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Welcome to Swans Commentary http://www.swans.com/ May 9, 2011
$$$ Many thanks to Michael DeLang & Phyllis Feigenbaum for their
generous financial contribution. $$$
Note from the Editors: "Tax cuts for the wealthy stimulate the
economy." "Offshore corporate profits benefit American workers." Such
are examples of financial propaganda repeated ad nauseam until they are
taken at face value despite the facts that belie them, to the extent
that when we are told with a straight face that job creation increased
along with unemployment, we believe the contortionists' spin that the
economy is improving! Yet, if we can send the best trained soldiers to
take out Osama bin Laden, why can't we call upon the brightest
economists to battle the economic terrorism that is defeating the middle
class and dismantling social safety nets? Our resident political
economist, Gilles d'Aymery, whom our president has yet to summon,
provides some shocking statistics about corporate taxes and other myths
that the elites would rather not share, and some very simple solutions
to the economic morass that they will not permit -- at least until
they've drained the consuming masses completely dry and realized that
their future depends on a non-bankrupt population. Still hoping for
change? Consider Mr. Obama's selection to head his Council on Jobs and
Competitiveness: Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO and chairman of General
Electric -- a gem of hypocrisy, given that GE continues to squeeze its
labor force to maximize its profits, paid no taxes in 2010, and in fact
got a $3.2 billion refund! What rate did you pay on your 2010 taxes, and
how did you enjoy your refund? If you think we can vote our way out of
this death spiral, consider Jan Baughman's assessment. After years of
promoting third-party candidates, she's contracted a serious case of Tea
Party envy for their financial backing, plethora of candidates from
which to choose, and constituents who actually vote their ideals. And as
Michael Barker points out, portrayals of Hollywood as a left-wing
establishment are as illusionary as the myth that many Hollywood films
challenge American supremacy, and the political influence of the loose
liberal establishment of actors fades into insignificance when compared
to the Murdochs of this world.
One of the century's most notable public intellectuals and committed
political activists wanted no followers or imitators, but thirty years
after the publication of The Question of Palestine, Jonah Raskin
remembers Edward Said, a provocative and controversial man of
convictions who aimed to follow in Sartre's footsteps -- to be
optimistic, to defend populism and public politics -- ideals that
deserve our attention today. Turning to a different brand of political
activism, Greg Elich interviews Mickey Z on his latest two books as
microcosms of American society. Peter Byrne checks out Salvatore
Scibona's book "The End," which turns the gray quotidian of American
immigrant life into one of the few quality reads of recent memory, while
Charles Marowitz reviews Eric Wilson's "My Business Is To Create:
Blake's Infinite Writing," a treatise on creative writing using the poet
William Blake as a guide to its mysteries. In the cultural corner, Raju
Peddada considers the power of water, sharing a painful 10 seconds that
shook him to the core; Guido Monte describes his nostalgic feelings of
past years; and we close with your letters, including a correction on
author A. Craig Copetas's book and affiliation, a misguided defense of
Paul Ryan's economic shenanigans, and more on Geronimo and Rexroth.
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