Obama's Congress One Year Later

It has been one year since Obama and his powerful democratic congress was elected. Let’s see where they have taken us and what the citizens think of it.

The famous pollster Scott Rasmussen is predicting that Obama better hope things improve over the next calendar year or the Democrats are in trouble for the midterm election. I agree with him. It is not difficult to predict. Following are the TOP-10 reasons, as I see them (in no particular order).

First off, it is normal for the minority party to gain seats in the midterm elections. There are only four exceptions: Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Clinton and GW Bush.

Second, the Dems benefited from Mr. Obama’s popularity in 2008 but since he does not run in midterms the tag-along voters won’t be voting. The History News Network explains it well.

Third, according to popular UK publisher, Telegraph News, Obama’s own poll numbers are fading faster than any other drop in last 50 years. Independents and Blue Dog Democrats are less likely to show up let alone vote for the party they currently blame for things getting worse.

Fourth, Obama’s popularity was not all that substantial to begin with. To the surprise of many, he only received 52.9 % of the popular vote. That is unimpressive considering the overwhelming media bias, the grossly lopsided fund raising (nearly two to one), the questionable tactics of Acorn and the relatively weak opponents: McCain and Palin.

Fifth, according to another Rasmussen poll, nearly 70% of the population is for drilling for oil and refining more of it to escape the clutches of foreign nations. Even in the wacky East Coast land of greenies, there are more people for off-shore drilling than oppose it. But the Dems have done precious little about it during the four years they have had control of the Congress. If the price of a gallon of gas should return to $4 per gallon, heads are going to roll on election day. Naturally, the democratic politicians will blame “Greedy Oil Companies” but more and more people are coming to realize that the Feds themselves steal over twice as much money from us (18.4 cents per gallon), when we buy a gallon of gas, than the oil companies do (approximately 8 cents). Chart of your own state’s gasoline tax.

Sixth, the bulk of people are opposed to bail outs. But we have watched the auto industry, AIG Insurance, the banks and Wall Street Big Shots pocket billions of our dollars. Gallup tells us that 6 out of ten were opposed to auto bailouts and the numbers are nearly identical for all of the other industries discussed. Throw in a bunch of refinancing programs for people who cannot pay their home loans and a “Cash for Clunkers” program and it is easy to understand that responsible Americans are tired of subsidizing misbehavior. And, to compound the foolishness, the faster the President’s poll numbers decline, the harder his push to ram crazy spending plans through. Even the liberal CBS recognizes the pattern with the current Health bill. For those who have had enough of bailouts and back-room paper-shuffling, there is one sure-fire way of filing a protest: VOTE!

Seventh, 10% unemployment rate. Bush may have some blame here but Obama’s policies have clearly made things worse. More jobs have been lost in the first 8 months of Obama’s administration than all of 2007 and 2008 combined. Absent some miraculous turn-around, this will be the worst year for job losses since 1945. Practically everybody can finish this paragraph with a personal story of somebody who they know that is out of work but had a job under Bush.

Eighth, The unions have lost power because they have abused the country and their own members. The Auto Workers Union and the Teachers Unions have been huge pluses for the Dems over the past few decades, but there is change in the wind. I know of teachers who don’t even belong to the union any longer. They despise the protection of their mediocre counterparts and the schools are not turning out a very impressive product. Truly motivated teachers are seeking alternatives to the union–driven Public School System. As far as the Auto Workers are concerned, it was they who had egg on their collective faces when the auto bail-out discussions were in full swing. Americans were shocked to find out how much cushy union contracts have added to the price of our cars. Now we are all losers and we don’t like it. Real ”change” is in order.

Ninth, Most Americans love their country, or at least like it, and so do the common folks whom I have met from other countries. But some governments and radicals, both here and abroad, take pleasure in bashing our way of life. Obama misread the importance of standing up for his citizens and he has traveled the globe trying to find favor by demeaning us. He assumed that other countries would appreciate his humility and align with us on various national issues, but instead they have perceived us as weak. Even David Frum sees the signs. Many Americans think any perceived weakness is an invitation to disaster via terrorists and they will show up on election-day to address their fear.

Tenth, over a dozen “czars” and other officials have been granted unprecedented power without accountability. Government power-grabs are the product of Marxists not a Democratic-Republic. Our country was founded on the important idea that the government derives its power from the people, not the other way around. This power-taking will not be tolerated, beyond election-day 2010.

These are the forces that are already in place and causing Tea Parties and other unrest. At the moment we are in the heat of a discussion regarding health insurance. The President and his supporters seem to forget, or at least ignore, the fact that we went down this road with the Clintons. As long as this program is perceived as just another way to grow government, the sentiment will remain as it was in the 90’s. If such a bill is passed, this will amount to throwing millions of barrels of oil on the current fire, but it won’t be our own oil.

We don’t have much of that.

Comments welcomed!

WHEN I WAS A KID

WHEN I WAS A KID, I hated it when adults began any sentence by saying, “When I was a kid…” Another adult comment which I disliked was, “I remember you when you were just this big.” I wanted to say something back to them like, “Yeah, well I remember you when you were not so damn fat” but, I didn’t dare say anything like that. I guess I just grunted in defeat. Now, I fall into the same traps. I see my niece and nephews every few months and they seem to grow like weeds. I have to bite my tongue.

WHEN I WAS A KID, I remember the adults telling me about the holidays when they were kids. Halloween was particularly interesting. My step-dad told us that people who were disliked by the kids were especially vulnerable. The year was around 1927. The adults could get in the proverbial dog house if they were mean throughout the year or just because they failed to give away popcorn balls or candy apples or other sufficient treats for the holidays. Apparently, in those days, the kids took the “Trick” part of “Trick or Treat” much more seriously. It was a form of blackmail.

