Nazism + Communism = Socialism?

It appears that the doomsday wing of the conservative movement has succeeded in getting a lot of press by equating Obama's would-be "socialist" policies with the repressive regimes of Communist-era Russia and Nazi-era Germany. I'm sure that there are more informed people out there (including some well-intentioned Republicans) who realize that a better comparison would be to the many countries in Western Europe that adhere to various degrees of socialist policy, not to mention our neighbor to the North.

Instead of drawing a fake Hitler mustache onto Obama, they could have attached fake muscles a la Hanz and Franz from the old Saturday Night Live skits. Or instead of referencing Russia's hammer and siecle, the protestors could have drawn inspiration from the flags of Norway, the Netherlands, France and other countries who coincidentally draw from the same red, white and blue palate.

Perhaps when it comes down to it, it's the common theme of one-party rule that Germany once represented - and that Russia is apparently backsliding into - and fear of the long-term effects of such an arrangement here in the USA. I could certainly respect that as I endured the same concerns for six years. I would hope that's something conservatives would think about if <shudder> they should ever find themselves again in charge of both the White House and Congress.

By the way, here's a list of the best countries to live per the United Nations. By my count, it appears that at least seven of the top ten countries have universal health care and/or other socialist policies. An easier-to-read summary can also be found here.

I Like Ike!

Quote:

It's great to know that during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the wealth of the 400 richest Americans, according to Forbes, actually increased by $30 billion. Well golly, that's only a 2 percent increase, much less than the double digit returns the wealthy had grown accustomed to. But a 2 percent increase is a whole lot more than losing 40 percent of your 401k. And $30 billion is enough to provide 500,000 school teacher jobs at $60k per year.

Collectively, those 400 have $1.57 trillion in wealth. It's hard to get your mind around a number like that. The way I do it is to imagine that we were still living during the great radical Eisenhower era of the 1950s when marginal income tax rates hit 91 percent. Taxes were high back in the 1950s because people understood that constraining wild extremes of wealth would make our country stronger and prevent another depression. (Well, what did those old fogies know?)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/les-leopold/the-forbes-400-shows-why_b_306228.html

Glenn, Kanye and Me

By now most everyone is aware of the recent claim that Glenn Beck made regarding President Obama on the Fox News Channel. Needless to say, I found this rather outlandish considering Obama's maternal family, the people in his administration, and his success in drawing significant support from voters of all ethnicities when he won the election. My first thought (and probably second, third and fourth thoughts as well) was that the Fox News executives should demand that he apologize for his incredulous statement under threat of dismissal. The fact that he apparently not only hasn't apologized but hasn't even been suspended is rather telling and shocking to me.

But then I remembered what Kanye West said about George Bush following Hurricane Katrina. I have to admit that at the time I wondered whether there was more than a kernel of truth to that accusation, conveniently ignoring the prominent positions that Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice each held in the Bush administration. In retrospect, I believe that Bush was not a racist but perhaps a classist. But getting back to Kanye, I wouldn't have been surprised if he suffered a Dixie-Chicks style backlash which would have effectively ended his career. Instead, these days you can't go more than ten minutes on a pop station, let alone an R&B/hip-hop station, without hearing Kanye on a track. Even I must admit that I have enjoyed some of his songs over the last few years.

So it appears that Glenn and Kanye, despite their inflammatory accusations of Presidential-sponsored racism, will each continue to have successful careers due to the support of fans who ignored if not even believed these falsehoods. And that, I believe, truly makes for a sad state of affairs here in America.

Playing Catch-Up

Hello to everyone out there in Bloggerville!

I just realized that it has been exactly three months since I posted my last blog. Of course, my most loyal readers (ha!) already know behind the scenes that I had quite a busy time preparing for, enjoying, then recovering from a rather busy summer season. But now that I have the time and wherewithall, I wanted to share a few thoughts before what could potentially be a busy fall on the local front. I'll be touching on a number of things, some of which I may expound on later.

First: the Summer of Love tour. That's what Cathy and I called our 37-day, 6550-mile cross-country trip with a not-so-subtle nod to the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. One big difference between that event and ours is the only time we got "high" was in the mountains of the "four corners" states. We even managed to survive both of our family reunions located on opposite ends of the country, hers being in Jackson, MS, mine being in Los Angeles. The logistics of attending those events as well as the Vegas BBW Bash spurred us to hit the road instead of the runway. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be able to spending that amount of time traveling through 27 states. While I figure that we'll be making pilgrimages to visit family in Dallas - or at least as far as Jackson - I don't think we'll be planning anything that extravagant again in the foreseeable future. I especially won't need to relive spending two weeks in Vegas. I'm grateful to Cathy for letting me indulge in my sightseeing for the first few days while she mostly enjoyed having her feet up and off the brake and pedal. I still think I'll need to leave the Bash property every so often, but I think I'm more likely to repeat my favorite things to see and do in Vegas than to find anything new there. I do suspect that we will be expanding our social circle which I feel would be a plus.

