The Economy

In "Civil Disobedience", Thoreau notes that one cannot in good conscience pay taxes to a government that acts in discordance with one's morals.

I think Matt Taibbi must have had this lesson in mind when he closed his latest well-researched, thought provoking piece on the economy with:

Good luck with that, America. And enjoy tax season.

Go and read that piece when you have time to spare. It's quite long, but it's worth reading because it provides some clear explanations on just what the hell is going on with this whole bailout fiasco, and on how we got in this mess in the first place.

I found it enlightening, and it's going to make me think long and hard about whether I really want to pay my taxes if the money is going to go prop up a dying megacompany and straight into the pockets of some asshole like Joseph Cassano.

(I also plan on keeping an eye on the factors affecting reserve balances in the future.)

And the honeymoon's over

I can't say I hate the new government yet, because the old one's still there, but this capitulation is really grating. The Dems don't need his backstabbing vote. There's about a zero chance he would ever be on the right side of any worth bill anyway. I think now that Bush is essentially retiring Lieberman has gained my most hated politician status. Nader didn't doom Gore, that motherfucker did.

Restore Liebertool in the spirit of bipartisanship? Click here to see (or read rather) Glenn Greenwald thoroughly discredit that notion.

Edit: Ah, so John Kerry argued on behalf of Lieberman? They must have came in the same tool set. In general, if Kerry argues for something the Democrats should go the other way. Why haven't they learned that by now?

Finally

YES THEY DID

I'm no Democrat so I can't take any credit, but I am pretty fucking ecstatic.

The Freedom Cage - Another Bush Travesty?

Firedoglake has a good post up describing the conditions at the "Free Speech Zone" established for protests at this week's Democratic National Convention. The zone consists of a parking lot-like area, unshaded, in the burning heat of the city, surrounded by chain link fence. The inhospitality of the place defeats the purpose of any protests by ensuring limited press coverage

It's a travesty that these things exist in America, and a travesty that we haven't risen up against them. The very spirit of only allowing free speech in a limited (often uncomfortable and remote) zone goes against the intentions of the First Amendment, although perhaps not against the exact wording. I haven't done research on the origin, but I do know that these things proliferated during the current Bush administration, and I wouldn't be surprised if they came from the twisted brain of Alberto Gonzales (may he die a terrible, painful, prolonged death).

What I would like to know is, what is the legal status of these zones, and have any been challenged successfully? I know that the ACLU has challenged this zone (and failed), but have any of these cases reached the Supreme Court? If you should come across this post, and know the answer, let me know.

Edit: Ok, so a rudimentary wikipedia search gives a lot of info on this, but I'd still like to know more about the status of current challenges.

Yum, pee!

There's a drought here in Southern Calfornia. Even the gobernator is taking notice.

I came from a similarly water-poor state, Colorado, and I've noticed a big difference between the reaction there and here. There, people worked to ration water and conserve. Here, people seem to think that because they live in America and, especially, in SoCal that they will have unlimited resources, forever, and they can live however the hell they want. This attitude disgusts me.

Take heed Southern Californians! Conserve water! (Of course, living on the UCI campus I think the best way to do that would be to sabotage the massive sprinkler systems. At least it's reclaimed water.)

Oh, and if your long term plans include staying here you should pay the utmost attention because this problem will not be going away. And be prepared to drink your own urine.

Five Corporations, Five Atrocities

When I named my blog The Anti-Corporate Patriot, I wanted it to eventually serve as a resource for responsible consumers, as well as a repository of information on and links to corporate crimes, atrocities, and the like. Unfortunately I've done a remarkably poor job on becoming that organized. I'm afraid for now, this list of five bad corporations from Cracked.com is the best that I can do. I'm going to cut down on bananas:

cracked

The Executioner Strikes!

Although not quite as entertaining as slow-motion boobs, I still think watching a medieval-style execution of several household objects in slow motion is worth my (and your) time:



What an interesting hobby... I used to own one of those axes but at the time my parents wouldn't let me chop anything. What a waste. Oh, and shouldn't the theme music be death metal?