Saturday, December 12, 2020

Best Metal Music Of 2020

Anaal Nathrakh - Endarkenment
Midnight - Rebirth By Blasphemy
Enslaved - Utgard
Sepultura - Quadra
King Diamond - The Institute
Protest The Hero - Palimpsest
Warbringer - Weapons of Tomorrow
Lamb of God - Lamb of God
Umbra Vitae – Shadow of LifeCirith Ungol – Forever BlackLucifer – Lucifer III
Sylosis – Cycle Of Suffering 
Plague - Portraits of Mind
VoidCeremony - Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel
August Burns Red - Guardians
Spirit Adrift - Enlightened In Eternity
Carcass - Despicable
Pallbearer - Forgotten Days
Uada - Djinn
Harakiri for the Sky - I, Pallbearer
Necrot - Mortal
Antichrist Demoncore - Satan Is King
Satan's Fall - Final Day
Testament - Titans of Creation

Buzzwords Are Not Public Policy or We've Heard Enough From So-Called Business Experts

More cliched economic jargon from error-prone businessmen. 

Biden Needs Some Business Experts

The article moans, "The new administration does not have a lot of chops when it comes to job creation. That’s largely in the domain of the private sector. Biden and his crew are loaded with experience in managing the government, but are extremely shallow in knowing what to do to help the private sector become vibrant again. Remember, all tax revenues come directly or indirectly from dynamism in the private sector. Most companies deserve to be revered for providing jobs and tax revenues, but that is not the mindset of the progressives in the Democratic Party. Their proclivity is regulation. Common sense regulation is a necessity in any economy, but more important is turning entrepreneurs loose to reinvent the economy. They are the job creators, not the government."

There is so much wrong here, it's hard to know where to begin. There are so many regurgitated conservative falsehoods in this right-wing word salad, it really does make the mind spin. For someone who can occasionally make reasonable sounding arguments, John Torinus, more often, just parrots typical Republican talking-points

Biden has been working for the citizens his entire adult life. He's plenty familiar with job creation. Republicans are the party that has left this country in recession after recession over the past few decades. And, it has been the Democrats who enacted targeted policies to help pull the country out. Biden was Vice President during the Obama Administration, in case Mr. Torinus has forgotten that fact. 

What did Obama and Biden do? There has not been a consistent job market expansion on record, dating back to 1939, that lasted longer than the expansion during their administration. Job growth was faster than population growth—a key measure of a healthy job market expansion. The typical weekly pay of U.S. workers has been increasing since early 2013 and re The ACA made it possible for more than 20 million individuals to afford health insurance and decreased the share of Americans without health insurance to an all-time low.ached its highest level on record, dating back to 1979, at the end of 2016. They inherited a deficit that claimed 9.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in fiscal year 2009. By FY 2016, the deficit had fallen to less than one-third of that, at 3.2 percent of GDP.

Seems like they know something about job creation, reinventing the economy and helping the private sector be vibrant.

And this "dynamism in the private sector" and "turning entrepreneurs loose" are, as Joe Biden would say, a bunch of malarkey. This country has been cutting taxes and deregulating the past 40 years. If the private sector entrepreneurs are so damn dynamic, why does the economy keep falling back into recession when we allow Republicans control of the government?

It's long overdue for the private sector knows it all, government needs to get out of the way-gang to go away. The public sector employs over 20 millions people. The public sector accounts for nearly half of the entire economy. This idea, pushed by Republicans for decades, that government is inept and wasteful is wrong. If anything, the private sector is the wasteful and inefficient actor. Not to mention the fact that the private sector is also selfish and greedy.

Private retirement account fees are drastically higher than public pension fees or Social Security fees. Much of the medical advancements we see are due to university research and the National Institutes of Health. Study after study has shown that public infrastrucutre projects are cheaper when done by unionized public workers, rather than being bid out to private corporations.
 
So, please, Republicans, conservatives, dynamic private sector know-it-alls, please step aside and let the adults in the Democratic party save the country from your destructive and misguided ramblings once again.

