Many of you out there have often wondered just what goes on in the twisted mind of a Liberal blogger. We're often accused of spouting Liberal “talking points” which is funny because I've always thought that was much more of a Republican Party thing (see Frank Luntz). Liberals tend to be more "free range."
I wasn't always this way. For much of my adult life I blindly followed the conventional wisdom of my peers. I voted for Reagan twice and was an early listener of both Rush Limbaugh and Neil Boortz. This began to change for me during the Bush years as I realized that Republicans had become expert at using religion and patriotism to fool middle class voters into supporting policies that were not in their best interest; tax cuts for millionaires, the deregulation of financial markets, phony wars, etc. So I turned off FOX News and talk radio and reverted to the rebelliousness of my youth.
Today I follow a wide range of pundits, environmentalist, humorists, politicians and journalists on Twitter and other social media that often expose me to news and opinion that I might otherwise miss. I've always been somewhat of a news junkie so I typically read dozens of articles each week from all corners of the internet.
With that in mind I've been meaning to put together a semi-regular column to share some of the best finds from my ramblings, so this week I'm introducing The Sunday Liberal Reader. Hope you enjoy:
- Retired Maj. Gen. Roger R. Blunt sets the record straight on the UN's arms trade treaty.
- Are genetically modified mosquitoes in your future? Former Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope sounds a warning.
- The Koch brothers have vowed to spend $400 million of their vast fortune electing this year's Republican nominee for President. Here's a Mother Jones piece from 2011 introducing you to the folks who intend to buy this years election. Many of the names have already popped up during the Republican primary race.
- This week the Republican controlled House of Representatives voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act...for the 33rd time. No fooling. Ezra Klein gives us 14 reasons why this is the worst Congress ever.
- If you've not heard of Libor, you soon will. Bill Moyer digs into the unfolding financial scandal that promises to topple some of our biggest banks and the banksters who use them as their personal ATMs.
- When the economy hit the fan in 2008 as the mortgage bubble burst, The Republican spin machine was quick to pin it on greedy home buyers and the villains at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac absolving the people who profited the most from artificially inflated home prices from their share of responsibility. Recent reporting shows that alibi is starting to unravel. It seems the National Community Reinvestment Coalition was sounding the alarm about inflated real estate appraisals as early as 2005. The NCRC's recent testimony before congress sheds even more light on this issue.
- If you love fresh sweet corn as much as I do, you're in for some bad news. Unprecedented high temperatures and drought have taken their toll on this year's crop. Reminds me of a song.
- A funny love story from Janey Godley's blog, written in tweets from a London train.
- And just so you'll know I'm a fair and balanced kind of guy I'll close this week with a rather disturbing piece from the American Enterprise Institute. Grab your muskets folks. The poor folks are coming! The poor folks are coming!
Always remember: stay informed, read liberally. As a friend of mine likes to say, "educate yourself and vote!"
" I’d say today’s meritocratic elites achieve and preserve their status not mainly by being corrupt but mainly by being ambitious and disciplined. They raise their kids in organized families. They spend enormous amounts of money and time on enrichment. They work much longer hours than people down the income scale, driving their kids to piano lessons and then taking part in conference calls from the waiting room." There are plenty of working poor who work two jobs and still manage to drive their kids to piano lessons. This notion that effort is the only thing that separates the haves and have-nots is the very idea that Republicans use to wage war on the poor. I think Brooks should give Hayes book, “Twilight of the Elites,” a more thorough read. If you haven't caught Hayes show "Up" weekend mornings on MSNBC you should. It's the smartest thing on TV (at least in it's genre). Hayes is a master at facilitating political conversation. Polite yet resolute. His producers usually manage to put together an engaging panel and It has the feel of a conversation you might have at a dinner party among friends. Sunday's show is a great introduction, the panel was joined by Ed Conrad, a managing partner at Bain Capital, discussing the same topic of the Brooks piece. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46979738/ns/msnbc_tv-up_with_chris_hayes/
As an aside, if this treaty was already in effect, how would that have affected the Fast and Furious scandal?
As for F&F being a "scandal", haven't you heard? It turns out that was all a figment of Darrell Issa's imagination.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-bozell/2012/07/16/bozell-statement-nbc-news-recognizes-msnbc-brand-malignant-tumor
Obstructionism has long been the name of the game in Washington you say? This is true. The way our government is set up, obstructionism is one of the only ways that the minority party can keep the majority party from doing everything that they want. This new era of politics as moral absolutes has raised the stakes to such a degree, though, that our government has ceased to function. How can anybody that has the best interests of the country in mind stand behind a party that put their leader from the Senate (McConnell R-KY) in front of cameras shortly after Obama was elected to say "Republicans single most important goal is to make Obama a one-term president".? Making Obama a one-term president (for republicans is more important than this country defaulting on it's debt obligations, it's more important than funding national infrastructure and it's more important than making sure that 30 million Americans can get health insurance. This tendency to demonize the opposition, the tendency to cast political disagreements in moral terms has ruined our political system - a system that used to be about compromise is now completely ineffective. Shame on all of us. On the democrats and the republicans for playing this zero sum game.
The filibuster problem is a thorny issue. But remember, the filibuster is one of the only things that can stop a bill if you don't have 51 votes .... and stopping a bill is going to be in the interest of the dems one of these days and we'll be glad that we have it. That being said, the steep escalation of the use of the filibuster is a blight on our political system - but more a symptom than a cause.
"shame on the republicans and te democrats for playing this zero sum game". Your zeal for the right and hatred for the left is showing through - Tim who isn't confident enough to give his full name.
"Shame on all of us. On the democrats and the republicans for playing this zero sum game."
A new Congressional Budget Office underscored the troubled finances of the growing Social Security Disability Insurance program. The report showed $119 billion in benefits were paid last year to 8.3 million disabled workers. That represents almost 18 percent of all Social Security spending. According to Sessions' office, the program has been running a deficit since 2009. "Consequently, the trust fund is shrinking and will be depleted by 2016 -- just four years from now," his office said.
"Absolutely Brian; total agreement. This nasty new vein of moral politics has come along just since President Obama took office."