Today’s Special: Carrots

"Have you ever seen a rabbit wear glasses?" my mother used to ask when one someone balked at eating carrots. The absurdity made us groan. Too bad the rabbits' good fortune never rubbed off on me, as I've been pretty helpless without a pair of specs since the age of ten.

I have wrote many times describing the scale of the un/underemployed and the scale of solution needed to fix things. The job deficit equals the infrastructure deficit, and they equal the SS deficit.

So if we create enough jobs, employers will have to compete for skilled workers, this drives wages up, sometimes it does so faster than the inflation rate. This is often referred to as "Real Wage Growth". And since 1973 Wage Growth has not kept up with inflation.

This evening's music features Chicago blues guitarist and singer Johnny B. Moore.

regarding Chelsea Manning's Op-Ed.
Here is the article The CIA's Torturers and the Leaders Who Approved Their Actions Must Face the Law. Was also published in the Guardian and with Tom Dispatch.

Good morning 99percenters!

Ever wonder what shapes birds’ habits at your backyard feeder? According to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds Blog:

Birds are doing a lot more than just feeding when they visit your bird feeder. They are coming and going and interacting with each other in a well-established social pecking order. At first it looks like just a flurry of activity—but watch closely and you’ll start to see the daily struggle of dominance playing out in your backyard. The slow-motion video above walks you through one example to show you what to look for.

They have a quick primer on three common dominance-related behaviors you might see: displacement, threat displays and appeasement. In addition to the videos the site has specific information about avian sociability.

This evening's music features blues, r&b and rock and roll singer and songwriter Billy "The Kid" Emerson.

March 19th marks the 12th Anniversary of the ground invasion of Iraq.
Coincidentally the date also marks the 5th Anniversary of the military intervention in Libya.

The two American military operations have much more in common than differences, especially their disastrous outcomes.

A top of the morning to you 99percenters!

They say you don’t have to be Irish to enjoy St. Patrick’s Day. Americans use the day as an excuse to party. We have parades with bagpipes and leprechauns. We dye rivers green. We drink green beer and we drink plenty of Guinness, a real Irish national treasure. And we eat corned beef and cabbage, something that’s about as Irish in origin as spaghetti and meatballs.

A word of caution though if you go out on the town tonight make sure you have safe transportation home. Most police departments celebrate by stepping up their DUI enforcement.

This evening's music features "The King of Soul," Sam Cooke.

Good morning 99percenters!

And a happy Monday to you.

Today we celebrate James Madison’s 264th birthday. Mr. Madison, a Virginia gentleman, is known as the Father of the U.S. Constitution. He was the fourth President of the United States serving between 1809 and 1817.

A few other fun facts about President Madison:

• He was 5’6” tall.
• He drank a pint of whiskey every day.
• He was schooled in Latin, Greek and Hebrew and acquired a reading knowledge of French.
• He wrote 29 of the 85 articles known as The Federalist Papers.
• During the Constitutional Convention he opposed the proposal for a Bill of Rights. At the time, Madison was confident that the Constitution did not give the federal government any powers that could endanger individual liberties. Madison thought it was potentially dangerous to list some of the rights of the people, in case these might be interpreted as the only rights of the people.
• As he listened to his colleagues debate the issue he became afraid some of his colleagues would do things to weaken the federal government in favor of the states.
• He was the only delegate to the Constitutional Convention who attended every session and hence his notes are considered the most accurate account of the proceedings.
• After being elected to the first Congress, he began work on The Bill of Rights which took its first form as 19 proposals. His concern as he was drafting them was that the rights of the people be protected from actions of the states as well as the federal government. A Congressional Committee narrowed the 19 proposals to 12 “amendments,” ten of which were later ratified by the states.
• Despite having served as Jefferson's Secretary of State for two terms, he did not travel abroad.
• His wife Dolley Payne Todd Madison served as the official hostess for both her husband and Thomas Jefferson and is considered America’s first First Lady.