Weekend Reading

Robin Vos' plan puts politics ahead of healthMilton Friedman was wrong on the corporationTrump Won State, GOP Legislators Declare

Skills To Pay The Bills

More proof there is no skills gap or skills shortage

6 of the top 10 most in demand jobs in Wisconsin through 2026 require a high school diploma, or job-specific training, at most.


Friday, December 4, 2020

Weekend Reading

How Ronald Reagan’s Racism Helped Pave the Way for Donald Trump’sIn Case You Missed It, Reagan Was A ScumbagHome Prices Are In a Bubble. Full Stop.Milwaukee paid $40M+ in police brutality casesAfter NY Gov. Cuomo Accuses SC of Partisanship, Cardinal Dolan Hails Decision to Block COVID Church RestrictionsThe Wisconsin Legislature is a gerrymandered swamp run by self-serving RepublicansRepublican Senator Faces Insider-Trading Accusations Ahead of Georgia RunoffMichael Flynn calls for Trump to suspend the constitution and declare martial law to re-run electionIowa Is What Happens When Government Does Nothing

Friday, November 13, 2020

Why Is Life Expectancy In The US Lower Than In Other Rich Countries?

 

[source]

2020 Takes Alex Trebek But Leaves Mitch McConnell

Fox 6 anchor Ted Perry apologizes for joking about the death of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

If Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity, Brian Kilmeade, Steve Doocy, Laura Ingrahm, Tucker Carlson, et al, can pretend they are serious journalists bringing their viewers an honest take on the stories of the day, why can't a local news reporter express his view about a vile man, with a humorous quip, on his private Twitter account?

For context, Mitch McConnell is a piece of shit. He's a power-hungry, know-nothing that has done all he can to steal elections, take away health care, and generally make the lives of Americans more difficult.

Does anyone really think Ted Perry wants McConnell dead? Again, he's just using some humor to drive home the point that we're stuck with some very shitty people, while some of the good ones have passed away. Someone, anyone, argue that Mitch McConnell has done anything good for anyone but himself over his entire political career.

So, for those who can't deal in metaphors, maybe McConnell doesn't need to actually die. But he does need to be voted out of office. He's a terrible public servant. He's a miserable human being. Fuck Mitch McConnell! And fuck anyone that would defend that pile of garbage!

A Message To Trump Supporters Dealing With The Loss Of Their Dear Leader

So here's the deal for all the anti-science, racist, misogynistic, road-blocking, gun-totting, know-nothing, taunting, harassing, hate-spewing, douchebag Trump supporters and voters ... go fuck yourselves!

Now, to live up to all the bullshit you emit into the world, to uphold your anti-socialism blather, your anti-government rhetoric: 

stop relying on police and fire fighters
refuse Medicare and Social Security 
stop driving on the roads
stop using trains and airports
pull your children out of public schools
stop collecting your farm subsidies
stop using food stamps 
don't you dare set foot in a public museum, a public park or a zoo
plow your own roads
clear your own sewage
light your own streets
(to name a few) 

But most of all, and I repeat, go fuck yourselves!!! 

Weekend Reading

How risky is air travel in the pandemic? Here’s what the science says.Democrats Have a Much Bigger Problem Than the Senate or the Electoral CollegeRepublicans claim Wisconsin clerks illegally altered absentee ballots, but they were following election guidanceBiden Could Roll Back Trump Agenda With Blitz of Executive ActionsProgressive Rep. Rashida Tlaib Fires Back At Centrist Democrats: ‘I Can’t Be Silent’Ron Johnson is more loyal to Donald Trump than democracy

Fox News: So Full Of Shit

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

From Reagan to Trump: Here's How Stocks Performed Under Each President

 

Midweek Reading

Changes that Would Make a Difference in the Biden AdministrationThe stock market is overvalued, according to almost every measure dating to 1950The stock market’s strength tells us less about the true state of the economy than at almost any other time over the last five decadesIf Wisconsin's Legislature were a business, Republicans would've already been firedTRUMP IS TERRIFIED ABOUT GOING TO PRISON AFTER LOSING THE ELECTION, AS HE SHOULD BEData show these US industries have the most recession proof jobsThe NFL rewards men who put their hands on womenRepublican senator ‘personally benefited from tax change he sought’ (Ron Johnson is a piece of shit)Science Denial and COVID Conspiracy Theories

Trump Supporters: Not Just Ignorant, Also Powerfully Stupid

Rife With Corruption

Trump Supporters

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Weekend Reading

Yes, Wisconsin legislators haven’t passed a bill in 6 monthsFace masks: what the data sayWe Must Save Democracy From ConspiraciesDonald Trump: Biden Better Take COVID-19 More Seriously or He Might Get It and Infect a Bunch of People

Convention Center Expansion Approved

Hundreds of millions for another boondoggle.

