The Real Issues?
Catherine says, “Let’s talk about the real issues”, all in caps. Sandy and Amos in their comments below about “empty symbolism” said the same thing. Don’t gossip. Don’t talk about personality. Just focus on “real” issues. So what are the real issues and what can you or I do about it? What can Obama or McCain do about it? As I see it, there is little we can do and lots they can say.
There is much to be said for getting elected with a “mandate”, but mandates are overrated. Just look at what Bush did when he first entered office after losing the popular vote. He didn’t need no stinkin’ mandate. Bill Clinton had no mandate. The last mandated president was Reagan.
As I see it, there is only one mega issue: getting Obama elected, no matter what it takes. Nothing else matters. No single issue matters more. Every nod to the right that Obama makes, ever “pander”, as some perfer to put it, ever gaffe he will make, every policy decision we disagree with can not diminish the mission to get him elected. Why? Because there are only two things a president can do that no one else can do, and this time around they are more important than ever: issue executive orders that actually run the government at the functional level and making nominations to the Surpeme Court and lower courts. Issuing executive orders includes overturning previous executive orders, and in this case, the secret and not so secret trail of Bush droppings that has screwed up the Constitution and intent of Congress. That’s it folks. Is there something I’m missing?
So here is what I am doing: devoting my time to telling one of my daughters who is for McCain, as “janitor”, was the way she put it so that he could clean up the mess in Washington, that a McCain president would make decisions and court appointmentss that would limit severely the choices her daughters will have in the future about how they can live their lives. If she wants that kind of future for her daughters, then McCain is her janitor-in-chief. She votes in Ohio. I’m making the same case with my brother in Pennsylvania who was one of those Repugs who hated McCain for a while, but now supports him. The case is this: hey bro, we’re not going to be around to carry the brunt of what McCain will do with the courts, but your daughters and grandkids will. Don’t put your short-term interests ahead of their long-term needs.
I continue to give money to Obama’s election, I am personally preaching the court-appointment powers of the president, I am working to get my Democratic senator re-elected, I am driving slower, but not as slowly as Sandy, to save on the demand for oil, I am conducting and implementing an energy audit on our mountain home where we are increasingly spending more time, and I will continue to blog on the big and small vicissitudes of the general election.
How do you see it and what are you going to do about it, or what do you think Obama or McCain will do about it?
Posted: June 29th, 2008 under Best of the Blogs.
Comments: 17
Comments
Comment from Sasha
Time: June 29, 2008, 7:57 am
I’m waiting for the complainers to share what they think the “real issues” are because I think personality, ability to manage, willingness to think and appropriately apply thoughts, personal style, and charisma are real issues. They all address the quality of governance and the likelihood that things will be accomplished.
Please. What should we be discussing?
Comment from Amos N. Handy
Time: June 29, 2008, 8:50 am
DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR ? OUR ILLUSTRIOUS LEADER also CONSIDERS HIMSELF CHOSEN BY A HIGHER BEING and BARBRA TOLD WEE GEORGIE HE WOULD BE A GREAT LIAR oops, LEADER
Wow !! this may be more than just a coincedents ?
Zimbabwe’s Mugabe believes he’s been chosen
He reportedly thinks only divine power, not critics, can unseat him .
updated 4:11 a.m. ET, Sun., June. 29, 2008
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Robert Mugabe’s mother told him when he was a child that he had been chosen by God to be a great leader. No wonder he thinks only divine power — not elections, not foreign critics, not a crumbling economy or a much younger opposition leader — can unseat him.
In the mind of Zimbabwe’s leader of nearly three decades, reality is summed up by a massive banner hanging in the entrance to the presidential offices: Mugabe is Right.
The comparisons stop here however because the sign outside the Oval Office states , ” Bush are Right “.
Comment from Josh Hammond
Time: June 29, 2008, 9:31 am
Well today, Sunday, the right is holding their collective noses wondering, but never questioning, why God picked McCain this time around. Me thinks it’s a Job thing for the faithful.
Comment from Sandy
Time: June 29, 2008, 9:39 am
Sasha,
While your top down approach to change is a good thought, how do you propose we deal with the implementation of democracy that is so steeped in and controlled by money that the very structural components that have the right and responsibility to actualize change are those that benefit most from the status quo????
And though I agree with Josh that we need to do everything we can to get Obama elected, we can’t just wait for that to happen and assume that when it does the country will miraculously turn around. Just look at the record of “compromise” the Democratic majority has run up since the last mid-term elections.
This is what leads me and other “complainers” to focus on change at the very lowest level - what individuals can do to make things better for themselves and their immediate communities.
