REPUBLICANS REALLY UPSET!

Now the Republicans are REALLY upset with President Obama because he wouldn't destroy Obamacare.  I guess that before they just didn't like him so they refused to move on anything the president was for, like immigration reform.  The House even refused to act on a Republican bill out of the Senate that cut the budget for 12 weeks below the Sequester level.  Democratic Senators approved it because they wanted a clean continuation bill.  Now that the Republicans are REALLY upset with the president they are refusing to do anything the president is for like immigration reform.  Ahhh, what's changed?

PRESIDENTIAL MANAGERIAL STYLES

It is pretty clear that politicians don't like Obama's managerial style.  I'm amazed they don't seem to know what it is.  His management style is what I imagine that of Warren Buffet's is.  Buffet buys good companies and keeps the management in place and let's them continue to run their companies.  So if Obama is the CEO of a conglomerate (sounds reasonable), he lets his CEOs run the ball.  In this case it is Senator Harry Reid, leader of the Senate, and Representative Nancy Pelosi, now minority leader of the House.  He let them run the ball on what is called Obamacare (actually the PPACA), it was the same with Dodd-Frank, and also with the recent government shutdown and near disaster of the debt limit.  I haven't followed other victories as closely so I don't know how much they were involved in getting of other successes such as of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Though the PPACA is much more conservative than I like, it is a beginning

The problem with this managerial style with politicians is that they all have egos that won't quit.  They all think they are God's gift to humanity.  They all want to talk to the Big Boss and are frustrated when they have to settle for talking to their CEOs.  This is true of Democrats of the President's party as well as the opposition Republicans.  And it is also true of the media.  Somehow the media can't get enough access though it seems to me they have a lot.  At least after the fact, they like the former President  Bill Clinton style better (My memory is that when he was president, the Republicans did everything in their power to screw him.).  The glad handing, good ol' boy, type of politician. The thoughtful, introspective type of politician is not as much fun.

The Republicans rolled him so often because he is by nature a compromiser, but finally he caught on and said, "No more!"  He didn't realize for a long time that the current crew that controls the House, in particular, views compromise as a sign of weakness.

THE SHUTDOWN AND DEBT LIMIT (RECAP)

On the TV political analysis show, Morning Joe, the other morning, Joe Scarborough and another conservative bemoaned Democrat Senate leader Harry Reid holding up 14 bills the House of Representative passed opening this and that part of the government from the House instituted shut down.  I suppose it is only natural when you are in the wrong that you try to justify your actions and blame it on the "other guy."

Pardon me, but there was a bill before the House, that Speaker John Boehner refused to let be voted upon that would have prevented the shut down for 12 weeks (sic!).*  Furthermore, the bill was in effect a Republican bill drafted and passed in the Senate that carried a budget actually not only below the original Paul Ryan level but even below the Sequester limit and significantly below what the Senate Democrats wanted (see figure).  The Democrats in the Senate helped pass this bill in a futile attempt to get a clean continuation resolution  bill. It turned out that budgetary success wasn't  enough for the House Republicans so they added bigger things to it than the bill itself (like destroying the ACA or Obamacare).  Though the Republican dominated House passed various bills opening up various agencies and attacking the ACA, they were held up in the Senate that was first asking for a clean continuing resolution bill such as the one they had passed.

However, the continuing resolution bill was not the only problem  After years of complaining that the Senate never came forth with a budget, this fiscal year they finally did.  The House also had a budget, but, again, Republican House Speaker Boehner refused to let their bill go to a conference committee to find an agreement between the two bills.  The Senate requested a conference committee 18 times.**  Included here is the record in excruciating detail.***

So spin as they might, the Republicans cannot squirm out of the responsibility for the October budget and debt limit fiascos.

It is interesting that in the final compromise bill, the government has been reopened for 12 weeks (as in the original continuing resolution), there is to be a conference Senate-House committee on the budget (that had been requested by the Senate for half a year), and income verification of earnings from ACA (Obamacare) recipients of subsidies (which is in the original ACA bill).  That's the bright side, but we get to go through this again in the middle of January.  Republican Sen. Mich Mcconnell, minority leader of the Senate, says there will be no shutdown in January (http://www.drudge.com/news/173116/mcconnell-promises-no-more-shutdowns).

