Left In Lowell

The first really big governor’s debate before the primary is this Thursday, Sept 7! It will air on NECN at 7pm. Should be really fun.

If you have a decent-sized living room and want to host a debate-watching party for Deval supporters, please email me - lynne [at] leftinlowellDOTcom (replace appropriate bits).

Or “Desperate Housewives” or “Grey’s Anatomy.” Not unless ABC pulls the very obviously fact-averse new fakumentary, due to arrogantly air in two parts next Sunday and Monday (Sept 10th and 11th), “Path to 9/11.” It will, of course, blame everything on former President Clinton, with no mention of any lapses by Mr. Bush.

Thank God “House MD” is on another channel, I’d be devastated to have to boycott that.

Why should you, a reality-based person, be outraged and demand ABC pull this crass docudrama or else you will stop watching any of their shows?

Maybe because they will falsely claim that the CIA had bin Laden’s surrounded and Clinton’s administration refused to take him out? (It never happened.)

Perhaps because ABC proved this docucrap is propaganda of the Right by releasing advanced copies only to GOP bloggers so they can give it glowing reviews and drum up the authoritarian conservative audience? (Despite the largest blogs being the left-leaning ones.)

Maybe because it purports to be “objective” while playing fast and loose with facts, or maybe because its creator is a longtime conservative and Rush Limbaugh friend? Or because they hired the Republican 9/11 Commission chair but not the Democrat?

There were a lot of failures leading up to 9/11, many of them laid directly at the feet of a president who was recieving reports of imminent attack but stayed on vacation.

Write to ABC and tell them you are through watching all of their (pretty mediocre) shows unless they agree to pull this crap off the air. I’ve slowly weaned myself off of most of the drek spewing out of the mainstream channels, but I’ll even give up Bill Shatner. No more ABC News, no more sitcoms, not until they figure out how they are hurting America.

9/11 was a painful, terrible event that touched every one of us, no matter what our political stripes. It deserves to be treated better than to be used as manipulated political propaganda, something the Republicans know only too well how to do. Now, our public airwaves are being used as one such arm of 9/11 propaganda, just when Republicans are hoping to stave off anti-incumbant sentiment in the 2006 elections. ABC should have its airwave licence taken away. In the meantime, ABC exists no more in my household (sorry, hon).

Myth myth myth: we pay more in this state in taxes than most other ones.

You’ve got to read this user post by latebloomer on BMG.

According to the not-so-liberal Tax Foundation, Massachusetts ranks only 28th out of 50 states in its combined state and local tax burden while our local property taxes per capita are 7th highest in the nation and almost 50% higher than the national average. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, we have the 4th highest local tax burden for support of public education among the 50 states and the 13th highest local burden as a percent of income.

To make matters worse, Massachusetts was identified by the National Conference of State Legislatures this spring as one of 19 states expected to have a structural deficit in FY07 and FY08. Just because there’s state revenue growth doesn’t mean the budget is balanced.

So, tell me again why we are still talking about a suicidal tax rollback? When we should be calling for a progressive income tax (raising the tax rate on people in the top percentages of the income scale)?