The best of times, the worst of times
From the New York Times:
NEW YORK — Even on Wall Street, the land of six- and seven-figure incomes, jaws dropped at the news Tuesday: After all that federal aid, a resurgent Goldman Sachs is on course to distribute bonuses that could rival the record paydays of the heady bull-market years.
Goldman posted the richest quarterly profit in its 140-year history and, to the envy of its rivals, announced it had earmarked $11.4 billion so far this year to compensate its workers.
At that rate, Goldman workers could, on average, earn roughly $770,000 each this year — or nearly what they did at the height of the boom.
Senior Goldman executives and bankers would be paid considerably more. Only three years ago, Goldman paid more than 50 employees above $20 million each. In 2007, CEO Lloyd Blankfein collected one of the biggest bonuses in corporate history.
Mort Zuckerman, writing in the Wall Street Journal:
The Bureau of Labor Statistics preliminary estimate for job losses for June is 467,000, which means 7.2 million people have lost their jobs since the start of the recession. The cumulative job losses over the last six months have been greater than for any other half year period since World War II, including the military demobilization after the war. The job losses are also now equal to the net job gains over the previous nine years, making this the only recession since the Great Depression to wipe out all job growth from the previous expansion….
The number of workers taking part-time jobs due to the slack economy, a kind of stealth underemployment, has doubled in this recession to about nine million, or 5.8% of the work force. Add those whose hours have been cut to those who cannot find a full-time job and the total unemployed rises to 16.5%, putting the number of involuntarily idle in the range of 25 million.
Two worlds, two realities. At some point, questions of basic justice have to be asked.
And answered.
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151 comments Add your comment
I Report (-: You Whine )-:
July 15th, 2009
5:27 pm
Obozobucks all around Wall Street, thanks for your democrat votes!
Hip hip hooray!
Need another Bailout?
ew
Brad Steel
July 15th, 2009
5:29 pm
Fine example of the legacy of trickle-on economics.
G
July 15th, 2009
5:32 pm
This is what I would expect from a banking system loaded up with Obamanation’s and Geitner’s old buddies from Harvard and Goldman.
When are we takin’ it to the streets to take this country back from the socialist????
I Report (-: You Whine )-:
July 15th, 2009
5:32 pm
Hey, you can teach old dogfaces new tricks-
Sotomayor: Congress makes the laws. The job of a judge is to apply the law. And so it’s not the heart that compels conclusions in cases. It’s the law. The judge applies the law to the facts before that judge.
Somebody’s been getting coached, somebody’s been getting coached.
ew
George American
July 15th, 2009
5:33 pm
Time for another teabagger.
Trust me
July 15th, 2009
5:34 pm
This is justice in a free market capitalist country. Goldman paid back their tarp funds and they are free to do what any business in the US is supposed to be free to do and if folks don’t like it then they don’t have to invest their money in that company. They can shun them. They can refuse to do business with them. They can boycott them. But, they can’t escape the rule of law and the rule of law says that what Goldman Sachs is doing is perfectly legal. Just ask President Obama and he’ll confirm what I just said. So, the bottom line is, if you don’t like what they did and you don’t like the options available under the law, then you will have to elect people that will change those laws to something more to your liking.
Brad Steel
July 15th, 2009
5:35 pm
No foolin’ you, Whiner. Please bless us with more of your oh-so-brilliant-and-clever insight.
Barry's Twin
July 15th, 2009
5:35 pm
Best of Times – Congress/Senate actually reads 1,000 plus page Health Care Bill before auto Passing it!!!! Worst of Times – Congress/Senate passes Health Care Bill!!!!
@@
July 15th, 2009
5:38 pm
Is Goldman going for a monopoly, oligopoly or duopoly? as AmVet so often exclaims. Why not? all the government’s treasury “Execs” were poly-wolly-doodlin’ behind the scenes.
Trust me
July 15th, 2009
5:41 pm
@@,
Are you OK with Goldman doing what they are legally entitled to do. As far as any of us know, they have broken no laws and they are under no obligation to limit compensation. Do you have some information to the contrary.
Brad Steel
July 15th, 2009
5:45 pm
If Goldman breaks a law, no worries. They can just make a couple of calls and have the law “corrected”. (wink!)
Bosch
July 15th, 2009
5:48 pm
Time to polish and sharpen the guillotines.
