The Hollywood Liberal

Heaven’s Galt!
Tough week for folks that earned it.

pic from monkey_bob99x at flickr.com

It has been a bad weekend for the nation’s aspiring Dagny Taggarts and Howard Roarks.

First, their shellacked hero got his tender feelings hurt by the President from the front row.

Then, the book that forms the naive nature of their political philosophy had reviews that showed it to be on par with ‘Freddy Got Fingered‘.

And then, Sunday morning, there was this from one of their club:

“I think we need to let the so-called Bush tax cuts all to expire,” Greenpsan said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press.”

Greenspan, who led the Fed from 1986 to 2007, said the federal tax rates should go back to what they were under President Bill Clinton. In 2001 and 2003, Bush lowered the tax rates for almost all Americans.

Paul Ryan was last seen struggling to swallow his jujube between sobs.

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Late, Late Night FDL: The Power of Love
Huey Lewis & The News – The Power of Love

Huey Lewis & The News – The Power of Love

What’s on your mind tonite…?

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Throw Out the Money Changers
These are remarks Chris Hedges made in Union Square in New York City last Friday during a protest outside a branch office of the Bank of America.

By Chris Hedges

These are remarks Chris Hedges made in Union Square in New York City last Friday during a protest outside a branch office of the Bank of America.

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World Book Day

By Kap, Cagle Cartoons, Spain

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Robert Kuttner: Touch of Class
President Obama did two things in his address at George Washington University that he has been loath to do throughout his presidency. He spoke like a progressive partisan. And he spoke of that great unmentionable in centrist Democratic policies — the injuries of class. The progressive framing of the issue could blow the Republicans back to the fringe, minority position they were in when the financial collapse occurred and Obama won election. Well done, and long overdue.

Pawlenty Faces Stiff Competition From Bachmann For Tea Party Support
DES MOINES, Iowa — Republican Tim Pawlenty, “T-Paw” to his supporters, has increasingly tied himself to the new crop of grass-roots activists in the 2012…

The Budget Skirmish & How Obama Handles His Role In Shaping Domestic Policy
As is his custom, President Obama erred on the side of caution in confronting this country’s grave fiscal crisis. On Wednesday he gave a good…

Asher Smith: Why Donald Trump Is No Wendell Willkie
Is Donald Trump Wendell Willkie, the 1940 presidential candidate plucked from the private sector during the 1940 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia? The comparison is tempting.

Al Eisele: A Scouting Report on the 2012 GOP Hopefuls
The good news is that there are a couple of decent prospects who might be ready to play in the big leagues. The bad news is that overall, this is the weakest lineup since the ’62 New York Mets.

Detroit Sends Layoff Notices To Every Public School Teacher
Every one of Detroit’s public school teachers is receiving a layoff notice — but that doesn’t mean they will all be fired. The layoff notices were sent to the 5,466 unionized teachers “in anticipation of a workforce reduction to match…

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Drifter Arrested In Connection With Synagogue Explosion
A 60 year old man, described by the FBI as an “extremely dangerous” transient, was arrested on Monday evening in Ohio, in connection with a powerful explosion that rocked a synagogue on Thursday morning in Santa Monica, California….

Modern Republican Magazine

Quote of the Day
“What we need is for you to stand up, GOP, and fight. GOP leaders need to learn how to fight like a girl.”

— Sarah Palin, quoted by CNN.

Brilliant Politician or Timid Leader?
David Gergen: “As a politician, Obama was also smart Wednesday in leaving so little for Republicans to shoot at in his own ‘plan’. On every hard policy question — e.g., would you start taxing employees for health benefits paid by employers — he said he would leave the answers to someone else. On a national dilemma that will inevitably require public sacrifices, he didn’t put forward a single, concrete proposal of his own that would disturb a majority of voters. Clever!”

“But it is that very cleverness that undermines his reputation as a leader. We look up to leaders who have been willing to make hard choices on their own, put them forward with courage and rally people to join them — think of Lincoln, Churchill, Mandela and many more. The historian Michael Beschloss wrote a stirring book about the courage of past presidents. Where is that courage in the White House today?”

Paul Ryan’s $30 Trillion Burden, Where Is Peter Peterson?
Paul Ryan is proving more useful than any of could have possibly dreamed. His plan, as analyzed by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), drives home the simple truth that the long-term budget problem is a health care problem. Ryan radically…

Impulsive Interventionists
Last Friday Peggy Noonan took supporters of the Libya intervention to task for basing US foreign policy on raw emotions and rash impulses. She sees a problem with responding out of a sense of regret over the failure in Rwanda…

Mr. President: Why Medicare Isn’t the Problem, It’s the Solution
I hope when he tells America how he aims to tame future budget deficits the President doesn’t accept conventional Washington wisdom that the biggest problem in the federal budget is Medicare (and its poor cousin Medicaid). Medicare isn’t the problem….

Van Jones At Power Shift 2011: ?While They?re Stuck On Stupid In DC, Your Generation Is Rising?

In a passionate keynote address on Friday, green jobs leader Van Jones exhorted the 10,000 youth climate activists at the Power Shift conference in Washington DC to “shift the power” and lead the clean power revolution. He argued that both parties need to be held accountable for their failures, and that activists must explain that the climate movement isn’t just about “hippie power” but that it is a vision of liberty and justice for all.