Wisconsin Center Gives Final Approval for $420 Million Expansion

There are many better ways to spend this money.

See Milwaukee's Boondoggle Twofer, The Economic Impact Mythology Of Convention Centers, The Convention Center Cabal and Beware Of The Economic Development Hucksters.

Amendments

Pelosi introduces bill under 25th Amendment for commission to evaluate fitness of future presidents

While the Democrats are introducing new Amendments, how about a few of these:

Thursday, October 8, 2020

Weekend Reading

Should Sheriff’s Budget Be Cut?Conservative Group Seeks Immediate Stop To Wisconsin Mask MandateThe truth about violent crime in American cities, explained in 11 chartsBlack people were 8 times more likely to be pulled over by Milwaukee police in 2019 than white people, new report saysIdaho pastor who encouraged congregants to go maskless is in intensive care unit after contracting coronavirusA Disgusting Night for DemocracyCovid-19’s stunningly unequal death toll in America, in one chartThe Decline of Wisconsin’s Republican PartyTrumpworld delighted in cruelty. Now that Trump has COVID, it demands empathy.‘A Symbol Of Your Own Failures’: Jake Tapper Takes It To TrumpWhy Should Court End Mask Mandate, Judge Asks

Friday, September 25, 2020

Brianna Keilar Destroys Larry Kudlow, Trump's Economic Lap Dog

Trump Says COVID “Affects Virtually Nobody” As Death Toll Hits 200,000

Hollywood Pedo Industrial Complex

Lies, Lies, Lies

Weekend Reading

A conservative legal gadfly faces the music

Humans Wiped Out Two-Thirds of the World’s Wildlife in 50 Years

THE FBI DIRECTOR JUST BLEW UP TEAM TRUMP’S ANTI-ANTIFA WAR PLAN

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio on capitalism’s crisis: The world is going to change ‘in shocking ways’ in the next five years

White House on 200,000 Coronavirus Deaths: Call Us When 2 Million of You Are Dead




The Notorious RBG & The Billionaire-Fueled, Republican Party's Last Gasp

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

A Much Bigger Income Shift To Top 1% Than Anyone Thought

Landmark Study: A Much Bigger Income Shift To Top 1% Than Anyone Thought
A new analysis by the RAND Corporation examines what rising inequality has cost Americans in lost income—and the results are even bigger than expected.

Midweek Reading

Blue States are Not Wrong to Want to Restore the Deduction for State and Local Taxes Trump calls for Fox News journalist to be fired for report on war dead scandal How Dangerous Is Police Work? Science Magazine Editor Pens Scathing Critique Of Trump’s ‘Shameful’ COVID-19 Lies Trump claims crime is up in US cities. The truth is more complicated. 58% of Key Great Lakes Wetlands Unprotected50 years later, Milton Friedman’s shareholder doctrine is dead

Karma

Oregon Republican Who Blocked Climate Change Bill Loses Home To Wildfires

Monday, September 7, 2020

More Holiday Reading

Norquist Says City Not ‘Most Racist’
Trump Compares Police Shooting Of Jacob Blake To Golfer Who ‘Chokes’ During Putt
Bill Ackman on saving capitalism: Every child in the U.S. could be given enough money at birth to become millionaires by retirement
Kenosha destroyed Tucker Carlson’s narrative
From QAnon to Kyle Rittenhouse, the Right is Sinking Deeper Into an Alternate Reality
Kyle Rittenhouse, Kenosha, and the Sheepdog Mentality
Trump's Presidency in Seven Metrics
White supremacists and militias have infiltrated police across US, report says
How the Myth of a Liberal North Erases a Long History of White Violence
Writing is the best way to discover what you think

Holiday Reading

The Fed has a new approach to inflation: What it means for your savings, credit-card debt — and your mortgage rate
U.S. Debt Is Set to Exceed Size of the Economy Next Year, a First Since World War II
Black-Scholes Option Pricing is Wrong
10 Crucial Things That Result From Einstein’s Theories of Relativity

Do Your Fucking Job!!!

