Heroes and Villains 2
Disclosure: no Heroes this time. And just one Villain. I'm a half-full sort; believe me, I have more in the "H" category to toast at later date. Regrettably, my "V" hopper is less than half empty too. I'd rather spend time on the former, but . . .
I'm focused on the one and only Emperor Greenspan, he of the long-revered and too-rarely critically-examined Fed Reserve career. Early retirement would be too good for this sorry over-economized full-of-himself bumpkin. But maybe "rogue" is better than "villain." The party was over back when he came out for the outrageous tax windfalls for Bush's already obscenely wealthy friends.
Lately AG's been breaking nails trying to break into the ranks of "Shrub Crusader" and pull some traction out of a hat for sorry old war-criminal George, who always seems to need the ministrations of a saviour. Whether it's substance abuse episodes, criminal dereliction of military reserve obligations, or that long August 2001 vacation when plentiful alerts of imminent terrorist acts suggested anyone truly concerned about national security would have been at work, lucky old George always seems to have person of limited scruples and low morals available to cover for him. Okay, yes, those are just a few of George's lowlights, among ever so many other examples of what a true believer might think of as major steps down the road to perdition.
But Heeeere's Alan! Tax cuts for the rich? No problemo! Mind-boggling budget deficits resulting from said tax cuts? Might seem a bit awkward for a supposed fiscal conservative. How 'bout we just lop off some of those danged social programs holding what's left of our society together? And what of George's plan to eviscerate Social Security, ending 70 years of one of our country's most remarkable achievements in social stability and nurturing of community? Over-the-hill but still partisan AG is working overtime with the pro-George cheerleading squad, no doubt occasionally getting misty recalling GB's own stint as a cheerleader back in New Haven.
Overall, then, Greenie isn't exactly the reliable nonpartisan econo-guru the national media has led me to think I could count on. In fact, he's increasingly showing himself to be just another one of those closeted sorts the present administration seems to attract and fawn over.
In hopes and anticipation of Greenspan's suddenly finding early retirement irresistible, what seems an excellent Greenspan Research and Assistance Program is being floated on the DailyKOS site:
As you've probably noticed, there have been several Alan Greenspan-related posts on the main page in just the past day or so. In one of those threads, blogswarmer Bob Brigham suggested that we "unleash the blogosphere" on Greenspan. It's a brilliant idea - no one is more worthy of having a halo-ectomy than St. Alan - so let's have at it.
If you're interested in joining this research project, here's my thinking on how it should proceed. (And feel free to chime in with suggestions on the process as well.) We should hunt down anything Greenspan has ever written, said or done that reflects poorly on him. This would include erroneous predictions, older statements which contradict things he's said recently, and anything that's just plain wrong, venal or stupid. The only rules are that it has to be true (of course) and sourced (preferably with a link, but if you're using Lexis, that's cool too - just tell us where it's from).
And for those of you who want to really get down and dirty in the trenches, we can turn this into a one-degree-of-separation venture. That is, if you can find similar material for anyone who is closely linked to Greenspan, that's fair game, too. Good examples would be Greenie's idol, the nutbag "objectivist" Ayn Rand, and Andrea Mitchell, his NBC reporter wife. (An aside: We can debate the merits of this approach all you like, but suffice it to say, there is no question that Republicans do the same crap to us all the time. If you still want to play by the Marquess of Queensberry rules, fine - but I've moved on to brass knuckles.)
[snip]
I'm focused on the one and only Emperor Greenspan, he of the long-revered and too-rarely critically-examined Fed Reserve career. Early retirement would be too good for this sorry over-economized full-of-himself bumpkin. But maybe "rogue" is better than "villain." The party was over back when he came out for the outrageous tax windfalls for Bush's already obscenely wealthy friends.
Lately AG's been breaking nails trying to break into the ranks of "Shrub Crusader" and pull some traction out of a hat for sorry old war-criminal George, who always seems to need the ministrations of a saviour. Whether it's substance abuse episodes, criminal dereliction of military reserve obligations, or that long August 2001 vacation when plentiful alerts of imminent terrorist acts suggested anyone truly concerned about national security would have been at work, lucky old George always seems to have person of limited scruples and low morals available to cover for him. Okay, yes, those are just a few of George's lowlights, among ever so many other examples of what a true believer might think of as major steps down the road to perdition.
But Heeeere's Alan! Tax cuts for the rich? No problemo! Mind-boggling budget deficits resulting from said tax cuts? Might seem a bit awkward for a supposed fiscal conservative. How 'bout we just lop off some of those danged social programs holding what's left of our society together? And what of George's plan to eviscerate Social Security, ending 70 years of one of our country's most remarkable achievements in social stability and nurturing of community? Over-the-hill but still partisan AG is working overtime with the pro-George cheerleading squad, no doubt occasionally getting misty recalling GB's own stint as a cheerleader back in New Haven.
Overall, then, Greenie isn't exactly the reliable nonpartisan econo-guru the national media has led me to think I could count on. In fact, he's increasingly showing himself to be just another one of those closeted sorts the present administration seems to attract and fawn over.
In hopes and anticipation of Greenspan's suddenly finding early retirement irresistible, what seems an excellent Greenspan Research and Assistance Program is being floated on the DailyKOS site:
As you've probably noticed, there have been several Alan Greenspan-related posts on the main page in just the past day or so. In one of those threads, blogswarmer Bob Brigham suggested that we "unleash the blogosphere" on Greenspan. It's a brilliant idea - no one is more worthy of having a halo-ectomy than St. Alan - so let's have at it.
If you're interested in joining this research project, here's my thinking on how it should proceed. (And feel free to chime in with suggestions on the process as well.) We should hunt down anything Greenspan has ever written, said or done that reflects poorly on him. This would include erroneous predictions, older statements which contradict things he's said recently, and anything that's just plain wrong, venal or stupid. The only rules are that it has to be true (of course) and sourced (preferably with a link, but if you're using Lexis, that's cool too - just tell us where it's from).
And for those of you who want to really get down and dirty in the trenches, we can turn this into a one-degree-of-separation venture. That is, if you can find similar material for anyone who is closely linked to Greenspan, that's fair game, too. Good examples would be Greenie's idol, the nutbag "objectivist" Ayn Rand, and Andrea Mitchell, his NBC reporter wife. (An aside: We can debate the merits of this approach all you like, but suffice it to say, there is no question that Republicans do the same crap to us all the time. If you still want to play by the Marquess of Queensberry rules, fine - but I've moved on to brass knuckles.)
[snip]
posted by Sir Gumbo at 10:30 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home