Independence Day…

The 4th of July… Tis’ a holiday of conflict. Maybe it’s twenty plus years of social work that has done this to me. Or perhaps it’s simply a matter of giving a damn about people I’ve never met in towns I’ve never been to, concerns about whether they have enough to eat, a place to live, a sense of safety and hoping these random strangers … Continue reading Independence Day…

So, this is the Tenderloin…San Francisco…

The Tenderloin: the TL, Little Saigon, the Loin, Tenderloin Heights… Fifty square blocks or so wedged between San Francisco’s downtown Civic Center – City Hall, the courthouses and Federal buildings – and the main Shopping/Financial Districts with your Niketown’s, Apple Stores, Macy’s and rapists like Bechtel, the banks and their assorted bullshit…fifty square blocks crammed into the center of San Francisco that too many people of this city either try to ignore or take great pains … Continue reading So, this is the Tenderloin…San Francisco…

On Koch: Mental health, Martin Luther and martyrs…

It would seem if one wanted to get an idea of a person’s mental health, about their emotional disposition, one thing to do would be to take a look at their reactions to receiving hundreds of death threats. Would they brag about it in the media? Would they become introspective? What would they do, especially if they were very wealthy and a captain of industry … Continue reading On Koch: Mental health, Martin Luther and martyrs…

Dear Chris Dodd of the MPAA…SOPA/PIPA NSFW version

Hey Chris… It’s me, Drake… Just letting you know I haven’t forgotten what a whore you are/were for your big buddies of capitalism, those corporate cronies idolized in your wistful wet dreams of power that left you swooning so hard, you just had to become one more pathetic lobbyist… A lobbyist…do the world a favor and step on the third rail! So, now you work … Continue reading Dear Chris Dodd of the MPAA…SOPA/PIPA NSFW version

Romney: I like being able to fire people…

Mitt Romney, the presidential candidate one pundit described as the candidate who most looks like the guy who laid you off during the recession had this to say in New Hampshire today: “I like being able to fire people who provide services to me.” Granted, the line was taken out of context as he was discussing how people dissatisfied with the service they are getting … Continue reading Romney: I like being able to fire people…

Republican coincidence and payroll tax holidays…

At the end of this month the payroll tax holiday will expire, and if allowed to lapse, it will come as a tax increase for working lower and middle class Americans. The Democrats, including Obama, are in favor of an extension while many Republicans are not. Many Republicans are demanding the extension be offset by spending cuts elsewhere or simply done away with altogether. Why? Simple… According to Macroeconomic … Continue reading Republican coincidence and payroll tax holidays…

BP and Zucotti Park, the divide ain’t just about money…

Last summer, when the Macondo Well was still flowing, the US government allowed British Petroleum to keep the press out of the immediate, oil impacted areas. A number of reasons were given at the time…encroachment on private property, safety of cleanup workers, or keeping press boats from running over boom meant to contain the oil. These reasons were all bullshit, of course. Hell, at first … Continue reading BP and Zucotti Park, the divide ain’t just about money…

A day late and a dollar short…

I know I said I’d be back on Monday, so I’m late, my bad… been doing some thinking this week about the website, reading the news, hanging out, taking a break…etc…and the one thing I can’t seem to get out of my head is this… The number of people from Transocean, Halliburton and British Petroleum who have spent a day in jail as a result … Continue reading A day late and a dollar short…

An open letter to the President, and both the Democratic and Republican Parties…

Hell, even GW Bush is impressed with how far to the right you managed to push budget negotiations… you know, to help the people you uh, you promised to help? Hello… So, I might as well address this to the highest ranking of you, though I’m not so sure that’s something to be proud of these days…in fact, from where I sit it’s something to … Continue reading An open letter to the President, and both the Democratic and Republican Parties…

So the GOP response to economic inequality is…

…running away? …especially when they can’t control who will be in the audience? …especially when many in that audience think Eric Cantor and the GOP response form a large part of the overall problem, championing many policies that cause much of the afore-mentioned economic inequality? Okay then, glad we got that settled. Eric Cantor and the GOP’s official response to issues raised by the Occupy Protests is as follows: gulp … Continue reading So the GOP response to economic inequality is…