The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

As a Freelance Independent Blogger Consultant, I Have Enormous Sympathy …

Posted on | December 2, 2010 | 9 Comments

. . . for those pathetic slobs who are merely “long-term unemployed“:

The longer people stay out of work, the more trouble they have finding new work. . . .
This country has some of the highest levels of long-term unemployment — or joblessness lasting more than six months — ever recorded. . . .
[T]he legions of long-term unemployed will probably be idle for significantly longer than their counterparts in past recessions, reducing their chances of eventually finding a job even when the economy becomes more robust.
“I am so worried somebody will look at me and say, ‘Oh, he’s probably lost his edge,’ ” said Tim Smyth, 51, a New York television producer who has been unable to find work since 2008, despite having two decades of experience at places like Nickelodeon and the Food Network. “I mean, I know it’s not true, but I’m afraid I might say the same thing if I were interviewing someone I didn’t know very well who’s been out of work this long.”

Read the whole thing. Advice for Tim Smyth: Dude, you’re going about this the wrong way. Just create a Web site and keep doing what you would be doing if you actually had a job with a paycheck.

Make some YouTube videos or something. Print yourself a card that says, “Tim Smyth, independent producer” and, if anybody asks what it is you’re producing, give ’em some mumbo-jumbo about “projects” and “clients.” You don’t have to tell them that your client is your brother-in-law and the project is a DVD highlight compilation of his home videos of his kids’ softball season.

Alternatively: “I’m negotiating a development deal.”

Every other bartender and convenience-store clerk in L.A. is “negotiating a development deal,” which translates to “calling up producers to ask them to take a look at my crappy reality-series proposal,” or whatever.

The important thing is to convey the impression that you’re a hot property, with plenty of offers to choose from, just waiting for the right deal to come along.

By the way, this is probably a good time to remind readers that it’s “Make My Wife Happy” Week here at The Other McCain, so please hit the tip jar pay those “consulting” fees.

UPDATE: Now a Memeorandum thread. All joking aside, we are talking about a couple of related problems:

  • Structural unemployment, not cyclical unemployment — In many cases (although probably not Tim Smyth’s case), long-term unemployment represents an actual shift in the structure of the labor market. As I’ve said, “if you’re waiting for the buggy-whip industry to rebound, you’re going to be waiting a long time.” Even if your occupational skill-set hasn’t become obsolete, it may be that what was a growing sector of the labor force 15 or 20 years ago is now a declining sector, and your long-term unemployment therefore reflects a developing surplus of people with similar skill sets.
  • Labor market demographics — Tim Smyth is the same age I am, which means he was born near the peak of the Baby Boom. In October, “60 Minutes” did an eye-opening segment (which I mentioned on the blog) about middle-class people in San Jose, Calif., whose 99 weeks of unemployment benefits had run out. Guess what? Most of those people weren’t just middle-class, they were middle-aged, too.

“Financial analyst at a real estate firm, age 54 . . . people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s who though they’d done everything right . . . too young to retire and maybe, too old to rehire . . . fiber-optics engineering manager . . . today, nearly 20 percent of the unemployed in America have college degrees. . . . Doug [Francone] was a $200,000-a-year personnel executive . . . Claudia Bruce . . . was an office manager making $70,000 a year.”

There is a similarity to these people, you see. Although short-term prospects are grim for young people — unemployment for those under 25 is very high — they at least have the hope of getting on with their careers once the economy recovers.

For the middle-aged and (formerly) middle-class unemployed, however, the wrecked economy has devastated their lives in a way that is genuinely irreparable. Even if they manage to find new careers in new fields, there will never be a “recovery” for these people whose careers were permanently derailed — savings drained, homes lost — as a result of the Great Crash.

The “winners” of this grievous misfortune are those who recognize the reality and stop deluding themselves with the false belief that their next job will be like the jobs they lost.

