Germans Aren't Buying This Stimulus Nonsense

The President's car-salesman abilities might be put to the test in trying to convince the G20 that they have to pump a bunch of stimulus Euros into their economies. Germany's chancellor is saying "nein" to any prospect of government intervention for Europe's largest economy. From CSM:

But Merkel, diplomats say, has combined a profound German instinct against debt – and its accompanying inflation – with a widely held sentiment here that the US and Wall Street are to blame for creating the global crisis. Ahead of German elections in September, the chancellor is also arguing that Europe's social safety net already constitutes enough of a stimulus and a higher percentage of debt than what's been offered by the US and Britain.

"We were living beyond our means," Ms. Merkel said at a meeting March 28. "After the Asian crisis and after 9/11, governments encouraged risk taking in order to boost growth. We cannot repeat this mistake."

Seeing how hyperinflation and overspending brought down the Weimar Republic and led to the rise of the Third Reich, which didn't work out so well, the German Chancellor seems knowledgeable of history repeating itself. But CSM notes that the Germans might be trying to sandbag their stimulus in the hopes that other countries do it and they can live off the exports. Since American TARP funds going to AIG payed off billions to German banks, I'd say the Germans have a pretty crafty strategy going.

London Calling

I found this little tidbit of agitprop on the G20 Meltdown site, which promises a "Financial Fool's Day" tomorrow in London followed by "storming" the Bank of England at noon. Guess you can't have a decent protest without breaking some shit, spraying graffiti about corporate pigs, and hanging some effigy with a left arm longer than Wilt Chamberlain's. What's odd about these unemployed low-life protesters is, when there is too little police presence, they cause millions of dollar worth of property damage (see Seattle 1999), but when the police actually enforce the law, the cries of "police brutality" and subsequent legal action makes martyrs out of them (see Minneapolis 2008). A true Catch-22 for law enforcement, so they seem to be taking the pragmatic approach. From BBC:

But Scotland Yard is concerned the demonstrations may be "hijacked" by people intent on using violence.

Commander Simon O'Brien - who has been meeting some of the protest groups - said people had a democratic right to protest and that police would always respond to threats "proportionately".

Best of luck to them, and hopefully the Secret Service brings their A-game as well, since Obama landed there today. However, from an OPSEC perspective, it wasn't helpful that the Daily Mail published the President's itinerary and a detailed diagram of his Cadillac. D'oh!

Glenn Beck Rising

The New York times has an A01 article on the rising popularity of the man behind the 5pm Fox News slot, Glenn Beck:

Joel Cheatwood, a senior vice president for development at Fox News, said he thought Mr. Beck’s audience was a “somewhat disenfranchised” one. And, he added, “it’s a huge audience.”

Mr. Beck has used phrases like “we surround them,” invoked while speaking vaguely about people who do not share his discomfort with the “direction America is being taken in.”

His comments have prompted several bloggers to speculate recently that the TV host may have been promoting an armed revolt.

He's a bit screwy in a "crazy-old-Uncle" kind of way, but these are screwy times, so I can relate. He doesn't have that smarmy Neocon approach like Kristol and he doesn't take himself too seriously like O' Reilly, so I admit to enjoying his show (albeit with a little bit of guilt). The guy is a living personification of the pejorative word "wingnut", but there's less shame in that now that conservative ideology is in the minority. Plus, he reminds me of Harry Dean Stanton's character from Red Dawn, which is reason enough to watch the guy occasionally.

Who You Calling Materialistic, White Man?

Time magazine has an interesting article that examines the current recession from a cultural perspective and proclaims the end of the age of excess. I guess I'll have to put my dream of having an H3 in the Orange County suburbs on hold. But the article makes huge generalizations about society and neglects some of the modern-day Cassandras that saw this one coming:

We saw what was happening for years, for decades, but we ignored it or shrugged it off, preferring to imagine that we weren't really headed over the falls. The U.S. auto industry has been in deep trouble for more than a quarter-century. The median household income has been steadily declining this century ... but, but, but our houses and our 401(k)s were ballooning in value, right? Even smart, proudly rational people engaged in magical thinking, acting as if the new power of the Internet and its New Economy would miraculously make everything copacetic again. We all clapped our hands and believed in fairies.

