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Credit: Occupy Posters

The posters, example above, at the OWS Poster Tumblr are available for download for free.

Open thread below....

Today marks the anniversary of Frank Zappa's Death, known by those who celebrate Zappadan as BummerNacht.

Zappadan is a blog festival started by Mark Hoback and others in 2006. It runs from tonight ("the last day Frank Zappa refused to die") until Frank Zappa's birthday (Day Zero) on December 21.

As the blog Paltry Sapien points out:

Zappadan doesn’t have to be for fanatics only. In his lifetime, Frank Zappa was best known for his guitar playing and provocative songwriting, which is maybe something you care about but it’s okay if you don’t because the freaks’ll easily have that end covered. ...[But] while he was alive, Frank Zappa endeavoured to live his life exactly the way he wanted to, and while it may not have been his intention to do so, he set an example for the rest of us in the process. This year and every year, this is the true meaning of Zappadan.

Apostrophe
	Artist: Frank Zappa Price: $14.41 (As of 12/04/11 05:21 pm details)

Please watch this wonderful interview with Dr. Donald Berwick, who should have been the director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services if it weren't for the Republican idealogues in Congress. Not only does he clearly articulate what the Affordable Care Act does for everyone, he also discusses the ridiculous attacks on him by Republicans who are simply doing everything they can to weaken the impact of the Affordable Care Act. Dr. Berwick was appointed by recess appointment and Republicans refuse to even have a hearing toward Congressional approval, so he was forced to step down from the position.

One of the more notable moments is when Chris Hayes quotes Newt Gingrich on Berwick. Here's what Newt said about him, via ThinkProgress:

Don Berwick at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement has worked for years to spread the word that the same systematic approach to quality control that has worked so well in manufacturing could create a dramatically safer, less expensive and more effective system of health and health care.— Newt Gingrich, August 2000.

By the way, that quote was part of an article Newt wrote while he was a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, before it was the fashion to bash people trying to do something good for this country.

There's a great deal of substance in this interview about what the Affordable Care Act does, and what it says about us as a country. But his most effective and succinct argument is the very last line at the end of the interview where they are discussing the false argument about how health care will be rationed (as if it isn't right now). He says, "Right now, we ration people, not care."

On its face, that's a pretty radical statement, but he's exactly right. By limiting access to health care to those who can pay for it or who are healthy, the system rations care to an entire segment of this population. Berwick contends that the Affordable Care Act opens that universe to everyone and establishes the right to health care, which is something liberals have aspired to for over one hundred years.

Other high points in the interview: About halfway in, Dr. Berwick discusses his own frustration with insurers denying necessary care to patients arbitrarily and in the dark, and contends that the Affordable Care Act will shine a bright light on how care is delivered and how decisions concerning patient care are made. He also defends his time consulting for the United Kingdom's NHS as bringing our ideas to their system, which did have problems.

This is a wonderful interview. Please watch it and share it with as many as you can.

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The unemployment report that came out this week was something of a mixed blessing, as I reported earlier. The unemployment rate is coming down, the lowest it's been in two and a half years. But unfortunately, that number has less to do with jobs created than it does the chronically unemployed falling off the rolls.

The Department of Labor defines a "Discouraged Worker" as an unemployed person who has not found a job in over twelve months. Not that they don't want to work necessarily, but that they are unable to find work.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the top five reasons for discouragement are:

1. The worker thinks no work is available.
2. The worker could not find work.
3. The worker lacks schooling or training.
4. The worker is viewed as too young or too old by the prospective employer.
5. The worker is the target of various types of discrimination.

Guess what the unemployment rate was twelve months ago? A near high of 9.8 percent. Those people are still looking a full twelve months later, but 315,000 of them don't count anymore as far as the BLS is concerned. Even still, Candy Crowley can't understand the concept of a discouraged worker. She asks Brookings Institution Fellow (and Obama Deficit Commission member) Alice Rivlin, who thinks this means that these chronically unemployed people are simply relying on a spouse for income:

CROWLEY: 120,000 jobs added; private sector jobs up 140,000; government jobs down 20,000.

I don't -- unless you're in the government, that -- you know, people think that sounds great. Long-term unemployed, 5.7 million; retail jobs, up 50,000; change in the labor force, down 315,000.

OK. So that down -- I want to talk about that down 315,000, because I don't know who people are that suddenly decide they're so discouraged they can't look anymore. Who is that?

ALICE RIVLIN, FORMER MEMBER, SIMPSON-BOWLES COMMISSION: Oh, I think it is people who've been looking for a long time, or maybe some more positive explanation, like their spouse just got a job, so they aren't looking as hard.

