Palin V Obama

In a possible preview of 2012.....yesterday we saw the two in action in regard to the shootings in Tucson. I personally found the difference between their presentations to be enormous. Obama was pretty sober and as the crowd got warmed up, so did he. He is a wordsmith...extraordinary really.

Ms. Palin, could be counted on to keep fighting. She clearly didn't pull the trigger and may not even have factored into the young man's decision.....in fact it is likely she didn't....this time.

I am not sure why these right wing blow hards think it is so important to, well, blow hard. Can't they get there point across without yelling and calling people names and challenging their patriotism and as my Grandma would say, "scaring the Dickens" out of everyone?

That she invokes the name Ronald Reagan, the great communicator, in her self serving tirades is a tragedy. Had I ever met Ronald Reagan (not lucky enough) I would say to Ms. Palin....."I met Ronald Reagan and you are no Ronald Reagan!"

Not sure where I got that idea.......

Go away Sarah - that is the only reasonable thing for you to do.

Tucson

Back on March 26, 2010 I blogged about the back lash from conservatives toward those who voted for much-necessary health care reform. I wrote, "In the mean time, it is good to hear that Republican leaders do not condone such childish actions. However, they should also understand that if you use terms like Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and death panels in the public discourse, you will whip simple minded individuals into a frenzy resulting in brick throwing and shootings until someone gets seriously hurt or killed."

So, now it has happened. I am not sure what his politics are because the young man's ramblings are pretty odd. However, if you look at Sarah Palin's map of "targets", you will see Miss Giffords is "targeted."

The right wingers will decry this singular person and label him as disturbed. Never will the cede that perhaps that disturbed mind was put into over drive by their rhetoric. I personally believe that it has a direct affect. Also, it it too easy for a disturbed person, one who was known to be disturbed, to get a gun in AZ.

Totally unreasonable.

John Lennon

30 years since John Lennon was shot....Wow.

Here is a quote that has a little something for everyone:

"They pick a president, they put him up there and then they set fire to him because he couldn't solve their problems. Because they are always looking for someone to provide for them."

Doesn't that sum it up? We want a president to solve our problems, some want him to provide for them, but we are seeing that a president cannot solve our problems. As usual John Lennon was ahead of his time.

What is it about AZ Senators

Arizona - the land of two of the most powerful Senators. McCain and Kyl - Johns both. Probably only in first name, but you never know.

Kyl is now impeding the progress and signing of a nuclear treaty between the U.S. and Russia. This is only for political purposes. There is no logical reason for him to be on the side of nuclear proliferation.

Once again progress is a victim of politics.

Medical Marijuana - Update

I am pleased to say I was wrong. Apparently those who voted at the "wrong" location or couldn't remember to bring their ID to vote (provisional votes) voted in droves for the medical marijuana provision. Proposition 203, passed by about 4,000 votes with more than 1.6M votes cast and counted.

It took about 10 days to finish the count and in the last day, it made up about a 1,500 deficit and won handily. Now those who are suffering from cancer, HIV, etc. will be able to utilized marijuana to help fight pain, nausea, and enhance their appetite.

Good job AZ!

Medical Marijuana

AZ voted down Medical Marijuana, or at it seems that this will be the case when all the votes are counted. California voted down Prop 19 which would have legalized marijuana in general. I am not surprised that it was voted down here in AZ but am surprised that it lost in CA.

As the conservative population of AZ continues to pollute the air, dump chemicals, drive ridiculously large vehicles (one person per), etc. and the cancer rate soars among the masses, especially the aging population, people will see the humanitarian side to its use.

I don't smoke it, but I certainly believe that someone in pain or experience nausea should be allowed without fear of being arrested. More foolishness.

Frankly, I believe it needs to be legalized in general, across the country, and regulated and taxed just like tobacco and alcohol. That will put a damper on the drug trade in Mexico. Jeez, they might even stop beheading people in AZ, leaving heads all over the desert (according to our Governor.)

Election 2010

Thank God it is over. Saw an interesting piece on TV last night about the negativeness of this campaign. Basically, the premise was that this isn't any more negative than in most of our history. Apparently candidates in the early days of our country accused people of rape, murder, etc., called their opponent's mothers names like prostitute, adulterer, etc.

Jeez, and I thought this was something new, at least to the last half century since ads have been on TV. In fact, the first ad on TV was from Eisenhower and it spent it time bashing Adlai Stevenson. (by the way, Adlai's middle initial is E which I know because quite often in the NY Times Sunday Crossword they will ask for a 50s candidate against Ike - the answer being AES)

I digressed. Well, the Tea Party nut jobs won some and lost some. Seems likely that if the Republicans would have put up a middle of the road candidate in Nevada and Delaware, they might have won the Senate also.

