1859 – A solar super storm affects electrical telegraph service.
1969 – The first automated teller machine in the United States is installed in Rockville Centre, New York.
COINCIDENCE? I think NOT!
"Christianity is the belief that a cosmic Jewish Zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree."
vs.
"He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord. A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord.
-- Deuteronomy
FROM THE CHURCH OF INEFFABLE STUPIDITY:
a) Great campaign, horrible administration
What can be more frustrating than seeing a fledgling administration consistently make the wrong moves once in power?
First, Obama himself states that the most burning issue of his administration is the repair of our failing health care cystern. Then, he fails to provide anything more than vague descriptions of what constitutes reform.
Next, he sets himself up to fail. In June, then July, he makes it known that he "expects" a bill on his desk before the August recess. Unfortunately, he does nothing to push the process forward. To the contrary, he made things worse.
a. He set up a tight schedule, but without any means of making it happen
b. he created no "enforcement" of his schedule.
c. he failed to threaten congress to sit and work on a bill, any bill.
d. he failed to outline the details of what he wants in a bill. In essence, he created a vacuum.
e. Having created a vacuum, he failed to fill it.
f. he hung his strongest supporters in congress in the house out to dry, without a lifeline. The early town hall meetings failed because of the lack of any detail from the White House.
g. When the birthers filled the vacuum with allegations of death panels and worse (In large part because the White House botched its actions so badly up to August), the White House response was tepid, lazy, misdirected, and without energy.
Next, August arrives, and still, the White House fails to put out one detail of any plan that it wants. Hardly a way to lead a country. The silence and lack of leadership from Obama and his top aides is made painfully and perfectly clear, as the airways are filled with GOP and insurance spokesmen, warning about the dangers of socialized medicine. The top supporters are left without a scrap of detail or a hint of a plan with which they could have responded to the maroon morans.
If possible, it gets worse. As the polls in September show 40% of Americans support Obama on health care, his aides misread the reasons for his fall, and are now willing to eject a Public Option. YOU INEFFABLE IDIOTS! The reason for Obama's poor showing is not because his plans are too liberal. It is because he is caving in too far and too fast to the rabid right! If only Obama had taken a strong stand (A definition will be included below) at anytime since June, his numbers would be soaring, the bill would have been written, and the legislation passed by now. Unfortunately, the only thing that we can count right now is the number of opportunities squandered by Obama.
Now we enter September, and the word is out that Obama's address to congress and the nation will not contain a public option. If the rumors are right, then the Lobbyists, Insurers and the GOPers properly can declare victory. They will have stopped a huge Democratic majority in the house, a sufficient Democratic majority in the senate, and a Democratic president from passing the simplest bill - a public option, like Medicare/Medicaid for anyone who wants to sign up.
That bodes poorly for the president on every other issue he will face. The environment? dead. Banking reform? dead. Food safety? dead. Education? dead. Military cuts and rational draw down of anti-soviet weapons? dead. Peace in the Muddle east? dead. If he cannot draft, create, pass and sign into law his key piece of legislation with the vast number of Americans supporting change, it will show that no matter how strong a candidate he was, as a leader of the country, he is way out of his league.
I sincerely hope I am wrong. Health care is too important for the future of our country. Our poor, our middle class, our industry, our unions, and our country's future depends on it being fixed. Why, then, Mr. President, have you screwed it up so badly? Why the laid back, no leadership, rudderless, detail-free approach to the most important issue we face? Why create an information vacuum, then do nothing to fill it? Why, when the birthers and other nuts fill that vacuum with lies, you do nothing in response?
Why, Mr. President? Should we start looking for a new candidate for the democratic primary? Because if your future leadership approach looks at all like the last 7 months, we will need a new presidential candidate.
STRONG LEADERSHIP: A Method of mixing both a bully pulpit, facts, arguments, and weaving them in a direct appeal to the voters. At the same time, meetings with moderates of both parties, insuring that they know what might happen if they fail to stand with him. Finally, extreme pressure on Blue Dogs insuring that they fall into line.
None of which we have seen from this White House. Yo, Mr. Obama, you are NOT in the senate anymore.
