In an open letter to Senator Anthony Weiner of New York I discussed my concerns on what I view as hypocrisy on the part of Democrats regarding this election:
I noticed that in the year 2005, you were adamant that President Bush should eschew a public inauguration ceremony and instead spend the $42,000,000 plus dollars on our military. So where is the letter to the Obama Inauguration Committee stating similar concerns over a ceremony that will cost an estimated $150,000,000.00? Surely they could spare half of that for our military personnel. Considering how vociferous some of his supporters were of even a simple home wedding for Jena Bush-which was hateful, mean-spirited and supported by the likes of Arianna Huffington-shouldn't these same pundits, politicians and supporters be concerned about what could be one of the largest public displays and expenditures by the office of the president for a ceremony? Where is your written complaint about this issue? I am posting a copy of this letter on a public website. I will also post your written concerns, if you dare to write them. Unfortunately, I think the DNC has tied your hands. I predict a rubber stamp Congress. And that is NOT democracy-that is dictatorship.
If he replies-which I seriously doubt since I don't live in his district, then I will publish that he chose not to reply. Sometimes a lack of words speaks volumes.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Paying For College
Do you know how much it costs to go to a state university per year? Includingtuition, books, transportation, food and housing, it's pretty much in the $25K per year range. It's a hefty chunk of change and due to the sinking level of spending by states, it's rising every year. On top of all that, every single student pays fees based upon the number of hours taken. Some fees pay for the library, or the computer network or parking. And some fees pay to subsidize athletic programs. Frankly, that's pretty underhanded when you consider that so many athletic directors like to falsely claim that their programs are self-sufficient. But let's imagine just for a minute that they were. If that is the case, wouldn't it leave a huge hole in their budgets to have players come out for the professional draft early? And isn't that basically just like taking money from the average students-you know, those kids who work at IHOP and Whataburger and live in dive apartment on cold pizza because that's all they can afford? Don't those students, who pay the full fare, fees included, deserve some sort of compensation for the Crabtrees and such of the world who are prepared to go onto the millionaire status after just a couple of subsidized years of college? How about this? If you look at some of the most highly ranked schools athletically, they often have some of the LOWEST rates of graduation. So are the regular students at that school just expected to pay for the gifted athletes to have their two years of college ball before jettisoning college life for the NFL, NBA or MLB? I think that when you sign with a college, you sign a contract that is binding. And unless you are willing to pay back the university for the education you recieved free and clear, you should not be able to enter a pro draft. Now I am sure the NFL and other major sports leagues won't like this, but I have to tell you that times are getting tough. And while UT and Alabama and Miami may fill the stadium, there are many students that are forced to drop down to smaller schools, community college or drop out completely due to the burden of college debt. What are these schools going to do when the student population realizes how they have been had? At some point, it will be too much.
A Look at this Meltdown from Ground Zero
My husband was laid off.
For the first time in thirty years, he was involuntarily let go. Part of it is the bad economy, but the problems that drove this situation are many and varied. What they share at the core is greed with a capital G. First of all, he worked in a telecommunications company through that meltdown. As credit became cheap after 9/11, upper level managers and stockholders pushed for more and higher compensation. During a bullish market, you can do those things like providing country club memberships or golden parachutes. But when the economy of a company or nation is crumbling, sometimes the stockholders and managers have to take a hit. In the company where my husband worked for 22 years, the managers were busy lining their own nests and the stockholders just cashed their checks and didn't ask questions. What was happening to sales, distribution and manufacturing was quite a different story. Staffing was cut, but the same sales, manufacturing and distribution goals were in play. So less people did more work. Then they cut overtime. Then they laid off more people.
At this point, my husband changed to a manufacturer based in Obama's former backyard. It was sales working for a manufacturer that made key products for the communications industry. The dollar was undervalued in comparison to world currencies, so when the offer came to the owner and founder, he took the money and left the company in the hands of an international corporation.
The goal of the corporations was NOT to make a good product, or to offer good customer service, or to sell more. Its goal was simply to make money. And to make money at any cost is what they did. First of all, the British corporation that owned bought out all competing manufacturers. That gave them a virtual corner on their product's portion of the market. Then came the job cuts. They closed factories in Utah and Colorado. Sales forces were narrowed, but target goals remained high. Then, as manufacturing was brought into an already overburdened factory, supplies became short. Salesmen would get contracts that could not be fulfilled for weeks, sometimes months. Customers started looking for other suppliers-mostly overseas.
