Seasonal Changes

The fall is seasonal change time in my business. During this time I have a lot of design drawings to get out the door, proposals to write and submit. After that materials must be scheduled and managed for delivery, and then after all of this -you have to execute.

In the business environment that we have these days, a small business has to be as close to perfect as is humanly possible as the customers that hire small companies like mine have lots of options. They can take what your offering or leave it. Now that my seasonal change work has died down, I can take a fresh look at how the Obama Administration is moving along on their agenda to change world, or at least America.

It looks like the Obama Administration has a good chance at Health care getting passed. I see that Senator Harry Reid has put the Public Option in the final bill going to the floor for debate. I don't think it is going to make it into the final bill the President signs, but it does appease the liberal factions of the party and helps in Reid's re-election bid.

Personally, I don't really know what to think about this health care thing. It doesn't look like a lot of people are going to be able to sign up for any Government health care. A study just released said maybe 2 million people will qualify for any Public Option health care-if it were to pass. Along with that, you always have to be wary of any new entitlements being handed out by the Government. Not that I'm one of those people who feels that the Government does nothing right - I feel if you have intelligent people running the Government, you'll have smart Government.

Going forward President Obama has got to focus on job creation (he doesn't at his own peril). The American people have shockingly short memories and it's now cool to be a seen as a conservative. I'm interested to see if this trend picks up steam. The 2010 elections will be here before we know it. Already the pundits are saying that this election will be a referendum on Obama's Presidency, which is maybe half true. What happened to the old saying "all politics are local?" Now every city council election is about if you agree with Obama or not.

Due to the News Media's insatiable need to 'create' news and entice higher ratings, they will be stirring this "referendum" pot more and more as we get closer to November 2010. I think Obama's popularity will help some and hurt some. I think Obama will pass Health care. I think that it would probably be good if Obama lost the House of Representatives to the Republicans. Let the Republicans come up with some fresh ideas for a change. Let's see if we can re-create the Clinton Era.

Garden tip: It's a great time in most parts of the country to fertilize for the fall and winter. It's also a great time to move plants that you've been wanting to relocate to different spot in your landscape. It's also a great time to over seed your yard.

The Rope a Dope...

I've been observing the direction the Obama Administration is taking in accomplishing their goals concerning; health care, Afghanistan, Cap and trade etc etc... It seems they are employing the old Muhammad Ali strategy of the old ''rope a dope'.

If your not familiar with the 'rope a dope', back in 1974 Muhammad Ali was scheduled to fight the 'now' grill king George Foreman in Zaire, Africa. Back in 74' Foremen was a big muscle bound brute, who was knocking out every opponent he faced. Foremen was the champ at the time, Ali was the challenger.

In 1974' Ali was thought to already be past his prime. Ali was smart though, his strategy in the fight was to let Foremen throw punches until his arms would be so tired that he could barely hold them up and defend himself, at that time- Ali, still basically fresh (because he had laid against the ropes and let Foremen punch himself out), would knock Foremen out with his quickness and power.

This is what I see the Obama team doing against the Republicans. The Rethugs have been screaming, lying and obstructing since Obama first day on the job, the Obama Administration have been laying on the ropes taking the punches, taking the lies, taking the obstruction of their policies, and now it seems like the Rethugs are all lied out, no more bullets in their rhetorical weapons. Right now Republicans are primed for the big knockout, the key punch that will start them towards the canvas will be the passage of a health care bill. Next will be a decision on Afghanistan, most likely Obama will send more troops, he almost has to. Cap and Trade will come easier with the political capital built up from passing historic health care reform. Along the way I believe Obama's going to have reallocate some of the stimulus money to go directly to job creation. All of this needs to be in place by the 2010 elections or all bets are off.

What if MaCain and Palin had won ?

If your paying attention and have a job, things are jugging along to recovery just like the President said it would. The economy is picking up slowly but surely, companies are beginning to hire, health care in-the-end, will be reformed and someone is actually thinking hard about weather to send more troops into the war zone in Afghanistan.

The grown ups are back in office. Over the last 8 months the sore loser have been doing what sore loser do, whining, second guessing and being obstructionist, what else is new. President Obama on the other hand has been a busy man, at home and abroad. Right now -'I' know he's laying the ground work for partnerships with our foes and allies, this is good, in my opinion. I know - just like kids, our foes just want to be included in the process... made to feel big.


I was thinking this morning- what if John McCain and Sarah Palin had been elected into office, what kind of mess would this country.... heck the world be in ? I personally think McCain /Palin would have listened to those saying let the banks fail. I think they would have tried it...at first.

From what we know now, this would have led to a global run on the banks. If like a lot of Republicans that are protesting had their way- Citi Bank, Bank of America, and probably Chase would have went out of business. Believe me there would have been long long lines outside of banks. The FDIC would have been insolvent quickly, the govt. would have had to print money (we would not have been able to borrow the money from China because there would have been no confidence in our system). Plus they would have had their own problems. Unemployment would have shot to like thirty or forty percent and the Great Depression II would have been in full effect.

Lets say McCain/Palin did do a stimulus, I would bet that their stimulus would have been 70% tax cuts to large businesses and the rich. Very little infrastructure very little help for the people, noo employment extentions, no help for home buyers, just tax cuts. McCain/Palin would still have a raging war going on in Iraq and a building raging war in Afghanistan. Just with those two decisions this country and world would be in a whole different boat.

Garden Tip: Unless a shrub has a specific pruning needs, prune some of the oldest wood each year. This opens the plant's center to more air and light and encourages new growth.

Cool as a Fan...

I couldn't be President, there are too many fools and clowns to deal with. President Obama's speech last night was my personal favorite. Any person with half a brain and who actually cares about America would see the logic of his arguments. What has happened in America especially with Republicans is that they have become 'so' partisan that reason and good, heck even great ideas, can't get a fair review or hearing.

Who elects these people ? That's what I wonder. The state of South Carolina needs to make better choices about who they elect. It really shows that their majority electorate aren't too bright. First Governor Stanford gallivanting around South America with his "soul mate". Now Congressman Wilson not being able to control himself in a joint session speech in Congress by yelling "you lie!"on the floor of the House of Representatives when the President of the United States was speaking about some of the gravest concerns of our nation. Are you kidding me? The President was "cool as a fan", hardly missing a beat, probably expecting nonsense like this at this point.

Personally, if I were Barack, I would be thinking about not running for re-election. It comes to a point were you can't save people who don't want to be saved. If the Democrats can't get health care with fillabuster proof majorities in both houses, then that's sad.

There were a few brilliant turns in the President's speech but I like the way he wrapped it up. He seemed to be asking the lawmakers if they were men or boys, if they came to work or bullshit. I like that. The more the Republicans keep up this nonsense the more they are being looked upon as just inconsequential, or as an after thought. Other than the 10 to 15% far right Republicans, I wonder sometimes how mainstream Republicans feel about their party. The Republicans used to have ideas, what happened ?

Reagan and Obama

At one point in his first term Ronald Reagan's disapproval ratings in Gallup polls were at
35 %, along with that -unemployment was over 10%. Just wanted to get that tidbit out there. President Obama's poll numbers are on the slide as of recently, they're still over 50 % but as the healthcare battle rolls on I expect them to continue heading south. This is what always happens when Presidents tackle tough issues and try to change the established ways.

During Reagan's presidency think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and the Hoover Institute were laying the groundwork for a economic shift away from the people and towards business, what we now call Reaganomics, programs and practices that haunt America to this day. Obama was elected as the person that would once and for all, dismantle Reaganomics and lead America into a new more "equal" and "granola-ish" America -where there's a chicken in every pot, a Prius in every driveway and the Government will take up the slack if things don't go ....just right.

The reality of the situation is a little different, Obama may not have the stomach required for surviving this fight. I honestly think he worries about his family. Who could blame him? There's a very negative energy in Politics these days. It doesn't suit his style, there's a reason why they call him "No-Drama Obama." His first seven months have been pure drama, it seems like he got "shook".

Reagan had the bad economy when he came into office like Obama. It was close to the third year of his presidency before the economy started turning around, Obama has the economy turning in 7 months. Granted Obama's polls are no where near 35%, but as he enacts more "change" in the country, those on the other side are going to become more and more entrenched in their position. Only time will be able to show us if they are able to change their previous "beliefs" and learn to embrace or at lease accept the kind of reforms that the actual people of this country, really need.

