A Summit of Perceptions

This week saw  an event  at the Blair House in Washington that I would really like to call a dog and pony show, except I really like dogs . It was, of course, the President’s health care summit. Purportedly, Democrats and Republicans and Obama would sit down and have a give and  take on the pending health care legislation. Did they? Well, they met, they all talked a lot. There were even some rather ominous looks passed back and forth. But was anything really accomplished and did either side move closer to the other?  Gonna have to vote no on both counts, I think.

However, in any situation like this, we as Americans seem determined to pick a winner or loser or both. So, how did the President fare, since it was his show? Seems  to depend on who you ask. Two perspectives for your consideration and draw your own conclusions, sort of.

The first comes from the blog of Joe Klein. Mr Klein is of the opinion that Obama was the winner and he got this from Drudge. From Drudge? Yep, surprised me too. A quote from Klein’s post. “That the President was  his usual, unflappable, well-informed self.” Republicans were recalcitrant and Congressional Democrats were missing in  action, assuming they were there. His bottom line was shame on the Republicans because they want no health care bill to pass because it would give Obama a victory. You know, sort of  any or the highway, so he says.

Now, another perspective. This one is from Limbaugh. He quotes a number of Republicans as well as several quotes from the President. His report on February 25th was entitled Health Care Summit backfires Big Time on Obama and the Democrats.Guess he didn’t see it the way Klein did. He spoke of  how Biden and Obama and Reid and Pelosi looked bored and disinterested and even unhappy at times. This was just when Sen Lamar Alexander was speaking. This quote from the President to John McCain, ” John, if you don’t know it,the campaign is over. We’re not here to campaign, John. The campaign’s over.” The campaign may be over for McCain but I don’t think it has  ever ended for Obama. Other good stuff from Senator Jon Kyl and  Rep Dave Camp and in particular Eric Cantor.

So, take your pick, Rush or Klein. By the way what was Biden doing there, serving coffee?

Brian, Katie and Diane

Of course you know that we are referring to the triumvirate of Williams, Couric and Sawyer. They anchor the “big” nightly newscasts at NBC, CBS and ABC. And, for all  the wonderful things they do, they are each paid quite well. Their salaries range from the middle to upper seven figures on in to the comfortable eight figure level( Katieville, where Diane also resides) . Are they worth it to their respective networks? Hard to say, since the highest paid of the group the lowest ratings.

But, for whatever reason, they make the big bucks ( and so does Keith Olbermann and that really puzzles me) . However just a couple of days  ago, ABC announced that it would be laying off a significant number of employees in its news division. Estimates range from 300-400. News President David Westin announced “a fundamental transformation that will ultimately affect every corner of the enterprise.” Also announced was a move toward greater use of  free-lancers, that would save additional money.

Reading this brought me back to an idea I had some time back. Wonder why none of the big three have not offered to”give back” some of those millions  to save the jobs of some of the little people. A couple of million or more considering what Diane and Katie make would save a bunch of jobs. Besides what a wonderful public relations coup it would be. And I am certain a catch slogan could br created to capitalize on the move. Something like, I don’t know, “CBS cares” ? What do you mean they already have that slogan? How can that be?

Second Careers

As one who against his wishes entered into a second career, I am somewhat familiar with the concept. But in the political  realm, a second career is  a different concept entirely. A case in point is the developing senatorial race in  North Carolina. Republican incumbent  Richard Burr is up for re-election. Apparently, the Democrats must think he is vulnerable since they are lining up to challenge.

The leading candidate for the Democrats is Secretary of State Elaine Marshall with former state senator Cal Cunningham probably her chief rival.  Other candidates are Chapel Hill lawyer Ken Lewis and Lumberton lawyer Marcus Williams. There may be a lot of  interesting things about this contest later. For now, one thing caught my attention.

Ms Marshall, also  a former state senator, was elected Secretary of State in  1996 . She is starting her Senate campaign at the age of 64, which is fine. But what intrigues me is that at an age when many, if not most, people are looking to retire, already have retired or face a forced retirement, she is  launching( potentially) a new and challenging career.

