Decidedly center-right. A blog of generally thoughtful political commentary with a little barbed humor thrown in for good measure. BEWARE! If you are rhetorically sensitive or thin-skinned - just don't read any further. Truth can be offensive! WEASEL WORDS / LEGALESE: All views expressed are the author's alone (even if others may heartily agree) and this blog does not necessarily reflect the views of the local, state or national Republican Party (although they frequently might). Nuff said!
It appears Ms. Jopek (the mother of fallen soldier Ryan Jopek) approves now of the mention of her son and use of his bracelet by Senator Barack Obama. No comment about the gaffe however - Read it here:
If that is how she feels . . . that is how she feels. I live in town and I have no other comment to make other than my thoughts and prayers are with her.
I watched this, researched it and OMG! Don't just pass this on to your Republican friends - pass this one on to your liberal / Democrat friends and relatives too.
So Carter started it, Clinton expanded it, Bush & McCain both tried to reign it in and Barack Obama has gotten both advice and campaign CA$H from several of the principle people to blame for the current crisis.
As someone who lives in Merrill, Wisconsin - this was the most unbelievable moment. You see, the Jopeks - I am sure, are still mourning the loss of Ryan. Their house is on the 'main drag' in Merrill and is a place where you can pick up a Barack Obama campaign sign here in town. Merrill is a small town of about 10,000 people where everybody knows everybody and I am sure many families here in town feel very sorry for them and were surprised when Barack Obama signs appeared in their lawn. At the same time, no one could blame them after losing their son in the war for feeling how they feel. I don't know the family well myself but there have always been patriotic, pro-military signs in their lawn as long as I can remember.
When their son died, the whole town came to the funeral. Cars and motorcycles lined the roads all the way up to the cemetary for as far as the eye could see. The whole town wept and mourned for Ryan and the Jopek family. I'm getting a little teary just writing about this now.
Tonight like many election-minded Americans I was watching the Presidential debate on TV and Senator John McCain was relating a story about the mother of Matthew Stanley and how she gave him her son's bracelet. Barack Obama chimed in clumsily saying, "I've got a bracelet too." It was one of those 'me too' moments and then Barack Obama stuttered and stammered and finally looked down to see the name - the name he couldn't remember. It was Ryan Jopek. I hit the rewind button on my DVR over and over again to watch the moment. Each time I saw it I got a queasy, gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I have four young children and the thought raced through my mind of how it would feel to be actively supporting a candidate and to have given him a personal possession of my deceased child and then see that politician not remember his name on national TV. For their sake, I hope none of the Jopek family was watching.
This is EXACTLY why we need to elect Senator McCain, a man who has never accepted an earmark or a pork barrel spending project in his entire career in Washington. The Democrats are faced with a bail out of the financial services industry and use it to try to fund door-to-door get out the vote efforts for their party. AMAZING! It is just a new level in vulgar, banal opportunism and 'we-can-get-away-with-anything' hubris for the Democratic Party to pull a stunt like this.
Duke Wheeler of Whitehouse, Ohio, who owns the Butterfly House and surrounding farm, said he did it to bring people to the farm this fall.
"She created a lot of excitement and we would like to see a lot of excitement out here at the maze," Wheeler said.
It wasn't an easy process.
"We contracted with an artist in Idaho who drew the picture and entered it into a GPS system, flew in and cut it with a John Deere tractor," Wheeler said. "It took him about 8-10 hours to cut it. We saw it from the helicopter it's just a great image of her. I think she'd be proud."
Wheeler expects thousands to come out and check out the corn maze, Butterfly House, and other activities he has planned for the season.
I do not like "pass it on" emails but this one below is an especially good idea and I think it is an idea that should appeal to anyone regardless of political party. I would just add this - pass it on to your friends but ALSO - send it to your House Rep and Senator. You can find out how to contact them through this website:
Not that I am so naive as to think Congress would do this but I do think it is important for the people who allegedly represent us to know *HOW WE FEEL* about them tossing $70 BILLION - $3 TRILLION of our tax dollars at a 'problem' created by reckless financial 'wizards' who came up with things like the 'NINJA' home loan (No Income No Job) etc.
