Political Intelligence? Senator Franken? Smart Minnesotan? (remember Gov. Ventura?
not a stretch then, is it?) And on top of all the rest, I heard Eleanor whats-her-name from Newsweek say "political wisdom." Now that's a perfect example. We could have a real contest given the mind set of what is going on in the states and D.C. At this point in time I have a real problem remembering what is good in my home state and how lucky I was to have the school system prevalent back in the day.
What I have no problem remembering, however, is how the Clintons never stopped campaigning right from the start so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Obama is following that lead as well. More campaign rhetoric from a meeting with Pelosi, then Reid and then from the meeting with his financial advisors. It used to be that the news was reported about the results of a meeting, not a campaign speech from the room itself with plenty of cameras. Just a thought........wonder who can get to a camera first from a dead stop: Obama or Schumer.
Just beginning to realize how much upheaval is resulting from the elites who decided that every one of us, whether we wanted to or not, would have to have high def TV by Feb. 17, 2009. NOT! At my age it's not in my budget nor is it on my wish list. It's just not a priority, but I will be inconvenienced by having to put in converter boxes and re-wiring my VCR/DVD units and not being able to tape one show while watching another unless I run a second set. Oh, well........
This column reminds me of the two little wrought iron plaques I have in my kitchen. In no particular order they are: "As soon as the rush is over, I'm going to have a nervous breakdown. I worked for it; I owe it to myself, and nobody is going to deprive me of it" and "God grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change, COURAGE to change the things I can, and, WISDOM to know the difference."
Along with Edmund Burke's "for evil to survive, good men shall do nothing" or words to that effect plus a motto we shared with teenagers in catechism class in the 70s: If you were arrested for being a Christian would there by enough evidence to convict you? Words to live by? At least they are not oxymoronic.
See ya-
Monday, January 5, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
The More I Know, the More I Know How Much I Don't Know
The "everybody knows" syndrome is apparent in the Israeli/Gaza Strip topic such as rockets, retaliation, how far can Israel let the Palestinians go before reacting, etc. And we know that perhaps due to the small size of the strip we're talking about the Palestinians saying they have no choice but to have military installations in civilian areas, right? But breaking a cease fire agreement is the starting point as far as the Israelis are concerned, right? And on and on.
However, my personal knowledge of the geography and the history and knowing the governmental structure is sorely lacking. Do the Palestinians have a legitimate police force? Or military presence other than Hamas? Who took over when Arafat died? ie., who are the leaders and players both clerical and secular?
Seriously, does anyone have a source to recommend to help us get up to speed on this?
See ya-
One more thing: I may not be as smart as I'd like to be but found out today that I am a very, very polite person. Read this: "Insisting on playing a game for which, after a fair amount of time, you show no natural aptitude is frustrating to you and annoying to all but the most complacent opponents." From Amy Vanderbilt's Book of Etiquette: A Guide to Gracious Living. (After 3 years of lessons and practice and little or no improvement I gave up on golf about 50 years ago and became the official cart driver for a really great group of friends. Now I don't even do that.)
I've never been sorry.
However, my personal knowledge of the geography and the history and knowing the governmental structure is sorely lacking. Do the Palestinians have a legitimate police force? Or military presence other than Hamas? Who took over when Arafat died? ie., who are the leaders and players both clerical and secular?
Seriously, does anyone have a source to recommend to help us get up to speed on this?
See ya-
One more thing: I may not be as smart as I'd like to be but found out today that I am a very, very polite person. Read this: "Insisting on playing a game for which, after a fair amount of time, you show no natural aptitude is frustrating to you and annoying to all but the most complacent opponents." From Amy Vanderbilt's Book of Etiquette: A Guide to Gracious Living. (After 3 years of lessons and practice and little or no improvement I gave up on golf about 50 years ago and became the official cart driver for a really great group of friends. Now I don't even do that.)
I've never been sorry.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Saturday Afternoon Football/C-Span/the Economy
1-Watching a little television this afternoon and ran across the last two hours of a 7 day program about the history of the White House with interviews of historians and the President and Laura Bush which was very enjoyable. I'm only sorry I missed the major portion of the presentation. Much of this is available on the C-Span.org website and I recommend it.
2-The U. S. Army is sponsoring the East-West Best of High School football today and they are making their choices as to their college destinations. Interesting to watch these young people making choices which will affect their lives to such an extent.
