Hilarious fight between Hannity and Doucey because Hannity wants to spread Trump’s lies, this one about how Trump really won by a huge margin not realized because Democrats in New Hampshire have taken over the Republican primary, first claiming Democrats could just vote in the Republican primary, a lie he got direct from Trump, not true, then after Doucey told the truth about that and Trump had a weekend tirade about being corrected he came up with the lie that they could just switch parties then go vote in the Republican primary on the same day, another lie the cut off date for switching parties was early October. Doucey corrected that lie too, at which point Hannity got pissed and accused him of being a leftist…because honesty and facts are only for leftists while pure made up lies are all that the right peddles, I don’t think he meant to be making that point so clearly and publicly but he did, and it’s accurate, the only accurate thing he’s said lately.
MAGA is nothing but lies and whining now, a failing cult whose prophet is a child molesting rapist tax cheat that fomented a coup to stay in power, stole and sold highly classified top secret military documents, sold a list of our own allied countries spies to Saudi Arabia for $2 billion (and they executed many), and presided over what he made the worst year in American history by almost every measure, 2020.

On Monday Trump said Biden will destroy America IF HE EVER GETS INTO OFFICE.

Enjoy your cult of lies led by a dementia ridden criminal. He’s falling apart exactly like his father who had Alzheimer’s which runs in families (a condition Trump repeatedly took advantage of in his fathers dying years to forgive himself of tens of millions in debts to Fred’s estate and tried to rewrite his dad’s will to cut out everyone else but was caught…and you want a similarly easily tricked dottering fool in the highest office).
And a Florida Senator (Garcia) and the CFO of Florida have decided it’s wrong to take any tax payer money to buy poor children or elderly people lunch or health care (she chairs the children family and elders affairs committee), but they should take $5 million of taxpayer money to hand it to Trump to help him with his criminal attorney fees….yes, they’re trying to give alleged billionaire Trump a taxpayer bailout for his criminal charges despite having massive poverty and lack of services in the state and an over $130 billion in debt. MAGA priorities on full display.

Ponder this….how long will it take to post them all???

25 more high powered Republican sex offenders…just gotta love #30!

26 Republican legislative aide *Howard L. Brooks** was charged with molesting a 12-year old boy and possession of child pornography.
27 Republican Senate candidate John Hathaway was accused of having sex with his 12-year old babysitter and withdrew his candidacy after the allegations were reported in the media.

28 Republican preacher *Stephen White**, who demanded a return to traditional values, was sentenced to jail after offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy for permission to perform oral sex on him.

29 Republican talk show host Jon Matthews pleaded guilty to exposing his genitals to an 11 year old girl.

30 Republican anti-gay activist Earl "Butch" Kimmerling was sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting an 8-year old girl after he attempted to stop a gay couple from adopting her.

31 Republican Party leader Paul Ingram pleaded guilty to six counts of raping his daughters and served 14 years in federal prison.

32 Republican election board official Kevin Coan was sentenced to two years probation for soliciting sex over the internet from a 14-year old girl.

33 Republican politician *Andrew Buhr** was charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy.

34 Republican politician Keith Westmoreland was arrested on seven felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition to girls under the age of 16. He committed suicide

35 Republican anti-abortion activist John Allen Burt was charged with sexual misconduct involving a 15-year old girl.

36 Republican County Councilman *Keola Childs** pleaded guilty to molesting a male child.

37 Republican activist, McCain office manager Jeffrey Claude Bartleson, was arrested for molesting the child of a campaign volunteer.

38 NYC councilman, Republican-Queens, Dennis Gallagher - rape

39 Republican Mayoral Candidate and pastor - Rambler was accused of having sex with an underage boy and was convicted of soliciting explicit photos from a swingers' group & using the pics to extort money

40 Republican City Councilman Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr. pleaded no contest to raping a 15-year-old girl and served 6-months in prison.

41 Republican activist Parker J. Bena pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computer and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $18,000.

42 GOP Sen aide Ryan Loskarn committed suicide after child porn arrest

43 Republican parole board officer and former Colorado state representative, Larry Jack Schwarz, was fired after child pornography was found in his possession.

