I have phrases and whole pages memorized,
but nothing can be told of love.
You must wait until you and I
are living together.
In the conversation we'll have
then...be patient...then.- Rumi
Time whizzes by and I, I write of glimpses I steal
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Friday, December 14, 2012
Tribalism
If a modern Republican President started raising taxes, disarming nuclear weapons, disbanding regiments, legalising gay marriage and introducing universal healthcare the Republican base would desert him in droves. They might actually burn him in effigy.
Whereas a Democrat President can continue black-sites, embrace drone warfare and expand the war on terror to multiple countries, kill an American citizen without due process, invade the airspace of an ally and assassinate an unarmed man instead of arresting him, give the banks a free pass, actively silence whistleblowers, deport illegal immigrants, block sane drug laws, not close Guantanamo, essentially be as dodgily right wing as he wants and "liberals" will not only vote for him but ecstatically endorse him.
And these "liberals" will look down their nose at the bible-thumping conservatives and call them IRRATIONAL and TRIBALISTIC.
Because Sarah Palin. Michelle Bachmann. That's why.
Shut up
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Imagine all the people
Is the looming fiscal cliff giving you nightmares? I have a simple proposal for taxing the rich in the US. Forget the Buffet rule. Don't propose increasing the rate for the uber-wealthy and be called class warrior. Btw, not for nothing but ending tax cuts is not the same as increasing tax rates. Tax cuts were by definition a temporary respite from taxing that was possible due to Clinton-era budget surpluses (and because of the remarkable mythical power of tax cuts to stimulate the economy). And given the budget situation now, it is only natural to say that the tax cuts are no longer affordable.
My proposal is this: add a 3% war surcharge on income over 500k. The nation is waging one official war and countless unofficial ones. Ok, let's just call it one effing big global war on terror. This war is, as one would be led to believe, is a righteous one, worth fighting. The poor are sending their sons and daughters and paying for the war with blood, the rich can pay for the war with a small fraction of their wealth. None of the 3% will be used for anything other than Department of Defense, Veterans affairs, Veterans health and paying down the deficit (only that part of that is caused by the unfunded wars). Supporting the troops will no longer be about lip-service. Let's call it Best America Freedom-loving patriotic surcharge in wartime to support the troops American Apple Pie Founding fathers If you vote against it you are a puppy-killing terrorist Act (BAFLPSWSTAAAFFIYVAIYAAPKT ACT) of 2013 (The acronym needs some work).
There is bipartisan agreement that war is good and national defence is sacred. So clearly no one except peace-loving hippies can have any problems with a war-time tax and we all know that these peaceniks have no jobs, they just sit in their mother's basements in their pyjamas, smoking pot. With this surcharge, there will be guaranteed no military cuts, no slashing of Pentagon budget. The neo-conservatives can stop complaining that it is the weakest navy since 1914. The Republicans can add amendments that no money will be spent on death panels or FEMA camps or UN helicopters or whatever it is they are afraid of these days. The Democrats can concede that the money from the 3% surcharge will not be put in the same bucket as the big government basket along with Medicare, Medicaid and Social security. The 1% can continue to feel patriotic and can go on Sunday morning shows and write Editorials about how they are so American and chant USA! USA! if that will make them feel better. Everybody wins. There isn't a draft lottery for the rich to dodge, there aren't bread lines, there isn't shortage of caviar. So the war-time surcharge is the only thing that brings it home to people that America is a nation at war. This 3% surcharge is strictly temporary; only until the war is over... in other words, forever.
I know I am a dreamer, but maybe this will act as a small incentive to stop waging endless wars around the world.
My proposal is this: add a 3% war surcharge on income over 500k. The nation is waging one official war and countless unofficial ones. Ok, let's just call it one effing big global war on terror. This war is, as one would be led to believe, is a righteous one, worth fighting. The poor are sending their sons and daughters and paying for the war with blood, the rich can pay for the war with a small fraction of their wealth. None of the 3% will be used for anything other than Department of Defense, Veterans affairs, Veterans health and paying down the deficit (only that part of that is caused by the unfunded wars). Supporting the troops will no longer be about lip-service. Let's call it Best America Freedom-loving patriotic surcharge in wartime to support the troops American Apple Pie Founding fathers If you vote against it you are a puppy-killing terrorist Act (BAFLPSWSTAAAFFIYVAIYAAPKT ACT) of 2013 (The acronym needs some work).
There is bipartisan agreement that war is good and national defence is sacred. So clearly no one except peace-loving hippies can have any problems with a war-time tax and we all know that these peaceniks have no jobs, they just sit in their mother's basements in their pyjamas, smoking pot. With this surcharge, there will be guaranteed no military cuts, no slashing of Pentagon budget. The neo-conservatives can stop complaining that it is the weakest navy since 1914. The Republicans can add amendments that no money will be spent on death panels or FEMA camps or UN helicopters or whatever it is they are afraid of these days. The Democrats can concede that the money from the 3% surcharge will not be put in the same bucket as the big government basket along with Medicare, Medicaid and Social security. The 1% can continue to feel patriotic and can go on Sunday morning shows and write Editorials about how they are so American and chant USA! USA! if that will make them feel better. Everybody wins. There isn't a draft lottery for the rich to dodge, there aren't bread lines, there isn't shortage of caviar. So the war-time surcharge is the only thing that brings it home to people that America is a nation at war. This 3% surcharge is strictly temporary; only until the war is over... in other words, forever.
I know I am a dreamer, but maybe this will act as a small incentive to stop waging endless wars around the world.
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