3-Which led to a conversaton with my husband who related an interview he saw on a news show and which brought up our topic for this blog a few days ago. A young white kid said he was going to join the service since "they wouldn't be going broke and he would always have a job."
Now, this frequently happens in "down times." When jobs are hard to find those who can afford it go back to school for their masters, a double major or to change education paths. Those who don't, won't or can't follow that avenue turn to the armed services as a job source. (This is probably why we hear that old refrain that African American kids are disproportionately represented in the military.)
LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING! Remember the murder rate increase of 39% of teenage blacks we spoke of? Add that to accidental and natural death rates in that demographic and I'm sure that the young people of all ethnic backgrounds can look at the statistics and realize that even if they are in the front lines of a war zone their chances of injury or death are no higher than they would be if they stayed in their neighborhoods.
Bottom line--a job in the military is better than no job as a civilian in the eyes of young folks in 2009. God bless 'em.
See ya-
2-The U. S. Army is sponsoring the East-West Best of High School football today and they are making their choices as to their college destinations. Interesting to watch these young people making choices which will affect their lives to such an extent.
3-Which led to a conversaton with my husband who related an interview he saw on a news show and which brought up our topic for this blog a few days ago. A young white kid said he was going to join the service since "they wouldn't be going broke and he would always have a job."
Now, this frequently happens in "down times." When jobs are hard to find those who can afford it go back to school for their masters, a double major or to change education paths. Those who don't, won't or can't follow that avenue turn to the armed services as a job source. (This is probably why we hear that old refrain that African American kids are disproportionately represented in the military.)
LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING! Remember the murder rate increase of 39% of teenage blacks we spoke of? Add that to accidental and natural death rates in that demographic and I'm sure that the young people of all ethnic backgrounds can look at the statistics and realize that even if they are in the front lines of a war zone their chances of injury or death are no higher than they would be if they stayed in their neighborhoods.
Bottom line--a job in the military is better than no job as a civilian in the eyes of young folks in 2009. God bless 'em.
See ya-
Friday, January 2, 2009
Gas Tax or Carbon tax--Duh! Who cares?
Added at 11:47 PM-Yippee! Skippee! Utah Wins and Nick Sabin loses (sorry for his team) now I can rest easy. See ya tomorrow--
Talk about unintended consequences!!!
Comcast has daily headlines which I usually don't access 'cuz I'm on my way to the internet, but today I stopped at the one talking about how the transportation committee wants to double the federal gas tax. And the reason?
1-people are driving less (using less gas)
2-people are driving hybrids and driving smarter
So, when all the global warming folks said drive less and drive hybrids and use ethanol, etc., etc., and we did, why is anyone surprised at the result? (And by the way, in my opinion, the changes in driving habits were disproportionately due to the fact that it became a cost/benefit situation--most of us can see the forest.)
So let's get this straight. Taxes are, or should be, predicated on future needs.
So when they built the roads they started collecting taxes for maintenance. Or did they wait until the infrastructure went to hell in a handbasket and then have to make up for poor planning and lost time? And then, did they set the rates to actually meet the needs or did they set them just high enough so the populace would not rise up? Has this been a miniature Ponzi scheme whose time just came to explode in our faces?
And on top of that don't forget that the committee was appointed by the Congress, which means Pelosi, etc. so consider the source when you consider the directives given to the committee at its inception.
Just be aware--be ready for the onslaught of press reports on the NEEDS we face in regard to this subject and most of all, don't forget that if the price goes up, the demand goes down, so the proportion of taxes to usage will change as well. The economists like to predict at what point behavior is changed by economics and it's a never-ending saga. It's really tough to get agreement, so use your common sense and demand that our government does as well.
See ya (and I may be back later today)
Talk about unintended consequences!!!
Comcast has daily headlines which I usually don't access 'cuz I'm on my way to the internet, but today I stopped at the one talking about how the transportation committee wants to double the federal gas tax. And the reason?
1-people are driving less (using less gas)
2-people are driving hybrids and driving smarter
So, when all the global warming folks said drive less and drive hybrids and use ethanol, etc., etc., and we did, why is anyone surprised at the result? (And by the way, in my opinion, the changes in driving habits were disproportionately due to the fact that it became a cost/benefit situation--most of us can see the forest.)
