The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    Richard Day's picture

    CONSPIRACIES & URINE JARS

    The Hallucinogenic Toreador (Dali)

    CONSPIRACIES

    Americans just love conspiracies!

     

    THE DEATH OF NICK DEAK

    THE DEATH OF ALAN BREITBART (CORSI)

    How Democracies Work

    Blogger detained for anti-government writings; dies in custody. Head of cyber department fired, 7 officials arrested. Justice & democracy.

    Uncharged detainee dies in custody of drug overdose; after unsupervised autopsy, body kept in storage until after general election, when organs have rotted out, at which time remains sent back to Yemen. Permanent war on terror, business as usual.

    Richard Day's picture

    MARK TWAIN & THE FRENCH

     

     

     

    A Frenchman's home is where another man's wife is.
    - Notebook #18, Feb.- Sept. 1879

    Geezers rock!

    Despite some engaging guest performances including the much-reported reunions with former bandmates Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor, the core quartet didn't hit top speed until the show's second half. When they did, they were untouchable.

    -Paul Sexton @ Billboard.com, November 26, 2012

    As Danny and The Juniors foretold in 1958:

     

    Richard Day's picture

    HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAGBLOGGERS!

     
    OUR THANKSGIVING FEAST

    After watching the Food Channel all last week (my porn site is out of commission once again! Some streaming problem.), I have come up with the perfect feast for our national feast day:

    Richard Day's picture

    HEADLINES

    File:Chimpanzee skull.jpg

     

    We learned per the editorial written and signed by Mitt Romney in 2009 that the American Automobile Industry should be put into bankruptcy 'toot sweet'

    LET DETROIT GO BANKRUPT

    OUR COMMON CENTS NEEDS COMMON SENSE!

     

    I now endorse…………………….

    Eliminating the cap on social security:  

    All agree this would eradicate any shortfalls for decades.  (Yes, this could equate to as much as 14-15% in additional contributions by the wealthiest, but this could be somewhat alleviated in the future by prudent offsets.)

    Amending the total Medicaid contribution from 1.45% for both employer and employee (2.9%) of earnings to 1.95% each (3.9%) regardless of wages – there is no cap:

    I do believe this is an example of where we all need to pay a share.  It also is an equal distribution – part of offset for social security cap removal which will to a greater degree impact the wealthiest.

    *Already planned (but not implemented) is The Medicare-funding Hospital Insurance Tax, currently at 1.45 percent, will increase by 0.9 percentage point for higher earners, another provision of health reform. The increase will apply only to income that's in excess of $200,000 for single taxpayers and $250,000 for those married and filing jointly.

    Currently, only wages and other labor income are subject to the Medicare tax. But under current law, unless changed, investment income will be subject to Medicare taxes starting next year. Yes, this needs to be implemented.

    Our Common Cents – FYI: ‘Fiscal Cliff Base Primer’

     

    I have been attempting to educate myself on the basics of some of the issues involved in the ‘fiscal cliff’ negotiations.    Since We, The People, are being asked by President Obama to be involved and send in what we do and do not support, I decided it would be prudent to do some research; review historical and present data to consider in making my decisions.

    One of the most cohesive listing of basic data on this topic is compliments of AARP.  Did you know…………………..

    Elizabeth Warren: Ok, So Now She's In

     

    Ok, so now she's in.

    Many progressives I talk to adopt the view that "what can she do?  She's just one senator."

    Afghanistan 4-Evuh!!! War on Drugs!!!

    Well, I blew it - I thought with the number of green-on-blue attacks and the complete collapse of our efforts there, plus the pointlessness after getting OBL in Pakistan - that we'd start cutting and running right after election day.

    coatesd's picture

    Ensuring that the “Grand Bargain” is genuinely a Bargain.

    It is lobbying week in Washington DC. Tuesday was labor’s day at the White House. Wednesday it was the turn of the business community. Friday it will be the usual politicians – Boehner, Cantor, McConnell, Pelosi, Reid – in other words, the usual political gridlock masquerading as democracy in action.[1] Compromises packaged as grand bargains, plus the usual brinkmanship on federal spending and the debt ceiling. It will be as though the election had never happened.

