About Rewards And Coupons

Once upon a time one would go shopping and purchase goods - with cash - based on need, price and yes, loyalty to a merchant. A small wallet was sufficient and newspapers were primarily for news. Today goods are purchased based on discounts associated with a merchants “card”, the cash rewards on a particular credit card and more importantly the credit limit on a card. The expiration date of a coupon has bcome sacred and God forbid if a coupon is allowed to quietly expire. Newspapers are valued more for their coupons rather than their news. Where coupon clipping was once associated with wealth it is now a means of coping with the inflated price of goods. Wallets are now practically back packs in order to hold countless merchant cards , credit cards and coupons, with cash occupying little space. Merchant loyalty? Only if they honor double coupons and rewards. We have become a plastic and paper economy. Not satisfied with promoting unmanageable consumer debt and reaping profits thru the lure of large credit lines, the credit card companies keep hammering away with their message of spend, spend, spend and reap cash rewards. We live in a house of cards which the big bad wolf is waiting to blow down.

No Faith In Faith Forum

In my opinion the low point of Campaign 2008 will be reached this Saturday when Barack Obama and John McCain in their quest to gain the support of religious voters will discuss faith in public life, AIDS, the environment and other issues as guests of one of America‘s foremost evangelists, Rick Warren. Despite the traditional separation of church and state the candidates will be asked about how faith would fit into their potential presidencies. Their appearance as guests of Rick Warren is a mistake. They are both unwittingly encouraging efforts to inject the elements of a theocracy into our democracy. We are electing a Commander -in -Chief not a Pope, Pastor - in - Chief or Ayatollah. Their position on faith issues should play no role in the campaign.

What Are Allies For?

Russia invades Georgia, a staunch ally of the United States . So far our response has been a barrage of words. The problem is that our involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq has made our bark louder than our bite. (Bush responded to the crisis by cheering athletes at the Olympics -Putin responded by leaving the Olympics to be in Russia). Before this is over countries will have second thoughts about their status as staunch allies of the United States. Until the bleeding stops in the Mideast, obligations to allies will be put on a back burner.

Campaign 2008 & Racism

When this presidential election is over with we will either have put racial politics in the trash can or created an even more formidable racial divide. Not satisfied with having gotten us into a debilitating conflict in Iraq, the conservative right is determined to get us into a debilitating racial conflict by making Obama's color a major issue in this campaign. Then we have McCain who in a not too subtle way encourages this ploy. The world will be watching to see if indeed we are a great democracy.

Its Personality, Stupid

As Campaign 2008 rumbles down the road, the candidates massage their positions trying to capture votes. Positions are taken which bear little relation to reality and are vague at best. Promises are made which will be almost impossible to keep. It increasingly becomes oratory vs folksiness. Complicated issues are cast as black and white ( no race card intended). Vicious ads make their way into the media. So how do we choose? Personality stupid! Obama in a landslide!