Post #400: Random Observations

"There are no words to describe Tom Degan. I have met him and he is worse in person then in print. He should consider suicide. It may be the only way he could ever be remembered."

-Anonymous posting in the New York Craigslist

Well I never!

I love that quote! I actually sent an e-mail to the person who posted it thanking him. He even answered me. As Artie Shaw once said, "There's no such thing as bad publicity". And what a happy way to begin article number four-hundred on this naughty, left wing blog. Here is a random collection of thoughts and observations that I had either carelessly scribbled in my notebook or posted on other sites. Happy reading, campers!

1. Reassessing Michael Steele

When Barack Obama entered the White House a little over three years ago, the GOP responded by appointing the first African American to chair the Republican National Committee. At the time I remarked that, true to form, they hired the dumbest black guy that was possible to find. My opinion of Michael Steele has changed considerably since then. Since he left the RNC last year, he is no longer bound by their idiotic talking points and he comes across these days as a tad more intelligent. I still disagree with most of his positions, but I must concede that the guy doesn't appear half as nuts as he used to. That's progress - I guess.

2. Democratic Cowardice

The reason the word "liberal" has become a virtual expletive in recent years is because the Democrats - instead of defending liberalism - have turned tail and fled from the term like frightened little puppies. In a pre-Superbowl interview with Bill O'Rielly on Sunday, the president refused to admit he leaned even slightly left-of-center. This being an election year, one can forgive him for playing it safe. But the Dems in general will need to "get with the program" if they know what's good for them. They risk being consigned to historical irrelevance otherwise. A third party is a'brewin'. If the party of Franklin Roosevelt refuses to remember what they're supposed to be about, they risk being left behind.

3. Rick is Moving on Up! (to the big time?)

Having won three key nomination contests yesterday in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri, things are starting to come up roses for Rick Santorum. Certain people are even starting to entertain twisted fantasies of him as the GOP nominee. That would be the answer to my prayers! Of course it ain't gonna happen. My luck has NEVER gotten that good. Oh, but what a nice thought! A campaign as utterly demented as his would produce untold volumes of laughs. Can you imagine the endless possibilities?

4. What About Scott?

My hat is off and my head is bowed to Wisconsin governor Scott Walker. It was his arrogance that inspired the nationwide movement known popularly as "Occupy Wall Street". I've always referred to it as "The Madison Revolution". After all is said and done, it was in that state's capital where the people stood up in disgust against Walker's anti-worker policies. The movement spread worldwide within a matter of months. It won't be going away anytime soon. The sleeping giant of the American Left has awoken and they're pissed! Thank you, Scott.

5. The Idiocy of Deregulation

The Deregulation of the financial marketplace was a jaw-droppingly bad idea. For fifty years Wall Street was strictly regulated and for most of that time we had the best economy in the history of the world. Then in 1981 Ronald Reagan entered our lives. He began the process of dismantling the rules that had been put in place by Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Dealers back in the thirties. We've been sitting on an economic powder keg ever since. It's about to go KABOOM!!!

6. Changing the Subject

The economy is starting to improve. This means that the remaining contenders for the Republican nomination have got to change the subject. And what a subject it is! Are you ready for this???

THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IS WAGING WAR AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH!!!

I swear to you I'm not making this stuff up. And the sad thing is that a lot of Catholics out there are swallowing the propaganda. I really love my religion but some of its practitioners (like Rick Santorum) embarrass the heck out of me. Keep your eye on this story. This may very well turn out to be the non-issue/issue of the campaign of 2012.

7. MEMO TO THE LEFT:

This is a campaign year, This is an extremely conservative country. President Obama has an election to win. He's going to piss a lot of us off this year by playing his cards as close to the center/right as he possibly can. You must remember that politically it is crucial that he do this in order to defeat Mitt Romney come November. The very last thing we need to do is stay home in a mass hissy fit. We did that in 2010 and what did it get us? Probably the worst congress since before the Civil War. Be patient.

8. J. Edgar:

With the release this year of the film bio starring Leonardo DiCaprio, I've been thinking a lot about the late director of the FBI. It's rare to find someone in American history as mind-numbingly evil as J. Edgar Hoover most certainly was. Why could he not have just come out of the closet? He and his highest ranking agent Clyde Tolson were homosexual lovers for decades. That's a photograph on the left of the two of them having a cozy breakfast together. Don't they make a cute couple? It is an inarguable fact that Hoover held blackmail information on other gay men - and women. The guy was beyond despicable.

