Looking out my window...

Republican Objective: Make Obama A One Term President

 

It started almost from the beginning of President Obama's Presidency. The Republicans made it clear that their objective was to ensure that Mr. Obama would only be in the White House for four years.

Mr Bush had left office leaving the largest deficit in our history for the new President to solve. The United States was on the verge of repeating the 1930's deep depression. Wall Street had snookered American citizens. Banks had committed financial crimes and the housing bubble had busted.

In the election of 2010 the Republicans took over many democratic seats in the House of Representatives becoming the  house majority. 

Even though the GOP ran on "jobs, jobs, jobs," the new majority was determined to make the POTUS a "one termer." They blocked the passage of  job creating bills as well as the budget... because they would not compromise. Never. Ever compromise. This left the President unsuccessful in his attempts to make the changes he had promised.

Instead of creating jobs their focus has been: taking away women's health care rights, increasing the availability of guns, extending tax cuts for the richest in our nation, taking away the bargaining rights of unions, and decreasing unemployment coverage, to name a few.

With the current proposed budget they added riders cutting minuscule amounts of money while taking away education and health programs, and eliminated college funds for the poor.

Right now, they are in the last days of negotiating the proposed budget, with the stoppage of the government hanging over the heads of the American people.

They have tried very hard to be successful in their "one term" goal. And, they will be successful...but it will be a "one term" for the Republicans... not the President.

How To Ruin My Day: Earthquake, Tsunami, Nuclear Meltdown, Republican Ruses

 
Collage of Stock Photos Created by Sharon

The last few years I have had a growing love for circles which turned into 3D circles more fondly known as bubbles. I love their characteristics of grace, transparency and light reflections. For all their beauty and symbolism they have one huge defect. They burst.

Off hand, below are some of the burst bubbles that have recently ruined my day:

• Housing... I was at last able to purchase a condominium. This was just as the Housing market was beginning to rise. Wow! After about four years the value of our home increased by 40%. What an investment. And, then the bubble burst.
• Health... Neither of us were in A+ form, but well enough to enjoy our retirement by being physically able to do what we wanted. And, then the bubble burst about two or three years into our new life.
• Wealth... We were never "wealthy," but lived a comfortable middle class lifestyle. And, then the bubble burst and we have not received a cost of living increase in neither social security or pensions for the last two years even though costs have risen.
• Car... The last car we purchased was a wonderful Honda Odyssey. We thought this could be the last car we purchased if used and cared for properly and paid for it in cash. We could see the bubble burst as we neared and passed 200,000 miles driven due to unexpected usage.
• Grown children... We erroneously thought that once children were grown we would be on our own, so to speak. And then the bubble burst. How could we have been so naive? We are family forever.
• Humanism... We believe in the strength and goodness of people. The bubble burst, what with terrorists, tea baggers, and such. We still believe in the innate goodness of humans, but some need a little re-education.
• Earthquake Disaster-Free Zone... Except for tornadoes, we thought by living in the Midwest we were in a pretty safe part of the country. Bubble burst when we learned we live near one of the largest fault system in the country.
• Tsunami Disaster-Free... Sure, we're not near an ocean, but what about Lake Michigan? POP!
• Nuclear Energy is Clean and Safe... tell that to the Japanese people. Our bubble burst after listening to American Nuclear experts and learning just how unsafe our reactors have been.
• Republican Ruses... As a progressive Democrat, I've never really cared much for those Republican rascals. But, all and all, thought they were relatively benign since the Democrats would come along and hopefully fixed what ever was broken. That bubble didn't burst, it exploded this year. They ran on the economy and "jobs, jobs, jobs." They brought in the Tea Baggers. Yes, I know I'm being politically incorrect by not calling them the Tea Party. But at this moment the Tea Baggers is what they are: filled with ignorant bitterness and good only for dunking. With a majority in the House they proceeded to work on taking back women's, as well as children's, rights. Republican Governors ran on fixing the economy and then proceeded to take away union bargaining rights. They have taken the position that to get rid of the deficit they will take away entitlement programs for the elderly, the young, and the poor. This is instead of taxing the corporations that have made BILLIONS in profit and currently pay 0% in taxes. The Republican Congress has done everything in its power to make President Obama fail and become a one term president.
• Racial Equality... our first African-American President was such a wonderful happening. To be able to see that in my lifetime, my mother's lifetime, gave me great joy. And that bubble burst when I saw the racial hatred expressed by American Caucasians. Any newspaper or on line commentary regarding President Obama had comments that included the words: n****r, tar baby, Muslim, non-citizen, coon, darky, and jungle bunny.
• Religious Freedom and Tolerance... Even though our country was founded on freedom of religion that bubble was definitely busted when the Twin Towers came down.  Anything to do with Muslims was not tolerated. People actually thought about doing the Japan Internment Camps again, but with Muslims. Do we never learn when we've done something on the WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY? And then we have this guy:

