Transparency??????

Transparency is the new buzz word. However, what is happening at this moment in Congress is far from transparent.  The leaders in the House are bastardizing a rule that was set up for budget items only to circumvent the filibuster and debate rule in the Senate.

A health care plan is being proposed and, more than likely will be voted on and passed.  I wish I could tell what it would do, but apparently transparency is a one way portal.  Most pundits speculate that it would give government much more control over providers and insurers.  We all know how well the government has managed medicare and medicaid.  Of course it is much easier to pay for something if you have control of the printing presses.  (currency and media)

I believe that the Health Care Bill will presented to Obama to sign as a gift, and homage, for his first hundred days.  Then, maybe he will explain it to us on Wednesday night at his post coronation press conference/lickfest.  I keep hoping that a trusted advisor will inform him that you cannot decrease the deficit by spending more money.  From an empirical standpoint, his knowledge of economics is straight out of the Communist manifesto..  Hell, even China knows it won't work.

When we all share in the outcome of everyone's work; we piss off the hard workers, and they work less the next time period.  Thereby diminishing the amount to share next time.  Which pisses off the remaining hard workers, until you have Cuba  ---  where the newest car on the street is a 58 chevy.  Cuba made the mistake of pinning its dreams to the lapels of the Soviet Union -----oops.

Let me work hard, and let the chips fall where they may.  This country's first successful English settlement, Jamestown, survived because John Smith said, "No work, no food."  This work ethic stuck with the colonists, along with land ownership and the free enterprise system. The United States was founded on these principles by really rich guys that wanted to keep the money that they had earned.  Nowhere in the Constitution does it say I have to share with slackers.  If Obama is a constitutional lawyer, you would think that he would know this.

President Obama has less than two years to accomplish his goals.  Just like Clinton, there will be a backlash in 2010 to turn the Congress into a more equally represented body.  I don't believe a veto proof, one-party Congress, with a like-minded president is a good idea at any time, for any party.  In that respect, I feel that the less that gets done by the government, the better we are.

I remember a story of my youth about a leader who believed in transparency.  Finally, a young child yelled, "The emperor is naked!"

OUT---

Easter House

My wife and I bounce around this big house most of the year alone.  It sometimes seems stupid.  There's two of us, 4000 sq. ft. of house, 2 acres of land (most of which is more than we can tame), and taxes that will, and do, make a grown man cry.

Then we have a get together.  There is enough room to congregate, find a quiet place, keep the kids occupied, and as we found out earlier this year, make out.  Family comes over, they bring friends, everyone is welcome, and we are thankful.

We remember why we built the house.  It is a place for family and friends; but more than that it is a place for memories.  The Thanksgiving and Christmas "touch" football games,  the marathon video games in the TV room, "Oh Hell! (a card game) at one table , while Risk is being played at another.  If it's cool enough we have a fire in the fireplace on the patio  ------- a risky proposition if you know about this family's proclivity to pyromania.

We also have had get-togethers for friends and co-workers.  There are many memories that have been made at these also, but what happens here, stays here.

I guess we will stay here for a while.  We were hoping that the mother-in-law section downstairs would eventually be for my wife's mother-in-law.  That didn't happen.  It may end up for my mother-in-law.  That is scary, but that could be my mom making me a better person, as she always tried to do.

My mom never got to see this house after the foundation was poured.  However, she is the foundation that this family is built upon.  She was here yesterday, my dad and I talked about her without hesitation.  She saw everyone who was here, and at the same time was watching over those that couldn't make it.  I'll bet she feels lucky ---- I know I do.

OUT---------------

Soapbox

WOW!!!!  What a funeral!!  

How's that for a statement you don't hear every day.

The funeral was held at an African-American Church of God in Christ in Pleasant Grove.  I was one of five white people at the service and I could not have felt more welcome.  As the service began, the family entered.  The pastor came to the pulpit and started the ceremony according to the wishes of the family.

The mother in law of the deceased came up and sang a hymn that she said her daughter in law used to love to hear.  It was beautiful, and as we always see, the congregation, would sometimes stand, clap, and yell out affirmations.  A colleague and her son were sitting next to me.  She is very spiritual and religious, as is her family.  I could tell that she was enjoying it, although in a different way than I.

The second singer was the an aunt of the deceased, who, along with her husband, the pastor of a church in Ohio, and some members of that church; had driven in for the occasion.  This was a "wow moment."  This woman belted out a gospel song that was as inspiring as any music I have ever heard.  Everyone was up and clapping, saying Amen!, and being joyous in the spirit.  When the song was over, my colleague made a remark that I think I heard correctly.  It sounded like she said, "I'm a pretty good singer, but when I get to heaven, Ill be able to sing like that."  High praise, I think.