That's not completely accurate. What about the punk rock scene of the 80s and 90s, which was basically a rejection of the spend-cash-to-be-happy mantra? And nary a mention of counter-cultural forces questioning society like the movie Slacker and the Seattle music scene in the early 90s? I'm also a bit confused by the author's slamming of the "new power of the Internet". Certainly, those folks may have been partially responsible for the smaller recession at the beginning of the decade, but it has nothing to do with our current malaise. If the free market wasn't allowed to function in technological development, we'd still be reading Picard Vs. Kirk Usenet posts on alt.nerd.poindexter.trek instead of the awesome time-waster that the internet is today.

So the author is really setting up the reader for an argument in support of centralized power and planning plus a hint of "Obama is Awesome!" which comes on page 3:

But it's also a perfectly apt and gratifying turn of events: candidate Obama positioned himself as a smart, steady character who happened to be black, and the economic emergency that helped ensure his election has pushed the fact of his race and its heavy symbolic freight into the shadows of public consciousness. Once the crises have passed, however, I think we'll rediscover the ramifications, small and large, of the enlightened national turn we made last Nov. 4 and start enjoying the dawn of a new era of racial reconciliation.

If there's any entity that's been living beyond its means the past 30 years, it's not your obnoxious yuppie neighbor who went into mourning with the closing of the Sharper Image store, but rather the federal government which has racked up a debt not seen since WWII. That has to do with politicians making ridiculous promises of entitlements and tax credits to get easy votes. Obama has completely ignored our economic reckoning and continues to print more funny money and go on wild spending sprees, so I disagree (FWIW) with the Time article that the Age of Excess is over. But, nevertheless, a very interesting article characterizing the Sub-Prime generation.

WAITING

Image source: herfamegoodlooks

At least I exist, pretty boy

>>FANTASY ANIMAL WEEK<<

What makes you so great, Unicorn? It just seems like you are a horse with some superglue, big fucking deal. Oh you're on posters all over the walls of pre-teen girls? Seriously, Unicorn, how's that working out for Corey Haim? And the fact that you can neutralize poison with your horn, DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO ONLY EXIST IN DREAMS.

By the way, the director's cut of Blade Runner? Were you only in that because of some contractual obligation? It made no sense, Unicorn. You need to have a serious conversation with your agent.

GOOD MORNING

Image source: justjared

Rebuild and Renew: Progressive Campaign to Further America's Decline into Irrelevancy

Ben Smith of the Politico has the scoop on a new group of "Grass Roots" outfits such as SEIU, NEA, and MoveOn.org that have put up $25K a piece to form some creepy campaign called "Rebuild and Renew". It's your regular rabble of progressive/liberal/whatever mainstays like unions, trial lawyers, and environmental groups, but this level of consolidation is unprecedented and certainly deserves some scrutiny. Looking to secure their piece of the federal budget pie, their stated mission is as follows:

President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget provides a visionary blueprint that turns away from the failed economic policies of the past and seeks to invest in our future by expanding opportunities for all. His budget commits major investments in health care reform, education, and clean energy, while restoring fairness to our tax system and reducing military expenditures over time in a responsible manner...

...We can extend opportunity and security for families in all walks of life by expanding health care coverage, making college more affordable, supporting the financial and nutritional needs of low income families, expanding affordable housing, investing in a far-reaching policy that will develop clean sources of energy and protect the planet by reducing global warming pollution, and generate good jobs to rebuild our middle class.

More swell ideas that involve spending your money to keep wide swaths of citizens dependent on the dole (thereby securing favorable voting patterns down the road). The group's media spokesman, a Mr. Jeremy Funk, is the same guy behind the Hush Rush campaign a few weeks, so you can expect public shaming and ad hominem attacks will be the norm for anyone who dares to criticize The Obama's budget.

