COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Sunday, November 09, 2008

The Loyal Opposition


It always offended me seeing a Volvo or Prius with a "He's not my president" bumper sticker. The Left can banter such nonsense but a true conservative cannot.

The election of a President is a lawful act. We have great obligation to do all that we can to elect a leader that most suits our interests and political convictions. That is a civic duty.

A newly elected President, Barack Hussein Obama, is no longer the same man he was before the election. His ambitions, responsibilities and acquaintances must now be tempered by the immense responsibility that all voters placed with him and on him. And it is all voters, because regardless of your selection, all of us, Americans, voted to support the system of our governance.

Those of us who voted for John McCain sincerely hope that the majority of the American people made a better choice than we did. We hope that the presidency of Barack Obama will be successful, because we want America and her people and us to be successful. To be otherwise would make us as bad as the worst of the Left.

No one has hammered Barack Obama and fought his winning more than I have on this blog. I remain very sceptical of his ideology. I did not want him to win and be President. That fight is over. He was not my choice but he is now my President.

At the end, Barack Obama had a unanimous decision and held his gloves in the air. Like a good and honorable opponent, John McCain bumped gloves and hugged the man that just beat him. That is the way a prize fight is supposed to end, and so it goes with an American election.
___________________________________


Harsh Words About Obama? Never Mind Now


By JIM RUTENBERG New York Times
November 8, 2008


That whole anti-American, friend-to-the-terrorists thing about President-elect Barack Obama? Never mind.


Just a few weeks ago, at the height of the campaign, Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota told Chris Matthews of MSNBC that, when it came to Mr. Obama, “I’m very concerned that he may have anti-American views.”

But there she was on Wednesday, after narrowly escaping defeat because of those comments, saying she was “extremely grateful that we have an African-American who has won this year.” Ms. Bachmann, a Republican, called Mr. Obama’s victory, which included her state, “a tremendous signal we sent.”

And it was not too long ago that Senator John McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, accused Mr. Obama of “palling around with terrorists.”

But she took an entirely different tone on Thursday, when she chastised reporters for asking her questions about her war with some staff members in the McCain campaign at such a heady time. “Barack Obama has been elected president,” Ms. Palin said. “Let us, let us — let him — be able to kind of savor this moment, one, and not let the pettiness of maybe internal workings of the campaign erode any of the recognition of this historic moment that we’re in. And God bless Barack Obama and his beautiful family.”

There is a great tradition of paint-peeling political hyperbole during presidential campaign years. And there is an equally great tradition of backing off from it all afterward, though with varying degrees of deftness.

But given the intensity of some of the charges that have been made in the past few months, and the historic nature of Mr. Obama’s election, the exercise this year has been particularly whiplash-inducing, with its extreme before-and-after contrasts.

The shift in tone follows the magnanimous concession speech from Mr. McCain, of Arizona, who referred to Mr. Obama’s victory Tuesday night as “a historic election” and hailed the “special pride” it held for African-Americans. That led the vice president-elect, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., to get into the act. During the campaign, Mr. Biden said he no longer recognized Mr. McCain, an old friend. Now, he says, “We’re still friends.” President Bush, in turn, also hailed Mr. Obama’s victory, saying his arrival at the White House would be “a stirring sight.”

Whether it all heralds a new era of cooperation in Washington remains to be seen, and it may be downright doubtful. But for now, at least, it would seem to be part of an apparent rush to join what has emerged as a real moment in American history.

The presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin said she was hard-pressed to find a similar moment when the tone had changed so drastically, and so quickly, among so many people of such prominence.

“I don’t think that’s happened very often,” Ms. Goodwin said. “The best answer I can give you is they don’t want to be on the wrong side of history, and they recognize how the country saw this election, and how people feel that they’re living in a time of great historic moment.”

Others in the professional political class were not so sure. Some wondered whether simple pragmatism was the explanation.