Think of the "criminals" that the FBI spent decades investigating:

Eleanor Roosevelt, Charlie Chaplin, John Lennon, Lenny Bruce, Frank Sinatra, Eartha Kitt, Dick Gregory, Joan Baez, Marilyn Monroe (MARILYN MONROE???)....

And through it all the silly old pervert would deny the existence of organized crime. I only wish J.Edgar could have lived to see a black family living in the White House. Given his unconcealed racism, that would have driven him nuts! He has been placed where he rightfully belongs - in history's trash can. Good riddance.

9. Bernie Sanders:

I never dreamed that anyone could replace Ted Kennedy as the ultimate liberal icon, but Bernie Sanders is on his way to doing it. Bernie doesn't give a damn about political expediency. Lobbyists won't even bother knocking on his door. What would be the point? His lobby is WEEDA PEEPLE. He speaks for us. He's our champion in the senate. His great cause these days is trying to get a constitutional amendment passed that would outlaw the Supreme Court's atrocious "Citizens United" ruling and the ridiculous notion of "corporate personhood". That he has an up-mountain climb in this regard is beyond doubt. But if there's anyone that can make it happen it's Bernie Sanders. He's as good as they get.

I used to vacation in Vermont with my family and friends when I was a kid. The people up there, most of them, always seemed so sweet and reasonable. It's reflected in the persona of the man they have sent to Washington to represent them.

10. Vice President Hillary Clinton?

A terrible idea. When was the last time a vice-president was dumped from the ticket? 1944 when Franklin D. Roosevelt chose Harry Truman over Henry Wallace. FDR was a very popular president. He could get away with that sort of thing. Also, Joe Biden is a popular, well liked veep. The public loathed Henry Wallace. We really need to think this one through, kids.

A black guy and a woman on the same ticket? And a woman named Clinton at that??? As it stands now, the half-witted "base" of the Republican party will not be coming out in droves for the Moderate/Massachusetts/Mexican/Mormon Mitt. Let's not encourage them, okay?

11. And finally....a little prediction:

The second term of the Obama administration (Please, God) will see the Department of Justice commence with the long-overdue prosecutions of of the people who spent years looting America's treasure. I'm beginning to think that to have done so during the first term would have been politically untenable. After next Inauguration Day Obama will have nothing to lose and - as far as his place in history is concerned - everything to gain. A lot of folks will be paying some serious dues in the years to come.

On that happy note, thanks for reading "The Rant" these past six years, folks. As Jed Clampett might say, "I'm much obliged to you."

Cheers!

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

The photograph at the top of this hideous diatribe was taken on New Year's Eve by my nephew Peter Dermigny. Shameless product placement, I know. See the lovely Christmas lights in the background? Ain't they pretty?

PURELY FOR SHITS 'n' GIGGLES:

Ayn Rand? My goodness! The anti-Christ has come and gone. It's hard to understand how someone could take the poor gal seriously. It's amazing the source to which some persons will go to justify greed. Here is a link to a televised interview she gave to Mike Wallace in 1959. It's quite amusing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ukJiBZ8_4k

Everyone should see this. If people could observe with their own eyes the inspirational light of the modern-day GOP, they would be horrified - or, if they happen to be registered Republicans - mortified.

SUGGESTED READING:

LENNON - The Definitive Life
by Tim Riley

AFTERTHOUGHT:

In memory of James Scott "Poppy" Scesa 1930-2012

Jim was the father of my boyhood chum and partner in non-felonious crime, Paul Scesa. He died on the seventh of February having just reached his eighty-second birthday two days earlier. He was a real gem-of-a-man. A truly kind and gentle human being. Soft spoken and wise, it was indeed a fortunate thing to have lived in the same century as Jim Scesa - and I was lucky enough to have shared two with him.

Not too long before he passed away, Jeanne Farley Warren remarked that the quality of beef at "Jim's Meat Market" was always a cut above the competition. No surprise there. He was a quality guy - and a danged fine gee-tar picker if I do say so myself. Sleep well, Mr. Jim.

For every person who goes before me, I fear it less and less.