But the strangest thing was the imagery they choose on the header of their newly developed website (pictured below):

Not sure what the pair of grubby hands on the right is supposed to represent, but I presume it's how the rest of America, not affiliated with these special interests, will be living under the catastrophic debt Obama has promised. Foraging for scraps of food in the dirt, and some hope and change too.

Maybe North Dakota Is Just Better Than the Rest of Us

All I know about the town of Fargo is what I saw in the Cohen Brothers movie of the same name, which actually mostly took place in Minnesota. But the response to Red River flooding has been truly impressive. Citizens actually working with the National Guard to put up dikes, instead of twiddling their thumbs waiting for FEMA to show up. This "can-do" attitude is refreshing for America at a time when Wall Street is cozying up with DC to extort more taxpayer dollars for their failed enterprises and states that spent themselves into oblivion are begging Washington (see California).

To explain this mentality, the NY Times had an article a few months back about why the recession wasn't hurting North Dakota:

North Dakota’s cheery circumstance — which economic analysts are quick to warn is showing clear signs that it, too, may be in jeopardy — can be explained by an odd collection of factors: a recent surge in oil production that catapulted the state to fifth-largest producer in the nation; a mostly strong year for farmers (agriculture is the state’s biggest business); and a conservative, steady, never-fancy culture that has nurtured fewer sudden booms of wealth like those seen elsewhere (“Our banks don’t do those goofy loans,” Mr. Theel said) and also fewer tumultuous slumps.

TODAY

I felt the necessity to tell you guys something: I went to U.O. today, and got Cheap Monday jeans for $9.99! Yes, 9 dollars and 99 cents! (I have to say that I was extremely lucky because it was the last pair and my size!) I guess there are some advantages of being in a recession. Oh, and I saw The Haunting in Connecticut, and I can't really comment on it because my eyes were closed for about half of the movie... I'm not good with scary/horror flicks lol

Online Town Hall with Obama Chocked Full of Obama Supporters

To further the cause of transparency, the online Obama town hall isn't necessarily a bad idea, but stocking the room full of Obama supporters has little to do with accountability in Washington and everything to do with the permanent campaign mentality. The Washington Post did some diggin' and has an explanation of why the "randomly selected" 5 asked hardball questions like "Thank you, Mr. President. My name is Sergio Salmeron. I want to find out about health care." From WaPo:

But while the online question portion of the White House town hall was open to any member of the public with an Internet connection, the five fully identified questioners called on randomly by the president in the East Room were anything but a diverse lot. They included: a member of the pro-Obama Service Employees International Union, a member of the Democratic National Committee who campaigned for Obama among Hispanics during the primary; a former Democratic candidate for Virginia state delegate who endorsed Obama last fall in an op-ed in the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star; and a Virginia businessman who was a donor to Obama's campaign in 2008.

This was the same online Town Hall where Obama blew off a question about marijuana legalization. Guess there were no talking points available on that one. It's no wonder that lefties like Bill Maher, Andrew Sullivan, and Paul Krugman are dropping the sycophantic nonsense and beginning to publicly criticize the President. 'Bout time they woke up and smelled the coffee.

Quitting Smoking Japanese Style

It can't be over-emphasized how strange a place Japan is. More anti-smoking material is available at Weird Asia News.

Necrophilia with Dead Presidents

An artist from...wait for it...San Francisco has painted herself getting boned by a variety of dead presidents. The fellatio shot with Honest Abe was a real winner in my opinion. Here's how she describes her artwork which appeared at a Stanford student gallery a couple years back. From Justine Lai's bio:

I am interested in humanizing and demythologizing (sic) the Presidents by addressing their public legacies and private lives. The presidency itself is a seemingly immortal and impenetrable institution; by inserting myself in its timeline, I attempt to locate something intimate and mortal. I use this intimacy to subvert authority, but it demands that I make myself vulnerable along with the Presidents.

