Dennis the Peasant

I'm Not Dead, I Always Smell Like That...

Literally several emails have poured into my mailbox over the past two days, all expressing concern for my well-being. These are unlike the typical emails I get, which are mostly vague threats of political retribution from the mouth-breathing crowd and/or offers for Viagra at very attractive prices. Therefore, I respond and hopefully spare the assembled rabble any further sleepless nights:

Let me assure all of you that I'm just fine.

Or, to be more precise, just fine and real busy. I've had a few deadlines to hit on big client projects and have a few more deadlines to hit soon to satisfy a jackass of a U.S. Attorney in Justice's Columbus office. Add to that a huge roofing project we are starting at a nearby church, and ol' Dennis' mind (such that there is) has been elsewhere.

I'll pick up this tomfoolery soon, but for the next couple of weeks don't expect too much.

God, Am I Smart Or What?

More than a year ago I removed all of posts that had anything to do with Debbie Schussel from Dennis the Peasant. I pronounced her batshit crazy then, and said no good could come to anyone who messed with her in any way. Now the rest of the world seems to finally be catching up to me:

Imagine, if you will, that you're a normal person and then one day a quasi-famous mentally ill blogger becomes fixated on you the way Gollum was fixated on the Ring. Even though she hasn't been setting the world on fire lately, she has been on TV, on the Howard Stern show and she's written for the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, & The Washington Times. Most people in the know realize she's off her rocker, but how many people are in the know? How many fans does she have who don't realize what she's really like?

So this person, this quasi-famous mentally ill blogger, starts claiming you support death threats against her. She tells people you're an anti-Semite. She calls your job and tries to get you fired. When she hears of  people  connected with you, she tries to contact them to lie about you. When people mention your name on the web, she shows up to tell untrue stories about you. Then, she starts going after your friends. She accuses them of supporting death threats against her and being anti-Semitic for being associated with you.

You tried ignoring her. It didn't work. You tried sincerely apologizing for offending her. Not only did it fail, she misrepresented what you apologized for in an effort to use it against you. Since she was a lawyer, you even eventually tried filing a complaint with the Michigan Bar, trying to get them to keep her from obsessively harassing/cyber stalking you;  it didn't work. You hoped, over time, the obsession with you might fade. However, four years have gone by and it's still going as strong as it was in the beginning.

This, my friends, is not a rhetorical discussion. The victim here is named Emily Zanotti. The quasi-famous mentally ill blogger I'm speaking of is Debbie Schlussel.

Here's the part lot of people don't get: Just because a crazy person hates some of the things (and people) you hate, that doesn't make them only kinda crazy. Or less crazy. Or safe to be around crazy.

Think Rand (and for that matter, Ron) Paul.

And while I hate to be the wet blanket here, it needs to be mentioned that despite Debbuh's so-called "fine work" in uncovering the Vast Muslim Conspiracy in Detroit and its environs, the fact is that anyone paying attention could have easily seen that the woman was flat-out nuts from Day One. And guess what?

Consorting with people who are flat-out nuts can lead to BAD THINGS happening.

Don't get me wrong: I feel bad that Hawkins, Zanotti and others are having the troubles they are. But it should have been very obvious to all from the get-go that Debbuh was someone to be avoided at all costs. Hawkins chose to ignore the warnings because he liked the intensity of her hatred for Muslims and the like. And now it seems to coming as a surprise to him that that's the intensity with which she hates everyone.

This ain't rocket science, kids, and it's worth repeating: You hang around crazy people and BAD THINGS happen.

BAD.THINGS.HAPPEN.

So if you ever wonder why you don't see me mocking Pammycakes these days, now you have your answer.

The Only Thing Missing...

It strikes me that the only thing missing from Obama's big speech was a presidential sweater...

Then again, it is June and we're in the midst of a Global Warming Crisis.

Still, it would have been a nice visual cue for those of us who remember the futility of Jimmy Carter.

An Eleven Word Summation Of The President's Speech. With Apologies To The Late Warren Zevon.

Send lawyers, guns and money. The shit has hit the fan.  - Warren Zevon, Lawyers, Guns and Money 

Well, I went home with a donor
The way I always do
How was I to know
She was with the Bushies, too

I was gambling in the Gulf
I took a little risk
Send lawyers, thugs and money
Rahm, get me out of this

I'm the innocent bystander
Somehow I got stuck
Between the rock and the hard place
And I'm down on my luck
And I'm down on my luck
And I'm down on my luck

Now I'm hiding in the White House
I'm a desperate man
Send lawyers, thugs and money
The shit has hit the fan

Send lawyers, thugs and money...

What Would The Obama Administration Do?

What would Barack's Brainiacs do to deal with a crisis like this?

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) - About 100 professional clowns who make money by performing on public buses marched through Salvadoran capital Thursday to protest the killing of a passenger by two imposter clowns.

On Monday, a man was shot five times in the face and stomach when he declined to give money to two assailants dressed as clowns who boarded a public bus. No one has been arrested.

