by PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
Economic policy in the United States and Europe has failed, and people are suffering.
Economic policy failed for three reasons: (1) policymakers focused on enabling offshoring corporations to move middle class jobs, and the consumer demand, tax base, GDP, and careers associated with the jobs, to foreign countries, such as China and India, where labor is inexpensive; (2) policymakers permitted financial deregulation that unleashed fraud and debt leverage on a scale previously unimaginable; (3) policymakers responded to the resulting financial crisis by imposing austerity on the population and running the printing press in order to bail out banks and prevent any losses to the banks regardless of the cost to national economies and innocent parties.
Read full article here: http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/09/26/saving-the-rich-losing-the-economy/
Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal. His latest book is How the Economy Was Lost (CounterPunch / AK Press).
Why Parents Drink
The boss wondered why one of his most valued employees was absent but had not phoned in sick.
So he dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted with a child's whisper.
Child: "Hello?"
Boss: "Is your daddy home?"
Child: "Yes, he's out in the garden," whispered the small voice.
Boss: May I talk with him?"
The child whispered, "No."
So the boss asked, "Well, is your Mommy there?"
Child: "Yes, she's out in the garden."
The boss asked, "May I talk with her?"
Again the small voice whispered, "No."
Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, "Is anybody else there?"
"Yes," whispered the child, "a policeman..."
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee"s home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the policeman?"
"No, he's busy." whispered the child.
"Busy doing what?" asks the boss.
"Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the police dog men." responds the child.
Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the background, the boss asked, "What is that noise?"
"It's a helicopter," answered the whispering child.
"What is going on there?" demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.
Child: "The search team just landed a helicopter."
"A search team?" said the boss. "What are they searching for?"
Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle... "ME"
So he dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted with a child's whisper.
Child: "Hello?"
Boss: "Is your daddy home?"
Child: "Yes, he's out in the garden," whispered the small voice.
Boss: May I talk with him?"
The child whispered, "No."
So the boss asked, "Well, is your Mommy there?"
Child: "Yes, she's out in the garden."
The boss asked, "May I talk with her?"
Again the small voice whispered, "No."
Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, "Is anybody else there?"
"Yes," whispered the child, "a policeman..."
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee"s home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the policeman?"
"No, he's busy." whispered the child.
"Busy doing what?" asks the boss.
"Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the police dog men." responds the child.
Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the background, the boss asked, "What is that noise?"
"It's a helicopter," answered the whispering child.
"What is going on there?" demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.
Child: "The search team just landed a helicopter."
"A search team?" said the boss. "What are they searching for?"
Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle... "ME"
Booze of the week: Burnett's Citrus Vodka
You're thinking, WTF, $5.99??? It must be once distilled from cow dung! I hate to break this to you, but Burnett's vodka (made in Kentucky, USA) is quadruple distilled from grain and triple charcoal filtered. That should be enough to clean out all the Kentucky animal dung and urine that's all over the grain the distillery uses.
Unfortunately there's not much info on this vodka, but obviously Burnett's isn't going to allocate a large marketing budget for a $6 vodka. The true test for me was to buy it and make my wife's favorite drink, a Mango Martini. Honestly, we would have never known if the drinks were made with Stoli or Absolut, which means the vodka was free of aftertaste and the drink went down smooth. Furthermore, there was NO HANGOVER. Enough said.
Drunk prank of the week: Bottle Alarm
Your humble author likes originality, and while a few of the drunk prank photos posted haven't been the most creative, this one is pretty darn good. The pranksters clearly knew one of the worst things a hungover person can wake up to is NOISE, especially coming from the last thing on his mind: BOOZE.
Craigslist humor: toilet for sale
I once blew up a friend's perfectly good toilet with an M80, which was a total riot and had us laughing for hours - not to mention the continued laughs over the years when reminiscing. The bad part about it was having to fork over a couple hundred dollars for a new toilet, but can one really put a price on never ending laughs? Okay, so had Craigslist been around during the aftermath of my toilet explosion prank, I definitely could have extended the prank by picking up this item on Craigslist:
Bin Laden tops the chart
After hundreds of thousands Iraqi and Afghan deaths and the ongoing suffering of thousands more, Bin Laden was finally taken out. I'm not sure what all the celebrating is about, as nothing has changed. The US is no safer, and still hated for the decades of imperialism and middle east tyranny. Oh, and Obama's top priority is continuing to serve the oligarchy while the US economy remains in shambles. Anyway, on to the comedy:
Craigslist humor: Planned Parenthood protests
I'm not wild about abortion, and honesty there's nothing funny about it. However, there's always someone out there who can find humor where you least expect it, and Craigslist is home to such individuals.
