I'M SURE THE RADIO GASBAGS WILL (OR ALREADY HAVE) BOTCHED THIS OP-ED

Grand Economic Poobah Martin Feldstein criticizes the Obama Administrations fiscal policies but not quite from the angle of a disciple of the Free Market Fairy.  Feldstein picks 3 policies he regards as failures:

...the cash-for-clunkers subsidy for car buyers, the tax credit for first-time home buyers, and the $830 billion "stimulus" package.

His criticism of the first two ISN'T that they couldn't be effective BUT that they were only temporary:

Cash-for-clunkers gave a temporary boost to motor-vehicle production but had no lasting impact on the economy. The home-buyer credit stimulated the demand for homes only temporarily.

On the stimulus bill, Feldstein's criticism is that it was too small (Paul Krugman has also made this claim) and that the money went to the wrong places:

Experience shows that the most cost-effective form of temporary fiscal stimulus is direct government spending. The most obvious way to achieve that in 2009 was to repair and replace the military equipment used in Iraq and Afghanistan that would otherwise have to be done in the future. But the Obama stimulus had nothing for the Defense Department. Instead, President Obama allowed the Democratic leadership in Congress to design a hodgepodge package of transfers to state and local governments, increased transfers to individuals, temporary tax cuts for lower-income taxpayers, etc. So we got a bigger deficit without economic growth.

YUP, HEALTH CARE ISN'T AND CAN'T BE A FREE MARKET

(h/t several recent health care posts by Andrew Sullivan, starting with this one)

The Free Market Fairy approach to health care costs won't work for a number of reasons, some of which I will mention in this post.

1) Karl Smith at Modeled Behavior provides evidence that people simply aren't affected by more or less efficiency, some the FMF clowns ignore:

We can see that as they are exposed to the market mechanisms – compare private insurance to Medicare – they spend more money. Spending more money on health care seems to be inline with satisfying consumer preferences.

Yet, couldn’t this all be a waste. Don’t outcomes matter for efficiency? No, they don’t.


They don’t because patients themselves do not look at outcomes and satisfying consumer preferences is the gold standard of efficiency.

2) Let's say we increase personal awareness of medical efficiency. Sadly, that still won't help because most of the cost in the system comes from a small minority of the population. This graph comes from an ER physicians blog, Movin' Meat:

Most of this care is not optional, at least if one is concerned about saving or dramatically improving lives, according to Movin' Meat:

1.

Health care is generally not a refusable or elective service.

By this, I mean that in most cases, the health care costs are driven by medically necessary procedures. ... the demand for medically needed care is not going to be terribly price responsive. When your doctor tells you that you need chemotherapy, you don't make the decision to proceed based on the cost, but on the need.


3.

Purchasing power is concentrated in the hands of a very small number of "consumers"

For most, when they are confronted with a major or life-threatening illness, their entire focus shifts to survival, and they could care less about the cost. Further, many who are in this sick/expensive category have some diminished capacity with regard to their information gathering and decision-making. I'm thinking particularly of the elderly and those who have had strokes or any one of a multitude of illnesses which impact cognitive function or other functional capacity. 

SOMETIME LAST WEEK

(h/t The Raw Story)

3rd string radio gasbag Mike Gallagher claimed that Americans "love Sarah Palin."   Here's the truth from a new WaPo/ABC poll:

Almost two-thirds of all Americans say they “definitely would not” vote for Palin for president. She is predictably unpopular with Democrats and most independents, but the new survey underscores the hurdles she would face if she became a candidate: 42 percent of Republicans say they’ve ruled out supporting her candidacy.

MORE PAWLENTY TIDBITS

GOP hopeful Pawlenty wrote an op-ed for the Chicago Tribune on his plan to restore the American economy and it's chock full of the usual Free Market Fairy nonsense.   First of all, Pawlenty calls for 5% yearly growth for the next ten years and Ezra Klein points out that not only does no one know how to do this, it's never happened before. Daniel Larison points out that Pawlenty's claim about how many people America has liberated is greatly exaggerated.

This may be all you need to know in order  to evaluate Pawlenty's "plan": Huge Ego Hewitt thinks it's "an excellent piece."

