The Fools on the Hill

On New Year's Eve our local PBS station broadcast the original film of the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour.  Wild and wacky, it features a segment where Paul McCartney sings "The Fool on the Hill."  How amusing to hear this song on the very eve that our Republican-led House of Representatives attempted to steer us over the cliff, veering dangerously towards the extreme views of its party.

Day after day,
"At work" on the Hill,
The men of the Tea Party keep thwarting
bill after bill
And most of us just don't get them,
We can see that they're really fools,
'Cause they never give an answer

'Cept to keep the rich untaxed,
For they don't understand,
And the eyes in their head,
See their world giving way.

Full of themselves,
Heads in a cloud,
These men of unreasoned voices talking perfectly loud
And very few want to hear them,
Or the sound they appear to make,
'Cause they never give an answer

'Cept to keep the rich untaxed,
For they don't understand,
And the eyes in their head,
See their world giving way.

And even John Boehner irks them,
They won't do what he wants them to,
'Cause they have their own agenda,

All these fools on the Hill,
See the sun going down,
And the eyes in their head,
See their world giving way.

Failure to Perform

On the eve of the fiscal cliff dive, perhaps we should consider withholding pay from our legislators when they fail to do their job.  The House of Representatives is especially non-functioning.  What kind of evaluation would most of us receive if we didn't provide services to our customers--the very services we're paid to do?  We're stuck with a sorry lot on Capitol Hill.  The children's song "Did You Ever See a Lassie?" comes to mind:

Did you ever see a Congress
reneging like this one?
Did you ever see a Congress
reneging like this?

Right wingers, they dither,
They dawdle and postpone.
Did you ever see a Congress
reneging like this?

Over the F'Cliff

For some reason the fiscal cliff provides endless opportunities for spoofing.  Perhaps it's the unfortunate name we've given it.  At any rate, sing to the tune of "Over the River and Through the Woods":

Over the F'Cliff and down the tubes
To John Boehner's House we go.
His troops are extreme, they make up a team
That only ever says NO!

Over the F'Cliff and down the tubes
Oh how right wingers whine.
It's taxes they hate no matter the rate
Dumb pledges they did sign.

Neanderthal Man

Todd Akin, the Republican candidate for Senate in Missouri, holds extreme views on abortion. When asked about pregnancy that results from rape, he said, "First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare.  If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

Two questions:

What doctor is he talking to? and

Where do people like Todd Akin come from?

Radical Politics

Paul Ryan and Sarah Palin have something in common: they're a lot more fun and interesting--and more dangerous--than the men at the top who selected them.  Paul Ryan is now electrifying the campaign of his wooden boss in the same way that Sarah Palin did four years ago. 

It's a curious contradiction: while Republicans seem to want some kind of steadfast predictability, as seen in their selections of Mitt Romney and John McCain, they're drawn at the same time to the risky proposals of the Tea Party--but not enough to put forward such candidates for president.  It's as if they're marrying the sure and steady guy and flirting with the unreliable one.

And yet, curiouser still, is the fact that Mitt Romney in some ways hasn't been a sure and steady guy.  He gives off the appearance of a soothing "Father Knows Best" figure but without a consistent record to show what he believes.  Paul Ryan as his choice for vice president, on the other hand, has such a long record of specific policies that we know exactly what he believes.  And what he believes is a problem for women, for the elderly, for students, for workers, and for pretty much all of us--except the wealthy.

In the end, though, his presence on the ticket is a problem for Mitt Romney and the Republicans, for he highlights the party's internal conflicts and its attraction for "radical social engineering," as Newt Gingrich so aptly put it.  The wheel has turned once again: Republicans have replaced Democrats as the party of radical politics.

Wanted Desperately: Leadership on All Fronts

It feels like the calm before the storm. These last weeks before Labor Day have everyone hunkered down, quiet, recovering from the fury of Irene. Ten years ago we learned in horror what could happen after Labor Day, when airplanes flew as they pleased and took down a nation unaccustomed to such assault.

Our troubles now seem more far-reaching than they did then and cry out for leaders to lead. Will President Obama stand up boldly for jobs creation in his speech next week (see Eugene Robinson, Washington Post) or will he cave to his instinct for compromise? Will Democrats, reasonable Republicans, and Independents stand up for balanced approaches to our financial woes, or will they continue to let extremists set an extreme agenda?

The times call for those who don't normally view themselves as leaders to lead as well. Will scientists remain in their labs while Governor Perry and his ilk make false statements about climate change and evolution, or will someone stand up? Will ministers hide behind their pulpits while politicians turn their backs on the poor and disadvantaged, or will someone stand up?

And will our press and our people do their jobs as well? A media that constantly inflames rather than educates does a disservice to all, and a population of apathy where so few people vote emboldens demagogues.

A nation where no one leads is a sorry nation indeed. The resulting vacuum leaves opportunities for the worst sorts to exercise power. We need only to read history--or to observe the behavior of ourselves and colleagues at work--to understand this simple lesson.

Random Thoughts on President Obama. . .

on the occasion of his 50th birthday.

1. He gives good speeches, often excellent ones.

2. He caves to his opponents.

3. He negotiates from a position of weakness.

4. He defers too much to Congress.

5. He betrays his base.

I don't know what to make of this guy. Most of the time I agree with what he says, but somehow what he says doesn't translate into action. Is he getting bad advice, or does he have some larger plan in mind?

Whatever's going on, I'm discouraged. I feel like we're all drifting along towards catastrophe--financial and environmental, especially--and the captain still doesn't grasp his job.

