***BIG CHANGES IN THE WORKS***

***BIG CHANGES IN THE WORKS***

Be sure to stay tuned to this blog over the next couple of weeks. There are some fundamental changes in the works for this blog.

October 9, 2009

Obama... Nobel... WTF?

Can someone please explain to me what this president has done to deserve being bestowed the Nobel Peace prize!?

Here's a quote from the AP:
"President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a stunning decision designed to build momentum behind his initiatives..." (emphasis added)
So let me get this straight, Obama was awarded the Nobel prize as a means to building momentum in achieving his initiatives. Has he actually achieved any of his initiatives? I think Saturday Night Live answered that question last week.

So basically the Nobel Peace Prize has now become one giant "A for Effort" award. It's like giving the Buffalo Bills the Vince Lombardi trophy in the hopes that it will put momentum behind the team towards winning the Super Bowl!

On a related note, I have been doing some thinking... I am officially announcing that I am planning on curing cancer in all forms all over the world over the next year. For this lofty well intentioned initiative, I humbly accept the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
HA!

October 8, 2009

Why wouldn't you get the H1N1 vaccine? No really... why?

Everyone has probably herd about this H1N1 (A.K.A. Swine flue) and the vaccine that has recently come out for it. Great, right? Dole out those vaccinations and get everyone cured ASAP!

Well, that's not exactly the sentiment among the masses these days. Especially in New York where health care workers are being mandated to receive the vaccine (drawing protests). In a recent Consumer Reports poll, 21% of those polled said they would definitely not get the vaccine. Some mothers are freaking out about the prospect of the government forcing the vaccination of their children.

But of course those people refusing the vaccination are aluminum-foil hat wearing conspiracy theory nutcases, right? I mean there were mandated vaccinations for me to go into college, like meningitis. Now that disease can lead to loss of entire limbs... so by all means, vaccinate the hell out of me for that one! But I can kind of see where those aluminum-foil hat wearing conspiracy theory nutcases are coming from.

Let's take a look back:
  • Bill Clinton said "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." ... He did.
  • George Bush said Iraq possessed Weapons of Mass destruction... they did not.
  • Barrack Obama said we must pass the stimulus package to keep unemployment from going above 8%... we're currently sitting at 9.8%
  • Then there's of course the various Senators, Congressman and Cabinet members with their own slew of tax problems and legal issues.
  • And... let's not forget the issues behind Viox, Zycam and numerous other medications the pharmaceutical companies claimed were safe.
Now these same people in the government are telling us we should get the H1N1 Flue vaccine. Hmmm...

It seems to me that the real issue here is not people's fear of the vaccine, but rather a lack of trust in who is urging us to take it. It's a modern day real life story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".

Now I am not saying you should refuse the vaccine if recommended! You need to do your own homework for coming to that personal decision. But I can understand why some might be apprehensive.

I mean really... we're only talking about trusting the government here. And they have been spot-on with EVERYTHING over the past 15 years, am I right? :-p
Trust your own instincts.

October 4, 2009

“Please sir, may I have some Moore?”

So Brad and I saw the most recent Michael Moore movie on Friday night. I saw this movie of my own free will, which I think warrants a pat on my back for open mindedness on my part! As with most Michael Moor movies, I am confident that it will be widely accepted as dogmatic truth without anyone doing their homework and looking into the claims he is making. That's not how I roll though. Severe fact checking will follow on my part.

What I liked (yes, there were things I liked!):
  1. He pointed out how many high ranking members (including Tim Geithner) of the U.S. Dept. of Treasury in the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations were high ranking executives at many of the banks that failed and/or were bailed out. Hmm… Work for a huge bank, run it into the ground, get hired by the U.S. Treasury then make policy to prop up the bank you ran like crap… can you say "conflict of interest"?
  2. Moore brings attention to the "Friends of Angelo", people who received special rates on mortgages from Angelo Mozilo (CEO – Countrywide), among them, Sen. Christopher Dodd and Sen. Kent Conrad. Moore calls for the Dept. of Justice investigation of people "… in BOTH the Clinton and Bush administration who benefited from this." (Emphasis added) His lack of partisanship in looking at some of these issues in the movie is actually quite refreshing!
  3. He interviewed Democrat representatives who complained about how the very first bailout package from Sec. Paulson was was so forcefully rushed through the voting process. There was much more apprehension and opposition from the Democratic party towards this bailout than I thought.

What I didn't like:

  1. Moore's use of the Flight 3407 Plane crash that occurred near Buffalo as an example of Capitalism gone wrong. Flight tapes indicate that among other things, the pilots were discussing how they were not paid much and had to work second jobs. Moore's claim, if the pilots were better paid they would not be so tired from working second jobs and would not have lost control of the plane. Exploiting the loss of innocent life in an accident to promote one's anti-capitalist agenda disgusted me almost to the point where I left the theater.
  2. Throughout the movie, Moore shows footage of people being evicted from their foreclosed homes, sometimes by law enforcement. Though it is sad and somewhat disturbing to watch, there is no explanation as to how those people got to that point. Did they have emergency savings accounts? Were they living beyond their means? Were they greedy/irresponsible with credit card debt, borrowing against the equity of their home or sub-prime mortgages they could not pay back? Believe it or not banks don't just decide to take your house for shits and giggles… you have to give them a good reason for them to do so!
  3. His use of the "promote the general welfare" clause of the Constitution to call for such things as universal housing, healthcare, etc. This meaning is COMPLETELY contrary to what The Father of the Constitution James Madison has stated. Think of how this Madison quote fits in today! Chilling huh?
  4. Moore closes the movie by suggesting that the solution to the problem is to replace capitalism with democracy. What? This makes no sense. The last time I checked, democracy is a system of government while capitalism is an economic system. Categorically, two completely different (though not totally unrelated) things.

What I need to learn more about:

  1. The Carter and Regan administrations. I was not alive for Carter and I was 6 when Regan left office… forgive me if my history of that era is a little blurred!
  2. "Dead peasant" life insurance policies taken out by companies to cover the death of their employees.