Cliff Notes for Literary Snobs

We won't be fooled again?

"Letting those high-end tax cuts expire would amount to a blink-and-you-miss-it 0.003% contraction in the U.S. economy, according to Moody’s, and it would raise tens of billions of dollars in desperately-needed tax revenue next year. That’s no small thing when you consider that federal revenue has fallen to its lowest point in more than half a century."

After reading, at long last, a simple, reasonable article on the subject (exerpt above) I thought I'd throw this out there for anyone who's reached their limit with this Fiscal Cliff malarky; it's every bit as annoying as tv campaign ads, isn't it? Makes you want to suggest that anyone who brings it up, or mouths off about a topic about which they've managed to glean a smidgen of info somewhere, find one to jump off without delay. Wanna know what's really going on? go Here, read the calm, brief synopsis, then tell everyone you know who's caught up in the moan and groan of Cliffitis to put a sock in it.

Jeez, don't folks ever read?

But we'll be keepin an eye on those snakes in DC. Them tax cuts for those makin over 250 Gs a year better die a certain death. Wouldn't hurt to keep yer pitchfork sharpened.

A Binder Full of Women

Driving through this Downtown Smalltown on Wednesday the massive sense of relief was palpable. Yes, Happy Days, even with the Cliff looming, sez Gail. A huge sigh seemed to permeate the atmosphere here in Maine, folks breathing freely,  Thank god that Karl Rove fella didn't steal the election! And hey, gals, you won the future for the rest of us! Who knew? Well, we knew, we gals. Like the Black Panther women used to say, You got to use what you got to get what you want. And we used our votes! yes, the ladies were out in force this election. More power to 'em, hopefully. We now have 20 female Senators – only 25 to go to have some semblance of equal representation in the upper level of the US Congress – for now, we are finally on par with sub-Saharan African national assemblies at 20% female members. (No bs.)

And Elizabeth Warren won! Yayyy! And New Hampshire has put its faith in the ladies as well, You go, girls. And an openly gay woman managed to snag a congressional seat. Now if the female contingent in Congress doesn't sell out to good ol' boy intimidation, we may be on the road to more progressive solutions to the nation's troubles. It's up to all of us to let those gals know we have their backs, as they say. Keep in touch, send letters, emails, keep it going. (Like the Obama folks kept their ground game going in nearly every state for the last four years – smart!) Just think, only another few election cycles and we may reach the kind of national assembly gender parity they have in, um, oh yes, Rwanda. (No bs, it's around 50% female.)

I guess it remains to be seen what Barry O will do with his mandate from the ladies, not ignore or doubt us. (The Repubs sure called it wrong.) There will surely be hell to pay if he doesn't make himself more visible and use that bully pulpit which costs him not one dime and kick some of the right wing nutjobs back under the rocks they crawled out from under. And for pity's sake, explain the fallacy of "the Cliff" to people, get on the tv and 'splain that it isn't what the crazies are saying it is. One can only hope Michelle (O not Bachman) uses what she got to get us all what we want.

Me, I'm gonna go hide for awhile and see if I can't get someone to publish my book and start another one. Leave the politicking to the  politicians, but not for so long that I become one of those Undecided voter types. (Never happen.) I'm thinkin taking the debates back is next, return the whole process to the League of Women Voters, like it used to be. It was Jamie Oliver who said if you want something done, hire a woman to do it.

So here's a weird thing, a harbinger of something: The Saudis are calling on countries like Turkey to reset clocks to Islamic Mean time rather than Greenwich. Odd that. And they've built a clock with six tons of gold at the top to convince the blingingly impressionable. On the subject of the middle east, next time you wonder why the Middle East peace isn't happening, try reading up on Bebe N, the man who won't take Yes for an answer.  Every bit as detestable as Mr. Rove's ideological adherents; no wonder Barry looks unhappy whenever he visits the White House.  When are these guys gonna deal with their childhood issues?

d'accord. A plus tard.. why there's one now!

Ms. Fixit

“Well, I guess I’ll just fix this country myself.” 

So sayeth Elizabeth Warren (and more power to her, literally), the Dem Senate candidate in Massachusetts as she tries to win back Ted Kennedy's seat from the unpredictable Scott Brown and the thinly veiled racism of the Republican right. And if the voters of Mass. (Mainers often call them Massholes) give her the chance, no doubt she'll fix it proper, as Eliza Doolittle might say. All women hear her, it's how we feel at the end of nearly every day. In the face of the East coast flood, your typical female is prone to say, "Just grab a mop and let's giterdone. Stop moanin about the mess, waitin for someone else to take care of it, git off yer duff."

