The Haircut Badge of Honor

Okay. I am sick of this weah weah weah $400 haircut crap!

It has brought me out from under my rock.

This has to stop.

Paging Mr. Edwards . . . . Sir? That $400 you paid for your haircut is a badge of honor you should wear proudly!

Does anyone ever think in this country anymore? What do you think happened here? Do you think a candidate for the presidency of the United States of America — any candidate — shleps on over to Jo’s Barber Shop, sits down for a spell, pulls out the newspaper, chews the fat with the boyz while waiting for his turn, pays his money and takes his chances?

Do you?

Or do you think a candidate for the presidency of the United States of America, through his/her handlers, has arranged for a very good, very talented stylist to come to the candidate to perform desired sartorial prestidigitation?

Now, we all know Republicans are dedicated to the proposition that no men are created equal and that the lowlies of this world, like hair-cutters, should be paid crap for their work.

But I have a feeling Mr. Edwards does not believe this. I have a feeling that Mr. Edwards, knowing the stylist probably had to cancel all his other appointments for that day, paid the guy/gal for an entire day’s work, plus travel time or whatever.

Isn’t this a good thing?

The Right Question

So the Senate Republicans have submarined the minimum wage increase. They cry crocodile tears for business: woe is they, they need tax relief to offset having to pay a higher minimum wage.

Bullshit. This is the wrong focus. Here is the real issue, the right question:

Why should taxpayers subsidize businesses who can only make it by exploiting workers through paying slave wages?

Capitalism is inherently evil because it’s sole purpose is accumulation of profit. Regulated capitalism, on the other hand, can be a wonderful facilitator of good things. One of the regulations crucial to a successful capitalist model is a minimum wage. Let the lathe of capitalism work: employers who cannot pay the minimum wage do not deserve to be in business.

“Winning” Is Not Winning For Them

from Firedoglake:

Tom Schaller says:
December 17th, 2006 at 3:32 pm *

taking some of the themes from recent comments and questions about southerners’ attitudes and progressives and targeting, let me stop a moment and share with everyone a dirty little secret about this book….

…ready?

it’s really a big book about game theory. i don’t use terms like “probabilistic” or “dominant strategy” and such. and i am a progressive who believes in the argument. but if i were a conservative republican and looked at the demography (which is largely how i built the argument) and was asked to advise democrats, i’d tell them the same thing: in our “49-49 America”, where targeting is more sophisticated than ever and resources must be spent as wisely as possible, why would the more liberal-progressive of the two parties reach for the least-likely voters–the most conservative voters in the most conservative states in the most conservative region?

one never hears anyone–not rove, not broder, not matthews, not carville–suggest that george bush should wear a sideway-turned red NY Yankees cap and some bling to appeal to what i call the “J-Lo voter”? that voter is female, urban/suburban, younger, single (or serially single, in J-Lo’s case!), minority, and liberal on cultural-religious issues. yet somehow dems are supposed to go after “nascar dads”–married, white, christian, blue-collar, non-college educated, males in a country where the traditional family share, whites, christians, non-college educatees, and men are a declining share of the population and/or voters each election cycle! NASCAR may be becoming more popular, but the NASCAR profile is a declining market share.

This is related to the apparent political factions (Democrats and Republicans) versus the real political factions in this country (The Progressive Majority and The Money Party).

When the progressive majority of the citizens of the United States of America are kept from having representation in government, The Money Party wins. Remember: There are Democrats in The Money Party. In fact, a simple diagnostic test is presented within this very question. The pundits and consultants who advocate tacking right and calling it the center would rather lose than win with a progressive majority in the Democratic Party.

The Aristocrats

Digby has a good post up about the emerging American aristocracy.