Over 40,000 people lost their jobs yesterday alone, and some people are predicting unemployment will hit 10%, which is the worst it’s been since about 1982 or so (and I wasn’t much affected back then, having not yet dropped out of school, and with a dad who had a good union job and a working mom). Hell of a time to be having octuplets. This is obviously terrible for the economy in general (for many of these jobs – the good ones, at places like Caterpillar – each loss take out another two or three jobs that rely on the business generated by them), but it’s also bad for those of us who are still working.

With times this tough, it’s damn near impossible to tell your employer to kiss your ass, and walk out the door. And it makes getting a raise or a better deal a lot less likely. Plus, for those of us who aren’t old enough to retire but also aren’t young single kids willing to work for next to nothing, share an apartment with three or four other young folks to make ends meet, and devote 80-100 hours a week to our jobs, it makes it hard not to think about being pushed out the door in favor of some fresh-faced kid right out of school. And then trying to find a job someplace else; not everybody is drooling over the prospect of hiring a “new” 50’ish employee with family commitments just trying to run out the clock ’til retirement (which is not necessarily the case, but you know that’s what these people are thinking).

The prospect of freezing to death alone in a dark, silent house as the ice builds up on the windows because I couldn’t pay my utility bill is a little bit disturbing.

So, I guess I’d better just suck it up and drag my ass out there every day with a fake smile plastered on my face. After all, I have dogs to feed.

Not much coming to mind this morning, so I reckon I’m forced to resort to the weather. It’s cold (not Minnesota cold, but cold), there’s lake effect snow forecast for later on tonight, and then a storm moving in from the Roclies for Wednesday (they’re only predicting 5 to 9 inches for that one, but you never know). And here we are, down to 4 bags of pellets, and no relief in sight.

It’s the first Booblehead Sunday of the Obama Administration. On Press the Meat, Larry Summers will be on to give us the economic forecast (shitty today, with things expected to turn shittier tomorrow). Then John “Poppa” Boehner will be in to tell us how we’re all going to die now that Obama has outlawed torture and is closing Git’mo. Then it’s a roundtable on how President Obama’s administration has failed, with Tom “my head is flat” Friedman, The Weekly Standard’s Senior Putz, Setphen Hayes, and this week’s post-Obama token non-white guy, Michele Norris of NPR.

Over at CBS, Bob Schieffer has Joe Biden, on to talk about today’s Syracuse-Louisville basketball game. And maybe some government-type stuff, too.

At Fux News, Weaselface Wallace and John McCain talk fisting, and Chuck Schumer will also be on to talk about what a pleasure it’ll be to have Upstate Blue Dog shiksa Kirsten Gillibrand in the Senate with him, and the usual group of fuxheads will be on to talk trash about Caroline Kennedy, Barack Obama, and America in general.

On the Goebbels Network’s This Weak, George Snufalufagus and Nancy Pelosi will share Botox tips, and discuss how Nancy will “reign in” the new President. Then the Axis of Drivel is reunited again, as Sam :omg: Donaldson, Cokie “the hag” Roberts, and George :jerk: Will are joined by disgraced former HP CEO (and McCain adviser who – at least in some small way – helped deliver the White House to Barack Obama), Carly Fiorina and Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman (who I think we’re allowed to like again, now that we’ve put all that Hillary Clinton animosity behind us).

Later, on 60 Minutes, Scott Pelley tells us how Wilmington, OH is screwed, now that their largest employer, DHL, is shutting down its domestic operation (welcome to the club, Wilmington – aren’t you all glad you helped get Bush that second term?), Bob Simon reports on how the two-state solution is dead in Israel (I say we take all the Sudanese refugees, move them into the region, and tell the Israelis and the Palestinians that this is their home now. Sorry), and Morley Safer reports that scientists have found a substance – called resveratrol – in red wine that slows down the aging process in mice.

If Granny was a mouse, she’d live forever!

Have a good Sunday, y’all.

MYSTERY PRISON BUSES IN THE DESERT
Ellen Brown, January 22, 2009
www.webofdebt.com/articles/wackenhut.php

On a recent visit to Tucson, where I was invited to give a presentation on monetary reform, I was disturbed by a story of strange goings on in the desert. A little over a year ago, it seems, a new industrial facility sprang up on the edge of town. It was in a remote industrial zone and appeared to be a bus depot. The new enterprise was surrounded by an imposing security fence and bore no outward signs identifying its services. However, it soon became apparent that the compound was in the business of outfitting a fleet of prison buses. Thirty or so secondhand city buses were being reconfigured with prison bars in the windows and a coat of fresh paint bearing the “Wackenhut G4S” logo on the side. more

Vigilance! I’m starting to get suspicious of our Gov Napolitano who is now heading the dept of Homeland Security.

So, they’re saying our next Senator from NY is going to be Kirsten Gillibrand. Not a total shock, but kind of a nice surprise, seeing as she’s from Upstate NY (Central NY would have been better, but you take what you can get). She’s apparently a good fundraiser, which will be a necessity since she’ll need to pretty much go into campaign mode. And it helps the Guv, since it puts an Upstate woman on the ballot with him for his campaign.

Otherwise, I’m just glad it’s Friday.

