Gotham Notes...

Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Meanwhile, Back at the Farm...

Drip, drip, drip ... drip, drip, drip.

Iraq Bomb Kills 5 U.S. Soldiers; Foreigners Shot Dead

Pop Quiz:
When's the last time that your representative in Congress,
or your Senator represented YOUR interests?

Get Angry! Have your say.
Write your elected officials now!

Register to Vote Here!

Here's the Realtime Iraq Invasion Cost Clock!

posted by Gotham 8:14 AM

The More Things Change...

David Kay's Replacement Hits the Spin Cycle

posted by Gotham 8:10 AM

Monday, March 29, 2004

Gazing into the Crystal Ball Meth

Ever notice how Economists' Forecasts pan out as well as the late Jeanne Dixon's "What Does the New Year Hold for YOU?" forecasts used to?

These are the same people, remember, who brought you the longest-running soap opera of the last decade:
"Is THIS the Market Bottom!?"

They really had a firm handle on that old dot-com burp, boy, predicting every month that THAT was the market bottom and the end of the decline, and the markets would soon be righting themselves. Of course, they said that every month for 36-odd months, figuring they've GOT to be right sooner or later. Meanwhile, the American investor's portfolio looked increasingly like a "Survivor" beach set after a typhoon.

USATODAY.com: Economists see 'booming economy'

I'm happy for them.

But, it's kinda like Haley Ormont's seeing "dead people," y'know?

It's not real.

So, let's go to the tape!
Experts' economic forecasts

A thought:
Have you ever noticed that Jobs Reports forecasters are always employed?

There never seems to be any unemployed economist Tom Smith forecast credits very often, or many "Sheila Jones, a former Credit Suisse economic analyst and current Wal-Mart cashier, says ..." -type bylines or expert quotes, usually.

The point, here, is that it's no real skin off their tushes if they are (and they generally always are) wrong.

It's just, "Oops, our bad. Oh well. Who's turn to buy dinner?"

As for the rest of us:

"Alpo for all my friends!"

posted by Gotham 12:18 PM

S-IWGBB*

*Self-Important White Guys Behaving Badly.

Oh my, wherever to begin with this one.

Demonstrators Swarm Around Rove's Home (washingtonpost.com)

Several hundred people stormed the small yard of President Bush's chief political strategist, Karl Rove, yesterday afternoon, pounding on his windows, shoving signs at others and challenging Rove to talk to them about a bill that deals with educational opportunities for immigrants.

Protesters poured out of one school bus after another, piercing an otherwise quiet, peaceful Sunday in Rove's Palisades neighborhood in Northwest, chanting, "Karl, Karl, come on out! See what the DREAM Act is all about!"

Rove obliged their first request and opened his door long enough to say, "Get off my property."

The brilliance of this plan is just too amazing. Something along the lines of:

"When in the course of human events..."

I especially love the "Demonstrators Swarm"-ing part.

Great visual headline.

So, for this bold thinking and organizing, a Gotham Notes Political Thumb's Up! award goes to the protest's organizers, the National People's Action, a coalition of neighborhood advocacy groups based in Chicago.

To the NPA, we say, "Well done!"

Poor Karl Rove's arrogance and stupidity come shining right through, though, don't they?

"If you wish to complain about being ignored, please contact my secretary during proper Ignoring business hours."

But the ugliest part of this entire article is this:

Shortly thereafter, sirens shot through the neighborhood and Secret Service agents and D.C. police joined the crowd on the lawn. Rove opened his door long enough to talk to an officer, and the crowd serenaded them with a stanza of "America the Beautiful."

Cops, yeah, you expect that, but
Secret Service agents!!??

Let's talk Abuse of Power here.

This is no elected government official we're talking about here. No Cabinet Officer, duly confirmed by the Senate.

This man is a political crony. Period.

If Karl tags along with the president, fine, he enjoys the president's Secret Service detail. But they are not there for him.

The Constitution does not account for Secret Service protection for all the thousands of White House hangers-on that come down the pike.

No matter HOW much power they wield, or HOW much influence over the president they enjoy.

Did Bebe Rabozo have a Secret Service detail?

Did Nancy Regan's astrologer have a Secret Service detail?

They were just as official as Karl Rove is.

And every bit as worthy of official protection.

Man...

But I'll tell ya, though, ya gotta hand it to ol' Karl. He DOES know how to work a crowd, doesn't he?

Today's Poll:
What do YOU think?

Do you think he told them to get off his property BEFORE or AFTER he hit them up for campaign cash?

posted by Gotham 11:08 AM

Sunday, March 28, 2004

From the Campaign Trail...

Kerry update:

Kerry is planning time off this week to have elective surgery on his right shoulder in Boston. The outpatient procedure on Wednesday will limit Kerry's shoulder mobility and could keep him off the campaign trail for four or five days.

Kerry injured the shoulder a decade ago and aggravated the injury in January. David Wade, Kerry's spokesman, said the senator is having the surgery now "for convenience, just to get it done." Wade said the injury does not usually bother Kerry, but it did recently when he picked up a baby.

Good planning.

Kissing babies is always a better photo-op than dropping babies.

posted by Gotham 9:49 AM

Duck, Dick! More Incoming...!

Whew!

This vaunted administration in D.C. is having one helluva time scraping that giant target off its collective back.

Now, they're even taking pot shots from their (formerly) most supportive constituency: the sports pages. This one is aimed at Dick Cheney, War Hero.

New York Daily News: Mike Lupica's Shooting From the Lip

If those NASCAR dads turn on ya, there, too, big fella, you're toast.

posted by Gotham 8:44 AM

Saturday, March 27, 2004

Bush's Home on the Range (Stovetop, That Is...)

From Friday's Inside Politics on CNN:

[BASH:] Now, these two Southwest stops in state-of-play states are not billed as campaign appearances, but rather as official White House events. So they will be paid for by the taxpayers. Dana Bash, CNN, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Quickly now to some breaking news coming to us from Raleigh-Durham Airport in North Carolina, the triangle area. These are live pictures coming in of a military fighter jet that has crashed there in the vicinity of the Raleigh-Durham Airport.

Paid for by the taxpayers?!

I want my money back!

Thanks to Dana Bash for at least making the attempt to slide this item into her report.

Of course, this tasty political morsel just went flying right by the trained ears of Judy Woodruff.

It's bad enough that the President of the United States stands accused of the senseless slaughter of almost 600 American soldiers and thousands of Iraqi citizens on a whim. And standing idly by while the murder of 3,000 innocents who went to work one day in our fair city was being planned. But now for the Fundraiser-in-Chief to be accused of being a petty thief as well is more than this country can bear.

