Frustration

Okay so I’ve had enough. I sit in my car and listen to the inflected bloviation on talk radio. I’ve read opinion after opinion on Obama, and the economy. It’s not like I can wax impartiality, but I’ll try.
The real problem I have of the criticism from the for-profit opinion makers Neil Boortz, Michael Savage, and other incarnations (and I’m aware that there are plenty on the left too. . .) Is their myopic perspective on the administrations agenda. They perpetuate ideas that strike fear in the American people not out of principal but on cliche’s. Boortz claimed that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is nothing but a valentine from Obama to the special interests group. That his first major act of his presidency is a payoff to those that got him elected. (He forgets that Obama’s record breaking haul was primarily funded by $200.00 or less individual donations) Michael Savage is throwing out fears to his hysteric audience that the wool has been pulled over our eyes and that Obama’s first major television interview taking place on an Arabic news channel should be a “red flag” of sorts. Rush Limbaugh had an Ann Coulter moment this week when he claimed that he hopes that “Obama fails”. (Probably good for his ratings) I don’t see how this criticism is in anyway constructive. How does an impetuous comment by these blowhards equate to honest dissent. This is nothing but a spill over of the sour milk sentiment since the election. These criticisms don’t discuss the merit of the decision, the content of the measure, or the intentions of the man. This is the very thing that has expanded the schism in America during the Bush Administration. The “Great Decider” was not a president that believed in a unified country. It was his way or the highway. This is not the behavior of a leader, and I never once heard the blowhards condemn his divisive management style. Progress is made through dialogue, not entrenched opinions manifested in yelling louder to validate the view.
Another problem I have with the post-election America is the belief that Obama only won the election because he was black. That the electorate that voted for him made the uninformed decision because of an “identity politics”. People forget the 2004 election where Bush was put over the top by the “gay marriage” ballot box. People play dumb when they suggest that Bush didn’t play religious politics to put him over in both elections. People forget that racism is still a force in this country and that some voted against Obama because of this bigotry. People forget that black is still the minority. So the truth of the matter is that Obama’s skin color was a factor, but not the lopsided one that is suggested. There’s this video being circulated of an African American woman claiming that she was voting for Obama because she didn’t want to pay her mortgage. Like this video doesn’t have a multiplicity of counterparts against Obama arguing some other absurdity.
I think that Obama hasn’t surprised any of us with the closing of Guantanamo, his funding of hospitals that perform abortions, his focus on changing emission and fuel-standards for cars (shoot, we’ll own them before long), and his push to get the stimulus package in place. The Bush Administration gave $350 billion dollars to the crooks in Wall Street. Some of these companies in dire straits have spent money on corporate retreats, executive bonuses, and the most recent a $50 billion dollar luxury jet by Citigroup. All of this kind of makes me feel dirty.
So far, the oath of office redux notwithstanding, I think he’s led with a cool head and a focus on bipartisanship. His commitment to transparency, and communication has been well received by both the left and the right. I don’t claim to know the future of the economy with or without stimulus. I’d rather leave that in the hands of the man that holds the full accountability on how it is spent and ultimately the effect. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that patriotism isn’t who’s the better Republican or Democrat. We are all in this together, and our diversity of views is what makes us great. Let’s put democracy to work, be open-minded, and remember that progress is only made when we further the dialogue.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other."

Abraham Lincoln

Let the "Change" Begin

The very things that we hate about politics, and the same very things that they deny complicity-they do again. This whole Illinois Senate seat debacle has went from joke, to impasse, to political theater, to “small hurdle” (Sen. Harry Reid). Is it a need to keep the ratings up on the political news shows? It certainly amps up the talk radio hosts, and that’s always great for the ride to work. The sad thing is that it’s much more devious than that customarily.
Personally I am at odds with the lack of moral rectitude (that was dubious from day one) and the ability to stop playing to the audience for what they call in the sports entertainment industry a “cheap pop” or playing to the crowd. Then, without disappointment, they reposition themselves as if there isn’t a record of their previous stance. Harry Reid has the constitution of a paper mache’ and the political shrewdness of a court jester. I am at my wit’s end with that hack, and we need to start holding these people accountable for these public displays of incompetence and the impropriety of duty.
This could be my naivete, and the “political” equivalent of getting your hands dirty-but it doesn’t purify the deed. It is in my hopes that the “change” will come, and assuage these loathsome acts of self assent.