A  native Jersey girl myself, I feel for the thousands of folks along that tortured shore trying to find a loaf of bread, or a place to shower, or their car, at this point. Not to mention treasured keepsakes gone forever. The losses and devastation are beyond conceivable really, the photos mindblowing. How will they ever rebuild their lives? Where would you start? It's Katrina minus the levees.  My uncle's funeral may not take place as planned if, as my cousin wrote me, they don't "get the boats and sand outta the streets in time." Not to mention the electricity back on. And still the climate deniers lead in too many polls across the country, poised to retain (in Arkansas, to win) control of state houses (where they will carry forth the tenets of the Repub platform no one has actually read) largely thanks to the Repubs' success with redistricting after the 2010 census. I don't want to think it's because people are stupid, willfully so, but... I've gnawed my nails raw in anticipation of next Tuesday's results, praying Nate Silver knows something the other pollsters don't. I voted straight Democratic ticket this time, hoping they'll get their act together, adhere to time-honored principles and stop trying to play the game of political footsie with Big Money – because Citizens United said they have to simply in order to enter the playing field.

I can't help but recall swearing after the 2000 "election" that if my fellow citizens were dumb enough to either elect (which they didn't) or put up with W (they guy you wanna have a beer with?) installed as president, I'd have to relocate to more liberal shores, you know, where they still remember what life under fascism was like. And his numbers tanked shortly after he assumed office. But Nineleven fixed that, suddenly he was Superman. Aghast, I stayed, confident that after four years of the W cabal "misleading" us and disassembling "good" government while more than doubling the size of "bad" government (the part that spies on us), the country would rebel, would see the agenda unfolding, reject the radical conservative spiel that government is bad (unless spying on us or subsidizing Big Oil and Big Money), out-of-work folks are just lazy fekkers, women are designated by God solely as sperm repositories and baby machines (oh, and idle flatterers to whom "every sperm is sacred"), and if you can't afford health insurance there's something inherently wrong with you (no, it's not the lack of guaranteed health insurance one finds in those commie nations), that you're  the problem – unfixable, a drain on society. The list goes on. It's what the would-be president's ambition untethered to substance campaign of Myttology is all about. 

I'm trying to work, but it's hard, knowing that my son's and daughter's friends and their daughters may be imprisoned if they choose to have an abortion, that millions of have-nots will wither and die without the healthcare they need, that four years from now much of the country will be denied their right to vote, that some wacko now running down in Arkansas will pass a law allowing the state to execute uncooperative children... From Fuqua's (pronounced fookyu) book:

"The maintenance of civil order in society rests on the foundation of family discipline. Therefore, a child who disrespects his parents must be permanently removed from society in a way that gives an example to all other children of the importance of respect for parents. The death penalty for rebellioius children is not something to be taken lightly. The guidelines for administering the death penalty to rebellious children are given in Deut 21:18-21:"

That anyone could run with the backing of the Republican party on such a platform should scare the shyte out of everyone about what that party really stands for now. Read their Platform here, scroll to page 9, and decide if these folks threaten your idea of personal liberties guaranteed by the Constitution or not.

Obama is right:  It IS all about the Supreme Court, the final arbiter of laws since Marbury v Madison in the early 1800s. There were plenty of folks in the 2000s saying this as well, folks who saw which way the tide was moving. Why don't americans know these things? Willful ignorance, and they, and their "undecided" cohorts who choose ignorance over being informed, those Johnny-come-late-to-the-table, never miss an episode of Dancing with the Stars, citizens, will get what they asked for if Romney/Ryan have their way. 

I encountered a friend on the street the other day and the subject of the election came up. I mentioned I was glued to all media in anticipation of Tuesday's outcome. Perplexed, he asked me why, and I insisted that our shredded democracy/Republic hung in the balance. His opinion was that my keen interest amounted to an obsession. Well, okay, yes, I guess you could call it that. Or you could call it, as I do, giving a shit, understanding that what happens rests with ME, with each of us, being a responsible citizen. Being able to tell shit from Shinola.

If you wanna play "I'm an American", you gotta know the rules.

Find them here. And pass 'em on.

Round Two

Benghazi,  a house afire...

Well, I guess we're in for another low- level- intelligence, americanized infotainment version of "debate" tonight. Too bad Obama doesn't have Sam and CJ and Josh to coach him through. You gotta wonder, if the president's people decided to "let Obama be Obama", what would that even mean? How does the guy hope to counter Romney's slippery slimey fishness with more witless commentary that hasn't an ounce of fight in it? Would a little righteous indignation kill him?  Is he really that worried about lookin like an angry niggah? Jesus, there's plenty to be furious about, isn't there?

