Santorum Blows it

Rick Santorum certainly had his chance. It is not as if Mitt Romney was not an unbeatable candidate. Santorum with the lead turned into a vision of what he might be as President, in a word, reckless.

Rick Santorum who parades himself as Mr. Catholic virtue lost the Catholic vote in Michigan by a significant margin. Reasons about as to why that might be. Perhaps Catholics who use contraception do not want to be scolded by their President. Or it could be that attacking John Kennedy, the first Catholic President of the United States, the weekend before the primary might not be a great choice.

If Santorum is this reckless in the face of pending victory what might he do as President. Scary.

For Republicans it might be crisis averted. For the country as well.

While We Wait on the Michigan Primary

Today Michigan and Arizona are holding their primaries for the Republican nomination for President. Michigan seems to be the race that matters. As Mitt Romney's home state this is a state that he cannot lose. Rick Santorum led in the race but has dipped slightly behind in the polls as a result of both the monies Romney's friends have spent against him and his own statements that have gotten wackier and wackier.

Jon Stewart had two segments on his show last night that related well to this race. The first of how has Santorum not put this guy away referring to Romney and the second was how has Romney not put this guy away referring to Santorum. Both opinions are correct. These two guys are both chumps. Can you imagine how all the Republicans who did not get in are feeling about themselves and their decision.

If Santorum wins tonight it is great news for Obama and incredibly bad news for Romney, a possible death knell. If Romney wins it is good news for him but he still has bad days to come. Super Tuesday might not go so well, Santorum leads in Ohio currently and with that primary only a week away Romney does not have long to use his usual carpet bombing approach.

I think both of these fellows are clowns but at least I believe Santorum has a heart. I am not of a mind that Romney does.

Supply Side from Mr. Romney

There is something wrong with the water in Republican households. Not all of them mind you, I have strong,intelligent Republican friends. Some of the best people I know. And yet for the last thirty five years from Reagan to Bush to now the Romney and Santorum crowd we hear repeated calls for even lower taxes, increased defense spending and cuts in waste that will solve the budget problems.

Governor Romney recently stated his proposed twenty percent across the board tax cut, he further stated the tired ideas that it would be paid for by broadening the tax base and by the acclerated spending and investment that would come from this extra income kept by individuals.

The problem is that we all know the tax base will not be broadened. Broadened is code for removing loopholes and deductions while making everybody pay lower tax rates. The theory is that the broadening of the tax base will make the tax cuts revenue nuetral or on a really good day revenue positive. It has never happened. In the thirty five years since Bush the elder called Reagan's supply side theories voodoo economics it has never worked as promised.

In terms of broadening if it were to work deductions would have to be cut. One often talked about is the homeowners interest deduction. Can anyone serioulsy imagine any politiian having courage enough to propose cuts in this program. As with most efforts today the goodies are given first in the form of tax cuts and then the iniative and desire to make the cuts to pay for them does not happen. It is the normal process in Washington.

Romney knows better than to beleive what he is spouting. He is a businessman, this is his number one qualification to be President he says, he knows that Supply Side Economics, Trickle Down Economics...whatever you call it, it is as it was called years ago Voodoo Economics.

Will Paul LePage Pee in a Cup

The title of this article is rhetorical of course. Interestingly I have little doubth that Governor LePage would pee in a cup to prove his point. I think our Governor is many things but I do believe he believes and will act on on both a theoretical and real world basis.

This weekend the Bangor Daily News stated that across the country and in many state legislatures a growing desire to have welfare recipients drug tested is taking hold. The issue is complicated and nowhere near as simplistic as its adherents would have you believe.

On paper who can argue with the logic of this. If someone is on welfare, gaining government help to improve their lot in life then would it not make sense that they not commit a crime while doing so. It seems logical, it is logical, it does not negate however the issues with the policy.

Many folks on welfare have children, most do actually. If a child is not being fed or taken care of due to a lack of funds does cutting off benefits which help that child benefit society. The answer is no. If Mom smokes pot and fails a urine test and the welfare benefits are taken away does it benefit society to have that child go hungry. The answer is still no.

Secondly with budget cuts gutting state health programs more and more drug prevention and addiction treatment outreach programs are being cut. It would seem to me that it is slightly hypocritical to cut addicton treatment programs and then punish people for being addicted.

Perhaps when folks fail a drug test they should be given one chance to enter a rehabilitation program that the state will pay for. If they qualify for welfare this does not seem like a bad suggestion. If they enter treatment, stay in and complete treatment they shall not have their benefits cut. Continued tests will be needed and clearly a relapse would have to be dealt with in a more punitive way.

Now the reasoning for the test is that those getting government pay should not be breaking the law. Congressman, government employees and contractors are all getting government pay. For that matter so do retirees and the disabled. Should they also have to pee in a cup. If so I think that I want to buy stock in a drug testing company. Where does it end. Is there something inherent in receiing welfare that makes you more likely to use drugs and more responsible to prove that you are not.

I am not against drug testing automatically, I am against a legislature imposing such a program without considering if it is discriminatory.

We have a serious budget problem, perhaps if we cannot afford to offer free drug treatment programs, which would have to be increased dramatically, then we can at least make the pay for the same be at the back end. For example could not a lien be placed on any future tax refunds for the cost of the program. We do the same for many other costs it would seem that would be a valid way to recoup some of the cost. If the thought is to get folks off drugs and off welfare the presumption is that later in life they will pay taxes. Often these people might later be due refunds. While not all of the cost could be recouped that way certainly a percentage could. Indeed the more people succeed in drug treatment the higher percentage of payback could be expected.

I believe LePage would pee in a cup. I really do. Before you think that all welfare recipients should ask yourself if you are receiving any government benefits at all, from Pell Grants to Social Security to Government payroll and beyond, would you pee in a cup?

Hampden Postal Workers and Mr. Paperback

In the last two weeks we have had two announcements of the pending loss of jobs in the Bangor area.

The two are not related and are not even close to being for the same reasons. This is not Governor Paul LePage's fault. Be it Baldacci or LePage neither could make changes to the economy that would have been able to save these jobs.

