You Will Be Assimilated

I've been thinking hard about this and other blogs I currently run. Do I enjoy following and talking about politics? Absolutely. Do I have anything new or original to add to the conversation? Not really. I'll expand on something I saw elsewhere, but that's largely what this blog is--a round-up of stuff I saw elsewhere, and most often on sites who do it much better than I do.

So I'm shutting this blog down. Or merging it into another of my blogs, rather. If you want to follow my political rants then link on over to Vox Potpourri. That's where I'll be doing the bulk of my general blogging from now on. I've also ported all my posts from here into there so you won't miss any of your favorite posts when this blog disappears for good.

Heh. As if I have the readership for anyone to have a favorite post. ;-)

In the mean time, if you're someone who likes to makes things--anything--or read about other people who do, then you may want to check out my new blog, The Joy of Making Things. It's so new that I don't even have anything up yet.

The intent, however, is to discuss the joy and satisfaction of doing things yourself. Like creating funky Excel spreadsheets to manage your budget. Or building a playhouse. Or writing a book. It's a blog celebrating the fun of doing things, of trying things, of surprising oneself with what you can do.

I hope you'll enjoy it as I hope I will.

Just Who IS In Charge?

President Obama is scheduled to give his State of the Union address tonight. I will probably watch, but I'm not sure why. He is not in control of the economy. He wants everyone to think he is. He talks like he is. The reality is different.

If Obama were really in control then careless posturing by Sen. Chris Dodd about privitizing banks wouldn't send stocks into a tailspin.

If Obama were in control they wouldn't have passed an enormous spending bill so complex that no one was able to read it before having to vote on it.

If Obama were in control his administration wouldn't feel the need to respond to criticism from Rick Santelli.

If Obama were in control he wouldn't have to hit the road to drum up support for his programs. The press would be doing it for him.

If Obama were in control he wouldn't have been caught off guard by so many of his cabinet picks being sunk by various corruption charges.

If Obama were in control we would not have so many Democratic members of Congress under investigation for various corruption scandals.

But the fact of the matter is either that the Obama who we voted into office in November is NOT the Obama who took office, or he is completely unable to do his job. Neither one is acceptable.

But the fact of the matter is this: there is no one clear voice from Washington calling the shots. There is no clear leadership. Obama is going one way, while Pelosi, Reid, Dodd, and Schumer are going their own ways. Tim Geithner is falling flat.

It's almost as if none of these people have met to come up with any coordinated plan. No one is in control of the message. It's almost as if they are purposely trying to break the economy down further.

I'm not one of those conspiracy theorists who believes that they're doing this on purpose in order to keep us scared enough to accept further hidden social restructuring (even Schumer was surprised by some of the provisions in the stimulus bill and vowed to roll them back). The thought has crossed my mind, but 2010 is not that far away. If they don't want to get thrown out of office they need to show clear progress by then. They would be foolish to dig themselves too deep of a hole.

But if they don't get their act together that is precisely what they will do. And they can ignore or belittle Santelli as much as they like, but they're failing to recognize what he started. Yes, HE may be a former commodities trader--a so-called poster boy for everything that went wrong with the economy--but his frustration is universal. There are a lot of people who are upset with how things are going and what the Administration is doing about it.

I am one of them. I am NOT a commodities trader. I'm a business systems analyst. I bought a house three years ago right before the top of the bubble. I had mortgage brokers encouraging me to buy bigger houses, but I knew what I could afford. I didn't bite. I didn't gamble on an adjustable rate mortgage to get more house. I knew what my budget was, and I knew how much of a house payment I could handle. I paid 20% down.

I save close to 15% of my income each year. I pay my taxes without complaint. I do not carry a balance on my credit cards. I live within my means. In short, I am responsible.

And I've had it with the government propping up all the irresponsible people. Because of all the irresponsible people I'll be losing my job soon. I am not happy about that. I am not happy to see nearly $800 billion dollars--only about 10-20% of which is actual stimulus--added to the public debt in my name, while the bulk of it is actually to appease Democrat supporters and advance socialistic agendas. Frankly, the mortgage rescue is the least of my concerns.

I'm concerned about a government that seems to have lost its mind. I'm concerned about an administration that can't control its message or its people. I'm concerned about a future that not even the people who sold us this stimulus mess will go on record saying will get better soon.

And that's probably why I don't want to listen to Obama tonight. I'm already depressed. I don't need to feel any worse.

Clinton Thinks Obama Doing Fine But Needs More Optimism in Message

From ABCNews.com:

Former President Bill Clinton gives President Barack Obama an "A" grade for his first month in office, but tells ABC News that Obama needs to put on a more positive face when speaking to the American people about the economy and must keep pressure on Republicans who try to obstruct his plans.

I'd argue on the "A" personally, but then I'm not Bill Clinton. But Clinton continues...

"Look, the American people, I think, know the president has tried to reach out to Republicans," Clinton told ABC News' Chris Cuomo. "And it takes two to tango. I think there are some of them who really believe that just-say-no politics is good politics.

"It was -- briefly, only briefly -- in the '90s. It isn't anymore," he added. "So, sooner or later, I think if he just keeps chugging along, just keeps the door open, invite 'em to every economic conference, invite 'em to every meeting, eventually, he'll start getting some votes" in Congress.