1. Energy - opportunities to save petroleum and encourage alternatives
2. Gross Consumerism -how do we change it
3. Job loss - to outsourcing and insourcing - those of you in IT know what insourcing is - corporate “parterning” with Cognizant and Infosys that gets around green cad requirements.
Talk to us, bloggers! What do you know, what can you find out to show us how to make things better.
Comment from Gorge Dumbya Butch
Time: June 29, 2008, 10:05 am
“This will be my legacy and the rest of you can go pee up a tree in Crawford.”
by: Gorge Dumbya Butch
The solution to global warming and our polluting the atmosphere, is like me, simple. My ridding the world of the al-Qaeda supporter, Saddam Hussein, is something that history will never forget. I have allowed our infrastructure to fall apart, for good reason - so what a bridge fell down in Minnesota, it was beneficial to my overall plan for our nation. Out sourcing of American products and jobs is easy to explain - wait for the big picture. Introducing democracy and free elections in Iraq is probably my greatest feat and now you are puzzled at rising fuel costs ? Can’t you see - that is the solution - middle America wants their sons and daughters out of Iraq … rising costs for fuel means we must bring them home - it has become impossible to keep our Humvees mobile - that’s my pullout strategy. OK ?
Middle America is concerned with employment opportunities, global warming and our collapsing highways and bridges … with the increase in fuel prices and the loss of dignified wages for employment, more and more Americans will have to abandon their means of transportation, thus fewer vehicles and less need for highway and bridge repair and at the same time less carbon emissions … three concerns solved ” and you called me stupid ” . Don’t even mention the Justice Department and Our Constitution because, ” I are justice ” and “that other thing” was just a “goddamn piece of paper”, anyway. As to my tardy reaction to Katrina, right at that very moment, my Dick, (that’s Chinny) and I were ironing out a deal with Exxon, in finding a way to overturn that Alaskan lawsuit thingy … and that was successful, ‘member ? Nice talkin’ at yuh .
Comment from Gorge Dumbya Butch
Time: June 29, 2008, 10:17 am
P.S.
Even though fewer gallons are sold - the escalating costs of fuel will ensure profits will be understandably the same or slightly higher and corporate oil and my family, will be reaping the benefits, for a good long time. “Nice talkin’ at yuh.”
Comment from timr
Time: June 29, 2008, 10:47 am
I continue to give money to Obama. I am supporting the democratic nominee for junior senator from Texas against Corney by walking and knocking on doors. I am supporting the reelection of my rep Dem. Ciro Rodriguez. Further, I am lobbying my state reps to make laws during their next session-Texas ledge meets biannually-to encourage people to put solar panels on their roofs, and to make a law that all developers insure that each house that they build come equipped with solar panels- After all, Texas is quite a sunny state, as is NM and AZ. and FL and Ca also. Infastructure. I am also lobbying my state reps(do you know who your state rep and senator are? Have you ever spoken with them about anything your state is doing?) along with the entire Texas congressional delegation about getting federal money down here-earmarks will do, look what John Dingle did in Mi., He got a new VA hosp in Det., they even named it John R.-to 1-rebuild or build a new VA hospital in San Antonio 2-Build a VA hospital, or at least a very large outpatient clinic in the Rio Grande Valley-vets now have to travel 400 miles to get to nearest VA hosp, which is in San Antonio.3- Build, rent or lease another building to get another VA clinic in San Antonio, we have 3, we need at least 2 more.4- Fully fund the VA.5-get either local, state, or federal money to repair/replace the sewer/water lines, and repair roads(that is hard to do, as infastructure repair money is not really sexy, the repairs are mostly underground, or roads are only smoother to drive on.6-I keep in touch with all levels of govt about continuing problems with our local water supply-the Edwards Aquifer(our only source of water mind you) I have also gone to lengths to find out what the state power structure is, and just who are the people who really run the state. SURPRISE, it is not the governor, but the Lt. Gov., the Speaker of the House is the most powerful politician in the state, the majority leader in the senate is also powerful. I keep in contact with all these people on a weekly basis. I also keep bugging my city council rep, altho we have a professional city manager, and the mayor and city council are not very powerful as they work under the strictest term limits in the nation, plus they don’t get paid very much, less than $3,000 a year. I follow local, state, and national politics very closely, and make sure that my voice is heard by all my reps at all levels. Being retired, I don’t have to travel, so we just stay home, and when we do run errands, we combine as many as possible. I spend less than $40 a month for gas-which I get at Sams Club as it is the cheapest around. What else, I have solar panels on my roof, they cut my electric bill by 75% a month. We replaced our old water heater with a tankless