But, there's more to this "working rally" (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) trip to the Southwest.

George W. Bush would have his audience believe he's for "the little guy" homeowner.

OK, fair enough, he's got so little to run on, and they've just taken his "War Paint President" theme away from him, let him have what little he's got left.

More from the IP report:

[BASH:] Now, Democrats are making job loss on the president's watch a top issue this election year. But here in New Mexico and in Arizona, job loss has not been as devastating, as in most states. So the president is going to say what he says many times as he travels the country, that the economy is doing much better than people realize, and he will give an example in both of these stops by talking about the rise in homeownership.

BUSH: "The home sales were the highest ever recently. That's exciting news for the country when you think about it. It's good for the builders. But more importantly, it's good for the owners.

We want people owning something in America. That's what we want. The great dream about America is 'I can own my own home,' people say."

BASH: Few states are likely to see a tighter contest on November 2nd than here in New Mexico. It was the closest vote in 2000, even closer than in Florida. Al Gore won by just 366 votes. And polls today show Senator Kerry and President Bush in a virtual dead heat.

Let's look at this more closely, though. Especially this quote:

by talking about the rise in homeownership.

BUSH: The home sales were the highest ever recently. That's exciting news for the country when you think about it. It's good for the builders. But more importantly, it's good for the owners.

What's behind that rise, exactly? Why has the percentage of Americans owning homes jumped to the high 60%s from the mid-40%s?

Was it that $300 tax refund they got that put them over the ownership edge? Or that extra $20 in their checks from the rate drop?

Not likely.

How about a 1.0% interest rate making mortgages lower than at anytime in most Americans' lifetimes?

That's more like it.

How about a housing bubble that's shooting prices up so high so fast while these rates are so low, that anyone who wants a house would be a fool to wait and just let prices go even higher?

Bingo.

Q.: Why are interest rates 1.0%? A.: Because the economy is a mess and this administration has no other ideas besides this and more tax cuts.

Oh.

Q.: Why is there a housing bubble? A.: Because the economy is a mess, and nothing else currently has any value.

Oh.

Now, for the Dark Side.

Economists and financial types have been saying for months on end that people have been seduced into buying way more house than they can afford. At some juncture, this worldwide housing bubble (what? You thought it was just us?) will begin making a very loud popping sound, maybe over in Great Britain or in Brazil, perhaps, and set off the domino effect that will seriously cripple dozens of world economies, including our own.

In practical terms, this means the federal government will be in no position to help you out when the dam breaks, as it scurries to right its own ship. So, when the "pop" comes, the price of your house will plummet, making it nearly impossible to sell without taking a beating—just as a recession forces interest rates back up, making it harder for potential buyers and precluding your ability to pay for the—surprise! variable—mortgage on your home. This will be especially true when you become laid off in the ensuing recession.

Those who had been in a good housing situation face jepoardy as well. Millions of dollars of core equity has been sucked out of the homes of Middle Class America. For way too many of these folks, the money is spent and gone. All that remains to help face any economic upheavals are the reduced equity in your home and the payments of a new lien on your house. Not to mention that much of that newly refinanced debt is on variable terms as well.

We are looking at a wave of foreclosures, bankruptcies and repossessions that is unprecedented in our history.

But, George comes to the rescue! He'll figure it all out.

Well, maybe not.

Kim Schaffer of the National Low Income Housing Coalition points out that there are reasons to be nervous about Bush's initiatives concerning housing.

Here's the Bush Housing Record:

AMERICAN DREAM DOWNPAYMENT INITIATIVE: Only a Fraction of the Funding

The American Dream Downpayment Act is the cornerstone of the Bush Administration's housing policy, and the Administration says the initiative will provide $200 million a year in downpayment assistance to help 40,000 families. While it's true that President Bush requested $200 million for this program in 2004, Congress allocated only $162.5 million in 2003 and 2004 combined, and this is the amount that will be available to families. If the Act were truly a priority for the President, he could have weighed in with Congress and pushed for full funding each year.

What it means: Only an estimated 32,400 families, not the 40,000 families the President claims, will benefit from the American Dream program. And even that number is based on the assumption that each family would receive only a very modest $5,000 in assistance. According to HUD's data and assuming $5,000 in assistance to each family, just 529 families in Arizona and 180 families in New Mexico can expect to benefit from this initiative. (http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/about/budget/budget04/index.cfm)

ZERO DOWNPAYMENT INITIATIVE: A Modest Proposal

The President has proposed a new zero downpayment homeownership insurance product as part of his 2005 budget. The proposal allows first-time homebuyers to obtain an FHA-insured loan with no downpayment, as opposed to the 3% down currently required. The President's proposal calls for higher monthly premiums for families who take advantage of the new product.

What it means: The Initiative is expected to help 150,000 families a year move into homeownership. It appears that what families will save in downpayment costs, they will make up for in increased premiums over the life of their mortgage. The premiums are expected to generate $184 million in revenues that will be used to reduce the deficit, created in large measure by tax cuts for wealthy elites. [Ed. - This is basically the same scam used by auto makers and car dealers to entice folks to loosen their tight grips on their hard-earned cash. These guys are resourceful, indeed.]

HOUSING VOUCHER PROGRAM: Gutting the Linchpin of Federal Housing Policy

A person with a voucher pays 30% of his or her income towards rent on a modest apartment, and the voucher makes up the difference. The housing voucher program helps 2 million families make up the difference between what housing costs and what they can afford to pay. Millions of additional families can't afford housing and are on waiting lists for vouchers.

Instead of working to address the unmet need in his 2005 budget, the President proposes to cut voucher funding drastically. He has proposed $1.1 billion for the voucher program below 2004 levels, and $1.6 billion below what is actually needed to account for inflation—a 12% cut. He would also cut funding more each year for the next five years, for a total cut of 30% by 2009. (Significantly, HUD does not dispute these numbers.)

President Bush goes even further, proposing to remove important resident protections. Among other changes, local housing authorities would no longer be required to serve people with the lowest incomes, and they would not be required to keep rent at 30% of a resident's income. Indeed, given funding cuts, housing authorities would likely be forced to raise rents and serve higher income people.

What it means: 250,000 families in 2005 and as many as 600,000 families by 2009 could lose their affordable housing if President Bush's proposal is enacted. (See http://www.cbpp.org/housingvoucher.htm).