Drunk prank of the week: Pretty Lady
Well, this drunk prank features the usual cosmetic "pass out and I'll mark your face" make-up, but what makes it hilarious is the pranksters actually animate the face in a "Weekend at Bernie's" style.
There seems to be an endless amount of idiots who drink too much and leave themselves in the hands of their buddies. Once I've collected enough of these drunk pranks I'll set up some sort of poll to get an idea of what's the most popular.
There seems to be an endless amount of idiots who drink too much and leave themselves in the hands of their buddies. Once I've collected enough of these drunk pranks I'll set up some sort of poll to get an idea of what's the most popular.
Craigslist humor: AIDS scare revenge
This classified ad is pretty damn funny, but I question whether or not it's really true. So to my few blog readers, don't questions its legitimacy and get all CSI on me , but instead take it as as nonsensical humor, which is what this blog is all about.
People of WalMart
First off, I wholeheartedly HATE Walmart - yes, hate is a big word, but it seems every Walmart I've stepped foot in leaves me in a state of disgust. I know there are some nice ones and stores vary by location, but the ones here in Southern California royally suck. Half the items on the shelves end up on the floor by mid-day, which means the employees really don't give a hoot. Rarely do I see a Walmart cashier with a smile on his/her face. They realize the job sucks and the company cares more about profit margin than aiming to please a minimum wager. The only happy employees are the old people greeting customers at the entrance, obviously just happy someone gave them a chance to be useful again. Okay enough rambling here, now on a few photos of your everyday Walmart patrons...
Video: Mexican Red Cross
We all know that Mexico, for the most part, is pretty far behind most high GDP countries, but one would think they'd do a little better than this at trying to transport an ER-bound patient to the hospital. Not only do the physicians have to treat the leg, but they might have to fuse a few spinal discs after what happens here...
Craigslist humor: Engagement Ring
All I can say is, YIKES! Not only did his heart get broken, but it looks like he's lost an additional $600+ proposing to a woman of group pleasures. I guess he's fortunate he didn't lose half his possessions had they tied tied the knot before she had her little party.
Drunk prank of the week: Red dawn
Ok, so there are a gazillion pics of graffiti'd, passed out drunk people everywhere, but only a few where the culprits actually took their sweet time as an artist would on a painting. The photo below is a true example of this. I bet he had to have a full face/body chemical peel to get back to his peachy self.
Booze of the week: Disarronno
I'm sure you've all seen the sheik and metrosexual commercials from Disaronno advertising, "Disarrono on the rocks." Well, I've had many Disaronnos on the rocks and only the first one really impressed me. After four, I couldn't shake the damn hazelnut-like aftertaste and I was looking around the hotel room for a mixer. I do have to say this liquor tastes great with a good ginger ale (Vernors is my fav). If you're looking for more tanginess, then cranberry juice is another good mixer.
The alcohol content is a paltry 28%, so it's great for lightweights who don't want to spoil the mood with their woman. It's probably a smart drink if you're a designated driver looking for that one cocktail for the night. However, for heavy drinkers like me, this drink will end up giving you diabetes before a great buzz.
Idiot of the week
Now this takes the cake for idiocy. I'm sure this same guy drives a car with the naked women silhouettes on his mud flaps and painted on his rear window thinking he's cool, of course with his wife sitting in the passenger seat. MORON!
Drunk prank of the week: Jolly Green Giant
Hilarious. This guy has more veggies on him than most Americans have eaten in the last 10 years. I wonder what they used to keep the greens on him?
Craigslist humor: yard leaves
This one is classic. Maybe there was some sap who really needed compost for his/her garden and didn't want to pay for it. There have to be a few turds underneath all those leaves.