David Thompson called the young artist egomaniacal for such a lewd display, and her parents must be really proud they shelled out $30K+ per year in tuition at expensive Stanford. What is it with modern artists and their obsession with fucking the President (don't forget to see this other website entitled "44 Presidents Coming" for Grover Cleavland money shots). (h/t Gateway Pundit)

TRUE BEAUTY

Model: Daria Werbowy

Vogue Brazil May 2008

"Glamour Descontraído"

Isn't this ed insane!? Daria never fails to impress me. I'm amazed by how she makes a shoot with a plain white background affect me so much. Her facial features are perfect! I don't think any other model could've done better! And I love the styling!

Image source: modelcouture

SPRING OH 9

Here are my Spring 09 staples.

I feel so energized this morning, I cleaned my room, and I honestly believe that a clean room is a symbol of a clean mind. It makes me feel so relaxed and so much less tired and stuffy. As a result, I'm so in the mood to get dressed up and be inspired. I decided to make a set that relates to Spring because I can finally feel the freshness of the season coming. I've totally been loving white blazers, after seeing them on MK and other amazing fashion bloggers. I seriously HAVE to get some bleached denim shorts, and I've still been dying for those Balmain sandals! 

Blazer - See by Chloé

Shorts - Topshop

Sandals - Balmain

Image source: net-a-porter

                            topshop

                            polyvore

The Dangers of Hipsterism

An important PSA on the evils of hipsters bedding down in our communities. Ugh. Impersonating Santa Claus, writing unauthorized poems...some things never fucking change.

I WANT TO LOOK LIKE THIS RIGHT NOW

Image source: stylesightings

GOSSIP

Here's a super duper cute shoot of the GG cast for Rolling Stone Magazine April 09 taken by none other than the uber talented Terry Richardson.

Image source: rollingstone

WALKING WITH ACID

Model: Kate Moss

"As You Like It"

I don't know from what magazine this comes from or when it was taken, but I love it! 

Image source: hfgl

FREEDOM, THERE'S NOTHING BITTERSWEET ABOUT IT

Finallyyyy! School has officially ended, and Spring Break has begun! I can't wait for tons of fun moments that will happen in these two following weeks, and most importantly, I can't wait to go shopping every second I can! And to make things even better, today's weather in the city is incredible! I hope your day was equally amazing! xx

Image source: herfamedgoodlooks

South Park Explains the Economic Crisis

Link:

The notoriously fast South Park creators hit another home run by explaining the financial crisis. The only thing they leave out is the political and sleazy banking culture that convinced Americans that owning Margiritavilles was the American dream.

Obama Starts Acting Like Commander-in-Chief

Finally. Instead of dicking around with the zombie banks that were shrewd enough to pump money into campaign coffers, the President has announced a revised strategy for fighting the war in Afghanistan. NYT has some of the highlights:

• 17,000 additional combat troops
• 4,000 troops for security transition (training/advisor forces)
• Conditions-based economic and military aid to Pakistan
• Request for $50B in budget plan
• Development of "benchmarks" for governments in Kabul and Islamabad

David Brooks writes from a byline in the Kyber Pass that this thing is "winnable". Milbloggers such as Old Blue and the Greyhawks seem supportive of the new strategy as well. Jon Soltz states that the strategy encompasses the proper mix of addressing regional issues and focusing on law and order for the fledgeling government in Kabul.

While I'm deeply immersed in the culture of the bitters, laughing at Obama teleprompter jokes and such, I certainly hope that this ambitious plan is successful. It's our republic, and allowing Afghanistan/Pakistan to fall under control of extremism would prove catastrophic to global security.

Zombama

Any of these creepy OFA people show up on your doorstep yet? I'd sure like to hear about it.

Rich AIG Exec Lectures Us On Sacrifice or Something

Jake Desantis, an AIG VP, publicly resigns and gripes about the unfair system which cost him his beefy bonus. From NYT:

The profitability of the businesses with which I was associated clearly supported my compensation. I never received any pay resulting from the credit default swaps that are now losing so much money. I did, however, like many others here, lose a significant portion of my life savings in the form of deferred compensation invested in the capital of A.I.G.-F.P. because of those losses. In this way I have personally suffered from this controversial activity — directly as well as indirectly with the rest of the taxpayers.

