Tea Today, Jam Tomorrow. As Always.

Did you hear about the tea party that Big Guy held yesterday afternoon?

Oddly enough, only Kool-Aid drinkers were invited for tea: Arianna Huffington, Eddie Schultz, Al Sharpton, Rachael Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell.

“This afternoon at the White House, the President met with influential progressives to talk about the importance of preventing a tax increase on middle class families, strengthening our economy and adopting a balanced approach to deficit reduction,”

Chris Matthews was invited butt he and Howard Fineman were apparently off slaying vampires, or hunting Nazis, or something.

This is all very confusing because I still remember when “the Bush tax-cuts” were characterized by Big Guy and Big Media as simply “tax cuts for the rich.”

...In other words, if the Bush cuts actually were just “tax cuts for the rich,” then their expiration couldn’t hurt the middle class. On the other hand, if their expiration would hurt the middle class, then characterizing them as “tax cuts for the rich” was a false message all along.

Well, as I mentioned, it was a tea party.

So after handing out the talking points, the faithful were dispatched to go forth and repeat them:

It was a lovely, if exclusive, little party. In addition to the usual tea and scones, we served clotted cream. No jam though, as I’m sure you all remember the jam rule:

Why, you ask, is it always Tax today butt cut spending tomorrow?

Because, my dear, it’s never “any other-day,” it’s always today.

It’s very good jam, said the Queen.

Well, I don’t want and TO-DAY, at any rate.

You couldn’t have it if you DID want it, the Queen said. The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday – but never jam to-day.

It MUST come sometimes to “jam to-day,” Alice objected.

No, it can’t, said the Queen. It’s jam every OTHER day: to-day isn’t any OTHER day, you know.

Although I understand there was once a a very large jam surplus, back in the days of the jam king:

 

Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D., Texas) claimed that the United States had a $5.6 trillion surplus at the end of the Clinton administration Tuesday.

“Remember, we had a $5.6 trillion surplus in 2000 – 2001 from the Clinton administration,” Jackson said in the interview while discussing fiscal cliff negotiations.

However, according to CNN Money,  the “Treasury Department reported a budget surplus… of $127 billion” for fiscal year 2001 and a $237 billion surplus for fiscal year 2000.

Oh well, it doesn’t really matter – millions, billions or trillions - since none of us will ever actually get any of that jam anyway.

I wonder if they have strawberry jam on Mars? I’ll bet it would be good with Tang.

Don’t let Rover get too close to the edge of that cliff! Who knows what’s at the bottom.

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Diplomacy In the Age of Nuclear Wintour

What’s going on here?

Does Big Guy really want us to go off the fiscal cliff?  All I know is that I heard Val-Jar explaining that since we WON, he can raise taxes on anybody he darn well feels like. And she reminded him that the Republicans need to be punished…for being Republicans.

So I’d just say, don’t hold your breath during these “negotiations.” And don’t be worried about Big Guy’s implementing the Cloward-Piven strategy (yet). This is just the usual petty, peevish politics. And it’s a Win-Win for Big Guy: more “revenues” to spend, and the Republicans get blamed for screwing the middle class!

Butt never mind that: let’s move on to the real news of the day. Anna Wintour for Ambassador? 

President Barack Obama is considering nominating Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, to be either his next ambassador to the U.K. or France, as he looks to reward his biggest fundraisers with embassies that never seem out of fashion, according to two people familiar with the matter.

What the heck, why not?

Her reportedly aloof and demanding personality has earned her the nickname “Nuclear Wintour” and inspired the waspish character played by Meryl Streep in the film The Devil Wears Prada.

She has demonstrated her ability to mingle with the natives

She seems to have all the proper qualifications, which is to say she was one of Big Guy’s biggest bundlers. And her handwriting analysis indicates she has all the requisite skills an ambassador needs.

The writer of this signature is a private individual and very difficult for an outsider to get to know.

Ah! Inscrutable; an excellent trait in an Ambassador:

 

A left slant [ed. of course] indicates a person who may on the surface appear cordial or sociable, and in reality prohibits the entry of most people into her personal world.

Like Marlene Dietrich, she just wants to be left alone

Sounds like Big Guy’s soul mate!

