Each afternoon on “The Dylan Ratigan Show,” its eponymous host brings forth an hourlong, passionate manifesto on the interplay of private and public interests in the United States, be it the global economy, Wall Street or just the political news of the day.
A self-described “advocate for truth-telling” (another Ratigan mantra: “The truth will set you free; but first, it will piss you off”), Ratigan earned his television chops at Bloomberg News and then, in 2003, joined CNBC as its “Fast Money” host. He jumped over to sister network MSNBC in 2008 and is currently at work on a book, set to publish this fall, with a title as blunt as its author: “Greedy Bastards: Corporate Communists, Banksters and the Other Vampires Who Suck America Dry.”
We’re putting his “truth-telling” to the test in POLITICO’s latest “Answer This” interview:
Tell us your favorite joke.
Two cannibals ate a clown; one says to the other, “This taste funny to you?”
When’s the last time you used profanity?
My last commercial break.
How many hours of sleep do you get on average?
Seven to eight. I was an honorary member of Arianna’s 2010 Women’s Sleep Challenge.
Describe your level of ambition.
I believe life’s possibilities are infinite.
You’re president of the United States for enough time to make only one executive decision. What is it?
Global debt restructuring, 50-year bonds for all nations, half a percent interest globally. (Bumper sticker: “50 Years at 50 Basis Points”) Great for everyone except China and the Big Banks.
Since people are living longer and we have to raise the Social Security age, shouldn’t the national debt be paid over a longer life span as well? This would reduce everyone’s monthly costs and free up huge amounts of cash for investment. I’d also end the wars in the Middle East.
What’s a common and accepted practice for Americans nowadays that you think we’ll look back on with regret?
Allowing a small group of giant businesses to finance American politicians, “think tank” academics and government.
What is your favorite body part (on yourself) and why?
My left thumb; it’s double jointed and, as such, unbeatable in thumb wrestling.
What would you attempt to do if you knew that you could not fail?
Jet-pack across the Grand Canyon.
What type of products do you never go cheap on?
Blankets and pillows. I believe if you had nothing else, with a good blanket and pillow, you can live almost anywhere, indoors or out.
Describe a few pet peeves of yours.
Pro-wrestling-style partisan politics.
How often do you Google yourself?
I have a Google alert set up for my name, so I think that means I am technically Googling myself thousands of times a second.
What do you know now that you wish someone had told you 10 years ago?
Buy oil and sell your house.
What childhood event shaped or scarred you the most?
When I was home alone in the Adirondacks when I was 12, a bear came to the house and started going through the garbage cans. The chief of police came and told me to get the fireworks he knew I had been illegally shooting off in the neighborhood. Between risking arrest and getting rid of the bear, I picked the police-authorized fireworks display.
Would you rather … live without music or live without TV?
Live without TV.
…be gossiped about or never talked about at all?
Never talked about at all.
Think of one of your least favorite people in Washington and, without naming him or her, describe what makes that person so unappealing.
People who function in denial and refuse to address the existence of any of the base structural problems in our political system. They and their dependence on money from a few vested interests prevent real debate on energy, health care, education, banking, war, etc.
Let your mother know how much she means to you, in the form of a haiku.
Mom, you’re the greatest.
A lover not a fighter.
A gift to us all.
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