Our Own Young People Need That Education.

I read that there are more Chinese and other foreign nationals attending our universities, especially elite colleges, then ever before. Is that a good use of our educational system? I mean, should we be spending our national treasure on educating our competition? If anyone thinks our national treasure isn't spent on these institutions, just ask these folks how they would arrive at these institutions of higher learning but for the roads, and airports built by our taxpayers. Find out if they can get any learning with the lights out, no phone lines, no heat, no running water or sewers. Who do you think provides these things. Did you know that these schools aren't required to pay property taxes? Taxes that pay for public safety, snow removal where necessary and repair everywhere.Tax payers pay for all these things, including the utilities which were made possible because our government (s) helped make them possible with grants, loans and a whole lot more. Now don't get me wrong, I think that people from around the world should be allowed all the education they can acquire. I just don't think we should have to pay for it without being reimbursed. Here's a thought. How about educating our own young people first. Then secondly, educate our out of work, under skilled workers. Then, if there's any room left, help some third world struggling folks get a shot at those educations. And if that means we have to pay a little more in taxes, well so be it. That would be preferable then giving people making over $250,000 a year a tax break. After all, it's those tax breaks that he turned a multi, multi hundreds of billions of $$$ surplus into a multi Trillion $$$ deficit. And let me tell you, if anyone in the world can afford to pay a little more in taxes, it's the Wall Street / Bankers elite. And this nonsense that it's all the small businesses that would get hurt is just bologna. There are very few small businesses that fall into this particular category.

Hey Kim. What's Your Problem?

Good ole Kim. So North Korea has, once again, tried to push things around for no good reason. Well, I suppose they crave the attention and hope some good will drift their way out of it. What to do? What to do? Everyone says that China is the answer, but China is always unwilling to lift a finger. And to be honest, it's probably not in China's best interest to yank Kim's chain. So maybe it's time to make it China's best interest.  There's this island off the coast of China that we've been supporting since the end of WW11. Nationalist Chinese were beaten by Mao Tse Dung and they retreated to Taiwan. China wants it back in the worst way. Now, I'm not suggesting we help them get it back, but whenever we've helped them out, China squeals like a stuck pig. Fair enough. Maybe now's the time to make a big public statement about additional help to Taiwan. Of course we'd need to first alert the Taiwanese of the ploy. Like planning on stationing an aircraft Carrier group there permanently. When China complains, and they surely will, then we hit them with a compromise. Like cut North Korea off until it falls in line, or Yankee sailor-boys will be cavorting around all over Taiwan. It's the Teddy Roosevelt strategy. "Speak softly, but carry a big stick" or maybe it's the carrot on a stick approach. Whichever, it would likely get the desired results without really costing anything. As for Taiwan, I doubt they'd want our Carrier group there on a permanent basis anyway. However you slice it, China is the only way to get North Korea to quit with the nonsense and China only responds to what's in China's best interest. They don't give two hoots about anyone else. It's time to make China care about others and it's also time to kick some sense into Kim and his son. In fact it's past time for both to grow up and act responsibly.

To Screen Or Not To Talk About It.

Have you been following all of the frenzy on airport screening? I suppose if you don't watch cable news you may not even know what I'm talking about. They all talk about it like people were being strip searched on a public stage, complete with warm up acts and judging. Not only that, but they're talking about it every other snippet. You get something about the deficit then the screenings, then they interview two people you probably never heard of before about the subject. Then they interview somebody who you do know but only if that person doesn't like it. Then they interview somebody who ran a pole on the subject, then it's back to the deficit. Then they interview somebody else who doesn't like the pat downs. Then it's on to someone who is afraid of the xray, then it's somebody who assures us that the searches don't work, the screening doesn't work either. I once saw somebody say he didn't mind it and couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about. You'll never see him again. Now, don't get me wrong, I suppose there are some wrinkles to iron out, like not needing to check crew and being careful with people who have medical conditions. Careful, but not ignored. Otherwise, I see two possible alternatives. You can decide not to fly or they can eliminate the security measures altogether. Personally I like to drive anyway. You don't get to see much of the country when you fly. But for those who don't like driving, there's always the trains or even a bus. I'd pass on the bus though. I took a long  bus ride once and I think walking is preferable. But a train ride could be fun. Anyway, maybe we should first decide if we want security. If we do then maybe we should stop whining.

