Wednesday, September 24, 2008

After more than 7 years of good ol' boy INCOMPETENCE, we're supposed to believe President Bush NOW knows what he's doing?!?

If the reality of an economy that has been in the throes of a recession that is dangerously close to becoming a depression wasn't so darn serious, seeing our woefully incompetent President Bush trying to reassure us while warning us tonight, would have been laughable.

I mean, there is something to be said for laughing instead of crying, but with this President, we long ago learned that the normal rules don't even apply to this seven plus years mistake!

And what has caused this terrible condition our economy is in, is directly related to rules! As in, there haven't been ANY!!! Or what rules there were, were ignored.

A classic example of the old story about "WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LET THE INMATES RUN THE ASYLUM!!!"

Greedy people got the idea sold and implemented that without regulations, the economy will not only survive, but that all citizens will benefit because of no regulations.

Not true. Only the people at the top prosper. And when their venture or AD-venture collapses, the people at the top walk away fat while the rest of us pay for the devastation caused by these people who have been enabled by a bogus economic philosophy.

Speaking of enablers, you can read more about those kinds of folks in the commentary I wrote last week which is just below this week's commentary.

Because this commentary will be up for a week before the next one is written and posted, let me tell you that this is being written Wednesday evening, September 24, which is 41 days before we elect a NEW President of the United States.

In his 14-minute speech tonight, I give President Bush props for outlining where we now are economically, part of how we got to this point (he left out the lack of regulation thing) and in essence he said that if a "rescue plan" (bailout) ISN'T adopted soon, we'll be facing a long recession.

That fact that we're already in a recession and have been for some time is something we'll excuse President Bush for and we'll just be happy he's acknowledging the possibility of a recession, sarcasm intended.

HERE'S A NEWS FLASH FOR YOU, MR. PRESIDENT!!!

During an interview with CBS' Katie Couric tonight, Republican Vice Presidential nominee, Governor Sarah Palin said (in essence) that if we don't fix things soon, we're in danger of being on the verge of another Great Depression. And yes, she used those last two words.

When Ms. Couric asked Republican Presidential nominee, Senator John McCain about what Governor Palin had said about Great Depression concerns, Senator McCain said (in essence), "We gotta tell Americans the TRUTH!"

Tell us? AMERICANS? The TRUTH? What a CONCEPT!

Again...Sarcasm intended.

HERE'S THE DEAL ABOUT THE RESCUE/BAILOUT PLAN, GANG:

MOST Americans don't like it! At ALL! President Bush has asked Senators McCain and Obama to join him tomorrow with the hope that they can help him SELL this plan to CONGRESS!

Will President Bush need McCain and Obama to still be there on FRIDAY, a day that the first debate between those two is scheduled to be held at the University of Mississippi? As of now, we don't know. What we do know is that Senator McCain has suggested that the debate be postponed, but as of now, Senator Obama is against that idea.

THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS? Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net. I write back to everyone.

RANDOM POLITICAL THOUGHTS:

When is Governor Palin going to "quit it" with that "Bridge to nowhere" lie?

She likes and advocates shooting WOLVES out of PLANES?!? Seeing as how my favorite animal IS the wolf, I still think Governor Palin is cute, but not as cute!

I wonder what Senator McCain said when Governor Palin referred to their ticket as the Palin/McCain ticket as opposed to the McCain/Palin ticket? I mean as far as the voters go it IS the Palin/McCain ticket, but still...

Did you see the response that Governor Palin gave Katie Couric when Ms. Couric asked Governor Palin (for the third time) to state one instance in the last 26 years (except for two years ago) that Senator McCain has led the charge for oversight or regulation(s) that would have helped to prevent all these bailouts we're having to deal with? Governor Palin's final answer was priceless.

Yeah, I still think Governor Palin is cute, but not AS cute!

Have you heard the rumors about Senator Hillary Clinton possibly replacing Senator Joe Biden after Biden claims a health problem of some kind?

