Saturday, February 18, 2012

Catching Up In February

Well, between auditions and my practice, it's been a busy month, which in turn is why I haven't posted anything until now.  But that doesn't mean that I haven't been paying attention to what's going on.  And there has been, to put it mildly, a lot going on, especially as the Presidential race begins to heat up.

A few random comments, before I post and comment on some links, both old and new:

  • As encouraging as anything else has been this year was Obama's SOTU address.  Granted, it was the usual Presidential "wish list," and more blatantly political that I would have expected (or thought wise, on one level).  But it told me that he had a road map to Election Day, and it told me that he had finally given up on being nice to the ones who want him (and, by extension, the country) to fail.  And his handling of the contraception controversy shown more commitment to progressive values AND more political savvy than almost anything else he's done.  I remember that, during his campaign, he went through several periods where he was on a learning curve and then, just when it would look like he would fall off completely, he would "get it" and then get other things right.  Apparently, he's now done that with his Presidency.  And, now that it appears that the economy may be picking up some real steam, his re-election prospects are starting to look better.  Which, of course, is driving his opponents crazy.
  • And speaking of the Republicans , I'm beginning to think the GOP has the biggest death wish in the world.  Whether it's the idiocracy that comprises their presidential nominees, or the no-less idiocracy that comprises their majority in the House, they seem bound and determined to move the United States back into an eighteenth century of their imagination.  Their proposal to let employers refuse any kind of health coverage on the basis of a "moral objection" of their choosing is but one example; employers are the last cohort in this country that should be allowed to define morality.  With the obvious exception of (again) the House majority, which insisted on adding to the extension of the payroll tax-cut extension a  provision requiring unemployment benefit applicants to undergo mandatory drug testing.  Then again, never mind Congress; what the GOP is doing at the state level is even worse.  Take a look here.  As well as here.  And, for that matter, here.
  • On the other hand, I am really proud of my Governor and state legislature.  This is what can happen when you have a real governor, instead of a blimp.
And now, on to some more specific thoughts ...

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