Half Moon

Don Asks...

"Can you recommend a good porter?" The one porter that left a fine memory in my mind is Left Hand's Black Jack Porter. If you can find it on tap, you will not be disappointed.


I also gave him an unsolicited recommendation for a great lager, Peroni:

But only if you can get it on tap. It goes skunky quickly in the (green) bottle.

The End of the World as We Know It.

I read James H. Kunstler's book The Long Emergency over the Thanksgvng holiday and am still in shock. This book maybe the only xmas gift I buy for you this year. He delves into the economic jackpot of the petroeconomy, it's ability to help us enjoy an unsustainable lifestyle outside of what earth's parameters allow and what happens when the oil runs out. The truth hurts. This article is a brief introduction to the idea:

If you really want to understand the U.S. public’s penchant for wishful thinking, consider this: We invested most of our late twentieth-century wealth in a living arrangement with no future. American suburbia represents the greatest misallocation of resources in the history of the world. The far-flung housing subdivisions, commercial highway strips, big-box stores, and all the other furnishings and accessories of extreme car dependence will function poorly, if at all, in an oil-scarce future. Period. This dilemma now entails a powerful psychology of previous investment, which is prompting us to defend our misinvestments desperately, or, at least, preventing us from letting go of our assumptions about their future value. Compounding the disaster is the unfortunate fact that the manic construction of ever more futureless suburbs (a.k.a. the “housing bubble") has insidiously replaced manufacturing as the basis of our economy.

Visit his blog at ClusterFuckNation.

You've been warned. Act and plan appropriately. I'm off to buy more guns and ammo.

Submitted Without Comment:

Didn't Eat Yourself to Death on Thanksgiving?

Here's another chance.

Day Late, Dollar Short

Of course if they were three banks going to D.C. with hands open they would have gone back to Detroit with briefcases loaded with cash.

The Myth of the $70/Hour Autoworker

Complete, traditional media bullshit.

But then what's the source of that $70 hourly figure? It didn't come out of thin air. Analysts came up with it by including the cost of all employer-provided benefits--namely, health insurance and pensions--and then dividing by the number of workers. The result, they found, was that benefits for Big Three cost about $42 per hour, per employee. Add that to the wages--again, $28 per hour--and you get the $70 figure. Voila.

Except ... notice something weird about this calculation? It's not as if each active worker is getting health benefits and pensions worth $42 per hour. That would come to nearly twice his or her wages. (Talk about gold-plated coverage!) Instead, each active worker is getting benefits equal only to a fraction of that--probably around $10 per hour, according to estimates from the International Motor Vehicle Program. The number only gets to $70 an hour if you include the cost of benefits for retirees--in other words, the cost of benefits for other people. One of the few people to grasp this was Portfolio.com's Felix Salmon. As he noted yesterday, the claim that workers are getting $70 an hour in compensation is just "not true."

UPDATE: Just came across this post wondering if the Republicans are trying to union-bust and Katrinaize Detroit:

But I can't help thinking that in their hearts a lot of them are looking at the possibility of tens of thousands of people in Michigan losing their jobs and then their homes and seeing the opportunity to do to Detroit what Katrina allowed them to try to do to New Orleans, empty the city of Democrats.

Over/Under?

Whatcha think the over/under is for W. either drinking hisself into rehab or coffin? I got two years, if he stays in the States. One year if he's off to Paraguay.

You Don't Mess With the Rahmbo

On the "O"

An interview with the designer of the Obama logo.

Kill Your Television.

And get happy.

This Is a Great Fishing Story

Dog found swimming a mile off shore.

More on Right Wing Radio and Tactics

Nate Silver of fivethirtyeight.com has some interesting insight on the Right's tactics, talk-radio and their failures after a pretty funny interview with a Republican operative. It dovetails nicely with one of my earlier links.

Too Funny Not to Pass Along

Thanks to Angie:

Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect
Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over
the past eight years through his controversial use of
complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's
appearance on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday witnessed the
president-elect's unorthodox verbal tick, which had Mr.
Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually
every time he opened his mouth.

But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in
his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks,
since after the last eight years many Americans may find his
odd speaking style jarring.

According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the
University of Minnesota, some Americans might find it
"alienating" to have a president who speaks
English as if it were his first language.

"Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and
verbs are in agreement," says Mr. Logsdon. "If he
keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an
elitist."

The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using
complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find
itself saying, "Okay, subject, predicate, subject
predicate -- we get it, stop showing off."

The president-elect's stubborn insistence on using
complete sentences has already attracted a rebuke from one
of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

"Talking with complete sentences there and also too
talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the
Plumber and Tito the Builder can't really do there, I
think needing to do that isn't tapping into what
Americans are needing also," she said.

