It's that time again

It is time again to remind everyone that if the Democrats win in 2020, the first thing they need to do is cut the deficit!  Forget the bold social programs that most western democracies take for granted, like universal health care and child care as well as generous retirement.  Dems and their allies need to suck it up and reverse all the Republican tax cuts for the rich.  That's the easy part.  Then they need to do "entitlement" reform by raising the retirement age and medicare eligibility.  All this so the next republican administration can cut taxes again.  This tiresome scenario has played out when each party has succeeded the other over the past 30 years.  Part of the problem is the anti-tax fervor instilled in nearly every American by the right wing polemicists who equate taxation with theft.  I'm sure Elizabeth Warren's wealth tax will be criticized that way.  What one of the Democratic candidates for President needs to say is we are all in this together and if we want and need nice things like universal child care and free college tuition, we can't merely confiscate the wealth of the 1%.   That won't pay for everything we want to do for our society.  The vast middle class needs to pay more if they want to get more.  Someone  must articulate that message if we are to have a more just society.

unbelieveable

People across the North Country have awakened on successive days to reminders of ice storms past.  Although power remains on and trees are not toppling with tons of ice burdening them, roads remain slick and the chance of being injured in a fall remain high.  My eldest daughter called for assistance this morning as her car was unable to negotiate the fairly level exit from her driveway to the road.  All I could do was provide an alternative vehicle for the day and hope temps in the mid 40s will allow for enough ice melt to provide traction later in the day.  At least the sun is shining.  What inspired the post, however, is the realization that we may be in for much more of this horror before winter's end.  Normally we would be below freezing here for weeks at a time.  This year has seen wild swings between below zero temps and the mid 50s.   It is taking a toll on all who live in the area and climate change is only exacerbating the situation.

Paying with interest

The post title refers to two things happening simultaneously.  First, many people have filed their taxes, expecting to get a refund.  Instead, thanks to Paul Ryan and the tRump administration they are getting a bill instead.  While not quite as nefarious as would be supposed (the change in withholding actually gave most people a small weekly increase in their paychecks at the expense of a year end refund) the lack of a refund which many people budget for is pissing off many taxpayers, even tRump supporters!  The other payment refers to democrats and their position in Virginia where, if they follow through with their zero tolerance policy for racism and sexual assault it will likely cause them to lose the governorship of Virginia.  Since republicans have no scruples (see president Cheeto Jesus), they will gladly accept the chance to discomfit their rivals, even if it is demonstrated that the GOPer who becomes governor is a racist, homophobic, misogynist abortionist.

Bloviating by the numbers

I did not watch most of the "State of the Union" last night because every time I tuned in I wanted to hurl large blunt objects at the screen, but the commentators who did watch assured me it was about what one would expect from the toddler in chief.   Reading mostly from the teleprompter, tRump assured us we are simultaneously living in a hellscape of crumbling institutions and enjoying the "greatest economy in history".  Also we cannot have peace and legislation if we insist on investigating this administration and its lawlessness, because then we will have war, whatever that means.  All in all, it was probably no worse than many presidents have done, although there was little or no policies advanced and few facts to check.  Fortunately we will only have to suffer one more of these ego enhancing diversions before a new president shoulders the duty.

A modern day haunting

Governor Ralph Northam has so far resisted the calls for his resignation in the firestorm which followed the revelation his medical yearbook photos in 1984 showed a man in blackface and another in a KKK robe.   After first saying he was in the photo albeit not saying which character, Northam in a press conference now says he was not and disavows it entirely.   Many prominent democrats have called on him to resign.   I don't know anything about the governor, but the Divine Mrs. M and I lived in southern Md. and the eastern shore of Virginia in the late 1970s and I can well imagine young men at the time engaging in behavior they misinterpreted as playful.  Certainly 99% of them would have disavowed violence against blacks, but the prevailing attitude was one of "benign" racism.  As long as the local black population showed the proper deference, playful racism was as far as the oppression went.  I never saw any hate crimes during my time in the area, but did register the attitudes which would have facilitated it.  Should Northam now pay for that history?  I don't know for sure, but his viability as governor is forever compromised.

The kiss of death

Not since Brutus sidled over to Julius Ceasar and planted his lips on the tyrant's cheek has the endorsement of a candidate been so calculated.  David Brooks in today's NYT does the honors for Kamala Harris.  If I was her, I would be looking over my shoulder for the next several months.  Brooks professes admiration for Harris' upbringing and her choice to be a prosecutor in California and says the experience will make her more than tRump's equal when it comes to political brawling.  What Brooks doesn't say and is doubtless saving for future columns is the candidate's stands on policy issues.  On everything from reproductive rights and  healthcare to civil rights, Harris' views are anathema to Brooks and his admirers.  So, it would seem he will push her candidacy until it becomes viable, then in typical Bo Bo fashion he will regretfully announce she is far to radical for Murca in 2020.  

Time to kill the filibuster

Having thought about this issue over time, it seems to me it is time to kill the legislative filibuster that requires 60 votes to bring any substantial matter before the Senate.  The performance of Mitch McConnell and his merry band during the Obama administration is reason enough.   Although the blue dog democrats who killed the single payer option proposed for Obamacare is another.   Assuming Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris is elected in 2020, any progressive legislation they may propose is DOA in the Senate, even assuming the democrats are in the majority.  Even if by some wild chance in the wake of criminal charges brought against tRump the party manages to get 60 democrats elected, do you think every one of them will be on board with a charge toward even a moderate social democracy.  You may get 51 dems to agree we need to tax the rich to deal with rampant inequality, but not 60.   It's time to retire the filibuster and make the Senate a more representative body.