One of my pet peeves is Comcast who are noteworthy for their lack of real customer service, their giant size and their “I-don’t-give-a-shit” attitude. When you are the only cable game in town, I guess you can afford this kind of attitude.
I had Comcast cable, internet and phone two years ago, but I dropped the phone after incredibly poor reception and several major shutdowns where telephone service was lost for a day or more. I still have the cable and internet.
Now I see they have been approved to buy N.B.C. I’m reminded of the lines from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar : “Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world as a colossus, and we but petty men do peep beneath.” I don’t like what this portends for future programming and service as this giant lumbers on.
I have to reprint a portion of an hilarious putdown by David Fagin posted on AOL News.
Opinion: When Comcast Rules the World
When the Federal Communications Commission approved the Comcast/NBC merger earlier this week, it set off all the usual complaints from all the usual suspects.You should be afraid! You should be mad!! Too much content control under one roof!!!
Poppycock.
So what if one company owns ... 10 TV and movie production studios (including Universal Pictures), 20 cable channels, 11 regional broadcast TV stations, 15 Telemundo stations (arriba!), nine regional sports cable networks, one regional news cable station (New England Cable News), a whole bunch of websites, two pro sports teams in Philadelphia and two arenas, a food service vendor, a ticket agency and four theme parks, plus some other stuff?I, for one, and looking forward to the many exciting changes in store for us as a result of this glorious merger between a lumbering, monopolistic cable company and a gigantic network programming company. Here are a few I foresee:
Television
Network news that promises to report on the new terror threat sometime between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
You have to call customer service if you want to turn off Leno.
Your monthly bill comes addressed to "The Biggest Loser."
"Saturday Night Live" is now not funny on 23 syndicated stations.
"Celebrity Apprentice" suddenly features members of Congress.
Comcast changes the name of its "On Demand" programming to "You'll get nothing and like it!"
Congress overwhelmingly approves bill that would make cable theft punishable by death.
Internet
Sweepstakes offering one lucky winner the chance to have Steve Carell come to your house and fix your modem.
Every time you try to use LimeWire, three members of the Philadelphia Flyers come to your house and beat you up.
New offerings, such as: "For as little as $9.99/month we'll take your choices away slower."
Helpful progress bar shows estimated time remaining on your Netflix "Instant download" is 11 years.
Instead of asking "Are you sure you want to do this?" your screen says "Go ahead. Make my day."
Downloads become so slow your Ethernet cable asks for Flomax.
People slowly begin to realize that now their phone, cable, free television, cell phone and Internet all suck. Actual human interactions begin to ensue again.
In the trendy lingo of today, all I can add is LOL!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
AND THE BAND PLAYS ON
We had dinner the other night with good friends from Ohio whom we have known for years who spend their winters here on Sanibel Island. Both are lovely people and a delight to be around---except when politics rears its head and the guy insists on climbing on his soapbox and espousing his ultra-conservative causes. Out of deference to being a good host and having a pleasant evening, I bite my lip and say as little as possible.
Last year we had dinner together in a restaurant the four of us enjoy and everything was going along swimmingly until he brought politics into the conversation and asserted that George W. Bush would go down in history as one of our greatest Presidents. Choking on my mouthful of food, I swallowed and, without thinking, purely reflexively, blurted, "Oh. shit, George (phony name), I can't believe you said that!" He looked absolutely shocked at my reply. His wife quickly and tactfully changed the subject after a brief heated exchange.
Then, at the dinner the other night, he commented how "tacky" he thought the President's Tucson speech was. I bit my lip but did say I disagreed and that part of a President's responsibilities is to be the Great Comforter at times of national stress. I cited that a good Republican who really started this trend was Ronald Reagan---remember his great speech after the Challenger disaster in 1986--- and that George W. tried to do the same after 9/11. His is the kind of mindset that would wholeheartedly support Satan if he ran on the G.O.P. ticket. Oh, I know there are Democrats just as staunchly loyal to their party as my friend---it's not just a Republican phenomenon. The band keeps playing louder, not better.
But right now we are seeing the worst kind of obstructionism demonstrated by the G.O.P. The "symbolic" repeal of Obamacare in the House of Representatives is an example. I concede, the Healthcare law is flawed and needs revision, but form a commission to study and make recommendations to fix the flaws. Then there is that little matter of unemployment---of jobs, jobs, jobs. Why is the first order of business cutting all programs to slash 3.5 trillion from the budget? I don't say we don't need to cut programs and be fiscally responsible, but the first order of business must be, on a bipartisan basis, to seek remedies for unemployment and to encourage economic growth. The Obama administration has definitely made moves to reach out to the business world and to move to the right and seek reconciliation with the G.O.P., but the tea party elements want war, not solutions.
