By Paul Krugman | The New York Times | Link to Original

Editor’s Note: I love reading Paul Krugman. He’s a great example of a well-informed columnist (read his bio here) who has both editorial independence and a real following. He never sounds like a ‘pundit’, only like someone with good sense explaining something obvious. In this column, he identifies the ideological culprit in American politics: being middle of the road. We all were fed some version of the ‘golden mean’ theory of Aristotle, who I think was a dork; Krugman explains the issue as it relates to American politics and economics. –efc

T is not for Tea.

WATCHING OUR SYSTEM deal with the debt ceiling crisis — a wholly self-inflicted crisis, which may nonetheless have disastrous consequences — it’s increasingly obvious that what we’re looking at is the destructive influence of a cult that has really poisoned our political system.

And no, I don’t mean the fanaticism of the right. Well, OK, that too. But my feeling about those people is that they are what they are; you might as well denounce wolves for being carnivores. Crazy is what they do and what they are.

No, the cult that I see as reflecting a true moral failure is the cult of balance, of centrism.

Think about what’s happening right now. We have a crisis in which the right is making insane demands, while the president and Democrats in Congress are bending over backward to be accommodating — offering plans that are all spending cuts and no taxes, plans that are far to the right of public opinion.

So what do most news reports say? They portray it as a situation in which both sides are equally partisan, equally intransigent — because news reports always do that. And we have influential pundits calling out for a new centrist party, a new centrist president, to get us away from the evils of partisanship.

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Editor’s Note: If you want to experiment with tarot cards and don’t have any, we provide a free tarot spread generator using the Celtic Wings spread, which is based on the traditional Celtic Cross spread. This article explains how to use the spread. You can visit Sarah’s website here. –efc

By Sarah Taylor

I know that I’ve covered this week’s topic piecemeal across several other articles, but I thought that, right now, it was worth taking another look at it: that is, how you know when a tarot reading is working for you, and how you know when it isn’t.

As Amanda Painter writes in the July 27 edition of Daily Astrology:

I have a feeling I may not be the only person around who spent far too much time yesterday twisted up in some kind of mental/emotional knot, desperately looking for a loose end to pull … In fact, that knot is making writing anything remotely ‘helpful’ or ‘balanced’ in this space very challenging at this moment that I’m writing.

The Ace of Wands from the Rider-Waite Smith Tarot deck created by Pamela Colman Smith with the guidance of A E Waite. Wands are the symbols of spirit and the creative fire that burns within.

From the macro of world events, to the micro of personal experience, and encompassing the idea that nothing exists in isolation — that all of our experiences are interwoven on a level that is perhaps unknown and, for the most part, unknowable to us — I don’t think I’m stepping far out of line when I write that many of us have been having our fair share of challenge.

It is usually when we meet with challenge that we seek out answers — tarot being just one of the ways that we’re able do this. From my own experience, when things are going smoothly, my tarot deck barely gets a look-in. On the other hand, when I’m faced with confusion or pain, and when there are more questions than answers, that’s when I reach for my cards.

And here is the challenge: that moment when we most need a reading is the moment when we are most vulnerable to the very things that can compromise it.

When we are so deep into our stuff that we feel unable to step back from it, it is hard to look at the cards we’ve been given with productive objectivity. Because that is really what is going to be of most value when we read for ourselves: the ability to see what is rather than what we want — or don’t want — it to be.

The more we can look at something objectively, the better equipped we are to see something new and unexpected that can lead us out of the loop we are caught in. Unconscious reaction simply leads us back into that loop, where we are most often bound to repeat it. Conscious action based on fearless inquiry can break it, and it is only by approaching the cards that we are given without our story — without forcing them to conform to a particular idea that we have about ourselves or others — that they can tell us something new about ourselves, and consequently about how to act, to think, to feel.

These are some of the things I try to bear in mind, to watch out for, and to apply when I’m reading for myself so that I remain as open to the possibility of a shift as possible. It doesn’t always work — sometimes I’m simply not able to hear what it is that the cards are telling me — but, applied consistently, the message eventually makes it through. Remember: we may be fickle and impatient, but the cards are not. When we are ready, there they will be, gently whispering to us what we failed to hear in the past.

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The Cancer birthday report has been getting rave reviews, which you can read here along with Eric’s description of the project. That page also includes a purchasing link, or you can visit the Planet Waves Store to snap up this or any of Eric’s other popular, fun, insightful audio reports.

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In today’s edition of Planet Waves FM, I look at the issues surrounding the debt ceiling battle that really amounts to an economic and political power grab: a kind of false flag collapse of the economy. It’s happened before — the banking crash of 2008 was both avoidable and intentional, and many people profited to a degree that the public has no concept of.

There are several theories about what’s happening at the moment, one of the most cohesive coming from one of our commenters who is fairly close to the action — you can read his assessment here. By any analysis, the conduct of legislators in Washington ranges from irresponsible and deceitful to blatantly insane; and while Obama is doing his best to maintain his public image, he is offering up Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to the flesh-eating monster of the conservative movement.

I briefly discuss the Oslo attacks but I don’t discuss the chart — that you can see on a post from this weekend. I have a few comments about Amy Winehouse and what an extraordinary chart she had — unfortunately time did not permit.

I cover this in a streamlined, one-hour program featuring musical guests the Grateful Dead. Monday would be the 69th birthday of Jerry Garcia, so we have two hot folk-blues numbers for you, lovingly selected from a pretty good collection.