water heater 3 years ago(our house was built 4 years ago) it paid for itself in less than 2 years. I have a heat pump rather than a furnace and an A/C, which by itself is about 20-30% cheaper per month than the other kind. I have super insulated my house, which cuts down on the daily solar heating of my house, it keeps my house-without using the A/C about 10-15 degrees cooler than if I had not done this. People survived here in Texas & in Az for a long time before A/C came along. My house was built using those methods. Thick walls-1 foot-,triple pane windows, which do not allow UV rays into the house, along with solar screening, and ceiling fans in every room. foam insulation, roof-metal-with lots of insulation, and a system that reflects almost 80% of UV rays. We keep our A/C set at 80 degrees during the day, and 72 degrees at night. The hottest my house gets during the day so far this year-highest temp was 102 degrees- was 79. My A/C never comes on during the day. We compost everything that we can, only put out for collection 1 kitchen sized garbage bag per week(we have 2 day a week garbage pickup) I recycle all my newspapers and all plastic and glass-garbage picks it up once a week, recycling in SA pays for itself-and recycle all my weekly/monthly magazines by taking them to either the VA hosp or the VA clinic, or the VA dental clinic, or to BAMC. All my light bulbs are CFL’s, which last longer and put out a whole lot less heat. When we lived in Northern Michigan, we kept our thermostat set at 68 degrees during the winter. It helped that our regular light bulbs put out a lot of heat. We had all natural gas.We did not have any A/C in our Michigan house. Avg daily summer temps rarely reached 80 degrees. Everything that I have done, anyone can do, it doesn’t take a whole lot of money to lower your carbon footprint, and you can contact every rep at any level of govt thru E-mail. That is what I do.
Comment from Max
Time: June 29, 2008, 11:05 am
There is another serious aspect to the fuel question that people have not mentioned. OK, we now take it as a given that more and more people are not able to afford to get to work, and are looking for employment closer to home.
What we are missing is that food deliveries are also suffering. A trucker cannot make money when he delivers a load that nets him $2,000 for a cost of $3,000.
What will happen if food cannot come from the farm to the supermarket?
Also, America is a multi ethnic country, with a short history. One prime factor that keeps America one nation united is easy movement of goods and people.
This will cease. If George Bush had started a crash Manhatten type project to build electric trains, well then America would be in a much better position. With oil skyrocketing time has run out. We ARE IN REAL TROUBLE.
The best I can advise somebody is to live in the Pacific Northwest, Great Lakes region, or the Northeast. At a distance greater than one tank of gas from major urban centers. And start a horse farm, the horse is going to reassume a vital role in future American transport.
Comment from Pat
Time: June 29, 2008, 12:22 pm
My Mother lived through the depression, and it made an impression on her that lasted the rest of her life. She taught me how to sew new cothes, as well as mending older ones, cut hair, grow a garden, can vegetables, bake bread, and a lot more. When I had children of my own, these lessons made it possible for me to stay home with my children, and live on my husbands income. When our children were grown and I went to work, I still chose to live frugally. We live in a rural area, and our water comes from a well on our property, so we absolutely have to conserve water. We heat our home by burning slab wood that we buy from a local Amish lumbermill. For those of you who don’t know, When the trees arrive at the mill, the outside rounded parts of the trees have to be cut off in order to make the trunk square. The part that is cut off is called slabwood, and that is what we heat with. We buy most of our dry groceries at a bulk food store run by a local Amish family, and our meats and produce we buy from a local farmers market. My husband recycles paper and aluminum, and he has our daughters saving their paper and aluminum for him. Living frugally not only benefits the country it also has other advantages. Last winter, we had an ice storm that knocked out our electricity for 3 days. For many people, losing electricity in the middle of winter is a terrible ordeal, but for us it was only a minor inconvenience. Max, one side effect of the every increasing gas prices. is that the price of feed has more than doubled. My husband likes to buy corn from a local farmer to feed the wild turkeys that come into our yard in the winter. He was paying $3.00 for a 50# bag, and now it’s up to $6.50 a bag. It’s probably still cheaper to own a couple of horses that it is to drive a car, though.
Comment from Sasha
Time: June 29, 2008, 12:32 pm
I actually think that you are underestimating the impact of the energy mess. I think that people will be found dead in their homes from hypothermia this winter. And I think out reaction will be to give Exxon-Mobil any damn thing they want.
Comment from Sandy
Time: June 29, 2008, 2:16 pm
Thanks to everyone for the realistic, personal approaches to the issues that effect us all.
