Tuesday, Bluesday (As In: Singing Them) May 13, 2008March 11, 2017 IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD – 2 Last Tuesday, I suggested it was the end of the world because John McCain has nine homes and yacht charters run $380,000 a week (and those are not even the really big yachts) and CEOs make 433 times the pay of their average worker, up from 40 times in 1980 and 25 times in 1965 . . . and because John McCain wants to ‘make the tax cuts permanent,’ which means not only embracing them for income above $200,000 and $2 million and $20 million (so CEOs can afford those yacht charters) and $200 million (so hedge fund managers can buy $150 million paintings) but means, also, allowing the estate tax rate on billionheirs to drop, in 2010, as written in the current law, from 45% to zero. This Tuesday, I offer you Bill McKibbens’ planetary warning. (‘The planet is nearing a tipping point on climate change, and it gets much worse, fast.’) Unless you have a second home on Mars, I’d take the time to click. The solution may not be John McCain’s 18-cent-a-gallon gas tax holiday. Which leads me to: YOUR REBATE CHECK Doug Olson: ‘I don’t think I really need to save more and am perfectly happy to spend my $300 check to help stimulate the economy. But I don’t think buying Saudi oil, Korean electronics, or Indonesian clothing is going to help it much. What kind of spending (besides food) would do the most to stimulate the UNITED STATES economy?’ ☞ Contributions to the DNC. They go not only to averting a third Bush term, but also to turning out the vote for a wider majority in Congress so we can actually get things done. (I know some Democrats are angry with their own party for not getting more done – although click here and here for a look at what’s kept us busy – but you have to remember that our powerful majority in the 100-member Senate currently consists of 49 Democrats, one of whom was in a coma for several weeks, plus two Independents who caucus with us, one of whom has endorsed McCain. With a ‘majority’ like that, and faced with a record-breaking number of filibusters – more than 60 since the Republicans found themselves gavel-less 16 months ago in – it’s hard to get much passed for the Presidential to veto.) BIG MAC Are my political leanings coming through loud enough? Perhaps I should use a larger font. Les Rosenbaum: ‘I just read of your appreciation for the CTRL+ key combo in Windows. Take it from me, a visually impaired person, that you haven’t seen anything yet. No pun intended! I use both PC and Mac. On the Mac, all you have to do is hold the CONTROL key and move the scroll ball on the mouse up or down. This will enlarge ANY application, ANY screen without horrible distortion. It’s dynamic, quick, and works fabulously. Check it out. I think you’ll be amazed. If for no other reason, this one feature makes the Mac the best choice for those with a little or a large eye problem.’