Kyl Bile

Senator Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, is my current peeve. Kyl undistinguished himself yesterday on NBC's "Meet The Press" by defending his hold on the strategic arms treaty with the Russians and insisting that many of the issues involving modernization of nuclear weapon facilities have to debated thoroughly, and that Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid's agenda, which was repudiated at the polls earlier this month (actually, the Democrats kept the Senate by losing fewer seats than expected, thanks to Reid's own re-election, but never mind) don't allow such a debate in the lame-duck session. Kyl also defended continuing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, insisting that low tax rates will enable job creation. Really? These tax cuts were enacted nearly a decade ago, and jobs have been lost, not created. Tonight, Chris Matthews brought up an earlier quote from the Arizona lawmaker on extending jobless benefits, which he (Kyl) opposes even as he favors letting the rich keep more money that won't be spent to help the economy; extending unemployment benefits, he said, promotes sloth and laziness rather than encouraging people to find a job.

Hearing Kyl pontificate on economic issues as if he were an expert on the economy is like hearing Madonna defend her artistic integrity. Most people who collect unemployment benefits only get about $250 to $300 a week, far less than they made when they were working. They'd happy to get a job that allows them to make ends meet, but there are five applicants for every job in this country. And the Republicans are ready to let unemployment benefits run out so they can give the rich more tax reductions. Well, Senator Kyl, I'm actually out of work, but I'm not lazy, thank you very much. I write on this blog regularly. I tirelessly grind out my thoughts, opinions, musings, and all other sorts of stuff. I work very hard at keeping this blog going and I am vigorously pursuing my latest venture - bashing Republicans. And this week, Senator Kyl, I'm devoting my craft to singling you out for special abuse!

I'm working, I'm just not getting paid for this.

Jon Kyl . . .. Call me trivial, but I don't trust anyone who spells his entire name with only six letters. Even Madonna uses seven.