Stewart vs. Cramer

You've prolly seen it by now, but if not, you should, even if you think you probably know what they said.

Stewart: "When are we going to realize in this country that our wealth is WORK . . . ." (The wealthy have always known that -- that's why they've kept us working so hard.)

and "Maybe this is purely ridiculous, but I'm under the assumption that you don't just take their [Paulson's et al.'s] word at face value, that you actually then go around and try to figure it out."

and "So maybe we [you, Cramer] could remove the 'financial expert' and 'in Cramer we trust' and start getting back to fundamentals on the reporting as well, and I can go back to making fart noises . . . "

Warning, Comedy Central's interface is really annoying: no embed, and if you try to move the cursor any distance, you have to watch another commercial.

Stewart has single-handedly done a lot more of the media's and Congress's jobs than they have -- and they know it.

More of Jim Cramer here.

Cuts from Stimulus Bill: Only the Most Impt. Stuff

I'm starting to wonder if the oligarchs' strategy is to deliberately enrage us masses to the point that either we stop looking in order to avoid having an apoplexy or we resort to sufficient violence to justify using our own army to lock us up in those "detention centers" Halliburton's been building in the U.S.

The "curiously weak" Demtoids' latest excuse is that they have to compromise on the stimulus bill or the Repubs will filibuster it. This is rubbish.

First: let the Repubs filibuster, and let 'em take the rap for it.

Second: the Dems can simply change the rules whenever they like on what's required to bring the bill to a vote; e.g., they could reduce the number of senators needed for cloture to 55% of the Senate -- see William Greider's more detailed explanation here -- or even 50% plus one. Writes Greider, "If Democrats allow the sixty-vote filibuster to survive, it is because they want to keep it as a convenient way to avoid taking responsibility." (Emphasis supplied.)

What's been cut from the stimulus? Among other things, per Gizmodo,

• $2 billion for public broadband access has been totally eliminated. Sorry, "real America," you're gonna keep getting screwed.
• $7 billion for energy-efficient public buildings has been cut in half.
• a fleet of hybrid vehicles for the federal government has also been cut in half, from $600 million to $300 million.
• $50 million for NASA has been totally cut.
• a combined $300 million for scientific research has been totally cut.

Funds for education and the arts have also been cut. Please contact your reps here.