“My experience is, it’s less an epiphany and more a political reality,” said Chris Lehane, a former Democratic strategist who worked on the presidential campaign of Al Gore. “I’m thinking they will continue in this direction so long as the polls indicate it’s a smart place to be.”

There are notable exceptions: Rush Limbaugh has given no quarter. And while his fellow conservative radio hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham have noted the significance of his victory — on Wednesday, Ms. Ingraham said “Obama did make history” and “It’s not the time to vilify him” — they seem to be in line with Bill O’Reilly of Fox News. Relishing his new role in the opposition camp, Mr. O’Reilly said, “The guy is still a mystery, so our oversight will be intense.”

Some lawmakers also do not appear inclined to give up the fight. Representative John A. Boehner, the House minority leader, has already criticized Mr. Obama’s choice of Representative Rahm Emanuel, Democrat of Illinois, as his chief of staff.

But other people who opposed Mr. Obama, like Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, have good reason to try to make up with the winning ticket. As an ardent backer of Mr. McCain, Mr. Lieberman angered the Democrats, who in 2000 nominated him as their vice-presidential candidate. After losing a Democratic primary challenge in 2006 and then winning as an independent, he still continued to caucus with the Democrats.

Attending an event with Mr. McCain in York, Pa., in August, Mr. Lieberman said the race was “between one candidate, John McCain, who has always put the country first, worked across party lines to get things done, and one candidate who has not.”

As a speaker at the Republican National Convention, Mr. Lieberman went further than Democrats expected by criticizing Mr. Obama for “voting to cut off funding for our troops on the ground.” (Mr. Obama voted for bills that included plans for withdrawal from Iraq and against others that did not.)

This week Mr. Lieberman, who has been asked by the Democratic Senate leadership to consider giving up his position as the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, released a statement congratulating Mr. Obama for “his historic and impressive victory.” It continued, “The American people are a people of extraordinary fairness.”

Marshall Wittmann, a spokesman for Mr. Lieberman, said that as far as the senator was concerned, “It’s over, and it’s genuinely time to find unity and move forward behind the new president.”

And what about that whole bit about Mr. Obama not always putting his country first? “He believes that President-elect Obama — and, then, Senator Obama — is a genuine patriot and loves his country,” Mr. Wittmann said. “The only point he was making in his campaign was about partisanship.”

Mr. Obama is apparently ready to bury the hatchet with his new fans. “President-elect Obama has made it clear that he wants to put partisanship behind and work together to solve the many challenges confronting the country,” said Stephanie Cutter, a spokeswoman for the Obama transition team. “We’re pleased that others do as well.”

The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, who will help decide Mr. Lieberman’s committee assignment, sounded less ready to forgive, at least when it came Mr. Lieberman’s support for Mr. McCain. “Joe Lieberman has done something that I think was improper, wrong, and I’d like — if we weren’t on television, I’d use a stronger word of describing what he did,” he said on CNN Friday.


66 comments:

  1. It takes 10 years for someone to change their mind.

    ReplyDelete
  2. From American Thinker:

    What do the election results mean to conservatives?

    By Bruce Walker

    "The results of the 2008 election mean a lot of things to a lot of different people. What do those results mean to conservatives? The results do not mean conservative candidates lose elections. Obama got a big slice of the conservative vote, largely because he portrayed himself as a post-ideological as well as a post-partisan candidate - and McCain tried to do just the same thing. Ronald Reagan in 1984 was the last man to run as an unabashed conservative, and he won by the last true landslide in an American presidential election.

    President Bush, admired for his personal honor and deep faith, was respected by many conservatives, but he was hardly a conservative himself. No man who nominated Harriett Meiers to the Supreme Court could be considered a true conservative. Anyone who could embrace the vision of Ted Kennedy for our national education policy was not a true conservative. Anyone who could create a new entitlement for prescription drugs was not a true conservative... more

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  3. A Quiet Day @ the UCLA Library:
    YouTube - UCLA Student Tasered by Police in Library

    Big Brass Blog - Police Taser a Student in the Library

    Mat,
    Sometimes less, depending on how often the mind is "recharged."

