The Mighty Liberal

Gravitar Speaks!!! Live on Progressive Blend Radio, Jan 3, 2012, 9PM EST

2012-01-02T20:27:00.005-05:00

That's right folks, I'm coming out of hiding to appear on the round table for Progressive Blend Radio's election year special, Stupor Tuesday. I'll be among the luminaries discussing the results of the Iowa caucuses, what they mean, what they don't mean, and where things go from here.You can join in to but to do so, you need to tune in live starting at 9PM EST to http://pbradio.net. Hope to chat

Why Occupy Wall Street (or any other street)?

2011-10-10T21:19:00.010-04:00

Below is a response I wrote to a Facebook friend about an article she wrote yesterday explaining why, despite being a very intense liberal and rabid supporter of President Obama, she feels almost completely disconnected from the Occupy Wall Street and related protests springing up across the country. And so it goes... Interesting read, Erin. I get where you're coming from but I have to say that

The Fix Is Nearly In And You Will Be Left Broke

2011-03-11T02:16:00.005-05:00

Earlier today I read this piece in the AOL/Huffington Post and immediately heaved a sigh of resignation. The article summarizes a Fed review panel regarding improper foreclosures and concludes that there haven’t been any. Let me repeat that: the Fed says there have been no improper foreclosures. Anywhere. Under any circumstances. To say that this is mind-boggling to me underestimates the

Sarah Palin: The Dangerous Moron, Shouldn't Reload, She Should Rebrand

2011-01-24T09:32:00.005-05:00

Well really, she should just go away and enjoy her recently made millions and spend the rest of her days signing moose pelts for curious tourists dropping by to meet the curiosity from the inconveniently far north. But she's too egomaniacal to do that.Sarah Palin has a following which is religious in its fervor and willfully ignorant in its understanding of the wider world and how it works. The

Foreclosure Fraud: The Next Threat to the US Economy

2010-10-18T11:57:00.004-04:00

Last night (Sunday Oct. 17) I had the pleasure of taking an extended segment on Progressive Blend Radio to discuss some of the issues that are going on regarding the latest crack of thunder in the real estate market. The courts have discovered the tip of what they will eventually discover is an incomprehensibly large iceberg mountain of fraud in their currently open cases, and that discovery

Neglect and Distraction

2010-09-13T00:06:00.002-04:00

I have spent the entire summer posting nothing here and that reality has not gone unnoticed by your author. So much has happened since the few days before the BP oil spill (the last time I posted) that I've been too busy following it all to gather together the larger thoughts I try to pull together on this blog. That's no excuse. I'm working on regularizing personal scheduling and minimizing

Another Moment For Something Big

2010-06-14T22:15:00.005-04:00

Presidents usually reserve Oval Office addresses for something big or important. Tomorrow night I have a feeling we may finally get one of these from my friend Barry. I've been waiting for it ever since he gave his speech on race relations from Philadelphia during the campaign for the Democratic nomination. I've had hints of it here and there but he since taking office, he's been a rather

Gravitar Lives on Facebook!!

2010-06-04T09:34:00.003-04:00

In order to reach more folks more immediately I created a site on Facebook. Just look up "Gravitar Profundus" and hit the "like" button. Whether you agree or disagree with the shorter posts that will appear there, I hope you actually do like it and will please comment freely when there.

Giving Them All the Rope They Need

2010-05-14T12:44:00.004-04:00

I've never thought that Barry was a progressive activist. I read The Audacity of Hope and saw in it the approach of a measured, thoughtful lawyer/politician who had studied American social and political history pretty deeply. His successful political campaigns featured unbelievable acts of self-destruction on the part of nearly all of his opponents, and other than that, some tasty rhetoric on

Putting My Mouth Where My Money Is

2010-04-16T00:47:00.004-04:00

A lot of what passes for punditry here can seem rather abstract or remote from daily existence. I try to keep things tangible but it doesn't always work. Tonight, however, things couldn't have been more direct for me as far as politics and real life. As close as my own front door.I just came in, at about 12:15 in the morning, from a local city commission meeting that started at 6pm. The issue at

A Brief Word About the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

2010-03-17T10:27:00.004-04:00

I have never been a fan of Bibi Netanyahu. He has always struck me as a smarmy used car salesman who isn't as smart as he's made out to be. And I've never been a fan of Israel's expansionist behavior. Israel occupies a precarious place in the world's psyche. Few outside of loons like Ahmadinejad argue with the existence of Israel on the basis of the Holocaust and the prior couple thousand

