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4801 [lbo-talk] Americans like their health care system more now than a year ago -- rank: 1000

<http://www.gallup.com/poll/124415/Greater-Optimism-U.S.-Health-System-Coverage-Costs.aspx > Greater Optimism About U.S. Health System Coverage, Costs Americans remain highly satisfied with own care by Jeffrey M. Jones PRINCETON, NJ -- As Congress debates a possible major expansion of health insurance in the United States, Gallup finds 38% of Americans rating healthcare coverage in this country as excellent or good, the highest (by eight percentage points) in the nine-year history of th ...

Document Size:	6478
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Thu Nov 19 06:37:40 PST 2009

4802 [lbo-talk] JMK the dark side -- rank: 1000

On Nov 19, 2009, at 5:09 AM, James Heartfield wrote: > Keynes' circle were certainly snobby, and keen to defend the status > quo against revolution, but they were also champions of a revolution > in manners and thinking that, if strangely lacking a moral centre, > was nonetheless creative and open. I like that aspect of Keynes too. I have a weakness for polymorphous upper class aesthetes. Doug

Document Size:	4982
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Thu Nov 19 06:32:14 PST 2009

4803 [lbo-talk] why movies suck -- rank: 1000

On Nov 18, 2009, at 3:51 PM, magcomm wrote: > That is really the big difference: directors in the studio > system could amass enough power to make the films they > wanted to make. Now directors are brought in as part of a > package, and the stars are the major attraction. Thanks for this, Brian. Question: back in the day, was there anything like the focus grouping of a work in progress that you see today? Doug

Document Size:	4904
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 18 12:59:49 PST 2009

4804 [lbo-talk] Baker rounds bend -- rank: 1000

On Nov 18, 2009, at 2:32 PM, Jordan Hayes wrote: >> As the trillion dollar creditor, China is in the position >> to be making demands, isn't it? > > # "If you owe the bank $10,000, and can't pay: it's your problem; > # if you owe them $1,000,000, and can't pay: it's THEIR problem." > # - Rosalie Goes Shopping That's the stock point of view. The flow point of view: if you need $300 billion a year, it's your problem.

Document Size:	4967
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 18 11:44:18 PST 2009

4805 [lbo-talk] why movies suck -- rank: 1000

On Nov 18, 2009, at 2:01 PM, Carrol Cox wrote: > Actually, I don't think profit maximization has any _particular_ > effect > (bad or good) on "culture." Doug's argument here is the old > Kautsky-Stalin-Caudwill mechanical marxism, which sees production > (vulgarized conception) as mechanically creating "corrupt culture." This is just so wrong I'm tempted not to bother. But instead I'll throw your analysis back at you - you're assuming I think there's some uni ...

Document Size:	5305
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 18 11:23:36 PST 2009

4806 [lbo-talk] the dark side of JMK -- rank: 1000

On Nov 18, 2009, at 1:09 PM, Ted Winslow wrote: > What's your judgment of its treatment of Keynes on "intuition", on > ethics, on aesthetics, on the philosophy of probability, on > sexuality, on the capitalist "passions" in general and the "auri > sacra fames" approach to the "gold standard" in particular, on > the Bedlamite "remorseless logic" and money crankery of the > Austrians, on war, on public spending on the arts and ...

Document Size:	5325
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 18 10:39:03 PST 2009

4807 [lbo-talk] why movies suck -- rank: 1000

On Nov 18, 2009, at 12:29 PM, Dennis Claxton wrote: > Who has said anything coming from the place Carrol is talking about? I do always wonder why Cde Cox spent his professional life studying John Milton and Ezra "Il Miglior Fabbro" Pound rather than, say, Edgar Guest and Rod McKuen. Doug

Document Size:	4746
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 18 09:36:01 PST 2009

4808 [lbo-talk] the dark side of JMK -- rank: 1000

On Nov 18, 2009, at 12:17 PM, Matthias Wasser wrote: > Say what you will about the articles on mises.org - that they're > inaccurate, > histrionic, cultish, mean-spirited, whatever The Keynes piece wasn't "fair," and the long-run quote was out of context as usual, but there was a lot that was right. E.g., elitist, anti-Semite, antidemocratic. Doug

Document Size:	4888
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 18 09:21:58 PST 2009

4809 [lbo-talk] the dark side of JMK -- rank: 1000

Today's Mises Institute daily is a longish essay on the personality of Keynes. It is not flattering, but it's a good read: http://mises.org/daily/3845

Document Size:	4765
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 18 08:31:42 PST 2009

4810 [lbo-talk] Baker rounds bend -- rank: 1000

On Nov 17, 2009, at 8:45 PM, SA wrote: > Why is it imperialist for the US to set a dollar price for Chinese > currency, but it's not imperialist when China sets a yuan price for > U.S. currency? Because it's unilateral grandstanding of a very risky sort. When Bush did this sort of thing with guns, liberals got very upset. But apparently it's ok to do it with currencies, even if it does threaten to upset a fundamental relationship in the world economy that could blow everything up if ...

Document Size:	5357
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 18 08:08:41 PST 2009

4811 [lbo-talk] why movies suck -- rank: 1000

On Nov 17, 2009, at 10:06 PM, Joanna wrote: > One could argue that sequels bespeak a certain amount of cultural > impoverishment; but adaptations are examples of imitation, which are > a classic aesthetic mode. The point is that Hollywood doesn't want to do anything original - it's all III, IV...IX. Because it's safe and inoffensive.

Document Size:	4807
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Wed Nov 18 04:41:08 PST 2009

4812 [lbo-talk] why movies suck -- rank: 1000

On Nov 17, 2009, at 5:12 PM, Dennis Claxton wrote: > What do you think of Motorhead? Like 'em too. My inner Jersey boy likes that stuff.

Document Size:	4574
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Tue Nov 17 14:23:04 PST 2009

4813 [lbo-talk] why movies suck -- rank: 1000

On Nov 17, 2009, at 5:04 PM, Dennis Claxton wrote: > At 01:58 PM 11/17/2009, Carrol Cox wrote: > > >> It's essence is that one shows superiority to the vulgar mob by what >> one can superciliously sneer at rather than by what one finds >> admirable. > > > Oh please. This is itself supercilious and has fuck all to do with > this conversation. It's just the cranky old commissar of the cornfields carrying on his war on me.

Document Size:	5004
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Tue Nov 17 14:22:38 PST 2009

4814 [lbo-talk] why movies suck -- rank: 1000

On Nov 17, 2009, at 4:58 PM, Carrol Cox wrote: > It's essence is that one shows superiority to the vulgar mob by what > one can superciliously sneer at rather than by what one finds > admirable. > The prbolem with the latter is aby approving of any new poem, > building, > or musical composition one becomes vulnerable to the sneers of others > with even higher standards. It is sort of a race to find more things > to > sneer at than your slightly less agile neighbor. By ...

Document Size:	5357
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Tue Nov 17 14:06:39 PST 2009

4815 [lbo-talk] why movies suck -- rank: 1000

On Nov 17, 2009, at 4:58 PM, Carrol Cox wrote: > It's essence is that one shows superiority to the vulgar mob by what > one can superciliously sneer at rather than by what one finds > admirable. > The prbolem with the latter is aby approving of any new poem, > building, > or musical composition one becomes vulnerable to the sneers of others > with even higher standards. It is sort of a race to find more things > to > sneer at than your slightly less agile neighbor. Pr ...

Document Size:	5088
Author:	Doug Henwood
Date:	Tue Nov 17 14:04:41 PST 2009