Fred Thompson explains the economy ' situation' . by AURaptor

America loves a winner!

The man nails it, spot on. Damn, I wish I could have voted for him instead of McCain.

It is not those who use the term "Islamo-Fascism" who are sullying the name of Islam; it is the Islamo-Fascists. - Dennis Prager

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Friday, December 5, 2008 1:21 PM

STORYMARK

Yeah, it would have been cool if he got the nom. So that after he lost, I could chuckle every time and old Law & Order came on.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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Friday, December 5, 2008 1:45 PM

America loves a winner!

Hey story, that was really relevant to the issue at hand, and worth while for the reading. Seriously, keep up the witty, on target replies. We're all better for it. Honest.

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Friday, December 5, 2008 2:23 PM

BLUESUNCOMPANYMAN

Way to go Fred. This is great.

"And for all you nay-sayers out there who say that we could never pay off these new trillions of dollars of obligations when we already have a 30-40 trillon dollar shortfall, and our medicare, medicaid, and social security programs which are on the path to bankrupcy; I can only say...........
YES WE CAN!!"

HA!
Thanks rap

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Friday, December 5, 2008 2:27 PM

Freedom is Important because People are Important

Hello,

Is there a transcript of this? I can't watch videos from my current location.

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

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Friday, December 5, 2008 3:26 PM

BLUESUNCOMPANYMAN

Quote:
Originally posted by AnthonyT:
Is there a transcript of this? I can't watch videos from my current location.

Here you go. You don't want to know how hard I worked to transcibe it since I couldn't find it online.

Hello, I’m Fred Thompson, and I’m bringing you a little holiday cheer.

No..No..I’m not talking about that kind of cheer. I’m talking about some good news regarding the economy! You see, I’ve been with the government in Washington so I’ve come to understand the complexities of the economy that may be over the head of the average person who only applies common sense to these matters. So what’s the good news? Well, first a little history:

How did we get into this economic mess? Well…spending. We spent our way here. No generation of Americans have ever spent more than we have. Now, you’ve heard all the talk about people (with the governments encouragement) buying houses that they couldn’t afford, and wall street re-packaging those risky mortgages into riskier instruments and selling them to even bigger fools than they were all based upon the notion that housing prices would go up forever. They were doing all this with unsecured borrowed money. If you work in tall buildings in New York and make millions of dollars every year that’s called “leverage”. If you work just about anywhere else its called “living above your means”. But housing was just the tip of the iceberg. For a good while there, it seemed like we were all on a national borrowing-spending-consuming binge. We saved very little. And of course the bubble burst. But, here’s the good news. The government has figured out what we should do:

More borrowing. More spending and consuming.

That’s right. We can spend our way to prosperity! The floodgates are now officially open. On borrowed money, we can bail out and reward irresponsible home buyers, greedy Wall Street executives, and big businesses that can’t cut it in the marketplace. And the rest of us can just buy more stuff. You know? To save the economy.

Now you may have noticed that the bailout plan changes every few days in Washington but it’s not like they don’t know what they’re doing. Government officials assure us that things will be much worse without their plan. Whatever that plan turns out to be. But it’s not as if they’re throwing money around indiscriminately. No. Not just everyone can qualify for this bailout money. There are strict criteria in order to qualify for a bailout. Recipients must have screwed up on a monumental scale. No little screwups will be rewarded.

Now the government has just assumed this last year almost 8 trillion dollars in obligations. That’s about half the size of our entire economy. So we’re really getting on top of this thing. But our government alone can’t spend all of this money. You have to help! You will be required to spend more money too! This brings us to the miracle of the stimulus package.

The government plans to borrow additional billions of dollars so they can send it to us and we can turn around and spend it. We’ll be encouraged not to save it, but to spend it. Immediately. Thereby reviving the economy. Of course this didn’t work out to well in the great depression but we’re told by reputable economists that it was because we didn’t spend enough. We’re not going to make that mistake again!

Now, there have been a lot of good ideas about to get this money into peoples hands quickly. Some have suggested for example that we drop it by airplane. But that leaves something to be desired, some people will have bigger rakes than others. It won’t be distributed equitably. My favorite stimulus idea is to give everybody who needs a job a shovel. We’ll put half the people to work digging holes, and get the other half to fill them up. Everybody gets a check and the unemployment problem is solved. And there is no limit to the number of holes we can get Americans to dig and fill. Of course severe penalties would have to be imposed on anyone caught saving.