Hillbilly Deluxe
July 15th, 2009
5:52 pm
One of the architects of the bailouts was ex Goldman Sachs head, Hank Paulson. Buddies tend to look out for buddies
Kamchak
July 15th, 2009
5:54 pm
Sounds like Goldman Sachs has a PR problem–unless of course, the echo chamber they exist in drowns out any ethical voices trying to explain that while yes this is legal, this isn’t the best choice.
Barry's Twin
July 15th, 2009
6:00 pm
Obimbo has awaken Biden (or not) and sent him out to drum up public support for Health Care fiasco. Also has sent Wife Michael to Animal Planet Channell to do same.
TW
July 15th, 2009
6:01 pm
No worries – I’ll call Saxby tomorrow.
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
6:02 pm
Bosch–d’acc…allons enfants de la patrie, le jour de gloirem est arrive…
Oh, wait a minute, yesterday was the 14th!
Hillbilly Deluxe
July 15th, 2009
6:04 pm
Dang the food thread downstairs is still going.
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
6:05 pm
JAY–can we get a cheer for the Jacobins!
Hillbilly Deluxe
July 15th, 2009
6:05 pm
poly-wolly-doodlin’ behind the scenes.
Don’t really know what that means but sounds like it’d be dirty and/or fun. (IWH)
Redneck Convert
July 15th, 2009
6:12 pm
Well, old Mr. Bivens was sure in a bum mood this p.m. He owns the warehouse and all and he says if this health care tax hits him he’ll have to give one of his country club memberships and fire a maid or two and maybe sell one of his houses. He’s says it’s for dang sure he won’t be able to go on his four-week golf trip to The Breakers in Palm Beach anymore I felt right sorry to see him down in the dumps that way.
Anyhow, I’m all for Goldman Sachs making all the money they can. That’s Free Innerprize. Sounds like a average of $700,000 a person is a pretty good bonus. Anybody know if they need a driver or something? I know we bailed them out but they paid it all back so they can tell us to kiss their You Know What. I sure could use that RV I want to buy. It’s big and has heavy springs so the missus can walk anyplace in it she wants to. It’s on sale for $175,000. And it gets close to 8 mpg. I figure with 15 year financing I could make it pay for itself after I retire. We wouldn’t need no motel room. Course, I would be about 87 by the time the note was paid off so I might need to invest in a walker.
Have a good night everybody.
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
6:16 pm
Hillbilly Deluxe–
“Dang the food thread downstairs is still going.”
Went down there myself…Hrrmph! Damn spoil sports…there we were having a good time and THEY had to come along and spoil it!
Trust me
July 15th, 2009
6:20 pm
You too could be amongst the chose few. Making the big bucks. Living the high life. Lobbying for lower tax rates. Trickling on thy fellow Republican…
@@
July 15th, 2009
6:21 pm
Trust me:
Admittedly, I’m not very astute when it comes to economics. I’m at odds with some conservatives on my suspicions re: Goldman Sachs and government intervention. Too big to fail, too small to bail?
I’m waiting to see what happens with CIT. Goldman Sachs (laden with MY money) plays by a different set of rules.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m tired of the bailouts all-together. It’s the sequence of events and the ties that bind which interest me.
Barry's Twin
July 15th, 2009
6:21 pm
Obamination has figured out a “snoring” Biden is much more coherent than a awake Biden. Reading Dan Qualye’s guide “How to Act Like A Vice President-Even if You Don’t Have A Clue”,maybe was’nt the smartest move. My bad, he did’nt read it!!! Biden really is this stupid!!!!!!!
@@
July 15th, 2009
6:22 pm
Hillbilly Deluxe:
Why I’m beginnin’ to think you’ve got some hound in you. (ISH)
Bosch
July 15th, 2009
6:26 pm
joseph nix,
Huh? Yeah Bastille Day’s already passed, but we can make our own!
getalife
July 15th, 2009
6:27 pm
Man, cons.
Talk about welfare.
Where is the teabag outrage?
Geez.
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
6:38 pm
As for Goldman-Sachs, is anybody outraged, shocked, surprised or even p*ssed off? Is this even “news?”
Trust me
July 15th, 2009
6:39 pm
I thought that the ‘conservative’ stance is that companies need to be even less regulated than they are currently and that businesses should not be taxed at all and that everyone should pay the same low tax rate. So, is it safe to assume that the conservatives are all OK with whatever Goldman or any other business is doing and that they should not be paying any taxes and that the people receiving the big bonuses should be paying less taxes than they currently are paying and that our government also needs to get busy removing any other rules or regulations that might be impeding companies such as Goldman. Let’s see, did I miss anything.
