Damato of the Day Is ... "It Ain't Right"
There is a reason this writer does not frequently have a lot to say about politics and politicians in this country. I am about as cynical as they come in regard to this circus, but do not find it particularly right to toss potshots when I refuse to become fully engaged in the process.
There is a reason this writer does not frequently have a lot to say about politics and politicians in this country. I am about as cynical as they come in regard to this circus, but do not find it particularly right to toss potshots when I refuse to become fully engaged in the process. Yes, I vote and have directly engaged politicians on certain issues, but I am not an active member of or affiliated with any party nor have I ever aspired to gain a place in any elected (or politically appointed) position.
But lately it has been hard to remain silent. Today (Feb. 21, 2009) I veered into an example of something that really pissed me off. While I may not be fully engaged, I do try and stay informed. To their credit, the new administration has embraced the Internet as a legitimate way of communicating with their constituents. And, no matter how your may have voted, we are all now the constituents of President Barack Obama.
Part of the new scheme, which includes the occasional text message or “tweet” (see www.twitter.com for an explanation of that), the president has chosen to deliver his weekly address via the Internet with a YouTube posting. Well, today I found the posting via my Yahoo! homepage via a link to the Associated Press. As with the radio address and most any televised address delivered by a sitting president, the opposition party is given the opportunity to put forward their point of view in a gesture of “equal time” by the various media outlets.
Call me crazy, but the last time I sat through both sides of a televised address, the president’s message was not delivered with any less color or clarity than the opposition’s address. Maybe it’s just me and maybe my reaction to it is irrational, but it really pissed me off when the president’s message streamed through clearly and without interruption while the opposition’s message, delivered by Rep. Dave Camp (R - Michigan) spit and sputtered and never came across without stopping numerous times. After six or seven tries I gave up. It only took one click to hear the president’s message uninterrupted beginning to end.
I’m not paranoid and do not think there is a conspiracy going on here, but it just makes me mad. As to the several messages; I remain as cynical as ever. I do not believe either political party possesses the cure for our economic woes. The government is not the solution to our economic problems. In fact, the deeper the federal government gets into “solving” the problems of the economy, finding our way to a solution becomes more difficult and protracted. Allowing businesses, including banks and really big businesses, to sink or swim on their own would allow the economy to finally hit bottom. Government “intervention” only prolongs the inevitable: some pain followed by economic recovery and a return to growth.
There is a reason this writer does not frequently have a lot to say about politics and politicians in this country. I am about as cynical as they come in regard to this circus, but do not find it particularly right to toss potshots when I refuse to become fully engaged in the process. Yes, I vote and have directly engaged politicians on certain issues, but I am not an active member of or affiliated with any party nor have I ever aspired to gain a place in any elected (or politically appointed) position.
But lately it has been hard to remain silent. Today (Feb. 21, 2009) I veered into an example of something that really pissed me off. While I may not be fully engaged, I do try and stay informed. To their credit, the new administration has embraced the Internet as a legitimate way of communicating with their constituents. And, no matter how your may have voted, we are all now the constituents of President Barack Obama.
Part of the new scheme, which includes the occasional text message or “tweet” (see www.twitter.com for an explanation of that), the president has chosen to deliver his weekly address via the Internet with a YouTube posting. Well, today I found the posting via my Yahoo! homepage via a link to the Associated Press. As with the radio address and most any televised address delivered by a sitting president, the opposition party is given the opportunity to put forward their point of view in a gesture of “equal time” by the various media outlets.
Call me crazy, but the last time I sat through both sides of a televised address, the president’s message was not delivered with any less color or clarity than the opposition’s address. Maybe it’s just me and maybe my reaction to it is irrational, but it really pissed me off when the president’s message streamed through clearly and without interruption while the opposition’s message, delivered by Rep. Dave Camp (R - Michigan) spit and sputtered and never came across without stopping numerous times. After six or seven tries I gave up. It only took one click to hear the president’s message uninterrupted beginning to end.
I’m not paranoid and do not think there is a conspiracy going on here, but it just makes me mad. As to the several messages; I remain as cynical as ever. I do not believe either political party possesses the cure for our economic woes. The government is not the solution to our economic problems. In fact, the deeper the federal government gets into “solving” the problems of the economy, finding our way to a solution becomes more difficult and protracted. Allowing businesses, including banks and really big businesses, to sink or swim on their own would allow the economy to finally hit bottom. Government “intervention” only prolongs the inevitable: some pain followed by economic recovery and a return to growth.
