Rating Obama’s Approval Rating

It was my feeling that Obama's falling approval numbers was nothing for him to worry about.
He has stayed above 50% approval, a level I think any president would be happy with in our current blue/red divided country, but then I read the following by Peter Wehner, who states

My former White House colleague Nicholas Thompson, now vice president at the Tarrance Group, sent out an e-mail analyzing the new Gallup poll that shows President Obama with a 51 percent approval rating — the lowest of his administration. More interestingly, Obama’s approval is down 14 points from his initial rating — tying President Clinton for the biggest drop since the Eisenhower era.

For those interested, here’s how different presidents match up when comparing their initial approval rating with their average approval rating in the August of their first term: Eisenhower +6 (from 68 to 74 percent), Kennedy +4 (from 72 to 76 percent), Nixon +3 (from 59 to 62 percent), Carter -3 (from 66 to 63 percent), Reagan +9 (from 51 to 60 percent), George H. W. Bush +18 (from 51 to 69 percent), Clinton -14 (from 58 to 44 percent), George W. Bush -1 (from 57 to 56 percent), and Obama -14 (from 68 to 54 percent).

Now, a poor first year doesn’t necessarily translate into defeat in a reelection campaign (witness Bill Clinton) — just as a good first year doesn’t necessarily ensure reelection (witness Bush 41). Still, you would rather start well instead of poorly. Clinton — though he won reelection — created the conditions that allowed the GOP to take over the House of Representatives in 1994, for the first time in more than half a century. And whatever future awaits President Obama, he cannot recapture the past six months, when there was an enormous amount of good will for him. He had a chance to reshape the political landscape strongly in the favor of Democrats; instead, he has resuscitated the Republican Party far beyond what most people thought possible.

None of us can know what will happen. But all of us know what has happened: Barack Obama has lost altitude at an alarming rate, as quickly as any president in the modern era, and his signature domestic issue is becoming politically toxic. That cannot be good news for him, his party, or his liberal cause.

Clinton was famous for polling about everything - even where he should vacation - so that he could strengthen his chances at a second term and then improve the image of his legacy (which he destroyed in the Lewinsky scandal).

So that brings up the question, "Will Obama change his tone or direction based on the polls?"
I think it is unlikely, being the ideologue that he is.

Michael Vick Signs with the Eagles

Michael Vick has signed with the Eagles. I am very supportive of this for the following reasons.
1. He has paid his debt to society as established by the law and the judicial system.
Why shouldn't a person be able to use his skills to make a living if the law does not prevent it?
2. I believe in second chances.
3. It makes PETA mad. Some animal rights groups claim that his crimes are unforgivable and I respect that view, but PETA has cried wolf so many times, it's hard to feel sorry for them.
So the question is: Would you have him on your team? I would for his talent, but it would be difficult from a publicity standpoint.

Some points about the proposed health care reform

An article from CNN (ostensibly centrist, but known to have leftward leanings) list five major ways in which the health care reform will restrict freedoms we currently enjoy. Points 3 and 4 are major problems for me and my family.

First, we currently have a high deductible HSA and we like it a lot. It encourages us to make minimal use of health care resources, and we have a Health Savings Account that we use to make payments for medical expenses and we make monthly payments into the account. If we need a high-cost medical procedure, we are covered, but otherwise we pay for minor medical expenses from the account. We really like our plan.

Second, point 4 is indeed what I have feared, and I have read on pages 15-18 of the health care reform bill that current plans will be grandfathered. That is, current plans can continue unless some change (even minor changes) is made to the plan. If some change occurs, then you are thrown into exchange and you must shop for insurance from the exchange. The plan cannot add new people unless they are dependents of current subscribers, so the plan will die by attrition.

These points in addition to the unacceptable cost to the nation overall prevents me from even entertaining thoughts of supporting it.

The Health Care Reform Bill

Click on the link to read the health care reform bill.
It is 1018 pages and is guaranteed to put you to sleep every night for the next 1018 days.
It has yet to be published in its final form and it appears to continue to grow. I have seen numbers as high as 12oo pages. So please don't ask us to read it and demand that we find what is wrong with it. I have a full time job and a part time job to attend to, so I have no choice but to leave the judgment to the experts.

Consider the following problem I have in my teaching.
Students invariably turn homework in late. It is a monumental hassle to grade late homework, so I take off points as a deterrent. In some egregious cases, students turn in late homework even after the last deadline is past, and even after classes have finished. I can't grade such homework before the grade submission deadline. Nevertheless, such students often complain saying "I worked so hard and turned in all my homework! Why did I get a D?"
What is a teacher to do? Just accept the big stack of late homework and assume all the answers are correct? Any teacher would say "forget it!" and not give any points.
This is what the Democrats are asking us to do. Check every last detail of this rush, rush 1000+ page bill, and when he public doesn't like the rush, the Democrats complain "We worked so hard and we passed the bill before recess. Why are we getting a D?"

