Framing the Dialogue

Archive for April, 2010

No Gulf Trip

Exxon Valdez, Hurricane Ivan, Ruby Ridge, Monica Lewinsky, Iranian U.S. Embassy take over, Bay of Pigs, and Hurricane Katrina were all disasters faced by White House different administrations.  Besides the worst economy and near 10% unemployment Obama has his first “natural” disaster. 

So what has Obama done so far?  Not much. Over a week after the disaster he has promised to escalate the federal response to the spill.  The citizens of the Gulf coast should feel pretty good as Eric Holder has sent a team of lawyers to “monitor” the oil spill.  That’s really what the wildlife, citizens, fishermen, and responders need is a bunch of lawyers.  My guess is that there are plenty of ambulance chasers there already.  This move should tell you all that you need to know about this administration.  Lawyers!  Really?

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Mad Hatter

First it was lead in paints that was banned.  Owners of older homes that had been decorated with lead-based paint often had a hard time selling their homes unless the paint was removed.  Removal could be costly because many methods to remove the paint caused it to become airborne.  Materials coated with the paint often could not be discarded at landfills because the amount of lead made the waste hazardous.

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News Briefs Volume VII

News briefs are a collection of interesting news stories…

This edition is all about Obama’s bad week though Americans who rely on the mainstream media missed most of the implications.

Brief 1:  Obama and his employees Tim Geithner (Treasury Secretary) and Ed Whitacre (Government Motors CEO) were all a tizzy when GM paid back part of their TARP loans…with interest.  GM even made a commercial to announce the success of the program.  This news of such a government success couldn’t come at a better time for Obama as he looks to take over Wall Street.  Unfortunately Sen. Chuck Grassley and some others (including the Inspector General for the TARP program) read the fine print on the alleged payback…with interest.  Grassley stated;

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Misunderestimating

I wasn’t sure whether to  list this posting as an update to I Dream of Health Care or my review for Judge Napolitano’s book Lies the Government Told You.  I punted and selected neither.

This headline from the Associated Press may qualify for the Homer Simpson “DUH” awards;  “Report: Health overhaul will increase tab.”  The assessment wasn’t by any “right-winged” think tank or pundit.  The Health and Human Services Department provided the bad news except that it is too late as the bill is now law.  The article listed more bad news regarding long-term care insurance and medicare so read at your own risk.  Here are some of my predictions:

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REWORK

I have a dream job…unfortunately it is still in my mind, but the job that I have now has that potential.  Reading books like Rework fuel my desire for a better working environment.  I can work my butt off all day and sometimes by 4:00 I am spent.  I have given my all for that day, but really don’t feel comfortable leaving before 5:00.  Starting a new project would be rather pointless as I am not at my freshest. 

“Workaholics make the people who don’t stay late feel inadequate for ‘merely’ working reasonable hours.  That leads to guilt and poor morale all around and leads to ass-in-seat mentality.” [see my above comments]

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Update Earth Day Plus 40

I received a comment regarding the “yahoo” sources that argue that take an alternative view that Rachel Carson may not have been as much of a savior as promoted by the press.  The blue highlighted sections of any of my posts are links to articles that provide additional reading on the subject.  Since the commenter thought that my sources were yahoos I decided to add a few more.  I did exhaustive research by searching the terms “DDT malaria.”  I actually used Yahoo for my search and here are a few more sources:

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Earth Day Plus 40

Last year I wrote a three part series on Earth Day. Part 1 addressed my role working as a government employee in the environmental field while balancing my environmentalism with conservatism. In Part 2 I tackled some of the issues surrounding alternative energy and why the energy solution is not easy or cheap. I finished with Part 3 with a blast of the media and the misinformation that they spread as facts about the environment.

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Lies The Government Told You

“Dear reader, since you have actually picked up and read this book, it might be a little late for a warning.  Just in case you thought you were safe to read whatever you choose.  I want to warn you that your reading habits may be monitored for ‘suspicious’ behavior.  Considering the title of this book, your name might now be on a list authorized by the Patriot Act…”

You may have enjoyed the insightful commentary by Judge Andrew P. Napolitano on many cable news shows.  I always considered him a rather conservative-leaning man.  I bought the book expecting it to take shots at left-wing Democrat politics and it does that.  The Judge, however, is just as critical of the Republicans.  I should have known since Congressman Ron Paul wrote the forward.

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Entitlement

The City of Pittsburgh generally lands in the top ten when a list of “the most livable cities” is created.  In the most recent poll by Forbes, Pittsburgh landed in the tenth spot.  Having lived here I cannot think of a better place to live and raise a family.  My wife and I did decide to move out of the city, however, for two primary reasons; Pittsburgh’s excessive taxes and poor schools. 

It is an interesting contrast to be one of the top ten most livable communities while the City is in receivership because they spend too much money and the schools are poor.  Pittsburgh is, however, blessed by having great universities, phenomenal health care facilities, great cultural amenities, and world champion sports teams.

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Big Time

I may be on the cusp of hitting it big or hit the “tipping point.”  I came across an explosive White House document as I searched the Internet earlier in the week.  I wasn’t sure whether to publish it as I don’t have a lot of money to defend myself from Big Brother.  This document has the potential to bring down politicians at a very high level.

This single page document seems to outline the strategy as the White House and the Democrats pursue their transformation of America.  The ingenuity of the document is its flexibility as it can be modified and adjusted to fit multiple goals.  I had seen similar documents, but they were in chemistry books and dealt with waste treatment.  You can be the judge whether this constitutes “waste treatment.” 

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