Garden Tip: Something you might want to try. Ammonia the harsh smelling cleaning product, is almost 60% Nitrogen and 40% water. Why this matters is that nitrogen is what makes plants deep green, it's what makes grass green. If you have a sprayer that hooks to your hose, fill your sprayer about half full of Ammonia and give your plants and grass a spray, you'll be surprised by the outcome.

60 years and counting...

President Obama didn't take his opponent seriously enough in the health care reform debate. This health care debate has been roaring for 60 years now, ever since President Truman was first called a socialist for suggesting national health care for all. In looking at the history of this debate, the Republicans have used the exact same scare tactics and lies they used sixty years ago, and it still works!

For people who don't know, the Republicans are the party of business, as simple as that, they advocate for business interest, not the people. Democrats are the party that watch out for the people. What is interesting and to a lesser degree- genius about what the Republicans have been able to accomplish is that they get people, regular Americans to demonstrate and act a fool at these town hall meetings to help a interest that has no love for them. These business lobbyist donate money to these republicans to make sure the America people have no National healthcare. These interests and the Republican lawmakers will fool, trick or lie to these people them to work against their own interests. Until this does not work, they see no reason in changing their playbook.

What this says to me is that we as Americans aren't getting any brighter, and that the Democrats and President Obama aren't getting 'it'. How can someone do the exact same thing, use the exact same tricks and lies and get away with it without (the Democrats) trying to adjust. At this point and as I marinate on this health care battle, I get more and more disappointed with the way Obama and his lieutenants, got blindsided by their critics and are ineffective in neutralizing their attacks.

I know the Obama camp knows what I'm saying, going into September I'm interested in seeing if they have any answers for the American people, because as of now, it'll be 75 years before a Democrat gets a crack at health care reform again. I think that's why Dem's do the health care reform dance as soon as they get in office- they can lose the debate and still, if lucky get re-elected by the short term memories of voters.

Garden Tip: When you have a plant in a landscape that keeps dying after replacing two or three times, try another plant. Some plants just won't live in certain spots, simple as that.

In a Perfect World we'd all be Republicans

In a perfect world everyone would be Republican, this a strange statement coming from someone like myself. I try to beat up on Rethuglicans every chance I get. I like their rhetoric, but in practice, they always always always get side tracked by crooks. Not all, but a good portion of Republican politicians just want to be re-elected just like Democrats, and to get re-elected you have to get in bed with unsavory characters, this is the game and they all play it.

I like the Republican mantra of small Government, I like their talk about reducing the deficit, I like their dogma about people being responsible for their own health care and there talk about giving the power to govern back to states. But if you think about it -Clinton was the only President in the last 50 years to lower the deficit or shrink government. President's Reagan, Bush and Bush II all ran massive deficits, and never really tried to fix the problem (when the first Bush tried to raise taxes to fix the problem, he got ran out of office on a rail). Both Reagan and Dick Cheney have said "deficits don't matter", look at them now though. Bush II grew the size of government at a unprecedented rate, first with two wars and then with the unfunded liability of Medicare-Part D. At least Obama is trying to pay for the health reform he's proposing.

Another Republican rallying point- personal responsibility is only applicable when times are good, look how all of these so-called free market capitalist companies are lining up for Government bailouts and handouts, whats that all about ? Another rallying cry is- the monopoly on Christian values, which is only convenient when they're not 'bearing false witness' concerning different aspects of President Obama agenda. But when they do get what they want, the values will return. This is the biggest problem most Democrat I talk to, have with Republicans, their supposed Christian values, that they cast a side when it's convenient.

There is one bright spot in this continued 'bearing of false witness'. The Fox News crowd-advertisers are starting to leave the channel and programs like Glenn Beck that tell lies about serious problems this country faces. No one is opposed to a opposing opinion, but this country cannot continue to be viable if 39% of the population is basing their opinions off of false information. People need to understand that 25 to 30% of the population get all of their news from Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, it should scare people. These are good American people who in a lot of cases have no idea their being manipulated by people ruled by money and the bottom line concerns.

Garden Tip: here's a simple way to find out if your plants need water, take a handful of soil and squeeze it, if no water comes out of your hand the plant needs water.

Tight Rope Walker

President Obama is walking a tight rope. He wants to get something done concerning health care but he has two sides pulling at him and if he doesn't watch out, they will rip him apart. Earlier this week the administration let out how the President was not being married to the PublicOption in the health care reform bill. This got Rachael Maddow, Dr. Howard Dean and their liberal leaning crowd in a tizzy. Dean was on the morning news shows yesterday saying that if there's no Public Option, "health care isn't even worth passing," which then set a fire under Obama and his people because if he loses the more liberal wing of his party - game over for a second term.

The more I think about it President Obama may have to fall on his sword on this one, take a position and go all out, and let the cards fall where they may. Democrats are looking at him as wobbly, as if he'll take any bill that lands on his desk. In these days and times that's not acceptable, people have strong feelings, they could have sent anybody to Washington to be weak and indecisive. Many people 'really' looked at Obama as the 'messiah,' somebody needs to tell him that.

It really just occurred to me as-of-late, reading op-ed's and comments from some of the American people writing in, members of the far left are ready to fight for health care as much as the people on the far right. Obama's problem is that those on the left voted for him. If these people don't at least get a Public Option, (they have already given up on the single payer-Medicare style plan they really want) Obama will be a one term President.

In my opinion, the only way Mr. Obama can get out of this predicament is for the economy to take off like shot out of a cannon. The economy may be the only thing that will get Mr. Obama a pass. He still needs to take a stand though. Today Obama was to meet with former President Bill Clinton, I'll assume they're talking strategy, I hope their talking strategy. Clinton's been behind this eight ball before, he was always able to stay one step ahead of the Rethuglicans. I'm pretty sure Clinton is telling him not to become too close to many of the current Democrats in Congress -as they might not be around after November 2010.

I've said this before: the best thing that could happen to President Obama would be for the Rethuglicans to take back the House of Representives and Democrats keep the Senate. Clinton's telling him the same plus not to take it personally if it happens, he went through the same thing and look how he turned out...

Garden Tip: This is the No.1 gardening and landscape tip I can give you - buy Lesco fertilizers and lawn care products. They are sold at Home Depot now. They are a professional grade products that work - great!

America: The Land of Gangsters

I've been wondering out loud lately-did black people in general sign up for the pain they would have to go through to get President Obama agenda achieved ? What I mean by that is there are untold numbers of blacks, latins, muslim and liberal whites that have lost there jobs because of their political view. There have been women (mostly black) that have come on to job sites, whether it be casual Friday or everyday clothes, wearing Barak Obama tee shirts or overly happy about his win, are now laided off, or outright fired now. People that don't really follow minusha of Government and it's effects on the business culture don't know what hit them, some probably had just got a good yearly review or raise.

Not all but a good portion of small and large corporations are run by very conservative IE Republican men. These men (not all) are taking the election and the direction President Obama is taking the country very personally, The more Mr. Obama tries to get his agenda across the more and more these people have fears that their freedoms and money to some extent will be taken away from them, in the form of higher taxes. The way these people get back at Obama and his kind (Dems, Liberals blacks and Latins- who they think are all illegal) is to lay as many of them off as possible.

It's been widely reported that businesses went overboard in cutting jobs last fall and winter. Right now the stock market is sailing right along -higher and higher. Most economist feel like the recovery is well on it's way to becoming reality. But nobody feels flush, know one feels 'safe' yet. This as we all know is because of jobs. Unemployment is still a huge problem among young black men, there rate of unemployment is at like 25 to 30%. Blacks overall unemployment is 14.6 but going lower, this is good. The Hispanic unemployment rate is12.6 but going hire, which isn't good.

This brings me back to my original thought- why do 'some' black have to suffer because Barak Obama wants to try to 'utopasize' a very gangster America ? Anyone who has been paying attention to American since the Reagan Revolution of the early 80's, up-to-now, know that in America people steal big money, and they don't have to wear masks. These days the best thieves wear- three piece Brooks Brothers suits while stealing millions and in some cases billions.

