Politics in Action

Political Shenanagans and the Deals Politicians Make. P. U. to the rest of us

Name:
Location: McHenry, Il., United States

Union electrician for 30+ years.Grew up in the 60's. Viet Nam Vet. Started out as pretty liberal, but... now I'm getting older.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Sticks and Stones

I watched an interview on PBS's Lehrer News Hour and their guest was the Sec. of Veterans Affairs. This guy stunk. He was really bad. I would've thought that he would've brushed up on what he was going to say. At the very least, they should have sent someone more polished. I sure don't like what I've been hearing about the treatment of our Vets lately, so I wanted to hear what he had to say.

He said that the V.A. sees over a million people per week, has a budget of 78 billion dollars, was going before congress tomorrow to ask for 10 billion more, and that they are learning about how to treat head wounds. I almost fell out of my chair when I heard that one. I could understand the problems there are though.

But, Armies have been seeing head wounds ever since the 1st Man picked up the 1st rock or stick and let the 1st somebody have it in the 1st back of the head.

I got into an argument with my ex about it. Her brother is a Viet Nam Vet too, and he was wounded in the head. He lived and although he lost some of field of vision, he's all right. He can drive and do everything he wants to do. She started talking about her brother and I said that they are seeing more severe cases now. Medical tech. has come a long way in the last 37 years. Half the people they are saving now probably would have died back then. That doesn't excuse whats happening now though. I can see where the magnitude of the injuries and numbers of them could lead to problems, but get more money or doctors or whatever.

It's one thing to keep people alive, but another to heal a brain. Our doctors are still in kindergarten when it comes to that stuff. There's going to be alot of learning to do, for everybody. I just hate to see research being done this way.

The Sec. said he was going before congress tomorrow to ask for more money. Only problem is, right now congress is getting ready to express its will to the "American People". They are trying to figure out a way to make 12 million ILLEGAL ALIENS and then their families, legal and not make it look like the duck it is. AMNESTY. Our esteemed members of congress, who didn't have the guts or backbone to do this before the election, are planning on spending billions of "AMERICAN TAX DOLLARS" giving aid and comfort and everything under the sun to the ILLEGAL ALIENS. Don't get me wrong, I think some Illegals and their families should be allowed into this country and made immediate citizens. They are the ones who are or were U.S. Soldiers. As far as I'm concerned, if you want to come here so badly that you're willing to join the Military and fight for this country, you stay!

We'll see tomorrow how much and how fast the congress acts to take care of our own soldiers. I can't wait to see what they vote on 1st. Immigration or Our Vets. I just hope that enough of them cut their campaigns short so that they can hear what this guy has to say. I understand how tough that might be though, with the next election only 2 short years away and all.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star


It seems like Hollywood has found a new star. It wasn't on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, not on stage, or even in the heavens. I should rephrase that, it was on stage, and in Springfield, Il. of all places. It's always the last place you look.

Excuse me for not falling all over myself over our native son (?), but I'm from The Great State of Illinois and I've seen Barak in action. I'll have to rephrase again, I HAVEN'T seen him in action. Now that I think about it, I can't remember one thing he did or even said. I don't remember any speeches, news quotes, interviews, Nothing. People in the Great State of Illinois would be hard-pressed to point to one accomplishment, law, bill, or anything. He's a professor of constitutional law, but so what? Any problems arising from disagreements between the executive and legislative branches of govt. are handled by the third branch (judiciary). The 1st time I can remember hearing about him was when he ran for the U.S. Senate.

I read the glowing reports in the Chicago Sun-Times and looked for the reason. They reported he wanted to do the same things that everybody else wants to do. Everybody there was all agog over his presence and all that. No specifics or banter about healing the Nation's Wounds. That'll come later, I guess. Just how excited this or that person was to be in his presence. The Press is really behind him with more media outlets seeing the vision everyday. Some still feel some loyalty to the Clintons, but that's going fast. If Barak can pass the Black Enough test, he's the man. There's no record to defend. Kerry should have been so lucky.

I guess that's why the Hollywood left is jumping ship. It's been reported that David Giffon and Jeff Katzenburg (Dreamworks Film Studios) are booking up. Former President Clinton had to personally intervene to stop Steven Spielburg from endorsing Barak. Bummer. They all plan to hold a big fund-raiser for Barak on Feb. 20 in L.A.

I'm starting to see problems with my "Swiftboat" theory, but the election is a long way off. It's so long that I think I'll suffer from Burnout long before it ever comes to pass. I'm getting tired already just thinking about what we're in for. They're all talking about spending hundreds of millions of dollars, and you know what that means.

Friday, February 9, 2007

We Were Cavemen


So, the big, long-awaited report on Global Warming finally came out. It's to bad that some of the scientists left the group because they didn't agree with some of the conclusions. Naturally, humans are to blame. Never mind that Canada, the upper US, and the northern halves of Europe and Russia were covered by a sheet of ice more than 1 mile deep only 25,000 years ago. I actually think that's when global warming started.

I was watching an interview on TV (Lerher News Hour, I think) and one of the people was Prof. Oppenhiemer, Princeton U. He said something I found very interesting but was probebly missed by 90% of the audience and, it seems to me, the interviewer. That person didn't ask anything about what he had just said.

He was questioned about predictions of the effects of global warming. He said that the Earth was much warmer once in the past than it's projected to get and that we could get some clues from the LAST TIME EARTH THE EARTH WAS WARM.

THE LAST TIME THE EARTH WAS WARM? That had to be atleast 400,000 years ago or more. A couple of days ago, there was a news report about the LAST ICE-AGE. Fox News reported that scientists now think the LAST ICE-AGE lasted 400,000 years. They made their conclusions from the fosselized teeth of extinct horses. A few months ago, there was another news report that the surface of the planet Mars has been getting warmer. Who do we blame for that? The US's Mars Rovers?

As far as I know, there haven't been any reports of anyone ever finding 50,000 year old coal-fired power plants, cars, or buried cities. Well there may be cities, afterall, we are still looking for Atlantis.

Scientists say that We Were Still CAVEMEN back then. Going out day after day, looking for food, and clubbing women over the head to get a mate. Yet, day after day, we keep hearing about what we did to cause global warming. Just being born and sucking up oxygen causes one man's pollution, I guess.

I guess I just don't get it. I agree that we haven't made things any better, but whatever is gong to happen is going to happen no matter what we do. The planet is starting to warm-up again. We might contribute, but it's just "NATURE RUNNING IT'S COURSE", kinda like being in the wrong place at the wrong time.