44 Faith and Family Alliance director, Republican strategist, and lobbyist Robin Vanderwall was convicted in of five counts of soliciting sex from boys and girls over the internet. It's at the end or article, after all his illegal lobbying schemes https://t.co/gVbGFfAtZe

45 Republican businessman Jon Grunseth withdrew his candidacy for Minnesota governor after allegations surfaced that he went swimming in the nude with four underage girls, including his daughter

46 Republican director of the "Young Republican Federation" Nicholas Elizondo molested his 6-year old daughter and was sentenced to six years in prison

47 Republican benefactor of conservative Christian groups, Richard A. Dasen Sr. rape. Dasen has allegedly told police that over the past decade he paid more than $1 million to have sex with a large number of young women

48 Republican Judge and campaign official Tim Nolan for President Donald Trump indicted for human trafficking and forcing a minors (9) to engage in sexual activity

49 Republican County Board Candidate Brent Schepp was charged with molesting a 14-year old girl.

50: Randall Casseday, HR Director for right-wing Washington Times - caught in an underage sex sting - "The Washington Times is the only newspaper where the moral issues of family and faith are proudly reported on the front page on a regular basis"

Republican Tim Nolan, chairman of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in Kentucky & Former Campbell County Judge, Served as a judge, school board member and city solicitor, forced 19 victims to perform sex acts, including seven who were minors under 16. Pled guilty on February 11, 2018 and was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2018/05/03/former-judge-tim-nolan-could-sentenced-today-more-drama-could-get-way/577947002/

Republican George Nader, Trump Foreign Policy Adviser, sentenced to 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography and transporting a minor into the United States for sex. https://www.courthousenews.com/child-sex-trafficker-from-trump-tower-meeting-gets-10-year-sentence/

Republican Ralph Shortey, a former Oklahoma state senator & Trump’s Oklahoma campaign chair, was indicted on four counts of human trafficking and child pornography. Pled guilty to a federal charge of child sex trafficking after hiring a 17-year-old boy for sex. Sentenced to 15 years in prison, in addition to ten years of supervised release and ordered to pay $125,000 in restitution. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/trump-s-oklahoma-campaign-chair-plead-guilt-child-sex-trafficking-n822461

Republican Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Illinois Congressman and one of the highest-ranking U.S. politicians to ever go to prison, molested at least four boys as young as 14 years of age when he coached wrestling at an Illinois High School. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison, two years' supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. A civil case was due back in court for a status hearing on Jan. 8, 2021 at the courthouse to further address the jury trial. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/ex-u-s-house-speaker-dennis-hastert-starts-prison-term

Republican Minnesota State Representative Jim Knoblach Drops Out Of Race After Daughter Says He Molested Her For More Than Ten Years 22 Sep 2018 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/22/lawmaker-quits-race-after-daughter-says-he-molested-her-more-than-decade/?utm_term=.8ac8527c7f43

Republican congressman and anti-gay activist Robert Bauman was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bauman

Republican Committee Chairman Jeffrey Patti was arrested for distributing a video clip of a 5-year-old girl being raped. http://www.njherald.com/article/20060510/ARTICLE/305109971

Republican Joseph Dendy, Cobb County GA Republican Party Chairman & Sunday School Teacher,was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted on four counts of child molestation, four counts of first-degree cruelty to children, three counts of enticing a child for indecent purposes, and one count each of aggravated sexual battery and aggravated child molestation. https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/former-gop-chairman-arrested-on-child-molestation-charges

Republican anti-abortion activist Howard Scott Heldreth is a convicted child rapist in Florida. https://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/sops/flyer.jsf?personId=28587

Republican director of the “Young Republican Federation” Nicholas Elizondo molested his 6-year old daughter and was sentenced to six years in prison. https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/registered-sex-offender-keeps-custody-of-daughter

Republican Kentucky state Representative & pastor Dan Johnson, committed suicide after an exposé revealed his serial lies, suspected arson, criminal church, racism, accused rape of a teen and more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Johnson_%28Kentucky_politician%29

Republican County Commissioner David Swartz pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 11 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison. http://www.lanternproject.org.uk/library/child-abuse-arrests-and-court-cases/child-abuse-arrests-trials-and-proceedings/ex-county-commissioner-admits-
sexual-abuse-of-girl/

