'Watch out taxpayers, they're coming for your wallets'

Meredith Warren was a guest on NECN's Morning Show this morning, where she talked about Governor Deval Patrick's State of the Commonwealth address:



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And the Golden Globes went to… the political gutter

You knew how it was going to go from the very beginning, with all of the references to Sarah Palin and the like.

Last night's Golden Globes show was a full-on display of how political, and how overtly-liberal, Hollywood has become.

It wasn't surprising. But, it was disappointing.

It's more than just the fact that most of the works in contention for awards last night were political in nature (Argo, Game Change, Political Animals, Lincoln, even Les Miserables).

It's that nearly everyone, from the hosts, to the introducers, to the award recipients, felt the need to politicize the evening and to make a connection between art and political life.

We wonder, was last night really intended to showcase and recognize acting talent, or was it to praise and reward those who successfully mocked Republicans on the Silver Screen?

Take, for example, Jay Roach, director of the movie Game Change. He praised HBO for its support of the movie, which he said earned HBO the title "Huge Brave Operation".

Apparently, what Roach meant was that HBO deserved credit for helping to mock Sarah Palin and her campaign. Roach said, "With you and Tina Fey, we now have the three most incredible impersonations of Sarah Palin, counting Sarah Palin". He was talking, of course, about fellow award recipient Julianne Moore, who played Palin in the movie and who took the opportunity to "give a shout out to two people who I think made a significant difference in the 2008 election – Tina Fey and Katie Couric".

It's almost amusing how obsessed Hollywood is with Sarah Palin. Most of the rest of America has already moved on. Then again, maybe it's not surprising, considering many in the room last night and others in their industry have made a lot of money poking fun at Sarah Palin and her family. (And then, of course, there are the rest of the people in the room, who made their fortunes making shoot-em-up violent movies and now want more gun control. But, that's for another post.)

Sadly, it appears to be in vogue to make fun of women like Palin who have the courage to run for elective office, even when you're in an industry that normally prides itself in supporting rights for women in society. And everyone who supports women's rights should be ashamed by that.

We wonder what Lena Dunham, who won two awards for her role in HBO's comedy Girls, thought of all this. She herself starred in a 2012 Obama for America campaign ad, "Your First Time," where (in the context of comparing voting to losing her virginity), she said she wanted to vote for someone who cares about women.

Dunham, of course, wasn't the top Democrat in the room. In fact, not even Eva Longoria, outspoken 2012 National Co-chair for Obama for America, could claim that honor. That award went to Bill Clinton, who was called upon to introduce clips from the movie Lincoln. In so doing, Clinton invoked Lincoln's legacy to encourage Democrats and Republicans to work together. We're thinking Lincoln himself wouldn't take kindly to having his legacy being used to encourage Republicans to give in to Democrats on the debt ceiling. But it was.

We know some people will tell us to lighten up, that it's just entertainment. But one man's entertainment is another man's political intolerance. Imagine if you replaced Republicans with any other group as the butt of all the jokes last night. There would be widespread (justifiable) disapproval. But, since it's Hollywood, and it's Republicans, it's OK. We think that's unfortunate. And, as Republicans, we just don't feel welcome anymore.

If Hollywood is going to talk politics, let's make it equal opportunity. Otherwise, it's just gratuitous piling on, and there's nothing funny about that.

We're going to think twice about dropping money on tickets to the next Steven Spielberg or Tom Hanks movie. These days, it seems like you're just making a direct donation to the Democratic Party, and we're not in a giving mood.

Fred Van Magness talks politics on NECN

Campaign jobs talk is over, but unemployment lines haven't disappeared

It was 7:57am this morning. The air was cold, there was frost on the grass, and most of the roadways were busy with people on their way to work.

But on a section of sidewalk downtown, there was a different scene unfolding. Here, the sidewalk was full not of people on their way to work, but waiting in line to hopefully find work at the local employment office.

It's sad to see so many people out of work, and in such desperate hopes of finding a job, especially around the holidays.

But, what's also sad is how little attention is being paid to these people since the election a few weeks ago.

Once the speeches were over and the voting booths closed, it's as if the headlines evaporated. No more focus on unemployment numbers. No more talk of how to get America back to work again. All we're left with, it seems, is talk of the impending 'fiscal cliff' in Washington, D.C.

That, and of course, the lines of unemployed. They're still there, and there's little chance of them disappearing any time soon.

Democrats in Washington have adopted a two-fold strategy. First, they have lumped together all of our nation's economic woes into a neatly-composed package, which they've styled as the 'fiscal cliff' and which they have done an effective job of blaming on the Republicans. Second, the President and Congressional Democrats are fixated on taxing the rich, making limited budget cuts which wouldn't put a dent in our debt, and passing another big-ticket economic stimulus bill.

President Obama got reelected in spite of the poor economy that has plagued America for the past few years. He didn't have clear solutions to the unemployment problem during the election. And, now that he's found his way back to another four-year term, we still haven't heard anything about how he's going to fix things.

This would seem to present a huge opportunity for Republicans to make advances. But, unfortunately, Republicans are just as much to blame. Instead of demonstrating leadership and presenting their own plan for how to deal with things, Republicans have instead looked to the President to set the agenda and offered just a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Meanwhile, Republicans have done little to debunk allegations that they're only interested in protecting the rich from higher taxes or that they're being obstructionist.

And so, the best thing that nearly one in ten Americans can do these days is to stand in line in the cold and wait for a job. But, it's tough to find reason for hope these days, with a steady stream of news of added layoffs. For example, since the election, Reebok announced plans to lay off 10 percent of its workforce, including 65 jobs right here in Massachusetts.

Democrats and Republicans must stop being obsessed with reforming entitlements and deciding how much to raise/cut taxes. Neither party seems to pay any attention to the underlying issues, things like reducing the reliance on entitlements and generating personal income through added employment. The Bush tax cuts are virtually meaningless for people who don't have a job. And, entitlement programs are a lot less necessary for people who have steady, good-paying jobs.

Obviously, our candidate of choice didn't win in November. But, now that the election is over, it's about governing, not winning. Governing requires leadership. America is in desperate need these days of real leadership. And, sadly, there is no one in either party right now who appears up to the challenge.

We're waiting to see who will step forward.