Stoking the fires of resentment

With the first snow on the ground I suspect I will be a bit more housebound and spending more time "putting my thoughts to paper", as they say. So here I go, for those of you who have any interest read on.

With the race for the Oval Office in its last days we can expect to see the candidates talking themselves up and talking their opponents down. Now to be very honest I have no problem with a political candidate preying on the weaknesses and and character flaws of their opponents. After all, as Harry S Truman would say, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen".

However where I have a problem is when candidates intentionally stretch the truth, creatively edit the facts, or simply assume that a false message delivered in the right tone will fool us simpletons into believing what they want us to believe. Yes, I know that it is common practice, but the reality is that at times it is taken to the point that it creates undeserved animosity amongst the electorate toward a particular candidate. Animosity to the point where a candidate's character or personal integrity are called into question based on nothing more than "political spin".

You tell them Harry

One case in point is the efforts that have been made by Democrat Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid to besmirch Mitt Romney's character, above and beyond the point of common decency.

Really Harry is this the best you can do? " I heard Mitt Romney has not paid tax in the last ten years". The follow up from Harry was even better "It falls upon Governor Romney to prove otherwise by releasing his tax returns"

Frankly if I was a resident of Nevada I would be ashamed to admit that Mr Reid represented my state. This is the same guy that a quick search on the Internet will find hundreds of articles detailing how Harry has somehow managed to increase his net worth from a "paltry" $1.2 Million to the tune of about $11 million during the time he has been a public servant (public servants must be paid very well in Nevada). Interesting as well is the fact that while  Harry was claiming that Mr Romney could  disprove the allegations of tax evasion simply by making his tax returns public, good old Harry has refused all requests to make his own tax records open to the public. I guess Harry doesn't buy into the old adage, "what's good for the goose, is what's good for the gander".

What's really troubling about this is that it is the lowest form of mud slinging and was allowed under the watchful eyes of the President. All Mr Obama had to do to put an end to it was make one phone call. It speaks volumes about the man that he allowed this (and many would say "encouraged "it ) under his watch. I imagine what we have witnessed here is some of the tricks that Mr Obama learned during his tenure in Chicago style politics, not very Presidential to say the least. But on the other hand , pretty much what one would expect from a man who refers to his opponent as a "bulls^^^ter" in a televised interview. Just the kind of guy a nation wants on the world stage.

Renovating the den, while he kitchen is on fire. Part 2

In Part One I discussed how our governments in both Canada and the United

States for all intents and purposes are simply ignoring the massive debts they are incurring. Sure, once in a while they pay lip service to the debt, but generally it is placed on the back burner. I detailed my thoughts on this in Part One, and since that time I have seen some classic examples of our elected officials focusing on minor issues and treating them as if they had the potential to change civilization.

Here is a real doozie!

It appears that both the American Congress and Senate are up in arms over the fact that the uniforms of the U.S. Olympic Team were manufactured in China. In fact a bill was introduced in the Senate that if passed, would require the US Olympic Committee (USOC) to outfit Olympic athletes in ceremonial uniforms "sewn or assembled in the United States."

Let me get this straight, in the midst of what could possibly be considered the second worst financial crisis in American history (a close second right after the Great Depression) and at a time when government spending is spiraling out of control, it appears that the biggest concern of these elected officials is who did the sewing for Team USA! One can only imagine what this is costing the American taxpayer to have these individuals sit around and discuss the rag trade. I'm not making this up, trust me I am not that creative to imagine such stupidity. Sure, I realize that the uniforms are just a symptom of the bigger problem, the outsourcing of American jobs. However, that horse has left the barn!

Renovating the den, while the kitchen is on fire....

With summer upon us I find that I am not devoting much time to writing on this blog, it could be that not much in the news catches my attention, or just that I would rather spend my time outside. I think it is a safe bet to go with the latter.

However, while watching the late evening news last night something did catch my eye and get me to thinking.  To be honest I don't even remember what the actual issue was, however the train of thought it put me on is important.

Lately I have noticed that more than ever both in Canada and the United States that politicians as a group are focused on a myriad of issues, yet ignore the single biggest threat to the future of both our countries. The threat?

The massive crushing debt that has been taken on by all levels of government.

While there is some 'lip service" paid to addressing the debt, little if any serious action is undertaken to tackle it. I mean really, for example neither federal government has any form of repayment planned. Each year simply slips by and the debt grows, and a myriad of excuses are given, poor economy, unexpected expenses, lower revenues, etc, etc, etc. We all know the drill

Now, part of the problem is that the average citizen is oblivious to all of this, for the vast majority they are aware to some degree that there is government debt, but simply don't see it as something that affects their life or that they need to be concerned about. There lies the sad part and the reason that there is no urgency to tackle the problem. Unfortunately politicians, better than anyone understand the adage of  "The squeaky wheel gets the grease". So if no one is complaining, why tackle the issue, after all there are only two possible ways to solve the problem, cut spending or raise more revenue (taxes). Obviously neither method garners a lots of support from the average voter who is looking to the government for all the entitlement programs they have come to view as their birthright. The sad reality of our self entitled society is that spending garners votes, not austerity. I personally believe that politicians understand the severity of the issue better than many of us give them credit for, they also understand that no one government in a single term will resolve the issue, and that more than likely the government that has the fortitude to tackle the issue will only serve one term. So their response is simple, leave it for "the next guy", and in the meantime divert the peoples focus from the real problem  by throwing them shiny baubles and trinkets.

So where will all of this lead, the answer is already playing out in Europe, in countries such as Greece and Spain. Unfortunately it is only a matter of time before North America suffers the same fate.

War on Women? I do believe we have found the culprits...

If you follow politics south of our border (the good Old USA) you have almost certainly heard the phrase "War on Women" used by candidates, elected officials, political pundits, and the news media. Trust me, it is not exclusive to one side, Liberal or Conservative, Democrat or Republican, both sides to some degree accuse the other of participating in some form of gender bias. Having said that, the accusations appear to come from the Left far more often than the Right. In fact the the term is used frequently by the more Left leaning, who carry it like a shield against the Right.

The heat on this issue has recently been turned up a few notches because several major events are taking place concurrently, how so?