Thursday, March 15, 2012

Thursday's Thoughts on Current Events

On the local scene our Arizona legislators have come up with another winner. The latest laughable labor of love in the state's continuing exercise in the ridiculous is House Bill 2625. This bill makes it OK for employers to pull contraceptive coverage from their health plans unless the female in question provides them with a good reason other than birth control. The legislator interviewed on Channel 5 said it was a matter of 1st Amendment Rights for the employer, but obviously not for the employee. It looks like Rush Limbaugh has a good following in our state capitol.

First it was guns on college campuses and now this. Does anyone know what planet we get these folks from?

On the national scene, gas prices are continuing in the news. The left (that's everyone but Republicans, (just ask them) thinks that Eric Holder ought to get after the oil speculators and calm down their activities. But it's not happening. The Right (that's Republicans, Tea partiers, flat earthers, birthers, climate change deniers) are content to beat the incumbent administration over the head with high gas prices right up to election day. (and thereafter if Mr. Obama is reelected.) So absolutely nothing positive is being done about the situation.

The financial press is reporting on an ex Goldman Sachs employee who published his resignation letter in the New York Times. The takeaway from this is that brokers routinely referred to their clients as Muppets. Ya gotta love those financial guys. Muppets are cute and funny, aren't they?

Speaking of financial guys, Matt Taibbi's piece at the Rolling Stone on Bank of America being too crooked to fail is a peach, or a prune depending on which side of the financial oligarchy you find yourself. He calls out the people, the company, and their actions. He also blames both the Obama and Bush Administrations for letting this company and others get away with massive felonies in the name of saving our economy. The list of malefactors and their crimes is quite impressive. In the days of Elliott Ness it would have been enough to put away the worst of the Mafia Kingpins, but in our time it just doesn't cut it. Amazing!

I hear there's some sort of Republican primary going on, but I try not to pay too much attention. The top two guys don't impress me much, but really no one in either party with the exception of Bernie Sanders, does much for me these days.

Then there's the latest mess in Afghanistan. If ever there was a poster boy for PTSD I'm guessing this guy is it. I feel bad for the families he killed, the people of Afghanistan, and our troops.

RT






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