Only Thursday? Damn, feels like it ought to be Friday, doesn’t it? And I had Monday off. I guess since we traveled about 400 years in time between Monday and noon on Tuesday, it just feels like forever. I’m proposing new Federal legislation for Obama to make his #1 priority. The Friday of any week having a Monday holiday should be a Federal holiday. And any week without a Monday holiday should be required to have that Monday as a holiday. And half days on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We promise to be productive as hell on Wednesdays, though.

Looks like Caroline Kennedy really is out of the running for the NY Senate seat, despite anything Olberman may have reported. Maybe Keith is just struggling to remain relevant in a post-Bush world. I don’t particularly want Andy Cuomo either, though. Not unless we can get Spitzer back as AG.

Nobody cares what I think, though. Especially our Governor.

Today’s the first full day of the Obama Administration. Since I know he was up late last night, I’m giving him until the end of the week to fix everything. My first suggestion is to quadruple federal funding to states with black governors. Double it if the Gov has a disability. My one caveat would be that the money has to be spent on green industry investment. We need jobs up here, fast.

Speaking of jobs, I guess I better get ready to go to mine.

So, it’s finally here. In just a few hours, we’ll be rid of the Bush Administration. This really is a special day for this country. A day I never thought would happen in my lifetime. It’s a shame he had to inherit a nation in such horrible condition, but all you have to do is listen to him to know he’s the smartest guy in the room, and if anybody can lift this country up, I think he’s the right man at the right time. I hope so, anyway. He’ll do things I won’t agree with (already has, actually), but, for today at least, let’s all just enjoy being witness to history, and let ourselves be filled with (dare I say it?) the Audacity of Hope.

For those who won’t be able to watch on teevee, but can get to a computer, I’ve put up a page with the Hulu live stream of the events (also linked over there on the right, under “Pages”). Things get rolling at 10 AM EST.

Finally, we come to the last full day of the Bush Administration. Normally, I don’t wish for a day off to be over in a hurry, but I think I’ll make an exception today. Hopefully it’ll be over soon.

Watching yesterday’s Obama musical variety show was interesting (and a little bid odd). I don’t recall ever seeing anything like that for a change in presidents (but then, we haven’t ever had a change like this, have we). Most of it was very good, some downright moving, some a bit on the corny side, and even a part or two that was downright boring (I’m thinking of whoever that white lady was that sang some smarmy crappy thing; I’m sure it was wonderful – just not my thing). A little bit for everybody, which I reckon is what it was supposed to be.

Our national anthem is still a pretty shitty song (can we change it to “America the Beautiful” or “This Land is Our Land” – the highlight of the day, for me, personally – already?), though the Marine dude did about the best job you can do with it. Jamie Fox did a great Obama impression, I thought. Shots of the crowd continued to prove that white people still look really stupid when they try to groove to the music (especially in winter parkas). If you’re going to do “American Pie” (rather odd choice, don’t you think? “Them good old boys drinkin’ whiskey and rye, singin’ this’ll be the day that I die.” Well, maybe it was rather apropos after all), why not get Don McLean to do it instead of Garth Brooks (who really got way too much face time, IMHO, and wouldn’t exactly be my first pick to do “Shout”). Well, gotta through some red meat to the crackers, I guess. Little Stevie Wonder aint so little these days, but he played a lot more on-key than Herbie Hancock, I thought (hard to tell with those jazz types; they can get away with playing lots of off-key stuff, and get praised for being artistic).

Mostly, it was pretty good stuff. And really nice to see so many people (of so many different shades) in DC, there, not to protest something bad, but to celebrate sea change, the likes of which this country hasn’t seen since, well, since ever, I think. People there, not to effect change, but to stand testament to it.

Good luck to the President-Elect, and to all of us.

First off, from yesterday, SU 93, Notre Dame 74.

Next, it’s the final round of Sunday Boobleheads of the failed Bush era.

On Press the Meat, it’s soon-to-be White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. Then there’s a wowntabew with Tom Bwokaw, NY Times dickhead David Brooks, presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Tavis Smiley (I guess they figured they ought to have a black guy on, what with the changin’ times and all), and the sphincter-like Chuck Todd.

On Fux News Sunday, Weaselface Wallace had House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, plus soon-to-be White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. And there will also be the usual Fuxheads, of course.

Over at the Goebbels network, George Snufalufagus hosts soon-to-be White House Senior Adviser Davis Axelrod, and then a roundtable with George :jerk: Will, political mastermind Donna Brazile, asshole Matthew Dowd, PBS’ Gwen Ifill, and the Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne.

Later, on CBS, there is no 60 Minutes tonight. Instead, it’s the AFC Championship game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens.

Speaking of football, it’s the Eagles at the Cardinals in the first game this afternoon at noon Pacific Time (that one was for you, Vernon). Of course, if football isn’t your deal, there’s a bunch of pre-inaugural hoo-hah on, and HBO is providing it for free (on their website, too, if you don’t have cable or satellite).

Later tonight, it’s the season 3 premiere of Big Love, the season 2 premiere of Flight of the Conchords (both on HBO), and the series premiere of The United States of Tara on Showtime (which I already watched “On Demand,” and it’s got the potential to become a really good show). And no work tomorrow (at least for me).

Have a good Sunday, and go Eagles!