Vos Task Force Deflects Actual Action. Speaker refuses to convene legislature to address policing and racial disparities.

Robin Vos is a piece of shit.

Sorry, maybe that's unfair to feces.

Robin Vos is a selfish, know-nothing, do-nothing, waste of space. 

Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Republican Business As Usual: Do As They Say, Not As They Do

Legislators Who Opposed Pandemic Aid Grab Grants
Robin Vos and three other Republicans who opposed federal grants got at least $150,000.
McConnell's Wife's Family Business Appears on Trump Admin's List of Companies That Received Most PPP Money
A shipping business started by Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao's family received at least $350,000 in loans set aside for companies struggling as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to data published Monday by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Too Many Cops

The national average is just under 28 per 10,000.

We must also remember that the current average of 28 per 10,000 population is the average in our current over-policed nation.  It's plausible and probably preferable that the average be closer to 20, 15 or even 10 per 10,000 population.  This further drives home the point that we have too many police.

Midweek Reading

A federal judge who accused Barr of ‘distorting’ the Mueller report has read an unredacted version — and now he’s demanding some answers
Minneapolis may be the first city to dismantle the police
Alex Vitale, author of The End of Policing, on why cops are being so brutal and what should be done with them
America’s Civil War
10 Steps States Should Take to End Corporate Giveaways
Milwaukee now in phase 3 of reopening: Here's what that means Trump Has Imprisoned Himself in the White House Police unions dig in as calls for reform grow

The Police


The Inappropriately High Cost Of Police

This Is How Much Major Cities Prioritize Police Spending Versus Everything Else

Saturday, June 6, 2020

Bad Cops & The Insufferably Woke

Times are tough. Really tough. Donald Trump is our so-called leader. A pandemic is sweeping the globe. Unemployment has exploded. America's inability to address racism and inequality is, again, on display.

Social media has been full of hashtags and finger-pointing. The righteous woke folk, cohorts of the cancel culture, are again calling for purity among the herd, while virtue-signaling their own superiority.

Most recently, in Milwaukee, the dust-up has been over Mayor Tom Barrett, on a Thursday, announcing that bars and restaurants could open to 25% capacity, on a Friday.

Complaints of this announcement ranged from a lack of notice, being a distraction, being political, to ... well, things really just went off the rails. This seems typical of liberals - the urge to eat their own. The immediate issue here would seem to be racism and/or police brutality. Yet somehow this has veered off into when and how restaurants should open up, how they're notified about such, the guidelines, how the mayor is a meanie, being a distraction or not, and so many other rabbit holes.

It became clear this was, again, another case of the self-superior types (and they all seem to be white) patting themselves on the back while, in essence, going after what would appear to be their allies because of a perceived lack of purity.

Lack of Notice

Many complaints were about the lack of notice regarding the reopening and their inability, thus, to prepare for such. But nothing said your bar or restaurant has to reopen right now. The mayor just gave notice that bars and restaurants could open at 25% capacity. After being closed for over two months (or just having curbside pick-up) one would think this would be good news for struggling bars and restaurants.

And, what exactly would have been the right amount of notice? How should this notice have been given? Is it a week? Two weeks? Was the mayor supposed to call each and every bar and restaurant owner to notify and or discuss.

If you don't want to open, don't. But know that you can when you want to and you are ready.

Guidelines

Another complaint was a perceived lack of guidelines for reopening. Yet guidelines for how we all interact during the pandemic have been spelled out, repeatedly, by the CDC, the WHO, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the Wisconsin Department of Health and the City of Milwaukee Health Department, to name a few. Wear a mask, stay 6 feet apart, wash your hands a lot, disinfect surfaces a lot, etc.