The Hampden Postal Service decision is just a straight line from what we have seen with the decimation of the post office. LePage is not at fault but clearly his party is. The Republican position, deep in the bowels of the party, is to destroy any company or industry that is union based. Teachers, Government Workers, Auto Makers and of course Postal Workers are heavily unionized. They are considered a Democratic constituency. I wrote earlier on this site about how the postal service was being unfairly manipulated into financial practices which are destroying them. Still this consolidation and the loss of solid union jobs in Hampden, Maine will be felt and felt hard.

Mr. Paperback had a long history in Maine. When I was young a trip to Mr. Paperback was an experience to look forward to. Borders came to Bangor and Mr. Paperback suffered. Walmart came to town and Mr. Paperback suffered. The number of their stores had shrunk considerbly. Still the fact that they were still open if not a miracle was a surprise. They were like Randall Cobb in his fight with Larry Holmes. Cobb, beaten and bloodied, lasted fifteen rounds with Holmes though we all knew what the outcome was going to be. I do not buy books at bookstores anymore, the economies of scales that Amazon had the advantage of makes buying books from them a neccessity. Amazon is a wonderful company and we use it regularly. No one but the advance of time and the change of economy is responsible for the death of Mr. Paperback. The people losing jobs still feel bad and we should for them, but it was inevitable. Only with courage did the company last as long as it did.

Chris Christie and the Veto

Chris Christie is one of the most popular Republican Governors. There are many that would like to see him somehow become the Republican Candidate for President.

Christie does not, at least to me, appear to be a wack job Republican. His recent placement of an openly gay man on the New Jersey Supreme Court would not seem to indicate a hostile attitude toward gay rights.

Still in the last few weeks Christie has vetoed a gay marriage bill that came out of his state's legislature. Christie ducks and covers enough to keep his attitude as clouded in that he says he vetoed the bill because he wants the citizens of his state to vote on the issue. This is a fair statement. Realistically if he had signed the legislation and it had become law it would have been susceptible to a referendum. The referendum process can go on and on,,,here in Maine we are voting for the second time on this issue again this fall.

The truth is that as the public becomes more and more accepting of gay rights the inevitably of progress for gay rights is clear. Still with the referendum back and forth that is possible this issue will not go away until a super majority makes it clear in each state that it is accepted.

Christie tried to have it both ways. It was not the brave way out. It speaks to the tightrope that non crazy right wing potential National Republican candidates have to walk. If Christie had signed this bill he would have been a non candidate for any National election is his party.

Gay right are advancing. It will continue. The large question is how long will the right wing continue to castigate solid, credible, candidates for being ahead of their party on this issue.

Virginia Governor Says Me Too

Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and of course Mitt Romney are trying hard to show that they are the kookiest candidate for President. The Governor of Virginia, named Bob McDonnell, has shown this week that he is well on his way to jumping up in the crazy polls.

We have heard about his personhood bill. This week a bill that was launched at his instigation passed the Virginia legislature. The bill would have made mandatory a vaginal probe sonogram for any woman considering abortion. Oddly the woman would not have to see the results of the probe but would have to submit to the test. It seemed punitive and it was. Feeling the heat as the bill sat on his desk, McDonnell walked away from the bill. It is likely he will return to it. Worse yet McDonnell now says that he did not realize the bill included the probe. An outright lie.

Interestingly when McDonnell was at Pat Robertson's University he wrote a thesis with fifteen things to do to improve the lot of the morals of the country and the Christian base. This man is not a surprise, this man has laid out his intent. And he will follow it.

It is remarkable how these candidates can run campaigns with the voters not knowing what they will do. Our news media is now so fractured that reporting that no one, if they do not wish to be, is challenged to view and hear differing opinions. This allows candidates to run these campaigns full of obfuscation.

Sadly the one thing we know is McDonnell will return and will have his 15 point plan with him. We should hope that the citizens of Virginia understand better what a radical agenda this will bring, should they reelect him.

Obama Says Don't Smoke 'Em if You Got Them

In a move that has to be considered shocking the Obama administration has declared war on pot. To be specific the Obama administration had declared war on the state authorized vendors of medical marijuana.

When Senator Obama was running for President he made clear that as President he would instruct his Department of Justice to observe all state sanctioned marijuna facilities.

Not only does this restrict access to those folks who have legitimate reasons to be using marijuana medicine but also restricts the growth of the industry. Now one can argue about if medical marijuana should be legal but it should be beyond discussion that now eighteen states have some sort of legal means for medical patients to obtain and use marijuana.

In California in one extreme case a state licensed marijuana distributor who had set up a process where he worked with his local sheriff to insure his distribution process was legal and safe. Federal Drug Enforcement Agents appeared in the night and chopped down all ninety nine of his plants in the ground.

A recent Rolling Stone article went into this issue in detail. It appears that original Obama administration edicts made clear that the administration would not pursue state sanctioned pot growers. What happened is a former Bush administration official in the Justice Department has rewritten some rules without rescinding current ones leading to a state of confusion.

Most anaylsts now say that the Obama administration has been more destructive to the legitmate use of marijuana for medical purposes than was the Bush team. This is something no would have expected. Of course with the President up for reelection and needing to protect his right flank there is no way this issue is going to be clarified for the beter before the election.

The best we can hope for is that after relection Obama will clarify or restate his original position. And this time, perhaps, not take his eye off the ball and allow his position to be rewritten. Is it the most important thing he could do, with all the problems this country faces of course it is not. It is however, a promise he has made, a commitment he should keep, and the correct course for this country going forward.

Glitterbombs and Serious Politics

Jon Stewart made a strong point the other night. In speaking of the recent spate of Republican Presidential candidates being glitterbombed by Gay activists he questioned if that was really helping the advance of gay causes.

Certainly in this time of increased acceptance of gay rights, gay marriage and the like one has to question how a group of people trying to gain political power, gain supporters amongst the middle of the road types and be perceived as serious people with serious agendas feel this will improve their status.

If one seriously looks at how an act like that would be perceived if committed against the President of the United States folks working with gay rights causes should seriously consider finding away to discourage this. The first sign of being a legitimate part of the political puzzle is being treated with and treating others with respect. Glitterbombing Republican President candidates does nothing to win the support of folks who have to be convinced that gay folks have the same values as you and I.

I support gay rights, I support gay marriage. I do think that is a foolish thing to be doing and unworthy of the level if acceptance the gay groups have worked hard to gain. Jon Stewart said the same thing. He was right when he said it and should be commeneded for taking a constutency group that certainly he favors to task.