THIS POST MIGHT BE A PLANT

but with Palin defenders, it's really hard to know for sure. From this POLITICO thread about Ed Rollins unloading on Snow Snooki, I excerpted the spelling errors from one post:

Posted By: wow a 5 sided attack | June 07, 2011 at 08:40
I can see through the jelousy the GOP hyporicy you have to disect her every word she still commands unprecidented causes kaos on websites how exeptional a nation America really is. and aded, that their troops had catched aground in passing the River

THIS MAY BE HARD TO BELIEVE NOW

but back in 2008,  conservative hacks like Dennis Prager and Michael Barone tried to equate Snow Snooki with Margaret Thatcher, a frankly preposterous notion.  According to the Guardian, some of Thatcher's friends don't think much of St. Sarah Palin:

Margaret Thatcher to Sarah Palin: don't bother dropping by

Allies of former prime minister regard darling of Tea Party movement as a frivolous figure unworthy of an audience

Andy McSmith reported in the Independent this morning that Palin is likely to be "thwarted" on the grounds that Thatcher, 86, rarely makes public appearances.
It would appear that the reasons go deeper than Thatcher's frail health. Her allies believe that Palin is a frivolous figure who is unworthy of an audience with the Iron Lady. This is what one ally tells me:

Lady Thatcher will not be seeing Sarah Palin. That would be belittling for Margaret. Sarah Palin is nuts.

UPDATE: Snow Snooki takes a hit from Ed Rollins, the new campaign manager for the other Bagger crazy woman, Michele Bachmann.

I AM SO GLAD JOE LIEBERMAN IS RETIRING

I have several reasons and this is a new one:

Courage: Joe Lieberman stands with Glenn for Israel

 

Knowing he'd get pounced on from the media and many others, Senator Joe Lieberman came out and announced strong support for Restoring Courage and standing with Israel. Lieberman said he felt confident getting on board with Glenn because he was so impressed by Restoring Honor last August - that and of course because he is a staunch supporter of Israel. Glenn interviewed Senator Lieberman on TV yesterday - get the full details HERE.

AN NRO ARTICLE ON PALIN & REVERE

The author - Joel J. Miller is the author of The Revolutionary Paul Revere and the vice president of editorial and acquisitions at Thomas Nelson Publishers - is a bona fide conservative, so the Baggers can't ignore his criticism of St. Sarah.

What Sarah Palin Got Wrong — And We Did, Too
June 6, 2011 3:11 P.M.
By Joel J. Miller
National Review Online

Sarah Palin said that Paul Revere “warned the British that they weren’t gonna be taking away our arms, by ringing those bells and making sure, as he’s riding his horse through town, to send those warning shots and bells that we were gonna be secure and we were gonna be free.”

As the author of a book about Revere’s life, when I heard this, I groaned. From Revere’s own account, it’s clear that he didn’t fire a shot, he didn’t ring a bell, and he didn’t intend to warn the British of anything (unless you count the townsfolk as British, which they technically were for a little while longer).

In short, Palin basically got the whole story wrong.

Palin should have been humble and admitted she got the story wrong. She could have spun it to say that she got the spirit of the thing right. She could have done a lot of things. But persisting in a flashing-neon error as she’s done is prideful, and that kind of pigheadedness is very unattractive in someone vying for public office. Sarah’s sin was in her lack of humility.

SETTING AN EXAMPLE

I pretty much don't care what sexual antics Rep. Weiner was up to as long they were legal.  I do care that he tried to lie his way out of this mini-scandal and for that reason, I think he should resign.

RADIO TIDBITS

I caught a re-broadcast of one of War Whore Ingraham's shows from last week and I was surprised about how angry she is with Jeb Bush.  Like many Baggers, WWI thinks America is on the brick of total collapse and she feels it's Jeb's duty to run for President in 2012.

As usual when Coulter has a new agit-prop book out, Hannity had her on his radio show to pimp it,  This time her prime rube bait is her claim that the late Thurgood Marshall was a good person because he followed the American way of revolution but Martin Luther King was a bad person because he followed the French revolutionary way.  OK, I'm also puzzled but this will get her book some attention and that's probably the best explanation of her weird claim.

Hannity told his listeners that we was privy to some non-public information about Rep. Weiner but he couldn't tell us.   He claimed he was given the information last night but he wouldn't say who gave it to him.   He used this to show to his audience that he is VERY well connected.

TREASURY BOND BUYERS SHRUG OFF RATINGS WARNING

One POLITICO commenter claimed that soon no one would buy U.S. Treasury Bonds and that's another FAIL.

Weak Economy Keeps Treasurys Strong
JUNE 5, 2011, 11:47 A.M. ET

By CYNTHIA LIN
WALL STREET JOURNAL

NEW YORK—Faced with new evidence of a sluggish U.S. economy, Treasury investors are turning a blind eye to a political fight over the U.S. government debt ceiling and snapping up bonds that are paying puny yields.

