Health Care - New Tactic

Well, the snake is not dead. There is a new tactic on 'Health Care Reform' to shove this legislation down the throat of the American people. They are using technical rules to get the bill past the Republicans. It only shows the true heart of Democrats. They will cry for bipartisan support so long as there is no other way to do as they please. Then, lo, 'there is another way we can do it without Republicans, let's get it done.'

May no mistake, this is about fall elections.

What Can the President Do?

Now it seems that Washington has reached the end of the Big Buzz and the cameras are drifting away from the scene of the non-event. The snow has blanketed the capitol in more ways than one. A new future is brewing and I think some of those who were leading the wolf pack are now concerned for their future in politics. I think it is too early for Republicans to gather around the carcase though.

In the end of the discussion, if that ever where possible, it is the country that is most important. It is not the survival of any particular party. It seems that which ever party is in command at the moment, they always get a little arrogant and forget about the people who elected them.

So, what can the president do, now that the fire from the election is burning low. He can get down to the business of running the country the way it was meant to be run...with three branches of the government, with checks and balances. There is little glory in sitting behind a desk and making things happen without the continuous news flashes and the glory speeches. Doing the business of the country is what the chief executive does.

He has three years to get down to business. Sometimes a president just needs to be quiet for a while and study the situation. Sweeping changes make news but they are not always the best way to go. Do some simple concrete things that need to be done. I could think of a few but I am not in charge up there and do not want to be.

Beating of the Young Girl

We have seen the video of the young girl being beaten on the sidewalk by another young girl while the security guards and citizens watched. It makes you grit your teeth. Of course, we do not know the history behind it but that is beside the point for this discussion. The fact is, this was in America where we look in dismay at other countries where innocent people are beaten in the streets. This is no different, it is a terrorist attack.

Upon seeing the video several times, I finally picked out what appears to be an adult directing the young girl who was doing the beating. That woman should be arrested and questioned by police.

It is a shame that we have streets in our nation where people have to fear for their lives. Police should not be allowed to avoid such streets simply because they have a history of problems. It is the city leadership's responsibility to not let gangs rule any part of their city. Citizens expect it.

As for the security guards, what they did was within the rules for security guards but not within the rules of being human. Security guards are nothing more than private citizens who are employed to protect private property through deterrence. They have no police authority and can be sued just like any other citizen who over steps the law. It is an awkward job. At the same time, they do have the same rights as a private citizen. They can engage in self defense which includes the application of force to protect themselves and others.

We keep seeing these type of things and it is heartbreaking. Bullies are alive and well. I experienced it in school. My children experienced it. It is still a major problem in schools and on the streets. Some children are blessed with more strength than others, it is sad that they use that superior strength to bully instead of protect the weaker. They learn from adults.

Farmville

Discovered Farmville on Facebook. It is a riot. Planting and harvesting all from the comfort of my home. Friends too! Can't beat that.

Nascar

Here they come, rounding that last turn before they let those horses go...NASCAR is coming.

I like racing but it has become boring in the last couple of years. I really do not like wrecks, although I watch the replays. What I like is the maneuvering the drivers do. I like to see some passing going on. All this going around in circles in a single file is not racing, it is playing follow the leader. I've said for years that races were won or lost in the pits but still I want to see some racing on the track.

They have made some changes that might give the drivers a chance to race but a lot of drivers are so accustomed to just riding around that I don't know if those drivers can actually race their cars. This might be the season when the race car drivers stand out from the race car riders. Anyone who says they are just out there to ride around should be fired for not doing their job. I think many drivers get to the point where they are afraid of racing but stay out there for the money. I understand being afraid, it is a dangerous business, but when they get to that point they should find something else to do.

Go get 'em.... and .... be safe.

Politics not Performance

We are in the days before next November's election. It is a time when politicians are looking to see how many seats they can fill in Congress. Many actions taken now are not for the purpose of accomplishing something good for the country but are to put the other party in an embarrassing situation so they will not get elected come fall. You will remember, I hope, how democrats blocked everything Bush tried to do in his last years in the White House so it would appear that he was doing nothing. The result was a democratic party in control in Congress. I know there are good people in Congress but they cannot do what they want to do if they are not reelected to their seat. We should keep this positioning in mind when the media tells us what is going on up there. We will only get the slant they want us to have.

Competitions

It seems that the reality shows are trying to get everyone to compete against each other. I fear it will never play out. They will just keep on finding something new to throw out there. It is cheaper than good television. I can't help but believe that there is an underlying purpose for all this, I just can't put my finger on it. It could be social acceptance or something. Go figure.

There is one disturbing thing that is going on. The church choir competition is over the top (so are the others). Church people are not suppose to be in competition. I suppose it might stem from Christian Schools where choirs go to a convention and the best youth choir gets a trophy. In that case, it is just to encourage the children to sing. The new thing with church choirs competing is a different thing all together. I see it as a yielding to the things of the world. The church is suppose to be a solid rock that stays in place and does not join in with the main stream.

Well, I won't stop it. All the things that we are not suppose to yield to are out there to tempt churches to go along and there are always blinders to say there is no harm.

Super Bowl

It was a very good game. Both teams are to be complicated for their conduct during the game with one exception when the player drove his helmet into the ribs of another player. It was a cheap shot. Both quarterbacks did well. Obviously Bres was on his game more or at least his receivers were. It takes both. Wayne missed a couple of crucial catches but he has also caught many more crucial ones. IT"S FOOTBALL. I was for the Colts but New Orleans won and I can live with that. The picture of Bres with his little boy is a keeper. This Super Bowl was very entertaining.