What are the Politically Correct Stereotypes

My best friend has often said that in his view the last acceptable stereotype is the white male. It is true that in Sitcoms and commercials it is usually the white father who is made the stooge.

However recent events make clear that perhaps there is one more stereotype that is acceptable today.

Tonight on Saturday Night Live the opening skit was a brilliantly biting satire of the recent Sports stories featuring Jeremy Lin. Jeremy Lin is the Asian point guard who has become an overnight sensation with the New York Knicks.

This week headlines in New York said things like Amasian and showed pictures of a fortune cookie being opened up and Jeremy Lin coming out. Are these insensitive to Asians. I do not know. Certainly they could be interpreted that way.

What Saturday Night Live showed so brilliantly was that while that might be funny to some if a newspaper or anyone else showed this form of humor regarding Asian folks would lose it completely if a stereotype as relates to Black Americans were made. In this skit SNL showed two sportscasters who were white and two who were black speaking about Lin and Carmelo Anthony. While the jokes made by the black folks about Lin were considered roaringly funny any similar reference to Anthony was considered unacceptable.

What does it all mean. It means what we already know. There is a double or perhaps even a triple standard as relates to stereotypes in this country. What is funny about Jeremy Linn or Mel Gibson or Rick Santorum would just not be funny if it were told about Bill Cosby or Arsenio Hall. Is this correct. Is any stereotype funny? I do not know the answers to any of this. I know I laugh at some things that offend other people. I am sure I do not laugh at some items that others find funny. Still when we laugh at the Lin headlines and references and think they are funny we should not feel bad. I do not think he minds. Certainly joking about Tim Tebow and his Christianity is acceptable....but that is a whole new column. What we should consider however is should we all take it all seriously or only some of it and what causes the distinction between what each group finds acceptable.

Those distinctions might tell us more about ourselves that we care to know.

Rick Santorum - The Anti Catholic Catholic

Rick Santorum has been doing very well in the polls and if he prevails next Tuesday in the Michigan primary most anaylasts think that the Republican race for President is wide open.

Much of Santorum's recent success has been because he is who he says he is. He is original and he says what he thinks and thinks what he says. He does not hold his hand up to test the current of public opinion before he decides his position.

This has been and still is basically true. Look I am not going to vote for Rick Santorum. I am not going to vote for any Republican. I am anti military spending, pro tariff, higher tax on rich people favoring, and union supporting. That said I respect Santorum and continue to do so.

I do however take issue with Santorum's holier than thou attitude as it relates to his Catholic belief. Stating that it is outrageous to force Catholic institutions to offer insurance plans that offer contaceptive care is a valid opinion. Rick goes a bit too far though when he implies that a church tenet is sacrosanct even for one as legitimately faithful for him.

There are many Catholic tenets and positions of his church that Santorum has consistently not voted for. So while he may agree with the church in this position he certainly does not always follow. While he is anti abortion he also should remember his church is anti death penalty. He should remember his church was against the wars of prevention that the United States has fought recently. The Catholic church is in favor of union rights and significant aid to the poor.

Santorum is a good man. A good man with opinions I do not agree with. I can live with both and respect both. Santorum however should be careful when criticizing some that do not agree with the church to remember he surely does not in all cases either. To imply otherwise is incorrect.

A Picture Says It All

In the wake of all the recent controversy over Contraception and Catholicism California Congressman Darrell Issa set up a hearing in Congress to address some of the concerns stemming from The President's recent ruling on Insurance and Contraception.

The hearing was not successful. Democrats ended up walking out of the hearing. The big story out of the hearing though was the visual. On the panel, the panel concerning what has to be called a predominantly woman's issue, were no women. None.

How can this be. Who is setting up these hearings. Do they not understand that a hearing on women's issues with no women asked to testify is ridiculous. It sometimes makes you wonder if these people have any clue.

Tom Harkin Has It Right

Do we all remember when in 1992 Tom Harkin, Senator from Iowa, ran for President. Harkin is an unabashed liberal. It is good to see that there are a few left. Harkin states his hero as FDR and he last week spoke out in the United States Senate against the recently passed Payroll Tax Cut.

As I wrote here recently Michelle Bachman, the usually dependably crazy Congresswoman from Minnesota, had spoken out against the plan as well and to her credit did so stating that shorting Social Security funding was a bad idea.

Still I felt better knowing that Harkin, an unabashed liberal, in voting against the bill stated that Democrats should know better. Social Security is the most successful part of Government, a program that FDR should still be proud of. He stated that against all the scorn Republicans put on the plan we have always been able to say that it does not cost the treasury a cent and does not increse the bidget deficit. Harkin shows that his has all changed now. By stating that the reduced contributions to the fund will be made up from the governments general fund it becomes clear that this part of the fund will be adding to the deficit. In short Democrats have allowed, and this time they have done it to themselves, their signature success to become politicized and part of the budget process.

They and the country will regret the day. Tom Harkin is right. Most Democrats in their hearts know this as well. It is remarkably short sighted.

My Uncle Pat Buchanan

Pat Buchanan has been fired from MSNBC. I am a Democrat a moderate but still firmly a Democrat. I think this firing is a poor choice.

One of the things that separated MSNBC from Fox news was their willingness to have strong viewpoints from the other side. Does that mean that it is not a left leaning network, of course not, but the fact that articulate right leaning individuals were on their network made them look stronger not weaker.

I do not agree with much of what Pat Buchanan says. I very much enjoyed hearing him say it. Phil Griffin the head of MSNBC said statements and opinions in the commentators most recent book were not worthy of discussion and expression. Really? Is that where we are in this country?

There is no question Buchanan was persecuted and fired because of his opinions. There is also no doubt that in the wake of his firing many from the left have protested his firing as short sighted and discriminatory.

Andrew Sullivan the openly gay conservative commentator has said that while not agreeing with much of what Pat said that he felt daylight was the best disinfectant to wrong opinion. He also shared a story about Buchanan's personal kindness to him when Sullivan announced his being positive for HIV.

What were Buchanan's crimes. He was polarizing and often stated opinions that were anti gay rights and made minorities feel uncomfortable. Still anyone who saw his 1992 Republican National Convention speech should have known this. MSNBC has had him on the payroll for ten years and now they are uncomfortable?

In his most recent book, Suicide of a Superpower Pat had chapters called The End of Christian America and The End of White America. These chapters are inflammatory. They are meant to be.

