Cold December
The other day my wife was in line at Target picking up some odds and ends. She was also wearing a Pearl Jam t-shirt. The clerk at the checkout line asked ‘are they a band?’ My lovely wife didn’t know what to say at first, being that Pearl Jam is pretty well known, right? But then again maybe they’re not anymore, or as much, or at all among the late teen demographic? So she told him yes it’s a band, from the Grunge era of Seattle rock. Saying this aloud somehow just made the old settle further in. I told her not to fret too much, all things pass – the Beatles were considered classic rock when we were wee little kids in the 80s, barely 20 years removed from the British Invasion (and we are now 20 years beyond the release of ‘Ten’). This didn’t really help. She’s not one who is fearful of age, but somehow this struck a chord in her. So the best thing I could come up with was to say she should feel good because this young man was looking attentively at her chest. “Well, there is that,” she said.
I’ve tried to keep up with the OWS news (our ports!), but have to say I think it’s turning into less a movement and more a sit-there occupation. I’m all for the notion of “don’t just do something, sit there” and all but there are so many muddled messages that the whole thing is becoming a caricature of itself. I’ve railed against the peripheral becoming pervasive, i.e., ‘give peace a chance,’ and ‘legalize it, man!’, but now the movement is in danger of also becoming tragically hip. Some people just go to be seen there so that they can say 20 years from now “I was part of something” without contributing anything. Locally, the movement is small and dedicated, even if we don’t see eye-to-eye, but we’re a microcosm. We did a local Occupy the Shops (Shoppes) at Briargate over the Thanksgiving weekend, and I actually enjoyed being yelled at by the upper crust of town – mostly because, just like in the more comfortable progressive areas of Colorado Springs – we ended up getting more support than expected. Sure, there were the standard ‘Get a Job’ yells (on a Saturday) and several one-finger salutes, mostly from angry young white men/NASCAR fans with no teeth, but also many waves and honks and smiles. This was good – I grew up 3 miles from those Shops, in a middle class neighborhood we moved into nearly 27 years ago, when it was arguably even more conservative than now. So seeing people show support in the reddest of red areas in the country (you don’t get much more conservative than 80920) showed me that people still believe in what the OWS movement is about. I just hope it doesn’t become a victim of itself.
On the other hand, I still hope FOX News will eat itself in some sort of post-apocalyptic, zombie-fueled political cannibalism – Geraldo Rivera can host, before being eaten alive by Ann Coulter (which is probably one of her fetishes, actually – then she would be eaten by the next twit and so forth, ultimately forcing the lone remaining remote camera to pan out and show the entire giant cannibal conservative human centipede as completely eating itself). Who would win, Hannity or O’Reilly? The answer is America.
The Republican-of-the-week (weak?) has re-outlined where he stands in screwing US in America. Newt Gingrich’s economic plan is simple – give the rich tax breaks via a regressive flat tax (coupled with low corporate taxes and no taxes on capital gains - the largest source of income for high earners). He also believes the Federal Reserve should only focus on curbing inflation alone, instead of job creation. He would also try to repeal Dodd-Frank, and Obama’s Health Care overhaul.
This is consistent, good old fashioned backwater GOP gibberish. The rich need more money, per Gingrich. The fact that the top 1% - the wealthiest - controls nearly 50% of our total wealth and would see their taxes go from 35% to 15% doesn’t matter. The fact that we’re already running record deficits, but would cut corporate and high earner taxes and have less revenue for necessary entitlement programs also doesn’t matter. The fact that unemployment is still around 9% while business profits are above pre-recession levels also doesn’t matter. The fact that companies continue to outsource for cheaper labor, something near and dear to Gingrich who led Congress in the passing of NAFTA, also doesn’t matter. The fact that the Fed’s quantitative easing helped slow down (not solve) the Great Recession doesn’t matter, nor does the fact he was against Obama’s recent jobs-infrastructure bill, which the GOP killed. The fact that Wall Street was allowed to bet against itself in inflating mortgage values and then insuring against inevitable defaults and collapsing our economy in the process without regulatory controls? Nope, doesn’t matter. The fact that kids can get treatment despite having pre-existing conditions doesn’t matter, either – at least to Newt Gingrich. It’s clear that America really doesn’t matter to Newt Gingrich.