All of this while the local news concentrate on brothers and poor whites stealing hundred dollar Playstations. This is the culture of America now, this 'is' the new normal -Russians, Italians, Hispanics and to a lesser extent the Jews realized this long ago. Rich Rappers like Jay-Z and 50 Cent figured it out and try to explain it, in their raps. It's why I like Jay, he just says it, "it's only illegal if you get caught". Welcome to America

I like America, it's a competitive place, if you have some hustle and imagination you can have some incredible times hear, (Lord knows I have). But I also understand that America is a Country consumed by gangsters who like it just the way it is. Wall Streeters hate when you refer to them as gangsters, they prefer business men. But you tell me: a guy sits down with his friend, he's known for 25 yrs, we'll say at Goldman Sachs. They are discussing a compensation package where he pays his friend 100 million dollars for a years work. The deal says whether the Company make money or loses money his friend gets paid enough money to take care of three generations of his family. Now you tell me that's not gangster.

Idiocracy

I saw a movie a while back, it was a outrageous over the top take on what America will be like in 500 years. The movie was called Idiocracy and was written and directed by Mike Judge the man behind 'Beevis and Butthead' and 'King of the Hill'. It starred Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph. The whole premise of the movie revolved around American people becoming dumber and dumber over the centuries, instead of smarter and smarter. When I watched it for the first time I thought it was ok, a little much -but cool. Now that I see what this debate on healthcare has become, I can truly see something like that happening in the near future.

This is just my opinion, but there is a element in this country that have figured out how to manipulate the less bright amongst us. These people follow Sarah Palin and the Birther Groups -who think President Obama was born in Kenya, and shouldn't be President. What is disturbing about this is that these people are the ones buying all the guns. I think they want to try to bully the rest of the country out of healthcare, they think Democrats are scared of them. This healthcare debate and vote are going to be a huge crossroads for this country, I'm interested to see how all this plays out.

A big problem that's facing the American people is the media/press let this nonsense go unchecked. The only news outlet I've seen call Palin to the carpet, concerning her Facebook rant about Obama's supposed -Death Panels was ABC NEWS who held their their viewers hands and explained to them that it was all a big lie, no Death Panels.

What is going on concerning all the disinformation being dissipated is a STRATEGY. People have to understand these things, the people behind this feel that their losing control, checks may stop coming in. A tactic in the larger strategy of misinforming their constituents is just trying to stop the debate among people who want to discuss healthcare. That to me is a new low, the more and more I see this, it's proves Idiocracy exists. Mike Judge is somewhere saying- "I told you so".

Garden Tip: Something real easy, but something people never think about until it's too late. When you go out of town move your pots on the deck and on the front porch out of the sun into the shade. You can't imagine how that could be the difference between a dead plant and a plant just wilted a bit.

The Rally Continues...

If I'm home at this time of day (it's 2p)I'm listening to CNBC on the TV while working in our office. The older I get the less I like TV, it's become mostly reality shows, court programs and home fix-it programs-nonsense. Today the unemployment numbers came out for July, all week different business oriented shows were making a big deal about if the number was going to be good or bad. As of recently like 5 months now, the stock market has been on tear. This has been while the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and my favorite Neil Boortz have been hammering President Obama about how he can't handle the economy and unemployment while trying to overhall healthcare. The unemployment number turned out to be good -going from 9.6 to 9.4, most economist had expected the number to rise. The rally continued on the Dow and S&P while President Obama gets some room to think and take a quick vacation with his family.

Health care town hall meetings across the country have been hectic. The meetings are being attended by Congressmen and women in their district . During these town hall meetings the dignitaries have been shouted down, threatened and surrounded and followed to their cars after the meetings. Paul Krugman in the New York Times today says this is the same crowd that attend the birther rallies and don't believe Obama was born in America. Democrat operatives have called on union members to rally around the Congress people and stand up to those that are trying to interrupt the democratic process in these meetings.

Now if one if these people have serious issues and disagreements with policies that are being discussed in these meetings, they definitely have the right to have their say. But if your coming to intimate the people who want to discuss and debate health care, then that's not cool. It also says a lot about that group of people. This is what people do when they have no new IDEAS, you have to be able to bring a different viewpoint a new idea that people want to rally behind.

Garden Tip: Here's something that I do -Plant White flowers around walkways and areas in the landscape they are the last plants to fade at dusk and kind of pop at night in outdoors situations. If you have potted plants on your deck or your front porch throws some white petunias, or pansy in to create interest in night settings.

36 Chambers with Kim Jong Ill

Maybe this is harsh but why were these journalist so close to North Korea's border, also why were the three hikers hiking so close to the border of Iran. This is not a game people !
In the case of the journalist, if one of the ladies sisters wasn't the more famous journalist Lisa Ling, would these ladies be home right now. If they weren't working for one of Al Gores' ventures - Current TV, would they have been able to reach out to former President Bill Clinton.

From reports that I've read, these young ladies never saw the inside of a jail cell. They were in a North Korean 'condo' the whole time. They were able to talk to their families 'a lot' and were served three hot meals a day. So lets hold up on the sympathy for these two. As is the American way they'll get back home, write a book, sell the movie rights, go on a book tour, and forever be looked at as some sort of North Korean experts. They'll probably graduate from cable channel obscurity to be on-air personalities for Network TV. Really folks where is the downside.

On top of that, they've been eating bad North Korean food and have probably shed a few unwanted pounds.

What sucks about the whole thing is that the Obama Administration has to spend political capital and answer questions about who sent Clinton, who paid for it and why are we rewarding a dictator like Kim Jong Ill, with the presence of someone like former President Bill Clinton.

Before all of this, the Obama administration was trying to isolate Mr. Jong Ill and his country because of the Nuclear testing his they had been conducting off the coast of Japan and South Korea. They had even threatened to launch towards Hawaii and Alaska. But now it looks like their rewarding bad behavior. And right on cue the Rethuglican's have pounced on Clinton's trip as bad diplomacy that sends the wrong message to the world and North Korea. "We are suppose to be mad at them, didn't Obama didn't get memo".

Garden Tip: Here's a tip to help you decide which of your plants like sunshine and which don't. Those with big leaves like hydranges, rhododendrons, and hostas need less sun than plants with small leaves like herbs and sedums. Big leaf less sun,, small leaf more sun.

Healthcare healthcare healthcare

I think President Obama and his administration have it right. He still has a tough road ahead, but things should work out. Healthcare is going to happen, in my opinion. People don't realize that the Democrats have been trying to pass healthcare reform for 40 yrs now. Each time the Rethuglicans beat them back with lies and scare tactics to the American people, it always works because most Americans aren't too bright. You have admire their persuasiveness in getting people to support a interest that doesn't serve their own goals. Like a person needing a glass of water in the dessert and someone talking them out of drinking it. This is our healthcare debate.

Let me make this clear though, I just don't want 'any' healthcare. If Govenment/Americans enter into a Medicare (Single Payor Type Program) for healthcare, I don't think we the 50% of people who pay taxes can afford it. If we do decide to go that way, the Government will have to have everyone pay taxes, even the poor people- I understand this is unpopular.

Something that I try to explain to people everytime I get a chance is that only 50 % of the population in America pays income taxes. The other half gets earned income tax credits and other little goodies, to prop up their income. Nothing wrong with that if that's the law that we voted in. Buttttt for everyone to have Universal healthcare, everyone -even the earned income tax credit crowd need to pay taxes or this isn't going to work. I'm not talking about alot of money, but something -2 or 3 dollars a pay period. Every little bit helps.

It looks like were going to end up with some sort of COOP - Pooled healthcare plan- companies in a big pool are choosen by people who need insurance, I believe this is what Massachusett is doing right now. There would also be rules that everyone would have to covered and the insurance companies wouldn't be able to turn away people with pre exisisting conditions. I say as long as people have a option that doesn't bankrupt their family if someone in their family has a major illness, this would be progress.

Garden Tip: When plantings under trees use plants with shallow root systems. Plants like impatiens, hostas and other shade tolerant plants, grow well because of their shallow root sytems that like the shade a large tree provides.

Obama Gets One Right

Obama finally gets one right ! For me this isn't President Obama's first win, but to conservatives this is the first time the Obama administration has did something that has had overwhelming success in the marketplace. Cash for Clunkers may have saved the Democratic Congress from a midterm Rethuglican landslide.

With the success of the program -auto dealerships are moving 'new' cars at record rates. When the 'now' 3 billion program is finished, dealership will have few if any new cars in stock. This is good for the whole economy, it will mean that a chain reaction in hiring will have to happen. The large automakers will have to crank up production, to replace all of the new vehichles that have been sold through Cash for Clunkers. The parts makers will have to hire to keep up with the demand fron the automakers. The parts suppliers suppliers are going to need raw materials; as in steel, plastic and fiberglass to make the parts to send to the auto dealers, chain reaction. The Stock Market already knows this, prices of stocks are heading north fast.