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  4. Because we are now in the minority, it is important that we maintain credibility. We will do that with the strength of our argument. When you lose a fight, you go back to work for a comeback. Our blind support of GWB was a mistake on many levels. The biggest mistake was that it showed that we had no firm principles.

    Make no mistake, Barack Obama is a far smarter politician than George Bush. I do not expect Barack Obama was kidding when he said that he wanted to change America. He can do that because the present administration has failed to convince the American people that Republicans stand for anything or know what they are doing.

    The essence of politics is persuasion. A clever man with suspect ideas can convince and convert the opposition in subtle ways. We have to be on an equal footing to get the opportunity to recover our majority. Conservatives have a clean slate to start again. We need to back champion contenders.

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  5. Mr Bush is not an admirable man:
    Admirable men do not make a mockery of their solemn oaths.

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  6. Personal honor my ass:
    to wit - Johnny Sutton, Ramos, and Campeon.

    ReplyDelete
  7. ...Alberto Gonzales, the male? Harriet Miers.

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  8. Bobby Jindal can lead the GOP back to sanity.

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  9. This is a tough read: Cancer and public medicine. A physician documents his experience and death in the UK.

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  10. MORE CHARGES OF FRAUD in the Minnesota recount. "The election seems to be in the process of being stolen, and the media are either bemused or, as in this incredibly stupid AP story by Brian Bakst, preparing the battlefield for the theft. "
    ---
    Ingraham had a report from a lawyer friend in Ohio, said 80 out of 88 Precincts had NO GOP LAWYERS, and of course, Bush "Justice" AWOL, while all precincts had Obama Lawyers.
    Bush should be hung as the Traitor he is.

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  11. (Emanuel's Brother appears @ 6 minutes)
    They're taking over, but they're on C-4's side:
    THE LIBERAL FASCISTS!

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  12. Maybe we were just born to be in a premanent minority. The democrats do such a terrible job of being in the loyal opposition, what with this hating, scratching, knawing, stabbing, screaming that I have heard on KGO the last years, maybe it's just up to us to save civilization by being a loyal opposition.

    The democrats have been so bad with the HATE BUSH stuff.

    That guy couldn't draw a breath without being criticized. Texas must look pretty good to George.

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  13. HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE BUSH.

    That's all I've heard. Never did a damn thing right.

    Not once.

    But when a crisis comes, we might miss him.

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  14. Bush was riding the wave to a permenant GOP majority, until his performance in the job was factored in, bob.

    Now, after 8 years 21% of the electorate thinks he is doing a good job.

    Performance counts.

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  15. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  16. Mr Bush was an inept Administrator and judge of men
    Or Mike Brown would NEVER have been at FEMA.

    That's the truth of the matter, after eight years of public performance.

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  17. I don't think I've got the spunk to read through all the stuff about the election in Minnesota.

    I quess I'll just assume it's been stolen.

    The democrats are shameless about counting votes.

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  18. I'm going to start maintaining the Bush wasn't that bad a President. After all, that 21% approval rating counts people that are ticked off about not closing the border.

    Which was being slowly done, and probably--certainly--will be wide open now.

    Now we've got real crooks in the White House, straight from Chicago.

    Ayers, Wright, Alinsky....Bush looks like an angel compared to this bunch.

    The inmates have taken over the prison.

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  19. I just want a check in the mail.

    I demand!

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  20. So, they are screwing around with the votes in Minnesota.

    What happened in Alaska. I haven't heard.

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  21. The SOB didn't do his job in a MULTITUED of ways, LaBob!

    ...the latest is letting "his" DOJ go AWOL in this election!

    SOB should have been fragged out of our foxhole.

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  22. Leaving the enemy (Bubba Agents) behind our line for 8 years!
    ...the line has been terminally breached as a result.

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  23. Well then I'll put my money on Frankenstein to win, Doug.

