The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

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The Next Revolution

By PeraclesPlease on Fri, 04/01/2016 - 12:35am |

The biggest damage to America's wealth was a combination of Bush's tax cuts/rebate to the wealthy combined with a cheap dollar to spur exports despite our lower competitiveness. I watched my dollar savings and salary cut more than a half in the currency where I live. So in the 90's we had a strong dollar and still held up exports, a sign of competitive products and services. Now we compete with commodity bullshit and dump our stuff around the world to keep our balance sheet up.

Bernie States vs Hillary States

By PeraclesPlease on Wed, 03/23/2016 - 10:26am |

Happened to run across this map of Medicaid obstructionist states, and humorously thought of the orange belts that Hillary controls (e.g. the Southeast) and the orange ones Bernie controls (the Rockies/Central Plains & Maine). Waiting to see who owns Wisconsin (hear Scott Walker's shopping a VP slot around in exchange for endorsement, though that's on the Reptard side).

A Look on the Bright Side

By PeraclesPlease on Sun, 03/20/2016 - 11:19am |

In the Internet Era, we see changes happening faster than ever, more impressive, bigger impact than in any other era in history. Except for the late 1800's when suddenly steam gave way to electricity, lights, refrigeration, modern medicine, mass global immigration and the falling of borders everywhere. (followed shortly by modern nationalism and modern warfare, and whoops, back up went the gates).

The post-War period brought decolonization from East Asia to the Subcontinent to the Mideast to Africa to Latin America, a period nicely bookmarked by Mandela's release from prison in 1990 - similarly marked by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Soviet Union's Communism. 45 years of transition and recovery across most of the world.

2nd to Last

By PeraclesPlease on Mon, 03/14/2016 - 10:40am |

To sum up the contest so far:


Ties - Iowa (H 0.3%), Nevada (H 5.3%), Mass (H 1.4%), Mich (B 1.5%)
[note: Hillary won by a sliver 2 caucuses; Bernie won by a sliver 2 primaries]

Other Caucuses -  Samoa (H 43%), Col (B 19%), Minn (B 23%), Kansas (B 45%), Nebr (B 14%), Marianas (H 20%)  [Pacific caucuses are tiny]

Other Primaries - NH (B 22%), SC (H 48%), AL (H 58%), Ark (H 37%), Georgia (H 43%), Okla (B 10%), Tenn (H 44%), Tex (H 32%), Vermont (B 73%), Virg (H 29%), Louisiana (H 48%), Miss (H 66%)

This is the Revolution

By PeraclesPlease on Sat, 03/12/2016 - 6:52pm |

Fixing police-on-black abuse while improving on entrenched bias & lack of opportunity 

Getting corporates to pay their fair share

Handling ISIS while lowering our Mideast involvement while fending off Russian encroachment

Migration to renewables while limiting the damage of global warming

Lowering Africa and India's baby boom, maybe China's with new 2-child policy

Continued job growth & lower-end wage growth (e.g. minimum wage hike)

Slight return of manufacturing (micro-mills)

On Things Best Left Unsaid

By PeraclesPlease on Thu, 03/10/2016 - 3:23am |

[on the rise of the "Trump Democrat"

Hillary’s liberal enough for me, was 8 years ago.

I didn’t think Obama could get done everything they were claiming,

and mostly he didn’t – 8 years later, the economy’s mostly recovering,

employment’s up, even manufacturing’s coming back. Too cautious

and surrendering towards Republicans, but then they control most all the cards too.

 

Trump vs. Cruz is the epitome of the “big blowhard who knows little except

Of Knowing & the Garden of Earthly Delights

By PeraclesPlease on Tue, 03/08/2016 - 12:30am |

"Don't sit under the Apple tree...with anyone else but me...."

The case between DoJ and Apple is one of those defining moments coming ever since Al Gore backed the Clipper Chip for backdoor get devices 20 years ago. While we expected things to get worse under Bush, most of us are gobsmacked to see the continuation of Bush-era security overreach under Obama.