HOPE VI: Zeroing out Public Housing Dollars

Until last year, HOPE VI provided about $574 million a year to demolish or renovate severely distressed public housing. Despite a $20 billion backlog in public housing maintenance costs, President Bush proposes zeroing the HOPE VI program in 2005.

What it means: Public housing is an important part of the nation's affordable housing stock. A loss of $574 million a year in public housing funding means that many of the 1.2 millions families of public housing will continue to live in substandard and intolerable conditions.

NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND: Ignoring Rental and Homeownership Solutions

A National Housing Trust Fund would provide funds to build, rehabilitate and preserve 1.5 million affordable homes over the next decade. 75% of funds would provide rental housing, and 25% would provide homeownership opportunities. The funds would primarily be targeted to families with the lowest incomes.

There is significant support for a National Housing Trust Fund: More than 4,950 organizations and local leaders have endorsed the National Housing Trust Fund Campaign (). Legislation in the House of Representatives is sponsored by 211 Members, and Senator John Kerry (D-MA) is the lead sponsor of a National Housing Trust Fund bill in the Senate.

Despite the fact that a National Housing Trust Fund would help alleviate both rental and homeownership problems, President Bush has not included a Trust Fund proposal in his budget plans. Further, top Administration officials have spoken out against a Trust Fund, with former HUD Secretary Mel Martinez once saying that a National Housing Trust Fund is not needed because housing is a state and local issue.

What it means: President Bush could, but has chosen not to, work to establish a National Housing Trust Fund that would help 1.5 million families access affordable housing. His failure to do so robs families of both rental and homeownership opportunities.

OK, so maybe George doesn't have increased home ownership as a feather in his cap to run on after all.

Damn, what CAN we find for ol' Shrub to run on?

Oh! I know!

The Right of Kings!

posted by Gotham 12:21 PM

Friday, March 26, 2004

Condi's On-Air Suicide

Urban Legends abound of on-air suicides. Of course, they're all fakes.

Until now.

From today's New York Times:

The White House announced late Thursday that Ms. Rice was willing to appear before the panel again, but only in private and not under oath.

We are seeing the very public dissolution of National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice's entire political career. She certainly is finished in the eyes of the American public.

She has created (with the help of the man for whom she'd lie on a grenade) her own immutable, unsolvable Catch-22.

She can either:

Agree to testify under oath and spill ALL the information she possesses as to the incompetence of the men around her, leading either to the immediate fall of George W. Bush's administration, or to John Kerry winning this fall's election by acclamation.

Agree to testify under oath and lie, and spend the next ten years playing cards with Martha Stewart and running from some woman who insists Ms. Rice is HER property;

Continue to refuse to testify in public and under oath as many of her NSA predecessors have done, thereby proving once and for all to the American people that she indeed has much to hide, is lying, has no moral compass whatsoever, cannot be trusted, is obviously unfit for the office she holds and must be removed from it forthwith.

Not bad.

Your move, Candi.

P.S. It was a joy hearing someone actually use, "scurrilous" in a sentence.

posted by Gotham 8:28 PM

We See Frist's Bedside Manner...

Senate Leader Assails Clarke, Asks to See Past Testimony

A note from The World to
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN)

You are sorely trying our collected patience.

You have two choices:

Indict Richard A. Clarke for this perjury you allege.

— Or —

Shut up.

Period.

posted by Gotham 7:52 PM

Tuesday, March 23, 2004

A Very Sad Event

Today, the September 11 Commission begins two days of hearings.

I just stood and watched ten minutes of Colin Powell's prepared remarks before the Commission.

If that didn't break your heart, nothing can.

First, it was obvious that he was nervous and ill-at-ease, as he continually stumbled over the reading of his prepared text or misspoke as he attempted to read and connect with the members sitting before him. This is especially odd since Powell is an old hand at testifying before committees. It appeared almost as if he had no say in the preparation of his remarks, had not seen them beforehand or had been given a severe chewing out before heading to the hearing.

Most heartbreaking, IMHO, is the sad fact that, given his woeful performance before the Security Council of the UN before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the other times he has been thrust into defending in public the very people he has fought most bitterly with in private, gave me the sad realization that I just no longer believed a word that this man who had given so much of his life to his country was saying.

As if to underscore that assessment, as I was watching Powell read his remarks on the CNN coverage, I noticed the stock prices rotating in the lower right corner. As Powell continued, a decent advance in the market to that point slowly had the air taken out of it: drip, drip, drip, gone.

Sad.

posted by Gotham 11:43 AM

Monday, March 22, 2004

"Shocking, I Say! Simply Shocking! Who Knew?!"

As with most things with this administration—and as with all the balls it puts in motion around the world—we clearly saw this one coming, boys and girls.

My Lord! You can set your watch to these guys at the White House. You can tell at all times what they are going to do, and what they're not going to do, and they never let you down.

CNN.com - Pakistan finds 'escape' tunnels

Now, I've never been to West Point or the Army War College, mind you, but I lived through the Vietnamese War and I saw the pictures of the tunnels which had been dug throughout the territory controlled by those we sought. Who, of course, knew they were being sought. Which is why they dug tunnels.

D'uh!

I mean, this is a concept that goes back, at least, say, to "The-Hole-In-the-Wall-Gang" of the old West, if not further back.

Also, if anyone from this administration had only grown up in this beautiful New York City area, they'd assume—as we all assume—that all Mafia members know where the back doors are in every restaurant in Little Italy.

Which is why here in NYC, all raids include someone with authority pointing to someone else, and saying, "You take the back!"

My! What a clever idea.

posted by Gotham 8:17 PM

Update: Where's Waldo Al-Azwahiri?

While the White House is rightly immersed in all things Richard A. Clarke-ish this morning, let us not step brightly over the corpse of last week's breathless lead story.

Instead of letting it morph into another type of story altogether once it ended up that there was, in fact, no Ayman Al-Azwahiri to be found, couldn't the WH or the world's media at least muster up the tiniest "Oops, never mind..."?

Meanwhile, I'm certain that former Treasury secretary Paul H. O'Neill is happy to have some company from other former WH insiders to provide a bit of political cover on an array of issues, not the least of which is Bush's Folly in Iraq.

posted by Gotham 8:24 AM

Saturday, March 20, 2004

Washington Post: Colin Powell Makes Unannounced Visit to Iraq

And immediately asks for asylum.

posted by Gotham 1:03 AM

Happy Birthday, Tar Baby!

Yes, folks, George W. Bush's little detour away from fighting terrorism is officially One Year Old.

And what a splendid year it's been, too!

