Nine days left of GW Bush... finally in the single digits (or didgits if you're GW).

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Last night I was talking aobut the economic melt down and how it really worries me that no one seems to have any answers.
Today on "Meet The Press" half the show was on the economy.
It made me feel good to hear more people talking about the problem because it needs discussion but at the same time it didn't make me feel much better. That's because this discussion should have taken place around 3 or so years ago.
There were many interesting topics that could have been made into one whole show instead of half but it was worth listening to. I find I'm liking David Gregory as the moderator a lot, he's lively, smart and interested it seems.


They brought up a point that I've been thinking about: If the economic stimulus plan does work is the goal to get back to where we were before? Because it seems to me that unrestrained extreme capitalism is not working for most of the "lower classes" and by that I mean the really poor, poor, lower class and middle class.
Is the goal to go back to business as usual where the top 10% of the food chain holds all the money and power?
Yea, yea I know, when you start talking like that it gets you called a socialist/communist/bleeding heart liberal whatever...
Which I'm not. I don't understand why we associate unregulated capitalism with our democracy.
Well, look where we are now.

The second half of the show was on Obama and how it effects Black Americans that he was elected president of the United States of America (Bill Cosby was one of the speakers).
It's interesting to me that I always thought the description "Black Americans" wasn't all that satisfactory since there are no Black or White people really.
And African American is inadequate since all "black" or "people of color" (which is pretty much everybody) aren't from Africa.
I think that a Barack Obama presidency is good for ALL Americans though perhaps more poignant for Black Americans.
A long time coming... And one day we will have a woman as president too, though NOT Sarah Palin. Puhleeze.

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Gonna say g'night for now,
I might be back later but I'm tired and want to make hot tea.
Still coughing, this cold is really frustrating.

Laura

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Sixteen days to the Obama inauguration, it's getting oh so close!

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If you can stand to listen to Harry Reid for a while check out today's Meet the Press.
I'm not a fan of Reid but it was an interesting interview. I've decided that I like David Gregory as moderator for the show.
He asks hard questions and follows up on them. I like that.

At any rate, They talk about the Blagojevich appointment of Burris to the Illinois senate seat vacated by Obama.
Politician's talk with forked tongues out of both sides of their mouth. It's so amazing.
At one point when pressed to answer a question about how Reid says they won't seat Burris in the senate it goes like this:

SEN. REID: Hey, listen, David, I'm an old trial lawyer. There's always room to negotiate.

MR. GREGORY: All right, so you're not saying no completely that he won't serve?

SEN. REID: That's right.

Nah, I'd never know that you were a lawyer by the way you twist and turn questions and answers about like that in the wind.
So the proverbial non answer of "room to negotiate" is the answer to the question that is actually truly a non answer... Wow.
I think Rush made the point in the song "Freewill" how "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."
Politicians choose to be unclear there's no doubt about it!

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To grow up to be a politician you must first learn this cardinal rule little grasshopper:

You must learn the art of double speak, the art of saying one thing and appearing to say another or to say nothing at all and make it appear to mean something. You must learn this art well my child and you will grow up to be a great politician.

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Thinking of song lyrics here's another appropriate one by Queen:

Another one bites the dust, Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone, Another one bites the dust
Hey, Im gonna get you too, Another one bites the dust...

Yes, that would be Obama's choice for Secretary of Commerce in his cabinet... BuhBye Bill Richardson.
Bill withdrew his name because of, yup you guessed it, yet another "ongoing grand jury investigation" into contract/donation/business allegations.
Are there no honest men and women left in this country to represent us?
Wait, since we elect our representatives; we might just be getting what does indeed represent us after all and that dear friends is what makes me the most depressed... Ethics, hard work and truth seem to be in short order these days all around.
I wonder if that was what Bob Dylan meant when he sang "The Times They Are A-Changin'?"

On that happy note I'm going to bed.
Still sick but beginning to feel better.

G'night,

Laura

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Forty-nine days left to add to the Bush legacy... or something like that.

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I keep reading that David Gregory (chief White House Correspondent for NBC) will be taking over on Meet The press.
I know Tom Brocaw taking Tim Russert's spot was temporary, so David Gregory isn't a bad choice at all and not unexpected.
I really miss Tim Russert. He made watching Meet The Press very interesting with his enthusiasm.
He was so into the show, interviews and debates. Still miss him. In some ways it was his show.
It was such a shame that he died at the premature age of 58.
His son Luke not only looks a bit like Tim but even has some of his mannerisms and voice.

Chambliss (as I expected) won the Georgia senate run off election.
It still looks like Coleman won over Franken in Minnesota too...
So no filibuster proof senate for the democrats.
Let's hope the dems and repubs can get something done in the next few years instead of the usual bullshit.
We have major problems that we need to really fix instead of the normal stalemate until all hell breaks loose and then blame it on the each other. If that happens, well, the word "doomed" or at least "doom and gloom" pops into my head for the middle class.

I also keep coming across the rumor that Sarah Palin might appear on the season finale of abc's Desparate Housewives.
I knew I hated that show. lol. No seriously I don't watch it. Seems a fitting place for her though. Yay.

Newsweek had a very sobering, pessimistic and depressing story about the possibility of attacks with weapons of mass destruction (such as biological pathogens). It's something more for people to be stressed out about.
Beginning to wonder why people are so stressed out and discouraged? Just look and listen to the news these days.
Threat of WMD terrorist attack in future

Auto makers, banks, insurance, state governments, there seems to be a larger and larger list of folk that want $$$.
Still not sure how it's all going to help "Main Street" at all... Maybe, maybe not.

Watched the Laura and George Bush interview with Charles Gibson. It was okay. Nothing really new.
They have the strangest body language with each other. I wonder what their days are like together.

Non Political:

Gun's and Roses cd, something like 17 years in the coming, ain't so great. Sorry Axl.
They're fighting with Dr. Pepper over a free soda deal if the cd came out in 2008. Seriously?

Still struggling with Christmas presents but have some ideas at least.
So far haven't been able to muster much enthusiasm but hopefully it'll get better shortly.
Just have too much on my mind and a little down in the dumps.
I realized tonight that part of my problem is that I stopped working on the book I was writing.
I felt better when my page tally was going upward.

Senior class is one cost after another. Just bought a bunch of pizza's and cheesecakes because we have no relatives to sell all this stuff to... next up is magazines. UGH. I don't want to hit up the few people I know at holiday time to buy overpriced items my senior is selling. January there is the next installment on the Senior Class trip of $200.00.
It's the most expensive year by far!
Well, at least this is the last time we have to do it. Last one in high school.
Hallelujah!!!

Well, G'night for now.
Have a good day.

Laura

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