After viewing roughly 75 minutes of the first debate, and maybe 60 minutes of the second debate, there is this one trend that continues on with the candidates....the system is broke and we want to fix it. I see five essential problems with this theme:
1. Most of what they are picking....has been broke not just for the Trump era (since 2016)....but broke for years and even decades. Yes, they are talking about things that were broke in the Obama era, the Bush era, the Clinton era, the Reagan era, and even back into the Carter/Ford era. Throughout these periods, the House and Senate shifted back and forth. Each had a chance to fix problems, and some even came to resolve the issue with a 'fix'.....then came later to realize that the 'fix' actually made the problem into something bigger and worse.
2. The use of the term 'real' change? This was used a couple of times in the debates. Are we talking real change versus fake change? Is real change even a measurable accomplishment?
3. Why didn't a lot of broke things get fixed in the 2008-to-2016 era under President Obama?
4. If you add up the fixing 'cost'.....it gets up into the tens of trillions of dollars. Where exactly will that money be found? If you are saying new taxes, and it'll be taken from the companies.....will their product costs shift upwards, and be simply delivered to the customers?
5. If you go down among Americans and ask them about non-government 'things' which are broke.....they will list out hundreds of things. The NCAA bowl game process is broke. The way that cable TV bundling is done, and you are forced to have CNN in the basic package....is probably broke. Parking fees are broke. The security process at airports is broke. The list goes on and on. An average American will tell you about a hundred things which bother them.....which are broke, and there's just not much going to happen to resolve that.
Sorry, but we've kinda earned the title of a broke nation.....and apparently are fairly happy with broke things.
Friday, 28 June 2019
That Two Minutes of Beto-Spanish
During the first debate....for a few minutes, Beto switched over from English to Spanish....to demonstrate that he could talk their language. I questioned the nature of this.
You can imagine some guys sitting at home, and suddenly thinking....what the heck....did 'Junior' flip the channel over to some Latino network, or did the cable company hit the wrong switch.
But this brings me around to the big question....do we need an 'Amigo-President' or 'Gringo-President'? And if we need one....shouldn't he be actually Spanish or Latino, and NOT some fake Irish-American guy who does a Latino act?
If Beto wins? Some big push would occur where every school in America would start a Spanish class, and guys would be sitting around the water-cooler at work.....talking about their 'Novia' (girlfriend), or their puta (slut).
Would President Beto show up for appearances with a cowboy hat, and boots?
Would Blacks be able to adapt to a Latino-nation?
For entertainment reasons, I kinda like the idea of bringing the Amigo-President to DC.
You can imagine some guys sitting at home, and suddenly thinking....what the heck....did 'Junior' flip the channel over to some Latino network, or did the cable company hit the wrong switch.
But this brings me around to the big question....do we need an 'Amigo-President' or 'Gringo-President'? And if we need one....shouldn't he be actually Spanish or Latino, and NOT some fake Irish-American guy who does a Latino act?
If Beto wins? Some big push would occur where every school in America would start a Spanish class, and guys would be sitting around the water-cooler at work.....talking about their 'Novia' (girlfriend), or their puta (slut).
Would President Beto show up for appearances with a cowboy hat, and boots?
Would Blacks be able to adapt to a Latino-nation?
For entertainment reasons, I kinda like the idea of bringing the Amigo-President to DC.
My View of the 2nd Democratic Debate
I'll offer these nine observations:
1. The more entertaining moment was after Mayor Pete did his explanation over the police-shooting in South Bend....defending his actions....then Swalwell jumped right in to suggest he'd up and fire the police chief right away. Mayor Pete had a pretty nasty look on his face....as if to say 'Buddy, don't get me deeper into trouble'.
2. Winner of the night? Andrew Yang. Limited exposure, but he gave five-star answers and impressed me.
3. Weirdest commentary of the evening....some two-minute chat by Mayor Pete on the Republicans and religious groups.
4. Harris and the 'caged kids'? They were caged in the Obama era....what'd she do about that?
5. This talk at some point about moving from regular healthcare to Medicare-for-all? I don't think it really sold well, and some folks who are happy....won't be happy with this new gimmick.