There's only that messy part about telling all those mothers both here in the States and over in Iraq that their sons and daughters got themselves blown to bits for no good reason. That the flesh of their flesh was sacrificed by a small circle of powerful men (and one woman) in this administration, obsessed with living out their long-held dream of invading Iraq.

That's a fair trade, right, Mom? Even if your child never gets to celebrate another birthday of their own?

Well, hey! At least, every year, we'll all be able to celebrate the Tar Baby's Birthday!

Pop Quiz:
When's the last time that your representative in Congress,
or your Senator represented YOUR interests?

Get Angry! Have your say.
Write your elected officials now!

Register to Vote Here!

Here's the Realtime Iraq Invasion Cost Clock!

posted by Gotham 12:44 AM

Wednesday, March 17, 2004

The Buck Stops...Where?

Boy, thank god we have no-to-low inflation.

[Question: How can there be no inflation if everything I see, touch, smell, hear or taste costs 50% to 300% more than it did three years ago? Just asking...]

If inflation starts to rise, none of us would be able to afford to breathe air or even to eat cat food, with the way things are going.

L.A. Times: California's Health-Premium Costs Outpace Nation's

The health care premiums you pay rose 13% in 2002. Then, in 2003, they jumped an additional 13.9% (in California, 15%). That's a 27% increase you were handed in just TWO YEARS TIME. This, of course, comes with the national inflation rate bouncing around the 1%-3% range over the last few years.

The typical cost of employer-provided health insurance was $3,383 nationally. For a health plan covering the employee and his or her dependents, businesses paid an average $9,068. Workers' shares of these ballooning tabs have risen from the $1,000 range in 2000 to the $3,000 range in 2003.

That's YOUR hard-earned money. Gone "poof."

Feeling soaked yet?

No?

Here's my favorite section:

With greater access, patients have more leeway to see specialists and to be treated at research hospitals, which can drive up the cost of care.

Industry executives and consultants said there were other factors at work. These include rising hospital expenses to meet new nurse staffing and seismic retrofit requirements, which are translating into higher premiums. Fewer insurers also are operating in the state, giving them more control over rates.

You can clearly see here that it's all YOUR fault.

"You darned consumers keep wanting to consume, and you keep demanding some minimal quality instead of just paying for what we give you, and that's just causing us to incur more costs which we'll just happily pass back on to you."

Forced to quell the outcry over having untrained, minimum-wage, GED-wielding "Technicians" replace highly trained licensed and registered nurses for critical patient care, the health industry feels entitled to soak you for that.

"Awww, Little Baby doesn't wanna hafta die in the hospital, screwed over by under-paid cretins who don't care about you and give you the wrong medicine, or don't answer your call-bell because they're watching the NCAAs? Well, then pay up, Sucker! We're not taking the hit for that on our bottom line.

Plus, if you're in California, feeling queasy about their constructing a hospital on top of a fault line for $0.40 on the construction dollar, then be prepared to pay through the nose for the peace of mind of knowing the place won't fall down around your IV-hooked-up tush if the ground has a minor shimmy.

Or for that part that's not YOUR fault, it's because Congress and state legislatures lifted regulations that unreasonably propped up competition, lowering prices. They forced us into letting the free market work. Now, with no legal restrictions, we're all forced to merge and consume our competitors, to consolidate small companies, firing most or all their staff, and to absorb the dramatic cost savings. We didn't want it this way. Really. Now, with no one to say 'Boo' to us, we're forced to limit your choices from twelve companies to two, with the resulting pressure on us to spike prices through the roof. So, you see, it's not our fault, it's Congress's."

Let's see Gov. Arnie take the lead on this issue. He wants a national platform? OK, they just handed him one. California is the hardest hit by all the financial pain showered by the health industry upon the American people. Arnie's in the prime bully pulpit spot.

Someone, somewhere is going to have to poke a stick in the spokes of this runaway wheel. Someone has to say, "Stop! Enough!"

Arnold should think of it as a script. There is a runaway train—set off by unscrupulous, greedy villains—which is heading straight downhill towards a small, peaceful village, threatening to kill all the good, wonderful villagers, and the train is heading RIGHT FOR THE SCHOOLHOUSE! We can only be saved by a powerful hunk of a man who is brave enough to climb aboard that hurtling locomotive and somehow stop it, while having all the bad guys shooting at him! Somehow, AGAINST ALL ODDS he dispatches them all just in time to stop the train—RIGHT AT THE SCHOOLHOUSE DOOR!!! And everyone is happy, except what's left of the villains. I think that this could be something Arnie could get excited about.

With his honeymoon in full flower, and the additional muscle and goodwill he gained by getting his state funding initiatives passed, Arnie's the perfect guy to do this.

How about "Hasta la vista, Kaiser!"?

Or, "Hey,Pfizer! Ah'll be bahk!"

At what point do we all say, "Stop!"?

Do we flee the system; do we step out of health care programs altogether before we're priced out or pushed out? Do consumers do it, telling their bosses, "don't bother, we ain't payin' for it anymore"? Do businesses do it? Do they give up their concern for their employees, realizing that staying in business is more important than recruiting inducements or labor peace?

How would the health industry react if their consumers turned on them, en masse?

Would they jump for the obvious, and increase the soaking of the dozen or so concerns and businesses that were left, to make up the shortfall?

Or would they be forced to reverse the cycle and refuse to pay unreasonably outlandish returns to their stockholders, and pass greed-containment back along the whole chain of suppliers. Does a hospital really need to pay 2,000% of R&D costs over a decade to a manufacturer of the latest whiz-bang equipment, instead of a saner 40%-50%, or for a shorter timeframe? Does it have to pay outrageously inflated prices from the drug companies to cover the barrage of advertising and sales staff and Congressional lobbying costs incurred to keep their shareholders' stock prices high?

The answer, obviously, is no.

If the muscle went in the opposite direction, everybody could get on the sanity train and stop feeling so much like gouging the next guy to make up for their getting so badly gouged.

Shareholders get a decent return; health product manufacturers reduce the prices they charge; people and institutions buy more of their products; these companies can now buy more health coverage for their workers who, in turn, have more money left from their checks to buy more goods and services, which puts more money into everyone's pockets. The economy grows, businsees can afford to hire, people go back to work. Boom times return. Flowers grow. Israelis and Palistinians embrace. The Mets win the World Series. Peace resides in the valley.

Makes sense.

So, George W. Bush won't do it.

But, can it happen? Can/Will someone step up to put that stick in the spokes?

(Beat...beat)

N'ahhhhhhh...

