3:42 pm November 26, 2010, by Jay
I admire their musicianship. I appreciate their lyrics, and the complex interplay of their music and lyrics. But I can’t say I’ve ever been a huge fan of Steely Dan. To my taste, there’s something chilly and a little removed about their music that makes it hard to fully embrace.
That said, this is too perfect a match not to post today.
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158 comments Add your comment
TaxPayer
November 27th, 2010
4:49 pm
And the jean that automatically equates union with evil is made in either China or India or one of those other places with the real cheap labor and imported by Levi or Wrangler or just about any of those designer names.
Common Sense isn't very Common
November 27th, 2010
4:51 pm
Southern Comfort@4:42 pm
The old GM or the new GM? I’d drive a GM before I put money into a foreign company’s pocket. That’s just little ol’ patriotic me though. I can’t speak for everyone else.
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Well said.
I would rather put my money in a union members pocket to be spent in the USA preferably on USA made products., than to give it to a corporation that will at the FIRST chance LAYOFF or OFFSHORE AMERICAN WORKERS JOBS
Common Sense isn't very Common
November 27th, 2010
4:56 pm
stands for decibels@4:25 pm
RW’s right. The teeny comment box appears to have become smallened.
—————————–
Must be male and a member of the polar bear club
stands for decibels
November 27th, 2010
5:06 pm
We make it fresh for each meal of leftover turkey and stuffing.
Everyone has their own notion of perfect gravy; mine’s always made in the roasting pan just after the bird’s come out to rest, so I’m not sure how I could do that the next day.
But yeah, re-heated the next day, it’s a pale ghost of its former vibrant self.
stands for decibels
November 27th, 2010
5:07 pm
male and a member of the polar bear club
that’s always my story, and I’m sticking to it.
later, gators. Be excellent to one another.
Hillbilly Deluxe
November 27th, 2010
5:18 pm
Personally, I would say the hedge fund managers netting an average of a billion bucks a year thanks to the Wall Street bailout are the ones making out like bandits, but maybe that’s just me.
And isn’t that hedge fund manager being taxed at the capital gains rate, so he pays at a lower percentage than us members of the Great Unwashed?
sfd
I’d agree with you, no matter how you make your gravy, it loses something every time it’s reheated.
RW-(the original)
November 27th, 2010
5:20 pm
RW’s right. The teeny comment box appears to have become smallened.
I think it’s an optical illusion. The up and down arrows on the right aren’t there when you open the page using either Firefox or Safari until you type enough to fill the comment box. It looks normal in IE as soon as you open the page.
Southern Comfort
November 27th, 2010
5:40 pm
I would rather put my money in a union members pocket to be spent in the USA preferably on USA made products., than to give it to a corporation that will at the FIRST chance LAYOFF or OFFSHORE AMERICAN WORKERS JOBS
As I learned in physics, for every action there is a reaction. Like you, I’d rather keep that money circulating here in the US. If I can achieve my ultimate dream, I’ll have to ask Jay to blog live so y’all can see me drive my Corvette off the factory line in Bowling Green, KY.
TH
November 27th, 2010
6:05 pm
Today is November 27.
BONER, WHERE ARE THE JOBS CREATED FROM THE BUSH TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY?
Southern Comfort
November 27th, 2010
6:20 pm
TH
If I didn’t know any better, I’m beginning to think you have a boner for Boehner.
Just sayin…
Common Sense isn't very Common
November 27th, 2010
6:50 pm
Southern Comfort@5:40 pm
As I learned in physics, for every action there is a reaction. Like you, I’d rather keep that money circulating here in the US. If I can achieve my ultimate dream, I’ll have to ask Jay to blog live so y’all can see me drive my Corvette off the factory line in Bowling Green, KY.
————————————————————————–
Make sure you turn south instead of north them sports car don’t do good on snow LOL
Common Sense isn't very Common
November 27th, 2010
7:00 pm
TH@6:05 pm
Today is November 27.
BONER, WHERE ARE THE JOBS CREATED FROM THE BUSH TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY?
