Tax Cuts for Billionaires!

Earnings in 2010

by Emily Steinberg

The crazy discussion over the extension of the Bush Tax cuts has hit fever pitch in media land! Over the weekend, Senator Jon Kyl, (R) Arizona, appearing on Meet the Press, reiterated the GOP agenda of extending tax cuts for the rich while cutting off unemployment benefits for the jobless. Yes, this makes a ton of sense! Let's give the top 1% of Americans a huge tax windfall and leave millions of others, struggling to get by, in the lurch. Have we lost our collective minds? Our moral compass? Are we living in England during the time of Scrooge?

The reality is that the Bush tax cuts, which were not the brightest idea in the first place, considering that we were fighting two wars after 911, were supposed to be temporary. They had an expiration date for a reason. Now the GOP has morphed the cuts into must haves and cravenly says that they are necessary for the job creators. Well, where are the jobs? President Obama and the Democrats in Congress need to craft a clear & simple message to the American people: We will not sacrifice 98% of the population to the selfish wants of the Top Tier!

Here's an idea, keep the tax cuts for everyone making $400,000 a year. Anything over that and the tax cut expires. If you are fortunate enough to be making more than $400,000, God Bless you, you are doing well! And now, your tax rate will go back to what it was under President Clinton. That wasn't too bad was it? Take a deep breath, you guys still have a lot of dough. And as President Bush would say, Go Shopping!

Three Blind Mice

Michael Medved, Monica Crowley, Dennis Prager

by Emily Steinberg

Today was an auspicious one in the land of Oz, sorry, The Home of the Brave.

The dump of WikiLeak diplomatic documents keeps growing and somehow it seems as though it's the tip of the old iceberg in terms of the hacking that's bound to come. So, let us turn to a more comfortably mundane and yet equally disturbing subject, Right Wing Radio Hosts.

Michael Medved was once a reknowned film critic and he lent a refreshing level of intelligence and insight to the genre. I thought highly of what he had to say. Then he moved into political commentary and it was a shock when I came upon his program as I perused thru AM radio- land, listening to the pulse of Red America. There was Mr. Medved, sounding as articulate and intelligent as ever, except he was praising President Bush and decrying Healthcare Reform. It took me a moment to realize it was the same person that I had respected for so many years. These days when I listen to Medved's show, my blood is almost instantly brought to boiling as I hear him use his keen mind and eloquence in the service of the Right. He says the same words as ElRushbo, but they go down easier. What put me over the edge was when he started talking positively about Sarah Palin. Seriously? What? Can he really think the woman has a original thought in her head. Come on Micheal, you know way better than that. Dennis Prager is also incredibly smart. He sounds thoughtful and intelligent and he knows a lot about a lot of things. I'd probably like him if I met him at a party. Unfortunately, he also spews the Republican party line.

But Monica Crowley is another thing altogether. Who allowed this woman on the air? She takes the vitriol of Ann Coulter and brings it to another level entirely. She is snarky and mean and insulting. She treats President Obama with disgust and disdain. And she says it all with such conviction that it's no wonder her listeners believe her river of bile. My question is this.....How does this woman sleep at night? She goes home at night and has to look at herself in the mirror and somehow she must be at peace with what she sees.

The Four Horsemen of the Republican Apocalypse

by Emily Steinberg

I have to admit, I'm scared. The Four Horsemen of the Republican Apocalypse, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Sarah Palin, are careening forth, streaming over the airwaves of America, and leaving, in their wake of lies, a swath of destruction previously unseen in our land of the brave. And yet, the Lame-stream media, so named by the foul foursome, barely says boo. What will it take for the fourth estate to stand up and say enough lies, enough double-talk, and start responding like adults to these tantrum throwing, insult wielding right wing toddlers?

I listen to Rush on Right Wing Radio everyday to see what he's up to. Like a wartime General, It's always best to be informed and aware of what your enemy is planning. I can usually only stay tuned for about ten minutes before I have to pull the car over and puke on the side of the road. This, Jabba the Hut like character sits in his compound, self titled the EIB network for Excellence in Broadcasting, and spews filth and bile for three hours a day, Monday thru Friday to millions of self described ditto-heads who don't have the brain power to think for themselves. Rush regularly calls Obama, Imam Obama, insinuating that the President is Muslim. He calls Harry Reid, Dirty Harry. He calls Michelle Obama, Michelle Antoinette.

Sean Hannity is a Rush Wanna-bee. He huffs and puffs and tries to sound intelligent on his FOX "news" show, but always ends up sounding like a whiny bully in the end. Glenn Beck is a certified whack job. How can they sleep at night knowing that everyday they lead the lemmings who deify them to such levels of hate and mistrust? And all said with a smile and a laugh.

And then there's Sarah. There's a special place in hell for Sarah Palin. Actually, there should be a special place in hell for John McCain who birthed Palin, the succubus, onto the political stage two years ago. And this baby ain't going away any time soon. Sarah Palin, the intellectually challenged, word salad spewing goddess of the inane, is positioning herself to run for President in 2012. Limbaugh will be her consort, Hannity her Bishop and Beck the Jester. Look out America, the 2012 presidential campaign is at the staring gate and Queen Palin is getting fit for her tiara.

Sarah Palin is thin skinned and self absorbed. She calls people who disagree with her haters and talks about the Real America, where people like her live. She keeps calling the Katie Couric interview an example of the Gotcha Media, but how hard is it to answer a question about what newspapers you read? Palin is not terribly bright, but she is very canny and she knows how to relate to people, something our current President could brush up on.

Lately Palin has been everywhere: In the audience of Dancing With the Stars, cheering for her somewhat awkward daughter, and starring in her own reality TV show on TLC. Sarah Palin's Alaska is a frothy, out-doorsy, feel good look at her telegenic family and home state, until she starts clubbing giant haddock between the eyes and talking about building 14 Ft. high fences to protect herself from prying neighbors. She is also currently hawking her new best selling book in Iowa, yes Iowa. Enough said.

It is time for all Americans with a brain and a conscience to rise up and just say NO! Otherwise, come January 2013, the First Dude will be in the Whitehouse waxing his dog sled and Queen Sarah will be reloading for congressional bear.