Have we heard this song before?
Last year we had dinner together in a restaurant the four of us enjoy and everything was going along swimmingly until he brought politics into the conversation and asserted that George W. Bush would go down in history as one of our greatest Presidents. Choking on my mouthful of food, I swallowed and, without thinking, purely reflexively, blurted, "Oh. shit, George (phony name), I can't believe you said that!" He looked absolutely shocked at my reply. His wife quickly and tactfully changed the subject after a brief heated exchange.
Then, at the dinner the other night, he commented how "tacky" he thought the President's Tucson speech was. I bit my lip but did say I disagreed and that part of a President's responsibilities is to be the Great Comforter at times of national stress. I cited that a good Republican who really started this trend was Ronald Reagan---remember his great speech after the Challenger disaster in 1986--- and that George W. tried to do the same after 9/11. His is the kind of mindset that would wholeheartedly support Satan if he ran on the G.O.P. ticket. Oh, I know there are Democrats just as staunchly loyal to their party as my friend---it's not just a Republican phenomenon. The band keeps playing louder, not better.
But right now we are seeing the worst kind of obstructionism demonstrated by the G.O.P. The "symbolic" repeal of Obamacare in the House of Representatives is an example. I concede, the Healthcare law is flawed and needs revision, but form a commission to study and make recommendations to fix the flaws. Then there is that little matter of unemployment---of jobs, jobs, jobs. Why is the first order of business cutting all programs to slash 3.5 trillion from the budget? I don't say we don't need to cut programs and be fiscally responsible, but the first order of business must be, on a bipartisan basis, to seek remedies for unemployment and to encourage economic growth. The Obama administration has definitely made moves to reach out to the business world and to move to the right and seek reconciliation with the G.O.P., but the tea party elements want war, not solutions.
Have we heard this song before?
Monday, January 17, 2011
THE EXTREME IN TOGETHERNESS
I think I have now discovered the ultimate in marital togetherness. Having been married for going on 58 years in May, I thought we had been through all phases of togetherness--wrong!
Usually togetherness is good , but now we are discovering the bummer side.
My wife is having knee replacement surgery on February 7. About two weeks ago she made the trip to an orthopod she had seen before, and he explained to her that the area behind her right kneecap was gone and her knee was bone-on-bone.
Then last week I saw the same man, and he quickly let me know that both my knees are bone-on-bone and that replacement knee surgery was the best course of action. My right knee gives me more problems, so I elected to go for surgery on that one and am scheduled for April 25. I am hopeful that I have allowed enough time between the two surgeries to give my wife time to recover. I certainly want to be available to facilitate her recovery and hope she can reciprocate for me. We like to go to England in late June and want to be in reasonably good shape by that time, as we do a lot of walking there.
The only consolation we can take is that we have heard recent advancements in artificial knees are great and easier to adjust to, but the fact remains that hard and constant therapy pre- and post-surgery is a necessity with frequent exercises to encourage the flexion of the new joint required.
Another good thing we have going in our favor is that we live in a house with an elevator. When we built our home in Sanibel Island, Florida over eight years ago, the builder wisely suggested installing an elevator. The cost of putting one in a home being constructed at the time was $13,000, whereas adding one to a home already built is closer to $50,000 because of the major cost of tearing out space for the elevator and then renovating the home after the installation of the elevator. Occasionally, in life, we make good decisions---and that was one!
Our goal is to get back to the tennis courts. I think Nadal, Federer and the Williams sisters will not be too concerned and will be able to sleep well at night, but maybe we can compete again with our old fart friends.
We hope to have four good legs instead of two. That will be a new high in togetherness!
Usually togetherness is good , but now we are discovering the bummer side.
My wife is having knee replacement surgery on February 7. About two weeks ago she made the trip to an orthopod she had seen before, and he explained to her that the area behind her right kneecap was gone and her knee was bone-on-bone.
