What America Doesn't Care About

President Biden gave a speech yesterday on the right to abortion and the need to keep it legal at a time when James Carville and Bernie Sanders are saying that Democrats should be talking more about the economy.

In a New York Times / Siena poll released on Monday, the economy and inflation were the top concerns among people surveyed, 26 percent an 18 percent, respectively.  Abortion was a top concern of only 5 percent of voters.  And the Republicans have an edge on economic issues.

So Biden is talking about anything but the economy.  I get the impression that this is the reaction most Americans have to Biden's comments on anything not related to the economy:

Don't get me wrong, I think it sucks that women's rights are under assault.  I also think it sucks that contraception, gay marriage, and possibly interracial marriage could be revisited by the Supreme Court.  But when it comes down to the nitty-grity, even the left-of-center suburban women Biden was trying to rally will vote Republican.  Remember that white rap song from 1985 performed by Jim Belushi and Pamela Sue Martin on "Saturday Night Live?"  "I'm liberated, I joined NOW / I voted for Reagan anyhow / Because his tax and budget cuts / Will hurt other people - but not us!"

In the end, Americans by and large don't care about the assault on the rights of this . . . 

. . . or this . . . 

. . . or this.

Okay, maybe a lot of them do.  But the thing Americans will always care about the most is this:

 

That's why, in 2016 (and possibly once again in 2024), they chose (and may again choose) this.

See you 'round the clubs.

About First Night . . .

When it was announced that the Big Apple Circus would be performing at the First Night 2011 celebration this New Year's Eve in Montclair, New Jersey, I thought, "Wow, that's astonishing! Montclair is still having a First Night celebration this year?"

Well, maybe not. The ongoing economic slump and drastic cuts in municipal budgets of even an upscale suburb like Montclair, New Jersey, have cast doubt on its ability to have a First Night celebration of any kind this year. The Big Apple Circus is in fact a big name in these parts, and landing them for First Night is a major coup, but so far that's all the organizers can afford. They can't even pay for police protection, promotional materials, or ticket printing. Marc Dashield, Montclair's township manager, had hoped that the town could stage a pared-down celebration, but with time passing quickly and little planning having been made, hope is dimming. They don't even have a cultural affairs coordinator in Montclair anymore; that position was eliminated in a mass municipal layoff. On top of that, vendors involved in such big events want their money up front, even as it takes the municipality that's organizing the whole darn thing months to get the necessary approvals and the like.

So, eh, how much money have the First Night organizers raised? A paltry $20,000. That's enough to buy a base Hyundai Sonata. It's also enough, apparently, to book a big-name act for a First Night celebration, but not enough to pay for anything else.

Look, I'm no municipal budget expert, but if you have twenty grand to spend, and you're still bringing in donations from folks who don't want to see First Night go down in flames, but it's still not enough to book the Big Apple Circus and pay for everything else, well, how about this for an idea? Ditch the Big Apple Circus! We don't need Grandma the Clown and all that lot! Spend the money you have on putting it together, not attracting big-name entertainers! Get small-time entertainers to donate their time and talents! They're just as good, they're just not as famous! I myself know several performing artists who might be interested. Heck, Montclair has plenty of entertainers among its population. They also have plenty of empty stores to have the performances in! So get the landlords involved!

You know, this reminds me of a story about how Lionel Richie planned to have big names appear on his second solo album, but he ditched the idea when he realized that getting big pop stars to make guest appearances on his record was less important than finding musicians who could best serve his songs. That album ended up winning a Grammy and producing three hit singles. So, maybe having the Big Apple Circus for First Night is less important than actually having a First Night. Because without First Night, folks will be spending New Year's Eve either going out and drinking or staying at home and watching the ball drop in Times Square while munching on bite-size egg rolls from the toaster oven. Because for many people, First Night is the only real public gathering opportunity for New Year's Eve under any circumstances.

Sorry, Grandma.

Follow The Money

A lot of stories involving money have been floating around the water cooler. Well, the water cooler in my mind, anyway.

First, the NBC late-night fiasco. Late word is that the 11:35 PM -12:35 AM Eastern time slot will not be halved to accommodate Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien. Rather, "The Tonight Show" would be pushed back to 12:05 AM, with Jimmy Fallon at "Late Night" starting at 1:05. NBC had clearly hoped to maximize ratings - and, of course, profits - by re-arranging the late-night schedule to accommodate and retain all three comedians while appeasing affiliates with traditional prime time programming at 10 PM Eastern for lead-ins to local late night news. The network has had its plans thwarted by O'Brien, who has refused to go along with the idea, dismissing it as impugning the integrity of "The Tonight Show" and being unfair to Fallon by pushing his show so deep into the wee small hours of the morning. O'Brien laments that he has not been given enough time to build up an audience because of the network's troubles. But hey, it's all about the money these days, isn't it?

Meanwhile, in Washington, the Obama administration is considering taxes on commercial banks and investment banks that have received federal bailout money from the government - even from those that have paid back their loans - in an effort to recoup the government's infusion of cash at the beginning of the fiscal crisis and compensate for the money the banks lost in the recklessness that led to the events of 9/15. The bank taxes and fees proposed would target bonuses and executive pay and address incurred by the Troubled Assets Recovery Program. The banks don't like this, of course, but President Obama certainly believes it could pay down the deficit, restore fairness in the Wall Street-Main Street paradigm, and, not so coincidentally, improve his standing with voters on economic issues and avoid serious Democratic losses in the midterms.

The attempt to avoid a serious Democratic loss in Massachusetts, meanwhile, continues with leading Democrats sending e-mail after e-mail urging emergency contributions for Martha Coakley's campaign against Republican Scott Brown as she fights for her political life leading up to the special Senate election for Ted Kennedy's seat next Tuesday. I've gotten several such e-mails. Please, if I were interested in spending money on a woman I may not hear from again in a week, I'd go back to dating! :-O