    There comes a time when you just kind of give up on the country, say to yourself, "Let them all go hell."

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  24. I'm not saying you're not right, but just that he might look good in comparison....

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  25. I can't find out how Stevens came out in Alaska...I'm looking....Land Of The Midnight Sun And Contractor Overpayments....

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  26. Mike Brown
    Harriet
    Gonzales
    Scot McClellan
    The Clinton CIA Medal of Freedom Dude.
    Border Barbie
    Powell
    Rice
    ...I could go on.

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  27. Hey, 'Rat:
    No stories of malfeasance, links, etc.
    I'd just like to know how you would characterize McCain?

    ...after what he's let happen to Palin, my take is he's just like Powell:
    All about maintaining his Image amoung the Power Elite.

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  28. One of my tenants is from Alaska. She's a hell of a girl, I can tell you. Her father runs a small resort, and float company, you know, take you on the river kind of deal.

    She is BRIGHT, always upbeat, GREAT LOOKING, I'm not sure exactly what race, but a little on the tan side, an abosolutely wonderful bright cheerful upbeat girl. A real pleasure to be around.

    Kind of like Sarah Palin, with a little different skin tone.

    A pleasure to be around. Always cheers me up.

    This country isn't finished yet!

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  29. "Allies" go under the Bus in support of Maverick.
    ...like the President-Elect.

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  30. President Elect Obama is the President Elect...

    We as the loyal (to America) opposition MUST hold BHO to the high standard of the Office of POTUS.

    This DOES mean continuing to investigate BHO life & associations, NOW more than ever before...

    If BHO has done crimes (buying drugs illegally) (taking bribes) (turning off the anti-fraud controls on his fund raising credit card tools) it is our job to expose his crimes...

    He did win (by hook or crook, doesnt matter) the election..

    Now Mr POTUS elect, show us your Birth Certificate, get ready to have your associations investigated and get ready to be impeached (if you have in fact done things that broke existing laws)

    Congrats to BHO for winning/beating the system!!

    Now let's LEGALLY destroy him...

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  31. Last time I heard, she was bubbling over about acting in some play at the University of Idaho.

    This girl just kind of....overflows, you know....

    She is a good one.

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  32. I can go with Jindal. From all I know, which isn't much yet, he sounds good.

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  33. I came by one day, to fix something up, and she went into her part in the play....I really like that girl.

    She will be there somewhere, at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Fest, I am certain.

    This country isn't finished yet.

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  34. I like renting to these students. And, my wife and I are great landlords, we know the whole rap, and we work with them.

    I'm actually really upbeat on the country, from what I see here.

    I've rented to every kind of person you can imagine, all races, all creeds.

    They are all really nice when it comes right down to it.

    Let's not despair.

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  35. "From all I know, which isn't much yet,
    ---
    You'd know more if you watched the Videos, Putz!

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  36. If we could just get rid of the politicians....

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  37. Fuck your students!
    Put Bush and McCain in the Dustbin of History.
    Time to purge and rebuild!

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  38. Nature abhors a vacuum and in too many areas Bush was AWOL. I will not miss him. He had one hit on the album. He attacked the rubble pile with the bull horn and threw a strike in Yankee stadium.No one ever looked more Presidential. That was the apogee.

    He then went on to throw a Ramadan Party in the White House.

    He has exhausted and dispirited his supporters. The power vacuum has been filled by his detractors. If he is fortunate he may be remembered in terms usually reserved for Jimmy Carter. If Bush cared for his supporters in the Republican Party and all that is used to stand for, he confounds my ability to see it.

    After 911, Bush declined and never reached the perigee of his leadership.

    His reign will soon end in scron.

    Truman was similarly scorned and returned a simple man to his home. Bush is still a very wealthy man, a man who has know privilege, and will continue to do so. He will build a library and do his best. In my heart, I believe he did his best.

    Many of his supporters and tens of millions that voted for him will not have done so well under his guidance. His limitations have cost them.

    I sincerely hope that things will not get so bad that I will pine for his rule.

