TRUE HEIR TO MARGARET THATCHER - BOBBY JINDAL

What she did do was redistribute the burden of taxation downward, cutting top income tax rates while raising consumption taxes, which fall most heavily on low incomes. Her downfall came with the poll tax, a drastically regressive tax — the same amount for everyone, regardless of income — that was too much even for her own party.

And what that means is that her truest heir in America is … Bobby Jindal, the not-so-whizzy whiz-kid governor of Louisiana, who proposed scrapping his state’s income tax and replacing it with sales taxes.
....

But strange to say, it’s not just Acela riders who hate this idea; so do the citizens of Louisiana, who disapprove by 63 to 27 percent. Jindal’s own approval has collapsed, so he’s having his own poll tax moment.

Bobby will be so proud.  Who knows but that Krugman's "tribute" might push Bobby's poll numbers up a bit?

QUOTE OF THE DAY - LOUISIANA STATE SENATOR J. P. MORRELL

"We cannot cut our way to excellence."

Someone in Louisiana had to say it. Thank you, Sen. Morrell (D-New Orleans).

ST MAGGIE AND ST RONNIE

 

I hear from English friends that the media there is trying to pretty up Margaret Thatcher's legacy, though they are not quite as fawning over there as the media here in the US. So. We have to put up with St Ronnie over here. Why shouldn't the English have St Maggie over there? It's only fair. Besides, the two were such good friends.

"JINDAL SCRAPS TAX PLAN"

SOMETIMES WE WIN!

Gov. Bobby Jindal bowed to public sentiment Monday and shelved his plan to immediately eliminate income taxes and raise sales tax.

The governor admitted defeat on the first day of the legislative session during a speech to a joint gathering of the Louisiana House and Senate.

Jindal said he heard the complaints that he moved too fast and that his approach was not the best one.

House Democrats, religious leaders, public research groups, the business community and even the governor’s own accounting consultant found fault with his proposal to eliminate the state’s personal income and corporate taxes in favor of a higher state sales tax rate and a broadening of the sales tax base.

“Let me do something politicians don’t normally do,” Jindal said. “We’re going to adjust our course. We’re going to park our tax plan.”

Jindal's withdrawal of the plan demonstrates what citizens can accomplish by working together.  Hardly anyone except Jindal and his close advisers liked the tax plan, which was poorly crafted, with numbers that did not add up.   Perhaps Jindal and his inner circle have learned a lesson about opening up their planning process to outside advice, rather than operating in secrecy and holding plans close to the chest until the eleventh hour before the legislature convenes.  Still, Jindal and cohorts are crafty, so citizens must must remain vigilant and not let down the guard, for further nefarious schemes are likely to emerge.

The people of Louisiana have won only a reprieve from the negative consequences of Jindal's tax plan and are left with many problems still to be solved.  Political leaders in the state need to accept the reality of raising revenue to prevent further depredations on programs, institutions, and infrastructure than have already happened during the first term of the Jindal administration, but I doubt the will is there in either the governor or the legislature.  The repeated rounds of mid-year budget cuts because of faulty projections of revenue must be addressed to enable state programs and institutions to operate with a measure of stability.

BARONESS MARGARET THATCHER IS DEAD

What to say?  I'd like to say R.I.P., Maggie, but what I will say is borrowed from an idea of my good friend Pj on Facebook.

May the Zooniverse look kindly upon Margaret Thatcher. And should the Almighty Ones see fit to send her on another journey through this earthly realm (once she graduates from the re-education center along with her bast mate Ronnie), may they remember to equip her with a heart.

Gold, pure gold.  My comment:

"While Maggie and Ronnie are in the great re-education center in the sky, I'd hope they'd be forced to meet up with people who were hurt by their governance, which might speed up the growth of hearts for the two."

So before I say R.I.P, I'd like that bit of re-education to happen.  Perhaps if Maggie and Ronnie met with the people who suffered from their policies, they might grow hearts that feel empathy and suffer a little for a spell as their eyes are opened.  Pj says further:

If only they could come back and tell their followers what they've learned. 

