Back From The Brink--Maybe

Stopped thinking of George Lincoln Rockwell for a moment, and surfed the net only to find that sociologists have found Americans are increasingly identifying Democracy with Socialism. Not great news unless you believe the country is about to embrace social democracy.

Ron Brownstein in the National Journal points out that Barack Obama has had the most successful run of legislative accomplishments since LBJ. The story is about two months late, considering it was reported in the wire services and noted by Norm Ornstein of AEI that Obama had the highest success rate of any President in terms of legislation passing. Consider this in the context of the Republicans doubling their number of filibusters last year and already approaching last year's record already. But at least Brownstein has it right.

Michelle Bachmann was back on the tube complaining about the census, which is mandated by the constitution for all rightwingers. She claims that FDR used the census to round up all the Japanese Americans for the internment camps. Haven't a clue if this is remotely true. I do know the FEMA camps Glenn Beck warned his listeners of were created by Ronald Reagan and ,yes, they were readied by George W. Bush.

But I have a complaint about the Census form. It didn't ask me about my pet cat, the number of toilets I had or how many televisions (none). So what's the beef? The conservative backlash against the census has been hurting Republican districts in Texas, where there seems to be a low return rate. Which only means that congressional districts get changed.

The Research 2000 poll has Obama dinged a point--down to 55%, while other polls show high 40s. He is mirroring Ronald Reagan's numbers at the beginning of his term. Reagan descended to 35% at the depth of the recession in the 1980s.

But the key numbers I felt were the improvements of ratings for Democrats in Congress and both Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. All polls show the enthusiasm gap between the parties has disappeared. And I felt the most important number was that 40% believed the country was going in the right direction. If that number keeps improving, the mid-terms may well be tighter than pundits keep predicting.

The employment numbers were disappointing to me... until I realized that it was the first time since December 2007 that the American economy actually produced jobs. While some of this were temporary census jobs, manufacturing has picked up and numbers from that sector over the last quarter indicate that American manufacturing might not be completely dead.

The Democratic Party seems to be outraising the sexytime GOP. But we haven't seen the rush of corporate money yet. The first corporate-sponsored print ad for a candidate came out last week, promoting a Republican candidate in Texas. It was complete with corporate logo.

Judge Stevens is set to make his decision on when he will retire. Supposedly it will be sometime this month. The Obama Administration already has a full line-up of candidates. And, surprise, the Republicans vow to block it. They will never forgive what happened to Bob Bork and the humiliation suffered by Clarence "Tea Bag " Thomas. Elephants have long memories.

Rachel Maddow will be narrating a special on MSNBC on the Oklahoma City Bombing. I don;t know whether that's such a hot idea right now, given the open-gun rallies being held in my neughborhood for the event.

The militias are proud of their letters to the 50 governors, telling them to resign or else. Gov. Rendell was on Keith Olbermann saying that "if they tell you they're coming, they aren't". But militia networks are bragging that governors are forced to move around in hotels escorted by the FBI. I'm sure completely false but they promise that things are coming to a head.

A California judge made a devastating ruling in favor of ACORN, blasting the edited film footage by young conservative Jim O'Keefe. This is the third court that has ruled ACORN did nothing illegal.

I received a fund-raiser from Congressman Paul Ryan, which outlines his "Roadmap for America's Future". He urges us to donate to his PAC so that the Democrats don't create a European-style social welfare system. We're the greatest country the world has ever known and it isn't the federal government that got us there. It was me! He promises to preserve Medicare and Social Security for me but no one younger than 55 and only modestly increase the age I can collect. And, Thank God, he wants to eliminate the corporate tax and replace it with a consumption tax of 8.5%. And we will have only a 10% income tax on the first $100,000 one makes and then only 25% on amounts above that. So, I can pay more taxes than I do uunder Barack Obama with a plan that runs deficits that make the present ones look like child's play.

But I am reassured that his plan "ensures the opportunity for individuals to fulfill their human potential and enjoy the satisfaction of their own achievements--and it secures the distinctly American legacy of leaving the next generation better off"--better off dead.

For everyone living in California, some of Ryan's schemes may sound familiar. Carly Fiorina, putative Republican candidate and advisor to John McCain, during the 2008 Presidential campaign called for the same corporate tax cuts because of the shining example of "The Celtic Tiger". Barbara Boxer should ask her how that Celtic Tiger stuff turned out. It's doubtful Ireland will return to the modrn economy anytime soon. It's only a matter of time after the corporations looted her that a new potato famine will strike.

I'm not sure what this has to do with American Exceptionalism--getting rich as you want. Why not Saudi exceptionalism? Everywhere I've worked in the third world you can get as rich as you want and never pay any taxes. Failed states provide some of the greatest opportunities to get rich.

Off before I really start ranting.