As is usual the Rethuglicans are trying to put a damper on the program and it's economic benefits. This to me shows that the rethugs only want power, they tell the American people (indirectly) everyday that the don't care about their interest. It's all tax cuts, which help the wealthier in our society. Not that I have anything against wealthy people, They are the ones that employee people and drive our economy. I would just prefer for the Ruthuglicans to have more interest in the other 95% of the people who aren't in the top 5% of income earners.

From looking at what the Obama Administration has in the pipeline, with stimulus money and shovel ready projects things are going to be gangbusters the 4th qtr of this year, and all of next year. People need to understand that 20,000 projects are funded, going through final approvals and about to get started.

Like I've said before Rahm and the President are too smart not to flood the country with stimulus money and projects right before the 2010 congressional elections. If they play this right, (and I've heard conservative talk radio shows saying this could work) they could have the GDP Gross Domestic Product) moving at 5 to 6 % on the upside. Where right now it is 1% on the down side. Best estimates have the GDP at 2.5 to 3%. The Obama Administration predict 4%. I'll jump out the window at 5.5% to 6%.

Our economic system is healthy, Americans are saving money like not scene in 20 to 30 years. Because of the Madoff scandal and other Ponzi schemes, companies have been cleaning up their books and flying right. For banks and home buyers money is cheap. People don't understand that these guys are borrowing money from the treasury at like 1% or something crazy like that, and loaning it to the people basically at 6% or above unless you have excellent credit. You can't help but make money and if your doing volume your making a lot of money.

Garden Tip: If you would like to adjust the color of your roses to a deep intense red add about a half a cup of Epsom salt to the base of the rose bush, it should do the trick.

Henry Louis 'Skip' Gates Jr.- Wild Man !

I knew this was going to happen, as soon as words left his mouth. In these days of gotta journalism, a President has to be vague on controversial issues, to keep the wolves (press) at bay. The President let that one get away from him and now he has to pay. Things like these distract the American people from his real agenda; health care, energy and education.

I've always followed and admired Henry Louis Gates Jr. career. He's had an impressive run at Harvard, with his work on African American genealogy. But after listening to an radio announcer read the arrest report, the man was out of control . I'm sorry but, Mr Gates couldn't believe he was being treated like a common 'black dude', (welcome to the club, 'Skip'). With his celebrity at Harvard, I'm sure he's used to being recognized wherever he goes. But when this officer didn't immediately bow down to him- he lost it.

On top of that the President calls the cops stupid without having all the facts, something that would seem out of character with Mr Obama. He's a very careful person, he has to be, the wolves live for these moments. Today Mr. Obama held a surprise press conference, to discuss the matter. He mentioned he had spoken to the officer and he held no ill will, to Mr Gates or the President. One of the two suggest beers at the White House with Mr Gates,the officer and of course the President. The officer said sure, the President was game, Gates said he didn't drink beer.

Garden tip: When you have rusty equipment, don't throw your tools away. Soak the old shears, shovels and trowels in vinegar. Wipe away the residue after soaking overnight. Your tools should be good as new.

Hope

I'm sitting here listening to CNBC, this morning earnings are being reported for the second quarter of the year. Companies report their earnings to shareholders and the public, to give a barometer of how the stocks did that quarter and how they predict the future will look. What I like about the stock market is it is a crystal ball of what's going to be happening in the future. I wish the general public in America were forced to watch earnings reports, if they did the world would be so less stressed about Obama and his administration.

Over the last six months I've been paying attention to Wall Street and the Obama Administration, they have to be able to work together or this recession is not going to have a good outcome. A couple of times over these six months, I thought the Rethugs were going to 'Jimmy Carter', Obama. I always thought, how could this happen with someone like Rahm Emanuel as your right hand man, no offense but he is one of those 'super dynamic' Jews. The man can play hardball or softball, whatever way you want it and the Rethugs know it. Between Emanuel and Joe Biden- a man who's been in Washington since I was born. These two know how to unclog the machine and make things happen.

From what I've seen over the last week, companies on the Dow Jones (which covers about 12,000 securities in a number of markets) have been faring well, most companies have been reporting decent earnings. This is because most companies have been getting healthy 'fiscally' while laying off massive amounts of employees. When you do these things, they make a company lean and ready for the future, with future being the key word here. If any sort of strong to moderate recovery occurs, there is going to be a hiring bonanza. I would bet smart companies are already cherry picking through resumes trying to hire the best and brightest before other companies snap these people up.

All of this is percolating and just 20% of the stimulus has been allocated. The President and Mr Emanuel are timing the stimulus money allocation for the 2010 midterm elections-genius. If they are right, 70 to 80% of the stimulus will be allocated before the 2010 midterm congressional elections, if this happens the Democrats will be golden for re-election.

Already this morning Republican doom-sayers have been out trying to talk down the good news coming from Wall Street. The facts are the facts though. People need understand that Wall Street doesn't bet on 'now' they bet on what's going to happen in the 'future'. One example-Caterpillar the heavy machinery maker is up 10% this morning, on better than expected earnings, All of this and the stimulus hasn't really even took effect yet. It's not 'now' people, it's the 'future'.

Garden Tip: Slant cuts when pruning. Prune about a quarter inch above a bud on an angled. This lets water slide off the wound you've made pruning and makes it less likely that water with fungi will pool on the tip of the wound causing disease.

Fox New ism

Because conservatives/republicans read the newspaper, listen to talk radio, and watch news programs on tv more than democrats/liberals, our news providers have begun slanting the 'headlines' and leads of their stories to be more bias against democrats/liberals. This doesn't mean the bodies of these stories are right leaning though, what gives. News outlets like; The New York Times, CNN, Politico etc. have started headlining stories with negative leads about Democrats and the Obama Administration, red meat for the right.
You will see a headlines like: 'Obama's poll numbers sinking; America abandoning the President'. Obama fans and conservatives click on the link or tune in the radio and Obama's poll number's have dropped like 2 points. The writer of the story talks about how the President's numbers are still strong and 'really' most Americans are still behind him. But at the end of the piece they will quote one conservative who agrees with the headline premis and -there-they have their negative Obama headline story. No problem that 97% of the story is totally opposite of the headline.
Gloria Borger a CNN political analyst displays this type of reporting on the CNN website today. The headline reads: 'Republicans show signs of life', but when you click the link, she doesn't speak about Republican or 'signs of life' she's talking about Sotomayer and dodging questions during her hearings, what's that all about ? The press have found that they get more hits, sell more papers and attract more evening news viewers if they make the headline positive about conservatives or negative about Obama or Democrats, remember conservative read and follow the news more than liberals, it only makes sense.
I understand, everybody has to eat at these places, but what happened to the Walter Cronkite wing of the reporting business. When the NY Times starts playing these games, it seems that all is lost in the 'mainstream' reporting world. We are entering the era of Fox New ism. It's sad, the lengths these supposedly reputable news services will go to get a page view.

Garden Tip: Start seedlings indoors. Give your new plants a break in the battle against weeds. Raise seedlings in containers indoors. Once they are well-established transplant them to outdoor beds.

Let them eat Cake....

A couple of days ago President Obama was in Michigan to launch a new initiative concerning Community College enrollment around the country. It struck me that that was wise move, by a wise man. . A lot of people that go to college out of high school have no business going to a four year school, it just isn't for everybody.
The President's initiative strikes at the root of the problem here in America. Blacks, Latinos and poor whites, that have high school diplomas or a GED but really, no marketable skills. This is a problem, it breeds people who are lost and become fatalistic. We see them everyday on the evening news.
Community Colleges offer people, (for a reasonable price) and in a relatively short period time, a life long skill to build on. I would hope getting these skills, and working in their industry for a few years would lead these people to start their own business'. In looking at the way America is moving, this will be the only way that people who don't at least invest in a graduate level education can keep pace with the haves of this world.
I hope the President Obama will use all the powers of his office to get the information to the people who most can use it. Right now with the recession raging and people with and without marketable skills being put out of work, this is needed. We don't want a 'Maria Antoinette' moment-hear in America.

Gardening Tip: Did you know, after you prune your plants, they get hungry, especially when you do a hard pruning. Feed a plant after pruning and then add mulch at the base. This two step process should add nutrients to the plant that should last you the summer.

