Don't Cry for Me, Argentina

++We have a new 76-year old Pope named Francis. The first Pope from the Americas is also the first Jesuit elected Pope. Not surprising, he is conservative on cultural issues,very homophobic, against contraception and abortions. But economically, he has been outspoken about bankers,Argentina's debt problems and the poor. At first people thought he took his name after St.Francis of Assisi but it was after the founder of the Jesuits. The runner-up at the last Conclave, Francis has escaped the sex scandals that faced the other candidates. There remains dispute about his failure to protect priests and Jesuits during the Dirty War. Overall,it seems he is a caretaker Pope for a Church mired in sex and banking scandals and seen far removed from modern reality. The good news for science fans is that Pope Francis has a degree in science and as a Jesuit isn't against advances in modern science and medicine. The Italians got their digs in when they said he couldn't be Francis I until he dies. The question is whether he can get any control over the Vatican bureaucracy.

++The Sandman exits. Yes, Mariano Rivera did announce his retirement this past weekend. His exit was wonderfully covered by the New York Post. 

++Kobe Bryant did live up to his promises that the Lakers would make a run for the playoffs--until last night when he suffered a knee injury when he blew the potential game-winning shot against the Hawks.

++The Washington Post is hosting an event for the Donald, who will speaking on Washington real estate. Think that is strange? The Post ran a piece the other day about how Alexandria is divided on the fate of two warehouses on the waterfront. Of course, they are owned by the Washington Post and I have yet to hear anyone in town talk about the warehouses.

++Waiting for a half an hour to enter the Russell Building for an event on Iran's nuclear program, a motorcade whizzed around the building and the President entered the building from the back for a meeting with Democratic Senators about their budget proposals. The next day he showed up at the House to meet with the Republican Caucus, who complained that he was still campaigning. 

++David Bowie's first wife doesn't like "The Next Day", his first recording in ten years. I do. David Bowie returns with an album that is more sober than the past but still outshines any competitors. It is an amalgam of all his styles and is impeccably produced.

++Jimi Hendrix hit #2 on Billboard the other day. I guess if you want to make money,it's best you are dead.

++Speaking of dead, Random House has re-issued John MacDonald's The Quick Red Fox and A Deadly Shade of Gold. My old friend Doug Payne used to read Travis McGee in the old paperbacks. The main character reminds me of Doug.

++Cara Black has a new Aimee Leduc mystery out Murder Below Montparnasse. An old Trotskyite calls Aimee to retrieve a stolen Modigliani. He does so at the recommendation of Aimee's mother, who has been missing the whole series. Wanted for terrorism since the 1970s, her mother has been an elusive presence in the series throughout. The novel has a wonderful premise --that Modigliani painted Vladimir Lenin during his Paris days and gave the painting to the old Trotskyite's grandfather as a gift because Lenin refused it. I found the meaning of the painting more intriguing than Aimee running around Paris avoiding attempts on her life. And,yes, dear readers, we finally get to meet Aimee's mother.

++And speaking of the Left, Venezuela has decided to embalm Hugo Chavez like Lenin so all can see him for the future. The Venezuela government still believes the United States gave Chavez cancer and conservative Americans want to assassinate the anti-Chavez candidate. Why, who knows?

++Paul Krugman didn't declare bankruptcy. The piece circulated in the right-wing blogosphere was a lampoon. The telling part, in my mind, was the reference to a Tiffany charge account--reminiscent of New Gringrich's problems the last year.

++President Obama still seems to be reading Krugman as he mentioned that we don't have a debt problem right now but will in ten years--a position Krugman has maintained all along as he urged Congress to stay away from more austerity.

++In case you missed it, Paul Ryan unveiled his new super duper Budget this week to ridicule and yawns. Even Fox News on several shows said it was dead on arrival. Reporters punched back by questioning Ryan on the results of last year's election and didn't this mean his budget was rejected. Ryan admitted that repealing Obamacare was unlikely but his dream. Medicare vouchers have been transformed into a Super Premium Plan. I guess this was the advice of Frank Luntz. But don't be amused,the draconian cuts to the social welfare net are still priority number 1 of the tea baggers and will form the basis for the 2014 election. The GOP gamble is that 2014 will have as low a turnout as 2010 and enable them to maintain control of the House and Senate.

++President Obama has sent shivers up the spines of Democrats with his talk about entitlement reforms and tying Social Security to the CPI. Anyone who has read this blog over the years knows my position on Social Security. Lower the tax rate and end the cap and Social Security will live at full function for another 75 years. Repeat after me--There is no problem with Social Security. 

++CPAC is in town with more attendees than in the past. The sparkling line-up of speakers include The Donald,Sarah Palin, Dick Morris,Mitt Romney,Rand Paul,Vishnu Jindal, Ted Cruz, and thousands more celebrities. After picking Romney in a landslide,Dick Morris wrote yesterday that Pope Francis was an answer to the Left in Latin America and a counterweight to the influence of Hugo Chavez.

++Sequestration is taking hold. Don't go to any national parks. They may be closed. Special ed programs in the DC area, at least, are being cut back. Virginia is bracing to lose 200,000 jobs soon. It does not look like there will be a solution soon.

++The Dow ran 9 consecutive days of gains, the best performance since 1999 and is nearing its peak. But as everyone now knows, Dow performance hasn't even generated the much touted trickle down benefits for the average American. American corporations stashed about a $1 trillion bucks abroad this year to avoid taxes.

++Gun control legislation is passing around the states and moving forward in D.C. But controls on assault weapons and large magazines look out of reach.

++SCOTUS will probably decide against the Voting Rights Act. Already red states are gearing up for massive voter suppression in 2014 and rigging electoral vote counts in 2016.  Weirdly enough, I am still hopeful that DOMA will be declared unconstitutional and Prop 8 will bite the dust.

++Immigration Reform is moving in the Senate and the House Republican leadership claims it can pass there.

++The Conservative Crack-up continues. No one can future out what conservatives stand for--if anything--and right now we are experiencing the flavor of the week. This week it is Rand Paul because he warns that President Obama will send a drone at you while you are drinking a latte at an outdoor cafe. Next week it will be someone different, who wants to profile Muslims. I expect Rand Paul to win the CPAC straw poll for President in 2016.