Steven P. BarrettHEY, LOOK, WE'VE GOT ANOTHER DR. PHIL -- THAT CRACKER NAMED GRAMM (LINK)
July 12th 2008 22:11
Steven Barrett
YESTERDAY I TOOK A FEW SHOTS AT JESSE, SPIKE AND THE "BIG O" -- TODAY'S THE REPUBLICANS' TURN. BUT DAMN, I'VE ONLY GOT ONE BIG MOUTH TO BAG TODAY -- FORMER U.S. SENATOR PHIL GRAMM, R-GA.
HE THINKS AMERICANS ARE A BUNCH OF WHINERS. WELL, AS YOU'LL SEE BELOW, HE'S QUALIFIED HIS REMARKS TO MEAN NOT THE THOUSANDS OF WORKING STIFFS WHO'VE LITTERALLY BEEN STIFFED BY THE "FREE" MARKET SYSTEM WHOSE TEMPLES HE DEVOUTLY WORSHIPS AT. HE WENT AFTER A LOT OF THE BIG FOLKS, TOO. THAT WAS NICE OF HIM, ESPECIALLY SINCE HE SHOWED HE WAS WILLING TO BUDGE A LITTLE, A TINY L ITTLE FROM HIS EARLIER REFUSAL TO RECANT -- NOTWI THSTANDING THE EMBARRASSMENT AND WELL-DESERVED HELL CAUGHT FROM HIS BOSS AND FORMER COLLEAGUE, JOHN McCAIN.
NOT TO WORRY, FOR WHAT THIS BIG MOUTH HAD TO SAY LATELY, HE COULD'VE SWALLOWED A LOT OF SLUDGE FROM WATERWAYS NEAR THE SHUT DOWN PLANTS UP IN MICHIGAN OR SWAMPWATER IN THE GEORGIA LOW-COUNTRY HE USED TO REPRESENT IN THE U.S. SENATE
IN A STORY PUBLISHED TODAY IN THE WASHINGTON POST ABOUT McCAIN'S (ECONOMIC "DR. PHIL"), GRAMM WAS QUOTED AS DEFIANTLY TELLING THE WASHINGTON TIMES, "I'm not going to retract any of it. Every word I said was true."
SENATOR STRAIGHTALKER HAD TO BACK OFF AND BACK OFF REAL FAST AND WITH SOME DEFIANCE AS WELL, CHEWING GRAMM OUT IN THE PAPERS. VERY DIGNIFIED.
ACCORDING FIGURES LISTED BY THE POST, AND LISTED BELOW, GRAMM'S REMARKS COULDN'T HAVE BEEN BETTER TIMED -- FOR THE BIG O.
GRAMM TRIED TO GET OUT OF HIS JAM BY POINTING OUT THAT SOME OF THIS ECONOMIC DOWNTURN COULD REFLECT MENTAL FACTORS. AND I THINK HE'S GOT A POINT WHEN YOU LOOK HOW MUCH FEAR GETS FACTORED INTO OUR GOODS AND SERVICES.
"Look, the economy is bad. It is far below what we Americans have a right to expect, but we are not in a recession," he said. "We may or may not have one in the future, but based on the data, we are not in a recession. But that does not mean all this talk does not have a psychological impact."
But, the former senator added,
"when I said we've become a nation of whiners, I'm talking about our leaders. I'm not talking about our people. We've got every kind of excuse in the world about oil prices -- we've got speculators, the oil companies to blame -- but too many people don't have a program to get on with a job of producing."
I LIVE IN AN AREA THAT'S GUIDED MORE BY ECONOMIC FEAR THAN PERHAPS ANY OTHER PART OF THE COUNTRY. AND MANY REASONS THERE'S LITTLE OR NO ECONOMIC GROWTH HAS TO DO WITH THE TIMIDITY OF THE LENDERS, BUSINESS LEADERS, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND A SENSE THAT FDR WILL COME BACK FROM THE DEAD AND IT'LL BE "HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN." THE SO-CALLED "PIONEER VALLEY" HAS PIONEERED ALRIGHT -- IN MAINTAINING A CONTINUAL STATE OF MENTAL DEPRESSION THAT HASN'T LIFTED AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER. BUT THERE ARE TIMES TO SAY THINGS AND TIMES TO BE MORE CIRCUMSPECT AND KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT, TACTICS WHICH GRAMM WAS ALWAYS CHALLENGED IN.
