president barack obama...he now literally has...
the weight of the world - and that of vast expectations - upon his shoulders. four (or eight) years from now will he be regarded as the right man at the right time? why or why not?
I want him to accomplish his goals and help turn this country around. But it sure feels like je can do NO wrong in certain peoples eyes
It is hard to even imagine what kind of job Obama will do and how he will be regarded. I do think he will be seen as a bit of a disappointment who is/was quick to promise and even quicker to apologize when impossibilities arise.
A president is only as strong as his congress and he has much to prove to them right now before he can expect to move forward with any great strides.
The moral Republicans for example have no problem at all allowing child slave labor in our Pacific Ocean possessions, stealing from churches or from American Indians, picking up other men or even young boys in public bathrooms, torturing people, or doing any number of grossly immoral things.
If we all look back honestly at the past 30-40 years we can see why we are in deep trouble now, and why most people are delighted the established party people got their butts whipped by a smart nobody from nowhere.
He did with words what Ross Perot couldn't do with money. He brought down the immoral stupid elete ruling party people on both sides.
I think with the current direction of this country people need to trust our leaders again. Honestly how many of you really do trust your leaders. That is the major thing that Obama must tackle first. Until then we are still in trouble.
I am looking for Sarah in 2012, but it all depends on how well Obama does as to whether it will be worth her running, no sense wasting the millions.
You are right, I personally do not trust politicians but I think I trust Barak Hussien Obama less then any of the others. If Hillary had made it I would have had to think twice before voting for McCain, I would have because of Sarah, though.
We have to remember though that the Prez does not make decisions alone and the bottom line is; you pray for your president whether you voted for him or not.
Criticisms will be muted, Congress (except for a few true conservatives) will capitulate and the US Mint will keep on printing money to buy votes.
Capitalism will be undermined by excessive spending and future generations will have to pay the bill.
His election is historical and failure is not an option. A black man can fail as President, at least in the minds of his followers.
People in the US do not trust anyone right now. Our banks are legally allowed to lie to us. Our government can suspend our inalienable rights. Instead of letting the thought of prosperity carry us on we have let fear hold us back. Obama is a man, and as a man he is fallible. I believe he will work for us, I have faith that he will stick to his words and try to find a way for us to find hope again.
The thing to remember is that no one can do it alone, we as a people must step to the plate and sacrifice much as we did during world war II. and the depression. As a nation we must work to overcome this terrible time.
We have forgotten the ones who have created all this prosperity, agreed, but it is not the workers that have created it. It is the great minds of inventors, the steel spines of the risk takers, and the wealth of capitalists chasing "greed" that have handed you the greatest country in the world. The workers have a place at the table because of these men, without them there would be no table.
Capitalism has been undermined by the people who spout feelings over reason and hold blind faith in government that is unable to produce an ounce of prosperity without pushing others toward poverty. I have a feeling you may fall into this crowd.
And John, unless you own the business you are working for you DO NOT OWN YOUR JOB. Therefore it can be shipped anywhere in the world that will turn more profit.
Why would people like you complain about jobs going over seas anyway? Wouldn't this allow people to rise up from the miserable conditions that you tell us about so passionately? You know, the miserable conditions that only foreign aid can fix and would only be hindered by capitalism!
I'm sorry, I forgot, your prosperity comes workers not employers and from government not free markets.
Maybe all a third world country needs is more government???
I would also like to think that you have sacrificed for past presidents and supported them, giving them an effort that would flatter anyone from the WWII generation as you seem to be asking of us now. Should I believe any different?
With the freedom to do as you say and freely move jobs over seas because you the owner would like more money you forsake the country that gave you the opportunity to do just that. That is the greed I speak of that is destroying this country. The day you do not care about the happiness of your worker is the day you should shut your door.
Engineers and inverters and entrepreneurs are the brains of this nation, however the people are the life blood. Both sides have to work together in a symbiotic manner they must feed off each other to make the wheels of democracy spin.
