Congratulations to the great Mario Vargas Llosa, this year’s winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
I like Jon Stewart, but I’m not sure I like his planned “Rally to Restore Sanity.” And not for the reasons outlined by David Corn on Politics Daily.
The rally — a massive public-relations stunt designed to make a political point — is being billed as a counterweight to the shouting that has taken over the political debate.
We’re looking for the people who think shouting is annoying, counterproductive, and terrible for your throat; who feel that the loudest voices shouldn’t be the only ones that get heard; and who believe that the only time it’s appropriate to draw a Hitler mustache on someone is when that person is actually Hitler. Or Charlie Chaplin in certain roles.
Hard to argue, right? Maybe.
The problem is the way this is being framed as a defense of moderation that lumps all disagreement together as extreme. Glenn Beck and Alan Grayson hold down equal places along the political spectrum, which does nothing to reclaim the discourse. Instead, it creates a false equivalence — Beck is Grayson, Grayson is Beck, left and right are both on the fringe and moderation is where it’s at.
The goal is respectful debate more than it is policy, more than it is activism. This strikes me as dangerously muddled thinking — even if what we are talking about is a send up (actually, dueling send ups) of extremism.
I remain convinced that calls for moderation absent a commitment to progressive policies are just empty calls that will do nothing, leaving the corporate powers to continue their hold on power.
The problem with the bank bailout can be summed up by this article: The banks got help, then kept the cash. They continue to get help, in the form of low interest rates, and they continue to hold on to the money rather than lend it out. No wonder the banks are high on everyone’s s-list.
The question is, now that the left has awoken and gathered on the
mall in Washington, will the national media notice?
Dan, digging, dirt — perfect together. We're spending a few hours at Von Thun's in South Brunswick, where they've got rides and pumpkins and farm animals galore. try the fried Oreos, but stay awy from the fried Twinkies if you value your arteries.