The protesters - wearing oversized bow ties, tiny hats and big yellow pants - marched down San Salvador's main street in an effort to both entertain and educate passersby. Several held signs insisting that real clowns are not criminals.

Well, I think it fair to say they'd ignore it for a month or so, send in some lawyers, vow to kick some clown ass, and then make a speech.

Then again, they could simply hire the real clowns to assist BP's senior management with containment and clean-up. It might lead to some overcrowding on the beaches, but hey, I'm sure it's the sort of risk our Fearless President would be willing to take...

Not Even Cute And Fuzzy Bunnies Can Stop Him Now...

The ever-fearless Rufus T. Firefly leaps quickly into action to save Gaia from catastrophe:

WASHINGTON — President Obama will use his first Oval Office speech Tuesday night to outline a plan to legally compel BP to create an escrow account to compensate businesses and individuals for their losses from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, administration officials said on Sunday.

Unless those Justice Department lawyers can absorb oil when dipped in the Gulf, I think this measure falls short. And Rufus wouldn't be Rufus if he didn't manage to make the oil spill all about himself...

It would be part of a week of activities intended to convey presidential command of a crisis that continues to test both the government and the company.

Wasn't the whole ass-kicking thingy supposed to do that? Has the White House come to the conclusion that Rufus lacks street cred? How can this be, given just how fearful we white folks are of angry negroes?

Beyond that, it's worth noting that the New York Times wouldn't be the New York Times if it didn't try to peddle this sort of line while wearing a straight face:

The actions reflect the administration’s efforts, nearly two months into the crisis, to telegraph a take-charge decisiveness when Mr. Obama and the federal government are all but powerless to actually resolve the calamity, given the sheer technological challenge of plugging a leak a mile below the gulf’s surface. Mr. Obama’s actions this week, together with events in Congress, put BP on the defensive more than at any other time since the explosion.

Wow. Telegraphing take-chargedness. At the two month mark. Not even cute and fuzzy bunnies can stop ol' Rufus now...

Note: Damn good thing Bush ain't around. He'd be just the type of president to ignore the whole thing.

Oh Noes! The Negroes Are Growin' Restless!!!

Bolt the door and grab the shotgun, Jethro, the negroes are growin' restless:

Here's proof that President Obama has indeed ushered in a new era in race relations. Who would have ever expected some white Americans to demand that an African-American man show more rage? If you've followed the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, you've heard the complaints that Obama isn't showing enough emotion. But scholars say Obama's critics ignore a lesson from American history: Many white Americans don't like angry black men.

Scholars say it, and CNN repeats it, so it must be true.

I know in my case, I find nothing more irritating than having surly household help. And don't even get me started on that waiter down at the country club. Christ, it's to the point where I'm almost ready to welcome all those illegal Meskins slinking out of Arizona. At least I might have a chance at getting a houseboy who could manage a smile while earning his minimum wages...

Of course, it could just be that white Americans prefer their presidents show competence along with their coolness. Maybe what white Americans don't like are incompetent presidents. Think about it. How much love have you seen the American public throw Jimmy Carter's way over the past thirty years? And let's not forget, Bill Clinton was our first black president, and he got pissed lots of times. That didn't stop white Americans from choosing him over Bob Dole, and you'd be hard pressed to find anybody whiter than Bob Dole.

Displays of pointless macho manly anger are all fine in their place - which is usually in the middle of a WWF pay-per-view - but Barack Obama getting all angry and whatnot doesn't change the fact that he's simply screwed the pooch on this one. Rather than sit around wondering why Barack Obama isn't throwing fits over Deepwater Horizon, wouldn't it make more sense to wonder why he hasn't done anything other than send a few Justice Department lawyers to the Gulf Coast?

Then again, CNN wouldn't be CNN if they asked that sort of question.

Hypocrisy Cuts Both Ways, Or, Falling Out Of Love The Progressive Way...

Well, it seems Blanche Lincoln managed to survive the challenger of this week's Progressive Golden Boy, Bill Halter. Not that it really matters, most likely either would end up toast in November. In any event, some progressives aren't happy with the Obama Administration for supporting Lincoln and some of the Obama drones aren't happy with progressives for supporting Halter:

A senior White House official just called me with a very pointed message for the administration's sometime allies in organized labor, who invested heavily in beating Blanche Lincoln, Obama's candidate, in Arkansas.

"Organized labor just flushed $10 million of their members' money down the toilet on a pointless exercise," the official said. "If even half that total had been well-targeted and applied in key House races across this country, that could have made a real difference in November."

Beyond noting that this sort of wastage couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of people, it's worth mentioning that there's some serious progressive hypocrisy in this mix. A perfect example is this bit of nonsense from the mighty KOS - Markos Moulitsas - himself:

The GOP establishment tries to nominate electable candidates, and gets sabotaged by the teabaggers. We're trying to nominate electable candidates, and we get sabotaged by the Democratic Party establishment. We won in Pennsylvania, lost in Arkansas. You can't win them all. But make no mistake -- we made the politically smart move.

