Brother Can You Spare A Dime

The double digit unemployment rate in this country does not bode well for our future. The repercussions of joblessness will affect all of us. That there is no relief in sight is a tragedy. Neither the government nor corporations have come up with a viable plan to put people to work.

I can't think of anything more frustrating than suddenly finding yourself with the prospect of no means to adequately support yourself or provide for your family. I consider myself fortunate that in my forty year working career I was never unemployed. I can however feel the pain of those unemployed as I look back at my childhood and remember the difficult days my father went through trying to put food on the table and a roof over our heads as we endured the fallout from the Great Depression.

One can attempt to put the blame for today's unemployment problems on one political party or another but that is conversation for political campaigns. What matters is, anyone out of work, with no prospects of getting work in the near future , is going to be very, very angry. Much as a wounded animal , he  will  lash out at someone and that someone is the government. He does not care which political party is the blame, as far as he is concerned the government is the blame and he wants something done about it.

I believe that the Obama team has not given the proper priority to programs designed to create jobs. They did not  cause the problem but the problem is theirs to deal with. They asked for the opportunity to deal with it in 2008 and we gave it to them. It is now their problem. The unemployed are not concerned with who caused the problem, they only want someone to solve it. The Democrats will pay the price in November as their unemployed supporters desert the party in desperation. Not that they will fare any better with the Republicans, but at least for a day, they will have taken a swing at a government that has not been responsive enough to their needs.

Democrats and Republicans must come together to resurrect the American Dream which gives everyone a fighting chance to earn a living. I'm cynical enough to feel that this will never happen. Bipartisanship has been relegated to the junk heap. As a result  we are stuck with the excesses of the Tea Party and hopefully not something more violent. Until those of us with a paycheck and a roof over our heads force government and yes, corporations, to come to the aid of our unemployed, we are faced with a volatile future which unfortunately may get violent.

Throw In The Towel

The New York Times reports that "evidence is mounting that fraud in last weekend’s parliamentary election was so widespread that it could affect the results in a third of provinces, calling into question the credibility of a vote that was an important test of the American and Afghan effort to build a stable and legitimate government". This blog reports that the term "The Afghan War" has now officially deteriorated into a cliche and its time to admit that we can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Discretion being the better part of valor, its also time to throw in the towel.

Will another rally restore our sanity?

I understand that on October 30th, our capitol will once again be invaded. Ever since the British took a whack at it in 1812, Washington , D.C. has been a target for anyone that is upset with the status quo. Some organizations will resort to violence. Having failed to get millions to gather on the Mall, Al-Qaeda resorted to a violent attack on September 11, 2001 , much as the British did in 1812. There have been peaceful invasions such as Martin Luther King's civil rights march on Washington. Even thousands of black men with a guilty conscience chose a rally in Washington to advertise their shortcomings. More recently, poor Washington was subjected to Glenn Beck and his followers with their pleas to "restore" America to its theocracy roots. It was inevitable, but all these rallies, prayer meetings and attacks could only result in a rally to end all rallies. Jon Stewart will host a "Rally To Restore Sanity" on October 30, 2010 in Washington, D.C. with the Washington Monument as a backdrop. This makes it official! Politics have now become so funny that it is driving us nuts. At the same time political commentaries are making tons of money for comedians. Our only hope is that Stewart and Colbert can indeed restore our sanity. We'll know they have succeeded if no one shows up for the rally. Of course that won't happen. Midterm elections will be only a few days away and thousands of misinformed citizens will gather on the Mall to become thousands of informed citizens. I'm not going to attend the rally but I will watch on TV. I'm sure that it will be an Emmy Award winning show. Besides there isn't much else to laugh about these days as far as politics is concerned.

It's Not Over Until The Fat Lady Sings

It appears that the G.O.P. has concluded that the Fat Lady has already sung. From the New York Times article, "G.O.P. Will Chip Away At Health Law", one may conclude that it's all over, the G.O.P. will control the House and it's time to roll back any social progress that the Dems have made. As far as health care reform is concerned, "For starters, Republicans say they will try to withhold money that federal officials need to administer and enforce the law. They know that even if they managed to pass a wholesale repeal, Mr. Obama would veto it. ". As for that intellectual genius who goes by the name of Boehner, "“They’ll get not one dime from us,” the House Republican leader, John A. Boehner of Ohio, told The Cincinnati Enquirer recently. “Not a dime. There is no fixing this.”.  Nancy Pelosi is hardly the Fat Lady, but John "The Orange Man" Boehner has already determined that she has sung her last song and her time as a headliner is over.

