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Here’s a dazzling video which makes a true point about the Super Bowl, economics and US politics — and does it in almost no time flat. The text comes from the mind of Bill Maher and is typical of his social and economic insights, his unfettered speech, and his humor. Maher’s short essay was animated from the audio recording of The New New Rules: A Funny Look at How Everybody but Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass. It was originally performed on “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
Bill Maher – Irritable Bowl Syndrome from Fraser Davidson on Vimeo.
The little sourball of American politics, Ralph Nader, likes to say that there’s no basic difference between the Republican and Democratic parties, they just look different on the surface. He has it backwards, of course. The parties have superficial similarities, but the differences between Democrats and Republicans are profound and basic.
Last year you could see one of these differences playing out as Republicans waged guerilla warfare in Congress against the Democrats’ health plan. The skirmishes dragged on for months, the details were abundant and confusing. So it’s no surprise that a lot of spectators came away thinking that Republicans and Democrats were merely wrangling over how the government plan should work. But Republicans are against ANY government health plan, no matter how it’s constructed, no matter how it works.
Republicans have been waging class warfare for years, attacking social programs that benefit the poor and marginal in our society. They opposed Medicare from the day it started in 1966 and have tried to put it to death with “improvements” ever since. They have opposed Social Security from it’s beginning and have tried to “reform” it out of existence for the past 74 years. Despite these vampire kisses by conservatives, Social Security and Medicare remain vibrantly alive as the two most popular government programs we have.
But that doesn’t matter to Republican thinkers. In the ideal Technicolor world of conservatives, Social Security would be replaced by each free citizen prudently saving money and wisely investing the savings to insure years of comfortable retirement. And, of course, Medicare would be replaced by free citizens freely buying their own health insurance. Healthy Americans, typical Americans in their Golden Years (thick white hair but springy steps), could go scuba diving in the Caribbean or take a cruise to Greek islands.
Alas, in the real world, Social Security and Medicare were created because most people weren’t able to save for a cushioned retirement. For a great, great many, the years between leaving work and getting completely dead were years of poverty made worse by unpayable bills from relentless doctors and hospitals. The fortunate stayed out of debt by working until they dropped; the less fortunate moved into the back room of the family home, which was now headed by one of their children. The really bad off went to the poor house.
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It's been raining again. Endlessly. It's a warm rain, but it has the capacity to soak you, so the outside tables are abandoned and everybody is inside where it's more cheerful. .
Gene Mirabelli, who writes most of the posts here, has published another novel, Renato, the Painter, about which Publishers Weekly says "In prose as lusty and vigorous as Renato himself, Mirabelli captures the feeling of coming to terms - ready or not - with old age." The author doesn't know why the reviewer thinks a 70-year-old protagonist is old. Of course, the author himself is in his 80s, and that may explain a few things. If you want to know more about the writer or his book, and we hope you do, please turn to the contact page. Bless you!
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