Dead tree tidbit: Left Business Observer

I spent too much of today trapped in the holding pen for prospective jurors at the Superior Court of the City and County of San Francisco. No blogging about it yet; there is some infinitesimally remote possibility I could end up on a jury, so it would be improper.

But in the intervals as we were herded from room to room, I did get a lot of reading done, some of it worth sharing here. Doug Henwood's Left Business Observer is a lot more interesting than its rudimentary web site might suggest. In Issue #112, I particularly enjoyed Henwood's bemused observations on the strange moment the Bush regime has led us into. Here is a sample:

For those of us who cut our teeth on the power-structure studies of William Domhoff...it's been quite a surprise to watch the Bush administration in action. Though it should have known better, it started a pointless war that's put U.S. power and prestige at severe risk, and it's driven the government's accounts deep into the red, and it's financed both reckless adventures with huge gobs of money borrowed from abroad. A serious ruling class might have reined them in long ago, but our elite has been too narcoticized by its tax cuts --your average millionaire got a $60,000 break, more than the pretax income of the average household -- to complain. ...And since the Dems serve a dual role, as the "popular" party and as the party of an alternative elite, their dithering reflects a crisis at the upper levels of our society, as well as the disorganization at the lower levels.

Interesting. You won't find Henwood's stuff online; you might find it worthwhile to subscribe to his print newsletter.