Friday, March 30, 2012

IH8POP

Kill me.  I'll post some good music soon to make up for these atrocities.

More On The ACA And The SCOTUS

[via LG&M]

I took a Con Law class from this guy's brother. I don't know of this guy has a brother. Happy Friday, all. And don't get sick if you don't have good health insurance!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Things That Make Me Sad

The individual mandate was a right-wing idea.

Obama could propose we follow Saint Raygun's policies to the letter*, and he'd be branded a Socialist. These people have no shame.

* An argument could probably be made that in toto, Obama has been to the right of Reagan. At least in some respects, such as civil liberties, this is not really debatable.

A Great Piece On The Fed

[via facebook]

Referring to Alan Greenspan:
He pointed out before Congress that the virtue of loading down homeowners, college students and others with debt was that they were afraid to go on strike or even complain about working conditions or seek higher wages, for fear of being fired and missing a mortgage payment or credit-card payment.
Referring to Ron Paul:
Ron Paul’s proposal opposes paper credit itself, whether issued by the Fed or the Treasury. He wants to return to the gold standard and clash government spending – in effect, to create an economy without government. So what he actually advocates is not only the end of the Fed, but the end of a functioning credit and tax system. The idea is otherworldly and has no possible chance of being enacted, because it would cause a vast debt default as a result of plunging prices, incomes and employment.

 Read the whole piece here.

"Rethinking Zionism"

[via facebook]
Presented without comment.

The Dead Tell No Tales

Or something like that. Anyway, the living do, and it appears George Zimmerman is a lying fuck, in addition to being a racist vigilante murderer. And the cops. Oh gosh, I can't even begin to articulate my disdain for the cops in this case. And, a bit off topic, I found this little summation of our racial history to be a good reminder that, yes, this IS a race issue.

The Intellectual Giant Of The Conservative Judiciary

[via LG&M]
Tony Scalia. If he sounds like a gangster, well, in a way, I think he is. A crude bully with no respect for the law, that is. See here for more "highlights" of the kind of garbage the right-wing zealots bring to the bench. If I had the time, I'd post about the phrase "judicial activism." It is high up on the list of terms the Right abuses wantonly.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

QOTD 3/28/12

"Teachers are the maligned wreckage of our society, expected to do complex and difficult tasks requiring at least double their hours in unpaid labor, potentially limitless funds out of their pockets to keep their classrooms running, and serving as educator, psychologist, babysitter, and disciplinarian with little to show for it in money or respect."
Source.

Slippery Slope Ain't So Slip'ry

You're going to hear, and have heard, a lot of dumb arguments about the ACA. This piece, I think, disposes of one of them.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Health Care Is Not A Commodity

I have seen a number of "let the free market run naked in the yard and nature will take its course"-type arguments about heath care. The main problem is, health care doesn't fit the traditional definition of a commodity. I don't want the government involved in the business of making things. But health care doesn't fit into the model that shows that market forces are best at allocating resources.

Please see this rather academic pdf for an explanation. Krugman weighs in here.

Pictures From Space

 [via BuzzFeed]

My my my it's a beautiful world.

Friday, March 23, 2012

For Bank Of America Customers

10 Reasons Bank of America Is the Most Hated Bank in America


Sadly, I'm forced* to be a BoA customer. This makes me a sad panda. If you have an account you can move, please consider doing so.

*Anyone know a way to get a mortgage moved?

Questions About Using Drugs To Treat Mental Health Issues

I do not have any answers, and do not pretend that this is authoritative, but it is thought-provoking. I have always been suspicious about how the medical profession uses pills to treat everything. This is a complex and multifaceted issue, and I'm certainly not endorsing the idea that all drugs are fake or ineffective. However, I am concerned about the heavy use of meds in lieu of other forms of treatment, especially among children.