My dream
I had a dream that it was January 2014 and we here in North Carolina had elected a Republican governor. Once he took office, he and the legislature took control of all the state government. They passed all kinds of laws — minimum class size was upped to 45, thus saving money by eliminating the need for more school buildings and cutting the statewide teaching staff by 25 percent; Medicaid was cut in half, causing nursing homes to put three or four people in a room to make ends meet; UNC-TV was defunded and forced off the air when public funding ran out because some thought SpongeBob had gay tendencies; and while the governor admitted he didn't like some of the new laws, he did not feel he could use the veto because (he had been told privately) it would result in an impeachment. So he let everything passed by the legislature become law.
And when a law was challenged in court, the judges threw the cases out because they knew opposing the legislature meant their chances of re-election would be nil.
And at that point I woke up in a cold sweat and to the realization that according to the polls, that dream (nightmare really) had a better than 55 percent chance of becoming a reality.
NELSON WELLER
Thomasville
Borrowing
Let me see if I have this straight: We borrow loads of money from China so we can give a billion to Egypt and millions to other Middle East countries so they can afford to kill our people and burn our property. This picture is blurry to me.
Please, not one more dime in tribute.
CHARLIE WEAVER
Winston-Salem
Jobless numbers
The recent Bureau of Labor Statistics had some interesting insights. Please regard the facts and look at some critical actions.
As regards food stamps: More than 45 million Americans are in the program — 15 percent of our population. (From 1970-2000 the average was 7.9 percent.) Food-stamp enrollment has been rising at a rate of 400,000 per month over the past four years.
Social Security disability has 11 million Americans collecting federal disability checks. Half of these beneficiaries have signed on since President Obama took office just over three years ago.
It is shameful for the wealthiest, most blessed nation in the world to have hidden the millions that normally would have been seen at the soup kitchens or bread lines of the 1930s. Instead they are receiving their checks or debit cards in the mail. Many who once held private-sector jobs must now depend on welfare for life support.
A few nonpartisan ideas to cure these problems and arrest the trends in the "underutilized labor" markets:
- Reduce government hurdles to new business formation.
- Simplify the tax code.
- Explore credits to employers who hire long-term unemployed.
- Increase financing for small business to expand opportunities.
- Invest money in public and private training programs withproven track records.
- Cure our infrastructure problems and set expectations for utilization repayment.
We are the best nation on the face of the Earth — let's act like it. The most important social, economic and family program goes by one simple, short name: jobs.
HIL CASSELL
Lewisville
Unfair payments
I believe the editorial on unemployment insurance ("Business must cover this debt," Sept. 16) completely misses the point.
First, workers' comp, unemployment insurance and Social Security are all compulsory; businesses have no choice.
Second, workers' comp is a punitive prepayment of liability because it pays for injuries that are work-related and allegedly preventable by management.
Third, Social Security, while mandatory, is a social plan that is supplemented by IRAs, 401(k)s and personal savings. Unemployment insurance is supposed to supplement the workers' own savings while seeking employment. These are safety nets.
The federal government unilaterally extended these benefits with no input from anyone. So, if the individuals who got the money also spent the money, why shouldn't they be the ones to pay it back? Having all the taxpayers of the state pay back money they didn't receive is what is unfair.
If you want to be fair, have the recipients of the extended benefits pay an additional tax when they return to work to repay the "loan." Of course, that will never happen, so we the taxpayers need to shoulder the load and not do anything more to run business out of the state.
KEN HOGLUND
Clemmons
So, Bucky, why is it that your friends' taxes are so much higher and everyone else's are lower? Some teachers go on strike for a couple of weeks when they disagree with the way things are being run. Other teachers just quit. I'll take a striker who fights for what they believe in over a quitter any day. Bucky, ever seen a aircraft carrier? They are union made. Love the wars, but hate the people that build the war machines. I'm so glad your friends have Clintons. Hopefully the whole nation will have Clintons again in 2016.aa
ReplyDeleteNo, if Obama is reelected, H. Clinton can forget 2016. He'll have everybody so pissed off, it'll take a while before people vote for another Democrat for president.