In politics age seems to be no barrier. There is no mandatory retirement age etc. I know , the voters decide, blah,blah. But when one looks at the hallowed roster of Congress, one sees many that have long passed the barrier that exists for most workers. And, once they are there for a bit, they usually stay as long as  they wish.

I reiterate, should Congress have  a maximum age. The Constitution provides a minimum age you know.

Confidence, Hubris or What?

Senator Harry Reid, D, NV has been the majority leader of the Senate since 2007. Among those who preceded him in this position are Lyndon Johnson, Bob Dole, Robert Byrd( yep, that guy) Robert Taft and the very first majority leader. That would be Senator Charles Curtis , R, KS who served from 1925-1929.With the exception of Alben Barkley who served from 1937-1947, the tenures have normally been around 4 years.

As we know, Senator Reid is locked in a tight re-election campaign as he tries to win his 5th term in office. His Republican opponent has yet to be determined .In 2004, he easily won re-election with 61% of the vote. However in 1998, he won an extremely narrow contest, 47.88% to 47.78% over current senator John Ensign; a 328 vote margin.

So, contrary to what on might think, Senator Reid is not invincible. But to hear some of his recent comments, one might wonder if he agrees with that statement. Let us backtrack a bit. Abut 6 months ago at a Chamber of Commerce dinner in Las Vegas, Reid allegedly made this statement to Bob Brown, director of  advertising for the Las  Vegas Review-Journal, which incidentally is not a  big fan of the senator. ‘” I hope you go out of business.” That would contribute to the unemployment rate in Nevada would it not and damage the struggling newspaper business? Maybe he was kidding, right?

More recently, Sen Reid had this to say about unemployed males in America. This was on the floor of the U S Senate in debate about a jobs bill and it occurred on February 22. “Men, when they’re out of work, tend to become abusive.” He said that was not the case with women who “aren’t abusive, most of the time.”  Yet another interesting comment from the majority leader just yesterday. Republicans” should stop crying” about  the parliamentary procedure known as  budget reconciliation which may be used  to pas a health care reform bill. He said that Republicans had  used it  more than Democrats. Even if that is true, I doubt it was ever on such a significant  legislative issue.

But, the Senator may have unwittingly made a good point. Republicans should stop crying and just field a good candidate that will unseat him in November. After all, he already has an albatross hanging over him. The President has expressed his support  and has  campaigned on his behalf. Ask these folks about that. Martha Coakley, Creigh Deeds and Jon Corzine.

Old Rough but not Really Ready

Just finished reading a bio of our 12th president, Zachary Taylor written by Jack Bauer, not that Jack Bauer though. I am always fascinated by the things that  draw my interest in my presidential reading ( I’m slightly over halfway,  22 of 43). This is true in a dual way. Number one, I enjoy taking note of how historical figures cross paths with one another. Secondly is how something in every administration can be applied to things that follow in the future.

Taylor was a career military man like a number of other presidents, Harrison, Eisenhower, Grant ( who served under his command) to name  a few. He  was very apolitical and  in fact, when nominated by thhe Whig party in 1848, had never even voted. He scarcely campaigned which turned out well, since he was somewhat intemperate with his  comments and a bit petulant at times.

Let me backtrack a bit because his actual political career lasted only about 2 years from nomination to his untimely death in 1850 , probably from gastroenteritis. He, according to Bauer, was somewhat of a mediocre general, given to a very conservative approach. He had some successes, most due to the efforts of his junior officers, one being his former son-in-law, Jefferson Davis. Nonetheless he moved up through the ranks and became a general and was nicknamed Old Rough and Ready, mainly for his very  plain manner of dress and  identification with his troops/

He seems to have been a compromise candidate to forestall Henry Clay but nonetheless was strongly supported by Lincoln and Robert E Lee.

He won a rather close election and took office as the real Washington outsider, Jimmy Carter to the contrary. He was somewhat unprepared for the office and during his brief tenure had  rather rocky relations with Congress. Recognize anyone in those statements, especially the unprepared part?

He was  somewhat limited intellectually and emotionally. To those of his day, he was an enigma and still remains so today, For me, it is one of those wat if situations. He was elected in large part because a 3rd part candidate ,former president Martin van Buren, siphoned off votes from  Secretary of War Lewis Cass. Had van Buren not run, Cass could very well have won even over a relatively popular general. So, Taylor joins that group who did not win a majority of the votes and   barely won the electoral vote.

