Page 1 of Walter Rhett's writing

1. Waiting Arms (Catching the Falling Santorum) Rick, we hardy knew ye when a campaign built on the pillar of blame and fear toppled you from on high into our laps. With a thud you fell into waiting arms at Iowa; but it is easy to miss the bullet points of your near miss. Bullet one: the... (posted by Walter 135 days 13 hours ago.)

2. Michigan Enacts A "License to Bully" The cruelty of Republican leadership has now crossed an unforgiveable line. View this and see why. Then leave a comment and share this video and audio with everyone you know. We must save our children who Republican government are turning into... (posted by Walter 203 days 12 hours ago.)

3. Is the Lie Safe Harbor in Politics? Ask Herman Cain In the storm, you tie down one end of the jibe, tack into the howling winds, and hope for the best. Cain's chances are strapped down to denial. He denies the movement for social justice or Jesse Jackson's influence in threatening to boycott Burger... (posted by Walter 204 days 10 hours ago.)

4. Give Me the Blame: Am I the One Out of Step? Remember the parade joke? The mother looks at her son, beaming: my boy is the only one in step. Many would have us believe that about America. Waiting for Paul Krugman's column I watched an English language news broadcast from a Japanese network... (posted by Walter 204 days 10 hours ago.)

5. Was Cain Faithful? Herman Cain is a sycophant held up for independents and moderates as an alternative to Obama to say, yes, true conservatives come in all colors. Secondarily, his visibility counteracts the claim that Republicans and the Tea Party never fully... (posted by Walter 207 days 3 hours ago.)

6. Cain, the Race Card “This many white people can’t pretend that they like me,” #HermanCain #npclunch, asked about the racism in the U.S. today. Lynn Sweet (posted by Walter 207 days 9 hours ago.)

7. Shouting From the Edge: Extreme Conservativism A "Conservative populist" is a fiction. It illuminates the same idea-set that worked children in factories, women in sewing rooms well into the night and spied on their personal lives, and gave slaves who were personal servants as gifts to... (posted by Walter 235 days 10 hours ago.)

8. "Brain washed?" Count Me In! Alabama Share Cropping Family, 1936. Walker Evans photo. LOC (posted by Walter 239 days 12 hours ago.)

9. "Show Proof" In art everybody draws the model differently, but in math everyone agrees on a single answer. Economics is akin to math, though its numbers change values at different rates, and sometimes alter base assumptions to reveal new patterns. That said... (posted by Walter 246 days 12 hours ago.)

10. US Economic Policy: "Brain Surgery with a Butter Knife" The novelists Ralph Ellison had a magnificent literary metaphor that can be aptly applied to our economic policies and policy makers: it's like "performing brain surgery with a butter knife." The efforts inside the White House at making policy... (posted by Walter 251 days 9 hours ago.)

11. The Dark Horse on the White Nag Nearing the Red Line Rick Perry is no Lyndon Johnson or Sam Rayburn, although the (posted by Walter 252 days 4 hours ago.)

12. Michele, My Michele Our country has always shown a dogged determination to tolerate "the knave" as an political archetype, especially if it comes with a mega-watt smile, upswept weekend hair, and a belief that persistence matters more than facts or policy. I like... (posted by Walter 255 days 12 hours ago.)

13. GOP Politics: Flagged Wrapped Ponzi Schemes Internet writer Karoli gets it right. She characterizes Rick Perry's remarks and others: "It's hate-talk, wrapped up in a flag." Paul Krugman finds a related purpose for Eric Cantor's remarks: "the whole point of [Cantor's] offsetting spending... (posted by Walter 262 days 2 hours ago.)

14. Hollow Principles: The New Instruments of Policy Eric Cantor and John Boehner have come up with new policy instruments. Cantor's speciality is hollow principle blackmail. Boehner's is the rude guide to House management. Both men distract by their outrageousness from the real issues that are at... (posted by Walter 262 days 9 hours ago.)

15. Misreading History A new book agrues against Thomas Jefferson being the father of Sally Hemming's children by suggesting he did nothing special for them, as he might for his children. This s a misreading of history. In fact, the opposite was the case. Few slave... (posted by Walter 268 days 12 hours ago.)

16. Rick Perry and the China Conceit In the early days of US-China diplomacy, Henry Kissinger confessed an improbable admiration for China's Premier, Chou EnLai (Zhou Enlai), an adopted son educated in France who become the legacy link between the Long March and the Maoist communist... (posted by Walter 269 days 15 hours ago.)

17. The Truth About Public Lies Smiling faces sometimes pretend to be your friend Smiling faces show no traces of the evil that lurks within Smiling faces, smiling faces sometimes They don't tell the truth uh Smiling faces, smiling faces Tell lies and I got proof... (posted by Walter 278 days 6 hours ago.)

18. Barack: "Do Not Go Gentle" Too much image making and not enough job making describes both parties, their contenders and pretenders. Republicans politics consists of partial truths and twisted math. Their agenda: 1) routing the President from the field, for reasons still... (posted by Walter 280 days 9 hours ago.)

19. Rick Perry: Authentic Fake Presidential candidates have given their highest priority to messaging rather than governing. Governing is abadoned for balancing special interests and raising funds through super PACs, and maintaining plausible deniablity about the blatant... (posted by Walter 283 days 12 hours ago.)

20. Texas and Taxes Rick Perry runs Texas as America’s largest work farm. His new jobs pay low wages, lack benefits or advancement, and follow the model of post-war Levittown. But his candidacy should not distract from the central, more compelling issue of... (posted by Walter 285 days 14 hours ago.)

21. Republicans: Representing 90% of the Wealth or 90% of the People? Political science has long since given way to public theatre in Presidental elections. Facts no longer matter, only stage craft. Buried in American mythology and story building is the legendary bad guy, who, according to the backstory, is pushed... (posted by Walter 286 days 9 hours ago.)

22. Answer the Question, Mr. Boehner July 23 John Boehner told Rolling Stone in a February interview there are jobs and he once handed out lobbyist checks to members on the floor of the House. Daily, he posts on twitter the opposite and disho (posted by Walter 287 days 11 hours ago.)

23. America's Kids Chinese toddler, California; circa1850-1925. LOC. We are seeing Dickens' England, transposed to modern times. The shapeshifting of Brazil's lost children, the global trafficking of children, the persistance of child marriages, children as sex... (posted by Walter 288 days 11 hours ago.)

24. Voter Fraud: The Ohio Example The idea of voter fraud by id has strong emotional appeal. But is not supported by evidence, research studies, or anecdotal evidence. If you weigh the pros and cons, those who will be unable or unlikely to vote far outnumber, in real terms, those... (posted by Walter 289 days 5 hours ago.)

25. Annihilation Recession Washington works only when both sides keep the same secrets, ignore each other's excesses, and join together to save the fiction that American democracy has become. In the recent recession, $9 trillion dollars of household wealth was lost. That... (posted by Walter 290 days 9 hours ago.)