Hey, I just want to be left alone…to eat my waffle

There is a very big hook on the crossbar of the 'A', an indication of a personality that craves to acquire the material. Because the signature reveals so little, we can't tell what she craves. It could be knowledge, power, influence, wisdom, or sapphires.

I’m going with b, c, d, and e; I don’t think “a” is material enough.

There are several 'v-shaped formations in 'Anna.' These are the signs of an analytical mind that probes well below the surface for whatever she needs. The writer is also intuitive (there are several breaks between letters), which means she can hop over many islands of methodical facts on the way to her conclusions. She has learned to trust this "gut" response. Plus, fact-jumping accelerates her methodical thinking exponentially.

This is uncanny! That’s just like Big Guy too – skipping over facts on the way to drawing conclusions!

Although that sometimes causes you to act stupidly

The tops of the last 'a' in Anna and also the 'o' in Wintour are open, a signal of a person who enjoys voicing her own views but seldom invests the time to listen to others.

Why would you, when you know that the little people have nothing of import to say?

The 't' in Wintour is two or three times the altitude of the smaller letters. This is a signal of a personal pride that has ascended to the realm of vanity.

Wow! Big Guy’s “altitude” variation is 3 or 4 times that of Anna’s!!

There are hooks at the end of several letters that indicate that the writer is tenacious.

Well, I don’t see any hooks in Big Guy’s script. And he isn’t really tenacious; that’s why he surrounds himself with attack dogs who are.

 

Combined with her desire to acquire she won't let go of whatever she gets.

No matter what it takes!

The goals of this writer are practical and well within her fine capabilities.

Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner here.

And I understand there’s an opening for an Ambassador in Libya.

“I’m Valarie Jarrett, and I approve this message.”

 

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We Honor Artistic Expression

Hard to believe that it’s that season again. No, not “Christmas,” I’m talking about awards season, which kicks off with the annual Kennedy Center Honors Gala. Broadcast live from the Kennedy Center Opera House on CBS!

As always, this year’s honorees hail from the arts capitals of the world; Americans Blues guitarist Buddy Guy, actor/director Dustin Hoffman and all around cultural treasure, late night talk show host David Letterman. From the former Soviet Union we have ballerina Natalia Makarova who defected at the height of the Cold War (and is rumored to be  considering defecting back) and from Britain, the remaining members of Led Zeppelin - John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant.

The weekend-long celebration began with a dinner hosted by Hillary and the State Department on Saturday night.

In addition to Bill, Hill and the honorees, it was attended by many of the regular special friends and hangers on.

Sunday’s celebration began with a Big White reception for this year’s WINners:

 

 

As well as this year’s honorees:

 

Other cultural icons in attendance:

Gee, Nancy is nearly 20 years Caroline’s senior; how does she do it? She should share her beauty regimen and maybe start her own cosmetics line.

I think the remaining Led Zeppelin boys could benefit from her tips too.

 

(L) to (R) then and now: Robert, Jimmy, John Paul

Also attending the State dinner Saturday: Aretha, wearing a pink Cadillac on her recently downsized frame. Also spotted: Morgan Freeman who respectfully kept his hat on to keep his big brain in check, in deference to BO.

 

Then on to the Kennedy Center, where the red carpets were cluttered with even more of our celebrity fans and MSM cheerleaders: Alec, Norah, Jimmy, Steve and Tina.

 

 

Oh, and the Sunday event allowed for wardrobe changes. Nancy chose a flock of seagulls while fellow Californian Communist Progressive, Senator Barbara Boxer wore brown silk taffeta. I note that she, wisely, seems to be following Nancy’s beauty regimen these days. Amazing what you can afford on a public servant’s salary (that you’ve worked soooo hard to get).

 

 

And Aretha, for whatever reason, chose to attend the Sunday ceremonies as Cher, in an awning.

 

As is his style, Big Guy put his signature spin on things:

“Tonight’s honorees didn’t just take up their crafts to make a living.  They did it because they couldn’t imagine living any other way,”

“That passion took each of them from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of their profession.  Tonight, in the People’s House, we have a chance to say thank you.”

Now, don’t go getting all excited. It’s art.

Linked By: BadBlue, and Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and The Lonely Libertarian, and  BlogsLucianneLoves, and NOBO2012 on Free Republic, Thanks!