When companies begin to re-hire financial analysts and office managers, they won’t be looking for 55-year-olds to fill those jobs, will they? No, they won’t.

You can yell “age discrimination” at the top of your lungs, but it’s not going to change that reality. You’re going to have to find some new way to earn a living, and the sooner you start figuring out what that “new way” is, the better off you’ll be in the long run.

Category: Economics

Noose Tightens for Julian Assange

Posted on | December 2, 2010 | 2 Comments

The Washington Post:

PARIS- The Swedish Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder and guiding spirit, must appear before a magistrate in Stockholm to answer accusations of rape and sexual harassment brought by two Swedish women. . . .

Read the rest. Like I said, four words.

Category: Crime, Sweden

Missouri Senate 2012: Club for Growth Backing Sarah Steelman Over Jim Talent?

Posted on | December 2, 2010 | 6 Comments

Philip Klein at The American Spectator reports on a contested GOP primary that may be developing:

Yesterday, Sarah Steelman, a former state treasurer and state senator, has announced plans to challenge McCaskill, setting the stage for what could be a hard fought primary. The Club for Growth came out this morning to applaud Steelman’s entrance into the race, with Club president Chris Chocola calling it, “a welcome sign for pro-growth conservatives.” By contrast, Chocola fired a preemtive strike against [former GOP Sen. Jim] Talent, who is believed to be considering a rematch against McCaskill. “With a record of support for government expansion and outrageous earmark spending, it would be more difficult for Jim Talent to successfully contrast his record with Claire McCaskill’s,” he said. You can already see the conservative outsider vs. establisment RINO narrative forming.
Democratic polling firm PPP has conducted an early poll of the race, and confirms that McCaskill is vulnerable, essentially tied with prospective challengers. She has a one point edge over Steelman, while trailing Talent and Lt Gov. Peter Kinder, another possible candidate, by two points each.

Although Jim Talent is certainly an “establishment” Republican, I don’t think anyone would accuse him of being a “RINO” of the Crist/Castle variety. There may be some specific reason the Club for Growth prefers Steelman over Talent — various measures Talent voted for during his congressional tenure that the Club opposes — but I see no need to throw around a slur like “RINO” against a guy whose reputation is as a loyal conservative Republican.

Kudos to Phil for the reporting — as I said last week, conservatives need to focus on the key Senate races for 2012. Let’s hope we have lots more contested Republican primaries like this one in Missouri, and hopefully some Tea Party candidates — businessmen, homeschooling moms, military veterans, county sheriffs, etc. — will throw their hats in the ring.

Category: American Spectator, Congress, Election 2012, Missouri, Senate

Julian Assange Has ‘Got the Editor of Time Magazine Hanging Breathlessly on His Every Word’

Posted on | December 2, 2010 | 27 Comments

That’s Allahpundit’s description of the biggest celebrity anti-American since Cindy Sheehan. Assange is like John Kerry, Bill Ayers and Alger Hiss rolled into one great big ball of adorable subversion. He’s as sexy as Che Guevara.

Julian Assange is to liberal journalists what Justin Bieber is to 11-year-old girls. He’s Sinatra at the Paramount, Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show, the Beatles at Shea Stadium.

“Oh, please, Julian — it’s OK if I call you Julian, isn’t it? — please, release some more documents that will undermine America’s national security and, by the way, I want to have your babies.”

Pathetic, is what it is.

This guy is the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of the Internet. Kim Jong Il with a blog.

The appropriate U.S. response to Julian Assange could be summarized in four words: Predator drone. Hellfire missile.

And then let all these damned journalistic apostles of “transparency” try to get an exclusive interview with the smoking crater.

Yeah. I wrote that. And put it on the Internet.

UPDATE: Does Assange face arrest in Britain?

UPDATE II: The noose tightens.

Category: Terrorism

Bikinis. Kettlecorn. Shakespeare.

Posted on | December 2, 2010 | 4 Comments

Dan Collins has video of some chicks in bikinis reading Shakespeare while eating Kettlecorn.