You're forgetting something, Bill. Add "listen to them and use their ideas" and you'll have a winner. Just inviting them isn't going to do the trick if they still feel it's only for show.

On the other hand, even that is more than the Congress Democrats have been doing.

Stimulus and Rescue Backlash?

From Mark Whittington at Associated Content:

The markets are not reacting very well to Barack Obama's latest spending plan, which is to spend about seventy five billion dollars to rescue people who can't pay their mortgages. CNBC host Rick Santelli believes he knows why.

Rick Santelli, who also an experienced investment strategist and trader, put it simply that the government would be promoting bad behavior by subsidizing mortgages given to people who ought not to have had them to start with.

Rick Santelli went on to compare what is happening to America under Barack Obama to Castro's Cuba and to suggest a kind of "Boston Tea Party" anti spending revolt. Rick Santelli's impassionate speech on CNBC brought cheers on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade, from where he was reporting.
...
More importantly, Rick Santelli's attack on the Obama mortgage bailout scheme seems to reflect a growing disquiet over President Obama's spending schemes, which started with the stimulus package, and will now not only include a bailout for mortgages but also a new bailout for the car companies and perhaps even a second stimulus. That disquiet has been manifest in recent days by protest rallies in Seattle, Denver, and most recently in Mesa, Arizona.

I think a lot of us are getting fed up. Yes, one can use the economy as an excuse to do almost anything. And the Obama administration has. But they are not acting like anything they're doing is actually going to help. It's as if they want to wreck the economy.

Perhaps they do, so they can use it as an excuse to push even more rubbish disguised as stimulus.

A poll on Instapundit asks if I would join in any protests should one be called in my area. I said no, that I'm not the protesting type, but I'm starting to reconsider.

Update: More from Kathryn Jean Lopez at NRO's The Corner:

I think people are hungry for someone who is fed up with the way things are and who seem to believe in something enough to know there in an alternative worth fighting for. Some of the voices may be far from perfect, but Americans are looking for signs of the life of an alternative. And so if a representative pops up — someone who appears to have roots and energy, folks will cheer them on in the hopes there’s a candidate here. Maybe not a presidential candidate, but a leader of some sort. Someone who can offer a vision of something other than a culture of bailout.

Today, Rick Santelli was that sign of life.

People are fed up with the administration.

Bear in mind that this administration is barely a month old.

Censorship?

According to Instapundit, the article I quoted yesterday about the response of students to Obama's visit has been significantly changed to eliminate any critical statements.

Yes, heaven forbid we show that our education system has actually been doing what we've paid it to do--teach our kids to think.

And A Child Shall Lead Them

Phoenix's East Valley Tribune has a story on high schoolers who watched Obama on TV while he was at their school giving his address on housing relief, and gave their impressions. Some interesting points:

"Overall I think it's a good idea, but he's not addressing the issues of the economic crisis," said Daudfar, a John McCain supporter who added he leans more toward being a moderate conservative. "The spending bill he just passed is just progressing the Democratic agenda rather than addressing the economic issues in the country."

Daudfar thinks Obama's plan is backward and deals with the "less important stuff" first. "Bailing out businesses" and "providing better regulatory systems for giving out money to businesses" should have been first, he said.

"If businesses can't afford to hire people, then people won't be able to work and pay off their mortgages," he said. "It's kind of like putting money into a funnel."

Albach, who is also a Republican, said Obama's plan sounds good but questioned how Obama can want to rely on "people's responsibility" when that is "what got us in this economic crisis in the first place."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

"Even though I don't support him, I think it's cool he's here," said Miller, 18. "I just don't believe all the things he's telling us. His goal is just too big and broad."

Good...respect for the position, but critical evaluation of the occupant. There is hope for the future.

The students also questioned why Obama chose their school for his speech since he wasn't talking about education and wondered how much money the district spent on beautifying the campus while district positions and services are being cut.

And they say no one is teaching critical thinking any more.

Who Is Blocking Investigations?

I have no idea how this is supposed to stimulate the economy:

In the name of accountability and transparency, Congress has given the RAT Board the authority to ask “that an inspector general conduct or refrain from conducting an audit or investigation.” If the inspector general doesn’t want to follow the wishes of the RAT Board, he’ll have to write a report explaining his decision to the board, as well as to the head of his agency (from whom he is supposedly independent) and to Congress. In the end, a determined inspector general can probably get his way, but only after jumping through bureaucratic hoops that will inevitably make him hesitate to go forward.

So far no one is claiming credit for the provision.'

Snuck in by whom? It’s not entirely clear. “I intend to get down to the bottom of where this comes from,” Grassley vowed. “And quite frankly, it better not come from this administration, because this administration has reminded us that it is not about business as usual, that it is for total transparency.”

Maybe not this time. When I inquired with the office of a Democratic senator, one who is a big fan of inspectors general, I was told the RAT Board was “something the Obama administration wanted included in this bill.” When I asked the White House, staffers told me they’d look into it. So for now, at least, there’s been no claim of paternity.

Somehow I think this just the tip of the iceberg of bad provisions we were forced to accept in the name of saving the economy. More and more it's looking like the bill was a trojan horse for fundamentally changing our government. This seems like "change" intended to dash "hope".

It would be beyond ironic if the Democrats actually DO what they ACCUSED Bush of.