Bankers Grilled by Chef Congress

Last week we saw the big bankers apparently eat crow over the mistakes they made in handling the first bailout. It was a good show. It happens all the time. Congress calls for hearings, the villains are brought in and grilled, and promises of change are made. But nothing changes. The bankers went back to planning on how they were take advantage of the next trillion dollar bailout and the committee looked good for taking on the bankers. Nothing changes. Too many hands are in the pockets of the bankers. An old proverb "You don't bite the hand that feeds you." So don't expect any change and very little help for the common person from the multi-trillion dollar bailout plan. 

"A Breath of Fresh Air"

I have come very close to total despair as I watched the machinations and posturings of the various political candidates for President. The amount of money they are spending (more than one-quarter billion dollars) is obscene when you consider the good for which the money could be used. And they want to tell us how to lead this great country. Kansas State University, for example, could use some of that money to simply maintain the structures they presently have.

But yesterday with the arrival of Governor Sarah Palin on the scene I again began to see hope. My daughter in Alaska has met this women on a professional level and has told me about the work Gov. Palin has done to remove corruption from the Alaskan government. She is a highly respected person and an outstanding parent and wife. Her husband is hard-working and belongs to the Teamsters union. Of course the muck-raking Democrats will work to find something to discredit this fine lady. A pox be on their house for doing it!

My prayer would be that there more Sarah Palins appear on the scene and began the massive project of cleaning up the graft, pork-barrel spending, and corruption in our country. Alaska made a lot of money from oil this year and she put that money back in the pockets of the residents of Alaska. In Kansas we pay outrageous taxes while our politicians find new pet projects to spend them on. If I received a check from the state of Kansas I would assume a mistake had been made.

Finally, a breath of fresh air and a candidate I will be comfortable voting for!

The Obscenity of Campaign Spending

We are on the edge of the caucuses in Iowa tonight (January 2, 2008). There is a lot of hubbub over how the vote will go in Iowa. Iowa is seen as a weathervane as to where the candidates will go. My concern is about the obscene use of money in this presidential campaign. How can the candidates justify the money they are spending on themselves? For example, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have $100,000,000 to spend on their campaigns. That represents a great deal of media blitz and other political advertising. $100,000,000. If all the candidates who are pursuing the presidency have similar amounts, we are talking about spending one-half billion dollars.

Several things to consider:

First, how do the candidates justify the waste of this much money? They do not even offer the slightest apology for it. Their goal is to be elected and they will do it regardless of the cost.

Second, this money comes from somewhere or someone(s). How many favors supporters will call in after the election is over? How much pressure can the supporters put on the presidency especially if the person is seeking re-election?

Third, there are thousands of hungry and homeless people in the USA who could benefit from this waste of money. How do you say to the hungry man, "Sorry, Charlie, but I need this money to get elected President? You just go ahead and starve to death. Before you die be sure you vote for me." New schools could be built, research funded for cancer and AIDS. Instead the money will go up in smoke and regardless of how much is spent, only one of these people will be president. That's the way our system works. It means that the other five wasted their time and money in the process.

Therefore, when these candidates talk about their concern for the poor, the unemployed, the uninsured, they are playing the role of the classic hypocrite.