There is an important part of this “spend yourself to prosperity” plan. The government has most recently come up with an 800 billion dollar plan, designed to make it easier to run up your credit card debt. I’m not kidding! I know you’ve always been told that’s the last thing you should do but who are you going to listen to? Your financial advisor or the government? I’ll bet you never got a check from your financial advisor. The plan will also make it easier for people to re-finance their mortgages so that they will have additional borrowed money that they can then go out and spend.

Okay…I know what you’re thinking: “I thought we said we got into this trouble by borrowing, spending, and not saving.” Well, that’s true. But as Washington experts and politicians have tried to explain to us—the way to get out of this mess is to double down on the stuff that got us into the mess in the first place. A nod to the gentleman who at my last lecture who said that this sounded like telling a fat guy that the way to lose weight is to eat more donuts. I can only say that there are clearly some among us who still don’t quite understand the sophistication of the new economy. The experts say “Sure we still need to save more, but not yet” That can only come after we have spent enough to ensure prosperity. So we can’t afford to save right now, we can only afford to spend.

Now for those of you that think that this sounds absurd, and insist on applying old concepts of common sense, I can only point out (to re-assure you) that this is all being presided over by the same politicians, government officials, business execs, and economists who have guided us to where we are today. So obviously these people have the necessary experience to guide us through these tough economic times.

Fortunately the president-elect promises to even more aggressively follow these policies. Now the confidence that these policies have engendered in the marketplace is reflected in the lofty heights to which the stock market has risen. And for all of you nay-sayers out there who say that we can never pay off these new trillions of dollars of obligations when we already have a 30-40 trillion dollar shortfall, and our Medicare, Medicaid, and social security programs which are all on the paths to bankruptcy, I can only say: YES WE CAN!!

Now for the best part: We can print all the money we need. We own the printing presses. The government plans to create as much money as we need to cover all this. Isn’t it beautiful in its simplicity? Now of course, not too far in the future, we will have rampant inflation, and it’ll take a wheelbarrow of money to buy a loaf of bread, the Chinese will see what is going on and stop lending us money, and our economy will collapse. But the bottom won’t fall out for years. Long enough for our generation to enjoy the benefits of an artificially pumped up economy before we pass the bill on to our children. So this holiday season, be extra nice to the kids. Bless their hearts! They have no idea what’s in store for them! But of course, that’s their problem. Our job—YOUR JOB—this holiday season, is to follow the lead of our government. Spend more than you can afford. Spend more than you can ever possibly pay back.

Ask not what your country can spend for you, ask what you can spend for your country.

Isn’t that what made America great? Happy holiday season.

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Friday, December 5, 2008 3:27 PM

Freedom is Important because People are Important

Hello,

Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

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Friday, December 5, 2008 3:33 PM

Freedom is Important because People are Important

Ha!

This speech is great. Five stars to this man.

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

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Friday, December 5, 2008 3:37 PM

Heh... that was great. He's starting to sound a lot more like Ron Paul now that he's no longer running for office.

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

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Friday, December 5, 2008 3:39 PM

Hmmm, hafta look into this guy.

He might be worth somethin after all.

-F

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Friday, December 5, 2008 4:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
Hmmm, hafta look into this guy.

He might be worth somethin after all.

-F

It really is sad that our system basically punishes them if they speak with this kind of candor in the campaign. I saw nothing like this from him in the campaign. In fact, it looked like he was severely stifled in the primary debates (probably by 'handlers').

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

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Friday, December 5, 2008 5:08 PM

SIMONWHO

Of course he couldn't speak this way in the campaign. That would prompt the follow-up question "And which party blew all this money on subsidies, wars, big business, etc, etc?"

Still, I'm glad he was putting forward an excellent alternative plan rather than just moaning about the state of affairs his party led us to.

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Friday, December 5, 2008 7:22 PM

America loves a winner!

Quote:
Originally posted by SimonWho:
Of course he couldn't speak this way in the campaign. That would prompt the follow-up question "And which party blew all this money on subsidies, wars, big business, etc, etc?"

Still, I'm glad he was putting forward an excellent alternative plan rather than just moaning about the state of affairs his party led us to.

Actually, he did speak that way, per the illegal immigration issue. And if you paid attention, Fred wasn't talking only about HIS party.

The Dems had the greater part in this, by far.

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 12:56 AM

How about right vs. wrong, rather than the stale and pointless right/left, republican/democrat nonsense, for a change? There's precious little difference between the two parties. Look at the way both sides are teaming up on the bailout scam.

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 1:17 AM

SIMONWHO

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
The Dems had the greater part in this, by far.

Sorry, did something happen during the 8 years of control of all three branches of Government by Republicans that I missed?

