It’s time for today’s open thread so let’s get started. What’s on your mind?
All I can say about this is delicious! Former Fox News anchor Eric Burns speaks out (I hear the David Andersons now – commie lib!):
I speak out now because it is the time of year when one is supposed to count blessings. I have several. Among them is that I do not have to face the ethical problem of sharing an employer with Glenn Beck.
Actually, Beck is a problem of taste as well as ethics. He laughs and cries; he pouts and giggles; he makes funny faces and grins like a cartoon character; he makes earnest faces yet insists he is a clown; he cavorts like a victim of St. Vitus’s Dance. His means of communicating are, in other words, so wide-ranging as to suggest derangement as much as versatility.
He is Huey Long without the political office.
He is Father Coughlin without the dour expression.
He is John Birch without the Society.
He is an embarrassment to all true conservatives, men and women who believe sincerely, thoughtfully and sensibly that the role of government in American life should be limited.
Of course, Beck does not call himself a conservative; he is, rather, a libertarian, which may be defined as a conservative-squared, a person who wants the feds to collect no money in taxes, spend no money on programs, but make available all services that the libertarian deems necessary for his own convenience and safety.
Burns doesn’t let Hannity and O’Reilly off the hook either in his essay. I think it’s nice to know that there are conservatives out there that recognize the lunacy of Beck and are fighting against it. Good luck, it must be a lonely club.
Republicans are unveiling their new job-creation plan. It’s a free lunch!
Speaking at the Heritage Foundation in Washington the day before President Obama’s “jobs summit,” Cantor outlined what he called “a no-cost jobs plan.”
Let’s pause, for a second, to appreciate the brilliant rhetorical framing. A no-cost jobs plan! Without adding a single dime to the deficit, the Republican’s plan will ameliorate the worst unemployment crisis in 30 years. One wonders how a political party capable of such innovative thinking ever lost its hold of power.
It’s warmed over Bushism and magical thinking. Remember, these are the people that call themselves fiscal conservatives.
To recap: Cut regulations. Freeze spending. Cut taxes. No new taxes. That’s the plan.
OK, I’m no economist but someone explain to me how cutting spending has ever created a job.