

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.


Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Comedian Bob Newhart once based a routine on the thesis that if we equip an infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of typewriters, eventually they will write the great books. As I inspect the now 17 Republican presidential candidates, I have begun to suspect that this is a null hypothesis.
Newhart is checking the infinite monkey results: "twzzz.lkrrrnttttyyy." No, nothing there. "abababhabqb." Hmm? Hey Jim, I think we've got something here! "To be or not to be, that is thegamaiqillpicffffc."
Comedian Bob Newhart once based a routine on the thesis that if we equip an infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of typewriters, eventually they will write the great books. As I inspect the now 17 Republican presidential candidates, I have begun to suspect that this is a null hypothesis.
Newhart is checking the infinite monkey results: "twzzz.lkrrrnttttyyy." No, nothing there. "abababhabqb." Hmm? Hey Jim, I think we've got something here! "To be or not to be, that is thegamaiqillpicffffc."
I recall this whenever I see Republicans campaigning for president by trying to tap into economic populism. They start with appropriately grandiloquent anger about the moral depravity of income inequality and indignation about what the hucksters did to the personal economies of a whole generation. But when it comes to solutions, it turns into gibberish.
Here's Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas): "The rich and powerful, those who walk the corridors of power, are getting fat and happy under the Obama economic agenda. (Sic) The top 1 percent, the millionaires and billionaires who the president loves to demagogue, they earn a higher share of our national income than any time since 1928."
OK Mr. Occupy! But the remedy? On Cruz's website you will see that his agenda is to repeal Obamacare, make it easier for corporations to pollute, shut down the Federal Government, and destroy the Medicare prescription drug program. thegamaiqillpicffffc.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) worries over income inequality and recommends a flat tax system and repeal of taxes on capital gains - ideas that dramatically increase inequality.
How about former Texas governor Rick Perry trying to channel Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren?
"The American people see a rigged game," he declares. "where insiders get rich, and the middle class pays the tab. There is something wrong when the Dow is near record highs, and businesses on Main Street can't even get a loan. Since when did capitalism involve the elimination of risk for the biggest banks while regulations strangle our community banks?"
To his credit, Perry almost endorsed laws to wall off banking from speculative investment, but not quite. He then immediately came out for a tax cut for corporations and refused to support the idea that the big banks should be broken into smaller pieces.
To regulate vigorously or not to regulate vigorously that is thegamaiqillpicffffc.
We need a strong, effective central government to keep the avaricious from totally ripping us off. But these crypto-populists are merely being demagogic about the problem while spouting gibberish about the solution.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Comedian Bob Newhart once based a routine on the thesis that if we equip an infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of typewriters, eventually they will write the great books. As I inspect the now 17 Republican presidential candidates, I have begun to suspect that this is a null hypothesis.
Newhart is checking the infinite monkey results: "twzzz.lkrrrnttttyyy." No, nothing there. "abababhabqb." Hmm? Hey Jim, I think we've got something here! "To be or not to be, that is thegamaiqillpicffffc."
I recall this whenever I see Republicans campaigning for president by trying to tap into economic populism. They start with appropriately grandiloquent anger about the moral depravity of income inequality and indignation about what the hucksters did to the personal economies of a whole generation. But when it comes to solutions, it turns into gibberish.
Here's Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas): "The rich and powerful, those who walk the corridors of power, are getting fat and happy under the Obama economic agenda. (Sic) The top 1 percent, the millionaires and billionaires who the president loves to demagogue, they earn a higher share of our national income than any time since 1928."
OK Mr. Occupy! But the remedy? On Cruz's website you will see that his agenda is to repeal Obamacare, make it easier for corporations to pollute, shut down the Federal Government, and destroy the Medicare prescription drug program. thegamaiqillpicffffc.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) worries over income inequality and recommends a flat tax system and repeal of taxes on capital gains - ideas that dramatically increase inequality.
How about former Texas governor Rick Perry trying to channel Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren?
"The American people see a rigged game," he declares. "where insiders get rich, and the middle class pays the tab. There is something wrong when the Dow is near record highs, and businesses on Main Street can't even get a loan. Since when did capitalism involve the elimination of risk for the biggest banks while regulations strangle our community banks?"
To his credit, Perry almost endorsed laws to wall off banking from speculative investment, but not quite. He then immediately came out for a tax cut for corporations and refused to support the idea that the big banks should be broken into smaller pieces.
To regulate vigorously or not to regulate vigorously that is thegamaiqillpicffffc.
We need a strong, effective central government to keep the avaricious from totally ripping us off. But these crypto-populists are merely being demagogic about the problem while spouting gibberish about the solution.
Comedian Bob Newhart once based a routine on the thesis that if we equip an infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of typewriters, eventually they will write the great books. As I inspect the now 17 Republican presidential candidates, I have begun to suspect that this is a null hypothesis.
Newhart is checking the infinite monkey results: "twzzz.lkrrrnttttyyy." No, nothing there. "abababhabqb." Hmm? Hey Jim, I think we've got something here! "To be or not to be, that is thegamaiqillpicffffc."
I recall this whenever I see Republicans campaigning for president by trying to tap into economic populism. They start with appropriately grandiloquent anger about the moral depravity of income inequality and indignation about what the hucksters did to the personal economies of a whole generation. But when it comes to solutions, it turns into gibberish.
Here's Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas): "The rich and powerful, those who walk the corridors of power, are getting fat and happy under the Obama economic agenda. (Sic) The top 1 percent, the millionaires and billionaires who the president loves to demagogue, they earn a higher share of our national income than any time since 1928."
OK Mr. Occupy! But the remedy? On Cruz's website you will see that his agenda is to repeal Obamacare, make it easier for corporations to pollute, shut down the Federal Government, and destroy the Medicare prescription drug program. thegamaiqillpicffffc.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) worries over income inequality and recommends a flat tax system and repeal of taxes on capital gains - ideas that dramatically increase inequality.
How about former Texas governor Rick Perry trying to channel Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren?
"The American people see a rigged game," he declares. "where insiders get rich, and the middle class pays the tab. There is something wrong when the Dow is near record highs, and businesses on Main Street can't even get a loan. Since when did capitalism involve the elimination of risk for the biggest banks while regulations strangle our community banks?"
To his credit, Perry almost endorsed laws to wall off banking from speculative investment, but not quite. He then immediately came out for a tax cut for corporations and refused to support the idea that the big banks should be broken into smaller pieces.
To regulate vigorously or not to regulate vigorously that is thegamaiqillpicffffc.
We need a strong, effective central government to keep the avaricious from totally ripping us off. But these crypto-populists are merely being demagogic about the problem while spouting gibberish about the solution.