Izvestia:

Confronting the worst job market in decades, many college graduates who expected to land paid jobs are turning to unpaid internships to try to get a foot in an employer’s door.

People with no jobs are desperate to get them. People with jobs are desperate to keep them. Keeps wages low!

"I am not willing that the vitality of our people be further sapped by the giving of cash, of market baskets, of a few hours of weekly work cutting grass, raking leaves or picking up papers in the public parks. " --FDR SOTU, 1935

Unemployment: The world’s most frightening chart is still frightening. Izvestia: "A robust recovery continues to elude the White House”. Robama’s campaign office at the Council of Economic Advisors: "The economy is continuing to heal." Robama blames somebody else; in this case, Congress, and tries to make lowering student loan interest a job creating measure.

Unemployment: Dueling benchmarks; have they changed? Romney’s 4% is aspirational. (And what’s wrong with that?) The Atlantic sets the “politically-important” benchmark at 8% (Just like 2010). Felix Salmon: "When more than half a million people in one month decide that they’re not even going to bother looking for work any more, there’s no way you can say you’re in a healthy recovery." DeLong agrees. The Rs blast Robama's unemployment record from a call center in Manila.

On disemployment:

Dean Baker shreds ("Stop the Obamapologists Before They Kill the Data") this chart, which looks like the famous Calculated Risk chart with a different baseline.

Florida: Water Pistols No; Hand Pistols Yes!The Republican National

Convention (RNC) has placed a ban on water guns, but not handguns. Maybe they're expecting the Wicked Witch of the West to show up?

Gun ban at Republican National Convention in Tampa won't happen, Gov. Rick Scott refuses to sign ban

Gov. Rick Scott has refused a request to prohibit the carrying of guns in downtown Tampa during the Republican National Convention this summer.

Camellia Japonica Camellia

Susie Cagle:

The crowd grew heated again around 8:30 PM, when police arrested an occupier for violating a restraining order that kept him away from City Hall. Protesters with shields moved to the front of the crowd, chanting and rattling their gear. When they moved toward police, police charged and grabbed the shields away. An unlawful assembly was declared, and five minutes later, police charged on the entire crowd, pushing them north and arresting anyone too slow [IOW, older people, or children, the disabled, people who don't get a lot of exercise marching around, carrying shields, or trashing shit with clubs] to get away.

I caught up with one occupier a few blocks north, who told me, "When you push forward with shields, you should make sure there are people behind you."

Great metaphor.

"If you can't eat their food, drink their booze, screw their women and then vote against them, you have no business being up here." --Jesse M. Unruh, on lobbyists

So light posting...

Cassidy (with Timber the cat!)

Coyote Creek's Grand Dog

We have a Petidote! We have a Petidote! Sorry to be redundant, but I'm so excited. Coyote Creek very kindly sent us a picture of her daughter's beautiful rescued dog. Here are the details:

Here's our one and only Grand Dog...Cassidy. She is 6 years old and was adopted by our daughter in Denver.

American Autumn: an Occudoc (official trailer)

American Autumn: an occudoc official website

If you are running for office as a Green or some other emergent party candidate, you should be working the theaters running this movie. Stand in front of the theater and shake hands with viewers as they approach the theater. Wear a name tag with LARGE letters and have some brochures.

The Ron Paul convention takeover plot

Well, what the hell's the presidency for?" --Lyndon Baines Johnson, 1963, quoted by Robert Caro.

Bill Clinton reviews Caro's book on LBJ. Krugman publishes book on the D economic narrative and the "lousy economy", recommends strategery: Blame the Rs. Shocker! Obligatory campaign season presidential bio, Barack Obama: The [sic?] Story. But who's the real "composite", anyhow?

Lilac

Syringa

These are white lilacs, and the scent was heavenly. This is one of my favorite plants. Spring blooms form on summer wood, so if you prune them in the fall you'll never get flowers.

Originally Posted at Hella Occupy Oakland
Last week I discussed the meaning of the term comrade, and this week's blog post was supposed to be, and is, about the limits to power. When I was writing the outline for the post, I realized that the only way to talk about limits to power was to use a case study, since talking about these things in the abstract is not as meaningful as pointing to real life examples.

Fannie Mae had seen benefits to lowering some home loans, documents indicate

Officials at government-backed mortgage giant Fannie Mae concluded years ago that the company could “reduce its losses substantially” by lowering loan amounts for some troubled borrowers, according to internal documents cited Tuesday by the top Democrat on the House oversight committee.

Patrick Martin of wsws has posted a provocative article on Barack Obama’s campaign use of the “take out” of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Martin:

There is something particularly degrading about the use of a state killing—in which dozens of heavily armed special ops troops mowed down the fugitive in front of his wives and children—to promote a political campaign. Obama presents himself, not so much even as commander-in-chief, but as “hitman-in-chief,” appealing to the worst social instincts.

 snip

To follow twig's sweet william, as small, fussy, common annuals, here's one I like but don't know what it is. I love the way it sort of clouds up over the other things in the garden.

Close up under the fold:

Ds and Rs.

Rick Perlstein on his Faceborg page (inspired by Robama heaving another gay person under the bus):

I've sometimes wondered what I would do if the White House asked me to work for them, say as a speechwriter, and usually concluded that it is one's patriotic duty to serve one's president if called. I've changed my mind, now that it's become plain the Obama Administration would gladly rip off my head and shit down my neck the moment that Fox News told them to.

 Ouch!

May Day Montreal.

And in solidarity*, I'm not putting "shit the bed" into the headline. Here's the Cleveland Occupy Statement:

While the persons arrested Monday evening by the FBI have participated in Occupy Cleveland events, they were in no way representing or acting on behalf of Occupy Cleveland. Occupy Cleveland has affirmed the principles of non-violence since its inception on October 6, 2011.

Here's the FBI statement:

Douglas L. Wright, 26; Brandon L. Baxter, 20; and Anthony Hayne, 35, were arrested by members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force on the evening of April 30, 2012, on charges of conspiracy and attempted use of explosive materials to damage physical property affecting interstate commerce. Also arrested were Connor C. Stevens, 20, and Joshua S. Stafford, 23, and charges are pending against them.

Interestingly, the charges aren't terrorism (unless that's the "conspiracy" part) and aren't NDAA or any of the other exotic quas-legal instruments. And as usual:

The public was never in danger from the explosive devices, which were controlled by an undercover FBI employee. The defendants were closely monitored by law enforcement. The explosives that the defendants allegedly purchased and attempted to use were inoperable...

ABC summarizes the complaint:

Ursula Rozum quits Dems to run for US House of Representatives in New York’s 24th Congressional District in Syracuse.

Anyone from Syracuse? Anyone know anything about her?

This country's going so far to the right you're not even going to recognize it. --Attorney General John Mitchell, 1970

Best May Day (Loyalty Day) strike poster: "The Beginning Is Near". Best Front Page Teaser, Pravda: "May Day protests could disrupt commutes in U.S."

11 sheets of paper (double sided and 2 pages per sheet)

8 articles

7 images on their own pages

2 nights NO SLEEP.

PRICELESS

Disability Zine nitty gritty: