Thinkin’bout Stuff

I’m sitting here watching CBS news at 11pm and this reporter is saying how terrible things are entering this year’s Black Friday since retailers and customers are dealing with the worst economy since the Great Depression.

Ummm.. no, it’s not.

And you can stop lying about it now, Obama won.  It’s OK to tell the truth now.

In this very same report, he is interviewing a guy who has spent $300 on gifts in one store, something he was able to do because stores have helped out by lowering prices.

Let me say that again:  he spent $300 in one store in one night.

First of all, stores always lower prices for Black Friday… maybe they are lowering them more, but they always lower prices.  Trust me, they ain’t giving the stuff away, there’s a profit in there somewhere.

Second, if they hadn’t lowered prices, would he have NOT been able to spend $300?  Or is it that he just was able to buy more stuff for less money.

And third… he bought $300 dollars worth of gifts in one night in one store… that happen a lot in the Great Depression?

Come on people, there is no comparison.  This economy is not even the worst economy since I was born…. Jimmy Carter’s economy wins that contest.

The more the press continues reinforcing this lie, the more depressed folks will get, and the harder it will be to get out of this bad economy.  So cut it out… Obama won, you don’t have to lie anymore, so let’s not wait until January 20th to declare all is well.

It’s not polite to point, so perhaps we shouldn’t mention how unpatriotic it is for the man who serves at the head of the Office of the President Elect of the United States, Barack Obama, to renege on his promise to raise the taxes for the wealthiest 5% of the country. 

It really would not be polite to point out how former Senator Obama believed that these folks had plenty of money, would not miss a few extra percent of income and how raising their taxes would benefit the nation as a whole while paying for his tax cut for those who pay no income tax.

And it would be down right rude to point out how this class warfare aspect of his campaign was one of the central themes that propelled him into the White House:  promise 95% of voters a check at the expense of 5% of the voters… simple math.

So…  I won’t point any of those things out… 

Instead, I applaud Mr. Obama for recognizing that taxing those with money is the surest way to prolong an economic downturn as the money these folks would reinvest in the economy would be tossed into the fiscal maze of the ultra-inefficient federal government.

(Of course, this is assuming the grapevine is correct re: not raising taxes for the next two years)

On the other hand… who is going to pay for all these bailouts and stimulus packages? 

Perhaps we should all write thank you notes to future generations and bury them in time capsules.

Ever worked with anyone who had a talent for creating a crises and then getting all the credit for saving the day?

Just thinking… 

Let’s assume for the moment that much of the problems we face are being magnified by a steady drum beat of doom and gloom during a protracted presidential campaign.  We have been told over and over that our lives are terrible, that we need change, that this is the worst economy since the Great Depression… so much so that, with the cooperation of a liberal press, the Democrats have driven our country to the brink of economic suicide.

Think about it… you are told the economy is in the toilet, so you become nervous, then worried, then down-right scared and you stop spending.  Enough folks follow suite and no product is moving.  No product moves, and workers are not needed.  Folks lose their jobs, tighten their belts, and less product is moving… and the downward spiral accelerates.

Add to that the apparent ignorance of much of the US population when it comes to how government works, and the Republicans are tossed out even though the Democrats control the House and Senate.

Enter the savior.

Don’t get me wrong, I hope Obama, whether through actual actions or simply because folks will feel that it is safe to spend again, turns this economy around and gets us into an upward spiral.  But don’t kid yourself, he and those who pushed his message of despair are largely to blame for the current situation.

Obama has made some good moves in his early selections for his cabinet, and some not so good moves.  But the best move he can make, and I would expect him to wait until he takes office so he can be certain to get all of the credit for the recovery, would be to promise to not raise capital gains taxes for at least two years.  This will bring investors home and turn the stock markets around.  Combine that with lower fuel prices, which leads to lower prices for just about everything else, and spending will pick up, which will drive demand, which will drive production, which will drive job creation, which will drive spending, etc.