But it is the downside of what's happening at the moment. Jobs are being created, but not as many people are looking. So that helps the unemployment rate look a little better than it might otherwise look.

Sweet jeebus, save us from these privileged talking heads who can't understand how difficult life in the wealthiest nation in the world is for 99 percent of Americans. These people aren't magically now able to support themselves just because they've fallen off the official rolls that the Bureau of Labor Statistics use. They didn't voluntarily stop counting themselves as unemployed; the BLS did that. It's not that they don't want a job, it's that the search has been massively discouraging.

In the real world these “discouraged workers” know they are unemployed even if the Department of Labor does not count them. As has happened in the past, they’ll come out of the woodwork and take jobs as soon as jobs are available.

What is the actual rate and what does it mean for investors?

A very different rate occurs when one considers people who are only working part-time but want full time jobs and those who want jobs and will take them as soon as they become available: The real rate for November is far greater than 8.6% according to macroeconomists who analyze labor force participation rates. They look at November's population by age and sex and analyze it in terms of the very stable and very traditional historical hours the people in each age and sex group have been willing to work when jobs are generally available.

More specifically, the real rate of involuntarily idled labor, say the real economists, is 20.8% and rising. They report 20.8% of the labor hours that would be worked if jobs were available are not being worked. Moreover, they say, the 20.8% unemployment rate is conservative because people are living longer and because millions of Americans have lost their savings and pensions and will have to work longer in the future before they totally retire.

In other words, the real economists say unemployment in the United States is continuing to grow and the economy is continuing to sink further and further below its full employment level of output.

But Crowley and Rivlin--who has advised Democratic presidents on economics--seem blithely unaware of that.

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On this Sunday's Meet the Press, David Gregory asked RNC Chairman Reince Priebus whether or not Republican presidential candidates should attend the upcoming debate sponsored by the right wing rag, Newsmax that will be moderated by Donald Trump and Priebus decided to punt, saying he'll leave that decision to the candidates themselves.

As I already noted here, Jon Hunstman has already said he won't attend and it appears Ron Paul won't be attending either -- Paul campaign calls Trump debate ‘wildly inappropriate’.

If Priebus were being honest here, he'd be telling the rest of the Republican candidates to head for the hills as well. I'm waiting to see what excuse Mitt Romney eventually gives to get out of it.

Transcript below the fold.

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This Week with Christiane Amanpour notes the passings of Olympian strong man Vasily Alekseyev, comedian Alan Sues, and director Ken Russell. In addition, the Pentagon has released the names of three service members killed in Afghanistan.

US Marines Cpl Adam J Buyes, 21, Salem, OR
US Army SFC Dennis R Murray, 38, Red Broiling Springs, TN
US Marines SSgt Vincent J Bell, 28, Detroit, MI

According to iCasualties, the total number of allied service members killed in Iraq is now 4,801; in Afghanistan, 2,823, of which, 158 were Canadian. During this same period, Iraq Body Count lists 102 Iraqi civilians killed, for a month to date total of 49. November's total casualties were 269.

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Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn had some harsh words for Former Speaker of the House and current GOP presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich on Fox News Sunday this weekend. When asked by Chris Wallace about his comments on C-SPAN's morning call-in show, Washington Journal, the Senator did not back down from his previous statement that Gingrich was not someone who could bring the country together and added that he found his leadership "lacking often times."

I'd call that the understatement of the year since it was Gingrich who is responsible for a good deal of the nastiness and gridlock we see from our politicians today. Needless to say, Gingrich won't be looking to Coburn for an endorsement were he actually to win the Republican nomination.

WALLACE: Let me, Senator Coburn, switch topic. I want to ask you about one last political issue. You served with Newt Gingrich in the House and you say that he was brilliant.

But earlier this year, you were asked about whether or not he could be a good president and you raised questions about that. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COBURN: We need somebody whose eye is critical but is not harsh in their -- in their manner. And I don't mean to say he's necessarily harsh. But I'm looking for a leader that can bring us together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: As Speaker Gingrich takes the lead in the Republican race, do you still have those questions about his fitness to be president?

COBURN: Chris, there is a lot of candidates out there. I'm not inclined to be a supporter of Newt Gingrich, having served under him for four years and experienced personally his leadership.

WALLACE: Why is that?

COBURN: Because I found it lacking often times.

WALLACE: I don't want to pull teeth, but if you could just explain why. I think it's an important thing. People want to know what you think.