Have you noticed how often Governor Palin repeats herself in the two legitimate interviews she has been a part of since accepting the nomination to be Senator McCain's running mate? Yes, I know. She's done three interviews, but her love fest with Sean "Little Lord Fauntleroy" Hannity, while charming, wasn't at all informational.

Anyway, when Governor Palin constantly repeated herself in her interviews with Charles Gibson and Katie Couric, they kept asking until they got a legitimate answer or no-answer until the final question that Ms. Couric posed on tonight's interview. I admit it. Governor Palin's final answer was cute, charming, un-bleeping believable, So un-presidential and you'll see her give this answer over and over again SO much in the next few days, you'll think you're watching Sports Center on ESPN!

Yeah, I still think Governor Palin is cute, buuuuuut...

Do you realize what we could do for AMERICA if the one billion dollars a day we spend in IRAQ was spent HERE?!?

Did you read the results of that Stanford University poll that said "Deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close."?

Here's MY response; "REALLY? Now tell me something I DON'T know!"

I guess what was genuinely newsworthy was that the poll focused on Democrats who have a problem with blacks which means that maybe someone thought that only Republicans would have feelings like that.

People are people, folks. Not everyone in a particular race, religion, rotary club, you name it, thinks or acts the same.

Senator Obama knows he has to walk in the racial minefield because he's FIRST!


LET'S WRAP THIS UP WITH SOME WORDS TO THINK ABOUT:


Writer Thomas Friedman offers this; "If all you ever do is all you've ever done, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."


THE NEXT BLOG? Unless something unexpected comes up, a week from today. As a rule, a new blog is posted every Wednesday afternoon (late) or (early/late) Wednesday evening.



Wednesday, September 17, 2008

It's the ECONOMY, stupid!!!

I don't know who was the first to say those words that you see in the headline of this commentary, but they are words often regurgitated, especially during a political campaign in which people are worried more about what's in their pockets than a war, gay marriage, abortion, or which candidate is the biggest CELEBRITY?!?

Have you noticed? We now have TWO celebrities who are trying to get our votes!

Senator Barack Obama and Governor Sarah Palin.

And now, we have whacha call a little dilemma on our hands.

Because most of us are easily swayed/conned by celebrities, this is an election that will feature a Democrat celebrity and a Republican celebrity and what we need to ASK ourselves is, "Which ONE of these political celebrities is LYING the LEAST?!?"

Here's something else to think about. When we vote on the 4th of November, we should be thinking about and voting for who we think our next PRESIDENT should be.

If you think it should be the Democrat candidate, you'll vote for Barack Obama.

Buuuuut...If you think it should be the Republican candidate, conversations on the street, talk radio, beauty shops and barber shops indicate you'll vote that way because of SARAH PALIN!

Hel-looohh!!! John McCain? Remember HIM? The war hero guy who supposedly has all the experience?

Folks, in my lifetime, I've never seen anything like this. And ya know what? If Obama had picked HILLARY CLINTON to be his running mate, most people, whether they were aware of it or not, would be casting their vote for the next President of the United States based on which VICE Presidential candidate they liked the most.

As my long time theatrical agent Sid Levin likes to say, "It is what it is!" and folks, what it is (or will be on the 4th of November) is that what will arguably be the most important election in our lifetime(s) will come down to...........(I'll let you finish this sentence!)

LET'S GO BACK TO OUR HEADLINE, "It's the ECONOMY, stupid!!!"

For those of you who have been reading my commentaries for a few months or longer, you know that I have written about our economy often. And I've expressed the belief that not only are we IN a RECESSION, we were/are dangerously close to a DEPRESSION!!!

I think you'll agree that what has happened the last few days support what I've been writing. I've also written the belief that we still have time to escape what a depression would do to all of us, but we need to CHANGE the way the "money" folks have been doing business. They've been virtually unregulated because that's what the current power folks in Washington have believed is the best way TO do business.

With little or NO regulation, they sell us the story that everyone will benefit MORE than if they (the "money" folks) were burdened by/with regulations.