Unfortunately, his opponents have spotted the vacuum and they've taken control of the ship, steering us in the wrong direction. The iceberg looms, it's not even hidden, and we're headed right for it.

Real Lives

As the charade in Washington continues, with the Republican Party leading the way in idiocy and irresponsibility, the rest of us are going about our lives with quiet dignity. Family members are taking care of critically ill loved ones and grieving the loss of a baby. Friends are tending to their elderly parents, helping them find comfort in the last years of their lives. Children and young adults are going about the business of growing up.

Sometimes our political system seems so out of touch with the way most of us live and with the concerns most of us have as to be an absurd sideshow. Can't we do better than this?

A Pox on All Our Houses

Our government in Washington is a disgrace. Whatever comes of this charade doesn't begin to address the problems we face. Pervasive ignorance and selfishness at our highest levels demean all of us.

In the words of all of our presidents--whenever they address us--"May God bless the United States of America." We couldn't need it more.

Let the Revolution Begin

Last week on The Diane Rehm Show, Republican Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana made the following statement: "We've evolved to a situation where the privileged, the elite in American society, really, are government unions."

Really, Governor Daniels? Public employees who happen to belong to unions are the elite in our society? Last time I checked the elite were those wealthy 2% of Americans who enjoyed yet another round of tax breaks.

The divide in America keeps growing, which is one reason the protests in Madison persist. My brother-in-law Al, from Milwaukee, was there this weekend with 70,000 others, himself a non-union, private-sector employee. Signs of solidarity spring up in the most unlikely places, as people from around the world continue to call Ian's Pizza shop to donate pizzas to the Wisconsin protesters.

Has the revolution in America finally begun? After all, we are hardly the democracy we claim to be. Our wealth is concentrated in so few hands and in so few businesses that we can't make progress in controlling health care costs, rebuilding our infrastructure, reducing our oil addiction, eliminating pollutants, protecting ourselves from predatory bankers, or regulating guns. In each case the people with the money dictate the policy, and in each case, we--the people--lose.

To paraphrase George Bush, of all people, I say, "Bring it on." Let the revolution begin.

History Lessons

Should anyone really be surprised anymore when oppressed people finally rise up and overthrow their governments? We need only look to examples from history--our own and that of other nations--to recognize the events playing out in Egypt. And we need only look to our own history to remember what can happen when we side with dictators.

History is everywhere in the news these days. Michele Bachmann told us recently that our founding fathers worked hard to end slavery, and the Republicans cite the Constitution whenever they can (except when they confuse it with the Declaration of Independence). And when anyone bothers to take note of the endless war in Afghanistan, inevitable comparisons arise to both the Vietnam War and to the Soviet defeat.

That it's important to understand history should go without saying. Yet our public schools in Durham are ignoring this fact. With pressures building from the "No Child Left Behind" Act and now "Race to the Top" funds, our teachers must focus almost exclusively on math and reading. Science still gets its own time slot, but social studies is an afterthought. It's no longer an essential academic subject.

As it is, Americans haven't done a great job in learning the lessons of history. Now it seems like there's no longer history to learn.

Responsible Republicans

When Sarah Palin chose to state her case before the country on the same day as President Obama spoke in Tucson last week, she cast herself as the de facto head of the Republican party. It was a stunning move and, from accounts across the political spectrum, it was a stunning failure. Fortunately.

As I listened to her speech that morning, I was struck by the defensive, angry tone that others have noted, and I was struck by her lack of gravitas, her lack of reflection, and her inability to move beyond herself.

Is this the Republican party at its best? I wondered. Where is the reasonable, dignified leadership that we need from this party? It's a leadership that fails to condemn the extremist wing of its own party, allowing violent rhetoric to fill the airwaves. Almost no one speaks up against the vicious lies circulated about President Obama and the anti-government hatred spewed daily.

The only incident I can recall when any Republican pushed back against the vitriol occurred in the 2008 presidential campaign. A supporter of candidate John McCain derided Barack Obama as "an Arab," to which McCain responded, "No ma'am, he's not, he's a decent family man--a citizen." (Well, sure, many Arabs are decent family men, too, but McCain at least sought to dispel the myth of Obama's citizenship.)

We need more censoring like this from our Republican leadership. Even those of us who are ardent Democrats lose out when the opposing party fails repeatedly to show wisdom and restraint. We need thoughtful, educated people at the top, proposing solutions to real, serious problems, not people who spout slogans and tout tax relief.

I hope that Sarah Palin's shallow presentation last week wakes up the sleeping giant--or rather, the sleeping elephant--of responsible Republican leadership. God knows we need it. As long as Sarah Palin and her ilk constitute the face of the Republican party, we'll remain stuck in hatred and recrimination.

Tea Party Treachery

Christine O'Donnell, the new Republican Tea Party candidate for Senate in Delaware, said on Tuesday night that the "same people who are supposed to be protecting our freedoms are taking them away." I wonder what she meant. The last time I checked, most of us still have the freedoms guaranteed to us by the Constitution--unless she meant Muslims in New York and Latinos in Arizona.

She also said that the cause of her campaign is "restoring America." Everyone in her audience nodded and cheered. They knew what she meant. I didn't. Restore America to what? A past where we didn't have a black president? A past where gays weren't advocating marriage and open military service? A past where Muslims hid behind burkas?

Hypocrisy in America is at an all-time high. I hope too many people aren't fooled by it.