DeleteSo, it'll be bad that he's reelected, and good people won't vote for another one in 2016.
However, I'm afraid the country's economy will be in such bad shape in 2016, that nobody will be able to fix it. It'll be like trying to recover from a death spiral in an airplane.
He promised to change America as we know it. And he will, if he's reelected.
DeletePeople will be running in the streets, just like in Wisconsin and Greece with their hands out, begging from the government to keep giving them money.
But the money will be gone.
North Korea could develop a portable nuclear device. Pakistan could develop a portable nuclear device. China could develop a portable nuclear advice. And according to Mitt our greatest geo-political enemy is Russia which could also develop a portable nuclear device.
ReplyDeleteStab advocates doing nothing? lol, We'll at least we are all on a hay ride. You're hay is underneath the goats in their stalls.
ReplyDeleteLTE #3... Jobless numbers
ReplyDeleteAccording to SSA statistics the total number of people receiving SSDI in 2008 was 8,528,164 and according to SSA the total now is 10.7 million. Disabled veterans can receive full SSDI benefits as well as veterans disability compensation from the VA. As former President Clinton said: "Arithmetic."...http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/di_asr/2008/sect01b.pdf table 3.
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/policy/docs/quickfacts/stat_snapshot/ July, 2012 table 2.
In all fairness, Hill does offer some sensible policies.
DeleteLTE #4...Unfair Payments."The federal government unilaterally extended these benefits with no input from anyone." The extension of benefits had to be approved by Congress, so there were inputs from a lot of people, those that were elected. If you feel that your representative is a no one, then elect a new representative....It's called insurance for a reason. If a bank fails and is covered by FDIC, I think most would expect the insurance to cover at least $250,000. How about flood insurance? Taxpayer subsidized crop insurance will probably hit the $15 billion mark this year....So liability insurance is punitive? Do you carry liability insurance on your car?
ReplyDeleteMy dream. For the record, I know Mr Weller and his close associates. When you go back to sleep, dream up how the people of NC are going to pay for everything like nothing has happened. Did you tell this dream of yours to Frank? How long did he laugh at you?
ReplyDeleteBorrowing. Yes, you have it straight. It's called foreign policy.
ReplyDeleteMorning, WW...I note that you said that your crown was not cracked. Good news.
ReplyDeleteSo you have escaped the Jack & Jill syndrome:
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down
And cracked his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.
I don't think that the poet was talking about Jack's teeth here...so you really are lucky.
I have two implants...they are no big deal except moneywise. The procedure is the same as for a crown, except that instead of a post to hold the crown, a titanium screw is put in and then the artificial tooth is attached...great stuff, impervious to just about anything.
Hey OT. With no cracked crown or anything else, that explains why Jill never came tumbling down after me. I waited. "Doc Holliday" told me that if this happened again, he would likely do something like you described. He said is was expensive.
DeleteI must have had Doc's daddy for a dentist when I was a kid. He hurt me so badly once that the next time I was scheduled to see him I "went missing".
DeleteMade it for 3 days until some girl ratted me out and led my parents to the cave where I was hiding. In the end, I won...we switched dentists.
My current dentist is so good that, like Phargo, I frequently fall asleep in his chair...unmedicated.
Cost of two implants = $5,000...not covered by dental insurance. I think the prices are very slowly falling.
A friend had 4 implants done at UNC dental school for $3,600 total and is quite happy with them.
Jobless numbers. The BLS is one of the most fitting acronyms in all of government. We are the best nation on earth and by God we will borrow billions a day to prove it. Our government has nearly swallowed America whole. A job to replace a subsidy check? What do you think we are--France?
ReplyDeleteHoglund is the classic tax crybaby. According to Forbes magazine, the US has one of the lowest tax burdens in the civilized world. The ratio for Sweden vs the US is 1.77, for Austria, Argentina, China, Finland, Brazil, Germany is over 1.5. Yet all of their economies are outperforming ours.
ReplyDeleteEvery economic study ever done has shown that tax rates have zero effect on the economy. Hoglund and his Pee Pee Party pals in Congress need to quit their whining, raise taxes on everybody and get to work bringing the budget to heel.
Sometime soon, our ridiculous tax code needs a major overhaul as well, but the first order of business needs to be tax increases and budget reassessment and management. Its going to be a tough job, but that is supposed to be why we elect these jerks.
I think we have seen some of this movie before. More tax money now, budget "reforms" later. Giving more money to this corrupt dysfunctional government is a waste of private sector money. Flatten the tax code and phase out deductions and revenue will begin to take care of itself. Of course if the tax code is actually overhauled...watch WW3,4and 5 breakout. All those lobbyists, committee chairmanships, earmarks, etc etc. Gone. The bloodletting would be fun to watch and C-Span ratings would soar.
DeleteIf Obama is reelected, you can forget tax code reform. The only place taxes are going to go, is up.
Delete"Every economic study ever done has shown that tax rates have zero effect on the economy."
DeleteRush
________
I guess somebody forgot to tell that to Ronald Reagan and the U.S. economy in the 1980s.
You're off to an early start this morning Rush.
Perhaps the Clinton tax rates would be best since 20 million jobs were created. Then came the Bush tax cuts and a net gain of 180,000 jobs in the private sector over 8 years.
DeleteFormer Senator ALAN SIMPSON (Republican, Wyoming): Ronald Reagan raised taxes 11 times in his administration. I was here. I was here. I knew him. Better than anybody in this room. He was a dear friend and a total realist as to politics.
DeleteProfessor DOUGLAS BRINKLEY (Rice University): Ronald Reagan was never afraid to raise taxes. He knew that it was necessary at times. And so there's a false mythology out there about Reagan as this conservative president who came in and just cut taxes and trimmed federal spending in a dramatic way. It didn't happen that way. It's false.
DeletePaul Volker's dropping of the interest rates from an economic stopping ~20% to around 6% may have played a slight role in the recovery of the 1980's.
Deletedotnet....you need to talk to your friend Rush.
DeleteRush is too easy dotnet. At least you know what you're talking about regarding the economy et al.
DeleteI give respect where respect is due.
However, you're dribbling the basketball just a little close to the out of bound's line on other topics.
which is far better than the double dribble that comes out of your mouth. You don't want to mess with me on basketball 'cause I'll take you to the hoop like a baby.
DeleteWonder where 'ol Arthur went to? I guess since he got his new hotshot job, he is thinking he better cool his comments on the internet. Hee Hee....
ReplyDeleteArthur, if you're listening. Every five years they get to throw you against the wall. Just remember that! Hee Hee...
Liberals, you gotta love 'em. They're so entertaining. They're always doing something boneheaded.
Arthur has a job, something that you wouldn't know about, so doesn't have 24 hours a day to prowl the sewers of the internet and regurgitate a steady stream of all the filth found there as you do.
DeleteThey're always doing something boneheaded.
DeleteIndeed, what kind of idiot would go out and do something stupid like getting a well paying job with great benefits?
I'm glad he got a job. A lot people need 'em.
DeleteAs soon as Obama gets voted out, they'll be a lot more people working.
One wonders if this fool actually believes that or if it is just more of his keyboard diarrhea...it's called Communication Addiction Disorder in DSM-V...what we used to call motor mouth...he's just gotta say something...whatever pops into his empty head.
DeleteMitt Romney's father was a refugee from Mexico and on Welfare the first years of his life. Does that mean that Mitt's father would not vote for him?
ReplyDeleteThe Daily Show
"It's Not My Job to Worry About the 47% of Americans Who Don't Pay Income Taxes".
