Thursday, September 24, 2009

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.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

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 ?

Sunday, September 6, 2009

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.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

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.