The real question is, how can the moderate Republicans harness these Tea Party folks and their energy in a real political process? In other words, if the Tea Party folks push an agenda that lacks any basis, eventually even their supporters will say, "what planet are you from?"
They are against everything. Now they will have to have an idea or two rather than I don't like.........(fill in the blank.) Plus they will have to do it with a majority in the House, but a minority in the Senate and a centrist Democratic President.

As to the general public and what is clearly a powerful statement they have made, they should remember the old adage, "be careful what you ask for as you just might get it." If we create the same environment for big business and banks as Bush and the Republican House and Senate did from 2000 to 2008, what will happen? No amount of bailout or stimulus, like those started under Bush and carried out under Obama, will be enough to bring us back from the abyss.

The world will be watching. Their economies and way of life are tied to the US well being, and I, like them, am praying that the Republicans learned some lessons and will not repeat those errors from just a few years ago.

Elections

Well, tomorrow is a big day if you are a fan of mid-year elections. Generally, people don't get too fired up in non-presidential elections.

John McCain and Newt Gingrich have been espousing the coming election and the likelihood that Republicans will gain large numbers of seats.

Barack Obama has been pushing, cajoling, etc. trying to activate his considerable base and return them to the polls. It is unlikely that the first time voters that supported him will come out in any large numbers. Moderate republicans that voted for Obama are disillusioned, at least some of them.

It seems likely, if you read the polls, that the House will swing back to the republicans and the Senate will stay with the Democrats. But, who knows for sure.

I hold out hope that Obama will transition, much like Clinton did in 1994 and learn to work with the other side. Clinton had both chambers for his first two years, and lost the majority in both at the first mid-term election. Clinton's administration was second to none in shepherding a hugely successful economic time. Since the depression, the single most successful period of time was with Clinton, a Democrat, and a Republican congress.

The American electorate is a fickle lot. In 2006, Republican Bush lost both chambers - basically for getting us mired in two wars and running up huge deficits. Republicans lost 6 Senate seats (huge drop given only about 33 are up for grabs any one year) and 30 House seats. Then, as the economy became totally screwed, the Republicans lost the presidency and another 8 Senate seats (again, only 33 up for grabs) and 24 House seats.

So what to make of the fickle voters? What do they see in the Republican slate of candidates that they didn't see in 2006 and 2008? Personally I believe that the average person is just a little right of center, generally fiscally responsible and against big government. But just a little. Obama has had to sell what is far to difficult for most Americans to grasp - had the government not stepped in to stimulate the economy, the economic system would have collapsed or be far worse than it is today. Remember, the whole bail out started under George Bush - Henry Paulson asking for and receiving nearly a trillion dollars to prop up the banking, lending, insuring companies. This is a hard sell for Obama since there is no way to know for sure. Yes, the vast majority of economists think it was necessary, and many think the stimulus and bailouts weren't big enough, but still it is hard to prove a negative.

Nancy Pelosi is a terrible Speaker of the House. Maybe it is because she is a woman in an "Old Boys Club." Maybe she is just in over her head and rode the "Change" wave to her seat. That is my guess - over her head and she should have ceded the Speaker seat. Now she will cede her Speaker seat, assuming the Republicans do win back the House.

Strictly voting my own pocketbook, I hope the Republicans get the House and Senate back. A few Democrats and the Department of Education have decided that for-profit schools are the root of all evil. Of course they are wrong and since my income depends on these schools surviving, I will return to my roots and vote for the Republicans. I don't think they have learned a damn thing since they were kicked to the curb in 2006 and 2008 and in fact have become crazier. Can you say, Tea Party? Those guys (and gals) don't even like normal run of the mill Republicans. But, it is unlikely that they want to kill my income stream. I am almost ashamed to admit that pocketbook trumps common sense.

Had the Republican put up a reasonable candidate in Delaware and Alaska, they may have had a better chance of getting the Senate back. But they nominated nut jobs, thus probably saving the Democrats from themselves.

Go vote!

Juan Williams

National Public Radio must have lost their collective minds. Juan Williams was fired for basically saying what many people feel when they fly. It isn't that their all bigots either. Some people feel a pang of fear when they see a person in what they assume is traditional Muslim attire.

I certainly wish I didn't feel that way as I am certain that nearly every Muslim in this country has no desire to harm me. Yet, I admit that it crosses my mind. I am not immune to fear, even irrational fear. I bet I am not alone.

In fact, because Juan Williams was honest, I know there was at least one more.

I know some Muslim folks and they are kind, friendly, and respectful. I like them and have no fear of them. So I know that I am not just irrational about all Muslims.

As a side note, people calling for the U.S. Government to stop funding public TV and Radio, should know that very small percentage is paid for by government. Yes they made a ridiculous decision but the body of their work is bigger than this mis-step.

