I Liked Oprah Better Before She Got Political

There was a time when millions of women wanted to be the BFF of Oprah Winfrey.  She was successful beyond belief, had the same great looking beau for years and despite all she seemed down to earth, real.  One of the girls.

She was never political until Barack Obama ran for President. I can understand why she changed.  Lots of us did.  We wanted so much to believe in this young man, for him to succeed, to bring the country together.
Race wasn't a factor to enough of us who did not share his to make him the resounding winner.

But what happened to Oprah?  Is it because she gave up her daily gig to promote her own TV network and has found it wanting?  Is it because her last movie, The Butler, has been a box office bust?  I don't know, but suddenly she is on a racist kick.

Okay, maybe she believes the President has so many detractors because of his race.  To be sure there are  people of that persuasion.  But they are not the cause of his problems and by suggesting so on foreign soil is a disservice to both herself, the country and the President.

The President's problems are of his own making.  Attitude, personality traits, management style,  inexperience and unpopular policies are contributing factors. It's disingenuous for her to suggest it's all due to his race.

What makes it even worse she blames that attitude on aging whites and goes on to say the problem of racism won't be over until we all die!  Well, Oprah, I'm in no hurry to oblige you.

I also don't think my generation is the problem as much as the behavior of the younger set in places like Chicago where the whole city lives in fear of the racial gangs.

You don't hear those like Alan West, or Ben Carson or Herman Cain harping on race as the cause of their successes or failures.  They talk about policy and that's where the discussion should be.

Look at yourself and what you accomplished regardless of your race.  Are you now going to blame the lack of success of your network on race?  Please.  Don't.

Look at the President you defend.  He had a questionable educational background by his own hand in not releasing his transcripts.  His mother was an avowed communist.  His preacher was one you chose not to be affiliated with. Many of his associates had less than stellar backgrounds when it came to patriotism. His work experience was no more than being, for a short time at that, a community organizer.  He came to office on a wave of hope. He ran into trouble because he cared more about furthering his ideology rather than the country.  People finally noticed as it began to affect them personally.

Had he been white with that background he'd never have become President. That his agenda is in trouble has nothing to do with the fact that he isn't white.

The country has forgiven him more than deserved.  To accuse that same country of racism in the beholding of his problems is just not true.  There was a time I thought Oprah was above brandishing the race card under false pretenses.  I guess I was wrong.

The "Fix" Is In

Ah, the Sun King has waved his scepter and all is well!  Obamacare lives! Don't believe it.

I've been wondering for some time if the President is really as dumb as he sometimes appears or if  he thinks we're so dumb we'll buy anything he says. Remember too, he has no authority to any of what he's said he will do but then that's never stopped him before.  Perhaps now is the time to challenge him.

If he really believes what he said in today's remarks he isn't cognisant of the facts. Continuing the plans now being canceled is not as easy as his waving the magic wand.  There are rewrites, filings, insurance commissioners' sign offs not to mention finding the people effected, notifying them and their doctors and hospitals, etc. of yet another change and the process of changing those areas to reverse once again what has already begun. Kathleen Sebelius, having been an insurance commissioner, should have alerted him to the impossibility of doing this, especially in a timely manner.  Remember we're talking about millions of policies.

Some insurance firms have even quite writing health insurance, not wanting to get into the Obamacare mess.  There is no easy fix.

Even if a fix were possible it will take months.  He only extended the timeline for one year.  Then what?  It begins all over again, he did not exempt insurance companies for having to comply nor people from having to be insured.  He has, if a fix is possible, allowed for a huge gap in funding which will mean higher premiums when it does finally kick in.  Those who can't afford ACA policies now, even with subsidies, certainly won't under increased premiums.  Remember too, a lot of those young people his slightly sleazy ads are aimed at will be on their parent's plan until they're 26, leaving another funding gap.  What he has essentially done is collapse his signature legislation by his own hand.

Nope.  Nothing happened today other than more politics in an effort to get the people off his back. When the actual insurance people begin to weigh in the tide will change again considering he has just set them up to take the fall for one more unachievable task.

The fault, however, does not fall on the President alone.  We have 100% of the Democrats who voted in lock step for this monster. I almost feel sorry for the Democratic "strategists" who continue to spout the daily talking points in support of the law.  They look so foolish expounding about something of which they haven't a clue other than what they've been told to say.

 Have you wondered what the qualifications are to be a strategist?  Both sides seem to have so many, mostly women with long blond hair who sit with legs crossed to show to best advantage.  May the better looking side win the day! Pardon my being snarky but its emblematic of the whole process.

Anyway, it's not over by a long shot.  The Republicans cannot just sit back and watch hoping the damage is sufficient to sink the law.  They must present a comprehensive and less costly alternative.  I'll give them a couple of days to get their act together but won't hold my breath.

It's a shame that the little that is good about the law is being obscured by the majority which is bad. If the Republicans come forward with a plan, they should indeed include those parts.  Being smart and
magnanimous would really be something and definitely give them the march on the Democrats!  It would be, however, for the wrong reasons.  They should be doing it for the American people.  Not to win one for themselves.

Ground Kerry Before More Harm Is Done

The debacle that is Obamacare is bringing a point home that has long been needed.  This administration is less than truthful on top of being inept.

The reasons are many for both.  One, they're trying to push an agenda by the American people knowing if it were transparent the people would rebel. To wit Obamacare.

To do so they've allowed people with questionable expertise in any aspect of health care craft the bill.  If they've done it on purpose to move the country toward single payer system they should all be thrown out of office.  It's not for them to decide; it's for us to decide.  If they've done it because they're inept the same holds true.

So, before things get any worse, it's time to ground John Kerry.  We're seeing now what the world already knows on an international scale.  This administration is weak and inept. It's foreign policy staggers like a drunken sailor.