Buchanan decried the end of both. As he says " he is a white christian why should he not. " In today's world however, to do so, is to be wrong. I am not sure why? African Americans voted for the President in large numbers, some due to his race. Are they racist.

Look if everyone is going to celebrate the coming minority majority culture of America why is it wrong to state that you do not agree. Buchanan was not speaking anything many do not feel and a legitimate debate over the feelings and fear many Middle class White Americans feel about their future is not a bad thing.

Griffin is spineless. Had Fox News ejected a liberal commentator under the same circumstances they would have been crucified and rightly so. To say that after Buchanan wrote that book that he had no place on the network is false, if that was so he would have been fired upon publication. Instead as the witch hunt grew over the last few months from extreme left wing groups Griffin finally capitulated.

The Network can have on who they want. They have however taken one further step to making themselves the left wing mirror of Fox News. Perhaps Buchanan was only a token, such as Alan Colmes on Fox, but it did not feel that way to me. It felt like was respected if not agreed with.

Certainly the admirable dissenting opinion in regards to his release issued by Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezinski leads one to believe so.

Instead now Pat will ienvitably find himself on a right wing channel preaching to the faithful. What a loss of credible, articulate and differing opinions. In his book Buchanan writes about his fears of a Balkanization of America, with a country with limited shared experience and no viewpoint being accepted by any group except that which they agree with. Unfortunately he was more correct than he knew.

Pat Buchanan was called Uncle Pat by his cohorts on MSNBC. He was articulate and respectful all the time, wrong most of the time and generous to those who disagreed with him constantly. He will be missed.

George McGovern's Legacy

I just finished reading George McGovern's most recent book entitled What It Means To Be A Democrat. It is a simply written book giving common sense and clear answers on what the differences are between Republicans and Democrats. While always acknowledging his belief in the individual goodness of Republican citizens of this country he does not pull punches on his belief in the fallacy of the parties positions.

To be a Democrat in some circles is to not speak up and admit that you believe in justice for all and as McGovern says to be a party that believes no one gets left behind. I believe that the Democratic party would be wise to give this book to any and all young people who are becoming involved in the process.

This book is a strong explanation of what Democrats believe and why.

Rick Perry and Fixing the Supreme Court

Rick Perry is gone from the Presidential race. He has gone home to Texas and is currently studying any and every possible list of three things he might be asked about in the future.

Still during his campaign among all of his blunders and mistakes Perry embraced one idea that is nothing short of brilliant.

Before 1970 the average tenure of a Supreme Court Justice was 15 years. Since that time tenure has almost doubled and with the ages of the current Supreme Court Justices that number will only go up.

The reasons for this are not hard to determine. The most prominent is that the Supreme Court has become highly politicized. The recent trend is to appoint the youngest justice one can so that with lifetime tenure the influence of that justice can be as long as possible.

In fact the most effective way of having a legacy for a current President might be in appointing justices that will extend his views through rulings for decades.

Most from both sides of the aisle admit George Bush the younger became President solely because of the makeup of the Supreme Court. Had one more justice been left leaning it is quite likely Al Gore would have been President.

What is the solution to this? Rick Perry has embraced a proposal that would set the maximum tenure for a Supreme Court Justice to be eighteen years. These terms would be staggered every two years so that every two years a Justice would be replaced.

The advantages are easy to see. While Republicans might like the makeup of the court now they surely know that in twenty years this might change. This would also mean that Justices would no longer hold onto a seat based on who the President is. It is widely known that Conservative Justices on the court will be jumping off the bench should Obama not gain reelection.

This also would allow no Supreme Court panel to extend an ideology over generations. It would allow each President to know that he would be placing two justices on the court. The battles that we see now in which we often seem to take the justices with the least experience and perhaps not the best experience might end. After all if each side knows that they will get a turn based on election the idea of filibustering qualified candidates seems ridiculous.

It would take a constitutional amendment, this would not be easy to accomplish. However a good idea from a bad source is still a good idea. Rick Perry should be commended and supported in this idea.

Tone Deaf in Michigan

Mitt Romney is running an ad in Michigan right now where he is driving through a Michigan neighborhood. He talks about growing up in Michigan and attending the yearly Auto Show with his father. The add takes a decided turn then when he continues to attack President Obama and the liberals.

In other interviews Romney has made clear that he felt that the bailout of the auto industry was a bad idea, and thus that Obama made a bad decision in doing so.

Romney has to win the nomination before he can move to the center. Clearly bashing Obama is a road map to winning Conservative votes. That said the longer he hangs out on the right the harder it will be for him to win back independents in a General Election.

Going into Michigan and doing anything other than celebrating the revivial of the American car industry would be political suicide with independent voters. We all know that Romney has to win to fight another day.

Still it would seem to me that it would be wiser to run an ad acknowledging confidence in Detroit and American workers and stating that the best was yet to come under a Romney administration.

It is expected that Romney will continue to spend millions to take out Rick Santorum. Clearly the best defense is a good offense to Mr. Romney. Sooner or later however, he is going to have to come back to the center. The question is will it be too late.

What Does It Mean When Michelle Bachman is Right?

Michelle Bachman is no longer running for President. For that we can all be thankful. The fact that for a short time last year she was considered a credible candidate means more about how weak the Republican field is than anything to do with her own abilities.

Still this morning on Morning Joe Michelle Bachman made a point which I have been crying in the wind on for six months or more. She stated that with these continual extensions of the payroll tax cut that we are doing nothing more than robbing the Social Security piggy bank.

Now the fact that she was saying this was simply because the Republicans do not want The President to have any success. The fact that the President, perhaps using Bill Clinton's old triangulation technique, had adopted this as an issue for the middle class and taken credit for this does not matter however to how bad an idea this is.

With Republicans always wanting to drain Social Security and make it less viable, starvation by Democratic adminsitration would be a great option. In the short term letting Barack Obama have a short term political victory is a small price to pay.

If the government wanted to cut a tax it should clearly have been the payroll tax, not the social security revenue. With the constant conversation about the problems of social security this is one of the most foolish ideas ever proposed. The fact that Michelle Bachman, for whatever reason, is the lone voice of sanity crying in the woods does not make her any less right.

What we are doing is a terrible idea and she is correct in every way on this issue.

When the Music Stops Will It Be Santorum?