The string of weak U.S. economic readings has fueled safe-haven bidding for Treasurys, sending the 10-year yield below 3.0%. Late Friday, the 10-year Treasury yield, which moves inversely to the price, stood at 2.997%.

THIS WON'T EVEN DENT A BAGGER'S DENIAL SYSTEM...

but it's worth noting for the very few conservatives who are open to the facts.

Private sector loans, not Fannie or Freddie, triggered crisis
By David Goldstein and Kevin G. Hall | McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Sunday, October 12, 2008

Subprime lending offered high-cost loans to the weakest borrowers during the housing boom that lasted from 2001 to 2007. Subprime lending was at its height from 2004 to 2006.

Federal Reserve Board data show that:

* More than 84 percent of the subprime mortgages in 2006 were issued by private lending institutions.

* Private firms made nearly 83 percent of the subprime loans to low- and moderate-income borrowers that year.

* Only one of the top 25 subprime lenders in 2006 was directly subject to the housing law [CRA] that's being lambasted by conservative critics.

THE PALINISTAS ARE OUR STALINISTS

You may recall that under Stalin, even photographs were altered to "erase" people who had fallen out of favor with his regime. Here's a good example from Wikipedia:

Sarah Palin botched the Paul Revere story and she refused to admit it.  Here followers are even worse:

Palin Fans Trying to Edit Wikipedia Paul Revere Page
Right wing alternate history

Charles Johnson
Wingnuts • Sun Jun 5, 2011 at 11:02 am PDT • Views: 92,334

More on this appalling story here.

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE REAL DUMB FUCKS THINK?

Then listen to Billy Cunningham's Sunday radio show. Some of his callers would have a hard time even drooling.

I WONDER WHAT THE CHRISTIAN GOD THINKS ABOUT THIS

(h/t Echidne at Atrios)

Here's a reminder of what the Bible says about the poor:

Deuteronomy 15:7 NIV
If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother.

Deuteronomy 15:11 NIV

There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.

Exodus 23:11 NIV

but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

Exodus 30:15 NIV

The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives.


Leviticus 19:10 NIV

Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.


Leviticus 19:15 NIV

" 'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.


Leviticus 23:22 NIV

" 'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.' "


Leviticus 25:47 NIV

" 'If an alien or a temporary resident among you becomes rich and one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells himself to the alien living among you or to a member of the alien's clan,


Leviticus 27:8 NIV

If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay the specified amount, he is to present the person to the priest, who will set the value for him according to what the man making the vow can afford.


Numbers 13:20 NIV

How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)


Deuteronomy 15:4 NIV

However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you,


Deuteronomy 15:7 NIV

If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother.


Psalm 82:3 NIV

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.



Psalm 140:12 NIV

I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.



Proverbs 14:31 NIV

He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.



Proverbs 19:17 NIV

He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.



Proverbs 22:9 NIV

A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.



Isaiah 3:15 NIV

What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?" declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.



Jeremiah 22:16 NIV

He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD.



Ezekiel 16:49 NIV

" 'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.


Matthew 19:21 NIV

Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to thepoor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."



Mark 10:21 NIV

Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."



Luke 12:33 NIV

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

These quotes demonstrate that conservatives don't know the Bible because they are willing to give to the richest instead of the poorest:

House GOP Cuts To Nutrition Assistance Equal To One Week Of Bush Tax Cuts For Millionaires

By Pat Garofalo on Jun 2, 2011 at 3:50 pm
Think Progress

THIS IS SICKENING

Gov. Rick "Good Hair" Perry of Texas has backed another Fundie wacko rally, this time it's in Houston on August 6th. The extremist American Family Association (AFA) is sponsoring the rally and I think Perry should be removed from office for supporting an extremist anti-American group.

Here's a little info about the AFA freakshows:

Bryan Fischer: Christians Have First Amendment Rights, But Not Muslims

March 25, 2011 11:26 am ET by Andy Newbold

The American Family Association's Bryan Fischer has written a blog post claiming that the First Amendment never intended to extend its protections to those of faith other than Christianity. More specifically, Fischer argues that the Founders were trying to protect the citizens from Islam's "treasonous ideology."
Lest anyone think this is the ravings of some kook who can just be ignored, Fischer has hosted a number of Republican presidential hopefuls on his radio show, including Mike Huckabee, Michelle Bachmann, and Tim Pawlenty.

WHY DOES BILLY CUNNINGHAM HATE AMERICA?

Tonight he said that only 10% of Americans have the work ethic.

