Who is telling the truth, Barak Obama in (finally) expressing outrage over his pastor of 20 years comments, to wit: "And so he (Obama) had a political event; he goes out as a politician and says what he has to say as a politician."
or is it Barak Obama repudiating at last his pastor of 20 years: "When I say I found his comments appalling, I mean it . . . Anybody who has worked with me, who knows my life, who read my books, who has seen what this campaign is about will understand it is completely opposed to what I stand for and where I want to take this country,"
I think Reverend Wright is telling the truth when he says Obama agrees with him when he "blamed America for starting the AIDS virus, training professional killers, importing drugs and creating a racist society that would never elect a black candidate president." (H/T WSJ) but he's just saying what he has to say to get elected. And in a stroke of genius, the motives of which are the subject of endless fascinating debate, Jerry Wright called Obama out and now Obama has to do exactly what Wright says he's been doing all along: Say anything he can to get elected. He turned up the heat just high enough that Obama had to take a stand.
I don't know about you, but I would have found it far more refreshing if Obama said he stands behind everything Wright says, why else would he have remained at that church for 20 years?
Unfortunately, what we got was a lot of breathless cheerleading from the media, finally breathing a sigh of relief that he has "successfully" distanced himself form this man--because they SAID he has successfully distanced himself from this man. And that's enough for the zombie cult members who just want to be led into the brave new hopeandchange world of the future without having to think too much.
Got hope?
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Zero Tolerance for Incompetence
Have you ever had a great job completely ruined by one person? As I have held several jobs over the course of my life so far, I can think of several instances when I had what I thought was my dream job—only to have it spoiled when I have been forced to work with a co-worker of low integrity.
Somehow, when you are forced to work with someone who lies, cheats, slacks, or otherwise is a drain on the company, it makes your own job harder to do. Working with someone like this takes a toll on the morale of the whole company/department. The problem with people like this is that they are almost always immune to any complaints you may register about them—in fact, it has been my experience that they are usually still employed because of some kind of fear the superior harbors over firing/disciplining them and any complaints you may register, no matter how legitimate, will only end up reflecting poorly on you.
Several years ago, I worked for a computer consulting company that hired such a person. We will call her Tori (because that was her name) She lied about her qualifications but by the time anyone had figured this out, she had cannily established herself as a “lawsuit filer”. She dropped a few choice comments about how working conditions aggravated her “bad back”, let it slide that she was a part time auditor for the IRS (I pretty sure that this was a bald-faced lie) and generally created havoc in the workplace because the rest of us, who knew what we were doing, were forced to pick up her slack. So not only were we doing our regular work, but we were constantly undoing her screw-ups.
As I have never been one who has been able to hide my feeling about such people, we had a rough relationship. She had to accompany me on a call one day and followed me in her own car. She went behind my back the next day complaining about how fast I drove. Customers started complaining about her, but our wussy management wouldn’t do anything about her because they were afraid she would sue.
Our company required that each of our five consultants do a day on “help desk” which meant we stayed in the office to answer calls instead of doing our normal thing of going out on calls. Any issues we did not resolve on our help desk day would be taken over by the help desk person on the next day. Tori’s day was Wednesday, my day was Thursday.
So this one day, she left me a slip of paper on my desk as a “help desk” item that she ad called but was unable to resolve. So I called the customer the next day and it turned out that it wasn’t a help desk issue at all, but a full on project that the customer wanted done and she didn’t feel like dealing with it so she sluffed it off on me. I ended up actually having to go out to the customer’s to resolve it.
She was nervy enough to come over to me the next day on the premise of casually inquiring how that “help desk” issue had been resolved. I told her that it not only wasn’t a help desk issue, but a full-blown PROJECT, and furthermore, she knew it was a project when she handed it off to me and FURTHERMORE, she was not to delegate to ME. She was to hand projects over to the supervisor who would then delegate the projects.
Well, as it was quitting time, I took off and found out on Monday that she had tearfully marched herself into the owner’s office, cried about how mean I was to her, handed in her resignation and announced that she would be filing a hostile workplace lawsuit. My wussy owner immediately sprung into action, had a morning-long meeting with the two supervisors, about which I was only told to cancel my morning appointments and not to leave the building under any circumstances. My owner called me in around 11:30 and told me that Tori had quit. Because of me. “Are you calling me in here to thank me?” I asked. “Because you’re welcome.”
She started stuttering the “hostile workplace lawsuit” nonsense and asked me to write down everything that had transpired. I felt what I had said to Tori was completely appropriate, and as the owner proceeded to try and discern meaning from the tone of voice that I may or may not have used, I realized she was going to use me as a scapegoat for any potential lawsuit that may arise over this incident. I was outraged. “Let me tell you something. If she files hostile workplace, I’m going to counter sue for hostile workplace. I know she’s come into your office multiple times spreading lies about me and I further know that you have done NOTHING about it.”