Some Pills Make You Larger, and Some Pills Make You Small

I went Christmas shopping yesterday, butt I didn’t buy anything. All the hubbub and pandemonium seemed to interfere with my circuits rendering me incapable of completing any transactions. Just as well, as everything I saw looked unsuitable for human consumption.

Malika Metallic Leather Sandals $995, Saks

Alexander McQueen Circle Tunic, $1545; tights sold separately

Mitsubishi 75" Laser TV with groundbreaking Laser Technology. $4499, Best Buy. Goofy glasses sold separately

I just couldn’t get into the spirit of the season so I stopped to have a cuppa Joe and watch the world go by. What I noticed going by, other than inordinately tight jeans on both men and women was a lot of people toting big red bags from the American Girl store. I don’t know if you’re familiar, butt American Girl dolls represent every period in American history and come with their own story books (and wardrobes, of course).

Who knew that in the age of iPods and iPhones girls still pined for dolls! And uniquely American dolls at that. Indeed, as I enjoyed my coffee break there were several little girls with their moms and grandmas playing with their American Girl dolls that apparently accompanied the family on the annual Christmas shopping trip.

One of the little girls was playing with her Julie doll, a hippie-era character from the 1970’s:

And another was toting her Kirsten Larson doll, a young Swedish girl whose family immigrated to America in the mid-1800s and moved to Minnesota:

While the Julie doll was cute, and vaguely familiar, I think for the current generation I would recommend the Kirsten doll. Learning a thing or two about the pioneering lifestyle may prove more useful to today’s girls than learning how to fight Julie’s War on Women. For one thing, the War on Women has already been waged and lost. So now we must just soldier on. I think that Kirsten’s life will teach girls more about what they’re going to need to know in the America of the future than Julie’s life will. Unless of course you still think the major problem a young Julie and Kirsten will be facing is likely to be figuring out who will pay for their contraceptives.

Since Big Guy has pretty much sealed the deal on a downsized America, I think they’ll have bigger issues to contend with. Because after decades – centuries actually – of steady economic progress that resulted in greater health, wealth, and general well-being for Americans, all indications are that we are now in reverse.

Labor force participation is the lowest it’s been in 30 years, personal debt is at an all time high, employment at a low unseen in generations, personal savings is the lowest in years, ditto home equity. No wonder median net worth in the US reached its lowest point since 1969. We’re moving FORWARD! From behind.

All of which demonstrates that the private sector is doing fine, butt the economy is still in trouble. Which is why we need to tax the rich more; so we can develop more government jobs. Or something.

Butt I digress: here’s why I think your daughter or granddaughter should have a Kirsten doll: she can learn how to raise a family of 6 “sustainably” in a tiny log cabin; a life skill that could prove useful in After America world.

If you don’t believe me, you should check out this story:

Step into an alleyway in the Northeast Washington neighborhood known as Stronghold, and you will see a vegetable patch, a campfire, a view of the Capitol and a cluster of what neighbors call “those tiny people, building their tiny houses.”

So obviously we need to downsize our expectations considerably.

The old American Dream:R.I.P. McMansions: 1988-2008

The new American Dream:A tiny house in Washington D.C.’s alley community of Stronghold

The small homes, some on wheels, don’t warrant many trips to the Container Store. There are no kitchen islands, three-car garages or living rooms that are never lived in. In fact, their increasing popularity could be seen as a denunciation of conspicuous consumption and a rejection of the idea that more is, well, more.

Oh sure, the new American Dream homes are only 200 square feet. Butt how much room to you suppose Laura Ingalls’ family had?

 

It’s really just a natural regression: downsized net worth, income, savings, expectations…a downsized house is inevitable.

So here’s MOTUS’ Christmas shopping tip of the day: if there’s a little girl in your life, consider getting her an American Girl Doll from the early American history collection. That way, when she grows too old to play with dolls, she’ll at least have a place to live.

If these affordable homes — which maximize every inch of interior space and look a little like well-constructed playhouses — are the dream, they represent a radically fresh version of what it takes to make Americans happy.

From 1950 to 2000, the size of the average American house increased by 230 percent, but home sizes have been declining since 2007,

The moral of today’s story:

Don’t drink the Kool-Aid, because it may well cause you to shrink. Unless you find shrinking “radically fresh” stick with the tea trolley.

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