Welcome to this month's reading group selection. David Von Drehle mentions The Melting Pot , a play by Israel Zangwill, that premiered on Broadway in 1908. At that time theater was accessible to a broad section of the public, not the exclusive domain it has become over the decades. Zangwill carried a hopeful message that America was a place where old hatreds and prejudices were pointless, and that in this new country immigrants would find a more open society. I suppose the reference was more an ironic one for Von Drehle, as he notes the racial and ethnic hatreds were on display everywhere, and at best Zangwill's play helped persons forget for a moment how deep these divides ran. Nevertheless, "the melting pot" made its way into the American lexicon, even if New York could best be describing as a boiling cauldron in the early twentieth century. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America takes a broad view of events that led up the notorious fire, noting the gro
Ouch!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/secret-video-romney-private-fundraiser
The revelations in this video come to me as a genuine shock. I have never hated Romney. I presumed his ideological makeover since he set out to run for president was largely phony, even if he was now committed to carry through with it, and to whatever extent he’d come to believe his own lines, he was oblivious or naïve about the damage he would inflict upon the poor, sick, and vulnerable. It seems unavoidable now to conclude that Romney’s embrace of Paul Ryanism is born of actual contempt for the looters and moochers, a class war on behalf of his own class.
ReplyDeletehttp://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/09/real-romney-is-a-sneering-plutocrat.html?wpisrc=nl_wonk
The quote above from Jonathan Chait sounds genuine to me. I think a lot of political commentators, while they might disagree with Romney, seemed to take his move to the right as political, not philosophical. But I think the video does show a very relaxed and honest Romney, assuming anyone who would vote for Obama is on the take from the government. "Let them eat cake," is the bottom line here.
ReplyDeleteExtremely cynical comments. The only thing that surprises me is that he could be so bald-faced in a room full of people, assuming they all thought like him. Seems to me these comments would have leaked out one way or the other but the tape makes it impossible to duck them. The worst part about his admission is that he is completely unapologetic, saying he should have been more "elegant" in his speech. This point to the inherit flaw in Republican thinking that they are never wrong, just tactics could have been better.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lame counter assault,
ReplyDeletehttp://news.yahoo.com/romney-tries-change-subject-233848226--abc-news-politics.html
Romney is truly flailing his arms desperately to tread water here.
I would not be at all surprised if the Obama campaign counters with the observation that if you look at wealth accumulation in this country, redistribution "UP" has been proceeding apace for quite some time now.
ReplyDeleteWhoops,
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DgB3WASwXA
Dear old Dad was "on relief, welfare relief, for the first years of his life"
(at the 57 sec. mark)
I see Obama is up by 14 in Wisconsin,
ReplyDeletehttp://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/poll-shows-obama-leads-romney-key-swing-states-150338499--election.html
so much for the Ryan factor.
Meanwhile, Brown is still harping on Warren "exploiting" her Cherokee heritage,
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/massachusetts-senate-debate-begins-discussion-warren-cherokee-heritage-000344164--election.html
as he now trails her in most polls. What an ass!