All the blood drained from the owner’s face and shortly thereafter our meeting was pronounced “over” and she let me out of the conference room to do my work for the day. My supervisor (and friend) came over to me immediately following to ask me if I needed to “talk” or “vent”. I said no, and told her what had transpired right before I walked out of the conference room. She also was stunned by my retort.
I ended up quitting two weeks later, simply because Tori had made my workplace so unbearable that I had put my resume out on the street about two months prior to this incident. Furthermore, the incompetence of Tori, coupled with my management’s impotent way of (not) dealing with her made me lose faith in my organization.
This has happened to me more than once and it makes me wonder if management is really oblivious to the effect these types of people have on the organization or if they are just scared of dealing with them. Either way, it’s far more damaging to the organization than they realize.
Somehow, when you are forced to work with someone who lies, cheats, slacks, or otherwise is a drain on the company, it makes your own job harder to do. Working with someone like this takes a toll on the morale of the whole company/department. The problem with people like this is that they are almost always immune to any complaints you may register about them—in fact, it has been my experience that they are usually still employed because of some kind of fear the superior harbors over firing/disciplining them and any complaints you may register, no matter how legitimate, will only end up reflecting poorly on you.
Several years ago, I worked for a computer consulting company that hired such a person. We will call her Tori (because that was her name) She lied about her qualifications but by the time anyone had figured this out, she had cannily established herself as a “lawsuit filer”. She dropped a few choice comments about how working conditions aggravated her “bad back”, let it slide that she was a part time auditor for the IRS (I pretty sure that this was a bald-faced lie) and generally created havoc in the workplace because the rest of us, who knew what we were doing, were forced to pick up her slack. So not only were we doing our regular work, but we were constantly undoing her screw-ups.
As I have never been one who has been able to hide my feeling about such people, we had a rough relationship. She had to accompany me on a call one day and followed me in her own car. She went behind my back the next day complaining about how fast I drove. Customers started complaining about her, but our wussy management wouldn’t do anything about her because they were afraid she would sue.
Our company required that each of our five consultants do a day on “help desk” which meant we stayed in the office to answer calls instead of doing our normal thing of going out on calls. Any issues we did not resolve on our help desk day would be taken over by the help desk person on the next day. Tori’s day was Wednesday, my day was Thursday.
So this one day, she left me a slip of paper on my desk as a “help desk” item that she ad called but was unable to resolve. So I called the customer the next day and it turned out that it wasn’t a help desk issue at all, but a full on project that the customer wanted done and she didn’t feel like dealing with it so she sluffed it off on me. I ended up actually having to go out to the customer’s to resolve it.
She was nervy enough to come over to me the next day on the premise of casually inquiring how that “help desk” issue had been resolved. I told her that it not only wasn’t a help desk issue, but a full-blown PROJECT, and furthermore, she knew it was a project when she handed it off to me and FURTHERMORE, she was not to delegate to ME. She was to hand projects over to the supervisor who would then delegate the projects.
Well, as it was quitting time, I took off and found out on Monday that she had tearfully marched herself into the owner’s office, cried about how mean I was to her, handed in her resignation and announced that she would be filing a hostile workplace lawsuit. My wussy owner immediately sprung into action, had a morning-long meeting with the two supervisors, about which I was only told to cancel my morning appointments and not to leave the building under any circumstances. My owner called me in around 11:30 and told me that Tori had quit. Because of me. “Are you calling me in here to thank me?” I asked. “Because you’re welcome.”
She started stuttering the “hostile workplace lawsuit” nonsense and asked me to write down everything that had transpired. I felt what I had said to Tori was completely appropriate, and as the owner proceeded to try and discern meaning from the tone of voice that I may or may not have used, I realized she was going to use me as a scapegoat for any potential lawsuit that may arise over this incident. I was outraged. “Let me tell you something. If she files hostile workplace, I’m going to counter sue for hostile workplace. I know she’s come into your office multiple times spreading lies about me and I further know that you have done NOTHING about it.”
All the blood drained from the owner’s face and shortly thereafter our meeting was pronounced “over” and she let me out of the conference room to do my work for the day. My supervisor (and friend) came over to me immediately following to ask me if I needed to “talk” or “vent”. I said no, and told her what had transpired right before I walked out of the conference room. She also was stunned by my retort.
I ended up quitting two weeks later, simply because Tori had made my workplace so unbearable that I had put my resume out on the street about two months prior to this incident. Furthermore, the incompetence of Tori, coupled with my management’s impotent way of (not) dealing with her made me lose faith in my organization.
