I can't believe it's not a democracy!

W held a press conference yesterday in which, no surprise, he blamed everyone but himself for our shitty economy.

I heard a bit of the questioning, and it was painful. Petulant, ignorant, childish. I could go on. But the fact that he thinks--or at least says--that things will improve with the arrival of the stimulus checks is appalling. Particularly in light of this: Americans unload prized belongings to make ends meet. The AP reports: Struggling with mounting debt and rising prices, faced with the toughest economic times since the early 1990s, Americans are selling prized possessions online and at flea markets at alarming rates.

To meet higher gas, food and prescription drug bills, they are selling off grandmother's dishes and their own belongings. Some of the household purging has been extremely painful — families forced to part with heirlooms.

"This is not about downsizing. It's about needing gas money," said Nancy Baughman, founder of eBizAuctions, an online auction service she runs out of her garage in Raleigh, N.C. One former affluent customer is now unemployed and had to unload Hermes leather jackets and Versace jeans and silk shirts.

I am not going to wipe away a tear for someone who loaded up on Hermes leather jackes and Versace jeans when he or she could have socked away a few bucks, but I am distressed at the thought that some families are finding that the only way they can make it to the end of a week is by selling grandma's heirlooms and personal belongings. What happens when they have nothing left to sell and their "stimiulus" payments are spent? W may have tap danced around the word recession yesterday at his presser, but it is clear that we are facing a very difficult time ahead. Q: Will the U.S. pull the rabbit out of the hat, or is this the beginning of the last throes of the American empire? I just don't know.

Hey, don't worry about the market, because there's some fabulous economic news out there:

Record oil prices drive Shell 1Q profits up 25 percent. Good thing the republicans in the senate didn't allow the congress to take away the oil companies subsidies, no?

I'm really beginning to think that if things don't look like they are going to improve this November (i.e, true representative government that might actually get something done for the average citizen), then the next election (ore preferably before) we need to show up to the polling places with pitchforks and torches.

Credit where credit is due:

The DNC made a good ad. Naturally they want some cash to get it on the air. If you got some to give, why not? Personally, I'm just feeling less motivated to throw some dollars to any democratic organization--despite my continuing respect for Howard Dean--ever since the congressional democratic "leadership" compelled me to reregister as an unaffiliated voter. But I'll think about it.

I have a friend whose father is a sociopath. Not in a ha-ha

your dad's a a dick, what can you do kind of way. Nope, her father is an honest to god sociopath. Obviously she doesn't exactly spend a lot of time (read: no time) looking for the perfect father's day card, but maybe this year she may actually want to pick one up: 73-year-old Austrian man has confessed to imprisoning his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and fathering her seven children. Because, as I told her, this fucking monster makes her old man look like the "Father of the Year."

Ruh-roh:

Buffett says recession may be worse than feared. Man, that's gonna suck. And right before a presidential election. Help, W, do something!

And so he does: Tax rebates start showing up in bank accounts a little early. Now get off your unpatriotic ass and go buy somethin', dammit.

Ok, so I'm in a foul mood at work. We were told to pick up

our new security badges (because those little electronic badge readers are designed to stop al Qaeda) and my new badge doesn't work.  When I went to ask for my old badge back, the moron asshole douchebag who was "handling" card distribution said that I told her that I didn't want to keep my old card, so she took it and fucking shredded it within seconds after I left.  Um, I don't recall that, I said.  But she was insistent, ignored my comment (and the veins in my neck and forehead) and turned back to her monitor to continue her shopping (I am not kidding).  Long and short, if I can't get into work tomorrow, I am going to assume that the powers that be want me to take a mental health day. 

This friction of every day life crap is wearing me down. Security badges, take off your shoes please, let me examine your bag, stand in that line....I really have had enough. So, I am surfing to clear my head and trying not to think about how regimented, stupid and worthless adult life is circa 2008, when I see this: Louis Vuitton Sues Darfur Fundraiser for Copyright Infringement. Then, suddenly, everything made sense.

Elizabeth Edwards on our filthy media and its appalling political coverage:

Bowling 1, Health Care 0. Elizabeth Edwards can written an editorial for the New York Times that is a must read. Edwards writes: For the last month, news media attention was focused on Pennsylvania and its Democratic primary. Given the gargantuan effort, what did we learn?

Well, the rancor of the campaign was covered. The amount of money spent was covered. But in Pennsylvania, as in the rest of the country this political season, the information about the candidates’ priorities, policies and principles — information that voters will need to choose the next president — too often did not make the cut. After having spent more than a year on the campaign trail with my husband, John Edwards, I’m not surprised.

Why? Here’s my guess: The vigorous press that was deemed an essential part of democracy at our country’s inception is now consigned to smaller venues, to the Internet and, in the mainstream media, to occasional articles. I am not suggesting that every journalist for a mainstream media outlet is neglecting his or her duties to the public. And I know that serious newspapers and magazines run analytical articles, and public television broadcasts longer, more probing segments.

But I am saying that every analysis that is shortened, every corner that is cut, moves us further away from the truth until what is left is the Cliffs Notes of the news, or what I call strobe-light journalism, in which the outlines are accurate enough but we cannot really see the whole picture.

There is much more. Click the link, it is well worth the read. Have to add that I always thought that John Edwards' strongest asset was his wife. I don't know why he hasn't endorsed a candidate (nor has she), but I hope that they both remain involved in the political process one way or another.

Sadly, even the media probably will not be able to ignore Iraq this spring and summer:

Al-Sadr may restart full-scale fight against US in Iraq.

But hope is on our side: Hillary Clinton threatens to 'obliterate' Iran if Israel attacked. Hey, if Hill is ready to obliterate Iran, no doubt she's prepared to don a flight suit and go over to Iraq to kick Al-Sadr's ass. Sigh. Just what we need, another fucking war monger.

Looks like we shouldn't expect any bread with our circuses:

Bakers feeling pinch of short supplies. Because the government can't afford to ply us with bread if this shit keeps up, that's why.

Ah, the miracle that is the Bush economy. Heard him say yesterday that it is doing very good. For those that matter, of course. I'm starting to think that that little garden I planted with my brother at his place might have just gone from a productive pasttime to an investment. Sigh.

Link via Atrios.

Man of god, my ass:

Small Church's Obama Sign Causes Big Controversy. WYFF.com reports: The sign in front of a small church in a small town is causing a big controversy in Jonesville, S.C.

Pastor Roger Byrd said that he just wanted to get people thinking. So last Thursday, he put a new message on the sign at the Jonesville Church of God.

It reads: "Obama, Osama, hmm, are they brothers?"

Byrd said that the message wasn't meant to be racial or political.

"It's simply to cause people to realize and to see what possibly could happen if we were to get someone in there that does not believe in Jesus Christ," he said.

And then Pastor Byrd claims that he doesn't know if Obama is a muslim, while acknowledging that Obama has said that he is not a muslim. We are going to see a lot more of this bullshit if, as I assume, Obama wins the democratic nomination. The question is this: how many people buy this crap? I want to believe it's less than 20%, but I just don't know.

Thanks to Mr. Debakey for the link.