Anyway, today someone at The Atlantic suggests everyone read this before they subject themselves to whatever criticisms the right is gonna throw at the O admin re the Benghazi disaster during the town hall torture tonight. I have to say, it reads like an high action screenplay, riveting all the more cause it actually happened, and if Obama has a brain in his head he'll mention FIRST the bravery of the security folks at the Benghazi compound and slam Romney for trying to capitalize on their noble failure to hold the fort.  Then he'll remind the Romryan morons that it isn't the JOB of security forces at US embassies to protect personnel but to "hold the fort".

You know, if back in '69 you'd a told me I'd someday long for the ball breaking political savvy of Lyndon Johnson I'd a called you demented.

LBJ, the old man with his long hair and his pack of beagles. Would that he'd come back from the dead and kick a little ass.  He'd make mincemeat of both Harry Reid and Boehner in one go. Set those boys down, as they say.

And you can bet he'd have him a nice bourbon and branch and a smoke before going on stage.
stay loose....

If you're watching the town hall debate tonight, follow along with the Dems' truth team fact checker simultaneously here.

I wish Elle Woods was the questioner. she wouldn't let Mitt get away with shit.

Decision 2012? What Decision?

What's to decide? Whether 'tis nobler in the mind.... nonono. That's not it.

Oh yeah, it's an election year! And anyone who happened to stumble on PBS' smug little fact- deprived fest The Choice 2012 last night might wonder what all the fuss was about. See, the frustrating thing about Frontline programs for me is that they always just miss the mark and end up doing more harm than good.

To wit... let's say I'm one of those crucial "undecided voters" watching the program last night.  (I know, never happen, right? Like I've ever been undecided about politics in my life! And damn them anyway, undecided folks who can't be bothered to pay attention to their own country's politics but one month out of every four years, then they wonder how in hell everything went to pieces in the interim! screw 'em!)

But let's just say I'm one of them for the moment. Okay, here's my mindset: I'm gonna feel all patriotic and informed and openminded for a change and watch this 2 hour PBS show about the two presidential candidates even though I know PBS is so lefty and all. But I'm smart, I can see through the propaganda. And I like Mr. Rogers.

So I watch the show. Let me first say that prior to this I (the undecided voter) was leaning toward voting for Obama again, I mean, I wanted to be hopeful last time, and so voted for him then, but, geez, what has he done for me lately? So I'll check Romney out, he looks so clean cut and all, and well... he is white. But I'm not racist or anything. I mean I did vote for O last time, but when's the guy gonna grow a pair? Maybe havin a Black guy in a White House isn't cool! Who am I to say?

So I watch the show and am shocked, just shocked, at how lame Obama comes off, and seems to have been, all his life. He's kinda.... well.... effeminate, too loose, one of those people pleaser types.  Just kinda lame lame lame, lying around Hawaii getting high and all, kinda too cool, almost smug looking, ya know? Not grateful for the privileges he was given, going to Occidental and Harvard and all? There's somethin kinda off putting about the way he keeps tryin to act so white - but black when it suits him. Like he's not sure which he is. Anyway, thing is, according to the show, he hasn't done much, not really, seems like he just wants to run things, be the big kahuna all the time, but doesn't get much done. Never made any money really, he comes off as a player tryin to be a hero. (I don't mean  "uppity nigger" or anything, just ... you know, seems a bit lazy. Too much Talk, not enough Do. He's hardly ever on the news.  What does he do with his time?)

But Romney! Now there's a man! And it's nice to see a wife who knows her place, just seems right, I can't help it.  (Tho there was that one shot of her lookin pretty tough when that reporter asked too many questions, but not like Michele can look tough, just, well, kinda unladylike you know? )  Anyway, Romney's accomplished so much! I mean he really knows how to get things done, adjust to the situation and all. And make money doin it! So what if he doesn't like to pay his taxes to the country he's made so much money off of, but hey, he says it's all legal, so why not? So what if he sells cigarettes to teenagers in Russia? Fuck them. I'm sick of waiting for things to get better. My unemployment's runnin out soon and $200 a month in food stamps just isn't enough.

What have the Democrats done for me the last four years anyway? 

We need a real man in charge. Screw it. I'm votin for Romney! Undecided no longer!

(Hmmm..I better check if I'm still registered.  Stop by the town office right after my appointment at Planned Parenthood. Christ,  five weeks late! Good thing they do sliding scale.)

Oh, and for anyone yearning for a Bartlet in the White House, (yeah, only Daily!), Mo Dowd seems to have tapped into that zeit here. God Bless Mo.

Extra Deep Space

Just what I needed: Extra Deep Space!!

Let's hear it for science! Read more here.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19728375

Forbes Thought Of The Day

“ When a man tells you he got rich through hard work, ask him: Whose? ”

— Don Marquis

Then there's Extra Deep Shyte, otherwise known as FoxNews.

