HeartThais Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 You mean like this? http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/EMRATIO/ No, I don't think we are at Depression level unemployment or else we'd be seeing much worse. I suspect the numbers are closer than they appear because there were more able-bodied people who had never worked prior to the Great Depression that were suddenly coaxed into wanting to work (e.g. middle-class housewives). Also, our definition of full employment has changed a lot. Either way we are definitely falling off a cliff. One huge difference is that in the past we could cut the base rate in half and spark a recovery but this time we are at zero. Hence why our only remedy is fiscal stimulus or in HH's language "pushing us off a cliff". Take a look at this graph and ask yourself when was the last time we were at zero fed funds rates: http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/TB3MS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 When I got out of school, I held one manufacturing job after another. Now there are none. There are also no mining jobs. We make just about nothing; instead we are super consumers. The basis of our economy has changed. If you don't work for the government, work for a call service or collection agency, or sell worthless Chinese crap, you might be unemployed. It behoves me why people wonder why our economy is in the toilet, it is because we are in the toilet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faustian Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 Funny that an outsider such as yourself thinks that Rush is the leading Republican on all things political . HH Funny how you misinterpret and can't follow a thread accurately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 If you want to have some fun, you should listen to Mark Levine. The man is a raving maniac. He makes Rush look mild. He favorite expression is: "Get off my show, you moron!" Even Hannity rants and raves a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 Funny that an outsider such as yourself thinks that Rush is the leading Republican on all things political . HH Please correct me, if I am wrong. Who is the leader? Who are the leaders? Who is driving the discourse about the future of the party? . . . . What I know is that the US system is a "media democracy" in which the those who have the highest visibility in the media are seen as the parties leaders. Many of the political events - like the conventions - are completely staged for the media and often are lacking content. Palin is a perfect example for this. She was not nominated for what she did and for the quality of her work since, but just for what she represented. Rush of course is a special case: he is the part of the media and part of the party of the same time. I don't know any other western democracy in which the lines are so much blurred between commenting politics and doing politics. And HE is currently (we will see for how long) driving the discourse and controlling major parts of the party. Or how could you explain that leading GOP members had to apologize to him? For those who had to do it was a major loss of face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 Rush has a fairly large following in which some of them listen only to his 'words of wisdom'. There are some followers who will also listen to Hannity and Mark Levine. When you speak to a Conservative, Rush's name just about always comes up in conversation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 Funny that an outsider such as yourself thinks that Rush is the leading Republican on all things political . Funny how the Chairman of the party and a number of GOP Senators & Congressmen are made to pubically suck Rush's dick a day after (justifiably) criticizing his statements. You tell me who's the boss... Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted March 12, 2009 Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 Greenbert and Carville...now there's a pair to draw to. It's hilarious how the lefties need to go after a nut case like Limbaugh and try to define him as a GOP stallwart to detract from the the actions of the Demoncrat congress and Obama. I couldn't believe that Obama would give Limbaugh the time of day, much less react to something Limbaugh said. If that's the case, Obama is gonna be pretty busy answering Limbaugh's attacks, cuz Limbaugh eats up recognition...and the Demoncrats are giving him more than his share. You are a good little Faux News watcher, I see HH. You can't compare Carville to Limbaugh. I saw the bit you are slyly referring to, Fox News' Bill Sammon's piece: [color:purple]On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, just minutes before learning of the terrorist attacks on America, Democratic strategist James Carville was hoping for President Bush to fail, telling a group of Washington reporters: "I certainly hope he doesn't succeed." Carville was joined by Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg, who seemed encouraged by a survey he had just completed that revealed public misgivings about the newly minted president. "We rush into these focus groups with these doubts that people have about him, and I'm wanting them to turn against him," Greenberg admitted. The pollster added with a chuckle of disbelief: "They don't want him to fail. I mean, they think it matters if the president of the United States fails." Minutes later, as news of the terrorist attacks reached the hotel conference room where the Democrats were having breakfast with the reporters, Carville announced: "Disregard everything we just said! This changes everything!"[/color] So this has our hero HH pointing to a possible double-standard. I get the argument: a prominent Democrat wanted Bush to fail; a prominent Republican wants Obama to fail. Limbaugh is getting pilloried for his comments, so Carville deserves equal scorn. There are two problems with this. First, we don't have the full quote or context with Carville. "I certainly hope he doesn't succeed" could refer more generally to the president's success in passing his agenda. Likewise, hoping a focus group dislikes what the president is saying seems pretty routine. "I want the stimulus package to fail," meanwhile, lacks ambiguity. I think there's a problem with false equivalence here. Second, and more important, is the fact that the anecdote from Fox News' Sammon does more to reinforce the progressive argument than undermine it. Note that Carville was bashing Bush, right up until he learned of a major crisis, at which point the Democratic consultant said, "This changes everything!" And that's largely the point. In 2001, in a time of crisis, even the most die-hard Democrats changed direction and said they hoped a conservative Republican president succeeded. And in 2009, in the midst of another crisis, die-hard Republicans are still putting party and ideology above patriotism. So HH and his pals perceive this Fox News revelation as evidence of a double-standard. I'm afraid they have it backwards. Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh_Hoy Posted March 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 Seems you watch Fox News more than I do. :content: That's okay. Fox's viewship is the largest by far when it comes to news. And you might actually learn something worthwhile. FWIW, I never saw the piece to which you are referring. Usually watch CNN, if anything. Well. fuck me. I guess I'm not a "patriot" cus I, too, hope Obama doesn't succeed in his socialist agenda. If I had hoped so, I would have voted for him. Keep on truckin'. HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh_Hoy Posted March 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2009 When you speak to a Conservative, Rush's name just about always comes up in conversation. Interesting. I can't remember the last time Rush's name came up in talking with my conservative friends. HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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