There have been so many items in the news lately that have been truly significant.

Today, the Madoff scandal - being described as a 50 billion dollar ponzi scheme.

Yesterday - A Governor who knows he is being investigated - tries to sell a Federal Senate Seat.

One hundred days, one hundred dollars - a dollar a day in the price of a barrel of oil. Gas has gone from over 4 dollars to reports it might reach a dollar by the end of the year.

There is the collapse of the Auto industry. Collapse of the Auto bailout, a possible a pre-planned bankruptcy for General Motors.

The collapse of the Wall Street banks - Lehman, Bear Stearns...

The creation of the Tarp plan

Oh by the way - the election of President

Not to mention the revision of history by the out going administration.

Is there not a ancient Chinese saying - Pity those who live in interesting time?

As I can digest these things - more commentary to come.

YES WE CAN: In Defense of George Bush and Sarah Palin.

Saturday, November 08, 2008
6:46 AM

There is an American Tradition in America. I see this process in several places in our culture and several periods of history. This process behaves like a control of some sort.
Strong components of this process are denial, fear, a bigotry like ignorance, and mis-perception - not necessarily in that order . Frequently it involves a change in level.

The substantive facts are generally agreed upon early and revelations come to light in the latter stages of the process. Issues of performance are present .

What is unclear are the expectations or the definitions of "performance"
What is also unclear is the question of "Control". Is it the person in the process. Are "others" in control.

In non-political interpretations, the "others" are the "cool", the social click, the insiders.
Part of the process is that while the "others" are recognized and accepted, there is a denial factor about the perception of what the "others" due.

There is a denial about the desire to be like the "others". This manifests itself with the presence of the "wanna-be" and the imposter in the "others".

The person in the process cannot assess their contribution until after. Sometimes the person going through the process in knowing participant. Sometimes the person simply defines and perceives the process differently.

In political terms - current political terms - There are 2 elements of the Red side of the aisle. Party affiliation does not specifically matter in the general perspective. The process happens on the political left as well.

The "neo-cons" and radical media elements are major contributors to the "process" that George Bush junior and Sarah Palin - the people, the individuals - are currently dealing with.

Fairness or reality do not play a part to this groups. Control and money are their only concerns. Capitalism to them is something that can never be taken too far. Control to them is something that can never be taken too far.

There are too many factors or too many different profiles of factors in these individuals to explore here and now.

Hyperbole is a key and consistent element in their rhetoric. Conversational control is implemented with volume, speed and directional changes. Issues are left tangling. Full exploration of a subject to the satisfaction of all is not done by this group as it means giving up a certain amount of control.

"We the people" include these elements. "We the people" need to recognize we may have contributed to actually participating in the process. "We the people" may have allowed the process.

I am personally very gratified that President-elect Obama has been elected by such a large margin. He is a good man who to me has demonstrated a logic followed by reason in dealing with priorities. Politically these are traits that George Bush and Sarah Palin do not share with President-elect Obama.

George Bush and Sarah Palin do share with me personally - we are equals and part of "We the People". The "others" are not. The "process" is not part of the Control of "We the People".

The "others" and the "process" need to be broken down into their constituent parts. These entities need to evolve or disappear. In time they will.

The "others" and the "process" are contributors to the difficulties America sees today. Whether it is the economic issues or the issues in international affairs the others and the process are players.

Now is a good time for the constituent parts of the "others" and the "process" to rise above the sum of their parts because it strengthens "We the people".

A couple of thoughts...

The first was a video of little girl player of Tee Ball age being brought out into the middle of the field to meet the President. There was no audio in the version I saw. As soon as the adult let go of the child's hand, she made a dash for a hole in the fence and beyond. We are talking about going from the first baseline to the third base side and out.

Next is for the Presidential Candidates. If each believe that the partisan characteristic of politics is not good for the country then let's see a McCain & Obama ticket on the Republican side and a Obama & McCain on the Democratic side. Debate that and see if things can be repaired. It would have the virtue of being different and therefore possibly exciting for everyone.

Iranian Missles + Russian Defense + Hindenburg Omen + Bear Market/Collapse + Oil Fog + Election Fog ----> Let stew until October (with political surprises, and stock market witching hours) then divide by neo-cons and what do you get ???? I don't know - I'm really asking!

Is the Corporation a Citizen or individual as per the state? According to Robert Riech’s recent book, corporations are citizens. The organization form called a corporation are key each of the elements of the tensions in the title.

This is not a rant against the machine. Nor is it praise for the success for capitalism. Let’s invent a new term that perhaps better expresses the notion. “Corporatism” or “Corporacrhy”– It differs from the “Oligarchy” in that the single physical beings in an Oligarchy are replaced with the single entity Corporate Citizen. It differs from capitalism in that the forces bigger and different.

The entrepreneur works in an capitalistic environment. In corporatism, the entity creates the environment. Perhaps it is similar to that of the Gods of Olympus in ancient Greece.

