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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsKrugman: Democratic Derangement Syndrome
<...> Todays full-scale freakout over a decent jobs report is a sight to behold. Spare me the false equivalence: yes, you occasionally find people on the left claiming that the numbers have been faked or the truth hidden, but not leading figures in the media and major-league plutocrats. (Next time people try to portray Jack Welch as an icon of success, a man we should listen to, remember this moment) <...>
For the record, its ridiculous to imagine that the Obama administration could arrange (on short notice, no less) to cook the jobs numbers. The sheer logistics would be impossible, plus these are civil servants who have to live under both parties. I guess theres a bit of continuity here with the inflation truthers, a group that similarly includes people who unaccountably continue to be treated as respectable.
The thing is, although such antics are funny in a way, theyre also menacing. By attacking anyone who presents awkward facts, the right exerts an intimidating effect. It wont get the BLS to retract todays jobs report, but it might bully news organizations into avoiding objective economic analysis, and maybe even into blurring their reporting right now.
So this is crazy and stupid; but its also scary. NY Times
joycejnr
(326 posts)...when you watch him on tv smiling, and reach over to cover his mouth - the eyes look so cold, so deadly.
Or is it just me?
jsr
(7,712 posts)Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)Never compare a slimy Republican reptile like Romney to a vulture. Vultures are efficient members of their ecological niche.
Especially when stripping the carcass of a dead Elephant!
landolfi
(234 posts)And his deeds betray that.
Swede Atlanta
(3,596 posts)You look into his eyes and observe his gutless shit-eating grin and know he is evil. He has absolutely no compassion for anyone because he has never been denied anything. He has never wanted for anything, except for more and more money and more power.
There are two kinds of wealthy people....people who are greedy and heartless such as the Walton family (of the Wal-Mart corporation) who deny workers sick pay on their first sick day, the likes of most on Wall Street and those in the boardrooms of the soulless corporations around the world. They ware all about money and power and more of it. Mittens belongs to that crowd.
Then you have those who, regardless of how they got their wealth, are magnanimous, generous and genuinely empathize with others. Leaders such as Theodore Roosevelt (who was one trust busting Republican), FDR, JFK, etc. exemplify that type of person.
AlbertCat
(17,505 posts)No one does. That's a religious myth.
What Rmoney doesn't have is integrity or ethics.
Javaman
(62,394 posts)he gives the dead fish smile or the smile of a snake about to bite you.
JackN415
(924 posts)he will be found a psychopath if he is willing to take the psychological test or subjects himself of professional psychiatric evaluation.
Agnosticsherbet
(11,619 posts)Let the whine.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)47%. Ask those destroyed by Bain. Ask the PBS employees to whom he GLEEFULLY said, on TV, that he would ELIMINATE THEIR PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT, even as one very real employee sat right in front of him.
If you DON'T think that marks a sociopath, perhaps you can describe what would.
Agnosticsherbet
(11,619 posts)and in one line I did not completely explain myself.
Krugman is talking about how the right attacks good job numbers like rabid junkyard dogs. Good job numbers destroy their attempted narrative. Places like "The American Spectator" and "Shadow Government Statistics" insanely try to show how there is a giant conspiracy to hide the truth.
fasttense
(17,301 posts)and it hasn't been accurate since Raygun said he wanted to count all the military as employed on the BLS.
Clinton excluded areas of extreme poverty from the jobs survey
And the bushes played with it so much that they couldn't see the crash coming until it was inevitable even though people were being laid off left and right.
Obama has NOT corrected the sins of the past and he's done some strange things with the total civilian labor force numbers.
So, I truly believe the unemployment numbers are NOT an accurate indicator of how many people are unemployed in the US.
That said, Obama is no better and no worse than previous presidents in manipulating the numbers.
Romney is just ignoring all the manipulation by his own party and is dumping it on Obama.
Agnosticsherbet
(11,619 posts)Is obtained by sending out census workers out to survey 160,000 households in the U.S. No one is left out, because it is a survey not an actual head count. (This information can be found on a Us.gov site. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.tn.htm)
What you wrote above is a urban myth. It is just not how they get those numbers.
