The Crisis of Credit Visualized

There are a lot of people who don’t understand the “credit crisis” that helped to bring the US economy grinding to a halt. This short animated version by Jonathan Jarvis gives a very simplified view that many are more likely to understand.

The goal of giving form to a complex situation like the credit crisis is to quickly supply the essence of the situation to those unfamiliar and uninitiated.

Part 1

Part 2

Fox News – Too Many of You Believe It

Faux NewsIf your main source of news is from Fox News (Faux News), you’re probably considered one of the “sheeple” – a NeoCon who is completely out of touch and like having your information force-fed to you with a favorable slant.

There is simply too much evidence to post, so I’ll just post the latest I came across in hopes that at least one of you Fox News Faux News supporters will take a second to really digest what you’re being force-fed and use your own intellect to comprehend what you’re being told.

For instance, Keith Olbermann discussing Betsy McCaughey (R) claiming that the new stimulus plan contained health technology language that let the federal government “monitor” patient care in order to “guide your doctor’s decisions.” If she and other Fox News watchers knew how to read and think for themselves, and could just step away from the “spin” for a second, I’m not so sure this would be news at all.

For you Fox News supporters, don’t even try to make the argument that Keith Olbermann got his start on CNN and ESPN – you’re main Fox News lover boy Bill O’Reilly got his start on Inside Edition. Which is a better background? Tabloid, papparazi, Hollywood tale obsessed Bill or factual figures Keith?

Religion Is The Opiate Of The Masses

Karl Marx:

Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again. But man is no abstract being squatting outside the world. Man is the world of man—state, society. This state and this society produce religion, which is an inverted consciousness of the world, because they are an inverted world. Religion is the general theory of this world, its encyclopedic compendium, its logic in popular form, its spiritual point d’honneur, its enthusiasm, its moral sanction, its solemn complement, and its universal basis of consolation and justification. It is the fantastic realization of the human essence since the human essence has not acquired any true reality. The struggle against religion is, therefore, indirectly the struggle against that world whose spiritual aroma is religion. Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo.

I find the first sentence very concise and accurate.

How Old Is 15, Really?

It’s been long enough since Chappelle has been plastered all over TV that I now find this routine funny again. And honestly, it’s a bit insightful as well. The majority of kids now-a-days seem to be getting dumber by the second. Granted, not all of them, but the majority are lacking so many simple thought processes that it scares the living shit out of most of us. Who wants a dumb-shit for kid? Sure, they’ll make mistakes, but when it is crunch time – you want a smart kid.

More of the Same From The Same People That Got Us Into This Mess

mcpigMany Republicans are saying that the new stimulus bill that has been proposed is full of “pork”, their favorite buzz word. They say that they are ready to support a stimulus package as long as it’s not “aimless”. Obama’s proper response “the same tired arguments and worn ideas that helped to create this crisis” is exactly what needed to be said. The same people that helped drive us into this crisis are the same people that are opposing certain portions of the package – causing yet even more delays and focusing on all the wrong things.

For example, a portion of the package would provide money for state governments (most of which are facing budget deficits) – Republicans are against this saying that this would not create new jobs. What these fools either fail to recognize or are trying to hide is that it will bring back some of the jobs that have been lost. For example, many bus routes are being cut. This will leave people who depend on the public transportation system to get back and forth to work, without a ride. This will hurt not only them, but this will trickle down in the local economy as well. So a stimulus package that gives a portion of that money to state and local governments would certainly help to bring back the jobs lost from cutting the bus routes and help save a portion of the local economy. Yet Republicans are against this because those aren’t all new jobs?

These people have no clue how to run a government, that’s why we’re in the position we are now. And they expect people to take their recommendations when all they do is spout the same old rhetoric as always? They’re too blind to see that they will be bringing back old jobs that have been lost. It’s not really all the surprising once we look at the Republican track record. Let them piss and moan, but please – do not take their advice, it’s worthless.