State of the Union

I am ashamed to admit that I missed the State of the Union Address. I simply thought it was on Thursday. Ugh. I have read the complete speech. I can picture the Dems standing and cheering at certain points, off-set by dour faces from their counter-parts. Because even if Obama said, "God blessed us with many conservative Republicans", the Right would still sit and scowl. This was true of the Dems just a few short years ago when the Republicans had the House, Senate, and White House. Neither party is right for performing in such a disgraceful manner. That we elect these folks to act so badly is, well, .......unreasonable.

I can also picture, and pray this is so, that when either side hears the words below, they understand how true this is:

“It is our responsibility as lawmakers and educators to make this system work. But it is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in it. And so tonight, I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma. And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It's not just quitting on yourself, it's quitting on your country - and this country needs and values the talents of every American. That is why we will provide the support necessary for you to complete college and meet a new goal: by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

I know that the price of tuition is higher than ever, which is why if you are willing to volunteer in your neighborhood or give back to your community or serve your country, we will make sure that you can afford a higher education. And to encourage a renewed spirit of national service for this and future generations, I ask this Congress to send me the bipartisan legislation that bears the name of Senator Orrin Hatch as well as an American who has never stopped asking what he can do for his country - Senator Edward Kennedy.

These education policies will open the doors of opportunity for our children. But it is up to us to ensure they walk through them. In the end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a mother or father who will attend those parent/teacher conferences, or help with homework after dinner, or turn off the TV, put away the video games, and read to their child. I speak to you not just as a President, but as a father when I say that responsibility for our children's education must begin at home.”

As a person who has spent more than 20 years working with adults who quit or squeaked by in school, and were later in life trying to fix it, I know how crucial these matters are. If anyone believes that the U.S. can compete in a global market simply because we always have been the leaders, you are wrong. It doesn't work that way.

Johnny, Amelia, Jose, Mary, and Tyrell are all going to need an education in order to help the U.S. keep its place in the world. Otherwise it will dominated by Xiang and/or Abu. To think otherwise is naive and unreasonable.

Supreme Court Ruling

For more than 100 years the Supreme Court ruled (or left alone) that corporations and unions should not be allowed to throw unlimited dollars at elections. Given the ridiculous number of ads we have had to endure over the last 20 years, this seems like a very bad thing.

I cannot wait to see the ads for J.P. Morgan espousing the values of their favorite Republican. Even if I like that particular Republican candidate, do I really want to watch 10 or 20 times as many ads as in the past? No I do not. Or perhaps the ads from the ACLU espousing the virtues of some tort lawyer will be very inspiring. Yeah, right. This is a totally unreasonable vote, not surprising along party lines - 5 to 4. Oh yea, there are no party lines in the Supreme Court!

Ugh!

Elections

It is interesting that one election can hold such a huge sway on American politics. If the Republican is elected today in Massachusetts, that will be amazing. It will kill health reform and those of us not fortunate enough to be covered will be screwed.

However, polls have swung around and have stabilized showing the majority of Americans now oppose health reform. Personally I think the swing was caused by misinformation such as Death Panels, etc., but I must admit I cannot say that for sure. Perhaps it is simply the enormity of the problems that continue to plague the economy, most notably jobs.

The markets have rebounded, which is generally the leading edge of a recovery, thus this is good. However, the rebound has also brought back the huge Wall Street bonuses - ugh.

When Clinton was President he probably got more done when the Republicans were in charge of the congress (6 years.) than in the first two years when he had a majority. So while Obama is using political capital to try to win a seat that was previously held by Kennedy for nearly 50 years, he should just be ready to work harder to get his agenda done. The interesting, and unreasonable thing is the Reps will still only hold 41% of the Senate seats, but that is enough to grind everything to a halt.

It is a fact that the American public is a fickle group and the independents are just that - independent. They swing with changes. Time for Barack Obama to use his considerable skills of negotiation and get everyone involved.

Roman Polanski

I agree with Cokie Roberts of This Week (ABC Sunday morning talk show) - he should be shot for raping a 13 year old girl. It is unreasonable for Hollywood actors, directors and producers to call for leniency.

Pat Robertson

Pat Robertson stated today that Haiti was decimated by a earthquake because they made a pact with the devil in the early 1800s. Personally, I think God has other things better to do than try to ruin Haiti which really has had no problem ruining itself. Or perhaps a crust of land 5 miles underground shifted - sort of like it happens in America or Japan or etc. from time to time.

I recall Pat ran for office - actually won a primary against George Bush the First in Iowa (okay - if it was Iowa technically he won a caucus) - and thankfully lost. I also recall that Pat said a few years ago that the leader of Israel was in a coma because he ceded land to the Palestinians. I am sure that Hurricane Katrina befell New Orleans because of jazz and Bourbon Street.

Pat needs to shut up. He makes us all sound like nut jobs.

Skiing

My wife and I went skiing yesterday in Flagstaff for the first time in many years - 12-13 for me. I used to love to ski and it turns out I still do. The boots, carrying the skis, getting it all put on, etc. is all totally UNREASONABLE. However, when you ride up the chair lift, get to the top and look out over the beautiful horizon, and then glide down on well groomed white snow - PRICELESS.

