The View from Here. Where's Here? Well, it moves around a bit, but generally, Here is a little South of Hope and not too far North of Hel, whose Hounds are all too often nipping at my Heels.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Will That Other David Brooks (and the real one, too) Please Go AWAY!!?
Actually, I really appreciate David, he almost always gets my juices going with all his lies and distortions-- and his self perception as a moderate Republican and humanist. Today's column "That Other Obama", is no different, same ol' vile inspiring stuff wrapped in an enigma of "aren't I so dignified?"
In it he attacks the President for his partisanism and "hoary brain dead cliches" attack against the Ryan budget and bemoans --Where is the Moderation? (Hint DB-- it left with Dwight E.)
Of course it is partisan—you neo-con poop! (“Sort of a play on words, there.”) We do not live in a post partisan world—and we all know in his world of false equivalencies (FE) that Obama is just as much responsible as Limbaugh.
Really “hoary, brain dead cliches” ? Brooks says “the Ryan budget has some disturbing weaknesses.” Cliche or in denial-- you choose-- but either way, definitely, brain dead. It's not weak --it is a full on class warfare assault and, at last, a rightward moved Democrat is standing up and identifying it as such, in all too mild of terms, but effectively, nonetheless.
He claims the Ryan budget “hides” loophole closings. No, it makes allusions to promises that it never intends to keep. The chasm which the President only began to illuminate is real. It is the one that Ryan and his Randian ilk ( read “Republicans”) see between themselves as the makers and the rest of us as the takers, when really it is the 1% who have been on the make and take for far too long.
Flying his banner of FE under the banner of Politifact's FE of a distortion of lie of the year-- now that is quite the image. Just how is vochureizing and privatizing MediCare not ending MediCare as we know it? It is our country’s single payer system for elderly care. It would become less care and more profit for the insurance-pharm industry. The prohibitions against adverse selection and reduced benefits are not worth the vellum they are printed on. What is so amazing is not so much that he believes it, but that he expects us to.
That Ryanistas are not recognized as the lunatic fringe is only testimony to how much larger, if no more lunatic, the Republican fringe has become. And would the Right stop being wrong and please stop referring to that which we have paid for during our entire working lifetimes as “entitlements?”
He calls for Obama to lay out a bigger better solution. I got your bigger better solution right here, David. The Peoples Budget and Single Payer Health Care—Twice the health care at half the price (REALLY!)
Friday, February 24, 2012
AMERICA IS EUROPE ?
According to David Brooks column today the American and European social support
structure are more or less equally funded. I do not have the numbers directly at my finger
tips—and apparently gauging from the lack of them in his column he didn’t either.
( Or he did, but ignored them because they disproved his thesis) The absurdity of which
is to propose that “the U.S. does not have a significantly smaller welfare state than the
European nations.” (First of all, David, congratulations on that “welfare state” buzz word
insertion.)
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
THE FUTURE IS NOW
There is not so much a dearth of progressive ideas and ideology—but a corporate control
of policy and minimization of distribution of those ideas. The little known People's Budget
of Congress’ Progressive Caucus is an excellent illustration. It addresses many
of the concerns raised in this article, yet few have heard of it. Few, also, know that
that same Progressive Caucus is the largest such entity in Congress.
In specific, Mr Fukuyama is in error regarding his statement that accuses the left of
“a lack of credibility. (That) Over the past two generations, the mainstream left has
followed a social democratic program that centers on the state provision of a variety of
services, such as pensions, health care, and education.” In fact where the social
democratic left has been successful it has been in these very areas. Especially
healthcare, where most of the developed world has some form of universal, equitable
health care-- Always not for profit and often single payer.
Time and space do not allow for a more complete response. However, I would posit
related and relevant points to ponder. Corporate control of the narrative and policy
has curtailed progressive ability to mature the dialog. That same corporate frame’s
predominance has only permitted the “academic left … postmodernism, multiculturalism,
feminism, critical theory, and a host of other fragmented intellectual trends that are
more cultural than economic in focus” to be visible. This has simultaneously served the right
as a sop to their consciousness but one they can dismiss for its ephemeralness. Far
beyond incoherent scribblings, this progressive economic, social, psychological and
political philosophy “it's all around if we could but perceive.” It is in the
aforementioned People’s Budget, in the writings and critiques of Thom Hartmann, Naomi
Klein, Jared Bernstein, Rachel Maddow, Robert Reich , Paul Krugman and oh so many more.
And, yes, Occupy is one of our distilleries.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
WHO LIES
I know I should not be, but I continue to be dumbfounded that the likes of Jay Ambrose still grace the national media. His recent column (1/24) accusing President Obama of lying about the Keystone pipeline is, indeed, full of lies-- Ambrose's.
Time will allow for only a partial review. But first, let us note that this is the same Jay Ambrose who, in defending obvious lies about WMD's, uranium, et al , said that accusing Bush of lying was "hateful hallucinations that poison political discourse."
In the first sentence Ambrose accuses the President of being “weasel-worded”. Does this not “poison political discourse” ? Before he concludes that first sentence he accuses President Obama of betraying his country, lying and welshing. (That latter, though I am sure it is far too “pc” for Mr Ambrose, is an ethnic slur.)
A basis of his argument is the inference that the tar sand oils will be used for domestic energy. This a lie that the supporters promulgate implicitly or explicitly. The whole reason the current pipeline is being added to and extended is to transport the oil to Gulf refineries for export. For the profit of the corporations not for the energy of the nation. We, in fact, are not going to “use” the oil.
He claims that the environmental complaints are about CO2 content and global warming. True enough, but he ignores other issues such as spills-- of which the current shorter pipeline has had at least 11 in the last year . Certainly a great risk to any surface and ground water exposed-- not, as he claims, “physically impossible tainting.”
Ambrose refers to “some Nebraskans complained.” In fact the UNANIMOUS state legislature passed and the Republican governor signed a bill prohibiting the planned route and voting $2 million to study an alternative route. A process that, in itself, will take us beyond the November elections.
If, as he accuses the president, there is a lie in not being sure the pipeline was safe it is in that we can be sure that the pipeline will not be safe. Yes, there is a risk-benefit analysis to be made, but that analysis must be comprehensive, including the need to move away from increasingly more polluting and expensive non-renewables and to move towards investing in cleaner, renewable energy sources.
Again, there is so much more, but let me end with my outrage that this man who has so defended Bush's lies-- about affairs, domestic and foreign-- that got so many people killed, injured and financially devastated, has the nerve to finish his venomous column with accusing President Obama of leaving “this country wounded and bleeding.”