Have you ever seen a Presidential Candidate like Mitt Romney. With now perhaps six candidates taking a turn being the darling of the anti Romney crew the question is who will be the one to defeat him.

Currently Rick Santorum is up on the big boy podium with Mitt. Romney needing a victory in Michigan is about to turn his Superpac money full bore on Santorum to try to regain his lead in his home state. Because it has worked previously, in Florida for example, there is no reason to think that by this time next week Santorum will be bloodied in Michigan.

Santorum however is not Newt Gingich. He has been a solid Conservative in practice as well as in theory. He will be tougher to knock out. Factually what we are seeing in Governor Romney's ad's are why Senator's have a tough time being elected in the modern age. Romney as a one term Governor has few votes and policies to defend though his health mandate has been troubling him. Santorum, on the other hand, in the act of being a Senator for twelve years has a record which can be used against him. Saying he voted to increase spending five times, for example, voting for any budget would be that. Inevitbly Romney did the same as Governor. This is why we have such intractibility in Congress. Anyone who legislates responsibly can have his record misconstrued.

Romney is clearly the stronger candidate in a General Election. That said, Santorum has appeal with more than just Conservatives. He is who he says he is, he is not a fake. You can trust what he says is what he thinks. That has a comfort in itself. He will appeal to men and with his America first jobs plan could pose problems for Obama across the Industrial Midwest.

One thing we know for sure, the longer this goes on, the happier the Democrats are.

Oops Did I Sent That To Everybody

This morning at 7:30 my phone beeped indicating that I had a text. When I looked at it I had received a message from my stepson letting me know that he had to text me to let me know that he could not stop thinking about me.

After first being flattered I realized the message was not for me but for the young lady he had gone to the movies with the night before.

Early this week news broke of a Maine educator had posted what he thought was a picture of himself for his girlfriend to see. The picture was not one he would want the public to see and he posted it accidentally for the public to see. He has since resigned his position and his life is changed forever.

Last year Congressman Anthony Weiner lost his seat after he inadvertantly sent a picture to the wrong people.

Most of us have probably sent an email before we meant to or perhaps a text to the wrong person as my son did.

This is usually considered worth a chuckle or funny by those of us viewing it. It is far from funny however to the person who loses his job or has his poor judgement played out on the front page of the newspaper.

We have been telling our kids for a few years that anything they text or send or post is in some fashion permanant. Yet while they hear us and understand in the moment we know that they do not always remember. We have seen posts that our kids have made or even took part in by reading and by being silent on the offensive matter and thus affirming that if ..in five years ...they were applying for a job would most likely not be helpful to them.

I do not have Facebook but it is my understanding that the Timeline feature makes it even easier to check out a person's history at anytime of their lives.

It is a different world. It is not technology's fault. It is not Facebook's fault anymore than it is the phone companies fault that a text goes out too soon or to the wrong person. However unlike the past, a mistake such as this is forever out there in the world of cyberspace.

I am glad my son is thinking about me though. I love him too.

Who is Building Your Computer

The Agony and the Ecstasy if Steve Jobs is a monologue play both written and acted by Mike Daisey. Playing to huge success on Broadway in the last month Daisey has been making the media rounds appearing on shows ranging from CBS Sunday Morning to The Jon Stewart Show.

I have seen nothing but clips of the show but in watching the interviews with Mr. Daisey one thing is certain. He does not want Americans to sleep well at night. What he relentlessly point out is that not just Apple products but almost all of our technological marvels are made in conditions which we would find objectionable. This should be no surprise. Steve Jobs was about Steve Jobs and about profit. This does not make him worse than other manufacturers but when you are the biggest you have the biggest spotlight.

A company called FoxComm in China makes a great deal of the electronics we enjoy, the iphone being just one of them. These machines are made by hand. Shifts are ten, twelve, fourteen hours or longer. Pay is poor. Workers stay in dormitories on site. When an epidemic of suicides started occurring among the young workers the company took serious action to prevent them. They made workers sign a pledge not to commit suicide and in case that does not work they put up nets around the buildings to catch those who attempt to jump. I am not making light of the sadness these people feel. I am saying that we as a country cannot have free trade and then act shocked when countries import cheaper products that are made by employees that are not treated well.

Electronics are not the only industry to be put under the spotlight. Automakers send jobs to Mexico to build cars, they import parts from Eastern Europe and of course Japan floods the market with cars built cheaper than America can. Why do they do this? To save money.

Would you pay 500 for your iphone with a two year contract? Would you pay 1000 dollars for your 42 inch television ? I have and will continue to make this argument. Free trade makes a few things you buy cheaper. It lowers the standard of living in this country however. If we had to make our televisions and cars and washing machines in the this country they would cost more. We would, however, all have more money as well as American would see their wages increase. Did the unions get out of hand with benefits and pay. Yes they did.

Still just like when owners of sports teams claim they cannot make money GM and Ford set up these contracts. If someone offered you $25 dollars an hour would you turn it down.

The list is long of who to blame. Reagan's firing the PATCO strikers was the biggest moment in the destruction of organized labor. NAFTA was a disaster. Republicans and Democrats alike are to blame. Corporations are to blame. And we are to blame. We as consumers, myself included, make choices.

Let's not pretend that we are surprised that workers are abused in China. This cannot surprise anyone. Years ago Kathy Lee Gifford was criticized because her clothes were made in sweat shops. Again, really? Of course they were. Virtually any product that is made in another country and imported here is possibly made by workers in substandard conditions. To pretend we do not know this and that we care is hypocritical.

Until we realize free trade benefits multinational corporations but not the regular citizens of this country. Until we stop denigrating unions and realize that people working together are the only hope of curtailing the profits and growth of corporate greed.

Apple is greedy. Corporations are for profit. It is almost impossible for a for profit corporation with stockholders to not cut corners on ethical matters to increase profits. Apple is greedy.

Let's not act surprised.

The Death of Whitney Houston

With the tragic news of the death of Whitney Houston we are faced again with the too early loss of an amazingly talented individual. The sad story is made even sadder that while it is always a shock when someone like this dies prematurely in many cases, and this is one of them, we cannot say we are truly shocked. When Stevie Ray Vaughn or members of Lynyrd Skynyrd died in a plane crash that is a surprise and shocking. The amount of famous entertainers that have died in plane crashes seems exponentially large, they do travel more than us, often on small planes, often on schedules that do not allow for weather delays.

