Elections

Election Day will soon be upon us. I don't know if it's just me or not, but some of the TV and radio commercials (and more than a few of the mailers) seem to keep hitting new lows and I'm getting tired of it . I don't know how they do it but each election cycles they seem to find new ways sling dirt. I heard a radio spot about a friend of mine a few days ago. By the time the ad was over and they were back to my favorite classic rock tunes, I was ready to tar and feather the guy! Of course, I knew none of the comments made by the announcer with the faux Southern sounding voice were true, despite all the "we" and "us" inserted in the commercial to make it sound like he was some work buddy divulging secret insider information. I heard several more similar commercials on the way back to the house. That night I noticed just how many TV commercials had a similar vein. If these individuals were somehow single handedly stifling social security or were secret in cahoots with business to destroy unions or export my job or cut my salary and/or benefits or supporting illegal immigration or making shady financial deals while the economy went down the tubes or some other nefarious scheme, how, I wondered, had they managed to avoid prison time or getting the sweet bejeezus beat out of them each time they stepped out of the house? Heck, I half expected to hear next that they kick puppies or throw rocks at the squirrels the low life bastards!

The truth, of course, is that most of what you see and hear is mostly made up. It's part fact, carefully cherry picked and phrased to sound as bad as it possibly can, combined with some outright fiction as part of the set up. If we're lucky enough to either read about it on a mailer or see it on television, it may include some grainy distorted black and white picture of the intended target taken out of context; all, of course, to create the most negative impression possible. Somewhere, Joseph Goebbels has to be grinning all over himself.

Now before we go off on the individual's opponent, we need to give a pause here. Some of mailers and ads do indeed come from the

opposing camp. However, more and more come from outside groups---mostly based in Washington and support some cause or another that the intended "victim" may or may not even agree with. The fact is that either their party's so-called "leadership" or it principal financial backers oppose it is what matters here. In speaking with several candidates on both sides, most didn't even know about the "hit pieces" being put out against their opponents, which, if you think about it, is a shame.

No one wants to have their name, or that of their family or friends, dragged through the mud. I know of no one who wants to hear their loved ones berated so brutally and so publically, especially when they know it's not true. But when the hit piece isn't coming from the opponent or even someone local, but from a some organization created especially for this election cycle and hundreds or even thousands of mile away with no real knowledge of the candidates involved or the local issues at stakes, it makes you mad. Some will tell you it's the nature of politics today. And I suppose that's true. To hear candidates actually discuss the issues in a factual "adult" manner is almost unheard of, and let's be honest, a civil discourse doesn't generate ratings and that's what the media is all about. If there's isn't something which can be twisted or exploited, then it's likely to generate little or any coverage.

Have you ever tried to watch some of the talking heads on "news" shows, like the kind you see on Fox, CNN, or MSNBC? They actually encourage everyone to talk over the other person as if there's no one else there. Now, I understand TV time is limited and it's tough to get your message out in the 1 or 2 minutes allotted, but if that's the case why not either allot more time for the guest to speak or restrict response times? Ask a question and give each individual so many seconds to respond and cut off their mike---and make sure they know it! If they're setting together, lay down the rules about professionalism and common decorum, and if they won't follow them, ask them to leave on camera and don't invite them back. Nothing like a little public embarrassment to get their attention. You know, I may not agree with your position and as hard as it is to imagine, you may not agree with mine, but I will at least have the courtesy and professionalism to listen to your argument. Who knows, we each might learn something new! Refusing to listen and talking over each other will not solve this nation's problems.

Issues

I can certainly say that while my core values have rarely changed over the years (and it would take some strong evidence to do so), my opinion on issues have. Things change. New facts emerge. We acquire new experiences. We intellectually evolve. I would never dream of voting for someone who tells me they've never changed their stance on issues. That tells me this person is intellectually isolated; they're not growing as a person and I don't want that kind of individual representing me. I want someone who sees things as they are now, not what they once were. I don't think we need someone in office who is determined to hold onto the past. I want someone who understands the past and has the ability to draw lessons from it. Equally important, I want someone with critical thinking skills; someone who understands what's happening now and can make projections about the future. Too often we see politicians who act completely surprised when something we all see to know blows up in their collective faces.