To listen to today’s edition of Planet Waves FM in the old player, or to view the archives going back more than a year, check this link. If you listen to Planet Waves FM in iTunes, please check this letter to iTunes listeners.

Thank you!

Photo by Amanda Painter.

Today is Wednesday July 27, 2011. The Moon is still in late Gemini, and leaves for Cancer at about 9:11 pm EDT. In the course of the day it conjuncts the South Node, and a bit later, Mars at about 12:55 pm EDT.

Yesterday Eric mentioned that Mars in late Gemini, opposite the Galactic Core, can relate to an “argumentative mentality” and “an ‘unspiritual’ feeling that wants for balance and a sense of ethics.” If that is sounding painfully familiar to you, take heart: you’re not alone. For some, this conflict is manifesting as entirely personal. But for you it may be that the insanity the U.S. government is engaging in with the country’s debt has you in a state of gut-wrenching shock. It would seem a large faction of our so-called leaders are pushing for actual default, for a complete market crash — and they no longer seem to care who knows that is their aim. It may be a bit like watching someone driving their car off a cliff, with the sickening feeling of being too far away to do anything.

In any case, I have a feeling I may not be the only person around who spent far too much time yesterday twisted up in some kind of mental/emotional knot, desperately looking for a loose end to pull — or at least a way to rationalize skipping out on work to exorcise demons with some physical exertion. In fact, that knot is making writing anything remotely ‘helpful’ or ‘balanced’ in this space very challenging at this moment that I’m writing.

But perhaps persevering in writing is a way through for all of us — whether you’re writing to your congressperson, your friends, a publication or simply in your journal. Mercury is in the last degree of Leo, getting ever-tighter in its opposition to the Chiron-Neptune conjunction in Pisces. Oppositions are polarizing, and Len often offers the advice to work one side, and the the other side of such an aspect.

Here, we have on one side a pull between an urge to simply put ourselves out there full-blast to the whole world with whatever we have to say about ourselves; and on the other, an undercurrent of old pain seeking creative expression. That pain may come from someplace foggy and inscrutable, but Chiron is pulling it into focus so that we might address it productively. Again, I’m going to emphasize the pull between creative expression versus simply proclaiming to the world in your brashest lion’s roar, by quoting some advice my friend Matthew shared on Facebook just before I started writing. He wrote: “Important things I have learned #123: Process process process all you like… Just don’t hit ‘send’.”

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Today’s Oracle takes us to the Virgo weekly of Sept. 13, 2004.

Your drive to do things right will get the results you want. Your biggest risk is driving certain people around you nuts with perfectionism and hyper-attention to detail. I assure you one-tenth of what you feel motivated to do will suffice. Practice taking the path of least resistance. Conserve your energy and try to get some sleep on a semi-regular basis. The mountains you’re trying to move have little wheels under them; slow down and you’ll see.

Are you looking for an extra clue? That’s what astrology is for. New horoscopes are published weekly plus twice a month in Planet Waves subscriber edition and Planet Waves Light. And for your annual reading, check out Light Bridge.

Here is an early posting of Wednesday’s edition of Planet Waves FM. There is a problem with this file however — I will leave it up until the new one exports and uploads — that is about a 25 minute process.

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If you’ve been following the debt ceiling crisis, watched the President’s speech and the response to it by House Speaker John Boehner, you’re observing what is known in political circles as kabuki , a form of Japanese theater using dance-drama, and known for its highly stylized theatrics and elaborate make-up worn by its performers.

And here’s your kabuki theater review, from Politico’s Playbook:

A top Dem’s view of last night:  “Speaker Boehner had a tough day yesterday. The right of his caucus bailed on his plan instantly and then CNN reported that S&P thinks his plan would lead to a downgrade, while Reid’s wouldn’t. So the right thinks it doesn’t go far enough, and those looking for a solution that protects our credit rating have no reason to support. And his speech was an amazing tactical blunder. Who gives a speech designed to impress his caucus to the entire country? His base may think compromise is a dirty word, but they are the only ones. It ended up being the perfect contrast for the president. Boehner essentially validated everything the President said. It is very unclear whether he can cobble together the votes to pass it. Even if he can, the senate won’t pass it, so the choice is his — reasonable compromise or default. Hopefully he chooses helping the country over appealing to the far right of his caucus.”

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What Republicans who refuse to raise taxes or raise the debt ceiling are saying, in effect, is that they stole the deficit fair and square. These bars represent what was spent by Bush Jr. (left) and Obama (right, projected to the end of his presidency in fiscal year 2017). The money for the wars, the tax cuts and the big pharma donations (Medicare drug program) went somewhere. Someone got that money. And the people who got it were industrialists and bankers. And now they don’t want to pay it back. In the midst of all these discussions, the one thing that irks me the most is hearing John Boner accusing Obama of unchecked spending the past two years. When you hear that line flowing off his forked tongue, just remember old Dick Nixon telling us, “I am not a crook.” The numbers below speak for themselves — and remember the column on the right is projected through the end of Obama’s presidency. And his stimulus spending and tax cuts were extensions of programs started by the prior administration.

Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities via New York Times

By the end of the 1990s, the federal budget was in surplus for the first time in decades. Partly that was a product of unusually strong economic growth, during the internet boom, which had swelled tax revenues. But partly that was a product of responsible budgeting, presided over by the most recent two presidents, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. In order to reduce deficits, lawmakers and those two presidents had agreed both to raise taxes and to reduce spending.

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