Obama vs. Palin not...

Sometimes if your listening to Political Talk Radio, Democratic or Republican slanted, you'll hear a caller compare President Barack Obama and Alaska Govenor Sarah Palin. Almost always if the caller is Republican they will make the point that Palin has more executive experience than Obama. Their reasoning being: she was the mayor of Wasila, Alaska and is now Governor of Alaska. They say that Obama was a community organizer and state legislature and a one year junior Senator of Illinois. Usually the talking head radio guy agrees, and millions of their listeners take this as fact, never mentioning Obama's complete resume.

I believe once or twice I've heard a person slip by the radio host's phone screener and tell the whole truth. After doing his undergrad at Colombia University and being elected President of the Harvard Law Review, Obama graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard Law School. Yes he did become a Community Organizer, doing good in the hood is a not bad thing. From there, Constitutional Law Professor at University of Chicago (one of the most conservative law schools in America), a State Senator, and finally, Senator for the State of Illinois. This while writing two bestselling books.
Now, in my opinion, that's an almost perfect resume. It takes so much character and discipline not to take the money coming out of Law School. Becoming a community organizer says the most about who Barack Obama is. Some people don't understand how much money he left on table. Barack and Michelle are wealthy now, due to book sales of his two bestsellers. But this is only recently- the last 3 or 4 years. If they had choose to, they probably could have been pretty wealthy two or three years out of school.

On the other side, we have Sarah Palin, who seems to have set a pattern, 'pattern' being the key word here. Sarah's pattern of short stints at schools and jobs should be troubling to voters. Palin went to six colleges before she got her Journalism Degree. She was a Beauty Pageant contestant, a sports reporter for the local news in Alaska, then I believe she ran for Mayor of Wasila and won-a Alaska city of 7000 people tops. She was bright enough though, to know that she could leverage her looks, (something that's done everyday). In doing so, we find her as the Governor of Alaska -you can't be mad at her, becoming Governor of a state isn't easy. Now though, I think she'll go into the world of professional republican celebrity, get rich making silly speeches, and writing red meat books for conservatives. She'll still say dumb things from time to time. But her holding office days -are over.

I don't think the Republicans would trot her out against President Obama in 2012 anyway, Barack wishes they would though. I predict right now in 2009 that Obama will unfortunately be going against Tim Pawlenty from Minnesota, or maybe Mitt Romney, or both. If they run a ticket of Pawlenty and Romney or Romney and Pawlenty, it's going to be tough, Pawlenty just seems so 'sane' to be Republican.



Gardening Tip: Pinch or 'deadhead' your plant to prompt growth. deadheading your plant is imperative for the most blooms and growth. If you leave dead blooms on your plants, they will put their energy into setting seed rather than growing. Instead, encourage them to bush out and flower again by pinching off faded blooms. Your plants grow and flower will grow much more vigorously in the future.

Try to get a Job from a Poor Person

It pains me to say, but President Obama needs for the Democrats to lose the midterm Congressional elections. My reasoning goes like this: At this point in the recession there should be a bit more job growth going on, there isn't. Some of this has to do with Companies just not being sure how this recession thing is going to work out. There's also a large group of Companies led by Conservative Republicans who could hire more, probably alot more, but they don't care for Obama and his policies. This is the 'lets cut taxes' crowd. They have a lot of power when it comes to making the American Economy move.

If you get time- watch CNBC- check out it for a day. Most of the commentators and their guests (Captains of Industry literally), CEO's, Hedge Fund Managers etc., watch these guys and it will tell you why the economy is not doing well. These people want-what-they-want and if they don't get it, there not gonna play ball ,(do any hiring).
A lot of people these days are convinced that rich people are evil, I would say to that: "try to get a job from a poor person". If the Democrats lose the midterms, it will give Obama cover to ignore much of the liberal agenda, that he has in the pipelines right now. Obama needs (just like Clinton did) to move a bit more to the right. It's a damn shame but he needs to throw the 'lets cut taxes' crowd a bone, or they are not going to play ball. If they don't play ball, Obama has no chance, none.

In watching the conservative stock market commentator Larry Kudlow on the Kudlow Report/ CNBC you get the distinct felling this guys are sitting on their hands, very negative about the future, always talking about tax cuts. These people need to be pacified. If Obama/Democrats lose the midterm elections the Republicans will feel like they've knock Obama off his perch, sadly that's all they want. Obama can then- work with the Republican Congress and really do some negotiating and get healthcare, energy and education reformed and not just try to figure out how to tax achievers to pass on to the -less fortunate.

Gardening Tip: Bigger Plants and trees are not better. When choosing a tree to plant in your yard buy a small, sturdy sapling rather than a larger already-trained tree. A young sapling may need a little more training, but it's more likely to survive the transplant and grow into a strong healthy tree.

The Truth

I think it all went wrong in the mid to late 80's, sometime after Walter Cronkite retired. He was probably the last real journalist we've had in America. These days America is led by the nose by our 24 hr news cycle. The people who work for CNN, Fox ABC, NBC and CBS are under pressure to make news every single hour of the day, even if there isn't news.
Being under such pressure, they have learned that outright lies generate viewers just as well as the truth. It makes no difference, as long as people tune in. There in-lies our problem- we have accepted outright lies as news, to be debated back and forth, even thought the person reporting these lies knows for certain that some of the statements they are reporting are not truthful.
Right now with the stimulus plan the media are reporting that the stimulus isn't working and we may need a second round of stimulus. What went wrong and where's the money, they ask-knowing full well that only 11% of the 787 bn. dollars has been spent. I listened to Rep. Eric Cantor on PBS talk about how the stimulus is a failure and he knew it all along. No one through the whole interview mentions that only a 10th of the money allocated has been spent.
This seems to happen overwhelmingly with Rethugligans telling the media almost any lie they want and the media reporting it as truth. Vincent Bugliosi the man who wrote the book "The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder" said in that book, "the media is scared of Republicans, this is why they (the media) let them get away with outright lies". This is also why the Clinton Impeachment went as far as it did. The media were just as complicit as Rethugs in that travesty.
It's the reason that President Obama is basically being rushed concerning the economy right now. Rethugs are pounding the drums (media) complaining the economy should have turned around by now. I don't buy it at all. It was bad in October, November and December. America was on the brink of a full scale run on the banks, something that hasn't happened since the Great Depression. Now five months into Obama's Administration all is suppose to be turned around and everybody suppose to be back to work. It doesn't work like that, and the media knows this, but remember these people have to come up with a 'story' by 6pm- if it's true or not is beyond the point.
Garden Tip: Need to pep up a stunted plant, Add a tablespoon of ammonia to a gallon of water. Ammonia is an instant source of nitrogen that can jump-start a plant without sticking around to harm the plant.

Slow it Down

I finally see President Obama's problem, he needs to slow down peoples expectations. That doesn't mean he needs to change his agenda or dumb it down or anything like that. What I'm talking about is telling the American people as much and as often as you can-that this is going to take a while. The American people are being led (with the media's help) to believe that the stimulus isn't working and that we've just wasted 787 billion dollars.
What the not-too-bright American people have to understand is that we've spent about 50 or 60 billion tops of the 787 bn. stimulus money. There is a awful lot of money left. Lots of magic can be made with that amount of money. Our problem is that we have a 24hr news cycle that just keeps asking is the recession over, is the recession over, is the recession over. Just like children.
The people have to some how, block that nonsense out. Also we need to remember the people who got us into this situation and not forget. Those same people are going to try to sell us Sarah Palin as a serious Presidential candidate. Palin just like our last President doesn't look at the details very closely, you see where that got us.

Garden Tip: Something a little cheesy but fun to do. if you have a pair of old working outside boots. Make them into planters. Just add gravel in the bottom of the boots, some soil and your favorite plant or flower, something easy like a petunia or pansies. Be sure to drill some drainage holes and you'll have yourself a cool little planter. Presto !

THe 4th huh....

It's a day after the 4th of July I'm thinking about America, and our new President. The country has its hands full. Were at war on two fronts. The economy isn't bouncing back like it usually has during recessive times and Michael Jackson is still dead.

