As faithful readers may remember, last month’s grandfather’s clock and its tick-tock played important roles. This time the sound is changed to click, click. To excite your curiosity, I will not reveal why the sound changed—until the very end of this piece. I hope you can bear the suspense.
Retuning to last month’s blog for a few seconds, I’ll let you in on a secret--the grandfather was not as warm and cuddly as he is usually portrayed. He knew he was about to kick the bucket at age 90, so he wound the clock for a final time and threw away the key. He waited in bed until the last tick, sat up and blew out his light. He died with a smile, knowing that no one else would benefit from the clock that stopped short, never to go again. Now I ask you, would I pull your leg or pat you down?
Had enough of the midterm elections? If not, you’re a glutton for punishment. To wrap up the GOP’s many victories, I’ve called on some professional writers to keep me from jumping off the nearest cliff.
Before introducing the guest writers, let us consider what news has taken the place of those vile campaign ads. We can soak up the outpouring of news about Prince William’s wedding on April 29, the day he kisses his Kate and ties the Royal knot. Holy smokes, am I ever captivated by all the chatter about the wedding dress and its designer. Allow me to make a suggestion. Take a marvelous cloth like that on a pool table, fasten to it images from a deck of cards. Attenuate the brightness of the faces of the kings, queens and Jacks with a million dollar lace covering. Perhaps this elegant gown would be more appropriate at the post-nuptial parties.
The second major topic these days has to do with patting-down at airports and the nearly nude X-ray images. Tsk, tsk. What a bunch of prudes. Did you see the cartoon with the elderly lady at the ticket counter? She says, “Oh, I’m not flying anywhere. I’m just here for the pat-down.”
If a little groping and peeking prevent a plane from being blown out of the sky, so be it.
Perhaps a more viable solution is to place a mark on the inside of the wrists to indicate trustworthy passengers. Held under a special light it will beam the certified passengers quickly through the gates. I’m also working on a radio ray to check passengers without any embarrassing exposure or groping.
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MEET THE FIRST GUEST -- James McEnteer, better known as Doc, is a columnist for CounterPunch, which carried a longer version of this article. Doc is a prolific author of three political books and The Rag Blog. He begins by asserting--
Our national 2010 midterm elections demonstrated that many citizens of the United States now suffer a siege mentality: against the Islamic world and other perceived barbarians at our gates: socialists, homosexuals, minorities and recent immigrants, documented or not. That turns out to be most of the world, many of which reside among us. We are a house divided against itself.
Such primitive behavior is not logical. But logic is not the point. When right-wing extremists opine that Barack Obama holds a “Kenyan, anti-colonial world view” it sounds nonsensical. It's a code phrase meant to signify that Obama is not one of “us” (right-thinking traditional Americans, white and Christian). The right tried to make the election about the non-Caucasian, perhaps socialistic, Islamic sympathizer, Barack Obama. He represents many nativist fears of change. His attempts to conciliate his enemies cannot succeed.
Not a single positive policy suggestion sullies the agenda of Obama's enemies. All they want, the country's welfare be damned, is to wrest control of the agenda for their corporate masters. The very hope Obama's election offered the rest of the world, that the United States might rejoin the global community of nations for the common good, is what worries conservatives most. The problem and paradox is that the harder and dirtier Obama's political enemies fight to exclude Obama and everything (and everyone) he stands for, the less of the republic there is to save. We must not allow the American democratic experiment to end in suicidal bigoted imperial rage. Those who would recreate the Alamo will share its fate.
The second contributor is Peter McCone, a well-known economist. He passed along to me this shortened version by NY Times Columnist Kristof, who frequently travels to Central American Banana Republics. He writes:-- IN SOME OF THOSE PLUTOCRACIES THE RICHEST 1% OF THE POPULATION GOBBLES UP 20% OF THE NATIONAL PIE. NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO TRAVEL TO DISTANT AND DANGEROUS PLACES TO OBSERVE SUCH RAPACIOUS INEQUALITY. IN AMERICA THE RICHEST 1% NOW TAKE HOME 24% OF THE NATIONAL PIE--UP FROM 9% IN 1976. NOT EVEN NICARAQUA AND GUYANA ARE THAT MUCH OUT OF WHACK. FROM 1980 TO 2005 MORE THAN FOUR-FIFTH'S OF THE INCREASE IN AMERICAN INCOME WENT TO THE RICHEST 1%. CLEARLY THIS DESERVING GROUP NEEDS TO HAVE THE BUSH TAX CUTS EXTENDED TO THEM AFTER THEY EXPIRE ON DECEMBER 31, 2010, TO CONTINUE TO DISTANCE THEMSELVES FROM THE LOWER 99% OF THE POPULATION. ACCORDING TO THE NONPARISAN TAX POLICY CENTER, THE OBAMA PLAN WOULD GIVE THE SUPER RICH--THOSE IN THE TOP 0.1%--$61,000 AND THE REPUBLICAN PLAN WOULD PROVIDE A $370,000 HELPING HAND. THOUGH THE NONPARISAN CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE FOUND TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH TO BE THE LEAST EFFECTIVE WAY TO STIMULATE THE ECONOMY, OF ELEVEN WAYS STUDIED, THE NEW SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, JOHN BOEHNER, ASSERTS WITH MOCK AUTHORITY THAT IT IS THE BEST STIMULAS THAT COULD BE APPLIED. NO WORD FROM JOHN ON EXTENDING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. HOW ABOUT A JOBS PROGRAM! THE NEW REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP TEAM FLAGELATES ITSELF WITH DEFICIT ANGST WHILE MERRILY PROPOSING AN INCREASE OF $800 BILLION IN THE LONG-TERM DEFICIT TO CONTINUE TAX CUTS TO THE RICH AND SUPER RICH. CLEARLY WE ARE LIVING IN OUR OWN BANANA REPUBLIC.
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I am thankful for all my faithful blog readers and for those that pop in now and again to read the postings such as this person who commented on last month’s article, “I liked this post very much as it has helped me a lot in my research and is quite interesting as well. Thank you for sharing this information with us.” THANKS for GIVING me that encouraging comment.
FINALLY
What you’ve all been waiting for with bated breath. Why the title? You’ve all heard the song—
Up on the rooftop
Click, Click, Click,
Down through the chimney
Is old Saint Nick.
Merry Christmas to All!
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