Republicans Adopt Grinch as Official Party Mascot, Washington Epithets Want to Harm Backup Quarterback

And Other Short Takes on the News as Everyone Slouches Into the Holiday

Facing programs that would actually help low income and disadvantaged families, the Republican Party has officially come out against any increase in the minimum wage and extension of unemployment benefits.  They are doing this to help those people of course, not because they are mean, selfish and insensitive men and women luxuriating in great government jobs.

While this Forum generally ignores sport’s stories, it cannot help but post on the situation with the Washington Redskins Racial Epithets.  It seems the coach of that team has said he will bench the starting quarterback because that quarterback could be injured.  In other words, he is saying to the backup quarterback, “Hey, you get to play even though you might be injured or killed, but we don’t care”. 

Are Republicans dumb enough to run in 2014 and 2016 on a platform of taking health care away from the millions of people who will have health insurance as a result of ACA?  Does a frog bump his ass when he hops?

Texas Senator John Cronyn looks safe from a primary challenge from an utterly incompetent usurper from the far right.  Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran looks doomed from a primary challenge from an utterly incompetent usurper from the far right.  Mr. Cronyn looks safe because many but not all Texans have seen the real face of people like Ted Cruz.  Mississippians will have to learn the hard way.

As the health care reform process gets untangled and starts to work will the main stream media print that story?  Will Congress actually work more than 7 days in December?  Both are about equally likely.

In Virginia the losing Republican candidate for Attorney General has signaled that he might ask the state legislature to overturn the election if a recount still shows him losing.  He did not, however, express his admiration for the governing style of North Korea, so there is that positive in the whole story.

The story of the reduction in the unemployment rate is not that the rate has come down, it is that it would have been reduced far quicker if reasonable fiscal policy had been adopted.  Oh, and how does the U. S. results compare with the austerity policies of most European economies?