Jenn November 20th, 2008
So maybe my weather guys weren’t so crazy…it looks like we are in for up to 6 inches of snow in the Pittsburgh metro are and more in the mountains (anywhere from 1-2 feet) tonight through tomorrow. It looks like the folks in Erie and Western NY could possibly see up to three feet of snow. I got a text from the Weather Channel at 3:00 AM heralding the news. It sure beat Barrack Obama’s 3:00 AM text to announce his VP when Drudge had already scooped the story.
The weather guys are trying to wrap their arms around this, so no doubt, I will post more later. It looks as though my friends from Tennessee (Lauren and Justin) in for the Steeler game risk getting stuck here for an extra day. It least it will make for a very interesting (but cold) Steeler game tonight.
Jenn November 14th, 2008
First we were told that a $700 billion bailout of the banking industry was the only way to avoid economic collapse. Now we have the same man who told us a bailout was the only way out admitting he was wrong. Kudos for having the guts to admit you were wrong Secretary Paulson, that couldn’t have been easy. Next we learn that the panel for Congressional oversight for this unparalled bailout was never appointed, so the oversight we were promised never happened. Banks are still planning large bonuses for executives in time for the holidays. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in big fat corporate bonuses, but under the free market system, not via a government bailout, A.K.A taxpayer money.
Now the auto industry is standing at the door with their hand open asking for money. But, it isn’t the whole auto industry. The Japanese auto industry and their American plants, though facing harder times, are still succeeding. Why? Because they built in the south where states offered large tax breaks and companies could be free of union interference. The very organization s that were supposed to workers are costing them their jobs. Inflated salaries, over-generous benefits packages, and other tyrannical demands have added an average of an additional $1500 to the cost of every U.S. Automakers new price sticker. Now, these companies are coming to the government to be bailed out. Not surprisingly, the Democrats, who are wild about card check, are also pushing for a bailout. So, in short, if the government bails out the auto industry, we are lining the pockets of union fat cats and promoting the tyranny of organizations that seemed to have sabotaged themselves. We need to say no. No more. Instead of going to the government, these manufacturers should be going to the unions and demanding concessions. Going to the government should have never been the automakers’ first option.
Lastly, we see cities going tot he federal government: Phoenix and Philadelphia. We know the Democrats owe the Philadelphia political machine for delivering such a big win this year in the elections, but to come to collect so soon just seems a bit tacky. President-elect Obama has indicated his support for some type of state and local government aid. Where does it end? Where does everyone think the money will come from?
Jenn November 14th, 2008
I am awake late due to a pretty bad stomach virus so I thought I would throw out some quick hits:
- Mike Huckabee has added a new news radio show to his media makeover. His show will be a brief take on the news starting Jan. 5th. I think it will be more long the lines of Paul Harvey than Rush Limbaugh.
- The Romney people are still bitter about Huckabee and taking cheap shots at him..check out political blog comments to see what I mean. I have one thing to say to them….”Wahhhh!” Romney is a wash but Huck is here for a while.
- Is it just me, or does it seem obvious that other Republican leaders are visibly jealous of Sarah Palin’s popularity?
- The RNC filed a lawsuit today to have McCain-Feingold declared unconstitutional. How poetically ironic.
- Hillary Clinton is rumored to be on the short list for President-elect Obama’s Secretary of State. Bring back the royal food tasters, she’d be third in line for the presidency.
- A Catholic Priest in South Carolina informed parishioners that if they supported Barrack Obama they needed to do penance before they could take communion because of his gross anti-life stance.
- The Steelers are having a pretty good season considering the amount of injuries they have sustained. Most teams would have losing records right now, not be at the top of their divisions given they way they have been beat up.
- What’s the deal with fining Steeler players for legal hits and only explaining they are hitting too hard? It is football, right?
- I found the three freebies from the new SG album (T4G Live) completely underwhelming. It might be nice for people who did not grow up in a mainstream church, but it did not feature new arrangements, new lyrics, or even exceptional talent. It’s just a bunch of guys singing hymns that are available on other albums with better arrangements, so what’s the point? The only plus is that Bob always sounds good, but he is hard to hear most of the time.