Pet Peeve Previews.

I love "pet peeves", don't you? I have quite a few, but two of my current favorites are gasoline prices and corporate greed. As far as gasoline prices are concerned, I notice the price has risen to about as high as it's ever been and ya know what? Nobody is saying a thing. Now back during the Gulf oil spill crisis, it would have been the natural time for oil companies to raise the prices, but they stayed pretty much the same and some were even a little lower. Then there was the annual switch to making fuel oil for heating when prices jump and oil execs claim it's because of the change. Still nothing happened. Now, although slowly, they've climbed way up. And not a word. How come? That's what peeves me about gasoline prices.; They sneak it up on us and pretend nothing has happened.
My other pet peeve is corporate greed. Remember when many companies, not just General Motors, Chrysler and Ford, were in trouble? What did they do? They laid off a whole bunch of employees and got concessions from the rest to lower their pay. That made sense and most unions, if not all, agreed. Most companies made other adjustments that were long overdue anyway, like mismanagement. Well now those companies are becoming profitable again. Management agrees and understands that it was, in no small measure, because of the concessions made by labor. What they don't seem to agree with is that they have a moral responsibility to share in the good fortune with labor for allowing it to happen. That's what peeves me about corporate greed. They don't show any gratitude for the help they get but even more disturbing is that they won't give anything back they're not forced to. And then only with a fight. 

Ahhh. Washington. Now There's A Reason To Exist.

OK, the elections are over, we're in a lame duck session and the Republicans have decided to say no to anything the Democrats propose unless they do exactly what the Republicans tell them to do. The Democrats, on the other hand, have decided to push their own agenda with no input from the Republicans forcing them to either completely agree or vote no. That's what we all voted for. Change we can see. The leadership in both houses of Congress, both Democrat and Republican will be unchanged. Again, change we can see. Based on this, my guess is there will be no change in Washington. For sure, the rhetoric won't change. Don't ya just love it when things go the way you wanted them to go? I can see it in 2012. Since the Republicans haven't changed Washington, it'll be time to give it back to the Democrats. In 2014, back to the Republicans and so on. Have you noticed how nothing changes except the two parties keep trading back and forth? Do you suppose there's a fix in? I mean, unless you know the formula, you can't win the bet. The formula is easy enough for the insiders to figure out. Here's how it works. Once your in, you got it made. every two years you're in charge. Every year, your in the chips. What's to stop an insider from making out like the infamous bandit? Of course if you cross the line, if you violate the ethics rules, you could be censored. You could be scolded and told you are a bad boy, or girl, before you can continue screwing the public. Now don't get me wrong, I loves the politicians. I surely do. But I swear, they are the hardest hearted group of humans on the face of the earth and I can find no reason to keep electing them.

This Is Not The Time To Waste Time.

Well, the Presidents Debt Reduction Commission has given it's report. The commission is as non-partisan as possible. The Liberals hate it, The Tea Party and other Conservatives hate it, although not for the same reasons, and the moderates on both sides are afraid to say anything. It looks like it's just right. In fact it's nearly perfect in it's recommendations. So will it pass? Pass what? If you mean will it pass by the Congress and go straight to the dumpster, then, yes. It will go to the dumpster. So what does that mean for the rest of us? The 99.99%? It means that nothing good will come of the current Congress. Back in 2008 the Democrats had a mandate to pass some far reaching legislation for the good of all Americans. The Republicans were convinced they had a mandate to just say no to anything the Democrats proposed. Now in 2010, the Republicans have a mandate to stop and reverse everything the Democrats did during the last two years. The Democrats are convinced they have a mandate to keep the Republicans from doing any such thing. What do you think will get done during the next two years? Not much. At least not much that will be in our best interest. If the Republicans are successful, they will have rendered the last two years as wasted and the next two years as also wasted. Is this a good time to waste time? It is a good time to think seriously on the proposals of the Debt Reduction Commission and pick the top few ideas in your opinion and the top few ideas you're against and agree to pass all of them. It's called compromise. It's how sane government works. If the Democrats and the Republicans and the Tea Partiers all refuse to compromise, then none are fit to govern. Of course I've felt that to be the case for some time.  Yes, I'm on the "Term Limit" crusade again. Is there any truly good reason to give these folks more time then is actually necessary to do the right thing. If they don't, you don't have to anguish over them loosing their jobs prematurely. They're out. Period. Time to give somebody else a shot at getting it right.