Toyota

I know they got all these engineers and experts trying to deal with the problem of out of control vehicles. I still have something to wonder about. The cruise control and the brake system work together, i.e. you tap the brakes to disengage the cruise. I am wondering if something is in backwards which would actually cause the brake to act like a reset button for the cruise. Example, you were on the interstate cruising at 75 mph. The next day you are in town or on a country road and you tap your brakes to slow down. The cruise control kicks in and since the system is whacked out, every time you hit the brakes you are actually resetting the cruise for that higher speed. Well, I guess it sounds crazy but it's something to investigate and they certainly seem to not know what to do.

I am posting this on my blog because it is virtually impossible to get an email address for any large corporation official.

notice me: Toyota, Super Bowl, Brakes, accidents, news

Going to the Moon - Scratch That

Going to the moon, or not, ought to be a decision made by more than one person. There is something in all of us, as we struggle day to day, that makes us want to reach out beyond all the mess to something that might be more amazing.

When I thought of the president cutting funds for the program, I thought of the westward push of early pioneers. There was a lot of pain along the way and some of it should not have been done, i.e. the Indians, but we forged ahead into the unknown. It was a spirit of adventure and a realization of a need that drove people to leave security to establish something daring and new.

The government played a part in backing the railroads but that was after others had marked the way west. Maybe it will not be government that takes us into space. We all know they seem to do everything the most expensive way. I am sure that after private enterprise cuts a trail back to the moon and beyond, the government will have a moon-tax and a Mars-tax to support their regulations of the venture.

I think Obama made a mistake. Beyond that, I think it is near-sighted when it comes to why our space program exist. It sets us apart from most of the world. There is something to be said for doing it first. It seems a shame that once we figure out how to do it that we just lay everything aside. There must surely be resources there that we can use. The moon would make a great place to launch other missions. What's the deal? I know they talk about money but while they talk about saving it, they are looking for ways to spend it.

It comes down to taking away the dream. Humanity has been reaching out since we got here. Like those before me, I too have a dream. I dream of when going into the rest of our solar system is no more unusual than reading about our forefathers coming across the ocean in ships or going across the continent in covered wagons. One president will not stop that but he can delay it while he is in power. It is sad.

Flying High - Well, about 500 feet anyway

I haven't flown a lot in my life. A few trips up in small planes with the family just for fun and some long commercial flights while I served in the military. The small planes were by far the most fun.

I remember once when we went up in a little private plane for a spin around town. My wife and I knew there was an element of danger so we usually flew separately so one of us would survive in the event of a crash to take care of the other children. It sounds morbid but we thought of it as the practical thing to do and it took nothing from our fun.

Our daughter was not yet a teenager and she was totally fascinated by the flight. We were looking out the windows and trying to spot various landmarks. She looked out some but her biggest fascination was with the controls. She watched the pilot move the wheel around and then she watched the one in front of her respond. Once she could not help herself and reached toward the wheel. Being a well-disciplined child, she immediately pulled her hand back and looked apologetically at the pilot. He was a great guy and told her "Go ahead take the controls." And she did. It was a great thrill for her.

Once when I was much younger, I went up with my brother who was learning to fly. Back then, all you had to do was drag a can of gas to the airport and give the owner a few bucks and he would teach you to fly. My brother had had a number of lessons but had not yet soloed. The owner of the plane was going to supper and my brother was very disappointed. The owner told him "Go ahead and take it up, you can fly it, you just like to have somebody sitting behind you. Take your brother with you." And so he did. We flew around for quite a while. The landing was a little rocky. I think we tried it a few times before actually landing. I got to take the stick for a minute and do a wing dip or two. It was fun. I had a thought while we were up high enough for the trees to look like hedge bushes. "Isn't this illegal?" I asked. "Won't we get in trouble if we crash?" He replied: "If we are high enough it won't matter, If we are low enough we won't tell anyone." I thought that was pretty sound reasoning, so I forgot about the issue.

Presidential Administration 2010

With Health Care Reform being virtually dead, it seems the president is trying to stir up every issue he can find. I wonder if it is a desperate effort to get something passed before this years elections. He fell into the health care trap just like the Clinton Administration did. It took up the first year with nothing accomplished. I hope they learn that it would be easier to break the process down into single issues that could be explained and passed instead of rolling everything into one big ball like a snowball rolling down a hill.

I think the big rush to get it passed before the end of the year was because of the election over Kennedy's Senate seat. But that is water over the rocks already.

We will see but I think we are in for three years of getting nothing done. It is pretty much a deadlock with Democrats not going along with the president because they want to get reelected and Republicans protecting their turf and waiting for the next presidential election.

Yak! Politics!

Grammy's

I got a glimpse of the Grammy's on Good Morning America. I hope it is not an indication of the State of the Union. I'd like to see them try to get good ratings without all the naked women on stage. It seems it is always the same old thing these days. No wonder some people threw their televisions in the river back in the day.

Too Funny

From a Gregory Peck movie Pork Chop Hill:

Speaking of it being cold in Korea, a Texan referred to the cold in the panhandle: "It was so cold there that sometimes when we talked the words just froze and fell to the ground. We had to put them in the frying pan and thaw them before we knew what we were talking about."

In light of the weather we have been having, I thought that was really funny.