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  39. I can't get my audio to work.

    Got the headphones plugged in correctly, something is wrong here...

    I see Jindal talking, but making no sound....

    ReplyDelete
  40. We didn't have another terror attack under Bush.

    That says one good thing.

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  41. That is a good thing. We never should have had the first. That was hatched under Clinton's watch.

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  42. Iraq will be Bush's legacy...

    To early to call..

    If Iraq is fixed, IF

    Bush will go down with greatness...

    No one will remember anything else...

    If Iraq turns into a clusterfuck?

    Bush's history as well..

    The history of the middle east has a pile of screwed US presidents...

    Remember the Middle EAST started this with us in 1783 and has been screwing with us since...

    Bush was not the 1st, nor will he be the last...

    But I (as a Scoop Jackson Dem) still respects what the USA has done in Iraq....

    Call me crazy, call me goofy....

    Someday the PEOPLE of Iraq will look back to Bush & America's sacrifice and remember...

    America does not go to war to BUILD an EMPIRE..

    We do not create colonies, we do not steal oil...

    We have rebuilt the world, from France, Germany & Japan to Italy and now Iraq...

    Thank you President Bush, for all your faults, I stand tall with you about our efforts in Iraq

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  43. I agree with WiO.

    We're not an empire. We don't steal oil.

    I hope Obama doesn't screw up Iraq, now that it is getting better.

    ReplyDelete
  44. We have rebuilt the world, from France, Germany & Japan to Italy and now Iraq...

    I agree with that.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Bush had a great opportunity to create a better country after 911. Opportunities come and go. His did.
    Clinton had an opportunity to liquidate Bin Laden and AQ. He blew it.

    Bush had a chance to make the US a better and stronger and richer country. The ultimate safety and defense of the US is determined by civil and financial strength. They are the underpinning of our society. The conservative middle class is the backbone. Bush and the Republican dolts in Congress had it all. They frittered it away like a drunk at a poker game.

    Time will tell about Iraq. I care more about the Americas. Let the Europeans and Middle East countries resolve their regional problems. They have the resources and the money.

    Sort of like the residents on St Thomas AVI. Why work say 67%, when Uncle hands out all that free stuff? The Arabs have the money to build ski slopes in malls in the desert, let them build homes for the Palestinians. Europe has the resources to establish a formidable military. France and England are nuclear powers. Germany can raise a million man army and pay for it.

    Israel has the money and the power to deter any threat from any aggressor foolish enough to take her on. Israel needs nothing from the US, nor does Europe, nor do the Arabs.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Rutenberg's perspective is interesting in that it shows the partisan mistrust and misunderstanding. Can't say that I blame him. I ddon't trust the left either. In my local paper this morning, the front page splash is all about how Obama bridged the partisan divide. Inside the paper, are op-ed pieces about how maybe Republicans and Christians aren't so evil. The other side is basking in their long sought victory and the gracious concessions from the losers. How long will the honeymoon last? We're all singing kumbaya, now, but when Republicans find the backbone to filibuster the far left agenda or oppose some of Obama's judicial picks, the knives will come back out.
    **********************************
    Look for the Obama administration to craftily and stealthily set about reshaping the country. Later, possibly he can be more upfront about his true agenda.

    Time for us to bone up on Sal Alinsky and review Antonio Gramsi.

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  47. "when Republicans find the backbone to filibuster the far left agenda or oppose some of Obama's judicial picks, the knives will come back out."
    ---
    ...and the Maverick will lead the attack!
    ...against us.

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  48. I'm getting to be an older guy now.

    (you've all heard this shit!)

    I may not have seen it all, but I've seen a lot.

    Prosperity comes from the working people, not the government.

    That's what I think.

    I've seen politicians come and go here in Idaho. None of them made much difference. But, when dad was a lawyer, he told me about how many just folks, had given money to the University of Idaho in their wills, which was one of his big lines.

    Doing wills. After the divorce business collapsed, with no fault divorce.