Now, however, they are so in need of a victory they are willing to sacrifice a tenuous calm, with several exceptions at that, in an entire region of the world on the false pretense the Iranians would keep their word on anything. The rest of the world and previous administrations can't all be wrong when saying Iran cannot be trusted. We do know Obama is not all knowing and his word also cannot be trusted.

What about his success in Syria?  Ah, yes.  The death toll is now over 250,000.  The civil war continues having passed the 2 1/2 year mark.

But the weapons of mass destruction are being destroyed. So? People are still dying.  Are you aware of Assad's latest tactic?  Starvation. Systematic, slow, agonizing starvation. Loyalist troops are not only not letting aid into civilian and rebel strongholds, which in many cases are one and the same, but they are not allowing food  in either. Is there a worse way to die?

One soldier was heard telling a young boy begging to take a bag of pita bread through a government check point, "...there are those bigger than me and you who make the rules and they're watching you right now."

While the administration basks in the fact they didn't have to used military force to rid the Syrians of their poison gas, what are they doing for those who are starving?

Have you read or heard anything about this in our media?  Neither have I.  This came from the Financial Times  which covers international news far better than our media.

Be skeptical when the administration says negotiations with Iran need be given a chance. If you look at the situation in Syria, you'll see they are inept at that too.

This is no time for glory seeking to save a Presidential or a Secretary of State's legacy. Tighten the sanctions until the Iranians cry uncle and not before.  And hope those who once believed in our strength and loyalty will have it within them to give us another chance when we shed this administration.

But don't bet on it.

It's Time To Change The Programming

The evening airwaves between four and, say, eight are filled with redundancy no matter which channel you favor. I've gotten to the point I want to lash out like Jay Carney did not long ago to a CBS reporter.  "I get it, ...!"

If I see one more clip of Obama saying we can keep our health care, period and the talking head proceed to bug a guest  into say the President LIED, I'm going to get violent.  Then the host usually trots out a litany of citizens who have either lost their coverage or have seen their cost skyrocket.  Okay.  I get it!  How many times is that dead horse going to be beaten?

I beg to question, however, why don't they get it?  The disastrous roll out of the health care website is due to a lot of things, none of which have anything to do with the actual content of the bill.  You could say it shows the government should never get involved in anything in which it lacks expertise. Which is just about everything. It's a given but about as possible under this administration as Ted Cruz's attempt to defund the bill.

They're going to meddle because it's the nature of the beast.  Those in high places always think they know more than the rest of us even though most of them are there for no more than having been a loyal supporter of the man who holds the top job.

In truth, the problem with the bill is it's content.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that when unnecessary benefits are added, demanded, the price is going to increase.  It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to know that those increased prices are going to preclude a lot of the very people they need because of that additional cost.  It should be easy to see that by saying only 5% or 15% of the people are being effected is ignoring the number of bodies actually effected which is in the millions.  A percentage is far more palatable and masks the fact real people with real needs make up that percentage. I could break it down even further but for space and time constraints.

Could the pundits help the case?  I think so but they won't because they have no imagination as to how to program plus it's easier to harangue than offer something of substance.

What would I do?  I'd seek out the Republicans who have had good ideas about how to fix the problem sit down for a serious panel discussion all in one place at the same time.  I'd have each lay out their ideas.  I'd not interrupt. I'd not allow them to interrupt each other.

When they were finished I'd ask them why they don't take themselves off the air, sit down together and piece together the best of each idea.  Then they select the most dynamic among them to be the spokesman for the plan and present it to the people in every venue that would have them.  And fight for those who wouldn't.  Just to keep it fair.  If, say, MSNBC said no thanks, let it be known by every means available.

Yep.  That's what I'd do.  It's the Dogwalk solution for Congressional  inertia and media complacency.

Red State Blues

Maybe Iowa and New Hampshire have the right idea.  I don't  believe either state should have the power in choosing our political nominees that they do because I don't think either is representative of the country as a whole.

That being said, what they do have is access to the candidates up close and personal.  What better way to assess a person than in person?

That's why I was so excited to see a headline in the local paper heralding the fact that Chris Christie was coming to northern Idaho!      Okay, he wasn't coming to campaign for himself but to help raise funds for our Governor.  I understand the need for fundraising, but it sure cuts out the little guy.  Especially in this economy.

Sure, the masses will be able to see him at a rally for a whole half hour for $50 a pop.  Oh well.  Out of my budget.  The big spenders will be able to attend a VIP reception for $1000 per couple.  Way out of the budget!

The problem is, this is likely to be the only time he comes close.  If he actually runs he may make a token visit to Boise, the capital, but that's it.  It's because we're such a solidly red state, the Republicans don't bother with us because we're a given.  The Democrats stay away too for the same yet opposite reason.  We're just here.  Taken for granted.  Do we have unaddressed concerns?  Does anyone really care?

It's back to voting by guess and by golly.  I can do no more to inform myself than to read as much as I can.  I didn't do enough of it with Obama and I've vowed not to make the same mistake twice. Listening to stump speeches tell me little and are so repetitious I get to the point of tuning them out.  Listening to the talking heads gives no more than slanted insight from those I feel sometimes are even less informed than I am.  It's perplexing.

I don't know if I'll still be interested in Christie when it gets closer to the presidential sweepstakes, but I'd have a better sense if I could actually see him.  Feel a handshake.  Is it strong?  Look him in the eye.  Do his eyes meet mine? Listen to him speak.  Is there a dynamic the television mics don't pick up? There is certainly the matter of context.

Back to business as usual. Reading, listening and trying to figure out the being within from afar.  No wonder we make so many bad decisions at the ballot box.  In most cases we haven't a clue for whom
we're voting!