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Can't Put It Clearer Than This Study: $2 trillion needed for U.S. infrastructure. “Infrastructure should be part of the larger conversation about ‘what do you want government to do and how do you want to pay for it?’ ” said Jay Zukerman of Ernst & Young, which conducted the institute’s study. Great piece . And oh how I agree ! And how I answer the last part of the question. Read the whole thing here.

My Mother's Obituary Jimmie Jenkins Duff Jimmie Duff , 101 years old, died of natural causes April 16, 2011 in Albuquerque, NM. Born Nov 9, 1909 in Petrolia, Tx. to Maggie Mae and Jacob Spencer Jenkins and raised by her grandmother Amanda Duval and uncle Earl Duval. She married Willis P. Duff in Sherman Tx. in 1932. Their home was in Bonham from 1945 through 1995. Memorial services will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Bonham Saturday, May 21st at 11 AM. Jimmie Duff, beloved mother, grand and great grandmother was in many ways a pioneer. She was driving at 9. At Austin College in Sherman she was on the basketball team, long before women’s basketball was common. She was a member of the first women’s organization of any kind at AC, Kappa Gamma Chi. She was an early entrepreneur; she and Willis bought and ran a restaurant, The Gem Café in Bonham, right after WW II. As a social worker during the ‘60s for the State of Texas, she was an early reformer of privat...

The Most Successful (and Destructive) Propaganda Campaign Ever    Have you noticed? In our budget discussions we-the-people are like a one-legged man.... ...Trying to dance with a huge, two-legged woman. Half the equipment we need for movement is missing. Simply gone. Our dancing partner has more equipment than she needs. There could be four horses under that tent of a dress. Guess who leads? And one after another of us, including really smart people amid the dummies, don't seem to notice the situation. The "one legged man" - the middle class and poorer folks seeking a solution for our ailing national, state and local government budgets - is in a dance with absolute apocalypse. A strong, fair , intelligent, problem-solving dance (discussion) is necessary for us to have any hope of avoiding this apocalypse. So who is our dance partner? Not that good old foursome, Conquest, War, Famine and Death. So who? How about Oligarchs and their Lobbyists, Propagandi...

Sort of Makes Me Sick Something is wrong here . "Public Employee Pension Funds Underfunded by $1.5 Trillion" When a state government negotiates pensions for state workers, then fails to fund them... that's, let's see... Lying (to the future pensioners), Irresponsible (to taxpayers), Damaging (to the economy) and Stupid (beyond belief). That's obscene in my book. Of course corporations have been making the same obscene decisions as well. It just seems stupider when it is our state legislators and executives doing it. Why don't we hear some specifics, like which legislators and governors did it? Why aren't they the object of our scorn? Why aren't they held accountable? But no, the public worker unions - who negotiated in good faith, and assumed the other side would act in good faith - get the blame. Who's side would you say the "corporate media" is on? Reporting a big story and leaving out the...

Great Minds, etc. I love it when someone I admire and respect agrees with me. Today, Mr. Klein , The Washington Post’s wunderkind (he’s 26!) highlighted four NY Times pieces that I just happen to think are super. He did it in his “Wonkbook” newsletter. (It’s free and good every day!) 1. Paul Krugman’s “ Eat the Future ” about how the Republican budget slashes are “unserious and inhumane” and kind of dumb in that they hardly touch the deficit while they crush actual people (Don’t forget, they slash NPR & PBS too). 2. Steven Pearlstein’s “ It's Make-or-Break Time for Manufacturing ” about how government can help (hear that, Repubs?), but it’s also up to the multi-national corporations to stop the cancerous loss of manufacturing in America. 3. Felix Salmon’s “ Wall Street’s Dead End ” about how the market is no longer doing what it’s supposed to do, let all Americans share in the success of American companies. I’v...

Tough to Find, But Definitely Worth It! A tool made in the USA! And at a Big Box store (Home Depot) to boot. In these times when it's harder and harder to find that "Made in U.S.A." note - especially on tools - this was a great find. And it's a great tool. Super stripper, bolt trimmer, etc. Klein Tools. The default store for tools, "Harbor Freight" is the big chain that is basically a Chinese manufacturing outlet. I challenge you to find "Made in U.S.A." there. I think I'm becoming a protectionist. Horrors. Pretty soon, I will propose a boycott of S. Korean cars. But I'll wait 'til I research it a bit more.

...About Climate Change If you are casting a dragnet for clarifying info on the (apparently to some) confusing facts about the REALLY BIG MESS we are heading into with our dosing the atmosphere with our carbon refuse, try this site . Like weekly. It's on my new favorite web site, Architecture 2030 . Give it a shot. pix credit

...Years Old! My Mom. Today. This is that sweet girl at 17. And she still looks good. Not many dudes my age can still go see their moms in person. Happy birthday, Jimmie Duff. love, scooter

Here Come the Republicans! Oct. 1 ( Bloomberg ) -- U.S. House Republicans’ pledge to cut $100 billion from the federal budget next year would slash spending for education, cancer research and aid to local police and firefighters. A 21 percent cut in Pell Grants would take almost $5 billion from student tuition. A 21 percent cut across the board would take about $15 billion from education. A 21 percent cut at the National Institutes of Health would take about $6 billion from health research. A 21 percent cut would take $400 million from police. I could go on, but it makes me cry, and you don't want a sobbing blogger. Especially when letting the tax cuts for those making over a quarter million bucks a year expire would save all that and have about the same impact as those cruel cuts on the budget. You know I don't think the Democrats are always right, but I agree with their statement about all this cutting into the hearts of our citizens: “It will have a serious impact ...

YEA G R A P H I C S !!! Not since Ross Perot has a major politico used graphics to "draw" the facts. Finally, Austan Goolsbee gives it a shot. 'Tain't perfect, but it's pretty good. [ NOT Austan Goolsbee ] Check it out. I reiterate my many-times-recommended-to-Prez-Obama plea: "Use graphics; Use video; Use stills; USE VISUALS to make your points.

Geometric Growth! "Modern science is advancing at an unprecedented rate, and the amount of scientific data is doubling every year ." And that's the biggest story I can find anywhere. The quote is from the 27 August issue of Science Magazine, but their reference is back to a 2005 paper. If you Google (or any other search engine) " Scientific data doubles every year " you'll see what I mean . It's enough to make you optimistic. Pix credit: http://www.maricopacomputer.com/

Ever Heard of Edward Bernays? Forget about (well, you know...) Hitler's guy Joseph Goebbels or Stalin's guy Molotov. They just gave propaganda a bad name. But Bernays basically invented it. CHAPTER I From his 1925 book ORGANIZING CHAOS, the first paragraph: THE conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. Bernay's first task was to drag the screaming isolationist U.S.A. into World War I. ... with stuff like this: Then he parlayed his techniques into a big P.R. business. His first biggy account was a ciggy account - Chesterfield. This dude convinced women is was cool and sexy to smoke. ... with stuff like this: All rights reserved by Christian Montone But Propaganda wasn't "bad" until the Nazis and the Commies used it to brainwash ...