AND LET'S FACE IT, RUMORS OF GAS HIKES, JOB LOSSES AND THE RIPPLE EFFECTS OF THOSE POSSIBLE JOB LOSSES IN ANY GIVEN COMMUNITY CAUSE BANKS, COMPANIES, SMALL MERCHANTS AND PUBLIC GOVERNMENTS TO ALL OF A SUDDEN LOSE NERVE AND START CUTTING BACK. SURE, RECESSIONS ARE CAUSED BY MENTAL CAUSES, BUT YOU STILL HAVE TO USE MORE STREET SMARTS IN AT LEAST AN OBVIOUS DOWNTURN NOT TO USE WORDS LIKE "WHINERS."
POLITICAL DONORS DEVELOP A LOT OF MENTAL RESERVATIONS WHEN STUFF LIKE THIS HAPPENS, TOO. HEAR THAT SENATOR PHIL TOUGH TALKER?
FOR GRAMM -- A TOP FIGURE OF THE GOVERNING PARTY -- TO BE SAYING THIS DURING AN ELECTION YEAR WHILE CAMPAIGNING FOR A CANDIDATE WHO'S ALREADY BEHIND THE BIG O IN POLL NUMBERS AND ECONOMIC CONCEPTS, YOU HAVE TO ASK WHEN THE OTHER SHOE'S GOING TO DROP FOR GRAMM.
STAY TUNED TO THIS SHOW AND MORE ON McCAIN'S GRAMM-CRACKER "DR. PHIL."
BUT AS THE REAL "DR PHIL," McGRAW, THAT IS, WOULD USUALLY SAY WHEN HIS GUESTS STIR UP A LITTLE RODEO, -- "OH, MAN!"
YESTERDAY I TOOK A FEW SHOTS AT JESSE, SPIKE AND THE "BIG O" -- TODAY'S THE REPUBLICANS' TURN. BUT DAMN, I'VE ONLY GOT ONE BIG MOUTH TO BAG TODAY -- FORMER U.S. SENATOR PHIL GRAMM, R-GA.
HE THINKS AMERICANS ARE A BUNCH OF WHINERS. WELL, AS YOU'LL SEE BELOW, HE'S QUALIFIED HIS REMARKS TO MEAN NOT THE THOUSANDS OF WORKING STIFFS WHO'VE LITTERALLY BEEN STIFFED BY THE "FREE" MARKET SYSTEM WHOSE TEMPLES HE DEVOUTLY WORSHIPS AT. HE WENT AFTER A LOT OF THE BIG FOLKS, TOO. THAT WAS NICE OF HIM, ESPECIALLY SINCE HE SHOWED HE WAS WILLING TO BUDGE A LITTLE, A TINY L ITTLE FROM HIS EARLIER REFUSAL TO RECANT -- NOTWI THSTANDING THE EMBARRASSMENT AND WELL-DESERVED HELL CAUGHT FROM HIS BOSS AND FORMER COLLEAGUE, JOHN McCAIN.
NOT TO WORRY, FOR WHAT THIS BIG MOUTH HAD TO SAY LATELY, HE COULD'VE SWALLOWED A LOT OF SLUDGE FROM WATERWAYS NEAR THE SHUT DOWN PLANTS UP IN MICHIGAN OR SWAMPWATER IN THE GEORGIA LOW-COUNTRY HE USED TO REPRESENT IN THE U.S. SENATE
IN A STORY PUBLISHED TODAY IN THE WASHINGTON POST ABOUT McCAIN'S (ECONOMIC "DR. PHIL"), GRAMM WAS QUOTED AS DEFIANTLY TELLING THE WASHINGTON TIMES, "I'm not going to retract any of it. Every word I said was true."
SENATOR STRAIGHTALKER HAD TO BACK OFF AND BACK OFF REAL FAST AND WITH SOME DEFIANCE AS WELL, CHEWING GRAMM OUT IN THE PAPERS. VERY DIGNIFIED.
ACCORDING FIGURES LISTED BY THE POST, AND LISTED BELOW, GRAMM'S REMARKS COULDN'T HAVE BEEN BETTER TIMED -- FOR THE BIG O.
