“I fancy that over-confidence seldom does any great harm except when, as, and if, it beguiles its victims into debt.” (Fisher 1933, p. 341) The man who penned those words wrote them from bitter experience. Irving Fisher, who is far better known for the statement that “Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently … Continue reading "Margin Debt at Levels Not Seen Since the Peak of the Roaring Twenties Mania—and Falling"
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Ron Filipkowski is one of the most prolific tweeters of right wing freak show out there and it’s endlessly entertaining (if also kind of terrifying.) He compiled what he considers to be his top 100 right wing tweets and they are something else. I’ve put the top 25 here for your enjoyment: #25. At a Trump rally, kid is asked what he most looking forward to at the event. Kid goes off the rails on his MAGA parents with his answer: “To see Joe Biden.” #24. Returning home to Huntington Beach, OAN host loses her mind when she sees that they are flying a Pride flag from a city building. #23. The opening “prayer” at Eric Trump & Michael Flynn’s event, they ask for Jesus to let Trump know when the time for divine intervention has come for him to resume the presidency, and for God not to “surround him with Deep State, RINO trash.” Amen. #22. MAGA congressional candidate Martin Hyde, endorsed by Michael Flynn & Roger Stone, throws down his white privilege card and goes full “do you know who I am,” then threatens to get her fired because she dared to give him a speeding ticket. #21. Marge Greene defines what a woman is.
In case you are staying home tonight and wondering what you might watch on TV, forget Andy and Anderson and don’t bother with Ryan Seacrest. Have I got the show for you! What a fun bunch! But you might want to lay in a bigger than usual supply of champagne and Advil and maybe think about having some shots to start you off. You’re going to need them. Here’s a taste of what you might expect from the Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee: Happy New Year?
No history this time, folks; just a story. A story of a time when entertainment wasn’t on tap, when anyone wanting to watch a movie either had to go to the cinema (ew), wait for it to be shown on tv (double ew) or head down to that ghost of the recent past, the video […]
The circus is in town Politico reports that Hunter’s laptop is only the beginning. The wingnuts holding the Speakership hostage want to establish a “Church Committee” to examine the Biden administration’s “weaponization” of the federal government. I kid you not: While the Republican leader and soon-to-be committee chairs have already lined up a laundry list of investigations that will largely command the House GOP’s agenda next year, it’s not enough for some McCarthy critics. Some of those opposing and on the fence about the Californian’s speakership bid want him to start a new panel, one that could direct probes against the entities they’ve castigated for years, including the FBI, theJustice Department, theIRS and Anthony Fauci. Further complicating McCarthy’s position is that other Republicans aren’t on board. Some of his allies are skeptical that such a select committee wouldn’t severely overlap with the investigative plans that incoming chairs such as Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and James Comer (R-Ky.) have already worked on for months.
I just wanted to check in and thank you once again for your kind support this year. It is greatly appreciated. There’s a lot of competition out there so it really means the world to me that you value what we do here enough to help keep it going. I’m going to leave this up until the end of the year in case any of you just stopped by and want to throw a little something our way. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday week (and that none of you are flying on Southwest!) Cheers — digby
A true pioneer Baba Wawa passed away yesterday at the age of 93. When I was young I thought of her as one of the hosts of the Today Show and one of the only female broadcast journalists in the early days. It was only later that I came to realize that she was a particularly talented interviewer who took no prisoners. One example: She ended her inspiring career by inventing a new daytime TV genre of women talking about politics and current events in a freewheeling round table format at The View. It makes me happy that she lived such a long and accomplished life. RIP Baba. Update: I had never seen this until today. What a send-off.
A real activist on what it’s like to deal with Dr. Anthony Fauci There are many, many things that offend me about the cretinous conspiracy theories and braindead rightwing assault on reason and decency. It’s actually a bit overwhelming. But the attack on Dr. Fauci ranks at the top of my list. I don’t worship the guy by any means and totally understand that he’s made some wrong calls during his long career. But he’s a scientist and therefore changes his mind as new information is discovered. That’s just how it works and those of us who have even a rudimentary, elementary understanding of the scientific method know that. Peter Staley writes in the NY Times: I guess he’s used to being called every name in the book. But as this tribute makes clear, he always listened to his critics and did what he could to accommodate their demands. I don’t think he’d ever be able to do that with the right wing that’s now calling for him to be locked up. And that’s because they have no idea why they are saying it except to blame him for the virus which is simply a lie.
If you can find a reflection The U.S. Department of Justice and Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis may ultimately judge Donald Trump by the content of his character as expressed in federal and state crimes. Failing at that, perhaps history will judge him by the company he keeps. Trump simply applied gold leaf to his tinpot. Business Insider: Ennemi du peuple was used to refer to those who disagreed with the new French government during the “Reign of Terror,” a period during which thousands of revolutionairies were executed by guillotine. Jose Diaz, Secretary of the Spanish Communist Party (Report to Central Committee, 1937): “The main enemy of the people in the rearguard are the Trotskyists: they are the bitterest enemies of our cause, the direct agents of Franco in our ranks.” Joseph Goebbels (1941): If someone wears the Jewish star, he is an enemy of the people.
You made it through another year If you have gone from cheering the arrival of the New Year to being thankful you survived the last, join the club. Yet many, including the proprietress here, have considered the unexpected accomplishments of the Biden administration this last year. Digby wrote on Friday that she did not see Dark Brandon coming: I think some of this success, paradoxically, is because Joe Biden is our oldest president, not in spite of that fact. There’s a certain YOLO quality to many people his age which he seems to have channeled into a willingness to take calculated risks that have largely paid off. Dark Brandon’s seen it all — he doesn’t scare easily. Biden reminds audiences, repeatedly and forcefully, “It’s never been a good bet to bet against America!” Even among progressive activists (including this one), Biden’s unabashed America boosterism is sometimes cringe-inducing. While glass-half-empty cynics, the nihilists, the MAGAs, the QAnon cultists, and the fascism-curious gnaw like Teredo worms at the nation’s pilings, Biden is still betting on America. Unashamedly fighting the shameless.