MY contention has been that history has shown us that everytime you let people who run phone companies, radio empires, television empires, banks and Wall Street operate without STRINGENT regulations/oversight, you end up with what we're seeing now. Places going bankrupt, people at the top walking away with gigantic golden parachutes and mom and pop working stiffs who GET stiffed and wonder how they ended up in the poorhouse!

TWO MORE EXAMPLES OF CELEBRITY POWER:

I'm only going to use two examples because these are the two guys I listen to when I want to hear (with some exceptions) the absolute opposite of what I believe to be true!

Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

During the last many months I've heard these two guys say over and over and over again that the (our) economy was in good shape, the best in the world, etc., etc. and people who were suggesting otherwise were simply miserable people who are never happy about anything in this country and who are always complaining. Or as John McCain's economic guru Phil Gramm recently said, "We've become a nation of WHINERS!!!"

What I'm now writing is being written on the evening of September 17, 2008. On September 15, 16 and 17, we (this country) have been hit with some terrible economic news involving bankruptcy, bail-outs, etc., etc. Things that lead to one thing and one thing only.

BECAUSE OF LACK OF REGULATION(s), WE, THE TAXPAYERS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS GREEDY INCOMPETENCE!!!

If you've been listening to Limbaugh and Hannity this past Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, here's (in essence) what you've been hearing from them; They are no longer claiming that our economy has been good or great these past many months. They're not saying it really was lousy when they were preaching the opposite, they're just ignoring what they were saying then. In fact, what they ARE claiming is that because of the DEMOCRATS not putting proper REGULATIONS into place, THAT'S why our economy is in the bad shape it's in now. And they're (Limbaugh and Hannity) calling for/demanding INVESTIGATIONS!!!

And they're doing this (with presumably) STRAIGHT FACES!!!

CELEBRITIES!!! Whether they're smooth talking talk show hosts or smooth talking politicians, you gotta understand that when all is said and done, all they're trying to do is to SELL you something!!!

So what about our two POLITICAL celebrities?

What we have to try to figure out is which one of these two is the real deal and cast our vote accordingly. Between now and the next 48 days, we will learn some things about all four of these candidates that we don't know on the day this is being written.

I watched the first half of a conversation Sean Hannity had with Governor Sarah Palin on the Fox News Channel tonight. On this date, I'm sitting here believing that Sarah Palin would like to be a part of doing something good for this country. Does her version of "good" match up with what MY version or YOUR version of "good" is? Hard to say after seeing her in action tonight. What I saw was sweet, slick and nothing inflammatory. And ya know what? That's also pretty much what my take on Barack Obama is. Pretty soon, we'll see the candidates debating! THAT's when someone might slip up and become EXPOSED! And in some cases, that might be a GOOD thing!

In any event, above all else, these candidates need to remember our headline;

It's the ECONOMY, stupid!!!

THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS: Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net. I write back to everyone.

THE NEXT BLOG? Unless something unexpected comes up, a week from today. As a rule, a new blog is posted every Wednesday afternoon (late) or (early/late) Wednesday evening.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Jesus was a "Community Organizer"! Pontius Pilate was a "Governor"!

See what happens when you put RELIGION into politics?

The feeling here is that George W. Bush has thrown religion around a lot while he's been President of the United States and I would ask you one question; "How's that been workin' out for the REST of the country during these last almost 8 years?!?"

At the end and under my last blog, you can read an email that was sent to me about how much I must like or love Governor Sarah Palin because of what I wrote in my last blog and why the email writer doesn't like or love Governor Sarah Palin.

For the record, what I liked/loved about Governor Sarah Palin was the speech she gave at the Republican convention. Because I've written and delivered a few speeches, I think I know the difference between a good one and a bad one and it has nothing to do with whether or not I agree with the substance of the speech.

For what she was trying to accomplish, I thought her speech was a home run. I felt the same way about Barack Obama's speech the week before.

Now that the conventions are becoming a memory, the focus is more on the candidates and what it is they really represent.

We have learned quite a lot about Senator McCain, Senator Obama and Senator Biden and we're still learning things about them.

