As our longtime readers know, when appropriate, we give kudos to those politicians and other figures who deserve them - and we excoriate those who have also earned our ire.
We also fully admit - while we're hard on our national politicians, we usually judge Nebraska politicians along a steeper scale than we do politicos from virtually any other place.
We also have a tendency to not want to go out on a limb, in general, when calling political contests. We've berated others for calling elections over before they've begun - so we won't do that today.
What we will say is this: We're pretty sure of the outcome of at least one race for U.S. Senate next year - and you can thank the Tea Party for that.
In case you missed it, the extremist far-right wing group, the Tea Party Express let it leak yesterday that the first official candidate they'll support for 2012 is Republican Jon Bruning. Bruning is one of three Republicans to have formally announced their intention to compete with Senator Ben Nelson for the U.S. Senate seat Nelson already occupies.
We can understand the possibility that you missed the non-announcement announcement on Wednesday. Not only was it one of the worst-kept secrets of the infant 2012 political season, but for those people interested in politics, the announcement only seemed to be a surprise to people outside the Cornhusker state.
We find it infinitely amusing that a foundering fledgling political group, that claims to be more focused on fiscal responsibility than either the Democratic or Republican parties, would choose Mr. Bruning as the first candidate of the 2012 season they'll support - on the same day that former Berkshire executive David Sokol resigned from the Bruning campaign, as the finance chairman, for unethical and irresponsible actions at Berkshire.
Of course, if your memory is like that of many Americans, let us remind you that the Tea Party Express is the same group responsible for Christine "I'm not a witch" O'Donnell, Joe "Free speech for me but not for you" Miller, and Sharron "I'll take Second Amendment remedies if I don't win" Angle.
We'll admit - we've praised Attorney General Bruning in the past for things he's done well, and docked him for things he's done wrong. In general, though, while we're not a fan of many of his political positions, we do think he'd have more potential if he would simply choose to be himself, and push away the insanity of those like the Tea Party Express.
As long as Republicans like Bruning continue to side with the insane wing of the GOP, their futures will continue to look like the approval ratings of the Tea Party: embarrassingly low and falling fast.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Keeping Promises
There are a host of different topics filling the headline spots of newspapers today. There's almost any kind of story you could want, from the separation of actor and former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger from his wife, journalist Maria Shriver; to the idea that crazy liberals in Southern Arizona are attempting to split the state to get away from the crazy conservatives. There's even hard news, like the report released Monday by the Kaiser Family Foundation that agrees the Republican plan to change Medicare would really destroy Medicare - and leave 44 million more Americans (mostly elderly) uninsured.
The one story we're seeing very little of is a report on what President Barack Obama did on Tuesday.
It would be completely understandable, after nearly two weeks where the President has addressed and put to rest a whole host of major and minor issues, from the insanity that was birthism, to ordering the successful killing of the number one terrorist in the world, that he might take a day off.
Instead, the President traveled halfway across the nation to the Texas border town of El Paso. During the hottest part of the day, under the glaring sun, he gave a lengthy, detailed, and thoughtful address dealing with a political issue that is so volatile, neither major political party has enough courage to fully face the issue: immigration.
We're not going to rehash the President's speech here. You can read it for yourself, or watch the video of it - which we recommend if immigration is at all an issue you feel passionate about.
What we want to point out today is this: in less than two-and-a-half years on the job, this current President is not only NOT slowing down, nor is he losing focus. He is actually gaining momentum and picking up speed on his agenda.
When Senator Barack Obama began campaigning for the Presidency like most candidates, he made promises. By the time he won the Presidential election, Politifact had counted over 500 promises that he had made to attempt to change things.
According to that same organization, including promises he has yet to fulfill, items he's compromised on, items that are still in the works, and those that have been stalled by the GOP, President Obama has either completed or is working on 464 of 508 promises.
He's only left two items on the proverbial table that he hasn't begun to address.
Remember - he hasn't even been in office two-and-a-half years.
You may not like our current President, and you may not agree with his methods. You may believe he's too liberal - or that he's not liberal enough.
The one thing that can't legitimately be said about Barack Obama is that he's lazy. Very few Presidents have ever attempted so much in such a short time, save for some of our founding fathers, and both Presidents Roosevelt.
Even if you are a person who disagrees with President Obama on nearly everything, we hope you give the man some respect for what he has attempted so far.
He has set a standard of action for politicians of both parties that will be hard to match in the future. We can only hope to see more wise individuals from across the spectrum step up in the future and attempt to meet the marks Mr. Obama has already set.
The one story we're seeing very little of is a report on what President Barack Obama did on Tuesday.
It would be completely understandable, after nearly two weeks where the President has addressed and put to rest a whole host of major and minor issues, from the insanity that was birthism, to ordering the successful killing of the number one terrorist in the world, that he might take a day off.
Instead, the President traveled halfway across the nation to the Texas border town of El Paso. During the hottest part of the day, under the glaring sun, he gave a lengthy, detailed, and thoughtful address dealing with a political issue that is so volatile, neither major political party has enough courage to fully face the issue: immigration.
We're not going to rehash the President's speech here. You can read it for yourself, or watch the video of it - which we recommend if immigration is at all an issue you feel passionate about.
What we want to point out today is this: in less than two-and-a-half years on the job, this current President is not only NOT slowing down, nor is he losing focus. He is actually gaining momentum and picking up speed on his agenda.
