This is a site I started in 2011 when the "real" Reality Chex had problems for an extended period of time. If & when this happens again, I'll try to keep you posted on developments here. -- Marie
Friday, December 2, 2022
Thursday, August 9, 2018
The Commentariat -- August 9, 2018
This is a test.She's Got Tapes! Lachlan Markay, et al., of the Daily Beast: "Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell The Daily Beast that Omarosa Manigault-Newman, the infamous former Apprentice star who followed Trump to the White House, secretly recorded conversations with the president — conversations she has since leveraged while shopping her forthcoming 'tell-all' book, bluntly titled UNHINGED. For months, it has been rumoredthat Manigault had clandestinely recorded on her smartphone 'tapes' of unspecified private discussions she had in the West Wing. Audio actually does exist, and even stars Manigault’s former boss. One person confirmed to The Daily Beast they had heard at least one of her recordings featuring President Trump. Multiple sources familiar with the so-called 'Omarosa tapes' described the recorded conversations between Trump and Manigault as anodyne, everyday chatter, but said they did appear to feature Trump’s voice, either over the phone or in-person. The mere existence of such recordings represent a dramatic betrayal of trust by a one-time Trump confidant who has since abandoned years of professed loyalty to the president and has apparently decided to profit off her years of closeness to Trump."
Friday, August 12, 2011
August 13 -- The Candidates' Debate
Off Times Square is supposed to be fixed, but it was supposed to be fixed more than half-a-dozen times before this, so there are no guarantees. So I'm cross-posting here on Reality Chex Annex. Please try to post on Off Times Square first, and if you can't, post your comment here on Reality Chex Annex and I'll try to copy it in Off Times Square.
Make sure to copy the content of your comment in case of a posting failure.
Charles Blow: "... all the [Republican presidential] candidates ... confirm[ed] that they felt so strongly about not raising taxes that they would all walk away from a hypothetical deficit-reduction deal that was as extreme as 10 parts spending cuts to one part tax increases.... No person who would take such a stance is fit to be president of the United States or any developed country. Good governance in a democratic society is about the art of the deal, not fiats and dictum. You want leaders who stand up for principles but not in the way of progress." ...
... Kurt Andersen in the New York Times: "Keeping track of which politician has signed which pledge is head-spinning. These pledges make the politicians more like robots, built to respond in simple, unchanging ways."
Don Peck writes a long essay in The Atlantic that I'm excerpting here for the highlighted stat: In 2005, Citigroup analysts wrote that "America was composed of two distinct groups: the rich and the rest. And for the purposes of investment decisions, the second group didn’t matter; tracking its spending habits or worrying over its savings rate was a waste of time. All the action in the American economy was at the top: the richest 1 percent of households earned as much each year as the bottom 60 percent put together; they possessed as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent [emphasis added]; and with each passing year, a greater share of the nation’s treasure was flowing through their hands and into their pockets. It was this segment of the population, almost exclusively, that held the key to future growth and future returns. The analysts ... had coined a term for this state of affairs: plutonomy.... Income inequality usually shrinks during a recession, but in the Great Recession, it didn’t. From 2007 to 2009, the most-recent years for which data are available, it widened a little."
Make sure to copy the content of your comment in case of a posting failure.
Charles Blow: "... all the [Republican presidential] candidates ... confirm[ed] that they felt so strongly about not raising taxes that they would all walk away from a hypothetical deficit-reduction deal that was as extreme as 10 parts spending cuts to one part tax increases.... No person who would take such a stance is fit to be president of the United States or any developed country. Good governance in a democratic society is about the art of the deal, not fiats and dictum. You want leaders who stand up for principles but not in the way of progress." ...
... Kurt Andersen in the New York Times: "Keeping track of which politician has signed which pledge is head-spinning. These pledges make the politicians more like robots, built to respond in simple, unchanging ways."
Backup Reading:
Don Peck writes a long essay in The Atlantic that I'm excerpting here for the highlighted stat: In 2005, Citigroup analysts wrote that "America was composed of two distinct groups: the rich and the rest. And for the purposes of investment decisions, the second group didn’t matter; tracking its spending habits or worrying over its savings rate was a waste of time. All the action in the American economy was at the top: the richest 1 percent of households earned as much each year as the bottom 60 percent put together; they possessed as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent [emphasis added]; and with each passing year, a greater share of the nation’s treasure was flowing through their hands and into their pockets. It was this segment of the population, almost exclusively, that held the key to future growth and future returns. The analysts ... had coined a term for this state of affairs: plutonomy.... Income inequality usually shrinks during a recession, but in the Great Recession, it didn’t. From 2007 to 2009, the most-recent years for which data are available, it widened a little."
Corporations are people, my friend. -- Mitt Romney ...... Paul Krugman: "... the corporate profits tax isn’t a tax on these organizations. It’s a tax on these organizations’ profits — the share of their income that does NOT go to workers and suppliers. Now, stockholders are people too — but they are, on average, quite rich people, who are doing very well as most Americans suffer."
Thursday, August 11, 2011
The Commentariat -- August 12
... Update: RealityChex.com is back in business but I'm still working on Off Times Square. I have learned the identity of an individual who was responsible for taking down the site last night. He apparently was looking for information about where I live. Because he was aware information available publicly was not up-to-date, I believe he may have stalked my neighborhood and may pose a threat to my safety. I have contacted the local police in the city where he resides.
In the wee hours this morning I reproduced -- as best I could -- the Commentariat here. I've since added extensively to the Commentariat on the Reality Chex site. As RealityChex.com seems to be working reliably now, I've taken down this abbreviated version. Thanks for your patience, everyone.
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