Scarecrow

You might have missed the segment in last night’s GOP debate where CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked carefully prepared questions about what America’s industrial policy ought to be. That’s because he didn’t — not that I’m criticizing Wolf, who did much better than the pathetic Brian Williams and hapless John King — but the candidates nevertheless indirectly gave us their own ugly visions.

During Thursday night’s GOP debate, a woman from Florida told the candidates she’d lost her job and with it her health insurance. What would each of the candidates do to get her covered or otherwise provide the health care she needed?

You had to listen carefully, but the effective answer they all gave her was, “this is your problem, not ours.”

After 118 days of continued protest on the corner of Main St and Esplanade, Lexington, Kentucky police, under the supervision of Mayor Jim Gray, came by Tuesday between 12:30-1 PM and confiscated occupiers’ tents and canopies.

The police brought more trailers than they needed. All in all, it only took 5-10 officers to confiscate the property.

We can now add NBC and its anchor Brian Williams to the growing list of cable/broadcastnetworks and hosts who should never be allowed to handle a presidential debate. William’s cowardly performance last night at the latest GOP shamefest was beyond embarrassing; it should be career ending.

I’m still a bit shocked that people are still surprised that the GOP Presidential Clown Car could roll through South Carolina — the state that gave us nullification, the Civil War, John C. Calhoon, and a hundred and fifty year succession of secessionist, racist politicians — and have it captured by a dog-whistling practitioner of the ugly art of racial and classist demagoguery.

Satire is dead; the Republican Presidential contest killed it, stone-cold dead. And we don’t even have to recite all the outrageous things they’ve said, or things others have said about them, just in the last 24-48 hours. It’s too depressing, too mind-numbing to relate.

The questions Mitt himself raised are exactly what the country should be debating. After Wall Street’s self delusion and greed tanked the economy, throwing millions out of work and into fraud-laden foreclosures, the number one economic issue of our times should be whether the malefactors of wealth through financial engineering should be allowed anywhere near governmental power over the economy.

David Brooks chooses to accept Santorum’s family values bona fides uncritically. But working-class supporters of Rick Santorum should know the truth. If Santorum were really such a pro-family candidate, he would be a strident defender of Social Security, which helps keep families strong and encourages hard work. Santorum’s record shows that he is anything but.

Today is the third anniversary of Oscar Grant’s killing by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle. Oscar, a young father, a young worker, unarmed, was shot in the back while lying prostrate in police custody on the Fruitvale BART station platform. Mehserle was charged with murder and ultimately convicted of involuntary manslaughter, serving less than half of his two-year sentence. Occupy Oakland organized a march in remembrance.

Visionary #1: Groundbreaking mycologist, Paul Stamets, is one of the few mushroom experts in the world often called “visionary.” He’s one of the newest in a long line of thinkers who see far more benefits from understanding mushrooms than do most scientists, or the world at large.