6. Winners of the evening? Yang, Biden, and Hickenlooper. Bernie and Harris were OK, but didn't seem to have any 'pep'.
7. It just seemed to be a series of sound-bytes, and I felt drained out with the format, and ten candidates....by the 50 minute point.
8. You can probably whittle the group of 21 candidates down to around seven folks at this point.
9. The only one on the stage that really looked like a statesman.....was Joe Biden. It was painfully obvious.
So here in the end, the question for me....can I stand another double round of debates at the end of July? I have my doubts.
1. The more entertaining moment was after Mayor Pete did his explanation over the police-shooting in South Bend....defending his actions....then Swalwell jumped right in to suggest he'd up and fire the police chief right away. Mayor Pete had a pretty nasty look on his face....as if to say 'Buddy, don't get me deeper into trouble'.
2. Winner of the night? Andrew Yang. Limited exposure, but he gave five-star answers and impressed me.
3. Weirdest commentary of the evening....some two-minute chat by Mayor Pete on the Republicans and religious groups.
4. Harris and the 'caged kids'? They were caged in the Obama era....what'd she do about that?
5. This talk at some point about moving from regular healthcare to Medicare-for-all? I don't think it really sold well, and some folks who are happy....won't be happy with this new gimmick.
6. Winners of the evening? Yang, Biden, and Hickenlooper. Bernie and Harris were OK, but didn't seem to have any 'pep'.
7. It just seemed to be a series of sound-bytes, and I felt drained out with the format, and ten candidates....by the 50 minute point.
8. You can probably whittle the group of 21 candidates down to around seven folks at this point.
9. The only one on the stage that really looked like a statesman.....was Joe Biden. It was painfully obvious.
So here in the end, the question for me....can I stand another double round of debates at the end of July? I have my doubts.
Thursday, 27 June 2019
My View of the First Democratic Debate
I sat and watched about 75 minutes of the two-hour debate. I'll make these nine comments:
1. At some point early on (maybe 8 minutes into it), Beto responds at first in English, then flips over to Spanish. I have no idea what he said.....but he was appealing to Latino voters. I thought it was stupid, but obviously he felt otherwise.
2 Moderator-wise? Too many. But having ten folks up there....was way too many as well.
3. Boring. Along about minute 45....I started to lose interest.
4. Lot of free stuff. Tax increase to pay for this? Into the trillions.
5. The weakest of the evening? Klobuchar, Castro, and de Blasio. They should stand down and quit at this point.
6. Surprise of the evening? This John Delaney guy. His comment on Medicare-For-All? Absolutely correct.
7. Did ten folks up on the stage screw up the debate? YES. I would limit it to four max.
8. From this group, the only three that I see advancing with potential are Warren, Beto, and Delaney. None of the remainder were even decent VP candidates.
9. The chief topic of the evening.....over and over....is that the system is 'broke'. After hearing this for the 20th time in the first hour....I sat and thought over the chatter. If it's broke....it's been broke longer than 2.5 years, and maybe longer than 20 years. This triggered me to wonder.....who broke it and how did they break it?
It pains me now....to consider that in 24 hours.....I have to watch a minimum of another hour of a marginal debate. At least I'll get a chance to see Mayor Pete once more.
1. At some point early on (maybe 8 minutes into it), Beto responds at first in English, then flips over to Spanish. I have no idea what he said.....but he was appealing to Latino voters. I thought it was stupid, but obviously he felt otherwise.
