I was listening to the news stories about the latest economic and job numbers and then all the criticism about how it wasn't enough and everyone "expected" more jobs and better growth. Like the world follows what these people expect? It was a real WTF moment because I doubt the 103,000 people who are now working, and weren't just two months ago, really care about expectations except their own.
I hear this idea all the time about Wall Street, the Stock Market, corporate quarterly and annual financial reports, and production and services. It's all bullshit, because what matter is what happens, not what people expected to happen. And more so because everyone expects positive number, growth for the sake of growth, more revenue, higher profits and more investor share value and dividends.
Why? I'm not against expectations. We all have them in our life and work, it's the measure of what we want to do. But it's unrealistic for "experts" to decide what a company, a corporation, the government, and the larger economy should do when it's what it actually does that's important. We all know the jobs numbers weren't great but hey, ask those 103,000 people with jobs, they'll say it is better and maybe even great that they can now look at their expectations better.
We have to face the fact expectations don't change reality. We change reality. It's what we do with what we have where we're at that matters. Nothing else. Everyone else can say they want to see this or that goal met, but that's not what matter, nor is it based on realty, only their overly positive view of things.
And when the goals weren't met, decide those other folks responsible for the actual work failed. They didn't fail. They tried hard, worked hard and met the goals reality gave them. You can't do more when the reality isn't there. And that's the expectations everything needs to be evaluated on and not the wishful thinking and hopes of others.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Give it Time
Folks, as much as you may hate the Healthcare Reform Act, and there is much I don't like about it and find lacking, let's agree to do one thing, give it time. It was only passed less than a year ago and while some provisions kicked in last fall and more will do so this year, it is a progressive implementation that's key here and we should allow it to run its course.
I won't argue I would like to see improvements, like more healthcare for women, including reproductive health information and service, and yes including abortion, like end-of-line counseling for those facing terminal illnesses or diseases, like improved oversight on cost increases in premiums, healthcare in hospitals and clinics, and like really more oversight and control on the health insurance companies.
I don't want it repealed by any means. The key that Republicans fail to tell those who advocate its repeal, is what will they replace it with? They don't offer anything other than the past which caused the crisis and problems in the first place. Do you really want to go back to where your insurance or coverage can be rejected, denied or cancelled without cause or reason just because you need it?
Is that what you want? The past? Think about it. As much as you don't like about this reform, it's far better than the past. It needs more and more improvements, and I expect the President and Democrats to do that, even making it clear they're on your side and the Republicans aren't on yours but side of the insurance companies. That's the Republicans' real plan, go back to the private market which screwed you every way but right.
If you don't believe or buy the Republicans aren't for you, look at all the organizations giving them money and all the organization running the ads, Websites and other ventures into the "private market healthcare plan", and you'll see all of it is funded and run by the healthcare industry and health insurance companies. There's no consumer-backed organization supporting repealing the Act.
So, let's put a moratium on any healthcare legistlation for the next two years. Let's give it time when we can assess what needs to be changed, added or removed in 2013 for those provisions in place and not any provision yet to be implemented. That's it, just work on that, and I'll work on voicing my view for more healthcare reform.
In the end, let's tell the Republicans, "Hell No, we don't want any healthcare repeal or reform in this congressional session."
I won't argue I would like to see improvements, like more healthcare for women, including reproductive health information and service, and yes including abortion, like end-of-line counseling for those facing terminal illnesses or diseases, like improved oversight on cost increases in premiums, healthcare in hospitals and clinics, and like really more oversight and control on the health insurance companies.
I don't want it repealed by any means. The key that Republicans fail to tell those who advocate its repeal, is what will they replace it with? They don't offer anything other than the past which caused the crisis and problems in the first place. Do you really want to go back to where your insurance or coverage can be rejected, denied or cancelled without cause or reason just because you need it?
Is that what you want? The past? Think about it. As much as you don't like about this reform, it's far better than the past. It needs more and more improvements, and I expect the President and Democrats to do that, even making it clear they're on your side and the Republicans aren't on yours but side of the insurance companies. That's the Republicans' real plan, go back to the private market which screwed you every way but right.
If you don't believe or buy the Republicans aren't for you, look at all the organizations giving them money and all the organization running the ads, Websites and other ventures into the "private market healthcare plan", and you'll see all of it is funded and run by the healthcare industry and health insurance companies. There's no consumer-backed organization supporting repealing the Act.
So, let's put a moratium on any healthcare legistlation for the next two years. Let's give it time when we can assess what needs to be changed, added or removed in 2013 for those provisions in place and not any provision yet to be implemented. That's it, just work on that, and I'll work on voicing my view for more healthcare reform.
In the end, let's tell the Republicans, "Hell No, we don't want any healthcare repeal or reform in this congressional session."
