SEEMS LIKE WE'RE WILLING TO FALL FOR THE SAME TRICKS OVER AND OVER AND OVER
The story reminds me of a quote by former Oakland A's third-baseman Sal Bando made in June 1974, after a disappointing loss. Bando said that A's manager Alvin Dark "couldn't manage a meat market."
And this is somewhat frightening to me because by my calculations, it seems like we're destined to get a President who was once a U.S. Senator, no matter what happens from now to November.
It seems the Senate apparently cannot run a simple restaurant and catering business. Something I'm sure many people on Main Street, USA are able to do on a daily basis.
Yet, we the people (Charlie Brown), are willing to turn over important pieces of our lives (health care, energy policy, environment) for these these Senators and Congressman (Lucy) to control (hold the football). And then we'll act surprised, like the aforementioned blockhead Mr. C. Brown, when we end up flat on our collective backs again.
These are the same folks who want to take over the management of health-care in this country. The same folks that want to confiscate "windfall profits" from the oil companies, presumably to micro-manage our nation's transition from carbon-based fuels to cleaner sources. Both are major tasks that would make them responsible for large chunks of our overall economy and our futures. And as we see from the story, they can't even run a restaurant and catering business profitably. Remarkable.
At least the House of Representatives seems to have understood how to get things done right a long time ago. Which makes sense because in terms of composition and personalities, the House is made up of folks who are closer to the people then the know-it-all, prima-donnas in the Senate. Real people that have run real businesses and achieved results in the real world know how to get things done, they know how things work. Senators clearly don't and they historically have made piss-poor Presidents. God help us.
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Story in the Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/08/AR2008060801765.html
Year after year, decade upon decade, the U.S. Senate's
network of restaurants has lost staggering amounts of
money -- more than $18 million since 1993, according
to one report, and an estimated $2 million this year
alone, according to another.
The financial condition of the world's most exclusive
dining hall and its affiliated Capitol Hill
restaurants, cafeterias and coffee shops has become so
dire that, without a $250,000 subsidy from taxpayers,
the Senate won't make payroll next month.
The embarrassment of the Senate food service
struggling like some neighborhood pizza joint has
quietly sparked change previously unthinkable for
Democrats. Last week, in a late-night voice vote, the
Senate agreed to privatize the operation of its food
service, a decision that would, for the first time,
put it under the control of a contractor and all but
guarantee lower wages and benefits for the outfit's
new hires.
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I suppose one of the fortunate things is that these neophytes can't seem to accomplish their way out of a wet paper bag. It didn't seem to matter which debate--mainly the Democratic side with Barry, Hillary and Michael J. Fox (when he was still in the race)--but in listening to these knuckle heads speak about the economy or world events, it always seemed like I was watching folks running for student council President instead of President of the United States, the leader of the free-world.
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Apparently, even though the Dems have a majority in both houses and a presumptive President on the way, they can't get much in the way of their stated agenda accomplished.
STRIKE ONE IS THIS NEWS FROM NEWSDAY.COM ON JUNE 11TH:
http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/wednesday/news/ny-bzoil115722131jun11,0,42350.story
Big oil companies dodged an attempt yesterday to levy
a windfall profits tax and take away tax breaks in
response to record gas prices.
GOP senators shoved aside the Democratic proposal,
arguing that punishing Big Oil would do more harm than
good and won't lower the $4-plus-a-gallon-price of
gasoline that is sending economic waves across the
country.
The bill would have imposed a 25 percent tax on any
"unreasonable" profits of the five largest U.S. oil
companies - Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and
ConocoPhilips and Dutch-based Royal Dutch Shell plc
and British-based BP plc - which together made about
$36 billion during the first three months of the year.
It also would have rescinded tax breaks expected to
save the firms $17 billion over the next 10 years.
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Then today after failing to push through the “windfall profits” tax on oil companies, they figured they would try to help the unemployed.
And all they really seemed to accomplish was another swing and a miss for STRIKE TWO.
According to the New York Times, "The House on Wednesday narrowly defeated a plan to provide added unemployment aid for Americans whose benefits are running out after Republicans, bolstered by a White House veto threat, opposed the measure,"
"As part of an escalating Congressional fight over economic issues, a Democratic plan to provide an additional 13 weeks of benefits to Americans out of jobs -- or another 26 weeks in states where unemployment exceeds 6 percent -- fell 3 votes short of approval in a 279-to-144 vote."
I guess it seems like we''re destined for more gridlock and incompetence no matter who gets elected. I don't know when we'll learn not to get fooled by the same old rhetoric, the same old games.
We should just throw all the bums out and start over. I'm not sure what the bums average is with an 0-2 count, but it can;t be good.
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