Now, the worst Congress ever wants to bail out the auto industry.  I don’t really blame the auto industry folks.  For years, the government has been propping up major airlines, so why shouldn’t they get a piece of the pie.  It’s perfect timing, too, since they just gave the most stable banks in the US blank checks with no real accountability on how it will be spent.  Take a look at this from a CBS news article:

The Treasury Department agreed to post every transaction on the Internet, but all it shows is the list of banks and how many billions they got. 

The brand new Financial Stability Oversight Board has met four times already but they don’t know how the banks are using the money. 

There’s no hint in the first official Treasury report to submitted to Congress last week. 

And Congress promised to create its own special oversight board, but more than five weeks later not one person has been named to the panel. 

They didn’t even give the money to the troubled banks, but to the stable ones who are using it to acquire smaller institutions.  That’s an awesome deal.  So why wouldn’t Detroit itself ask for $10billion from the federal government and the major auto manufacturers ask for billion$ out of the bailout?  It’s free money that you don’t have to be accountable for.  Seriously, they need it.  They are hardly staying solvent due to a decline in sales and the United Auto Workers union.  It was just over a year and a half ago, the United Auto Workers union were negotiating contracts with the big 3 and arguing they were no where near close to collapsing.  

Now, Obama, as part of the transition, asked Bush to solve their problems.  Bush and team have already granted some $25billion in low interest loans to help the auto industry retool and focus on energy efficient technology.  They don’t want to do it.

I understand that the auto industry accounts for some 3 million jobs, but those have been decreasing year over year due to the high cost of union workers and high compensation packages of executives.  I’m all for people trying to get paid what ever they can get, but if your company… your source of income is at serious risk of just going away… don’t you accept pay cuts?  Don’t you accept cuts in benefits?  What else is there?  loss of your job?  If you can’t get by on what you earn, get a different job.  If you can’t get a different job where you live, move.  

The government can not guarantee you a job.  It just can’t.  This is a free market capitalism moderately government regulated capitalism system.  Companies and industry rise and fall based on market demand.  If the automotive industry was proving products that Americans generally wanted, they would be thriving.  If they could successfully manage their costs, they would be thriving.  Neither is true so they should fall.  They will not all fail.  There will be collapse and combinations.  They’ve happened in the past and they’ll occur again.  it’s painful, but healthy.

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As I told a friend earlier today, I don’t agree with Obama’s politics, but I am aware of and happy for the historic nature of his election. He’s also my president and I want him to be successful. His success comes, however, first at understanding that just under half of the nation did not support or believe in his politics and he needs to bridge that divide. That includes understanding by his supporters that this isn’t a referendum or mandate. This is a presidency over a fairly divided nation. Hate and ignorance comes in many forms. It’s more than racially or culturally motivated.

I’ve seen a good deal of name calling and statements like “taking back my country” and “finally proud of being an American, again”.  I’ve read people I respect calling Joe “the plumber” a douche-bag because he voiced his (when asked by the media) about Obama on Israel.  I’m ashamed of the hatred and class warfare. Try to remember the media machines and campaigns jumped on this guy. Obama came to his neighborhood. He didn’t go searching out Obama. Calling someone a “douche-bag” because he asked questions he felt were important to him of someone running to be HIS president… Oh, I guess if it’s meant humorously, it’s ok to attack someone.

But here’s the deal, Obama is questionable on his support of Israel.  You need to apply the same “question our leader” tactics people applied to Bush on Obama on topics he has not clearly voiced his opinion. Calling someone a douche for doing that is “unAmerican”. That’s not only his right, but our job as citizens.

I mean, that’s the point of America… being able to freely question our leaders and government. That’s how we became America. We didn’t want to be ruled or taxed by a government which did not have our best interests at heart. We felt it was our right to be able to question our government and demand that they represent what we care about. And we didn’t start out caring about everyone.  Poor, women and people of color were nothing more than property.  People fought those ideas and changed them over long, hard years (and still continues).  