Job Killing Republicans
I'm going to give the Republicans their own words, not just because I'm angry at their blind stupidity to use "job-killing" to describe anything Democratic or Presidential, even in spite of the truth, and not because almost all of the ideas the Democrats have proposed in the recent past were at one time if not originally Republican ideas and sold as "job-creating", but because it's simply a useless term for short-term political gain.
The Republicans decided shortly after Obama was inaugurated to say no to anything Democratic and especially anything proposed by him even if they not only like the idea but have in the past proposed and pushed the idea. It's known they are the part of "No" on everything, including their own. But now they're into catch-phrases of the day and this is one which has no basis in truth or reality and just shows how far they will go to be stupid.
It doesn't bother them that 4.4 million jobs were lost under President Bush's 8 years in office and we were bleeding jobs when Obama came into office. Anything Republican then was good for the economy, every other countries' economy except ours if you exclude Wall Street who got super rich on the poor and middle class Americans with bad mortage marketing, high interest rates on everything, and providing less than decent wages and benefits.
Now everything is "job-killing" for no reason than just adding it to the idea. But what I haven't heard from the Republicans is what do they have that will create good American jobs, like here in America. It was noted that business created 1. 4 million jobs in 2009, overseas, not in this country. While they talk about jobs, those jobs aren't for us, but cheap foreign labor where they don't pay benefits.
And now they're targetting government employees with pay freezes, benefit cuts and even layoff and terminations. The more with less idea that never works. It's all designed for political reasons to get more money to the wealthy and more so the corporations. They can't create jobs here, they never have in the last two decades. They don't want to see that jobs creates wealth which helps the economy through spending.
So, to the Republicans I want to ask you now that you have the House, to offer job-creating bills that will create good jobs here for the whole range of Americans, not just those you think are worthy, but everyone. That's American and America. Or are you too chicken to help us?
Or maybe I should start using "Republican-killing" to describe what are the alternatives? Gee, Sharon Angle called it "Second Amendment remedies" when describing what alternatives people should use with the Democrats when they didn't like the results.
Or maybe I should use "America-killing" to describe your ideas because that's what you're doing, bleeding America and Americans for the wealthy and corporations. Maybe if you got outside your rich whites-only world you'd see you're in a very small minority where no one likes men who whine and cry, especially in public.
Or mabybe I should use "job-killing" to all the Republican ideas. Hey, I like that. Thanks for the slogan. From now on anything the Republicans propose will be met with "job-killing" before I say anything else. No thinking required, just it's "job-killing" this or that, whatever it is, just "job-killing" because it will be true when applied to you.
The Republicans decided shortly after Obama was inaugurated to say no to anything Democratic and especially anything proposed by him even if they not only like the idea but have in the past proposed and pushed the idea. It's known they are the part of "No" on everything, including their own. But now they're into catch-phrases of the day and this is one which has no basis in truth or reality and just shows how far they will go to be stupid.
It doesn't bother them that 4.4 million jobs were lost under President Bush's 8 years in office and we were bleeding jobs when Obama came into office. Anything Republican then was good for the economy, every other countries' economy except ours if you exclude Wall Street who got super rich on the poor and middle class Americans with bad mortage marketing, high interest rates on everything, and providing less than decent wages and benefits.
Now everything is "job-killing" for no reason than just adding it to the idea. But what I haven't heard from the Republicans is what do they have that will create good American jobs, like here in America. It was noted that business created 1. 4 million jobs in 2009, overseas, not in this country. While they talk about jobs, those jobs aren't for us, but cheap foreign labor where they don't pay benefits.
And now they're targetting government employees with pay freezes, benefit cuts and even layoff and terminations. The more with less idea that never works. It's all designed for political reasons to get more money to the wealthy and more so the corporations. They can't create jobs here, they never have in the last two decades. They don't want to see that jobs creates wealth which helps the economy through spending.
So, to the Republicans I want to ask you now that you have the House, to offer job-creating bills that will create good jobs here for the whole range of Americans, not just those you think are worthy, but everyone. That's American and America. Or are you too chicken to help us?
Or maybe I should start using "Republican-killing" to describe what are the alternatives? Gee, Sharon Angle called it "Second Amendment remedies" when describing what alternatives people should use with the Democrats when they didn't like the results.
Or maybe I should use "America-killing" to describe your ideas because that's what you're doing, bleeding America and Americans for the wealthy and corporations. Maybe if you got outside your rich whites-only world you'd see you're in a very small minority where no one likes men who whine and cry, especially in public.