This has happened to me more than once and it makes me wonder if management is really oblivious to the effect these types of people have on the organization or if they are just scared of dealing with them. Either way, it’s far more damaging to the organization than they realize.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Scenes from an election
Some observations from a surprisingly smooth election:
****************************************************************************
A woman tells me that she found out just before the deadline that she had to be registered as a Democrat in order to vote in the Democrat primary. She was incredulous: “Can you imagine? If I hadn’t called the courthouse, I would have NEVER known! You would have thought they’d have had something in the paper or on TV or something! I mean, how did they expect people to know? I called all my friends as soon as I found out.” I, in turn felt obligated to point out that on just the ONE radio station I listen to (WMMR, natch) there was a blitz of commercials leading up to the March 24 deadline admonishing people that they MUST be registered as a Democrat in order to vote for Obama in the primary. This took a little bit of the wind out of her sails, and she was saved from further awkwardness by the availability of a voting booth.
It occurred to me later that if this woman didn’t even know how to cast her vote on election day, if she didn’t even know the basics of the Pennsylvania primaries after the media blitz that has been through this state in the past six weeks, how informed a voter could she possibly be?
*******************************************************************************
We had about a handful of foreigners come in with valid voter registrations, but no clue as to how to vote. Fortunately, their English fluent husbands and or sons were there to “help”. These people were somewhat puzzled when I told them they could NOT go into the booth with their mother/wife. I told them they could translate my instructions in their language but under no circumstances would I allow them into the booth—that’s like giving the husband/son TWO votes. I also advised them to get an assisted voter card for November if that’s what they wanted.
********************************************************************************
I had to explain how the machine worked to approximately 9 out of every ten voters. I had many first time voters and not all of them were 18 to 21 year olds. 18 to 21 year olds were outnumbered by about 2 to 1 by older adults who had never bothered to vote before this election.
********************************************************************************
About five people asked me how they would vote straight party ticket yesterday.
*******************************************************************************
Several people came in with Obama gear on, which I asked them to remove or cover up. They were surprised that I asked them to do this, not realizing that there can be no appearance of partisanship INSIDE the polling place (the actual regulation is so many feet within the polling place). I vowed that I would enforce this when, after the 2004 general election, two individuals felt the need to wear homemade F*** Bush shirts into my polling place and no one on the board felt that we were within our rights to make these hippies remove or cover up their offensive T-Shirts. I specifically asked this question during one of the election board training sessions and I am now the self appointed stifler of free speech within the polling place. Express your views in the booth.
********************************************************************************
We apparently had a plethora of Obama signs in from of our polling place, yet NOT ONE Hillary sign. I don’t know what to make of this.
******************************************************************************
Many people, especially those at the end of the night, made the pre-requisite “Long day, huh?” comment to me. “Have you been here all day?” I would invariably answer, “Yes, we’ve all been here since 6:30 am.” To which they would sometime ask why we didn’t have shifts, a question which gave me a perfect opening to elaborate on how much trouble we have staffing our election board. Of the five of us that worked yesterday, on the Judge, the Majority Inspector and myself are the reliables—oh yeah, and we’re all Republicans. We can never get anyone to sit for the minority seat. Thank God for Spring-Ford’s social studies teacher who give his juniors extra credit for coming out and working the polls. The kids are usually on the ball and eager to help out, and this election Caitlin was no exception. Even though she “loves Obama”, she was still a great kid.
********************************************************************************
Either people finally figured out where they were supposed to be voting or they just didn’t come out this time, because we had none of our usual posturing about the county’s conspiracy to disenfranchise a life long resident whom we have never before laid eyes upon, and who will then typically proceed to demand their provisional ballot. On the whole, it appeared to me that the county did a pretty good job processing the new registrations, with one notable exception. One of our regular voters, who comes in every election came in with his wife and the county had them both listed as Republicans, which I happen to know is false because this guy is a union guy who is proud of his Dem affiliation. They left the polling place without voting, which made me feel bad, because they truly were disenfranchised and through no fault of their own. She came back in to vote provisionally , but I think he was too disgusted.
*******************************************************************************
I believe absentee ballots are being abused by people who are either lazy or unwilling to be bothered to come down and vote in person. The press does not help this. First they scared people about the complexity and reliability of the machines, then they ran horror stories of how long people waited in line. I’m proud to say that as people were coming up to me in line, they were commenting on how smooth and quick the line was moving. For the most part, I don’t think anyone waited longer than 25 minutes to vote.
*******************************************************************************
I am also pleased to report that the Republicans did come out, though not in force, and that the committee people I was rooting for were the ones that won. I believe Obama actually eeked out a victory in our district, which only tells me I don’t live nearly west or north enough of Philly.
