Smile and Wave at 2012

The last entry for the year, and what a year it has been! Obama was re-elected after an election season which I swear began sometime during the War of 1812. Now the boys and girls in Washington are dealing with the fiscal crisis which they created in 2011. Many hoped that Obama would be a lame duck president at this point, but damn the voters, they were tricked again!

Will the House Republicans embrace the virtue of compromise? Will a deal be struck in the Senate? Or will we all have to pay higher taxes and endure service cuts due to the dithering of a do-nothing, stubborn Congress? At this point (this is being written during a snowy Saturday afternoon in southeast Pennsylvania), the situation looks gloomy for a deal to be made in the next two days.

It is usually traditional at times like this to reflect back at the year just passed, and look forward with optimism for the future. Or we can let the whole thing devolve into snarky satire. 

Optimism? Sentimentality! Ha! Snort! Come on, you know me better than that! Bring on the snark!

Before we do this blog’s grand finale for the year, I should thank those who unknowingly inspired my blog writing this year: Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Rush Limbaugh, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Michelle Bachmann, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter, all the boys and girls at Fox News, and just about any other Tea Party conservative that dared to espouse their intolerant philosophy this year. Ladies and gentlemen, where would I be without you? I look forward to your continued contributions to our national debate next year.

Thank you also to my most loyal readers Janey and Bob. Thank you both for your comments and insights.

Thanks also to everyone else who looked in and lingered for a few minutes. Come back soon and leave a comment. I promise I don’t bite…too much.

Thank you once again to my editor, Anne Marie, and our two ladies, Meredith and Nyla, who are the joys of our lives!

Now, the promised grand finale for 2012: a first for this blog, a video tribute to our forthcoming economic disaster which is now waiting in the wings of our destiny. Should we greet the coming financial apocalypse with cries of despair, or laugh with a song in our hearts? Eh! Might as well laugh, or as we used to say in college, “Smile and wave, boys, smile and wave.”

I believe Vera Lynn sums up the looming situation nicely; images courtesy of Stanley Kubrick. Please enjoy!

(Thank you for reading. Happy New Year…if you dare!)