Even if he doesn’t, just the fact that he will be talking about how much better things are going to be now will create an environment where things will get better… it’s all about perception.

By the way, i wonder if gas prices finally hit the tipping point earlier this year.  Did they go high enough that we actually will see a long-term change in consumption habits?  If so, the oil guys shot themselves in the foot because it will take a dramatic drop in prices ($1.25/gal maybe?) to reverse that trend.  Like I said, just wondering…

Oh.. and you gotta love how team Obama is redefining his message of change.  Now change means anything different than the Bush administration as opposed to a change politics as usual in Washington.  If that was the case, then Hillary Clinton would have been a more qualified choice for the Dems.  You know what, I think even Obama agrees… how else can you explain that he is essentially building his cabinet from drift wood gathered from the Clinton years.

Had a great time with great friends tonight, even though we dared enter into the treacherous waters of politics.

We’ve known each other for 15 years, but politics never really came up before, so it was interesting to hear that most of us are pretty much in sync with our view of the recent election.  It was also good to see that any differences with some of the folks were not divisive, we just disagreed and left it at that.

But one interesting thought came out of the discussion: Why not have an apprentice or training period for presidents?

When we started this whole USA thing, life was much simpler.  Maybe it was no big deal for someone to get elected and then, with little or no experience, just jump into the president gig.

But now?  Not so simple.  The problems facing our new president would overwhelm even someone with strong qualifications and extensive experience as an executive and leader; the man we are looking to for leadership is a good script reader who will hopefully surround himself with adults who can put the right words on the teleprompter.

In what other field do we hire someone into a position where he has no qualifications or experience?  We would, at the very least, expect a new hire to go through a training period, no?  Chef, heavy equipment operator, project manager, surgeon… thousands of other jobs, all requiring some experience, training, knowledge… all apparently except elected positions like president.

So… why not?  What’s stopping us from adjusting to the complexities of our world?  Why not hold elections two years before the new president takes office, have him or her train under the current president and then take office after a two year apprentice period.

There would likely be challenges, like dealing with huge egos and folks calling for the backup to come into the game every time they don’t like what the starter is doing… but isn’t that better than handing over the keys to the country without any training?  Think about it, for the first 6-12 months we can expect all those friendly dictators out there to test this guy (Biden’s words); wouldn’t it be better if this guy (or any guy) actually was already up to speed with the job before he had to pass the test.

We can’t afford our presidents to flunk tests, so I think we should find a way to make sure they have had sufficient time to study, don’t you?

All that from one margarita… think what we could have come up with after a few more

While searching through archives, came across a recording I had of some folks gathering for a church benefit concert our band was invited to play at less than two weeks after 9/11. The event had been planned weeks earlier and we decided to go forward in the hope that it might help lift the spirits of those joining us at this outdoor event.  At the end of the event, someone asked that we lead the folks in singing God Bless America and I gotta tell you it was a very emotional experience so soon after 9/11…

Since YouTube is a video site, I added some photos I’ve taken, since 9/11, to show a little bit of our great country.

Here’s a reminder of what it was like before our “leaders” chose to engage in extreme partisan politics and, in my opinion, the left turned their anger and hatred inward:

“Everyone will go to school, everyone will have a job, everyone will be equal, no one will exploit or be exploited… and all those who oppose this wonderful vision will be crushed” — from Amerika

… will our next president learn from this latest faux pas.  Seems like, when he leaves his script, he has a tendency to put his foot in his mouth.

Not only was it poor form to make fun of a former First Lady about rumors she spoke with the dead during her husband’s presidency, he made fun of the wrong First Lady.

While it has been said that Nancy Reagan consulted with astrologers, it was Hillary Clinton who reportedly had discussions with Eleanor Roosevelt, who was deceased at the time.

So.. kudos for showing enough class to call and apologize, but concern that he too frequently goes for the laugh line instead of acting statesmanlike… we don’t need a comedian in the White House.