RADIO TIDBITS

I caught a little bit of a re-broadcast of a Neal Boortz radio show this morning and he brought up a post on American Thinker by John Drew.  Drew claims to have met Obama in December 1980 and claims that then, Obama was a committed Marxist.  I'm a little suspicious of Drew's claims because despite claiming to have been a serious student of Marxism, he didn't know much about Frantz Fanon and colonialism:

I know this may be implausible to some readers, but I distinctly remember Obama surprising me by bringing up Frantz Fanon and colonialism. He impressed me with his knowledge of these two topics, topics which were not among my strong points -- or of overwhelming concern to me.

I also caught a bit of Jay "Israel First" Sekulow's radio show and he and his guest Sen. Orrin Hatch agreed that Pres. Obama had harmed Israel by even mentioning the 1967 borders.

WHISKEY FIRE - POST OF THE YEAR?

So far, this comment about the Obama/Netanyahu stink the rightwing gasbags created is the best summary I've come across:

The obvious 2012 GOP nominee is Benjamin Netanyahu.

"JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!"

(h/t Andrew Sullivan)

That's what Sean Hannity usually says when he doesn't get a very direct answer to his questions but not this time¹.

HANNITY: How is Elmo a liberal? Could you describe how they push their agenda?

SHAPIRO: Yes, I talked to one of the guys at Children's Television Workshop originally. He said the whole purpose of Sesame Street was to cater to black and Hispanic youths who, quote/unquote, "did not have reading literature in the house."

There's kind of this soft bigotry of low expectations that's automatically associated with Sesame Street. By the way, if you go on the Sesame Street web site, it talks about when bringing up child, make sure that you use gender neutral language. Make sure that you give your boys dolls and make sure that you give your girls fire trucks.

¹Fox News Network
June 1, 2011 Wednesday
SHOW: FOX HANNITY 9:37 PM EST
Great American Panel
BYLINE: Sean Hannity
GUESTS: Ben Shapiro ,Ken Blackwell, Kirsten Haglund
SECTION: NEWS; Domestic
LENGTH: 1571 words

WILL IOWA TURN BLUE IN 2012?

(h/t Wonkette)

The Des Moines Register reports on a PPP poll of Iowa voters that shows all the Fundie candidates badly trailing Pres. Obama. Here are the results for two Fundies who are well-known:

Q8 If the candidates for President next year were
Democrat Barack Obama and Republican
Sarah Palin, who would you vote for?
Barack Obama................................................ 55%
Sarah Palin ..................................................... 35%
Undecided........................................................ 9%

Q9 If the candidates for President next year were
Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt
Romney, who would you vote for?
Barack Obama................................................ 49%
Mitt Romney.................................................... 40%
Undecided....................................................... 12%

THE PREMISE IS CORRECT, THE CONCLUSION ISN'T

Putting to one side any causal analysis, I think Cantor is basically correct about the situation in the Middle East:

GOP leader: Palestinian culture ‘filled with resentment and hatred’

By Sahil Kapur
Friday, June 3rd, 2011 -- 2:05 pm
The Raw Story

WASHINGTON – House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) on Friday blamed a hateful Palestinian culture for the bloody half-century long Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East.

"Sadly it's a culture filled with resentment and hatred," Cantor said at the Faith and Freedom Conference, as first reported by TPM's Benjy Sarlin. "It is that culture that underlies the Palestinians' and broader Arab world's refusal to accept Israel's right to exist, and this is the root of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians."

The conclusion I draw from this is diametrically opposed to what the Israel Firsters draw: It's time to offer asylum in America to any Israeli Jew who wishes to emigrate AND withdraw American support for the Israeli state.

BACK TO THE FUTURE

In early January, 2009, Atrios wrote that we needed a "cram down" on the principal of homeowners in trouble.  In what seems like decades later, the Obama Administration seems to get it:

U.S. tries to reduce more homeowners' mortgages
Sat Jun 4, 2011 5:42pm EDT
By Rachelle Younglai

WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - The Obama administration wants to help more struggling Americans stay in their homes by reducing the amount they owe on their troubled mortgages, a top Treasury official said on Saturday.

"We are very definitely trying to facilitate more principal reductions," said Timothy Massad, Treasury's acting assistant secretary for financial stability. "It is a very important piece of the overall solution," he said.

So far, one of the programs has helped some 670,000 distressed homeowners win lower mortgage payments. But that has done very little to help the overall housing market, which remains depressed even as other parts of the economy have started to recover.