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 2:16 AM

America loves a winner!

Barney Frank and Chris Dodd.

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 6:57 AM

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

Hello, I’m Fred Thompson, and I’m bringing you a little holiday cheer.

No..No..I’m not talking about that kind of cheer. I’m talking about some good news regarding the economy! You see, I’ve been with the government in Washington so I know how to skate by on an image and a few buzz words and phrases. Not only that, I’ve come to understand the complexities of the economy that may be over the head of the average person who only applies common sense to these matters. After all, it's just like brain surgery or anything complicated. So what’s the good news? Well, first a little history:

How did we get into this economic mess? Well…spending, and tax cuts. We spent our way here and cut our income. And not only that, we tried to hide the bills by keeping them out of the budget and pay for them by borrowing from the Chinese. But I digress ... No generation of Americans have ever spent more than we have. No administration has ever spent so recklessly, either.

Now, you’ve heard all the talk about people (with the banking industry's encouragement) buying houses that they couldn’t afford, and a de-regulated wall street re-packaging those risky mortgages into riskier instruments and selling them to even bigger fools than they were all based upon the notion that housing prices would go up forever. They were doing all this with unsecured borrowed money, only backed by the value of the property itself, which as we all know, is completely worthless. If you work in tall buildings in New York and make millions of dollars every year that’s called “leverage”. If you work in industry, it's called "investment." If you work just about anywhere else its called “living above your means”. But housing was just the tip of the iceberg. For a good while there, roughly the last nearly 8 years it seemed like we were all on a national borrowing-spending-consuming binge. We saved very little. And of course the bubble burst. But, here’s the good news. The government has figured out what we should do:

More borrowing. More spending and consuming.

That’s right. Throw money on investors to cover their losses ! Don't account for it ! We can squander our way to prosperity! The floodgates are now officially open. On borrowed money, we can bail out and reward irresponsible home buyers, deceptive lenders, greedy Wall Street executives, and big businesses that can’t cut it in the marketplace. And the rest of us can just buy more stuff. At Wal-Mart service economy prices on service economy salaries ! You know? To save the Chinese economy.

Now you may have noticed that the bailout plan changes every few days in Washington but it’s not like they don’t know what they’re doing. Bush has a firm grasp of every nuance and detail, unknotting the knot he made over all these years. Government officials assure us that things will be much worse without their plan. Whatever that plan turns out to be. But it’s not as if they’re throwing money around indiscriminately. No. Not just everyone can qualify for this bailout money. There are strict criteria in order to qualify for a bailout. Recipients must have screwed up on a monumental scale. No little screwups will be rewarded. Only Wall-Street need apply.

Now the government has just assumed this last year almost 8 trillion dollars in obligations. That’s about half the size of our entire economy. So we’re really getting on top of this thing. Because, after all, there's no difference between investing for the future, paying for needed services or throwing money away. It's ALL equally good, or bad !

But our government alone can’t spend all of this money. You have to help! You will be required to spend more money too! Assuming, of course that you will get enough that you might actually try to save some and not just pay down your debt. This brings us to the miracle of the stimulus package.

The government plans to borrow additional billions of dollars so they can send it to us and we can turn around and spend it. We’ll be encouraged not to save it, but to spend it. Immediately. Thereby reviving the economy. Of course this didn’t work out to well in the great depression though we did build an infrastructure people use to this day but we’re told by reputable economists that it was because we didn’t spend enough like we finally did in WWII. We’re not going to make that mistake again!

Now, there have been a lot of good ideas about to get this money into peoples hands quickly. Some have suggested for example that we drop it by airplane. But that leaves something to be desired, some people will have bigger rakes than others. It won’t be distributed equitably. My favorite stimulus idea is to give everybody who needs a job a shovel. We’ll put half the people to work digging holes, and get the other half to fill them up. Everybody gets a check and the unemployment problem is solved. And there is no limit to the number of holes we can get Americans to dig and fill. So forget about our infrastructure ! Forget about research ! Forget about creating a new energy industry ! Forget about any other needs that can be met, problems that can be solved, opportunities that can be seized ! Of course severe penalties would have to be imposed on anyone caught saving. Assuming, again, you have enough to try and save.

There is an important part of this “spend yourself to prosperity” plan. The government has most recently come up with an 800 billion dollar plan, designed to make it easier to run up your credit card debt. I’m not kidding! I know you’ve always been told that’s the last thing you should do but who are you going to listen to? Your financial advisor or the government? I’ll bet you never got a check from your financial advisor. The plan will also make it easier for people to re-finance their mortgages so that they will have additional borrowed money that they can then go out and spend. Or maybe so that they can stay off the streets, pay a portion of their debt instead of defaulting on it all ... but that's not important now.