If only....  Pj, you are an inspiration.

Maggie will have a state funeral a ceremonial funeral with full military honours, without a fly-by at her own request, all the wonderful trimmings, as only the Brits can do it.  Thatcher was all for people taking care of themselves and not depending on the government, but the costs of the funeral will be great, and we know who will pay.

The leaders of both Britain and the United States seem to have got carried away in their initial statements.  We're told not to speak ill of the dead, nor are we to dance on their graves, but surely the commentary from both men is over the top - way over. 

David Cameron, who is cutting short his trip to Europe to return to London following the news, said: "It was with great sadness that l learned of Lady Thatcher's death. We've lost a great leader, a great prime minister and a great Briton."

He told the BBC: "As our first woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher succeeded against all the odds, and the real thing about Margaret Thatcher is that she didn't just lead our country, she saved our country, and I believe she will go down as the greatest British peacetime prime minister."
....

In a statement, President Barack Obama said that, "the world has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend."

"Here in America, many of us will never forget her standing shoulder to shoulder with President Reagan, reminding the world that we are not simply carried along by the currents of history—we can shape them with moral conviction, unyielding courage and iron will."

He added that her premiership was "an example to our daughters that there is no glass ceiling that can't be shattered". (My emphasis)

Thatcher is not the first woman who would leap to my mind as "an example" for my granddaughter or any other young girl or woman I knew.  Ruthlessness is no compliment to either sex, nor is it character trait worthy of recommendation to those of an impressionable age.

Perhaps the Reformers of Christianity made a mistake when they threw out Purgatory.  My vision for Purgatory would be an afterlife Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in which not just Margaret Thatcher, but all of us confront those whom we have hurt, acknowledge what we have done, and experience at least part of the pain we have inflicted on them.  Then we ask and receive forgiveness and move ahead together through the Pearly Gates.

I much preferred writing about the other English Maggie. 

FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION

BOTTICELLI, Sandro
Cestello Annunciation
1489-90
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

(Luke 1:26-38)

Soon after receiving the angel's message, Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist, and prays one of the greatest prayers in the Scriptures.

 Magnificat

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in you, O God my Savior,
for you have looked with favor on your lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
you, the Almighty, have done great things for me,
and holy is your Name.
You have mercy on those who fear you
from generation to generation.
You have shown strength with your arm,
and scattered the proud in their conceit,
Casting down the mighty from their thrones,
and lifting up the lowly.
You have filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
You have come to the help of your servant Israel,
for you have remembered your promise of mercy,
The promise made to our forebears,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

(Luke 1:46-55)

In Botticeli's painting, Mary seems to be recoiling from the angel, which makes me wonder about the artist's intention.  (Botticelli is not alone in depicting Mary shrinking away.)  Does he suggest that Mary recoils from the very sight of the angel, or is she shrinking from the message brought by the angel that she will be the mother of the Son of God?  Does Mary think, "Oh no!  Please, not me, " before she reflects and says, "...let it be with me according to your word"?

Tobias Haller posted his own lovely poem on the Annunciation, which suggests that Mary saw no angel at all.  Along with the poem is a beautiful icon of the Madonna and Child, written in his own hand.   

Image from the Web Gallery of Art.

ABOUT DAME MAGGIE

The choices of English newspapers that I can read without a subscription are narrowing.The Independent is stingy, allowing only 3 free reads per month, and the Times of London simply will not allow non-subscribers to read at all.  The Spectator would not let me in, because I had exceeded my allowance, and I had not clicked on their site for ages.  What's that about?  Anyway, I can still read the Guardian (Thank heaven!), but for how long?  And The Daily Mail, in which there's a lovely article about Maggie Smith.

Dame Maggie and I are the same age, but she lost the love of her life, the playwright Beverley Cross. Her words about her loss are poignant.

'Is it lonely?’ She replied: ‘I don’t know. It seems a bit pointless. Going on one’s own and not having someone to share it with.’