Concerning the war, America is in a precarious position, we have a lot of miltary men tied up between leaving Iraq and ramping up in Afghanistan. North Korea knows this, also Iran knows this. If you look at the saber rattling North Korea has been doing, they would really like to 'try us'. They have a million man army and quite a few scud and long range missiles that they would like to launch into Hawaii or California just to see how we would react. Iran likewise has a million man army and with us potentially at war on (3) fronts, they could decide to "pile on" and see if they could finally bring down the 'evil' empire.

If a scenario like this were to ever materialize we would have only one option- nukes. We don't have the man power to fight all of these wars. We could probably count on Israel, Great Britain and Canada to help out, but otherwise it would definitely be a nuclear war.

The drum beat is getting louder concerning the economy. We have the stimulus being rolled out slowly but surely, but not much has happened, people are still losing their jobs and the opposition (Rethugs) are gaining the upper hand concerning the bully pulpit. Everyday you're hearing more and more pundits on the cable news shows grilling Obama Administration talking heads about "where's the beef?" President Obama is out on the road again, holding town hall meetings. He usually only does this when the Indians (media) are circling. Something needs to break soon when it comes to jobs. If not, all bets are off for the 2010 Congressional elections, Democrats could take a bath.

The Michael Jackson circus is still in full throttle. The longer it goes on the more I have reservations concerning Mr. Michael Joeseph Jackson. The man was a straight up junkie, who if you do a little research on the net and look at the lawsuits and court filings from children in his entourage was likely also a pedophile, who had a enough money to beat the case. I tell my wife all the time, you can definitely buy yourself some justice in America if you can afford the price. Michael paid and was released of his burdens. What's going on now with the revisionist history of his latter life is something else. If it was Joe Blow who had the latter life of Michael Jackson it wouldn't be pretty, we'll leave it like like that.

Garden Tip: Tobacco and Coffee kill pests. Drop some chewing tobacco or coffee grinds into your watering can to get natural pest protection. But don't use too much, Nicotine and caffeine can also kill your plants if you use too much. A little dab will do you.

Obama Problems

It's been a slow news week. The Republicans have been beating up on President Obama concerning Honduras as I predicted, health care is out there some where and America has officially withdrawn troop from Iraq's major cities. Things are fluid.
Governor Sanford from South Carolina keeps digging, when he should just be quiet. That would be too much like right. I'm getting a feel for Obama's politics at this point in his tenure and I sort of like them but I don't know how they are going to hold up in the elections, coming up next year.

The President is coming off as a tax and spend liberal, when really he's not. In America this isn't something that our country particularly likes. Even though it helps a large portion of the population, I know -it's crazy. I'm interested in seeing if the American people stay on the President's side when the employment rate goes over 10%, this will be the deciding factor on a lot of the President agenda going forward.
Believe me, the Republicans are ready to pounce and make their case for fiscal responsibility(even though they spent like drunken sailors when they were in power). The problem is that the American people have memories like elephants, we forget so so soon. One good thing that has happen since Bill Maher called out Obama concerning the President loving to be on TV. You haven't seen much of the President on TV. This is good to me. This keeps the people from personalized the issues to Obama. These are American problems, not just Obama problems.

Gardening tip: Entice Roses to bloom. For the most buds on your rose you're gonna need to dead head the rose. This means cutting off the old flowers to create new ones. You should also spray your roses, two products I recommend are Bayer and Savin disease control. Spraying roses keeps diseases and bugs from eating and destroying your plants.

THe Mirror of Socialism

This is not on most people's radar, but the President of Honduras was ousted in a coup Friday.

This is interesting only because in a statement earlier today, President Obama seemed in my opinion to be supporting the democratically elected President. The problem with that is the Military removed him because he was trying to change election law in the way Hugo Chavez has in Venezuela -to basically become a dictator who is 'elected' (wink wink) over and over again. In Honduras the President is only allowed one term. One and done is how it's supposed to go in Honduras. President Manuel Zelaya thought that he was doing such a great job that he would change the Constitution of Honduras and go against the wishes of both Honduras' Congress and Supreme Court.

What is being said is that Zelaya wanted Honduras to be more like Socialist Venezuela. The monied and middle class along with Military leaders in Honduras weren't having any of that. The poor and the unions in Honduras were 100% behind President Zelaya. This is an interesting juxtaposition for President Obama as there are a lot of right wing talk radio listeners and Fox News watchers who believe with every fiber of their being that this is exactly what Obama trying to do here in America.

This happened over the weekend, but if you listen to Rush, Hannity or Boortz you're going to hear these boliviators selling this big time tomorrow. With Barack sorta/kinda defending the ousted President, you'll hear Socialist a lot this week. Republicans are of the thinking that President Obama wants to relieve them of their treasure and pass it on to the least amongst us. These people would love for the United States Military to oust our duly elected President before he seizes their treasure. These people believe this. The drum beat of Socialism will be beating loud this week, listen for it.

A plant tip: detoxify the air with houseplants. Scientific studies, including some conducted by NASA prove that tropical houseplants reduce indoor pollution. Plants like Peace Lillie's, Pothos spider plants etc. have been proven to extract pollutants from your indoor atmosphere.

Shook up the World

I liked Michael Jackson, especially the younger version. Michael was a nut at times, but he offset this with good works. I think this may be the key to life, (like a carbon tax for polluters) a person needs to do more good than bad in this life to assure some sort of decent after life. Just a thought. I am a little younger than Michael but I remember when the Jackson 5 first came out. We were both from the Midwest, he from Indiana, me from Iowa. So we felt as kids that we were kinda close to the Jacksons.

When I was kid, something like 7 or 8 we had started a group like the Jackson 5 with our neighborhood friends. Lots of practices, lots of dance steps and lots of folks wanting to be Michael Jackson. It's funny thinking about it now. Time flies, it just doesn't seem that long ago. When 'Off The Wall' came out my two older sisters were seniors in high school, I was a freshman. We would go to the school dances and all you would hear and all you would want to hear would be the "Off The Wall" album. When the prom came around folks wore the tux like Michael wore on the album cover, that was a fresh look at the time.

Celebrity is something else. I've interviewed a few celebrities when I wrote about the music industry. Not many of them enjoyed or were comfortable with their celebrity. It seems like the worst part of fame. I had a tiny bit of it, while working and writing in the music business and I hated it. You get people around you who think about you more than they should. Strangers and weird people wanting to do things for you for no reason.

Michael being Michael had gillions of hangers on, yes people and lawyers surrounding him, the trifecta of slime. I would bet money, that we're going to find out his doctor overdosed him on Demerol, -a super strong pain killer-doctors prescribe for cancer patients. Nothing you should be shooting up at home. I personally think Michael is in a better place, I doubt if he had 50 concerts (he had sold out 50 shows in London) in those skinny bones of his. The last time I had seen him on stage he seemed slow, he didn't want to go out like that. Michael Jackson is one of the few people like Muhammad Ali who could actually say "I Shook Up the World." Just the attempts to confirm the news of his passing were big enough to crash the entire internet. That's big.

Gardening Tip: To add fragrance to your walk around your home, add creeping Thyme to the cracks and between stones in your walkway. When you step on the thyme when moving through your walkway the Thyme smell is released. This aroma adds to the quality of your life.

Those crazy Republicans

Some Rethuglicans aren't too bright. Let's take for example South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. The man leaves his wife and four boys on father's day to go lay up with his mistress in Argentina, now that's some bold shit. He's the Governor for state of South Carolina and just disappears like some drug addict with a big bag of dope. He did not want to tell apparently anyone where he was going for obvious reasons. You have to feel for the man's family. The one good thing - school's out for the summer- so the boys don't have to face down the classmates. Not yet, anyway.

Mr. Sanford had always been the "pious" type. He loved righteously scolding and wagging his finger at others who had engaged in affairs that became exposed to the public. Back when he was in Congress in the Clinton Years, Sanford was the first to yell "Impeach Clinton!" Governor Sanford was thought by many to be a front runner for the Rethuglican nomination for President in 2012, but that's over now. During his rambling press conference he talked about how he had tried to "help" his mistress with her marriage when she was having trouble with her husband. Let's be clear: the only thing that man was trying to help was himself get into their marriage bed. I understand that no one is perfect, Stamford's wife certainly seems to believe this, as she has held out a olive branch hoping they can work it out for the sake of the children. It's always for the children.

Gardening tip: Clean the blades of your pruning tools after each use either with denatures alcohol or a mild solution of bleach and water. This helps to prevent the spread of disease from plant to plant. People would be surprised how many diseases they spread from unclean tools.