Perhaps it's because they are conditioned to think short term. After all, we've become a instant gratification society---we want whatever it is we want now. We've seem to have lost patience with ourselves or the ability to savor the moment. With politicians, they are always thinking about the next election cycle; always trying to find ways to kick the problems down the road; to deflect the issue so that someone else has to take the responsibility (and the blame). The trouble is that we've done that for so long there are no "easy" problems left.

It's that kind of thinking which has put us in the political and economic situation we're in now. Maybe it's time we starting taking time to demand politicians focus on the core reasons for the problems rather than the quick and dirty band-aid approach. I'll leave you with a quote from Buddha on that point. Once one of his disciples was wanting to do something very important to them, but kept putting it off and putting it off time and again. Finally, one day, they died and the task of such importance for so long was never completed. When asked by his other disciples what they meant, Buddha replied, "The trouble is that you think you have time". Don't let that be us dear readers.


Poll Results are In!

First, I want to thank everyone who took time to answer our three brief questions. The purpose of the questions was ensure that A/O remained on track with providing you all with the type of articles you are most interested in. So, without further ado, here's the results.

On the question as to the length of the articles, no one said they wanted one single long article. 7% of you said you'd like a single short article. 38% said they'd like a couple short articles. However, the big winner with 53% of the vote, said to mix it up.
Regarding topics, taxes was the least most requested subject with 38% of the vote. We had a three way tie for second with global, illegal immigration, and constitutional issues each getting 46% of the vote. We had a tie for first place---national and social commentary, each with 61% (multiple selections were allowed).

Lastly, you were asked to share your political leanings. 1% said they were politically Left while 9% said they leaned Left. 18% considered themselves moderate or centrist. 9% leaned to the Right, while the majority---54%---identified as Right.

Thanks so much everyone for voting. Please sure to go to the polls on Tuesday, November 4th and cast your vote as well! Remember----America and your community are counting on you!

Storming the Barricades

Storming the barricades. You know, that's something which happens somewhere else, maybe a third world nation or someplace trying to break free for a ruthless tyrant. It doesn't even feel right to write the words, "barricades" , and yet that exactly what happen last week. Veterans, those brave men and women, who served our country; who fought, bled, and suffered for our freedoms, denied access to war memorials dedicated by this nation to them, and by extension, to us.

As I'm sure you all know, the government shutdown was all about an attempt by Republicans (specifically we're told, by Tea Partiers) to defeat Obamacare by defunding it. In order to do that, it was reasoned, it was necessary to simply forgo a budget; bring the nation to the financial brink, and the Democrats (or more specifically, Obama) would cave. Easy peasy. Well, not so much.