Republican judge Mark Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation. http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20120426/NEWS90/204260334

Republican legislator Edison Misla Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and 17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edison_Misla_Aldarondo

Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8 and 10-year old girls. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Giordano

Republican activist and Christian Coalition leader Beverly Russell admitted to an incestuous relationship with his step daughter. https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/02/opinion/journal-beverly-russell-s-prayers.html

Republican activist Marty Glickman (a.k.a. “Republican Marty”), was taken into custody by Florida police on four counts of unlawful sexual activity with an underage girl https://www.arktimes.com/TheHoglawyer/archives/2007/08/28/the-latest-republican-sex-scandals-plural---more-of-the-same

Republican Senate candidate John Hathaway was accused of having sex with his 12-year old baby sitter and withdrew his candidacy after the allegations were reported in the media. https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/06/us/politics-the-senate-maine-candidate-again-faces-1990-child-sex-accusation.html

Republican preacher Stephen White, who demanded "a return to traditional values", was sentenced to jail after offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy for permission to perform oral sex on him. http://www.thedp.com/article/2004/01/brother_stephen_convicted_of_soliciting_sex

Republican Party leader Paul Ingram pleaded guilty to six counts of raping his daughters and served 14 years in federal prison. https://culteducation.com/group/1255-false-memories/6514-man-in-notorious-sex-case-finishes-term.html

Republican election board official Kevin Coan was sentenced to two years probation for soliciting sex over the internet from a 14-year old girl. https://www.semissourian.com/story/57773.html

Republican politician Andrew Buhr was charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy. https://www.arktimes.com/TheHoglawyer/archives/2007/08/28/the-latest-republican-sex-scandals-plural---more-of-the-same

Republican politician Keith Westmoreland was arrested on seven felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition to girls under the age of 16 (i.e. exposing himself to children). http://www.chattanoogan.com/2002/6/21/23202/Tennessee-Legislator-Commits-Suicide.aspx

Republican County Councilman Keola Childs pleaded guilty to molesting a male child. http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Oct/08/ln/hawaii710080338.html

Republican candidate Richard Gardner admitted to molesting his two daughters. https://lasvegassun.com/news/2002/oct/14/assembly-candidate-gardner-ruled-ineligible-due-to/

Republican City Councilman Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr. pleaded no contest to raping a 15 year-old girl and served 6-months in prison. https://www.wgal.com/article/council-accepts-resignation-of-member-imprisoned-for-rape/6189408

Republican activist Parker J. Bena pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computer and was sentenced to 30 months in prison http://www.salem-news.com/articles/october172007/repubscandals101707.php

Republican strategist and Citadel Military College graduate Robin Vanderwall was convicted in Virginia on five counts of soliciting sex from boys and girls over the internet. https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Robin_Vanderwall

Republican city councilman Mark Harris, described as a “good military man / church goer,” was convicted of repeatedly having sex with an 11-year-old girl and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Republican Brandon Hixon, Idaho State Representative, resigned while under criminal investigation for molesting two girls, including a young female relative for more than 10 years, then killed himself three months later, shortly before his ex-wife and two others were to testify before a grand jury. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brandon-hixon-former-idaho-lawmaker-facing-sex-abuse-inquiry-kills-himself/

Republican Tony Yocham, Hamilton, TX Chief of Police, was arrested by Texas Rangers on charges of continuous sexual abuse of a child. https://www.kxxv.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county-chief-of-police-arrested-for-continuous-abuse-of-a-child

Republican Nathan Larson of the Virginia House of Delegates is a self-confessed pedophile and white supremacist. Was arrested on felony charges for kidnapping, child abduction, soliciting child pornography from a minor and meeting a child for the intention of sex. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/alleged-pedophile-white-supremacist-arrested-kidnapping-12-yr-old-girl-n1251832

I got over 1,000 more repubs @bobknight33 if you realllllly wanna play. But for now lets see you do a list of Democrats LOLOLOL

Here's the actual unemployment rate as measured by the Fed:

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/EMRATIO

What do you notice on the right?

Funny how things "pop" up before election.

Epstein had camera everywhere. We will see.