So, America starts hoarding cat food before prices go even higher.

Pass that can opener, would ya, pal?

Pop Quiz:
When's the last time that your representative in Congress,
or your Senator represented YOUR interests?

Get Angry! Have your say.
Write your elected officials now!

Register to Vote Here!

Here's the Realtime Iraq Invasion Cost Clock!

posted by Gotham 11:57 AM

The New Domino Theory

We tend to think that we're an economy unto ourselves. That our problems are ours alone, to deal with and solve all by our lonesomes.

Think again.

Soon, if one goes down, we ALL go down.

posted by Gotham 9:44 AM

Uh, Excuse Me, George...

While it hurts my Irish soul to have to say this—on St. Patrick's Day, of all days—it has to be said.

Instead of George W. Bush always telling poor Tony Blair what he wants him to do, perhaps he should pipe down a bit, and actually look to see what Britain's pulled off, and how Tony's done it.

Britain still has its own economic fears of a housing crash whenever interest rates do go back up, and is frettng about the spending/taxing/borrowing snags we all are dealing with. They're just handling it all better than our administration.

posted by Gotham 9:23 AM

Tuesday, March 16, 2004

The Arnie Factor

Following up on Dan Froomkin's Who in the World Likes Bush? in the WP:

Now you see where all that yakking about changing the Constitution to allow foreign-borns access to the White House has gotten us?

Maybe all of John Kerry's Leader friends WOULD be able to vote for him.

posted by Gotham 9:05 PM

Floating Down the Nile

My new hero:
Dr. Nile Gardiner of the rabidly right-wing Heritage Foundation.

Ol' Nile has been getting more airtime recently than Janet Jackson's tit. Our boy, it seems, is everywhere, spinning madly in the best neo-con "The world is flat" style. Spreading newschannel "Nile Bile," as I've taken to calling it.

This particular Nile Bile, obviously, is about the Spanish explosion and election, and he's one of the minions sent out around the dial to preach the "Oh No! The bad guys will win if the U.S. doesn't continue to embrace the complete neo-con world view, so be afraid, be very afraid" party line. Paul Wolfowitz is out there, too, so this obviously is a full frontal assault.

That Nile is out there spewing like he is doesn't bother me; I figure it's just his day job.

And I'll respond to the Spanish tragedy, and its implications, in a later post.

My interest here is Ol' Nile, himself, and his relationship with the media he spews on/in regularly.

Another in a long line of neo-cons who give every impression of having been "the kid most beaten up in school," Nile has popped up on both CNN and FOX in the last two days. He may well have been on everything short of Al-Jazeera for all we know.

Now, CNN stayed in bounds and introduced Nile simply as a fellow at the Heritage Foundation. No prob, there. He is.

But our journalistically pure friends at FOX, however, insist on padding Nile's intro, calling him either, simply "an advisor to Margaret Thatcher," as Brit Hume said recently, or a "Foreign Policy Researcher for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and an Advisor to Ms. Thatcher," as was the very impressive case stated by John Gibson on his show earlier today.

Very impressive, indeed.

"Reseacher?" thought I. An odd title for an important advisor. Sounds suspiciously like a fact-checker. Pollster, maybe?

Plus, I'm thinking he's awfully youthful-looking to have been a Thatcher advisor.

It's time, thought I, for a Google!

Sure enough, Ms. Thatcher left office in 1990, a full 8 years before Ol' Nile even got out of college.

So, what IS Nile's connection with the "Iron Maiden"?

Seems "former" was the key word here. Yes, Thatcher was far removed from 10 Downing St. by the time young Master Gardiner came along. Turns out, after he got out of school, he got a job as secretary to an aging Ms. Thatcher for two years, as she wrote her latest book.

One can only assume his advisory capacity fell to which tea to have at 4:00 pm, and whether to include "Anecdote A" or "Anecdote B" at any given point in the book.

So, just being priggish and condescending isn't enough anymore. Now, even British neo-cons on our shores are now ashamed of getting a Phd. in History from Yale University?

Hopefully, Ol' Nile can right himself before he allows the Rupert Murdoch empire to make him the new Jayson Blair—a story unto himself.

posted by Gotham 8:44 PM

Monday, March 15, 2004

A Get Well Card

Just a few moments ago, there was a report on German Journal, which is patched into the U.S. through Canada's NewsWorld International cable newschannel.

It reports that Germany is testing a new way of responding to its growing criminal recidivist rate.

They're going to try not releasing felons who have served their sentences, but whom the government deems to be a threat to society. They are anticipating that it means de facto life sentences for some inmates who've already paid their debt to society.

This news is guaranteed to bring the blush back into the cheeks of a recuperating John Ashcroft.

He must be licking his chops as I write this.

posted by Gotham 2:07 AM

Friday, March 12, 2004

Through the Looking Glass...

This all gets better and better.

In Africa (following our screenplay theme of my earlier post), the bad guy now is the good guy and the good guy is now the bad. I think we should all wait another twenty minutes, it may shift somehow again.

Equatorial Guinea's Colourful Past

So, the real question now becomes: Is Severo Moto Nga the next Ahmed Chalabi, or the next Charles DeGaulle?

With the second question of: What kind of popular support must Moto command if he has to rent a coup?

Oh, OK. A third question. If there are connections from the American plane to South Africa, what are the connections to Spain and Moto's government-in-exile? And just what is the CIA connection in all of this?

I promise, one last question: Has anyone seen George Tenet and Moto together, having dinner, or playing squash perhaps?

I lied. One more: Would we care a fig whether they slaughtered each other by the score if we weren't buying 25% of their newly discovered oil?

posted by Gotham 8:03 PM

Fact Following Fiction?

I don't follow African affairs all that closely, but the recent grounding of an American plane with 60+ men and a large cache of weapons aboard has piqued my interest.

Thanks to Josh Marshall for following the story and making me even more curious about it.

It seems that this was planned to be a coup d'e-bucks. A coup-for-hire operation.

Here's the African press on it.

What I'm starting to piece together is:

This truly has the appearance of a Joel Silver, Golan-Globus paramilitary, "last score," buddy movie, possibly with Robert DeNiro, Chuck Norris, and your typical Dirty Dozen cast of fading and rising stars.