We don't know much at all about Governor Palin except that she can give a good speech. So far, she's refused to take questions from anyone. We're told that tomorrow (9/11), she'll sit down and do an interview with ABC's Charles Gibson.

In the last few days, we've learned some things about Governor Palin because of all the investigative reporters that have flown to Alaska. And one wonders if ABC's Charles/Charlie Gibson will ask Governor Palin about some of those things.

Like...

Does Governor Palin really believe you can "PRAY away GAY"?!?

Does Governor Palin really believe that God has a rooting interest in the Iraq war we've been involved in?

Why have Governor Palin's representatives said that Governor Palin will answer questions only if she is treated with "deference" and what exactly is meant by that "condition" or pre-approval?

Why have Governor Palin's representatives said that questions about her unmarried pregnant daughter are off limits when it was Governor Palin who sent out a press release about her unmarried daughter's pregnancy?

And then there are the questions about money for the bridge she said she was against which it turns out wasn't/isn't true...questions about did she or didn't she request or demand the banning of books from a public library and if so, which books?

And...

Look, I know a lot of you are trying to make a big deal out of "babies" in the Palin family, but this ol' political junkie (me) really doesn't care about those kinds of things. I didn't care about what Bill Clinton did, what John Edwards did and I don't care about what Governor Palin might have done or not done in her private personal life!

BUUUUT...As a public figure and one who aspires to be the Vice President of the United States, I DO care if public policy decisions she makes are influenced by religious beliefs shared by the likes of James Dobson and other evangelical types.

And that's what prompts the headline I chose to write for today's blog. I mean, everything in the Bible is stuff that people choose to accept or believe based on faith! I mean, NO one can PROVE that ANYTHING in the Bible is TRUTHFUL! Or not.

But when Governor Palin's supporters want to go to the Bible during THIS election campaign to make THEIR points, I can play the "anything you can do I can do better" Bible game and make the observation that the Bible tells us that Jesus was a community organizer and that Pontius Pilate was a Governor!

You see, I believe the Bible and personal religious beliefs should be left out of what is supposed to be public policy for ALL Americans, because ALL Americans don't believe what evangelicals believe and if truth be known, ALL "evangelicals" (as countless numbers of news stories will attest to) don't believe what they've been TOLD to believe!

IN CONCLUSION...

Between now and November 4 (election day) we will (hopefully) learn more and more about Governor Palin. But off of what we know now, here's my take on Governor Palin;

I think Governor Palin is SMARTER and more CHARISMATIC than the Bush/Cheney duo which (to me) makes her (potentially) TWICE as DANGEROUS!!!

THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS: Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net. I write back to everyone.

THE NEXT BLOG? Unless something unexpected comes up, a week from today. As a rule, a new blog is posted every Wednesday afternoon (late) or (early/late) Wednesday evening.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Do you miss Clint playing "Dirty Harry"? Well, he's too old, but at the Republican Convention we met someone who can play "DIRTY HARRIET"!!!

"Make my day!!!" "Do you feel lucky, punk!!!"

Clint Eastwood. Great actor, great filmmaker. A director who gets right to the point and makes films quickly. His films feature sly wit, a take no prisoners style but he'll always be remembered for embracing the character "Dirty Harry" the way he did.

I couldn't help but be reminded of that while watching Republican Vice President nominee and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin delivering her speech at the Republican convention.

Were we watching a woman who could play the role of a new character named, "Dirty HARRIET"?!?

I've been reading a lot of things about Governor Palin since this past Saturday when I was first sent the rumor about who might really be the mother of her 5th child. That rumor was followed by a number of other stories that were sent to me and some stories that I found on my own.

Because this blog is up for a week, to be clear, I'm referring to first hearing about Governor Palin rumors and stories on the afternoon of August 30.

The rumor about who was the real mother of her 5th child seems to have been discredited, but we quickly learned that her 17-year old daughter Bristol is several months pregnant. The father, an 18-year old high school hockey player, is Levi Johnston. We're told that they plan to get married, but a date doesn't seem to have been set.

