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Weekend Update 10-22-2011

Posted: October 22nd, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Weekend Update | 4 Comments »

What’s the Greek for “ruled by spoiled brats”?

The GMO Emperor has no clothes!

Wall Street is whining.

Intimate Violence: Purity. Perhaps not an easy post for many to read, but one that more should read.

Frequent Bible reading can make you liberal.

I was going to do a post on the math behind Cain’s 9-9-9 plan that walked people through the process of looking at their last Federal income tax return and budget and figuring out what the impact would be on them personally. (Since apparently a large segment of our population is incapable of doing elementary school level arithmetic.) I still may if things slow down at work. In the meantime, this post has some charts that should be pretty easy for most people to understand even if the words between the pictures are beyond them.

US pay data is awful. Things are continuing to get worse. Not that I think it will have any meaningful impact on voting patterns. The American people no longer seem to be able to evaluate truth claims, even ridiculous ones like most of what we’re hearing from the current incarnation of the GOP.

For Republicans, the laws of economics change when it’s an oil company rather than a school district doing the hiring. Classic. We’re down 14 million jobs. Obama’s plan (which probably repeats the mistake of his last plan by being too small) will create 1-2 million jobs next year according to multiple independent estimates. The petroleum industry inflated report claims at best 200,000 jobs in 2012 at the cost of polluted air and water. (And if you believe their claims, there’s this bridge in Brooklyn I’m offering at a great price.) So remind me, why are people voting for these greed-consumed candidates who aren’t even bothering to hide their blatant self-interest?

Of course, as the current sociological studies referenced by Rob Bell in this sermon all show, they are actually deluded about what’s in their self-interest. The strongest predictor of social health is an inverse relationship with income inequality — that is the gap between the poorest 20% and the richest 20%. And as social health declines, life spans decrease, divorce rates increase, crime increases, and the negative impacts are felt across the board — including the top 20%. By striving to increase their percentage of the aggregate wealth of our country, the richest Americans are actually working against their own self-interest. But then, that’s what Christianity has always taught. When you are bound by a passion, you suffer from its effects and often can’t even see the damage until it’s too late or almost too late. The passion of greed is no different in that regard, and may be even more subtle and pernicious than many of the others. Perhaps that’s why Jesus spent so much time talking about it compared to all the rest. (UPDATE: Check next week’s update for a video by Richard Wilkinson discussing the findings Rob references in more detail.)

Right now, Generation X just wants a beer and to be left alone. Funny and in some ways true.

Here’s what the Wall Street protestors are upset about. It’s a pretty good set of graphs.

A running meter showing the cost of the tax cuts to the wealthiest 5% of Americans.

The Walken Dead

Things you put in your mouth, but don’t swallow …

Doctor Who: Regeneration. All of them in 10 minutes.

Scorn in the USA. Jon Stewart, as usual, is right on target. The GOP loves America, they just hate most Americans.

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