There's every indication that this is an ad-hoc group of CIA- and MI5-connected corporate paramilitaries with special forces experience in an array of African countries. Some seem to have worked together often through the many battles to destabilize Zimbabwe (the former Rhodesia) and Angola, and many were in South Africa's special forces units supporting the pro-aparteid government, and they seem to have reunited for one big score ($5 million down; $5 million when the job is done) by flying in to the capital of Equatorial Guinea, taking over the radio station and abducting the country's leader. They'd then fly him to Spain (haven't they suffered enough?) and fly back with the new despot leader. Thanks all around, the final payments made, off everyone goes, spending money and lying on the beach until the next adventure.

But dropping a purported $186,000 on armaments may have given them too much visibility.

Or, maybe Robert Novack found out about it.

In any event, this time they got caught. And, due to their activities trying to oust him from Zimbabwe over the years, it looks like an unstable, and now vengeful, Robert Mugabe is planning to set all their heads on pikes. Of course, he's saying lots of PC things about pan-African duty and friendship, fighting terrorism (the new Mom and apple pie), etc., but it's more of a "Welcome. I've got you; you're mine; and now it's Miller time!"

I think we can look forward to mass executions all around coming out of this. No intelligence agency will want to touch this (unless some friendship-addled operative wants to "leave no mercenary behind") and every U.S., European and African government will be very publically supportive of freeing the world from the stain of terrorism.

In essence, these guys are toast.

Play the music.

Roll the credits.

Movie over.

posted by Gotham 7:02 PM

Tuesday, March 09, 2004

What a Dick!

I'm sick of crap like this.

Reuters: Dick Cheney Says Aristide Had Worn Out Welcome

"The fact of the matter was, that Mr. Aristide had worn out his welcome. He was democratically elected but he didn't govern in a democratic manner and had reached the point where clearly the opposition groups, rebels, were increasingly successful at undermining his authority," Cheney said.

I want any of these administration types, be it Shadow President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Statute of Limitations Colin Powell, or George W. Bush hisself to answer one simple question:

Is there anybody on the Right side of the aisle able to help us out here, and tell us if they have any idea what that means?

How EXACTLY did President Jean Bertrand-Aristide of Haiti wear out his welcome?

Why was the fact that Aristide "was democratically elected" so downplayed and dismissed by Cheney, who wasn't?

Again, what EXACTLY spurred the line, "... but he didn't govern in a democratic manner"? What does Cheney mean, and what specifically is he referring to? Start building your case, Dick.

The Vice President seems to be confusing "fax" with "facts."

Another doozy:
"... had reached the point where clearly the opposition groups, rebels, were increasingly successful at undermining his authority," Cheney said. "

And just how did they get that way, pray tell? With help from French covert intelligence forces and our own CIA, perhaps? Or State Dept. or Defense Dept. or even White House support, arms, supplies and encouragement, maybe?

I make a request of former Enron operative Ed Gillespie, who's now Chairman of the Republican National Committee: Please, everytime that Cheney comes out of his caves, have someone brief him on what has gone on since he left last. Geeez, don't they have cable or satellite in those caves of his?

posted by Gotham 1:44 AM

Sunday, March 07, 2004

Rep. Charlie Explains It All to You...

Rangel's Charges:
*This Was a U.S.-French-sanctioned Coup in Haiti.
*U.S. Envoy Marino Insisted Aristide Sign His Resignation before Being Taken from His Presidential Residence, in Order to Avoid the Legal Definintion of a "Coup".
*Secretary of State Colin Powell Flipped on His Statements of Aristide's Legitimacy as Duly Elected President.
*UN Worries That Other Countries Fear They Are Next to Be "Liberated" If They Cross the U.S.

Kudos to our local New York City ABC-TV affiliate, WABC Channel 7, for today's excellent episode of Gil Noble's Like It Is series.

7Online.com: Like It Is

Noble aired an interview conducted this past Wednesday with Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY) on the issue of Haiti. This interview was conducted just before Rangel left for the House hearing on this matter, with testimony from Powell and his aide, Roger Noriega.

[Unfortunately, Like It Is does not provide transcripts, so I ask that you join me in writing to the show via the link above and ask that transcripts of this nationally important interview be provided.]

As a recipient of one of Jean Bertrand-Aristide's frantic calls from the Central African Republic after his forced removal from office, and as ranking Democratic member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, Rangel has been in the center of the firestorm that's surrounded the Haitian crisis this week.

Rangel charged in this interview that this basically was a co-operative U.S.-French plot to stage a coup to remove Aristide.

Just as I have noted below in an earlier post, Rangel reaffirmed that there have been no specifics forthcoming from the Bush administration as to the problems Aristide supposedly had been creating.

Rangel says there have been vague statements about Aristide-led violence. He noted, however, that there has been a strictly enforced arms embargo against Aristide; that Aristide had dismantled the army, which makes it very difficult to assume dictatorial powers; also, Rangel pointed out that the pictures of the rebels show them to be particularly well armed and wearing new U.S. military fatigues.

Non-administration Republicans have also argued, Rangel said, that Aristide had a large drug operation going. If there is any truth to this, he pointed out, this operation is now squarely in the hands of the convicted murderers we backed, fully under U.S. supervision. In essence, the U.S. is now among the biggest druglords in the Western Hemisphere.

As I've stated earlier, this is all smelling to high heaven.

Countries around the world used to respect us as a nation.

Today, countries around the world only fear us.

This is Bush "Leadership."

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posted by Gotham 4:03 PM

Strong reactions to Bush's planned NY visit

Actually, I'd be surprised if they don't tomato and egg his car. Something like Nixon's famed trip to Caracas in the Fifties.

This is disgusting. Even by George W. Bush's standards.

Newsday.com: Strong reactions to Bush's planned visit

Yep. Context is everything.

If the Bush campaign had carved some time out of their hectic "Hey! Really! I'm a Leader!" Tour and decided to stop off quietly to pay their proper respects—as human beings and as Americans, as well as properly somber government officials—even Gotham Notes would stand and applaud this as a truly American deed and moment.

But, of course, they couldn't do that, no.

They had to shove it in as one more fabulous photo-op while they're stuffing their pockets even more with loot from even more well-heeled Republicans out on the Island. Also on the agenda is stopping off at a fake, dog-and-pony photo-op tour to highlight the small company which obviously has been awarded New York's Two Jobs! which comprise the state's jobs creation allotment under Bush's economic recovery plan.

If they had just left it at that, this would have been poliitics as usual—no problem. No harm; no foul.

But, as we see Bush continue to smear his face with the ashes of the 3,000 dead of that day as camouflage to protect himself in his bitter battle to hold onto power, the bile this creates sticks firmly in the throat.

It's one thing for him to do this in Kansas or Utah, where terrorists tend to just be those wacky folks out on Rt. 215, who are armed better than Ft. Bragg. In these places, the WTC is just a recruiting poster. Images, like Iwo Jima.