    The Kibby Dome isn't called the Kibby Dome for nothing.

    It's cause he paid for it.

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  49. The enclosed stadium was renamed that year for William H. Kibbie, a construction executive from Salt Lake City and a primary benefactor of the project; he contributed $300,000 to initiate the funding drive.

    Kibbie Dome

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  50. Bill Kibbie (1918-88), originally of Bellevue, Idaho, was a UI student for less than a month in 1936 before he had to leave the university, due to family hardship. [8] He entered the construction business, and after service as a B-24 pilot in World War II, was very successful as the head of a major contracting company in Utah. [9] The acronym "ASUI" is for the "Associated Students of the University of Idaho," the student government.

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  51. CBS "Sunday Morning" is doing its part to reduce expectations of President Obama.

    A meme I've heard lately is that some of Obama's campaign promises and rhetoric were simply a candidate taking liberties on the campaign trail. We shouldn't expect him to deliver because after all some of the things he promised are not his to give. That power lies with Congress.

    Funny, I don't remember the MSM saying things like this before the election.

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  52. We are sailing some rough seas and in the same boat and hope the new captain knows what he is doing.

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  53. Rahm Imanuel, on Face the Nation, says that President-Elect Obama's priorities for Congress are:
    to provide Health Insurance for those who are no longer covered because of job loss and also to extend unemployment insurance.

    Imanuel also said that the "middle class" has seen it income reduced by $2000 while its energy and food costs have increased by $4400.

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  54. That's a $6400 hole and Obama is proposing a $1,000 tax cut...

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  55. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  56. Scottsdale Mayor Mary Manross (D) won the election

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  57. 2020.05.12酒店、舞廳解禁酒店小姐的基本介紹跟工作內容開放有望!新冠肺炎台灣疫情緩和、穩定控制,中央流行疫情指揮中心昨日我在酒店上班的日子宣布,目前暫停營業的酒店、舞廳等酒店小姐一定有S?業者,在符合防疫安全條件下,八大行業可開放營業,且不受室內100人、室外500人人數限制。巧合的是,今日職場須知 【酒店PT 】剛好是酒店、舞廳停業滿月,指揮中心此話一出,相關酒店打工行業人士都很期待。記者實訪一名在北市中山區酒店工作的女公關軒軒,她表示若酒店真解禁,實質上生意一定會爆好,因為台商、業者都「忍很久了」。軒軒說,她所服務的地方為私人招待所,受酒店禁令也暫時歇業至今,這一個月來她都沒進店裡上班,與其他公關們大多轉戰KTV、卡拉OK或是飯局模式;而客層方面,多為熟客與幹部所介紹的友善客人,故在安危顧慮上較放心;但即便如此。收入仍大受影響,跟之前比少了六成,不過因她沒有家計負擔,故這段時間她也當做休息,更規畫了東部旅遊。而對疫情這段時間的感想?軒軒說,其實酒店業並不是四月時有酒店公關確診才受影響,而是台灣確診1月下旬有確診者後,2、3月生意就明顯下滑,因為「有錢人超怕死!」也擔心來消費後確診,很難對親友交代,故2月起收入就已下滑。軒軒也說,而酒店業是「連動」、最能反應「台灣經濟」的產業。經濟好時,來消費、甚至談生意的客人就多;而一蕭條,酒店、幹部、旗下小姐收入銳減,連樓下賣花、賣香腸、一整條賣衣物、精品的店家都受影響,是一層接一層環環相扣的。軒軒跟記者分享一個特別觀點,就是酒店停業這一個月時間,她的總收入雖大減,但是「客單」(顧客單筆消費)收入卻超高。她解釋,因為這段時間都轉戰如錢櫃KTV、卡拉OK等方式,客人消費、開酒遠比在酒店時便宜、小費也多外,收入部分因不用透過酒店營銷、幹部等關卡,少了中間抽成,故費用都是「實拿」,也算是這段時間的特別之處。

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