The pot calling the kettle black redux. I found this tidbit while perusing economist Dean Baker's blog:
“That is not the name of Bono's organization, [i.e, Tax Evaders for Increased Foreign Aid] but perhaps it should be. The NYT devoted an article to the Irish rock star's complaints about 'a particular crisis of credibility' among wealthy countries who have not carried though on their commitments to help poor countries. Such words are especially ironic coming from Bono. He became a Dutch citizen a few years back to take advantage of a provision in the Netherlands tax code that applies a very low tax rate to royalty income.” [Link in original]
Go figure, eh? Just like the George Clooneys, Rosie O'Donnells, Angelina Jolies, and such like amongst the glitterati who all employ the best tax evasion/avoidance schemes the worlds best bankers, tax accountants, and lawyers can devise to avoid paying their “fair share” of taxes which would presumably then be redistributed to the world's poor, Mr. Rock Star shields his own wealth the best he can while calling the rest of us cheap. Sheesh. Wadda hypocrite.
On Ron Paul's “Gaffe” at the GOP Debate
Above link is the YouTube clip of what transpired.
Ex-NYC mayor Rudy Guliani jumped on Ron Paul's ill-stated but quit correct assertion that the US wouldn't be such a target of hatred in the world if we left the rest of world the hell alone. Not how Rudy sees it though. He was there, see, and so he knows that isn't why al-Qaeda blew up the WTC on 9/11. How he knows this, Rudy G. never fully explained, (but then does he ever?) The thing that I found most discouraging were all the guffaws and hoots from the studio audience and the smirks and eyerolling from the punditry about Paul's being an “isolationist (like that's a bad thing), or that Paul is just a nutso libertarian.
But then it probably is nutso to ever think that a Republican-Libertarian alliance or common front would ever succeed anyhow given the total transformation of the GOP (the party of Isolationism until World War II started) into the modern day War Party under the leadership of Bush and the neo-cons.
Dr. Paul's noble last ditch attempt to guide the GOP out of the quagmire is now shown to be wholly futile, but I do admit it was a brave and noble gesture on his part. Don't be surprised if the American Idol-style of political debate and the mainstream media pundits and plutocrats who run it, “vote” Dr. Paul off the stage pretty damn soon. And so it goes.
Techorati Tags:
Ron_Paul, Rudolf_Guliani , isolationism, Bono, world_poverty