It's funny how money changes the situation

"It's funny how money changes the situation" a quote from Lauren Hill of the Fugees. This is one of the truest statements ever made. Many of us have been in a situation where we're doing a business deal or dealing with relatives and when the other party finds out you have a couple dollars in the bank, all hell breaks lose, deals that were already on the table, basically done- are all of a sudden back in negotiation with the other party trying to figure out how they can get every dime you got.

Today I was kind of half listening to the press conference President Obama was having. We as Americans have a chance to invoke some real change in this country. This is what the American people voted for back in November -wasn't it? But early on in President Obama's tenure, our will is being tested. The American people have always been weak willed and easily swayed, but I am surprised how fast the people have been swayed concerning healthcare. President Obama and his administration have been trying to make the case that if people don't get on the 'bus', concerning healthcare reform the Government and the private sector are going to be in for some tough choices in the near future. To hear Obama tell it- 'the very near future'.

You have to give the opposition kudos, they have muddied the argument on healthcare, claiming that America will be on a slippery slope to European style "rationed" healthcare, where people have to wait months to have simple procedures done.

I'm sorry to say the opposition does have a few points on their side. The mortality rate when dealing with colon cancer in Europe is 42% compared to 31% in America. The drugs that are approved in America to treat colon cancer are light years ahead of what is subscribed in Europe. This is because of MONEY, it changes the situation. When enacting a nationwide healthcare plan, we're talking about mucho dinero. Right now the entitlements of Medicare and Medicaid take up 21% of this country's budget. I think that our defense budget takes up just as much or more. People, were running out of money!

The American people have got to understand that 46 million Americans are uninsured in this country, that means that 255 million Americans are insured. This is a big point that needs to be pointed out every chance we get. I would guess that half of those 46 million could afford to buy their own insurance but just don't budget, don't care or feel like their bullet proof. This leaves us with about 23 million hardcore poor people who genuinely can't afford insurance. We need to concentrate on these people. Get them some sort of Medicaid type policy to make sure that this country is taking care of our less fortunate.

I am of the opinion that if America were to go to a single payer healthcare plan. (a plan where the government picks up the tab) we would be on a slippery slope to companies dropping their employer subsidized healthcare plans. This would lead to more and more people deciding that they don't want to be responsible for the own health needs and pass it on to the tax payers. Remember folks, as I mentioned in a past blog, only 55% of the American people pay income taxes. These 55% are already up to their ears paying for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid etc. The top 5% of Americans pay 37% of all the taxes in America. The top 5% starts at about 100 to 150k dollars. If you and your spouse are making any moves in life, you are making that or are closing in on it. That's something to think about. If we're smart, and I think President Obama is very smart we better start focusing on that 23 million Americans that flat out can't afford healthcare.

Garden tip of the day: First Aid for ailing shrubs. To keep your shrubs in the best shape, you are going to have to give them a hard prune. A hard prune is exactly what it sounds like, cut them back 5 or 6 inches, 'a good prune' not a little prune. You should do this after the growing season of that shrub has past. You should look at the shrub and prune out any dead branches or foliage. When you hard prune a shrub, what you're doing is letting light down into the shrub. Light in the shrub is the healer. Hard pruning can be done all at once or it can be spread out over two or three years. If done correctly your shrub should heal itself by the beginning of the next growing season.

I have a good father

It's fathers day in America, and to me there are two groups of fathers, those that father and those that don't. The latter group gets the most attention. This is because their seeds are out here in the world messing things up. These are the fathers that have unleashed murders, robbers and rapist on our streets.
I think that if these so-called fathers had remotely did their job, our society as a whole would be in a lot better shape than it is. I would love to know the statistic's of the amount of people in prison or on the run that didn't have their fathers in their lives. How many are high school dropouts, drug dealers or just hanging out on corners. It's interesting how many men, who aren't shit, have 3, 4 or 5 children. These men give no support to their children's mothers or society in general. It's crazy. But the mothers have to take some blame in this. Why would a woman have a baby with a man they know isn't shit. This to me, is one of the great questions of our time.
President Obama is a great symbol of fatherhood in America, if the man does nothing, he takes care of his family and holds out a great example of how this father thing is suppose to be done. My own father Ronald, was a very good father and role model. At first a high school dropout, with three children and a 3 year Army stint behind him, he figured it out and made something of hs life. My father had 16 brothers and sisters, but they also had a good mother and father. A father who set a good example for his sons and daughters, a father woke early in the morning and went to work, to feed those 16 children.
My father, after leaving the Army went back and got his high school diploma and after working for years at the local factory, decided that he couldn't support his growing family with the wages of a factory worker. I also think he had had enough of being a lowly factory worker, so at the age of 31, he went and got a college education. The times were the early 70's and black men just didn't do this. Men were happy to be working at the factory, (my dad had 6 brothers working at this factory), back then that was good money. In hindsight it was great money. But he wanted to be an example to his family. So while still working at the factory and cleaning offices at the local Telephone Company at night, he enrolled in college. When I think about it now, I wonder if I could do it, with 5 kids at home. Men like that are a rare breed these days. My father graduated from college four years later and through the new affirmative action laws that were just put in place, was recruited out of college to be a executive for the John Deere Company.
I can only tell you-things changed in our families lives drasticly. We lived good before, always had a new car in the driveway, always were homeowners. But when my dad graduated college we went to the next level. The sense of pride are family felt when my father was transferred to another town and we moved into our 'new' house was off the charts. The house-complete with underground swimming pool was a amazing thing. Nobody black or white we knew had a 'underground' pool, or to our knowledge a indoor grill, like the one we had, amazing stuff for kids from Davenpot Iowa. Truly Amazing !
This to me is what a father is, that's all I know, fathers that do big things. So when I see these cats that can barely visit their children or who drop bullshit gifts off on Christmas and Birthdays and then brag about being fathers, I think to myself, dude I have someone you should meet.

I did a Poll...

Republicans, Special Interest Groups and the National Media working in concert, have always been able to game the system and the American People in general. It's happening again, the New York Times ran a headline yesterday, stating the American people have no confidence in President Obama's handling of the economy. Now this headline is on top of the masthead screaming, no confidence for our newly elected President. But when you read the story under the headline, 57% of the people say they have full confidence and like 20% say-they-somewhat have confidence in his handling of the economy's.

What gives, that's 77% of the people polled, who are still behind the President's plans . But the Times runs a sensational headline, to readers of -'headlines' to think the exact opposite. The man's been in office 5 month's. A few month's back all I heard was that this mess was going to take a long time to fix. Now 5 months into the President agenda, these I-guess-you-would-call them media types come out with these polls micro-managing every fly swat of the Presidents- Presidency.


I did a poll today of myself, my wife and our dog (with a margin of 3% +/-) and were 100% for giving the President a couple of years to sort this mess out. People have to understand that the man has a lot of plates in the air and the American economy is like a Aircraft Carrier, it doesn't turn on a dime.

Personally, I'm glad it's taking a long time, just like all the experts and pundits said it would. It makes people change bad habits and start new ones. If there was no pain during this recession, people would be quickly, back to their charging and borrowing ways. It's not healthy for a civilization to be leveraged like Americans are. We need to chill.

Gardening tip: If your a fan of African Violets this ones for you. If you want to propagate and make new baby african violets just bury one of the leaves with about a inch of the petiole (stem)connected to the leaf. Keep your leaf and stem moist but not wet and after a few days, you should start growig and new plant for you.

Center and a little left for me

Yesterday, my wife thought I was a bit harsh describing Bill Maher. After further thought, I may have been. I hope I don't come off as a conservative, I'm not. You see I was raised in Iowa and Illinois in the early 60's. I was a young black kid, in the great white world. There were black folks in the parts of Iowa and Illinois I was brought up in, but not many. During my high school days in Iowa, if they hadn't bussed in blacks folks from across town there would not been any. Except me, a pretty girl name Jill and my partner Kevin. Growing up with a mother and father in the house, was also normal. I can't remember anyone, growing up- tell I was fourteen, that didn't have their mother and father living under the same roof.
Our father Ronald, was strict, as simple as that. He didn't like to see kids have a lot of spare time on their hands. This led to him constantly trying to find something for his five children to do. For me as the oldest boy in the family, I was always busy. And if that meant going out on our acre of land and pick weeds out of the cracks in the sidewalk, so be it, that's what we were doing on a Saturday morning. We grew up attending bible study classes with our grandmother. This happened twice a week, if I remember correctly. We were in all the church programs, as a child I was the Youth Minister on youth day, imagine that. I was good.
Growing up along the Mississippi River in Davenport wasn't bad though, we would ride our bikes from morning tell dinner. We would be everyplace with our neighbors the Pearls-- Gary and Nancy. Growing up in Iowa the boys started Little League baseball, Midget Football, City Park Track League all at 8 years of age. This would go on until you were 12 and then you would start Jr High School Sports and then off to High School Athletics. That's the way it was growing up in Iowa. I didn't really know any real thugs, and now that I know what a 'real' thug is, there were no thugs in Iowa, where I grew up. No crack mammas and if someone was on welfare I had no idea. That was Iowa, a good place to grow up and leave or stay- your choice.