And even his victory was scarcely enjoyed since he died at age 66, less than 18 months after taking office.

Location and Location

A couple of days ago, I shared a slightly tongue-in-cheek poem about our good friend Al ( protector of the environment) Gore. So, we and others wonder, where is the goracle these days? I assume most,if not all,  of the snow has left Washington and he was not  located in a makeshift igloo. So, where might he be?

Granted, this may violate top-secret government information guidelines, but I think I know where he is or at the least where he is headed. It would be the desolate regions  near the Pakistan/Afghanistan border to meet up with his compatriot and climate change brother in arms, Osama bin Laden.

Yep, bin Laden is now part of the Gore team. Some weeks ago bin Laden declared on  al-Jazeera that  he deplored climate change. He went on to condemn the United States and other developed countries for causing climate change, even including  an obligatory criticism of George Bush junior. He went on to compare United States politics to the Mafia (Chicago maybe?) and calling Americans the true terrorists.

What had to warm algore’s heart though was his assertion that his was a message to the whole world about those responsible for climate change and its repercussions. He added, “speaking about climate change is not an intellectual luxury-the phenomenon is an actual fact.” Who knows, Gore may have even helped him write the statement. Sounds Gore-like does it not?

Worse than the NSA?

There are fewer agencies worse than the evil  NSA in the liberal mind. But, located in Philadelphia’s historic Main Line suburbs( read that as very wealthy) is an agency that may give the NSA folks a run for their money. What possibly could be located there and do anything covert? Why, it is the Lower Merion School District under the leadership of Dr Christopher W McGinley.

From his  photo, the superintendent does not look at all subversive. But, it appears that appearances may be a bit deceiving in this case.

Being an affluent school district, Lower Merion thought it was  a good idea to issue Apple laptops to the 2,300 students at its two high schools. The first of many questions is why? One would think that the vast majority of  the students in such an affluent area could afford their own or may already have a laptop.

The “district” laptops have a security feature, deactivated yesterday according to McGinley, intended to track lost , missing or stolen laptops. This feature existed without the knowledge of the students or their parents. It was supposedly used 42 times in the last 14 months. What is the security feature, a remotely activated webcam. Question# 2, no one saw the potential for a problem here? And why was no one informed, say parents?

We move on. Only two employees on the system’s technology department were authorized to activate the feature, says system spokesman Doug Young.

We move next to the case of Hariton High student Blake Robbins. It seems that young Mr Robbins, trough use of the webcam, though he was” engaged in improper behavior in his home.” Wonder what that was and what business of theirs was it to arbitrate such?  According to te lawsuit that has now been filed, vice principal Lindy Matsko cited a photograph ” embedded” in his school issued laptop.

I am normally opposed to what I consider our suit  happy culture, but it seems that the Robbins family might just have a decent case.

Dr McGinley posted a letter on the district website yesterday that among other things stated that there would be a thorough review of the policies that led to this situation.

If this could happen in  a district that says it has a “longstanding reputation as one of the finest school systems in the United States,” it could easily be repeated since school systems could be said to be prolific copycats.

In all honesty, this is a scary, scary thing and I  hope that “it has been nipped in the bud” to quote our old friend Barney Fife.

Dr McGinley

Just For Fun

Climate change news has been much in the news of late. All the ferocious winter weather has been claimed by those who are devoted to the gospel of man-made climate change and by those who are not. Our favorite environmentalist, algore, has even written a poem. You can read it  here, if you like.

In that spirit, I have composed  a little missive of my own, in honor of the goracle.

The Ballad of algore

The climate is changing

The temps  they are rising

Polar bears are losing their ice

Is there anyone who knows what to do?

An unassuming man, all dressed in tan

Said, “I can show you the way”

The Nobel Committee said huzzah

We shall give you a large prize

So people will notice you more

Yes, he has  quite  a large house in Tennessee

So he needs  more energy than you and me

Some call him a prophet

Far ahead of his time

I think maybe he wants to relieve you of your last dime

Ladies and gentlemen, climate guru extraordinaire- algore

Living Large in Cambridge,Massachusetts

I have never physically ventured to the intellectual mecca that is Cambridge, home of Harvard,etc.  And yet,I feel somewhat familiar with the city in a way due to the prominent place it occupies in Robert B Parker’s Spenser series, So, it was that I greeted the latest news from that liberal bastion. not with shock, but almost with resignation.