So let's get this straight. Taxes are, or should be, predicated on future needs.
So when they built the roads they started collecting taxes for maintenance. Or did they wait until the infrastructure went to hell in a handbasket and then have to make up for poor planning and lost time? And then, did they set the rates to actually meet the needs or did they set them just high enough so the populace would not rise up? Has this been a miniature Ponzi scheme whose time just came to explode in our faces?
And on top of that don't forget that the committee was appointed by the Congress, which means Pelosi, etc. so consider the source when you consider the directives given to the committee at its inception.
Just be aware--be ready for the onslaught of press reports on the NEEDS we face in regard to this subject and most of all, don't forget that if the price goes up, the demand goes down, so the proportion of taxes to usage will change as well. The economists like to predict at what point behavior is changed by economics and it's a never-ending saga. It's really tough to get agreement, so use your common sense and demand that our government does as well.
See ya (and I may be back later today)
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Random thoughts
Watching all these (boring?) bowl games certainly allows time to stray from the plot of the book I have on my lap. So here goes...
#1-Why in the world would Penn State give that old guy a 3 year contract to sit in the booth and watch his staff work? When you hear the gripe sessions from alums of other colleges you gotta wonder about the Penn State grads, right?
#2-Again on the bowl games. This looks like an industry unto itself. Wonder if anyone has put a dollar value on the average bowl game attendance/cost per customer.
Air fare, hotel, meals, entertainment, photos, souvenirs, etc.
#3-Leads to the general economy and the haves and the have-nots. The family who spends $12,000 on going to a bowl game could make the mortgage payments for a year for another family. Just an observation. A recession is just that, a higher than usual percentage of folks out of work, but most of us are not in big trouble but actually have an opportunity to think about spending more wisely. And wonder of wonders, enough people have enough to spare to help those in need. God bless us all.
#4-More on mortgage payments: A short WSJ column included a couple of websites to visit if you know someone who needs to restructure a home loan. The first note was: First, contact the company that services your mortgage. Then the websites can help find geographical aid. http://www.hud.gov/foreclosure/index.cfn and www.housinghelpnow.org They gave a phone number which I'm not sure is national or regional. 1-888-995-HOPE run by HOPE NOW, a coalition of counselors, servicers and providers and investors which puts homeowners in touch with servicers to find alternatives to foreclosure.
As with yesterday, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
See ya
#1-Why in the world would Penn State give that old guy a 3 year contract to sit in the booth and watch his staff work? When you hear the gripe sessions from alums of other colleges you gotta wonder about the Penn State grads, right?
#2-Again on the bowl games. This looks like an industry unto itself. Wonder if anyone has put a dollar value on the average bowl game attendance/cost per customer.
Air fare, hotel, meals, entertainment, photos, souvenirs, etc.
#3-Leads to the general economy and the haves and the have-nots. The family who spends $12,000 on going to a bowl game could make the mortgage payments for a year for another family. Just an observation. A recession is just that, a higher than usual percentage of folks out of work, but most of us are not in big trouble but actually have an opportunity to think about spending more wisely. And wonder of wonders, enough people have enough to spare to help those in need. God bless us all.
#4-More on mortgage payments: A short WSJ column included a couple of websites to visit if you know someone who needs to restructure a home loan. The first note was: First, contact the company that services your mortgage. Then the websites can help find geographical aid. http://www.hud.gov/foreclosure/index.cfn and www.housinghelpnow.org They gave a phone number which I'm not sure is national or regional. 1-888-995-HOPE run by HOPE NOW, a coalition of counselors, servicers and providers and investors which puts homeowners in touch with servicers to find alternatives to foreclosure.
As with yesterday, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
See ya
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Update on Blog
Since I don't make comments on this blog I was not aware that registration is necessary to post. Accidentally found out and changed the criteria so anyone at all can post anything at all (within reason.) What does that mean? My generation calls it common sense which, if I have to spell it out, means anonymity is OK unless the message is crude, rude or over the top. OK?
And with that as a new start to the New Year and having learned how to put video on the blog which we can start practicing with next week we are good to go in 2009. One other note: if you want me to research and/or address any topics I have given short shrift, just let me know.
We aim to please. Or if not, at least give you something to think about.
Happy New Year!
See ya
And with that as a new start to the New Year and having learned how to put video on the blog which we can start practicing with next week we are good to go in 2009. One other note: if you want me to research and/or address any topics I have given short shrift, just let me know.