Various Ramblings Again

Been a while since I have blogged. Frankly, the world has been a bit bland.

• The elections are coming and the level of advertising, on both sides, here in AZ is troublesome. Nothing positive, only negatives. Would love to have a candidate say, "this is what I think and would fight for." Not yet.
• Dan Quayle's son is running for congress. You remember the former Veep who famously corrected a school kid and said potato is spelled, "potatoe." Ben Quayle seems a bit smarter.His first ad he claimed that Barack Obama is the worst president in U.S. history. B.O. had been president about 18 months at that point. Idiotic statement designed to mobilize hardcore Republicans during the primary. It worked.Now, he quite correctly espouses that both parties have failed to look out for the electorate. Now he is talking. If he wins, I do hope he can spell.
• As I opined a while back, apparently the electorate is leaning toward putting the Republicans back in charge of the House of Representatives. Historically, a Democrat President and Republican House is the best at getting results. So I guess I hope that the Republicans win back the House.
• I hope they do not get the Senate back however because I don't yet trust that the Republicans learned any lessons from the debacle that created in the banking industry - the debacle that nearly collapsed the world's economy.
• Most reputable economists believe the stimulus package wasn't big enough, and without the smaller version, the economy would have collapsed in an even worse manner.
• Brett Favre - I wonder if anyone in his inner circle is saying, "what were you thinking?"
  I wonder if anyone in his inner circle is even speaking to him right now. I hope that he didn't hit up the female worker and didn't send pix of his naked self. Jeez.
• Football is hot right now but baseball is suffering. The "national past time" is no longer baseball. Too slow I suppose for our now fast paced society.
• The elections will be interesting with the so-called Tea Party candidates. They seem a bit out of touch with reality but who knows.
• The feds are suing many states for many things and I guess I think they should stop. I understand why they are doing it - there are ridiculous things going on all over in this country, but the suing needs to stop as a waste of precious resources right now.

Reasonableness, in my estimation, continues to elude us.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell......Blah, Blah, Blah

If one wants to understand the dysfunction of the U.S. congress, look no further than this article. There is a little something for each side to complain about. Harry Reid should be fired and the Republicans should try once in a while to get something done by adding the word "Yes" to their vernacular.

In the mean time, progress has been ground to a halt.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/us/politics/22cong.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&src=igw

Hmmm!

In the AZ Republic, the major newspaper for the 5th largest city in America, they post once a week a list of the 5 most expensive houses sold in the past week. What is interesting, and this is completely unscientific, but most of these houses aren't sold by people.

Of the 5 in any given week (with some exceptions), 3 will be sold by a husband and wife on behalf of a trust, 1 will be sold by a bank (million dollar repos?) and 1 sold by an individual. How many of you have a trust that owns your house?

When the really wealthy say they pay a lot in taxes, what they don't say is that they spend a great deal of time sheltering money from taxes, so much so that in reality they don't really pay so much. Now don't get me wrong, they are probably paying more than necessary because of government waste, but don't buy this business about them paying 50-70% in taxes. Not true.

And what do you want to bet the person who defaulted on their million dollar mortgage will be able to get another while Joe Middle Class will be screwed.

Reduced Government

Apparently in just 2 short years the majority of people have forgotten how the world's economy was nearly destroyed by lax regulators, greedy bankers, and otherwise smart people making stupid decisions by buying huge homes and SUVs they could not afford.

Thus, fiscal restraint is again in vogue. This is good when done correctly. In other words, we can procedurally make changes (ex. line item veto, cost reductions, etc.) that will allow for shrinking of government expenditures without telling the wolves that they are open for business once again.

Here is just one example: There are 2,768,886 people employed, about 90% FT by the U.S. government. This doesn't include military and other non-civilian jobs, except U.S. Coast Guard and the figures are for 2008.

According to reports, U.S. government civilian employees earn double what their counterparts in the private sector make. Ugh. The average salary made per the same report is about $120k per year in the government sector.

Those making less than $60K should take a 5% pay cut. I will assume that 1 million (about 35%) employees are in this category and will assume their average pay is $45k/yer. 5% of $45K is $2,250 per year multiplied by 1 million and the savings are $2.25 billion per year. With me so far?

Next, those making from $60K to $120K, with an average of $90K will take a pay cut of 5% on the first $60K and 20% on the rest. I will assume that about 30% of employees are in this category - approximately 830,000 workers at $90K. On the first $60k of their pay we save about $2.5B and the last $30,000 we save $4.9B. Total savings in this group - $7.4 Billion per year.