COBURN: Well, I -- you know, the thing is, there's all types of leaders. Leaders that instill confidence. Leaders that are somewhat abrupt and brisk. Leaders that have one standard for the people that they are leading and a different standard for themselves. I just found his leadership lacking and I'm not going to go into greater detail in that. And I think if you were poll the gang -- the group of people that came in Congress in 1994, in which he did a wonderful job in organizing that, he's brilliant, he has a lot of positives. But I still -- it would be -- I will have difficulty supporting him as president of the United States.

WALLACE: We're going to have to leave it there.

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Retiring Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) joked Sunday that he was casting a remake of "The Wizard of Oz" starring Republican presidential candidates.

"I look at the Republican debate -- I've been casting 'The Wizard of Oz,'" Frank told ABC's Christiane Amanpour. "Obviously, Mitt Romney is the tin woodman without a heart, and Rick Perry is clearly the scarecrow."

"Let me just say about Rick Perry: He illustrates the point that what's scary about some people is not what they don't know, but what they know that isn't true. I just heard this ad which he said, some liberals say faith is a sign of weakness. That is just bizarrely delusional."

He continued: "Newt [Gingrich] is the Wizard of Oz. I just think Newt, there's nothing there."

"I think he's ginned up this whole big thing, but when people focus on him, as opposed to him being the not-Romney, this is a man who served as speaker, was a relative insider, he was twice reprimanded by House -- by the way, I was reprimanded by the House, one of the reasons I wouldn't run for president. There was a problem with the marriages. There is this incredible hypocrisy of criticizing Chris Dodd and me because we weren't doing anything about Freddie Mac when we were in the minority. We did when we were in the majority. And he was taking money from them when the Republicans were in the majority to make sure that nothing happened. I just think that he is an obvious weak candidate."

At a press conference announcing his retirement last week, Frank said he welcomed Gingrich's rise to Republican frontrunner.

"I did not think I had lived a good enough life to be rewarded by Newt Gingrich being the Republican nominee," Frank told reporters. "I look forward to debating — to take one important example — the Defense of Marriage Act with Mr. Gingrich. I think he is an ideal opponent for us when we talk about just who it is that is threatening the sanctity of marriage."

Gingrich, who supports the Defense of Marriage Act and opposes same sex marriage, has been married three times himself.

"He would be the best thing to happen to the Democratic Party since Barry Goldwater," Frank concluded.

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Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul on Sunday continued the trend of presidential candidates comparing themselves and others to ice cream

A recent poll of likely Iowa caucus-goers by The Des Moines Register has Paul in second place behind former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

"We've had the flavor up the month up and down so far in this campaign," Paul told CNN's Candy Crowley. "I like to think of myself as the flavor of the decade."

"We keep plodding along on a couple of issues that are really striking a chord with the people. And that is, of course, the wars, the endless wars going on as well as the financial condition of the country."

After Herman Cain rose to the top of some polls in September, failed Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin referred to him, who she called "Herb," as "the flavor of the week."

Within a week, Cain had embraced the idea, saying that "black walnut isn't a flavor of the week."

Cain later told GQ magazine that most of the other Republican candidates were like ice cream too. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was vanilla, Texas Gov. Rick Perry was rocky road and Rep. Michele Bachmann was tutti-frutti.

Paul, however, was "just not an ice cream flavor," Cain said.

Cain suspended his campaign Saturday after at least three women accused him of sexual harassment and another claimed she had been involved in a 13-year affair with the candidate.

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While union-busting is certainly one goal of the privatization monsters, profit is the primary goal. Education for profit is lucrative and alluring, especially to people with large sums of money parked and waiting for investment in big-profit items. So when Bill Gates claims to stand for education reform in this country, I place him squarely in the category of those who stand to profit from privatized education.

Now we have this grant from the Gates Foundation to ALEC, of all things. It isn't a small grant, by any stretch. $376,635 to be paid over a period of 22 months. That's about $17,000 per month dropping into the coffers of one of the most evil organizations in the country. The grant description reads as follows:

Purpose: to educate and engage its membership on more efficient state budget approaches to drive greater student outcomes, as well as educate them on beneficial ways to recruit, retain, evaluate and compensate effective teaching based upon merit and achievement

Wow, Michelle Rhee must be doing a happy dance right about now. I've tried to turn this around and imagine ways that this money could be used to counter the usual right-wing memes about the wonders of privatization, but I just can't seem to find any way to do that. I can only conclude that Mr. Gates and his fellow trustees fully embrace the notion of killing public education one state at a time.

Lee Fang wrote a tremendous article for The Nation a couple of weeks ago about online education and how profitable it is, at the expense of public education. In it, he describes a talk lobbyist Patricia Levesque gave to philanthropists. Among those listening were representatives from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Among her suggestions:

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