Tag Archives: Obama

Who’s Fault?

Posted on by renmiked

For what seems like an eternity at this point, BP has been allowing the spewing of millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf with seemingly no real idea of how to stop it.  From the early days, pundits were out in force on both sides spewing their ignorance across the land.  ”This is Obama’s Katrina!” , “Bush weakened the MMS” and blah blah blah.  Thats all BS.  Regulation is not to blame, Bush is not to blame, Obama is not to blame, and the free market will NOT solve this.  BP is 100% culpable for the negligent deaths of eleven people, the destruction of wildlife, massive pollution of the Gulf and adjacent wetlands, the destruction of countless small businesses, and the failure to stop and or clean up THEIR mess.  All other arguments are just giving BP cover.  They should be in the cross-hares of EVERY politician, EVERY news organization and EVERY citizen.  Was there a lax attitude by regulators at the MMS? Yes.  Was the government response as fast and harsh as it should have been? No.  But, neither of these things caused what is happening.  People lost their lives, health, and livelihoods because of the greed of one corporation.  By cutting corners BP has put money above safety and human life.  It was worse for them to lose money than to protect the lives of their employees.

In the end, I doubt anyone will pay for their negligence.  We will most likely see no one go to jail, or pay any significant price for their actions.  The pols and pundits will continue to squabble and defend, while completely losing sight of the real villains.  How can this corporation be allowed to do business in America again?  Why does the government not have its foot on the throat of the perpetrators of this crime?  These are questions that should be answered and hopefully will but until then let’s keep our eyes on BP.

Pre-State of the Union Thoughts

Posted on by renmiked

So, tonight is the State of the Union address and if have t say I find it to be one of the most disgusting political displays of the year.  I’m not just talking about this year, I am talking about the event as it is currently constituted.  First of all the POTUS walking into the halls of Congress as if he were a king is just plain nauseating. Hey, Congress, you are a separate and equal branch of government who is meant to check the power of the POTUS, so stop fawning and clapping.  I am sick of standing ovations every three seconds for the most innocuous comments or decrees, and I certainly cannot take all of the post speech grandstanding from both sides.  I think Obama is a very thoughtful man, and my hope is that in the first few lines of the speech he says ” Ladies and gentleman, I am here not for your applause or approval; I am here to give a true and sobering view of our nation.  This is not a time for grandstanding or back-patting; it is a time to get our hands dirty and fight for the reforms that are needed.  If we cannot work as one through compromise, then we are failing the citizens of this country…”

Of course the more likely outcome is “Ladies (standing ovation)… and (standing ovation)… gent (smattering of applause)lemen(standing ovation)…”

Reporters Need Better Questions.

Posted on by renmiked

I was just watching CNN and there was a promo for an interview with President Obama by Ed Henry. In the promo, one of the questions featured was about Sarah Palin’s book. I immediately stopped watching. Why should we care about what Obama thinks of this book? Everything is going so well in the nation that there is nothing else for Henry to ask about? It’s bad enough that FOX makes the news it reports and MSNBC has followed the FOX lead and lost it’s credibility as well but I was hopeful CNN was going to be the “real” news channel. Sadly inane questions, like the one Henry posed, do nothing to help the standing of the network. That was a question that an ET reporter and not a serious journalist would have asked. If this is the type of info the masses want, then leave the masses behind and target people who want honest thoughtful reporting and not tabloid schlock.

Catholic Bishops on Health Care?

Posted on by renmiked

So I just came across an article in USA Today where the nation’s Catholic bishops are pulling their support for health care over concerns of government funded abortions, contraception and lack of care for illegal immigrants. Does anyone give a (expletive) what these criminals have to say about anything. I find it rich that a group that has done everything in it’s power to circumvent and ignore the laws of this nation has any opinion on what new health care legislation should look like. This is akin to the mafia putting out a statement that they don’t support anti-gambling legislation. Guess what, bishops, when you aid and abet criminals for decades the value of you opinion dwindles. As a collective you have urinated on our laws and hid behind your robes, this is not your country until you respect the laws of our land and abide by them like the rest of us. As for their stances, I can completely understand being against government funded abortion, which is already illegal, but there should always be a provision for medical emergencies. Poor women should not be denied life saving care for any reason. The anti-contraception movement is just ignorance run amuck. As far as illegal immigrants deserving basic care, I see nothing wrong with that as a platform. So once the bishops either pay taxes or pay for their crimes they can once again have a political voice until then, shut up and clean up your house.

How Can the NFL Accept Rush?

Posted on by renmiked

Rush_LimbaughLet me be clear I am for anyone with the money buying whatever they want but there are some obvious conundrums in the Limbaugh deal for both the NFL and Rush himself. First why would Rush join a league run like a socialist society? Shouldn’t each team compete in a free market place? Isn’t forcibly keeping the the contracted salaries down against his free market ideals? No one limits what Rush makes off of his show, nor should they. What I don’t get is how this reconciles with his political ideals. The NFL is anti free market, from the time it squashed, with the help of a ridiculous court decision, the USFL, to the way it shares revenue and caps salaries is anything but free. Also how does Rush feel about all of the public tax dollars that have been WASTED on building and helping to build business facilities (stadium) for a private company? There is nothing in the NFL business model that speaks to conservative values but all that said I assume he sees it as a money making opportunity and doesn’t mind leaving his values behind to make a buck.

As for the NFL and Roger Goodell, who has been on a personal conduct rampage, how will they handle every racist, sexist, or inflammatory remark Limbaugh makes? If a player had said “Look, let me put it to you this way: the NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it.” how much and how quickly would Roger have fined them? There are way too many of these comments to go through but I think that illustrates the dilemma for the NFL. No good can come of this for the league, but for Rush it is a win win. First he doesn’t care what people think, secondly if he is denied he will use it to pump up his victimhood, and finally if he is accepted it will garner him an incredible amount of publicity. I can’t wait to see how this turns out and how the mostly black players in the NFL handle having a vocal racist as an owner instead of a closeted one.

Visiting the “Real America”

Posted on by renmiked

800px-60's_car_with_confederate_flag_at_Power_Big_Meet_2005
I went on a weekend trip to Central Pennsylvania, Hanover in York County to be exact, and while I enjoy the rolling hills and crisp mornings I was baffled by some things I witnessed. Hanover is known for Utz chips and Hanover pretzels, as well as being close to Gettysburg. You wouldn’t think being that close to Gettysburg you would have hundreds of locals running around with Confederate flags on their cars and clothes. What is this fascination with an anti-American movement? This is not Alabama or South Carolina but you wouldn’t know that driving around. Look I realize that central PA is not the most diverse population in the world, and that Dover PA is only a few miles away, but I am just baffled by the affinity to be associated with being a “redneck”(this was scrawled on one of the flags flying high on the back of a pick up). No one runs around with swastikas pretending to be a proud of their German heritage, so why run around with a flag that represents slavery, segregation, and racism and pretend that you are just proud of being rural. To me this is akin to flying the flag of an enemy nation on US soil. This was a nation, The Confederate States, that was at war with America to protect “states rights” which was a guise to slow the decline of slavery and is a term still used to stem the tide of racial progress. No one in these States truly wants State’s rights because that would mean several heavily populated states would have stringent gun laws, liberal abortion laws, and gay marriage, which we know the State’s Rights crowd hates. I was really disappointed to see the Confederate flag flying proudly around PA and I will be curious to see if in upcoming trips it will become more prevalent closer to the 2012 election. I’m sure it wont since the flag doesn’t represent racial hatred , right?