Dusty
July 15th, 2009
6:43 pm
Well, here’s Bookman (who also make $700,000/year) fussing and fuming and stealing his first line from Dickens. We all know that Dickens started his “Tale of Two Cities ” with Bookman’s leadoff. “It was the best of times,. it was the worst of times.” So much for originality.
I guess when you are as rich as Bookman and run around talking about taking from the rich and giving to the poor (with your taxes) it is OK.. Maybe we will get a Sotomayor reply from Bookman which goes something like she might be working on a case so she can’t say nuthin. Bookman Is working for the AJC so it is “the best of libs…the worst of GOP”. I like Dickens too.
My chicken is waiting……
Paul
July 15th, 2009
6:44 pm
“Two worlds. Two realities.”
And history cycles through.
I just don’t understand it. Democrats have always made calls for social justice and basic standards of fairness. But when it comes to having people part with their earnings to fund common programs, who do they go after? Individuals. Period. For millions. When companies such as GS make billions in profits and pay naught.
And where are the Democratic champions when it comes to corporations? Taking money from them. And when it comes to listing their justifications for maintaining this travesty, they sound like the Republicans so many here attack.
I just plain don’t get it.
And to add insult to injury: cap n’ trade allowances – someone has credits, someone wants to buy them – will be auctioned. On an exchange. Such as Chicago Mercantile. Who’s poised to be a major player in the buying and selling of credits? Goldman Sachs, who will earn a commission on each transaction.
If cap n’ trade goes through as proposed, their couple billions in profits this year will seem like the poor old days.
And who makes this possible?
The Administration and Democratic Congress.
They ARE Democrats, aren’t they?!!?
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
6:45 pm
BOSCH–Aux barricades! Qu’ils mangent du corn pone!
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
6:46 pm
DUSTY–the AJC? “…it was the age of enlightenment, it was the age of darkness…”
AmVet
July 15th, 2009
6:48 pm
What a country! The only one I know of where you can be a quasi-criminal and be intimately involved the greatest Ponzi scheme on the planet – AFTER the church and the lucrative Jesus business – and get a bonus!
These are the same crooks who are BIG into trying to privatize Social Security as well buying off politicians, I mean attempting to get legislation passed that would essentially deregulate the investment banking/securities industry altogether.
BTW, they tend to give most of theirs money to Democrats and a bunch of high-ranking government officials in recent years have spent part of their careers at Goldman Sucks.
It would be most fitting if they got to spend those bonuses at the prison store and canteen…
jt
July 15th, 2009
6:59 pm
All I’m saying is-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS4z054EaV8
@@
July 15th, 2009
7:01 pm
What would make Obama ask Goldman Sachs to set up a loan for CIG. Goldman’s response?
“No Thanks.”
Now this is where, in my opinion, it gets quirky.
Obama thought….
If he doesn’t bailout CIT (small business lender) Mainstreet is outraged. If he does bailout CIT, most of America is outraged.
Again….Obama thought?
jt
July 15th, 2009
7:02 pm
OMG Jay,
I knew you made big money (maybe around 30 or 35 thousand), but I had no idea you were a millionaire.
Jay
July 15th, 2009
7:10 pm
I am a rich man, JT.
I Report (-: You Whine )-:
July 15th, 2009
7:13 pm
If a lib in the woods whined about a bonus would it make a sound?
DB, Gwinnettian
July 15th, 2009
7:14 pm
I am a rich man, JT.
So, all day long you biddy biddy bum?
You got the one long staircase just going up,
And one even longer coming down,
And one more leading nowhere, just for show?
jt
July 15th, 2009
7:14 pm
Could I interest you in a time share in Folkston.?
Waterfront.
Bud Wiser
July 15th, 2009
7:14 pm
To think that someone actually pays Jay to monitor this garbage dump actually demonstrates a little bit of capitalism, and a little bit of Hollywood at the same time:
a. capitalism – a man being paid for dispensing something that is worth nothing
b. Hollywood – all style, no substance, no class
I Report (-: You Whine )-:
July 15th, 2009
7:16 pm
If a foreign born “president” heaved a baseball in Communiski Field would it sissy bounce to the catcher like it did at Busch Stadium?