————————————————
They are all in Ohio at TATA consulting
Pogo
November 27th, 2010
7:24 pm
The unions ARE making out like bandits on our taxpayer dollars Jay. Even the liberal NYT’s said that today. What about all of the investors that lost billions in GM in their 401′S? What about all of us out here having to pay a grotesque amount of our taxpayer dollars to save what is really just a few jobs to the Democrat’s historical favorite cause-de-celeb, the unions and socialism they represent? What about all of the bad decisions made by both GM’s management and the UAW’s management of the pension plans? I know; the Grapes of Wrath liberal/progressive romantics like yourself (and the hack Krugman) want to believe that that government intervention into the private economy in the form of taxpayer dollars to support the unions and bad company management is the answer to all our problems. But the undeniable truth is that without private sector funding through the revenues that only the private sector can generate, government spending is a bigtime loser. Europe is a prime and a real example of this. And there just aren’t enough taxpayers in this country Jay, rich or middle class, to pay the bills that liberal spending has created. If you can look at your your children and say with any grain of truth that the way to prosperity for this country is through government spending then I feel sorry for you. Something is going to have to give and it is about to and your children and my children are going to pay. They will be enslaved to a government beaurcracy who will tell them how to live without a semblance of freedom because they will have the weight of all the debt that those that came before them created and they will pretty much have no say into how they live their own lives. The all-providing government will tell them how to live. I really do feel sorry for the children of tomorrow.
Southern Comfort
November 27th, 2010
7:38 pm
Make sure you turn south instead of north them sports car don’t do good on snow LOL
If the roads are icy, they’re just like a big, long skid pad then.
Southern Comfort
November 27th, 2010
7:42 pm
In 2009, the union membership rate–the percent of wage and salary
workers who were members of a union–was 12.3 percent, essentially
unchanged from 12.4 percent a year earlier, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today.
It’s amazing that 12.3% of the workforce can somehow be to blame for all our economic woes. If 12% of the workforce can wield so much power, I guess it stands to reason that 12% of the population is all the support Obama needs to get re-elected.
Some more info on unions according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Industry and Occupation of Union Members
In 2009, 7.9 million public sector employees belonged to a union,
compared with 7.4 million union workers in the private sector. The
union membership rate for public sector workers (37.4 percent) was
substantially higher than the rate for private industry workers (7.2
percent). Within the public sector, local government workers had the
highest union membership rate, 43.3 percent. This group includes work-
ers in heavily unionized occupations, such as teachers, police offi-
cers, and fire fighters. Private sector industries with high unioni-
zation rates included transportation and utilities (22.2 percent),
telecommunications (16.0 percent), and construction (14.5 percent).
In 2009, low unionization rates occurred in agriculture and related
industries (1.1 percent) and financial activities (1.8 percent).
(See table 3.)
Among occupational groups, education, training, and library occupa-
tions (38.1 percent) and protective service occupations (35.6 percent)
had the highest unionization rates in 2009. Farming, fishing, and fores-
try occupations (2.8 percent) and sales and related occupations (3.1
percent) had the lowest unionization rates. (See table 3.)
Pogo
November 27th, 2010
7:58 pm
And I WOULD walk before I bought a GM product. To think that GM hasn’t been outsourcing its manufacturing to foreign countries for years is totally naieve. GM was ruined by its idiotic management and its union’s greed. Now GM is ramping up production of it’s gas guzzling/CO2 emitting SUV’s to prop up its profit margins. I guess Obama’s Car Czar and the Obama administrations anti-CO2 social morality has been overcome by their desire to get at least some of the 48 Billion of us taxpayer’s money that GM still owes us back. I would like some accurate number on the cost per job that we the taxpayers had to pay to save GM. They should have went the way of any number of other companies that could not compete in the free market and that is to they should have gone out of business. Make all the excuses you want Jay but the bottom line is that GM was badly managed and it was was sucked dry by the UAW. And Obama made the choice to trade votes and union support for taxpayer dollars. It doen’t get any simpler than that. And, for all the ballyhoo that went along with GM’s IPO, they will still sink. The Volt indeed.
Kamchak
November 27th, 2010
8:21 pm
It doen’t[sic] get any simpler than that.
Simple thoughts for simple minds.
Common Sense isn't very Common
November 27th, 2010
9:02 pm
Union=bad
Democrat=bad
poor=lazy
unemployed=very lazy
liberal=very bad
progressive=very very bad
Did I miss any?
LOL
CEO=good
Republican=very good
Conservative=very very good
Tax cuts for the wealthy=very very very good
simple thoughts indeed along with simple minded
TaxPayer
November 27th, 2010
9:04 pm
I read that FOX has now started presenting select segments from The Onion in their “news” shows. Then again, those segments may actually be a step forward for FOX — one step closer to becoming the joke that they are. It might even be funny if it were not so sad.
Soothsayer
November 27th, 2010
9:04 pm
Either you were or you weren’t
Rightwing Troll
November 27th, 2010
10:50 pm
Are we back to whining about the investors getting wiped out, and the rank and file keeping their jobs? If it makes you feel better, please remember that the CEO’s kept their jobs AND their golden parachutes, so maybe they’ll indulge us by trickling down on us… Don’t worry, president Delay will fix all this in 2013…
m00nbat betty
November 27th, 2010
11:47 pm
0K tr0ll.
