What’s new? Not much, really. The terrorists appear to be winning again, as they continue to hold the U.S. economy hostage. Now they are demanding not only continued tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, but needy corporations like the oil companies as well.
What’s New? Certainly not the Republican insistence on getting their own way. As Sen. Bernie Sanders said today, they are perfectly willing, apparently, to let the economy crash, to let the country default on its debt for the first time in history, rather than even suggest that millionaires and corporations should pay even a semblance of their fair share.
And, sadly, the response of the Democrats, led by the White House, is nothing new, either. Every time someone suggests that Medicare and Social Security should be preserved, they rush to proclaim that they are “on the table.” And Obama seems to need to make daily pronouncements that he will not consider raising taxes on millionaires. When confronted today with the CBO estimate that the only thing needed to bring the budget into balance is to allow the Bush tax cuts for the richest 2% to expire, he insisted – yet again – that this was not even a consideration.
Considering the millions of Americans that support letting the tax cuts for millionaires expire and oppose cuts to Medicare and Social Security, it is hard to imagine what is the political calculation that is driving Obama and the Democrats to take this stance. Providing cover for Republican recalcitrance is no way to win an election – and given the Republicans are hell-bent on crippling the U.S. economy as much as possible in the run-up to the election, it is unlikely anyone will forget this in the next 18 months.
What to do? First, if you haven’t already, go here and sign Sen. Sander’s letter calling on President Obama to stand up to Republicans and protect those who can't afford to sacrifice to balance the federal budget. And go to Sen. Sanders’ Facebook page to follow his campaign to get the President to pay at least a modicum of attention to the +90% of Americans who want to see millionaires and billionaires share a little of the sacrifice they’ve been shouldering for years.
Any you can call your representatives in Congress – especially if they are Republicans (or Democrats) and let them know you are tired of us giving in to Republican terrorists who are holding the U.S. economy hostage. Don’t know who your congresscritters are or how to contact them? Check out this helpful site to find out. And FWIW, don’t forget to contact the White House with your opinions, either online here or by phone at: 202-456-1111.
What Else is New?
This was in no way the diary I intended to write, but sometimes I get so aggravated by the day’s news that I am compelled to rant. What I had intended to do today is celebrate some of the great moments in history, I often check out the day’s historical events – a carryover from the days I wrote regularly for a living – so I have a number of sources I check. Two of my favorites are
Scopes’ Anyday in History and
Those Were the Days.
As far as people go, June 27 is the birthday for two remarkable people – Helen Keller and Bob Keeshan. Most people are familiar with the life story of Helen Keller, the blind deaf-mute woman who forever changed the perception able-bodied people have of people with disabilities. The story of Bob Keeshan – aka Captain Kangaroo – maybe only slightly less inspiring, particularly if you work for a living. Born in 1927, Keeshan began his career in 1947 when he was cast as Clarabell the Clown on the Howdy Doody Show. Clarabell was also mute, but Keeshan wanted his character to speak and after two years of trying unsuccessfully to persuade the NBC brass, one day (live TV, remember) at the end of the show he mouthed the words “Bye Kids” – and was promptly fired.
After six years of unemployment, at the ripe old age of 28 Keeshan was back, this time on CBS, with a new kind of kids show, Captain Kangaroo, which ran for more than two decades. The first children’s show to be broadcast daily, Captain Kangaroo is widely recognized as the forerunner of shows like Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood and Sesame Street.
And speaking of remarkable people and events, on this day in 1973 a young White House staffer named John Dean testified before the Senate Watergate Committee. It was then that the nation learned about President Nixon’s enemies list. You can see Dean talk about it with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!
But probably the most remarkable event on June 27 occurred in 1969, when the New York City police raided the Stonewall Gay Bar in Greenwich Village, NY. The ensuing riot lasted 3 days and included between 400 and 1,000 patrons. You can find out more about this action, which is widely considered to be the start of the LGBT civil rights movement here. This is perfectly bracketed 42 years later by the bill passed by the New York State Senate and signed into law by Govrenor Cuomo this weekend that established marriage equality in New York.
So let these persevering folks be an example to you. As Georgia’s first Poet Laureate, Frank Stanton, (who died the year Bob Keeshan was born) wrote in his classic poem:
KEEP A-GOIN’
by Frank L. Stanton (1857-1927)
If you strike a thorn or rose,
Keep a-goin'!
If it hails or if it snows,
Keep a-goin'!
'Taint no use to sit an' whine
When the fish ain't on your line;
Bait your hook an' keep a-tryin'--
Keep a-goin'!
When the weather kills your crop,
Keep a-goin'!
Though 'tis work to reach the top,
Keep a-goin'!
S'pose you're out o' ev'ry dime,
Gittin' broke ain't any crime;
Tell the world you're feelin' prime--
Keep a-goin'!
When it looks like all is up,
Keep a-goin'!
Drain the sweetness from the cup,
Keep a-goin'!
See the wild birds on the wing,
Hear the bells that sweetly ring,
When you feel like singin', sing--
Keep a-goin'!
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Tonight’s Top Comments. . . .
From princesspat:
Jan F's punny comment starts the fun. Barbara Morrill and JaxDem continue on..... in this morning's Holy Cow! open thread.
From
me:
RockyMtnLib points out how television conditions viewers to be passive conumers of other media as well, in asinine's excellent diary Why Television News Is Hurting America.
witkacy highlights the trajectory of bigotry from overt racism to institutionalized exclusion under cover of zoning and budgeting in Daisy Cutter's Anti-racism diary.