Andy Borowitz is a comedian and writer whose work appears
in The New Yorker and The New York Times, and at his
award-winning humor site, BorowitzReport.com.

I Consider This Good News

Sorry Dingell, move over for Waxman.

The Detroit (nee Big) 3 are losing clout by the day. There is some serious change on the horizon.

This Really, REALLY Pleases Me.

Sticking Up for My Detroit Homies

Wherein I chime in on a automotive bailout discussion thread on a poster website. Great economic minds there.

Rochester Hills, MI Says: "Nuge, Where Are You?"

The Nuge should have a spotlight like the Batman. Rochester Hills, MI is in need of his help.

Not Exactly Biking Nude, Dude.

But the asshole in the metal box is getting his just desserts.

Submitted Without Comment:

The Right Wing Spin Infrastucture

Here's a peek inside Rush The Drug Addict's playbook.

Sure, Bail Out GM...

...then make them rebuild the light rail they dismantled. Great article, will anyone have the balls to propose it on Capitol Hill?

First Thing I Thought Is That They™ REALLY Don't Want Him To Own the Cubs.

But then I read this and was tossed a curve ball.

Here's How You Write a Great Blog Post:

First, report on some current event,

Then, compare and contrast with keen insight.

Find the Oregon reference.

This is a great post.

I'm No Couch Security Guard...

On the insidious ONDCP anti-marijuana ad campaign:

You might have seen it while you were vegging on the couch, sipping a Chardonnay watching the idiot box:


There's more taxpayer-funded stupidity here.

Anyways, they're not telling The Whole Truth™. Had they, you may have heard this:

By the way, jobs held by people who’ve acknowledged smoking marijuana include governor of California (Arnold Schwarzenegger), astronomer (Carl Sagan), mayor of New York (Michael Bloomberg), billionaire rock star/songwriter (Paul McCartney), and — well, you get the point.

Some Awesome Images You haven't Seen Yet:

Check these out. Will not disappoint.

Macomb and Oakland Counties in the NYT

As barometers of the nation's elections?

When the Warm Up Band Sucks:

Obama Meets With Dangerous World Leader Without Preconditions

h/t Digby

Pure Butter

Click the image for more hand-churned butter.

RahmBo

EVEN RAHM EMANUEL'S MOTHER CALLS HIM "RAHMBO"

This is funny. But not Butter funny, Guns funny.

Krugman Should Be One of O's Econ Advisors:

God, do I love his blog.

Didja Know?

From a furiner publication:

• He collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics
• He was known as "O'Bomber" at high school for his skill at basketball
• His name means "one who is blessed" in Swahili
• His favourite meal is wife Michelle's shrimp linguini

...

A Couple of Weekends Ago...

I helped teach people to brew.

If I Had the Energy...

I would have been here this weekend.

I May Have Found a New Avenue for My Skills

via Photoshop Disasters:

An interesting CraigsList ad.

Economic Bleeding Hits Home Pt. 2.1

Dear The Donald:

You're FIRED!™


image: WSJ

It's Never Too Early for a Healthy Flashback:

Click the image for the full, official slideshow:

Your Heart Needs This Site:

One of my daily visits, The Daily Coyote:


©Shreve Stockton

He Still Brings Tears to the Eyes...

Tears of joy I might add. In today's press conference when asked if he has consulted any former presidents, the President-Elect answered that in addition to all the living presidents he spoke to he had been reading a lot of Abraham Lincoln--I wept because I knew it was true. Unlike the current president who uses books as props, this president will inspire and renew confidence in the office--at the very least.

And he's a mutt like you and I.

Krugman on O's Agenda:

As always, right on the mark. I hope Krugman is offered a advisory position in the New Administration.

Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008, is a date that will live in fame (the opposite of infamy) forever. If the election of our first African-American president didn’t stir you, if it didn’t leave you teary-eyed and proud of your country, there’s something wrong with you.

Pat Bagley:

It's Like a Rash

I Like This Explanation of the Repugs

From a diary on DailyKos:

The GOP is run by rich folks, and basically looks after their class interests; low taxes, no estate taxes, helping out business. However, there are not enough rich folks to elect a president, even if you count the toadies, the hangers-on, the wanna-bes and the folks who think they're rich but aren't. So the party has to use the religious right as its actual voters, and this group includes a fair number of folks who AREN'T rich.

To gather this group in, the GOP promises, but doesn't deliver, a return to a simpler age where abortion was done in back allies, gays were closeted family men who could be thrown in jail and the black folks and the Jews knew their place. It's been a 30-year exercise in stringing these folks along. The rich people who pay for the party have neither interest in making good nor incentive; once abortion is made nationally illegal a lot of the religious right probably won't bother turning up to vote.