Calling this guy names because you don’t agree with him is just wrong. Argue with him. Argue your point, but going after him personally is just sad.

People have said:

Calling somebody a douche is one of the most American things one can do.

It’s also especially American to have zero idea as to what you’re talking about and to insist that you’re right because “Jesus says so.” <name removed>’s a pretty shitty American in that regard.

I have no doubt about how “American” I feel my acquaintance is.  He came to this nation, worked his ass off to receive his citizenship and is vocal about his beliefs.  But, we should debate ideas and not attack people. It’s what we mostly criticize our politicians for doing and we should lead by example. Calling someone a douche isn’t American. It’s a waste of energy, weak and takes away from the disagreement of the ideas. It allows no progress to be made in proving a point, changing opinions or closing a divide. 

Criticizing someone because of their faith, race or political party is pretty much of the same level and something Americans have lost their life to stop. And I’m not talking about Iraq. I’m talking about the Revolutionary War, Civil War, the Suffrage Movement and the Civil Rights movement. Attack, the idea, not the person. That’s how change happens. Haven’t you been listening for the last year?

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It’s going to be a close one.  I could be wrong, but I believe the nation is more evenly divided than supporters of Obama think.  I hope McCain wins, but I’ll support whatever the outcome.

Here’s what scares me… all these extreme liberal hollywood-types, bloggers and twitterers who are loudly claiming that if Obama loses, they’re moving out of the country.  Or they are claiming blood will flow in a second civil war.  They are out there and they are saying it.  They said it in 2004, but shockingly, never moved.  I’ll tell them the same thing I told my son when, a few weeks back, he came up to me crying because he was terrified that Obama might become president.  It seems some kid at school told him that if Obama became president, everyone would lose their homes.

Calm down.

Breath.

Being an American is voicing your opinion, speaking out for your rights, debating issues, but supporting your President no matter who holds the office.  Both candidates are up for election because they are smart and care about their nation.  You may not agree with how they want to help people, but you have to accept that they do.  It’s your responsibility to inform them of your opinion through your local, state and federal representatives.  Protesting is your right, but respect the office and understand that even in a close election, millions of Americans agree with that individual. With the exception of three states and the District of Columbus, Bush received over 40% of the popular vote in the states that gave their electoral votes to Kerry in 2004.  

Do not dismiss points of view that you do not agree with.  Do not dismiss them out of hand as racist, uneducated, uninformed or selfish without discussing them with others.  Do not generalize.  Generalization leads to stereotyping which leads to prejudice.  Do not find hate where no hate is intended.

Talk to people.  Not just to people who believe what you believe, but to those who you don’t agree with.  At the end of the day, we all want the same basic things out of life.  Respect them for their differences and understand that it’s ok to disagree.

At the end of the day, one person in the Presidential office has little ability to disrupt directly my life.  The government can tax me more, but eliminating any of my rights has to come through Congress and my representatives.  Granted, if the Democrats receive a filibuster majority, passing laws that do not represent my interests my become easier. But put several hundred people together, several looking out only for their own interests, the chances of any socially impacting, economically impacting legislation is low.  It’s possible.  We’ve seen it before, but I’m not losing sleep.

I take responsibility for my financial outlook.  I manage my debt and work to earn a future for my family.  I will voice my approval or disapproval and in 2 to 4 years, the process will begin again.

I love my country.  I know these people I disagree with passionately about the direction or leadership love this country, too.

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Someone (Thanks, Ben!) commented on my note listing out some quotes I like.  I had incorrectly attributed a quote by William J. H. Boetcker to Abraham Lincoln.  I’m glad I have the correct attribution, but am not too upset.  It seems Ronald Reagan made the same mistake.  Here is the full quote of “The Ten Cannots” and correct attribution:

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatreds.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man’s initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.
~William J. H. Boetcker, 1916

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