Hypocrisy ~ Socialist President Leading The Bourgeois Life

I find it fascinating how the American public has been relegated to the outside looking in at the political reality show unfolding before us.

We have a President whose contempt for the wishes of the American public are astounding. He, along with his wife and former President Clinton, have been busy campaigning for candidates in tough races. Some of these candidates are among the most disliked politicians in America. Disliked for force feeding us an agenda for which we have no taste. There is no "good for America" in this exercise. There is only the desire to retain power and reshape America to their image. Not bettering ours.

Their image, or the President's, seems to be to slowly expand government until it rules everything, paired with the diminishment of what was the greatest country in the world to the mediocrity of all others. You'd think the President was Robin Hood. Take from the rich and give to the poor until everyone is equal. This would assure the fears many have about the country they will be leaving their children. Once upon a time parents wanted to leave a better one. Now it's questionable if they'll be able to leave one equal.

When parents feel that if their kids can find a job selling tires at Les Schwab, they'll have a great life, the country is doomed. What's wrong with a computer geek aspiring to be the next Mark Zuckerman or Bill Gates? What's wrong with them accepting and enjoying the perks that accompany such success? Did they not earn it? Would waves of such successes be so bad? Raising the country to what it was via innovation in the private sector? Like a drill bit developed in small town Pennsylvania that saved 32 Chilian miners because the Chilians were willing to give it a try? Would we have? In today's climate I wonder.

The paradox of what's happening to our country is that while the President preaches equality; Wall Street is evil; Hispanics must vote to defeat their enemies and on and on, he is living the good life on our dime. Michelle's vacation in Spain. His kids go to one of the best private schools. He has around the clock protection, his own plane and a supporting staff of hundreds. He's on a first name basis with celebrites galore and entertains with opulence often. All on our dime.

Could a community organizer have achieved such heights in Obama's view of the country? Never. Does he even realize the hypocrisy of his actions? If he truly thinks the people of the country should be on a more equal basis, why does he not lead by example while in the White House? Ahhh, those perks. Pretty nice. Especially when you don't have to pay for them.

This election has been reduced to character assasinations. Too bad it's the wrong target. It should be the President's agenda. Period.

Down Home Politics - Corrupt Or Just Plain Stupid?

Years ago when we were first learning about the political climate in Idaho, Hub commented you could label a tree stump a Republican and it would be elected. That observation has been proven correct on too many occasions as I think back on those we've elected. The two most egregious to national office were probably Bill Sali, of 'abortion causes breast cancer' fame, to the House and Larry Craig, 'I have a wide stance', to the Senate.

It is no less troublesome on the state and local level. There are so many recalls in small communities they might as well put the loser into the job. Losers in primaries go after write in votes claiming the people are stupid for having nominated their opponent. Yep. We just don't get it. Just listen to the campaign rhetoric from the big guys from both parties.

Here in Idaho though, I think they may have a point. We have a state representative who has been in trouble with the law for years because he refused to pay his taxes. Unconstitutional. We elected him and he was assigned to the Revenue and Taxation committee. Go figure. After being told his issues with the IRS had been squared away they arose once again. This time, reluctantly, the ethics committee had a look and concluded his personal problems had no bearing on his professional responsibilities.

He ran again, unopposed. More information was revealed about the hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax liens still unsettled and on top of that the fact he stole timber from state land with which he built his house. This man has a serious disconnect.

This is but the ground work of the story. Some citizens, Republicans, have come to their senses. Tired of the scandal, he has a write in challenger who I hope wins.

Other local Republicans have refused to distribute his campaign literature. Who knows what will happen to them? Why? Because a state committeeman is on the verge of losing his position for balking at the thought of supporting this legislator. "Character matters. Being honest matters."

But does it? Not if it's at odds with the "primary process" which apparently binds one at such level to support the nominee regardless. Speaking on the issue, another committeeman said, "I don't care who it is. If the guy is elected through the primaries (not hard if you're unopposed), that is the person we're obligated to support. It could be Bozo the Clown, for all I care..."

Therein lies the problem does it not? Inflexibility. Character? Nah. Honesty? Nope. Heaven forbid the sacrosanct primary process be denied! And people wonder why I don't claim a political affiliation.

As I read the headlines this morning I found where one early voter pushed the button for a straight Republican ticket and the machine printed out Democrat. A voter in Nevada got to the booth and while looking at his ballot found Harry Reid's name had already been marked.

We stew over the integrity of elections in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet another of our committeemen stated because the one who would not support the candidate was out of step with their charge of having an executive board required to lead by example he is likely to be relieved of his position.

I thought we were to lead other counties by example. If their election processes are flawed, ours are totally broken. This has been the dirtiest election season in recent memory. The half truths and lies abound, some to the point of ridiculousness.

Oddly, we've just finished up a trial on the city council level about flaws in and breeches of the almighty process. The plaintiffs lost. Local level.

State level. The process rears its head again. Will the plaintiffs (the voters) lose again? You bet.

Before we go foisting "democracy" on others and overseeing their elections for honesty and integrity, we had best take care of our own house. As of right now, I see nothing gained no matter who is victorious November 2nd. Corruption is invasive and has no favorite. All are welcome to the siren song.