Next, those making $120 to $180K per year, I will guesstimate 25% or about 700,000 people fall into this category with an average salary of $150K. They should take the above cuts plus 40% of the last $30K. The math is: savings of $2.1B on the first $60K, $8.4b for the next $60k and $8.4b for the last part. Total savings from this group? $18.9 billion per year.

The last 10% are above $180,000. I will assign an average of $300k to this group of 275,000 employees. The math: $825 million savings on first $60K, $3.3b on the next $60K, $6.6b on the next $60K and with a 50% decrease on the last $120k, the savings would be $16.5b with a grand total of $27.25 billion.

Total for all savings are $55.8 billion per year. The total payroll is about $185billion so we have eliminated about 30%. Thus they are still being payed more than their counterparts in the private sector. Some may leave U.S. government employment, but I bet there is a private sector employee to step in.

Now, I have made multiple WAGs (Wild A-- Guesses) on the numbers, but you get the point. A reasonable approach to making government more responsive.

More Foolishness

The Reverend Terry Jones, with his flock of 50 or so in Florida, plans to burn Qurans this weekend. Basically everyone is asking or suggesting that he not do this. They are correct to ask but if he decides to do it, then he has expressed himself as allowed for by the U.S. Constitution.

As I always say, it is hard to be a true American and let people with different views have their say. If he wants to burn them, he can. Just like the group that wants to build the Mosque in NY City should be allowed to build.

However, just like the mosque dudes, perhaps the reverend could try to act a bit more civilized and not burn the Quran. We get his point - so what! Burning them will simply incite religious zealots in foreign lands to attack us more and will be recruiting material for like minded nut jobs. Plus, putting a soldier in harms way in Iraq or Afghanistan because you want to make a statement is ridiculous.

Just because you can burn the Quran or build the mosque, doesn't mean that you should burn the Quran or build the mosque. Apply some reasonableness and/or common sense.

Well Said!

Interesting post.

Physicist v. God

Stephen Hawking is a British physicist. Apparently quite famous. I have opined in the past that science and religion need not be at odds. Mr. Hawking apparently disagrees.

He has released a book which basically debunks the need for God in terms of creating the world. That will not go over real big with the religious zealots of the world. In fact, it won't go over so big with most people.

Personally I think the religious right who try to downplay Darwin are nut jobs and I think Mr. Hawking is also. Perhaps he is not nuts because he has made a sound scientific argument for the creation of the world without God's input. What he hasn't been able to do, is give any context for the world. For many people, God does that.

Science is already under attack, perhaps not in Europe (I don't know), but certainly here in the U.S. Conservatives decrying stem cell research, denying global warming, and in extreme cases banning Darwin in favor of creationism, are just a few examples. They would prefer to suspend science and thought, and promote blind following of organized religion's word.

As usual, there is no reasonableness in the debate. The truth, I believe, falls in the middle - thank God.

Primaries

Voted in the Republican Primaries yesterday - always a privilege although I haven't been good at voting in these primaries in the past.

So what spurred me to join the small crowd of voters on a day that temperatures reached 112 degrees in AZ?

Giving a vote to McCain for no other reason than keeping the vote from J.D. Hayworth who is a simple minded bigot similar to Rush Limbaugh.

Also cast my vote for Governor Brewer, the signer of SB 1070. While I continue to worry about the effect on our economy, the statute has definitely ignited debate and will force the issue to be dealt with in the next congress. They should do it now, but no Dem or Rep has the stomach for this during an election cycle. Wimps!

Political Ads

Ugh - I cannot stand the political ads. One learns nothing about what the candidate believes, only what stupid thing his opponent did last week, last year, last century! If it wasn't for the money they pour into the community espousing all this crap, there would be no use to the ads at all. Totally unreasonable.

Golf and Integrity

Golf tours, analysts, etc. like to tout their product's integrity. Take Sunday for example. At the PGA tournament, one of the 4 major golf tournaments held each year, Dustin Johnson was found to have run afoul of the rules.

He was told of the infraction, penalized, and the tournament went on without him. Without the penalty he would have been in a playoff to determine the winner. As it was, he ended up 5th because of the penalty.

They have rules and they follow them - it is a reasonable attempt by a sport to keep its integrity in order. Very reasonable - if difficult for young Dustin Johnson.

Obama on NY Mosque

Considering the Right Wingers like to say Barack Obama is a socialist, it is interesting who is really acting like the true American democracy advocate.

As I have said before, allowing free speech etc. is sometimes very difficult, but that is one of the incredible aspects of this country. Obama basically said, the Muslims can build the Mosque in NY near Ground Zero, because that is what the American constitution says - freedom to act.

He is right. I still wish the Muslim group would re-think their choice, but if they want to move forward, they ought to be allowed. Obama defended the American constitution and he should be given credit for that, even if you don't like the outcome.