*******************************************************************************
I believe I walked about twenty miles yesterday, just walking up and down the firehall opening the machines for the voters. I think I actually sat down for a total of 45 minutes yesterday, broken up into 5, 10 and 15 minute segments. My legs and feet hurt so much by the time I got home, after elevating them for about an hour did nothing to alleviate the pain, I swallowed 4 advils and finally drifted off to sleep. I will need to insist on switching off with someone during the general in November.
****************************************************************************
A woman tells me that she found out just before the deadline that she had to be registered as a Democrat in order to vote in the Democrat primary. She was incredulous: “Can you imagine? If I hadn’t called the courthouse, I would have NEVER known! You would have thought they’d have had something in the paper or on TV or something! I mean, how did they expect people to know? I called all my friends as soon as I found out.” I, in turn felt obligated to point out that on just the ONE radio station I listen to (WMMR, natch) there was a blitz of commercials leading up to the March 24 deadline admonishing people that they MUST be registered as a Democrat in order to vote for Obama in the primary. This took a little bit of the wind out of her sails, and she was saved from further awkwardness by the availability of a voting booth.
It occurred to me later that if this woman didn’t even know how to cast her vote on election day, if she didn’t even know the basics of the Pennsylvania primaries after the media blitz that has been through this state in the past six weeks, how informed a voter could she possibly be?
*******************************************************************************
We had about a handful of foreigners come in with valid voter registrations, but no clue as to how to vote. Fortunately, their English fluent husbands and or sons were there to “help”. These people were somewhat puzzled when I told them they could NOT go into the booth with their mother/wife. I told them they could translate my instructions in their language but under no circumstances would I allow them into the booth—that’s like giving the husband/son TWO votes. I also advised them to get an assisted voter card for November if that’s what they wanted.
********************************************************************************
I had to explain how the machine worked to approximately 9 out of every ten voters. I had many first time voters and not all of them were 18 to 21 year olds. 18 to 21 year olds were outnumbered by about 2 to 1 by older adults who had never bothered to vote before this election.
********************************************************************************
About five people asked me how they would vote straight party ticket yesterday.
*******************************************************************************
Several people came in with Obama gear on, which I asked them to remove or cover up. They were surprised that I asked them to do this, not realizing that there can be no appearance of partisanship INSIDE the polling place (the actual regulation is so many feet within the polling place). I vowed that I would enforce this when, after the 2004 general election, two individuals felt the need to wear homemade F*** Bush shirts into my polling place and no one on the board felt that we were within our rights to make these hippies remove or cover up their offensive T-Shirts. I specifically asked this question during one of the election board training sessions and I am now the self appointed stifler of free speech within the polling place. Express your views in the booth.
********************************************************************************
We apparently had a plethora of Obama signs in from of our polling place, yet NOT ONE Hillary sign. I don’t know what to make of this.
******************************************************************************
Many people, especially those at the end of the night, made the pre-requisite “Long day, huh?” comment to me. “Have you been here all day?” I would invariably answer, “Yes, we’ve all been here since 6:30 am.” To which they would sometime ask why we didn’t have shifts, a question which gave me a perfect opening to elaborate on how much trouble we have staffing our election board. Of the five of us that worked yesterday, on the Judge, the Majority Inspector and myself are the reliables—oh yeah, and we’re all Republicans. We can never get anyone to sit for the minority seat. Thank God for Spring-Ford’s social studies teacher who give his juniors extra credit for coming out and working the polls. The kids are usually on the ball and eager to help out, and this election Caitlin was no exception. Even though she “loves Obama”, she was still a great kid.
********************************************************************************
Either people finally figured out where they were supposed to be voting or they just didn’t come out this time, because we had none of our usual posturing about the county’s conspiracy to disenfranchise a life long resident whom we have never before laid eyes upon, and who will then typically proceed to demand their provisional ballot. On the whole, it appeared to me that the county did a pretty good job processing the new registrations, with one notable exception. One of our regular voters, who comes in every election came in with his wife and the county had them both listed as Republicans, which I happen to know is false because this guy is a union guy who is proud of his Dem affiliation. They left the polling place without voting, which made me feel bad, because they truly were disenfranchised and through no fault of their own. She came back in to vote provisionally , but I think he was too disgusted.
*******************************************************************************
I believe absentee ballots are being abused by people who are either lazy or unwilling to be bothered to come down and vote in person. The press does not help this. First they scared people about the complexity and reliability of the machines, then they ran horror stories of how long people waited in line. I’m proud to say that as people were coming up to me in line, they were commenting on how smooth and quick the line was moving. For the most part, I don’t think anyone waited longer than 25 minutes to vote.
*******************************************************************************
I am also pleased to report that the Republicans did come out, though not in force, and that the committee people I was rooting for were the ones that won. I believe Obama actually eeked out a victory in our district, which only tells me I don’t live nearly west or north enough of Philly.