At this point, my husband left this job to work for a smaller sales company. But even in this situation, the men running it were far more interested in getting money out of the company than in putting time into building up a clientele and following. My husband was laid off from that job. It's been two months now. I hear all this talk about public works programs a la WPA, but seriously, where are the middle class jobs that have gone away? I hear the media and politicians complaining that Americans won't work, but I know several middle aged, middle class males who are more than willing to take ANY job. But no jobs are to be had for middle class workers. We have become extraneous. The needs of the poor and those here illegally carry far more weight with the incoming administration.
And what is worse, the left has been very vocal about bringing home the troops. Sure, I don't want any American in harms way, but if they bring home the troops and muster them out, where are these guys and gals going to work? Where are they going to live? I truly don't think this administration has all the answers. What scares me more is that they think they do.
For the first time in thirty years, he was involuntarily let go. Part of it is the bad economy, but the problems that drove this situation are many and varied. What they share at the core is greed with a capital G. First of all, he worked in a telecommunications company through that meltdown. As credit became cheap after 9/11, upper level managers and stockholders pushed for more and higher compensation. During a bullish market, you can do those things like providing country club memberships or golden parachutes. But when the economy of a company or nation is crumbling, sometimes the stockholders and managers have to take a hit. In the company where my husband worked for 22 years, the managers were busy lining their own nests and the stockholders just cashed their checks and didn't ask questions. What was happening to sales, distribution and manufacturing was quite a different story. Staffing was cut, but the same sales, manufacturing and distribution goals were in play. So less people did more work. Then they cut overtime. Then they laid off more people.
At this point, my husband changed to a manufacturer based in Obama's former backyard. It was sales working for a manufacturer that made key products for the communications industry. The dollar was undervalued in comparison to world currencies, so when the offer came to the owner and founder, he took the money and left the company in the hands of an international corporation.
The goal of the corporations was NOT to make a good product, or to offer good customer service, or to sell more. Its goal was simply to make money. And to make money at any cost is what they did. First of all, the British corporation that owned bought out all competing manufacturers. That gave them a virtual corner on their product's portion of the market. Then came the job cuts. They closed factories in Utah and Colorado. Sales forces were narrowed, but target goals remained high. Then, as manufacturing was brought into an already overburdened factory, supplies became short. Salesmen would get contracts that could not be fulfilled for weeks, sometimes months. Customers started looking for other suppliers-mostly overseas.
At this point, my husband left this job to work for a smaller sales company. But even in this situation, the men running it were far more interested in getting money out of the company than in putting time into building up a clientele and following. My husband was laid off from that job. It's been two months now. I hear all this talk about public works programs a la WPA, but seriously, where are the middle class jobs that have gone away? I hear the media and politicians complaining that Americans won't work, but I know several middle aged, middle class males who are more than willing to take ANY job. But no jobs are to be had for middle class workers. We have become extraneous. The needs of the poor and those here illegally carry far more weight with the incoming administration.
And what is worse, the left has been very vocal about bringing home the troops. Sure, I don't want any American in harms way, but if they bring home the troops and muster them out, where are these guys and gals going to work? Where are they going to live? I truly don't think this administration has all the answers. What scares me more is that they think they do.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
I'm Baaaaack
I haven't posted for awhile. The general bad taste left in my mouth from a very partisan driven and media manipulated election just left me,honestly, without words. But it's a new year, a new day and the menace is upon us. First of all, while I hope to see improvement in the economy and the way our nation is run, I doubt very much that Obama can do it. From what I have seen, the DNC is continuing to talk out of both sides of their collective mouths. They sign papers swearing that they won't accept a Blagojevich appointee, then backpedal under the threat of bad press, and do it. Obama's appointees to upper level positions are also under the microscope, although the mainstream press is content to let that slide as well. The biggest concern is and should be the Gaza/Israel conflict. How many rockets has Hamas fired into residential area of Israel? Answer: 5000. How long should ANY nation, including Israel, have to put up with such actions? Answer: Not one day. So how come the media is willing to manipulate its coverage to give aid and comfort to a nation that would gladly produce suicide bombers for Al Quaida? CNN seems to think the news is up to their interpretation. Evidently, they think the America public is just too dumb to get the nuances of what is politically correct for International Debate in this Day of Obama. The more things change, the more they stay the same. This is the same fight Israel has been fighting since it was created. The Palestinians are despised by other Middle Eastern nations EXCEPT when they oppose Israel. In fact, many Middle Eastern nations don't mind using Hamas and Palestine as a catspaw to lure the Israelis into a bigger, less manageable conflict. So folks, stay tuned. Let's see where Obama leads, if he leads at all, which I very much doubt given the present leadership in Congress and their obsession with doing what is popular, over what is right.
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