Boy Blunder At It Again

Paul Ryan, who never lets facts or figures stand in his way, has unveiled the new GOP budget proposal to drastically slash Federal spending, repeal the President's healthcare reform, and replace Medicare with vouchers. Ryan calls it "The Path to Prosperity," a verbal distortion as grotesque as anything in George Orwell's "Newspeak."
Ryan and the rest of the Repubs are economic destrutionists, who are trying to destroy the national economy for the sake of their twisted ideology.

The Decline and Fall of Bob Woodward

Those of us who remember the seventies came to see Bob Woodward as a hero. The way he together with Carl Bernstein exposed the Watergate scandal has become the epic standard of investigative journalism. To confront any Presidency is daunting to confront the corrupt and abusive Nixon White House can be considered heroic. However, recently Woodward has gotten into a spat with White House Economic Director Gene Sperling over an email exchange in which Sperling wrote "I think you will regret staking out that claim." Woodward is now claiming on tv appearances that the Obama White House is threatening him. He's even gone on Fox tv, whcih is usually a sign of moral degradation. Anyway, reading Sperling's full email shows that there was no threat implied. What's happened is that Woodward has gone from being an insurgent to an insider, because forty years is a long time.

"The Makers" on PBS

Last night PBS showed one of its best programs of all time; "Makers: Women Who Make America." It shows the history of the women's movement from World War II to the seventies. One important aspect of the show is that it sets the record straight on the Feminist movement. In spite of all the distortions that have been circulated, Feminism wasn't about "women versus men" but the progress of human equality. It is important to remember why Feminism was necessary in light of the current attack on reproductive rights and the right=wing attempt to turn back the clock on gender equality.

Let's Get One Thing Clear

The continuing battle over the Federak budget is enough to confuse anybody. It doesn't help that all the partisan rhetoric that's being vented it's hard to keep things straight. That pressure from GOP Congressmen led to the increase in the payroll tax which will fall most heavily on wroking people. The GOP pretend to be against tax increasses but in fact they only object when taxes are aimed at the rich. The GOP have no problems with tax increases on ordinary people. Their strident "anti tax" rhetoric merely covers their real agenda.

Repubs Against Democracy

Among the issues that President Obama addressed in the State of the Union last night was long waiting lines to vote. The problem is that Repub politicians at the State level have been busy making it hard for people to vote. They target minorities, the elderly, and young people but in general the more people exercise their right to vote the worse the repubs do. While names and labels can be misleading in politics we have come to be presented with a clear choice. The Democratic Party, which however inoconsistenltly favors democracy versus a "republic" of property owners. Which one will we choose?

The Downton Downer

I don't understand the popularity of "Downton Abbey." The show is not only a soap opera but a very boring one as well. Just look at how recently it has become a collection of soapy plot devices. Bates is convicted for a crime he did not commit. Edith gets jilted at the altar. Even Sybil's death was handled in a way that seems to suggest that the creators of this show have run out of ideas.

I suspect the reason why many Americans watch dippy British shows like "Downton" is because they still have some kind of inferiority complex. It's like these people still assume that anything British must be superior or something. I don't happen to agree.

Ding Dong Etc.

It turns out that Fox tv has fired Sarah Palin. Even they got tired of her nonsense. Palin's political star only lasted four years. Some people think Palin still has a political career, maybe even a shot at the Presidency in 2016, but it's hard to see how. Palin has pissed off most of the GOP establishment as well as most right-wing opinion makers. Now she doesn't even have a forum on Fox. Never fear, Fox news has a conisderable number of opinion makers waiting in the wings.