Then last week I saw the same man, and he quickly let me know that both my knees are bone-on-bone and that replacement knee surgery was the best course of action. My right knee gives me more problems, so I elected to go for surgery on that one and am scheduled for April 25. I am hopeful that I have allowed enough time between the two surgeries to give my wife time to recover. I certainly want to be available to facilitate her recovery and hope she can reciprocate for me. We like to go to England in late June and want to be in reasonably good shape by that time, as we do a lot of walking there.
The only consolation we can take is that we have heard recent advancements in artificial knees are great and easier to adjust to, but the fact remains that hard and constant therapy pre- and post-surgery is a necessity with frequent exercises to encourage the flexion of the new joint required.
Another good thing we have going in our favor is that we live in a house with an elevator. When we built our home in Sanibel Island, Florida over eight years ago, the builder wisely suggested installing an elevator. The cost of putting one in a home being constructed at the time was $13,000, whereas adding one to a home already built is closer to $50,000 because of the major cost of tearing out space for the elevator and then renovating the home after the installation of the elevator. Occasionally, in life, we make good decisions---and that was one!
Our goal is to get back to the tennis courts. I think Nadal, Federer and the Williams sisters will not be too concerned and will be able to sleep well at night, but maybe we can compete again with our old fart friends.
We hope to have four good legs instead of two. That will be a new high in togetherness!
Friday, January 14, 2011
A SUPPORTER IS NOT ALWAYS A JOCK
Well, sports fans, are you as relieved as I that the interminable and, for the most part, meaningless bowl season is over? Do we really need the Hamburger Bowl or the Ketchup-with-Fries Bowl with two nonentities sporting either a 6-6 or 7-5 record playing for their own satisfaction?
I’m still plumping for the 16 or 32 game playoff system with the participant schools partaking of the revenue in proportion to their successes. Here’s how it could work:
(1) Play a ten game schedule staring in mid- September, ending in mid-November. That would give most conferences time to play their quota of conference games and even a playoff in a split conference.
(2) Then from mid-November to mid December have the 16- or 32-game playoff, ending with the final two survivors still standing in mid-December.
(3) Take the next two weeks for practice and to celebrate Christmas and be ready to play the National Championship on New Year’s Day.
If some hungry promoters wants to play some also-ran bowl games, fine, let them and the schools make a buck and couch potatoes have their fill of football, but let’s have a meaningful national Tournament with a true National Champion.
In the meantime, the N.F.L. playoffs are getting interesting. And, just to spice things up in the frigid January days, we can also watch the Australian Open Tennis championship!
Miscellaneous commentary:
What’s your bet on whether Auburn will be able to keep their Championship trophy? If not, Cam Newton will be on his way to the N.F.L., which he’ll probably do anyway now that he’s won all the marbles.
How did you like coach Jim Tressel’s Solomon-like decision on his five banned athletes: letting them play in the Sugar Bowl game if they come back to play next year. It’s the smartest deal since King Solomon split the baby in two to solve the parental fight! How to butter your own bread, Jim Tressel!
I’m still plumping for the 16 or 32 game playoff system with the participant schools partaking of the revenue in proportion to their successes. Here’s how it could work:
(1) Play a ten game schedule staring in mid- September, ending in mid-November. That would give most conferences time to play their quota of conference games and even a playoff in a split conference.
(2) Then from mid-November to mid December have the 16- or 32-game playoff, ending with the final two survivors still standing in mid-December.
(3) Take the next two weeks for practice and to celebrate Christmas and be ready to play the National Championship on New Year’s Day.
If some hungry promoters wants to play some also-ran bowl games, fine, let them and the schools make a buck and couch potatoes have their fill of football, but let’s have a meaningful national Tournament with a true National Champion.
In the meantime, the N.F.L. playoffs are getting interesting. And, just to spice things up in the frigid January days, we can also watch the Australian Open Tennis championship!
Miscellaneous commentary:
What’s your bet on whether Auburn will be able to keep their Championship trophy? If not, Cam Newton will be on his way to the N.F.L., which he’ll probably do anyway now that he’s won all the marbles.
How did you like coach Jim Tressel’s Solomon-like decision on his five banned athletes: letting them play in the Sugar Bowl game if they come back to play next year. It’s the smartest deal since King Solomon split the baby in two to solve the parental fight! How to butter your own bread, Jim Tressel!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
YOU TAKE THE HIGH ROAD--AND DON'T TAKE THE LOW
I was pleased that the President, as any reasonable person would expect, took the high road in his Tucson speech. One of the important responsibilities of the President, in times of national crisis and grief, is to be a comforter in an effort to assuage our national sadness and to unify us. Majority Leader John Boehner also set a laudable example in leading the House Resolution honoring the dead and wounded. I don't think Mrs. Palin added any stars to her crown in her defensive remarks.
