Poor Mojo's Newswire

... since futurists are -- more than anything -- in the business of early warnings, it falls to me to step up there and point out that according to at least a few of the more reputable atlases in the glove box, this looks a lot like the last turn into the parking lot of downtown Fascist Hell. The good news is: we're not yet parked and locked, let alone committed to entering the building. (Which is good, because the doors appear to be all one way, just like in the Hotel California.) We've still got a few minutes left to change our minds, back out of this, and go spend our future somewhere else. But we are now actively in the process of choosing, whether we're aware of it or not. There are things happening now that are setting us on a course that may prove impossible to change. How do we turn back? A few basic principles: First: The teabaggers must not win this one. ... It only takes a small handful of thugs to terrorize people into giving up their civil rights, abandoning democracy, and doing what they're told, just so they can keep their jobs, windows, and families intact. ... Second: Think nationally, fight locally. ... anybody who sits this one out because they assume that the folks in DC have it all handled for them shouldn't be surprised when they start getting "special treatment" from longtime neighbors, or discover that they can't park their car downtown any more without having it vandalized. ... Third: Brush up on our non-violent resistance -- but leave the heavy lifting and rough enforcement to the cops. ... Back home, we had a saying: Never mudwrestle a pig. You will lose, and the pig enjoys it. ... Fourth: We need to make absolutely sure that the media get the story right. ... The best cure for bad speech is always more speech. ... Fifth: Support legislators who don't show fear. ... If you've never attended a public meeting in your life, August 2009 is the month you need to start. ... Sixth: Shut down the hate talkers. ... The basic recipe: Record their shows. Take notes of anything they say that is intimidating, threatening, or aimed at inciting violence ... Then: write a polite letter the CEOs of the sponsoring companies. ... Finally: Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. ... This is our new reality -- and it comes straight out of Hitler's playbook (check out Chapter 6 of Mein Kampf). ...

A ransom has been sought for a Russian-crewed cargo vessel that vanished last month, officials said Saturday, as the mystery surrounding the ship deepened despite it being spotted off Cape Verde. The ransom demand was made to the Finnish owners of the Arctic Sea, Finnish police said, with the vessel’s disappearance having set off an intense search by the Russian military and deep concern over its fate.

The wealthiest 10 percent of Americans now have a larger share of total income than they ever have in records going back nearly a century — an even larger amount than during the Roaring Twenties, the last time the US saw such similar disparities in wealth. In recent years, the fact that differences between rich and poor are the greatest they’ve been since the Great Depression has become a popular talking point among liberal-leaning economists. But an updated study (PDF) from University of California-Berkeley economist Emanuel Saez shows that, in 2007, the wealth disparity grew to its highest number on record, based on US tax data going back to 1917. According to Saez’s study, which Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman drew attention to at his New York Times blog, the top 10 percent of earners in America now receive nearly 50 percent of all the income earned in the United States, a higher percentage than they did during the 1920s.