Just say NO

Keep the Bush tax cuts, medical care for everyone, bail out this, bail out that, all with a price tag of well over two trillion dollars. We are spending ourselves into oblivion. If our government had to have a credit score what would it be? Would Goldman Sachs loan them money? Banks have a lot of money now because they can get it for nothing, invest it at little or no risk and get a 3-4% return. Sweet deal if you are allowed to feed at the Fed's trough. On that loan..........forget it.

The federal governing bodies need to get some guts and say that until we get our financial house in order sorry but we can't add anything new until we figure our how to pay for what we are already obligated for. The states do it, families do it, real viable small businesses do it and if they don't what happens? They go away. I fear we as a nation are headed in that direction.

Run the Nancy Reagan commercials again. The drug of greed and money is killing us. Just say NO!!!

Good job voters but we are not done

Been gone for a while sorry.

Good job on the voting front. We got rid of a lot of people who don't get it. Can't rest on our laurels though. There is still work to do and in two years we need to get rid of more incumbents. Party does not matter.

Also I noticed GM offered an IPO today. The company that was bailed out with taxpayer money offered an IPO but only to primarily large institutional buyers on Wall Street who we also bailed out. Our government thought this was OK. Remember we are a republic and we send people to Washington to do our work. This is what they did.

Now I know this is the old group but I thought the new guy at the top got this. He wanted to change things. In baseball vernacular the new guy at the top never got the bat off his shoulder on this one. You can believe we are watching to see what yes we can really means. Today it meant more of the same. I am disappointed.

On Massachusetts and Blazing Saddles

Our federal legislators got a wake up call this week. Because of the election of a Republican to Ted Kennedy's seat and the ensuing flurry of activity I was reminded of the classic Mel Brooks movie from the 70's, Blazing Saddles. In that movie Governor Lapetomaine, played hilariously by Mel Brooks, utters the words after realizing he must do something in his job "Gentlemen, we have to protect our phony baloney jobs."

Now we see in real time and in real life our legislators doing the same thing. What was once and idea (health care for all) that must be done now has changed into maybe less is now more. All because of one election. If it was a necessary thing why would one election change that? Fight for what you want or get out of the way and on with your life's work. I think the real work here is to protect their jobs.

We hear about how populism is such a silly and easy thing. We are not really deep thinkers and leaders if we take a populist opinion. Whatever happened to government of by and for the people. Isn't that a populist statement???

What we saw unfold this week should be a wake up call to everyone. Vote them out, all of them because all they are protecting is their phony baloney jobs. That is the special interest in this discussion. We have the power and it is time to exercise it. Give our leader a new team. We have a new player from Massachusetts and I hope he becomes an All Star. Let's get a few more bats in the line up along with some good pitching and see if we the people can't start winning some games.

Vote Them all Out

Thomas Jefferson spoke volumes about service to one's country. He knew that being in Congress was not meant to be a career.

"All can be done peaceably, by the people confining their choice of Representatives and Senators to persons attached to republican government and the principles of 1776, not office-hunters, but farmers, whose interests are entirely agricultural. Such men are the true representatives of the great American interest, and are alone to be relied on for expressing the proper American sentiments." --Thomas Jefferson to Arthur Campbell, 1797. ME 9:420

He also knew the dangers of special interests:

It [is] a cause of just
uneasiness, when we [see] a legislature legislating
for their own interests, in opposition
to those of the people.—
The Anas. Washington ed. ix, 118. Ford ed., i, 200.
(1792)

Vote them out all of them. Take some time out and read Jefferson. He warns us all. We need to exercise our power.

Vote them all out!!!!!!!

Who knew I would get an assist from two U.S. Senators. Senators Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota have decided not to run for reelection. Hooray!!!!! That is two down and 98 to go. What was Dodd going to run on anyway, his record?

As far as the House of Representatives is concerned this November all 435 seats are up for grabs. As I have said before vote them all out. It is the only way we can send a message that this is a country of, by and for the people. Congress was meant to be a position of service and not a career. Do them a favor and send them all packing and let's return to the service concept as that was the intention the designers.

Keep checking back for further updates. Hopefully there will be more.

The Public Health Care Option

We have hundreds of private health care plans. We also have Medicare, Medicaid and we have the plan that our Representatives and Senators enjoy. I have an idea. Look at all of these and choose one for the public option. The only requirement is that the Senators and Representatives must accept this as well along with the rest of the government workers.

They call this problem the public option, like the public is something other than them. You know those pesky public people. The Senators on the talking heads show this morning almost admitted that this was so difficult they didn't know what to do. If that is surprising to you than you are not paying attention.

We have millions of people out of work and still bleeding. COBRA is not an option for 95% of the people. Employers are going to start cutting back on health care offerings. Things are going to get worse before they get better. Washington, do your job. Either use what programs we have and subsidize it or shut up. There are models everywhere, a lot of good ones that work. Pick one and let's move on to creating jobs. Because if that doesn't happen nothing else will matter. The Great Depression lasted so long because there were no jobs. Jobs create income, which creates, money in peoples pockets, which helps everything. No band aids like cash for clunkers as that was a only short term flashy political thing that in the long run will do little. A long term solution is needed here.

Hellooooo, anybody home??????

The Power of the Vote - Use It.

Have you had the time to witness your representatives to Congress actions lately. We see such things as people shouting LIAR! at the President. We have representatives telling people that one parties health plan is for them to die quickly when sick. Still the same we vs them, you can plug in the party of choice.

It is not however time for change, it is time to vote. This is our time. Take a long hard look at your spokespersons in Congress. Are they doing a good job or are they just howling at the moon. Their retirement plan includes health care and a nice pension so don't fret for their well being just vote them out. Put fear into all their hearts that if you act like a fool you will be dismissed. We can fix this. We have the power and we need to use it. The stakes are too high to continue with representatives who don't get it.

Around one hundred fifty years ago a wise President told us this country was of the people, by the people and for the people. Coming this November make sure the person you vote for gets this. If they don't, send them on the way to their life's work.