Still a loss like Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain and of course the legendary trio of Morrison, Hendrix and Joplin can never truly to those who know them be a surprise. Sadly we wonder why these incredible performers, with all of this incredible talent fall into this drugs and alcohol whirlwind. What is it about success that makes one need to retreat into a chemical shell.

Of course they are not alone. The amount of alcohol consumed in America is an amount that is insane. When I was in college we would drink every weekend, no one ever stopped to wonder why. The fact is like most things in this country that are bad for us but are quasi supported by the government alcohol is a hugely profitable business.

I am not in favor of banning it. I am in fact in support of legalization of marijuana. I do think however that we as a culture support alcohol and glamorize it. I am not an expert but of course having ex athlete endorse a product, having ads showing groups of friends celebrating Super Bowl events....this all leads to a logical conclusion that alcohol is part of any celebration. I am not against alcohol, I am against our hypocritical arguments against drinking and our cultural endorsement of it. Alcohol advertisements should be treated just like cigarettes. This is only sensible.

Inevitably it will come out that Houston died of some sort of drug issue. Artistic people burn brighter and faster and often burn out earlier. Demons drive people to great things but often drive them over a cliff. We have all heard the quite about people living lives of quiet desperation. Often those in the public eye are living lives of very public desperation.

Life is hard no matter who you are. We all need help and we all need friends. What we must wonder is sometimes the more famous we get do we lose touch with people who will tell us what we need to hear, not what we want.

Arab Spring 's Hard Freeze in Syria

What is happening in Syria is a horrible thing. For the last six months at least protesters have been systematically abused. President Assad who assumed his father's position on his death had been very sure in that he will not step down and he will not make any modifications to his dissenters.

Syria has kicked out all Western journalists. Any video that we are seeing has been stolen out of the country in secret either in person or by video phone or even computer up links.

It is horrific. The United States has limited options. It seems unlikely that we would ever commit ground forces to aid in the overthrow of Assad. While the Arab League is advocating against Assad an entry of United States forces could easily change the equation. We could help the opposition, the West could, but I am not sure there is a strong defined oppisition such as was in Libya. So the question is how could the United States create a change in the balance of power of Syria. The answer is not very easily.

The situation in Syria is much more complicated than it was in Libya. For one Syria is on the list of bad countries as far as the West is concerned. They are a known exporter of terror, working with Iran, and the Hamas and Hezbollah groups. Unlike the situation in Libya resolutions at the U N have not been supported by Russia and China. Not that resolutions are that effective but this is a signal that any intrusion from the West would not go over well.


The United States has a great deal on it's plate. Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt to name a few. And of course Iran. Putting resources into Syria does not seem likely.

The deaths are horrible. The brutality is shameful. Still at some point the United States has to know that we cannot fix everything.

This is a bad sutuation getting worse.

Paprika Memories

Are you ever going along on a normal day, just like hundreds of other days and have a memory strike you so full, so all encompassing as to leave you almost stunned.

This happened to me recently. What was the cause? Remarkably it was Paprika. For some recipe my wife had needed paprika and as dinner commenced the shaker was still on the table. As I spooned up my mashed potatoes I glanced at the paprika and then it all came back.

My parents would go out to dinner occasionally when I was little. We certainly did not go much, but when we did we would often go to a restaurant on Verona Island, I believe it was called Millets.

I would always order the chicken, no nuggets in those days, you got a leg and a thigh. With this dinner would come mashed potatoes and a vegetable of course. The potatoes came with paprika on them. I do not know why. Perhaps to dress it up. For a country kid this was something special. I convinced myself those potatoes tasted better than any in the world.

My Dad would usually order veal and have a whiskey and ginger. I can still see him sitting there in his going out to dinner shirt, which was some relic of the seventies a patterned button up shirt. I actually can remember when my Dad got a suit, and it was called a leisure suit. The seventies sure did rock.

Looking at that paprika container on the table it all came rushing back. Like it was yesterday. I picked up the container and put some on my mashed potatoes here in 2012. It really did make them taste better, but not as good as they did when I ate them with my Mom and Dad.

Health Care Solutions

Here is a fact. The health care law passed by the Obama administration had as stated goal to provide as close to full coverage of the populace as possible. It has failed. Incredibly there are now more people uninsured in this country than were before.

The reason is fairly simple. Our health care system is still employer based. As long as this is the case our system is not fixed. Not even close.

What this means is that as unemployement goes up and in times of economic distress people lose their health insurance.

In other countries that have a single payer health care system this is not the case. If folks lose their job in these countries they still have health care. This is a vital difference.

Another major issue in our health care system , employer based as it is, is it puts our employers at a very large competitive disadvantage. I am currently reading a book called Once Upon a Car by Bill Vlasic. In this book we view the collapse and subsequent rebirth of the American auto industry. What becomes abundantly clear is that the cost of providing health care to both current and what are called legacy employees is killing the industry. If auto workers in Germany, for example, have thier health care provided by the government then the companies have one very large expense to deal with. This puts American companies a a tremendous disadvantage.

The President when a Senator stated that he was for a single payer system. During the campaign he denied that. Then as President in order to try to appease the insurance industry Obama did not advocate for single payer.

Theier is only one solution to the health care issues in this country. It is single payer. The reason this is not done is simple. Money. Profit. As long as profit is part of the health care system our system will never be fixed and will be a drag on the economy in far reaching ways.

The question remains why is The United States, a leading light of democracy, so backward on this issue.

Post Office Poitics

The post office is one of the oldest businesses in America. When we were little was there anything better than getting the mail, and if we were lucky on any given day getting a letter addressed to us. I still remember the thrill. I used to pick up the mail when I got off the bus each day and I actually have dreams still about going to the mailbox and having it full of all the things one might get in the mail. At various times in my youth this might be records, tapes, magazines, and baseball cards.

The post office is in trouble. Email and E commerce has certainly hurt their business. The truth is however that the sheer number of mail has not shrunk dramatically. The post office has a target on its back. One of the major reasons, poltical reasons, is that the post office employees are unionized and we all know that one of the major Republican plans is to gut any organization that has a strong union populace.

For some reason five years ago the Congress passed a law that said that the post office had to prefund their pension and health care costs, unlike no other business. This amounts to something like 5 billion a year off the top of revenue. This is without doubt a competitive disadvantage that they should not have.