Or mabybe I should use "job-killing" to all the Republican ideas. Hey, I like that. Thanks for the slogan. From now on anything the Republicans propose will be met with "job-killing" before I say anything else. No thinking required, just it's "job-killing" this or that, whatever it is, just "job-killing" because it will be true when applied to you.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Open Letter to Mr. Boehner
Mr. Boehner,
Before you go down the political rhetoric and work road you espouse, remember we didn't vote for the Republicans but voted against the President and the Democrats. Get that through your thick skull and do the job Americans want and not what you think we want, which is just more of the same Republican partisan work and failures we saw under President Bush.
Let's remember, the Republicans caused the financial collapse and the exporting of American jobs to make corporations richer. We don't want or need that again, so understand if you go down the road we will remind you in 2012 as we reminded the Democrats in 2010. We need and want jobs. We need and want good and affordable healthcare, not the repeal of the law but more of the same but with the public option, cost controls, and such thing to make it better and affordable.
We want better government, not less because it's already known and proven, you can't do more with less and government can't be treated like or in the pocket of the corporations. It's our government, not yours. We want taxes on the wealthy and we want corporations to actually pay taxes, something many don't do anymore. We want the poor and elderly to get financial help to more than survive but prosper.
We want you to actually negotiate and cooperate with the Democrats and the President, not hold us hotage. We don't want political rhetoric to explain your actions, we want honesty and truth. We know the difference and we know political bullshit when we hear it, especially from you. We don't want two-faced lies, promising one thing while working behind the scenes to undo what you said or work against it.
We don't want to see bills passed which you and we know won't pass the Senate. We're not stupid or ignorant of politics. We know that you'll pass bills to show you're doing the Repubicans' work but is clearly a dead one outside the House. Pass bills which we work and help Americans in bipartisanship with the Democrats and the President.
We don't want superficial transparency. We want real transparency, but really want to good results for the American people, all of us from the poorest to the decling middle class. The rich are fine, as you already know with your wealth. We know you don't care about us except for our vote. We're tired of that and expect results for us.
I could go on with a litany of ideas and suggestions, but I know you're not listening and won't listen, except of course to the lobbyists and big donors who pay you to vote their way. But make no mistake, you were elected by the people, by Americans, and failure to work for them will, with the rest of the Republicans, face reality in 2012.
As we voted against the Democrats in 2012, we can vote you out of office as we did in 2006 and 2008. And so remember if you don't create jobs, help average Americans and make this country better, we'll be there in the voting booth. And for God's sake, man up and stop the damn crying.
Before you go down the political rhetoric and work road you espouse, remember we didn't vote for the Republicans but voted against the President and the Democrats. Get that through your thick skull and do the job Americans want and not what you think we want, which is just more of the same Republican partisan work and failures we saw under President Bush.
Let's remember, the Republicans caused the financial collapse and the exporting of American jobs to make corporations richer. We don't want or need that again, so understand if you go down the road we will remind you in 2012 as we reminded the Democrats in 2010. We need and want jobs. We need and want good and affordable healthcare, not the repeal of the law but more of the same but with the public option, cost controls, and such thing to make it better and affordable.
We want better government, not less because it's already known and proven, you can't do more with less and government can't be treated like or in the pocket of the corporations. It's our government, not yours. We want taxes on the wealthy and we want corporations to actually pay taxes, something many don't do anymore. We want the poor and elderly to get financial help to more than survive but prosper.
We want you to actually negotiate and cooperate with the Democrats and the President, not hold us hotage. We don't want political rhetoric to explain your actions, we want honesty and truth. We know the difference and we know political bullshit when we hear it, especially from you. We don't want two-faced lies, promising one thing while working behind the scenes to undo what you said or work against it.
We don't want to see bills passed which you and we know won't pass the Senate. We're not stupid or ignorant of politics. We know that you'll pass bills to show you're doing the Repubicans' work but is clearly a dead one outside the House. Pass bills which we work and help Americans in bipartisanship with the Democrats and the President.
We don't want superficial transparency. We want real transparency, but really want to good results for the American people, all of us from the poorest to the decling middle class. The rich are fine, as you already know with your wealth. We know you don't care about us except for our vote. We're tired of that and expect results for us.
I could go on with a litany of ideas and suggestions, but I know you're not listening and won't listen, except of course to the lobbyists and big donors who pay you to vote their way. But make no mistake, you were elected by the people, by Americans, and failure to work for them will, with the rest of the Republicans, face reality in 2012.
As we voted against the Democrats in 2012, we can vote you out of office as we did in 2006 and 2008. And so remember if you don't create jobs, help average Americans and make this country better, we'll be there in the voting booth. And for God's sake, man up and stop the damn crying.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Denying Reality
I was listening to and reading the news stories about the Republicans taking control of the House this next Congressional session. I've read their "Contract for America" and all the ideas and rules they plan. Oh, what ambitions they have for their time in power. Like New Year's resolution, it will be short-lived and politics as usual will resume as the normal order of business.
