Monday Mashup (8/22/11)

Remember here, when the teabaggers got all upset at Marvel because, in a Captain America comic, they were depicted as holding completely authentic signs, and in the face of criticism, editor Joe Quesada utterly caved and apologized?

Well, in a related story, as they say, I give you this (the correct way to handle such a dustup)…

This year, Marvel Comics announced that multi-racial Miles Morales would be the new man behind Spider-man’s red and blue mask in “Ultimate Spider-Man.” Right on cue, right-wing punditry erupted in a racist rage against the idea of a biracial hero. Defunct Fox News host Glenn Beck lashed out at Marvel, calling Spiderman “a stupid comic book” and attributed the change as an intentional nod to Michelle Obama’s apparent agenda to “change our traditions.” In response, “Ultimate Spider-Man” writer Brian Michael Bendis found reason to celebrate: “We pissed off Glenn Beck, and that was amazing. I don’t think Glenn Beck is an idiot because he’s a conservative. I literally think he’s just an idiot. Regardless of his belief system, he’s just a lunatic. So that was hilarious…I told my wife that she doesn’t have to get me anything for my birthday because nothing will make me happier than this made me.”

Wallopin’ Websnappers!

Also, Tyler Cowen opined as follows at The Old Gray Lady yesterday (here)…

THERE’S been a lot of bad economic news lately, yet we may be overlooking the most disturbing development of all: our economic productivity has been weakening. This isn’t just a problem for the United States. Because America remains a leader in technology and innovation, it is also a matter of concern for the entire world.

Cowen actually cites some legitimate sources for his claim; our ridiculous health care expenditures in this country which basically don’t equate to better patient outcomes, our “expenditures on the military and domestic security” which “generally doesn’t produce useful goods and services that raise our standard of living,” the fact that the Chinese aren’t “taking the lead in creating breakthrough products,” etc. Oh, and Cowen also says, “One problem may be offshoring by American companies” though “(his) point is not to attack offshoring” (of course).

But out of all of this, Cowen arrives at the following conclusion…

“…Americans have not been getting the job done…”

I don’t know what “Americans” Cowen is referring to here, but this tells us the following…

WASHINGTON — The United States is out of step with the rest of the world's richest industrialized nations: Its economy is growing faster than theirs but creating far fewer jobs.

The reason is U.S. workers have become so productive that it's harder for anyone without a job to get one.

Companies are producing and profiting more than when the recession began, despite fewer workers. They're hiring again, but not fast enough to replace most of the 7.5 million jobs lost since the recession began.

Measured in growth, the American economy has outperformed those of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan – every Group of 7 developed nation except Canada, according to The Associated Press' new Global Economy Tracker, a quarterly analysis of 22 countries representing more than 80 percent of global output.

Yet the U.S. job market remains the group's weakest. U.S. employment bottomed and started growing again a year ago, but there are still 5.4 percent fewer American jobs than in December 2007. That's a much sharper drop than in any other G-7 country. The U.S. had the G-7's highest unemployment rate as of December.

Also, this tells us how Americans are working part-time jobs to supplement their income.

This is pretty much what you’d expect from a “glibertarian” like Cowen, though, who blamed “immigrants who consume public services” for the deficit here and extolled our supposedly glorious private sector health care system in this country (as opposed to that baaad “big gumint” supposed Obama scheme of health care reform) here...so I guess what he says here about HCR basically constitutes a "flip flop," doesn't it?

Continuing, I give you the following inanity from The Daily Tucker (here)…

Barack Obama’s presidency is a disaster. But however low the Dow drops, however high unemployment goes, however many more times we engage in dubious foreign policy adventures like the Libyan war, one thing is for sure: Conservatives will never call for the assassination of the president.

Oh, that’s rich (would that it were true).

This tells us the following…

Since Mr Obama took office, the rate of threats against the president has increased 400 per cent from the 3,000 a year or so under President George W. Bush, according to Ronald Kessler, author of In the President's Secret Service.

(Note: This must be a right-wing site…a tipoff is all of the typos. However, the source information looks credible.)