Okay ... I know what you’re thinking: “I thought we said we got into this trouble by borrowing, spending, and not saving.” Well, that’s true. But as Washington experts and politicians have tried to explain to us—the way to get out of this mess is to double down on the stuff that got us into the mess in the first place. Because, you know, a global economy is just like a household, except of course for trans-national corporations, accumulation of money by a few through profits, the role of government in building and maintaining the infrastructure and other commons, investing in social and other non-corporate opportunities, providing necessary oversight and services and a few other frankly trivial details. A nod to the gentleman who at my last lecture who said that this sounded like telling a fat guy that the way to lose weight is to eat more donuts. I can only say that there are clearly some among us who still don’t quite understand the sophistication of the new economy. The experts say “Sure we still need to save more, but not yet” That can only come after we have spent enough to ensure prosperity. So we can’t afford to save right now with the money we don't have, we can only afford to spend.

Now for those of you that think that this sounds absurd, and insist on applying old concepts of common sense, I can only point out (to re-assure you) that this is all being presided over by the same politicians, government officials, business execs, and economists who have guided us to where we are today ... including the old administration, of which, I am proud to say, I've been a part and have supported. So obviously these people have the necessary experience to guide us through these tough economic times except of course, they're bailing out..

Fortunately the president-elect promises to even more aggressively follow these policies except the tax cuts, and where the money will be invested. Now the confidence that these policies have engendered in the marketplace is reflected in the lofty heights to which the stock market has risen Of course bubble bursting, the depths of the current problems, unemployment rates, factory orders, reports of a year-long recession --- all have nothing to do with the drop of the stock market and the fact that it hasn't recovered within the last month.. And for all of you nay-sayers out there who say that we can never pay off these new trillions of dollars of obligations when we already have a 30-40 trillion dollar shortfall, and our Medicare, Medicaid, and social security programs which are all on the paths to bankruptcy well, I exaggerate, social security has been paying the bills, I can only say: YES WE CAN!! After all, we managed under Clinton, and we can do it again !

Now for the best part: We can print all the money we need. It's got to be better than borrowing from the Chinese, which we've been doing for the last 8 years ! We own the printing presses. The government plans to create as much money as we need to cover all this. Isn’t it beautiful in its simplicity? Now of course, not too far in the future, we will have rampant inflation, and it’ll take a wheelbarrow of money to buy a loaf of bread, the Chinese will see what is going on and stop lending us money, and our economy will collapse. But the bottom won’t fall out for years. And, with smart investment, by then we will be reaping the rewards. Long enough for our generation to enjoy the benefits of an artificially pumped up economy before we pass the bill and the benefits on to our children. So this holiday season, be extra nice to the kids. Bless their hearts! They have no idea what’s in store for them! But of course, that’s their problem. Our job—YOUR JOB—this holiday season, is to follow the lead of our government. Spend more than you can afford. Spend more than you can ever possibly pay back. It's what Bush is asking.

Ask not what your country can spend for you, ask what you can spend for your country.

Isn’t that what made America great? Happy holiday season.

upside-down document>

***************************************************************

I was less than impressed.

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 7:23 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Still, I'm glad he was putting forward an excellent alternative plan rather than just moaning about the state of affairs his party led us to.

He did?

Where???

---------------------------------
Let's party like its 1929.

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 7:46 AM

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
George W. Bush, Ben Bernanke, and Hank Paulson

It is not those who use the term "Islamo-Fascism" who are sullying the name of Islam; it is the Islamo-Fascists. - Dennis Prager

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

There. Fixed that for ya.

Mike

"It is complete now; the hands of time are neatly tied."

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 7:47 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Quote:
Still, I'm glad he was putting forward an excellent alternative plan rather than just moaning about the state of affairs his party led us to.
He did?

Where???

---------------------------------
Let's party like its 1929.

Kinda what I was wondering.

Mike

"It is complete now; the hands of time are neatly tied."

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 7:50 AM

Freedom is Important because People are Important

Hello Rue,

Your edit of the speech was amusing. Though, I have to say he was fairly critical of his own party in his speech. I don't *think* he was trying to absolve his party of responsibility. If he was, it didn't work on this listener.

I noted that you inserted references to investing in infrastructure and energy. I hope this ends up being the case, because then at least we will have some tangible gains. So far, I've seen money shoveled into open furnaces as fast as we can manage it.

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 7:56 AM

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

"So far, I've seen money shoveled into open furnaces as fast as we can manage it."