Seeing how this corporation would've had to file Chapter 11 but was saved by the cronies in DC (thereby saving his precious "compensation" package), I'm with Gawker when they simply say "Shut Up, AIG".

U.N. Rolls Back Civilization to the Dark Ages By Banning Free Speech

Uh, that's not change we can believe in. The dog and pony show known as the U.N. Human Rights Council has passed a resolution saying criticizing religion is a human rights violation. From Reuters:

A United Nations forum on Thursday passed a resolution condemning "defamation of religion" as a human rights violation, despite wide concerns that it could be used to justify curbs on free speech in Muslim countries.

The U.N. Human Rights Council adopted the non-binding text, proposed by Pakistan on behalf of Islamic states, with a vote of 23 states in favour and 11 against, with 13 abstentions.

Freedom of Speech has been a bedrock to modern society for centuries, so it's beyond the scope of this blog to argue why silencing dissent might be problematic. But, Jules Crittenden explains how it's a MoToon thing. Congressman Franks (R-AZ) urged against the ban, and the U.S. does not have a vote since it withdrew in protest from the council back in 2008.

You could start burying ammo in the back yard because you fear dudes in blue helmets are coming to take you away, but, then again, you could realize that the UN is completely fucking incapable of doing anything. Still, it's a slap in the face to individuals forced to live under tyrannical regimes that the UN Human Rights council is supposedly trying to help.

Sullivan Smokin' Mad Over Obama Blowing Off Pot Legalization

The Obama wing of the internet is trying to castigate their usual right-wing suspects (Faux News, Sarah Palin's kids, uh Israel) for daring to criticize Obama's ill-timed laughter. This guy has been in office less than 100 days and the sycophantic chorus of Obama worship to defend against any criticism on some of the bigger liberal blogs is growing absurd. That's why it's nice to point out some well-deserved shots at the President from a guy who once called him JFK II. From Sullivan:

The chuckle suggests a man of his generation. The dismissiveness toward the question of ending Prohibition as both a good in itself and a form of tax revenue is, however, depressing. His answer was a non-answer. I'm tired of having the Prohibition issue treated as if it's trivial or a joke. It is neither. It is about freedom and it's deadly serious. As for your online audience, Mr president, have you forgotten who got you elected?

Indeed, Obama blew off the marijuana legalization issue when drug policy reform might be the best way to halt the rapid collapse of Mexico. Not saying it might be the best possible scenario, but it should at least be discussed. Every American has come of age with anti-drug PSAs being cranked out by the bushel, from Reefer Madness to McGruff the Crime Dog to more recent Ad Council concoctions. So, it's going to take some political capital in the first place to challenge conventional thinking on the Drug War. Seeing how Obama appointed a bunch of serious drug-warriors from the get-go and brushed off the online audience by implying they were typing and doing bong rips, I wouldn't expect anything in the way of drug policy reform until the bums get thrown out.

DESPERATE

Currently Listening to: Sugar - Flo Rida feat. Wynter

Model: Kasia Struss
Numero # 88 November 2007

Tomorrow will be my last day of school before Spring Break, and I CANNOT wait! Gahhhd I need a vacation so bad. xx 

PS. I've been trying to upload the rest of this shoot, but it's not working. I'll try again later. Here's the link if you'd like to see the whole editorial right away.

Image source: modelcouture

I actually feel bad for this guy

We place a lot of blame on the animals on this blog, and yeah, this dude has his tail curled up over his body and he's fitting on the top of a rose which basically makes me want to JUMP UP AND DOWN AND RUN INTO THE STREET WAVING A GUN SHOUTING "IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS."

But the truth is the dormouse didn't fall asleep in the rose, he was put there by the photographer, a person he thought was his friend. They were having a late night hanging out, and the dormouse had a little too much to drink and fell asleep. At first the other guys were doing stupid shit like putting Cheetos all over him and putting his hand in warm water so he would wet the bed, but then this one dude came up with the idea to curl up his tail and sit him in the middle of a rose. Now he's an internet sensation, and next month he is going on the market for a ladyfriend. Do you really think with stuff like this out there, it's going to be easy to find someone who respects him?

