The Poll Toll

Rasmussen's polls are comprehensive and interesting. I like to check his website out at least once a week to watch the government's downward spiral.

This week, 52% of voters at least "somewhat disapprove" of the president's performance. Ouch. Most administrations would be smarting under those numbers and probably looking at revising their strategy to appease voters. But President Obama is different. He doesn't want to merely "preside" over the U.S.A.; he wants to rule. He is an ideologue on a mission to "transform" America, and he will not be dissuaded by such trifling matters as voter opinion.

The polls can keep dropping like a stone through water, but I predict that Obama will do what he wants to do and the citizens be damned. Even if his approval numbers plummet into the 20% range--and I suspect they might--he's got lots of time before 2012 to do major damage.

Welcome to bogus "hope" and mandatory "change." I remain 100% opposed to the Obama Solution. According to recent polls, I've got plenty of company.

People Power

To the health bill, the people objected

Our president's feeling rejected

The medical drama

Annoying Obama

Is not something voters elected.

Summer Reading

There are four weeks of summer left before Labor Day, and hopefully some vacation or beach time beckons you to relax and enjoy the season.

If you're looking for a good book, I suggest you try "The Art of Racing in the Rain," by Garth Stein. Not since Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" have I experienced such difficulty disengaging myself from a novel.

The story is told in the first person by Enzo, a delightfully wise and witty dog somewhat akin to Mr. Peabody in the old "Rocky and His Friends" cartoon. Enzo has a comparably wide expanse of knowledge and articulateness. But it's not so much facts and explanations that Enzo imparts to the reader as insights and experiences he has acquired throughout a long and eventful life.

Enzo's master is his beloved Denny, a blue collar automobile lover who marries a girl from the well-heeled side of the tracks. Their love is true, and so are their sorrows. Any reader who has suffered because of finances, illness, grief, loss, and injustice will find much in Enzo's eloquent narrative to identify with. Similarly, anyone who has ever triumphed over terrible odds will have much reason to rejoice.

Enzo is an old dog, feeble and in pain, and readers know how writers usually treat endings in such canine tales. As a dog lover, the outcomes are usually deflating to me. But this book is different. Without spoilers, I can assure you that the conclusion to "Racing in the Rain" is uplifting rather than sad.

In fact, in my highest compliment to a novel, I could read it again. With a long weekend coming up, I just might.

Good dog, Enzo.

The People vs. Obamacare

Have you signed the Free Our Health Care NOW! petition yet? If not, it's linked here. (You won't get spammed if you remember to uncheck the boxes at the bottom.)

Over one million Americans have signed it, and it hasn't taken very long to reach that number. I signed it towards the end of July, when signatures stood at about 500,000.

Victor Davis Hanson has an interesting analysis posted today in Real Clear Politics about the grassroots rebellion against the proposed government takeover of our health care system. Regardless of what the Obama administration would like us to believe, the majority of protestors are not organized right-wing activists.

Over one million signatures on the health care petition? I doubt we have that many right-wing activists in the country, at least as of today. Although with the way President Obama is trying to shove Americans around, a growing ground swell of conservative activism could be part of that promised "change we can believe in."

I'm the one...

...still without a cell phone.

I know, I know. Get with the times before we move on to communicating through our wristwatches. But there is an explanation. Really.

In my most recent two jobs, I've had a company cell phone. That was more than enough wireless exposure for me. Despite the non-stop phone conversations in progress all around me, at any given moment, I feel no compulsion to be talking to someone 24/7. Answering a phone call while on the freeway, at the grocery store, or in the bathroom simply doesn't appeal to me.

My newest job does not provide cell phones, which is fine (and smart, if you ask me). However, 25 miles of freeway is a long and lonely stretch of road should an automotive emergency occur during my commute. Secondarily, my friends are becoming increasingly vocal in their disapproval of my incommunicato status, especially when they're trying to give me a heads up about work or traffic issues delaying our lunch or dinner plans.

So this weekend, reluctantly, I will go cell phone shopping. I'll buy the cheapest phone with the fewest amount of features, as I'm easily confused by technology. Being cell-free has been a pleasure that, like most small joys in life, can not last forever.

Next week, dear friends, I'll finally be wireless. Please give me a few minutes to adjust before you call.

