Recent Comments
Re: “Hanging with Tom Waits”
Wonderful. Great story and great storytelling.
Re: “Record Store Day: The holiday edition”
My two cents. I'm not hip at all, and I think Lunchbox is a wonderful store. When I shop there, I've never been made to feel like I don't belong in any Geek Fraternity.
Re: “Calling all music geeks: Free books”
Because friends and loved ones tell us to shut up when I'm in the same room with Mark Kemp with both of us geeking out. Wait, I'm not qualified for this contest either.
Re: “Election 2012 Notebook: An old-school celebration of four more years”
I have to hand it to Tony. When life gives you sour grapes make whine.
African Americans support the President's economic policies because they benefit from those policies, as do all Americans. Obama's policies have been successful, as the rescue of GM clearly shows. Congressional Budget Office reports show that the stimulus increased both GDP and employment.
The President's stimulus plan averted a far greater economic catastrophe - a catastrophe brought on by Conservative policy which favors tax cuts for the wealthiest sector who do not contribute to economic growth and massive deregulation of a reckless and criminal financial industry which drove the economy over the cliff. Obama's stimulus plan would have been even more effective if had been larger, but such a plan was continuously rebuffed by an obstructionist Republican controlled House of Representatives.
Moving forward to the fiscal cliff, which is actually a slope because the expiration of the Bush tax cuts as well as spending cuts that include the military roll out over time, all the President has to do is offer a sensible economic plan that includes tax increases and spending cuts. He has already made similar proposals that have been shot down by Congress, so there's no reason to believe that the Republicans will not block him again.
If that's the case, the President can use the bully pulpit to paint the Republicans into a corner. House Conservatives can either play ball, or face a drubbing in 2014. Obama holds all the cards. Sure, Republicans can claim that the President needs to move to the center, but Obama is the center, as the last election clearly proves.
Re: “Which 2012 presidential candidate should you choose?”
Jill Stein. No big surprise. But I'm a realist so I voted for Obama. Who said all the crazy stuff about the Brits? Is Lyndon LaRouche still running for pres? Is he even still alive?
Re: “What I learned from my debate watch party”
Helen, I think your understanding of "charity" in this context may be flawed. According to Politico, the Romneys gave 29.4 percent of their income to charity in 2011, while the Obamas gave 21.8 percent of their income to charity. So yes, Romney's given a bit more than Obama, but he has amassed a personal fortune of over $200 million while the Obamas make less than a million a year.
Still, Romney has the right to give as much as he wants to whoever he wants. "Whoever" happens to be the Mormon Church. In 2009 and 2010, 80% of Romney's charitable giving went to the church. Consider that a Mormon in good standing is expected to tithe 10% of his gross income to the church, and Romney's generosity looks less and less generous.
This is, by the way, the same Mormon Church that contributed $30 million of the $42 million raised to pass California's Proposition 8 which banned same sex marriage, a political cause you may agree with, but hardly a "charitable" action. In addition, through the Romney family's Tyler Foundation, Romney has donated to right wing anti-gay groups. One, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, compared gay rights activists to al Qaeda.
Rather than a leader who's generosity is more about looking out for the interests of himself and his own, we need a leader who's concerned with the interests of all Americans.
Re: “Live review: Peter Murphy, Tremont Music Hall (5/3/2013)”
Thanks pavement. I agree that All We Ever Wanted Was Everything was a highlight. On a related note, I've noticed that the set lists posted online for this tour are all over the map. There are a few constants like King Volcano and Ziggy, but otherwise no two shows are alike. This band must've rehearsed a ton of material.