Also, as noted here…

Sarah Palin's attacks on Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign.

Also, wingnut Repug U.S. House Rep Paul Broun of Georgia was just a little bit late in responding to the supposed “joke” from a constituent about assassinating Obama (here), and this idiot Rex Rammell in Idaho made a supposed joke about “hunting” Obama here (and by the way, we’re still waiting for an apology for this).

Make no mistake – I agreed with practically nothing that Former President Highest Disapproval Rating In Gallup Poll History said or did during his ill-fated term, but despite that, I never wished for violence against him physically or against any other public figure. There are plenty of ways to express disagreement without acting in that uncalled-for fashion, and we should all hope and pray for the safety not just of President Obama, but of all of our public officials.

Also, I know it’s hard to believe, but it looks as though the Republican Party has finally found a tax cut it doesn’t like (here)…

Republicans are balking at President Obama's proposal to extend the payroll tax deduction for another year:

"It's always a net positive to let taxpayers keep more of what they earn," says Rep. Jeb Hensarling, "but not all tax relief is created equal for the purposes of helping to get the economy moving again."

And why aren't they eager to extend it?

The 12-month tax reduction will cost the government about $120 billion this year, and a similar amount next year if it's renewed.

That worries Rep. David Camp, R-Mich., chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, and a member of the House-Senate supercommittee tasked with finding new deficit cuts. Tax reductions, "no matter how well-intended," will push the deficit higher, making the panel's task that much harder, Camp's office said.

…

Here's why Republicans don't want to do it: it's a twofer. They get to screw the President and they get to screw the middle-class, all at the same time. It's what they refer to as a "golden opportunity" and they don't want to pass it up.

This is typical for the bunch who removed a middle-class tax credit in January here (without a lot of fight from the Dems as nearly as I can tell). And from the “looking into the crystal ball” dept., I give you the following from Dem U.S. House Rep Pete Stark last December…

If Republicans want tax cuts for the wealthy, we should demand that they explain how to pay for them right now. We know how they will be paid for in the long run -- once Republicans are in the majority and flip-flop back to caring about the deficit, they will insist on "deficit reduction" legislation that slashes important programs that help working families -- all to pay down the deficit that this proposal creates.

In addition, this confirms the fact that the Dubya tax cuts were a complete failure; we experienced the lowest increase of GDP under Dubya than under any other president since JFK. And this tells us that they’re not deviating from the script in any way whatsoever (memo to President Hopey Changey: beat them over the head with this, metaphorically speaking, from now until Election Day...and here is more proof).

Finally (and speaking of Republican congressional numbskulls), I give you the following from the web site of Mikey The Beloved (here)…

“The vast majority of jobs created in our economy today are by small and independently owned businesses,” said Fitzpatrick at the town hall. “So if the federal government is serious about finally reducing unemployment, it needs to listen to the people that are in this room today. The ideas I heard today, including reforming the federal tax code, reducing excessive and redundant regulatory burdens, enacting real cost containment for healthcare, and preventing excessive litigation, are important steps I will advocate for in Washington to help jump start our economy.”

Fitzpatrick is already a co-sponsor of the REINS Act, which would require that Congress approve federal regulatory action that is expected to have an economic impact of at least $100 million.

“Already”? He’s been in office for eight months. What, does he expect fanfare or something?

As noted here, however…

(The REINS Act) would stop any major regulation issued by any federal agency from taking effect until it receives approval from both houses of Congress and the president. Boehner justifies the bill as a “transparency” and “accountability” measure, but it clearly takes aim at the White House, which, with the GOP now in control of the House, is relying heavily on agency rulemaking to advance its agenda in areas such as health care, financial regulation, and clean energy.

Yep, with the gridlock created by the wretched 112th Congress, particularly in the House, Orange Man and his pals are trying to hamstring the only means the Obama White House has of carrying out its agenda.

Of course, a Dem’s notion of implementing change in the face of congressional obstruction is a Repug’s notion of “excessive and redundant regulatory burden,” isn’t it?

Where are the jobs, Mikey??!!