From Black Flag.
Henry Rollins.
0bama t0 y0u:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxrd_jZJxkg
m00nbat betty
November 27th, 2010
11:58 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtqy4DTHGqg
sunday black
Shay
November 28th, 2010
9:49 am
One of your funniest pieces, Jay Bookman – much appreciated!
Tdml1972
November 28th, 2010
11:59 am
Black September @ the Munich Olympics.
The battle continued sporadically for another hour before five guerrillas, including the leader, were killed and three surrendered. In that interval the hostages died too. One group of four burned to death when a terrorist tossed a grenade and set fire to the helicopter in which they were being held. The rest were machine-gunned by the Arabs.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,906384-7,00.html#ixzz16bnwOUcm
Common Sense isn't very Common
November 28th, 2010
12:00 pm
Interesting note in the WSJ that investors are moving more money into offshore accounts. The funds include some cash but also a lot of overseas investments.
I wonder if it’s part of the tax cut monies that everyone keeps saying is creating jobs in the USA.
Also if it invested offshore is the Capital Gains taxing the same as if was done in the US. Interesting
@@
November 28th, 2010
12:12 pm
What the halibut? Palin ’snuff film’ outrages animal rights advocates
Snuff film!!??!! schnirt.
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/people/what-the-halibut-palin-snuff-film-outrages-animal-rights-advocates-20101124-186bw.html?from=smh_sb
I couldn’t do it, but I’m sho ’nuff glad somebody can.
I LUV grilled halibut.
TH
November 28th, 2010
12:16 pm
Today is November 28.
BONER, WHERE ARE THE JOBS CREATED FROM THE BUSH TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY?
Hillbilly Deluxe
November 28th, 2010
12:20 pm
@@
When you get right down to it, there’s no nice way to kill something. Would they rather we eat the fish alive?
Common Sense isn't very Common
November 28th, 2010
12:32 pm
Article in Time.com http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2033238,00.html
About the Chinese companies doing work overseas
If we can get them to do our projects with the same conditions we will end up owning them LOL
Common Sense isn't very Common
November 28th, 2010
12:36 pm
Wow Sarah, You are tough. I would like to see her tie into one of those big catfish at the Alatoona Dam though. Those things could eat her whole. LOL
@@
November 28th, 2010
12:48 pm
Hillbilly:
Watching that halibut flop around, I don’t think it’d “sit still” for being eaten alive.
So…what did you have for Thanksgiving? I had the flu but still managed to put on a feast.
Adam
November 28th, 2010
12:49 pm
regarding jihad: i’ve looked it up, thank you. but he said it had many different definitions to the Islam faith. just wondering what he was talking about..
Jihad is a holy war, one that usually is attribnuted by those of more simple-mindedness about their own faith into a holy war against some person or group of people. Usually a religion, or country, or basically any entity that can be sufficiently demonized. Sounds an awful lot like what we’re doing in this country; no wonder we want to BAN Sharia law!
But for those high-minded individuals who actually STUDY the faith (read – not most American Christians and not most Middle Eastern Muslims) you can find in Mohammed’s teachings that a jihad is a holy war against the ego, the part of us that seeks to destroy and make things worse for other people, the part of us that doesn’t recognize the holiness and godliness of every creature and human being. According to the teachings, that is what you should wage war against – hate, war, fear, and intolerance. In so doing, you will find the opposite to be healthy for you and everyone else.
So, now you know what he meant by that. Assuming you understood what I said.
Hillbilly Deluxe
November 28th, 2010
1:22 pm
@@
I wouldn’t sit still for being eaten alive, either, but being near the top of the food chain, it isn’t really a problem for me. (IWH)
I had turkey, dressing, and the usual fixins.
Scout
November 28th, 2010
2:30 pm
Some things never change ………
Does anyone remember the scene in “Pork Chop Hill” (starring Gregory Peck) where during negotiations the North Korean officer (smoking a cigarette) sitting across the table from the American officers takes his earphones off ?
You can’t negotiate with the insane. Get ready.
Common Sense isn't very Common
November 28th, 2010
3:45 pm
It will not be fun especially with the new N. Korean leader wanting to show how tough he is.
Paulo977
November 28th, 2010
4:11 pm
Adam
@12:48pm
re: jihad really a war against ego etc This is after all what Christ also taught and yet we have had the CRUSADES by ‘alleged’ Christians in the past who claimed that they were carrying out the word of God in attacking “infidels’ —in essence meaning all those who were not Catholic !