But he's coming here with our blood on his hands. He's coming into the belly of the beast here, where his failure in office and his inaction actually cost the lives of our families and our neighbors; where he came to us in our darkest hour and was content to create a few cool photos; where he made promises to the world of help for New York that he never intended to keep; where all September 11 means to him is a linchpin for focusing his campaign message.

George W. Bush doesn't have a credibility problem.

George W. Bush has a morality problem.

George W. Bush is much too immoral in the core of his very soul for us to worry about something so petty as whether he lies or not.

This is truly disgusting.

posted by Gotham 11:46 AM

Saturday, March 06, 2004

So, George Is a Leader, Now, Huh? Go Figure...

AP: Peacekeeping Efforts Forge Ahead in Haiti

AP: Hans Blix: Tony Blair Lacked 'Critical Thinking'

AP: U.S. Says al-Qaida May Be Looking to Africa

These stories go to the heart of the problem George W. Bush's campaign faces by rooting itself in his "leadership" abilities in a troubled world.

Blix told The Guardian newspaper that he was not accusing Blair of acting in bad faith, but said that the prime minister relied heavily on intelligence reports about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

"What I am saying is that there was a lack of critical thinking,'' Blix told the newspaper from his home in Stockholm, Sweden.

Blair, the closest ally of President Bush in the Iraq conflict, cited Saddam's pursuit of banned weapons as the main justification for taking Britain to war. No such weapons have been found so far.

Blix said U.N. inspectors ought to have been allowed to continue their work for suspected weapons programs, which could have led to a more accurate analysis of the intelligence being received by Britain and the United States.

"Gradually (the British and U.S. governments) ought to have realized there was nothing,'' he said. "Gradually they would have found that the defectors' information was not reliable.''

Hans Blix is a very kind man. He could have come right out and stated flatly that Tony Blair was a lightweight and a moron. He even holds out hope (fruitless, I feel) that the Bush administration would have listened to any proof that contradicted their closely held aims.

What Blix is actually saying here is that while the Bushies happily used the deceptions of Iraqi defectors for their own advantage—which may well be evil at its core—at least there is a purity of purpose about that. They knew it was rot, but it was getting them what they wanted. It was their strory and they were sticking to it. Blix ends up saying that the Blairs at 10 Downing St., however, ACTUALLY BELIEVED that rot, which is inutterably sad. "A lack of critical thinking,'' indeed.

About 3,000 [Haitian] protesters marched in front of the American and French embassies Friday, shouting insults at U.S. Marines in the first massive protest since Aristide fled to Africa on Sunday.

"Up with Aristide! Down with Bush!'' the protesters shouted as U.S. troops watched impassively.

Some promised to mimic the violence that has plagued the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.

"If it comes to that, we will confront the U.S. Marines,'' 35-year-old demonstrator Pierre Paul said.

Rebel leader Guy Philippe said later Friday he was gathering signatures for a petition to re-establish the country's army, blamed for much of the country's past brutality before being disbanded by Aristide in 1995.

In an earlier post, I alluded to our incipient need for a Paul Bremmer-type to oversee the madness we have unleashed in Haiti. This is because the U.S. is slowly being forced to explain to the world why it didn't support a newly emerging democracy right on its doorstep. Why would the Bush administration not help a small, brutally poor neighbor—with a long history of using mass murder to solve political questions—struggle through its rites of passage to democracy, with a population wholely unknowledgeable about how democracy works.

If you go back through all of the news accounts since the beginning of the Haitian uprising of the last few weeks, you will find no accounting of the administration's case against Jean Claude-Aristide. The last time the American people heard about Haiti and/or Jean Claude-Aristide, U.S. troops were reinstating him to his rightfully elected seat of office after the island army's thugs and murderers overthrew him in the early 1990s.

Since there have been no press reports here about Haiti for years, what has the problem been? When did it become a problem? For how long has it been a problem? What was the United States, through the Bush administration, doing to help alleviate the causes of the problem or to solve the problem itself? What changed (besides U.S. administrations and ideologies) to cause the power of the United States to suddenly back convicted felons who called themselves rebels against a democratically elected foreign leader?

There were no attempts on the part of this administration to come to the world community to say there is a problem that needs addressing. So far, the full breadth of response that the administration has attempted to date is Scott McClellan's chirpy, "He brought it on himself."

What exactly does that mean?

Go ahead, then, Mr. President. Make your case for your actions (or more to the point, inactions) in Haiti.

Or were you just too pre-occupied with your re-election and your plummenting poll numbers to pay any attention to what your advisors for this hemisphere [Read: Roger F. Noriega, the assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, and a long-time Aristide hater] were cooking up for you while you were out raising millions of dollars for ads saying what a great leader you are.

Meanwhile, on the terrorist front, you've got the U.S. Army's European Command and its states-centered Central Command in a turf squabble over who should be calling the shots in the African theater, with the right-wing loonies in the Heritage Foundation riding the Central horse hard. Everyone wants to run things and be able to puff his/her chest out, but no one seems too clear on what actually is needed to make the world a safer place.

[Air Force Gen. Charles] Wald said [from Stuttgart that] some terrorists had been sent to Iraq from North Africa, and there were indications that al-Qaida has established a presence and tried to recruit in North Africa over the past two years.

Mauritania and Nigeria are among West African nations alleged by some Western think tanks [i.e., the Heritage Foundation] to have al-Qaida cells and top al-Qaida figures came from Mauritania. The country's government has cracked down on Muslim extremism and tried to stop recruiting of fighters for Saddam Hussein's cause in Iraq.

"They're there for a purpose, whether it's looking for real-estate, or recruiting or looking for arms, whatever it is, we know there's a presence,'' Wald said. "It may be small but it's a bad indicator.''

Africa is an ideal location, with its remote deserts and jungles and centuries-old Arab-African Saharan trade route. Governments are weak and poorly paid authorities are easily bribed. Communications are slow and in some places don't exist.

It's comforting to know that these military folks are on this case. But, I dearly wish someone in the State or Defense Depts. would rein these guys in just a tad. Bush's ham-handed speeches have caused enough trouble for the U.S.'s reputation around the world. We really didn't need this:

"Some people compare it to draining a swamp,'' Wald told The Associated Press, eyeing a map of Africa in his office in Stuttgart. "We need to drain the swamp.''

