In regards to the Big Three Senator Dodd puts it "Nothing concentrates the mind like a death sentence. And we are facing a death sentence here."
This pulls my mind back to something the previous Congress was involved in, the Terri Schiavo case. Somehow they were able to drop everything, convene a session to work over an already worked over issue of a woman and a feeding tube.
Politics is an interesting thing. When given the chance to save a single life or hundreds of unborn ones, politicians can move mountains. When trying to help out fellows with money, they can jump through hoops. When faced with saving millions of blue-collar jobs... well, that takes a committee.
And then another, and another....
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
It's a nice change
It's nice to hear commentary on the news by both Republicans and Democrats praising Obama's decisions even before he takes office.
Perhaps it's the ideas from the middle that are simply about making things work. Partisanship needs to take the backseat to actually fixing this country. Bush sat on his hands for almost a decade. It's nice seeing someone that's going to try.
Perhaps it's the ideas from the middle that are simply about making things work. Partisanship needs to take the backseat to actually fixing this country. Bush sat on his hands for almost a decade. It's nice seeing someone that's going to try.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
The Final GOTV
Today is the day. Last chance to rally people to your cause and get your candidate elected.
The enthusiasm at the polls is high. People seem to be smiling a lot this year. There's an air of finality here that will chose a brand of change. ANY change at this point is welcome and people know that. (sucks to be an incumbent for Congress this year)
There weren't any October surprises as predicted by many. The only thing sneaky going on right now is George Bush putting in 11th hour changes to environmental issues.
But where was Osama bin Laden? No fear tape this year? Nothing to scare people into electing a different candidate. But maybe he realizes that we've finally run the course on fear here in America. I think we're finally finished with listening to the whole 'do this or the terrorists will win' garbage. If poked, we'll fight. If left alone, we'll simply nurse our 401k's.
Good luck today. Standing in line is an honor to this country as a whole. The world is watching.
May the best man win.
The enthusiasm at the polls is high. People seem to be smiling a lot this year. There's an air of finality here that will chose a brand of change. ANY change at this point is welcome and people know that. (sucks to be an incumbent for Congress this year)
There weren't any October surprises as predicted by many. The only thing sneaky going on right now is George Bush putting in 11th hour changes to environmental issues.
But where was Osama bin Laden? No fear tape this year? Nothing to scare people into electing a different candidate. But maybe he realizes that we've finally run the course on fear here in America. I think we're finally finished with listening to the whole 'do this or the terrorists will win' garbage. If poked, we'll fight. If left alone, we'll simply nurse our 401k's.
Good luck today. Standing in line is an honor to this country as a whole. The world is watching.
May the best man win.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Target: Demographic
I found this story rather amazing. Police removing people from a rally beforehand simply because they looked like they might cause trouble.
It would seem as we close down this campaign certain candidates are aiming their message only at the demographics they deem can still deliver votes. If I was a young voter, I'd be more than offended that the McCain camp looks at you as nothing more than troublemakers. The media keeps reporting the millions of new registered voters as unreliable, and can't be counted on to actually get to the polls. However, those steadfast seniors are always getting to the polls.
“I saw a couple that had been escorted out and they were confused as well, and
the girl was crying, so I said ‘Why are you crying? and she said ‘I already
voted for McCain, I’m a Republican, and they said we had to leave because we
didn’t look right,’” Lara Elborno (senior student at University of Iowa) said. “They were handpicking these people and they had nothing to go off of, besides the way the people looked.”
So thank you for your vote, but please exit the building. Wow. Looks like the shrinking GOP just got a little smaller.
It would seem as we close down this campaign certain candidates are aiming their message only at the demographics they deem can still deliver votes. If I was a young voter, I'd be more than offended that the McCain camp looks at you as nothing more than troublemakers. The media keeps reporting the millions of new registered voters as unreliable, and can't be counted on to actually get to the polls. However, those steadfast seniors are always getting to the polls.
“I saw a couple that had been escorted out and they were confused as well, and
the girl was crying, so I said ‘Why are you crying? and she said ‘I already
voted for McCain, I’m a Republican, and they said we had to leave because we
didn’t look right,’” Lara Elborno (senior student at University of Iowa) said. “They were handpicking these people and they had nothing to go off of, besides the way the people looked.”
So thank you for your vote, but please exit the building. Wow. Looks like the shrinking GOP just got a little smaller.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Stuck in the Middle with You
McCain really put on the wrong set of shoes to start with. I can just see a guy that was happy to finally get his chance to get out there and run for the White House. Had he been given that chance in 2000 or 2004, he might have been an agent for change in the Republican party.
The Maverick might have been able to use his middle of the road strategy and gained a ton of moderates and independents. Had he targetted both sides of the aisle, he might have gained many practical minded voters to his team.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
He needed the existing support organization, he needed the money. He had to saddle himself with the zealotry of the religious right and he had to accept the Neo-con nuts. They steered the campaign. He had to accept the wizard Rove and his initiates... take on their attack points.
This isn't John McCain.