“The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one.”

Oscar Wilde

The Ballad of Woodrow Wimbley

I walked forward through the aisle at the book store. Many hours of previous days have passed me unknowingly and often while I perused the catchy titles, and today’s no different. Each one appears to say the same thing differently, and nothing of import. “Next in line,” the sale person says at the cash register. The one customer addressed constituted the “line”. A lot of political books, and novelty types lined the shelves after failing to catch the needed attention during the election and holiday season. I turned the corner looking at the display on the end cap. No banner or guidance necessary, these books were all about turning your life around. The bright, not so illustrious titles were printed across the foreheads of some celebrity or guru with a knowing smile on his or her face. Some of the books were about the body, and the others about the mind. Don’t forget the soul I thought, or have you already cashed that in? There they are, a whole section on how to save your soul. Through various forms of spiritualism. Staving off despondency, I followed my feet to the in-store café for a coffee.
I collected my coffee, and myself and took a seat to maneuver through the thick haze that had encumbered my thoughts. The conversations varied from idle chatter, to the economy. I have trouble wrapping my head around it myself. If I was like my father, I would’ve burdened the two ladies behind me with my opinion on when the economy would turn around. But I’m not my father. For the good of both of us. . .
The coffee did little to raise my spirits, or my alertness yet I persisted. I considered a pastry, although not usually my thing. I was looking for some catalyst of inspiration. For this, I’m indiscriminate and adventurous which works well together. The old standbys were not available. A movie that I hadn’t seen already, or a friendly face from the past. A girl talking into her earpiece and her maddening laughter shook me from my discontent, and propelled me away from the seating area, and out of the store.
I walked the sidewalks covered by the breeze-way, still sipping my coffee in earnest. The parking lot was largely vacant securing me my nearby parking place, even though I usually don’t mind the walk. Even in the cold rain, I like to take in the atmosphere. My form of spiritualism in the morning I guess. I wandered ahead, considering the perfect context to put my present state of mind within and despite my general understanding of it–I was ineffective.
My thoughts wove everywhere from the woebegone economy, the insipidity of the grind, and the general degradation of the very idealism that defined myself a decade ago. No matter how many rungs I ascend on the ladder, will it be enough? I’ve asked myself that question time and time again.
If you hazard the arduous task of turning over enough stones, one can find inspiration in the human condition. Some days they present themselves more abundantly, and others they are scarce. In times when the world is suffering, and times get tough, during wars and depression, and bouts with overwhelming doubt people reflect those sentiments back on others. Then there are those that repel those ideas, and forge ahead. Heroes of the good fight. Torchbearers for progress. Battle weary believers of the kindness in humanity that never say no. Some have sold their experiences in hopes of turning a profit, or furthering an agenda. I passed a few of these charlatans walking the crowded corridors in the book store. It’s hard, even for the discerning to sift through these exertions on credulity. These byproducts of hope.
My phone rang, jerking me back into reality (I must find a less officious ring-tone). “Hello, I said.” Later, I now consider the familiar yet new trails I blazed in my mind. Then I qualified them against the metrics of reality. I always hated math, yet the answer for this one doesn’t seem so complex nor encouraging.

“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.”
Ernest Hemingway

“Why so Serious?”
The Joker

"In life you have to do a lot of things you don’t fucking want to do. Many times, that’s what the fuck life is… one vile fucking task after another."
Al Swearengen