I am all in favor of pension and benefit security but clearly this is politically motivated. We should as a populace be concerned. Already talk of slower mail delivery, reduced Saturday delivery and other options are on the table.

Post office consolidation will affect many small towns and rural areas. The post office is a way of life. As has been shown there are many services the post office could provide to make them more competitive and more of a center of activity.

It seems like we are so busy being modern we are not understanding the complete implications of not supporting this vital part of past and what should be our future.

The Senate and the Budget

It has been over 1000 days since the Democratic Senate has proposed a budget. The House of Reprsentatives does put forth a budget each year, Paul Ryan's proposal is well known.

Paul Ryan the Wisconsin conservative mentioned this morning that after the President's spokesperson saying they had no opinion on the Senate's failure, he would expect the same deference for the House.

It is a dereliction of duty on all sides when our governing bodies do not provide the basic tenets of government, providing a budget being one of them.

On the right, on the left, however you feel we should be embarrassed and embittered by this.

All sides are to blame. The President set up a debt commission chaired by Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles. He then walked away from the results.

Here is the truth. No one dares speak the truth. This may not end well.

Feed America

We spend what seems like a small fortune each week on groceries. And it should be noted, we are not eating high on the hog. I have to eat as many carbohydrates as I can and keep away from meat. Still everytime my wife asks if there is anything we need at the store I cringe because as we all know one cannot go into the grocery store and come out without spending at least twenty or thirty dollars.

Recently we all might have seen the adds on your local television market for Feed America.org. This is perhaps the most worthy cause you can find.

To think that here in America so many people are hungry. So many people go to bed hungry. The adds that have been running lately have actors and actresses that we might know portraying real individuals and telling there stories of hunger. Then at the end they turn to the actual individual and interact with them. They are well done ads. Matt Damon, who is always on all of our most likable list, has been in the one I have seen quite frequently.

I am reading a book by George McGovern now who speaks about food and hunger issues and has worked toward that cause his whole life. He and this Feed America campaign all say the same thing. How can this be.

One of the issues is that people do not want to help people as they need help. They want to know why they need help. Do they have a job. Do they work harder than me. Do they work as hard as me. Do they deserve my help. What we all need to remember is that Jesus did not say to help only those who pass your test of being needy. The Bible says to practice the golden rule.

I am not wise enough as relates to economics to discuss the issue with all the knowledge that I should have. I know that we often have too many crops grown. I know that the price drops and farmers lose money when they grow too much. I know that people are hungry, children are hungry when they go to bed. I know that something is wrong with this picture.

FeedAmerica.org is an organization that deserves our support. This is one issue that we should all be able to agree on .

Obama's Shocking Slap to Catholics

I must admit that I was not even aware of this most recent controversy until I saw Morning Joe today. When both Mika and Joe agree that this is bad policy you know that The President might have boxed himself in.

The issue is complex. However to Catholics it is not. Nor should it be. Under the new Health Care law starting this year all insurance plans must provide free preventive services. This includes contraceptives, birth control, and the like. As the Catholic church does not believe in contraception this places them in a quandary. Certainly the Catholic church has employees. Certainly not all of them are Catholic. It should also be noted that many Catholics, including those that work in some capacity for the church use birth control.

For the Catholic church as a hierarchy this is unacceptable. I certainly understand this point of view. On it's face it does seem ridiculous. Why should a religeous organization have to pay for services that it beleives are against its faith.

The problem is that in writng this into the health care law the administration has little choice. One can envision other corporations and insurance companies vying for exceptions based on who knows what.

Still common sense says that this should be easy to fix. The Obama administration already facing a Supreme Court showdown on the healthcare law and the mandate provision does not want to open up another issue. If an exemption, not written into the law, is provided to Catholic organizations one could certainly see other orgainzations crying foul. In short using a common sense approach in this one case could doom the whole law.

Still it easy to see that when the Bishops and Cardinals view this issue it is a case of religeous liberty. Which mandate will win when this goes to court. I would not be liking my chances were I the Obama administration. It would seem that a little forethought could have prevented this.

Losing Catholic votes could hurt Obama very badly in the Midwest.

Paul LePage's Time Has Come

We do not know what will happen in this term of the state legislature. What we should know is that this, most likely, is the best chance Paul LePage has of getting his most radical agenda items through. The reasons for this are pretty clear. LePage is operating with a Republican majority in both the house and senate. The election in November would seem to likely cost the Republicans a few seats with Obama's coattails bringing out a higher majority to vote. This should traditionally the left. It should also be pointed out that next year at this time LePage will have to be moving himself to the center a bit to think about reelection. Certainly a Governor with 61 percent of the vote against him has to know that being relected is no sure thing.

It is most likely when the Governor asks for wishes from the proverbial Genie his first wish is for a strong Independent candidate for Governor in 2014. If Elliot Cutler were to run as a Demcorat LePage might be in big trouble.

What is the spring agenda? Getting the DHS budget in line, streamlining job training and unemployment, and lowering taxes seems to be the talk. Certainly curtailing union rights and state employee unions would be a big effort as well. It will be interesting to see what LePage can get out of his party as they, not he, all face reelection efforts this fall.

Buckle your seat belt.

Ron Paul Stays Strong

Ron Paul is not going to be President. He is however holding some significant cards that could be a factor who is going to be. This past weekend in Nevada he polled very strongly.

If Paul stays in and wins his delegates in states that are not winner take all he will have delegates at the convention. While it seems Romney will have enough on his own isn't it interesting to think about Gingrich sweeping the South and Romney needing Paul's delegates to get the nomination.

Paul's bugaboo is the Constitution. He has a strong position on the federal reserve. He beleives we should get back on the gold standard. I am not intelligent enough to know if this is good or bad. I simply do not know enough to have an opinon.

He is antitax which is in the DNA of the Republicans. Paul is a smart man and when he talks about debt and the cost of the recent wars and military forays he gains in my view. Anyone who talks about the debt bill of this country without talking about the cost of our military engagements and worse yet talks about increasing the military budget is not talking truthfully.

Paul hits us right between the eyes on these and other facts of our spending. Could I vote for him. No, it seems unlikely. Do I respect him? Absolutely. Do I think he is bringing light to a very important idea? I do.