I’m afraid I have to agree with Sasha. I have oil heat in the Northeast and don’t have the option to switch to gas (no lines on my street) and can’t afford solar. But, I have a good income and though I won’t like it, I’ll be able to pay for the oil. My heart goes out to the less affluent - I fear for them this winter. The folks the circle where i live have started a fund to help them
P.S. Re oil prices; I know a young woman who is a oil commodities trader in London and her info is that speculation is by far the greatest factor in the price run-up.
Comment from josh
Time: June 29, 2008, 3:14 pm
On my drive this afternoon, speeding to make it in time to watch the final European futbol match, rightly predicting to my self and my email group, that Spain would win, I thought of creating a bumber sticker.
It needs some work, but what do you think?
DRIVE SLOWER? GET OUT OF IRAQ FASTER!
While I search for a way to make them, I need some edits or feedback, or an alternative. Five words is ideal, seven, as in this case is the max. It could be two bumber stickers, one on the left, the other on the right? Bigger type that way for the passing fastees to read. Don’t know. Need advice.
Comment from dave
Time: June 29, 2008, 10:01 pm
hey timr, pal,
You need to cut down on the coffee, NoDoz, meth or whatever it is that you are overdoing that is making you crazy. Just a suggestion, there are medical professionals who can help you with your obsessions and make you feel better about yourself without resorting to moving into a cave and eating bugs and bark for the rest of your life. I don’t think that Obama will be much help to you. He may sound like the Messiah, but he actually doesn’t walk on water, or do much else either.
Comment from Max
Time: June 29, 2008, 11:43 pm
Hello there Dave,
I gotta say it buddy, but people are hurting. Speaking of Messiahs, GWB sure did prance around like he was one. And look where we are. I have been talking about the Global Warming and Peak Oil mess that the world is in, and America is certainly in a world of hurt. No, George Bush did not start these problems, but he sure let them get worse on his watch, much worse. He refused to acknowledge that they even exist. And these problems are going to hit America much worse than the war in Iraq, and that is bad enough.
No, Barack Obama is not the Second coming. Yet after all the disasters of the Bush years, he represents hope. Hope for a better America and a better world.
And hey, he couldn’t possibly do any worse than GWB!
Comment from Sandy
Time: June 30, 2008, 4:30 am
Hey Dave,
What drugs do YOU take, what cave do YOU live in that you can’t see what’s happening to America????
Comment from Josh Hammond
Time: June 30, 2008, 6:02 am
Hey, timr, my hats off to you. Don’t know this dave character, but it looks like he’s the one who needs the professional help. You, on the other hand, are on a roll, a model citizen for sure. Keep it up.
Comment from timr
Time: June 30, 2008, 10:44 am
Josh, if everything works out, I plan to go off grid by sometime next yeat. New wind turbine design will allow mounting on homes and not be too big. Just really need to push lawmakers in Austin on this.
Sandy, heating oil is out to increase up to 100% this coming heating season. How about going around on all outside walls and placing an insulation insert behind each wall outlet? How about checking all your windows for air leaks and replacing seals or calking? Same with doors to make sure they don’t leak air. Can you put more insulation in your attic? Most heat loss in houses is thru the roof, you can buy bats of insulation and place them yourself for under $500. Have you thought of other ways you might heat your home? Wood stove-altho I have no idea on the current cost of the face cord in the NE.(someplaces make logs out of pressed sawdust, they burn longer and produce more heat) How about small electric heaters to be used only in rooms that you are in, combine with temp set at 68 degrees on thermostat, could be comfortable. Hint. If you can, fill your fuel oil tank now, before prices go higher. How about an infared heater which only makes a person warm and does not warm up the air-this works I have used them in the past. BTW, when I was about 10 my parents got a house from my grandmother-in northern Michigan that had been built in 1850. For the first 3 years we lived in the house there was zero heat upstairs-where my bedroom was-the temp that I slept in every night hovered around the mid 20’s. I got to say, that was the best sleep I ever had. As long as the bed is warm, you will be warm. Suggest, not an electric blanket, but a heated matress cover, then cover with a down comforter. One other note. Saw a science program a few years ago that proved- by putting subject in a pool of water at 38-40 degrees, and letting him get extremely cold, then putting electrically heated gloves on both hands-that the hands act as radiators and help keep the body either warm or cold. When my wife gets overly hot by working in her garden, she puts an ice bag on her hands for a few min. to cool off.-I wonder if that might help heat stroke patients to lower their temps, instead of placing them in ice baths, just put their hands into icewater. I discovered- back when I was a teenager many years ago- while freezing in a duck blind -that if you used heated gloves, your entire body warmed up after just a few minutes. I used the same trick while on duty during the winter in Korea’s DMZ, everyone in my platoon bought heated gloves, we didn’t have to wear near as much winter gear to keep from freezing while outside, or living in an unheated tent in Dec.
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