ReplyDeletePeople need to quit accusing Mitty of being born with a silver spoon in his mouth. That didn’t happen. It was two silver feet.
Parrots and crows are among the smartest of birds. There thought processes are close to those of the great apes. Translating that to the human level, they would be grouped in the lowest segment, the idiots.
ReplyDeleteOur own resident parrot is up to his usual tricks today (see my last post yesterday for his antics on Tuesday).
“I guess somebody forgot to tell that to Ronald Reagan and the U.S. economy in the 1980s.”
Laughable:
1. Reagan raised taxes 11 times in 8 years.
2. Reagan increased the size of government by 7%.
3. Reagan created the first $1 trillion+ deficit. His largest one was $2.6 trillion. That would be about $5.1 trillion today.
4. As a result of his reckless spending, the debt ceiling had to be raised 18 times during his administration.
5. The national debt run up during the Reagan years exceeded the total for all preceding administrations.
6. Worst of all, Reagan began the process of wholesale deregulation that culminated with the orgy of foolishness in the financial sector that crashed our economy in 2008.
GDP Growth by President since 1948:
LBJ 5.05%
Truman 4.82%
Kennedy/Johnson 4.65%
Clinton 3.88%
Reagan 3.40%
Carter 3.25%
Eisenhower 3.00%
Nixon 3.00%
GHW Bush 2.17
GW Bush 2.09%
As always, those desiring to be among the ignorant class need go no farther than Dunce's posts.
Got caught with your integrity pants down again, huh Rush? What a surprise!
DeleteBucky, I don't think you've eaten enough grilled Chick-fil-a
ReplyDeletesandwich lately, it appears Chick-fil-a may be moderating it's antigay stand.
Chick-Fil-A Agrees To Cease Funding To Anti-Gay Organizations, Chicago LGBT Group Claims
DeleteA Chicago-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy group reports that the restaurant chain -- which was at the epicenter of a media firestorm this summer after its president confirmed his company's anti-gay stance -- has agreed to cease donations to right-wing groups that oppose same-sex marriage.
We can only hope and see.
"Actions speak louder than words, but not nearly as often." Mark Twain
Anti gay is the wrong word. I'm not anti gay, I'm pro heterosexual 'marriage'. Gays can bang all they want. They're going to do that anyway. I don't care. I'm against gay marriage, and I'm for gay legal unions.
DeleteCorrection: They can bang all they want in the privacy of their own homes, not in public bathrooms.
DeletePublic sex of any kind, straight, gay or otherwise, is pretty much forbidden throughout the nation. If you witness public sex, report it to the management of the business or call the police. If you don't do that, then shut up.
DeleteGood afternoon folks!
ReplyDeleteLTE 1: Wordly mentioned the other day that NC is going to resemble SC and that may be optimistic. The R's came into office in 2010 on jobs, but proceeded to cut govt jobs faster than the private sector could handle. As a result, NC has one of the highest UR's in the nation. Businesses want to be where there is an abundance of well educated/trained workers and where there is a climate that makes them feel welcome and want to stay. A xenophobic, homophobic state legislative body that has shown itself to be hostile towards public education at all levels is the exact opposite of the atmosphere businesses are after.
LTE 2: No, Mr. Weaver doesn't have it. We are borrowing "loads of money" largely from ourselves in order to finance daily US operations that are mandated by the Constitution and enacted law as well as non-descretionary items that were included in the budget. Foreign aid is one of those items. The purpose of foreign aid is to maintain a presence and influence in countries of vital interest to US policies. To cut off aid to countries such as Egypt and Libya would be truly surrendering to the enemy.
LTE 3: I'm in total agreement about jobs being the number one concern in this country. While the first 4 suggestions would normally be sound, the current lack of consumer demand makes them irrelevant. Businesses aren't going to hire workers that are not needed regardless of the incentives. Investing in education and training programs for in-demand fields as well as investing heavily in infrastructure improvements will provide an immediate return, however, our current and projeced state legislatures have shown that they are opposed to both.