All the rules about ownership of actions by representatives, which I assume is aimed at the Democrats and not their own party, will become invisible as transparency will be selectively enforced. They don't want transparency, except of course if they already have back rooms ways to avoid it, which, like the White House and the administrations, previous and current, have had for decades.
But that's not my point here. It's their arrogance. Totally blind arrogance where they overtly and mistakenly equate arrogance with patriotism. And more so, their brand of patriotism, meaning corporate-backed and corporation-friendly laws to get what they want more than power, money. It's all about money to them.
They equate patriotism with money. Capitalism and those who practice it, corporations, except those corporations are now global enterprises and could care less about America, but only what they also want, which is the same as the Republicans, money, and even more money, even money paid by taxpayers directed to them in tax cuts and exemptions, contracts, grants, etc. Just money.
And in the pursuit of money, equating the work as Patriotic, the Republicans cite all sorts of ideas and ideals, religions as politics, and greed as virtue, and everything else, meaning the ordinary people not only don't count but aren't really in their world of patriots, except of course those who serve their wars.
They've learned what General Patton said about our enemy, "You don't die for your country, you make the other son-of-a-bitch die for his.", except ordinary folks are the enemy and they're more than happy to send young men and women into a trumped up war for global geopolitics and really oil as democracy and patriotism.
And that's part of their denial. Out of arrogance they only see their America, that top 5% of the wealthy who want tax breaks to get richer and buy more extravagence. And the corporations who worry about attaining more money. To that end, the corporations don't care where the jobs are created, especially if those jobs are here and more so union, which will cost them more in pay and benefits.
It's the bottom line for the wealthy, the value of their portfolio and their assests, and for the corporation, profit and shareholder value. Everything else is irrelevant or unimportant. And that's the reality the Republicans believe and promote as ordinary and patriotic. It is, however, part of our heritage from colonial times. The rich wanted to get richer and companies wanted more revenue.
But even then those folks understood about the rest of what made America great, people and especially the ordinary folks who worked for their living and often their survival. Today the Republicans are blind to the rest of us. You hear it in their words, see it in their lifestyle, and discover it in the laws they propose and those they pass. Some money to us, just enough to make us think we're important, but more money, and most of it, to corporations and the wealthy.
That's their reality. Everything else isn't in their world, not in their view, their thoughts or their actions. We simply don't count except to pay taxes.
All the rules about ownership of actions by representatives, which I assume is aimed at the Democrats and not their own party, will become invisible as transparency will be selectively enforced. They don't want transparency, except of course if they already have back rooms ways to avoid it, which, like the White House and the administrations, previous and current, have had for decades.
But that's not my point here. It's their arrogance. Totally blind arrogance where they overtly and mistakenly equate arrogance with patriotism. And more so, their brand of patriotism, meaning corporate-backed and corporation-friendly laws to get what they want more than power, money. It's all about money to them.
They equate patriotism with money. Capitalism and those who practice it, corporations, except those corporations are now global enterprises and could care less about America, but only what they also want, which is the same as the Republicans, money, and even more money, even money paid by taxpayers directed to them in tax cuts and exemptions, contracts, grants, etc. Just money.
And in the pursuit of money, equating the work as Patriotic, the Republicans cite all sorts of ideas and ideals, religions as politics, and greed as virtue, and everything else, meaning the ordinary people not only don't count but aren't really in their world of patriots, except of course those who serve their wars.
They've learned what General Patton said about our enemy, "You don't die for your country, you make the other son-of-a-bitch die for his.", except ordinary folks are the enemy and they're more than happy to send young men and women into a trumped up war for global geopolitics and really oil as democracy and patriotism.
And that's part of their denial. Out of arrogance they only see their America, that top 5% of the wealthy who want tax breaks to get richer and buy more extravagence. And the corporations who worry about attaining more money. To that end, the corporations don't care where the jobs are created, especially if those jobs are here and more so union, which will cost them more in pay and benefits.
It's the bottom line for the wealthy, the value of their portfolio and their assests, and for the corporation, profit and shareholder value. Everything else is irrelevant or unimportant. And that's the reality the Republicans believe and promote as ordinary and patriotic. It is, however, part of our heritage from colonial times. The rich wanted to get richer and companies wanted more revenue.
But even then those folks understood about the rest of what made America great, people and especially the ordinary folks who worked for their living and often their survival. Today the Republicans are blind to the rest of us. You hear it in their words, see it in their lifestyle, and discover it in the laws they propose and those they pass. Some money to us, just enough to make us think we're important, but more money, and most of it, to corporations and the wealthy.
That's their reality. Everything else isn't in their world, not in their view, their thoughts or their actions. We simply don't count except to pay taxes.
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