Traffic Woes.

Traffic, traffic. Ever get stuck in traffic? That's silly, of course you have. No, I'm talking about really getting stuck in traffic for too long a period of time. Like when you're on a two lane road and one lane is shut down. So a Flagman, oops I mean a flagperson or is it flagger. I'm just not sure of the proper form on this. Anyway the person with the portable stop sign stops you and two thousand other cars for twenty three hours so that four cars can come from the other direction. Then there's the four lane construction site where one lane is shut down. Traffic in the opposite direction is backed up for a mile because people slow down to see what's happening. In your direction, traffic is called upon to merge into one lane. This is accomplished by 99% of the cars moving to that lane while the other two percent use it as an opportunity to get ahead of the 98%. So you wait in line for sixteen hours in order for these more important people to sneak up ahead of you. I say sneak because it's a sneaky thing to do. But if you happen to be one of those V.I.P.s who can't afford to loose the time waiting in line, you take a cut. That is, you cut in line way up front. Want to see some really upset folks? Watch an eighteen wheeler block that lane. You will always see smoke or steam rising from the cars backed up as a result of this maneuver. In your lane, on the other hand, awards are presented to that trucker. I also like the so-called "Sunday Driver" who on a Tuesday travels at half the posted speed until there's a passing zone at which time they rev up to well over the speed limit. They create what is affectionately called a wagon train or convoy, depending on what part of the country you're from. Anyway, my hat's off to these uncaring misfits of society. You see, getting your blood pressure is healthy in small doses, so smile, be happy, you will arrive at your destination, someday.

The Recent Election Improves Nothing.

In the NY Times this morning there's an editorial that suggests the Republicans aren't ready to lead. They don't have an agenda the article states. Really? Does anyone think they haven't had an agenda for the last two years? Does anyone think that has changed? Does anyone think the Democrats were ready to lead on 2008? Or that they're ready to lead now? The answer to the first two questions is that the Republicans only wanted and still want to get rid of Obama, and the second two answers is that the Democrats were not and are not ready to lead. So where does that leave the American people? Two more years of likely deadlock. Little improvement in Unemployment, no improvement in income ratio between the rich and the rest of the country, or perhaps an even more lopsided gulf between the two. The recession is over for the rich. It is unlikely to be over for the rest of America for the foreseeable future. How can that be? The goal of the real conservative movement is for more opportunities for the rich to get richer. For that to happen, there must be fewer opportunities for the rest of us to get ahead. That's because there are a limited number of financial opportunities available that can be manipulated. On the other hand, the goal of the real liberal movement is..... Ya know what? The real Liberals don't exist but if the did, they still wouldn't have a single unifying goal. It's because the Liberal faction is very fragmented.
There's no real consensus. How in the world can such a fragmented group ever find itself in a position to govern? It can't. For proof just look at the last two years. The things they accomplished, they couldn't agree on which is why it took so long to get health care passed and why it's so poorly constructed. It took too many compromises. The Republicans would have passed a bill is short order. It would have undergone few changes from the original. So what's up for the next two years? More of the last two years like I said. Haven't you been listening? Problem is, while our government will do little, if we are not to fall farther behind the rest of the world, there's a lot to be done. It really is time to wake up

Ahhh. Democracy And The Microphone.

Hi folks. I'm so happy that the Republicans won every seat in the House of Representatives and Senate. It seems that the Democrats also won all of the seats in both houses as well. How is this possible, you may ask? Oh that's easy. All you have to do is listen to the rhetoric coming from the leadership of both parties to realize they both think they're in complete control or our destiny. everybody realizes they have won either a mandate or a received a lesson and they are ready to lead based on that information. Wait a minute. Don't they realize neither party has a mandate to do anything except help to create jobs and to lead us out of this economic turmoil? Short answer - No. The Democrats are in denial and the Republicans actually think all Americans are deeply in love with them. The Fact of the matter is that the Republicans won because there wasn't a third party choice and the Democrats lost because they had two years to get started on the fix and concentrated on Health care, a worthy goal but not the most important at this time, and on other secondary goals. It is and was time to lead and there is no one now ready to actually do that. I would, but I have an appointment to have my hair dyed. I know a couple of other people who could do the job, but I'm not sure they're interested. After all, for a person who is actually capable of doing the job of leading this country, they must be willing to have a large group of unqualified people bad-mouthing them and trying to second guess them at the same time. There are two traits which this country is well blessed with; nut cases and extra smart leader types. The problem is, the nut cases always seem to be holding the microphone and the leader types really just want to lead. They don't want to have to deal with the slime they would have to crawl through to get to the leadership position. I't too bad that dictatorships are such poor alternatives. They would be great if it weren't for the dictators.

