Archive for March, 2009
Posted by madjillmom on March 29, 2009
Pres. Obama took time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions asked by the little people online the other day. No I didn’t see him typing away on the podium. I did hear that the online questioning was manipulated by the “lets decriminalize drugs” crowd to go to the top. There were some flesh and blood people at the White House for the event. Pres. Obama randomly called on some of them. Amazingly, all the people he called on (from the handy dandy list prepared for him) were supporters. Now the Washington Post has googled all those called on. Oops. I’m sure the White House didn’t know that they were all Obama supporters before he called on them. It must just be an amazing coincidence.
I guess all that bull about how important it is to hear other views, that it might change your mind, was Robert Gibbs reading his fortune cookie.
Posted in MSM, Pres. Barack Obama, Prominent People vs. Ordinary People | Tagged: Obama Townhall | Leave a Comment »
Posted by madjillmom on March 29, 2009
In the last few years, I have given up on making any real headway on the planting beds around our house. Whenever I try to do this, I make only minimal headway and by the next week, it is once again taken over by weeds. It is depressing to view the beds in such a mess. So, over the last two years, we have picked up a day laborer once or twice a year and paid them in cash to clear out the beds. We pay them from the time we pick them up until the time we drop them off. We feed them the same food we eat while they are at our house. We provide water and sodas so they don’t get thirsty. We provide them with gloves and tools to do the job while they are here. The first time I did this, my oldest son and I got up early on a Saturday and drove to the local convenience store where the day laborers congregate. I think we offered $6.50 hr, but they wanted more. We ended up employing two for the day and paying them $8.00 hr. I won’t go by myself to pick up someone just because I wouldn’t feel safe. It seems about the same as picking up a hitchhiker.
This morning, my husband and I woke up early and went to town to pick up a laborer. My husband offered the 15 or so men there $8.00 hr for working in our beds. Approximately the first 10 of them turned him down. I do not know if it was the pay rate or the work. Several of these men were older and I thought this type of work would be preferable to ditch digging or clearing fence lines. Finally a younger man came forward and came home with us.
I do feel a great deal of guilt about doing this. I realize that it is no different than paying the teenager down the street to do some yard work. But I am sure that these people are illegal and I feel badly that I might be exploiting their situation. I just don’t know what to think. If there was another convenience store where unemployed citizens stood and waited for work would I go there first and offer this kind of work to them? I really don’t know. Last year, a friend sent a video showing all the bankers/wall streeters clamouring to get a day labor position in front of an office building dressed in their power suits with briefcases. It was funny, but it wasn’t true. There was definitely no clamouring in town this morning.
Posted in Prominent People vs. Ordinary People, Strange Things, The Economy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by madjillmom on March 27, 2009
Pres. Obama has carved a huge amount out of his 2010 Budget for reforming health care with a goal of a nationalized single payer system not far down the line. He continues to say that the economy cannot be fixed without addressing health care, energy, and education. Many dispute this claim. Many independents are concerned that spending these huge amounts of money on new programs will bankrupt the country.
There are many countries that have government run health care. It hasn’t kept them from going into recession. Canada, the UK, and France all have the type of health care Obama wants to “give” us. Don’t count on seeing your doctor in a timely manner. Don’t count on new innovations that might help you with whatever is plaguing you. Count on it being rationed. Count on the fact that reforming health care won’t keep us from recessions in the present or in the future.
Posted in Health Care, Obama Administration | Tagged: Recession | Leave a Comment »
Posted by madjillmom on March 27, 2009
North Korea has reiterated that the US should not interfere with its rocket launch that may come soon. This is a test for Pres. Obama. I think he is hoping we are so worried about AIG bonuses that we won’t notice that this is happening. Kim Jong Il has two American reporters from Current TV (Gore’s TV Network). I am checking the State Dept. website to see if there is any mention of this situation. There is some minor bits in the daily briefings along the lines of you shouldn’t do this, our allies say you shouldn’t do this, the 6 party talk nations say you shouldn’t do this, blah, blah, blah. Now checking whitehouse.gov for something. Can’t find anything in the official statements. No journalist asked him about this situation at his news conference the other night.
This article is a succinct rundown of the missteps of the Obama administration since taking office in the area of foreign policy. Where is all the that respect the US was supposed to now have because of Pres. Obama?
Update: Hillary said in Mexico yesterday that there would be consequences if North Korea launches rocket. I will believe it when I see it.