In the world of international relations, subtle nuance in wording is paramount. That the approach of this administration is indelicate would be the kindest assessment possible of its feeble attempts at diplomacy. That its bent for imprecise language has spread to the spokespeople for Pax Americana around the world is truly disturbing.

That ol' rugged, straight-talking, individualist approach to world affairs is what this administration likes best. We've become the Jeremiah Johnson of the world stage—the rugged individualist who needs no one else, but who can clean up all the troubles if dragged forcibly off of the mountain.

However, just like others who have removed themselves to remote positions, away from the rest of society, often far away from forms of personal hygiene, their whole position is starting to smell to high heaven.

posted by Gotham 5:45 PM

Friday, March 05, 2004

Recruiting Poster

Haiti looms for Marines just returning from Iraq

Join the service and see the world!

Only... the world keeps shooting back.

Whew!

If this is Tuesday, this must be Belgium...

posted by Gotham 2:07 PM

Bush: "A Chicken in Every Pot...

...And Two Jobs for Every City and Town in America!"

Washington Post: Bush's Economic Indicator: 2 New Jobs

Does this make him "Chicken George" from now on?

Is Karl Rove just too distracted with keeping his own ass out of court in the Valerie Plame affair to do his job, and not let his boss continue making a fool of himself in public?

posted by Gotham 1:49 PM

Thursday, March 04, 2004

Oh Kay!

The Guardian: Admit WMD mistake, David Kay tells Bush

This isn't Howard Dean here, folks, this is Bush's own guy!

posted by Gotham 12:55 AM

West Bahgdad

Rebel Says He Is in Charge; Haiti Political Chaos Deepens

Seems Paul Bremer's portfolio just got bigger. At least he'll control beachfront property now. A little Caribbean sea to go with all that sand.

Think there'll be bloodshed between Guy Philippe and the Shiites?

I mean, both regimes fell awfully fast.

So, where do we screw up democracy next, Texas?

Oops, already done. Sorry.

posted by Gotham 12:49 AM

Wednesday, March 03, 2004

Follow the Money

Boston Globe: U.S. urged to disarm Haitian rebels, hold key leaders

This, as we have seen in both Iraq and Haiti, is the Bush/Cheney approach to "exporting democracy." They're referring, of course, to the money channels, which flow much better in countries with B/C type democracy that place no restrictions on that flow.

We can see in the mish-mash they've made of Iraq, to their dealings with their hated "Clinton's guy" Aristide in Haiti, and with their efforts to topple President Chavez in oil-rich Venezuela, democracy is only there to suit the purposes of those who can best exploit it and benefit from it. Not that surly rabble in the street or the countryside.

Many of us have had the inkling that the Texas legislature and the Patriot Act were the types of " U.S. democracy" these guys have been talking exporting about all along.

And if a few thousands die while we put this all in place, well, when making an omelet...

posted by Gotham 8:12 AM

Monday, March 01, 2004

The World As Virtual Store

Money magazine: U.S. jobs moving offshore—what can be done?

This is a hot-button issue now, of course.

But this particular argument put forth in this article is particularly stupid, as well as nasty:

"We need reforms that will enable us to thrive in a dynamic, open, world market and not seek to shut our borders and go down a path proven to lead to reduced national wealth and overall lower standards of living," said Aaron Lukas, a trade policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.

All on one breath? Impressive, if so.

Sounds great, n'est pas?

I'm sorry, this is neo-con, newschannel, talking-head drivel of the highest order, and it cries out to be challenged.

"... to thrive in a dynamic, open, world market..."

Who, exactly, are the "we" and the "us" who are doing all the supposed thriving here?

Are YOU dealing in world markets? Probably not.

Is your company? Probably not, but let's say it is. The debating model holds that you make the widget your company sells. If they can sell these widgets in Uruguay and Tanzania, you make more money selling more widgets and everyone benefits. Cool.

But, this is, like, soooooo Twentieth Century.

There is a market of approximately 300 million of us here. Sounds sizeable. But there is a potential market of a few billion people around the world. And they'll all want widgets. So selling to them becomes a higher priority than selling widgets to you and me. Plus, people have been laid off here, so there's less money around to buy widgets.

Plus, if we close down our U.S. plants and re-open them in a jungle somewhere, we'll only have to pay 5-10 cents on the dollar for labor costs and we can send that windfall right on to shareholders.

Yeah. Good business move.

Hold on, let's not be so naive (read: gullible) here.

There's not a company, large or small, who couldn't be enticed to make this move. In fact, any owner or CEO who doesn't make it today is thought of as an unsuccessful neanderthal, who MUST be running his company into the ground. That's great pressure. Much like the greed-fueled pressure of the Nineties forced thousands of Americans onto Wall Street, where money was supposedly just sitting there on the ground waiting for the smart people to just scoop it up. And if you didn't attempt to, you were just a throwback loser. And if the market eventually tanked, and you lost most of what you had, and there was no longer any pension or decent interest rate for savings accounts to act as a safety net, since no one wanted them anymore, well, them's breaks.

Don't be misled.

There is now a real disconnect between the company and the worker. The company doesn't need the worker anymore. Or, more exactly, American companies don't need American workers anymore. Nor, soon, American consumers anymore, either.

Eventually, American companies will merely be a few executives on expense accounts, working out of smaller office space with a few necessary underlings and assistants. Their registration will be offshore to avoid all taxes. All of their manufacturing or service product generation will be done overseas, mostly on contract; all their administration will be farmed out, and their distribution, advertising and human resource systems will be outsourced. An underling collects the invoices; the CFO cuts the checks. Simple.

So this powerful, worldwide conglomerate we are all in awe of will soon barely consist of a few corporate officers in a corner office suite. The whole enterprise run by anywhere from 5-40 people.

And they won't skip a beat.

Sure, they'll claim 100,000 employees, but that'll be counting their contractors' workers.

So now you know why there are soooo many articles in business magazines about Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com.

Because Jeff's the future. The founder of the Virtual Business. There's nothing really there except people's assumptions and expectations, and a whole lot of intricate business relationships.

Sweet.

So we'll soon be the United States of Amazon.

Which is another way of saying, "There'll be no there, there."

Now, if they only took virtual money...

posted by Gotham 8:36 PM

Who Has Less of a Grip?
Mel, or His Fans?

CNN.com: Passion tickets bear 'mark of the beast'

And here I thought the hullabaloo over this movie was merely the hyperbolic handiwork of an overly zealous—but hugely successful—publicist.

Who knew the devil was behind this production?

Hmmmmm...

Does this make the central character of this film the anti-Anti-Christ?

posted by Gotham 7:07 PM

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