Not cool, photographer. Not fucking cool.

Tapirs always fail to turn on the charm

Oh, Tapir. Tapir, Tapir, Tapir. I can't possibly imagine what could be funny enough to forget that you are a giant pound of grayish black blubber with a cone head and a nose with nostrils so large if you zoom in on them they look like a monkey's face. So you must be smiling like that because you think it's going to make me like you.

Well, Tapir, it's not going to work on me. Not today, NOT EVER. So stop following me with your nose, Tapir, PREHENSILE NOSES ARE FOR ELEPHANTS. Talk to me when you can conceive of altruism and make paintings, asshole.

BLACK WITH ENVY

Image source: stylesightings

"YOUR LIKE MY OWN PERSONAL BRAND OF HEROIN"

I'm so sorry for not having posted in a couple days, there's lots of stress revolving around me right now. Other than that, my dad got me the Twilight DVD this weekend. I admit that I've been secretly dying to see it, and I now understand why so many girls are madly in love with Edward Cullen. I have to say I'm more in love with Robert Pattinson, he really is extremely sexy in this movie! But, I guess the fact that he's playing the role of this amazingly romantic vampire helps his sexiness factor! Cam Gigandet (James) isn't so bad either! ;) I know I'm starting to be obsessed five months after the movie actually came out but oh well! lol Oh, I also got the Nylon with Kristen Stewart, I have to say that she looks like such a cool girl, she's very quirky but it works so well. I'm planning to get the GQ with RP later this week. 

Image source: ru_glamour

Scary Zombie Training Video Released by Obamamaniacs

Following up on the "pledge" that Obama's never-dismantled campaign apparatus was going to be knocking on doors to talk about Toxic Avenger Geithner doing a heckuva job, they've released a training video. Ed Morrissey simply calls it "very, very creepy" as it furthers the bizarre cult-of-personality that Americans seem to have been swindled into. Evidence can be found at the Organizing for America website:

Today it was raining like crazy but several of us still went out and managed to get 212 pledges signed - not bad considering the weather. I was heartened by the strong support President Obama still enjoys locally. We got tee shirts made up for the occasion that have the Obama emblem and "President Obama - We Pledge Our Support" on them.

... Our President told us we have to stay involved if we expect the changes we voted for to happen. The special interests will be active - we have to be twice as active as they are!

Recall the scene in Jesus Camp where religious types blessed a cardboard cutout of former President Bush (in tongues!). At least those weirdos weren't sporting Obama-stickered clipboards and bugging me at the local grocery store to get behind the stimulus package.

Green Gestapo Blocks Green Energy on West Coast

Desolate Expanse of Land To Be Saved From Evil Solar Panels

Here's a few examples that highlight the problem with the modern environmental movement. They raise a ruckus about fossil fuel plants choking up their precious Gaia, and then when some savvy entrepreneurs want to construct alternative energy solutions, they shit all over them too. It wouldn't be such a problem if these Birkenstocked totalitarians didn't have the ability to hold up construction for years in the courts while they drag ass making environmental impact studies, but they do, and liberal politicians buy into this farce hook, line, and sinker.

The latest bit of anti-civilization extremism comes from California, where solar panel construction in the Mojave Desert is being held up because of some tortoises. I've been to the desert in California many times, and besides the occasional meth addict and abadoned mine, there's really not too much there. But that hasn't stopped Sen. Feinstein (D-CA) from blocking green energy production. From FOX:

Feinstein said Friday she intends to push legislation that would turn the land into a national monument, which would allow for existing uses to continue while preventing future development.

The Wildlands Conservancy orchestrated the government's purchase of the land between 1999-2004. It negotiated a discount sale from the real estate arm of the former Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroad and then contributed $40 million to help pay for the purchase. David Myers, the conservancy's executive director, said the solar projects would do great harm to the region's desert tortoise population.

"It would destroy the entire Mojave Desert ecosystem," said David Myers, executive director of The Wildlands Conservancy.