John would have chosen a different running mate and charged into battle. But again, he was stuck this cycle because his middle was already slipping away.
This election is stuck directly inside a new recession. The economy is tanking. People and their money are touchy business. When people lose it, they lose confidence. McCain could have kept his wars going AND tried for some reform in his vision had the economy been strong. Success and Republican would have been in the same sentence. But this all didn't happen. John needed a new tack.
Obama was sitting in the 'agent of change' chair already. His subtitle was already 'we can't accept another 8 years of this'. This left McCain in the copycat role. They couldn't argue economy, the war, anything that was continuous from the past.
Perhaps, had John done it his way from the start, he would have had the Change sign on his bus. But now is just too late.
The Maverick might have been able to use his middle of the road strategy and gained a ton of moderates and independents. Had he targetted both sides of the aisle, he might have gained many practical minded voters to his team.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
He needed the existing support organization, he needed the money. He had to saddle himself with the zealotry of the religious right and he had to accept the Neo-con nuts. They steered the campaign. He had to accept the wizard Rove and his initiates... take on their attack points.
This isn't John McCain.
John would have chosen a different running mate and charged into battle. But again, he was stuck this cycle because his middle was already slipping away.
This election is stuck directly inside a new recession. The economy is tanking. People and their money are touchy business. When people lose it, they lose confidence. McCain could have kept his wars going AND tried for some reform in his vision had the economy been strong. Success and Republican would have been in the same sentence. But this all didn't happen. John needed a new tack.
Obama was sitting in the 'agent of change' chair already. His subtitle was already 'we can't accept another 8 years of this'. This left McCain in the copycat role. They couldn't argue economy, the war, anything that was continuous from the past.
Perhaps, had John done it his way from the start, he would have had the Change sign on his bus. But now is just too late.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Red State Whine
I've always wondered why some areas of our country are so against taxes. Typically they labels have been applied to Democrats linking them with taxation. 'Tax and Spend' or 'Giving it all away'. Now somehow 'spreading the wealth around' is also a common term. Oddly though, the catcalls and jeers seem to keep coming from the traditional Red States that lean Republican.
Now, I can understand the fear of people taking away your hard earned dollar and giving it to 'someone' who doesn't work or is a sponge. Sure, that's reasonable. But you have to admit, if you're complaining about it 9 times out of 10 you're not someone making a ton of money. If you look at our nation as a whole, only less than 5% are what you would call wealthy. So if you're not wealthy, and you're average or less than that on the income scale, you get defensive about your money, right? Got it.
If the government comes along and takes a dollar for you, they use it someplace and usually somewhere else. At least in your opinion, right? My money goes to help those 'neer-do-wells' in L.A. or NYC or something. They spend it on social programs for other places... we don't see any of that money come back around here. Am I getting close?
Well, I hate to break it to you. Those in a majority of Red States get MOST of the money. Try 150% of every dollar you put in. New Mexico? $2 for every dollar of taxes comes back to you. Mississippi? Same. Alaska, where they get those pretty deals from oil companies? $1.84.
You might want to check this list: http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/266.html
The data is from 2005 but you get the idea. Your money comes home almost twofold in some places. The break-even point is Rhode Island at number 33. Scan down that list. Which states are at the bottom? Mostly Blue. Okay, Texas is out a couple of cents but that's about it.
So when you're sitting in your Red State, nodding your head with McCain and the Republicans about how Obama is going to 'raise your taxes'... don't despair. Just think of us Blue State folks giving you back double down on your money. Then grin. You've already won!
Now, I can understand the fear of people taking away your hard earned dollar and giving it to 'someone' who doesn't work or is a sponge. Sure, that's reasonable. But you have to admit, if you're complaining about it 9 times out of 10 you're not someone making a ton of money. If you look at our nation as a whole, only less than 5% are what you would call wealthy. So if you're not wealthy, and you're average or less than that on the income scale, you get defensive about your money, right? Got it.
If the government comes along and takes a dollar for you, they use it someplace and usually somewhere else. At least in your opinion, right? My money goes to help those 'neer-do-wells' in L.A. or NYC or something. They spend it on social programs for other places... we don't see any of that money come back around here. Am I getting close?
Well, I hate to break it to you. Those in a majority of Red States get MOST of the money. Try 150% of every dollar you put in. New Mexico? $2 for every dollar of taxes comes back to you. Mississippi? Same. Alaska, where they get those pretty deals from oil companies? $1.84.
You might want to check this list: http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/266.html
The data is from 2005 but you get the idea. Your money comes home almost twofold in some places. The break-even point is Rhode Island at number 33. Scan down that list. Which states are at the bottom? Mostly Blue. Okay, Texas is out a couple of cents but that's about it.
So when you're sitting in your Red State, nodding your head with McCain and the Republicans about how Obama is going to 'raise your taxes'... don't despair. Just think of us Blue State folks giving you back double down on your money. Then grin. You've already won!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Grumpy Old Men
A history of short angry men. Sounds like a book doesn't it? History is filled with lists of short men that eventually lost their temper and couldn't fufill whatever their dreams were.