ANOTHER STUPID HEADLINE

Why can't the media recognize that that Christian Fundies are bigoted and have been that way for decades, maybe centuries?  Did everyone forget about the Spanish Inquisition? What about the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre?

Mitt Romney's Mormon religion: Is it a political problem?

Mitt Romney says as president he would not be swayed by his church. But a significant number of voters – especially evangelical Protestants – say they would be less likely to vote for a Mormon.
By Brad Knickerbocker, Staff writer / June 4, 2011
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

UPDATE: TIME Magazine at least gives us some of the nasty facts - "Florida evangelist Bill Keller wrote a widely-circulated commentary titled “A Vote for Romney is a Vote for Satan.”"

MORE MARK LEVIN AGIT-PROP

If you don't know that Levin once worked for Reagan's Justice Dept., he will be glad to tell you because he uses that experience to enhance his claim to be knowledgeable about the workings of the Federal government. Yesterday, he noted that the WH counsel will step down and told his listeners that such an unusual event meant that serious legal trouble for Pres. Obama was on the horizon.

Here's the truth:

Bauer to Step Down as White House Counsel
By JACKIE CALMES
June 2, 2011, 12:24 pm
NY Times

The White House counsel, Robert F. Bauer, will return to private practice at the end of June and resume his role as lawyer for the Democratic Party and Mr. Obama’s re-election campaign, President Obama announced on Thursday. Mr. Bauer will replaced by the deputy presidential counsel, Kathryn Ruemmler.

“Bob was a critical member of the White House team,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “He has exceptional judgment, wisdom and intellect, and he will continue to be one of my close advisers.”

MITTENS GOES GASBAG RADIO

(h/t Steve Benen)

Mitt Romney made the following preposterous statement:

“We are only inches away from ceasing to be a free market economy.”

The AP and David Corn correctly took Mittens to the woodshed but how many of our major news sources will do the same? I did LexiNexis search and I only found one newspaper that corrected Mittens:

St. Petersburg Times (Florida)

June 2, 2011 Thursday
Politifact.com Edition


MITT ROMNEY SAYS U.S. IS "ONLY INCHES AWAY FROM CEASING TO BE A FREE MARKET ECONOMY.Ó

BYLINE: LOUIS JACOBSON

SECTION: POLITIFACT

LENGTH: 1499 words

"We are only inches away from ceasing to be a free market economy."

THE RULING: PANTS ON FIRE

ZOUNDS!!!

(h/t Alan Pyke at Political Correction)

SOMEBODY TELL GLENDA BECK...Rep, Steve King (R-IA) is a MARXIST!!!   Here's part of what he said on the House floor on June 1st, 2011:

"Labor is a commodity just like corn or beans or oil or gold, and the value of it needs to be determined by the competition, supply and demand in the workplace."

Here's what Friedrich Engels wrote in The Principles of Communism (1847):

"Labor is a commodity, like any other, and its price is therefore determined by exactly the same laws that apply to other commodities."

ST. SARAH LOSES ANOTHER FAN

Although Fats and Foamer have come to her defense, at least one FAUX radio gasbag has refused to continue the adoration of Palin:

Kilmeade: Palin "Was Really Classless" For Upstaging Romney's Announcement With Bus Tour
June 03, 2011 2:06 pm ET
From the June 3 edition of Fox News Radio's Kilmeade & Friends

THIS IS A KEEPER

Herman Cain, one of the newest conservative bozos, spoke to a group of morons at the Howard County Lincoln Day dinner Friday night and made a remark that I consider priceless:

Herman Cain wows gathering of Howard Co. Republicans
Presidential hopeful gets standing ovation at Lincoln Day dinner
By Larry Carson, The Baltimore Sun
11:51 p.m. EDT, June 3, 2011

"Fifty percent of the electorate out there do not have a clue," he said, adding that those voters support President Barack Obama. "This is why President Obama's approval rating is still 50 percent. Stupid people are ruining America," he said, obliquely referring to the title of his latest book, "They Think You're Stupid."

ANOTHER PAWLENTY TIDBIT

At the Morons for Jeebus Conference, Tim Pawlenty shamelessly pandered to the rubes:

"We need to be a nation that turns toward God, not away from God," said former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, a Republican 2012 candidate.