When Senator Barack Obama began campaigning for the Presidency like most candidates, he made promises. By the time he won the Presidential election, Politifact had counted over 500 promises that he had made to attempt to change things.
According to that same organization, including promises he has yet to fulfill, items he's compromised on, items that are still in the works, and those that have been stalled by the GOP, President Obama has either completed or is working on 464 of 508 promises.
He's only left two items on the proverbial table that he hasn't begun to address.
Remember - he hasn't even been in office two-and-a-half years.
You may not like our current President, and you may not agree with his methods. You may believe he's too liberal - or that he's not liberal enough.
The one thing that can't legitimately be said about Barack Obama is that he's lazy. Very few Presidents have ever attempted so much in such a short time, save for some of our founding fathers, and both Presidents Roosevelt.
Even if you are a person who disagrees with President Obama on nearly everything, we hope you give the man some respect for what he has attempted so far.
He has set a standard of action for politicians of both parties that will be hard to match in the future. We can only hope to see more wise individuals from across the spectrum step up in the future and attempt to meet the marks Mr. Obama has already set.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Time To Fly
We're aware you've likely heard the dire prediction put out by the Wall Street Journal last weekend, that the college graduating class of 2011 will be the most indebted class to ever graduate. Just as spring and the month of May bring bouquets of flowers and bunches of events, so too does graduation bring out those negative nabobs who always want to rain on everyone else's shining moment.
Today's Daily Felltoon and Commentary are a positive message for our readers who are graduating this month - or if you know someone who is, we ask you to forward our words on to them with our congratulations and best wishes.
There is NEVER an easy time to graduate and move into the world of full-time work, despite what some pundits would try to get you to believe. The truth about 2011 is that those who are graduating are entering the best job market in many years. Even while we acknowledge that things are looking up economically, we also are mindful of the fact that the American economy has a long way to go before it's as strong and robust as we'd like it to be.
We fully admit: our country has fallen down on its side of the social contract that has been pushed on multiple generations of Americans. The prototypical American scholastic agreement has been that if a person goes to college and gets a degree, they can all get great jobs. That in turn, is supposed to give the graduate an income level where they can afford things like a house, a car, and kids. Unfortunately, over the last few years, that agreement has been shown to now be the exception, and not the rule.
We don't fault those who are graduating for the failure to create and sustain jobs that pay fairly and decently here in the U.S. That's the fault of our politicians and so-called business leaders, and we'll make no excuses for their failures in that arena.
More than anything, we simply want the class of 2011 to understand that no matter what anyone does or says, the future you have before you is yours to make, for the most part.
Nothing is guaranteed, no job, no graduate school, no career path, no relationship. You'll likely have a few moments soon where you feel like suddenly there's no ground below you, and you're scrambling madly, as though you're in an old Tex Avery or Looney Toons cartoon.
Trust us when we say this - nearly everyone who has gone before you in all of history, has had these same moments.
The question isn't: Are you going to fall down? You will, of course.
The question is: Are you going to fall with class, and pull out a parachute from nowhere, like Bugs or the Roadrunner always seem to do? Or are you going to fall like Yosemite Sam or Wile E. Coyote, flailing, begging, and crying the whole way?
Keep your head about you, remember what you've learned, and also remember this - you've made it this far in life. Not everyone makes it to this point. There is a reason you've succeeded in life so far. It's mainly because you know how to fall with style and land successfully.
In case you didn't know, that's truly what flying is all about.
Today's Daily Felltoon and Commentary are a positive message for our readers who are graduating this month - or if you know someone who is, we ask you to forward our words on to them with our congratulations and best wishes.
There is NEVER an easy time to graduate and move into the world of full-time work, despite what some pundits would try to get you to believe. The truth about 2011 is that those who are graduating are entering the best job market in many years. Even while we acknowledge that things are looking up economically, we also are mindful of the fact that the American economy has a long way to go before it's as strong and robust as we'd like it to be.
We fully admit: our country has fallen down on its side of the social contract that has been pushed on multiple generations of Americans. The prototypical American scholastic agreement has been that if a person goes to college and gets a degree, they can all get great jobs. That in turn, is supposed to give the graduate an income level where they can afford things like a house, a car, and kids. Unfortunately, over the last few years, that agreement has been shown to now be the exception, and not the rule.
We don't fault those who are graduating for the failure to create and sustain jobs that pay fairly and decently here in the U.S. That's the fault of our politicians and so-called business leaders, and we'll make no excuses for their failures in that arena.
More than anything, we simply want the class of 2011 to understand that no matter what anyone does or says, the future you have before you is yours to make, for the most part.
Nothing is guaranteed, no job, no graduate school, no career path, no relationship. You'll likely have a few moments soon where you feel like suddenly there's no ground below you, and you're scrambling madly, as though you're in an old Tex Avery or Looney Toons cartoon.
Trust us when we say this - nearly everyone who has gone before you in all of history, has had these same moments.
The question isn't: Are you going to fall down? You will, of course.
The question is: Are you going to fall with class, and pull out a parachute from nowhere, like Bugs or the Roadrunner always seem to do? Or are you going to fall like Yosemite Sam or Wile E. Coyote, flailing, begging, and crying the whole way?
Keep your head about you, remember what you've learned, and also remember this - you've made it this far in life. Not everyone makes it to this point. There is a reason you've succeeded in life so far. It's mainly because you know how to fall with style and land successfully.
In case you didn't know, that's truly what flying is all about.
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