Things to Know - 2 April

1. Prosperity is one of those things that some have, and others don't in this economy.  Robert Reich takes a hard look on who is doing well, and why those who are not sharing in the revelry are not:
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/8235-whose-recovery??tmpl=component&print=1

2.  The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan cost us dearly in lives, money, and it will be going on for a long time.  Here is a list of the real cost, as presented by BIll Moyers.   And the sad part is that even under unclear and shaky terms, Bush went in and started something that should not have been done.  At the same time, we cannot even have the presence of mind to share in the program to create a national health care policy.  So, what is wrong with us?:
http://truth-out.org/news/item/8238-the-real-costs-of-war

3.  Here is the truth in the misleading statement that the USA has the highest corporate taxes in the world.   Now, if the critics would agree to have the tax structure lowered, but eliminating and subsidies, loopholes, and write-offs, it is an entirely different story:
http://truth-out.org/news/item/8233-reality-check-us-corporate-tax-rate-much-lower-than-most-other-developed-nations

4.  This is a link to an interview on C-Span that Jon Stewart had with Bill Clinton.  It is an hour and a half long.  I watched about 10 minutes of it, and it was interesting.  I am sure that it is time well-spent if you can watch the whole thing.   I don't have the time, since I got more to read and research to complete this edition, but you may find the time:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Issuesforth

5.  The destruction of the Republican Party as we knew it has occurred because of many reasons, too numerous to go into, and far too dark to effectively relate.  In the process, the destruction is also affecting our government, the values we have as a nation, and has sharply divided the electorate, and severely damaged our economy.  As long as Grover Norquist, Karl Rove, and the religious right are obscenely funded by the 1%, there is no light in the day of the future, unless ......, yes unless...........:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-rights-stealthy-coup/2012/04/01/gIQAZlBjpS_print.html

6.  Paul Krugman does not have a very favorable opinion of Paul Ryan and the GOP budget proposal passed in the house.  Surprise, Surprise!   Actually it does suck:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/02/opinion/krugman-pink-slime-economics.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

7.  Henny Youngman and Rodney Dangerfield were classic stand-up comedians.   In politics, we have classic examples - too numerous to mention.  However in Willard Mitt Romney, we have the classic Standup Chameleon.  Read more on this analysis:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/opinion/sunday/a-quantum-theory-of-mitt-romney.html?_r=2&ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

--
Juan

"Cabbage: a familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man's head."  (think Gingragge - edit)
       -- Ambrose Bierce

"Those who can laugh without cause have either found the true meaning of happiness or have gone stark raving mad."
       -- Norm Papernick

"Sometimes it is harder to deprive oneself of a pain than of a pleasure."
       -- F. Scott Fitzgerald

"The petty economies of the rich are just as amazing as the silly extravagances of the poor."
       -- William Feather

"Art is either plagiarism or revolution."
       -- Paul Gauguin