Eeee Gadddss! The Unions are coming!

So now the unions have instructed their own to show up at the town hall meetings to counter

'the mobs' and 'express' support for the hc reform (even though not all aspects of it please them). Should be fun. Having attended Democratic conventions here in SLC where the gay caucus was at odds with labor, I know how daunting they can be, they aren't afraid to play to hardball.

The American people need it?

I was thinking about posting this on my blog but thought it isn't about me so I will put it here. Yes it is a political post.

While in Elkhart again today, Obama said, "I promise you, we will pass reform by the end of this year because the American people need it."

Funny how the American people don't think so...even though over 85% of Americans are insured and over 56% (and growing) don't want Obama's reform. He seems to be deadset against listening to the people.

He was supposed to be a uniter. On this issue, not the case. He also said he wants to get an overhaul of the health care system before the end of the year and, if necessary, without bipartisan support.

And now the Democrats are even throwing a religious twist on it. "The time is closing in," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. "We cannot finish this year without passing major health care reform. It's our sacred duty to the American people."

I know I am not saying anything anyone does not already know, and everyone knows how I feel about such issues but I just had to vent again.

Also how is it when Obama claimed to be a "Community Organizer" it was a great and glorious thing he was doing. Now that some town halls have become active with people against the health care reform, and "organized communities" are suddenly "mobs" and a terrible things.

Well Done, Bill

Just wanted to throw out an "Atta boy, Bill" and give credit where credit is due. Any time we can get US citizens out of a bad situation like what those reporter ladies were in is a good thing. I don't see that we gave up anything and yet we saved two women from 12 years of hard labor in North Korea. So good job on this issue Bill.

How Do We Produce These People?

I can't help but wonder how in the heck does a country like ours produce such idiots as this lady? Santa Cruz has an "open mic" at the city council after it conducts its business and this stupid lady shows up. Really, what vegetable grows on a tree? Also, does the east coast really have slaves and still believe in slavery while the west coast is a union? Oh well, we can build "stuff" and then sell "stuff". How do we produce these people?

Henny Penny! Stop listening to Foxy Loxy!

I promised that I would look into the claim that if one loses one's job hence one's insurance (if provided by one's employer,whether or not COBRA comes into play), and if one finds another job with health insurance, one would be prohibited from signing up for the new plan or any other plan. One would be obligated to take the government option and nothing else.

I have not been able to find any proof of that in all the websites I searched. I think it is purely a scare tactic.

Aunt Clela forwarded two e-mails to me and I suppose to all of you. The first made the above claim. It quoted an opinion piece (not a journalistic report) from the Investors' Business Daily that takes one sentence out of context and extrapolates onward to make the above claim. I read it on their website. The editorial itself only mentioned this at the beginning and used it as a springboard to other health care concerns. Odd.

I did find something else on the website of RMS Consultants, a right wing blog/mag type of publication that claims that one would be obliged to take a government plan if one left a company and decided to go into business for oneself. This makes perfect sense to me. I figure, but don't know, that once one can prove to the government that one has purchased private insurance elsewhere, one can drop the public option. But one must be insured if working on one's own.

In a video posted on U-Tube of Paul Ryan, a Congressman from Wisconsin (or was it Minnesota), the notion was supposed be that the above claim was proven. But it wasn't, the context of the video was too narrow to get the full meaning, it seemed to me that the Congressman was told by a witness in a congressional hearing that one would not be allowed to step out of a cooperative one had joined in order to buy private insurance. I am not sure of the entire context, but this doesn't seem to support the claim.

Conservative Blogger Cory Cramer said he had heard the claim, and promised to look into it, but I didn't find a follow-up.

I stick with my original belief: this claim is so egregious that surely, surely, those against the health care plan (R and D) would seize upon this and scream it to the heavens given all the screaming they do. But no. Nothing. Surely the insurance companies who are going through this plan with a fine tooth comb would go ballistic, TV ads, letters to those they have accepted to insure, surely they who would be utterly destroyed by it, would make it public with the greatest spin possible. But no. Nothing.

There is a great deal of fear mongering out there. The most recent has to do with scaring the aged. Medicare and Medicaid will be cut and whittled away, you will be mandatorily advised on the benefits of euthanasia, the government will step in and do your estate planning and so on.

And the e-mail-o-sphere is churning!

Cash For Clunkers Cashes Out

The government just blew through $1 billion in tax dollars in just one week in another alarming display of ignorance of the real world in which we live. The cash-for-clunker program is designed to get clunkers off the road and encourage people to drive cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars. That's all fine and dandy, but how much are they offering for your car? $4500! Who would not trade in their $100 clunker for $4500 or even $4500 credit on a new car!? Gosh, I could drive down any ol' street anywhere in the USA and pick up a clunker for $100. As long as I can get it to the dealer, I can make a quick profit of $4400!