The problem is that the rich folks who run the party - and run Fox News - aren't really sincere about the party's social agenda. It's just red meat for the rightwing workies. The rich - really, the country's owners - want the party to look after their class interests, which are all economic. They don't trust the petit bourgeois footsoldiers any more than you or I do.

The problem is that the crazies are getting restless, and want to run the party themselves, not just provide the voting muscle. This makes the richies nervous: you see this with the complete lack of rich-folks funding for Huckabee (who incidentally wasn't reliable on economic issues as far as the rich were concerned).

Palin also scares them, as she's drawn from the same group, but seems even more ignorant and likely to blow up the world in search of the the end of the world and the second coming. Even short of that, she seems ignorant and incompetent enough to fuck things up even more royally than the most recent occupant of the White House did, given the chance. She'd further tarnish the brand, and probably cause everyone's portfolios to blow up. And the people who run the party aren't fools, just dedicated to their own interests: they realize that she's incredibly ignorant, and probably dangerous beyond a point they're willing to tolerate.

Much safer to destroy her NOW than to let her build herself up and run in 2012, where she MIGHT win the nomination because of her attraction to the smalltown and southern white folks who actually provide the votes. She's attractive and hits all the right-wing sweet spots. She seems one of the people. The rich do NOT want a choice between her and Obama; they want someone sincere on the economic rightwingness but insincere on the rest. Fox, being the instrument of the rich folks who run the party, is the chosen means to have at her when she's vulnerable.

Can't let the stupid people rise up now can we?

We Can Haz Clean Energeez Nau?

fivethirtyeight.com FTW!

Submitted Without Comment:

Morford:

Above all, it is a time to exhale, to relax a little, to get the hell on with it. I know I speak for roughly five thousand fellow media lackeys when I say, sweet Lord, I am just so glad this damnable beast of an election is finally over. It's like a combination of the day after Christmas and post-coital orgasm and giving birth. You can only sit in the wobbly afterglow, warm and buzzing and dizzy, insanely grateful you didn't get a stocking full of Satan and Alaskan moosemeat and dirt, or a baby with three tiny heads and a nail gun where his arm should be.

Heh...

Some things to look forward to:

"You're watching Alaska Cable Access Channel 2. Welcome to Hockey Talk with your host, Sarah Palin..."

Trudeau:

Toles:

Absolutely Stunning.

What a beautiful morning. The leaves are falling with new vigor and hope is blooming like crocus breaking through an early spring snow. A great statement was made last night: We are sick and tired of being sick and tired. And really, what says sick and tired more that John S. McCain?

President-Elect Barack Obama. Yes We Can. I love that line. I'm tired of being embarrassed be those Americans who say we Can't do something. I've heard Can't from Detroit. I've heard Can't from D.C. I've heard frightened Can'ts from the heartland. The sin of these past eight years is the idea that we can't do something. We can't recount votes, we can't risk a 'constitutional crisis', we can't leave without victory, we can't have healthcare, we can't improve fuel efficiency, we can't care for the poor. We're AmeriCans, dammit. If you think we can't, please get out of the way.

Hopefully, we Can fix some of the damage of the last eight years in the next four. Thankfully, we have a young, virile new president who has the energy, the stamina and the courage to rebirth the promises of our fathers that our future generations will have better lives than we have. We are better than the past eight years. We owe it to our future to fix ourselves, help others and regain our standing in the world.

Yes We Can.

Oh Ebert....

Our long national nightmare is ending.

Exhale...

The work has just begun. (Fixed pic)

Eerie...

I heard a noise near the refrigerator just now and went to investigate. This had fallen on the floor:



Note the date.

Spooky.

So Much to Fix

While Americans eagerly vote for the next president, here's a sobering reminder: As of Tuesday, George W. Bush still has 77 days left in the White House - and he's not wasting a minute.

Woot!

Done and Done.

Damn!

I was gonna go to Piece tomorrow night for all the festivities, then this shows up in my mailbox:



What to do, what to do?

All for a $10 contribution.

Naptime...

via The Boston Globe.

Krugman on 'The Right':

This will pose a dilemma for moderate conservatives. Many of them spent the Bush years in denial, closing their eyes to the administration’s dishonesty and contempt for the rule of law. Some of them have tried to maintain that denial through this year’s election season, even as the McCain-Palin campaign’s tactics have grown ever uglier. But one of these days they’re going to have to realize that the G.O.P. has become the party of intolerance.

Wow, This Is Very Cool:

Barack Obama x Z-Trip x Shepard Fairey x Fresh Pressed from Barack On! Obamathon on Vimeo.

The Fourth Debate:

Oh Detroit...

Submitted Without Comment:

Who Can Explain This Big Jump?

It's been 56% for weeks.

Studs Terkel, RIP

Why does this post make me think that it's really not about rice cookers?