 

Enough said. Enough bubbles burst. 

Wintering Birds At Feeders - Live Action (Sorta)

 

The camera I have is by no means a professional one. But, gee whiz, want more could I ask for? Plenty, if I thought about it. However, the more a camera does, the more complicated it gets. I imagine this is true for all our electronic gadgets. The thing is, I love my camera. It has 10x zoom... my old one was 3x... so it allows me to get fairly close to the birds even though I'm inside my house behind a window. And, as you can see from the above, the same camera does videos, too.

When I was working the last 10 years that was called "multitasking". And, that is how employers expected their staff to perform.

I think if you watch the birds closely, you'll see them multitasking, too. Waiting in line. Looking for food. Eating food. Juggling for status. Looking out for predators. Warming up in the sun. And other bird type things.

Some things are easier than others to multitask. Sitting on the toilet and brushing your teeth at the same time might prove to be awkward, but not risky. Driving and texting, on the other hand, can be fatal. Frankly, I don't recommend either.

Paying attention to the details is great. My Virgo self was an expert at that. But, watch out. You never know. While you're taking care of details, you could be taken down by a hawk, a car, or in my case, a layoff.

Be aware of the "forest" at all times! 

Stories of Unemployment During The Current Millennium

Mighty Hunter in the 21st Century
Thursday, August 5, 2010

About Me

 Mighty Hunter 
A Time for War, and A Time for Phone Interviews. Or However That Song Goes.

I didn't expect any casualties but I girded for battle anyway.
http://bit.ly/admYUS

I follow the Mighty Hunter on twitter. The above link is for his blog. His story is a great one. Please read and follow him. Below are my comments.

**************************************

 
Again, sir, you have trigger memories that I will herewith describe and add a link to you on my blog.

I was living about 50 miles south of Chicago and was once again laid off. I had an interview with the human relations department of a large, well known company in the "loop." They loved me. And why not? I was a catch.

They had me come in for interviews with different people in the HR department, taking written tests, oral tests... you woulda thought I was trying to get into Harvard. After HR was through with me, they set up an interview with a department head which went well.

A week later I was informed that the department was being reorganized. Department Head and job were no longer there. Another interview, and another for about seven interviews for specific jobs.

During the latter of those interviews I interviewed with another well known Chicago company. Two interviews, two total interviews and I was hired. They got a catch.

I then had the pleasure of informing the first place that I was no longer interested in them. Ha!

Each time I interviewed, it was as Mighty Hunter (above) described. The process of gearing one's self up for the battle. The concentration. The appearance. The confidence. The walk. The hand shake. And ready with answers for those surprise questions that are always asked.

The job I did take ended up being the best job I ever had... with the best boss I ever had.

Post Script. I hated the first place's registration area. The modern decor looked good. But, was very low to the ground. If I sat on a chair or the couch, there was no way for me to get up, as I am old and decrepit. After that discovery I never sat while waiting to be called.

Post Post Script. Just two months after I started my new position, the first company was involved in a horrendous scandal and eventually, for all practical purposes, shut down. Ha! Again.

As an aside, about two days after being on the job I got called in to the HR department. Really weird. Like I was a thief or...something...

I had failed my drug test! But that's another story.