Apparently this shit is rampant:

Republican benefactor of conservative Christian groups, Richard A. Dasen Sr., was charged with rape for allegedly paying a 15-year old girl for sex. Dasen, 62, who is married with grown children and several grandchildren, has allegedly told police that over the past decade he paid more than $1 million to have sex with a large number of young women.

Democratic donor and billionaire, Jeffrey Epstein, ran an underage child sex brothel and was convicted of soliciting underage girls for prostitution.

Democratic New York Congressman, Anthony Weiner, plead guilty to transferring obscene material to a minor as part of a plea agreement for sexted and sending Twitter DMs to underage girls as young as 15.

Democratic donor, activist, and Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is being criminally prosecuted and civilly sued for years of sexual abuse (that was well known “secret” in Hollywood) including underage sexual activities with aspiring female actresses.

Democratic activist and #metoo proponent, Asia Argento, settled a lawsuit for sexual harassment stemming from sexual activities with an underage actor.

Democratic Mayor of Racine, Wisconsin, Gary Becker, was convicted of attempted child seduction, child pornography, and other child sex crimes.

Democratic Seattle Mayor Ed Murray resigned after multiple accusations of child sexual abuse were levied against him including by family members.

Democratic activist and aid to NYC Mayor De Blasio, Jacob Schwartz was arrested on possession of 3,000+ child pornographic images.
Democratic activist and actor, Russell Simmons, was sued based on an allegation of sexual assault where he coerced an underage model for sex.

Democratic Governor of Oregon, Neil Goldschmidt, after being caught by a newspaper, publicly admitted to having a past sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl after the statute of limitations on the rape charges had expired.

Democratic Illinois Congressman, Mel Reynolds resigned from Congress after he was convicted of statutory rape of a 16-year-old campaign volunteer.
Democratic New York Congressman, Fred Richmond, was arrested in Washington D.C. for soliciting sex from a 16-year-old boy.

Democratic activist, donor, and director, Roman Polanski, fled the country after pleading guilty to statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl. Democrats and Hollywood actors still defend him to this day, including, Whoopi Goldberg, Martin Scorcese, Woody Allen, David Lynch, Wim Wenders, Pedro Almodovar, Tilda Swinton and Monica Bellucci.

Democratic State Senator from Alaska, George Jacko, was found guilty of sexual harassment of an underage legislative page.
Democratic State Representative candidate for Colorado, Andrew Myers, was convicted for possession of child pornography and enticing children.

Democratic Illinois Congressman, Gus Savage was investigated by the Democrat-controlled House Committee on Ethics for attempting to rape an underage female Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire. The Committee concluded that while the events did occur his apology was sufficient and took no further action.
Democratic activist, donor, and spokesperson for Subway, Jared Fogle, was convicted of distribution and receipt of child pornography and traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

Democratic State Department official, Carl Carey, under Hillary Clinton’s state department, was arrested on ten counts of child porn possession.

Democratic Maine Assistant Attorney General, James Cameron, was sentenced to just over 15 years in federal prison for seven counts of child porn possession, receipt and transmission.
Democratic State Department official, Daniel Rosen, under Hillary Clinton’s state department, was arrested and charged with allegedly soliciting sex from a minor over the internet.

Democratic State Department official, James Cafferty, pleaded guilty to one count of transportation of child pornography.

Democratic radio host, Bernie Ward, plead guilty to one count of sending child pornography over the Internet.Democratic deputy attorney general from California, Raymond Liddy, was arrested for possession of child pornography.


Republican activist Marty Glickman (a.k.a. “Republican Marty”), was taken into custody by Florida police on four counts of unlawful sexual activity with an underage girl and one count of delivering the drug LSD.

Republican legislative aide Howard L. Brooks was charged with molesting a 12-year old boy and possession of child pornography.

Republican Senate candidate John Hathaway was accused of having sex with his 12-year old baby sitter and withdrew his candidacy after the allegations were reported in the media.
Republican preacher Stephen White, who demanded a return to traditional values, was sentenced to jail after offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy for permission to perform oral sex on him.

Republican talk show host Jon Matthews pleaded guilty to exposing his genitals to an 11 year old girl.Republican anti-gay activist Earl “Butch” Kimmerling was sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting an 8-year old girl after he attempted to stop a gay couple from adopting her.

