Is this thing still on?

I had totally forgotten about this dusty blog site. I might have to start posting here again. Or not.

Time for something calming...

We just don't care...

That's what Chuckie Schumer, the esteemed senior senator for New York thinks. This elite, snobbish man thinks that we as Americans, the "chattering class", don't care about the billions upon billions of dollars that he and his colleagues classify as "our fair share" and they are compelled to spend. I think we do care. There is such a sense of panic around getting the stimulus package in place RIGHT NOW that we are supposed to accept the fact that a great portion of this expenditure WON'T create jobs, WON'T have any short-term affect on the economy, and WON'T turn around the credit crisis in the near future. These things are inconsequential to the like of Mr. Schumer. He knows more than you do about what is best for you. He doesn't think that we can spend the money we earn in a responsible manner. In case you thought this was a lone voice, John Kerry has stated that we shouldn't have the ability to spend our money the way we see fit. States Sen. Kerry: "If you put a tax cut into the hands of a business or family, there's no guarantee that they're going to invest that or invest it in America. They're free to go invest anywhere that they want if they choose to invest." The horror! We as Americans are free to invest our money willy-nilly! My GOD we must put a stop to this! Seriously? These are the people who are in charge of this country now? Referring to us as the "chattering class" who are "free to go invest anywhere that they want"? I don't take too well at being talked down to, and being treated like some kind of a child who doesn't have the good sense to know what to do with the money I earn. No, they are much smarter than I am, so I should just merrily turn over my "patriotic contributions" and meekly walk away, hat in hand, knowing that my superiors are going to do whats best for me. I don't know about you, but I don't think that the course they are charting is heading for calmer seas. I think it is sending us into a perfect storm.

Stimulate this

Change we can believe in eh? So how come so much of what is coming out of Washington stinks of the same old political fish? $150 million for new construction in the Milwaukee School District when they have 15 unoccupied buildings, a shrinking enrollment, and NO PLANS TO EXPAND??? $425 million for the Coast Guard to create 1,200 jobs? Give me a break. This "stimulus package" will do almost nothing to create any type of economic recovery in the short term but will leave us so far in debt that we may never get out of the hole. I remember hearing about the "infrastructure crisis" of our roads and bridges, but a nice fat little provision in the bill makes it so that any contract given out will HAVE TO be given to union shops! 84% of labor in this country is non-union, so this just reeks of a giant kick-back to the labor unions from the Democrats. This "plan" is really no plan at all, just a bunch of pet projects and paybacks hidden under the disguise of averting the greatest financial crisis in the history of the world. I call bullshit on this one. All I heard from the Democrats was that the Bush administration rammed unpopular policies down our throats by playing on our fears... well this is exactly what the Democrats are doing right this second. They are trying to scare us into believing that this massive boondoggle is for our own protection when in reality it is nothing more than more of the same bloated spending we have had to put up with for the last eight years. I'm no fan of the Bush years, but in the short few days that Obama has been in office, he and the rest of the Democrats in Congress are just as guilty of playing on our fears as anyone in the Bush administration was. Now Barney Frank wants to legislate a cap on salaries paid to executives in private companies. I can see limits on those businesses that received bailout money, but I'll be damned if I sit back and watch the elitist thugs in DC tell me that its just not fair that those eeeeevil executives make so much money. I know people in those positions, and they pretty much give up control of their lives to make that amount of money. They don't work a 40 hour week and go home. They basically have no weekends, no evenings, no time to say "I'm not at work". Just because some barista working the minimum hours they have to and has no desire to better themselves that is no reason to limit the earning potential of those who want to work hard to earn a lot of money. That is just pure socialism and borderline communism. The current lawmakers would do well to remember that those economic experiments have a miserable record of failure and the free market system has done pretty damned well for itself. This country doesn't need the government to "save us" by controlling every aspect of our lives. They need to get the hell out of the way and let us control our own destinies. If you choose to work your ass off to earn more money, you should be rewarded, not punished. Conversely, if you choose to do as little as possible just to get by, you shouldn't be pitied and given something for nothing. That is putting the cart in front of the horse, and that method just doesn't work.

Priorities....

"The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Jan. 7-11 among 1,503 adults on cell phones and landlines, finds that strengthening the economy and improving the job situation are higher priorities today than they have been at any point over the past decade, and the recent upward trend has been steep. The share of Americans saying that strengthening the nation’s economy should be a top priority has risen from 68% two years ago to 75% last January to 85% today. Concern about jobs has risen even more sharply. The 82% who rate improving the job situation as a top priority represents a 21-point jump from 61% a year ago.

Of the 20 issues people were asked to rate in both January 2008 and January 2009, five have slipped significantly in importance as attention to the economy has surged. Protecting the environment fell the most precipitously – just 41% rate this as a top priority today, down from 56% a year ago. The percentage rating illegal immigration as a top priority has fallen from 51% to 41% over the past year, and reducing crime has fallen by a similar amount (from 54% to 46%). And while reducing health care costs remains a top priority to 59% of Americans, this is down 10-points from 69% one year ago."

Notice what is last on that list? Global Warming. Yep, the supposed cause of the end of the human species is 20th out of 20. I certainly hope that the new administration pays attention to what the people of this country are most concerned about and not what the lobbyists, PACs, and special interest groups are most concerned about. Priorities, Mr. President. It would be wise to align yours with the people you serve.

Ting a ling a ling

And so it begins

The swearing in of our new President is done, the parties will continue long into the night, and tomorrow, the real work begins. Whether you are a fan of the President or not, you simply have to admire the fact that the greatest nation on earth can have a change of government from one political ideal to another so easily, so efficiently. "Congratulations Mr. President" and the reins of power have been passed. No tanks in the streets, no menacing men in military uniforms declaring martial law on television, not even a whisper of the terms "coup" or "junta". We vote, we transition. This is one of the things that makes our country the greatest on earth.

To our new President, I wish him the best. While our opinions differ in many areas, if he succeeds, America succeeds. I hope that he will understand that every action he takes has ramifications that cannot possibly be foreseen, and that he has the insight and internal fortitude to do what is right for our country, and not what is fashionable or chic or what plays well in the insulated, isolated think-tanks. Remember, Mr. President, that you work for us. We have placed our best interests in your hands. Do not take that lightly. Do not look at us as the great unwashed needing your guidance. Look at us as people who have families, hopes, and dreams. Do not categorize us as "red" or "blue", but as the people you have taken an oath to serve and protect. Do not be swayed or panicked into ill-advised courses of action. Let the American people do what we do best. Give us a reason to start a business, not roadblocks to prevent it. Give us hope that hard work will bring us rewards, not punishments.

Godspeed Mr. President. Good luck to you and good luck to us all.