"Some are so very studious of learning what was done by the ancients that they know not how to live with the moderns."
William Penn
“Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.”
John Stuart Mill
Let's go loco!
"There is nothing to fear except the persistent refusal to find out the truth, the persistent refusal to analyze the causes of happenings."
Dorothy Thompson
Shadow play
On Tuesday night, President Obama spoke to our assembled U.S. Congress about his administration's plans to fix the economic disaster that he inherited.
Rather than contribute meaningfully, Republicans Bobby Jindal and John McCain tried to find problems with the strategy. They were like young kids complaining about dad's driving as he swerves to avoid an accident they don't perceive.
Demonstrating both the depth of their partisanship, and the shallowness of their reasoning, both picked on Hawaii as an easy target. Who knows about Hawaii? Who cares about Hawaii? Not them, apparently!
First of all, Jindal opened his remarks by referring once again to the race of the President. Though he was ostensibly praising America's progress, what he was actually doing was demeaning us all. Get over it, Bobby. Barack is not inspiring because of an accident of birth. He is a brilliant and inspiring PERSON, not a lucky example of some under-group affirmative action! Stop denying the President's stature by implying that what inspires is MERELY his color!
After "railing" against a supposed rail link between Las Vegas and California that is NOT in the bill, Jindal turned his dismissive attention to volcano monitoring in HAWAII as if this is a boondoggle.
Mr. Jindal, perhaps you don't realize that volcanic activity is NOW occurring in our STATE. Hawaii is the best place in the country to study volcanoes, and also has a population in serious NEED of such monitoring and understanding. What should we spend on? Is flood control in your State of Louisiana as "ridiculous?"
Mr. McCain lambasted astronomy in Hawaii as another obvious waste. Just because Mauna Kea is a WORLD CLASS scientific village of telescopes and instruments producing cutting-edge knowledge and providing educational opportunities as well as many skilled jobs - does that make it ridiculous and wasteful to you - or is it just reflexive disdain for our State? You did meet your wife in Waikiki, and you should know better!
Our loyal, strategic, unique State only adds immeasurably to the social and cultural fabric of this country. Oh, plus our community mid-wifed and raised our President Obama.
If these are your "considered" problems with the plan to rescue our economy, then I must conclude that you are lazy thinkers and unworthy to lead.
Why not contribute something to our nation and world besides spin and foot dragging. Or do you want the President, and all of us, to fail?
They used to call that treason. . .
A L O H A! Cloudia