* http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/budget/news/2013/09/30/76026/the-senate-continuing-resolution-is-already-a-compromise/
** http://www.chrisweigant.com/2013/10/10/a-complete-timeline-of-republican-obstructionism-on-budget-negotiations-they-are-now-demanding-part-2/
***
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-weigant/a-complete-timeline-of-re_b_4074372.html
http://www.chrisweigant.com/2013/10/10/a-complete-timeline-of-republican-obstructionism-on-budget-negotiations-they-are-now-demanding-part-2/

A RACE TO THE BOTTOM

What is happening in globalization and automation is that the richer societies are decreasing the wages of workers just as the poorer societies are increasing theirs.  Consider the pleas occasionally heard that the U.S. should do away with the minimum wage and this would produce more jobs.  Perhaps, but it would just add to and exacerbate the financial problems of the working poor in this country.  There is the attitude by some, nearly all if not all Republicans, who feel that the workers in this country are overpaid.  Thus the median income in the U.S. has not increased for 25 years whereas the incomes of the top 1% have soared.*  At some point maybe in the not too distant future, the wages of the American laborer will decline until it approaches those of the Chinese laborer.

One of the problems with the American laborer is that the white male laborer tends to vote Republican.  Why would they vote for a party that disdains them?  Surely they are not mislead every four years with flattering sayings such as they are the "Real Americans?"**  I think that the problem with the white male laborer is that they really do not have a party.  They feel the Democratic Party unfairly favors minorities, women and, now, homosexuals at their expense; yet it is the Democratic Party that is their only real hope.

A problem is the decline of unions in the U.S.  No individual laborer is strong enough to deal with companies.  In fact it is often the highest paid laborer or tech who is let go in a downturn, even if they are the best and most knowledgeable worker.  So the decline of unions, which are gatherings of laborers, has lead to a decline in the share of income by the middle class.***

* http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/inequality-is-a-choice/?nl=opinion&emc=edit_ty_20131014
** There is the saying (originated in Australia, I guess) that no politician ever lost an election by underestimating the intelligence of the electorate.
*** http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/18/union-membership-middle-class-income_n_3948543.html

ROCKHOUND by Violet Nesdoly (2012) (Poem)

Soapstone and sandstone
porphyry, slag…
I fill all my pockets
and carry a bag.

Scoria, gabbro
schist, mica and flint
in rust, white or yellow
smooth, banded or glint.

Argillite, anthracite
quartz and feldspar—
hurry them home
to my rock collect jar.

Tiger’s eyes, unakites
agates and shales
dream of their middle-earth
riverbed tales.

Travertine, basalt
obsidian, chalk.
Listen. Be still.
You might hear the rocks talk.

Serpentine, marble
jade, pumice and tuff…
I can’t stop collecting
I’ve never enough!

This poem first appeared on the blog of poet Tabatha Yeatts (July 2012).

CASEY AT THE BAT by Lawrence Thayer, 1888

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day:

The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,

And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,

A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest

Clung to the hope which springs eternal in the human breast;

They thought, "If only Casey could but get a whack at that— 

We'd put up even money now, with Casey at the bat."

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,

And the former was a hoodoo, while the latter was a cake;

So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,

For there seemed but little chance of Casey getting to the bat.

But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,

And Blake, the much despisèd, tore the cover off the ball;

And when the dust had lifted, and men saw what had occurred,

There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.

Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;

It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;

It pounded on the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,

For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;

There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile lit Casey's face.

And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,

No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;

Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt;

Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,

Defiance flashed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,

And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.

Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped— 

"That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one!" the umpire said.

From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,

Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore;

"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand;

And it's likely they'd have killed him had not Casey raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;

He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;

He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the dun sphere flew;

But Casey still ignored it and the umpire said, "Strike two!"

"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered "Fraud!"

But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.

They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,

And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.

The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate,

He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate;

And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,

And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,

The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;

And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,

But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.

MY MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER (Biographical)

My maternal grandmother came to live with us in her late 60s, as I recall.  She had fallen earlier in her life and broke her leg which wasn’t set properly.  The result was that she had a leg with edema, very swollen, and could walk only VERRY SLOOWLY.  On many Sundays after church, we used to go to a cafeteria called the Quality Tea Rooms in St. Paul, Minnesota, where I grew up.  I loved to go to the cafeteria because of their chicken pie that was famous.  Somehow it became my duty, trial is a better word, to accompany my grandmother through the line and help her.  For a small boy it was real agony as we inched along.