Of course, the reality of the matter is that Markos Moulitsas is just as much a part of the "Democratic Party establishment" as Blanche Lincoln.

Lest we forget, when push came to shove during the fight over health care reform, Markos - and the vast majority of self-identified progressive activists - happily did the "Democratic Party establishment's" bidding. Markos happily ignored the implications of Obama's PhRMA deal when told to, and dropped single payer... as instructed.

And lest we continue to forget, Markos also made a point of slagging Jane Hamsher on TV when she refused to do the "Democratic Party establishment" bidding on single payer.

Evidently this sort of thing boils down to keeping some self-esteem as well as a bit of street cred for the so-called progressive activists such as KOS. Markos and the Usual Suspects want to believe - quite desperately, it appears - that somehow the Great Progressive Sell-Out never really happened. They want this to be the fault of someone else. In other words... 

When we sell out, it's pragmatism. When they are pragmatic, it's a sell out.

Good luck with that, Markos. 

Personally, I Blame Bush...

The next Paul Krugman furrows his wide, gently sloping brow and decides it's all the fault of the vast right-wing conspiracy:

If fiscal stimulus is so great, then why hasn’t the Obama administration’s massive stimulus program helped improve the economy? Well, via Mark Thoma, the answer is that there hasn’t been any net fiscal stimulus, all the Obama administration’s efforts plus the automatic stabilizers have done is mitigate the contractionary impact of state and local policy:

But it’s important to remember that the proper measure for fiscal stimulus is not spending by the federal government; it is spending by all levels of government. And when you look at the contributions to US GDP growth (Table 1.1.2 at the BEA site), total government spending has been a drag on growth over the past two quarters. The increases at the federal level have not been enough to compensate for the spending cuts at the local and state levels.

[.....]

Looked at comprehensively, what the country has been implementing is a mild version of the conservative policy prescription for boosting growth—fire bureaucrats and trim spending. And it’s not working very well. And with continuing economic weakness, state and local governments are set for further trimming even as federal stimulus winds down. This is going to be a disaster. Nothing about having economically pressed jurisdictions lay off huge quantities of teachers is going to improve the situation.

It's like Obama, Reid and Pelosi never existed, isn't it?

Here in Ohio (and we're far from unique in this regard) we have a state constitution that doesn't allow deficit spending. If the state is running a deficit, then the governor and state legislators are legally bound to either cut spending or raise taxes. And guess what? Neither party has shown any inclination to put a tax increase on the table.

That's called bowing to the will of the electorate.

What Little One doesn't understand is this: There is no free lunch. Many states - and even more municipalities - do not have the federal government's luxury of running massive deficits year after year after year. They have to actually choose whether to cut spending or attempt to pass tax increases.

Where Matty less ignorant of the subject, you could accuse him of intellectual bankruptcy. What you can easily accuse him of is intellectual dishonesty. That's because... 

Any fool could have told you two years ago that state and municipal spending was going to contract significantly. Those same fools could have also told you that any fiscal stimulus package - in order to be really effective as stimulus - was going to have to be of a size that compensated for said contractions.

Obama, Reid and Pelosi didn't do that.

Why? Well, in the first place the fiscal stimulus bill wasn't really a stimulus bill. It was pork. It was a warm personal gesture from one portion of the Democratic Party to another portion of the Democratic Party. And in the second place, fiscally conservative and centrist Democrats in the House and Senate wouldn't go along with a larger bill.

This had nothing to do with either fiscal conservatives or fiscal conservatism. It has everything to do with Team Obama's cluelessness in all things economic. 

More Coq Au Vin?

While Little Matty is busy being stupid in China, one of his drones - in this case Jamelle Bouie - is busy being stupid right here:

Researchers at the University of Washington further illustrate the link between poverty and obesity:

The percentage of food shoppers who are obese is almost 10 times higher at low-cost grocery stores compared with upscale markets, a small new study shows.

[.....]

It’s not that healthier ingredients are absent or too expensive — even lower-priced supermarkets have plenty of fresh produce available — it’s that preparing those meals requires more time and energy than is available to most lower-income people. Cooking takes time, and after a long day of hard work in low-wage employment, parents want to relax, and the incredible ease of fast and processed food is a powerful lure. Indeed, if there’s any advantage to lower-income grocery stores Kroger or Wal-Mart, it’s that calorie dense foods — cookies, frozen pizza, Easy Mac — are cheap and readily available.

Whereas us middle-class folks come home from work rested and refreshed... Ready to tackle that seven course dinner we promised our children only that morning while preparing their sack lunches of leftover Beef Wellington,Yangshuo style eggplant and spiced applesauce cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

Is there some sort of rule at Think Progress that every public policy issue it touches much be reduced to complete drivel for the benefit of its readership?