Quote of the Day
When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion.
CP Snow
2011 Jackass of the Year Announced Tomorrow
Who will join my Hall of Dem Pol Infamy? Past winners are: Spitzer (2008, unpublished), Grayson (2009), and Salazar (2010). We have an unusually deep field this year, including (but not restricted to) Anthony Weiner, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Rod Blagojevich, Barack Obama, Elizabeth Warren, the Senate Democrats of Wisconsin, Joe Biden, Eric Holder, Nancy Pelosi, Congressman Markey, Harry Reid, Louise Slaughter, and, of course, my latest nominee, former NJ Governor Jon Corzine. Who will win dishonorable mention? I think the choice is obvious to the faithful reader, but are you right? I'll announce my decision in a special post by late tomorrow afternoon.
Also, for my faithful readers, I have also chosen my Man (or Woman) of the Year. Last year I chose Bowles and Simpson, the co-chairs of the Obama-spurned deficit reduction committee. Who will I choose this year? I'll throw out a few suggestions here: could it be Mohammed Bouazizi (the young man whose death triggered the Arab spring), the Navy SEAL's whom finally delivered justice to the victims of 9/11, Paul Ryan whom managed to pass the first serious attempt at entitlement reform in over a generation, Ron Paul the unconventional Presidential candidate with a passionate following whom just may pull off an upset victory in Iowa two weeks from now, or some other choice? (Keep in mind that the person I select may not be someone I personally like.) I think it's obvious but my choice wasn't selected by Time ("the protesters"). My choice will probably surprise people...No, it's not Barack Obama, although he may win my tongue-in-cheek Golfer of the Year award. I intend to reveal my Person of the Year next Monday.
Congressional Republicans Need To Learn to Pick Their Battles
The Republicans are losing the propaganda wars. Let us recall some of the low lights of the year: after Wisconsin state Dem senators fled the state in order to prevent a vote on long-overdue collective bargain reforms, we saw two GOP state senators recalled (but no Dems!), a respected Wisconsin state Supreme Court judge barely won reelection over an opponent he drubbed during the primary, a Democrat won yet another GOP Congressional seat in NY following a Craigslist scandal--using Mediscare tactics--a year after the Dems used cuts in Medicare to pay for ObamaCare, Ohio collective bargain reforms were repealed at the ballot box, and a President with a 41% approval rating in leading GOP candidates by double-digits in New Mexico a year after a Republican won the governor's mansion. The GOP needs to get control of the Senate, and with two-thirds of the seats up for grabs Dems and less than a handful of conversions needed to take power, we are seeing Dems opening up small to medium leads in New Mexico, Massachusetts, and Virginia, and what was considered to be a gimme in North Dakota for the GOP to capture an open seat has become competitive as a statewide Dem agrees to run.
This year, just like last year, we see a game of chicken being played ostensibly over middle class tax cuts. Keep in mind (in the case of the existing payroll tax holiday), we are talking about 2% of a person's income. We are already spending more than a trillion beyond our means, and this tax holiday adds directly to the deficit, never mind erodes the system's solvency.. In the meanwhile, the federal government is spending about 5 points over its average share of GDP. Where is the austerity with a GOP House? We can't even reduce spending year over year.
It's predictable that Democrats would resort to class warfare over AN EXPIRING PAYROLL TAX HOLIDAY, even co-opting the GOP vocabulary and called it a "tax hike". And take the Keystone pipeline. I agree that Obama is using this issue to appease his environmental supporters. The environmentalists are exaggerating minor oil spills (like 400 barrels) under older technologies. I think Obama will eventually approve the project anyway; pressure on a pipeline decision seems to play into Obama's hand, and it is a poor substitute for blowing a $100B hole in the budget.
Political Humor
"President Obama now says he didn't know how bad the economy was when he took office. And if it doesn't improve soon, that's what the next president is going to be saying." - Jay Leno
[The economy didn't know how bad Obama was when he took office.]
"A movie called "The Artist" got six nominations. It's a silent movie where people's mouths move but nothing comes out. It's like Rick Perry at a debate." - Craig Ferguson
[And yet despite spending millions of dollars in promotion, you can't even get a single nomination. At least that's what Rick Perry says...]
Musical Interlude: Nostalgic/Instrumental Christmas
Hark the Herald Angels Sing (Gloria in excelsis Deo). This is another in a series of my musical collages of well-known carols.
Andrea Bocelli Flashes of absolute brilliance! Magnifique!
Boston Brass (instrumental)
Les Anges dans nos Campagnes. (original French) Les Petits Chanteurs À La Croix De Bois
Annie Lennox. "Angels"
The Priests