Now don’t get me wrong.  Though she was a trial for my mother, my maternal grandmother was total love to my older brother and me.  She never did any discipline and was a refuge from the cruel outside world.  I would go to her room at night, and she would peel a Delicious apple or an orange, and we would listen on her radio to Amos and Andy or Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, or other such programs.  Once a month, she would slip me a quarter.  I never wondered where she got the money.  Years later I learned that my mother first slipped her the money.  I could tell her my problems, and she would always find some explanation that eased the pain of it all.  For example, once I told her I thought I was crazy.  She replied that as long as I thought that, I must not be because crazy people don’t know that they are crazy.  I was well into my 30s when I read a book my niece gave me called I Never Promised You A Rose Garden and found out that was not so.

Well, sometimes we would get together in the mornings and drink coffee.  Mine was heavily laced with milk.  I told her once that I couldn’t drink coffee with her anymore.  She asked why.  I said because my parents were afraid it would stunt my growth.  She said, “It never affected me.”  I was maybe 15 years old before I realized she was only something like four foot eleven.

WHY ARE DEMOCRATS SO KIND TO JOHN BOEHNER?

I don't understand why Democrats are so kind to John Boehner.  I haven't heard any Democratic Senator or Representative bad mouth him; yet every time I hear him speak he lets out one or more whoppers.  The Continuing Resolution supposedly being considered is the number wanted by Republicans.  The Republicans not only won that battle but the number is lower than the Sequester value.

Boehner says "This is not some damn game."  But I'm sorry Mr Boehner, it is some damn game you are playing. (http://www.cnbc.com/id/101065750) and a dangerous one at that.  All that posturing by Republican Representatives in front of the WW-II Memorial when they voted to lower funding for the VA.  If it isn't a political game, what is it?   You and some other Republicans may feel this was the place to get rid of the Afforadable Care Act, but many other Republicans and conservatives warned against it.  A threat is no good if the other side isn't worried.

But I understand that some strategy is needed and to wait for the Debt limit and then allow an up or down vote will be the time to fall on your sword.  You don't want to do it too early.  Maybe in the end you will actually have missed the sword and survive.  I also have heard some Democrats trying to think of ways to bail you out.  What weird politics we are in when it is the opposing party trying to find a way to bail you out.

JOHN BOEHNER - THE FATE OF THE COUNTRY IN HIS HANDS

The issue supposedly is the Continuing Resolution.  There is no argument over the Continuing Resolution (CR).  The Democrats have agreed with the Republican figure.  So there is no argument.   The Republicans won that battle, and the agreed upon figure is actually below the Sequester level.  The argument has nothing to do with the CR and is actually over a law that survived a test in the Supreme Court, if narrowly, the so called Obamacare or Affordable Care Act law (ACA).  So the Speaker of The House, has refused to let the CR be voted upon unless the ACA is destroyed.  Oh yes, they have proposed delaying ithe ACA for a year, but then will demand another year, etc. In the meantime, the ACA is open for business and early returns seems very encouraging.

Most if not all Republicans would like to see this ACA law repealed; however, the president is not likely to let this law be destroyed, especially since everyone seems to agree that the House would approve the CR if allowed to vote on it.  So to prevent the CR from being passed and allow the Federal government to remain open, the Speaker Of The House, John Boehner, has refused to let the CR be voted upon.  Thus now, 40% of the government is shut down, except for essential positions.  I fully expect the government to remain closed for the next two weeks until we face the debt limit.  We are undergoing other cute maneuvers like trying to open the government piecemeal but, in the end, never funding the ACA.  Paying our soldiers on time has been the one exception that has been passed on a bipartisan basis, an exception with which I agree.

So will the Speaker refuse to let the Debt Limit be raised and destroy the Full Faith And Credit Of The U.S. Government because we will not pay bills that are already incurred?  Oh, perhaps if we let this go for a few days, it will not matter, but we don't know what our creditors will do.  And if you do this the first time, doing it a second time is easier, etc.  So Mr. Boehner holds the fate of America in his hands.  Will he keep the government closed and, in addition, destroy the full faith and credit of America?  It seems to be his choice.  Will he be the man who destroyed America or the hero that saved it?  Right now we do not know.  Is holding the Speakership worth destroying a great country?

[Warren] Buffett did provide a glimmer of hope if the Oct. 17 debt limit deadline is breached. "If it goes one second beyond the debt limit, that will not do us in. If it goes a year beyond that would be unbelievable." http://www.cnbc.com/id/101083360

[Hank Paulsen] said he hates the whole concept of the debit limit—calling it a "flaw" in the system. "Congress has already approved the spending. And then say 'you have to then come back and agree to allow us to meet our obligations,' that's ridiculous."  http://www.cnbc.com/id/101083367