January 26, 2012

Republicans constantly put down the business-worthiness of the country and their states.

Today I heard a Republican "leader" in Missouri (my home state) say the following on NPR:

“The courts have made Missouri the worst place in the nation to be sued if you’re an employer," Lager saidl "No employer is gonna move to a state or substantially grow in a state where their risk of being sued is greater than anywhere else in the nation.”

http://www.news.stlpublicradio.org/post/workplace-discrimination-bill-being-blocked-mo-senate

Why are we not sick of that? Why are Republicans being given a free pass to level insult after insult on the business-worthiness of our country and our home states? Has anyone stopped to think that it might be, oh, just a little bit counterproductive when the country and the states are desperate for jobs?

Picture a team of foreign business people visiting Missouri. They want to know whether they should locate a plant here. Then they turn on NPR and hear some dumb-ass Republican "leader" shooting off his mouth about how bad the state is.

Of course they do the same thing to America as a whole too. I don't know when the last time was that I heard a Republican say "You know, the United States is a great place to do business."

Assholes.

January 16, 2012

Why won't Republicans let people buy healthcare from the government?

Why won't Republicans let people buy healthcare from the government? It's my money! Why won't Republicans let me spend my money the way I want to spend it? I might be able to save a good chunk of cash by buying into a plan run by Medicare, for example. It is a lot more efficient with health care dollars than private insurers, and it has a lot of clout in keeping costs down. All that we would need is to make Medicare purchase-able. It's sitting right there.

If the Republicans would get out of the way, and stop interfering with my buying options, I could spend my money the way I want to and even save some of it.

January 11, 2012

This whole dynamic (H1-B, L-1, illegal immigration) could be changing.

Jobs now flow to where the people are, so maybe we want the people here instead of "there." I'm in IT, and I have been against H1-B and L-1 visas. But outsourcing changes the equation. Even H1-Bs and L-1s have to compete against outsourcing, for example.

A main reason H1-B, L-1, and "illegals" take less pay is that they are insecure in their citizenship path. If they were given a solid path to citizenship, the vast majority would take it. And they wouldn't be beholden to, let's say, "bargain hunters" who take advantage of their immigration status to shortchange them in wages. Somebody in IT who knows they can stay, easily change jobs, etc., is going to want more money.

Also, they would have to buy real estate, shop for goods, buy services, etc., right here in the good old USA. That's not to mention Social Security contributions, political power impacts, etc.

I don't know. It doesn't seem so obvious to me any more. I also understand from conversation with Indian IT workers that wages are on the rise in India as well--big time...so. The USA might be better off brain- and skill-draining our competitors. Bring all their good players over here.

January 2, 2012

Cantor belongs in showbiz.

I saw Cantor's 60 Minutes performance yesterday.

He's just got a great mix of central casting bad guy characteristics and behavior, although he would not be appropriate for a star-level bad guy role, at least not at first.

For instance, I don't think Cantor would be able to convincingly affect the mommy problems needed for a remake of Psycho. And he doesn't look intelligent, campy, or flamboyant enough to be a Bond villain. He's not masculine enough even to play the Ralph Fiennes character from Schindler's List or bad-seed-crazy-childish-looking enough to play the guy from Inglourious Basterds. Introverted, repressed sadism is not enough for a big screen villain.

Could Cantor star in a Tom Delay biopic? I don't think so. Prosthetics could make him look sufficiently inbred, but Cantor's rage seethes beneath the surface, unlike Delay's. Cantor acts more like a healthy, determined, angry rat than a rabid one.

Caligula? Not really. The megalomania and sadism might be in range for him, but I'm not seeing the sexuality or extroversion.

I think a Dexter villain is Cantor's best bet for an acting play. He would do it justice.

I'm not saying Cantor is really like any of these bad guys, of course. Playing an ass would be in his wheelhouse, because that is what he appears to be in real life. But he could also play a sadist effortlessly using the remaining range of expression he demonstrated in his 60 Minutes appearance. Cantor struck me as a guy who knows he has done wrong, revels in it, but doesn't want anyone to pin it on him in a way that prevents him from continuing to do it. He's a good foreman for the Tea Party Republicans, in other words. But I think he could make a modest living in regular showbiz too.