*******************************************************************************
I believe I walked about twenty miles yesterday, just walking up and down the firehall opening the machines for the voters. I think I actually sat down for a total of 45 minutes yesterday, broken up into 5, 10 and 15 minute segments. My legs and feet hurt so much by the time I got home, after elevating them for about an hour did nothing to alleviate the pain, I swallowed 4 advils and finally drifted off to sleep. I will need to insist on switching off with someone during the general in November.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Blitzen for President
I know many of you have been on the edge of your seat, breathlessly awaiting the voice of your master: when will he speak? Why has he been silent? The wait is over. Those of you Democrats who have been undecided about who will get your primary vote, Michael Moore has just issued this thoughtful, well reasoned endorsement of Obama:
This explains a lot about the mindset of the Democrat Party.
This sounds more like damning with faint praise than a ringing endorsement. And indeed, why should Democrats concern themselves with how Obama has voted? It's not like they give a rat's ass about it, right? Could it be that Mr. Moore is not all that enthusiatic about his choices for candidates this year? He sounds a little disillusioned with his party, wouldn't you say? Mike, what have the Democrats done to deserve your vote?
Ummmm....I wonder if anyone will tell him that no matter who he votes for in November, Bush has to leave office by law in January 2009....? Maybe he's losing it....
Aren't we being just a teensy bit melodramatic? I'd say that a man who has made millions of dollars capitalizing on 9/11, the angry left's irrational paranoia of "stolen" elections and the over the top hatred of our president has had a pretty good eight years, wouldn't you?
Oh well, again, this explains a lot about the Democrat thought process. The whole thing is a hoot and recommended reading, if only for insight into the angry left wing of America.
Read it here:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=225
I haven't spoken publicly 'til now as to who I would vote for, primarily for two reasons: 1) Who cares?; and 2) I (and most people I know) don't give a rat's ass whose name is on the ballot in November, as long as there's a picture of JFK and
FDR riding a donkey at the top of the ballot, and the word "Democratic" next to
the candidate's name.
Seriously, I know so many people who don't care if the name under the Big "D" is Dancer, Prancer, Clinton or Blitzen. It can be Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Barry Obama or the Dalai Lama.
This explains a lot about the mindset of the Democrat Party.
There are those who say Obama isn't ready, or he's voted wrong on this or that. But that's looking at the trees and not the forest. What we are witnessing is not just a candidate but a profound, massive public movement for change. My endorsement is more for Obama The Movement than it is for Obama the candidate.
This sounds more like damning with faint praise than a ringing endorsement. And indeed, why should Democrats concern themselves with how Obama has voted? It's not like they give a rat's ass about it, right? Could it be that Mr. Moore is not all that enthusiatic about his choices for candidates this year? He sounds a little disillusioned with his party, wouldn't you say? Mike, what have the Democrats done to deserve your vote?
I know some of you will say, 'Mike, what have the Democrats done to deserve our vote?' That's a damn good question. In November of '06, the country loudly sent a message that we wanted the war to end. Yet the Democrats have done nothing. So why should we be so eager to line up happily behind them?
I'll tell you why. Because I can't stand one more friggin' minute of this administration and the permanent, irreversible damage it has done to our people and to this world. I'm almost at the point where I don't care if the Democrats don't have a backbone or a kneebone or a thought in their dizzy little heads. Just as long as their name ain't "Bush" and the word "Republican" is not beside theirs on the ballot, then that's good enough for me.
Ummmm....I wonder if anyone will tell him that no matter who he votes for in November, Bush has to leave office by law in January 2009....? Maybe he's losing it....
I, like the majority of Americans, have been pummeled senseless for 8 long years. That's why I will join millions of citizens and stagger into the voting
booth come November, like a boxer in the 12th round, all bloodied and bruised
with one eye swollen shut, looking for the only thing that matters -- that big
"D" on the ballot.
Aren't we being just a teensy bit melodramatic? I'd say that a man who has made millions of dollars capitalizing on 9/11, the angry left's irrational paranoia of "stolen" elections and the over the top hatred of our president has had a pretty good eight years, wouldn't you?
Oh well, again, this explains a lot about the Democrat thought process. The whole thing is a hoot and recommended reading, if only for insight into the angry left wing of America.
Read it here:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=225
A Bitter Poll to Swallow
One wonders why on this poll that 16% of the respondents identified themselves as "Hunters" but a whopping 38% indetified themselves as "Gun Owners". Whenever Democrat candidates are quizzed as to their thoughts on gun control, they always qualify the answer with the caveat that they "respect the rights of hunters, but it's handguns and assault rifles that have to be controlled" ...or something to that effect.
Some of them even trot themselves before the cameras in ridiculous duck hunting outfits, or talk about how their most beloved uncle took them
hunting as a young Annie Oakley in order to lull gun owners into a false sense of thinking that infringing on second amendment rights is not on their agenda.