Trust me
July 15th, 2009
7:16 pm
Jay,
As one rich man to another, how does it feel? Good, I hope.
Kamchak
July 15th, 2009
7:18 pm
“But when it comes to having people to part with their earnings to fund common programs, who do they go after? Individuals.”
I can almost sympathize with your poutrage. But 8 years ago a projected budget surplus was used to buy votes. From, whom you ask? Well it wasn’t from corporations–they can’t vote. Individuals bought that line of cr@p about “This is your money, not the governments’. Vote for me and I’ll give you this money back.” In true trickle down fashion, it started at the top, but when it came to the rest of us it was “Oops, I must have left my wallet in Iraq.”(My thanks to whomever posted that line earlier today.)
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
7:19 pm
JAY
I am a rich man, JT.
“…the most important men in town would come to fawn on me…they’d ask me to advise them…like a Solomon wise…and it won’t make one bit of difference if I answer right or wrong,,,when you’re rich, they think you really know,,,”
Jay
July 15th, 2009
7:20 pm
A timeshare?
In Folkston?
Next thing you’ll tell me you have a unicorn for sale.
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
7:20 pm
DB–you beat me to it!
“A rabbi who must praise himself has a congregation of one.”
Normal
July 15th, 2009
7:23 pm
Josef…Fiddler on the roof, right?
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
7:25 pm
DB–I hear he’s “filled his yard with chicks and turkeys and geese…” oh, wait a minute, that’s the editorial board…sorry
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
7:27 pm
NORMAL– of course!
Pertschek–And someday their wealth will be ours!
Tevye–If they would agree, I would agree.
Dusty
July 15th, 2009
7:28 pm
Folkston is on the Mississippi, isn’t it? Go for it, Jay.
jt
July 15th, 2009
7:28 pm
It IS waterfront. sometimes.
They have a train depot there, too.
No unicorn, but I do sell handmade red maple rocking chairs.
I can’t compete with those 40 dollar china made ones at whalemart though.
I also have a 2003 dodge stratus. 2000 dollars.
Jay
July 15th, 2009
7:30 pm
Yes, Josef, but instead of discussing books with the learned men, I am here, monitoring blog comments.
Sigh.
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
7:32 pm
NORMAL–reprise, “…money, it’s a hit, don’t give me that do goody good bullsh*t…” jus’ sayin’
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
7:33 pm
JAY–not the sweetest thing of all, eh!
Emory Eagle
July 15th, 2009
7:33 pm
Jay,
Maybe you have a point about the truly excessive bonuses, but I guarantee you that every politician in Washington is viewing this situation as a golden opportunity. What better way to drum up support for taxing the living bejesus out of the wealthy in the name of healthcare than to point out Goldman’s “insane profits”. Of course, I wouldn’t expect the average person to realize that Goldman’s profit margin is virtually unchanged. An average salary of 770K is no small sum, but I’d point out a couple things: Goldman paid back all $10 billion of TARP funds already, and it could be argued that the company didn’t need the money in the first place but was coerced into taking it by the Treasury. The government, mind you, was richly rewarded by Goldman’s preferred dividends and warrants. Secondly, many American financial institutions are really struggling to retain talent and need competitive compensation packages to keep their brightest employees. Compound this with the democrats’ plans to raise taxes, and well, these companies find themselves in quite a pickle! Look no further than the recent situation at UBS, where $20 billion worth of American assets were recently discovered hiding from the American tax system. And while the tax rates are a debate for another day, just consider that a couple making a combined $373K puts them in the highest tax bracket of 35%. Once the Bush tax cuts expire, their nominal rate jumps to 39.5%. Compound this number with the healthcare surcharge and proposed increases in both the social security income limit and medicare taxes, and this couple suddenly has an effective tax rate between in excess of 45%. Considering the CBO’s estimate that the top 20% of wage earners pay 87% of federal taxes (and this is back in 2006 before these inevitable tax increases!), let’s not judge these employers for reading the writing on the wall and compensating employees as they see fit.
@@
July 15th, 2009
7:33 pm
That raises a very simple and obvious question, as Jonathan Weil over at Bloomberg points out:
“All this leaves us to wonder: Did Goldman really tell the government its high-speed, high-volume, algorithmic-trading program can be used to manipulate markets in unfair ways, as Facciponti said? And shouldn’t Goldman’s bosses be worried this revelation may cause lots of people to start hypothesizing aloud about whether Goldman itself might misuse this program?”
