Sense and Nonsense

Show Some Leadership, Mr. President!

What can one say?  Obama is a disappointment in so many ways.  For sure, he has been thwarted and blocked at every turn by cynical, grotesquely partisan Republicans who care not at all about the national interest. Republicans in Congress are among the most vile people on Earth. (How's THAT for moderate commentary?!)

But it's also true that Obama has failed to show the sort of leadership that so many of us expected of him.  Here is an interesting column in today's New York Times by Tom Friedman that makes a good argument to this effect.  (Please note that my typical reaction to Friedman is that he is a totally arrogant, Gingrichian -- i.e., faux intellectual --  asshole who thinks he is god's gift to mankind, and I usually dismiss his putrid spooge.)  But he makes sense here. 

Also, see this rant by Chris Matthews (the MSNBC asshole whose arrogance is at least as bad as Gingrich's and Friedman's).  He actually makes sense here, too.

Stopping Corporate Welfare

One way to cut budget deficits is to stop subsidizing big, rich companies through tax subsidies.  See this article about how hundreds of huge corporations pay no taxes.  This is wrong.  Republicans and Democrats alike should stop allowing this to happen.

A Conservative Dissects the Republican Party

David Frum, a prominent Republican, takes a scalpel to the Republican party, examining how it has "lost touch with reality."   This is an important article.  Do yourself the favor of reading this. 

Old Comic Strip Explains What Bothers "Occupy Wall Street" Protesters

Bill Watterson got it right years ago in this "Calvin & Hobbes" strip:

 

"Rules of Civility," by Amor Towles

Ah, my summer reading ended with a bang.  Here's a new book that I'd gladly put up with the best books I read this year: Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles.

This debut novel captures life in New York City in the late 1930s.  Everything is right on the mark -- perfect settings, witty repartee, sharp lingo.  

Here's Amazon's commentary as it put this book among its best for August, 2011: "Set during the hazy, enchanting, and martini-filled world of New York City circa 1938, Rules of Civility follows three friends--Katey, Eve, and Tinker--from their chance meeting at a jazz club on New Year's Eve through a year of enlightening and occasionally tragic adventures. Tinker orbits in the world of the wealthy; Katey and Eve stretch their few dollars out each evening on the town. While all three are complex characters, Katey is the story's shining star. She is a fully realized heroine, unique in her strong sense of self amidst her life's continual fluctuations. Towles' writing also paints an inviting picture of New York City, without forgetting its sharp edges. Reminiscent of Fitzgerald, Rules of Civility is full of delicious sentences you can sit back and savor (most appropriately with a martini or two)."    ★★★★★