Sunday Tweets

In his second Inaugural in 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke famously of "one-third of a nation, ill fed, ill housed and ill clothed."  This week the U.S. Census Bureau released a study showing that 100 million Americans--one third of the nation--is living in poverty or in "near poverty," or what the New York Times called "that fretful zone just above" the poverty line. “These numbers are higher than we anticipated,” said Trudi J. Renwick, the bureau’s chief poverty statistician. “There are more people struggling than the official numbers show.”

With this in mind, judge for yourself a segment I caught on the Saturday CBS Evening News, about "successful" programs to defeat unemployment.  One example was a previously unemployed woman who now has a job at a call center, dunning and threatening other poor people who are behind on their credit card payments.  Another "success story" is a new company that employs ex-military to clean the homes of the rich.  From combat in Iraq to cleaning toilets of a McMansion.  Thanks, America.

The Occupy movement is currently embroiled in actions and reactions to coordinated efforts to dislodge their encampments in various cities.  I saw a story on this, followed by a story on a Congressional vote to defeat another infrastructure bill.  By the logic of events, it seems to me inevitable that sooner or later, all these local Occupy movements will have to go to where the fateful decisions are being made.  They are going to have to Occupy Washington.  An encampment of thousands from all over America, outside the U.S. Capitol for as long as it takes. 

As GOPer presidential primary politics becomes an ever-greater public disgrace, it seems obvious now what the outcome is going to be.  Newt Romney is finally showing his hand in Iowa and will be openly campaigning there.  He is either going to win the Iowa caucuses or Ron Paul will.  Either outcome will take any remaining drama out of the New Hampshire primary, which Romney will win, and it's unlikely that any one candidate will defeat him.  It is very unlikely that the current Mitt Gingrich boomlet will last long enough to challenge Romney, especially now that his campaign is going into high gear in the early states.

Meanwhile, President Obama is still rising in the polls. On Veterans Day he attended a college basketball game between Michigan and North Carolina on the deck of the U.S. Naval vessel Carl Vinson, reportedly in the company of Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.  Now the Obama campaign has announced an "Obama Classic," a series of basketball games to raise money for the campaign, featuring current NBA stars.  And the roster just so far is impressive.