There should be 2 *unbargainable* parts of any bail out plan (and face it, we are going to get stuck with one):
1) Absolutely NO GOLDEN PARACHUTES whether funded by company monies or tax monies - these fat cats blew it and they have made plenty already - let them sell a yacht or a 2nd home if they are short on cash.
2) Any money borrowed to these companies should be paid back in full with interest to the government at the least, better yet, once it is collected in the future, send back the interest to the taxpayer as a 'dividend' for carrying the burden. Why? because we will see either a cut in government services or a rise in taxes and/or fees - or both to make up the hole in the treasury.
On a personal (vengeful) note, if the government comes up with a payment schedule at an interest rate of say . . . 9.5% and they (AIG, Goldman Sachs, et al) make a late payment, I say let the U.S. Treasury jack up the interest rate to 24.99% or 31% and see how they like it when the shoe is on the other foot.
Jim
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I'm against the $85,000,000,000 bailout of AIG.
Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in
a ""We Deserve It Dividend"".
To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000
bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.
Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman
and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..
So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.
My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a
"We Deserve It Dividend".
Of course, it would NOT be tax free.
So let's assume a tax rate of 30%.
Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.
That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.
But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500 in their pocket.
A husband and wife has $595,000.
What would you do with $297,500 to $595,000 in your family?
Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.
Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads
Put away money for college - it'll be there
Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
Buy a new car - create jobs
Invest in the market - capital drives growth
Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves
Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else
Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks
who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company
that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed
Forces.
If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of
trickling out a puny $1000.00 ("vote buy") economic incentive that is
being proposed by one of our candidates for President.
If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult
U S Citizen 18+!
As for AIG - liquidate it.
Sell off its parts.
Let American General go back to being American General.
Sell off the real estate.
Let the private sectorbargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.
Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.
Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work."
But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!
How do you spell Economic Boom?
I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion
"We Deserve It Dividend" more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in
WashingtonDC.
And remember, The Family plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because
$25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.
Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.
Kindest personal regards,
A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic.
------------
FURTHER COMMENTARY:
The person who wrote the middle part did not do his math and I did not double check it (it only equals out to $425 per person, somebody brought this to my attention) but I still like the basic idea!
I wake up to the sound of my 2 youngest children arguing in the bathroom. My 5 year old was taking too long . . . never mind, too much information.
I get up, no Diet Coke, my wife got the last can, no coffee made (OK, I admit, I'm a caffeine user, too much blood in my caffeine stream and I don't work well) and so I must wait until after I leave the house to get that first jolt of caffeine.
Shave, shower, shake head, dress, tell my wife I don't know when I'll be home.
9:50 AM
In car and heading for our soon-to-be headquarters. An old Burger King restaurant across from the local Walmart / strip mall in town. A positively dynamite location - but 1st pick up 2 cans of Monster Energy drink.
10:05 AM
Arrive at HQ, good crowd - 6 teenagers, about as many adults. After some visiting we get down to business and divide up and map out where we will go. I get to go out with 3 of the teens. We cover a sizeable corner of town in spite of some rain. It started raining lightly and steadily at 11 AM and never really quit the entire time . . . all the way up to 8 PM but I am getting ahead of myself.
We get way too far from our cars and at 11:30 at the rain starts getting heavier, we start working back toward the cars. By 11:50 it is coming down harder, at this point we are just walking back to the car (a mile away) as fast as we can. I have 2 teenagers with me but their ringleader is still out working. I drive around the neighborhood and track him down and we head back to HQ for the promised Pizza (teenagers will work for Pizza you know!) lunch.
12:15 Noon-ish
We roll in and eat and visit. Some locals see us all there and stop in for campaign signs (Don Friske for Assembly, Tom Tiffany for State Senate, Dan Mielke for Congress but hence - no McCain signs yet - Sigh!) and I give several out before going back out to do more doors.
1 PM
The literature drop resumes. More doors, more rain, I am keeping pace with a 20 year old after keeping pace with 3 teenagers - and I'm 42 and not too fit for my age. I'm wearing a hooded, knit Brewers jacket and still getting soaked. It's muggy so I can wear my hood (to keep the lenses of my glasses dry) and sweat or I can be cooler but not be able to see too well, hmm... decisions, decisions...