The Weeks That Were

This vacation was as near perfect as we could hope for. From witnessing an early morning Tai Chi class in the plaza in Taos to our close encounter with Yellowstone Bison ~ not once, but twice! Hub always marvels at how little it takes to excite me. I guess it's the inner child I cling to when politics become overwhelming. Who else could be thrilled with a gift of cottonwood root for my carving?

We stumbled on another haunted old hotel in Cimmeron that we hadn't heard about. We love to stay, or at least dine, at these wonderful preservation's of times past. That was a highlight and goes into the plans for the next trip.

We trekked to Taos by way of Angel Fire then on to Santa Fe. The town was crowded but the galleries relatively empty so browsing was great. From there we headed to Indian country and visited our favorite trading posts then headed back to civilization as we know it.

This is one of the first times we've allowed ourselves the time to just poke. That took us into Winslow, AZ just to see the stature of of the young man 'standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona,' from the 1970s era hit 'Take It Easy' by the Eagles. That's about the only thing to draw you to Winslow other than another of those grand old hotels, La Posada!

On to Scottsdale for a show at the Museum of Northern Arizona. Another day done.

Sedona was next. The high point was visiting with a young Navajo basket maker who was demonstrating at Garlands. She was an absolute delight and her work some of the most imaginative we've seen. Of course we ended up buying the one she had on display and I'm still marvelling at how thrilled she seemed. Of course the Indians don't live as we do and the reservation has little to offer. It's sparse and barren to say the least. A sale is exciting!

Phoenix ~ more gallery hopping. We found out we no longer have the tolerance for 100+ degree heat we once did. Even if it is dry!

The only down side to the trip happened just outside of Wickenburg as we headed for Vegas. A police car whipped by us sirens blaring. A few short minutes later we saw the flashing lights and turmoil of a major accident. Three life flights and an hour and a half later we were able to proceed. The wreckage was horrendous and gave every driver for miles pause.

It seemed fitting the only evening we had in Vegas was a wet one. We were glad to head on to the Parks. We got to Jackson early enough to do Teton before heading for the galleries. That's where I saw my wolf! Scurrying through the scrub, I grabbed the binoculars while Hub reached for the big lens camera. I won. I watched him for a good five minutes as he appeared and studied us then disappeared only to reappear again. All hub managed to spot was a furry behind as he finally went on his way. He never got the shot. That was the second high point for me! I never tire of the Parks nor the wild life no matter how many times we've been there.

Jackson under our belt it was time to head on to Yellowstone. Not too many critters were out and about except for the Bison. They seemed to have taken over the roads that were still open. We got caught up in them not once, but twice. Again, I was like a little kid. One old boy came up to the car and spent minutes just licking the grill. Those squashed bugs sure must have been tasty. I loved it!

We decided this would be the trip where we took pictures of everything, something we seldom do. Now I've got video and photos coming out my ears. I've got to organize them, label them and get a link up for anyone who would like to see them. Meanwhile I've put together just a sampler from Yellowstone. Especially for you Margie. So went the trip!

All the videos
All the photos

Vacation Beckons!

Sometime in the next few days we're actually going to get some vacation time! Where are we going? Who knows. When will we back? Oh, it might be a week, it might be two. Who knows.

For the first time in years we're foot loose and fancy free to do just what we please. We'll do some shun piking and real piking to get from place to place. We'll wine and dine well some nights and cafe it others. Our days will be filled. We'll visit a museum one day or hit our favorite galleries or scour the Indian trading posts. I'm going to bring back some cottonwood root for my carving.

Fall. Crisp air. Warm days and chilly nights. Everything from heels to cowboy boots. Vacation. No television. No phones. No Facebook and no blogging. I'm going to have a crack at being a real person interacting with real people again. The thought intrigues me.

I'll let you know how I do. It might be a week ~ or two...

Another Apology?

Yep, we've done it again. This time to Pakistan, a questionable ally, for inadvertently killing two paramilitary troops in an air strike. So what do the Pakistanis do? Close the border on the only route to get supplies to our troops in Afghanistan which made the convoys vulnerable to strikes in return.

This is of course by design . We know both al Qaeda and Taliban are hiding out in Pakistan. Guess who shelled the stalled convoy? Apology accepted. Mission accomplished.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Caveland, Karzai continues to hold meetings with war lords feigning they are peace talks. Peace bought with American dollars or until the other side offers a better deal. The people are wondering why things continue to get worse since we've been there for ten years and billions of dollars of aid money has supposedly come their way. Has no one told them of the corruption within their supposed government? Maybe not. Communication in Afghanistan lacks computers, iPods and such. It's hard to get it out to the hinterlands where our troops are trying to hang on for dear life.

To make matters worse, those mid-level Taliban leaders who might be willing to deal for their betterment, not necessarily their people's, are being encouraged by the Pakistani intelligence agency to resist. Some ally. Actually they're just another rotten egg.

It seems reasonable to assume the bad guys are doing just enough to appease us while awaiting our departure. This is my scenario. While Israel waits for the opportune time to take out Iran's nuclear ability, so India will await opportunity to take out Pakistan's nuclear stockpile to prevent it from falling into the hands of al Qaeda and or the Taliban.

Rosy, isn't it?