By: Jim Hoover Matt Taibbi in Griftopia does an effective job of tracing the myriad of ways average Americans have been screwed by a wide network of what he calls grifters, or swindlers, in a confidence game that was blessed by government officials in all branches and at most…
By Jim Hoover Political campaigns -- long, cumbersome, intrinsically boring, and wordy – are covered by the media and bloggers, both having the job of making money first, and if their coverage informs the public, that’s an accident. Online especially, all media, including bloggers, thrust with titillating verbal cuts…
By Jim Hoover Republicans are trying to sabotage the economy for political gain. This is the only conclusion we can draw to explain Republican unwillingness to raise the debt ceiling unless Democrats cave to their demands of huge spending cuts. Even worse, Obama will be complicit in this sabotage…
By Jim Hoover If you think that our most influential institutions have not been compromised by the power elite’s money, you only need to look at the Standard and Poor (S&P) credit-rating agency that just downgraded the US’s credit rating from AAA to AA+. You would have to be…
By Jim Hoover Sadly, it is true. Plutocrats are winning the war against the people. And, yes, we should call it a war. Unlike the term’s use in other contexts (war on drugs, for example), it actually is a period of armed conflict between groups: the interests of the…
by Jim Hoover Incredibly, the media has been blaming both Republicans and Democrats for the bogus debt-ceiling crisis. Realistically the blame should be shared 90% Republican and 10% Democrat, basically because Republican debt-ceiling hostage-taking can only be successful if their opponents are cowardly. We are just now seeing some…
By Jim Hoover OK, we probably won’t default. Is it time for rejoicing? Not so much. We supposedly are close to a debt ceiling/budget-cut agreement. Republicans cocked the default gun and held it to Obama’s head. He blinked… again. Don’t worry. The agreement assures that he will blink again….and…
By Jim Hoover I wonder if Barack Obama has the backbone to utilize the 14th Amendment and independently raise the debt ceiling. This should be done – I would say – by Saturday (7/30/2011) at the latest. It is becoming increasingly clear that the Republican caucus in the House…
by Jim Hoover Conservative America would like to keep the bulk of Americans fat, dumb and happy. That is the outgrowth of the conservative building of a proto-fascist country, dominated by large corporations. Activity in Republican-controlled states and the House of Representatives, show the ideas of right-wing corporations like…
by Jim Hoover We made a mistake. We elected Barack Obama in 2008. I want Bernie Sanders of Vermont to run as an independent. His choice and their single-payer health care system choice shows there are smart people in Vermont. We should have supported Hillary over Obama. Can you…