Excellent post with info for those who have not really had the opportunity to research the topic!
stands for decibels
November 28th, 2010
4:29 pm
Anyone taken the plunge and started sifting through the latest wikileaks cache?
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/world/statessecrets.html?hp
Pogo
November 28th, 2010
4:36 pm
Pfc. Bradley Manning, who leaked all the documents to Wikileaks should be tried for treason and he (or she, or whatever) should be executed. Because of “it’s” actions, other people are going to die. For that matter, this fools commanding officers who put a person like this in a position to be able to record and download sensitive information in the first place should be tried as well. Makes one have a lot of faith in the LEADERSHIP of the American Armed Forces and their screening of people who occupy such positions doesn’t it? God help the soldiers on the front because their leaders are apparently fools. But, I guess it pretty much goes along with the decline of everything else in this country we are all seeing nowadays.
Kamchak
November 28th, 2010
5:32 pm
Makes one have a lot of faith in the LEADERSHIP of the American Armed Forces…
Well, the smoking gun IS the mushroom cloud.
OddPredictably, your poutrage didn’t manifest itself prior to armed conflict in Iraq.Del
November 28th, 2010
5:33 pm
I don’t think Adam really understood what he said.
Southern Comfort
November 28th, 2010
5:41 pm
Makes one have a lot of faith in the LEADERSHIP of the American Armed Forces and their screening of people who occupy such positions doesn’t it? God help the soldiers on the front because their leaders are apparently fools.
Obviously spoken by someone with no ties to the military. The LEADERSHIP of the American Armed Forces has not changed much in the past decade. There’s been a few generals and such retire, but most who started the decade in leadership positions are still there. If, by your lame attempt, that was an attempt to blame Obama, you failed miserably as the LEADERSHIP would not be the one’s who would check out a regular soldier or screen them.
http://www.motivationpics.com/image/26/You-Fail-at-Failing.html
Del
November 28th, 2010
5:52 pm
SoCo,
I don’t think Pogo was laying this issue at Obama’s feet. If he was than I’d disagree as well. Having said that, PFC. Manning’s command does stand a accountable for this breach and those who were responsible for overseeing his activities should be punished.
Southern Comfort
November 28th, 2010
5:53 pm
Del
I’m in concurrence about Manning’s command. However, to try to blame all leadership is a fail, whether he’s talking about generals, the Sect. of Def, or Obama himself.
Kamchak
November 28th, 2010
5:55 pm
I don’t think Pogo was laying this issue at Obama’s feet.
Del
November 28th, 2010
6:07 pm
SoCo,
It wouldn’t be realistic to blame leadership up to Gates or Obama’s level for this incident. I’m more concerned with descending political correctness in the military i.e. the Ft. Hood killer. Politics has always existed at the joint chiefs level and just below it, however, it seems that it may be cascading too far down the chain of command and that would be dangerous. Hopefully, I’m wrong.
TaxPayer
November 28th, 2010
7:05 pm
But, I guess it pretty much goes along with the decline of everything else in this country we are all seeing nowadays.
Education continues to decline at a rapid pace, even as we type. Maybe it’s something in the water.
Southern Comfort
November 28th, 2010
7:11 pm
however, it seems that it may be cascading too far down the chain of command and that would be dangerous. Hopefully, I’m wrong.
I believe you are wrong. The military will always be the military. I don’t think politics comes into play when a Staff Sgt., Gunny Sgt., CW4, or anyone else on the ground has to make a decision. As you said, the politics comes into play in the upper levels of the chain of command. The military is no different than the State Dept., Homeland Security, or any other government agency in that respect.
The problem is that people are reading too much into incidents in trying to find some vast conspiracy. The more partisan we become, the more you’ll see that amplified. It happened under Bush II, it’s happening under Obama, and I’ll bet it will happen under the next president. It won’t stop until we quit trying to segregate ourselves and work for the common good of the country sans political beliefs.
TaxPayer
November 28th, 2010
7:11 pm
The state department knew of the leak several months ago and had ample time to alert staff in sensitive locations. Its pre-emptive scaremongering over the weekend stupidly contrived to hint at material not in fact being published. Nor is the material classified top secret, being at a level that more than 3 million US government employees are cleared to see, and available on the defence department’s internal Siprnet. Such dissemination of “secrets” might be thought reckless, suggesting a diplomatic outreach that makes the British empire seem minuscule.
Oooh! The Horror of it all! I’m simply aghast!