2 Moderator-wise? Too many. But having ten folks up there....was way too many as well.
3. Boring. Along about minute 45....I started to lose interest.
4. Lot of free stuff. Tax increase to pay for this? Into the trillions.
5. The weakest of the evening? Klobuchar, Castro, and de Blasio. They should stand down and quit at this point.
6. Surprise of the evening? This John Delaney guy. His comment on Medicare-For-All? Absolutely correct.
7. Did ten folks up on the stage screw up the debate? YES. I would limit it to four max.
8. From this group, the only three that I see advancing with potential are Warren, Beto, and Delaney. None of the remainder were even decent VP candidates.
9. The chief topic of the evening.....over and over....is that the system is 'broke'. After hearing this for the 20th time in the first hour....I sat and thought over the chatter. If it's broke....it's been broke longer than 2.5 years, and maybe longer than 20 years. This triggered me to wonder.....who broke it and how did they break it?
It pains me now....to consider that in 24 hours.....I have to watch a minimum of another hour of a marginal debate. At least I'll get a chance to see Mayor Pete once more.
Tuesday, 25 June 2019
The Problem With Wealth Inequity
I noticed a couple of dimwit billionaires had some conference meeting today, and they hyped up that something out of the Presidential race (on top of reparations, relief for student debt, save-the-planet-carbon taxes, etc)....should be done to hand more money out because of wealth inequality.
There are three essential things that bother me when this discussion comes up: (1) the government is always seen as the 'middle-man' to get the wealth and redistribute the wealth, (2) there are tremendous odds that when you hand twenty-odd billion dollars out.....that it'll be immediately spent to drive folks with serious wealth inequality further into debt and cause increased inequality, and (3) the likely tool to take wealth is a tax.....which virtually every company and billion (and special interest group) has zero interest in a simple 10-percent minimum tax situation.
If you add up everything that the Democratic contenders have chatted about in the past couple of months....it goes up into the two or three trillion dollar range. The increased taxation? Once you bring this up with most middle-class Americans, they freak out.
It bothers me to some degree that you'd go to George....who mostly just lives with his girlfriend who earns a real paycheck for nursing forty hours a week), admitting that George hasn't worked a steady job in five years, and then via some wealth inequality situation.....you'd hand George a check for $1,200 each month. What'd George do to earn that $1,200? Nothing....except being an adult and suffering from wealth inequality. What will George spend the $1,200 on? Mostly booze, drugs, and video-gaming.....or perhaps hand some 2nd girlfriend $300 a month for special 'favors'.
I'd look at this game and basically quit working at age 35....just let the government hand me my wealth inequality check and hope this pyramid-scheme lasts for at least fifty years.
There are three essential things that bother me when this discussion comes up: (1) the government is always seen as the 'middle-man' to get the wealth and redistribute the wealth, (2) there are tremendous odds that when you hand twenty-odd billion dollars out.....that it'll be immediately spent to drive folks with serious wealth inequality further into debt and cause increased inequality, and (3) the likely tool to take wealth is a tax.....which virtually every company and billion (and special interest group) has zero interest in a simple 10-percent minimum tax situation.
If you add up everything that the Democratic contenders have chatted about in the past couple of months....it goes up into the two or three trillion dollar range. The increased taxation? Once you bring this up with most middle-class Americans, they freak out.
It bothers me to some degree that you'd go to George....who mostly just lives with his girlfriend who earns a real paycheck for nursing forty hours a week), admitting that George hasn't worked a steady job in five years, and then via some wealth inequality situation.....you'd hand George a check for $1,200 each month. What'd George do to earn that $1,200? Nothing....except being an adult and suffering from wealth inequality. What will George spend the $1,200 on? Mostly booze, drugs, and video-gaming.....or perhaps hand some 2nd girlfriend $300 a month for special 'favors'.
I'd look at this game and basically quit working at age 35....just let the government hand me my wealth inequality check and hope this pyramid-scheme lasts for at least fifty years.
How Mayor Pete Screwed Up
I would offer these five observations over Presidential candidate....'Mayor Pete' Buttigieg, and how he screwed up, and lost any chance of winning, or even getting a VP chance....or even a cabinet slot.