2:50
We head back, the county party holds a meeting at 3 PM and then we clean. Floors are mopped, bugs are killed, power switches are deciphered, more signs are handed out and then we go out again to drop more literature.
4 PM
Rain, rain, go away . . . This is the last and longest jaunt out. I head out with a candidate staffer (Gary) who I've knocked many, many doors with and we 1st grab some soda then proceed to disburse more literature. We cover a lot of pockets, not too many big, long streets (the kind I like) until the very end. The weather vacillates between raining and misting. Either way it is umbrella weather but it is hard to hold and umbrella when you are distributing literature. We joked that what we needed were some of those goofy looking hats with an umbrella on top . . .
. . . but then people would stare at us like we were weirdos and not vote for our candidate . . . this in a state where people wear Cheese hats on their heads, but I digress.
7 PM
One last long street to do, 2 actually but 2 other guys are going to do that one. We finally are near the finish line, all but 1 or 2 small pockets will be done - and in one day! Most people are inside watching TV, kicking back in their recliners (like I want to be) and taking it easy. I'm out in the dark sticking literature in peoples doors with my right big toe and my back saying, "ENOUGH!"
8 PM
WE ARE DONE! The 2 other guys give us a ride back to Gary's car in their pickup. We all exchange pleasantries then Gary and I go out for a bite at a nearby Mexican restaurant and DRY OUT. You could wring us out like rags. We are pretty much soaked to the bone. What we really need is a fireplace-type restaurant but chips, salsa and burgers are welcome treats. WE have earned them!
9 PM
We're full and we are talked out, we go our separate ways. I get home to an unusaully clean, dark and quiet house. My wife Kris is reading a mystery novel, all is quiet - she must have ran the kids ragged cleaning and playing. I describe my long day for about 5 minutes until I 'get the hint' that she is unwinding from her long day.
I descend to my office, read emails and write this.
An older generation recalls where they were the instant they heard President Kennedy was shot. I believe for me and many others we will recall with similar clarity where we were when the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon were struck.
September 11, 2001 5:35 AM Central time
It was a morning like any other. I hit the snooze button several times before getting up. I went through my usual morning routine. Shave, shower, have a little toast, put some Diet Cokes in a cooler, grab my laptop and drive.
I lived in Janesville, Minnesota. A small town where nearly everyone drove somewhere else to work. Each day I drove about 30 miles to work in Faribault, Minnesota where I worked at RUST Consulting, a legal processing firm. You know when you see a T.V. ad ominously asking, "Do you have Mesothelioma?"or something similar - I was the guy who answered the phone, one of many at any rate.
7:05 AM Central time
I got to work and it was my first day on a new case answering the phone. The mailing for our lawsuit had just gone out and we were not expecting very many calls. It would be an easy day at work, slow but easy. I recall there was a radio on nearby and we heard that a plane hit a skyscraper in New York City (shrug, oh how awful, must have been a terrible accident) and the morning went on.
7:46 AM Central time
A short time later we hear that the Pentagon has been hit and our supervisors roll T.V. sets into the office I am sitting in and our phones begin ringing. It is the people who received the 1st mailings but they do not want to know about the legal case, the callers are mostly elderly men or their spouses and want to know, "What is going on?" They assume since it is a legal notice that we are a government office, not a private business. I keep telling them, "I don't know what is happening." CNN is on in all of our offices now. All eyes are on the TVs. We are all awestruck. A supervisor comes in and tells us to "Be reassuring, these are old people and the news is making them upset, they are calling us for comfort." It occurs to me as I watch the chaos in NYC that my sister lives and works in NYC and I tell my supervisor, "I have to make a phone call, my sister lives in New York!"
I rush to the payphone. I call my mom and dad. I am told immediately (as if reading my mind) that my sister is alright, but she nearly gave my dad a heart attack, she saw the 2nd plane hit the tower while she was on the phone with dad, she saw it from her apartment window at a distance and she screamed while talking to dad - but everything is OK, she got a phone call telling her not to come to work that day.