A glance at Levi Johnston's My Space page (now deleted) showed Johnston to be a tough talking high school super jock type who (with his My Space words) redefined the definition of "cocky". He (among other claims) referred to himself as being an "ass kicker", someone who had/has no interest in getting married, is an agnostic, etc., etc. In other words, your typical high school blowhard jock. And if he seriously means anything he stated in his now deleted My Space page, he's a guy who would appear to be not welcome in Governor Palin's home because of the "family values" thing she preaches. No sex before marriage, being a Christian, etc., etc.

But in the last couple of days we're told that Levi Johnston apparently had a change of heart of some kind about marriage and that he plans to marry 17-year old Bristol Palin, the soon to be mother of his child.

Because a ton of reporters have invaded Alaska since these stories broke, Levi Johnston's mother (Sherry Johnston) was asked if pressure had been applied to her son about the issue of marriage seeing as how Bristol Palin was pregnant because tough talking Levi turns out to be a guy who doesn't shoot "blanks".

Sherry Johnston said, "Absolutely not!" and that the two teenagers were planning to get married before they knew Bristol was pregnant.

Well, seeing is believing and all eyes will be on this couple the day they do in fact get married if that day ever comes.

Seeing was believing for me when television cameras zoomed in on family members mentioned by Governor Palin during her speech. When she mentioned her 3 daughters, Levi Johnston (who was sitting with them) was not mentioned and his body language and the look on his face showed (to me) a young man who had had the cockiness knocked out of him and a guy who was wishing he was ANYWHERE but the Republican convention.

Are we witnessing a classic case of "do the crime, do the time"?!?

I guess the answer to that is, "Only time will tell!"

BACK TO THE GOVERNOR'S SPEECH AND WHAT I MEANT ABOUT A "DIRTY HARRY" COMPARISON...

First of all, I thought Governor Palin's speech was off the charts terrific. I give it an A+, the same grade I gave Barack Obama's speech on the 28th of August.

What made me think about the "Dirty Harry" analogy was some tough talking she did. We already knew she knows how to handle a gun and is someone who "doesn't suffer fools gladly". But when she made the crack about not being concerned about legal rights for terrorists and then when referring to being a Hockey Mom said, "Do you know what the difference is between a Hockey Mom and a pit bull? LIPSTICK!!!"

THAT's when I said (to myself), "Dirty Harriet?!?"

When Governor Palin said, "I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment!", I said (to myself), "Uh, ya THINK?!?"

And here's another observation...

Ever since we've heard about Governor Palin being picked by Senator McCain to be his VP running mate, we've heard comparisons to Hillary Clinton being made.

Here's a newsflash, folks! There is NO comparison!!!

Governor Sarah Palin represents real change. Hillary Clinton suddenly looks old and out of touch.

Barring some kind of scandal story that could blindside any of the four nominees and result in ruining one party's chances for victory on the 4th of November, I think we have the makings of a very fun to watch campaign that will result in an election that will be every bit as close as the Bush-Gore election was.

And look at WHAT we have! An establishment guy at the top of the Republican ticket and an establishment guy at the bottom of the Democrat ticket. But the change candidates, or fresh air candidates (if you will), are at top of the Democrat ticket and at the bottom of the Republican ticket.

Voters who might like a do-over will secretly be wishing the candidates running at the top of the tickets were Obama and Palin.

But we have what we have. It figures to be fun, exciting and new drama of some kind wouldn't surprise any of us. November 4 will be here two short months from now.

GAME ON!!!

Now let's see what kind of speech will be given by Senator McCain! I'll write some comments as an addition to this blog tomorrow night.

SENATOR McCAIN'S SPEECH:

He gave it a go, but it was impossible for Senator McCain to generate the electricity that had been produced by Governor Palin the night before. In essence, Senator McCain promised to move his party more to the center which would produce more jobs and he also promised (by using the word we first heard coming from the mouth of Senator Obama) "CHANGE!!!".

THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS: Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net. I write back to everyone.

THE NEXT BLOG? Unless something unexpected comes up, a week from today. As a rule, a new blog is posted every Wednesday afternoon (late) or (early) Wednesday evening.