With wind turbine construction being blocked in Oregon because of threats to the "sage grouse" population and being blocked in Washington because "people don't like to look at them", it's becoming increasingly clear that hardline greenies want us to either live in the good ole' days of the stone age or just get wiped off the planet all together.

A rare moment of wisdom came from Gov. Schwarzenegger when he was quoted in the Fox article with:

"If we cannot put solar power plants in the Mojave desert, I don't know where the hell we can put it," Schwarzenegger said at Yale University.

I would suggest to the Governor that they put some solar panels out in the old Nevada nuke testing sites, but there would probably be opposition from special interest groups about encroaching on the cannibalistic mutants that dwell in the area.

Other Side of the COIN

Despite the extra-chintzy title of this blog post, VAMPIRE 06 has a detailed piece on counter-insurgency principles being applied near the Pakistan border that is a must read. At a time when Iraq seems to be calming down (especially with the implementation of tour group packages for Western tourists) and the winter lull in A-stan is ending, it's important to understand what our troops are accomplishing in OEF.

More Women Turning to Pole Dancing to Make Ends Meet

One positive unintended consequence of this economic catastrophe is that "gentleman's clubs" are seeing an in-flux of babes looking to work the pole. From AP:

As a bartender and trainer at a national restaurant chain, Rebecca Brown earned a couple thousand dollars in a really good week. Now, as a dancer at Chicago's Pink Monkey gentleman's club, she makes almost that much in one good night.

The tough job market is prompting a growing number of women across the country to dance in strip clubs, appear in adult movies or pose for magazines like Hustler.

Employers across the adult entertainment industry say they're seeing an influx of applications from women who, like Brown, are attracted by the promise of flexible schedules and fast cash. Many have college degrees and held white-collar jobs until the economy soured.

While the cash flow is certainly a vast improvement over slinging chicken fingers to fatso families at TGI Friday's, this AP article does not take into account the lady's new spending on the requisite cocaine addiction that often comes with being an exotic dancer. But if she can keep away the demons, there's no reason to believe this isn't a lucrative career option. What other business (besides a casino) can a guy walk in and spend hundreds of dollars in a matter of hours on lap dances in the VIP room because he erroneously thinks "I bet she really likes me, man!". Most male readers of this blog should be able to relate with some level of empathy.

Much like the Depression saw the repeal of the ill-suited Prohibition laws, perhaps we should look at scrapping some of the more ridiculous laws about strip joints. I'm not talking about full-on brothels (yet!), but at least to the level of regulation of Canada, which has some pretty awesome strip clubs. Liberal busybodies like Mayor Nickels of Seattle could stop with the jihad against the flesh industry and actually allow a much-needed shot in the arm (or snatch-in-the-face) to stimulate the economy.

Timothy Geithner the Toxic Avenger

Timothy Geithner has had a metamorphosis from "Melvin the DC Mop Boy" to the great avenger of Toxic Assets plaguing our economy by unveiling his master plan to save America. The trillion-dollar investment seems to involve a lot of cronyism by backing up hedge-fund purchases with taxpayer money, but don't take it from me. More knowledgeable folks from all over the political spectrum are weighing in with serious criticism:

• Krugman: Triumph of the zombie economy
• TMV: Like a Nicolas Cage film, it's worse the more you look at it
• Professor Hilzoy: The Taxpayers are assuming a lot of khere.
• Commentary: "Positively Frightening"

But the most devastating rebuttal of Obamanomics in general comes from Senator Gregg (R-NH), no drive-by pundit. From CNN (video here):

“The practical implications of this is bankruptcy for the United States,” Gregg said of the Obama’s administration’s recently released budget blueprint. “There’s no other way around it. If we maintain the proposals that are in this budget over the ten-year period that this budget covers, this country will go bankrupt. People will not buy our debt, our dollar will become devalued. It is a very severe situation.”