The Fat Lady has sung but hold the applause. The next act on the show bill is Stalemate! The party of "No" has been successful in it's "No" strategy and obviously will continue that strategy until Obama surrenders. Even with control of Congress, Obama and his team have struggled. It's nightmarish to think how that team will function with a Republican controlled House. As for the populace, Boehner is prepared to say ' "let them eat cake!" ( Make mine chocolate .)

Charles Leck  in his blog post "It's DE-ja vu all over again!" brings up this fallout from a Republican controlled Congress, "Obama will likely be a one-term president who may not even seek the endorsement to run". Which brings me to the scenario titled - What's Bill Clinton up to?

Bill Clinton has been crisscrossing the country harvesting IOU's from all sorts of office seekers. Hillary Clinton is making a determined bid to get some sort of Mid East peace accord. If the latter occurs, Bill will call in his IOU's , shove them in Obama's face, convincing Obama he should take a page out of Lyndon Johnson's playbook and go back to South Chicago. Hillary will accept her parties endorsement for a run at the presidency. It would make a good Hollywood script if nothing else.

Getting back to the Fat Lady , I hope she gets laryngitis!

Garages For Sale

On the way to the supermarket recently , I couldn't help but notice the number of garages which were for sale.  Garage Sale signs popped up at least ten times over the course of a two mile trip. Were people actually trying to sell their garages?  The news lately has been full of stories about foreclosures and the depressed housing market but there had been no mention of a rash of garage sales. Were the number of garages for sale the latest bad economic news?

A closer look at some of the properties advertising a garage sale showed that the owner had conveniently emptied out the garage so that a prospective buyer could survey the garage. Of course this meant that all the junk was spread out all over the lawn. What would the owner do with the junk if he was lucky enough to sell the garage? The high primal suggested that he could have a yard sale.

The problem with a yard sale is that if the yard is sold then the owner is really up shit creek without a paddle. He has sold the garage and now the yard but still has the junk. If I were the owner I'd put the junk up for sale on e-bay and put a sign up - House For Sale by Owner. The by Owner part of the sign is probably superfluous.

There is still a problem! The housing market is depressed. A house without a garage and a yard will never sell. The owner has no choice. Move the junk into the house, burn the house down and spend the next few years in a cell.

All this is not getting me anywhere. My time would be better spent planning my next garage sale - I've got an awful lot of junk to get rid of, not the garage! I'll get to it as soon as I'm back from my appointment with the shrink - first things first.

Restore America?

If I hear another Tea Party supported candidate or Palinista  try to lend credibility to their candidacy by stating  that they are on a mission to "restore America" I may be tempted to open the window and start screaming " restore to what - enough is enough!". Better yet I'll let David Mixner do the screaming for me with this link:

DavidMixner.com: The Right: Constantly On The Wrong Side Of History

Formula For Success In Today's Politics

Suddenly it's gotten rather easy to run for public office except for one thing which I'll get to later. The winning formula to get a nomination and possibly win the the erection, sorry, I meant the election ( if you do get elected there will be plenty of time for screwing), is so simple even an idiot can grasp it and plenty of idiots have done exactly that.

1. First and foremost, clear your lungs and at the risk of damaging your vocal chords shout that you are angry.Not just that you are angry but that you are raving mad. Who are you angry with? Be sure to articulate, as difficult as that task may be, that you are mad at everyone who has tried to bring some sense of order to our once great democracy. How well you express your lunacy will get you the support of your fellow travelers who have loosely organized themselves into something called The Tea Party.
2. Secondly, you must swear on the Bible ( be sure it's the Bible and not the Koran) that you have not read a book in the last decade other than Sarah Palin's. Accomplishing that will get you noted as a Palinista if you really can stomach the notoriety.
3. Thirdly, and this is very important, you must learn how to put words together which will convince everyone that you are a complete idiot. The idea is to come across as stupid since many believe that only the stupid are immune from corruption. The fact that this is not true should not bother you. If elected you can find a mentor to show you the ropes.
4. Fourthly and last be very, very careful that you do not take a position on issues other than to keep repeating in an angry voice that you are against big government, taxes and immigration. You must not fall into the trap of having to defend your position. Doing so will lose you the support of The Tea Party and the Palinistas.

   At the onset, I indicated that only one thing stands in the way of this winning formula. Money! If you're a billionaire you are in good shape, providing you did not steal the money. The latter is true only if you left a paper trail. If you didn't, your opponent will become a pauper trying to prove that you are no better than a thief. If you spent your last million, your only out is to come up with a sugar daddy and be prepared to get fucked - that's what sugar daddy's do. Don't look to The Tea Party or Palinistas for monetary support, they are merely cheerleaders.

