politics and politicians

There is a presidential election coming. Can you tell? Politicians are blaming, distancing themselves from various things that they perceive might be unpopular with the masses, and trying to posture themselves to appear to be better than the next person.

I only see one guy who is a straight shooter right now. I'll tell you who in a minute.

I was born during Eisenhower's administration. I think I'm the only person my age who doesn't remember where he was when John F. Kennedy was shot, although I do remember where I was when I heard that Martin Luther King was shot.

In my lifetime I've experienced 10 different presidents. The worst of the 10 was Jimmy Carter, no question. I voted against him the first time and for him the second time. I believe that he was a good man, a smart man, but he was not a good president. A lot of bad things happened to this country during his administration that were the result of poor leadership and policy. Here lately he's said some things about the current administration that shock me. He's a better man than what he's showing in the last few years. I'm afraid he's gotten old and bitter.

The best of my ten presidents was Ronald Reagan. Yes I know a lot of people poke fun at him but having lived through that period of time I know how demoralized the country was after Carter and Ronald Reagan got Congress to work together, something that hasn't happened since.

I can't complain too much about the presidents because almost everybody I voted for got in. I voted against Clinton and as I said I voted against Carter once.

The guy I like right now is Joe Lieberman. I listen to Hillary and Kerry and Carter and Gore and all the rest and then I listen to Lieberman and what he says has the ring of truth.

Hillary for example has tried to make it sound like this Iraq thing was all George W Bush's fault. Only thing is, the whole world knew that Saddaam had weapons of mass destruction and had used them before. She's conveniently forgotten about Bill Clinton's policies. She's forgotten about her own votes and statements. All she seems to care about is appearing to look smart in hindsight. Well hindsight is always 20 20.

The fact is we have a problem with a lot of people in this world who adhere to a religion that advocates killing people who don't agree with them. That is a reality. We have to do something about that or else just dig our own grave and wait for them to put us in it. There are evil people in this world who hate us and want to kill us and it has nothing to do with whether Americans have exploited anybody.

We can take on an isolationist policy. We're pretty good at doing that historically but we have to pay for our isolation eventually. People in Europe have historically had a policy of appeasement when it comes to their evil enemies. The only thing is, we've been there to bail them out when that policy didn't work out so well. That's where Europe is heading again and a lot of people in America (particularly celebrity types) seem to follow their lead. Unfortunately, we'll probably have to bail them out again.

It's disturbing to me to hear politicians like Hillary Clinton and others blame everything from Katrina to the radical actions of terrorists on any one person or administration. It's just not that simple. Even if FEMA was flawless after Katrina, there was no way we were going to be ready for something like that. The other thing, as someone who spent a week last year helping out in the aftermath, you can do everything humanly possible for some people and it will never be enough. We had a disaster. People get hurt in disasters. There is no reset button when it comes to disasters. Everything takes longer than what you think it will take. Everything costs more than what you think it will cost. Nothing happens the way you think its going to happen. That's life. This is a fallen, messed up world. Bad things happen to good people. That's why we need a savior.

So what politician stands above the rest in the opinion of this old man? One who doesn't get pulled into the popular bashing, blaming and name calling. Joe Lieberman will probably not get a chance to run for president. Maybe that's why he is such a staight shooter. Maybe since he isn't posturing for the presidency he can just work for the American people and be a public servant who actually serves the American people instead of himself.

Granted I don't know very much about Lieberman, and I don't agree with everything he says. But he does seem much more balanced than the shrill critics who hope to gain the presidency.

coffee killer..the cold process

I'm still going to blog about politics but I am pausing long enough to say that the cold process coffee maker has killed my desire to have any coffee other than what we have at home.
I have given up coffee at work. Not too hard to do.
I have given up coffee during the fellowship time after church and before Sunday School, totally toxic.
I have ruled out Starbucks and Panera Bread coffee. Might as well grind up tobacco and put it in a cup of hot water. A sickly rivulet of putrid paste.
As of tonight I have even decided that our humble cold process even beats TRH's special coffee imported from the East Coast. Sorry T. I'll still drink it with you but your coffee has been knocked down to second place.
Drink coffee that tastes as good as freshly ground coffee smells. No bitterness just wonderful smoothness in a cup. Stop by for a cup or two.

politics

Politicians are forgetting that more is at stake than whether their party is going to get back in power. In many ways the world is more volatile right now than it has ever been in my lifetime, and politicians are forgetting that the people of this world are more important than their petty power grabs.
Sometimes you need an old man who's experienced more than just the last two presidents, to see past the baloney. This post will have to wait though while I go see little Z, Xander, the Xan man. Maybe next week I'll help the country see through the political falseness and presidential wanna be's gone amuck.

Best bumper sticker. "I'd rather hunt with Dick Cheney than ride with Ted Kennedy."

ripped off

I'm feeling a great disturbance in my soul because once again I've been ripped off. It happens to me often, maybe no more often than to others, but still it leaves me with a disturbing sense of frustration.

Recently a friend sent me a package of medicine that he bought in another country for a fraction of what it would cost in the States. I'm talking $500 dollars worth of medicine for $50. When the package arrived at my house it had been carefully opened by someone between here and Texas and the pills were gone. I went to the post office to complain and they said they couldn't do anything about it since it was just "Priority Mail" not "insured." He said he could initiate an investigation but it would be considered a "low priority" and nothing would be about it.
Ripped off.

Did you ever get your money back from a rebate at Best Buy? One Christmas we bought several things with rebates, followed their instructions to the letter and only got about half of the money back. When we complained we got a cheap photocopy of a form letter saying that we must not have followed the instructions and they weren't going to do anything about it.
Ripped off.

Need I mention what we are paying at the gas pumps and the record profits the big oil companies are reporting?
Ripped off.

Two years ago I took two packages of Double Stuff Oreo cookies to a missionary friend of ours in England, because Oreos aren't available there. At least, I had two packages in my luggage when we left O'Hare. When we arrived in Paris, the Double Stuffs were gone. Needless to say, when we arrived in England my friend was very disappointed.
Ripped off.

I could go on, but you could probably tell me a few of your own stories were you got ripped off. In fact, please leave me a comment of when you've been ripped off.

This old man's advice: Insure things you send through the mail, it's cheap; don't buy things that sucker you in with a rebate; drive less; and if you're going to travel, take your cookies in your carry on bag.

favorite spots for a picnic

I'm wanting a picnic in a scenic spot. Sometimes a picnic is great because of the company you're keeping. Sometimes your picnic is spectacular because of the scenery. Sometimes the picnic is unforgetable because you're with someone special in a location that has a sense of place.

A picnic at the foot of the Eifel Tower gives you a certain sense of place. In a different way, a picnic in the Monument Circle in Indianapolis also has a sense of place. There is a feel of greatness, of history, of space. Enormous public places have a different feel than ordinary park benches. It's fascinating that you can have a picnic in a beautiful garden in the local park and it's very nice. Eat the same food at the foot of the arch in St. Louis and there is a totally different feel. Place makes a difference.