Napoleon was one such man. Coming in at 5 foot 2 inches, he made short work of Europe of his time. Genghis Khan was said to be 5 foot 1 inch. Stalin and Hitler were both under 5'6".
I, myself, am 5'6" and there are times when I can see the difference among groups and crowds. How men react to each other when confronted by size differences. Some guys talk right over the heads of smaller men in a crowd.
Some guys talk down to you like you're their younger brother. It really depends on individuals and their past experiences.
In the movies, we suspend reality. We put smaller actors Dustin Hoffman or Tom Cruise up on boxes or ditch trenches for leading ladies like they did in the old westerns. Gotta have that right level for the 'big kiss'.
Reality is a little different. In business settings, most of the time it's overlooked. Short men at the board room table look the same as the tall ones. But it's the outside of work story that really plays into it. My father was a short man but commanded himself well at work. At one job, he had two guys that were like 7 ft giants working with him. They may have only been mid-high six footers but they really looked huge next to him. They worked fine together but I don't think my father really got the invite much to play many sports beyond bowling.
This whole stereotype of the anger short guy has been around for a long time. Men that are frustrated with being shorter are typically angry. I've often wondered if they were angry because they were told they were. I myself would have loved another 4 inches but didn't let that get me down that much. It's only when I find strangers making assumptions that it bothers me too.
So when I watch a Presidential debate on TV, and I see angry looking John McCain up there trying so hard to crack a joke and look approachable I wonder... is he worrying about his height and if people look down on him or he just fighting his own demons from years ago. I can't imagine what being a POW would be like but that's got to be belittling as well.
He's actually 5'7" but would you know it from looking at him?
Addition,
I wrote this yesterday and it seems I'm not the only one thinking this way. George Will from the Washington Post alludes to a Napoleon complex from the sheer gall that Obama could be winning in his first attempt versus McCain's ten year trek to get a new job.
Napoleon was one such man. Coming in at 5 foot 2 inches, he made short work of Europe of his time. Genghis Khan was said to be 5 foot 1 inch. Stalin and Hitler were both under 5'6".
I, myself, am 5'6" and there are times when I can see the difference among groups and crowds. How men react to each other when confronted by size differences. Some guys talk right over the heads of smaller men in a crowd.
Some guys talk down to you like you're their younger brother. It really depends on individuals and their past experiences.
In the movies, we suspend reality. We put smaller actors Dustin Hoffman or Tom Cruise up on boxes or ditch trenches for leading ladies like they did in the old westerns. Gotta have that right level for the 'big kiss'.
Reality is a little different. In business settings, most of the time it's overlooked. Short men at the board room table look the same as the tall ones. But it's the outside of work story that really plays into it. My father was a short man but commanded himself well at work. At one job, he had two guys that were like 7 ft giants working with him. They may have only been mid-high six footers but they really looked huge next to him. They worked fine together but I don't think my father really got the invite much to play many sports beyond bowling.
This whole stereotype of the anger short guy has been around for a long time. Men that are frustrated with being shorter are typically angry. I've often wondered if they were angry because they were told they were. I myself would have loved another 4 inches but didn't let that get me down that much. It's only when I find strangers making assumptions that it bothers me too.
So when I watch a Presidential debate on TV, and I see angry looking John McCain up there trying so hard to crack a joke and look approachable I wonder... is he worrying about his height and if people look down on him or he just fighting his own demons from years ago. I can't imagine what being a POW would be like but that's got to be belittling as well.
He's actually 5'7" but would you know it from looking at him?
Addition,
I wrote this yesterday and it seems I'm not the only one thinking this way. George Will from the Washington Post alludes to a Napoleon complex from the sheer gall that Obama could be winning in his first attempt versus McCain's ten year trek to get a new job.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Bailing the Bailout
Here we are, just the weekend after the monumental bailout passage, and the Dow and Wall Street are still reeling. Yet, to try and save face, and their jobs, we have the politicians on both sides of the aisle that voted for this farce stating, "Just wait, it will take some time...", yet just last week, we had them screaming in unison with Wall Street greed mongers "We need to do this NOW! We don't have time for anything else!".
Wow, if it was going to take time, no matter what we decided...then why didn't we just wait, formulate a true plan of action and put it forth. No, now John Q Taxpayer is shouldering a debt that we'll never get out from underneath.
Please, be sure to follow up with who your Representatives and Senators are and how they voted on this financial travesty and get them out of office. We need Washington to understand, they work for us, not us for them. To quote Obama, but put to true use, "It's time for change!"
Wow, if it was going to take time, no matter what we decided...then why didn't we just wait, formulate a true plan of action and put it forth. No, now John Q Taxpayer is shouldering a debt that we'll never get out from underneath.
Please, be sure to follow up with who your Representatives and Senators are and how they voted on this financial travesty and get them out of office. We need Washington to understand, they work for us, not us for them. To quote Obama, but put to true use, "It's time for change!"
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