I have been accused by quite a few noders of being very negative about
Senator Hillary Clinton, one of the two Democrats who will either quit or
fight after the Pennsylvania primary some weeks from now.
I have been anxiously awaiting a much more fleshed-out and complete biography
of Senator Clinton here on E2. Now, that's the first time I've said that so
don't go to your magical computerized redactors and start typing just yet.
There's really a lot more to come. That's why I haven't dug my heels into Barack
Obama nor John McCain.
Let me tell y'all something. Senator McCain is my kind of moderate. He's my
kind of Republican. There's one problem; he believes, as do so many other
Conservatives, that we must somehow "win" in Iraq. Heck, one of my favorite
guys, Richard M. Nixon, lost in Vietnam. Yeah, that's coming from the mouth of
a supporter of the military-industrial complex. We fucking lost. And why not? We
spent years there poking our noses where they didn't belong, holding on to the
belief that if South Vietnam went, the rest of Southeast Asian would fall to the
"wicked Communists" (Reagan had not yet coined the term "Evil
Empire.
Hindsight is, of course, 20/20. Do I think that Nixon would have condoned the
carpet-bombing and the loss of American lives if he thought we'd lose? I think
not.
Now we have a larger problem. A war that's been going on for thousands of
years. The cool thing about it is that whether they like it or not, the Arabs
are going to have to deal with peak oil sooner or later (later, in my humble
opinion). As much as he may hate us and we may find him distasteful, Chavez will
have plenty of Argentinian oil for us to buy. We also have options that,
regrettably, are being severely hindered by Environmentalist whiners who're
quite fond of Whales, Seals and the like. These same Environmentalists blame the
cost of oil in the United States on "Corporations." Well, if we could do away
with a few seals and whales, these evil "corporations" could explore in more
areas on our own turf, and bring the cost of gasoline back under $2.00. I also
must remind you that in the EU, gasoline is going for 3-4 times that rate; so
count your blessings, America. Oh, and also keep buying eight-cylinder SUVs so
your family will be safe. Would that all Americans could visit Great Britain,
Germany, Italy, Spain or other European countries. They zip around in cars made
to accommodate two persons. The engines of all but the sport models of these
cars struggle under the weight of two couples headed out for dinner.
Oh, ain't that a nice, neat catch-all phrase. "Corporations." Under the laws
of the United States a Corporation is no more than the aggregation of the votes
and investments of its shareholders. So tell your friends who've just invested
in McDonald's and reaped a very handsome reward, that it ain't really the Board
of Directors that pulls the strings; it's the majority shareholders. McDonalds,
nearly a week ago, gained $2 a share, and made a whole lot of people rich,
despite the nay-sayings of some economic advisors. Why did this happen? The
Corporation responded to the market's needs for inexpensive snacks (their
"Dollar Menu") and weighed in more heavily in its promotion of premium coffee,
now mixed by the server (a la Dunkin Donuts, which charges twice as much for
their coffee). This "horrible" Corporation is feeding America's poor. Let's face
it. If you hold shares in McDonalds, which many astute investors do, you're
making your money from people who can't afford a $7.50 combo; they order a $.50
cup of coffee and a small hamburger for $.99.
The lesson to be learned here is that those who market to the U.S. consumer
must fill their needs; not try to convince them they have needs that they don't
need (I'm not a Microsoft basher in general, but I must say that Vista's been
off to a very poor start, and there are plenty of persons who wanted to be the
"first on their block" to have the new software that now feel cheated by the
fact that Microsoft reduced the retail price of its Vista software. And the
whole bit about charging for "Service Pack 1" and offering the high-price
purchasers a deal is a bunch of marketing baloney that we can all see through.
We can look at government as a poor emulator of business. George W. Bush just
gave me a check for over $2,110 dollars. That consists of my tax refund and also
my allocation for his "rebate" plan, which he hopes will stimulate spending. UPDATE 05.15.08 23:53EDT I've since been informed that the amount I describe was a tax refund, not a real break in that a lot of that money's been encumbered in medical expenses. My "economic stimulus" check (spell b-r-i-b-e; Bush wants to be able to say he gave us all money. What he's giving out we can't afford as a Country and will do little good for individuals. Suffice it to say, it ain't major go-to-Vegas folding money...
Bush might have well given away American Express credit cards with
thousand-dollar limits. Why? Do you really think that the American people who
have so long suckled upon the teat of high-interest rate credit; whether it be
cards or home-equity lines of credit, will pay down their debt with this
windfall? Oh, no. And this is just what Dubya planned. We're all gonna see each
other on the beaches of Bermuda, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, or perhaps on a
cruise ship sailing the seas off of Alaska looking for whales.
My wife and I will spend our "rebate" checks like most Americans will, not
reducing our debt (that's been planned for carefully and is at the level that
our business plan estimated it would be in this year). We're indeed going to go on a vacation.
If you're a citizen of the United States, use your rebate check wisely. If
you're not, I've just given you a picture of what financial life is like in
these here United States of America.
Now, should Barack Obama or his competitor for the Democratic Nomination for
President be elected by their delegates; I wish them well. It's gonna be a tight
race against Senator McCain. Since Bob Dole, pen in palsied hand, ran for
President I've been yelling at the top of my voice that we need a war hero and a
leader. Absent a great communicator like Ronald Reagan, we're going to have to
settle for a little less.
Senator McCain, astonishingly, after six years as a prisoner of war of the
North Vietnamese (not nice people, I can tell you from research), continues to
say that we must "win" in Iraq before this nation pulls out. Oh, for Christ's
sake; the Sunnis and the Muslims and the Hoopy-doopies and whomever they are have
been fighting amongst themselves for thousands of years. In fact, they did
better if they lied about their political affiliations to the soldiers of
Saddam Hussein than they're doing now, now that their enemy doesn't have
Hussein's soldiers to keep the peace.
Senator McCain is also a moderate, who will raise taxes and cry "yippie-kai-oh-kai-aye"
when the Fed lowers interest rates yet again. That's backwards. That's what
Nixon did and did we prosper? Nope. However, did our status in the scheme of
world politics thrive under Nixon; a resounding yes. Don't forget that before
you dismiss him as the "President who Resigned lest he be Impeached."
What we all need to do is keep current with our debts. Realize that our home
is our "castle," and therefore should not be second-mortgaged in the name of
granite kitchen counters and Italian Tile bathrooms.
This is a bitter pill to swallow. However, a humble lifestyle is the ideal of
the Buddhist religion, of which I am a member. Many other religions require a
vow of poverty or something like it. It's about time we all look at what we've
been listening to in Church, Temple or Mosque. And those who choose not to
believe in a superior being, why not ponder for a moment the promises of those
who would be elctected President. And think. Everyone think. This is one of the
most important races in American History. Get out, vote, and vote according to
the research you've done on each and every candidate. You "party line" voters
may find a surprise in store.