In the process of teaching Obama and the Democrats a political lesson in hard ball politics, the GOP forgot rule number one: having a backup plan, which generally involves having better PR than your opponent. It all started off with a filibuster by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and his 21 hour filibuster which included a reading from Psalms, a monologue about poker, Ashton Kutcher, and a reading of Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham". Nevertheless, it was all downhill out of the gate as Speaker of the House, John Boehner (R-OH and Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell (R-KY) tried every political trick in the book (including trying to look sincere) to gain political traction, but to no avail. While everyone in the polls took a big hit, the Republicans caught the brunt with the lowest polling of either political party at any time, 28%.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, some 800,000 "non-essential" federal employees were furloughed without pay. Government agencies across the board were affected, including a partial closure of the departments of Homeland Security, Energy, Education, and the EPA. But what seemed to catch the public's attention the most was the partial closure of the Department of Interior which closed our national parks and wildlife refuges like the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and of course, the various memorials in and around Washington.
Perhaps the single most memorable act that came out of this governmental debacle, was when a group of WWII veterans attempted to visit the WWII memorial. The memorial was blocked off---barricaded. These old warriors refused to leave. They just stood there. Silent. Waiting. Finally, one lone Park Officer, set aside the barricades so these heroes could go in (he was later reprimanded, and the memorial not just reclosed, but the barricades were wired shut together). Now, I don't care about your politics, but when it comes to how we treat our veterans, especially these brave souls who we are losing at a rate of 650 per day, that's going too far. That memorial, if none other, should have been left open. What made the closure even more repugnant, was that the White House and Department of Interior, which manages the memorial, knew these veterans, who were part of Honor Flight which provides free transportation of veterans to DC to visit the memorials. Rep Steve Palazzo (R-MS) had made several requests to allow these veterans access; all denied by the way. In the end, however, the veterans were victorious. They had beaten the Nazis; Imperial Japan; the Communist North Koreans, and now they've beaten a federal shutdown (it should be mentioned that other veterans who showed up at other memorial sites such as the Vietnam Memorial, were denied access and the areas remained cordoned off).

Nevertheless, as if to get even, the Obama Administration approved a protest and concert on the National Mall by illegal immigrants, which even featured a speech by House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Why did this administration refuse to open parks and memorials for school children and our nation's veterans, but saw fit to allow illegal immigrants access to the National Mall? Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this picture? According to the spokesperson for the National Park Service, Mike Litterst, the illegal immigrants were afforded the same first amendment rights as were the Honor Flight veterans. The rally, entitled "Camino Americano: March for Immigration Reform" was organized by the AFL-CIO and Service Employee International Union (SEIU) along with other pro-amnesty groups. The unions and many businesses having been working together to push for pro-amnesty legislation since this would, on the one hand, increase the size of the workforce and drive down wages and benefits and, on the other hand, hopefully increase union membership and bring badly needed dues into the union's coffers.

First off, these are veterans. Former US servicemen and women who fought for this country and earned a right, not just by birth, but by blood and valor, to be there. Second, the memorial was considered "closed". The veterans entered by force of numbers. Now, these illegal immigrants never earned nor had any such right. The veterans were given no official welcome or escort. There was no official presence of the National Park Service there while the illegal immigrants were allowed full access to the National Mall with available park officers on hand.

In the end, after a 16 day shutdown and bringing the nation to the edge of a financial meltdown, the debt ceiling was raised and the government is funded...for now; Obamacare was untouched. The Supreme Court had previously upheld (improperly I might add) Obamacare as a tax, and it's funded accordingly, along with other fees. The GOP walked away with nothing to show for their efforts except a very angry public. Tens of thousands who rely on the government were threaten with a cut off of their benefits, people like seniors on social security, disabled or retired veterans receiving compensation or retirement, and low income families receiving assistance. The shutdown cost taxpayers approximately $24 billion dollars. Oh, and by the way, since nothing was resolved, we get to do this all over again in January. I'd start stocking up if I were you. It may be a long cold winter.




Number of furloughed workers shrink as shutdown drags on
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/09/shutdown-furloughs-return-to-work/2953191/

Here's How Much The Government Shutdown Costs The Economy
http://swampland.time.com/2013/10/17/heres-what-the-government-shutdown-cost-the-economy/

Government shutdown: What's opened, what's closed?
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2013/09/politics/government-shutdown-impact/

Government Shutdown: WWII Vets Say Feds Should Be Ashamed for Closing Their Memorial
http://swampland.time.com/2013/10/02/government-shutdown-ww-ii-vets-say-feds-should-be-ashamed-for-closing-their-memorial/

Obama admin knew about WWII veterans' request and rejected it
http://dailycaller.com/2013/10/01/obama-admin-knew-about-wwii-veterans-request-and-rejected-it/

Immigration rally allowed on Mall despite shutdown
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/10/08/government-shutdown-immigration-rally/2942257/