A Paucity of Posts

I have to apologize to readers of the blog for primarily focusing on Lost and other TV related posts recently. The stated purpose of the blog was to address issues of politics and other current events, as well as entertainment. However, besides spending time trying to find a job which has distracted me from posting, the main topic in the news has been the economy. Now, I like to think I'm a pretty smart guy, despite my third place finish on Jeopardy! (hey, I got two Daily Doubles and the Final Jeopardy right. It's all about the buzzer!). But if there is any topic in the world that I know less than the economy, it may only be the ancient history of the Seychelles (nice flag though!). Seriously, on questions of macroeconomics, and whether the President's plans are appropriate, I haven't the slightest, and any attempt to offer my opinion would be ridiculous.

On that note, however, I will try to get some other posts out there unrelated to Lost, although my next post will be thoughts leading into tonight's episode! Sorry, old habits are hard to break.

And the President is Not Focused Enough?

There has been a lot made this week about how President Obama is supposedly taking on too much at once. The criticism goes a little something like this: the economy is the main problem facing the country. This should be the sole initiative for the President. He shouldn't try to reform healthcare. He shouldn't try to change energy policy. He shouldn't try to tackle stem cells. He shouldn't try to end the Iraq war. He shouldn't do anything besides focus on the economy. This critique has been the favored talking point of the Republicans this week, but has also been spoken by members of the President's own party.

So, if the economy is soooooo important, and the President shout only focus on that, and that alone (let's leave aside that he can't write and pass any laws, as that is Congress' job), you would think that Congress would be devoting all of their time to solving the economic crisis too. You would be wrong. This is what the House was worried about today:

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Freaking pi!!!

Now, listen, I'm all about honoring science, especially after the last administration seemed to hate science, but come on. Time was spent writing, debating and voting on a resolution to honor pi?!? Maybe they should stop criticizing the President until they finish with this foolishness. At least President Obama is trying to solve the healthcare and energy problems.

Tales of the Recession

Take this story, add two years of of law experience, more debt, 5 years in age and a mortgage, and you can begin to understand the pressure I, and many others I know, are feeling right now.

Ugh.

Finally, President Obama

So, there's been a lot of hemming and hawing over whether the President has been paying too much attention to creating bipartisanship over the stimulus bill. As we know, the Republicans in the House threw a goose egg on the big board despite all of the President's outreach. The GOP then went on to gloat and slap themselves on the back for putting one over on Obama. I found this to be foolish: why spit in the eye of a President with a 70% approval rating? Now, I understand Obama's call for bipartisanship, I think he should continue making overtures, and, hopefully, his moves will lay a nice foundation for actual compromise. However, I think what he said today at the Dept. of Energy is an appropriate response to said spit in the eye:

In the last few days, we've seen proposals arise from some in Congress that you may not have read, but you'd be very familiar with, because you've been hearing them for the last 10 years, maybe longer. They're rooted in the idea that tax cuts alone can solve all our problems, that government doesn't have a role to play, that half measures and tinkering are somehow enough, that we can afford to ignore our most fundamental economic challenges: the crushing cost of health care, the inadequate state of so many of our schools, our dangerous dependence on foreign oil.

So let me be clear: Those ideas have been tested, and they have failed. They've taken us from surpluses to an annual deficit of over $1 trillion. And they've brought our economy to a halt. And that's precisely what the election we just had was all about. The American people have rendered their judgment, and now's the time to move forward, not back. Now's the time for action.

Elections have consequences. We need a little more of the "I won," Barack Obama, and a little less of the conciliatory one.

(h/t: Ben Smith)