Mar
25
2011
2

Propaganda drill, 3/25/11

Just in case anyone else has those occasional niggling doubts that hm, maybe we are all “living beyond our means” after all and shouldn’t let hysteria over rich bankers etc. distract us from this reality…

Apparently GE paid zero federal taxes last year. Yes, that’s right, out of earnings of 14.2 BILLION dollars, and 5.1 billion officially “from U.S. operations,” they paid taxes amounting to:

$0.00

I think this should settle those doubts, then.

In fact, it might settle quite a lot of doubts, if this news were to get any kind of coverage outside of the Times and an NPR.org blog post which was buried beneath a flurry of subsequent posts within hours.

But, then, perhaps there’s a reason why a company named “General Electric” owns so many media organizations.

Aug
26
2010
1

Obama’s Mission Accomplished

Well, that big health care reform legislative death-march for the sake of which pretty much every other priority was jettisoned sure was worthwhile, wasn’t it?

From NPR: California Approves Anthem Blue Cross Rate Hike

Remind me again, someone, of how we liberals are unreasonable and delusional for being so discouraged by the utter failure to pass meaningful energy/environment legislation, to advance the cause of gay rights, to close Gitmo, to quit dithering around in overseas quagmires, to challenge the ridiculous filibuster, etc., etc., etc.

Remind me, again, how we should be excited by President Obama’s and congressional Democrats’ major victories in saving the economy (for the finance industry, the auto industry and the super-rich; two of which three beneficiaries still loathe their benefactors anyway) and bringing about universal health insurance coverage (by the thoughtful method of introducing fines for failing to purchase the overpriced offerings of private insurance companies, for which a portion of the population will receive a grudging, flint-hearted subsidy, allegedly, someday, though in the meantime private insurers continue to push already unaffordable premiums up, with regulatory approval).

Yeah. I guess this great victory was so worth it, wasn’t it? I’d definitely rather have this wonderful reform which is doing so much to rein in health care costs than a start at securing sustainable energy supplies or a habitable planet for future generations.

In fact, let’s set priorities in all future Democratic governments (if any) by sacrificing everything else in favor of a halfhearted, sellout of an effort to achieve the pet project of the eldest member of the Kennedy dynasty. It’s proved to be such an absolutely fucking brilliant strategy this time, after all.

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