But not one of these candidates has EVER made the case for gun ownership for self defense.
Assuming that these statistics are culled from the same sample of respondents, who are these 22% who own guns but don't hunt? Whatever could THEY be needing those guns for? And why in the world would anyone who values their second amendment rights ever vote for a Democrat?
Assuming that these statistics are culled from the same sample of respondents, who are these 22% who own guns but don't hunt? Whatever could THEY be needing those guns for? And why in the world would anyone who values their second amendment rights ever vote for a Democrat?
Saturday, April 19, 2008
We're from the government and we're here to help.
There are three of us at work: parents of high school seniors who are starting college in the fall. Several weeks ago, one of the other parents emailed us an article saying that PHEAA was getting out of the student loan business. Having peripherally followed the PHEAA controversy back in the fall, I chalked it up to a combination of the current credit crunch coupled with the after effects of the corruption that was running rampant in PHEAA: the student-aid agency spent more than $2.2 million on promotional giveaways over five years, which was all money that could have gone to student aid.
We’re fortunate in that my daughter has probably two years worth of tuition in the bank; however, after seven years of (ridiculously high) private school tuition, she understands that paying for college is primarily her responsibility. I also happen to believe it’s important for kids to have an ownership in their college education; that is, it should not be something that parents should just numbly be paying for.
That being said, there are few careers out there that actually justify the amount of debt a four-year college degree entails. I believe a good rule of thumb should be no more than $50,000 of student loans upon graduation.
Friday comes and item from the WSJ Political Diary (subscribers only, sorry no link available) Brendan Miniter reports:
So congress fixed campaign finance and we got rampant 527 groups running unchecked. They fixed the pension system and we got companies eliminating their pensions. They fixed mortgage regulations and we got the subprime crisis. Now they’ve fixed the high price of college tuition and made it practically unaffordable. I can’t wait till they fix the health care system.
We’re fortunate in that my daughter has probably two years worth of tuition in the bank; however, after seven years of (ridiculously high) private school tuition, she understands that paying for college is primarily her responsibility. I also happen to believe it’s important for kids to have an ownership in their college education; that is, it should not be something that parents should just numbly be paying for.
That being said, there are few careers out there that actually justify the amount of debt a four-year college degree entails. I believe a good rule of thumb should be no more than $50,000 of student loans upon graduation.
Friday comes and item from the WSJ Political Diary (subscribers only, sorry no link available) Brendan Miniter reports:
One of the loudest promises made by Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats when
they regained control of Congress was to make college "more affordable." Sure enough, a new Democrat-sponsored law aimed to do just that... and now student
lenders are dropping out of the business like so many frat boys after the first
round of finals.
Millions of students are being left in the lurch just as they're seeking
help with next fall's tuition. By one count, some four-dozen student
lenders have either curtailed loans to students in recent months or closed up
shop entirely. Sallie Mae, the biggest, rolled out its Chief Executive Al Lord
yesterday to warn of a "train wreck" in the $85 billion student loan market
without a federal bailout. The broader credit crunch is certainly playing a
role, but Mr. Lord laid most of the blame on a Democrat-sponsored law that took
effect in October.
As part of her "First 100 Hours" agenda, Ms. Pelosi and Co. slashed
interest rates banks can charge students in half to 3.4%, leaving Uncle Sam to
make up the difference. Democrats also pushed through cuts to the fees the
federal government pays to banks for underwriting student loans. "It's not
even a matter of break-even. [The lenders] lose money on these loans if they
originate them," one financial analyst told Dow Jones Newswires last
month.
The Federal Family Education Loan Program likes to boast that
it's now the dominant source of college loan funding, making "it possible for
borrowers with no income, credit history, cosigner or collateral to get student
loans at low interest rates." Talk about subprime. All this federal money is
also a substantial reason for the rapid inflation in tuition costs. Every
Congressionally-created problem must have a Congressional solution. Pelosi
ally Rep. Mike Miller, chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee,
is now pushing legislation through that will both lift the cap on federally
subsidized student loans and expand Uncle Sam's direct loan program --
completing Washington's takeover of the business and no doubt setting the stage
for bigger meltdowns ahead.
So congress fixed campaign finance and we got rampant 527 groups running unchecked. They fixed the pension system and we got companies eliminating their pensions. They fixed mortgage regulations and we got the subprime crisis. Now they’ve fixed the high price of college tuition and made it practically unaffordable. I can’t wait till they fix the health care system.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Of Devils and Dust
One pretentious millionaire egomaniac who thinks he's in touch with the working class endorses another:
My managing editor and I have an ongoing argument about the Boss: I say he jumped the shark back in 1986. "American Skin" is where he lost me for good and then his cheap bandwagon publicity grab following 9/11 in the candlelight concert to benefit the families of the firefighters and cops smacked of pure opportunism and self-promotion when viewed against the backdrop of "American Skin". He threw the New York Cops under the bus without ever giving their story, or their circumstances , or the pressure of their job any consideration. It was his first real "issue song" and coming from a guy who has never looked down the business end of a loaded gun, much less walked a beat, I found it to be a total turn off.
