Inflated numbers, or false economic numbers created some excitement last week.  There is no way that consumer confidence has increased as much as was noted.  This is simply not possible with manufacturing slowing down, Europe being so messed up, gas prices so high, and automation on the rise.  We're being snowed, or at least being presented with an incomplete view of the economy.

Angist

I know this is a political blog, and a sexy blog.  I need to talk about something real for a minute here. 

JOBS ARE GOING AWAY AND YOU SHOULD BE READY

OK.  This was released today: Baxter manufacturing robot. That's right.  This is the cheapest, easiest to program robot yet available for the manufacturing workplace.  It is $22,000.   This is about ten times cheaper than robots that have come before it.  It is easily programmable by moving its limbs in the correct way, and it learns. You don't need a computer programmer with a degree to make it work. This is going to replace you.  If you do repetitive stuff, your job is either dead or going away.

MANUFACTURING JOBS MAY COME BACK TO THE U.S., BUT THERE WILL NOT BE ANY NEED, OR LITTLE NEED, FOR HUMANS

Robots only are getting more intelligent.  First it will be the mundane stuff, then the stuff that takes some thought to do, then some programming will be overtaken by robots, then it will be the intellectual stuff.  Jobs are not coming back, for the most part.  There may be some increases in the job market over time, slight, there may be some decreases, but on the whole, jobs are on the way out.

Baxter the robot will get cheaper once there is competition.  It won't work for 4 dollars an hour.  It will work for 2.  It will cost less to buy it. Employers will love it.

All this crap Obama and Romney are spewing about bringing jobs back is bullshit.  It's bullshit.  Manufacturing is declining.  There is no real reason to hire more people.  Demand is lacking.  If people were going to spend more money on things there would be more orders and demand for workers.

IF YOU CAN, GET A JOB THAT REQUIRES A LOT OF THINKING OR IS ARTISTIC AND THAT WILL BRING IN A GOOD SALARY.  OR BECOME A NURSE.  

Nurses will be some of the last to be automated.  The human touch is valued.  It will take a while for a robot to be able to do the things a nurse can do for you.  It's the movement and the fine motor control.

Laura Nichol

Sort of Metal Alison Robertson

That was a bullshit speech tonight by Obama.  Biden kicked his ass.  The reason Obama's speech was crap was because he did not go into specifics on how he will make more jobs.  It kinda doesn't matter though because of the oncoming collapse.  The markets are falsely pumped-up.  Don't believe what you see right now.  These are temporary points of exuberance.  There is no backing to the economy, and the automation will only happen more often.  Manufacturing may come back to the U.S. but jobs will not.  Robots, man.

Angela Gossow

Alyssa White-Gluz of  The Agonist

Lyin' Ryan

Lyin' Ryan.

I watched the Republican National Convention.  The two things I took away from it:

• Ryan and Romney are as interesting as licking cardboard

• Paul Ryan likes to tell whoppers

How the "planners" ever let the convention proceed as it did amazes me.  The quality control--completely lacking.

If these no good sons of bitches get elected I have self appointed myself as the head of the committee that will jump on a Learjet on inauguration day and eventually end up in Zihuatanejo.

And it occurred to me, only a few hours ago, that there probably was some backroom dealing concerning the idea of Clint Eastwood promoting his new movie as the real reason he stood up there and acted like an idiot.