gdp's Comments

Big Hollywood : Secret's Out: Why Letterman Show Didn't Book Many Female Comics

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:21:43 +0000

Two and a half men is the most popular comedy on television, that doesn't mean it's funny or good.

Big Hollywood : Showtime's Golden Globe-Winning 'Homeland' Isn't Another Anti-American Show - Yet

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:04:54 +0000

I thought showing how an ivy league educated rich girl could turn terrorist was an atypical touch for Hollywood.

Big Hollywood : Series Finales Show Hollywood Still in Same Old Rut

Mon, 2 Jan 2012 16:47:17 +0000

Actually, you're wrong there. That was true with the art commissioned by the church, but art for the private patrons was a different thing. I believe Donatello's David was a fairly risqué statue and it was commissioned by either a Medici or some other Florence bigwig is a good example. There were numerous privately commissioned renaissance paintings and statues that are not what you'd expect.

Big Hollywood : Will 'American Horror Story' Scare Programmers into Following Its Lead?

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:15:47 +0000

I think episodic TV would benefit from tying up a story line each season. That worked well with Buffy. Having a multi year mystery is hard to sustain. Lost is a perfect example of that.

Big Government : Coming Soon: 'USPIGS'

Wed, 7 Apr 2010 00:08:10 +0000

Why put everything through a huge bureaucracy? Have you ever heard of a mutual fund?

Big Government : Coming Soon: 'USPIGS'

Wed, 7 Apr 2010 00:00:06 +0000

No, I'm not sorry. There is nothing in this talking points memo that is anything other than the propaganda that we've been hearing for years. Tell me, who wrote this article? There are more bad economic theories and bad economists out there than there are pancakes at IHop. I could come up with any crazy theory and find some article to "prove" my point. This article proves nothing. It has many things wrong with it (I especially love the study by the Yale economist). Did whoever write this article predict the current financial crisis? Did the Yale economist? Look you can quote a hundred economists backing up your delusion but reality and math are going to prove you wrong sooner than you think.

Big Government : Coming Soon: 'USPIGS'

Tue, 6 Apr 2010 23:52:05 +0000

Investigate Chile, they are doing just fine: http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj15n2-3-1.html Wow a Yale economist thinks that the public is too stupid to make wise investments. Go figure. This is just the type of nonsense that gets taught to the people who are messing up the economy now. In a real investment portfolio there are very few people who own just stocks. It would look similar to how many peoples portfolios today. More conservative people could do nicely with diverse portfolios no matter what the economic conditions are. With a smaller government and a stable money supply there wouldn't be volatile business cycles that we see today.

Big Government : Coming Soon: 'USPIGS'

Tue, 6 Apr 2010 23:40:54 +0000

This just proves my point that the congress has been raiding the "trust fund" for years hence the raise in the deficit if it were privatized. "One impact of those seemingly abstract numbers after privatization is that interest rates are likely to be substantially higher, raising the cost to the average household of mortgages, car loans, student loans, credit cards and so on. As a result, the economy would be likely to grow more slowly than it would otherwise. " Too bad the person who wrote this can't apply the logic to the gross spending and creating of fiat money that is happening while we speak. The treasury market is soft and Moody's is thinking of downgrading us. Guess what's going to happen then? The social security problem will solve itself once the economy crashes. But go ahead tax the rich, see how far that will get us.

Big Government : Coming Soon: 'USPIGS'

Tue, 6 Apr 2010 23:35:35 +0000

The average payees benefits that they paid in are paid about three years into their retirement. As you see from your numbers, most people collect it for far longer than that. This is unsustainable I don't care how many Krugman approved articles you can dredge up. Social security is in the red this year in fact, so the numbers you quote above aren't relevant anymore. They were wishful thinking anyway. The excess has been used to finance other spending for years. http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/03/2...

Big Government : Coming Soon: 'USPIGS'

Tue, 6 Apr 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Not only are the interest rates rising but even so the Treasuries aren't selling well.

Big Government : Coming Soon: 'USPIGS'

Tue, 6 Apr 2010 17:57:55 +0000

Oh by the way, the term is PIIGS not PIGS. It stands for Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain.

Big Government : Coming Soon: 'USPIGS'

Tue, 6 Apr 2010 17:53:40 +0000

Reason #1: Today's insurance to protect workers and their families against death and disability would be threatened. How? Reason #2: Creating private accounts would make Social Security's financing problem worse, not better. Why? Reason #3: Creating private accounts could dampen economic growth, which would further weaken Social Security's future finances. How? Reason #4: Privatization has been a disappointment elsewhere. Really? Where? Reason #5: The odds are against individuals investing successfully. Why? Reason #6: What you get will depend on whether you retire when the market is up or down. But the upcoming inflation disaster isn't going to hurt people on a fixed income, right? Reason #7: Wall Street would reap windfalls from your taxes. What? Reason #8: Private accounts would require a new government bureaucracy. Again, what? Reason #9: Young people would be worse off. So the burden that is about to fall on their shoulders is better? Yeah, right. Reason # 10: Women stand to lose the most. What, how why? Reason #11: African Americans and Latin Americans also would become more vulnerable under privatization. See above. Reason #12: Retirees will not be protected against inflation. I think you have that backwards. Your understanding of economics and how inflation effects people on fixed incomes is nonexistent. People on fixed incomes get horribly effected from high inflation hence all the "granny eats cat food" stories of the late 1970s when we had double digit inflation and high unemployment. Social Security is already paying out more than it is taking in and the boomers are just starting to retire. Guess what? There is no account with your number on it sitting there with money accruing interest. We are already having trouble dumping our treasuries to finance the debt as it is. The well is running dry.

Big Government : Thursday Open Thread: Lend Lease Edition

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:47:17 +0000

Ok, you win on the geek scale! :-))

Big Hollywood : Television and Gun Accuracy Don't Mix

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:54:58 +0000

It is fiction and in fiction there is such a thing called Poetic License. Do I think you can make any sort of contraption you want out of a cell phone? No, but I suspend my disbelief because I am being entertained, not taught. If you want pin-point accuracy than you should only watch documentaries.

Big Hollywood : Television and Gun Accuracy Don't Mix

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:44:48 +0000

That's funny my doctor loves House. He just ignores the inaccuracies and gets into the story.

Big Government : Thursday Open Thread: Lend Lease Edition

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:31:00 +0000

I wonder how much of that 83 million per year went to defending Europe during the Cold War?

Big Government : Thursday Open Thread: Lend Lease Edition

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:29:32 +0000

Star Date 5309?

Big Hollywood : REVIEW: 'Avatar' Proves James Cameron's a Secret Conservative

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 14:11:51 +0000

Talk about making a silk purse out of a sow's ear! Good job. I agree that the movie was painful to sit through and would have been even if it were presenting a message I agreed with. Will someone talk about how bad Cameron's dialogue is? He can't write dialogue that isn't cheesy and cringeworthy. The hoaky dialogue is the reason Titanic was an unbearable experience for me and I was actually groaning in Avatar ("this is where the cheddar is"?). Couple that with his reputation as being one of the most horrible people to work for in Hollywood and it makes me wonder why he gets such raves from the reviewers.

Big Hollywood : Natalie Portman: From Vegetarian to Vegan Activist

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:57:35 +0000

And seeing that animal proteins are what helped human brain evolution and is still needed for proper brain function, its not hard to see why a vegan would get confused and not be able to think through ideas to their logical conclusion.