But I digress: my editor claims he's still as relevant as ever, and to prove it, he gave me "The Rising" and "Devils and Dust" to give a listen.
Honestly, "The Rising" wasn't bad. Unfortunately, it's also been done. It had the same themes, melodies and mood as "The River". It reminded me of high school, and while, not bad music, certainly not groundbreaking or anything I would pay money for. I'm already done with "The River".
"Devils and Dust" was a different story: almost completely unlistenable. Whaah whaah whaah, depression, sadness, closed factories, whahh whaah whaaah and all in his best Bob Dylan imitation. I honestly didn't get it; I thought it was some sort of period piece about the Depression. But now it all makes sense: Springsteen, like Obama, believes there are still barefoot folk loadin' up the jalopy and drivin' across the dustbowl to get to California. And they all need HELP but they're too bitterly stupid clinging to their guns and Gods to vote for it which, of course is where the Obamessiah comes in.
Of Obama's "Bittergate" comments, the Boss had this apologia to offer on Barack's behalf:
Yeah. These guys are in touch with the working class all right.
Hat Tip: http://online.wsj.com/article/best_of_the_web_today.html
OK: Just the fact that this guy feels like his endorsement of a presidential candidate actually MEANS something should show you what an insufferable egomaniac he is.Rock star Bruce Springsteen endorsed Democratic Sen. Barack Obama for president Wednesday, saying "he speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years." ...
He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next president," the letter said. "He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where '...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone.' "The bard of New Jersey is known for his lyrics about the struggles of working-class Americans, particularly in the economically ravaged factory towns of the Northeast.
My managing editor and I have an ongoing argument about the Boss: I say he jumped the shark back in 1986. "American Skin" is where he lost me for good and then his cheap bandwagon publicity grab following 9/11 in the candlelight concert to benefit the families of the firefighters and cops smacked of pure opportunism and self-promotion when viewed against the backdrop of "American Skin". He threw the New York Cops under the bus without ever giving their story, or their circumstances , or the pressure of their job any consideration. It was his first real "issue song" and coming from a guy who has never looked down the business end of a loaded gun, much less walked a beat, I found it to be a total turn off.
But I digress: my editor claims he's still as relevant as ever, and to prove it, he gave me "The Rising" and "Devils and Dust" to give a listen.
Honestly, "The Rising" wasn't bad. Unfortunately, it's also been done. It had the same themes, melodies and mood as "The River". It reminded me of high school, and while, not bad music, certainly not groundbreaking or anything I would pay money for. I'm already done with "The River".
"Devils and Dust" was a different story: almost completely unlistenable. Whaah whaah whaah, depression, sadness, closed factories, whahh whaah whaaah and all in his best Bob Dylan imitation. I honestly didn't get it; I thought it was some sort of period piece about the Depression. But now it all makes sense: Springsteen, like Obama, believes there are still barefoot folk loadin' up the jalopy and drivin' across the dustbowl to get to California. And they all need HELP but they're too bitterly stupid clinging to their guns and Gods to vote for it which, of course is where the Obamessiah comes in.
Of Obama's "Bittergate" comments, the Boss had this apologia to offer on Barack's behalf:
"Critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships," Springsteen wrote. "While these matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man's life and vision ... often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement of our environment."Oh, "They're worthy of some discussion", huh Bruce? Discussion over, say, Merlot and Brie in a San Francisco Mansion so you can all decide how best to help the poor hillbillies who don't seem to want your help? Or how about on a Ivy League Campus coffee house? Maybe over drinks after a night at the Met?
Yeah. These guys are in touch with the working class all right.
Hat Tip: http://online.wsj.com/article/best_of_the_web_today.html
Saturday, April 12, 2008
What does your bumper sticker reveal about YOU?
The subject of where the "Main Line" begins and ends has been a matter for debate for years. As a part-time member of that community (during working hours) I think I've figured it out.
It's the bumper stickers.
From 2003 up until about say, 9 months ago, I could always tell when I arrived on the Main Line when I saw a John Kerry bumper sticker. I would invariably see at least one every morning, on a different cars, to let me know that I had arrived. Now with the 2008 election moving and the Democrats arguably in a severe state of flux, I can't count on the bumper stickers touting candidates anymore (although there are still some Kerry ones out there)--I just have to look for the blatantly liberal ones.
