This is the stuff I've been hearing from my friends.  I'm not a republican/conservative or a dem/lib....personally I think both parties need to go and new parties need to emerge...kind of a huge national cleansing.

But, beck and others have woken people up...they are paying attention....

You don't want to make any moves that can create a firestorm against the republicans right now...

177 "what I'm hearing from regular average people who like Steele and are surprised that the Republicans want him out." Average people do not even know who Steele is. Give it up. On China: here's what is going to happen. They will desperately keep their currency pegged. Everyone will agree with them, after all, they too want to export their way out of trouble, or they want the dollar to cease being the reserve currency. Problem: if you don't let your currency float, and you keep you interest rates super low, you will get inflation. Wages are way up in China. Materials, too. Food is up. And since they are poor, food is not some small amount of the average person's income. Workers will demand more to feed their families. China will be forced to raise their interest rates - hell, deposit rates are below inflation, that should tell you something is wrong. But that means hot money will find its way in. China will keep buying treasuries - they do it through London now to hid it, but you really think anyone else wants that amount of T-bills, Bernanke excepted? China may try the scumbag move it did before - buy Yen, send the Yen up, forcing the Japanese (also export addicts) to buy dollars...ha ha, China says I made you do my work for me! Doesn't matter - these countries are scared shitless of their currency appreciating. OK, so China will try this and that, but the reality is that when you grow at hyper warp speed instead of just regular speed (say 7-8%) you will pay the piper one way or another. Inflation it will be. Wages in China will go up and up, as the worker strike for more pay to cover the cost of pork and rice. 5 years ago, strikes were not heard of in China. Vietnam? Yes. China, no. Now they happen all the time, of course, mainly at foreign-owned plants. Doesn't matter - if Mitusbishi or Foxconn up wages, the local guys have to do it too. This is how real inflation happens, wages start to index to raw material cost increases. So, costs are going up in China, which means, no matter if the RMB is pegged, the China suppliers have to raise their prices. The US customers will beg off on this any way they can (they have already done so for the past 2 years) but eventually, there is nothing left to wring out from suppliers, inland labor, direct to store sales, etc. You see the same with food prices finally starting to come through. Then the inflation hits. Thank God. Because deflation is your worst nightmare. Except there won't be wage inflation in the USA. It will suck for us. But its the only way we can become competitive with a under-valued Yuan. And Ben will keep printing. There is nothing else he can do. The global imbalance in trade has to right itself. It wil do so matter what China does.

178 I had to hear "Hotel California" so many times on the store radio during my teenage job in retail that I wanted to check out permanently. I love exactly one Eagles song: Seven Bridges Road. (Well, maybe two: Take It To the Limit is pretty good.)

179 Bill Hailey and the Comets for most influential.

180 At least we can all agree that when China revalues the Yuan that all of our economic problems will go away and every single manufacturing job that left america for cheap labor will come running back to us, right?

181 hate The Eagles?

1963 The Eagles, Rondstadt  v. Carpenter Desperado, or Banderas Desperado

182 There is no link, I"m going by being out there and talking to people.

Posted by: curious




Good work Baretta, but word has come down from the Mayor's office to just back off the case.....

183 And Michael Steele wasn't "planting seeds.". He was feathering his own nest. Although, I did brush the hem of his garment and my neck goiter was instantly healed, so I'm not saying he's all bad.

184 and when I say "China" its not just them, its almost every Asian country who is export-oriented.

185 export-oriented

refusing imports

186 sexypig - doesn't that model assume that the US and Europe keep buying those Chinese exports. What happens to China if non-essential purchasing in the US drops significantly?

187 prices of goods on the internet have gone up.  Majorly.  Have done my shopping online since I could.  Have enver seen prices like this.   I am seriously worried that I'm getting one price and you are getting another.  That the computer is trying to figure out the price point at which I will buy a certain item.  And everything, everything is made in China.   I'm trying not to buy anything made in china cause it always turns out to be junk.   I bought stainless steel cookie sheets two years ago in costco.  They were beautiful and the right price.  When I went to wash them after using them, thank God with a parchment paper lining, I realized that the paint was coming off of them.  So they were painted to look like stainless steel but weren't.  It was horrible.  I threw them out and should have brought them back to Costco but at the time I didn't realize I could do this and was slightly preoccupied wondering if I had poisoned my family and friends with my Christmas cookies.  Ever since then, I try to avoid Chinese products.

188 "At least we can all agree that when China revalues the Yuan that all of our economic problems will go away and every single manufacturing job that left america for cheap labor will come running back to us, right?" No. They will go to Bangladesh Indonesia Pakistan, where they would have anyways. However, heavy equipment, planes, etc...maybe they wil come ba\ck.

189 Regardless of how all of you feel about The Eagles, The Eagles of Death Metal rock.

190 Curious, you've jumped the shark. I want Ken Blackwell. He should have gotten it last time, but was too conservative for our betters.

191

sexypig, i should have learned from early events in this thread that my facetious comments are taken seriously.

If jobs leave china they will go elsewhere to find cheap labor.

There are certain jobs that are almost certainly never coming back to america.

