I Got my Belated Christmas Wish: Stepping Away from the Fiscal Cliff

For  the first few days of 2013 we'll still be hanging over the edge of
 the cliff, but  the sturm und drang should  be over by January
7th.

All I wanted for Christmas was a trip away from the fiscal cliff--
and the train is now leaving the station.

--Yahoo! Things are far from perfect, but this is a start.
Happy New Year!

New Year, New Fear Coming Up

Howdy, fellow earthlings! Two days 'til the next year, which I
fear may not be so different from 2012. I wish all and sundry
the best life can offer, but I worry:

(1) That the fiscal cliff may harm an already far-too tenuous
recovery;

(2) That the Green Revolution is stalling, when we need it
to build up steam;

(3) That the hope of meaningful gun control action is nothing
more than wishful whistling in the wind;

(4)  That Congress thinks the average Jo and Joanna are too
stupid to throw  malfeasors out of office as they so richly
deserve.

There are too many worries and too little time to set things
right.

Wild West Horrors Redux, Guns Galore

I was shocked a few months back to learn 49 of 50 U.S.
states allow conceal and carry.  My state, Illinois, may fall
under the avalanche of pro-gun hysteria very soon. I've
tackled this controversy in previous posts, but it's time to
attack our violence-prone problems once again, in light
of 20 young Connecticut children murdered by gun only
a few days ago:

(1) Many people are simply not sound enough mentally to
be toting around deadly weapons; medical associations
over the years have said some 25% or more of us have
serious emotional problems. Shouldn't some sort of
caution bell start clanging every time the pro conceal
and carry folks lobby? More to the point, many so-called
"adults" are not what I'd deem responsible. We also
shouldn't overlook the klutz factor--people have already
been shot because of it.

(2) The Second Amendment has long needed a sensible 
clarification. Few should have guns, but then arms
manufacturers would realize less profit. (We can't let
THAT happen, now can we??)

***************************************

A safer America would also see a rise in the number of
mental health facilities as gun  possession declines. The
mother of the nutcase in Connecticut, various school
authorities and others knew he was troubled, had
"episodes".  In a caring, qualified institution, he could
not have perpetrated this cruel horror. His mother
owned  three  guns, one of which he used to kill 26
innocent human beings. Why was she so heavily
armed? "A rise in unemployment" triggered her
paranoid fantasies, she'd claimed earlier.

Yes, more mental health hospitals WILL cost
more money. Aren't innocent lives worth it?

Without these two profound changes in our
society, look out for guns galore in the Wild West.

Dear Santa: We're the 98% and It's Our Turn

The tax cuts for the upper 2% must expire. It's time our interests
are protected; the rich have enjoyed TWELVE years of low or
no taxes, thanks to Bush II and President Obama. The middle class
was included in this munificence, an afterthought to sop
objections. Now we of the afterthought should see center stage
--there are more of us than there is of them.

Here are suggestions that just might work: raise the tax increase
ceiling from $250K to $500K, tax annual incomes over $500K
at a 20% rate. All income levels below $500K should continue
to be taxed at current amounts. Eliminate all the loopholes, find
whatever fraud, waste and abuse exists in the spending sector,
especially military armaments and pork barrel  projects. Freeze
congressional salary increases, as well as for some other high
level government employees. Deal reasonably,  responsibly with
the deficit.  All these steps, taken together, go a long way to
resolving many of our financial issues.

All I want for Christmas is a trip away from the fiscal cliff.