Posted in Foreign Policy, MSM, Obama Administration, Strange Things | Tagged: Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, North Korea | Leave a Comment »
Posted by madjillmom on March 27, 2009
I am happy to see the Republicans putting forth a campaign to show that there is an alternative to the policies/laws/bills/budget proposed by Pres. Obama. Obama has been able to say there aren’t any alternatives or the Republicans are the “party of no” for the last two months. I know that is not true, but the Republicans need to better coordinate their message and not let the MSM and Pres. Obama get away with this fallacy. They should use the web, U-Tube, national and local TV with bullet point presentations designed to get the point across quickly. It should be easy to understand. Much like the Contract with America was in the 1993-4 timeframe.
I am hoping that is what this is. My complaint is that the name sounds like we are all going into rehab or a 12 step program. I can see how this might be the case. I have felt a bit more like drinking lately. Too bad I can’t afford it.
Posted in MSM, Pres. Barack Obama, Republican Dissent | Tagged: Obama's Stimulus Bill | Leave a Comment »
Posted by madjillmom on March 25, 2009
New name change from the Obama Administration. They have now changed the “War on Terror” and the “Global War on Terror” to the phrase “Overseas Contigency Operations”. I wonder if you can have a quagmire on an overseas contingency operation. Just some more of that change people voted for.
What is a contingency? A fortuitous or possible event… What if we go to war with Canadian terrorist? Is that a Continental Contingency Operation?
So now, when a man-caused disaster occurs, we will proceed with an overseas contingency operation where we might get ahold of some detainees. (Translation to Bush Speak: Terrorism begats War on Terror where we pick up enemy combatants.)
Posted in Afghanistan War, Iraq War, Obama Administration, Strange Things | Tagged: Man-Caused Disaster, Overseas Contingency Operations, War on Terror | Leave a Comment »
Posted by madjillmom on March 25, 2009
Who are the Democrats that haven’t mentioned the detainment of two Americans (reporters of Current TV, owned by Al Gore) by North Korea? This is a full scale diplomatic incident. Why no press?
Sorry, I can’t find whatever it takes to watch Current TV to see if it is covered there. That would be too much to ask of myself.
Posted in MSM, Obama Administration, Pres. Barack Obama, Uncategorized | Tagged: Al Gore, Hillary Clinton | Leave a Comment »
Posted by madjillmom on March 25, 2009
I have had my second full day of training for the Census. I will be doing address canvassing for about 7 weeks after training. This is a process of trying to make sure all buildings, homes, cardboard boxes, etc. are in the address list so the questionaire will get there next year.
The training is ok. The people teaching just learned themselves. It is pretty slow. The books the trainers use have a lot of typos and don’t match up to the pages we have in our three books. The order of teaching seems very backward to me. There is no video, now whiteboards, no flip charts, only reading from the book and going along. It will probably suffice. This same process is going on all over the country in these weeks. My feeling is that 8 hours of online training would do the trick if there was a way to have some interactive Q & A after the fact. Set down a baseline of training, then augment with class or small group followup. It isn’t happening that way. We go from one book, Chapter 5 back to another book, back to original book, Chapter 3, bring up issues, then say we will talk more about this later. It definitely is confusing to most of us and pretty inefficient.
The best thing about the process is a handheld computer where we will input the data. It prompts the processes, charts progress in each area, marks the spots with GPS, transmits the data back to the Census bureau. That part is really neat.
Posted in Strange Things | Tagged: 2010 Census | Leave a Comment »
Posted by madjillmom on March 25, 2009
Pres. Obama must have been stung by the teleprompter addiction comments. Tonight he used a giant TV placed down the aisle at the news conference to deliver his opening comments. This is ridiculous. I guess a giant TV screen is methadone for the teleprompter. Change is all around.
When they do something like this, I really think he is surrounded by fools.
Posted in Pres. Barack Obama, Strange Things | Tagged: President Obama's News Conference | Leave a Comment »
Posted by madjillmom on March 25, 2009
1. Pass a bill with goodies for the Teamsters that won’t allow 95 Mexican trucks into the US as per NAFTA
2. Mexico institues tarriffs on goods from the US in retaliation
3. Administration tries to work this problem out before Obama visits Mexico next month
Rinse, Repeat
1. Send Hillary to China, hat in hand, begging them to keep buying our debt
2. Spend us into bankruptcy
3. Ignore when China wants to institute a new currency because they are concerned about our ability to pay our debts
Rinse, repeat….
Actions have consequences.
Posted in Obama Administration | Leave a Comment »