Del
November 28th, 2010
9:17 pm
“The problem is that people are reading too much into incidents in trying to find some vast conspiracy.”
I don’t believe people are trying to find some vast conspiracy. I think they’re really concerned about government incompetency. I’ve served in the military and when you say that “the military will always be the military” you’re correct only to a point because the intrinsic military culture will at some point clash with our civilian government when a civilian political objective is being imposed on it. Today that’s happening with DADT where political objectives clash with military culture. Don’t believe those phony reports in the media about survey results regarding DADT because they’re bogus. I think you’re wrong when you compare the military to the State department, or the Department of Homeland Security.
Southern Comfort
November 28th, 2010
9:34 pm
My comparison of the military to other areas of the government is to the effect that politics plays in decision making in the field vs the HQ levels. Those at the bottom of the hiearchy are less inclined to play politics because politics is not what makes them function at their respective jobs. Once you get to senior levels, that’s where the politics come into play when it’s decision time.
The only reason that military culture clashes with civilian government is because you have many that don’t have clue #1 about the inner workings of our military. It doesn’t matter what the issue is, the military has always been at the forefront of our cultural changes, and it’s usually been the rest of society that has caught up with the military.
I don’t have a dog in the DADT debate. Personally, I’m more worried that we’re just now putting armor on the ground in Afghanistan after 9 years. In a firefight, I don’t think rounds care about race, gender or sexual orientation. The easy way to solve the DADT issue is for all citizens to perform compulsory service for a period of time. That way, there’s no discrimination at all because everyone has to do some time. You have millions who would have an understanding of our military culture, and at the same time, you have many with the training needed to help out at home for things like border security and stuff.
RW-(the original)
November 28th, 2010
10:37 pm
On this Wikileaks thing why doesn’t the government just say that to protect ourselves against just this sort of thing we have to put considerable misinformation into our computer records? Then they could just refuse to confirm or deny anything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RIP Leslie Nielson
Hillbilly Deluxe
November 28th, 2010
11:26 pm
On this Wikileaks thing why doesn’t the government just say that to protect ourselves against just this sort of thing we have to put considerable misinformation into our computer records? Then they could just refuse to confirm or deny anything.
That would probably work with the public but the enemy probably would have a pretty good idea of what info was the real thing.
RW-(the original)
November 29th, 2010
12:05 am
That would probably work with the public but the enemy probably would have a pretty good idea of what info was the real thing.
Hillbilly D,
This latest document dump deals more with our allies than our enemies and while some of those other governments would know the truth they would also have good reason to let the dodge go. At least as far as the most sensationalized parts I’ve seen and I’m not pretending to have read them so they might well portray a whole different picture than what I think they do.
Anyway, I’m surprised anybody else was around. I thought the Jay B blog might have jumped the shark while I wasn’t looking.
Goodnight
TnGelding
November 29th, 2010
6:50 am
Southern Comfort
November 28th, 2010
9:34 pm
Is there a more bureaucratic or political animal than the Pentagon? It was pure lunacy to put troops on the ground in Afghanistan, especially when you consider the other options. But since they’re there…
Get bin Laden and get out of the entire region! Let the homicidal and suicidal maniacs kill each other.
Finn McCool
November 29th, 2010
7:16 am
THE best opportunity in a generation to improve the safety of the American food supply will come as early as Monday night, when the Senate is scheduled to vote on the F.D.A. Food Safety Modernization bill. This legislation is by no means perfect. But it promises to achieve several important food safety objectives, greatly benefiting consumers without harming small farmers or local food producers.
The bill would, for the first time, give the F.D.A., which oversees 80 percent of the nation’s food, the authority to test widely for dangerous pathogens and to recall contaminated food. The agency would finally have the resources and authority to prevent food safety problems, rather than respond only after people have become ill. The bill would also require more frequent inspections of large-scale, high-risk food-production plants
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/opinion/29schlosser.html?_r=1&hp
Finn McCool
November 29th, 2010
7:18 am
Here is the kicker!
for the first time, imported foods would be subject to the same standards as those made in the United States.
TaxPayer
November 29th, 2010
7:21 am
Well, at least those low-life hackers that break into the really sensitive and earth-shattering files, such as Sarah Palin’s personal Alaskan government account, are pursued to the proverbial “Gates of Hell” (unlike others we know) and brought to justice, no matter the cost to the taxpayer. It just makes me feel globally warmed all over to know where our priorities lie and the extent we’re willing to go to in pursuit thereof. It just makes we want to wish someone a Merry Christmas or something equivalent in advance.