Barney Frank Spills the Beans

I have been trying really hard to understand why the Democrats are in such a hurry to pass a health care bill. What is wrong with taking a little more time to get it right? And what is the final goal of the Democrats? Barney Franks spills the beans: It is government-run, single-payer health care.

Wackos wacked!

President Obama met with President Monson and Elder Oaks in the White House recently. The two LDS leaders presented him with a beautiful volume detailing President Obama's genealogy. Now this ought to put to bed any notion that President Obama - born in Hawaii- is not an American citizen born in the United States of America! The extreme right wing wackos have been persistently spreading the nonsense that Obama was not born on American soil and therefore is president illegally.

Help! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Henny Penny was able to lead an bunch of gullible animals with similarly odd riming names off to an undesirable end by repeating what we would today call a political slogan meant to frighten. The sky is falling, the sky is falling, let's go tell the king!

Lions and tigers and bears oh my! Nationalized medicine, socialized medicine, no choices for us, oh my!

The drum beat from the right pounding out these wild and false accusations are deceitful.

Contrary to what the right wing radio attack dogs are claiming, contrary to what Mitch McConnell, Michael Steele, Orin Hatch and most any Republican is saying, the health care reform bill will only add a vitally needed choice (public option) all the while preserving health care options via private insurance companies, work plans, and other government health care programs. Contrary to a pass-on e-mail that I received from a loved family member, you will not be forced to give up private insurance once you leave the job that currently provides it to you. That is a lie. Socialized medicine? No worries! Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security Disability are all social programs that I doubt any sane Republican or Democrat would advocate abolishing. Public Option would only add a program, and yes, we will have to pay a premium to the government and yes taxes will go up: I am totally willing to pay my premiums should I ever need it. I am also willing to pay higher taxes so that the unfortunate (unemployed, disabled, veterans, orphans etc) can have dignity and health care insurance. (If you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me.) Nationalized medicine? Nope. The meaning of that is that the government runs all issues of the delivery of health care or owns all providers and that will not be the case, the government will only administer premiums/funding of the public options, not the affairs of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Kaiser Permenante, or IHC.

Let's not panic. We all pay into the social programs that already exist and I hope we are all happy to do so. After all, these programs were vital to the support of our grandparents as they grew old and I, for one, was very grateful for the support they received. They will be vital to every one of us as we grow old.

One may think that Obama is rushing this too fast. That is a very valid argument.

One may think that it is a pie-in-the-sky financial boondoggle. That is a very valid worry.

But it is not a leap into socialized health care or nationalized medicine. The private sector, if it is worth anything at all and I believe that it is worth a great deal, will not only survive but prosper in an only slightly altered market place for the very good reason that the public option is not intended (despite the lies) to replace the private sector, but only to give an option to those the private sector refuses to serve or to those who cannot afford the outrageous (there is not other word) premium rate schedudles!

Would any of you choose the public option over an option with the private sector even if you had to pay a little to moderately more? I wouldn't. But I would be (will be) delighted to know that I will never be turned away from being insured, and that is what the public option guarantees!

Wringer Washing Machine

Wringer Washing Machine?

FromWashing Clothes Recipe

Never thought of a 'washer' in this light before.. what a blessing!

' Washing Clothes Recipe' -- imagine having a recipe for this!

Years ago an Alabama grandmother gave the new bride the following recipe:

This is an exact copy as written and found in an old scrapbook - with spelling errors and all.

WASHING CLOTHES

Build fire in backyard to heat kettle of rain water. Set tubs so smoke wont blow in eyes

if wind is pert. Shave one hole cake of lie soap in boilin' water.

Sort things, make 3 piles

1 pile white,

1 pile colored,

1 pile work britches and rags.

To make starch, stir flour in cool water to smooth, then thin down with boiling water.

Take white things, rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, and boil, then rub colored

don't boil just wrench and starch.

(For you non-southerners -'wrench' means 'rinse')

Take things out of kettle with broom stick handle, then wrench, and starch.

Hang old rags on fence.

Spread tea towels on grass.

Pore wrench water in flower bed. Scrub porch with hot soapy water.

Turn tubs upside down.

Go put on clean dress, smooth hair with hair combs. Brew cup of tea, sit

and rock a spell and count your blessings.

================================================

Paste this over your washer and dryer.

Next time when you think things are bleak, read it again, kiss that

washing machine and dryer, and give thanks.

First thing each morning you should run and hug your washer and dryer,

also your toilet---those two-holers used to get mighty cold!???

?? And we think we have it rough!????

How much is too much?

How much muscle is too much muscle?


Today, the funds for additional F-22s and parts failed to get into the defense bill. Even though I am a supporter of a strong military, I am not a supporter of the military on steroids. The F-22 is far superior than any fighter anywhere in the world, but we already have other fighters that are far better than any fighter anywhere in the world. The F-22 makes our military far stronger than what we need right now, and I agree with Congress and the administration that we should not buy more F-22s at this point. However, the savings should be used cut the deficit (not spend it on something else).