Tag Archives: Barack Obama

Congress Approval Rating and National Unemployment Rate at 9%

President Barack Obama speaks to a joint sessi...

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A New York Times/CBS News poll broke the news this week that Congress’s approval rating is 9%.  Coincidentally, 9% is also our national unemployment rate for September and most of October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment figure seems almost eerily connected to our do-nothing-for-jobs Congress and their bottom-feeder ratings as they spent this week in session, once again doing nothing for jobs or the economy. It’s like some weird “here is a nine for you too Congress since you won’t recognize and do anything about ours.” Of course, 9% is only the national average jobless rate, some states like Nevada, have a 23% unemployment rate.

They did however, pass a really important bill in the House that would issue commemorative coins for Baseball Hall of Fame. Also, just so you don’t get the idea that they can’t accomplish anything at all together in a big way, the commemorative coins issue was passed overwhelmingly.  See, when the chips-er coins are down and the issue has nothing to do with Obama or jobs or the economy, Republicans can unite and really make a difference.

Remember that old saying about getting out of something what you put into it?  I think our Congress is actually reaping the rewards of what they have, in fact, done for the American people, our jobs and the economic situation.  I think 9% is actually pretty high but of course who knows how many friends, relatives, lobbyists, insurance companies, banks, other corporations etc. were included in the poll (oh wait, corporations aren’t people I hope they didn’t get polled).

Even though the House is a Republican strong hold right now, many polls are showing that the majority of American people, regardless of party affiliation have made it crystal clear they support President Obama’s Job Act, temporary band-aid or not, because it is at least a plan for doing something for jobs and the economy and they feel he is trying.  But, the Republicans are blocking it in Congress and have yet to come up with their own plan other than a big NO because they can’t possibly vote on an Obama plan, even if it will help the American people. Their plan seems to be politics first, people last. I wonder how low their rating can go?

Since the Republicans now seem to represent everything the American People hate about the economy, it is only a matter of minutes before they will represent everything the American People hate. When you become a politician for all the wrong reasons and you vote as a block not to help your own constituents and the American People, you will not only end up humiliated by a 9% approval rating but sooner rather than later–no job.

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Congress Gets a DD–Rating From us Standard Poor

Congress gets DD-Rating

According to our U.S. Constitution, only Congress can spend money and only Congress can set policy. Even the veto power of the President of the United States, is at the mercy of Congress–as they can override his veto power. They can override a presidential veto for political gain (or games), or because they just don’t like him, or because they are self-centered-greedy-drunk-with-power elected officials who want it “their way,” or no way at all.

I only point this out to show that no matter what our President tried-or as some think, didn’t try to do in the month-long debt crisis fiasco–it wouldn’t have mattered. The Republicans had control of the ball and they dropped it right on us. Not just we the people but we the standard poor people. The people who have no jobs, or two jobs, or low wage jobs. The people who don’t get the tax breaks of the rich and can’t afford off-shore accounts. The people upside down on their homes and sinking fast or in default. The people who Congress can’t possibly relate to and therefore refuses to help with anything more than rhetoric.

The fact that Standard & Poor’s  has downgraded the U.S. credit rating a notch is not nearly as important as why? S&P said the downgrade reflected their opinion of our political situation and said the Republicans are not likely to let the Bush tax cuts (for the rich) expire in 2012– so no new money coming in. It is a totally separate issue that S&P is grading on some kind-of fortune teller-astrological-voodoo curve, whereby they predict the future political situation rather than assessing the financial situation as it stands.

Yes, the Republicans got their “deal” and us standard poor people got to watch elected officials play one-upmanship, not play well with others, and sell us down the river so they can report back to the lobbyists, big banks, big pharma, and other big entities that make big political donations. In the meantime the real American crisis of jobs, wages and growth is once again taking a back seat so that the rich can get richer and the middle and lower class can become obsolete.

We can only hope that anyone in Congress that helped create this mess is heavily invested in the big companies that they are supporting with their votes, the “too big to fail” companies that were tanking today in the stock market.  This Congress deserves a DD–rating, from all the standard poor people in America.

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Osama Bin Laden:Beating a Dead Horse in a Civilized Society

SEALs in from the water.

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It’s no use beating a dead horse. Osama Bin Laden is dead as a doornail and showing all the gory details (the pictures) will not make him more dead. I happen to agree with President Obama’s stance on not showing the American people Bin Laden’s blown-up skull.  What for?  So the pictures can be used for a made-for-TV-movie?  Or blown up as wallpaper for some sick-o’s computer?

Or better yet,  so we can incite more international problems and jeopardize our national security even more  just to appease a small segment of the population that only believes what they see? Showing Bin Laden’s dead photos could possibly ignite even more trouble for the U.S. from other countries and only prove that we are as uncivilized as he and his lot were.  It would look like a banner or feather in our cap or like we were gloating. I agree with Obama when he said he was not showing the photos because “That’s not who we are?”

The Navy Seals did a magnificent job. They put their lives on the line for us and got rid of the #1 terrorist in the world. His body was disposed of in a civilized manner which is far more than he did when he killed thousands of Americans at the World Trade Center and disposed of their lives.