192 Posted by: Ben at November 12, 2010 11:31 AM (wuv1c)

And who is to blame for this entire mess?

193

The zombies are attacking Ben Bernanke from all sides, and he's out of shotgun shells.

!!!

Fookin' little bastard.

194 California - see boned


California budget shortfall twice as large as predicted
Published: Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010 Sacbee

In what has become a somber November tradition, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office projected Wednesday that California must close a $25.4 billion shortfall next year, twice as large as legislative leaders predicted.

The latest projections suggest a difficult road ahead for Gov.-elect Jerry Brown, who will likely spend much of the next four years wrestling with budget problems. The LAO report forecasts annual budget deficits of about $20 billion through 2015-16 without permanent changes.

The bulk of the new deficit – $19.3 billion – would occur in the 2011-12 fiscal year starting in July. But an additional $6.1 billion is due to what the LAO judged to be false assumptions in the October budget.

That $86.6 billion general fund budget assumed the state would receive $5.4 billion in new federal aid, a figure considered wildly optimistic even when the governor signed the budget plan. The legislative analyst believes the state will receive only about $1.9 billion of that money.

The analyst said other areas are too optimistic. He believes the state won't save $780 million in prison health care reductions, nor will it save $185 million by reducing the inmate population. By passing Proposition 22, which protects local government funds, voters saddled the budget with another $800 million problem.

State leaders knew big problems were on the horizon for the 2011-12 budget year. In February 2009, the Legislature and Schwarzenegger approved temporary tax hikes on income, vehicles and sales that will end in 2011. Those taxes provide $8.3 billion that will not be available for the next budget.

The state also will lose about $4.5 billion in federal aid. Beyond that, the state has faced an ongoing $5 billion to $6 billion gap between what it spends and what it receives.

In the past two years, state leaders have relied significantly on federal stimulus help to plug the budget. That money is now running out, while Republicans, who took control of the House in November, are unlikely to approve further aid to states.

Democrats won some flexibility at the November ballot in Proposition 25, which allows them to pass a spending plan on a majority vote. Yet they still need a two-thirds supermajority to approve taxes. Voters also put two new restrictions on the Legislature's budgeting powers: state leaders cannot take funds from local government accounts, nor can they pass fees or certain tax maneuvers on a majority vote.

195 What does "jumped the shark" mean.  You guys have said it before but I never really wanted to understand what it means until now.

196

You don't want to make any moves that can create a firestorm against the republicans right now...

So you think it's OK for him to use borderline extortion by saying 'If they let me go it's because I'm black.' (Paraphrasing).  That's just threatening, bratty and childish.

Seriously, I haven't seen or heard anything by Steele that is memorable in a good way.

197 >>If jobs leave china they will go elsewhere to find cheap labor. It's not just cheap labor. The US is downright hostile to manufacturing. It doesn't matter what politicians say, the permanent bureaucracy in DC makes it difficult and sometimes impossible to compete with foreign manufacturers. As hard as some politicians suck, bureaucrats are far worse and they never go away.

198

You know what's weird about Bernanke?  Fed chairmen have always been conspicuoulsy independent of the administrations they serve under, even seeming at times to deliberately follow their own lead.  Bernanke seems to be doing exactly what this administration would have him do, like he's merely a member of Obama's cabinet or something.

199 "People are way more informed than ever before....if the republicans throw him out now they will look like a bunch of racists." Um, ever heard of Haley Barbour? Awful Republican? Oh Mah Gawd... a southern white conservative! Gasp! Vapors! In June 2009 a southern white conservative became chair of the Republican Governors Association, and since everyone is well informed, this obvious racist appointment of a cracker like Barbour will doom us in the mid-terms of 2010. Doom, I tells ya! End times! Trolls sleeping with princesses! Oh, wait... we Republicans picked up a pantload of Republican governors this November. I guess everyone who voted for Republican governors this fall were just racists. The only possible conclusion.

200 Posted by: EZB at November 12, 2010 11:35 AM (Ty06w)

no I don't think he is blameless or a saint.  But, I do think that it would be just great if Michael announced that he wanted to run against that same guy who beat him last time in Maryland and this time win.  So I know he'd be heavy hearted to have to leave his job as RNC chair but heck, the people of Maryland are the most important to Michael and he hears the call and well that's where his heart is. 

See, no one pushed him out....no problems.....no charges of racism and Maryland profits..

201 Most of the Beatles' catalogue was ghostwritten by Michael Steele. Plus, he played lead guitar in the studio sessions for "The White Album."

202 Does anyone see where I was headed with this?

203 Curious, you've jumped the shark Five gets you ten he can't find the cloaca.

204 Plus, he played lead guitar in the studio sessions for "The White Album." Michael Steele is really Steve "The Colonel" Cropper. I knew it. Say what you want about his fundraising skills -- he's a rhythm monster.

205 Say what you want about his fundraising skills -- he's a rhythm monster. Michael Steele was understudy for Ron Jeremy.

206 Everyone can pick out some band that they "love to hate" from the 60s and 70s but you have to admit one thing about that time frame.  It was one of great transition.