Hopefully the electorate will see through this winning formula and send the bastards who adopt it packing, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Hypocrite For Congress!

Democratic candidates are not extolling their party's accomplishments, but rather distancing themselves from their party's agenda. Picked up the foregoing from yesterday's N Y Times. The only reaction I have is why in the world would one ever vote for a hypocrite to represent them unless they were running for dog catcher? Even then it is questionable whether they would deserve a vote. I understand that these candidates are running in predominately Republican districts. That being the case, I must still conclude that the district deserves a clear choice - a real Democrat or a real Republican. If it's a Republican, so be it. Anyone who calls himself or herself a Democrat in name only should confine themselves to running for dog catcher . Attempting to steal votes is not acceptable.

Democrats have always been accused of being dysfunctional. This year they are outdoing themselves. Dare I raise the race card?

About Leashes

I'm still walking in the morning in spite of the effect it has on my tortured thinking. This is contrary to what I read in the paper this morning. The article reports that  research at the Cleveland Clinic has shown that exercise appears to increase brain activity in memory areas of people at high risk of Alzheimer's disease. Can I conclude from this that since walking seems to have a dangerous effect on my mental health , I'm not at high risk for Alzheimer's?  Fail to see the logic? Remember I just finished my walk and I'm not thinking straight. Does that mean I'm thinking crooked? Time for a coffee break.

Now that my little grey cells have had time to recuperate, I put them work trying to recall what momentous thoughts entered my mind during this morning's walk. Ah yes, diversity! I'm impressed with the number and variety of dogs in the neighborhood that I encounter on my walks. There are pony size dogs, rat size dogs, black dogs, white dogs, brown dogs, yellow dogs, spotted dogs, purebreds, and mongrels. What surprises me is how well they get along as they trot along the walking trail. There's the occasional bark and an effort to sniff the human walkers but by and large they are well behaved and seem to share the environment amiably.

Before I went on my walk I had glanced at the morning paper and read about all the trials and tribulations of the my fellow humans. Racism, religious intolerance, immigration crack downs, political turmoil, corruption all dominated the news. The highly developed human species is running amok. Then it struck me - how in hell do these dogs share the walking trail in harmony in spite of their differences.

It's the leash! All the dogs are on a leash.  Without that leash, these creatures would be at each other's throats. The leash governs the action of the diverse dogs much like government attempts to control civility in our society.

I would conclude therefore, that those who advocate less government would have us humans on a long leash leading to tangled leashes and the conflicts which must inevitably arise.When that happens we will hear the call for a short leash which means oppressive government. The answer is a strong leash or strong central government capable of formulating laws which keep us from getting at each other's throats.

I notice an Animal Control truck coming up my driveway. Some neighbor must have reported that I was out without my leash. Hope that it's only a warning.

Margaret And Helen Have It Right

Much has been said about the Florida pastor, his flock of fifty sheep, and their proposed burning of the Koran on 9/11. I was going to add my two cents worth but it would pale compared to the Margaret and Helen blog,  " God Loves A Good Book Burning" post. It hits the nail right on the head. Thanks to Charlie Leck of ad astra for introducing me to Margaret and Helen.
(I'm thankful that President Obama had the courage today to condemn the book burning in no uncertain terms.)

Facebook Update #1

I've been on Facebook for about 2 1/2 weeks. My experience has been mixed - mixed up is more accurate. First on the positive side. The picture and album sharing feature is great. As I have said before, this is about the only way family members share pictures nowadays. Another positive is that posting to my wall makes me laugh and these days that's a real plus. Its not that my posts are humorous although  I'm sure my Friends find them ludicrous. Its the whole idea of posting something to let people know what I'm thinking that makes me laugh. What's funny, at least to me, is the searching for words which do not disclose what really is on my mind but at the same time satisfy the Facebook protocol. I have discovered that there is a protocol. Foremost one must be cute. Secondly, one must imitate stupid emotions like "ughh". Graphics is very important. It is not enough to indicate that you like something, a happy face, (:, is required. If I screwed that up, it's because I haven't figured out how to be happy with Facebook.

Now for the negative - you thought I already covered that. Facebook provides 2 + info ( learned that from the Facebook protocol). I feel like I'm a snoop or a voyeur. Some of the sharing ( an excuse for profanity and sexual innuendos) is more than I care to know about. The solution is not to surf through your friends pages. That works, but then the one positive thing is lost - photo sharing.

