A BIT OF POLITICAL LEVITY.

I know the state of the union address is tomorrow and as we near caucus time, the frenzy for political positioning is a slug-fest, as all the verbal dirt comes flying out of the bag. Philosopher John Arbuthnot said:  All political parties die from swallowing their own lies.  Hmm!  If only it were true.

A dialog on whiskey in 1952 puts a bit of levity into the political process that tickles the funny bone and is worth repeating.

In 1952, Armon M. Sweat, Jr. a member of the Texas House of Representatives, was asked about his position on whiskey. Here is his answer:

“If you mean whiskey, the devils brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean that evil drink that topples Christian men and women from the pinnacles of righteous and gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, shame, despair, helplessness, and hopelessness, then, my friend I am opposed to it with every fiber of my being.”

“However, if by whiskey you mean the lubricant of conversation, the philosophic juice, the elixir of life, the liquid that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer, the stimulating sip that puts a little spring in the step of an elderly gentleman on a frosty morning; if you mean that drink that enables him to magnify his joy, and to forget life’s great tragedies and heart breaks and sorrow; if you mean that drink the sale of which pours into Texas treasuries untold millions of dollars each year, that provides tender care for our crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitifully aged and infirm, to build the finest highways, hospitals, universities, and community colleges in this nation, then my friend, I am absolutely, unequivocally in favor of it. This is my position and as always, I refuse to compromise on my principles.”

I love it.

A good friend stopped in for a visit yesterday with his “new” dog, Daisy. Daisy doesn’t like to have her picture taken. I don’t see Bob Urban very often, but I always enjoy his company. We talked the afternoon away and caught up on mutual friends. One thing we don’t discus is politics and religion. I haven’t a clue what Bob’s politics are. But, I hope he enjoys Mr. Sweat’s dialog entitled Whiskey as much as I did.

Caio

 

FACT CHECKERS

I should never watch the debates. It drives home the imperfections of our system . It frustrates me that I don’t have a real command of what our government does except in a general way.  In years past, I’ve never found such steady use of fact checkers to be a necessity.  During this campaign, you can’t do without them if you expect to be informed. The one I use most is:
http://www.factcheck.org/

It is from the respected Annenberg Public Policy Center.

We, the 99% may not know exactly what is going on in the halls of congress, but, you can count on the 1% to have the resources to know what goes on in the halls of congress.

Obama certainly did a better job at the debates, but he had to use the same tactics that Romney introduced in the first debate. Interrupting, talking over his opponent and the moderator, ignoring the time limits and leaving civility behind, as did Joe Biden in the vice-presidential debates. I guess this signals a new low for debates to follow. Am I the only one who would like to see a return to civility?

Romney continually hammered on jobs as the cure-all for the economy, and rightly so. He just doesn’t make a credible plan for how he will create those jobs. His numbers don’t add up. But we do know he will take away my tax deductions.  Now he says I can personally take $2,500 in tax deductions, period. But nobody will have to pay taxes on their dividends and capital gains. The 1%  hold the mega portfolios and stand to gain huge benefits from that plan. That leaves out most of the middle class who don’t have grand portfolios.

Obama and Romney were both weak on the immigration question and gun control.  Romney allowed the National Rifle Association to meet with sportsmen and they agreed on their principles of gun control for Massachusetts.  Basically, whatever you want, guys! Obama says enforce the laws we have on gun control. That would help, but it doesn’t happen. Maybe it is a state thing?

Obama has suggested amnesty for immigrants who have been here and worked and contributed to social security.  And, to make it easier for immigrants to come here legally.  That is not a very popular idea among most people.

Romney wants businesses to police immigrants with a green card. Unfortunately, green cards are easily manufactured and are useless. Businesses depend on immigrant workers to do the jobs they can’t hire anyone else to do. In Alabama, farmers have lost crops because they could not hire anyone to harvest them when they instituted new immigration laws. The new laws basically legalized racial profiling by police and teachers.

The first fact checker says Romney has more Pinocchios in his rhetoric. (And, once and for all, I wish people would quit sending me emails claiming Obama allows Illegal Immigrants to collect social security. It isn’t’ true.)

The town hall questions were good ones, but, not one question on climate change, or the environment. For climate change deniers, maybe they should look at islands in Fiji, the Solomons, Tuvalu, where water threatens to flood them out of existence. In Kiribati, 102,000 people have been evacuated to a nearby Island because of climate change flooding.

There was a passing reference to green jobs and energy. I did learn that both Obama and Romney are heavily supportive of oil and coal. What a disappointment. Drilling in the Antarctic?  Maybe they should both take a trip north and see what is happening there and study how unsafe the off shore drilling rigs are. Study how much oil  companies spend on safety and clean-up capabilities. Obama sites oil independence as a way to transition to green energy at home and has supported that technology in a big way. I don’t like it, but I understand that you can’t overnight turn us into a green energy nation. Even so,  I hated hearing them brag about pipelines and drilling. (No mention of fracking.)  Romney equally supports that idea as far as I could tell.

I don’t choose to spend my time being a fact checker on everything our government does. But, the truth be told, government is far too complex for an ordinary person to really keep up with everything that affects us. And this year, with corporations flooding the airwaves with distorted and misleading ads, it seems our only defense.

For a sample of what a Romney President might be like check this site:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/four-pinocchios-for-king-of-bain/2012/01/12/gIQADX8WuP_blog.html

There are many Fact checkers out there on every subject.  Fact Checking,  the new business driving our economy?  Fact Checkers R Us!

INTELLIGENCE FOR YOUR LIFE

 

I listen to the John Tesh radio show in my car. He is known for his short, concise advice, sort of an Ann Landers of the airwaves. He calls it Intelligence For Your Life. (IFYL). I wait for his practical nuggets to come on between the music on my favorite local station. Everyone should have a John Tesh in their life. I learn something from him every time I hear his voice and I love it. 

Much of his advice is for the young and inexperienced. He gleans it from sources like, Psychology Magazine, and Real Simple Magazine, Science Magazine…those are three I remember off hand. But, his reach and subject matter is enormous. Everything from parenting, to what questions you ask at the hospital. He talks about relationships and dating, marriage and job hunting, finances and spending habits. You could say John Tesh is a teacher of common sense, among other things. If you don’t hear John Tesh, ask your station to put him on.

He also has a voluminous archive on-line where you can get his practical advice a second time, or look for things you missed. One time I remember hearing him say, I’m paraphrasing here and don’t know if I have it exactly right, but he said women and men both lie on-line. Women lie about their weight and age, men lie about everything. The number one lie from men is whether they are married or not. I went to his archive to check it out and its so voluminous, I couldn’t find it. So, keep me honest if you are interested.

And if you are interested in intelligence for your life, check it out at:
http://tesh.com/

This is trivia about relationships from Sam Wein-not John Tesh. People who have never been married are seven-and-a-half times more likely than married people to be admitted to a psychiatric facility. And, during a kiss as many as 278 bacterial colonies are exchanged. Trivia is fun, but, I want the science first, before I give up kissing.

We are looking at snow at lower elevations, here, and the “Weather Wimp” (That’s my partner, Jim) is already chomping at the bit to get on the road to warmer climes.  In January of 2009, he and had to put up with six inches of snow on the Motor Home. Perish the thought!!
I’m actually hoping for a bit of the white stuff because its pretty and it doesn’t last long enough to get the shovel out. It brings the skiiers and helps out our local economy.