Random Thoughts

Michelle's Recollections

 

You see, even though back then Barack was a Senator and a presidential candidate…to me, he was still the guy who’d picked me up for our dates in a car that was so rusted out, I could actually see the pavement going by through a hole in the passenger side door…he was the guy whose proudest possession was a coffee table he’d found in a dumpster, and whose only pair of decent shoes was half a size too small.

First Lady Michelle Obama

That is what Ms. Obama said in her speech last night but I find myself disbelieving.  Michelle and Barack met in 1989, 6 years after he had graduated Columbia.  He was attending Harvard at the time (1988 to 1991) where he got his J.D.  Michelle had graduated Princeton and then got her JD at Harvard in 1988 but she was interested in dating a man who couldn't get shoes that fit?  On another point, they met while he was working at a law firm in Chicago; what did he wear there?  My grandfather detested lawyers but he'd probably agree they dressed well.  If I knew a guy who graduated from an Ivy League school and was proud of furniture acquired from a dumpster, I'd tell him to stop screwing up his life.  Maybe Michelle did exactly that.

 

Tax Now or Tax Later

 

I listen to EconTalk, a podcast by Russ Roberts of George Mason University.  He recently had a discussion that explained how government can pay for things by taxing now or by borrowing which amounts to taxing later.  Our skyrocketing debt (broke $16 trillion) indicates which path has been chosen.  The people who are enjoying the current benefits are deferring the costs to future taxpayers.  Sometimes, that is appropriate.  For instance, borrowing money to build a school that those future taxpayers will attend could be argued to be reasonable.  Borrowing money to pay for healthcare, retirement, food stamps, and other ephemeral social programs is not reasonable.  Politicians love funding through borrowing because it allows them to have the benefit of spending without the penalty of taxes.  Unfortunately, the bill eventually comes due for those future taxpayers as Greece is discovering.

 

The Race Card

 

Back when Obama was elected, I celebrated one thing: Racism in America had finally been purged.  Sadly, it turns out that I was completely wrong.  Now everything is racism.  It is racist to point out that the debt has soared under Obama.  It is racist to mention Chicago in relation to Obama's campaign.  It is racist to call Obama the Food Stamp President though Food Stamp use has gone from 30 million to 46 million people.  Chris Matthews is foaming at the mouth with constant allegations of racism.  I have had a family member imply I was racist for opposing Obama.  The point of the racism charge is to silence the opposition but with its frequent use, it is becoming a punch line.

 

Voter ID

 

Democrats are opposed to Voter ID laws, claiming that they will disenfranchise minorities and the elderly.  In other news, the Democratic Convention in Charlotte requires photo ID to enter.

 

Booing God

 

The Democratic Platform had purged any mention of God.  This did not play well so the platform was rewritten to include God.  There was a floor vote that required a two-thirds majority to put God back in the platform.  Watching the vote, it is obvious that that bar was not met.  Nonetheless, the motion was declared successful and there was much booing from half the delegates.

 

Can't have an Empty Chair

 

Obama's planned acceptance speech at a 70,000 seat stadium was nixed in favor of the 20,000 seat auditorium of the convention.  It is said that potential inclement weather is to blame.  Republicans are saying that Obama can no longer fill a 70,000 seat stadium and empty seats would recall Clint Eastwood's conversation with an empty chair.  I am skeptical of the weather claim.  Obama should pray for a hard rain tomorrow night to bolster the claim.  A sunny day will look bad.