Van Jones had harsh words for the national political establishment. “You have to be wise enough to hold both parties to high standards,” he said:

While they’re stuck on stupid in DC, your generation is rising.

Van Jones also discussed President Barack Obama, who hired him as a green jobs adviser but then let him go after Jones’ politics and person came under a relentless barrage from Fox News’ Glenn Beck. Jones argued that President Obama is like the friend who has the potential to be an A-plus student, but is only getting C’s and D’s. Jones told the assembled youth from campuses around the nation they can be a “hero for making sure your friend gets an A-plus on his presidency.”

Van Jones described how we have a civilization “fueled by death” — fossil fuels from plants and animals that died millions of years ago:

We pull out of the ground death. We burn death in our power plants. Why do we get shocked when we get death in our sky as global warming, death in our oceans as oil spills, death in our children’s lungs as asthma and cancer?

The strongest moments of his speech came when he discussed America’s basic principles, in the context of arguing with “your uncle Joe” who watches Fox News at the Thanksgiving table. “Don’t you believe in liberty?” Van asked. “Shouldn’t we have the right as Americans to be energy producers?” he asked. “Shouldn’t we have the right and liberty to be free from energy companies who dictate how much we pay, what air we breathe?” Coal and oil companies try to divide us with cultural stereotypes and political ideology, when a green economy is actually the truly American economy:

The stereotype is that solar power is just hippie power. But it’s also cowboy power, farmer power, rancher power, and Appalachian mountain power!

Van Jones addressed the Tea Party movement that sees him as a “terrorist” and “communist.” “I’m glad our sisters and brothers in the Tea Party are talking about liberty,” he said. However, he said, they’re missing something important. The Pledge of Allegiance doesn’t just talk about liberty being integral to our nation:

The Pledge of Allegiance says liberty and justice for all!

With his voiced raised to the diverse crowd, Van Jones said “justice for all” includes justice for minorities, justice for women, justice for gays, and justice for the poor.

“Shift the power!” Van Jones concluded to thunderous applause.

Photo by Josh Lopez. Follow @PowerShift11 on Twitter.

Palin: Wis. doing the right thing
Sarah Palin defended Wisconsin’s governor at a tea party tax day rally Saturday in Madison, Wis., telling hundreds of supporters that his polarizing union rights law is designed to save public jobs. (Apr. 17)

2012 GOP presidential hopeful explore digital future, news ways to capitalize on social media
NEW YORK — Republican Tim Pawlenty disclosed his 2012 presidential aspirations on Facebook. Rival Mitt Romney did it with a tweet. President Barack Obama kicked off his re-election bid with a digital video emailed to the 13 million online backers who helped power his historic campaign in 2008.

Triangulation shapes the Republican 2012 presidential race
Triangulation is back. But this time, it’s the GOP version.

The Case for Rationing Healthcare
Gregg Bloche, Los Angeles Times

China May Tell Geithner to Take a Hike
William Pesek, Bloomberg
William PesekTimothy Geithner says borrowing more from China to finance tax cuts for the most affluent Americans would be irresponsible. The Treasury secretary has it backward. The real question is whether Beijing is willing to double down on a nation whose balance sheet makes Italy look good. Holding $1.2 trillion of U.S. debt is a fast-growing risk to China. Traders have a theory about why the euro is reasonably stable amid a broadening debt crisis: Asian central banks are converting proceeds from recent intervention moves into other currencies. "Asian central banks" has…

Bing West: Military Turning Into Peace Corps
Elisabeth Bumiller, NYT
NEWPORT, R.I. No armchair general here: Bing West has climbed mountains in Afghanistan with American combat troops, watched rocket-propelled grenades streak over his head and come close to dying of cholera. At a lean and flinty 70, he can dodge bullets along with the 20-year-olds he accompanies on infantry foot patrols, although he admits he does it by leaving the body armor behind — an eye-popping risk — and wearing a Boston Red Sox cap instead of a helmet. He can think of no better life. “If I wasn’t around, he’d…

Donald Trump & Our Celebrity-Driven Culture
John Ziegler, Daily Caller
After the 2008 election, I spent an enormous amount of time and money documenting the media-induced ignorance of Obama voters for my documentary film, "Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted." The video I shot of Obama voters on Election Day has been seen by over 2.5 million people (not including millions more via television coverage) on YouTube.The two scientific polls I commissioned to back up the video proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that Obama voters were frighteningly misinformed about basic facts like which party controlled Congress. While…

Huckabee’s Team Eager to Gear Up in S.C.
Scott Conroy, RealClearPolitics
COLUMBIA, S.C. — “You have to have South Carolina to win,” Mike Huckabee said last month during a stop here on his latest book tour. Or was it really just a “book” tour?The former Arkansas governor has been clear that he will not take another stab at the presidency unless he thinks he can win. As he gauges his chances of mounting a successful White House run, no state looms larger in his calculus than South Carolina. Receive news alertsAnd his most recent visit to the first-in-the-South primary state gave him some reason to be encouraged.As his bus rolled through the…