Ideas

I don't want my blog to solely about politics, although I think this is a very important topic. If anyone has some interesting ideas to throw out there, I am willing to look at them and give my thoughts on particular things. I'm not good about blogging on the general happenings of life. Mostly, this is due to my life being fairly sedate and unexciting. Inside my head is the most exciting thing about me, but sometimes I need a suggestion to bring those thoughts out. Cheers. :)

Impressed

I didn't vote for her, but Betsy Markey just scored big points with me. I wrote her about my concerns regarding Timothy Geithner and she responded back to me within 48 hours. She is my congressional district's representative. While I found out the the House has no say in Presidential nominations, she still took the time to write me, tell me who I can write to (with their email addresses), and invited me to write her with any other concerns I may have. WOW! I didn't get a response from Sen. Mark Udall (and I didn't know who the new senator who replaced Salazar was at the time - now I do thanks to her). While I don't agree with all her policies, she did the one thing I think a lot of people in Washington fail to do, she responded to her constituents. Great job Congresswoman Markey!

Contacting the Congress

To find out who your federal representatives are, please follow the following link.

Contacting the Congress

Obama Stimulus Package Breakdown

Please, everyone, look at what the new stimulus plan entails!

When I look at it, I see nothing more then big government and no real way to stimulate the economy. Out of the $825 billion, I really only see $271 billion that might actually stimulate the economy. None of this money addresses the bailout (which I strongly oppose because it gives the government too much power and doesn't hold companies responsible for their irresponsibility - if that makes sense). When making a stimulus package when need to be investing in things that will turn around and generate more money. I see a lot of this money going into a black hole. We need to stimulate the economy, not dependence on the government. Also, with the fed printing money at the rate it is printing, we are potentially heading into a period of hyper-inflation. I think we should follow Little Bo Peep's philosophy of "leave them alone and they'll come home". If we stop now and leave things alone, the natural course will kick in and things will balance out. We are already seeing this with the housing market. It is starting to bounce back and nothing has been done (remember, the first half of the bailout didn't go to mortgages, but disappeared - Congress doesn't know what happened to it). There is a direct link (htp://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/PressSummary01-15-09.pdf) to the actual House Appropriations with the full stimulus packet plan. However, if you want to avoid the lengthy document, Glenn Beck (link below) has summarized it in a nutshell. I challenge everyone to review it and then, if they feel it is not appropriate, contact your congressperson and Senators to tell them what you think of it. We cannot change our environment if we don't speak up.

Glenn Beck - Current Events & Politics - Obama Stimulus Package Breakdown

I hope this isn't true!

In two separate articles I read the following response by President Obama in regards to his stimulus plan.

From the UK Telegraph:

He faces mounting criticism over his $825 billion economic stimulus plan, from Republican leaders who say the legislation has been drawn up without the input which Mr Obama had promised to allow them.
The president responded with a clear signal that he is prepared to ram the bill through without the bipartisan consensus he promised to construct, telling Republican leaders from the House of Representatives: "I won. I'm the president."

From the New York Post:

In an exchange with Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) about the proposal, the president shot back: "I won," according to aides briefed on the meeting.
"I will trump you on that."
Not that Obama was gloating. He was just explaining that he aims to get his way on stimulus package and all other legislation, sources said, noting his unrivaled one-party control of both congressional chambers.

While the NY Post states they don't feel Obama is gloating, it seems pretty obvious to me that he is. "I won" and "I will trump you on that" reek of arrogance, pride, and childishness. I am extremely disillusioned. I want to give him a chance, but he has made so many bad choices since being inaugurated less then one week ago. I hope his words are taken out of context, I hope there is missing information. I am not hopeful though. On top of this, he signed to reverse the ban on funding for abortions in other nations. I'm sorry, but shouldn't we worry about our own economy before sending our hard earned tax dollars over to other countries for abortion. Most of these countries don't want our help. Abortion is abhorrent to them and I have heard stories where they are pressured by westerners to get abortions. I will have to see if I can find that reference again. It's been a while since I read it. He's closing Gitmo, but not for another year and with no plan. That just seems foolish. I don't care if you want to close Gitmo, but at least have a plan in place on what to do rather then sign an executive order now for something that has no immediate consequence. At least, have some idea of what your plans are, even if they aren't solidified. His plan on the economy is extremely flawed and will only extend our woes. If you want to learn more, read up on FDR and how his plans (spending out the wazoo like Obama) extended the depression in the US an extra decade, compared to the rest of the world. Already, within a week, I see multiple bad decisions. These are just a few. I want to give Obama an 100% approval rating, but I can't right now. I would say this week alone he dropped down to a 70%. Apparently, his overall approval rating is at 68%. I don't think this is very good concerning he has been in office less then one week.

Please President Obama, make good on your pre-election promises to end partisan politics. I see no sign in your words, your actions, or in your response to your own party to end this bickering. It starts with you and with you leading the Democrats. Don't pick at the other parties before you work on your own. Then you can deal with the rest. Please, please prove me wrong and make wise decisions about this country. You have me very worried.

We must all pray for our President to have humility and wisdom.

Quote for the Day

"Humility is throwing oneself away in complete concerntraion on something or someone else."

Madeline L'Engle, Circle of Quiet

Cool Pics

Take a look at these amazing pictures taken in Latvia. They believe it is caused by the reflection of the street lights on ice crystals in the air. They are unsure what causes the arc at the top, though. I think these pictures are very cool. :)


Beam me up: Scientists left baffled as mysterious columns of coloured light appear in the night skies Mail Online