politicalbull

My birthday is today, December 3rd. I won’t tell you how old I am (sorry) but I WILL tell you that the first time that I voted for President was in 1980.

I have seen a lot in my short life here on earth—think about it, when you consider the totality of existence, our time on this earth is just a hiccup—and I would like to go the memory lane of national events for a minute.

I was alive during John F. Kennedy’s assassination, but I was too young to remember it. I was during Bobby Kennedy’s and Martin Luther King’s assassinations, but I do not really remember those events. I was alive during Watergate, but I was too young to care.

I don’t really remember the Vietnam War protests, but I vaguely remember the Kent State shootings because it was practically in our backyard. I remember the Iran hostage crisis, and how Jimmy Carter mishandled it. I remember, well, the Challenger explosion and the emotions that followed. I remember Princess Diana’s death, and funeral, and how awful I felt. I remember John Kennedy, Jr.s tragic death, the boy that had such promise, along with his wife and his sister-in-law. I remember the ridiculous Clinton/Lewinsky sex scandal and the equally ridiculous impeachment proceedings that followed.

Recent events have added more to my memory bank—the year our nation almost collapsed from the greed and stupidity of politicians and business leaders. I fear, however, that much more will happen to our economy in 2009, much more that I will be condemned to remember.

On Monday, The National Bureau of Economic Research made a SHOCKING announcement—America has been in a recession since December 2007. Well, duh! What made them realize this? Did the banking crisis finally make them admit it? It wasn’t enough, apparently, when the bottom fell out of the housing market. Nor did it rattle them when gasoline prices went “sky high” for awhile. But how about the huge jobless rate of Amercans? Naw. That didn’t do it either.

Nor did it phase President Bush who, for the longest time, refused to admit that America was in deep doo doo. Nor did it phase Senator John McCain who, during his Presidential campaign, thought that “the fundamentals of our economy were strong.” Nor did it, apparently, overly phase either the Democrats or the Republicans in Congress, who did not seem to wake up until the banks started to fold.

But it DID phase us, the normal people of America. We knew we were in a recession when we had trouble finding jobs. We knew we were in a recession when we had to conserve gasoline. We knew we were in a recession when our paychecks suddenly did not buy as much as they once did.

If there is one lesson from this economic crisis, it is this—people in Congress lead charmed, isolated lives, no matter how often they may travel among the people. They can’t really know what it is like to be hounded by bill collectors, or to receive paychecks that don’t meet their needs, or to face the threat of job layoffs.

They CAN’T know. Therefore, it is up to us, “We the PEOPLE” of the United States of America, to make sure that our representatives in Congress DO know about our “average” lives. How? By WRITING to them regularly. Let them know how your life is going. Tell them of your problems, your concerns. Starting with the Obama administration, let’s help ring in a new era of a CARING, responsible government, by being an attentive, responsible electorate. It’s the American way.

According to the AP, more than 2,000 people have petitioned Bush to either give them a “get out of jail free” card or to commute their prison sentences before he steps down as our nation’s “leader” in January. This whole issue has made me think—I wonder if Bush would pardon himself, if he could, or does he not think that he did anything wrong? My bet is the latter. There is no person more dangerous, or one more unapologetic, than one who feels imbued with a righteous mission.

In Bush’s case, his biggest “crime” was the Iraqi War. Sure, Bush used the excuse of Saddam possessing “weapons of mass destruction” and his “terrorist threat” to convince Congress and the American people that Saddam must go. But, this was all a smokescreen. As most of us feel now, his attack on Saddam was a personal one—a point of competition and a point of pride. He not only wanted to overthrow Saddam to avenge that dictator’s former threat on his father’s life, but also to finish the job that his daddy couldn’t finish.

He succeeded. But, some five years, hundreds of thousands of deaths, and billions of dollars later, was it really worth it?

MR. Bush, you get no pardon from me.

I must say, I have never seen a President-elect hold as many press conferences as Barack Obama has held.  I’m not talking about all of the publicity that surrounds him, of the press reports of his cabinet picks, his family’s planned puppy, or his strategy for averting the economic crisis.  I’m talking about actual PRESS CONFERENCES.  Why, he looks…well…presidential.  What is “President” Bush doing, in the meantime?  Nothing.  Well, almost nothing.  Last week he DID pardon a turkey, a traditional Thanksgiving presidential chore that should not be taken lightly, especially by Bush.  After all, Bush probably identifies with turkeys.  God knows, his entire eight year reign has been one BIG turkey. 

November 22 marked the 45^th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  Do you remember what you were doing when you heard this tragic news?

I don’t.  I was on the verge of turning 3-years-old when JFK was assassinated.  But I have relived this event via documentaries, books, movies, and the reruns of the Zapruder assassination film so much that I feel like I CAN remember.

Thanks to old videos, I have watched him get the top of his head blown off, watched his new widow scramble to the back of the moving limousine in terror, and watched that same widow, regal now, lead the funeral procession of world leaders.  At one time or another, I have watched all of this in tears.  

But do you know what saddens me the most?  The question of “what if.”

