Entry for January 18, 2009

I watched a piece this morning on TV, it was very interesting although short.

Some doctor has done a study of physical (photographic) evidence of the presidents from Theo Roosevelt to GWB (Dubya), and determined that in most cases the presidents seem to age at about 2 years for every year in office. The theory is that the enormous stress of being literally the person with the fate of the free world on your shoulders is almost too much to bear, and may have been a factor in FDR's demise in his 4th term.

I mention this because yesterday I quipped about the comparison photos I looked at of Obama arriving at the WH to meet w Bush after the election and the same day when he left the WH...somber, almost sad. And why wouldn't he be. He knew there were issues he would have to tackle, but no one knows the depth of those issues until confronted with the facts.

I (being the center of my world) compare it to when I took the job being the project manager where I am now. I knew what the project was, but had NO friggin idea how screwed up it was until I got hired, and realized this was going to be a lot more work than I had thought. A year later I have completed the project, but not without having to re-written some of the rules, redesigned and supplemented the project with more equipment and staff, and had to answer to government control agencies about expending a lot more than originally budgeted...which in the end saved the government money.

Point is, you really don't understand the depth of the problem until you dig into it. My worry is that no politician today, maybe other than the new president, seems to give shit other than lining their campaign contributors pockets with taxpayer money. Here in California we are facing a $42 billion deficit...essentially California is broke. Yet out of the California Capitol doesn't come a plan to save the state, but continued arguments about you can't raise taxes, and you can't cut programs> a recipe for failure. Yet when I downloaded the budget, and put on my manager hat, I cut programs and raised taxes, and managed to balance the budget and create a small surplus. I applied common sense, and tried to think about what was really important and what was nice to have...a principle I apply in my own life as well, especially since I am facing a 10% cut in pay next month. Since none of my deductions for insurance and the like are going down, it actually works to a 15.44%cut in my net pay...and I know I am not alone. This is happening to one degree or another across the country, if you are luck enough to keep your job. (Our union actually says that in the latest union bulletin- we saved your job by agreement to cut salary).

But I diverge from the topic...

So out new administration come in a couple of days, and everyone wishes them well...and yet deep inside my head is that little voice saying about congress that nobody seems to really have a clue.

One last thing...can we stop hating?

Can everyone who thinks Bush was the devil just stop now? Can everyone who thought the Clinton's were the greatest defilers of America just give it a rest? Can we all just be kind to each other, and try to actually practice some kindness to each other? Because if we can't be nice to each other, how can we possibly hope to have any kindness for strangers, in this context people outside of America. When American call each other names, often over political differences, lately it seems to devolve into this hate for hate sake...and how does that equate to policy? HOW DOES ANYONE OVERSEAS TAKE US SERIOUS WHEN WE HATE OURSELVES SO MUCH.

I often think about this kind of thing, about how people have become in my lifetime so opinionated that there is no more discussion, just yelling at each other. I disagree with many peoples opinions, but I respect them as people. Where has that gone today?? When did being a member on one political party become synonymous with being evil?? (And how uneducated a thought process it that- I mean evil is evil, regardless.Right?)

I need to get off this political stuff, but its everywhere anymore...