LTE 4: 1) Yes, those are all compulsory. 2) "workers' comp is a punitive prepayment of liability" - do what? It's freaking insurance that covers workers while on the job. 3) Yes, unemployment insurance is a safety net like SS.
Mr. Hoglund's last 2 paragraphs reflect a total misunderstanding of unemployment benefits. Congress extended them to 99 weeks due to the severity of the economic downturn when the demand for jobs exceeded the supply. UB's aren't loans from the company or govt to the laid off worker. They are insurance payoffs to the laid off. The loan is from the fed govt to the state govt when the state govt falls short during times of sustained high unemployment. Since it's the premiums paid by companies that fund the UB program, it makes perfect sense that it would be the companies via increased premiums to refund whatever loan is made.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeletePlease copy and paste my what I allegedly mentioned. Don't recall that one.
DeleteThank you Stab.
Deletehate that I missed that one. At least Wordly asked Dunce to do the only thing he knows how to do.
DeleteCNN headline: 14 in Trouble over Fast and Furious
ReplyDeleteOh Lordy......that's putting it mildly. Yes, they're in just a wee bit of trouble.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/19/fast-and-furious-report-finds-doj-management-failures/?hpt=hp_t3
Inspector General slams 'disregard' for public safety in 'Fast and Furious'.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/19/major-report-released-on-fast-and-furious-doj-official-resigns/
____________
Jason Weinstein resigns. Good move. Maybe he won't get indicted as a result.
Well, look at this way. If Obama doesn't get reelected, we won't have to worry about all of Holder's incompetence and corruptive influence on our 'Justice' Department anymore.
I know many of you liberals don't read too 'good', especially Rush. So I won't post the link, it's over 500 pages long of 'good' reading.
DeleteI'm a little bit like Nancy Pelosi. I haven't read it yet either. But unlike her, I'll get around to it. It's goin to be GOOD!
Anyone who would waste their time reading 500 pages of nonsense about some penny ante gunrunning operation in Arizona puts very little value on their time.
DeleteFast & Furious involved about 1,800 guns, roughly the number stolen from gun shops, other businesses and private residences each day in the US.
What a loser.
The U.S. government sold them, and a federal agent was killed with one of them. That's the difference Rush.
DeleteBut I understand that an individual with your sick and illogical mind wouldn't understand that.
Correction: The mother of the dead agent has said that she believes that the gun that killed her son came from the Fast & Furious operation. She has no basis for that belief except her belief...sort of like believing in heaven because you believe in heaven.
DeleteTwo guns that "may have" been involved in the killing were traced to a gun shop in Texas which was not involved in the Fast & Furious operation.
An ATF spokeswoman said Friday that the weapons used in the attack on Zapata and Avila were not linked to Fast and Furious.
But as always, Dunce just blathers on...not even noticing that his pants are on fire.
I guess if one lie a day keeps the doctor away, several lies a day are even more effective.
DeleteSorry Rush. People are onto your nonsense.
DeleteAND, there was no sidewalk near the shooting in the Zimmerman case. Suuuuuuuuure!
DeleteI find the Chick-fil-A change in stance regarding gay rights interesting if it is really true.
ReplyDeleteI haven't eaten there since the flap began. I learned last week that my husband hadn't eaten there either, and he used to go about twice per month. I would have thought that there would have been more than enough straight marriage proponents to keep the sandwiches flying out the door at a record pace despite my family's lack of patronage. I wonder what has caused this change in attitude.
Alderman Joe Moreno of Chicago.
Delete"Moreno, who represents the ritzy Northwest Side of Chicago, vowed to block construction of a new Chick-fil-A restaurant in his ward after Cathy’s remarks.
But in a statement today, Moreno commended the company for making “real progress” toward addressing “the very legitimate concerns of the LGBT community regarding Chick-fil-A.”
