Sunday, November 29, 2009

No time to blog right now, but here are some topics that I will be commenting on in the December Blog:

What's up with MSNBC Morning Joe's Joe Scarborough? Why are the conservative Republicans so against the Health Care Reform Bill? Congressman Patrick Kennedy vs. the Rhode Island bishop and the Catholic Church? These are items that I have been pondering for the last couple of days. I just haven't been disciplined enough to blog about them. Also, Tiger Woods. I will in December.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Election Day is obviously over and the results are mixed. The Republicans did unseat two Democratic governors, one in Virginia and one in New Jersey. This meager victory is hardly a game changer. These are state offices and particular to the states involved. They are not national statements. The same is true with the two special congressional elections, one in California and one in New York. They both went to the Democrats. The status quo? I don't think so. Although these two election victories did helped House Speaker Pelosi pass the House Health Care Reform Bill. Don't take the American people for granted. They will vote for whomever they deem the "best" for the office in question. In the 2010 mid-term elections the American people will assess the situation and vote appropriately. It may come down to the lesser of the two evils. 

Are the killings at Fort Hood, Texas last week the second terrorist attack on American soil since September 11, 2001? Probably, but the attack was contrived and carried out by a single terrorist. A disgruntled army major went berserk. Yes, his Islamic religion contributed to the incident, but he acted alone. He acted in the same manner as anyone who perceives himself or herself bullied or ridiculed because of being different. This is not an excuse. However, it is a contributing factor. There were apparently many signs of the turmoil that the shooter suffered. These signs should have been acted upon in the interest of safety and security of others. Political correctness is important as a means to ensure the freedom and rights of all people, but obvious underlying security risk or risks should not be ignored because of political correctness. This should be true for all people. 

You know, there are a lot of bizarre happenings in our world today. The media capitalizes on these occurrences, as they should to an extent. Ordinary people don't understand how these things could happen. They point fingers and say that's what celebrities or rich people or people of specific professions or politicians or people of a certain race or religion do. These people are wrong. Outrageous events happen all too frequently, but not because of any "special" group of people. They happen because or as a result of ordinary people's attitudes and actions. In other words, regular, ordinary people are capable of such acts. Ordinary people perform or allow hurtful actions to take place in their own lives, albeit these actions may not be as severe as a mass killing, etc, but just as eventful and harmful. Our society points it's finger to others. My suggestion, take that finger and turn it around and concentrate on the attitudes and actions of yourself. The only way to change society is to change individuals, one at a time. Start with yourself before blaming another person. It is a personal thing. It is up to you. You have a responsibility to live peacefully and respectfully. It's your responsibility. It is our responsibility.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Election Day is Tuesday. There are very few elections going on in my county. I think 2 or 3 cities have municipal elections. The really big events will be in New Jersey, Virginia and New York. It looks like the only chance of victory for the Democrats is the New Jersey governor's race. The Virginia governor's race will probably go to the Republican and the upstate New York congressional seat to the right wing conservative candidate. The congressional race may have gone to the Democrat, but the Republican candidate withdrew from the race today. The 3rd party candidate, the tea party conservative will probably win the seat. The actual Republican candidate was very middle of the road, left leaning due to the politics of New York. The conservative 3rd party candidate has been endorsed by many national conservative right wing Republican icons. This will be a real win for conservatives and the tea party movement. So says Fox News. However, the mainstream news outlets have a slightly different take on the upcoming elections. CNN and the network news bureaus are merely reporting the news of the day in a very professional journalistic manner. The people at Fox News are in their glory reporting the apparent demise of President Obama and the Democrats. Hold on you partisan Fox News people, history has shown that the election in the year after a presidential election is not a reliable indicator of the current administration's success or potential failure. If nothing else, the commentary and editorializing on the evening Fox News and MSNBC programs are entertaining and spirited. MSNBC is just as partisan as Fox, but in the opposite direction. They have been obvious Obama supporters. I'm watching Fox News more and more because of the bizarre happenings on the shows. Funny and sometimes unbelievable. That's politics.