Now if we can just get this spirit of good will to last and be reflected in some sincere bipartisanship. Unfortunately, honeymoons do end...We need more politicians taking the high road and not the low road and ending up, not in Scotland afore ye as the song goes, but in good results for America. I guess I'm the eternal Pollyanna looking for the good to be emphasized over the bad, and it certainly has not worked that way in recent years.
All we need to do is listen a little more attentively to the other side and be less inclined to push our own agenda. Who knows, we might learn something---and even find a mutual solution! As Hamlet said, "Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished."
Now if we can just get this spirit of good will to last and be reflected in some sincere bipartisanship. Unfortunately, honeymoons do end...We need more politicians taking the high road and not the low road and ending up, not in Scotland afore ye as the song goes, but in good results for America. I guess I'm the eternal Pollyanna looking for the good to be emphasized over the bad, and it certainly has not worked that way in recent years.
All we need to do is listen a little more attentively to the other side and be less inclined to push our own agenda. Who knows, we might learn something---and even find a mutual solution! As Hamlet said, "Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished."
Monday, January 10, 2011
AN OLD-FASHIONED WORD
Saturday was a tragic day for all Americans, no matter your political persuasion, as the shooting occurred in Tucson, Arizona by a psychotic gunman, which killed six people and gravely wounded Congresswoman Giffords. We've had altogether too many such days in our lifetime: remember Oklahoma City and Timothy McVeigh. JFK, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert Kennedy, Mahatma Ghandi, Malcolm X, to name a few of the most prominent.
Senseless tragedies will always occur. Let's face it, life doesn't always make sense. At certain periods in our lives, however, the moral climate can contribute to such tragedies. One such time is now.
I refuse to go the obvious route of so many commentators who see this latest tragedy as the result of extreme right wing hatred. No doubt, there is plenty of such hate out there. Let's establish one fact: extreme rhetoric and actions are not the province strictly of the far right; they can be seen in the rhetoric and actions of the extreme left, as well. Polarized positions are frequently set in concrete and are hard to crack.
We are in a time of our life when the abililty to communicate, to discuss, to listen are sorely neglected. We would rather talk and take the next step, rant, than have a measured dialogue between competing views. Extreme positions are nothing new, they are part of life. At our best times we have been able to cut through the fog of noise and irrational ranting and find the truth. Right now we are having one helluva time doing so.
If it takes a tragedy such as Tucson to drive this point home, then let us hope we can take time to pause, reflect and begin to listen to competing views and to seek answers together.
I suggest an archaic, almost obsolete word, civility. It is a word that conjures up old-fashioned values, like respect, attention and tolerance. If we can learn to be civil and teach it to succeeding generations, we won't eliminate tragedies, but we will have a chance to lessen their frequency and impact. If we can listen to each other, we may learn new things and reach new understandings. It's worth the try.
Senseless tragedies will always occur. Let's face it, life doesn't always make sense. At certain periods in our lives, however, the moral climate can contribute to such tragedies. One such time is now.
I refuse to go the obvious route of so many commentators who see this latest tragedy as the result of extreme right wing hatred. No doubt, there is plenty of such hate out there. Let's establish one fact: extreme rhetoric and actions are not the province strictly of the far right; they can be seen in the rhetoric and actions of the extreme left, as well. Polarized positions are frequently set in concrete and are hard to crack.
We are in a time of our life when the abililty to communicate, to discuss, to listen are sorely neglected. We would rather talk and take the next step, rant, than have a measured dialogue between competing views. Extreme positions are nothing new, they are part of life. At our best times we have been able to cut through the fog of noise and irrational ranting and find the truth. Right now we are having one helluva time doing so.
If it takes a tragedy such as Tucson to drive this point home, then let us hope we can take time to pause, reflect and begin to listen to competing views and to seek answers together.
I suggest an archaic, almost obsolete word, civility. It is a word that conjures up old-fashioned values, like respect, attention and tolerance. If we can learn to be civil and teach it to succeeding generations, we won't eliminate tragedies, but we will have a chance to lessen their frequency and impact. If we can listen to each other, we may learn new things and reach new understandings. It's worth the try.