For instance, the other day I was on my way to work up Montgomery Avenue. The car three cars ahead of me was putt-putting along doing about 20 mph. So, like everyone else in front of me, as soon as the lane split to two, we moved over into the passing lane to get around him. On his car was the bumper sticker "Slow Down. Save the Earth." I only wish I had a Ford F350 Diesel to rev, but as it was, I had to settle for gunning the motor of my (arguably unimpressive) Toyota Camry.
Earlier this week, we were behind a car with the bumper sticker "A PBS mind in an MTV World" complemented, of course, by the pre-requisite "Darwin" fish with feet. As I groaned aloud over the bumper sticker's message, my daughter asked me what it means. "It means she's an elitist snob and that we should pity her for having to put up with the great unwashed rubes who surround her and offend her oh-so-delicate sensibilities. It means she thinks she's better than everyone else and she's not afraid to tell the world. It means she has little more than contempt for everyone around her."
I think my daughter was sorry she asked.
It's the bumper stickers.
From 2003 up until about say, 9 months ago, I could always tell when I arrived on the Main Line when I saw a John Kerry bumper sticker. I would invariably see at least one every morning, on a different cars, to let me know that I had arrived. Now with the 2008 election moving and the Democrats arguably in a severe state of flux, I can't count on the bumper stickers touting candidates anymore (although there are still some Kerry ones out there)--I just have to look for the blatantly liberal ones.
For instance, the other day I was on my way to work up Montgomery Avenue. The car three cars ahead of me was putt-putting along doing about 20 mph. So, like everyone else in front of me, as soon as the lane split to two, we moved over into the passing lane to get around him. On his car was the bumper sticker "Slow Down. Save the Earth." I only wish I had a Ford F350 Diesel to rev, but as it was, I had to settle for gunning the motor of my (arguably unimpressive) Toyota Camry.
Earlier this week, we were behind a car with the bumper sticker "A PBS mind in an MTV World" complemented, of course, by the pre-requisite "Darwin" fish with feet. As I groaned aloud over the bumper sticker's message, my daughter asked me what it means. "It means she's an elitist snob and that we should pity her for having to put up with the great unwashed rubes who surround her and offend her oh-so-delicate sensibilities. It means she thinks she's better than everyone else and she's not afraid to tell the world. It means she has little more than contempt for everyone around her."
I think my daughter was sorry she asked.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Please Lead Me!
I do not understand the Democrat thought process. My husband thinks they may have all been either abducted by aliens, or they are aliens--it's the only thing that makes any sense to him.
I don't subscribe to the alien theory--but I have to admit I'm dumbfounded. David Mamet in his recent piece renouncing his life-long "brain-dead liberalism" explains from the point of view of the playwright: Liberals take the perfectionist view, Conservatives take the tragic view. Liberals look at the world and see what's wrong with it and feel it needs to be fixed immediately. Conservatives look at the world, see more right with it than wrong and are just trying to get along without government always getting in the way. Mamet goes on to say that it finally hit him that the Conservative view is more in line with his own personal experience. It's a funny, insightful article; read it here: http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0811,why-i-am-no-longer-a-brain-dead-liberal,374064,1.html
So anyway, I began this post because, thanks to Mamet's article, I've been spending a lot of time musing over the reason why anyone would be so desperate for someone to lead them. Why someone would be so in need of inspiration by their leaders? And conversely, how someone could harbor so much raw hatred for our current president? In the day to day grind of real life, how much does a president really effect your life? It seems to me that Democrats want government solutions to every slight discomfort in their lives.
That being said, I think that having strong leadership for our country is important; I just don't think I personally need it in order to function in my life. In my view, my life is better the LESS government interferes.
I don't subscribe to the alien theory--but I have to admit I'm dumbfounded. David Mamet in his recent piece renouncing his life-long "brain-dead liberalism" explains from the point of view of the playwright: Liberals take the perfectionist view, Conservatives take the tragic view. Liberals look at the world and see what's wrong with it and feel it needs to be fixed immediately. Conservatives look at the world, see more right with it than wrong and are just trying to get along without government always getting in the way. Mamet goes on to say that it finally hit him that the Conservative view is more in line with his own personal experience. It's a funny, insightful article; read it here: http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0811,why-i-am-no-longer-a-brain-dead-liberal,374064,1.html
So anyway, I began this post because, thanks to Mamet's article, I've been spending a lot of time musing over the reason why anyone would be so desperate for someone to lead them. Why someone would be so in need of inspiration by their leaders? And conversely, how someone could harbor so much raw hatred for our current president? In the day to day grind of real life, how much does a president really effect your life? It seems to me that Democrats want government solutions to every slight discomfort in their lives.
That being said, I think that having strong leadership for our country is important; I just don't think I personally need it in order to function in my life. In my view, my life is better the LESS government interferes.
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