Yeah, you’re going to click that link.

You’re going to feel guilty about clicking it, but you’ll click it.

Category: Piece of Work in Progress, Rule 5

How Gay Is the WikiLeaker?

Posted on | December 2, 2010 | 3 Comments

So gay, these aren’t even the funniest lines in Ann Coulter’s column about Bradley Manning:

What constitutes being “openly” gay now? Bringing a spice rack to basic training? Attending morning drills decked out as a Cher impersonator? Following Anderson Cooper on Twitter?
Also, U.S. military, have you seen a picture of Bradley Manning? The photo I’ve seen is only from the waist up, but you get the feeling that he’s wearing butt-less chaps underneath. He looks like a guy in a soldier costume at the Greenwich Village Halloween parade.
With any luck, Bradley’s court-martial will be gayer than a Liza Minelli wedding. It could be the first court-martial in U.S. history to feature ice sculptures and a “Wizard of Oz”-themed gazebo. “Are you going to Bradley’s court-martial? I hear Patti LaBelle is going to sing!” . . .

Read the whole gay thing. And whereas Manning is hilariously gay, Wikileaks fugitive Julian Assange is seriously weird.

Category: Ann Coulter

LIVE AT FIVE – 12.02.10

Posted on | December 2, 2010 | 1 Comment

TOP NEWS

Senate GOP: No More Bills Until Bush Tax Rates Extended

Senators McConnell, Alexander and Cornyn

All 42 Republican senators commit to blocking action until rates extended

Data Show Fed Loaned Billions To Megacorps, Foreign Banks
Specifics on who got the money not revealed until now


Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Presses PRC On Korean Crisis
Admiral Mullen says call for resuming six-party talks is no solution

Amazon Boots Wikileaks From Server Cloud
Prompt action follows Lieberman’s questions



POLITICS

Administration Reverses Course, Bans Drilling Off Atlantic & Florida Coasts

Oil rigs sit idle off Port Fourchon, Louisiana

Decision means passing up billions in lease revenues that could have been used to help balance the budget

UK Police Know Where Wikileaks Head Is, Have Yet To Act On Interpol Alert



Former New Orleans Cop Gets Eight Years For Katrina Shootings

Polygamous Sect Leader Arraigned In Texas After Extradition From Utah



THE ECONOMY, STUPID

Cyber Monday Sales: $1.03 Billion

FCC Net Neutrality Plan Could Mean Higher Charges For Some Users

FTC Proposes Mandatory “Do Not Track”  Option For Web Browsers

Verizon LTE Pricing Could Trigger 4G Price War



SPORTS

NCAA Declines To Punish Son For Sins Of The Father

Auburn QB Cam Newton, favorite for Heisman Trophy

Cam Newton, Auburn not liable for Papa Newton’s attempt to shop son to other colleges

It’s On To Cleveland As Heat Beat Pistons
Temperature to be in 20s, reception even colder

Rangers’ Ryan, Daniels Visit Cliff Lee
Sources Say Five-Year Deal On The Table



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS

So…Did He Hit Her One More Time, Or Didn’t He?

Star claims yes, Britney says hell no

Star Magazine claims Britney beaten by boyfriend Jason Trawick, but she calls BS on the tabloid

Alexis Neiers Busted For Parole Violation and Black Tar Heroin

“Dancing With The Stars” Not Satisfied With Just Bristol – Now They Want Todd?

Rachel Uchitel – First Class Reject

Aging “Glee” Stars Face The Axe

Heather Locklear Hospitalized With Bacterial Infection

The Quaid Conspiracy

Christy Martin: Husband Shot Me Over Lesbian Affair

AMC Quashes Rumors About “Walking Dead” Writer Purge



FOREIGNERS

U.S., Pakis Join Forces To Deny Wikileaks Cable Revelations

Putin Responds To State’s Criticisms of Russia, Warns U.S. To Stay Out Of Russia’s Internal Affairs

Thousands Stranded At Airports As Snow Hits UK

Wikileaks: Cuba, Venezuela In “Axis of Mischief”



BLOGS & STUFF

Moe Lane: “Compromise”? On Raising Taxes?