THE LIBERTARIANS' AMERICA IS ALMOST HERE

(h/t BuzzFlash)

Sam Pizzigati at CFAF delves into a new white paper from Ad Age and comes to a startling conclusion:

Madison Avenue Declares 'Mass Affluence' Over

Here's the original Ad Age write up:

On the Road to Riches: Those Under 35 With $100K Household Income
Study Finds Growth for Brands Will Come From Those in 'Emerging' Tier to Wealth
By: David Hirschman Bio
RSS feed
Published: May 22, 2011

The wake of the global economic recession has shown a spotlight on the yawning divide between the richest Americans and everyone else -- inflation-adjusted incomes of most American workers have remained more or less static since the 1970s, the income of the rich (and the very rich) has grown exponentially. The top 1% alone control nearly 40% of the wealth.

And while the social and political effects of this inequality may be cause for concern, the accrual of wealth among the very few is of great consequence for marketers, since 10% of U.S. households "account for almost half of the consumer spending" and represent about one-third of total GDP, according to the American Affluence Research Council.

Simply put, a small plutocracy of wealthy elites drives a larger and larger share of total consumer spending and has outsize purchasing influence -- particularly in categories such as technology, financial services, travel, automotive, apparel and personal care.

MEIR DAGAN'S COMMENTS GET SOME COVERAGE

But not enough in light of their importance. (h/t Andrew Sullivan & Google News)

Former Spy Chief Questions Israeli Leaders' Judgment
New York Times - Ethan Bronner - ‎11 hours ago‎
JERUSALEM — The man who ran Israel's Mossad spy agency until January contends that Israel's top leaders lack judgment and that the anticipated pressures of international isolation as the Palestinians campaign for statehood could lead ...

Ex-Israeli Spy Chief Takes Swipe at Netanyahu's Approach to Iran, Palestinians
Published June 02, 2011
Associated Press
REPUBLISHED AT FAUX NEWS

Israel's Dagan backs Saudi peace plan
UPI.com - ‎8 hours ago‎
JERUSALEM, June 3 (UPI) -- Former Israeli intelligence chief Meir Dagan's announced support for a peace plan built on the Saudi peace initiative has drawn mixed reaction within Israel. Dagan said Wednesday in a speech at Tel Aviv University Israel must ...

Ex-Israel spymaster: No Iran attack in sight
USA Today - Ronen Zvulun - ‎Jun 2, 2011‎
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's recently retired spymaster said the country's military does not plan to attack Iran within the next two years, and the Israeli government should accept a Saudi proposal for Mideast peace. By Ronen Zvulun, AP Israeli Prime ...

MEAN PEOPLE HAVE MEAN GODS

I came across this passage from Romans when I was reading Volume 2 of F. P. Lock's biography of Edmund Burke and I was struck not only by the hatred but also the capriciousness.

Romans 9:10-15
10 Nor is that all; something similar happened to Rebecca when she had conceived children by one husband, our ancestor Isaac. 11 Even before they had been born or had done anything good or bad (so that God's purpose of election might continue, 12 not by works but by his call) she was told, "The elder shall serve the younger." 13 As it is written, "I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau." 14 What then are we to say? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

The statement about Jacob & Esau comes from Malachi 1:1-3 (New Revised Standard version)

1 An oracle. The word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. 2 I have loved you, says the Lord. But you say, "How have you loved us?" Is not Esau Jacob's brother? says the Lord. Yet I have loved Jacob 3 but I have hated Esau; I have made his hill country a desolation and his heritage a desert for jackals.

THE RIGHTWING WACKOS LOST A LITTLE TODAY

Mitt Romney admits that there is man-made global warming, drawing the immediate wrath of Mark "Foamer" Levin and Haley Barbour says  an emphasis on (Bagger) ideological purity will cost conservatives the WH in 2012.   Adding a little frosting to this "eat shit, Baggers" cake is another stupidity from Sarah Palin.

FORGET THE POLITICAL IDEOLOGY

Conservatives are just mean:

After Cutting Taxes For Millionaires, Gov. Christie Wants to Eliminate Medicaid For Minimum Wage Earners
June 02, 2011 12:03 pm ET — Jamison Foser
Political Correction

Last year, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) vetoed the restoration of an income tax surcharge on residents who earn more than $1 million a year.

Now Christie is proposing a cut in Medicaid eligibility:

Despite recent polls that show Americans are just as protective of Medicaid as they are of Medicare, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is trying to gut the popular program in his state and prevent 23,000 people from receiving benefits. Christie has proposed cutting Medicaid eligibility to absurdly low levels: from the current maximum income of $24,645 to $5,317 a year for a family of three. Apparently, the governor believes a family of three making $6,000 a year is simply too rich to receive Medicaid.

