THE VOX BLOG IS NO LONGER ACTIVE

Mar 3, 2009 at 8:09 AM
13 comments

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Bravo Jon Stewart! We the people demand responsible journalism. Thank you, Jon, for insisting on the very dialogue that challenges the gross distortion of information we see on the cable networks.

There is so much that I would like to say...more than is applicable on a simple blog...but here goes-

Modern Corporate Capitalism is structurally flawed.

Perhaps this isn't news considering the state of the economy at this moment, but it has been just as flawed during the "boom" that precipitated the "bust". Charles P. Kindeberger's book, "Manias, Panics, and Crashes- A History of Financial Crises" is the seminal work on the subject, and should be required reading for anyone (Mr. Geitner?) who seeks to understand the current pattern.

The current crises has it's roots in the expansion of credit. The expansion of credit creates the climate of "irrational exuberance" that leads to an environment in which common sense is thrown out the window. Stock brokers, financial advisors and financial talk show hosts suddenly become elevated to the level of shamans, gurus, and purveyors of economic wisdom which is consideed omniscent and omnipotenet. After all, stocks are going UP. People are getting RICH.

But at a certain point, shuffling paper around simply does not create wealth, and the steady stream of suckers necessary to maintain equilibrium falls apart.

Of course, anyone who suggests that there is a problem (even when the system is collapsing) is labeled a lefty or a Socialist.

Trouble is, the usual talking points and blaming that the illusionists use to maintain the game (entitlement programs, the government is the problem, etc.) doesn't ring true when 4 million people lose their jobs in 3-4 months.

Blaming the victim doesn't work too well at that point.

Fantasy of the great meritocracy simply doesn't resonate.

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I like the show.
In all honesty the show should be called Left-Left-Left-and-Right.

Thanks.

BV

Does anyone know the title of the article by Michael Lewis Matt Miller made reference to in last weeks show?

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I continue to be struck by how far the left in our country has moved to the right. Despite discussion of turmoil in Mexico and the Taliban in Afghanistan, there is almost no mention of how our draconian drug laws act as price supports to the drug trade, encouraging (and creating?) many of the bad guys we oppose. The corporations hawking legal drugs with horrendous side effects want you to believe this is necessary, even though the statistics show that legal drugs hurt and kill more people. So we love drugs and have drug price supports that fund militias throughout the world.

Unfortunately, the Democrats and Obama have no stomach for fixing this. Or getting the 1+ million people out of prison who were convicted of nonviolent crimes and are learning to be more violent while they are there - we have no way to get jobs for them or the guards that would no longer be needed.

The bottom line (I would sure like to hear about this on future shows): a nation can't create wealth when it is wasting time dealing with crises that we create. Which at this point include unrest in Latin America, terrorists in the Middle East and 10% of our workers beholden to an auto industry that refuses to make vehicles that people want. We don't need Obama to create a "socialist" government - Reagan and the Bushes (and BTW Clinton) did, allowing big corporations and government to control what gets produced. Oh - you don't think that finagling the rules produce cheap SUVs with yesterday's technology was socialist, even though people dropped them like hot potatoes as soon as gas prices went up? LOL - producing stuff that people won't buy is a hallmark of authoritarian socia-comm/unism!

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I write this out of the respect I have for Mr. Blankley and his thought-full opinions I have heard on the show. Please stop trying to defend the idea that climate change isn't real. I understand your hesitation, when you seriously look at the problem we all face if we accept all that science has told us, it's a very, very, scary future that we could face. If he continues his defense of anti-climate change ideas I might have to invite him to join the Flat Earth Society. If you aren't familiar with their group, they claim the Earth really is flat and the evidence doesn't exist to support that the earth is a sphere. So Mr. Blankley please don' t end up as the historical bad guy, like the medieval tyrants that tore down Galileo’s ideas. I think you would rather be remembered as a thoughtful, opinionated, respected person.

Matt... did I misunderstand what you said in Fridays' comments concerning the meeting with

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Why is it that when a group of Sunnis bomb a group of Shiites pilgrims or the reverse, no Islamic group complains, but 6 cartoons in a Danish news paper and there is rioting in the streets?

Ms Huffington remarked that, if men would simply not put things in writing accessible to others, none of these scandals would have come to light.

the wolves were given the henhouse.
you cannot have money without transparent regulation. period.
opaque markets is larceny

read amartya sen. opacity is larceny

Why is it that when a group of Sunnis bomb a group of Shiites pilgrims or the reverse, no Islamic group complains

* wrote:
* Jun 11, 2009
* Reply

HUH?

that is the dumbest most ignorant remark ever. 1. how could anybody with a brain imagine that they don't complain. 2. what does this person think bombing is, friendly discussion? 3. the whole history of shia vs sunni is how they complain. that is the very basis of the origin of the split.

christians in america do the same: remeber Giuliani and paintings of the virgin mary in a museum in NY. after all bush's jihad against iraq kolled millions not merely thousands.

get a life