What Is Romney Thinking? (Or is He?)

I haven't posted any political diatribes in about four years; but it's that time again. All the pundits are talking about the latest Romney "gaffe" in which he told $50,000 a plate donors his dismissive view of nearly half of Americans.  I don't think it was a "gaffe," I think it was Romney being honest about what he believes.  The fact is what he believes is not only wrong, it's stupid.  The 47% of the American people who are dyed-in-the-wool Obama supporters are not all moochers.  I'm not.  I support Obama and I pay income taxes -- lots of them.  The best discussion I've seen about Romney's comments are by John Cassidy in The New Yorker.  They're worth your while to read.

Beyond the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a very well-written book. Although non-fiction, it reads like a story. The author tells about the lives over several years of some of the people in one of the slums around the airport in Mumbai, India. Real names are used and the stories are not pretty. The book pretty much demolishes the romantic notion that poor people help each other and live a good life without money. The people she describes live a miserable life and they know it. Several characters commit suicide by drinking rat poison. The book is so detailed with conversations and thoughts that I have some questions about whether liberties were taken for the sake of the story. The author claims not. Time will tell. If it is a work of fiction, it is still extremely well done.

Richard Ford: Wildlife

Wildlife by Richard Ford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a great example of the kind of writing I like to read. Nothing fancy, just a straightforward story told in simple prose. It's about three days in the life of a 16-year-old in Bozeman, Montana. His life seems to fall apart when his father goes off to fight a forest fire and his mother has an affair with a wealthy man in town. Ford doesn't insult his readers' intelligence by spelling out for them how as characters are feeling. The reader figures it out by the characters' speech and actions. I need to read some more of Ford's books.