Hostile Corporate Takeover

Has the Supreme Court dashed all hopes of public financing for elections? It looks like Arizona's gubernatorial race is unalterably messed with, but we'll have to see what happens in the Supremes' next term to see the full impact of this order.

We already pretty much have corporations holding public office. I mean, to win public office, you have to have a lot of ill-gained money from the exploitation of huge numbers of people, a large organization comprised of power-hungry drones advertising a product using deception, and an enormous amount of marketing based on manipulation of people's emotions. Bingo. Maybe as a first step toward acknowledging this, we should rename the Gulf of Mexico the Toilet of British Petroleum.

Housing Prices and Median Income

Housing prices still have room to fall, if you look at median price/median income ratios. Here is one case study of a very old house, showing that though there were ups and downs, bubbles and dips, the price only doubled from the 1600s to now.

The "Freegan" Movement

"Freegans" eschew the use of money and simply move into abandoned properties, refusing to pay for rent. And in some cases, the authorities and the neighbors are on their side. According to the Wikipedia article on "Freeganism," it is estimated that there are about one billion squatters worldwide. And, according to this article, the United Nations says our leftovers could satisfy every single empty stomach in Africa.

Collapsitarians

Maybe there's something to be said about planning your life around the collapse of our society.

More Insurance Blues and Hassles

It seems to be OK to hassle you to make you prove whether the dependents on your insurance are really eligible, even though it would only catch a small number of people who are ineligible.

BP's Crime Scene

“The government is letting BP clean up their own crime scene. On TV cop shows, they don’t do that.”--David Pettit, a senior lawyer with Natural Resources Defense Council.

But then again, what Texaco did to Ecuador or what Shell did to Nigeria is just as bad as what BP did to the Gulf of Mexico...

Call BP at home: Here are the home phone numbers of some of their executives, they worked yesterday. Douglas J. Suttles, BP Exec: 832 437-2273 and 832 437-2273. Per another BP exec, Randy Prescott: "Louisiana isn't the only place that has shrimp." Randy's office number: 713-323-4093.

Enemy Combatants?

Why are BP officials not considered "enemy combatants"? Why is Tony Hayward not in Guantanamo? Oh, yeah, because we closed it down. Umm...NOT.

Tony Hayward pulls in about 3 million British Pounds a year. What's that, about 5 million bucks? So about every minute that he is working, while his oil is fouling the Gulf of Mexico, about thirty bucks are fouling his pockets.

Let Someone Else Choose Your Senator

So the Tea Party is trying to repeal the seventeenth amendment now. You know, the one that allowed people to vote directly for their senators. Whud up? Does the Tea Party really want to be where the Reform Party is now? Or the Bull Moose Party? If so, go for it.

Pay-Free Mortgages?

Why pay your mortgage? The company that is asserting the right to collect on it probably sold it to somebody else who chopped it into bits and has no direct proof that they have any right to collect your payment. Who's to say that they really have the note?