Republicans
If Aliens Attack?
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 | Politics | 3 Comments
I was listening to a program on television and they were talking about Oath Keepers. They are, from what I can gather, a group that believes they should have the right to carry concealed weapons. They seem to be recruiting police and former Armed Forces people and from what I heard they seem to be getting an Army.
If you don’t believe me look at their web site
This isn’t the only group that seems to be forgetting that our country is named the United States of America. I think that they should realize that it is exactly this unity that gives us our strength. Of late, the Birthers, the Oath Keepers, and a lot of our elected Republicans among others, seem to be suggesting that the Bible was wrong and a House divided against itself can stand.
Now don’t get me wrong, I think that one of America’s strengths is the fact that we encourage dissent but it is the after-effect that I am worried about. When I was growing up if you didn’t get the laws that you wanted you redoubled your efforts especially at election time.
The latest action seems to be that of the petulant child ” If I don’t get my way I’ll take my state and secede.” Which finally brings me to the point.
America is often called a melting pot and I think that we should revise that idea to being a stew pot . The gravy being the rich and they affect the majority and the minority. The other parts of the stew still retain their own ideas and customs but they are still part of the stew.
Even though we are separate we should be like a big family. I may talk about my brothers but don’t assume that you can. We should be working towards that idea.
I remember a television series called V that was about aliens that took over Earth. While there were a few humans that sided with the aliens; the majority fought side by side with their fellow humans despite religion, creed, skin color to defeat these invaders. Maybe the SyFy channel should run the series again.
Easier to Ask
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 | Life, Politics | No Comments
Grace Hopper is credited with the quote “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission,” so she might be to blame. This seems to be the rallying cry of the last few weeks.
The two most recent occurances seem to be from Joe Wilson and Kanye West. At this time the House has decided to formally rebuke Republican Representative Joe Wilson for his “You Lie” comment.
The Republicans are crying that the Democrats are politically motivated. They are saying that they should be talking about healthcare; that they are wasting valuable time. Was this the same Party that wasted time with the Clinton Impeachment? I guess the difference is that they were the ones wasting it then.
I know that many people feel that freedom of speech is at stake here but we don’t truly have unrestricted free speech. You can’t yell fire in a crowded theater. So, yes, there are times when the government has decided to restrict our free speech for the public good.
I have friends that don’t have the same religious views as I do and I know that if I talk to them about religion I might lose friends. If I were to invite them to my house and embarass them by attacking their religion I would be solely responsible for losing their friendship and also a poor host. Not only was Rep. Wilson a poor host, he was also an embarassment to the people he represents. I’ve often heard about Southern Hospitality, if this is an example then I’m staying in the North.
Then we have Kanye West who interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech to inform us of his opinion. Now he had the opportunity to vote like everyone else but he felt that we were waiting to find out, not what the majority of people thought but what Kenye thought: guess again. Now I could understand if it was Jay Z up there cause he was going home with Beyonce but I think he has too much class to do that. Maybe that is the answer. We may live in a classless society but that doesn’t mean our society shouldn’t have class.
A Very Immodest Proposal
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 | Economics, Healthcare, Politics | 5 Comments
Blame it on the Republicans, they brought it up but I think in fairness we should at least consider it . Of course I am talking about the health care death panels.
The Republicans claim that the new health care bill has a provision in it that would allow for doctors to decide for the elderly when they should die. While it is inconcievable for me to think that doctors would want to take over a job that heretofore was left to God and the insurance companies that’s what the Republicans are saying. At first I was appalled at the thought but upon sober reflection I might see where it would have advantages.
When I used to go to Kmart they had a thing called the Blue Light Special. This was an item at a really low price that would last only a few minutes. People would crowd around a litle blue flashing light frantically grasping for a chance to get the sale item and in a lot of cases, I couldn’t understand why. Was it the item itself? No, because they would have bought it even if it was a Vanilla Ice record (Yes a record).
Perhaps the flashing blue light had mystical power that would make people do what you wanted them to do. No, cause I went around with a flashing blue light on my head and women still wouldn’t go out with me. What made it work was the time limit.
So maybe as we approach our later years, if we have an expiration date we might start clawing at enjoying life and appreciate it more. Instead of older people begging off doing things with the old refrain “No I can’t do that I’m too old” they might change it to “Hell yes I’m doing that, cause next week I go before the Death Panel.
I don’t know how this Death Panel would work though. Would relatives have a say in it? Cause that might prove to be a boon to the economy. Say you have a rich old aunt who is selfishly keeping her investments to live on. She has indicated that you may be the heir to her fortune but year after year with each new birthday you see “your” money being squandered by the old bitty on things like food. Now, if you were on the Death Panel you might soon be able to stimulate the economy with your modest yacht and Lamborghini purchases.Who would have thought that being on a Death Panel would be patriotic?
If we do institute this we may see an increase in healthier seniors, especially if the Panels have a physical fitness portion. We could televise it on pay per view which would defray the cost of the wonderful health care we are getting. Face it we all know that wrestling is staged and yet people pay millions to see that. Here we would have people literally fighting for their lives on television, I know I would pay to see that. I mean you haven’t lived till you’ve seen Seniors Dodgeball.
If we are really going to cost cut however we might want to consider an alternative. Maybe we should do away with babies. First of all they don’t vote, which could be a big stumbling block for the Senior Death Panels. Second anyone who has gone to a pediatrician knows that those immunizations cost a bundle, most of the old folk either have had the disease or the shots. Third with the possible exception of a few broken hips, senior aren’t as accident prone as children. Children are always skinning their knees something that seniors don’t often do. Not to mention the paucity of incidents of seniors putting peas up their noses.
