I know today is technically the first day of August, but I got my calendar slightly confused a week ago and thought this would be the last Wednesday of the month for July…Whoops, but in a way it really worked out because by waiting a week a fantastic asshole of the month contender emerged: Chic-Fil-A…
Category: Wednesday
Working Class Economist: An Author Event (Plus Q & A) With “The Price of Inequality” Economist Joseph Stiglitz
Welp, once again, I enjoyed a Barnes and Noble author event where the author of a new book drops by to discuss it, and eventually answer questions from the crowd. And tonight’s was none other than economist/writer Joseph Stiglitz. Now that name may not mean a whole lot to most people, but Stiglitz is something…
Working Class Economist: Republicans Keep Saying the Economy is Bad, So It Stays Bad
This will be a pretty straightforward WCE today as I think today’s issue is pretty straightforward. It’s just that so many Republicans, conservatives, and the corporate interests they serve have made it complicated. First, a quick economics refresher. Keynesian Economics: Whatever people think about the economy is how the economy winds up. If they think it’s strong,…
Fast Food Critic: Coney Island’s Fried Oreos, Fried Twinkies, Fried Crab Sandwich, and Steamed Fries…I’m Just Shitting You, Those Are Fried Too
So this weekend I performed a rite of passage for anyone interested in serious junk food (we’ll call them “junk foodies” no, no, no, too gay, how about “fudge packers?”) and went to Coney Island, New York’s version of an extremely dirty Six Flags. I didn’t much go on the rides, since I don’t often…
Working Class Economist: Scranton, Pennsylvania…the New Republican Dream and Everyone Else’s Nightmare
Scranton, Pennsylvania—-the notoriously dumpy/depressing rust belt armpit that is the setting of NBC’s The Office—-is now famous for an entirely different reason. They have become the first city in the country to slash 400 government employees pay down to minimum wage. [That’s 7.25 an hour, otherwise known as “a joke” for a working adult to be…
This Month’s Top Assholes Are the Congress Members Who Held Eric Holder In Contempt
I bet you folks thought I might have forgotten to do Working Class Economist’s usual “Rich Asshole of the Month,” and, in fact, I nearly did. It turns out I was so fixated on the Supreme Court Justices who would surely vote down “Obamacare” that I didn’t quite have a pick after they didn’t do…
The Fast Food Critic: The Evil Genius of Burger King’s B-A-C-O-N Sundae
So earlier in the year, Burger King—-in an effort to stop sliding sales—-momentarily stopped focusing on calorie bomb foods for young men trying to get over a hangover and actually tried to court eaters that don’t want a weekend’s worth of calories in one meal by rolling out some fresh fruit smoothies and salads and…
Working Class Economist: May’s Rich Asshole of the Month Is…
With my recent trip to China and ongoing struggle to post pictures from Shanghai and Hong Kong (more coming tomorrow…I hope) some regular features on the site have suffered as of late. And perhaps none more so than the regular “Rich Asshole of the Month” feature which is coming in at the 11th hour on…
After Being Attacked By a Penguin, Is It Time For Newt Gingrich to Give Up?
So in the fuss to “scandalize” Obama’s secret service detail for doing something in Colombia that everyone who visits Colombia does (pay for sex) and also to ridiculously criticize him for using some tax dollars to travel for his re-election campaign (something every incumbent president has done), the media has overlooked something in the past…
Working Class Economist: April’s Rich Asshole of the Month is…
…Rick Santorum! Now I know that perhaps picking on Santorum is shooting fish in a barrel to a certain extent, and that you don’t have to be the wittiest (or most politically aware) writer to call him out on pretty much everything. So why take on such an easy target? I’ll tell you… 1. Now…
Fast Food Critic: A Book Event with the Author of “Drop Dead Healthy”
Of the last few weeks, no item has been more neglected than The Fast Food Critic, and for that I’m sorry. Especially since there has been plenty of recent developments in the food/health industries lately. Not least of which is the publication of A.J. Jacobs’s new book “Drop Dead Healthy.” Some might remember A.J. Jacobs…
Now What? (Life Post-Grad): Is College Still Worth It?
Ever since there’s been an America, there’s been a general consensus that going to college is something you should do, if you can do it. That getting that diploma will be a sure-fire ticket to a better life than you would have without one. It’s a pretty widely accepted belief that staying in school and…
To Celebrate “Obama Day,” Check Out Alabama Liberal’s New T-Shirts
When I say “Obama Day” in that headline, I don’t mean his birthday or inauguration day—-although those are certainly great too—-but today, April the 4th, which on the calendar is 4.4, same as his Presidential number: 44. So come on and help celebrate the 44th president (as well as contribute to his re-election fund) by…