I go numbly back to work, glad my sister wasn't anywhere too close to the disaster but still upset at seeing the coordinated attacks occur over cable news on the TVs at work. As the phones ring hardly anyone discusses the actual case. Most of the calls I take are all about the Twin Towers and the Pentagon and rumours spread about planes heading for Los Angeles, Chicago and other possible Washington D.C. targets. We all sit there dumbstruck watching the tragedy and the pandemonium. People covered with blood and dust, people running through the streets being chased by clouds of falling dust and debris then dousing themselves in the aftermath with bottles of water.
Over the lunch hour people nervously joke about how nice it is to live in a small, Midwestern town, others give disapproving glares. Everyone is a little bit on edge. There is discussion about the fact that about a half hour away is Mankato State University which has both an aviation program and many Muslim students. The day comes to an end, the shift at the office changes and we go home.
4:01 PM Central time
The local drive home show's DJs rather than making the usual bawdy jokes about the previous nights bar escapades talk about what a dark day this has been for America and how we must all pray (Yes this was a Rock'n'Roll station!) and they play audio clips of Mayor Guiliani, former Governor Mario Cuomo and then current Governor George Pataki giving their assessments of the tragedy.
I get home and watch CNN and Fox news alternating back and forth. I feel exhausted. The next day I call in sick to work and stay home and watch the news all day long. My oldest daughter Jackie (who was 7 at the time) says, "I bet boys did this, girls would never do something like that." She was right. Boys did it, young men who had been lied to since their infancy thought they were buying themselves a 2 tickets to paradise ended up on a highway to Hell. Men who had been taught to hate America and the West, just like those below.
Palestinians (above left) and Lebanese boy (above right) celebrate September 11, 2001 attacks.
Within a couple months nearly all my coworkers (and me) were laid off indefinitely. The national economy spiraled downward into a recession but America (for a while at least) found a single voice and rallied around President Bush.
"I can hear you, the rest of the world can hear you and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!"
The 1st night of the convention really was not a traditional convention night because of (GIVE--->) Hurricane Gustav (<---GIVE) so I am going straight to day 2 and afterwards: Fred Thompson blew me (and everyone else) on night 2 of the convention
Fred Thompson delivered some classic one liners in his casual Southern drawl and low key manner in a way that only a grizzled good ole boy like him could.
On Sarah Palin: -------------------
"Some -- some Washington pundits and media big shots are at a frenzy over the selection of a woman who has governed rather than just talked a good game on the Sunday talk shows and hit the Washington cocktail circuit."
"But it's pretty clear the selection of Governor Palin has got the other side and their friends in the media in a state of panic -- (laughter, shouting) -- and no wonder. She's a courageous, successful reformer who's not afraid to take on the establishment. Sound like anybody else we know?"
"She has run a municipality and she has run a state. And I think I can say without fear of contradiction she is the only nominee in the history of either party who knows how to properly field-dress a moose. (Cheers, applause, laughs.) With the possible exception of Teddy Roosevelt."
"When she and John McCain get to Washington, they're not going to care how much the alligators get irritated -- they're going to drain that swamp."
On John McCain: ----------------------
"Now, John's father was a bit of a rebel, too. In his first two semesters at the Naval Academy, he managed to earn 333 demerits. (Laughter.) Unfortunately, John later saw that as a record to be beaten."
"In high school and the Naval Academy, John earned a reputation as a troublemaker. But as John points out, he wasn't just a troublemaker; he was the leader of the troublemakers."
"It's pretty clear there are two questions we'll never have to ask ourselves: "Who is this man?" and "Can we trust this man with the presidency?"
Fred On the Democrats: ------------------------------
"Now, our opponents tell us not to worry about their tax increases. They tell you they're not going to tax your family. (Laughter.) No, they're just going to tax "businesses." So, unless you buy something from a business, like groceries or clothes or gasoline -- (laughter) -- or unless you get a paycheck from a business, a big business or a small business, don't worry, it's not going to affect you! (Laughter, cheers, applause.) They say they're not going to take any water out of your side of the bucket, just the other side of the bucket! (Laughter.) That's their idea of tax reform."
From MyFoxToledo Reports
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