Until this country realizes that our military budget and the military complex is nothing more than a financial boondoggle and jobs program we will never solve our budget issues. We are all guilty. Talk about closing a base and watch what happens. It never really is about the function the base serves, it is about the needs of the community that will be affected.

We have a big problem. We would be well served if Ron Paul had a bigger flashlight to shine on it.

Red State Troubles

Today Mitt Romney is being attacked from the ......right. Believe it or not those from the right are upset with Romney for saying that he did not care about the poor because we could fix the safety net if need be.

However why they are upset is different. They are upset with him for saying that we would fix the safety net.

This guy is not making anyone happy.

Chris Matthews said it right last night Liberals, not that they matter at this point to Mitt Romney, are rooting for Newt. Not because he would be easier to beat but because Romney is such a pompous fake. When you are presumed to be more pompous that Newt you have done something.

Rush Limbaugh wants Romney to stop pretending he ever had to worry about his job or getting pink slipped. Claiming that he was also unemployed at the moment is, if not insensitive, stupid. Floating pictures of himself doing his own laundry last week. Does he really beleive people are that stupid.

Republicans and Unions

Yesterday Mitch Daniels signed a right to work law in the state of Indiana that makes Indiana the first right to work state in the Rust Belt. Coming on the heels of Scott Walker and Wisconsin and John Kasich of Ohio's battles with the left and unions specifically this is a victory for the right.

Indiana, certainly the reddest state in the region, is not a real test of the rights power on this issue. Despite protest it is unlikely that the bill will be repealed.

In Arizona Jan Brewer who is fast becoming a darling of the right wing fringe has now proposed a bill to curtail and any all union rights in regards to collective bargaining, the collection of union dues and more. Brewer has gone one step further and proposes removing these rights from all public employee unions.

It seems to me that when our children are young we encourage them to admire teachers, firefighters, and police officers. Yet the Republicans consistently make these folks the number one target. Attacking union rights, pensions that have not been funded and those that ask for a raise makes these folks public enemy number one for those that are concerned about public debt.

It is a sad state of affairs when we fight two unwinnable wars and give oil companies large subsidies, when the Mitt Romney's of the world pay an effective tax rate of 14 percent, and yet the same folks who support these policies with a straight face try to point the finger of blame for our economic issues at teachers and those we hire to protect us.

Sad indeed. Sadder still it appears to work.

The President's New Mortgage Plan

Today President Obama released his ideas for a new mortgage plan to help Americans that are under water on their mortgages.

The plan which seems solid to me. Of course I am a homeowner that is underwater so I have a vested interest in this. It is hard to understand how the average person in America would have an issue with these plans.

Earlier the President talked of a plan to allow folks to write down their mortgages. Some folks were concerned because that might well reward those who are not responsible and not reward those that have been. For me personally I did not have a great issue with it. I think that anything that helps people helps the economy which in a round about way should help me.

This new plan to me however has nothing to be controversial. Basically it will allow or could allow 3.5 million homeowners financed through private lenders to refinance with FHA at the current rates as long as their credit rating was above 580 and they were current on their mortgage. These folks would not be financing to lower their payments but to take the savings and apply to give them equity and to lower their term to twenty years. In short it stops the underwater issue for folks. It would be financed via a tax on big banks.

Obama said the banks that were bailed out could now do something to repay America. Republicans will be against this. Romney's answer is to let the market bottom out.

With so many folks underwater it just seems hard to see how this cannot pass and how those against it could not be punished at the polls.

Thinking what it would mean for us and our lives is crazy. It could change our lives.

The Bain of Mitt Romney's Existence

Mitt Romney has a few achilles heels in his candidate for President. The largest of which might well turn out to his time at Bain Capital. At this company Romney and his partners would buy floundering businesses and turn them around for profit. Of course the dark side is that often those companies were not turned around but were driven into the ground. An example given on the news recently was a Medical Supply company that Bain Capital purchased on the cheap, on borrowed money. They then carved out savings from employee benefits, shutting down what were determined to be expendable divisions and then providing bonuses to themselves of over 300 million. Soon thereafter the company is in bankruptcy. For them to own a company for a short period of time, take out 300 million in profit, and stiff their original creditors and as an aside put the employees and any pensions held out of work and through bankruptcy is a prime example of what kind of person Mitt Romney is.

The problem is that Romney is not a bad man. He has a wonderful family, he tithes to his church and my guess is that he is not comfortable being as nasty as he has been to Newt Gingrich. Romney has decided that the ends justify the means. Perhaps the most telling jibe Gingrich has given Romney all year was, tired of Romney stating that he was not a politician, advising him this was simply because he lost to Ted Kennedy in the nineties and that he has been running for President for six years.

Mitt Romney may be a good person, probably is, but as a candidate he appears and acts soulessly.

I could sooner support Newt Gingrich than I could Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney Does Care About the Poor...Kind of

Mitt Romney stuck his foot in it again today stating in an interview that he was concerned about Americans. He stated he was not concerned about the poor as there was a safety net in place. In fairness to him he also went on to say that he was not concerned about the poor as they had a safety net in place and if there were holes in that he would fix them. He stated that he was not concerned about the rich as they had been doing well...he stated he would be focusing on the middle class.

This was in my opinion not a mistake. I believe Romney said just what he meant to and I believe that he is hoping to lure Barack Obama to run commercials stating this sound bite. Why? Poor people are not going to vote for Mitt Romney. This is not a voting block that he is working to get. So what is the purpose. Romney knows that it is easy to drive a wedge between the middle class and the poor. Perhaps it is because America is an aspirational society and middle class folks admire rich folks and therefore want to think like them. It is hard to understand. Still for most lower middle class working folks in America feelings of ill will toward the poor are rampant. Perhaps it is because they work hard for not huge economic profit. Because of this and the close proximity economically they feel a special ill will they feel are being lazy and getting a free ride.

Thomas Frank wrote What's the Matter with Kansas and addressed how, somehow, the Republican party has been able to convince large blocks of people to vote against their own economic interests and vote Republican. Romney and his advisors surely understand that by making " mistakes" attacking the poor they will gain significant lower middle class votes.

Romney, make no mistake, is playing for Independent votes. This is a purposeful action. Perhaps the greater question we should ask ourselves is why does this work. Why is it that it is easier to get middle class folks to feel anger toward the poor than to feel anger toward the rich who are taking advantage of them.