It's a Day After to Celebrate Fantine Thing

Dear America,

and the Oscar goes to....

President Obama.

...for a stunning performance once again -- and expecting nothing less always and forever -- building up Sequester Hysteria; as this link steers you to a powerfully convincing argument bringing this disastrous drama to life.   Kudos to Arnold Ahlert for this:

"Such threats are completely unsurprising. Behind the facade of hope and change this administration and its media cheerleaders promote lives the extortionist "never let a crisis go to waste" mentality that truly animates those for whom such thuggish, "Chicago-style" tactics are considered business as usual. After four years and two victorious elections, Barack Obama remains, at heart, not a president, but a community organizer completely comfortable with the politics of demonization, division and fear.

Again, as Americans contemplate the "devastation" that will supposedly befall us, the Wall Street Journal reminds us that perspective is everything. 'Fear not,' they write. 'As always in Washington when there is talk of cutting spending, most of the hysteria is baseless....In Mr. Obama's first two years, while private businesses and households were spending less and deleveraging, federal domestic discretionary spending soared by 84% with some agencies doubling and tripling their budgets' (italic mine).

One last thing. More Americans need to become familiar with the concept of baseline budgeting. In simple terms, if an agency's budget is $100, and they are expecting an increase of $10.00 next year, but they only get $8.00, politicians characterize that as a $2.00 cut in spending. Concerning the entire $1.2 trillion in "cuts" engendered by the sequester, it must be understood that they are not really cuts at all. They are really a lowering of the projected increase in federal spending going forward. The CBO cuts through the fog. 'For the 2014-2023 period, deficits in CBO's baseline projections total $7.0 trillion. With such deficits, federal debt would remain above 73 percent of GDP -- far higher than the 39 percent average seen over the past four decades,' it reports."

Read Ahlert's entire piece, if you will; it's really good.

Isn't it interesting in the Oscar commentary, we always get the guys and dolls who make some kind of humanitarian statement against violence in one form or another.  I can't really recall who it was this time (forgotten on purpose, I'm sure), but it was a line that extended his one true wish, that 'our battles' would one day be resolved through more peaceful means...says the honorary spokesman of the hour for the industry making entertainment out of it.

Sure, we get it Hollywood.

However, Mr. I-don't-remember-your-name, do you not see the hypocrisy? Hollywood makes billions off of violence.

Either literally, with the cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, and the bevy of films on every battle from here to eternity and kingdom come --  to the more 'subtle' messages  (if we can even call them that) depicting 120 minutes of non-stop violence against women, children, traditional family, family values,  even religion. 

Considering the Oscar's were dedicated to musicals this time around, let's find some perspective, long gone is the era of Gene Kelly and Bing Crosby and Judy Garland and Julie Andrews.

Hollywood makes bank off of unimaginable brutality and sordid story, brought expressly to the silver screen, in every possible context and rendition.

While even little miss princess diary had to chime in,  as Anne Hathaway had to take two seconds at the end of her acceptance speech to say something like, ooh maybe one day,  "Here's hoping that in the not-to-distant future the misfortunes of Fantine will only be found in stories."  ooh, but wait...[long melodramatic pause]without the story of Fantine, I would still be a lady-in-waiting off the spoils of a princess meets Prada...Who's really using Fantine now, huh, Anne?  hmmm me thinks thou protest in jest, oui?

AND SERIOUSLY?

Michelle Obama?

I would bet my life everybody was thinking Lincoln would take home best picture; there is just no other way to think about that strange programming interruption.  She's like, "ARGO." yay.

But speaking of which, just love love love how Daniel Day-Lewis accepted his Oscar; a Brit playing one of the most admired and respected presidents ever in American history and being just as much in awe of the man as any American... Something kinda funny about that, but maybe it's just me.

Let me also do a shout out to Ang Lee, getting the Oscar for directing Life of Pi.  How adorable is he?   Very happy it wasn't just automatically handed over to the icon in the room (Spielberg).

I am honestly surprised I made it all the way through the night.  The first fifteen minutes were awkward, weird, stupid and sophomoric...little old g was so close to turning it all off.  But like a frequently heard community service announcement in between sit-coms, "it gets better" -- it got better.  Happy to say I made it through the spectacle -- the brutal attack upon human intelligence that it was -- if only to have the opportunity to talk about it this morning, right?  Without last night's extravagances of ego, Hollywood wealth, and designer gowns and baubles...just what slant, narrative, opinion, would this day's diary, soon to be a documentary, hold?   [just kidding, people.  relax.  I recognize the small fish that I am.   And I am what I am.  No docu-drama is forthcoming.]

It's just a day like any other; G is just taking cues from the president.

But be sure to read the post from The Patriot Post, by Arnold Ahlert, Sequester Hysteria, and linked just for you, above.  That pretty much says it all.  Too bad there isn't an award for it.

Make it a Good Day, G