Can I Get a LIttle Political?

Can I get a little Political? It isn’t much fun any longer

Will someone please just tell me what on earth is going on here? Sorry, but I have been pretty decent about keeping my political feelings to myself; well, at least I usually do my venting to just my wife, who listens for a while and then tunes me out. But, hey, help me out here. I feel like I am getting run over by a semi and don’t know how to get out of the way.

Point One:

I really don’t want to get political, but there are a few things going on in Washington that have me more than confused. I wish someone could just explain to me why Congress and the Senate and the media have been screaming for blood over the bonuses paid by AIG. Shouldn’t they be screaming at Sen. Dodd, who at the White House’s [sez him] instruction wrote in the approval for those bonuses after the bill came out of committee?

Seems AIG was only doing exactly what the Dodd stimulus shot in the arm had instructed them to do. I thought “Wow, these guys have to be really stupid.” Then, when the White House told Congress that as a result of AIG’s wasteful use of the stimulus dollars, it needed to grant the president more sweeping controls over the entire financial industry.. I thought ... “Wow, that was cunning. Who are the fools now?”

Will somebody please tell me what is going on? I’m still trying to understand how my toaster works.

Point Two:

I really agree with the President that we all need to cut back and watch how we allocate our spending if we are going to pull out of this recession. I have a watched my house and my retirement funds drop in value by 25%. I groaned as our monthly income dropped by around the same percent. We got rid of the high end gas guzzler SUV and drive a 9 year old car that takes regular and gets good mileage. We plan our outings to the stores and Doctors. We are doing our part, Mr. President. We really are.

Then I read this weekend that your traveling entourage to the G-20 Summit in England and your travels across Europe included 500 staff, including 6 doctors, two hairstylists, the White House Chef, 4 speech writers, 35 vehicles and 12 Teleprompters.

That all took a minimum of 4 jumbo jets and all the military escorts needed for protection. What on earth could possibly require 500 staff people for you to sit with the leaders of 19 other nations? How many hotel rooms? Meals? Secret Service people?

For goodness sakes. I bet you dumped 100 Million dollars on your jaunt. I yearn for my SUV. What was I thinking?


Point Three and I’m Outta Here.

I’m an old guy. I was raised in the Yes Ma’am, Yes, Sir Era. My momma told me to always be polite and I would get a stern rap on the top of my head when I wasn’t. Believe me; I learned that when I treated people with respect, they treated me with respect, even if I were half their age.

When I went into the business world, I found that my early training, a natural part of my life now, helped immensely. It didn’t matter if it was the Board Chairman or the guy cleaning the offices at night, I always gave them my best and they returned it.

A few years back, when I was having a custom home built, I would go out to the site every day with coffee and plenty of donuts to go around and made sure that even the day laborers were treated to the goodies and every worker was thanked for their work. We ended up with a great house built by people who took great pride in their work.

I said all that to say that there is a type of quality and character in a person who understands what respect does to any relationship. It goes spades when the person is the head of a sovereign nation. So, on to the actual issue .

I was watching TV when our President and First Lady greeted the Queen of England. There was no bow or curtsy in respect of her esteemed office. The real person of class was the Queen. That lack of respect offended a lot of British citizens. A shame.. Had they treated the Crown Head of our best ally with the respect due her, it would have cost them nothing and gained so much.

Please tell me. Was that a slip? I doubt it. If it was done on purpose, tell me why? Such a nice Lady. She showed the real class. I was so embarrassed.

Then last night I watched a clip of our President greeting the King [or whatever he is] of Saudi Arabia. This time, he formally bowed a really full-on bow from the waist. Seemed he could have kissed the King’s shoes he got so low. I was so embarrassed. Must have been his Muslim upbringing.

I could really use some help understanding what’s happening to my world right now. I think I am going to fix myself a really thick peanut and jelly sandwich and then top it off with a big dish of ice cream and chocolate syrup. I need serious comforting