Wow... is 2009 The Year of the Grim Reaper or what? They say "death comes in threes" but this year, it's more like the dozens! Some of the more poignant passings for me include: Farrah Fawcett, with whom Cathy shared a common bond of an unfortunate illness; John Hughes, the "Judd Apatow" of my teenage years; and, Michael Jackson, if only for the surreal coincidence of staying in a hotel in Hollywood on the night before his memorial service. And of course, my most loyal readers would think me remiss if I didn't mention the loss of two members of the Kennedy clan.

The domestic agenda of President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress seems to be mixed in public opinion if not also in its effectiveness. As much as I dislike the idea of corporate welfare, I believe that simply letting the banks and auto makers fail would have had a ripple effect of millions in job losses that would have cost taxpayers more in the end than the stimulus package. And while necessity may well be the mother of invention, not everyone has the entrepreneurial skill and spirit to rely on themselves instead of an employer.

Regarding health care, I consider it to be the right of every American citizen and legal resident. I believe the status quo is not working, unless you're either an upper-income employee who is happy with their coverage... or the insurance company CEO who is happy with their bonus. While I think a government-funded "public option" should be in the mix, I'm not opposed to state health co-ops as a compromise, despite the unflinching views of both staunch Republicans and Democrats in Congress. I do think that GOP proposals like capping doctor malpractice judgments and opening up insurer competition to all fifty states would have potentially detrimental results for most citizens. One of the best models to build on, ironically, would the one that Republican Mitt Romney implemented while Governor of Massachusetts; it makes sense that everyone should pay into it, just as long as everyone is covered. I am surprised he hasn't received more news coverage these days. Or if he has, it must be on news media that I don't frequent.

Peace.

Those Who Do Not Learn From (Recent) History....

A lot has been happening in the political world that I've wanted to write about. Unfortunately, a lot has been happening in my life that I haven't had the time to get in detail about my thoughts. Suffice it to say, as I predicted six months ago. black has become white... or rather, red has become blue. Democrats and Republicans look at each other in the Congress and Senate and see their own reflection just over five months ago. There are so many parallels, it's almost as if we're experience a repeat of 2001-2007. And that concerns me. Because as I said six months ago, it's hard to be smug when there's a chance that the Democrats will overreach just as the Republicans did.

I don't support corporate welfare so I haven't been a fan of the banking and auto industry bailouts. Regarding the failing banks, I would have supported their assets - and, ideally, most of their employees - being absorbed by smaller, healthier financial institutions. However, dealing with the more tangible goods of the auto industry is something different. Granted, I would have preferred that the least profitable makes and models were allowed to be spun off or closed down. As it is, allowing the companies to simply shut down would have created a dramatic ripple effect that may have had more consequences than the bailouts. However, I do think that we've reached the point that enough is enough. Nonetheless, it looks like we're all going to own a piece of General Motors. I hope that we can all at least get a new car out of the deal...

And finally, Sonia Sotomayor. We all know that she is going to pass the nomination process (save the irony of a Republican filibuster against an Democratic call for an up-and-down vote). And we all know "the quote" about the judge's quote about being a "wise Latina woman" that does look admittedly prejudiced, at least without knowing the context. What I would want to know is what is "that life" that she refers to that would allegedly not be known by a white male. Is it the life of an minority and/or female? If so, then I would understand where she's coming from, albeit in the way that Chris Rock understands O.J. Simpson. If my theory is indeed correct, she would certainly be walking a fine line between the stereotype and reality of white males' relative socioeconomic status and the ability to relate to others outside it. But again, I'm making assumptions, as many of us are, without the total context of the quote. So I'm reserving judgement in the hope that we will see all of that information soon.

Breaking The Law - Part Two

Not that anyone keeping up with this blog has been waiting with baited breath... but I apologize for not staying more current. Mt latest gig, also located in DC, has taken a lot of the slack out of my evening time so that if I do get online, I don't have the concentration to put together a couple interesting, let alone coherent paragraphs.

If you haven't guessed by now, my client company is involved in the legal profession (hence the title) which just absolutely warms the cockles of Cathy's heart. In the interest of company privacy, I can only say that some dishonesty by a prior employee resulted in a massive cash loss. So my main duty is to help clean up that situation in preparation for an upcoming annual audit.

My boss has instilled a lot of faith in my abilities which in turn has given me a lot more confidence in my decision making and ideas. Also, having to create accurate results from spotty if not also intentionally misleading information went from being from a frustrating endeavor to a growing experience. So I feel like I've gotten a lot out of the experience already.

Both my boss and recruiter have each said to me separately that the company would probably want to hire me if not for the lack of available funds. I'd say that I wouldn't mind either... but after my previous rush to judgment at the wind joint, I'm hesitant to make a similar declaration of enthusiasm. I do know that I intend to make more of an effort to find something permanent when I return from the Summer of Love tour. While I'd like to go further in my transition to other careers, the reality is that I need to make a decent living, especially if I'm going to invest in further education to accomplish those career goals.

George Will:Fashionista

(Channeling Larry The Cable Guy...)

I don't care what you say, that's funny right 'dere!

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