I originally thought that his blown-off face should be plastered all over the world to show other terrorists just what could become of them if they continued down his path. But then I realized that I was not brought up in a classless society that did not respect death or giving someone a proper burial even though I don’t  feel Bin Laden really deserved one. This does not mean I am respecting the person. To me he is Satan himself.

I’m sure that this issue will become a new political platform for some far right nutcase wanna-be-presidential candidate grabbing at straws to run on. I guess it would be a lot easier than running on real issues facing us Americans and since the Obama birth certificate issue has been finally put to rest,  bringing up a “but is he really dead” issue is sure to be somebody’s trump card.  I happen to believe President Obama and while trying not to gloat I can’t help but quietly say “ding dong the wicked witch is dead.”

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Donald Trump and Sarah Palin: Dumb and Dumber

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Evidently we now have two quasi-maybe-possible U.S. Presidential candidates that are like-minded when it comes to what they think most Americans find really important. Even with our present crappy economic problems and polarizing political climate looming  Sarah Palin  recently chose to  jump on Donald Trump‘s bandwagon of “Show us the birth certificate” President Obama, which they both seem to feel is unfinished priority business.  I guess because running on this type of platform is better than no platform at all.  And you get to go on those newsy chat shows like Fox and Friends and expound on whatever you want as long as it is shallow, repetitive and without merit. This duo truly is the Dumb and Dumber of our current political scene.

Trump, with his feet planted firmly in egomaniac mode has hired a private investigative team to look under rocks and Hawaiian flora and fauna to find Obama’s birth certificate because he doesn’t believe the one that was presented by the state of Hawaii is real or legal or I guess, up to Trumps standards of reality which of course are based on reality television.

Now Palin, who once actually said she believed Obama’s birth certificate was real and felt the birther movement was annoying and a distraction has now flipped her switch over to the dumb side stating that maybe Trump has a point or something…Of course she also had her own reality show so possibly the reality is that ego trumps all and it doesn’t really matter what facts are presented. Maybe when you are a rogue and a maverick you are supposed to spend your time waffling back and forth between fact and fiction and jumping on the nearest outspoken/crazy bandwagon?

Right now, potential presidential candidates for 2012 are a dime a dozen with no clear front-runner at all for the Republicans. So it could very well be that the most outrageous and off-the-wall candidate could win. While we as Americans concern ourselves with the debt ceiling, jobs, healthcare, taxes and real life matters, we have potential candidates like dumb and dumber that just want to take us all for a ride.  Nothing unusual for American politics to be sure but it would be nice to get rid of the clutter and quit making our politics a joke.

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Barbara Walters 2010 fascinating people include Jersey Shore crew and General Petraeus?

Journalist Barbara Walters, at the Metropolita...

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It’s Thursday night and I’m watching the Barbara Walters top 10 most fascinating people of 2010. She just spent an hour with Oprah, because Oprah’s life more or less commands an hour just to discuss what she is going to do next in her life.  I do find Oprah fascinating, not just because of what she has accomplished but primarily what she has done for others.

Next, she has Justin Bieber on as her second most “fascinating” person interview. He seems nice, but not necessarily fascinating to me. I’m not up on 16-year-old singers but I know he is very popular with the younger set and I guess mothers of the younger set. Walters asks him the hard-hitting question about what he was doing in the back seat of a car with a girl. He said he was kissing her. I guess in Walters’ world this is fascinating.

  Next up on her list is the cast of the Jersey Shore, I forget all  of their names but it doesn’t matter because they are all pretty much interchangeable.  They are discussing in great depth (for them) their slang language skills-I’m starting to nod off.

Next on her list is Sandra Bullock. She is certainly a class act and has gone through hell this year and it is fascinating to me that she never removed her ex-husband from the face of the earth.  Now she is interviewing singer Jennifer Lopez, who said in ten years she sees her life and career as being bigger. Fascinating indeed-but to who?

Lebron James, the basketball player who left Cleveland to go to Miami amidst a firestorm of upset Cleveland fans is evidently considered fascinating by Barbara Walters and/or her producer. He plays basketball,  so do a lot of people (okay, I admit I don’t keep up on all the basketball stuff) .

Kate Middleton is next on Barbara’s list as Prince William’s soon-to-be bride. She isn’t interviewing her in person of course, but is showing clips of her that we have already seen on TV a million times. Since kate hasn’t really ever talked in public yet, it’s hard to say just how fascinating she is.

Now Barbara is  moving on to Sarah Palin who is talking about what she reads.  “C.S. Lewis for divine inspiration and local Alaskan newspapers because that is where her heart is.”  She says that thanks to Katie Couric people don’t think she reads but she does.  I’m sure if she read Lewis it was “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” and I would be willing to bet she couldn’t do a book report on it without Cliff Notes.  And even then…doubtful.

Betty White is on the fascination list and I must agree. He career has been long, interesting and entertaining. I find her delightful and funny.

General David Petraeus,  proposed the war surge which has seemed to work and is according to the President of the United States, Barack Obama, among others , a great leader. He, according to Walters is the most fascinating person of 2010. Finally, someone actually fascinating that is trying to  do something for the country instead of himself.  Why then is this top General even thrown into the mix or mentioned in the same breath as the likes of  Palin or the cast of Jersey Shore?  What would really be fascinating is finding out the criteria for who gets on the list. Yeah, I already know. Ratings.

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