I was catching up on my tivo now that I’m home, and I watched two episodes of House back to back.  Now, I like the show (I know it drives medical professionals crazy, but I don’t know any better so I can enjoy it.)  I especially like the soap opera and the mind games people play with each other.  It’s far more involving then an episode of 24 where it’s all about shooting, running, torturing someone, and breathless messages to the President.
    That being said I really got annoyed today because nothing ever has any consequences.  SPOILER ALERT.



    So one of the doctors compromised a drug test he was running because he found out his sweetie was on the placebo and not the real drug.  The sweetie is begging him not to tell the drug company so he won’t torch his career.  Even House is saying it’s not worth losing his medical license.  But he’s a stand up guy so he tells the drug company because the sweetie developed some really dangerous side effects.  And they tell him they won’t ever let him work on a clinical trial again, but that’s it.  So all this build up about how he’ll never be able to practice medicine again was just sound and fury that amounted to nothing.
    This happened a few seasons back when House insulted a police detective who decided to go after House for drug abuse (he does abuse prescription drugs.)  It went on for episodes, but House never got off drugs, and the cop was forced to back off, and we rewound back to square one.
    Now maybe that’s what audiences want -- that the situation never changes, the characters don’t change, but it’s starting to bug me.  It doesn’t feel like a journey I’m taking with these people.  It just feel like mindless repetition (sort of like Republicans.  Oh, whoops, earlier post bleed through.)  
    Anyway, I’d like to discuss this.  Do we have to keep things the same?  If things change to much will we lose viewers.  Is this mindset bleeding over into books?  Do we need to hit reset on every form of entertainment now?

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    I took a deep breath after the election, and haven’t blogged about politics for a few weeks, but now I just can’t keep silent any longer.  I’m not an economist, but even I know that when the threat of deflation is hanging over our heads, and folks are losing their jobs we need spending on a massive scale.  A scale that only a government can achieve.  Even Republican economists are saying this.

    But it appears that the Republicans really are like rabid skunks -- they don’t care who suffers as long as Obama doesn’t get a win.  This robotic repetition of tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts -- it’s like a political zombie movie where the Republicans are still walking, and still saying the same thing even though they are clearly brain dead.  What part of _this doesn’t work, never worked_  don’t they get.   Trickle down economics is a joke.  We need trickle up economics where lower and middle class people have some money to spend.

    And under the heartless category, I’ve even heard some Republicans saying “well, unemployment isn’t that bad.  It’s nothing like the 1930’s.”  Yes, and let’s not allow it to get that bad, what do you say?  It’s also unbelievably callus when there are so many people out of work.  Among them my friend Chip.

    But wait, the Democrats aren’t getting off without a lashing from me.  Look, I approve of family planning, and Head Start, but we need jobs right now, and our infrastructure is collapsing because Reagan didn’t think we should waste money repairing our roads, bridges, schools, water treatment plants, electrical grid, etc. etc.  The American Society of Civil Engineers says we need to spend 2.2 trillion dollars to repair are crumbling infrastructure.   The report “gives the U.S. physical backbone for everything from schools and parks to dams and levees a D. That's the same overall grade as the last time the group gave a report, in 2005, but it really is slipping from a "high D" to a "low D," said report chairman Andrew Herrmann.”  

Those repairs are in our national interest, and they will create jobs and put money in people’s pockets which they will then spend to buy groceries and HD TV’s, and furniture, and houses in which to put the furniture.   Which will create demand, which will put more people back to work, and the economy will start to grow again.

    And finally why did the spineless Democrats give in on all these tax cuts which (see above) _do not work_?  It was commendable when Obama tried to meet and work with Republicans, but when not one Republican in the House voted for the stimulus bill -- well, I say to hell with them.
    Which is probably why I’m not a politician.

    I’m fortunate to now live in an all blue state.  I can call my representatives and senators, but they’re already on board with the Economic Recovery Act.  But those of you who live in states with Republican legislators -- please call them.  Obama unleashed an army of activists.  Let’s not lose focus now.

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