August 11. 2008 by Dick.

We need a loose cannon in politics now more than ever; it’s too bad today’s politicians shoot blanks.

In the first part of this series, we discovered that our current presidential candidates don’t have the answers.

For about 30 nanoseconds I thought I might vote for Ralph Nader. After all that’s a sure vote for Mickey Mouse or NOTA. Too bad the message sent with that vote is that Mr. Nader represents the change I want to see. That’s not my message so I retracted my Goofy vote last week.

Here’s the right message: officeholders have indeed changed. Officeholders have changed from peeps who want to do important stuff for us to peeps who want to do everything for us. Political party notwithstanding, politicians believe in their hearts of hearts that they know what you need waaaaaaay better than you know what you need. And they have fought each other to a standstill to give it to us. Read that again. It works on a lot of levels.

Sorry, folks. I know what I need and I know who can provide it.

I need less gummint. I need fewer laws. I need smaller taxes. And I need better roads.

Government has five basic responsibilities: establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence (sic), promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty. That’s it. That means the next president needs to teach the kids, build the roads, share knowledge and encourage growth, and keep other people from robbing or nuking us.

Deciding whether a former ballplayer took steroids may keep Senators McCain and Obama (mostly) out of trouble but it ain’t what we elected them for and it ought not be what gets either into higher office.

The senators—that would be the ones who eat at the public trough, not the former ballplayers—spend entirely too much time taking potshots at each other instead of working together to hit a home run for their constituents.

That would be thee and me.

Within the Presidential responsibilities, this campaign has just two issues: the economy and the price of gas. Do you really believe Senator McCain will lead us out of the economic doldrums? Do you really believe Senator Obama will do anything but give away some of the oil we already have? I found a candidate who says she can fix it.

I love Paris in the springtime.
I love Paris in the fall.
I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles,
I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles.
I love Paris every moment,
Every moment of the year.

Sorry, Mr. Porter.

For those who live on another planet, Senator McCain took a cheap shot at Senator Obama and put Paris Hilton in play. Ms. Hilton responded with an energy policy video that makes more sense than anything either candidate has said.

The next president needs to teach the kids, build the roads, share knowledge and encourage growth, and keep other people from robbing or nuking us. Apparently, only a loose cannon can do that.

If Ms. Hilton gives us a 30-second lesson in economics, I’ll endorse her. She could be just the loose cannon we need.

In the upcoming episode of this series about the ballistic properties of ballplayers, I will explain the Democratic shortfall.

Posted in Politics, Big Thoughts, Random Access | 1 Comment »

July 28. 2008 by Dick.

We need a loose cannon in politics now more than ever but we’ve been growing little water pistols and arming them with blanks.

Lee Iacocca’s 2007 book, Where Have All the Leaders Gone, finally made it to Vermont. OK, some excerpts did, thanks to my friend “Bob” who wrote, “Iacocca has for decades been one of my heroes (even if he IS a democrat!)…”

Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, “Stay the course.”

Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I’ll give you a sound bite: “Throw all the bums out!”

The Leadership Blog wants to see Michael Moore and Mr. Iacocca “collaborate to turn this book into a movie.”

<shudder >

“Bob” wrote, “Don’t really see any answers here, though…”

And that’s the trouble with a “challenge.”

It interests me that T. Boone Pickens and Al Gore have both gone to television advertising to sell their quests, but Mr. Iacocca stayed with a book.

I’m afraid television is the wave of the future for idea generators–particularly if the idea is a bad one or a heavily politicized one. Marketing ideas is not the problem. We’ve used the media to sell ideas to the public for as long as there has been a media. In the early days, people wrote pamphlets (Thomas Paine) or owned a newspaper (Ben Franklin). The difference between then and now is that the Paines and Franklins rallied the proletariat and then went out and led them. Nowadays, the Gores and Pickenses rally the proletariat and whine about the politicians rather than implementing their so-called bright ideas theirownselfs.

The Obama camp makes the “change” noises, and the McCain camp makes the “stay the course” noises. For the record, Senator Obama has the water pistol and Senator McCain the blanks.

Throw da bums out.

For 30 nanoseconds I thought I might join Deck and vote for Ralph Nader. After all that’s a sure vote for Mickey Mouse or NOTA. Too bad the messages sent with that vote is that Mr. Nader represents the change I want to see. That’s not my message.

I have retracted the Goofy vote.

Yeah, I know. I could vote the Librarian party. Unfortunately, they are all whackos who keep trying to shush me.

Wot to do, wot to do. Next up, I will have at least a half-a-suggestion but right now I have desk butt and it’s time to go play with my tractor.

Posted in Politics, Big Thoughts, Random Access | 1 Comment »

June 30. 2008 by Dick.

A town without a library is a town without culture.

On July 2, the Monroe County (Florida) Board of Commissioners were to meet to consider the permanent closure of the Marathon, Big Pine, and Islamorada branches of the Monroe County Public Library. This closure would come on the heels of a significant decrease in library hours.

I am pleased to report that Mayor Mario Di Gennaro told us Friday that the library cuts are off the table. I am displeased to report that the cuts were on the table in the first place.

The Commissioners had hoped to save less than $10 per capita.

Once closed, these libraries would never reopen.

Closure is a cultural as well as an economic issue that will affect every business in the Keys. The loss of our library sends this unmistakable message: “The Monroe County Commissioners do not value learning or culture.” Our residents demand the learning and our visitors demand the culture. And, of course, vice versa.

These library branches serve thousands of residents and tourists alike. Over 1,200 children have library cards and use our library to check out books and other materials.

Popular reading materials still make the bulk of the collection; that’s wonderful for everyday readers, but there is so much more. The library provides reading at preschools, home-school support, youth programs, and research help (I have recently used the Marathon branch to learn how to remove a Chrysler Lebaron gas tank and I have researched local history there).

Home-school support has a nice warm-and-fuzzy feel to it but it is a serious economic issue: imagine the budget impact if just 10 home-schooled kids re-entered the traditional school system because the Commisioners closed the library. Or 50 home-schooled kids. At over $10,000 per student per year.

It may be difficult for those of us reading or responding to this blog to believe that some people really do not have computers or Internet access. Many people do not. Libraries fill that void.

The free computer use for Monroe County citizens enables food stamp, social services assistance, and unemployment benefit applications. Users can conduct online job searches. They can prepare taxes and Social Security applications. They have access to Florida State services, statutes, and resources.

And users can read the news.

There is nothing more important to a free society than the free availability of the news.

I’m thinking that in this election year the Commissioners knew we would lose any Commissioners who lose us our libraries.

And that would be news.

Posted in Society, Politics, Big Thoughts, Random Access | No Comments »