1. The minute that he choose to run....he should have resigned from the mayor's office. By staying around....anything that went wrong (like some cop shooting a black guy)....was going to demand your time and burn up opportunities.
2. For all the stuff that Mayor Pete said that he did.....the one thing that he did as mayor....was a lousy job in handling black/minority progress in South Bend. This event brings out the marginalized job, and begs the question of what he did over the past couple of years that really shows progress.
3. In terms of real responsibility, this past seven years as mayor of South Bend, is it. He has supervised more people than Hillary Clinton did over a twenty-year period....but in terms of identifying a real difference in South Bend in that period....he hasn't show much.
4. The last you want to do in a dramatic public event....is to allow uncontrolled confrontations to occur. He did precisely that three days. I was surprised....figuring the mayor's office would have had PR people attached to their office and control the interaction. But no.....he went and did a two-star job with that confrontation.
5. Finally, you come to handling public emergencies or chaotic events. From my period in the Air Force, the one big thing that I learned....you don't make any decisions based on half-ass information. You appoint someone to to dig through the mess, and a month down the road....you assess blame, and improve the system. If mistakes were made, you admit them. But you don't go and do some rush to judgement and make things twice as bad as they should be. In this case, Mayor Pete really screwed up badly.
What happens now? Mayor Pete will stand for election in South Bend, and probably win one more election....then move to run for governor of the state. Maybe twelve years from now....he gets invited to be some cabinet secretary.
1. The minute that he choose to run....he should have resigned from the mayor's office. By staying around....anything that went wrong (like some cop shooting a black guy)....was going to demand your time and burn up opportunities.
2. For all the stuff that Mayor Pete said that he did.....the one thing that he did as mayor....was a lousy job in handling black/minority progress in South Bend. This event brings out the marginalized job, and begs the question of what he did over the past couple of years that really shows progress.
3. In terms of real responsibility, this past seven years as mayor of South Bend, is it. He has supervised more people than Hillary Clinton did over a twenty-year period....but in terms of identifying a real difference in South Bend in that period....he hasn't show much.
4. The last you want to do in a dramatic public event....is to allow uncontrolled confrontations to occur. He did precisely that three days. I was surprised....figuring the mayor's office would have had PR people attached to their office and control the interaction. But no.....he went and did a two-star job with that confrontation.
5. Finally, you come to handling public emergencies or chaotic events. From my period in the Air Force, the one big thing that I learned....you don't make any decisions based on half-ass information. You appoint someone to to dig through the mess, and a month down the road....you assess blame, and improve the system. If mistakes were made, you admit them. But you don't go and do some rush to judgement and make things twice as bad as they should be. In this case, Mayor Pete really screwed up badly.
What happens now? Mayor Pete will stand for election in South Bend, and probably win one more election....then move to run for governor of the state. Maybe twelve years from now....he gets invited to be some cabinet secretary.
Saturday, 22 June 2019
After Trump and 2024?
If you go and look down the long list of potential Republican possibilities in the 2024 primary season....there's one single candidate who likely walks in Trump's shoes and probably has the charisma and charm to match up to Trump....Dan Crenshaw.
Yes, the one-eyed former Navy vet who serves in the House today from the state of Texas. He easily meets the age requirement, and gives four-star speeches.
Able to speak Spanish? Yes,that's a shocker.
Ten years in the Navy, and served as a SEAL? Yes.
Purple Heart? Yes.
You can go and mark down ten different columns that he's got things checked off, and as long as he stays out of trouble while a House member.....I think he's got the inside deal to be President from 2024 to 2032.
Yes, the one-eyed former Navy vet who serves in the House today from the state of Texas. He easily meets the age requirement, and gives four-star speeches.
Able to speak Spanish? Yes,that's a shocker.
Ten years in the Navy, and served as a SEAL? Yes.
Purple Heart? Yes.
You can go and mark down ten different columns that he's got things checked off, and as long as he stays out of trouble while a House member.....I think he's got the inside deal to be President from 2024 to 2032.
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