- I still have the best dog in the world, who has been very patient with a sick owner for the last three days.
Jenn November 13th, 2008
A Fake Expert Named Martin Eisenstadt and a Phony Think Tank Fool Bloggers and the Mainstream News Media - NYTimes.com
MSNBC, so anxious to make Sarah Palin look bad, jumped on a report initiated by bloggers from a phony think tank, representing a fictional expert to report that Gov. Palin did not know that Africa was a continent.
That report, along with numerous others that surfaced throughout the campaign, was a complete hoax. What a surprise, MSNBC rushed to bash Sarah Palin before researching the credibility of the story.
Jenn November 11th, 2008
Barack Obama’s Executive Orders - Associated Content
The AP ran a story today describing President-elect Obama’s intentions of quickly signing a number of executive orders to reverse Bush administration policies. In particular, issues regarding life will be at the top of his list. Here is an excerpt:
Some of the first executive orders will no doubt be pleasing to some of Barack Obama’s feminist supporters and will anger pro life supporters. Barack Obama will lift the restrictions on foreign aid to abortions that were imposed by President George W. Bush. Obama will also lift restrictions for federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.
Jenn November 11th, 2008
Tonight I participated in a focus group funded by a “Republican leaning” group to discuss views on possible health care proposals. The fundamental problem with all of them was that they opened the door for more government involvement in your personal health care decisions. It sounded good to some of the participants to make it a law that all children must have health insurance. When I pointed out that this meant that the government could now dictate that your children must have all immunizations ( I am a big fan of immunizations , by the way - not opposed to them) if they were providing health care for your children and would have greater influence into your decisions, some of the participants changed their mind. It is amazing how liberal ideas seem good because they seem compassionate, but because they increase the role of government in our lives liberal thinking often drags other moral issues and into the mix, giving government more authority in the life of a child than the parent. The moderator kept stressing that many of these ideas were sponsored by Republicans. Nonetheless, all involved some type of government mandate, increased spending, and infringed upon the free market.
I think we may see Republicans, in the name of bipartisanship, starting to compromise Conservative values on some of these soft issues that tug at the hearts of well intentioned people and jump on the Obama ship.
Interestingly enough, the proposals contained some of John McCain’s, some of Barrack Obama’s, and at least one of Mitt Romney’s. The closest thing to what I would consider a Conservative proposal was a tax cut for small and middle sized businesses that offer health insurance to their employees. If this is the current reflection of Republican thought from our representatives and senators, we are in for at least two, if not four years of liberal policy.
On an interesting note, the moderator commented that people in the Pittsburgh group had expressed a greater confidence in the current state of health care in the United States. Every member of the group indicated that he or she felt that despite its shortcomings, Americans had the best health care of any nation.
Jenn November 8th, 2008
President-elect Obama in Beaver, PA (Aug 2008)
I have tried to blog about the election results several times and each time I have come up empty. Obviously, I am disappointed with the results. However, I am not hopeless. This is a democracy and however convinced I am that John McCain was a better choice, the people have spoken. So here is what you can expect out of my political blogging during the Obama-Pelosi rule:
- I will not take cheap, baseless shots at the new president.
- I will give his ideas a chance to work when it comes to the economy and even health care.
- I will not ignore his policies when they compromise the morals of the country, like abortion.
Although I think issues like the economy and health care can have an impact on the moral fabric of our country they are not in the same category with issues like the Freedom of Choice Act or using taxpayer funds to pay for abortions.
On Friday President-Elect Obama held his first press conference. He made a thoughtless comment about former First Lady Nancy Reagan. He later called and personally apologized to her. We have to allow him to make mistakes like that and learn from them without villainizing him if we want to move on and see any progress in our country. He will make more mistakes, but we owe him the respect of the benefit of the doubt. If things do not go well for the new president, America will speak again in four years and the Democrats will lose their control of the house. Until then, we watch and wait.
Jenn November 4th, 2008
The media will start flashing ostentation headlines like “Landslide” as the 5:00 PM exit polls are released. Do not pay attention to those polls! Remember 2004? It looked like Bush was all washed up. Democrats tend to get better daytime turnout and Republicans tend to vote after work. Ignore those polls and go vote for John McCain!