Just taking a break from (the annual frenzy of) sorting through and packing up possessions, regrouping, adjusting to life's surprises. So paying little attention to politics these days, even though the blatantly elitist Romney campaign gaffs are endlessly entertaining as he goes about fashioning the geeknoose to hang himself with. God, and we thought W was dumb!

The Daily Show manages to keep up with events for me, at least offers a lighter side to what would otherwise seem the endlessly painful national tragedy that is "government" these days, insofar as political progress and intelligent debate are concerned. So Mr. Stewart recently did a primo job summing up the Republican Meind Set vis the rest of us, and the utter booshyte of austerity economics and other anti-have-not propaganda being pressed on struggling peoples across the globe. It's only four minutes long but he really nailed it – refreshing. Video Link here.  Now and then he redeems himself by doing bits like this.

Let's all give a big cheer for Curiosity, doing its job up there on Mars. You go, Bot!

October issue of Harper's Magazine has an insightful argument against the current international austerity fad as well, though it's quite beyond me why anyone buys the bootstraps-do- without-food- and- healthcare- and- pensions line. If that doesn't work, try this link, and if that doesn't work, buy a subscription. It's the thinking person's magazine.  A non-profit as well since, uh, 1856? Or so....

Remember Fractured Fairy Tales? (And Where are Boris and Natasha when we need them?)....  Here's one.

I

How I Spent September Eleventh, 2012

In the process of going through my cds, purging the no longer loved/needed (along with pretty much everything else I once believed important), I came across a slim, cheaply made DVD snagged at an anti-Iraq-war rally in Boston years ago. Aha! Here was the perfect antidote to the maudlin annual extravaganza of fearmongering claptrap the media barrages us with on what has come to be known as The Anniversary of Nineleven (the odd word “anniversary” implying something worthy of “celebration”).

Before pushing Play, I recall that over two thousand scientists and engineers have strongly disputed the government’s account of what occurred that day. Many people, not enough apparently, still feel (especially the victims’ families) something just didn’t jibe in the public’s passive acceptance of the Party line presented by “our” government. Those still skeptical may want to watch this same documentary  ( the one I have linkhere) and (Final cut linkhere which I haven't seen). But most likely you won’t. No one, as they say, wants to “go there” anymore, sleeping dogs and all that. No “relitigating the past” as Obama so cowardly advised immediately he took office.

Problem is, too many dogs were left sleeping after that horrid day, thousands in fact, treated worse than dogs, so that, according to research, a dramatic upswin occurred in the consumption of antidepressives, alcohol and other palliatives, junk food, sleeping aids, squandered savings, to really leave any of us believing we’re blameless in the face of no prosecutions of the perpetrators. 

And Edmund Burke comes to mind: All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.

But hey,“whatev”.. Nothing to do with me.

At least the Bushies are gone, aren’t they? Another unanswered question we all surely know the answer to.

I know the day Obama announced we’d turn a page, a blind eye, whatever you wanna call it, my heart sank. I never bought his call to “hope”, but still, I harbored some. Silly me.

Watching Loose ChangeII, the courage it took to make that video against the wave of paranoia that swept the land then deeply impressed me once more. During the winter of 2001-02, everyone, everyone was eyed with suspicion as to our patriotism if we dared to question anything, or failed to display a flag in the yard or window or on the effing car for godsake, I remember feeling afraid then, of my fellow citizens, of my government and their unchecked ruthless determination. Watching the documentary again last night, for the first time in years, reminded me of the sense of desperation I felt during that time, and fear, wondering how so many of my fellow citizens could swallow Ari Fleischer’s narrative, believing we must “watch what we say”. Quoi?

Figuring to cheer myself up with Viggo Mortensen’s handsome face and superior acting talent, I followed the documentary with a viewing of the film “Good”. Superbly crafted film in every way, the kind of quality and honesty we see so rarely. It left me wondering (not for the first time) if I’d have been one of the Jews in Germany who saw what was coming and left in time. Or would I be one who insisted on thinking only the best of people, of the Party, that their intentions were basically good, a little bizarre, nothing to do with me, just boys being boys, same ol’ same ol’ politics, slightly illegal perhaps, but all to the “good”, in the end. And we all know what that end was.

But let’s not “go there”.  No, let's not.

Fall’s coming on here in Maine, chilly nights, clear blue days. I vacillate between despair for my country and bucking myself up with Things will get better. Surely this corrupted ship of state will right itself on its own. Yes, it’s just part of the pendulum, the process. Nothing to do with me. I’m a good person, aren’t I? Best to let things alone, don’t make waves, we are, after all, America, the world’s beacon of admirable ideal, justice, equality and all that.

Yeah..

Yeah, I’ll have another.

Jamieson’s.

Neat.

(I found the above in my great aunt's trunk and kept it)