Milwaukee Releases Five Criteria To Open Up

Milwaukee outlines plan to re-open city

Distraction

Others complained this was a distraction - to allow bars and restaurants to open up now - during a time of protest for racial justice and police accountability. So, my question here is, are businesses to stay closed until we have complete racial harmony? What is the time frame?

Do some think people don't have the ability to walk and chew gum? People can't be focused on societal improvement ... and occasionally go out to eat?

So, let me get this straight, the George Floyd murder, at the hands of a piece of shit cop (and his shitty accomplices), has inflamed our better senses, but if we can suddenly dine out again, we'll forget about that? If that's the case, you're not as righteous, woke, or enlightened as you think you are.

Pushing for people to concentrate on one thought, or being able to only hold one idea at a time, doesn't make you a woke warrior, it makes you a baby. People can do more than one thing. If the fact that the mayor announcing a 25% capacity reopening for bars and restaurants has distracted you from the fact that America is, and has been, extremely racist and has a lot of work do, you're not woke, you're not an adult, you're just a squirrel distracted by any sudden noise or light.

And, it appears most of the recent distraction and other complaints about reopening are coming from white people. Which begs the question, where have you been? There's a long history of racism, oppression, segregation and inequality in America. It didn't just start in May 2020.

If you're so woke, let's look through all of your Twitter, Instagram and Facebook posts over the years and see how much time and effort you put forth in seeking racial equality and justice. Some of these same people were complaining of the lockdown not too long ago. Being closed, or being deemed non-essential, not being able to operate, that was un-American. The government, in trying to manage the pandemic, was overreaching and putting businesses at risk.

Seems to be a lot of bandwagon-jumpers with slogans and hashtags, pretending they've been part of the solution all along, and then criticizing, what would appear to be, their allies for not being as perfect as them, in their little fictionalized, sanitized, revisionist world.

The Mayor

A lot of vitriol has been throw at Mayor Barrett. He may not be perfect, but he sure as hell just seems to be trying to do the right thing. But let me get this straight, he alone is supposed to run a major city, try to manage the pandemic and solve racism?

Further, the mayor is not the police. Tom Barrett doesn't make the call for tear gas, rubber bullets or the use of force. Tom Barrett has called for officers to be fired and he has marched with the protesters. Tom Barrett took a pipe beating at State Fair to protect a baby and her grandmother. He is not some insensitive, racist, political apparatchik. He's doing his best to try to keep the city safe while trying to figure out how to move forward and right the wrongs. But there are no guidelines for this (at least not as many clear and concise guidelines as there are for operating your business during a pandemic); sometimes you have to figure it out as you go.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett joins protesters in Wisconsin against police killing of George Floyd

The Police

I've long complained about the police. Not that they are all bad or that it's not a tough job. But their budgets take way too much money from municipalities, which could be used for economic development, training, education, small business loans, etc. Which could go a long way toward helping poverty and inequality.

Yet, there are a lot of bad police doing bad things and costing their municipalities millions of dollars for their criminality. They need better vetting, training and accountability. Our country needs a paradigm shift in how we look at and operate our policing and law enforcement.

Also, we just have too many police in too many communities. We need to focus on police serving and protecting rather than simply enforcing the law. Because their emphasis seems to be on the force part of enforcement

In Closing

This country has a long way to go toward racial justice, fair pay, equal opportunity, health care as a right, giving voice to the voiceless, and numerous other issues where we sadly lag behind. So, by all means, peacefully protest, run for office, vote for candidates that will actually do something, join an advocacy or lobbying organization, or start a local group to focus on a particular issue. Focus on the issue(s), know your true enemy and don't cut off your nose to spite your face.

Proactive, Productive Ways to Help

Milwaukee Urban League using community roundtables to identify solutions to end injustice
4 Ideas That Could Begin to Reform the Criminal Justice System and Improve Police-Community Relations
5 Issues that Should Be Part of Efforts to Reform Policing in Local Communities
Reforming Police

Statistical, References

U.S. Police Shootings: Blacks Disproportionately Affected