Street Jazz

"It's preying on people's emotions and envy. It's good politics, but it's not good economics. It's more ideology than economics.” Representative Paul Ryan ® - WI).

http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/40290682.html

Lately might almost think that Republicans are born with their feet in their mouths, and that their lives are a life-long struggle to reinsert them.

Yesterday’s monstrously stupid remark by Paul Ryan, attempting to fend off potential criticism that the GOP’s alternate budget proposal might seem Draconian, or was indulging in class warfare, was just the latest in a series of throw-away comments by GOP members that further distance themselves away from anyone in the country who actually punches a time clock, or worries about bills, or even has a rational thought for more than a few minutes at a time.

Envy? That’s what a lot of the anger in this country has been explained away as? We’re jealous of our betters?

Well, as it turns out, Comrade Ryan isn’t the only one who has given voice to this theory.  A journey down  any Internet search engine will reveal that quite a few conservative commentators are keeping themselves warm at night by clinging to this elaborate fantasy. The odious Cal Thomas, for example, recently wrote a column with this headline:

Anger over AIG bonuses rooted in envy of more affluent

It’s time to rewrite our history textbooks; the French Revolution can now be explained away as nothing more than Class Envy.

Let them eat cake, the jealous swine.

It’s great fun. Just type in:

Class warfare - envy

Class warfare  - jealousy

But wait, there’s more! Envy isn’t the only one of the Seven Deadly Sins that one can find associated in varying degrees with Class Warfare on the Internet. Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride can all be found, though Envy, Greed and Sloth seem to be the big winners on some of the searches I went on.

I’m sure that sooner or later, most of the other sins will find themselves used in GOP stump speeches and analysis by FOX “news” anchors.

Social justice be damned! It’s all envy! Those GOP rascals. They’ve got it all figured it.

You gotta wonder how many votes the GOP lost after Ryan opened his mouth yesterday . . .

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And we all hate “small businesses” too, don’t we?

I have been noticing this constant mantra of “small business - small business - small business - small business” every time Republican rapscallions talk about tax cuts, or the budget, or evolution, or global warming, or a total eclipse of the sun.

Yesterday we learned - again from Brother Ryan - that many of us are also filled with envy of those same small businesses.

Notice how these guys never actually say “giant corporations”? I don’t think it’s really fooling anybody.

And I don’t think anyone is jealous of a giant corporation, either, let alone those small businesses.

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Quote of the Day

"Hu-mans, listen to me. Due to an error in calculation, there are still a few of you left." - Robot Monster (1953 Film).

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How Kuff: Changing History

How Kuff, one of the flounders of the Newton County Wildlife Association, has recently written a novel, Changing History. Not only that, but there is now on audiobook version available:

www.changinghistoryaudiobook.com

As the description on the site goes:

Changing History (ISBN 978059550310), a poetic novel by How Kuff, is a unique philosophical journey into the heart of humanity. Written like a Canterbury Tales of the 21st century, the alchemy of a mysterious meeting of seven international travelers in a snowstorm in the mountains of Tibet unfolds into an exploration of modern day society.

If you believe in supporting local businesses, then you should also support local (Arkansas) writers and artists. If your library hasn’t got a copy, ask them to order one.

rsdrake@nwark.com