So when people, assume that I'm Liberal because I'm a Democrat, I didn't have that experience and the black folks that I grew up with didn't have that experience. This is especially true having met real liberals after leaving Iowa and moving to the big city. First Atlanta and then a short pit stop in NYC. I've met real card carrying liberals and they were decent enough people. What I've found out is that most liberals that I've met have been wealthy or came from homes of privilege but they didn't know it, or had been raised like this so long that they thought everybody else was raised like this. The liberals I've met over the years have almost, always went to Ivy League Schools. Most had traveled through Europe. And the new young ones, they're traveling to Hong Kong and exploring Africa, Europe doesn't do it for them anymore. No I'm no Liberal, nothing against liberals.

Bill Maher's a sucka

Bill Maher, what a ultra-bedwetting-liberal sucka. I was watching his show-Real Time w/Bill Maher on HBO last Friday. So I'm watching him and out of the blue he went on this rant about President Obama. He claims that Obama spends to much time in front of the camera's playing TV and not enough time pushing through Maher's vision of health care reform. These guys like Maher crack me up. Maher thinks Obama is watering down health care reform, he believes Obama had a mandate from the people in this last election to reform health care to his liberal fantasy, where people just show up at Cedar Sinai and everything just gets fixed-damn the cost. What Obama is trying to do is, get something that everyone on both sides of aisle can somewhat live with, go back to their district and not get tarred and feathered.

If you look at the agenda the President has presented since being in office, this has been his pattern, Obama doesn't want to get something to the floor, and then have it die in committee or Congress. I see a person, who first off, goes back and looks at past failures and then tries to not make those same mistakes. He saw the short comings of Hillary care and he doesn't want to repeat them.

In my opinion to achieve his goals, he's going to have to do what he's been doing --proceed cautiously, but deliberately and have some sort of conservative carrot written into his policy or bill. He needs to listen and talk to everyone who has skin in the game, and try to make them all feel like winners in the final outcome. Just like dealing with children. I like the way he put Tort Reform (stopping people from suing for scratches) on the table yesterday. This is what conservatives want. Liberals want a Public -single payer government insurance plan. This is where, people who are not insured, just sign their name and the government picks up the tab. I doubt in the end, this will pass Congress, too many center-right Democrats.

I think it will be a mostly, if not exclusively -private insurance companies picking up the tab, with the hospitals and doctors trading tax breaks and maybe help on their malpractice insurance in trade. Other than that, Health care has zero chance of passing.

This brings me back Maher, he seems like a bright enough guy, but I just don't think he understands that America is a center/right country. I also don't think he understands that Obama is not a liberal, most black people are not liberal, to be truthful. Almost any black person brought up in a two parent home is pretty much conservative, or black people who have a college educated parent. They vote democrat, because the alternative sucks. Republicans are seen as racist. But if Republicans didn't have the racist stigma hanging around their necks, I truly doubt most blacks would vote democrat. Just my opinion.

Landscape tip of the day. Put a specimen plant near your front door. This will highlight your homes main entrance and is something that landscapers do to draw the eye to the front door. A specimen plant is a eye catching plant usually the best plant in the yard. Something with lots of flowers or some sort of dwarf evergreen variety. This will guide your guest straight to the front door.

Thorny Roses of Iran

There's something percolating in Iran. The Iranian people aren't going to roll over for this sham election anytime soon. This is a good thing, everyone with half a brain knows the elections there were a sham. The problem the people there have now -is gunplay. Seven people were killed overnight in Iran, The Iranian protesters were trying to enter a military facility and were met with hot lead. This happened while the opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi was leading a march through the streets of Iran, the protesters snaked through the streets for 5 miles, that's a insane amount of people.

The Obama Administration is playing it close to the vest, they don't want to be seen as stoking the fire against the ruling Iranian Government. They are also concerned that Iran will do something spectacular elsewhere, like set off a missile or drop a bomb someplace else in the Middle East to draw the attention of the media off of the story. That's something we would do. I'm sure the CIA is in full create -chaos-in-Iran-mode, to see if they can get the current mullah regime removed. It's interesting how all of this plays out.

Democracies are fragile- people. If you don't nip unrest in the bud, you could find yourself living in a hotel room in France or Somali. It would be a coop for the Obama Administration if they could get these crooks overthrown. This would quiet the Israeli's and the Republicans simultaneously, or until the next media created disaster happens.

Mir Hossein Moussavi wants a whole new elections in Iran, the mullah in charge don't agree they have said that they will do a partial recount. It all seems like smoke and mirrors to quiet the kids in the streets. Short of a new elections, I think what's going on in Iran is going to be going on for a while. President Obama will probably over the next couple of days make more and more provocative statements, calling for new elections and denouncing the current regime, as petty dictators.

The one good thing as come of this; the youth in Iran have made good use of the social networking sites Facebook, Twitter and Myspace to get the story out to the world. You can't hide anything anymore in this world, as long as a person has a phone he or she can go worldwide in minutes, if not seconds, it's a beautiful thing.

Spraying Roses over the next couple of days, I have to get out ahead of the Japanese Beatles. Terrible little bastard, can chew up a rose bush in the blink of an eye. I'm using something made the aspirin maker Bayer. Bayer is leader in pesticides for plants, who knew. I'm interested to see how it works. In the past I have used a product called Savin that worked just fine. This year I'm trying something new because of cost. I'll report how it works. Ciao

Haters

"Their minds are filled with superstition, prejudice, and fantasy, and their ability to distinguish reality from fantasy is poor. The right-wing media provokes these individuals and gives their delusions the patina of legitimacy". I found this quote in the comments section of a Frank Rich column in the New York Times. The article about the Obama Haters, I had read, gave me chills. The extent of what people think and do because they don't agree with a Democratic President is insane. (They did the same nonsense with Clinton as President)
I've had a eye on these types of people since before the election. They were in the crowds of the the McCain/Palin rallies during the campaign, these weak minded people who get their knowledge mostly from ring wing websites and Fox News are becoming more of a problem for America than Al Qaeda ever was. These are the Von Brunn's of the world (the Museum Killer) They stockpile guns at their homes buying more and more even though they already have twenty, thirty, forty guns, they also stockpile ammunition as if the world was coming to a end.
It doesn't scare me, per se, most aren't to bright. Easily fooled, look at where they get there information from. But it does give me concern for President Obama and his family. I feel like the Secret Service takes the threats seriously and are acting accordingly, but these lone wolf racist are a squirrelly bunch, that are hard to pin down. I keep thinking about a rational way for Obama and Administration to get through to these people and let them know that all isn't lost for these idiots, That alot of the policies he's enacting help these people and their families, but their minds have been hijacked by the Rush Limbaughs, Sean Hannity's and Glen Becks of the world.
Before Ronald Reagan came into office there was a law called the Fairness Doctrine that outlawed hate speech over the public airwaves. When Reagan came into office he repealed it. This was the beginning of right wing talk radio. There is talk brewing these days that Obama needs to pull this old law out of the moth balls and reenact it. I would, but I believe this would only incite these fools further. Americans should be aware that the Middle Easterners, Koreans are the least of this Republics problems, we need to be focused like a laser on home grown right wing terrorist. If something happens to Obama, I seriously doubt that the Republic will survive.

Today, I'm doing some shopping for weed control products, specifically Preen and Round Up extended control. With these two products a person should almost never have to bend over and pull weeds out of the garden or the cracks of their sidewalk. Preen is a slow release granular and Round Up is a spray. With a spreader walk through your problem areas and let it fly, in areas that a granular would not appropriate spray the RoundUp. For 2 to three months you should be good to go.