Well, the point of this writing is that just like our Governmental system is failing in many respects under the Bush Administration version of Representative Democracy and the concept of Unitary Executive, I would suggest that “Corporatism” is failing the individual.

Capitalism is still working and is an underpinning of Corporatism. Capitalism is a good thing.
Capitalism is not a part of the oil/gas issue because there is no anaylsis that says what is the cause of the spike in Gas since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Capitalism is the local gas station raising his prices because he knows he can. But I keep hearing that there is no profit from the gas, it is all in the adjoining convenience store where the source of profit. And the blame shifting goes on.

Something is failing. I don't want to be ranting for no reason. I have seen many versions of the the Phila. Eagles "Miracle in the Meadowlands". Things can change. But it worth remembering that the "Miracle" is the exception to the common - most typical or logical outcome.

At this hour on my local cable channels there is a variety with an unintentional theme. There is the morning news with stories of the war and the coming election. There is an episode of the original Star Trek. On TMC is a movie - a drama based on a real event.

As my daughter asks me to drive her to school, the subject of the movie gives a moment of thinking my daughters perception of real event. I think of what has changed since I was her age. I think of what has not changed since I was her age.

As a reader, you may know where I'm going. So, let me take a few minutes…indulge me.

Mrs Clinton, Mr Obama are asking me to make my choice as to which will face Mr McCain to decide on the future. When making any choice, one cannot avoid thinking of what has gone before. It is instinctive to want to learn from the past. It is instinctive to not want to repeat mistakes.

Well, I am not sanguine about this nations ability to do learn from the past. While it may be instinctive for the individual to want to learn from the past, the dynamics of the group, the state, the nation some how lacks this characteristic.

What I want to choose for the future of my nation is the course that will give us that ability.

You know what I also want...I don't want to be disappointed. I want reasons to to participate in the political process. This is the measure of the candidates for me. Of the promises made which are the most realistic. Which will be able to draw enough from either side into a center and take us to where we need to go.

Let's take the price of gas. When I was a teenager, we were told that gas prices were rising because there was no more gas to be had. Yet when Katrina struck prices have spiked even more dramatically. My daily commute is causing me to lose money for the the year. My cost of living increases are not keeping up with gas and tolls. The point is not my current situation, that is a subject for another day. The point is that presidential administrations of Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush have not produced a reality that deals with the issue on a substantive basis - hence disappointment - and a reason to give in.

We are no more likely to go back to the moon than we are to resolve the gas issue.

I want to vote for a candidate who will enable the me to discuss politics in a productive manner rather than as a simple list of greviances. We owe it to our fathers of the "Greatest generation" to develop a form of governance that enables and encourages people to "politic" in a fashion that the founding fathers were striving for.

Free association thoughts that are resonanting include JFK's challenge. "...We choose to..." fill in the blank "...in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills"

When I think of my history of votes for Presidents and what has become the realities, I'm left with disappointment and frustration. The country has not filled in the blank and taken on any given challenge. We have simple been made to live in fear. And for this I own a share of responsibility - small because I am but one.

I want Ms. Clinton and Mr. Obama to resolve the democratic party nomination process quickly so as to not give the forces that seek to manipulate power the advantage. My share of "We the People" wants the productive sense. The past is to be fondly remembered, perhaps temporarily visited. The past is a building block for the future. The past are logic and reason for our national steps to a wisdom for our futures and the history of our childrens futures.

Question for G. Bush: "What are you going to do to restore Social Security and Medicare BEFORE you leave Office??"

Issue: This kind of article sucks the life out of me…

Specific: WASHINGTON — The bulletin reached President Bush toward the end of his news conference Thursday.

Peter Maer of CBS News Radio asked: "What's your advice to the average American who is hurting now, facing the prospect of $4-a-gallon gasoline, a lot of people facing ... "

"Wait, what did you just say?" the president interrupted. "You're predicting $4-a-gallon gasoline?"

Maer responded: "A number of analysts are predicting $4-a-gallon gasoline."

Bush's rejoinder: "Oh, yeah? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that."

 

Commentary: I am a 48 year old married man with 2 daughters. One finished college and the other is starting to think about college. I work for a living. I commute an hour each way each day. I started working with my current company on 9/11. The price of gas was between 1-2 dollars a gallon. We went to the President's war and the price of gas remained stable. Katrina hits and now, between the increases in gas, tolls and food, after 6+ years, I'm not making more than when I started.

I've gotten cost of living raises, but they have not kept pace.

I am old enough to remember the gas crunch of the 1970's – first hand. I accepted the increase then without liking it..

Over the years, I ignored the increase in the size of cars and gas and the fact that the world never ran out of gas! It was good for the country!

Ok, now Katrina hits – and gas again spikes – and 2 years later, prices are spiking again for little to no apparent reason.

Why is this kind of ignorance by the "War President" good for national security?

 

Address: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004250070_watch29.html