How it should have ended

Got to love it

“No Cooperation for the Rest of the Year…”

Bill Maher is right. Check this out (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-maher/new-rule-you-cant-use-the_b_515354.html) In light of the passage of the health care bill into law, the democrats should keep working. Bill spoke during his latest “New Rules” segment about not only should they savor the possibility of getting drunk with power, everybody should line up and do a shot again. Regardless of where you stand on the bill, we can agree something got done. It was major. It was huge and it got finished. At the heart of it, that is why we send people to Washington to work.

Part of being in power means the other side has to take a seat for four years. The democrats didn’t back down, didn’t shy away from the tantrums and obfuscations. Yes, if I’m a conservative republican (I’m not), I’m disappointed. I suppose I’m also upset with my representatives. If the house minority leader doesn’t feel he in the loop, I would venture to say he needs to let somebody else take over that position as he is waiting for an invite, that he fricken received!! It’s not government camp, not everybody is going to get to play.

I fully understand some of the tea-party stuff. It’s easy to see how people can feel disenfranchised, but these are odd times, made more complicated by the GOP resenting the fact they aren’t in charge. Nobody said a thing of note during the two jocularity laden years of “Contract for America.” Newt Gingrich and the gang did what they wanted until…we had elections! When President Reagan threatened to turn ketchup into a vegetable, Tip O’neil did raise a momentary stink, but he remembered being sent to Washington to work. The battles between Orrin Hatch and Ted Kennedy are legendary, as were the shared happy hours. The ultimate term limiter! Those elections are. It’s a little different with the constant news cycles and let’s face it after the dinner hour CNN, MSNBC, and Fox all turn into soapboxes of propaganda for the evening. That’s a lot of bluster time to fill amd too many people are lapping up the latest Beck-ism, maxim from Olbermann like it is something more than opinion. Blind faith in anything can you killed, folks.

Everybody is all high and mighty when they are in power. Democrats rightly wailed about the cost of the wars initiated by the Bush/Cheney administration and how the people didn’t want the war. Republicans have been doing likewise with healthcare. Both point fingers at the other about the Bank and Auto bailouts which is interesting because both played hands in those and to waste time arguing about where fault lies doesn’t address the issue.

So, like it or not, Bill’s sentiment is right. Something got done. That amazes me. I’m no Pelosi fan, but something happened and if you are in charge, you don’t stop. I admittedly have mixed emotions about the bill’s means to it ends, but it’s done and in the words of President Bartlet, “what’s next?” The Republican leadership doesn’t like it and that is fine too, but move on. Remember the Bush tax proposals from early in that adminstration. Parts did get struck down. Don’t threaten things like no cooperation when you never gave any to start with, because we need continued action not obfuscation. Whiny inertia isn’t leading, representing or even dignified for that matter.

They say a statesman is a politician who’s been dead for 20 years. We could use a few statesmen now.

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“Relax, somebody will buy em”

Somewhere, there is a guy counting money, chuckling, after having to convince his boss that the following was a good idea

I think I would have settled for a t-shirt or pin, myself. Curling Stone is not a look I foresee me being able to rock

Best Cartoon Ever

Don’t judge me

SabresWare

Really? This is supposedly what the Sabres’ third jersey will look like for their 40th anniversary season. According to a couple of sites including NHLJerseyWatch.com, Reebok says the current third jersey (the one with the right logo) will become the primary home shirt (good move, that), no road one yet, but speculation says a white version of the same shirt (another good move), but this preposed idea makes me think that the NHL might be acknowledging its beer league status.

“Stormy Monday”

Ugly start to the week weather-wise, here’s a little night music to chase the rain into Tuesday, courtesy Eric Clapton and an equally knattily dressed group

“just a bill…”

Like many folks, I was watching Extreme Federal Government Makeover on C-SPAN on Sunday night for a bit during the Health Care Debate. You know there had to be some staffer or staffers at C-SPAN jazzed that they had an audience of some size. Sunday night, C-SPAN was trending higher on Twitter than Justin Beiber (whoever the hell he is).

I have mixed emotions about the Health Care bill itself. We need to do something. Republicans apparently didn’t want to do anything other than say no to anything the Democrats suggested. They, in turn, wanted a bill passed, not necessarily a good one, just passage apparently.

Neither side of the aisle should be proud of themselves. Representative Boehner was screaming with such bluster Sunday night, issuing platitudes about lack of transparency, no leadership, not an open process, etc. After watching how his hair never moved during that tantrum, I couldn’t help but wonder about who’s fault was that? You’re there, and if you need to be tapped on the shoulder to join in the discussion on such a huge issue, perhaps you are in the wrong line of work. If Representative Slaughter needs to bait and switch, or, wait a minute, “Deem and pass” then perhaps we might need to refine what we are working on a little more.

Sadly, the best part might be the slowing of the soundbites. Senator McCain was already posited that there won’t be any more cooperation. This voter hasn’t seen any in some time. With one side doing nothing but obfuscating and the other concerned with nothing but getting around those road blocks of the obfuscators. They can be equally embarrassed at the theatrics. It may have passed, but there is still some work to do, so I have a feeling Rush Limbaugh isn’t leaving the country anytime soon.

Crappy examples all. The honed resentment on both sides isn’t going to accomplish anything. The parties need each other. Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neil would jaw at each other all the time, and things would happen. Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch would drive each other crazy and find ways to work together. What these folks don’t seem to realize is they need each. We have to get past variations on “President Bush ran up a war time deficit and that is good, and President Obama ran up a domestic one and that is bad.” Longtime Congressmen are eventually arguing against positions they once held because their party is either in the White House or not. It would be good if the President would meet some practical middle ground because the recession is still, ya know, here. It would also be good for the GOP to have some other model than “play our way or we’ll take our ball and go home.”

Either way, if C-Span could get ratings, bet they were pretty good Sunday night. But remember on one of the final episodes of “Night Court,” the one with the dueling Ann Landers? Louise Slaughter reminded me of that last night.

“Excuse me for living, but the graveyard is full!”

tek-nol-uh-jee

Gizmos have never intimidated me, always been more fascinated than scared. Being a little socially inept, quietly exploring what something can do has always come with some ease. For some time, I’ve been contemplating a phone improvement. Need to keep track of a little more, despite the three calendars that I write on. My current agreement wouldn’t allow for such latitude, so I, with many breaths, took the Iphone plunge. It’s been here for almost a day and I’m not relaxed with it yet.

It’s a little daunting. I can look a photograph of my son at age 4 perfectly at home running windows xp (that tells you a little something about Microsoft’s fortunes). There is a bit of a learning curve, but as I remind everybody who I teach something, “nothing is going to blow up.”

Learning to on-screen typing and what-not is coming. I felt a little flushed wading through the paperwork which is unusual. I skipped any rationalizing, because there is none. The bill will be just a few dollars more than it was previously so I can some web with my phone and roll my minutes and all the crap.

We’ll get comfortable in time, but it is just a little daunting at the moment.

Uber-laptop

Oh, those germans. Check out what could best be labeled the “Uber-Ipad.”

actually, pretty cool, all things being equal. Now if we can just get it past the concept stage

“May the Glass Rise to Meet You…”

Happy St. Patrick’s Day