In fact, through out the bail hearing, Facciponti warned of threats to Goldman and the financial markets if Aleynikov was not remanded. There was problem, as Weil points out, “The government offered no evidence that Aleynikov had tried to disseminate the software during the month prior to his arrest, after he downloaded it and had left his job at Goldman.” And that is why the judge ruled Aleynikov could go free on $750,000 bail.
Hmmmmm…
Obama’s Russian connection?
His company IS based in Chicago.
Paul
July 15th, 2009
7:35 pm
Kamchak 7:18
[[My thanks to whomever posted that line earlier today.]]
You’re welcome.
Back to the topic at hand:
It was noted, quite correctly, that ‘nothing illegal’ was done.
True. But when excess is treated as normal, when outrage is answered with ‘nothing illegal’ – that’s when laws get passed.
We have laws to tell us what we can’t do because greedy, immoral, unscrupulous people will do whatever they can get away with.
BTW – that’s also known as ‘regulation.’
Dusty
July 15th, 2009
7:37 pm
That’s all right, Jay,. It is not everybody who can bravely flip innocent word meisters off with MODERATION and not cry a single tear. Were you one of those SEALs who can go forth come hell or highwater or Letters to the Editor??
AmVet
July 15th, 2009
7:40 pm
JB, I meant no disrespect to your Nittany Lions earlier. Or your edumacation in University Park. A prestigious institution and a legitimate football powerhouse. And 7 – 6 all-time against my beloved Huskers . (But we’ve got those five championships.)
Andy, you ChiClowns know nothing, absolutely nothing about decent baseball! One title in a combined 193 years!!! Hell, the Uppity Muslim Sans a Birth Certificate could probably make one of those two rosters…
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
7:40 pm
DUSTY–Power corrupts! (Ah, say the-ah…
)
T
July 15th, 2009
7:41 pm
Well, I hope all of those Goldman workers go spending a lot of money so we can get trickled on. Or whatever.
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
7:42 pm
AM VET–
“Hell, the Uppity Muslim Sans a Birth Certificate could probably make one of those two rosters…”
Only you! That’s a good one!
@@
July 15th, 2009
7:47 pm
So how can the government place a surtax on the rich when:
The Constitution of the United States, Article I, Section 9, paragraph 3 provides that: “No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law will be passed.”
“Bills of attainder, ex post facto laws, and laws impairing the obligations of contracts, are contrary to the first principles of the social compact, and to every principle of sound legislation. … The sober people of America are weary of the fluctuating policy which has directed the public councils. They have seen with regret and indignation that sudden changes and legislative interferences, in cases affecting personal rights, become jobs in the hands of enterprising and influential speculators, and snares to the more-industrious and less-informed part of the community.” James Madison, Federalist Number 44, 1788.
I’m sober.
The government has become the judge, jury and hangman of the people…all rolled into one.
getalife
July 15th, 2009
7:53 pm
Yes, they will tax the rich.
“SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – California tax officials say a state proposal to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol would generate nearly $1.4 billion in revenue.
A State Board of Equalization report released Wednesday estimates marijuana retail sales would bring $990 million from a $50-per-ounce fee and $392 million in sales taxes. ”
I have no problem paying this tax
Paul
July 15th, 2009
7:53 pm
@@
My understanding is that applies, not to a class (income level) that cuts across many demographics but to a particular subcategory. When there was talk of taxing bonuses of a particular company, the red flag went up because it did not apply to all receiving bonuses, or all of an income level. It was for only those in a particular company.
A surcharge is as a modification of the tax code, applied to all of a certain income, does not fall under the attainder or after the fact provisions.
Pleasant evening, all -
I Report (-: You Whine )-:
July 15th, 2009
7:54 pm
Problem is Obozo would ask the taxi driver to take him to Socialist Field, I suspect.
Ain’t no 2005 World Series Champion White Sox playing there.
Just sayin….
@@
July 15th, 2009
7:54 pm
Surtax.
Michelle Malkin’s take on WaPo’s take.
Take it awaaayyyyy…
Kamchak
July 15th, 2009
7:56 pm
“BTW – that’s also known as regulation.”
Wow! Two “duh” awards in one day. Thirty years of deregulation beginning with RRR and you express outrage now? And no, I’m not gonna defend Clinton–he did nothing to stop deregulation. The only silver bullet I can that will fix many of our political problems begin and end with campaign finance reform. The Supreme Court made a bone-headed decision when they said that money = free speech.