What are the Cambridge folks attempting to do? Why, control what you eat, literally. And not just what you eat. The  Cambridge Climate Congress ( gotta love that name, huh) has put forth a number of proposals that will impact, if adopted by City Council, every area of life. There are a number of proposals in the 20 page document being considered;so I will narrow my focus to just  a couple.

One proposal would create a”temperate zone” program. By definition, buildings would be neither heated or cooled during fall and spring. One  has to wonder if the proposal would strictly adhere to the calendar in setting these parameters. So, if there were a bitterly cold day on say March 23 or a very warm day on September 30, how would it be handled?  Would the term buildings include private residences and if so, what type of enforcement mechanism would Big Brother use ?

Number two involves food, always a popular topic. The folks in Cambridge  are advocating vegetarianism and veganism. As a part of the process, there would be “meatless” or “vegan” Mondays. The proposal actually  uses  words like asking/mandating schools and restaurants to adhere to this  program.

Even more ominous sounding to me would be the creation of a Climate Emergency Response Board to monitor response to te climate emergency, “by all sectors of Cambridge.” Wonder if Mayor Denise Simmons involved algore in this process? He has to be loving this because if  a town full of smart people  makes this work on any level at all, think of the potential for it to spread . This  gives hope to folks like  Michigan Professor Richard  Rood, who seems to like all the proposals.

What ever happened to freedom of choice on food, Cambridge? Folks must not be smart enough to do it on their own,huh?

A Holiday that should be Bigger!!

Today is Presidents’ Day, a day set aside tat to honor/remember those 43 people who have held the highest office in the land. I guess technically it is more designed to honor Washington and Lincoln since their birthdays are close on the calendar. I think that it probably does neither of the above things very well, if at all.

It is  a federal holiday of course, so those of us who are postal workers take part. Schools seem to sorta use it or not, depending on the need for making up days lost to weather. ( I’m guessing most of them are using it today as  a school day.) Banks seem to go with an either or approach.

I know, we used to have a day for George and Abe but they were consolidated  when Martin Luther King, Jr day was added as  a federal holiday. Both of those actions were correct, I believe. I’m not advocating an extra holiday just a better use of this one. I remain convinced that our educational system does not  do well in educating its “charges” about our presidents. History, after all, is dull and boring, is it not? In our technologically advanced society, the greatest emphasis needs to be elsewhere.

I have been a big history fan for  a long time. However, I did not become  a fan until college. I have no great recollection of history teachers or subjects from public school, so the lack of emphasis is not  a recent occurrence. My college history professors undoubtedly “juiced” up the subject in ways until now unknown to me.

So, what better aspect of American history to know than the men who have served in the White House(all but Washington, of course). So, a number of years ago, I began my quest to read at least one each president. That has proven to be   a daunting  task, as I have observed before. The tally right now is at 21, which is almost half of the total. Te problem lies in the dearth of books about the less familiar guys. You probably know them little if any. There is Harrison(William Henry and Benjamin) , Hayes, Taylor, Fillmore, etc. Libraries, at least our size, have either nothing about them or books dating  of  50+ years old.

My mission continues ever so slowly and perhaps will one day be complete. I remain convinced that those who do not history are” doomed” to repeat it .  And  perhaps, just as telling, events  and actions in the current administration have a  historical precedent , sometimes deliberately.

I leave with this thought. President Obama’ s Oval Office desk is the same one used by Rutherford B  Hayes. It is known as the Resolute desk and was  a gift  from Great Britain. The desk was constructed  from the timbers of the British ship of the same name. To think that every president since Hayes ( except Johnson, Nixon and Ford) has used the desk is just a small example of the fascinating things we learn from our history.

Maybe you have no wish to read about all the presidents. Fine. I have a friend and fellow blogger who specializes in Washington and attempts to keep pace with new books that are still published. Maybe better than some of the  “fancy fiction”, huh?