Translated, it would be, “Give us something good or you will be punished.” And they meant it. If the adults failed the little goblins they were subjected to pranks such as having their home TP’d or their windows soaped (write on them with bars of soap). But my step-father and his friends had even worse plans for the people who deserved a more severe “punishment”. He tells me that one time they pushed over a cranky old man when he was in his outhouse and on several occasions they would gather up some dog poop (or their own) and put it in a paper sack. Then they would sneak up on their victim’s porch and light the bag on fire and ring the doorbell and run away. Apparently the victim would open the door, see the fire and stomp on the bag to put it out. My step-dad laughed so hard when he told us the story I thought he was going to cry.

WHEN I WAS A KID, we had a different version of Halloween. Outhouses had all been replaced by indoor plumbing and packaged candy replaced home-made popcorn balls and candy apples. We were less interested in “Tricks” and more interested in “Treats”; lots and lots of treats. After school we ran home and turned our pillow cases into large storage sacks. We started banging on doors by about 5:30. The object was to get to as many as houses as we could before people turned their lights out. We worked our way from our lower-middle class neighborhood toward the better neighborhoods that were a mile or so away. The object was to get to about two-hundred homes. On the way back we remembered the homes that had the better treats and we hit them again. We stayed out until about 10:00 hitting any house which still had a porch light on.

WHEN I WAS A KID, television was just getting popular and every year some kook in some faraway place would do something stupid like put razor blades in apples or poison in some home-made cookies. The media loved the stories because they created ratings and they scared the hell out of overprotective and overreacting mothers. Halloween morphed once more, this time for the worst.

WHEN I WAS A KID, the best holidays for kids (4th of July, Halloween, field day)were more fun than they are now. All of the mischief is out of Halloween and firecrackers are out of the 4th of July, and ribbons don't mean anything any longer. We might as well take the kid out of the kids.

WHEN I WAS A KID Halloween wasn't so sterile, but it is still one of my favorite holidays and just because the kids have to behave themselves is no reason for me to completely behave myself. See my previous article for some of the traditions that we have adopted.

If you would like to look up some

audio stories about Halloween or other topics click here.

Don’t be afraid to tell a few ghost stories.

Haunted house stories can be found here.

don't be AFRAID to BOO for us

Trick or Treat

I don’t know about you, but I get a kick out of Halloween. We usually get our first visitors at sundown and the action is slow but steady until about 9:00 p.m. By the end of the evening, we enjoy the company of approximately one-hundred of the little monsters.

I answer the door about 80% of the time and Patty catches the remainder. I usually like to measure the age of the youngsters and engage them in some appropriate banter or prank for their age. I basically just encourage the first-timers by telling them how cute they look.

For the kids that are about 6-7 I know that they have been out on Halloween a few times so I just try to catch them off-guard. I tell them that at our home they have to give me candy. I get some good responses.

I have a special prank for the next older group, say ages 7-9. It is more effective as the evening progresses a bit. Somewhere around 8:00, I get out a can of tuna fish and a raw onion. I tell the kids I am out of candy and these are the only things I have left; then, I ask them which they prefer. One kid said in a disappointed voice, “Ahh, I guess I’ll just take the tuna fish.”

A few times each evening, I fold up two bucks and hide it in my hand behind the onion. Then I ask a couple of older kids if they would rather have candy or the onion. Naturally they almost always pick the candy but there have been two times when a smart-alecky teenager picked the onion and he was rewarded with the two-bucks as well. I only employ this gag a few times an evening because the youngsters are sharp enough to come back again and again if they figure out what is going on.

This year I plan on getting some catsup, plus an old shirt and a large knife. I will soak the front of the shirt in catsup (or do you prefer Ketchup?) and break the blade off of the knife. Then I will open the door and hold the knife to my stomach as if I have been stabbed and then beg for mercy. This will probably be best suited to the girls ages 6-10.

I am also considering throwing a few strands of TP in one of my own trees and then blame select young kids for it.

The next time I can get somebody to help me I would like to hide behind the bushes with a chain saw and when the victims are busy at the front door and distracted I will let out a menacing laugh and start the chainsaw (you can remove the chain, but the kids don’t need to know that) then I will act as if I am going to attack them.

In preparation for this article I did a little research to see what pranks other people like. Quite honestly, I am surprised how many people think vandalism is funny. I guess those are the people who laugh when somebody trips a blind person.

Anyway, there were some fascinating ideas and stories that I enjoyed reading.

A common idea has several variations. You dress up as a really fat scarecrow or some other character and take a seat near your front door with a full bowl of candy in your lap. Stay motionless so you look like a decoration. When the goblins come to the door they are tempted to take all of the candy but just as they reach for the bowl you yell and jump out at them and teach them a lesson.

Dress up as a hospital patient and answer the door screaming things like “I didn’t do it, or I only killed one of them.”

These folks have a few ideas. Here is a variation of one of them. Make several home-made headstones and place them in the yard as if it is a cemetery. Make a couple of dummies and dress up like a corpse. Then lay the dummies near the headsotnes and you lay very still on the ground near one that is close to your front door. When a goblin gets too close jump up and scare the dickens out of them.

The Prank Institute has quite a few. Here is their main site:

For a cool three step program to draw them in, divert their attention and then scare the bedickens out of them click here.

One of the best stops for prank stories is at ZUG They even had a contest and here are the Top 5 winners. These are pretty good.

If you would like to send some FREE e-Halloween Cards just visit these guys.

It seems like there are all sorts of odd things people do on pumpkin day. If you cannot think of anything original, you might just try cutting off your own toes and giving them away as surprise treats. That ought to keep the neighborhood buzzing for a while.

What are your favorite memories?