Things to Know - 14 February

1.  Sit down, stretch back and follow the bouncing ball with Thom Hartmann:
http://www.truth-out.org/print/12503

2.  Read this story through to the end.  When you are finished, take it to those that you know who are bound and determined to rid us of unions and collective  bargaining agreements.  It's stuff like this that brought about worker organizations and unions.   Apparently the terms and conditions that created unions a century ago in the US work place, still exist:
http://www.truth-out.org/print/12505

3.  Michael Moore reflects on the plight of Flint. Michigan 75 years ago, and the rise of workers to create the terms and conditions of a viable union for the auto workers, which this created real lives and rising standard of living.  He also celebrates his 25th year as a film maker on the basic subject of what is a rehash of events long ago, but with bigger stakes:
http://www.truth-out.org/print/12497

4,  This article in the Atlantic is on the subject of war and the financing to conduct military policy.  Since the GOP is usually hawkish on the exercise of military might in foreign policy, it should the the wealthy GOP - as epitomized by the slate of wannabees (minus Ron Paul), to pony up the money through taxes to pay for it.   Sounds fair:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/print/2012/02/iran-war-would-cost-trillions-will-the-gop-pay-more-taxes-for-that/252977/

5.  The Atlantic comes through with an article that reveals a consequence of the income inequality in this country.  The children of the wealthier parents fare better that those whose parents are constantly in an economic struggle.  It would seem to be for obvious reasons, but is that right?   Is it who we are as a nation?:
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/print/2012/02/occupy-kindergarten-the-rich-poor-divide-starts-with-education/252914/
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/02/in-memphis-classrooms-the-ghost-of-segregation-lingers-on/252992/

6.  Newton Leroy Gingrich will be the one to watch this week.  The very conservative National Review has flatly stated that he is unpopular and should quit the race.  This echoes the same sentiment from an army of right-wing pundits and power brokers.  So, let's see how he dances with this music.  It's show time:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/national-review-to-newt-gingrich-drop-out/2012/02/13/gIQAVfnsAR_print.html

7.  David Brooks enters with a column that take apart some of the buzz on a book, Coming Apart, that a certain mind-set has taken to heart as the explanation of what ails our social, cultural, and economic community.  It is a complex situation, which is basically a cycle of misery that breeds upon itself.  As Brooks states, we need to embark on program of social repair, that begins where Charles Murray's book leaves off 25 years ago:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/opinion/brooks-the-materialist-fallacy.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

8.  The NY Times editorial on Obama's proposed budget gives a good review.  It's sound and non-confrontational.  The problem with the GOP opposition is that opposing raising taxes on the high end of the scale where the money sits, and asking, nay demanding, cuts in social programs (Medicare, Social Security, Pell grants, and the safety net) ring hollow.  The way the candidate Wannabees are conducting and slinging mud at each other further erodes any credibility in whatever programs they support:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/opinion/a-responsible-2013-budget.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print


--
Juan

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."
       -- Walt Disney

"Man always gets less than he demands from life."
       -- Jack London

"When a true genius appears in this world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
       -- Jonathan Swift

"We need a president who's fluent in at least one language."
       -- Buck Henry

"I have often depended on the blindness of strangers."
       -- Adrienne E. Gusoff