Once again back

Just when I was going to delete this whole blog, I feel like posting again; here I'm welcoming SoCal Minds to our cultural wasteland.

I won't post much, because I'm working four jobs (three of them paying (not counting parenting)). But I do need a place I can swear.

Of course, when was this not true dept.

Obama’s Refusal to investigate torture tells us that America is a land of men, not laws | Ian Welsh:

"America, fundamentally, is not a nation of laws. It is a nation of men. If you’re important enough, you will not be held responsible for whatever you do—whether that’s lose trillions and destroy the economy, start an illegal war based on lies, or torture. That’s just the way it is. Obama and Bush, between them, have made this point crystal clear."

More from me

Here at McSweeney's

The Fix We're In (Annals of Capitalism dept.)

Here and here. Money quote:

This isn’t just going to be about employment, though that is going to suck for the forseeable future, and will, in effect, never recover. It is also going to be about real income. Forget the headline CPI, the costs you pay are going to go up faster than your wages (which are probably going to deflate), and your assets are going to deflate. Riptide inflation, which catches you on both the up and downsides.

Real standards of living for median Americans are going to drop. It’s just that simple.

In 4 to 8 years, the Republicans will probably get back in again. They will do stupd things again. By the end of their orgy of looting and warring (which will be even worse than Obama’s) the country is going to be extremely damaged. Right now things could be fixed. They probably won’t be, because Barack Obama has no intention of fixing main street, but they could be. By the time the US gets its next real chance, well, this hole is going to be mighty mighty deep.

My favorite thing about the Super Bowl

Is the ads that have to say "The Big Game".

I completely agree

John Fleck quotes Ryan Avent:

"I have become increasingly pessimistic about our ability to address the climate change crisis. The dynamics are simply deadly — the most dangerous effects begin arriving after it’s too late to do anything about them — which leaves as our great hope the chance that a strong enough intellectual argument can be made to convince us all to challenge thousands of entrenched interests (among them our own) and significantly change the path of policy. Frankly, there’s nothing in our history that suggests this is possible. Time and again, slow-burning environmental crises have emerged to devastate civilizations. That we’re smart enough to see it coming and understand the mechanisms involved only renders our failure more tragic."

Anecdote

From a Nation articleon George Plimpton:

"In 2003, while drinking at the bar of the Brook Club, Plimpton's blood pressure fell, and he collapsed on the floor. The paramedics recognized him and, while slapping his face, yelled, 'Hey, George! Wake up!'--at which point the maitre d' turned to them and declared, 'At the Brook Club, sir, we refer to him as Mr. Plimpton.'"

I order you

To watch or Tivo this program. I won't say anything more, because enthusiasm destroys the delicate deadpan flower of its comedy.