I’m beginning to lean towards the idea of those Death Panels on two conditions: I get to serve on the Panel and I get an exemption from having to go before one.
P.S. Thanks to Jonathan Swift for the inspiration
Political Potpourri II
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 | Politics | 2 Comments
Once again the political equivalent of Paris Hilton has grabbed the spotlight. Sarah Palin has resigned from being the Governor of Alaska. My feeling is that she is going to go back to television as a talk show host. If Mike Huckabee can do it why can’t she?
This way she can pontificate without facing ethics questions which seems like a win for her. Alaska gets a new Governor, Wasilla can act questionably without national media attention and we may get the chance to cancel her show (talk about win-win).
The Republicans should change their name to The Do As I Say, Not As I Do Party.Governor Mark Sanford has refused to step down, despite the fact that he wanted Clinton to, for his transgressions. When Eliot Spitzer stepped down he didn’t exactly jump to defend him, yet both of them committed adultery. Both New York and South Carolina make adultery a crime.
Then, of course, we have Senator John Ensign who not only committed adultery but was nice enough to hire not only his mistress but her husband and their son as well. Talk about abuse of power. The only reason that he admitted it was that he was being blackmailed by the husband and Ensign was too honorable to be blackmailed.
The thing that worries me most is that if the Republicans keep losing their front runners they may draft me.
The New Democratic Republicans
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 | Economics, Politics | 1 Comment
In 1929 the Stock Market collapsed, the banks failed and the country went into a depression. The Government, under the Democratic President, created jobs for people, welfare programs and re-opened the banks. Sound familiar?
Many people feel that this was not what actually got us out of the Depression. many feel that we didn’t get out of the Depression until we entered the Second World War. The War sent all of the country back to work , either in the service or the factories. The Republicans being students of history are thinking that this is the time to act like Democrats.I guess you can see where this is going. Yes, the Republicans, not having learned from history, want us to repeat it.
The Republicans seem intent on going to war with Iran. They are perturbed that Pres. Obama is not taking a firmer stance on Iran. We don’t have the best record of supporting the right side in Iran but does that mean we should not blunder into another war? Shouldn’t we continue to be the World’s Only Super Power/Bully?
Think about it. What gives us the right to dictate to other countries? Other than the fact that we have more nuclear weapons and military armaments what gives us the right to tell others how to live their lives in their own countries?
Are we always morally right? Indians, African Americans and Manzanar War Relocation Center survivors might disagree. Are our leaders always the smartest? Two words, George Bush. Are our ideas always the best? Not if the New Democratic Republicans are any indication.
It Ain’t Funny
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Politics | 1 Comment
Sarah has gotten her name in the news again over what she says is on her mind, defense of women, instead of what is really on her mind, nothing. Of course, I am talking about the Letterman joke.
I don’t believe that Letterman was talking about Palin’s younger daughter when he did the joke. Chris Rock (and I am brutally paraphrasing)said that there is his WIFE and then his comedy wife. A joke is a day trip to fantasy land.It is not to be taken seriously, hence the name, joke. A joke should be judged by whether it was funny and the ultimate judge is the audience. A joke that derides Jewish people may not go over as well at an Anti-Defamation League meeting as at a KKK meeting.
I’ve heard that morticians and doctors and others who are under a lot of stress indulge in a lot of dark humor but we make allowances for them because they are under a lot of stress. Letterman may not have been under the same type of stress but he was competing against Conan.
The joke about Alex Rodriguez knocking up Palin’s daughter is ,of course, open to interpretation. Perhaps he was implying that she was so beautiful that A Rod would chose to procreate with her over all the other girls of age and under that are after him. Palin in typical fashion chose to use this to further her career by making it a crusade and that Ain’t Funny.
Be Careful What You Ask For
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 | Politics | 2 Comments
There is still a chance that the Democrats may get the Mythical 60 seats in the Senate. The Democrats have sent everyone but FDR and Obama to Georgia. Coleman seems to be in the lead in MInnesota. Is 60 seats good for the Democrats?
Yes and No. Yes, it is good for the Democrats if they get the 60 because despite the fact that Obama wants to unite the Republicans and the Democrats I doubt that we will be in for a “Kumbaya” moment any time soon. The difference between the Democrats and Republicans is two years. The Democrats have two years to prove that they can change things and keep there lead in the Congress. The Republicans have to prove that Democrats can’t change things. With 60 Senate seats the Republicans can’t easily stop them.
The economy is going to be the Democrats “Gettysburg” in this Civil War. If they get the economy back on track then the American people might not change horses. We might give Obama another term to give us healthcare or cut our taxes but we have to have the economy on track. With a majority in the Congress and a Democratic President it would be like The Yankees playing a little league team and losing. No matter how many times the Yankees blamed their lost to the sun being in their eyes. short of them looking into a solar eclipse nobody would accept their excuse.
The Answer is No. Winning 60 seats would not be good for the Democrats. Our economy is in bad shape and I feel the most optiimistic projection of our economy recovering is about a year away. Democrats may have to go back on their word and raise taxes. Healthcare may remain out of the reach of the common man. They would have the advantage of blaming the Republicans. If Democrats think they can’t do all they want, all they have to do is add a lot of spending to a bill for healthcare and the Senate Republicans would filabuster. Be careful what you ask for, you may get it or not.