Links of the Day

Charter Communications To File for Bankruptcy - Considering how cable companies have a virtual monopoly on the areas they provide service, it takes a special kind of stupid to go bankrupt but Charter managed to do it. Could it be their crappy prices? Their nonsense tiers designed less for the customer and more to try and drive up those monthly fees? Maybe it’s the packet sniffing and other throttling practices they have engaged in? Or the fact they don't really bother to invest in their infrastructure, choosing to keep older neighbors behind the times. Considering I am one of their customers, I am going to have to go with all the above and much more.

To GOP: Don't Take the Money - Considering how the GOP forced a substantial number of tax cuts, while decrying the spending of the stimulus (and ignoring their previous eight years of record breaking spending habits), Paul Begala makes a simple proposal. He tells the GOP to stand by their morals and refuse the money for their states. Sure most of them accept more in federal money then their state provides via tax revenue but since the GOP thinks the federal government should stay out of it, and then refuse the money. Use their states as testing grounds to prove that their way works (nothing but tax cuts). I think it’s an outstanding idea and I guarantee no GOPer would do it as they know its political suicide. Just like they know that tax cuts don't work but it sounds nice and at the end of the day the GOP's secret slogan is "Party first, America last."

GOP Stimulus Support History - As the picture to the right shows, the GOP has a history of only supporting their own stimulus proposals. All this talk about how the bill isn't partisan (despite 40% of it being concessions to the GOP) is nonsense. In the last 20 years, they have only supported GOP bills. All that talk about the costs, also bullshit as they happily supported Bush's 1.4 trillion package in 2001 without batting an eye. What it comes down to is that continued belief that they have to prove that government doesn't work by trying to sabotage it every chance they get.

Friday the 13th Breaks Record - With a take of $42.4 million, Friday the 13th has the record for highest opening take of a horror movie. No mean feat considering the many horror films coming out. This likely means theatres will once again be swamped with cheap horror films and that A Nightmare on Elm Street remake is about to get fast tracked. Sigh. He's Not That Into You (too cute, mostly bland) took second with $19.6M, Taken (very entertaining) took third with $19.3M, Confessions of a Shopaholic is fourth with $15.3M, and Coraline (cute, kids will love) took fifth with $15.3M. The other new movie, The International (boring) took seventh with $10M.

How the economic stimulus plan could affect you - A nice breakdown of the ways the new stimulus bill will affect you right off the bat financially. Most of them are good if you’re out of work. On the taxes side, as expected, if your john q average middle class or below worker, the savings in taxes comes out to about $10 per pay period. Yep, enough to pay for dinner out one night. All that noise from Republicans and that’s what most of us get. Thank god we have the GOP to get in the way because wow that $10 is going to change my life.