But what does any of this have to do with your assertion about individuals having to “part with their earnings”?
Trust me
July 15th, 2009
7:56 pm
Come on, Jay. You don’t have to be a blog monitor. You could pull a Kyle, for example — just speak your peace and shut it down. Read-only access.
Dusty
July 15th, 2009
7:59 pm
joseph, you are absolutely correct. Power corrupts. My POWER mower is on sabbatical and I say it is corrupted ( and I don’t want to get my bank account corrupted to fix it). So our minds move in mysterious circles about the greater things of life (like @@ and Paul are always reading)..
When my grass starts growing again ..and it is valiantly trying…I shall deal with POWER or maybe Sears Repair Center. My property is not waterfront and is dry (but close to an expressway. Does that count?)
So, bubble bubble, toil and trouble. Oh to be rich and live in their bubble ! I should have studied journalism instead of that infernal science stuff. But I wander as I wonder…..
Redneck Convert
July 15th, 2009
8:01 pm
So Bookman’s rich. And cries about how poor the poor is. While he kicks a poor guy off of his blog for maybe blasting the libruls a little too hard. You can’t hardly say nothing without knowing he’s setting there just ready to flip the switch and tell the AJC not to except a blogger’s posts. It just goes to show you can’t trust the librul press. Now that I think of it, he deserves to get hit with the health care tax.
Trust me
July 15th, 2009
8:02 pm
infernal science stuff
Is that the study of Satan’s inner workings.
I Report (-: You Whine )-:
July 15th, 2009
8:03 pm
2008-2009 Chicago Sports summary for the sports informationally challenged-
Bulls took the defending World Champion Celtics into a game seven.
Hawks played for the Norris Division Championship, losing to the eventual World Champion Red Wings.
Cubbies got into the Divisional Playoffs, choked.
Sox got into the Divisional Playoffs, acted like they belonged there.
And now, for the news that will soon be having all these other dreg cities whining for mercy, Duh Bears got Cutler, ew,
Top that.
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
8:05 pm
getalife–you jest, but it’s true. That’s just the tax revenue. The money we could save on incarceration of penny ante street corner pushers, the failed “war on drugs,” the lost productivity of how many thousands who got popped with just a bit too much on them at the time, the better regulation of who can buy it and who can’t…oh, we could go on half the night…
I Report (-: You Whine )-:
July 15th, 2009
8:08 pm
Training camp opens in 15 days, 11 hours, 23 minutes and 13 seconds, be afraid, NFL, be very, very afraid.
AmVet
July 15th, 2009
8:09 pm
@@, get it together! The word I use is oligarchy. (Though oligopoly is kinda cool too.)
josef, in my best Jimmy Durante voice, “I got a million of ‘em!”
Trust me, Dusty Shickadance’s hubby?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uTThzrBYwg
@@
July 15th, 2009
8:10 pm
Well since 5(?) 7(?) of my posts were thrown into moderation after their initial appearance, I’d like to mention Jim Wooten’s founding blog principle.
“I’ve had my say now it’s the commenters turn without interruption from me” or something to that effect. The abuse that man suffered at the fingertips of leftists….and all without protest from Jim.
So why post here? you might ask.
Because those same leftists so filled with hate at Jim’s are here just chit-chattin’ away as though they’re innocent of any wrongdoing.
When I come here, jay serves as referee between me and the head chit-chatter..er. My “attacks” don’t even compare to those I’ve held up under over the years.
It had to be said, jay. Sometimes I’m just bustin’ but refrain.
Hot diggidy, Dog diggidy….BOOM!!!!
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
8:12 pm
DUSTY–It’s G-d’s way of telling you to quit interferring with H-s work. You’ve been listening to that. Infidel Normal!
Best hush, though, Whiner’s about and I don’t want to be the “tongue of blaspheming Jew…”
@@
July 15th, 2009
8:13 pm
…duopoly, AmVet. Your word is “duopoly”.
Repeat after you…
“DUOPOLY”.
Dusty
July 15th, 2009
8:13 pm
getalife, you ol’ pothead,
You should be living over here near Atlanta. In nearby Doraville, the “law” just caught some outlaws with a small stash of 2400 pounds of marijuana. They are so proud. Biggest catch ever!! That’s over a ton, hon!!