Warming to the theme of aging she also said she didn’t like it and added: ‘I don’t know who does. Noel Coward-- and I don’t mean to name drop.

'But he said,”The awful thing about getting old is that you have breakfast every half-hour.” And that’s sort of what it is. I can’t understand why everything has to go so fast.‘

Nor do I understand why everything must go so fast.

Interviewer Steve Kroft asks her: ‘But you have no interest in finding someone else?’

Dame Maggie replies: ‘Absolutely not. I – no way’.

We're together there.  I don't think there's any way that I could learn to live in intimacy with another person at my age.  And by intimacy, I do not necessarily mean sex. Dame Maggie and I have in common that we are both survivors of breast cancer.

If Maggie continues to work, I'll be more than grateful.  In the late 1980s, from a second row seat at the Gielgud Theatre in London, I had the great pleasure of seeing her in Peter Shaffer's play, Lettice and Lovage, written especially for Maggie.  Her performance was beyond superb.  Although there are other performers in the drama, Lettice, Maggie's character, carries the play.  It's a night I'll never forget.  Tickets were scarce, but the concierge at the hotel managed to find a single seat for me.  To the right is a scan of the copy of the play which I bought that night.

HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

 

Click on the image for a larger view.

Prayer for Yom HaShoah
(Holocaust Remembrance Day) 

Lord, remember not only the men of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted upon us. Remember rather the fruits we have brought, thanks to this suffering: our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, the courage, the generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown out of this. And when they come to judgment, let all the fruits we have bourne be their forgiveness.

Beliefnet - Source: Found on a scrap of paper at the liberation of Ravensbruck Concentration Camp in Germany

Image from Christians Tired of Being Misrepresented.

"A MODEST PROPOSAL"

With all the talk of budget cuts and austerity, affecting most severely "the least of these", rather than the 1%, or even the 10%, and whether poor people are deserving or undeserving, and whether hard-working people who labor for low wages should be given help to make ends meet in the midst of their struggles, and protecting fetuses in the womb, but showing little concern for already-born babies and children, Jonathan Swift's shocking essay titled "A Modest Proposal" returns again and again to my mind.  I could have gone on and on about the injustices in our society, but I believe I've made my point.

I brushed aside the thought of the essay, but it kept coming back, so I decided to write about it after all.  Swift's satire was quite difficult for me to reread, for it bites and bites hard.  Since I can't bring myself to quote Swift's words, I leave it to you to read or not. 

Image from Wikipedia.

IDIOSYNCRASIES OF ENGLISH

1. WHAT IF THERE WERE NO HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS?

2. IS THERE ANOTHER WORD FOR SYNONYM?

3. WHERE DO FOREST RANGERS GO TO "GET AWAY FROM IT ALL"?

4. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU SEE AN ENDANGERED ANIMAL EATING AN ENDANGERED PLANT?

5. WHY DO THEY LOCK GAS STATION BATHROOMS? ARE THEY AFRAID SOMEONE WILL BREAK IN AND CLEAN THEM?

6. IF A TURTLE DOESN'T HAVE A SHELL, IS HE HOMELESS OR NAKED?

7. WHAT WAS THE BEST THING BEFORE SLICED BREAD?

8. ONE NICE THING ABOUT EGOTISTS: THEY DON'T TALK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE.

9. DOES THE LITTLE MERMAID WEAR AN ALGEBRA?

10. WOULD A FLY WITHOUT WINGS BE CALLED A WALK?

11. IF YOU ATE BOTH PASTA AND ANTIPASTO, WOULD YOU STILL BE HUNGRY?

12. IF YOU TRY TO FAIL, AND SUCCEED, WHICH HAVE YOU DONE?

13. WHOSE CRUEL IDEA WAS IT FOR THE WORD 'LISP' TO HAVE 'S' IN IT? 

14. DO INFANTS ENJOY INFANCY AS MUCH AS ADULTS ENJOY ADULTERY?

15. IF YOU SPIN AN ORIENTAL MAN IN A CIRCLE THREE TIMES, DOES HE BECOME DISORIENTED?

Thanks to Frank.