Many of our industries have been given away by our own government. For example around the 1970's I testified with others in court about dumping of consumer goods by the Japanese. American manufacturers won the lawsuit, and our own government never enforced the judgement. It was our national policy to help the Japanese even if they broke laws we had to live by, and it resulted in the loss of a huge consumer electronics industry.
Any business can be killed at any end, but the workers are real key. The managers, engineers, owners and investors are great, but the people who do the daily work are what really makes or breaks a business. The government can even kill an industry, and they have done in several of them.
When we go into a business, it is the employee who gives bad service that makes us not come back. It is the employee who does a good job that makes us return. This is as true in manufacturing as it is in service industries.
You are 100% spot on. ALL are key, but the employees are the backbone. It is time our government started worrying about them.
Now think about where Lamar is heading. The schools spent 5 million dollars on a new stadium, but they dropped any engineering classes for lack of money. Pike has recently done the same. No more engineering, but millions for sports.
Our area pool of future employees will now be nurses and football players. We can pay an IDA director 100K a year like we do now, but all the future high paying jobs (if any actually come) will go to people from out of this area unless we bring in nursing homes.
We need to stop this silly near-sighted focus and get back to what built our country. We need to feed some hungry minds instead of hungry wallets, and then the good jobs and money will come without the aide of peroxide and tax perks.
Tom Rauch
I am not going to say one way or the other how I feel about the football field as I know so little about it. However, I can speak on the notion that perhaps half of that money could have been better spent and the stadium could have been scaled back to cost less.
As an import to B'ville I do see where there is a future for imports but not those that already live/play here. It would be so nice to see some small business incubation, larger business support of the local economy, visibility of the political process, etc.
Perhaps then we could see our society begin to...oh, what did he say? "we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."
I'm not sure where I stand on the whole football field situation, I do look at it hopefully as a step in the right direction for our school system. I have children that attend here and would love than anything to see these schools succeed and my kids, as well as everyone elses' endure the proper education and succeed in this cold world.
On Obama, I hope to hell he stands up to what he said he would do for this nation and with in 4 years or it will just be handed off to another imbecile. I am not a democrat and really could care less if a republican took office again. I think Bush did a fine job in office and if it was so bad why was he there for 8 years (2 Terms)? I am sure some idiot out there is gonna strike down upon me for saying something positive about Bush, I really don't care. You have to remember people it's Congress who makes all the decisions for our President, he just signs the bottom the line. Maybe we all need a lesson in Civics and Economics like we had to take in high school and learn what each level of the government is responsible for again!
Tom Rauch
In this economy scale back will be necessary, and the unions must decide if a bit of a pay cut and possibly some ferlows would be worse than there company sending the work over seas or closing up shop all together.
Yet again it all comes down to respect and an overall support of our economy and our nation. Workers work and they deserve to be paid a good wage with a good retirement that can not be stolen from them, benefits and a safe work conditions. In return though that the big wigs will get a reliable work force, pride from there community, and wealth. The government get increased tax revenue less tax burden and a higher GNP.
But you, the common worker, will be the recipient of all these great amounts of effort, time, brain power and labor in our new utopia. Where there is no profit motive- therefore no greed, no superior skill or instinct placed above another- pure equality, and no legal authority to pursue or transfer an idea or property beyond your country's shores- common property of the state.
It's people that think either far left or far right that will destroy this nation. Remember the vast majority of us are just barley off center
Socialism cannot succeed on its own for very long because there is a lack of incentive to produce, some but not much, and what incentive there is quickly disappears when people realize they are out performing others for no personal gain. Capitalism can sustain a certain amount of socialism but where the breaking point is I'm not sure, but there will be a breaking point. This propping up of such a parasite on our economy (that will only grow and grow) only hinders the capitalist side making it less productive till eventually the government steps in with their remedy for the ailing capitalism, which is also starving the socialist programs because of the lack of blood to suck from it, and that remedy is usually another huge dose of socialism. This will carry on until capitalism is eventually sucked dry and socialism will be in its place dying with nothing to leach off of.
Happy medium is a choice when cooking steaks, not when choosing a country's economic future.