It is a strange thing to post Mr Glenn Beck in my blog, I am uncomfortable because this place is lonely and different place compared to image of a popular talk show host of America.

    But there is this strange thing -  In this post(video)  Beck throws in a lot of information on monetary economics – than I ever learnt from Paul Krugman’s popular columns that I read.

       It is in a way very very strange. Paul Krugman is a globally influential Nobel Prize winner. The Amartya Sens and Paul Krugmans have got unparalleled access, influence  and trust  in media because of that Nobel prize and so called  expertise in economics.  Comparing learning value from the talk of  these worthies with  a talk show host is depressing statement on the situation.

Glenn Beck’s deconstruction of the progressives. He says progressives use the three concepts - Wrong thinking, Danger and Profit to villify everything.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/10/15/whs_anita_dunn_says_mao_is_favorite_philosopher.html

This white official says Mao is her favorite philosopher. Unbelievable. She is so familiar with the revolutionary story in a wrong way. Mao Se Tung was basically a thug for the Russians, who followed communism. Everywhere the Maos have ruled, they have looted individuality , family and self organized collectives in favor of rigid thuggery of parties. Everywhere they have massacred thousands and millions of people.

One could have a second opinion on Ms Dunn’s advise to ‘find your own calcutta’  mentioned in the video -  Kolkata had a political and  intellectual tradition – Both original  local voices and ideas, scientific thoughts. As a center of colonial seat it had an expertise in european system.  Millions had found a Kolkata of dreams  that had money and Imperial British power, CV Raman’s working place, Associated with Bose and Bankim Chandra, Aurobindo and Rabindra nath Tagore.

   It is easier to find a Kokatta  with  crowd, poor, pollution, stabbed to thousands contradictions by its masters who were infatuated with the world – imperial seat, or atleast communism when Britain left. [ The US Embassy used to be on street named after Ho Chi Min – a communist] .But the ones who looked to Kolkata as inspiration – And not all were power brokers – They had a much stronger, dynamic and humane story that can comfortably sing for itself if the song of poverty of Kolkata ever get tired.

The process has become the objective – The “reform”, Rest everything about the process is as if arbitrary -  bargaining and deals. The real objective is questionable and disputed, as the starting point.

This type of  usage would be a symptom of detached and potentially corruptible  elite–It is as if the reform is an external event, observed or delivered  by detached reformers, scientists and intellectuals.  the objective is confused with the process – they call it “reform” ?

Following are examples in headlines :

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28243.html
"Keep stealth amnesty out of health reform"

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/opinion/14wed1.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
That Promised Financial Reform

More  “reform”  as objective - from Krugman :

Health care reform is getting close to the finish line. The key thing was always to get a bill to the Senate floor, so that reform no longer requires overcoming political inertia; instead, it’s killing reform that would now require drastic action, action that probably won’t happen.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/the-finance-committee-vote/?src=twt&twt=NytimesKrugman