And that worries me.

***************************************************************

Silence is consent.

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 8:03 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Me too. I don't mind shoveling money, but it needs to be shoveled from the top back down, not from the taxpayers to the top.

BTW, it's not a question of growth OR income inequality. The Federal Reserve of Dallas has an interesting chart of growth versus the GINI index (a measure of income inequality) which seems to show that nations with more equal income distribution generally have HIGHER growth rates. for example, the nation with the most equal income distribution (China) has one of the highest growth rates, while the nation with the most unequal distribution (Peru) has one of the lowest.

I'm not sure I would draw that conclusion, but there is enough scatter in the data to show that fostering a very wealthy minority does NOT create growth. So much for "supply side" economics.

www.dallasfed.org/research/eclett/2008/el0801.html

------------------------------
Let's party like its 1929.

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 10:40 AM

SIMONWHO

Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Quote:
Still, I'm glad he was putting forward an excellent alternative plan rather than just moaning about the state of affairs his party led us to.
He did?

Where???

---------------------------------
Let's party like its 1929.

Kinda what I was wondering.

Mike

I'm afraid that was sarcasm - sitting and doing nothing didn't work out well for America during the depression either. What did help was the second World War, blowing billions without anything to show for it made the economy soar. Keynes did know a thing or too; Thompson just reads lines very well.

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 11:15 AM

SWISH

Thank you Rue. I was looking for a transcript of this.

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 11:26 AM

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

Oh - I hope you realize I fiddled with it a bit. The italics are my additions. The real version is near the top, from BlueSunCompanyMan.

***************************************************************

Silence is consent.

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 11:27 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AnthonyT:
Hello Rue,

Your edit of the speech was amusing. Though, I have to say he was fairly critical of his own party in his speech. I don't *think* he was trying to absolve his party of responsibility. If he was, it didn't work on this listener.

I think the key is "listening". Some folks just wanna team up and go at it. Fred's one of the "others", and nothing posted by Auraptor could possible have merit so it must be attacked. The most important thing is that your side wins.

Or so says Karl Rove.

and a few others around here...

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 11:27 AM

also,

Those of you who are blindly assuming this was an attack on the Democrats might want to keep in mind who led the charge on bailouts.

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 11:29 AM

triple post????

stop me, before I post again

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 11:52 AM

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

SergeantX

I was trying to point out - in what I hoped was an amusing way - some of the flaws with Thompson's performance.

1) A folksy persona is the same as 'common wisdom'.

2) Common wisdom is wise, and not just common.

3) A national economy is the same as a family economy is the same as a corporate economy, and they can all be understood exactly the same way.

4) Any government spending is bad, and there is no distinction to be made between spending for necessary services and investment which doesn't fit into the business model of short-term profit OR fraud and waste.

5) The New Deal didn't work.

6) Spending more and taxing less works well.

7) Regulation is a bad thing and deregulation - like with the S&L's, electricity & Enron, and commercial banking - is a good thing.

There are a few other little details I disagree with, but in general, I thought it was silly, at best - and misleading at worst.

***************************************************************

Silence is consent.

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 12:03 PM

fair enough rue.

I wasn't really responding to your post so much as the overall tendencies around here. Storymark's post was the kind of kneejerk reaction that I was thinking of. It just gets old watching every potentially fruitful discussion turned into the same old pissing matches between partisans (But Clinton!!!, But Bush!!!)

That said, I do think the overall points made in the video were dead on, despite your contentions. Sure, the folksy humor gave him license to gloss over important details so I certainly wouldn't take it as a policy proposal. But, in the same vein as Jon Stewart, he was able to point out some of the glaring idiocies of our currently leadership in a very effective way. I'd certainly like to see more politicians on both sides of the aisle calling bullshit on the "popular consensus" that's mindlessly echoed by the media.

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 12:42 PM

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

Wearing 'almost homeless' sign, ex-executive seeks work

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Paul Nawrocki says he's beyond the point where he cares about humiliation.

That's why he weekly takes a 90-minute train ride to New York, where he walks the streets wearing a sandwich board that advertises his plight: The former toy-industry executive needs a job.

"Almost homeless," reads the sign. "Looking for employment. Very experienced operations and administration manager."

Wearing a suit and tie under the sign, Nawrocki -- who was in the toy industry 36 years before being laid off in February -- stands on Manhattan corners for hours, hoping to pass resumes to interested passers-by.

"When you're out of work and you face having nothing -- I mean, having no income -- pride doesn't mean anything," Nawrocki said. "You need to find work. I have to take care of my family."