When ABC News requested clarification from Chick-fil-A on the policies that Moreno says are new, the company resent a statement from July, when the controversy about its traditional marriage support first erupted.
“The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect -regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender,” Chick-fil-A spokeswoman Tracey Micit said in the statement. “Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”
Along with re-evaluating funding to anti-gay marriage activist groups, Moreno said, Chick-fil-A has agreed to amend its corporate policy to include sexual orientation in its anti-discrimination policy.
Who cares what the whacky people of Chicago are doing?
DeleteObviously, the answer to that one is, ta da...
DeleteThe Dunce!
Who has been blathering on for some time now about Chicago politics, the murder rate and the teacher's strike...none of which he knows the slightest bit about, but then that is true of all the other topics that he regularly blathers on about.
"Who cares what the whacky people of Chicago are doing?"
We all know. What we all wonder is whether or not Dunce realizes what a fool he makes of himself every day with stupid comments like the above. Maybe he just trying to "earn" his title as King of Dunces.
You're just a jackass, that's why you're a Democrat.
DeleteInteresting op-ed column today by an Emory tax law professor, who takes note over the Romney tax return matter. She suggests that Senators and Representatives should reveal their returns. It would be interesting to see how they benefit from their legislation. She also suggests some tax policy revisions.
ReplyDeleteSaw that, and as you say, interesting. I like the idea of Congressmen revealing how they benefit from the laws that they pass.
DeleteWe know that Paul Ryan has probably saved 10 or twelve, maybe even 20 dollars on taxes on arrows from one of the two bills that he has passed in 13 years. Ha, ha!
Hmmm, looks as if Bucky's dining choices are diminishing. Bucky, you might see if Willie's Honktonk has a grill, but watch your back when you're in there.
ReplyDeleteStab, you have no idea what goes on in the restrooms there. There is a lot of micturation and evacuation and even some limited ablutions and lavations.
DeleteNot recommended for those under 65.
The local Chick-fil-As are not hurting. A manager told me that sells are up 'significantly' over last year.
DeleteChick-fil-As have some of the few bathrooms that I use in peace, knowing that an adjacent partition won't come crashing down, with two naked men right behind it.
OT, knowing of the clientele, I am sure the ablutions and lavations are limited to the point of non-existence.
ReplyDeleteThere will probably be copious emesis, as well, there and in the parking lot.
ReplyDeleteI've figured out why Rush is such big Democrat-he such a 'jackass' nobody else would take him.
ReplyDeleteLeft out "braying", as in Rush, the braying jackass, did a pretty good job yesterday and today enumerating the craven lies of Dunce la Dunce.
DeleteOf course, he has wasted his time, because Dunce (which means incapable of learning) is incapable of learning, much less understanding.
Come on Rush, I make you into the fool you are everyday in here, you fool.
DeleteRomney's remarks: Mistake or truth?
ReplyDeletePoll: Voters react to Romney tapes
Romney seeks to capitalize on remarks
Opinion: It's not over for Romney
John King: How damaging for Romney?
Cafferty: Can Romney right the ship?
Opinion: Mitt not better off as Latino Letterman gets Obama's take
Romney: Letterman 'hates me' EW
Carter grandson: 'Poetic justice'
Ticker: Romney tapes missing chunk
__________
CNN is campaigning as hard as it can for Obama
Would be difficult to find a stupider post anywhere on the web, even at the Aryan Nation or Westboro Baptist Church sites.
DeleteI think you usually beat me out Rush. Your good for at least one 'boner' a day.
DeleteBucky, it seems that Romney may have a similar problem. a poll shows that 3/4 of people think they do not have anything in common with him. That ain't good, not helped by the 47% gaffe.
ReplyDeleteI will give Romney credit for facing the press. President Obama has artfully avoided news conferences where he would "uh" his way thru, preferring softball visits with sympathetic interrogators.
