One of the Greatest Commentaries I Have Ever Heard

I wish there was some way that I could make every American watch this commentary by Keith Olbermann.

Please click and watch and listen.

--Dan

Believe it or not, there are some decent, principled Republicans out there

If people like David Frum were the dominant force in the Republican Party, I think the nation would be a lot better off. Read what Frum has to say about the current political situation, and you will see what I'm talking about.

Do you want flies with that Satan sandwich?

Just had to throw in the best description of the debt ceiling deal, from Emanuel Cleaver, Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus: a "sugar-coated Satan sandwich."

Yuck

Now that, apparently, an agreement has been reached to raise the debt ceiling, all I can really say is this: part of me is relieved, sort of, that my weekly unemployment check is (presumably) safe for now (and the unemployment, social security, federal payroll, and other payments that millions of Americans depend on); but mostly I just feel sort of sick about the whole thing. I have always believed that government has the responsibility to provide a safety net for the disadvantaged--that this, in fact, is one of the primary reasons that we have government. It seems that this principle is quickly eroding and soon will be a thing of the past. I hope I'm wrong.

Maybe Government is Targeting the Vulnerable Because the Vulnerable Are the Easiest Targets

This editorial, from a local newspaper in upstate New York, says it all in the first sentence:

If you are young, old, disabled, mentally ill, unemployed, poor or retired, you better rethink your lifestyle because government at almost every level is sending a clear message that there's not much of a future.

The second half of the editorial deals with New York state and local specifics, but the issues apply to pretty much anywhere in the US right now. Whatever happens in the debt ceiling debate, whatever kind of deal is reached, the resulting cuts are going to be massive, and the cost is going to be borne by those least able to bear it. In the words of Bob Baird, the author of the article linked above, it's obscene.

Veering to a more personal note... this whole debt ceiling fiasco, the meanness and cynicism of our "leaders" who are involved in the debate, combined with the summer heat and my own eleven months plus of unemployment, have got me in a lower mood than I have felt in quite a while. I just hope that after Tuesday, however this plays out, I can refocus, look forward to cooler weather and new opportunities, and concentrate on the many good things in life... family, nature (especially squirrels, of course!), life itself. I have been interested in Buddhism for some time, and may try to focus more on that interest. And I plan to get some more photos of Beebz, if she'll just stop trying to eat the camera every time I try to take her picture.

Financial Crisis is in the Eye of the Beholder, Mr. Toomey

Republican Senator Pat Toomey, arguing that a failure to raise the debt ceiling would not result in a default on the US debt obligations, but only a necessity to prioritize federal spending, put it this way:

You're telling us that if we have to delay a payment to the guys who mow the lawn around the Mall, that would have the same kind of impact and cause the same kind of financial crisis that would result if we failed to make an interest payment on a Treasury security... that's just not true.

Well, I would say that it would definitely have the same type of impact and cause the same kind of financial crisis for the guys who mow the lawn around the mall, and their families.

Mr. Toomey, are you even remotely aware that there are real people, outside of your elite little circle of friends and political supporters, who are not multi-millionaires and corporate executives, whose livelihoods are affected by your political games, who are worried about making their next rent and utility payments? You may not give a flying fuck about the guys who mow the lawn around the Mall, or around your house, but I can guarantee that their next paycheck has a much greater impact on their lives than your next tax cut has on yours.

--Dan

Morally Grotesque

Bernie Sanders has said it best: the Republican plan for the debt ceiling is "morally grotesque." And no, the Democrat's plan is not much better. This whole debate over the debt ceiling is a fiasco, a smoke screen to draw attention away from the real critical issue facing the country, which is jobs. When there are over 14 million Americans who are jobless and looking for work (in other words, that number does not include the many who have given up completely), more than four million who have been out of work for over a year, it is obscene for our leaders to continue harping on the debt as the most pressing problem facing this country, and to suggest that the solution is to demand that the disadvantaged--the elderly, the disabled, poor families, the unemployed and their families--should be the ones to pay the price.

Any outsider following this debate would have to conclude that the government of the United States is dominated by a ruling class that is selfish, materialistic, cynical, deceitful, and cruel.

I would like to think that this is not the case. Would like to... But as a famous rock band once told us, you can't always get what you want.