UPDATE: Gov. Rick Scott (FLA) is no better than Christie. (h/t echidne)

ANOTHER SIGN THAT THE GASBAGS ARE FADING

(h/t BuzzFlash)

In NYC, the radios gasbags have seen notable declines in their ratings over the last year and it turns out that nation-wide, FAUX News is also in a decline.  Graph from News Corpse:

FORMER MOSSAD DIRECTOR VERSUS THE GASBAGS

(h/t Andrew Sullivan)

Glenda, Sean, Fats and Foamer are still whining about Pres. Obama's position on Israel's borders but Meir Dagan, the head of Mossad from 2002-2010, is in favor of withdrawing to the 1967 borders WITHOUT land swaps.

Former Mossad head advocates Saudi peace plan
Jason Koutsoukis
June 3, 2011
Sydney Morning Herald

JERUSALEM: A former chief of Israeli intelligence, Meir Dagan, has urged political leaders to embrace the so-called Saudi peace initiative under which Israel would withdraw to its 1967 borders and give East Jerusalem back to the Palestinians.

The Saudi peace initiative, also known as the Arab peace initiative, was first proposed in 2002 and also calls for a ''just'' solution to the Palestinian refugee crisis.

In return, the world's Arab and Muslim states would sign a peace agreement with Israel and establish normal relations with it within the framework of a comprehensive peace.

WE NEED TO CHANGE THE U.S. SENATE

John Dickinson was one of the Founders but you will probably NEVER hear Mark Levin tell you that Dickinson's original idea for the Senate was to make it something like the British House of Lords.  His general conception of an aristocratic assembly was enacted by giving each State the same representation and denying the people the right to vote directly for senators.

This has led to an anti-urban bias in the Senate, as David Leonhardt points out:

So the presidential calendar becomes another cause of what Edward Glaeser, a conservative-leaning Harvard economist, calls our “anti-urban policy bias.” Suburbs and rural areas receive vastly more per-person federal largess than cities. One big reason, of course, is the structure of the Senate: the 12 million residents of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina have eight United States senators among them, while the 81 million residents of California, New York and Texas have only six. 

Compounding this is the disproportionate effect two rural states, Iowa and New Hampshire, have on presidential politics, something also noted by Leonhardt:

Mr. Knight and Mr. Schiff analyzed daily polls in other states before and after an early state had held a contest. The polls tended to change immediately after the contest, and the changes tended to last, which suggested that the early states were even more important than many people realized. The economists estimated that an Iowa or New Hampshire voter had the same impact as five Super Tuesday voters put together.

This system, the two men drily noted in a Journal of Political Economy paper, “represents a deviation from the democratic ideal of ‘one person, one vote.’ ”

IS PALIN REALLY AN AMERICAN PATRIOT?

She's worn an Israeli flag pin in the past and when she visited The Donald in NYC, she VERY noticeably wore the Star of David. 

Sarah Palin Dons Star of David Necklace for NYC Visit
By Roseanne Colletti
| Thursday, Jun 2, 2011 | Updated 7:37 AM EDT

NBC New York asked Palin about the significance just as she boarded her bus outside Fox Newschannel to head off to Boston.

"Today is the 44th anniversary of Jerusalem being reunited," she said. "We want to call attention to that."

WE'RE GETTING SCREWED

Moody's says it may downgrade U.S. debt because the Baggers are refusing to forgo cutting Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security AND Moody's may also downgrade the banksters because the U.S. government is less willing to give them Trillions.

Of course, if the debt ceiling isn't raised, it won't matter if the U.S. is willing to prop up the banksters.

PARTY TIME!!!

Glenda Beck will be off FAUX News at the end of the month!!!

Exclusive: Glenn Beck’s Last Day On Fox News Will Be June 30th
exclusive
by Colby Hall | 10:28 am, June 2nd, 2011
MEDIAITE

HERMAN CAIN: STILL CLUELESS

I noted below that Cain hasn't taken the time to familiarize himself with foreign policy issues and Ian Millhiser and Zaid Jilani at Think Progress report that for a Bagger favorite, he knows precious little about the Constitution:

CAIN:

... You see, the United States federal government, folks, has no jurisdiction over bankruptcy law. States do!

So, if some states decide that they want to investigate some of these phony or incomplete foreclosures, it’s up to the states. This is not even under the jurisdiction of the federal government!

REALITY:

According to Article I of the Constitution, “[t]he Congress shall have power . . . [t]o establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States.”

HOMICIDE AND RELIGIOUS BELIEF

(h/t Andrew Sullivan)

Alex Tabarrok dug up some interesting data on the change in homicide rates in America and Europe over the centuries. There has been a fairly steady decline in both areas:

EUROPE:

AMERICA:

The decline seems to be relatively independent of religious belief because America is at least nominally much more religious than Europe:

SO, WHERE ARE ALL THE JOBS?