I never said Romney was perfect Stab. He's got a lot of baggage, but he's our only hope of getting the economy back on track. It's obvious that Obama ain't going to be able to do it.
DeleteRomney is almost a Republican Clinton. He's frequently doing something stupid, but he has a track record of getting things done.
I hold my nose almost everytime I vote. And especially if a Democrat is voting nearby.
That was similar problem to the one you allege for OT.
ReplyDeleteSpeechwriters Peggy Noonan and William Safire created the myth of the "Great Ronald Reagan" which many uninformed people still believe in.
ReplyDeleteSafire*, who I knew and had several delightful conversations with (not about politics but about words, which Bill knew better than anyone), is, alas, no longer with us. But Peggy is, and she may be the only conservative left with a still functioning brain.
Here is what she posted on her Wall Street Journal blog on Tuesday:
lTime for an Intervention
Somebody better be listening.
* Anyone wishing to have the slightest understanding of how the American language works needs to read all of Safire's books on that subject. One of the greatest lines that he ever wrote, he wrote for one of the worst people he ever wrote for, Spiro Agnew: "Nattering nabobs of negativism…"
Today, that line would describe many Republicans, most certainly the minions of the Pee Pee Party.
I'm just glad we had Ronald Reagan as president. What a fine one he was, too.
DeleteI wish he were still around, I'd vote for him again.
Obama keeps throwing dirt in the hole we're in in. Doesn't look good for the future, that's for sure.
I read the Noonan column. She's pretty much right. But there will be no intervention. The R's will do well to hold the House. That will be enough to stop the worst of Obama policies, but not appointments, unfortunately. Ideally, the surviving R's will flex where this Session's did not, at least a little bit; they don't need to be supine.
ReplyDeleteStab, Peggy is a dream...smarter by far than any of those who actually run the party. I still hope to meet her one day, just to see what sort of personal aura she exudes.
DeleteI expect that shortly after election day the Republicans will begin a cataclysmic round of name calling, with the far righters castigating the Romneyites, claiming that if one of "their" candidates, say Perry or whoever, had won the nomination that they would have won the White House.
Of course, that is fantasy. I still think that the best thing that could happen is the collapse of the hopelessly at odds Republican party, followed by the creation of a new centrist party that would exclude the religious fruitcakes and bring back a party of folks like GHW Bush, Ford, Hoover, even Romney I...dare I say it, even Bill Clinton, who despite your moral objections, was easily the best President since WW II and is very much in line with a centrist orientation.
If that doesn't happen and we continue as we are now, I'm afraid that WW's depressingly pessimistic view of the future will come true.
I didn't mean to imply that Safire's works on language will make you an expert. It takes a lifetime to reach that level.
ReplyDeleteBegin with Mencken, progress to Sydney Harris, continue with Maureen Dowd. And of course, read all the great American writers, beginning with Jonathan Edwards, whose sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is one of the most powerful messages ever delivered on this continent, to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine to Thoreau and Nathaniel Hawthorne and Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln and Poe and Herman Melville and Mark Twain and T.S. Eliot and Cummings and Dos Passos and Hemingway and Fitzgerald and Faulkner and Nabokov and Bradbury and Plath and Sexton (not Scott, Anne) and a few dozen others.
Get that done and you might be approaching some sort of understanding.
No implication taken. To rely on one source, such as Safire, would be to copy. Better to synthesize, implicit in your clarification.
ReplyDeleteThe point, exactly. Dos Passos USA Trilogy, written in the 1930s, was pretty much a polemic for communism. He joined his friend Hemingway in the Spanish civil war, but there began to see the odious aspects of Stalinism.
DeleteIt is fascinating to watch the development of his thinking through his 40 something novels and other writings to the point of flirtation with McCarthyism in the early 1950s to his sojourn with Goldwater, a man that I grudgingly admire, to his ultimate reversion to a sort of libertarianism, which I think reveals the true Dos Passos...must admit that I am attracted by many of the same ideas.