Sister Toldjah: Getting It Backwards – The Legislative Veto

Marginal Revolution: A Simple Theory Of WikiLeaks

Verum Serum: Ted Strickland’s Advice To Dems – Talk Tough

Legal Insurrection: Okay, So You Knew Reagan

American Power: Incoming Leader Of American Taliban To Install New Restroom For Women Adjacent To House Floor


— compiled by Wombat-socho

Category: Live at Five

Democrats Extremely Concerned About Extremism of Extreme GOP Extremists

Posted on | December 1, 2010 | 6 Comments

See if you can’t pick up a hint — a dog whistle, you might say — of what kind of message Democrat strategists Ed Kilgore, James Vega and J.P. Green want their clients to employ:

Beyond “sabotage” — the central issue about the growing political extremism of the Republican Party is that it’s undermining fundamental American standards of ethical political conduct and behavior. . . .
But, among Democrats themselves, this particular question is actually just one particular component of a much broader and deeper concern — a very real and authentic sense of alarm that there is something both genuinely unprecedented and also profoundly dangerous in the intense “take no prisoners” political extremism of the current Republican Party. . . .
The key feature that distinguishes the increasingly extremist perspective of today’s Republican Party from the standards of political behavior we have traditionally considered proper in America is the view that politics is — quite literally, and not metaphorically — a kind of warfare and political opponents are literally “enemies” This “politics as warfare” perspective has historically been the hallmark of many extremist political parties of both the ideological left and ideological right — parties ranging from the American Communist Party to the French National Front. . . .
It is easy to see examples of the various politics as warfare- based views and tactics listed above directly reflected in the statements and actions of the extreme wing of Republican coalition . . .
Since the recent elections it has been increasingly argued that the top Republican leadership is not actually extreme. . . .
But this misunderstands the role that the politics as warfare perspective plays within many extremist political parties. . . . The leadership of these parties very often asserts complete and absolute fealty to democratic norms of behavior but simultaneously gives “wink and a nod” encouragement to the extreme elements within its base. . . . This strategy of using “dog-whistles” — inaudible to others — to signal the base allows political parties to deny embracing extremism at the same time that they reassure and retain the loyalty of their extremist supporters. . . .
Conservatives need not agree with Democrats and can continue to oppose progressive reform but at the same time they can also recognize that the growing extremist trend within the Republican Party is simply unacceptable. . . .
The threat to basic American values and standards of ethical political conduct and behavior posed by the growth of an extremist perspective within the Republican coalition is now as great as the threat that was posed in the 1950’s by McCarthyism.
At this time, far too many of the “sensible moderates” one would expect to stand up and challenge the rise of the extremist politics as warfare perspective within the Republican Party have hidden behind the notion that “both sides are equally at fault” and that no special or particular criticism needs to be leveled at the Republicans. . . .

John Hinderaker undertook the effort to refute the specific accusations made by Kilgore, et al., but I was mainly struck by the mind-numbing repetition: 13 separate uses of “extreme,” “extremist” or “extremism,” including four times in a single paragraph.

Of course, contrary to all this dog-whistling about the GOP’s extreme agenda of extremist extremism, actual Republicans — as opposed to all this scary “threat to basic American values” in the  —  are still pushing the same basic agenda they’ve been pushing for decades. It’s nothing new and no more “extreme” than Goldwater, Reagan or Gingrich.

What Kilgore & Co. are advising Democrats to do is to use the accusation of extremism to drive a wedge between between congressional Republicans and corporate donors.

Kinda related: Helzberg Diamonds caves to left-wing boycott campaign against Glenn Beck advertisers.

Category: Democrats
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