Sadly this is one area where Bernie could draw Hillary out, drive her to the left without evoking Cuba or other negatives, and would be doing us all a favor. But so far (AFAIK) crickets.

Lost in Translation: virgin sapukko

By PeraclesPlease on Sun, 03/06/2016 - 1:30pm |

People have been asking for months what the purpose of superdelegates is. Seems a simple formulation, self-immolation is to be avoided. Watching Trump, Cruz and Rubio play hangman should make it clear enough how to avoid the Last Train to Doomsville. Fortunately the Democrats have so far not been seduced by the sweet temptings of the Virgin Suicides. It's one thing to fight for a cause; it's another to anoint a hopeless delusion. The Republicans have been playing to fantasy for so long, they've forgotten they were playing.

Of shoes and ships... (packing the court?)

By PeraclesPlease on Fri, 03/04/2016 - 4:15am |

Defies belief: 

Republicans panicked they might elect the crazy Trump, but Obama's supposed to wait for him to replace Scalia on the Court? Go pound sand.

PS - guess folks already protecting Le Donald from the 1st Amendment. Après moi le delouse.

"Electability" & other Popular Delusions

By PeraclesPlease on Thu, 03/03/2016 - 3:52am |

The old saw "statistics lie, and liars statistic..." wait, that's not it, "fool me once....won't get fooled again"...mmm, overused and off kilter..... maybe.... "It's just 3dB error", e.g. off by half - that's it.

Polls are popular - search hard enough, you're bound to find one that supports your cause. And if not, you can always complain about accuracy, number of people, leading questions and push polls, land lines vs. mobile, etc. But whether pro or con, polls typically sample 1/1000th or less of the final population. I.e. "a spit in the ocean" in modern parlance.

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Defies gravity Can spit really far Almost touch my toes Can cut a fly's legs off with a beer cap from 20 paces Know how to say useless stuff and prattle on in a dozen languages Don't know when to shut up
Favorite Quotes
To be for or against the Plague, it's much the same thing. Fiddledee, how a body shure do get around - just 2 weeks ago I was in Mississippi and now I'm all the way to Tennessee... Eat or Be Eaten Better to be pissed off than pissed on.
Biography
Born in swaddling clothes (designer, of course) at the confluence of big waters, my first recorded words were "Dad, can I have the keys to the car?" Raised a Southern Pedestrian, my musical talents were recognized at an early age, leading to my being exiled to the shed out back with a stack of books that became my eddykayshun - advanced readin', writin' & ritmytick, creating a major quandary of "what will I do, oh what will I do?" (Gunslinger) As an old black man advised in song, "You Gotta Move", so move I did, traveling the byways sideways even a lot of driveways, picking up sticks and psychological tics, even movin' to Beverlee through a quaint misunderstanding of the seriousness of TV series, until finally I blew up so big the carry nation incarnation tarnation couldn't hold me no more, so I fixed my sights on yonder sitar, and like Queequeg and Paul Bowles and one of those abducted kids by the Pied Piper of Hamelin, I ventured forth to the larger world, pickin' and grinnin', doin' me some reckonin' and naughts from naughts, occasionally rightin', building me some buildings and wiring and just trying to understand the babble comin' out of people's mouths and heads, I finally ended up in what Rummy quaintly calls "New Europe", which ain't so new from what I sees, but that pit in my stomach from lack-of-moving-sickness finally disappeared, and instead I sit behind a whopping big desk stacked with missives from all the chiefs with big whampum around the world telling me "what's going on". Which seems like a load of boolshit to me, but I guess that's what keeps me busy and entertained now, separatin' the weeds from the chapstick. So my name is Perry Keys, or Peracles to you, and since my mammy always said, "say please and thank you", I added the please, but I'm holdin' back on that thankee until I feel you've earned it. But do welcome, and I hope we's a gonna have a real good time. It all starts with, "I wuz born a poor young white chile livin' in the South..." and we cycle through again, like Nietzsche and his infernal regurgence. So enjoy, and let's spin a spell...

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