Republican Party leader Paul Ingram pleaded guilty to six counts of raping his daughters and served 14 years in federal prison.
Republican election board official Kevin Coan was sentenced to two years probation for soliciting sex over the internet from a 14-year old girl.

Republican politician Andrew Buhr was charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy.

Republican politician Keith Westmoreland was arrested on seven felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition to girls under the age of 16 (i.e. exposing himself to children).
Republican anti-abortion activist John Allen Burt was charged with sexual misconduct involving a 15-year old girl.
Republican County Councilman Keola Childs pleaded guilty to molesting a male child.

Republican activist John Butler was charged with criminal sexual assault on a teenage girl.Republican candidate Richard Gardner admitted to molesting his two daughters.

Republican Councilman and former Marine Jack W. Gardner was convicted of molesting a 13-year old girl.

Republican County Commissioner Merrill Robert Barter pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and assault on a teenage boy.
Republican City Councilman Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr. pleaded no contest to raping a 15 year-old girl and served 6-months in prison.

Republican activist Parker J. Bena pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computer and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $18,000.

Republican parole board officer and former Colorado state representative, Larry Jack Schwarz, was fired after child pornography was found in his possession.

Republican strategist and Citadel Military College graduate Robin Vanderwall was convicted in Virginia on five counts of soliciting sex from boys and girls over the internet.

Republican city councilman Mark Harris, who is described as a “good military man” and “church goer,” was convicted of repeatedly having sex with an 11-year-old girl and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Republican businessman Jon Grunseth withdrew his candidacy for Minnesota governor after allegations surfaced that he went swimming in the nude with four underage girls, including his daughter.

Republican director of the “Young Republican Federation” Nicholas Elizondo molested his 6-year old daughter and was sentenced to six years in prison.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/06/20/woody-guthrie-fred-trump-tulsa-lyrics/

the road muffin didn't fall too far from the horse's bum.

maybe knew this already but shared it anyway.

"Aliens stole my lunch!" claims local octopus Fred Eight-Arms.

We could use another Fred Rogers right about now.

@dag Looking at the members who up voted this "kids" sift .
..
Fred Rogers believed the pain that exists in our lives every day is even more difficult to process. For this reason, he kept it real on his show, despite how much of his target audience couldn't even spell "real." In fact, he believed that it was even more important to equip them early on with the tools they needed to navigate life's most treacherous moments.

If you watched his show, you might recall that he covered a wide-range of topics, and many of them involved things that even adults struggle to confront. In one episode of Neighborhood, the prince has gone missing, and people correctly assume that it's because he can't deal with his parents' constant fighting at home. In a story arc that lasts several days, people search for him and, when he is found, a classmate tells him that he had been scared the prince was dead.

You know why that's important, that the prince disappeared because of real reasons and not "evil dragon" ones? Because kids at home probably wondered the same thing when Mr. Rogers and his friends couldn't find the prince. Instead of skirting around the issue, he faced it head on, as he did with many issues on his program, showing children that they can learn to cope with difficult emotions like fear, shame, and anger. He understood that kids might be innocent, but they still needed to understand how to live in the real world. He taught them to be open, brave, and resilient while owning their feelings, which was something they could carry with them for the rest of their lives. It wasn't all sweaters and fish-feeding, you know.
Read More: http://www.grunge.com/

As a native of Pittsburgh I grew up of Fred Rogers.. A great man and a great show.

Public television can be just as great under private hands. does not need tax dollars for support. A proper board of directors can steer its direction on its same path.

It does sound a bit like Booty Swing, so they could well have based this on it or at least sampled it.

The group is called Nogizaka46, and their usual style seems to be J-Pop.

that was awesome.
i hope del toro gets to make "mountains of madness",because i love the imagery he used in hellboy,which was VERY lovecraftian.

i stumbled upon lovecraft from my dad,and by accident.
my dad had a ton of the those sci-fi,horror pulp magazines from the 40's and 50's in the basement.

i think i was around 9 or 10 and my dad had given me the job of clearing out the basement,because he was going to remodel it..and i remember coming across this old,and dusty cardboard box filled with those books.

i spent the entire afternoon reading..and reading..and reading.
and it was lovecraft that i fell in love with,although at my young age he was not an easy read.you have to absorb lovecraft rather than actually read him.

this was the weekend i also discovered isaac asimov,ray bradbury,fred saberhagen and jack l chalker.

so i fell in love with lovecraft before stephen king.

and then my big sister tried to introduce me to dean r koontz.
and well..fuck dean r koontz,fucking hack and plagiarist.

seriously..fuck dean r koontz.