This is a better link to the medhods used to get the employment report.
http://www.bls.gov/cps/
Uncle Joe
(58,029 posts)Thanks for the thread, tisha.
porphyrian
(18,530 posts)THREAD WIN!!!!!
Jennicut
(25,415 posts)Especially with the MSM on the major networks, CNN and CNBC.
I think those on MSNBC are much less afraid.
The CNBC people nearly laughed at this proposition by Jack Welch too.
Tennessee Gal
(6,160 posts)voters and the media.
It is sickening the lengths they will go to for power and control.
Party over country every time.
Vietnameravet
(1,085 posts)We're dealing with fantasy world dwellers who cannot accept the reality of the Obama presidency
We're dealing with fiction writers who spin what ever it takes to keep their readers enthralled
We're dealing with those that would tear down the house in order to rule over the ruins. and to them truth is just an option and lies are perfectly acceptable.
We absolutely cannot allow these people to win..
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,608 posts)... if you want to have conspiracy theories, that one is more easily hidden. Have an operative or two set off a fire at an oil refinery, etc.
However, I don't think either conspiracy theory has any merit. The BLS one is ludicrous.
Grins
(7,111 posts)Are the "Jobs Truthers" the same as the "Polling Truthers"; or are we talkin' about a whole new breed of cat?
redqueen
(115,085 posts)I could have sworn it was bad news.
Weird.
fearnobush
(3,960 posts)Live and on air.
BellaKos
(318 posts)I say that the media is to blame for W's malfeasance which has caused the death and maiming of thousands of people in Iraq. And I say that Rupert Murdoch is a danger to this country.
It's not just a matter of the very, very few "liberals" in the media calling this $hit out; it's a matter of integrity in all of the media. Until something is done about the lies and distortions vomited out on the public each and every day, people will continue to be fooled and abused. And the Right Wing will continue to operate within the narrow perspective of their Fantasy Land.
Tigress DEM
(7,887 posts)Hillary has made an excellent Secretary of State, but because she took money from Murdoch, I got spooked and wasn't able to trust her so Obama got my vote.
Have not trusted the 4th Estate much, but DO see improvement.
It was all the stations trying to mimic FAUX to get the ratings back in 2008 and NONE of them even touching the truth. Then they threw a pinch of the truth in so they could appease their right wing viewers and get a few props from the left. Now they are acting like they are fair and balanced once more, but it's still broken.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)BellaKos
(318 posts)First, it was global warming -- which I could half-way understand since the notion of a global warming hoax was a concerted campaign financed by the oil companies.
Then, Truthers. Okay, maybe understandable since the real deficit in this country is scientific illiteracy.
Birthers. Well, they have "Oil-ly Olay" as a spokesperson. At least, she's not a figment of imagination; she's alive.
But lately? The Polls are made-up?
And now, the delusion that the BLS is a corrupt facet of the Obama campaign is made-up and brought to national attention within a few hours!
These are dangerous delusions. We're talking about a cult-mentality that has infected a large segment of the public.
And guess what else? They have guns and they think that "liberals" are out to destroy the country. Yes, this is scary.
Tigress DEM
(7,887 posts)Tigress DEM
(7,887 posts)Now that we've gotten THAT out of our system.
judesedit
(4,434 posts)ble to fool the people and steal elections, they try to get the focus off of themselves and onto some bogus similar crap they blame on someone else. Just like they arranged Rob-me's hanky wipe to cover the fact he had a cheat sheet. It's almost elementary. Anyone with brains knows you do the obvious to hide what you're really doing if you want to fool people. I would love a magician's take on that video. Obama didn't cook anything. He's for the American people and takes shit about it every day of his life. The Illuminati are failing at their world dominance plan and they don't like it. No 1%ers are going to rule us. Go Occupiers! You are helping to expose these creeps all over the world by unifying. You give the whistleblowers cover. I like that. Truth and justice will prevail. Now....stop buying the products of these evil-doers (thanks Bush). You can find the companies and products owned by the Koch brothers online for a start. Good Lord, please, please, keep that righteous wind at Obama's back.