Sunday, February 7, 2010

Sunday Morning Thoughts

It is supposed to rain and then change to snow today, Super Bowl Sunday, and expecting maybe 5-6 inches by tomorrow evening. We'll see. May not be riding for a few days. Didn't ride at all this week. Snow first of the week, and took awhile to melt away. I decided to make coffee.

My thoughts turned to a couple of events of the past week. First, Conch had posted a link on his blog to an article about money and influence peddling in congress. Second, the author of that article was on Bill Moyers Journal on PBS the next night along with a Libertarian. Then finally, again on TV , last night was the renowned Sarah Palin speaking to the tea party convention in Nashville.

Hmmmm. Lots to digest from the week.

Liberal views, Libertarian views, conservative views.

What do I think?

I'm not a big fan of Sarah Palin. There were some things she said that made perfect sense and I couldn't disagree with. Washington is dysfunctional, etc.

There were other things she said that I cringed at. The politics of fear that terrorists are constantly out to get each and every one of us.

The tea party could be an interesting movement, but I think it is doomed to be a fringe movement within the republican party, unless it does a few things different.

For one thing, I saw only white people in the audience. And they still are very republican party oriented.

But to me, the frustration with Washington is the fault of both parties. Congress is essentially for sale. Votes can and are being bought all the time. Both parties are at fault. And corporate interests have become more important to congress than the intersts of simple human beings.

Sarah does a fairly effective job of tapping into that frustration. People stood and applauded many times during her speech.

My frustration is that I am simply not real impressed with people who complain about everything, but do not offer up new potential solutions. The tea partiers are like that to me. To them it is like their way or the highway.

Hell, the democrats aren't much (any) better.

A lot of different types of people (liberals, conservatives, green, yellow, etc) are disenchanted with how things work in Washington these days. Is there more common ground than most people think there is? Or is the big money able to keep that concealed for their own advantage.

I have a brother that lives in Finland. We sometimes use Facebook to communicate with each other. He says that Finnish people generally like America, but not real impressed with what we did in Iraq.

Sometimes I wonder about the good old USA.

We are nearly bankrupt. Our leaders are for sale. Action on problems seems incredibly slow.

If I moved, where would I go? Canada? New Zealand? Australia?

It is a lot to consider over Sunday morning coffee. Ahhh, maybe a little too heavy for this day. Jayna had a birthday this week, hence the flowers. We are planning soup, salad and breadsticks at Olive Garden for lunch with all of the family. We get together almost every Sunday for a meal together. We will probably take in the Super Bowl later today too. I didn't get in much riding this week, but the week before I was able to ride every day to work. With the predicted snow today, it may be a few days again before I will be riding to work. Sometimes I think my life partially revolves around my decisions to ride or not to ride to work. Occasionally, thoughts about the world, politics, health care, philosophy, tax laws, religion and other sundry matters cloud my mind. I admit to not being able to provide all the solutions to the problems of the world. Just maybe some opinions. The decisions to ride or not to ride are a little simpler. Tech notes. All pictures today from new blackberry (3.2 mp camera). First post from home with the new laptop. Somewhere in the neighborhood is a free wifi link. I am not complaining. I just hate to pay for stuff that I can get for free.

9 comments:

  1. Ahh ... sounds like a truly human tendency to not want to pay for what is perceived to be free. I'm no different and have at times "borrowed" wifi connections. But, I think there is a connection between this tendency and what we are observing happening in our country today. Somebody is paying $$ for that wifi connection. Likewise, somebody has to pay $$ to continue the benefits we all receive with a feeling of entitlement every day; like highways, roads, traffic lights, libraries, schools, medics at our doorstep when we feel faint ... etc.

    As you say, to ride or not ride is a so much simpler question to answer.

    Thanks for your thought provoking post.

    Kind regards,
    Chuck

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  2. Thinking is always a good idea and taking caffeine always helps. Riding is good too and I braved 65 degrees on my commute tonight.
    I'm with Pefley- you can't have the programs without paying for them and apparently everyone wants one program or the other so we have to work out how to pay for them. It sounds impossible.

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  3. Chuck and Conch,
    I have this thing about paying for stuff on a monthly basis. A home internet connection has been one of them. Although we have a computer at home and a new laptop, something about me refuses to pay $30 - $40 per month just to be able to access the internet. Don't even care how fast the connection is.
    I really don't mind paying taxes because I still am of the opinion that I get at least something for it.
    We are so cheap that we have just a very basic cable tv service, mostly just local stations. The more advanced cable service has 100 channels of stuff that I find I really don't want to watch anyway.
    So I will try and survive on an intermittent, but free, connection at home.
    Thanks for reading my rants.
    Jim

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  4. Dear Mr. CPA3485 (Jimbo):

    Sarah Palin is a dope. She is finally doing for herself what the dopier Republicans should have done in the last election -- prepped her. Now no top executive can have all the answers. But they should have a workable vision and the means to surround themselves with people who can make that vision into a reality. Sarah Palin is not that person. Neither is Barack Obama, who will say anything, promise anything, and do anything -- with the intention of doing nothing that doesn't serve his immediate purpose -- regardless of national sentiment.

    It is time to hold elected officials of both parties to a higher purpose. And both Republicans and Democrats don't want to be held to that purpose. In which case, they should be shown the door.

    Throw the bastards out... All of them.

    Fondest regards,
    Jack • reep • Toad
    Twisted Roads
    New blog posts every Monday and Thursday

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  5. Wonderful, thoughtful post! I'm glad you noted the Palin audience. I did too and really couldn't watch the whole thing because so much of it ignited my gag reflex. I have a serious problem and discomfort when people start talking about going back to "the way things were" and how we "need to return to the good old days" or "recapture times gone by." There are very few things, given who I am, that I want to return to!I I have family members who remember having to step off the side walk to let certain others pass and having to relinquish bus seats just because... I think too many people speak in codes about the past and it transmits a very distasteful message to those who were forced to live on the dark side of those times. And, I don't think this encoded speak is accidental but rather a clever, conscious attempt to be divisive. Still, it's my country, as they say, "if right to keep it right; if wrong to put it right..." or something liket that.

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  6. Sarah seems to me to have become sort of a cartoon.

    At least you could do all this thinking in the morning over coffee. For some reason, it all hits me at 3 AM!

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  7. Jack,
    My wife has been saying for many years that we should never re-elect anybody. Beginning to think she has been right all along
    And Dopey she is
    Thanks for visiting and hope you are surviving the snow

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  8. Sharon,
    It actusally is getting a bit scary around here. Sarah is due to speak at our new 16,000 seat arena around the first of May. There is already quite a buzz about it. I personally don't get it. But she is just tapping into frustrations that a lot of people are feeling. It is just that she is missing out on a lot of the frustrated people by limiting her audience so much.
    Hope you are survivung the winter. It will be warmer soon.
    Great to hear from you as always.
    Jim

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  9. Dan,
    Luckily I sleep pretty well. Hope that new grandson is not keeping you up :)
    Thanks for the comments.
    Jim

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