The 60s started with the winding down of the great pop music sounds of the 50s and the real awakening of rock n roll. That morphed into real rock. The doo-wop type of smooth soul/blues such as Sam Cooke morphed into Mephis/Detroit sound of rhythm and blues. Through all of that the delta-blues that Monty likes so much paralled along the side influencing them both, but not breaking the mainstream.

By the end of the 70s the great rock bands were starting to wind down and along came MTV. MTV killed rock music. Rock musicians were replaced with no-talent hack eye candy and slick video. Most of the people with any talent at all moved into the the "country" genre which had been morphing as well from the old time beer swilling country to the younger oriented country rock sound of groups like Leonard Skynard.

Now we have three types of "popular" music found on the radio, no talent hack bimbos, rock singers who are classified as country, and no-talent hack rap/hip hop druggies.

Out of all of that, there is almost none of them who are worth a shit. So yeah, the Beatles were big and maybe over hyped, but they sure beat the shit out of anything we have now in the "top 40".

207 What does "jumped the shark" mean.  You guys have said it before but I never really wanted to understand what it means until now.

It is a reference to an episode of Happy Days in which Fonzie jumped over a shark tank with his motorcycle.  This episode was widely regarded as so bad that the series never recovered.  To jump the shark means to do something so terrible that recovery is impossible.

There used to be a fun website enetitled Jump the Shark in which participants would attempt to identify the exact moment at which a TV series To pop group or whatever jumped the shark.  But like all good things, it has passed.   

208 Plus, he played lead guitar in the studio sessions for "The White Album." RACISSSSST!

209 MTV killed rock music. Video killed the radio star.

210 Vic, you forgot hipster music.  Vampire Weekend, Airborne toxic event, small black....and others..

211 It is a reference to an episode of Happy Days in which Fonzie jumped over a shark tank with his motorcycle.

I thought he did it on skies.

212 I thought he did it on skies.

Posted by: Vic at November 12, 2010 11:45 AM (/jbAw)

I stand corrected.  It is such a bad memory, I repressed it.

213 The nauseating problem wasn't The Eagle's hits, but that radio programmers fixated for so long on so few from their vast repertoire.

Anyway, they merged rock/country sounds from Los Angeles CA, staying lyrical, while the Bay Area's Creedence Clearwater Revival merged heartland, southern and swamp rock within the novel genre become classic.

Suzie Q blues

Down on the Corner cow bell stomp

Have you ever seen the rain?

Fortunate Son

Bad Moon Rising

214

So I know he'd be heavy hearted to have to leave his job as RNC chair but heck, the people of Maryland are the most important to Michael and he hears the call and well that's where his heart is. 

OK, that may be the problem, I've never ever got the impression that Steele was a passionate, agressive, out there to win for the GOP as chair.  I never got the impression his heart was in it 100%.  More like 80%.

His carriage and demeanor was of the girl to transferred to a school 3 weeks before Homecoming and got elected homecoming queen the night they played her former school.  He has always been distant and aloof... never appeared mentally engaged or emotionally committed.

215 I feel bad.  I live in the bastion of liberalism where people are informed and are waiting with baited breathe for the republicans to make an error.  So I bring it up and you guys think I might never recover your opinion of me. 

216 MTV killed rock music.

I'd agree that MTV was used in the death, but market paid for the assassination.

David Bowie was on the early MTV with Jagger, and even aged as a senior citizen, given Michael Jackson's death, there's hardly a more versatile professional musical performer than Bowie.

217 I do think that it would be just great if Michael announced that he wanted to run against that same guy who beat him last time in Maryland and this time win.  So I know he'd be heavy hearted to have to leave his job as RNC chair but heck, the people of Maryland are the most important to Michael and he hears the call and well that's where his heart is.

Mrs. Steele, please rest assured that Michael will be just fine if he has to get another job.  I'm sure he appreciates your concern but he wouldn't want you to worry.  The best thing you can do right now is just let him know that you will always be there for him and maybe bake his favorite mac & cheese the next time he comes over.

218 It's only Rock & Roll, Tina.

219 I live in the bastion of liberalism where people are informed....

Does not compute....mutually exclusive.

220 Proving the contrary, Too much is never enough.

221

 

Thanks Monty for your explanation.

222 curious,  you are the one with the faulty memory.  I supported Ken Blackwell for RNC chair.  He is also black,  speaks well,  and has managerial skills.

Steele got the position because he was more well-known than Blackwell,  having been on Fox a bunch of times as a conservative spokesman.

Steele had a bunch of gaffes,  but I do NOT want the RNC chair apologoizing for private citizens who are not officials within the party.  That would include Rush,  Levin and some other people Steele felt he should express some remorse over.  That is BS.   If he doesn't agree with something Rush or someone says,  he should have just said "here is what I think" and left the apology and criticism of those guys alone.  He should have known that opening his mouth on those guys was going to cause division within the ranks.

I also did not appreciate funding visits to strip clubs,  fancy hotels,  etc.

The bottom line is this:   Steele did not raise money.  The REASON he didn't raise money was because he made insulting comments that donors didn't like.  Donor money went walking,  pure and simple.

223 If it weren't for Steele and Palin, the GOP would have won the Senate, too.

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