The Angry American Electorate

I am so glad that the election will bring the end to these silly, offensive, unfair, and just plain ornery political ads on TV and radio. Many say this is the worst it has ever been. Maybe so, because it feels like it, but in my brief foray into political history going back to Lincoln, there have always been nasty people who cannot stop themselves from hurtling invectives; the truth be damned.

America is angry. Not just the vocal Tea Partyers, but far more if the polls are correct. The people wanted immediate fixes to long-term problems, and the Democrats, mostly the President charged into the storm only to find that it was tougher than expected.

This election, it seems, is going to be near historic for Congressional seats lost to the party in power. The polls differ somewhat but it is clear that the GOP will claim at least the 39 seats it needs in the House. The Senate is debatable.

But I have to say that Republicans and Tea Partyers should tread lightly in their rejoicing what they might see as a win. The American people of all stripes are angry and it ain’t just at the Dems. They are smart enough to know that President Obama did not create all of this mess. He may just have underestimated what it would take to fix. Well heck, he DID underestimate, no doubt.

So I am cautiously hopeful for the future. Not that I will enjoy Republican domination (remember that power corrupts), but if this is about change, then let’s hope they use this change to move forward and not get stuck in constant partisan gridlock. Say a prayer for America.

The American Franchise - Get Out and Vote!

I cannot remember an election in my lifetime, especially a mid-term race, which was so overwhelming to the casual observer. Even if one did not watch television, the “signs, signs, everywhere signs” are worse than ubiquitous if that is possible.

The basic nastiness is not new, but the level of rancor seems at a new high (or low). Pollsters say that negativity works, but for me, a political ad that clearly is stretching for the truth turns me off to the sponsoring candidate.

All this pessimism has made some feel that it is not worth voting; that if there was a choice they would vote “None of the Above”, which they can actually do in Nevada and maybe other places.

Despite all that, the one franchise we have in this country is the opportunity to be heard though the ballot. Each vote does count, and this is how we get those folks to listen.

I am not urging a vote for any particular party or viewpoint; instead I want to urge every citizen to do a little research and not vote blindly, but to cast an educated ballot. The electorate is a powerful thing as I alluded to in a previous post on the book, “Obama Wars”. If you cannot make it to the polls on November 2 (or just don’t want to) stop by or write your municipal clerk for an absentee ballot. My wife and I did and have already cast our votes two weeks ago. The cash spent on attack ads this week is wasted on us. Our die is already cast.

Educating Rita, Along With Tyrone, Miguel, and Jing Wei

The force-out of Michelle Rhee from the Washington D.C. school system may turn out to be OK. Without debating her methods too much here, it was clear that she had begun some necessary tasks to upgrade the D.C school system.

As Chancellor, she fired teachers who were not performing to the highest level, but may have caught a few good ones in the purge. Regardless, she saw that something needed to be done with the U.S. education system and it could not be done in dribs and drabs; rather she saw the need to make wholesale changes to get the attention of not only the teachers (and their union), but to make parents take a look at the learning that their children were NOT getting.

Tests were terrible, the drop out rate was approaching the graduation rate, gangs are thriving, the buildings were crumbling, and the impact of all that would be felt many years out.

DCPS Chancellor Rhee has now set the tone so it is up to the new mayor, along with the new Chancellor to decide to keep up the pressure and moved toward excellence, or resume the status quo and let the education system continue to be an embarrassing national eyesore for the world to see and to comment on the eventual fall of the United States. We have already fallen too far in math and science, but let’s hope that the D.C. model can be finessed enough to be used across the country. Let’s hope that all Americans can see that education is the key – the great equalizer – that can propel us to the greatness and leadership we once knew. It is not too late.

"Obama Wars" - A Must-read for All Americans Who Want the Wars to End

Bob Woodward’s latest book, “Obama Wars”, was one of those books I could not put down. It read almost like a spy novel that I had to continue to turn pages to see what happened next. My Kindle got heavier as I read each night, falling eventually onto my chest or the bed as I struggled to stay awake.