What matters to him, and to all Republicans, is keeping the rich happy and the middle class powerless. Gingrich benefitted a plenty as a lobbyist and advisor to Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac to the tune of $1.6M during the bubble times – those same housing programs he now denounces. He also had several marital affairs (and a couple nasty divorces) which doesn’t add up considering his attacks on President Bill Clinton’s private life. He also was under investigation for tax fraud by the house when he resigned from Congress and the Speakership. He also believes the Founding Fathers wanted to put religion deeply into politics. He also on one hand said he doesn’t believe in ‘social engineering’ by the Right Wing in regard to cutting back Medicaid via a voucher system, and then flipped when he was criticized by Fatty Limbaugh. If we used the GOP back-to-the future talking point machine, he’d be called a ‘flip flopper.’
I’ll call him as I see him – Gingrich is dog shit. Romney is dog shit – they all are. They are greedy little pigs with no leadership ability, no vision, no understanding of complex concepts in finance or security, and who each possess the selflessness of an angry two-year-old with the education to match. Their faux debates have only exposed how deeply ignorant they are, and how their plans hold no wisdom. Compared to them, President Obama is not only still the smartest man in the room but also should be a step closer to Sainthood – and this coming from a guy who’s had many an issue with his on again, off again backbone. We’re leaving Iraq, and worried about Iran – and he is handling both situations as an adult should do – in moderation. If the last two elections were actual “electoral referendums,” then the 2012 election is a goddamned reckoning. Don’t let the stupid prevail.
Speaking of stupid, the Broncos continue winning at the last possible minute and have amazingly entered the top spot in the AFC West with 3 weeks to go. Some are saying it’s a miracle, that being 7-1 under the TEBOW is a sign of the divine – that God loves the Broncos more than other teams. Whatever – I don’t care what the reasons are. 8 weeks ago we were wondering what we had to do to secure the #1 pick in next year’s draft. Now we’re talking playoffs – PLAYOFFS!?! – Without batting an eye. In Timmy people trust. Whatever the reason, we’re winning - and it’s been both painful and exciting to watch. Tebow is like magical like a unicorn that poops rainbows. Think about it.
The Rockies are nothing if not predictable in the offseason – dump salaries, and go trade for “potential” as other teams actually spend money on proven talent. Hey, building from within is nice and all and we did shell out cash to Tulo and CarGo last year, but I’m not sure if dumping Jimenez, Iannetta, Street, Wigginton and Stewart for a return of unproven pitchers and a couple minor leaguers is a recipe for long-term success. I like the signing of C Ramon Hernandez – I just don’t like his 36-year-old knees. Tyler Chatwood and Kevin Slowey don’t make me want to buy season tickets. I still like the Jimenez trade itself, but not in conjunction with the rest of these moves which don’t make much sense when looking at the whole of the remaining team. Are we rebuilding yet again? We still don’t know who will play 2B or 3B, although Eric Young Jr. and Jordan Pacheo could step up – and maybe the newly acquired reclamation project that is Tyler Colvin can supplant Seth Smith in RF and give us a right handed bat? But is GM Dan O’Dowd really betting on 37-year-old Rafael Betancourt to be the closer after trading Huston Street, who despite a 3.86 ERA was still 29 or 33 in save opportunities? Street always made things interesting in the 9th, but for the most part he was effective.
Who knows – maybe Helton’s back will actually hold up and the hodgepodge of young arms – Chacin, Pomeranz, White, Nicasio, Rogers, and Chatwood plus Hammel and Slowey could hang in a weak NL West (weak because I still don’t believe the D’Backs are for real). Did I think we’d go after Prince Fielder, Jose Reyes or Albert Pujols? Never, but maybe going after CJ Wilson would’ve helped considering Jorge De La Rosa will be trying to return from Tommy John surgery. We don’t have one pitcher on the active roster who’s won more than 11 games in a year.
I’d pay attention to the Nuggets, but how? Half of our team is playing in other countries and Nene may soon sign elsewhere. George Karl will have his hands full of empty– I hope Ty Lawson and the aged Andre Miller can also learn to play forward. At least we still have the Bird Man, Chris Mr. Andersen. His hair + beard + tattoos are legendary. Timofey Mozgov and Kosta Koufos are both very tall and I think that helps. Otherwise, they’ve been as active in free agency as the Rockies. Lastly, the Avalanche are in last place 30 games into the season, which makes sense. Oh how I miss Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Patrick Roy.