Are you reading about the drug wars in Mexico? Awful, really;. They just found the bodies of 12 agents tied, tortured and dumped in a pile One newly apointed head of law enforcement was killed two weeks after he started the job. Drug cartels are killing law enforcement officers all over the country.Seems like Iraq and Afghanistan are safer than Mexico.
Angry Balck MAn could set ‘em straight but I surely do hope he doesn’t get sent anywhere near Mexico.
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
8:16 pm
Okay, the Angry White Rebel must as a matter of honor respond here, Jay did address MY blockage with courtesy, dignity and civility.
@@
July 15th, 2009
8:18 pm
josef:
The response I got from jay was a confession.
@@
July 15th, 2009
8:18 pm
…of guilt.
josef nix
July 15th, 2009
8:19 pm
AM VET–yeah, I’ve added oligopoly to my vocabulary.
So, you’re a Durante fan? My respect for ya grows daily!
Kamchak
July 15th, 2009
8:24 pm
“Well since 5(?)7(?) of my posts were thrown into moderation after their initial appearance…”
Well fiddle-dee-dee. Poor poor Scarlet whatevah shall she do? Since she is the only one to suffer the indignation of moderation let us all throw ourselves at her feet and acknowledge that she is the true belle of the ball.
The drama continues…..
Trust me
July 15th, 2009
8:25 pm
I’m surprised that companies like RJ Reynolds are not lobbying for legalization of marijuana. They could sure use a smokin hot cash cow with a customer base that’s always too wasted to ever make a connection between smoking and disease. And, even if they did make a connection, would they care. Monsanto could even get in on the action and make a seed that is resistant to Roundup.
Hillbilly Deluxe
July 15th, 2009
8:29 pm
Why I’m beginnin’ to think you’ve got some hound in you
Maybe a tad but I’m no Wild Bill. (IWH)
AmVet
July 15th, 2009
8:31 pm
@@! You forgot plutocracy! Like I said get it together woman!
If you gonna follow me around like a shadow at least try a little disambiguation, huh? And yeah, there are some REAL stand up right-wing cousins of yours over there at Jimbo’s. Reminds me of someone (now “reformed”) from Luckovich’s you adore. Lovely bunch. You cna pick ‘em…
ANDY!!!
But when is that sorry sports town gonna win ANYTHING?
In fact, when are they even gonna PLAY for a championship again?
I think things are gonna get even worse for you Windy City Windbags.
The Curse of the Uppity Muslim is gonna make the Billy Goat, the Black Cat and Bartman seem like a trifecta of Four Leaf clovers!
Thank gawd you gang bangers had the Bulls in the eighties or it would be beyond laughable…
Dusty, what a shame, all that killing madness is over that shi-ity Mexican weed. Nobody in their right mind smokes that cr@p anymore…
Dusty
July 15th, 2009
8:37 pm
WHAT, what, josef? listen to Normal? surely you jest! That grass is what’s putting me to the test but I am holding out. Family members have been dragged to the front while I bravely supervise. It’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it.
And I will not have you throwing off on those “blaspheming jew etc. etc.”. You can insult many about me but you cannot insult my good doctor. He’s a jewel in the crown of medicine and I treasure him.
TRUST ME, 8:02
You better hush before I insult your myelocytes, lymphocytes, monocytes and maybe even your EOSINOPHILS!! Your thrombocytes will throb!
So there. Careful!!
jt
July 15th, 2009
8:38 pm
USSR:
“There are fundamental differences between professional politicians in other systems and in the Communist system. [...] In communist system, he who grabs power grabs privileges and indirectly grabs property. Consequently in Communism, power or politics as a profession is the ideal of those who have the the desire or the prospect of living as parasites at the expense of others.”
USA:
Federal judges and Congressmen are paid a minimum salary range of $145,000 to $158,000. These salaries place them in the top 5% of all income earners – public or private.
Yet federal judges complain constantly that they are underpaid, and Congress automatically grants itself a pay raise every year.
In the event that tax revenues become insufficient to pay these salaries, federal judges decided in Kelo v. City of New London that private property can be grabbed and sold in order to generate more taxes.
Many would agree that the federal government has an essentially parasitic nature.
getalife
July 15th, 2009
8:39 pm
joseph,
With the prohibition of booze, many folks got rich like Joe Kennedy and some Sicilian piasans.
