About November

I've heard that one gets more conservative as one ages. Something about preserving one's own wealth rather than giving it to those more needy or less able to generate wealth. Worse yet---giving it to the government in the form of taxes----horrors and shudders!!!!!!!

Maybe I'm bucking the trend but I find myself becoming more liberal in terms of social issues but still fairly conservative in fiscal matters. But I do believe that the primary function of government to protect its citizens. You'll get no argument from me that there is a lot of waste in the government sector. But the recent remarks from the co-chair of the commission studying the deficit and social security to lessen the government stake are just so wrong-headed I could spit. As I recall, in the second term of the last Republican president there was a similar push to privatize retirement savings and wind down Social Security. Imagine if it had happened-----how much did your 401-K lose in 2007-2009----less than the Dow, then congratulations; more---then how many years did it add before you can retire---or even, can you retire without Social Security???

I have less than 65 days until I retire. I'm working my way through funding options so I can continue to feed the oh-so-dearly-loved Pirate Dogs, with some food also available for the humans in the household. Since I can collect S.S. at 62, this is going to work. The benefits are reduced but it will be do-able and actually fairly comfortable. But if the previous administration had its way, my employer would be stuck with an employee on the verge of burn out for another six or seven years, not to mention my defined benefit, i.e., pension plan, income would suffer. If I retired at 66 or 67, I would lose several years of good commission income and actually be in WORSE financial shape than by retiring early. Sort of the opposite of what the demagogues of anti-government benefits preach.

Lots of pre-mid-term chatter about Obama the Muslim Socialist. One comment---listen with your ears, process the information with your brains, and give the sitting president the support he deserves. I hated the bail-outs but 1) they were enacted by the Republicans and 2) they worked because of the policies and decisions of Barack Obama. Don't take the word of a blogger and Pirate Dog lover. Follow this link to The Economist editorial leader from the 8/21-8/27/2010 edition. Read it, think about it, and you'll realize it's true. Right now the no-brainers have the floor and the screeching is deafening. Please don't let it deprive you of your right to a choice come November as it has deprived Alaska of its incumbent senator or KY of a real chance for change. I don't hear policies or solutions coming from the talk-show hosts or the opposition leaders---just noise and obstruction.

November is the first referendum we have on the decisions we made in 2008. Were it not for politics as usual in Congress and the "Just Say NO" clique, we might even have unemployment down to a sustainable level and a real recovery in progress. Don't blow the November mid-terms. Let's give our leaders the chance to finish cleaning up the Bushian nightmare. Don't give your vote to those who would make us relive it.

Guns and Children

Once again certain of our fellow citizens want it both ways.

As discussed previously in this blog, people who support the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution interpret it as meaning that the right to own a firearm, even an automatic weapon, cannot be regulated by the government.

Now some of these same supporters of the Constitution are attacking the 14th Amendment, which is a lot less open to interpretation than the 2nd: "1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." (source:U S Constitution).

Pretty clear, I'd say---if you are born here, you become a citizen. There are a few exceptions about diplomats and other foreign peoples but pretty much this is universally applicable. Now Senator Graham of SC says this opens the door to illegals rushing in, having a kid, and staying for the good of the family. He wants to amend the Constitution again to correct this "mistake." The father of AZ SB1070--"show your papers"--is also fired up about this issue.

So when this is all over and the smoke has cleared, will the two amendments be combined to make the killing of immigrant babies legal if it's done with a firearm?? It's unfortunate that the immigrant community doesn't have the money or the clout in D.C. of the National Rifle Association........And equally unfortunate that state and federal officials, our representatives, seem to think they are above the law and can pick and choose which elements of the Constitution to respect and enforce.........

Lack of Money

Lots of buzz about the deficit. There's a good editorial in today's N Y Times about it. And there's an advertisement to sign a petition to renew the Bush tax cuts. Former senator turned actor Fred Thompson invites you to sign on to one of the very policies that resulted in the recession from which we might only be now emerging . Fred, stick to your acting!!!!

I think I'd put more faith in the opinion of the NY Times or the reigning nobel-laureate in economics, Paul Krugman, than in some washed up former senator and actor whose 2008 presidential campaign was a farce marked by mumbling and ineptitude...........