Comments on: Sharon's Covert Ops Gets You a Look Inside the New Stimulus Package

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:34:58 +0000

I couldn’t laugh – perhaps I’ve seen too much. Perhaps because I take the transit system through downtown each day to see all the newly homeless beggars. Or the lost young adults dealing in drugs and sex to survive in the hopeless consumer reality. All this in a well-off oil and gas town!

The American Experiment collapsed in 30′s, with various indulgent anarchies (military, corporate, markets, etc.) from then on in. The reasons behind the recent excesses on Wall Street is that collectively we’re outstripping ecological and resource systems. The 40′s-60′s were a blip since the exploitation rate was set so high we were giddy with delusional expectations. Thus, for the rich to get richer, then the poor (middle class) must get poorer. And it has gotten bad enough that the transfer of wealth has achieved epic multi-generational levels.

So, with apologies to Sharon and the other contributors, I really can’t laugh right now, which I accept is just my hang up. But I can’t keep my growing fear bottled up. I have grown fearful of the social dimension to the problems we face – once multi-generational expectations are set, how likely is it for peace, governance and good order to adjust the in-place systems. I fear a protracted, asymmetrical class war is about to begin.

By: RC

RC — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:53:18 +0000

I loved the run down, but I think the oil rich nations and a couple of others pretty much already own the 50 States and they bought them “as is” so the shining up won’t really be necessary.
I do realize that satirizing the absurd is a difficult task. Living in a third world country for 30 years I saw a long time ago that Kafka’s take on the legal and bureaucratic traps were actually very mild. Try obtaining business permits in Puerto Rico sometime and you will see the direction the US is headed.
The “bail out” or “buy in” strategies being improvised in DC each day are straight out of some kind of bizarre alternative economic universe, but yet, all too real, and thus, very scary.
They are funny, really funny, but not “funny ha-ha”, as my Mom always says.

By: Geoff Trowbridge

Geoff Trowbridge — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:18:10 +0000

Ay, pretty depressing indeed. I do hope the play of events doesn’t quite turn out like Sharon described; I’m generally of a mind that things always end up not as bad as we fear and not as good as we hope- simply mixed. Every time I go to the New York Times website, I wonder what the economic headlines will read, it seems like it swings up and down every day.

Along with somebody else, I’ve started up a group blog, which is the website I’ve linked to, trying to get a grip on all of this economic/ecological/building -a-better-future stuff, in a holistic way. Anybody is more than welcome to comment on what we’ve written so far, and our hope is to have lots of different writers on it, putting in their different perspectives. If you want, check it out.

namaste, Geoff

By: conchscooter

conchscooter — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:36:27 +0000

I find this package so stimulating I’m ready to throw myslef between Ben and his valet. Just as I did between Joerg and his deputy chief.

By: Sharon

Sharon — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:03:38 +0000

I definitely did not suggest that Palin would shoot senior citizens . Actually, I didn’t malign her that much – at worst, I implied that she didn’t get that playing dice with the devil is never a winning game.

Sharon

By: Traverse Davies

Traverse Davies — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:35:31 +0000

Hey Brad K:

Actually historically taxing corporations is one of the best things you can do for the economy. Every time that whole “Drop corporate taxes and jobs will happen” thing has been tried, it has failed miserably. When you charge corporations a decent tax rate and then put more of that money in the hands of people, it works out better.

By: knutty knitter

knutty knitter — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:22:19 +0000

Love it Sharon. Sometimes I’m so glad I’m not an American!

viv in nz

By: annette

annette — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 04:10:06 +0000

okay coleen, now I really have to respond to you. Apparently you don’t know what a craps game is. Sharon did NOT say that Sara Palin would “SHOOT” senior citizens – she said Sara Palin would “shoot for” – that is “shoot” the DICE, which is what you play craps with, for senior citizens’ chances at retirement. As a very-nearly senior citizen myself, I appreciate this image and think it very likely that a McCain-Palin administration would cut social security, so I don’t think it is a cheap shot at all.

By: annette

annette — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:59:58 +0000

Palin “the smartest woman who ever lived”?!! Good god, NormalMiddle, what planet are you living on? The woman comes across as one of the DUMBEST human beings who ever lived, possibly more stupid than the current occupant of the white house, hard as that is to believe. And worse, she has been unbelievably racist and allowed the ugliest sort of hate speech to go unchallenged at her political events. I am only marginally happier with the Democrats than the Republicans (they’re all pretty much owned by their corporate masters as far as I can see), but I think Palin is a sorry excuse for a human being and would be by far the worst Vice President we’ve ever had, making even people like Spiro Agnew, who was a total crook look good . . .

By: coleen

coleen — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:44:59 +0000

Sharon:
I really love your column but must protest (no matter what your political side or morbid humor) at the comment about Sarah Palin shooting senior citizens. Please don’t soil your reputation that way. I know it is bad, I am hunkering down for the worst, but you of all people who tell us to be nice to our neighbors should remember we have a lot of neighbors in this very small word. Cheap shots just aren’t you. C