What Digby Said...

Ok, I'm stealing a tag line from Atrios over at Eschaton, but this post from Hullabaloo:

It's one thing to tell 23 years-olds that they get to have fun with their social security taxes. They are young and dumb and don't have clue about saving. But once people get into their 30s and have kids and old parents they start to think about the future.

is pretty much said what I thought when the shit started hitting the fan in Wall Street and Mr. McPrivatization started talking about our economy be fundamentally strong. Well, the first thing was, "See...see you dumb asses! THAT'S why we shouldn't invest our Social Security in the stock market."

The thing that really kills is one of my friends looked at me when I said this and replied, "Yeah but I still think we need to invest the SS money in something like mutual funds." This friend is really a fairly normal, intelligent guy but somehow he had some kind of disconnect in his brain that mutual funds were actually a collection of various investments including stocks and that they would almost assuredly would get hit by the same economic problems that would crash the stock market.

Arrgh.

$750,000 Buys a LOT of Arugula, Even at Whole Foods

CNN's Hardball, without Chris Matthews had a fascinating segment last Friday on whether Barak Obama is too cool. The segment was basically a rehash of whether Obama is too "elitist" to understand what its like to be an average American. I suppose this may be a legitimate question. Everybody wants a president that is in touch with the day to day problems that we encounter: the price of food, increasing gas prices and the like. However, instead of having a real discussion of the topic the one of the Hardball panel members, Margaret Carlson, tries to make the point that both candidates wives are out of touch citing Cindy McCain's one month $750,000 credit card bill and the fact that Michelle Obama mentioned shopping at Whole Foods for arugula and how hard it is to get fresh fruit. (h/t Crooks & Liars) She says this seemingly very seriously and without irony. Her fellow panel members don't protest her comparison they just kind of snicker in the background when she says "arugula."

Now let me get this straight. Michelle Obama worries about high food prices when she shops at Whole Foods for arugula and fresh fruit and this makes her as elitist and out of touch as Cindy McCain who runs up a $750,000 credit card bill in a month? You have got to be kidding me!

Look, I don't buy arugula, but I do shop at Whole Foods for organic fruits and vegetables when I can afford it. Whole Foods is expensive but spending $5.00 a pound for lettuce or whatever doesn't make you an elitist it makes you someone who likes a kick ass fresh salad. Practically everyone goes food shopping and worries about prices but when was the last time you had a $750,000 credit card bill?

I hate the word 'elitist" but if you are going to apply it to one person in this scenario it sure as hell isn't going to be Michelle Obama. This is one of many examples of the media trying to make a controversy or create a story where one doesn't exist. It's really sad that they spend their time on this type of thing instead of comparing what the candidates are saying or doing.

Actually Republicans DO Have Horns Growing Out Of Their Heads They Just File Them Down

or Overheard At The Coffee Shop

I like to write at coffee shops. Getting out of the house or the office helps me focus on my writing instead of the television, chores that need to be done or other distractions.

Coffee shops can also provide a good source of material for rants, blog posts, fiction and articles. Today, for example I was sitting at Zeitgeist in Pioneer Square just drinking my latte (no I don't wear Birkenstocks) and doing a little bit of writing when three guys sat down at the next table and started talking a bit too loudly. I was doing a pretty good job of ignoring them until one of them said...

"...a Republican and you don't have horns growing out of your head."

That got me thinking, and you know what... Republicans DO have horns growing out of their head most of them just file them down. For example:

FOX News: Files their horns down with "Fair and Balanced"
Bill O'Reilly: "No Spin Zone"
John McCain: "Straight Talk Express"
George W. Bush: Good ol' boy, man of the pepple, werkin' at his ranch
Dick Cheney: ...wait you can actually SEE his horns if you squint just right.

My point is that Republicans get upset when people see them as evil bastards but they don't do anything to disavow themselves of the elements of their party that are either pretty damn evil or are evil enablers; you know "the guy who runs in to the convenience store to get Satan a pack of cigarettes."