May 22, 2013

Also: unemployment DOWN, housing starts UP, consumer confidence UP, approval ratings UP

good grief, even optimism is up:

For the first time since the 100-day mark of Obama’s first term, most say they are optimistic about the direction of the economy. More than half, 56 percent, say the economy is on the mend, the most to say so in polls since 2009.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obamas-rating-steady-amid-controversies-likely-buoyed-by-rising-economic-hopes/2013/05/20/5509c03e-c17f-11e2-bfdb-3886a561c1ff_story.html?hpid=z2

And is the economy ever on the mend. From your Forbes link sheshe -- unemployment down, consumer confidence up:




. . . and markets up, up, UP!

May 22, 2013

"He asked me if I was OK."

A beautiful, beautiful trhead LFR. KnR.



p.s.

May 21, 2013

Nate Silver - Is the Economy Saving Obama’s Approval Ratings?

May 21, 2013, 8:04 am 28 Comments

Political coverage over the last week has focused on a series of stories that reflect negatively on the executive branch — but President Obama’s approval ratings have held steady. As of Monday, Mr. Obama’s Gallup approval rating was 49 percent — the same as it was, on average, in April. Mr. Obama’s Rasmussen Reports approval rating was 48 percent, not much changed from an average of 50 percent in April. Mr. Obama’s approval rating in a CNN poll published on Sunday was 53 percent, little different from 51 percent in their April survey. And in a Washington Post-ABC News poll, Mr. Obama’s approval rating was 51 percent, essentially unchanged from 50 percent in April.

There are a lot of theories as to why Mr. Obama’s approval ratings have been unchanged in the wake of these controversies, which some news accounts and many of Mr. Obama’s opponents are describing as scandals. But these analyses may proceed from the wrong premise if they assume that the stories have had no impact. It could be that the controversies are, in fact, putting some downward pressure on Mr. Obama’s approval ratings — but that the losses are offset by improved voter attitudes about the economy.

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/is-the-economy-saving-obamas-approval-ratings/?smid=tw-fivethirtyeight&seid=auto

May 21, 2013

It's also possible that the public saw a side of the BO admin they weren't aware of.

National security is an important issue to many voters, largely thanks to the Wurlitzer media, and many people were probably unaware that Obama and especially Holder have actually been paying attention and doing their jobs. Surprise, they're doing it better than the last administration.

Last April Chomsky gave an acid interview to Alternet professing not to know why Obama makes a point of mentioning his leak prosecutions. Well Noam, that's why. But as usual CNN ignores the real issue and misses the point by miles.

May 21, 2013

Reuters via HuffPo, Aug. 22, 2012: This Parrot is Dead

"Julian Assange, WikiLeaks Founder, Faces No Criminal Charges In U.S., Sources Say"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/22/julian-assange-wikileaks-no-criminal-charges-in-us_n_1823159.html

Whatever hope Assange and friends may have cherished of getting the US to play hide and seek with them has evidently been extinguished. But as long as his peroxide supply holds up at the Embassy I imagine he can play the fugitive indefinitely.

May 20, 2013

Don't try to understand with your mind grasshopper.

Look to the water at your feet. Does not the sage say: "What is more yielding than water? Yet, back it comes again, wearing down the ridged strength, which cannot stand to its strength. What is more forceful than quite water?"

It is a mystery. But it is true.

May 20, 2013

People believe the darndest things.

And it wouldn't surprise me if a more than a few "truth-tellers" were in the Koch brothers' pockets. Greenwald for example we know is because he's attached to the CATO institute which is a Koch PR shop. Glenn earning his pay at CATO, Feb. 2012:

#!

http://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-video/glenn-greenwald-catos-ending-global-war-drugs-conference

May 20, 2013

Just another tale told by an. . .

Well I'll let Shakespeare say it, from Macbeth:

. . . it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

So what has MacHedges cooked up for us today? Three paragraphs righteously condemning corporations, and then a stirring defense of the AP, a corporation.



And then there's this:

The government’s fierce persecution of the press—an attack pressed by many of the governmental agencies that are arrayed against WikiLeaks, Bradley Manning, Julian Assange and activists . . .

Memo to Chris: There are no US "governmental agencies" arrayed against Julian Assange, who is being very nicely taken care of in a London embassy. The US has brought no charges against Assange and there is no credible evidence, none, of any pending indictments.

May 20, 2013

Great speech, and very funny.

Just listened to the full speech. Very inspiring! So glad he took the time to share in these grads' accomplishments. And they were good sports for standing in the rain!

My job, as President, is to advocate for policies that generate more opportunity for everybody — policies that strengthen the middle class and give more people the chance to climb their way into the middle class. Policies that create more good jobs and reduce poverty, and educate more children, and give more families the security of health care, and protect more of our children from the horrors of gun violence. That’s my job. Those are matters of public policy, and it is important for all of us — black, white and brown — to advocate for an America where everybody has got a fair shot in life. Not just some. Not just a few. (Applause.)

May 19, 2013

A 3-D Great Gatsby, what could go wrong?

Just kidding. Thanks xchrom this looks like a good review. Haven't seen it yet but the ads and trailers are promising and it got some respect at Cannes. The NYT review also seems reasonably positive:

Is the tale of Daisy and Gatsby a credible love story? Fitzgerald himself was not sure, but Mr. Luhrmann, Mr. DiCaprio and Ms. Mulligan make it an effective one. At a crucial, climactic moment — a scene in a suite at the Plaza Hotel — the director mutes his irrepressible, circus ringmaster showmanship and plunges into undiluted melodrama. . . .

That scene stands out in a movie that is otherwise gaudily and grossly inauthentic. Jay Gatsby is too, of course. He is self-invented and also self-deluded, spinning out fantasies for himself and others as easily as he gives parties. As a character in Nick’s ruminations, in Fitzgerald’s sentences and in our national mythology, he is a complete mess. This movie is worthy of him.

One thing this version apparently does better than the last one is spend money on the sets. The Robert Redford-Mia Farrow 70s version looks like it was made for TV and makes the story seem even more washed-out and dated than most students already think it is. I guess it's a choice of boring and cheap vs. lively and cheesy. Here's an interesting reader review from the NYT:

I don’t remember an unspoken homoerotic relationship between Nick and Gatsby, but this is the big love story of the movie. In this version, the fireworks literally explode when Nick finally lays eyes on Gatsby. Luhrman uses 3D in a self-conscious theatrical way that despite its pretentiousness does heighten the emotions and adds a political layer. It’s not just a visual gimmick. I advise audiences to sit as far away from the screen as possible. I had been warned and was seated on the last row.

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/457425/The-Great-Gatsby/overview

Trailer with music by Jay-Z:

#!