1. Left-wingers have a new must-view on weekend morns on MSNBC: “Up,” with Chris Hayes.
Sunday morning, 8-10.
Smart, articulate, informed, this male version of Rachel Maddow…if that description isn’t too confusing, is required viewing for our Left-leaning colleagues who want to be au fait…and should be on the radar of Right-wingers who need their ire sharpened.
2. The line-up of guests are way-Lefties, and a lukewarm Rightie, de rigueur for this kind of format. But the level is well above the Olbermann, Norah O’Donnell, Eugene Robinson, Sharpton kind of Leftist-show.
3. The past Sunday, the lion’s portion of the show dealt with the failed “supercommittee.” The thesis put forth is that the committee was designed to fail so as to destine cuts to the ‘safety net' and the closed-door format designed to “insulate the members from democratic accountability.”
4. Another theme was the intransigence of the Republicans, with Grover Norquist as villain-in-chief. There was general moaning over the “fact” that compromise moves the discussion to the right because of said intransigence.
a. Ezra Klein provided graphs to show the popularity of raising taxes on the ‘high income’ individuals. (Every member of the panel was in favor of raising taxes.)
b. All agreed: Obama should veto any attempt to fix the automatic cuts to the military. “…this is so frustrating to real people..” (sob).
c. OK…I added the (sob).
d. Chris Hayes inserted this editorial: “Any relationship between deficits and drags on the growth of the economy are incredibly unclear….and interest rates don’t go up!!” And “Everything you’ve said (about dangers of debt) projections I believe firmly with all my heart about climate change!!” (He said this fervently!)
5. Next, the EU crisis was painted as a contagion, an epidemic…’Germany couldn’t sell bonds!’...and the super-duper not-to-be-doubted expert brought in was Robert Johnson, “leading expert on global finance, …managing director at Soros Fund Management, and at the ‘Institute for New Economic Thinking.”
a. His analysis: austerity doesn’t work.
b. It is a myth that Germans are the ‘worker bees’ of the EU
c. Calvinist morality is to blame for the idea that austerity will solve the problem…i.e. ‘we must pay for our sins: austerity is penitence.’
d. Supercommittees were not set up to represent the debtors…we’re all about the creditors..
6. As a representative of Soros, Johnson went on to state that the US must put up whatever resources it takes to bail out the EU: more stimulus.
7. Next, Paul Starr, former Clinton advisor on healthcare, came on to wring his hands over the idea that ObamaCare may be overturned.
The Show is two hours….and much of it was exhilarating…in a positive or negative direction, depending on your political views….but I recommend it as a prerequiste for
serious USMB members!
Sunday morning, 8-10.
Smart, articulate, informed, this male version of Rachel Maddow…if that description isn’t too confusing, is required viewing for our Left-leaning colleagues who want to be au fait…and should be on the radar of Right-wingers who need their ire sharpened.
2. The line-up of guests are way-Lefties, and a lukewarm Rightie, de rigueur for this kind of format. But the level is well above the Olbermann, Norah O’Donnell, Eugene Robinson, Sharpton kind of Leftist-show.
3. The past Sunday, the lion’s portion of the show dealt with the failed “supercommittee.” The thesis put forth is that the committee was designed to fail so as to destine cuts to the ‘safety net' and the closed-door format designed to “insulate the members from democratic accountability.”
4. Another theme was the intransigence of the Republicans, with Grover Norquist as villain-in-chief. There was general moaning over the “fact” that compromise moves the discussion to the right because of said intransigence.
a. Ezra Klein provided graphs to show the popularity of raising taxes on the ‘high income’ individuals. (Every member of the panel was in favor of raising taxes.)
b. All agreed: Obama should veto any attempt to fix the automatic cuts to the military. “…this is so frustrating to real people..” (sob).
c. OK…I added the (sob).
d. Chris Hayes inserted this editorial: “Any relationship between deficits and drags on the growth of the economy are incredibly unclear….and interest rates don’t go up!!” And “Everything you’ve said (about dangers of debt) projections I believe firmly with all my heart about climate change!!” (He said this fervently!)
5. Next, the EU crisis was painted as a contagion, an epidemic…’Germany couldn’t sell bonds!’...and the super-duper not-to-be-doubted expert brought in was Robert Johnson, “leading expert on global finance, …managing director at Soros Fund Management, and at the ‘Institute for New Economic Thinking.”
a. His analysis: austerity doesn’t work.
b. It is a myth that Germans are the ‘worker bees’ of the EU
c. Calvinist morality is to blame for the idea that austerity will solve the problem…i.e. ‘we must pay for our sins: austerity is penitence.’
d. Supercommittees were not set up to represent the debtors…we’re all about the creditors..
6. As a representative of Soros, Johnson went on to state that the US must put up whatever resources it takes to bail out the EU: more stimulus.
7. Next, Paul Starr, former Clinton advisor on healthcare, came on to wring his hands over the idea that ObamaCare may be overturned.
The Show is two hours….and much of it was exhilarating…in a positive or negative direction, depending on your political views….but I recommend it as a prerequiste for
serious USMB members!
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but that at least you have an open mind.