(h/t Douglas McIntyre at AOL)

The Boston Consulting Group indicates that the wealth owned by the very top has increased:

NEW YORK, May 31, 2011—Propelled by growth in nearly every region, global wealth continued a solid recovery in 2010, increasing by 8.0 percent, or $9 trillion, to a record of $121.8 trillion. That level was about $20 trillion above where it stood just two years prior during the depths of the financial crisis, according to a new study by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

I GO BOTTOM FEEDING

This time the bottom is agit-prop rag Human Events and while there, I found another example of conservative hysteria:

'The Next Middle East War'

by Human Events

A special report, exclusive to Human Events readers, explains the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah and their plans to destroy Israel and Western Civilization.

UPDATE: Glenda Beck is banging the same drum:

Beck: "The World Will Gather To Chase The Jews Into The Sea, And That Will Spell The End Of The West"

FRUM GETS ONE PART WRONG

(h/t Andrew Sullivan)

David Frum writes that Palin gets some of her popularity because she expresses the anger of "non-wealthy Republicans" at their economic situation.  He includes this:

They had reason to feel that the GOP did not speak for them during the crisis, when Republicans bailed out Wall Street and the big car companies, while leaving distressed homeowners to fend for themselves.

The Baggers are part of Palin's crowd and they definitely did not want the Feds helping distressed homeowners.

WE HAVE PLENTY OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS...

and we'll still have plenty after the new START treaty takes effect.

State Department releases US, Russia nuclear arsenal data
Jun 1 04:20 PM US/Eastern
AFP

The United States has 30 percent more long-range ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads than former Cold War foe Russia, according to new treaty data released Wednesday by the State Department.

The United States has 882 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and heavy bombers, compared with 521 for Russia, according to the State Department, which published the new START aggregate numbers.

The United States also has 1,800 warheads and 1,124 launchers, as well as deployed and non-deployed heavy bombers, compared with Russia's 1,537 warheads and 865 launchers and heavy bombers, according to the figures.

The new START limits each side to 1,550 deployed warheads and 700 deployed ICBMs and SLBMs and heavy bombers, meaning the United States would still need to reduce its arsenal under the terms of the treaty.

THIS IS A LITTLE SUSPICIOUS

Michael Johnson of the BBC's World Service has been looking into commodity prices and the show about copper indicates that we may all be getting screwed by the investment banks once again.  FT Alphaville has the important part of the transcript:

MR: The Steinweg group is authorised to hold LME-registered copper. Given how tight bank analysts said stocks were I was surprised to see so much of it. And after all it was only one of Steinweg’s many warehouses around the world. But then John Van Der Lek explained another statistical problem. Not all the copper in the warehouse would show up on the official LME stocks. Under warrant as they say in the jargon.

ST: We have two kinds of numbers in our warehouse. The warrant numbers which are given by the LME, and our own numbers for our own administration.

MR: In fact it turned out that only about 40% of the copper was on the LME’s official stocks, and therefore visible to the market. Strict discretion prevented John Van Der Lek from telling me who owned the off-market copper or how long it had been in the warehouse. But there were some clues.

The Steinweg group is one of the few remaining independent warehouses for copper supplies because traders and investment banks have bought the others:

MR: Steinweg is the last independent warehouse. Does it give them [the banks which own warehouses] an unfair advantage?

MR: John van der Lek told me he’s relieved that the Steinweg group is still independent, he says he’d like to avoid any suspicion of conflict of interest.

MR: “But what’s wrong with a bank owning a warehouse?”

ST: “I don’t know why they want to own warehouses. There must be a reason for that. But I don’t know why they do.”

MR: “Is it good business for a bank?”

ST: “Could be, but I don’t know, I don’t think so. I don’t have an idea what their feeling for taking over a warehouse.”

MR: “The danger is pretty obvious. That the bank has more information than other traders because it owns a warehouse?”


ST: “Yeah. That is to a danger for the traders. Maybe so we’re in a situation where people get more information out of the warehouses, but we are here independent and we would like to keep it that way. And we hope our customers appreciate that.”

RADIO WARNING

I was listening to KQTH-FM and waiting for the Mark Levin Show to start and I guess somebody forgot the time because right after a commercial, the show came on with Levin already screaming about the loss of freedom in America.   I imagine someone surfing the stations would also be jarred by the ravings of this lunatic.