Reading "Going Rogue"

I'm partway through reading Sarah Palin's book, Going Rogue. My husband bought it for me for Christmas, but got tired of hearing me talk about reading it (I knew he'd bought it for me) and finally broke down, gave it to me early .

Even though I have pages to go, I had to share a few thoughts on it.

With all the negative, with all the horrific things going on in the economy, with terrorism, with the choices being made in D.C., with the health care debacle, cap and tax... it is SO refreshing to read her book. It's like a breath of common sense fresh air. I find that I long for someone like her to take over the helm in Washington and across the country.

She just seems to have the ability to cut through the muck and get to the core of issues. I love her approach, her way of reasoning and how grounded she is in so many areas.

I hear the David Letterman's and others who trash her as they look down their noses and know that there was a time in my life when I would have been "on their side". I wouldn't have liked their nastiness, their belittling ways, their snobbery, but if I'd continued down the path I was on earlier in my life, I'd be over on that general side. Thank goodness I put my feet onto a different path!

I find it fascinating that all these people with millions of dollars, all these people who are so insulated from the real world, can judge someone based on their arbitrary criteria.

Ah well, not much I can do about their mean spirited-ness. It seems to me that those at the top end of the economic scale, those at the very bottom, and those with deep insecurities always have to find someone to look down upon. For those at the top I think it may be a combination of guilt, lack of purpose, a need to justify their existence in their own mind and a need to fit in with their friends.

I think if anyone reads Going Rogue with an open mind, without negative preconceived notions etched in stone, they will find a true American spirit inside the pages. Oh that our elected officials had a tenth of her convictions, patriotism, values, honesty and common sense.

Catalogue of FY 2010 Earmarks

Found the following list of earmarks being requested by our elected officials via a post on JasonPye.com. Very, very interesting...

Washington Watch Blog:
Posted by Jim Harper, April 12, 2009 at 4:11 pm
(Updated July 19, 2009 to include Senate reforms and links)
In March, the House Appropriations Committee announced reforms to the earmark process, which members of Congress use to designate federal funds for projects in their districts.
The reform requires members to post their earmark requests online, including the proposed recipient, the address of the recipient, the amount of the request, and an explanation of the purpose of the earmark and why it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds. The Senate has done the same.
http://www.washingtonwatch.com/blog/2009/04/12/catalogue-of-fy-2010-earmarks/

In case you're wondering (but I bet you're not if you follow my blog), I don't like earmarks, want to see them scrapped and think it's great that Lynn Westmoreland, Tom Price and others won't touch 'em.

House Schedule for Tuesday

Now that I'm getting daily updates on the House schedule, I can't help but wonder what happens after they enact some of this stuff. I can't imagine that once some of these bills are passed and become law that many, if any, who voted on them ever know what happens afterward.

The volume of stuff going through is amazing. Can you imagine what would happen if all of a sudden everyone from the top down started doing half the things that are enacted way up on the lofty D.C. grounds? We hear it all the time in regards to things like illegal immigrants --- if we followed the letter of the law we wouldn't need new laws or bills or acts. It seems to me that a lot of the bills aren't worth the paper they're printed on (assuming anything is printed these days ;-).

There are a couple on this list I'm going to look up - Reducing Over-Classification Act? Fair, Accurate, Secure, and Timely Redress Act? Not sure what the National Bombing Prevention Act is either...

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009:
On Tuesday, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for Morning Hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. Unlimited One Minutes per side. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (7 Bills)
1) H.R. 748 - Campus Safety Act of 2009 (Rep. Scott (VA) – Judiciary)
2) H.R. 738 - Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2009 (Rep. Scott (VA) – Judiciary)
3) H.Res. 82 - Raising Awareness and Encouraging Prevention of Stalking by Establishing January 2009 as National Stalking Awareness Month (Rep. Poe – Judiciary)
4) H.Res. __ - Supporting the goals and ideals of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week’ (Rep. Lewis (GA) – Judiciary)
5) H.R. 553 - Reducing Over-Classification Act (Rep. Harman – Homeland Security)
6) H.R. 559 - Fair, Accurate, Secure, and Timely Redress Act (Rep. Clarke – Homeland Security)
7) H.R. 549 - National Bombing Prevention Act (Rep. King (NY) – Homeland Security)

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4; THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5; FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2009:
On Wednesday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business.
On Thursday, no votes are expected in the House.
On Friday, no votes are expected in the House.

S. 352 – The DTV Delay Act (Sen. Rockefeller – Energy and Commerce) (Subject to a Rule)

Senate Amendment to H.R. 2 – The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (Rep. Pallone – Energy and Commerce) (Subject to a Rule)

* Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.
* Motions to go to Conference should they become available.
* Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

Sputter!..!!...sputter... Obama... $1 TRILLION Stimulus Plan... nooooooooo

I'm astounded by all the money that is being spent, wasted, spread around. It's easy to spend money when it's not yours I gather. There was a time when that wouldn't have been true. Only the ill-trained, the uncaring, those with low standards would take someone else's money and spend it willy-nilly like it was "free" money. Used to be it was considered moral and right to spend money belonging to others with care, with more precision than you would your own.

Not so these days.

I don't think it's real to the people making the decisions. I know there is no way they can understand the full implications of their choices.

It seems as though those in Washington won the mega-mega-lottery and they're determined to spend it all in a month.

I've tried to picture how things are working in D.C. as these people who probably don't even balance their own check books try to decide how to "fix" our economy. There are hundreds and hundreds of people scurrying about trying to be important, trying to look like they're part of the solution. They don't feel like they're doing their job if they don't "do something".

So they're listening to this guy sell this plan and that expert tout another plan. They're wading through stacks of paper which tells them whatever the person writing it wants them to know. Or, in reality, they're having their staffers wade through those stacks and they're just reading a synopsis or getting a verbal report.

I listen to the financial experts on the tube discussion the various problems with the economy, the stimulus packages, the bailouts and related issues. You can't get two of those who supposedly live, breath and bath in finances to agree with what's best for the stock market and our economy. How in the world are those in Washington, who know nothing, nothing, nothing, going to correct the money woes of the world?

Don't you just love the idea of an Auto Czar? Three huge mega companies with diverse ways of handling their businesses, with intricate business dealings, are going to be told by ONE man (or woman) how to run their business? I would suggest that everyone go back and read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

The politicians are doing what they always do --- throwing money at the problem. It's not real. It's not their money. It has no connection to reality. Especially when you're dealing with millions and billions and now trillions.

Where does all this money come from? Me. You. Our children. The future.

I feel like I'm living in bizarro world. We've entered a world that has no connection to reality and those of us living our daily lives have no input and no way of stopping what's happening. We just pay the bills.

All their efforts thus far have not fixed even the tiniest segment of any part of any part of the problem. Everyone is yelling "do something" and so they're "doing something".

Unfortunately I think it would be better is they did nothing.

Obama's Economic Advisers Considering $1 Trillion Stimulus Plan
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/12/obamas-economic-advisers-considering-trillion-stimulus-plan/
President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is considering an economic-stimulus program that will be far larger than the two-year, half-trillion-dollar plan under consideration two weeks ago, people familiar with the team's thinking tell the Wall Street Journal.
The president-elect is expected to be briefed on the broad parameters of the plan next week, with aides still hoping for Congress to pass a bill by the time Mr. Obama takes office Jan. 20.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/12/obamas-economic-advisers-considering-trillion-stimulus-plan/