President-Elect Obama Has A Job I Sure Would Not Want

Where, indeed, to begin, literally?

People often think of the President as a powerful post, and sometimes they are right. Barack Obama is taking on a daunting task here, and for once, I seriously would not want to be the president. It seems that there is a huge lineup at the door, all beggars, seeking monetary aid, bailouts, and all screaming over the other.

Barack Obama got it right in his campaign, putting the emphasis on the people. Without people, the government is an empty place. Government NEEDS people, people don’t NEED government.

Paulson finally woke up! All the toxic debts and CDS banks “invented” to circumvent laws are now going to stay with the banks, investment houses, and those who abused the financial system are just going to have to deal with the mess of their own making! Finally some common sense. Unfortunately, those banks “played” consumers, taking what should have been a simple contract called a mortgage and turning that into a splintered, then shattered, mess. Like I said previously, it would be worth a few hundred dollars to find out if banks et al breached those mortgage contracts. Re-selling and manipulating the housing markets by allowing “invisible” parties to endanger the entire world economy, personal mortgages, and then asking for the Fed to bail them out is ludicrous!

Obama has to deal with issues that are so complicated it takes at least 20 different people just to make the map, nevermind navigate it! Balancing the interests is tricky, at best. The two wars need to be mapped, understood, and navigated so that Iraq and Afghanistan both come out at least with some semblance of stability, otherwise the world may well end up going back in to restore them again. Not my idea of fun, trying to figure this out!

The banks and investment houses created a mess so large it has foundered the world economies! You can bet that anger is definitely NOT limited to the US, as most of the world is so very angry at those “fat cat” jackasses who tried to pull these scams off. Personally I would love to put on my steel-toed boots and give at least 20 of them a very well aimed kick in the ass! Then see all those “perks” they took taken back, liquidated, and the proceeds put into welfare programs, to enable families tossed about like “collateral damage” the lifeline of some food, clothing and, wow, even shelter! I have no problem with putting every bloody “fat cat” behind bars, say in Guantanamo Bay, for a while. Maybe then they would truly appreciate being alive and find a far more human set of priorities. This should start with the woman in Merrill Lynch who designed the base for CDS etc.

Obama has to figure out how to get a far “greener” path started, which means weaning the US off of wasteful behaviour. There are kits and instructions on the net for making wind turbines, solar panels, and lighting that is LED. Time for the common person to get busy saving things, remaking what used to be discarded into products again. Recycling soda cans, glass bottles, plastics, and using cloth bags, all would be a good start. This is where Obama may be able to lead by example. Install solar panels on the White House, use low wattage bulbs, and get a composting program going for the gardens.

Obama can lead his country well, if some of the petty, stupid games quit. I am amazed at how unbelievably childish some of the “adults” in Congress and the Senate are. Wow! “Gimme!” “I Want!” “No, you can’t play with my toys!” ” You cannot change things, because ‘that is the way things have always been'” Phooey! Grow UP! This is a new world here, things have changed, and get your head out of the bloody sand! In short, Obama can do a lot, but it DOES take us to help him out, not put childish, self-serving blocks in the way, “just because”.

The auto industry may have BEEN a major industrial engine, but the technology they use is from the last century, not pertinent now. Obama can tell car makers to get with the change. Take a look at the Tesla automobile! It is totally electric, can go like greased lightening, and has a range for driving that is as good as most people will ever need. Get rid of the hydro-carbon, gas guzzling technology and devise other choices.

President-Elect Obama, if you want to see a banking system that is the best in the world, I strongly suggest you check out the Canadian system. None of the banks there are even close to being in trouble, lending is going on, and they got hit in a very minor way with any of the CDS or other “funny-money” ways the US banks did. Look at the regulations! Those banks are NOT government owned, but they are regulated in ways that have allowed them to continue to work effectively! Amazing!

Health care, it needs to be changed. No question. People are dying, kids are getting sick and dying because the costs are far too high, the paperwork is eating up a huge chunk of the cost of doing business. What the hell? Paperwork accounts for a huge part of the costs? If anyone gets into an accident, it can mean death from untreated injury, or bankruptcy if the injury is treated. Talk about living between a rock and a hard place. I agree with Obama, get the costs down.  But it can be done by those who are not sick working to demand answers, demand better service, and certainly demand the FDA get off it’s butt and realize that most of the generic drugs coming from developed countries ARE made to high standards. Help the president by joining in, not making his job harder. It means demanding generic equivalents be prescribed by the doctors, hospitals, so all of the people get a better deal. Remember the “name brand” companies make huge, fantastic profits, and they have a vested interest in YOU buying them.

