Call A Time Out!

When the quarterback doesn't like what he sees on the field, he calls a time out rather than muff a play.  It doesn't always work, but least it gives him time to look at the options.

We need that now in Washington.  I haven't posted much because trying to sort out all that's going on is so muddled its hard to make sense of any of it.  Since Congress loves their recesses so much I'm suggesting they take one now until after the 2014 mid-terms.

This would give the Democrats plenty of time to run from the President.  It would give the Republicans time to sort out their differences and it would give the President time to get a clue as to what's going on around him.  It would also give the voter a chance to decide just what kind of country they want going forward.

What wouldn't happen if they did this? There would be no rushed legislation. There would be no threat of a government shut down over raising the debt ceiling. The pundits could save their collective breaths.  The media could continue their vacation from the truth yet do no harm.

What would happen if Washington was vacated?  Pretty much the same as if they stayed in town actually.  The Syrians will still have the bulk of their chemical weapons.  The Syrian civil war will continue with the radical Islamists continuing to strengthen their toehold.

Iran will continue inching closer to their nuke. Afghanistan will have a new President.  We know not who  it will be nor what he will represent.  More of our soldiers will perish. Iraq will continue it's backward slide.

The economies in China and Russia will continue to stumble. The Keystone pipeline will still not be given approval.  The IRS investigations will still not have taken place.  What happened in Benghazi will still not be known. The ACA will be an even bigger mess than it is already. Immigration will still not be sorted out. Fracking will remain an issue.

The Tea Party will still be sniping at establishment Republicans and progressives will still be sniping at establishment Democrats.  The President will still be touring the world giving speeches no one wants to hear.  The unions will still be disillusioned.

See?  We really don't need them in Washington. They don't seem to do much.  Those pesky regulations that come out of Washington are coming from cabinet level pols so maybe they could leave town too.

If the same bunch comes back after the election, we will have spoken.  We're satisfied with becoming a European style socialist nation.  No pride.  No ambition.  No glory in winning nor willing to try harder if one loses.  Happy with government handouts.  More free time because we have health care and no money with which to enjoy it.

On the other hand, if there are a bunch of new faces, I'll take it as an encouraging sign. That the status quo is not acceptable.  That we looked to elect those who believe in what our forefathers foresaw the country to be.

It doesn't mean that the Olympics will go smoothly nor the fighting gets no worse nor that jobs appear out of nowhere.  It just means that Washington, for a short but blissful period of time, would have no hand in it.  Therein lies the difference. Especially considering that with their hand in things nothing gets any better anyway.

Christie - Guilty By Decree

I suppose it's time to ease back into my political commentary after a hiatus of a few days and  some sizable gaps in between posts.  It's called burn out.  One can only be negative for so long before it wears you down. But down I shall remain until I see some glimmer of light in Washington.  Both parties and all branches are engulfed it and it's smothering the country.

That being said, let's look at one of the few people I thought had Presidential potential.  Chris Christie.  Here is a man who is truly a victim of politics of the most nefarious kind.  Whatever happened to being innocent until proven guilty?

First, I don't believe for one minute that any of this character assassination would be going on had he not been out polling Hillary for 2016. It would have happened to the Pope could he run.  Such is the way of politics.

It's so much easier when the target isn't the most attractive of men and brash to boot.  It's even worse that he's a Republican who was extremely popular in a strongly Democratic state. His brashness doesn't bother me.  I lived in New Jersey for a time and he is pretty much the way they are.  What you see is what you get.

He is smart.  I cannot believe he would think he could lie his way out of the accusations against him  what's more actually try.  I'm waiting for the evidence that is said to be 'out there'.  If it in fact is then it should be brought forward and made public. If not, put it to rest.

That of course will not happen.  This sorry look at politics as the weapon of choice for personal destruction will be stretched out for as long as possible in an effort to make sure any Presidential ambitions he may hold have been extinguished.

It's the same old story from the political heavy weights who sway opinion.  Rather than looking at the merits of your own candidate, look for everything you can to destroy the opposition. One, does that mean their own candidate has no merit?  There's a fair amount of that.  Two, are the voters so dumb they can't see a candidate's faults?  There's a fair amount of that too! Destroy.  It has such an ugly finality to it.

There is no indication that Washington, and it does stem from Washington, understands people are tired of negative politics.  I'm afraid that's because there is no indication they are.  For some perverse reason, we seem to strive on it.

I wonder how many realize the perpetuation of this climate is the reason why the country is in such dire straits. Negativity breeds negativity.  I'm trying to be negative about it too, but with the purpose of negating it rather than perpetuating it. One little voice preaching to a very small choir. It is, however, a voice.

That Generation Thing

Hub has occasion to do business with colleagues in Great Britain this time of year especially, though on a lesser level throughout.  He gets irritated with what seems to him to be slovenly work habits with no sense of urgency what-so-ever.  When he needs something his go to people are always on 'holiday' and more than once it has put a huge crimp in our own plans.

I finally convinced him to not plan anything  during this peak period.  He's learning.  It's frustrating though because some of the things we enjoy are scheduled and cannot, of course, be changed.

The whole fiasco reminded me of my own days past in an office environment.  It has been a very, very long time since I've even stepped into a real business office.  I'm not sure I'd recognize what passes for them today.

In my day, there was a dress code.  This was long before jeans were common place, or even pant suits for that matter.  Women wore heels.  Men wore suits and ties though often shed their jackets while in their offices.  Back on they went for meetings.

We had two fifteen minute breaks and an hour for lunch.  Our hours were eight to five.  Period. I cannot help but note this was back when this nation was roaring.

