Newest Contempt Citation

Ned and QA Wagstaff FRS award their latest Contempt Citation to Barack Obama for showing his true invertebrate nature by caving to the rapacious, know-nothing, lickspittle anti-intellectual Congressional Republicans by approving more tax cuts for the sneering plutocracy. How the man can sleep at night knowing so many of his poor constituents are trying to put two cents together is beyond both Ned and Prof Wagstaff.

Obama and the tax giveaway

Liberal (but farm state) Senator Tom Harkin has expressed the irritation and dismay that many feel on the subject of Obama's waffling on the extension of the Bush regime's tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. At a time when we should be sharply increasing taxes on trust fund babies like Paris Hilton as well as members of the Sneering Plutocracy, the very idea that tax cuts should be extended for these parasites FOR A MOMENT is such a transcendentally disgusting concept that Ned's head hurts with any attempt to focus on it. Of course the Republican lickspittles argue that the Plutocracy needs "certainty." Well, Ned would give them certainty in the form of increased IRS auditing of returns, in fact Ned would order auditing of all returns with gross incomes over $500k.
Ned predicts that if Obama caves in to the Republicans and agrees to renew these billionaire tax giveaways in the face of 10% unemployment and $12000 a year family health care costs (as reported by the LA Times), that he will face a serious and potentially devastating, and well-deserved, challenge in the 2012 primaries which will either result in a weakened Democratic Party and thus a Republican presidency in 2012 (1980 redux), or a serious third-party candidacy like Michael Bloomberg, or a new Democratic candidate in 2012. How Obama can let these Republican creatures get away with their soaring mendacity speaks to his apparent befuddlement at the task he faces. [On top of that, he flies around the world to visit Afghanistan while his own party and constituency is collapsing around him. And he seems intent on throwing away more trillions of borrowed money in an apparent attempt to degrade or bomb the Arab world back into the arms of the 7th century.]
In either case, Obama will be a one-term failure and good riddance.

Caving on Taxes?

Ned hears with growing anger and dismay reports that the Obama people are signaling their intention to cave in to the Republican lickspittles and agree to extend the plutocrat tax cuts. If this is true, the last bit of principle will have vanished from this ill-starred administration like so much dust in a Nevada wind storm. What principles have the Obama people stuck to? Where have they drawn any lines in the sand? Where is any sign of bedrock philosophy and integrity to counter the sanctimonious hypocritical cant on the part of the modern Republican Party? What do Democrats stand for? Ned concludes with disgust and sadness they will agree to any indignity to stay in power, like Neville Chamberlain during the 1930s who would do anything Hitler wanted to preserve "peace in our time" but who was played by Hitler for the fool that he was.
Have the Republicans not publicly said they intend to do whatever it takes to destroy his presidency?
In the end of course Chamberlain got war, not peace, and had he had a spine, he could at least have had war on his terms and not on the terms of the Nazis.
There is the lesson for Obama, but it seems he is too spineless and "pragmatic" to take it.
Ned predicts that if Obama does cave on taxes he will face powerful opposition in the 2012 primaries, and Ned intends to support anyone who will display a spine towards the sneering plutocracy and their toady enablers.

Tax cuts

Ned has been graciously asked his opinion on the "tax cuts" issue.

Ned believes that Obama is pandering to the lower upper classes to secure
their support by calling for extension of tax cuts to those making up to $250k. If he was really concerned with the people who are struggling in this country he'd immediately cut the military budget by 1/2 and use the proceeds ($400 billion or so) to rebuild this country's
infrastructure using American workers.
Having said all that, the Republicans, in their lickspittle sycophancy to the sneering plutocrats that despise them even as they greedily bask in
their adoration, are so far worse that they inhabit another philosophical solar system.