We aim to please. Or if not, at least give you something to think about.
Happy New Year!
See ya
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Black Teen Murder Rate Increases 39% in Six Years
Why is this political? Let me count the ways.
In 2007 Michigan had a referendum on the ballot which gave an advantage to minorities and which I worked for and supported for 10 months. The inner city schools in Detroit are so bad that in my estimation we needed to give those kids all the extra help we could muster to make up for the adults who couldn't get the job done. In October the Crisis magazine, the NAACP official publication, included a story about teenagers who were involved in driveby shootings and other forms of outright murder.
The gist of the story was that many innocents were being hurt, that the problem was caused by Republicans not supporting gun control, was exacerbated by the gun running along I-95 from the south where guns were readily available to the major east coast metropolitan areas and then compounded by the hunting element in the New England states making a secondary source of easy procurement.
What to do about it? Counsel the young people about the negative effect on future jobs if they had a felony on their records was one remedy. A glaring omission was evidenced by no mention of the fact that it is wrong to take a life. The only place in the article where "wrong" was even mentioned was at the end of a trial resulting in finding the young man who shot a girl who became a paraplegic was when she was asked if she had anything to say was when she said "He done me wrong." At that point I decided that if they didn't even recognize an important part of cause and effect, I just couldn't support more of the same. Some tough love was called for.
Now we see a study indicating a 39% rise in murders of black teenagers between 2001 and 2006. I realize that the economy had taken over the headlines from just before and since the election, but I don't remember any earlier campaign promise which would make us think the Dems consider this a problem which might be rectified by naming a Gun Czar or Cabinet level Black Youth Safety position. (If they want to be politically correct, we can call it Youth Safety so self esteem is not an issue.)
Since Mr. Obama is so staunchly pro-abortion perhaps one could conclude that life in general is of little value to him, but I refuse to believe that. I believe that he has been caught up in the Democrat mantra of freedom of choice (euphemism for abortion) that he has no graceful way of standing up for life without alienating a good share of his base.
Other than prayer I see only one avenue to save these kids. We all need to keep nagging folks to listen to Bill Cosby who is one of the few who seem to get it. Keep your eyes open and write a letter to the editor now and then. Compliments if deserved, shame if not.
See ya
In 2007 Michigan had a referendum on the ballot which gave an advantage to minorities and which I worked for and supported for 10 months. The inner city schools in Detroit are so bad that in my estimation we needed to give those kids all the extra help we could muster to make up for the adults who couldn't get the job done. In October the Crisis magazine, the NAACP official publication, included a story about teenagers who were involved in driveby shootings and other forms of outright murder.
The gist of the story was that many innocents were being hurt, that the problem was caused by Republicans not supporting gun control, was exacerbated by the gun running along I-95 from the south where guns were readily available to the major east coast metropolitan areas and then compounded by the hunting element in the New England states making a secondary source of easy procurement.
What to do about it? Counsel the young people about the negative effect on future jobs if they had a felony on their records was one remedy. A glaring omission was evidenced by no mention of the fact that it is wrong to take a life. The only place in the article where "wrong" was even mentioned was at the end of a trial resulting in finding the young man who shot a girl who became a paraplegic was when she was asked if she had anything to say was when she said "He done me wrong." At that point I decided that if they didn't even recognize an important part of cause and effect, I just couldn't support more of the same. Some tough love was called for.
Now we see a study indicating a 39% rise in murders of black teenagers between 2001 and 2006. I realize that the economy had taken over the headlines from just before and since the election, but I don't remember any earlier campaign promise which would make us think the Dems consider this a problem which might be rectified by naming a Gun Czar or Cabinet level Black Youth Safety position. (If they want to be politically correct, we can call it Youth Safety so self esteem is not an issue.)
Since Mr. Obama is so staunchly pro-abortion perhaps one could conclude that life in general is of little value to him, but I refuse to believe that. I believe that he has been caught up in the Democrat mantra of freedom of choice (euphemism for abortion) that he has no graceful way of standing up for life without alienating a good share of his base.
Other than prayer I see only one avenue to save these kids. We all need to keep nagging folks to listen to Bill Cosby who is one of the few who seem to get it. Keep your eyes open and write a letter to the editor now and then. Compliments if deserved, shame if not.
See ya
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