Let's face it, the European way of conducting business is very different from our own.  They are far more laid back and heaven forbid they miss any holiday time. I've learned a great deal about those differences from reading faithfully several columns in the Financial Times of London.  One of my favorites is Lucy Kellaway.  Last week she wrote about this being a golden age for office workers which garnered some wonderful comments.

One such applauded the fact there is no more smoking.  Another pointed out the difference in attitudes toward women.

The best, however, was one that waxed nostalgic about office life in the 70's when tea ladies made the rounds of the offices with their urns and buns.  How very British. As to promoting good work habits, desks had to be cleared once a week so they could be polished.  How great is that?  I don't clear my household furniture once a week for a good dusting!

Working late apparently wasn't allowed because the security men sent you packing.  That must hold true today because no phone is ever answered a minute after office hours.

Best of all perhaps was the ritual of starting meetings with gin and tonic and no matter what ended at three.  Maybe that's something Congress should try as they go into session.  It might mellow them out enough to actually get along.

I don't know if these are practices are continued this day and age, but I rather like the concept.  I'm willing to wager all that civilised behavior led to a degree of productivity seldom seen today. Think about it.  Yesterdays serenity versus today's frenzy. It is, you know, a generational thing. I wonder, if we'd go back could we have a better future?

Lost In The Process

I am not going to watch the State of the Union speech tonight.  I'm just not up to it.  It will be nothing new.   The President will lay out his intentions and  lay the ground work to blame the Republicans if he isn't successful.  Nothing new.

His tone will be confrontational, not conciliatory.  I'm not sure he even knows what it means.  With all the talk that goes on about bullying, from my observations the President and  Harry Reid are the biggest bullies in the country.  Yet they never seem to be called on it.  People are too conscious of having to be politically correct to be able to speak truths without somehow softening them.

I cannot sit and listen to the President's plans to pull the country further to the left.  To continue spending money unchecked.  And most of all, his blatant contempt of the rule of law. Even if I agreed with everything he is trying to do, I would still have a great deal of trouble with the way he is doing it.  He is ignoring process and procedure as are his top underlings.  They do it so cavalierly it makes me boil.

For a man who is supposedly a Constitutional scholar, he obviously has a great deal of disdain for it and by default the people it is meant to protect.  My resentment for that attitude has grown to Vesuvian levels.

Worse yet, I know the President alone is not guilty of these attitudes. When I look at Washington I see men and women we've sent to serve us caught up in a big game of power grabbing that has no rules and really no sides.  They're all after the same thing - power. The power to advance their ideology. How they get it makes no difference.  The only thing that changes is which party is playing offense and which defense and that's determined strictly by who holds the most cards.  Even the cards aren't dealt fairly thanks to gerrymandering.

For now the President proceeds glibly throwing his weight around because he can.  Because he holds the most cards.  There is not one iota of leadership in play any more than real concern for the welfare of the country and it's citizens. When the Republicans win, all their breast beating rhetoric will be transferred to the newly aggrieved Democrats and the Republicans will glibly take over the 'our way' stance. Pay back.  Of course.  That's how it's played.

In the meantime we've sacrificed nearly all that we once had been.  Because we're merely spectators.  We don't play the game.  Either we don't understand it, don't see what's happening, or like the government players, really don't care.

So be it. I'm tired.  Maybe it's the weather.  One can tolerate only so much gray.  As for what's said tonight, it will be analyzed and reanalyzed for days to come.  I don't have to be front row center.

Maybe, in my own review of what's said I'll see or hear something heartening, but I'm not holding my breath.

I sound depressed? You nailed it.  Aren't you?

Scheduling Alone Won't Help The Republicans

The Republican National Committee is striving to eliminate before it starts the self-destruct mode that has become their hallmark in primaries.

Tightening up their primary schedule and holding an early convention seems to me they're putting the cart before the horse.  First they need to decide on where they want to country and how they intend to get there.  Then they have to decide if the big tent is really for them or like Governor Cuomo, declare that there is no place in the party for certain types.  This is the tricky part.

Just who has the responsibility to bring the Tea Party and the main streamers together has been and seems to still be the biggest of their hurdles.  Sure, fewer debates may keep the candidates from destroying one another - or will it? If there is no consensus as to what the party stands for, a one week debate schedule and primary season will do no good. They're going to have to decide whether or not the social issues should get the same amount of play as things like the economy and foreign policy.

Most of you know how I feel.  The economy, jobs, national security and foreign policy effects all of us as a nation.  That's what government is designed to to accommodate.  Social issues like gay marriage and abortion are very personal issues and do not dominate the scope of interests of many of us.  When those issues become the ones most discussed, those who feel it is not in the realm of governance are turned off and walk away from the process.

The Republicans need to create a strategy, too, to keep outside groups from making their issues for them.  The hijacked Tea Party can be thanked for why Harry Reid still leads the Senate.  If they're going to play in the Republican tent they need to abide with what the majority want; not their own interests to the exclusion of others.

They have a pretty good test case before them even before the convention hall doors close.  A Michigan Republican Party committeeman, Dave Agema, has been asked to resign due to disparaging comments about American Muslims and the homosexual lifestyle. He gave the usual response as to how things said had been distorted and taken out of context.  Perhaps, but then they all say the same thing.

However, when the top two officials of the National and Michigan party called for the resignation, there is probably a lot of truth to it.  It's not just some disgruntled locals in a power play.   Mr. Agema says he's drawn voters to the GOP.  Perhaps, but not enough of the kind that win elections, only disrupt the purpose of them.

Ideally the RNC would have criteria for removing officials from their positions if they do not adhere to the guidelines or by laws of the party.  Of course, it would help if they had some in the first place.