People look but don't often stop. A woman in the jewelry business paused as Nawrocki stood with his sign outside Grand Central Station recently.

"I feel sorry for him. I wish I could help him," she said. "I'll pray for him. I'll give him a prayer card."

Nawrocki will take the prayers. His wife is partially disabled and on 15 medications, his daughter has student loans, and he's running out of money, he says.

He tried more traditional approaches at looking for work, but nothing came through. His daughter eventually suggested handing out résumés on the street.

"We started talking, and she actually came up with the suggestion of putting on the sign board. I thought, 'That's not a bad idea.' So, here I am," he said.

Getting the right person's attention is tough. Competing with him for the eyes of passers-by are charity groups and homeless people seeking donations.

But there was one hopeful moment as CNN was interviewing him. A man identifying himself as the head of a New York executive recruiting firm took one of Nawrocki's résumés.

The man, Steve Warren, was asked whether employers are looking for people with Nawrocki's expertise.

"It's very difficult," Warren said. "The operations pieces are all exported to overseas, and the problem that we face is, guys like Mr. Nawrocki have a problem finding work here."

Warren was asked whether someone could find a job using Nawrocki's walking-the-streets tactic.

"Well, I found his résumé here, so I'm going to try to find him [something]," he said.

Nawrocki has plenty of competition. The U.S. government said 533,000 jobs in the country were lost in November, and more than 1.9 million jobs have been lost in 2008.

But he retains hope that he and his sign will attract the right opportunity.

"There has got to be a job out there, and hopefully there's one for me," he said.

***************************************************************

My heart aches for him and people like him. Here's a guy who did all the right things - got a job, worked steadily for nearly 4 decades, saved up money, supported his family, educated his daughter. Now, thanks to outsourcing, he's out of a job.

I've been poor and I've been desperate for work - but I've never had to support people who needed me under those circumstances.

THIS is the Bush economy. Not numbers - people.

THANKS ! Bush, your administration, and your supporters.

***************************************************************

Silence is consent.

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 1:24 PM

SWISH

Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
Oh - I hope you realize I fiddled with it a bit. The italics are my additions. The real version is near the top, from BlueSunCompanyMan.

***************************************************************

Silence is consent.

Oh - gotcha. No, I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I tried to watch it, but got too bored. Short attention span!

ETA: I do very much agree with some of the things Fred says, and I don't at all see it as an attack of the Dems or approval of Bush (maybe I'll change my mind when I read the whole thing). My impression so far is that Fred says a lot of the obvious. That's nice and all, but what's the big deal? Besides a politician actually saying the obvious. I guess that in itself is pretty novel. But then, he's no longer running for office, so there's none of the usual need to obfuscate.

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 2:11 PM

GINOBIFFARONI

Quote:
Originally posted by SergeantX:
Quote:
Originally posted by AnthonyT:
Hello Rue,

Your edit of the speech was amusing. Though, I have to say he was fairly critical of his own party in his speech. I don't *think* he was trying to absolve his party of responsibility. If he was, it didn't work on this listener.

I think the key is "listening". Some folks just wanna team up and go at it. Fred's one of the "others", and nothing posted by Auraptor could possible have merit so it must be attacked. The most important thing is that your side wins.

Or so says Karl Rove.

and a few others around here...

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

I'm starting to think what the US needs politically is the Dems to go further left, and the republicans to push further right...

Full on Socialist vs Fascist action

and have the muzzled moderates of both parties as well as the independents break away to form a party of the center.

It may inspire less ideology and more proactive, solve the damn problem solutions.

Lets party like its 1939

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 6:15 PM

SWISH

OK, I finally read it all the way through - thank you bluesuncompanyman for making the transcript. Must have been a lot of work indeed!

My first impression: some actor spends a little time "with the government in Washington", running a rather half-assed campaign, and suddenly he's an economist? Does this seem a little... lame to anyone else?

That said, on many points I do agree with him. Maybe because he and I have the save level of economical smarts (not much). Like Thompson, I dislike these theory of spend-to-rescue-the-economy and save-the-companies-even-if-they-failed-because-they're-idiots. The idea of getting stimulus money and *spending* it is truly ridiculous, and I'm glad he's calling Bush on it. (Yes, I say Bush. What did Bush tell us after 9-11? SPEND! Don't save - spend! Idiot.)

The "shovel in every hand" idea, though surely Thompson meant it sarcastically, isn't so bad. Of course, I don't mean shovels exactly. I mean that instead of handing billions to the investment banks and automobile CEOs, how about the govt fund some infrastructure work? Let's get going fixing bridges and roads, building better schools, improving the energy grid, and even funding research and the arts which have been drying up over the past decade? That could take care of a chunk of the unemployed, get money into the economy at all levels, and improve our future at the same time.