Friday, January 7, 2011
THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT
My old friend and fellow blogger, Grumpy (grumpy-olddog.blogspot.com), recently wrote a couple of excellent blogs regarding changes in the way kids are raised and spend their time. All of which got me thinking in my old fart way of the changes in family life today.
Grumpy mentioned the importance of family dinners when he was young, and such dinners were an essential way of life for me and my family---and most families in the old days, I believe. He also talked about the lack of grammar in kid's talk today. which really struck another chord with me. I would have had my head bashed in by literate parents if i misused the native tongue.
I think such examples are symptomatic of the whole lifestyle change of today compared with even as recently as twenty years ago. Life has sped up so much with the flow of information available today and the whole age of information surrounding us. With all the new technology and information available, I don't think we have time to absorb it all. In a sense, it uses us and not a case of us using it. We are slaves to this new technology and information in a kind of weird role reversal.
Take, for example, the new smart phones. Do we really need to use them as much in both talk and texting as most kids do today? I say kids, but I have two daughters in particular who rarely are seen for any period of time without a phone in their ear or at their fingertips. It is all so easy and quick, just to run a stream of consciousness of thoughts into your phone and instantly communicate. It is this impulse, taken to the extreme, that makes social networks like Twitter such a bore to me. Who really gives a rat's ass how Mary spent her morning or how she had a fight with her hubby ot if she got laid last night? TMI is the operative word. Information is wonderful when it is useful and makes life improved---but too much is a bore...
In the ancient days of snailmail---you remember, when people wrote letters and mailed them with a stamp---I'm sure you can recall that if you try, you thought about what you were going to say and put it down on paper in some kind of organized way. And when you got a letter you sat down, read it and thought about it. Sometimes you even saved them and reread them later; you didn't delete or send them off to some netherland of cyberspace. I have an old friend, going back to college days where we were fraternity brothers and later batchelor roommates in New York
City, who was a writer by trade, and for sixty years we have exchanged letters---yes, snailmail, even today, although under certain circumstances we do email each other, as well.
Do kids still play games calling for imagination and make-believe---or is every game on an X-box or phone? Do kids still talk, or do they only text? I have one grandson who is going through the early teens syndrome, which is complicated to some degree by ADD. He talks in monosyllables, texts every moment he can or plays computer or phone games. I know he is not unusual today; I'm sure he's just like most other boys in his age group.
I think many are bewildered in this fast and changing world of information, and I believe it is one of the causes of so much malaise, disorientation and discontent. We often don't have time to catch our breath. We often don't have time to talk together about things. And I think that is sad.
Grumpy mentioned the importance of family dinners when he was young, and such dinners were an essential way of life for me and my family---and most families in the old days, I believe. He also talked about the lack of grammar in kid's talk today. which really struck another chord with me. I would have had my head bashed in by literate parents if i misused the native tongue.
I think such examples are symptomatic of the whole lifestyle change of today compared with even as recently as twenty years ago. Life has sped up so much with the flow of information available today and the whole age of information surrounding us. With all the new technology and information available, I don't think we have time to absorb it all. In a sense, it uses us and not a case of us using it. We are slaves to this new technology and information in a kind of weird role reversal.
Take, for example, the new smart phones. Do we really need to use them as much in both talk and texting as most kids do today? I say kids, but I have two daughters in particular who rarely are seen for any period of time without a phone in their ear or at their fingertips. It is all so easy and quick, just to run a stream of consciousness of thoughts into your phone and instantly communicate. It is this impulse, taken to the extreme, that makes social networks like Twitter such a bore to me. Who really gives a rat's ass how Mary spent her morning or how she had a fight with her hubby ot if she got laid last night? TMI is the operative word. Information is wonderful when it is useful and makes life improved---but too much is a bore...
In the ancient days of snailmail---you remember, when people wrote letters and mailed them with a stamp---I'm sure you can recall that if you try, you thought about what you were going to say and put it down on paper in some kind of organized way. And when you got a letter you sat down, read it and thought about it. Sometimes you even saved them and reread them later; you didn't delete or send them off to some netherland of cyberspace. I have an old friend, going back to college days where we were fraternity brothers and later batchelor roommates in New York
City, who was a writer by trade, and for sixty years we have exchanged letters---yes, snailmail, even today, although under certain circumstances we do email each other, as well.
