Friday Talking Points [184] -- Long Live Steve Jobs
[ Posted Friday, October 7th, 2011 – 16:39 UTC ]
A corporate leader passed away this week, and millions mourned his passing and celebrated his life.
Archive of Articles in the "Taxes" Category
Mad As Hell
[ Posted Wednesday, October 5th, 2011 – 16:05 UTC ]
The protesters in the Occupy Wall Street movement have been getting criticized for not being focused enough, or not providing a list of demands, or not having leaders, or any number of other things by the media. But this can be forgiven, because the media are now at least paying attention, rather than just completely ignoring the protest. What surprises me is that the media (at least so far) haven't realized the frustration the protesters feel is the real story here. Call it free-floating rage, if you will. Or, even better, call it an updated Howard Beale moment.
Friday Talking Points [183] -- What I'd Call "Class Warfare"
[ Posted Friday, September 30th, 2011 – 16:26 UTC ]
Last week (as with this week) the subject de semaine was "class warfare." The comment which inspired this week's mini-rants contained a simple, repetitive concept: "When [something outrageous pushed by Republicans happens], nobody calls it 'class warfare'. Maybe we should."
Friday Talking Points [182] -- Class Warfare? Hardly.
[ Posted Friday, September 23rd, 2011 – 16:12 UTC ]
A satellite is falling out of the sky, but it probably won't hit anybody. Probably. I personally got over this fear by listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival's "It Came Out Of The Sky" (which I heartily recommend, just on general principles).
Elizabeth Warren's Campaign Takes Off
[ Posted Wednesday, September 21st, 2011 – 16:27 UTC ]
Elizabeth Warren is a polarizing figure. Liberals love her with a fierce passion. Republicans hate her with a fiery passion. What this means is that lots and lots of money from outside the state will be pumped into this race. The reason why Democrats are going to be watching this race closer than any other Senate race next year is easy to see: this may be the only state Democrats have a good chance to pick up a seat from the Republicans. The math isn't good for Democrats this time around in the Senate, and they are in danger of losing control of the chamber next year. Warren may be the sole bright spot in this environment for Democrats.
Obama Redefines Populism
[ Posted Monday, September 19th, 2011 – 16:57 UTC ]
"Populism" is a word that gets thrown around with abandon by folks masquerading as journalists on television these days. Sarah Palin had the word used to describe her, and later, the entire Tea Party movement was labeled "populist" by the chattering classes. Today, President Obama unveiled a truly populist agenda, by proposing to tax millionaires at the same tax rate that middle-class Americans pay. By doing so, Obama will (hopefully) redefine the term "populism" in the political conversation. Or, to be technical, he will re-redefine the word back to what it originally meant.
Friday Talking Points [180] -- Give 'Em Hell, Barry!
[ Posted Friday, September 9th, 2011 – 17:02 UTC ]
President Barack Obama opened his re-election campaign last night with a wowzer of a speech to a joint session of Congress. But we'll get to that in detail in a minute. First, we must mark an important anniversary this week.
Congressional Democrats' Advice For Obama's Jobs Speech
[ Posted Wednesday, September 7th, 2011 – 15:10 UTC ]
The nation is waiting to hear what President Obama is going to say tomorrow night, when he gives an address to a joint session of Congress on the subject of jobs. Plenty of people have already been offering advice to the White House, but instead we thought it'd be interesting to ask some of the people who are going to be sitting in the audience tomorrow what they'd advise the president to include in his speech.
Friday Talking Points [178] -- Phony Vacation Outrage
[ Posted Friday, August 19th, 2011 – 16:52 UTC ]
It's silly season in the political world, once again. And this year -- just like every year a Democrat occupies the White House -- an old favorite of a story is making the rounds. It involves some very thinly-veneered outrage, which is completely fabricated and hypocritical in the extreme.
Friday Talking Points [177] -- Corporations Are People, Mitt?
[ Posted Friday, August 12th, 2011 – 17:17 UTC ]
But perhaps I'm being too harsh. The reason the clip was edited down so much was that the other heckling clip was so much better -- Romney misspeaking, and then instead of just immediately walking it back, actually digging the hole deeper. In answer to a question about raising taxes on corporations, Romney answered (at first) that he wasn't going to raise taxes "on people." When the questioner yelled back "Corporations, not people!" Romney could easily have said something along the lines of "Sorry, I meant to say corporations -- I'm actually not going to raise taxes on people or on corporations, and here's why...." It would have just melded the whole thing into standard Republican dogma, and Romney would have been safe.