I'm sure that there is way around this dilemma. Facebook's Help page is not of any help. I can understand that. I'm trying to circumvent the very feature that Facebook touts; namely, get connected. I did spot something in their FAQ page. I can solve my privacy problem by deleting my account. I'm not ready to do that yet. I want to wait a while longer. You see the only Friends I have are those I solicited myself. No one else has come forth asking to be my Friend. This is very disturbing so I want to give it a while longer for those who want to be my Friend to come forward. After a few more weeks , I may very well Unfriend Facebook but for now to all who have agreed to be my Friends, c u - LOL.

( The High Primal just told me that the nutty pastor in Florida who wants to raise the Muslim wrath by burning their Quran on 9/11 is very active on Facebook. Hope he doesn't ask to be my Friend- ughhh!)

God, the Universe, Whatever

Big news! No gods were required to create the universe. The universe exists because of spontaneous creation. Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mldodinow make this clear in their new book , “The Grand Design”. A snippet can be found in the 9/2/10, Wall Street Journal article, “ Why God Did Not Create the Universe”. As the illustrious physicists put it , “the laws of gravity and quantum theory allow universes to appear spontaneously from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.” Take that Aristotle and you too Newton. No god created the universe! Of course if Aristotle and Newton were still around and had the benefit of today’s science, they might have come to the same conclusion as Hawking.

I cannot refute anything Hawking says. Not that I necessarily agree with him. How do you agree or disagree with something that is beyond your bank of knowledge. I’m sure he knows what he is talking about but I wish he had been more explicit as to whether there is a God or not. God may not have created the universe, but was he around when the Big Bang occurred? If God did not create the universe, does it mean that there is no God? I suspect that whether or not God exists is strictly a matter of what any one individual is comfortable with. Since there are no laws of nature which can attest to the existence of a God, it probably is proper to get God out the “creation of the universe” babble. Hawking has the laws of physics on his side. Besides we humans or “lords of creation”, as Hawking puts it, have really messed up the universe. If God exists he would not have allowed that to happen. Or would he?

After thirty minutes of meditation, I’m almost ready to conclude that God did not create the universe and that the laws of physics were responsible for the creation of the universe. But laws must come from someone. Did God create the laws? If so, it might be argued that God was responsible for creating the universe. Perhaps the answer to the puzzle is that God is actually the laws of gravity and quantum theory? After another five minutes of intense meditation, Oohmmmnnn …., does it really matter? Whatever, its time for Happy Hour. Before I have that drink, one more thought. Why don’t we, the lords of creation, create a universal God out of the chaotic versions of God which exist in our universe. Then the universe and God and whatever will be in complete harmony. Is God Nature with all its laws? Oohmmmnnn …. whatever.  I'll drink to that!

No Sh#t!

Unless the Democrats get their sh#t together, come November the sh#t will hit the fan. If they lose control of Congress we'll all be sh#t out of luck and find ourselves up sh#t creek without a paddle. Obama's political team should be sh#tting bricks. On the contrary, they appear as though they don't give a sh#t. Let's hope they get their SHIT together before its too late.

Is He Too Presidential?

President Barak Obama is beginning to worry me. I worry that he has become a little too 'presidential'.   He expresses himself in a very professorial manner and I must admit that in contrast to the George W. Bush gibberish it is a welcome change. Yet, every time he speaks I find myself yawning. Its the same old rhetoric. He is too repetitious.The times demand more fiery and courageous leadership. If there's a rabbit in the hat, now is the time to pull it out. The country is in decline and we need the words and action to convince us that we can climb out of the hole that the Republicans dug for us. I'd like to think that "we have nothing to fear but fear itself" but Obama has to convince me.  As has been suggested, its time for Obama to morph into the campaigner again with no holds barred. If he can find that rabbit, there will be plenty of time to be 'presidential' later. If he doesn't, he had better start looking for a self storage unit in which to store all that new Oval Office furniture.

Is It Over?

The President last night made it official, the American combat mission in Iraq is over. He did not say that the war is over, just the combat ( if a war is about combat, and the combat is over, why can't we say that the war is over?).  We must wait another year for the war to be over and then again if the Iraqi ask us , we might stay a little longer. Not for combat although the troops will be combat ready. The combat mission, aka Operation Iraqi Freedom, is over. the Operation New Dawn mission or more properly, the " what do we do next" mission is just beginning.

Secretary Gates has said that only history will judge if seven years of war in Iraq was worth the cost. My two cents worth is available now. A war based on false claims resulting in the loss of over 4400 American lives was not worth it!