The choir sang beautifully, the preachers preached well. The family was stoic, until the end.  At the end of the service, one of the universal emotions of mankind took over, grief induced sadness.  A family had lost a 33 yr. old daughter, wife, and mother.

After the service, I was approached by the pastor from Ohio, who asked about my relationship to the deceased.  I told him, and without even knowing me from Adam, he asked if I would like to come back to the Church later for a meal for friends and family.  I couldn't, but I was touched by his kindness and openness.

My take on the service is a cultural one.  Every culture has rituals.  I am trying to figure out if the rituals of a race that has been Christian for 2000 years have become stale, or if the rituals of African Americans who have been Christian for about 350 years at most, are immature and naive.  I like the African American service because it incorporates rituals from a time thousands of years ago into a "new" religion.

I don't know what all this means in my quest for rhyme and reason in this messed up world.  I wish that we could all have proof of the existence of an after-life and a supreme being.  However, if we did then there would be no need for faith.  If there was no need for faith, then organized religion wouldn't be needed.  

If organized religions didn't exist, then there would be no reason to kill millions of people in the name of a merciful God.  The Shamans (priests, rabbis, Ayatollahs, pastors, etc.) would have to get a job that makes mankind better.

Faith is an odd thing.  It is kind of like a the motivation that the horse has to get the carrot. Why can't humans do the right thing, just because it is the right thing to do?  I know, I know, it's the whole Eve and the apple, original sin, devil in our midst, thing.

I would say bologna, but that wouldn't be the right thing to do.

OUT

Bad Things/Good People

This morning I am preparing to go to the funeral of the mother of a sixth grader, a fifth grader, and a first grader.  I came to know them when they entered my community earlier this year. They had lived in an upscale community north of Dallas when, about two years ago, their house burned down.  They lived in a homeless shelter for about 18 months until procuring affordable housing here.

The 6th grader is a brilliant student.  His mom would call often to check on his progress.  I always had nothing but good things to say.  She would say, "Make sure he stays busy!  He might get in trouble if he has nothing to do."

I spoke with her last Friday about her son and told her that he was still doing a great job.  She seemed happy, and we said good-bye.  When I came to work on Monday, I was informed that this nice, hard-working woman in her early thirties, dropped dead in her home on Saturday.  No warning, no rhyme or reason.

The funeral is this morning.  More importantly, the boys return on Monday.  I know the rest of the kids will handle it great.  Me?  I don't know.  I am sometimes looked to for sage advice.  I hope that I will be able to come up with something that will help him, without sounding like I don't know what I am talking about.

Who is this God guy??

Is this Gaye?

What's Goin' On?

AIG, GM,--------WTF? The real culprit is Goldman Sachs (GS). GS punked AIG by getting a very low rate of insurance on the toxic assets that they were pushing. When the assets failed, AIG had to pay 50 Billion in losses. When the taxpayers bailed out AIG, we were actually paying for Goldman Sachs bad investment. Here's the kicker ----GS stock $110, AIG $1 --- WTF? If a dumbass like me can understand, what's wrong with DC?

I Heard It Through The Grapevine

The threats by our executive branch that it will allow GM to fail and go into receivership are idle threats. It is called brinksmanship, bringing a situation to the brink of disaster so that an agenda can be accomplished. If you think that Obama and the Democratic Party would allow GM to fail, thereby abrogatiing the labor contracts of the UAW, you are nuts. By the way, why was the CEO of GM forced to resign, but the head of the UAW is still there? No answer needed, it was rhetorical.

Let's Get It On

In the Dallas ISD there is evidence that a principal allowed certain students to fight, bare fisted in a cage at the school to settle their difeferences. How 'bout Barney Frank and Rush Limbaugh in a no-holds-barred fight for the right to take this country to the extreme left or right.

Sectional (sp) Healing

The rift in the country today is not a lot different than it was in the 1800's. Back then each section of the country had its own agenda. The Northeast was manufacturing. The South was the plantation system. The West was transportation and infrastructure. Each section, or faction, represented a lot of people.

Now, the factions, are big business, the middle class, the working poor, and the people who feel entitled. I hope that each will help the others succeed . We do not owe anyone anything that is able to work and chooses not to. There will always be poor people. There has never been a time in history when there wasn't. The great thing about this country is that no matter how poor you may be, you can still succeed with ambition and hard work.

If you noticed the headings, they reflected an April Fool's Day event 25 years ago. ----------------------------------- The murder of Marvin Gaye. How Sweet It Is.