Guess the CEOs would pocket less that way. In the end, it's all about saving the CEO types, right?

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 6:21 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by GinoBiffaroni:
I'm starting to think what the US needs politically is the Dems to go further left, and the republicans to push further right...

I totally agree. My biggest beef with Clinton was the he wasn't liberal enough, even though I'd be considered to his right on many issues. I'd like liberals to be good liberals (fight for minorities, the underpriveleged and look out for civil liberties) and have the conservatives be good conservatives (strong defense, pro-free market and for smaller government), but it seems those are outmoded notions of both parties. Now we've got neo-cons and neo-libs which are little more than cynical echoes of the earlier ideals, mostly both sides just want to be in charge.

Quote:
It may inspire less ideology and more proactive, solve the damn problem solutions.

I hear you, but I think it's unfortunate that ideology has such a bad rap. It's ideologues who are the problem, not ideologies. A clear cut ideology is vital if we're to know how a candidate will govern. Otherwise it's just a mixed bag of platform planks that are usually dropped as soon as the dust has cleared. I prefer candidates to have a clear philosophy of government - its purpose, its constraints, its strengths and weaknesses. All we seem to get lately is vague promises to solve all our problems.

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 6:29 PM

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

Ahem --- if I may intrude --- "Otherwise it's just a mixed bag of platform planks that are usually dropped as soon as the dust has cleared."

I really wish the US had a parliamentary system. I think the threat of being voted out of office at any time (Canada excepted - it looks like they need to do a patch job on their constitution) keeps the campaigns more on target and keeps the politicians more diligent about fulfilling their platforms.

***************************************************************

Silence is consent.

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 6:37 PM

WULFENSTAR

http://youtu.be/VUnGTXRxGHg

Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
Ahem --- if I may intrude --- "Otherwise it's just a mixed bag of platform planks that are usually dropped as soon as the dust has cleared."

I really wish the US had a parliamentary system. I think the threat of being voted out of office at any time (Canada excepted - it looks like they need to do a patch job on their constitution) keeps the campaigns more on target and keeps the politicians more diligent about fulfilling their platforms.

***************************************************************

Silence is consent.

Rue,

Patch job? After those in "power" suspended Parliment?

How the fuck are you for gun control when even Canada (the bastion of Lib wet dreams) shows its tyranny?

IF I were Canadian...I'd be heading to whatever capitol they call home right now with all the firepower I could muster...

We need to all be together on this.

As Twisted Sister (before my time I'm afraid) screamed...

WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 10:10 PM

GINOBIFFARONI

Quote:
Originally posted by Wulfenstar:
Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
Ahem --- if I may intrude --- "Otherwise it's just a mixed bag of platform planks that are usually dropped as soon as the dust has cleared."

I really wish the US had a parliamentary system. I think the threat of being voted out of office at any time (Canada excepted - it looks like they need to do a patch job on their constitution) keeps the campaigns more on target and keeps the politicians more diligent about fulfilling their platforms.

***************************************************************

Silence is consent.

Rue,

Patch job? After those in "power" suspended Parliment?

How the fuck are you for gun control when even Canada (the bastion of Lib wet dreams) shows its tyranny?

IF I were Canadian...I'd be heading to whatever capitol they call home right now with all the firepower I could muster...

We need to all be together on this.

As Twisted Sister (before my time I'm afraid) screamed...

WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!

Actually the situation in Canada, with a minority government, any budget motion is considered a confidence vote.

As the party in power did not control %50 of the seats in the house of commons, it requires the support of whatever percentage they lack from the seats held by other parties.

Typically if they fail to do this, they do not have the confidence of Parliament and an election is called...

With the recent events a third option ( only used once in the 1920's ) was pressed. If the opposition parties band together with over %50 of the seats in the house of commons they can by law petition the governor general to allow them to form the government instead of forcing an election.

With the suspension of parliament by the governor general, it only postpones the non confidence vote until January, at which point if the situation remains the same, and the ruling party does not have the support of parliament, then she has to decide to either allow the combined opposition parties to form government or more likely dismiss parliament and call an election.

Not really sure what Rue means by a patch job,

and not sure what you mean by tyranny Wulf

the law has been followed here, democracy has prevailed.

Lets party like its 1939

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Saturday, December 6, 2008 10:38 PM

Wulf, this might amuse you.