I'm a big Fred Stoller fan. I actually just want to actually *promote his book, not that Norm MacDonald guy. What show was he from? I don't even remember. Fuck him.

Apologies, I got carried away... wall of text incoming.

@RedSky

I agree, monetary policy at low rates has very little to offer in terms of economic stimulus. Then again, the focus almost solely on monetary policy is part of the problem. Fiscal policy can have a massive impact, both directly (government purchases of goods and services) and indirectly (increase in automatic stabilizers). But for that you either need to be in control of your central bank, so that you can engage in Overt Monetary Financing ("printing" money). Or you need the blessing of the private banks, which is particularly true for a Vollgeld system.

The budget is the core of a parliamentary democracy, and to be at the whim of the folks at Deutsche Bank, HSBC or Credit Suisse -- no, thank you very much. We saw how that played out in Greece.

Anyway, the central bank can do miraculous things: if it provides funds to the democratically elected body in charge of the budget, aka parliament/the government. Trying to "motivate" the private banks to stock up on cheap reserves to stimulate lending is just a sign of ideology.

The great Michal Kalecki, in his essay The Political Aspects of Full Employment, summarized the general issue of government spending quite clearly. The industrial leaders stand in opposition to government spending aimed at full employment for three distinct reasons: a) dislike of government interference in the problem of employment as such; b) dislike of the direction of government spending (public investment and subsidizing consumption); c) dislike of the social and political changes resulting from the maintenance of full employment.

I'd say control over your currency is too great a tool to leave it in the hands of unelected managers. Clement Attlee knew very well why he had to nationalize the Bank of England in '46.

Back to the issue of inflation, I'd like to make two points. First, how big a role should inflation really play when talking policy. Second, what's the influence of a central bank on inflation.

Where does it come from, this focus on inflation. People usually talk about government spending when discussing inflation. Private spending is rarely brought up, even though it can be just as inflationary. So let's ignore private spending for a moment and talk purely government spending: should a deficit/surplus not be judged primarily by how well it helps us achieve our macroeconomic goals? Or more clearly, why should we sacrifice full employment or our general welfare on the altar of inflation? Yes, that's over the top. But so is the angst of inflation.

I'd say let's stick with Abba Lerner's concept of functional finance and judge deficits/surpluses purely by how well they help us achieve our macroeconomic goals. Besides, the US has run massive deficits during the GFC, so much in fact, that a great number of monetarists saw hyperinflation just around the corner. Still waiting for it. Same for Japan. Massive deficits... and deflation.

As long as spending, both private and government, doesn't push the economy beyond its limits (full employment, real resources, production capacity), out-of-control inflation just doesn't materialize. Plus, suppressing inflation is actually one thing central banks can do quite well. Unlike causing inflation, which both Japan and the EU are showcases off. Draghi can dance naked on the table, monetary policy (QE, mainly) won't push inflation upwards.

Which brings me to the second point: what's inflation, what's the cause of inflation, how can central banks manipulate it.

CPI is often used as a measure of inflation, but I prefer the GDP deflator. CPI doesn't account for externalities that you cannot influence, whatever you do. Prime case: the price of oil. Monetary policy of the Bank of Sweden has no influence on the price of oil. The GDP inflator, however, accounts for every economic activity within your currency zone -- much more useful.

General theory says, this measure of inflation goes up when demand surpasses supply. And vice versa. The primary factor of demand is domestic purchasing power, therefore wages. If you suppress wages, you suppress inflation. If you push wages, you push inflation. More specifically, you can see a direct correlation between unit labour costs and the GDP deflator in every country at any time. Here's a general graph for multiple countries, and the St. Louis FED provides a beauty for the US.

That's why it's easy for central banks to combat inflation, but almost impossible to fight deflation.