How biased is the media?

To get an idea of just how biased media has become, try to imagine the media reaction if the Tea Party acted like the Democrats and unions in Wisconsin and other states, and if far right groups comparable to the far left/socialist groups were participating, and if the Tea Party had become violent.

If the Tea Party acted like the Left, there would be congressional investigations, and Chris Matthews would put together a special regarding Right Wing mobs attempting to take over state governments. Every headline would have "extrem right-wing" and "violence" in it.

The mild and mostly favorable coverage of the union protests is indicative of media bias. It's really an amazing contrast.

Will the Egyptian dictatorship prevail?

Will the military squash the "revolution"? It seems to me that nothing much is going to change in Egypt after all is said and done, and I don't know if conservative reaction is being caused by external or internal forces. Perhaps everyone involved in power, both in Egypt, the US and other nations who have an interest in the status quo have decided a revolution is too risky - but won't this require violent suppression of the Egyptian people by the military? That's what happened in Iran not long ago, and in China. The US will condemn it, and then it will not be a news story.

For all the concern about what might take the place of the status quo in Egypt, a military dictatorship is not likely better for the Egyptian people. I suppose it all hinges on what the people are willing to risk, and if they are serious about freedom or just want another form of control. The bottom line is that it's a bad situation and ultimately Egypt's problem, but as an American citizen I believe what the US should do is decide what we believe in and act with integrity. The policy of deceit and realism has failed.

The left gears up for battle

Between now and 2012 the left is going to do battle in the streets to push the Democrats into progressive action. Several groups are aligning, counting the communists, to take advantage of the historic election of Barack Obama. Progressives, unions, socialists and confused liberals of all stripes see this moment in time as their chance for major change, and capitalism in all its forms is the enemy.

The left is not going to let this opportunity slip by without pushing its various agendas into law. As the economy continues to churn, and as free enterprise continues to get bashed in the news, a populist movement on the left will recreate the spirit of the 60s.  We'll likely see many incidences of violence before it's over with, because to the left this is becoming a war and the end justifies the means. The corporate control of America, from the left's perspective, is going to end. I agree with them about corporate/government cronyism, but our solutions are very different. The left blames the free market for corrupting government, but I believe the government has corrupted the free market. Government intervention has created a business environment which attracts the most unscrupulous, political animals in society to fight for government favors, and the government doles them out in a huge political game of power and control.

The left believes the right kind of people need to be in government to teach the rest of us how to think and live, and to end capitalism once and for all. This is simplified, but we need straight talk, not platitudes and dense academic rhetoric which says the same thing, only boringly. The left is going to over-play its hand and create a backlash that could be good or bad. We don't need an authoritarian, right-wing backlash to establish control and protect tradition -- we need a libertaian backlash which works to limt government and end corporate welfare -- we need to separate government and the economy. How this battle ends will be important to the future.