Booze of the week: Patron Cafe
I prefer drinking this as a starter drink, and here's why: experienced boozers know how to achieve the perfect "first buzz" of the day/night and maintain it for hours, without crashing or spinning out of their mind. Some prefer to establish a "base" by eating a big meal prior to drinking, others (like myself) prefer to eat later - either during the buzz or when party time is over - so the base is established by coating the stomach with a glass of milk. I don't know about you, but having glass of milk is boring and the last thing I want to do when it's time to drink. Well, how about half a glass of milk and 3 ounces of Patron Cafe on the rocks, or maybe two? Yeah, now we're talking. You've got your base, a quick buzz on an empty stomach, and you're on your way to enjoying life!
Calvin and Hobbs politics
Want to know why the US economy is in shambles? Calvin sums it up pretty well here. You'll have to click the cartoon image to read the dialog.
Professional ambition
This cartoon bit totally summarizes how most of us saps with desk jobs feel. It doesn't help that computer monitors are practically the size of big-screen TVs either. Hide your pr0n!
Drunk prank of the week
Now this is horrific. Imagine the shock of waking up like this... then the pain of getting out. I'd get some new friends for sure.
Dork of the week
Okay, I have to give my kids the credit for finding this video on YouTube. Try not to look past the humor of this and feel sorry for the kid, as this blog was never intended to draw sympathy and respect for the less fortunate.
The best cure for a hangover...
Now it's time to watch Jackass 3.
Too drunk to get more beer...
What better way to start off the weekend than a drunk caught on camera. Security cameras definitely have their place in comedy.
Worst Shopping Run Ever - Watch more Funny Videos
Worst Shopping Run Ever - Watch more Funny Videos
Booze of the Week: Trader Joe's gin!
It's Friday and booze is on my mind (so what else is new?). The booze of the week is Trader Joe's Rear Admiral London Dry Gin ($7.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Trader Joe's). It's distilled and bottled at W.J. Stillman Ltd. in London.
Well I'm starting to get shit from my buddies on my choices of booze, but I'm happy to report one of their mouthes has been shut. This gin is very Tanqueray-like, but with a slightly lower alcohol content. It makes for a great gin and tonic or martini, but probably isn't a good sipping gin such as Gin 209 or some of the other high priced gins out there... but who in the hell wants to sip booze that's distilled from a shovel full of wilderness?
If you like gin martinis and/or gin and tonics and want to save half the cost of booze, try this gin. Here are a couple reviews:
http://booze-blog.blogspot.com/2010/04/rear-admiral-josephs-original-london.html
http://boydrinksworld.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/the-trader-joe%E2%80%99s-martini%E2%80%A6-as-i-see-it/
If you like gin martinis and/or gin and tonics and want to save half the cost of booze, try this gin. Here are a couple reviews:
http://booze-blog.blogspot.com/2010/04/rear-admiral-josephs-original-london.html
http://boydrinksworld.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/the-trader-joe%E2%80%99s-martini%E2%80%A6-as-i-see-it/
Craigslist humor
This has got to be one of the funniest (if not the funniest) Craigslist postings I've read. It's a great example of how much of a pain it can be to deal with Craigslist people. Sorry if it's a bit blurry.
Drunk Prank of the Week
Yeah, there are TONS of pics of drunk pranks all over the web, but yours truly delivers the tasteful one for the week:
Baseball Spring Training is here...
and below is one of the many reasons why baseball sucks:
Two out of the three girls couldn't care less what's coming their way.
Stereotyping works
Yeah, we're not supposed to stereotype, it shouldn't be part of our society, it's discrimination, bleh bleh. After looking at this pic, we see that's it's alive and well:
Happy Damn Birthday to me
Well, today is my birthday and the day the official countdown to 40 begins. Amazing that I've made it this far considering the many high-fatality rate actions of my youth.
To those of you older than me, STFU about how young I am. You know damn well you didn't want to be 40 and there's not one person in their 20s or 30s that considers 40 young and is looking forward to being that age.
Can't wait for a few cocktails this Saturday with my wife... that's always the best countdown for me.
To those of you older than me, STFU about how young I am. You know damn well you didn't want to be 40 and there's not one person in their 20s or 30s that considers 40 young and is looking forward to being that age.
Can't wait for a few cocktails this Saturday with my wife... that's always the best countdown for me.