Newsletter # 6

2011_12_2 Newsletter # 6

The government released medium warm good news today about the job market. 120,000 people found employment last month; with the holidays coming that’s probably par for the course. In fact, they were in retail, service industry and holiday hires. The percentage of the unemployed went down to 8.6%, the lowest it’s been since early 2009. Meanwhile of course another 13,000,000 Americans are without jobs or have a part time job, which keeps them hanging on by their fingernails. The demand for goods and services remain very low and stagnant. The Thanksgiving weekend was a welcome spurt and promising, but the situation in Europe is still too shaky to hope for something muscular and sustained in an upward fashion. I hate to say this but Karl Marx predicted that Capitalism would be a situation in its late stages where the 1% would be at the top of the pyramid and the middle class, which had been large, had spread out at the bottom joining the ever unlucky poor.

The cover of the new TIME magazine has a photo of Romney on the cover but only half his face, with this accompanying statement, “Why don’t they like me?” Poor Romney, he’s imminently qualified and the best bet to give Obama good competition, but he can’t break through to more than 20 to 25 %, and now Newt the Brute has pulled ahead by impressing more Republicans with his strong leader act and his glibness, which people think will give Obama fits in debates. Most Democrats would be happy to see the “Grinch” get the nomination, feeling, probably correctly, that he’d be easier to beat than Romney. Newt has put his foot in his mouth too many times to not do it again and again. Still, it is amazing how Romney isn’t getting any love. He’s still the droid, a plastic man who wears too much hair gel, the guy who will say whatever you want to hear-- too desperate to be president. But truth be told, the president could use more love too, like what he got in 2008. It would be a shot in the arm when the campaign heats up next year. There are number of polls that indicate this is the GOP’s best chance to win the trifecta—both houses of congress and the White House. To think of that happening is like waiting for your worst nightmare.

At least we are pulling out of Iraq; the process is underway. Now we wait and see if the Sunni and the Shiites can refrain from a civil war.

We all have been celebrating the “Arab spring,” that they finally threw off the shackles of autocracy and would now, hopefully, turn into secular democracies. But indications are they were going in another direction. Ironically, with one third of the election in Egypt complete the liberal activists who brought about the revolution will be lucky to get 20% of the seats in their parliament. The Muslim Brotherhood, who have been organized for several decades, won 46% of the vote and the Salafis, who are more conservative than the Brotherhood won 20% of the vote, and both will probably improve their positions because when the other two sections of the country vote, Alexandria and rural Egypt, they are even more conservative. The hopes for a secular Egypt seemed dashed for now. The same thing is happening in Morocco and Tunisia. The Islamist parties will be dominant there too. They seem to be the real winners. The Salafis resemble the Saudis. Women are restricted and western entertainment is disapproved of.

Hillary Clinton is in Burma meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nelson Mandela of Southeast Asia and Nobel Prize winner. The military junta that has ruled for more than three decades have kept her under wraps—house arrest—for 20 years. She had such charisma with the Burmese people she was a constant beacon of hope and democratic values that she was always perceived as a threat to their brutal regime. But finally, reform has come to the country, and the two women, both seen as exceptional people in their respective nations, could finally meet and have discussions. It turns out Suu Kyi has read Hillary autobiography and Bill’s book as well. Hillary has stated how much she admires Aung San, who has remained adamant for years, waiting patiently year after year for the big change. At age 66 it is finally on its way.

I also heard today that the OWS folks are planning to change their focus to the foreclosure crisis. With 11 million homes under water, and more happening every day, that sounds like a good place to go. What exactly they have in mind they haven’t revealed yet. Camping out in empty homes?

I watched the Charlie Rose show tonight and heard something I hadn’t ever considered before. Rose had John Meacham who works for TIME magazine, and two D.C reporters, both from POLITICAL I believe who had combined on a book about the “right wing fighting back.” But what interested me the most was Meacham saying the word in Washington was Obama doesn’t enjoy being president. He admitted it was a story coming down to him second and third and fourth hand, but it was a consistent story. As an example he compared Bill Clinton and Obama going to Cape Cod for a short break from the beltway world. Bill Clinton would be everywhere, the ice cream store, a fast food place, running, etc. He loved to be out and about “pressing the flesh” as LBJ like to say and do. The more people he engaged the more he seemed to inflate and enjoy himself. When Obama was there you’d never see him. He wanted to escape people; he was always in retreat from crowds and the press. It hit me that it could be true, as he seemed to relish the job the first year, but it has been downhill ever since, mainly due to the intransigence of the Republicans and his own inability to break the logjam caused by the agents of the 1%. He realized after that first year that the situation had taken all the fun out of winning the election. Governing became an unpleasant chore. If it is true maybe he should hand the job over to Biden, or better yet, to Hillary. But it won’t happen will it?