J's Cafe Nette

Archive for the ‘Disaster’ Category

We all know the longest river in the world is Denial. It appears the Democrats are taking a trip down that river.

Mounting evidence that independent voters have soured on the Democrats is prompting a debate among party officials about what rhetorical and substantive changes are needed to halt the damage.

Following serious setbacks with independents in off-year elections earlier this month, White House officials attributed the defeats to local factors and said President Barack Obama sees no need to reposition his own image or the Democratic message.

Since then, however, a flurry of new polls makes clear that Democrats are facing deeper problems with independents—the swing voters who swung dramatically toward the party in 2006 and 2008 but who now are registering deep unease with the amount of spending and debt called for under Obama’s agenda in an era of one-party rule in Washington.

A Gallup Poll released last week offered a disturbing glimpse about the state of play: just 14 percent of independents approve of the job Congress is doing, the lowest figure all year. In just the past few days alone, surveys have shown Democratic incumbents trailing Republicans among independent voters by double-digit margins in competitive statewide contests in places as varied as Connecticut, Ohio and Iowa.

[All emphasis mine~Admin~]

The quoted article goes on to say there is a “real problem of messaging” for the Democrats.

The problem isn’t a problem of messaging so much as what the message is. We have a man in the Oval Office who has traveled more than any other president at this point of his term. He is more focused on having the world love him than he is on governing this country he ran for four years to govern.

It’s not a problem of messaging with health care, when we all know the message. Pass a bill, any bill, and make sure it has universal health care with penalties for not participating, cuts in Medicare for the elderly to the point some hospitals and doctors will refuse to treat Medicare patients if this terrible bill becomes law. And don’t forget the extra taxes it will take to fund this monstrosity that was dreamed up in Nancy Pelosi’s office with no bi-partisan participation requested or wanted.

First it was TARP and, yes, President Bush took the heat for that one in order to protect Obama from having to do so. What have we received for all those billions (or is it trillions) of dollars spent on that program? We bought GM and run Chrysler, we infused money into banks that gave loans to foreign companies instead of small businesses from the United States, the government thinks it has the right to dictate salaries to every executive in every company whether or not it received TARP funds and on and on.

Next was a stimulus bill that put an even heavier weight on the taxpayers of this country so unemployment wouldn’t go higher than 8%. Unemployment is now at 10.2%, the highest it has been in 26 years and there is still no end in sight. That’s just the national average. In some states it’s approaching 20%.

We were promised this stimulus would create or save millions of jobs, only to find out in reporting out Tuesday that some people claiming new or saved jobs live in congressional districts that don’t exist. For example, someone has touted the jobs saved or created in Arizona’s 18th Congressional District, Connecticut’s 86th District and Puerto Rico’s 99th District. Going by these stats it would appear Puerto Rico is our biggest “state”. The problem is that none of these states have that many Congressional Districts. Arizona has 8 and not 18. Connecticut has 5 and not 86. Puerto Rico probably has one. And on and on it goes.

It goes without saying that if the government can be so easily fooled on such an easy topic to investigate they have no business putting the bureaucrats in charge of our health care.

The House passed a cap and trade bill and Sen. Barbara Boxer rammed it through her committee without one Republican present, as they were (rightfully) waiting for an analysis from the EPA. I doubt this bill will pass, but if it does you can watch your electric bills skyrocket as soon as it’s signed. And of course, there will be more taxes.

The Bush tax cuts are set to expire next year (thank you, Olympia Snowe) and there is no sign the Democratic Congress will extend or make them permanent. No way, because they need every cent in your pocket and everything the Chinese can lend us to implement their programs.

The big elephant in the room is the Health Care legislation making its way through Congress. The House already passed a bill that is an abomination and promised to insert language that is already the law of the land: no public funding for abortions used as birth control. Pelosi did this so she could get the moderate pro-life Democrats to vote to pass the bill, with the intention of removing it in conference. And the liberal women in the House are screaming to get this out of the bill.

We know this monstrosity of a bill will cost over 1 trillion dollars but we don’t know exactly how much more.

Obama says we can keep our health care but in five years we will be required to pick another, government plan. They don’t publicize that at all. Premiums will go up and care will go down.

Can you imagine seeing a scene in a prison where a guy asks what the others are in for? The first guy says “murder”, the second guy says “rape” and the third guy says “I didn’t buy health insurance”. This is in the bill. You can get a quarter of a million dollar fine and/or five years in prison for not participating in this plan.

But these are all side issues, which have just contributed to the independents’ anger at the Democrats. The real issue at the top of everyone’s list is the economy and the lack of good-paying jobs. Jobs that will support a family.

I was at the beauty shop Tuesday and my hair dresser was telling me she can’t afford to raise prices even though the price for her to work there is increasing. Customers and other hair dressers, including her, have husbands who are now out of work and don’t know when they will get a job.

As she said, unemployment is better than nothing, but they’d rather be working.

We’re not big on giving large expensive gifts for Christmas. We give to our grandchildren and our children, but this year we are going to cut back on the adults. We won’t disappoint the children, but we won’t be giving as much to our children and their spouses.

Bill Clinton had a sign up in his war room during his first run for the presidency. It was simple and to the point: “It’s the economy, stupid!” To which I tell Obama: “It’s still the economy, stupid!”

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Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma, has suffered a devasting cyclone.

Monday morning at 8 am the news reported 3,000 dead. At 8:30 am the figure had jumped to 4,000. At 9 am predictions of 10,000 dead were being announced.

Now I am reading that at least 15,000 people are dead and 30,000 missing.

This is a closed society and must open its borders to allow rescue efforts to take place. As I watched some of the soldiers using a chain saw it was apparent to me they didn’t know how to properly work it as they were trying to saw a normal-sized limb from a tree by moving the chain saw back and forth instead of holding it steady and allowing it to do its work.

Rescue workers need to get in to clean up the water, provide doctors and medical attention, food and temporary housing for those who have survived.

A military transport plane was scheduled to land in Yangon later Tuesday with emergency aid from Thailand while a number of other countries and organizations said they were prepared to follow.

The United States, which has slapped economic sanctions on the country, said it likewise stood ready. The U.S. Embassy is providing $250,000 in immediate aid from existing emergency fund. But First Lady Laura Bush said Monday the U.S. would provide further aid only if one of its own disaster teams is allowed into the country.

The storm has left hundreds of thousands of people homeless and without clean drinking water, said Richard Horsey, a spokesman in Bangkok, Thailand, for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

We must get help into that country. If, like me, you have no useful skills to offer then get in touch with the Red Cross or charity of your choice to give them a donation to help these people as soon as possible before disease kills even more pe

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