A night in East Troy, Wisconsin brought cheap beers and bad food. If that were not enough, I've been struggling with the reason for staying the night here. Completely confused and irritated by the entertainment at the bar being a guy in cowboy getup with a guitar singing karaoke. Only pretending to strum.
Politicians, like cheap entertainment at a bar in a Podunk town, pretend to strum but never get to know the feel of the strings. To the uneducated, the inattentive, they appear to be artists. Masters of a craft. The source of innocent joy for an evening. But if you know the music, and if you've felt the strings, you see right through the lame act on stage. You feel patronized and pandered to. You feel insulted.
I want hope and change. I want something I can believe in. I didn't vote for the face that promised those things, and I have my reasons for doing so. Call it clairvoyance, call it an unwillingness to conform to popular sentiment. Call it what you will. I sit here now in my hotel room amazed; not that there are few others that had the foresight, but there are so few who are willing to look at the shape of the world and call it as it should be seen. Details...yes, the details. Coming right up. For this is the top of the hill, and downward rolls the snowball.
An American president in the midst of an "inherited" crisis, some might argue, would not concern his first presidential action of a buckling country with the closure of a detention facility (i.e., Guantanamo Bay). Why would someone who promised millions of his fellow citizens relief begin with relieving...foreigners? Captured during battle, no less, for crimes against the United States. That should have been the first indication that either he doesn't know what his responsibilities are, or that he's dishonest. But, I digress, as there are many more examples of bad decisions. Onward, yes.
The economic stimulus plan. That was red flag number two. Our response should have been flaming bags of dog shit all along Pennsylvania Avenue. If you'll recall, both Obama and the Democrats held numerous press conferences and meetings before government stating the imminent dangers we would face if we did not pass the stimulus immediately. America was told that the projected unemployment percentage would bottom out at 8% by the end of the third quarter, 2009, if his $1 trillion-dollar bill passed. The bill was passed, along with a $410 billion-dollar omnibus spending bill, and surprise...Obama was wrong. Unemployment is nearing a double-digit percentage, and America is now another $2 trillion dollars in debt. Taxpayer money spent. Not government money. Didn't come from some forgotten shadow in the dark like the empty box of Milk Duds you think magically disappears when you throw it on the theater floor. That money...was yours and mine. And our kids. Hopefully not their kids, also.
Bailouts. Aside from the banks, we were able to see what happened to the "Big Three." They are, of course, Chrysler, Ford, and GM. First, consider Chrysler and GM. Chrylser files for bankruptcy protection after a long struggle to stay afloat. As a side note, this announcement came mysteriously soon after Jeep announced it would continue to manufacture and sell the Grand Cherokee because that's what the customers wanted.. Immediately, they file for bankruptcy and the UAW earns a 55% stake in the company. The Federal Government takes a small percentage of ownership as well. Next, GM. They filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week. The UAW comes out owning 17.5%. And the Federal Government owns 60%. But, as Obama himself claimed, his administration has no interest in running either company except in situations deemed absolutely necessary. Ever hear of a guilt trip? Sure you have. Let's say, for example, you were to let a friend borrow twenty bucks for gas or groceries. You know he/she needs it, and you know that you have it. And though you say it's for a friend, you expect something in return. Because you may need a favor someday. Don't give me the sincerity and goodness-of-heart, "I expect nothing in return" line because the odds are against you. So maybe this is a buy-out, a way of insuring a favor returned somewhere down the road. No pun.
Here's where I may truly lose some of you. Take no offense unless it justifiably offends you because you are guilty. In that case, suffer. Two topics should have been of the utmost priority to a president entering office and contending with catastrophe: welfare and illegal immigrants. Clean those up together and the health care issue would begin to heal itself. But politicians don't want to offend an ethnic community in order to guarantee votes in an election. Let me break that down for you - a politician, for whom YOU would vote, wants YOU to continually pay more and more for people who don't give back to you. They only make it more difficult for you to keep what you have earned. This in the name of political office. And welfare. There needs to be a way of justifying recipients and fully analyzing their eligibility. Eliminate the possibility for the unwed mother who intentionally procures 10 children to live off the system. Prevent those who refuse to work or actively pursue a job from getting benefits. Cut the dead weight from your leg when you're drowning. Sink or swim, America.
I finished my beer and shrugged off the horrible dinner. Flashing a look of disgust to Randy Travis on the stage with his fake guitar, I walked out of the bar and drove back to my hotel. And began to type.
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