Do kids still play games calling for imagination and make-believe---or is every game on an X-box or phone? Do kids still talk, or do they only text? I have one grandson who is going through the early teens syndrome, which is complicated to some degree by ADD. He talks in monosyllables, texts every moment he can or plays computer or phone games. I know he is not unusual today; I'm sure he's just like most other boys in his age group.
I think many are bewildered in this fast and changing world of information, and I believe it is one of the causes of so much malaise, disorientation and discontent. We often don't have time to catch our breath. We often don't have time to talk together about things. And I think that is sad.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
NEW YEAR, NEW DAY
Happy New Year to all of you!
In the New York Times today is, as happens frequently, a thought-provoking column by David Brooks, who is one of my pets, a moderate conservative who thinks things through and usually comes up with the right answers. I recommend his column, "The Achievement Test".
The nub of his thoughts are summed up in his lines: "The size of government doesn't tell you what you need to know; the social and moral content of government action does....The best way to measure government is not by volume but what you might call the Achievement Test."
Brooks. in referring to the Achievement Test, is saying that the true test of successful government is in how it transforms lives. Size of government had little to do with that.
The Republicans are on a mission to reduce the size of government and to make drastic cuts to effect such cutbacks; the Democrats will be fighting to hold on to programs they hold dear. You can be sure that it will be a long and contentious battle with many verbal shells flying back and forth between the enemy parties. We can only hope that in this agonizing process good sense ultimately prevails and that compromises can create some good sense programs.
If the G.O.P.'s only aim is to shrink government at all costs, no matter what the programs are, God help us. We then are in real danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water. Take, for example, health care. Almost everyone agrees, it needs revision---but eliminating the whole program, as some Republicans are sworn to try, is dead wrong and counter-productive. Revision of the income tax structure is also in the works, and, no question, revamping and simplifying is needed. Social Security is another subject for intense scrutiny. The field of legislation is wide open.
Democrats must be prepared to make some sacrifices in their legislative agenda and be willing to accept some compromises. I hope they fight hard for education programs, because we must make education a priority if we expect to continue as a first-class power over the long run. The Democrats must also fight for a fair and equitable immigration program which will attract talent and not just cheap labor.
Both parties must make the top priority the creation of jobs, reducing the sickening rate of unemployment. Whatever happened to the idea of more infra-structure repair and renovation jobs talked about so much a couple of years ago?
It's time to work together to find solutions. Yes, make cuts where justified---but don't cut simply to reduce government unless it's justified. Emphasize programs that reward achievement and grow business. Think as Americans, not as party animals.
In the New York Times today is, as happens frequently, a thought-provoking column by David Brooks, who is one of my pets, a moderate conservative who thinks things through and usually comes up with the right answers. I recommend his column, "The Achievement Test".
The nub of his thoughts are summed up in his lines: "The size of government doesn't tell you what you need to know; the social and moral content of government action does....The best way to measure government is not by volume but what you might call the Achievement Test."
Brooks. in referring to the Achievement Test, is saying that the true test of successful government is in how it transforms lives. Size of government had little to do with that.
The Republicans are on a mission to reduce the size of government and to make drastic cuts to effect such cutbacks; the Democrats will be fighting to hold on to programs they hold dear. You can be sure that it will be a long and contentious battle with many verbal shells flying back and forth between the enemy parties. We can only hope that in this agonizing process good sense ultimately prevails and that compromises can create some good sense programs.
If the G.O.P.'s only aim is to shrink government at all costs, no matter what the programs are, God help us. We then are in real danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water. Take, for example, health care. Almost everyone agrees, it needs revision---but eliminating the whole program, as some Republicans are sworn to try, is dead wrong and counter-productive. Revision of the income tax structure is also in the works, and, no question, revamping and simplifying is needed. Social Security is another subject for intense scrutiny. The field of legislation is wide open.
Democrats must be prepared to make some sacrifices in their legislative agenda and be willing to accept some compromises. I hope they fight hard for education programs, because we must make education a priority if we expect to continue as a first-class power over the long run. The Democrats must also fight for a fair and equitable immigration program which will attract talent and not just cheap labor.
Both parties must make the top priority the creation of jobs, reducing the sickening rate of unemployment. Whatever happened to the idea of more infra-structure repair and renovation jobs talked about so much a couple of years ago?
It's time to work together to find solutions. Yes, make cuts where justified---but don't cut simply to reduce government unless it's justified. Emphasize programs that reward achievement and grow business. Think as Americans, not as party animals.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)