One of the funniest vidclips I have on an old PC around here is a section of Dee Snyder (lead singer for Twisted Sister) explaining what an SMF is to Al Gore in a hearing during the PMRC bullshit started by his lunatic "for your own good" wife.

The look on Al's face when it finally sank in was priceless.

Imma big fan of the old school hair bands, to the point of finding White Lion especially inspirational, which strikes some folk as strange.

In fact, I was just thinkin about how RWED's theme song oughta be Krokus - "Ballroom Blitz" last night.

Works even better if you've seen the video.

(2:40+ this is why you don't annoy a sorceress, folks.)

-Frem

It cannot be said enough, those who do not learn from history, are doomed to endlessly repeat it

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Sunday, December 7, 2008 3:48 AM

Quote:
In fact, I was just thinkin about how RWED's theme song oughta be Krokus - "Ballroom Blitz" last night.

BITE YOUR TONGUE! That song was written & performed by Sweet way before Krokus mangled it! It was one of two hits on the album "Desolation Boulevard" - the other was the seminal 70s mega-hit "Fox On The Run".

What can I say? I owned the 8-track, and listend to it in my Chevy Vega...

I did enjoy Dee Snyder's appearance before Congress back in the day. Although I wasn't a fan of Twisted Sister, I came away somewhat impressed by how well-spoken he could be. More impressive was Frank Zappa's testimony.

BTW, Frem, I'm just bustin' yer balls a bit.

Mike

"It is complete now; the hands of time are neatly tied."

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Sunday, December 7, 2008 8:35 AM

Heheh, I like the Krokus version, that whole album rocked it hard, and the tune "Eat the Rich" just amused the hell out of me.

Actually I think the best ever cover of "Ballroom Blitz" was The Damned, when they got ole Lemmy from Motorhead on the drums and just gave it hell.

Another hard-hittin fav would be KIX, who I got to see off and on when they where just a club band called The Generators, and when they scored Hammerjacks I bought a round there that night - was always fond of them and Sidewinder, so when KIX made it big I was ecstatic, then of course they got shafted six ways to sunday by the recording industry which lead to my hatred of the RIAA which in fact pre-dates their asinine copyright lunacy.

As a rule, I do not care for loud music, but their Blow My Fuse album, especially the title track, just begs for it, especially since although I'll not give details, but I *know* Rosie, heh heh heh.

Still got an awesome mix track around here of Def Leppard, Ratt, KIX and Poison that's over an hours work of pure rippin tuneage.

The true height of hilarity is my nieces and nephews fondness of Guitar Hero, and just how much of the tunes in it are well known to me.

It's just kinda weird, and seems to violate the natural law that you must hate the music of the former generation - watching the nieces duo Heart's "Barracuda" on Guitar Hero was enough to send me into a giggling fit, I tellya.

-Frem

PS, Oh lordy, this is one of those "don't get me started" things, innit ?

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Sunday, December 7, 2008 8:51 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
And the man at the back said
Everyone attack and it turned into a ballroom blitz
And the girl in the corner said
Boy, I wanna warn ya, it'll turn into a ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz, ballroom blitz
Ballroom blitz

Thanks guys. Now this is stuck in my head!

---------------------------------
Let's party like its 1929.

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Sunday, December 7, 2008 8:55 AM

CHRISISALL

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
Damn, I wish I could have voted for him instead of McCain.

I am vexed...I sorta liked Thompson, but if AU likes him, then I can't....

The immature Chrisisall

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Sunday, December 7, 2008 9:04 AM

But it's EVER so appropriate for RWED, Siggy, innit ?

-F

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Sunday, December 7, 2008 9:15 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

HAHAHAHA!!!!!! Yep! Sure is!

---------------------------------
Let's party like its 1929.

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Monday, December 8, 2008 6:08 AM

BLUESUNCOMPANYMAN

Quote:
Originally posted by swish:
OK, I finally read it all the way through - thank you bluesuncompanyman for making the transcript. Must have been a lot of work indeed!

Yes it was. Although as I listen to it and read my transcript I see little errors throughout, but nothing that changes the intent of the message. I was a little rushed you see, AnthonyT made his request at 14:27 on the time stamp and I was trying to get it done within an hour. I made it by 1 minute.

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Monday, December 8, 2008 8:40 AM

America loves a winner!

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
Damn, I wish I could have voted for him instead of McCain.

I am vexed...I sorta liked Thompson, but if AU likes him, then I can't....

The immature Chrisisall

Let go the hatred , come over to the Light side of the Force. I feel the goodness with in you.

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Monday, December 8, 2008 8:54 AM