Nice way to spend a day in Arizona.

Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin is going to be on Fox News. Wow. I am sure the vast knowledge she displayed during her meteoric rise to prominence will come in handy.

She is going to be a commentator! Truly laughable. I fear for my Republican party.

The Truth Be Told

Wow, what a week. Two people in power, doing something that is leadership worthy.

First, Michael Steele, the Chairman of the Republican National Committee, criticizes the two Republican presidents who followed Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, accusing the elder Bush of abandoning Republican principles by instituting tax hikes, and accusing the younger Bush of betraying fiscal conservatism with large deficits and the TARP bank bailout.

This is what the Republicans need to do. They need to honestly assess where we went wrong. For example, many Republican congressman now say they know there are problems with the health care system. They go on to vote against reform as it goes against their principals. Fair enough. However, they had control of congress for 6 years and had a Republican president and they didn't do anything to fix or even acknowledge the health care issue. Nothing. Only when confronted with public options and radical changes did they say, "we have a problem here." Shame on them.

The other positive I took this week, was Barack Obama saying, "the buck stops here." This was uttered in regard to the near-terror attack on Christmas Day. Presidents should realize that they are responsible. His choice of words, including "war" in reference to terrorists, indicates that he is willing to escalate the response if words and olive branches don't work. Like Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, he understands how words are used, dissected, interpreted, and projected and have a profound effect on the populace.

Some will say that it is politically expedient for Steele and Obama to say and write these things - and they would be correct. So what. You have to get elected and to do so you have to show that you have some humility and understanding of what is really happening and what has happened in the past.

Good for Steele - as a moderate Republican I very much want for the party to get back to its roots and quit indiscriminately giving tax cuts to corporations, to pursue doggedly things like tort reform, and to take the party back from the extreme right. The extreme right cannot deliver enough votes.

Good for Obama - teach people that it is okay to say, "I made a mistake or didn't do as good as I should have." Take proper steps and hold those who do the work accountable. He has a tough and unreasonable job to do and is getting little assistance from either party.

Happy New Year - A Week Late

Okay, so I am late. Happy New Year.

What I would like to see happen in 2010:

1. Packers win the Super Bowl - or as referred to in non-NFL sanctioned ads - the Big Game.
2. Barack Obama sticks to his agenda, the one on which he ran successfully, and tries to make a difference in what has become a totally screwed up political system.
3. Rush Limbaugh survives his heart ailments and decide that after a close call he is going to retire and leave the idiocy to Glen Beck or Sean Hannity, or.........
4. Still hoping to move to Hawaii - still too cold here in AZ
5. John McCain suddenly remembers that he is supposed to be a statesman, and that he lost the presidential election by millions of votes, and start being the loyal opposition instead of a whiner
6. If the Packers don't win, the Cardinals do. In lieu of those two, I will take a win by Brett Favre who is still fun to watch play a kids game
7. That Obama makes Janet Napolitano stand in a shed with no lights for saying "the system worked." She is a bright lady, well educated, articulate, hard working, etc. but clearly the system didn't work.
8. As a follow up, I pray that we gain the courage to start profiling people who get on planes. I know it sucks for all the law abiding Muslim-Americans, but perhaps then they will stand up and begin to put down the long-bearded, women-hating, west-hating fanatics
9. That the Republicans find a way to give positive input rather than trying to "talk a bill to death." The medical system is completely broken and it needs fixed.
10. World Peace - why not? Get out of Iraq as planned and then start to wind down in Afghanistan after this surge takes its effect - if it does. Then get out of there and leave them to their own devices. Want to guess at what they will do to themselves?
11. The Diamandbacks get better at baseball and the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team continue their great play here in AZ
12. That I reconnect with old friends - seems to be a lot of that going around. It is enjoyable.

A reasonable list, don't you think?

New Program Effective

In the last two months, drug-border enforcement officials in AZ have started a new program in conjunction with the Mexican government. When we catch someone crossing into America carrying marijuana or other drugs, we now have an extra option. We can try them here in America, as always, immediately deport them, or now we can turn them over to the Federali.

Some liberal types are complaining that this circumvents the U.S. Constitution. I am sure you are saying to yourself, "What?"

Apparently we have trouble prosecuting these folks carrying under 500 lbs of Marijuana because they drive it over the border in cars registered to someone else. Thus they can say they didn't know it was there and the U.S. prosecutors cannot prove intent.

Now what we do is call the Attorney General and if it seems likely that we cannot try them successfully, we call the Federali and turn the culprits over, sometimes within a few hours of nabbing them. These drug runners are not fond of being handed over to the Mexican government. President Calderone of Mexico appears to be taking the battle against drug cartels to heart - finally. Hopefully we will expand this program into other border states as well and support the important steps taken by our generally lax neighbors to the south.

Haven't heard any praise from the law and order types, especially in the Republican party, for this effective new tool. Why not? The only voices being heard are from ACLU types. Step up McCain, and especially Kyl, to laud this new effort.