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June 25, 2006

Mexico voters weigh a 'New Deal'; R.I. helps the rich; Springsteen video: Bring 'Em Home

The West may be experiencing global warming -- or maybe just the inevitable folly of living in the desert -- but here in southern New England, we're stuck in the shower. It's muggy and pouring, in the mid-70s with 100 percent humidity. We sweat and it can't evaporate. The low pressure has us always on the verge of a nap.

Forgive us our apathy.

This just in, from the National Weather Service Forecast Discussion:

Long term /Monday through Saturday/:
Unsettled pattern will continue through next weekend with episodes of heavy rain

Woe to gardens, basements, spirits.
The mailman is telling bad jokes:

What kind of lighting did Noah have on the ark?
Floodlights.

Chicken in every pot? Using FDR as Model, Presidential Hopeful Out to Build New Deal for Mexico (WaPo):

QUERETARO, Mexico -- Presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who is often compared with South American leftists, has found a model in an icon from the north: Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

López Obrador's economics team has developed a blueprint for what they call the "Mexican New Deal." Their modern version of Depression-era populism is an ambitious program to create millions of jobs and stem migration by undertaking huge public works projects, including a railroad network, vast housing developments, ports and timber replanting.

Lopez Obrador is currently leading slightly in the polls, and these jobs would probably help keep some folks in Mexico who might otherwise head for Arizona. The AP photo shows Lopez Obrador at a rally yesterday in in Guadalajara City.

It's startling to hear a serious Presidential contender with the slogan, "For the good of all, first the poor." (Another: "Smile: We're going to win.")

Here in Rhode Island, the Democratic General Assembly has just passed a budget that has the poor -- and everybody else -- helping the wealthy. According to Journal reports,

The 8-percent flat tax would benefit 516 Rhode Islander filers and 1,171 filers who live elsewhere but had Rhode Island income, according to Division of Taxation calculations on 2004 tax returns.

Those 516 Rhode Island residents or couples would save on average $10,972, according to the division. They represent one-tenth of a percent of all returns.

They are also the top earners: 467 had an adjusted gross income of $200,000 or more.

Helping wealthy people who don't even live here is a baffling act of generosity on our behalf. It was framed as a trade-off in return for reducing the cap on property tax increases from 5.5 percent to 4 percent over six years. Just one senator, Harold Metts of Providence, voted against what he called, "that tax cut for the rich."

Mexico's election is next Sunday. According to AP,

A poll published by Reforma newspaper on Friday, the last day on which polls may be legally published, gave Lopez Obrador 36 percent, Calderon 34 percent and Roberto Madrazo of the PRI, 25 percent. Twelve percent were undecided.

Bruce Springsteen & The Seeger Sessions Band: Bring 'em Home

The song remains the same (sort of) : Mike Robustelli at In the Fray,

...the media, along with the heads of most powerful organizations, many of whom grew up during the 1960s and are the only vestiges of that era’s “rebellion,” are the ones who have the ability to dictate topics of discussion while simultaneously ensuring that they remain without any real public depth. Matt Taibbi, formerly of the New York Press, summed this up nicely, stating “In a glib, permissive age where dissent, protest, certain forms of civil disobedience, and even the occasional arrest are superficially acceptable and even encouraged, the only real taboo when it comes to having political convictions today is meaning it.”

Rainy day reading: Legends by Robert Littell, unusually layered for a spy novel.

Sidekick 3 looks official: Cartoony graphics and a preview at sidekick.com promise a July 10 launch.

This is an odd interest for me. Wired as I may be, I refuse to own a cell phone. What I like about this tiny appliance are the camera, audio and "portable Web" parts. I eye it, but won't buy it.

What I really need is a camera that can easily tag along with me to catch those slices of life.

I'm looking at this one. It's 6 megapixels, does wide-angle (28mm) video and corrects for shaky hands, Street weight is just under 5.4 oz. It' only 3.7 x 2.01 x 0.95 inches. Recommendations are welcome.

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 4:54 AM | Permalink

Comments

Posted by: trudy on June 25, 2006 12:58 PM

Posted by: Sheila on June 26, 2006 2:20 AM