GOP: The Party of Nero

2010-03-09T21:14:00.007-05:00

For over 30 years we have watched while a political party took the reigns of power by declaring the best government is that government which governs least. The notion took hold by virtue of twisted mythologies, blatant lies, interminable fear-mongering, subtle race-baiting, adolescent machismo, cowboy inanities, bad history, bad economic theory, bad corporate structure, bad foreign policy, bad

Preview of the Healthcare Summit

2010-02-23T16:12:00.002-05:00

Early signs regarding how the impending Healthcare Summit between Barry and the Repubes don't suggest that there will be a meeting of the minds. The jobs bill notwithstanding, I suspect we'll be witness to the final bell on bipartisanship. And I think, when it happens, it will look something like this: Summit Preview

Eric Cantor Wastes His Breath

2010-02-19T20:41:00.004-05:00

Apparently a serious move is afoot to get a health care bill through congress which will include a public option and be passed via reconciliation, therefore requiring only 50 votes (plus the VP as tie breaker). Don't get me wrong, activists on the left have argued for such an approach since the first floundering last summer. Now the dems in the senate who are realizing that failure on the issue

Iran: What Are We Waiting For?

2010-02-14T22:42:00.005-05:00

No don't worry, I'm not about to go all Cheney on you. Military action in Iran by us or by Israel is not possible. The targets are too deep, too numerous, and probably not all identified. We can't accomplish our goals that way, and we never could have even had we done something back when Cheney was calling the shots. All that we would do is ruin the ongoing opposition movement which, though

The Myth of Liberal Big Gov Love

2010-02-01T20:54:00.006-05:00

In a corollary to the critique of the Supreme Court's recent decision that corporate campaign cash is unfettered free speech, I pose a notion for all which I hope will utterly reorient everyone's attitude towards left of center thinking. America was born of a fairly uniform belief that government cannot be trusted for much and should therefore remain as limited and unintrusive as manageable.

Put Up Or Shut Up

2010-01-26T20:29:00.005-05:00

A long long time ago it seems, I suspected my friend Barry of being the best poker player I'd ever seen. If tomorrow night's State of the Union isn't the ultimate call on legislative branch, then we may be witnessing the resurrection of Herbert Hoover. It is what the repubes have been calling for and surely now that they would be getting they will refuse to claim ownership just as they say Barry

Money Talks

2010-01-21T21:40:00.005-05:00

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.That's the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution boys and girls.I'll need to keep this brief because it's late and I have other

The Silver Lining

2010-01-20T14:13:00.003-05:00

Since the 60 vote Democratic supermajority was tossed into the grave with Ted Kennedy last night, it has looked more than a little frustrating for us left of center folk. But now that the ire has ebbed a bit (or at least I have let mine so flow), I have had a few moments of mental time to consider how the new situation can still work to the benefit of the Left. And what it seems to me at the

Did Obama Really Win the Presidency?

2010-01-19T21:02:00.006-05:00

Seriously folks, if the dems in Massachusetts couldn't hold Ted Kennedy's seat, how did they manage to win the White House or their still significant majorities in both houses of Congress. It seems we're back to the way things were before Barry won in '08.The question now is whether the dems in Congress have the balls to get healthcare passed in any of the remaining methods available to them

Joe Lieberman Is a Douchebag

2009-12-15T20:02:00.004-05:00

I want someone from Connecticut to explain to me why they have allowed this preening, sanctimonious schmendreck to continue to represent them in the US Senate. He stands for nothing except promoting the Jo'mentum, whatever the hell that is supposed to be. He has switched positions on everything he's ever claimed to stand for in the past. He makes Arlen Specter come off like a paragon of

Payment Holiday: How To Make the Banks Fix the Mess They Created

2009-12-10T21:58:00.006-05:00

Banks are happy to take their profits when the economy is going well, but they don't seem to want to take their lumps when it isn't. The only real solution I see to the home value crisis is the banks rewriting the mortgages to some version of fair market value. But they won't do it. No incentive.How about this crazy idea: what if all you mortgage payers out there take just one month off from your

Everyday Health Care in America

2009-12-02T23:19:00.004-05:00

Here's something that happened to me yesterday. I've had mild high blood pressure since my late teens. At various points since then my doctors have prescribed a low dose, common water pill. Brand name is Diovan and the generic is HCTZ, which is what I've always gotten. Yesterday I went to go get my refill at a local Walgreen's (which have sprouted like mushrooms in my area, it being populated

Afghanistan: Failure of Intent

2009-11-24T22:26:00.007-05:00