The unemployment rate in the Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn area is 10.2 percent. The nation's next closest, 7.1 percent, is in the area around Lawrence and Salem, Mass.
For the first time since August 2002, the Labor Department said, every metropolitan area registered unemployment rate increases over the previous year, with Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn leading the way with a 2.1-percentage-point leap. The region lost 47,400 payroll jobs, nearly double the next highest job-loss total, in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area.
Over the past year, Michigan, with an 8.5 percent overall unemployment rate, lost 68,900 jobs.
For the first time since August 2002, the Labor Department said, every metropolitan area registered unemployment rate increases over the previous year, with Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn leading the way with a 2.1-percentage-point leap. The region lost 47,400 payroll jobs, nearly double the next highest job-loss total, in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area.
Over the past year, Michigan, with an 8.5 percent overall unemployment rate, lost 68,900 jobs.
GRAMM TRIED TO GET OUT OF HIS JAM BY POINTING OUT THAT SOME OF THIS ECONOMIC DOWNTURN COULD REFLECT MENTAL FACTORS. AND I THINK HE'S GOT A POINT WHEN YOU LOOK HOW MUCH FEAR GETS FACTORED INTO OUR GOODS AND SERVICES.
"Look, the economy is bad. It is far below what we Americans have a right to expect, but we are not in a recession," he said. "We may or may not have one in the future, but based on the data, we are not in a recession. But that does not mean all this talk does not have a psychological impact."
But, the former senator added,
"when I said we've become a nation of whiners, I'm talking about our leaders. I'm not talking about our people. We've got every kind of excuse in the world about oil prices -- we've got speculators, the oil companies to blame -- but too many people don't have a program to get on with a job of producing."
I LIVE IN AN AREA THAT'S GUIDED MORE BY ECONOMIC FEAR THAN PERHAPS ANY OTHER PART OF THE COUNTRY. AND MANY REASONS THERE'S LITTLE OR NO ECONOMIC GROWTH HAS TO DO WITH THE TIMIDITY OF THE LENDERS, BUSINESS LEADERS, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND A SENSE THAT FDR WILL COME BACK FROM THE DEAD AND IT'LL BE "HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN." THE SO-CALLED "PIONEER VALLEY" HAS PIONEERED ALRIGHT -- IN MAINTAINING A CONTINUAL STATE OF MENTAL DEPRESSION THAT HASN'T LIFTED AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER. BUT THERE ARE TIMES TO SAY THINGS AND TIMES TO BE MORE CIRCUMSPECT AND KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT, TACTICS WHICH GRAMM WAS ALWAYS CHALLENGED IN.
AND LET'S FACE IT, RUMORS OF GAS HIKES, JOB LOSSES AND THE RIPPLE EFFECTS OF THOSE POSSIBLE JOB LOSSES IN ANY GIVEN COMMUNITY CAUSE BANKS, COMPANIES, SMALL MERCHANTS AND PUBLIC GOVERNMENTS TO ALL OF A SUDDEN LOSE NERVE AND START CUTTING BACK. SURE, RECESSIONS ARE CAUSED BY MENTAL CAUSES, BUT YOU STILL HAVE TO USE MORE STREET SMARTS IN AT LEAST AN OBVIOUS DOWNTURN NOT TO USE WORDS LIKE "WHINERS."
POLITICAL DONORS DEVELOP A LOT OF MENTAL RESERVATIONS WHEN STUFF LIKE THIS HAPPENS, TOO. HEAR THAT SENATOR PHIL TOUGH TALKER?
FOR GRAMM -- A TOP FIGURE OF THE GOVERNING PARTY -- TO BE SAYING THIS DURING AN ELECTION YEAR WHILE CAMPAIGNING FOR A CANDIDATE WHO'S ALREADY BEHIND THE BIG O IN POLL NUMBERS AND ECONOMIC CONCEPTS, YOU HAVE TO ASK WHEN THE OTHER SHOE'S GOING TO DROP FOR GRAMM.
STAY TUNED TO THIS SHOW AND MORE ON McCAIN'S GRAMM-CRACKER "DR. PHIL."
BUT AS THE REAL "DR PHIL," McGRAW, THAT IS, WOULD USUALLY SAY WHEN HIS GUESTS STIR UP A LITTLE RODEO, -- "OH, MAN!"
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