    Thoughts after the election

    Tonight, while I was at a bookstore and again while I was washing dishes, I mulled the events of the past week and was thankful that America rejected the bully.

    As I was thinking of this, I was also thinking of how to remind people that Romney is a bully, and a blood-heir to the bullying politics of the GOP.

    ARE YOU A BIGOT AND DON’T KNOW IT?

    Are you a closet racist? Chauvinist?  Do you tout your base religious doctrine (or lack thereof) as the only conviction that is valid and denigrate those whose beliefs are dissimilar? Do you believe that gays are just wrong and weird? 

    Do you feel that those who are different from you aren’t quite as (insert good, smart, worthy, etc.) as you and yours? 

    Take your time, ponder, and then be honest; at least with yourself.  If you do bear the burden of prejudice, it’s time to consider why you feel this way and why you continue to hold on to these feelings. 

    Elusive Trope's picture

    Memo to Texas: Please Oh Please Secede

    All I can say to you Texas, please take your 38 electoral college votes and go away.  This will guarantee the Dems will hold the WH for the next decade or so.  And since we have lost the Berlin Wall globally, we will now have at the Austin Wall. 

     

     

     

    jollyroger's picture

    Security state eating its own. I'm lovin' it!

    Let's get one thing off the table to.start with: As a sex-positive, semi-retired stripper I endorse the Broadwell-Petraeus liaison on principle. More sex is better than less sex.

    That said, it is beyond delightful to see how the advocates, indeed, the very practitioners, of diminishing the hurdles to surveillance now dangle at the business end of their petards.

    Shocking news: The military sleeps around.

    I am shocked that anyone is shocked that a high ranking military officer engaged in extra marital sex. It's been decades since I had direct involvement on a military base but the story of Petraeus' affair with Paula Broadwell leads me to the conclusion that some things never change. What's news here is that not all the participants were in the direct chain of command.

    SleepinJeezus's picture

    "My Treat" for Veteran's Day

    I saw a friend of mine today who happens to be a Veteran. I asked him if he had partaken of any of the free meals for Veterans offered by many of the local restaurants.

    Well, he said, he hadn't really even thought of it before stopping to get a bite on Monday. And then he kinda grinned and I knew there was a story to be told.

    Brian and his wife had stopped at a Culver's on Veteran's Day and were waiting in line behind an elderly woman. They really weren't paying attention until they heard the woman ask if it was necessary for her husband to come into the store to get his free ice cream sundae.

    Tough thoughts on Veterans' Day

    Amazon.com The following is from Brad Delong.It takes some work to sort out which K is speaking but it's worth the effort.

    How the GOP Didn't Get "Si Se Puede"

    After watching the exit polls since Tuesday night, I have to say that I'm most overwhelmed by the so-called Hispanic vote. So-called because “Hispanics” are more than just “Hispanics”. They are Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Latino, etc. etc.

    MrSmith1's picture

    A Singing Stuff-Wanter ...

     

     ... wants, not just stuff ... but Great, Big Stuff!

     

    Oh wad that Pow'r the Giftie gie us

    etc.

    Samuel Brittain , yesterday's FT

    " I have a table of the behavior of the main......economies since their pre-recession peak of 07-08. Canada heads the list with a net gain of real GDP of 4.1% The US comes next with 2.2% followed by Germany with 1.7.

    France is still  0.8% behind its earlier peak, Japan is 1.9% short..........

    These are ....historical records, not forecasts. The discrepancies are too large to be explained by demography. The US must be doing something right......"

    I must have missed the WSJ's coverage.

    Richard Day's picture

    IMMIGRATION REFORM: HISPANICS HAVE EARNED IT!

    César Chávez

    I make this new resolution all the time.

    I will stay away from rush.

    But damn!

    You gotta see this!

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