The Incredible Shrinking Sunday Paper

Not so long ago, it would take me all morning to read through my hometown Sunday morning newspaper. There were sections upon sections, various inserts, pullouts, a television booklet, and the occasional freebie of laundry detergent or breakfast cereal enclosed inside the bursting plastic wrapper.

Nowadays, it takes me less than an hour to finish off the entire paper, including advertisements. Those, it seems, still abound.

But what about the content of the newspaper itself? Sections have either folded together or completely disappeared. There used to be a "Home" section for articles on houses and furnishings, and a separate section called "Homescape," that covered gardening, plants, herbs, and landscaping. Now the two sections are combined into a slender shadow of their former selves, with the meager real estate listings tossed in for good measure.

The book section at one time was a full sized pullout, the size of a small tabloid newspaper in itself. It carried numerous book reviews, the NY Times bestseller lists numbered from 1-15 with descriptions of the books, local best sellers, schedules for book signings, articles for and by authors. I would spend more time back then with the book section than I do now with the entire Sunday paper. Today, the book section has been reduced to the top corner of one page somewhere in a renamed section, consisting of one list of bestsellers, numbered a whopping 1-5, titles only.

Why bother?

The business and opinion sections, once full-sized sections bursting with information, are now folded into a sparse couple of pages within other parts of the newspaper. Watered down is the kindest way to describe their presentation. However, this minor effort is better than that exerted on the TV guide, which mysteriously vanished completely a few months back, without notice or fanfare.

Last Sunday, in full page advertisements and inserts, the news flash appeared that the missing TV guide was about to make a comeback. "Back by popular demand!" the headline trumpeted. Intrigued, I read on. Articles on new television shows, complete listings, interviews, cover stories, movie guides, all coming back!--um, for a small fee.

Yes, subscribers must now pay a second newspaper bill in order to receive the TV guide that had been included with the Sunday edition for all those many years before, and it's a wonderful favor that the paper's big shots are accommodating our "demand." I had to laugh. How stupid do we newspaper readers appear to the publishing powers-that-be?

Maybe they feel that, if we're crazy enough to still be paying for the newspaper, we'll take it to the next level and spring for the TV guide, too. However, I didn't notice any advertisements for the ever-popular TV guide in this morning's newspaper. Perhaps during the past week, the newspaper got more of a reader response than they bargained for--and it probably didn't involve paying extra for the TV guide.

The Beer Tab

If the American taxpayer is going to have to ante up every time the Obama White House goes into damage control mode, we'd best tack another trillion onto the deficit.

How much is it costing us for the president to stage his "teachable moment" beer show? How much will it cost to fly the participants round trip to the White House and back home again? How much of the president's time does this publicity stunt funnel away from the country's countless issues?

How many more times in the next few years will this president draw upon taxpayer funds to cover his clumsy tracks?

I think I need a drink.

Who's Teaching Whom?

There is a great deal to be learned from the "Gates-gate" incident. However, as Ruben Navarette points out, the true lessons may not match up with the racially-charged views of Professor Gates and our president.

First lesson: When a law enforcement officer shows up at your door in response to a call, remove any attitude chip from your shoulder.

Second lesson: When asked to produce identification by said officer, comply promptly, calmly, and without complaint.

Third lesson: Keep in mind that police risk their lives minute-to-minute to protect our individual safety, and behave with appropriate respect.

Fourth lesson: If you end up arrested because you never learned the first three lessons, accept personal responsibility and don't misplace the blame on the police officer.

Fifth lesson: A president who announces in a televised press conference that a police officer "acted stupidly," is acting stupidly.

Unhealthy Change

Why is the cost of my health care Barack Obama’s business?

~ Mark Steyn

Mark Steyn usually makes me laugh. Not this time. "The Nationalization of Your Body" is a grim must-read on Mark's website.

He's a Canadian who has lived in Great Britain, and he knows of what he writes. When you're done reading and having a few years scared off your life, click over to the "Free Our Health Care NOW!" website and join the over 800,000 American citizens who have signed the petition to preserve our freedom of choice in our personal health care and that of our families.

Perfection

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! History!

~ Chicago White Sox announcer Hawk Harrelson

The boys of summer gave us a great day in Chicago.

Let's all take a moment to savor a rare baseball milestone: a perfect game, pitched by Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox.

This marks only the 18th perfect game in major league baseball history. Here is a link to video of the historic moment.

A good baseball day can pick me up from just about anything. Thanks, Mark Buehrle, and congratulations on your thrilling accomplishment.