Democrats, United or Divided?

We have heard the so-called pundits discussing the Rick Warren inclusion in the inauguration festivities as pitting Democrats against each other and since Obama has been making liberal use of all things Lincoln of late it would benefit him to remember "United we stand, divided we fall."

I beg to differ and in most cases the conservative view is just wishful thinking. My take? Obama is doing the same thing McCain did throughout his campaign. Taking his base for granted knowing full well that they had no place else to go and would complain for a little while and then go ahead and pull the Republican lever.

Since some of the analyses after the election indicate that although some Republicans would not cross party lines, they just stayed home. One can only hope, but if I were a betting person I would expect that when the next election comes around the Democrat version will have forgotten the incident or at least come to terms with it.

We will still need to work as hard as we possibly can and win on the merits. That is the only scenario which works.

See ya-

Clinton Legacy-Anarchy?

The above title is the same one I used exactly 10 years ago on the website I had at the time for Michigan Senior Citizens. (It was Dec. 19, 1998 when Pres. Clinton was impeached.)

This is a quick introduction to the next couple of columns since I'm going to share with you what I wrote at that time and how coincidental it is that just 2 weeks ago we heard about the young folks who cheat.

That's a teaser.

See ya

AARP Friends

My friends at AARP are at it again.

They are describing our country as lacking in prestige with our reputation around the world in tatters. Why, then, I ask you, does the rest of the world turn to us when a catastrophe decimates their population? And, why do we still have an enormous problem with illegal immigration? And why, when they say "Yes we can" in answer to the question "can we fix this?" they reference the Obama campaign slogan indidcating that it's really the Republicans who are causing all the trouble?

They just have such a problem realizing that the so-called mean-spirited political climate started with the Clinton administration when the pot called the kettle black.
Not being a psychiatrist, but having picked up some of their jargon along the way, I'm sure there is a name for the response of someone who strikes out at others when they realize that they made the original mistake. All of those people who defended the Prez and vouched for his honor had, and probably still have, a terrible guilt complex about doing so.

They keep thinking that the best defense is a good offense and usually that is so, but they keep falling into the trap of two wrongs making a right and that is not so.
So, until they realize that in order to "cooperate" they must meet halfway, it's not gonna work to tell us we need to "work together."

We'll keep trying.

Chrysler Shutdown, Obama's abortion stance/education choice

You pays your money and takes your choice.

Story #1: If you aren't acquainted with the automotive industry you probably are not aware that the company picks up the 90% wage that workers get during a shutdown.

Story #2: Obama has said (paraphrased) that the worst mistake in voting that he ever made was to keep Terry Schaivo alive and has hired the attorney who defended the husband who wanted to take her off life support to help his team.

Story #3: Obama's Education cabinet member, Mr. Duncan, has stated that certfication of teachers is no guarantee of good performance plus he supports charter schools, among other positions. Wonder when the teachers' unions are going to weigh in. They can't be too happy with this guy.

See ya

Ecuador and Venezuela/Connect the Dots

The only thing seen in the last couple of days which will bear investigation is the connection between Correa of Ecuador who is a good friend of Hugo Chavez and who has "skipped" a $30.6 million payment to bondholders which was due yesterday indicating that there were "irregularities" in how the deal had been constructed by his predecessor.

It just seems that there is hardly any gray area any more where we can give folks the benefit of the doubt. Good and evil are as black and white as they can be and lately it seems the good guys and bad guys are easily identified. In fact, if we don't approach any given situation with skepticism and look for trouble we will probably be caught flat-footed and look like fools for being too trusting.

It's pretty basic, isn't it? But who has the ability to do something about it?

Maybe it's the Christmas season, but it's more depressing than usual since we really do want to see the good in everything and it appears to be getting harder and harder to find.

See ya..........

Playing Both Sides Against the Middle------

American Greeting (the card company) has companies in Michigan and Tennessee. According to the Mackinac Center these folks put out the information that they would "probably" be closing one of the plants. So, what happened, you ask? Why, they're not stupid. They accepted both states' offers of, in the case of Michigan, $2.4 million in Single Business Tax Credits, $400,000 in job training subsidies and early $2.5 million in local property tax abatements. This was in 2000 and they were to creat 200 new jobs with the company by 2002 and 144 additional "spin-off" jobs by 2010. Tennessee was probably an equivalent.

The result was nowhere near 200. 60 jobs (it had been as high as 85) were the end result in 2002. Total tax credits earned for the tax year 2002 were valued at $346,560. You can do any kind of math you want, this does not compute. What are the odds that any monies will be returned to the state?

You can make up the end of this story any way you want. It just rubs me the wrong way and I don't want to talk about it any more today.

See ya,

Blogging, Dieting, Exercising.........

What's the Connection?

It seems if you stop any one of them it takes a major effort to get started again, at least if self-discipline is a fault in your psyche.

So, let's put it this way--

I've always tried to keep this short enough that it's not a chore to stop by and doesn't take too much time and will continue to do so.

With that in mind today I have only an update on an old subject: the gangs have infiltrated Hartford, Connecticut in the same way as Dallas, San Diego and other locations in the south where you might expect them. They are working in the same way with the Spanish title for "solid" meaning they are solidly together and their coordination is strong.

If yo have a few minutes to research the newspapers in Dallas and San Diego, you really should.

Merry Christmas!