"Death Defying" - Hoodoo Gurus
Hey all. Weird weather day here in our nation's capital -- it hit 70 and I walked master Stanley while wearing shorts this morning. And now it is raining like hell as we prepare for the temperature to drop about 30 degrees overnight.
- My favorite story of the last couple of days had to be this gaffe by Australia's "First Bloke." One can only imagine the dressing down that Prime Minister Julia Gilliard might have administered to him. I can only marvel though at the fact that Australia has as its prime minister a) a woman b) who has made clear that she is an atheist c) and that she did not want to have children and (d) who lives with a man to whom she is not married. Although one can envision a woman reaching the presidency in the U.S. (hopefully in four years), one cannot really imagine that that woman could share publicly any of these other views or practices with Gilliard. I say "good on her." And remember, she is from the right wing of the Labor Party. One can only hope we reach this state in American politics while I still draw breath.
- While on the subject of Australian prime ministers, I learned this fun fact about the possibility that one had been devoured by a shark in the not so distant past. This is one of those stories I have no wish to have debunked. (And on that note I should say hi to our friend down under Emma.)
- Back to domestic concerns, I remain convinced that we will not see either gun control or immigration reform emerge from the Republican controlled House. I would be particularly shocked if any kind of gun control passed muster with these clowns. And I can't see Boehner ignoring the Hastert Rule on this one. The question remains, will Harry Ried, absent action from the House, subject Landrieu, Begich, Pryor, and Hagan to a gun control vote prior to mid-terms in which all will be deeply vulnerable. I can't imagine he will. Meanwhile, we will continue to live in a nation of heavily armed lunatics. A whole lot of lunatics. It is very difficult to share the nation with people who would rather have the right to carry assault weapons more than having a right to health care coverage. We're exceptional alright -- exceptionally stupid.
- I was a bit shocked by the small drop in GDP last quarter. One would think that this would be a wake up call to our austerity freaks, but I doubt it. As much as many of us would like to see a cut in defense spending, I think it is something that needs to be done gradually over a few years, preferably in a stronger economy where other government spending fills the Keynesian vacuum.
- And here's a piece on unionism and the implications of its decline for non-union workers by Erik Loomis with which I totally agree.
What's up with you?