You Want Ice Cream With That Pie?

The Republicans won a tremendous victory last night in the Mid-term Elections. My deepest sympathy goes out to them. What do I mean by that? The Democrats won two years ago with a broad mandate or so they thought, and a coalition they were unable to hold together. Now the Republicans will have to try to hold together an even more unwieldy coalition. What coalition did the Democrats have, you may ask? The Democratic party is a coalition to begin with and then they were joined by Independents and disaffected Republicans. Now the Republicans have the right and moderate wings of their own party, the Tea Party, Independents and disaffected Democrats. Good luck with that group. Brings to mind herding cats. Anyone think they can keep all their promises and make everyone happy? Like herding twice as many cats. It's not that I want them to fail, it's that I don't think anybody could succeed under the circumstances. First off, a lot of people don't really know what it is they do want. Only that they don't want the Democrats and Obama's agenda in particular, but I don't think they really want the Republican's agenda or the Tea Party's agenda either. All people want is high paying jobs for everyone, lower taxes, win both wars or get out without any danger of terrorist attacks to America, stop buying foreign oil, drill more and dig more coal, stop pollution in their own backyards, pay off our debts, stop mortgage foreclosures, eliminate Obama care, make sure their own health care insurance is reasonably priced, a strong defense but lower defense spending, better schools in their neighborhoods, but lower education spending, no new immigration, no more illegals and make those already here disappear and a host of other things including Mom's apple pie. Don't people realize Mom stopped baking years ago and buys her pies at the super market?

How Come The Rich Are Getting So So Much Richer?

There's a new book out by professors from both Yale and U. Calif. Berkley titled "Winner - Take - All Politics: How Washington made the Rich richer - and Turned it's back on the middle class". The Tea Party has it all wrong. The very wealthy has basically purchased government without anyone realizing it, including government. And nobody is there to stand up to tell government to stop giving all the money to them. Deregulation, tax law, and corporate governence laws have handed the rich the keys to the candy store. Sure some of the problems of the working class has to do with globalization and technological advances, but mostly it's new laws over the past few decades, while labor unions have lost their strength and can no longer be the watchguard for the middleclass. So, Tea Party, you should be looking at the corporate boardroom and the local country club instead of the local politician. Not that you should forget the politician, but it's the money, not the Party. That's not to excuse the Democrats or the Republicans, but after all, they're only human or nearly so. Now if the Tea Party wants to really make a difference, then listen to what any Congressman or Senator or even better, what any corporate leader like the National Chamber of Commerce is telling us we need and figure it should be the opposite.

Banker vs Homeowner = Taxpayer

You can call me  a blankety-blank liberal if you want, but if we don't do something about the foreclosure crisis, we'll be in for an even rougher ride then we've already seen. See, the thing is, if debtors don't keep on spending, then there will be less demand for products, which means fewer jobs, which means less demand, which means fewer, oh you see where I'm going. You may not like helping someone that overspent and neither do I, but just because someone has a mortgage doesn't always mean they over spent either. But what if somebody bought a home at a fair price two or more years ago they could reasonably afford and then the market tanked and now it's worth less then they owe on it and maybe lost their job or had to accept a reduction in pay to keep it??? So you say that not everybody is a victim. Well of course not, but many are. If they loose their homes to foreclosure, it's going to cost all of us a lot more then if they get some relief and get to stay in it and keep paying their bills. Besides, we can't afford to build and fund more homeless shelters. So would you really rather pay more taxes so some banker can make extra profit by foreclosing or would you rather pay lower taxes, screw the banker and keep more people in their homes and buying all sorts of products that might help get the economy rolling again? Oh, come on the question isn't that hard.