As an amateur student of history I was fascinated by what Woodward learned about what was going on in the White House with the war planning for Iraq and then Afghanistan. I felt like I was in the same room with the “principals”: General Jones, Secretary of Defense Gates, Secretary of State Clinton, Leon Panetta, and a few others. The dialogue is both intriguing as well as surprisingly mundane.

I was shocked that I understood all that they were talking about, and it often reminded me of many discussions I have had with colleagues on what to do about the two wars in which the U.S. is engaged. The same issues and “what ifs” have likely been thrashed out in offices, dorm rooms, and living rooms across the country. It surprised me how often nothing gets settled in any discussion, even when the President declares it settled (think number of troops to send in to Afghanistan). It seemed like Woodward had a spy cam on the wall of the Situation Room in the West Wing to be able to report such detailed meetings (along with the constant rehashing).

Book reviews have stated that the book title does not just mean the military wars the President is managing. It is clear that there has been (and certainly continues to be) an occasional battle among the principals and “sub-principals” on how to conduct the nation’s business. Now that Chief of Staff Emanuel is gone, that may ease some, but there is still enough pettiness to go around so the internal war marches on.

I was struck (and somewhat disappointed) that these major players in the White House had no real clue about what the right plan of action was in the wars our military is fighting. Some think we are in a quagmire, ala Viet Nam. Some think that we can never win over the Afghan people enough to get them to take over their own country. No one feels that Karzai is playing it straight (if he even could) and that he is just an opportunist taking what he can bleed from the U.S. and coalition forces.

Finally, I was pleasantly surprised at how much the principals, including the President, were concerned about the will of the American people. Knowing that much of the public is tired of wars, they understand do not have carte blanche to do whatever they want. Even the President. Read the book – it is enlightening in a sort of scarily unenlightened way.

The Joy of TIVO

TIVO has become a verb as well as noun, as in “I am TIVOing the ‘Barefoot Contessa’.” No, I am not TIVOing her, but I do TIVO nearly every other thing my wife and I watch. We seldom watch live TV, and when we do, one of inevitably says, “Fast Forward!” when a commercial appears. We then both laugh and endure the creepy guy in the Allstate ad.

This fall with so many new shows debuting along with our favorites such as NCIS, Criminal Minds, CSI, and many others, I decided to get Season Passes for nearly every new show.

Now I am glad I did and a couple I started taping have already been cancelled so we no longer have to endure them. That would be “Lone Star” and “My Generation”. TIVO saved us lots of time.

We still found some duds mixed in with some promising new series. “Chase” we chased off our list almost before the pilot ended; the same with “The Good Guys” (god-awful stuff even if the lead is Tom Hanks’ son). I am hanging in with “Rubicon” (not new this fall, but still worth mentioning). My wife thinks it moves toooooo sloooow, and now that she mentions it I have noticed that the dialogue would create a script of about 3 ½ pages. Lots of dead air with people looking at each other. But the premise seems good so I will hang in for awhile longer.

Back to the fall shows. Best so far is “Blue Bloods”. The Tom Selleck vehicle where he plays the NYC Police Commissioner/Chief with nearly all of his kids in law enforcement is entertaining. It works so far with nice, tight writing.

We are on the fence with “The Defenders” (Jim Belushi), but I want to give it a chance. Same with “Hawaii 5-0”. I grew up with the original and have to get that vision out of my head. This is totally different and so when the new McGarrett says “Book ‘em Dano”, it seems like a joke.

“Boardwalk Empire” (HBO) is a great period piece, a little slow, but fast enough to keep you hooked. Steve Buscemi, usually a character actor, carries the lead well.

Last, for now, is “Undercovers”. We thought it had promise with J.J. Abrams in the credits but it is a little too cute and too predictable. Maybe it will improve but it has been already banished from our TIVO list. However, our track record for picking winners is a little sketchy. Guess who never wanted to watch a show called “The Sopranos”?