Perhaps when they end the prohibition of weed, we will get a new political dynasty of Cheeches or Chongs.
jt
July 15th, 2009
8:40 pm
USSR:
“The search for genuine truth has no place in Communist education. Students are not allowed to hear both sides of a question in courses in the social sciences and humanities. Much of his education turns out to be indoctrination and propaganda. His education is specialized, limited and slanted. If he is bright, he will have been well prepared to be a cog in the Soviet machine.”
USA:
“Politically correct” curricula in the social sciences and humanities amount to propaganda and indoctrination. State and local public schools operate under the direction of federal authorities – the “No Child Left Behind Act” (a/k/a the “No Child Moves Ahead Act”)
Local school boards lack authority to prescribe their own curriculum. For example, a federal judge ordered that Georgia schools must teach evolution as a fact, not just a theory.
The federal government’s educational system is designed to achieve mass indoctrination and produce a politically uniform, tractable citizenry.
Dusty
July 15th, 2009
8:40 pm
AmVet is a Durante fan? Naw… he just looks like Durante.
jt
July 15th, 2009
8:41 pm
USSR:
“The Soviet Press … has no freedom, no life of its own. There are 10,000 newspapers in the Soviet Union, but not one dares express an opinion which differs in the slightest degree from the official Party view on any major issue” [...] On the other hand, the “press of the Free World represents a wide range of differing political viewpoints and purposes.”
USA:
Nominally, there are thousands of newspapers and radio stations and hundreds of television channels. But the FCC and the Department of Justice (sic) allow most of them to be owned and controlled by a few media conglomerates.
According to media expert Tom Wolzien, 80% of the prime time TV audience is watching channels owned by media conglomerates such as Viacom, Disney, Time-Warner, News Corp. and NBC/Universal. For example, he notes that of the top 25 cable channels, 20 are now owned by one of the big five media companies.
In exchange for the federal government granting them an oligopoly, the media conglomerates refrain from criticizing its policies or exposing its corruption. Paul Craig Roberts notes that the media’s historical role as government watchdog has diminished as a result of media consolidation.
The media conglomerates permit a narrow range of political viewpoints that more or less correspond to those of the Republicrat Party. The voices of independent journalists like Nat Hentoff, Joseph Sobran or the late Samuel Francis are not heard.
Bud Wiser
July 15th, 2009
8:44 pm
Itis impossible to throw out the first pitch when you’re bowed over so deeply it appears that you’re sucking dirt through the nostrils.
AmVet
July 15th, 2009
8:44 pm
Dusty, are you impugning my schnoz?
@@
July 15th, 2009
8:46 pm
Damn AmVet….make up your mind. It wasn’t that long ago that you were taking credit for Andy’s transformation. I’ll take Andy any day of the week over a sneaky leftist.
Kamchak:
They went into moderation after lingering in full view. There’s a difference.
Croak whydont’cha?
Anyhoo. A personal reflection.
So…
because I donated to a Republican candidate during the campaign (no it was not John McCain), my name has been passed onto the RNC who pesters me to death for a membership commitment. Last call went something like this:
“Hello…Mrs. @@?”
“Yes.”
“This is blah blah blah with the RNC. We see where in the past blah blah blah and we’ve initiated a new funding drive where for every $1.00 you donate, a congressman will contribute $3.00.”
“Oh really!!! So for every $l.00 I donate, some Republican congressman will give me back three of mine? What a novel idea….but wait….the $3.00 isn’t coming back to me, it’s going to the party. Alright, so who is this congressman? How do I know he’ll drop my $3.00 in the kitty? Can I have his name? Is there some way I can get in touch with him?”
“Let me check with a supervisor…can you hold?”
“Why certainly.”
“Uhmmm, Mrs. @@, a supervisor isn’t available to come to the phone.”
“Alrighty then! How about a website where I can communicate online with this “generous” congressman?”
“Well there’s the RNC website but the congressman isn’t available there.”
“So there’s no opportunity for me to verify?”
“No, Mrs. @@…there doesn’t appear to be.
“O.K., here’s what we’ll do….I’m committing to $XXX.XX by phone (credit card no code). Have him send me $XXX.XX. Once I’ve received his $XXX.XX, I’ll input the code. How’s that?”
I’m afraid we can’t do that Mrs. @@.
“Why not Ms. blah blah blah….don’t you trust me?”
Poor woman. She was very flustered.
Me? I was smiiiiiiiiilin’.
Hillbilly:
You’re a stray. I like strays.