India and My Conservative Friend

I have some friends who feel that it should be every man for himself. For instance, if someone loses his job in an industry that is dying in this country, he should get himself retrained in another field and get back to work. Never mind that the unemployment benefits last for three months or so. He also thinks that welfare is for the lazy. It's all a redistribution of wealth, he says. I'll have to ask him what he thinks of the attacks in India this weekend. India has a large welfare state, no doubt, but I want him to think about the ramifications of a society in which we are divided into haves and have-nots, similar to India's caste system. Even though it's outlawed, it's still in practice.

The difference between U.S. and India, one could argue, is that poverty in the U.S. has never risen to the level it is, has been or will be in India.

Trouble starts when people are pushed to the fringes in any society and feel that they have nothing to lose. That's what happened when this country was founded. That's what happened when the Confederate States of America was founded and that's what we've been seeing in the Mideast for decades.

I'm not for funding people as a reward to lethargy, but offering them hope is the best way to maintain civility.

It's Over

Now I can get back to my housework fulltime. Windows. Drywall. Cleaning up after the kid.

It was an amazing election, and many people I know gave more than they ever have. I don't believe that many people voted for Obama because of his skin. Some did, for sure. But people all over this world hear in his words a different message. A message that does not discount other messages or other views. That's why millions of people were partying in the streets around the world last night. Finally, there's a leader who believes in the people he serves.

Almost Gone

My wife and daughter are at Disneyworld. My wife told me last night that she and the kid were walking and she lost track of our daughter for about five minutes. My wife was walking through the crowd calling for our daughter. She turned a corner and found her standing with some strangers. Luckily the people who found my kid were nice. They stayed with her until my wife walked back. I believe most people in the world are nice and will do the right thing. But the though of losing my daughter really shakes me up. It really, really scares me.

Weekends were made for housework

All I do every weekend is work on my house. I'm sick and tired of it. But I can't seem to pull myself away. It's like talking politics. I usually leave the conversation angry, but I always go back for more.

Cleveland's rapid transit bus line recently started service. The city couldn't have picked a worse time to get it up and rolling. It rolls right passed National City Bank, which just announced 4,000 layoffs. But wait...then PNC Bank announced that it would buy National City which will no doubt end in several thousand more layoffs.

I bet that it won't be too long before Cleveland will be so cheap to work in and liv in that companies will start moving jobs from China to Cleveland.

My daughter's growing up

I don't want to forget the cute things that my kid used to do when she was 3 or 4 years old. For instance, she would say "Good night. I love you." I would say "I love you, too." And she'd say, "I love you, too."

She named her toy cat Etha Brown Purple.

She used to say "cunchtable" instead of "comfortable".

She woke up at 6:00am sharp everyday for months regardless of what time she went to bed.

She loved to dance with me to Count Basie songs.

But I know that one day I won't remember those things, and she won't remember those things. And that makes me sad.

My old boss

and I got into it over lunch. It was a friendly but loud disagreement in the middle of a restaurant. He thinks Roe v. Wade is about states' rights. States' rights? What the ....? The state has to show how it has an interest. And what if each state outlaws abortion?

More important...today is my eigth anniversary. I can't believe that I've been married and faithful for that long. As much as we disagree and don't get along, there must be something about her that keeps me coming home sober every night. I hope I never figure out what it is.

Peace.

Lots and lots of money

Obama raised $150 million in September. That's AFTER Palin was named VP nominee. Some say that it could be the end of public financing of presidential campaigns. I say it could be if Obama wins. I really hope it's the end of how campaigns are run, rather than financed.

I believe that Powell still holds a high place among Republicans. Maybe not among the social conservatives, but among the non-radical Republicans. I hope his endorsement of Obama's campaign will bring those Republicans and many independents to vote for Obama.

Peace.

Article for the 500th to Last Baby Boomer

When I started my original blog just before my 40th birthday, I hoped to find the last baby boomer, living or dead. I think I did. But he supported the war in Iraq, and I never have, so I don't want to give him any publicity. That's how it works with me.

Anyway, I did meet a guy who is probably one of the last 500 people born in 1964. He has a much more realistic curiosity about this whole age/generation/existential issue than I do. I hope one day I can get to that point. I hope it's one day soon. Here is a link to an article he wrote for his college magazine. I don't think he'll mind if I post it. If he does maybe I'll remove it. It depends on how he feels about the war in Iraq.

Peace

http://www.colby.edu/colby.mag/issues/current/articles.php?issueid=45&articleid=824&contentpageno=1

the Debate

The debate, in my opinion, was close. I think Obama did a good job of laying detail to McCain's accusations. I wish Obama would have come with the real and said that he thinks Palin is not qualified to be president.

Mitt Romney's a hack. More full of shit than my toilet after I've had my second cup of coffee. It's fine that somebody stands up for the party and the party's candidate, but Romney straight up lied about Obama's words and McCain's words.

Anyway...it's ironic that Buckley receives hate mail for endorsing Obama and bucking his party when John McCain is praised for the very same thing. I didn't know Republicans - except for John McCain - had to think with one mind. I guess we can ask Jeffers and Hafley about that. And Leiberman doesn't count. He switched to Independent to get re-elected, not because it was a statement against his party. He called himself a Democrat all through the RNC. The arrogant punk.

The Last Baby Boomer Livs!

Here I am approaching the end of my 44th year on Earth. I still listen to the music of the 80s, I still think about my girls of the 80s. I still rock. I still roll. I am still the last baby boomer, as far as I know.