“What IF” John F. Kennedy had lived?  How would our world be different today had he not taken that fateful trip along Dealey Plaza? 

Would we have ever known of a Vietnam? 

Would Lyndon B. Johnson ever have become President of the United States? 

Would Nixon ever have become President, engineered Watergate, then be forced from office? 

Most of all, I wonder this—

WOULD we still have a true Democratic Party?

Think about it. 

Political punditry doesn’t get any better than this.

Yesterday, ex-Vice Presidential running mate, and Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin did the traditional “turkey pardon” thing in her hometown of Wasilla.  Oh, I was amused to see Palin surrounded by gobbling, dirty turkeys—and appearing quite uncomfortable—but it was what happened next that had me laughing so hard I cried. 

Immediately after the ceremony, Palin agreed to be interviewed outside.  As she gleefully babbled on about politics and her experience as a Vice Presidential candidate—in her bubbly style befitting a former beauty queen—a man in the background calmly slaughtered turkeys.

During the interview, the reporter asked her how she liked this chore of pardoning a turkey, and she said that she was delighted to be involved in an activity that didn’t “invite criticism.” 

Oh, by the way, Palin confirmed that she is charge of the turkey for the family feast this year, as she is every year. 

 I can believe that. 

Here’s the video, in its entirety.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8DTSPzU0RI

“Until they show us the plan, we cannot show them the money,” said House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, at a press conference today.  Pelosi was referring to the “Big 3” automakers, those who had recently been to the Capital pleading for a government bailout of their struggling industry.  

With this statement, Pelosi is making clear that she is holding the automakers accountable for why, and how, any such money would be spent if the government were to give them the money—a very big IF at this point.  

Specifically, Pelosi requires a plan that would demonstrate how the money would “transform” their industry, making them competitive, and demand an accounting of how they plan to spend the money.   

I say…BRAVO.  I wish they had put the same kind of conditions on the banks before they bailed them out.     

WHY have the Democrats in Congress proposed a $25 BILLION dollar bailout for the ailing auto industry? 

I’m really not so surprised that my party wants to help the “needy” automotive companies who pay their Presidents more than OUR President, but I am surprised—and appalled—at the Democrat’s focus on big business here.  I mean…come on!  Are they Democrats or Republicans?

In all this talk about the failing stock market and economy, I am hearing very little about the PEOPLE of America, other than as a supposed “beneficiary” of big business.  (Reagan’s trickle-down theory dies hard.)

Why don’t they propose some real help for the average American, who is poorer right now than he or she has ever been? 

Why don’t they extend unemployment benefits for another six months, instead of the puny 13 weeks of the last extension?  

Why?  Because big business, through their campaign contributions, has corrupted the Democratic Party, and Americans have (and will continue to) suffer because of that. 

Yesterday, I came across a fascinating article written by Cristina Aguilar.  You can read it here:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1170228/the_obama_abe_lincoln_reincarnation.html?cat=34

It seems that there is an interesting theory floating around that I had never heard before; namely, that Obama is the reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln.  I’m intrigued by this theory.

Years ago, I read of the eerie links and parallels between Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, and added some of my own, and I have to say that I truly believe that there is something to the Lincoln/Kennedy link.

But Obama and Lincoln?

How COULD there be a link there, other than the obvious fact that Obama is the first black man elected President and Lincoln freed the slaves? 

Well, according to Aguilar, there are a lot more parallels between these two men, similarities that go beyond a racial link.  Both of these men, for instance, came from modest family backgrounds, served in the Illinois Legislator, and practiced law.  Both are also known for their astounding oratory skills.

What do I believe?

Well, I have noted how often Obama, himself, has mentioned an affinity for Lincoln in his speeches and interviews.  But this is not surprising.  Most Presidents and Presidential candidates mention the great Lincoln at one time or another.  PLUS, I just assumed that Obama mentioned Lincoln so much because of the great man’s stance on racial issues.  Now…I’m not so sure.  Is his affinity for Lincoln more than “skin deep?”

I don’t know but, since Aguilar has intrigued me, you can bet that I will be doing some more research on this issue.   

Well, Reagan’s “trickle down” theory has now been proven to be the “voodoo economics” that George Bush, Sr. said it was.  It doesn’t work. 

“We are on the verge of the second GREAT depression, if we don’t DO something NOW,” most of the members of Congress (on both sides of the political aisle) said, so they did.

The problem is that they’ve decided to apply the “trickle down” solution to solve the problem that “trickle down” created (with a little help from deregulation, also a Reagan policy) Don’t we (or they) ever learn?

The answer is, apparently, no. 

Do you know what one bank did as soon as they got word that they would partake of that bailout money?  They bought out a smaller bank, silly.

That’s right. 

PNC Bank, of Pittsburgh, has shelled out $5.6 BILLION dollars of the Cleveland based, National City Bank.  I have banked with NCB for over 20 years now and, needless to say, I am pissed. 

But here’s the question:

Do you think that this merger is going to create jobs, under the “trickle down” theory, or lose jobs for people?

Here’s an even better question:

Does PNC really CARE?