Jobs, and more jobs, the necessity for people to have meaningful work, we all need them. President-Elect Obama has the correct focus, here, but there is no way in hell he can do THIS ONE ALONE! This is where the recycling and reusing all those discarded materials could make work. It takes imagination, thinking, and yes, even work to find new uses for all those discarded things once used. For example, take plastic soda bottles and turn them into automated watering devices. It is as simple as filling the bottles with water, then turning the bottle upside down and pushing them into the soil around plants.  Start making solar panels, then put them on every house in town! Wind turbines work with even small breezes if they are made with a governor on them. There are some that can be made at home, and if at least 10% of the houses have them, the power grid is boosted! There are literally millions of ways to turn garbage going to landfills into useful things again, from braided rag rugs to vehicles. Help your president and your environment all in one! If nothing else, set up a recycling depot for local things.

International relationships need attention too. Wow, this list is getting long, but with help via the internet, it can be achieved! Talk to people around the world, listen and discuss issues with them. President-Elect Obama got that one right! He did go to the internet to talk and listen. Give the US the help in returning to a better international status by being a little more concerned about others, listening to other ideas. Why? Because maybe someone elsewhere in the world has the answer you need to solve your own problems, or you have the answer they are looking for!

Yep, the President-Elect has his work cut out, but with help from all of those in the world, maybe, just maybe, we all can lighten his load just a little bit.

Housing Crisis and Financial Mess 3 Years Old!

Speaking of the FBI, housing crisis, and mismanagement of money, there is one that seems to be just fine when it comes to the governments and any oversight! Yes, it is now 3 years old, yet no-one seems to even give a damn! There were millions, perhaps hundreds of millions, that have apparently gone missing, yet no-one in the administration, federal, state or even city has done a damn thing to find out where that money went!

What am I talking about? Well, once upon a time, roughly 3 years ago, a storm hit and, in the words of President Bush, “those people in that place” faced death, destruction, homelessness, and even starvation. Starting to ring any bells yet? People from all over North America rallied, raised huge sums of money for relief, and those who had gone through hell, including children, were seen as worthy of any help!

Yeah, once upon a time, this happened. Today, those who are first responders, including the police, the firefighters, and those who were litterally washed out of their homes are living and working in pathetic trailers. The New Orleans Police Department is operating out of trailers now, and their ability to do their jobs is hampered with a severe lack of resources. Even the houses for first responders had to have someone from another country come down to help repair and restore a few of them. Why the hell does it take someone from another country to do this? Very little infrastructure is back to normal, some children and their parents are STILL living on the street, and others are STILL living in emergency housing.

Scammers have grabbed land, others are abusing the shortage of any decent housing to charge rents way out of proportion.

Yet, no investigation! NO authorities, state, city or federal are even looking for the money. NO investigation into the federal emergency aid monies or housing restoration has happened either! Hmmm maybe because those children and families are NOT white?

If President Obama wants a place to start with investigating, working on infrastructure, housing, and supporting citizens who just got caught in a whole series of lies about water, levees etc. then I would say New Orleans, Saint Bernard Parish IS the place to start.

Maybe I need to be a bit more blunt. IF a nation CANNOT restore a city where there ARE NO insurgents, then the credibility of the nation is basically shot. How can any nation propose to restore, rebuild and help others when THAT NATION REFUSES TO REPAIR ITSELF? This tells the whole world that the US cannot even manage to restore a part within the country and any promises to help other countries will likely end up with the same mess years later.

When the US is trying to get the world to help out in the two wars, and the stated objective is to restore Iraq and Afghanistan to democracies, perhaps the argument for restoring those countries would hold a hell of a lot more credence if the US could actually restore one small city. Until that happens, people around the entire world see the promises from the US as empty air.
Maybe now that more than just one small city with “those people in that area” are affected, somebody may actually pay attention now!

Melissa Fung, Welcome Back!

There may not be a lot of people who have watched CBC internationally, but I often watch to get at least a balance in the news of the day.

The abduction of Melissa was kept out of the news for a very good reason by CBC and I do understand it. Part of me wants to know about any reporter, international aid personnel, or NGO person so I can at the very least think of them, put them into my mind for the energy to send them in peace.

Melissa apparently reappeared and seemed to keep her sense of humour intact, a tough thing to do in a country where often human life is  seen a cheap.  I will put her aid in my thoughts for as long as it takes to get that person back. The Afghanis have endured far more than most of us can even begin to comprehend, let alone understand, and I have kept those who just want a better life for themselves always in my thoughts.

Now that Melissa is out of Afghanistan, I can say this. Melissa when you get home to your parents, expect rain, and the blackberries are all done. But I can bet you will feel great joy getting soaked!

Welcome back Melissa.