Unfortunately, America doesn't have the luxury of crashing in its mother's basement for a few months after making a series of boneheaded financial mistakes. All Obacalyptic rhetoric aside, the issue of a rising debt and the dollar going bust seem to be very real:

Jihad Chic in London

An Afghan reporter from Newsweek highlights some troubling extremist trends in the international community. However, it's not from Peshawar, Tehran, or Medina, but...London?!? From Newsweek:

In fact, during my three-month stay in England I met a surprising number of Muslims who shared Jan's fascination with the Taliban. The older generation, urbane and relatively well educated, had little love for the extremists. But among some younger men, frustrated and marginalized in British society, I discovered a fury that was depressingly familiar. I met many immigrants who were blatant, vocal and unquestioning in their support for what they imagined to be "jihad." Few seemed troubled by the brutality that characterized Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar's reign, or by his banning of music or girls' education. Indeed, many looked back on Omar's rule as a kind of Islamic utopia, and they eagerly snapped up the Islamist leaflets handed out after Friday prayers at various mosques around town.

This comes on the heels of an incident in early March where members of the fundamentalist Islamic community were seen protesting (Westboro Baptist Church-style) a military parade honoring some fallen British soldiers in Iraq. These clowns have vowed to continue their disgraceful demagoguery.

The Newsweek report from our allies in England is indeed disturbing, and you have to ask why the Muslim community in the U.S. is so much different than in Europe. Is it because they are less affluent and less educated across the pond? Does America's melting pot and "love it or leave it" mentality do a better job of assimilation? Following 9/11, I was at UCLA which has a large Arabic/Persian student body, and the sentiment seemed to be why we weren't immediately bombing those "Taliban pieces of shit" into the stone age on 9/12. This one liquor store I used to buy booze at in the Valley (owned by an Arabic gentleman) had American flags and patriotic stickers that would rival a Toby Keith concert. It was practically comical like the Simpsons episode where Apu pretends he's not an immigrant. While this is all observational evidence on my own part, it has been proven with extensive polling that the broad majority of American Muslims do not hold these bullshit extremist views. Why are things so different in Europe?

Any insight from a European on this issue would be much appreciated.

Of Bread and Circuses

Professor Hanson at PJs wonders publicly if America is going the way of the Roman Empire due to crooked politicians and rude businessmen on planes. The piece is worth your time:

It is easy to dismiss our ancestors as illiberal, or with the caveat “Oh, but if we were as poor as they were, we’d have to prove just as tough”, but we still sense they were different in the sense of far better. When I drive up to see those Sierra dams poured in the 1920s, one wonders how they made such things with only primitive machines, and in contrast, are amazed with our sophisticated tools, we do so much less.

This self-congratulatory generation can hardly, as we are learning, build a Bay Bridge again. Yet when we see on the Internet pictures of a new aircraft carrier we are stunned in amazement—we did that? We built such a powerful, sophisticated ship? We—at least someone— can actually still do things on rare occasion like that?

Lately, there seems to be a lot of concern about America becoming some second-rate entitlement state. But what are you gonna do?

Pentagon Protest Brou-ha-ha

Uh-Huh...

TSO gave me a jingle and said there was barely a thousand miscreants at the Pentagon protest, and most of the signs were just stacked up on the ground. Seeing how Hezbollah was there, that might've scared off some potential malcontents.

From This Ain't Hell

Saturday Recession Super Fun Special

Here's a flashback to 1997 with the classic Midwest dystopia film: Gummo, directed by a young Harmony Korine.

The movie has a lot of negative stereotypes about flyover country, but I found the depiction of the creepy underbelly very accurate and chilling. I've been through South Central LA, Detroit's East Side, and even the Florida panhandle, but I've never had the balls to cruise through Xenia, Ohio.

In No-Bama news, everyone's talking about the new blog: Barack Obama's Teleprompter's Blog, which is good for a chuckle.

For a comprehensive lists of Obama goofs, check out Don Surber's 60 Days/64 Mistakes.

JEN & TERRY

Jen Brill and Terry Richardson! Love her style and I just love him, I think he may be my favorite photographer. 

Image source: style

ALI

Model: Ali Stephens

No # 4 March 2009

"Ali"

I LOVE HER.

Image source: modelcouture