The warm weather has finally arrived and Stanley has been transformed from the world's smallest sheep dog to looking like a brand new pup.
I did not get to weigh in in the Thatcher fest of yesterday. I think all of the songs that I might have posted were posted -- I was leaning towards "Stand Down Margaret" as opposed to the more acerbic "Tramp the Dirt Down."
Not suprisingly, I was not a huge Thatcher fan -- I thought her a cruel, hard ideologue. I do, however, have some sympathy with the idea that the England of 1979 had really achieved a level of economic sclerosis that probably called for some shift toward a more free market direction -- the economics of nationalized industries were pretty lousy. I feel like I don't have the kind of day-to-day expertise to really fully assess her legacy, although my reflexive response is that a less extreme avenue would have been preferable.
By contrast, I am confident that Ronald Reagan was a serious net negative to the American body politic, a malign influence who helped empower America's know nothing caucus of god botherers and Randites. The election of Reagan was the voters retreating into fantasy instead of facing up to the challenges of an economy in transition. We continue to struggle to this day with the legacy of promiscuous deregulation and magical tax cutting that Reagan's election ushered in.
What's on your minds?