“Everybody needs to live with their own choices.”-as heard during
an episode of
KYLE-XY, Season II
We all make mistakes. Presidents make mistakes from time to time. It remains to be seen what mistakes will be made by our current President of the United States.
I voted for President Barak Obama. I initially wanted Hillary Clinton as our next US President but when it came down to the wire ‘Obama’ was the only smart choice. I certainly was not choosing McCain after learning from ‘friends in the know’ of how his temper and fierce coercing aura would be so very wrong during these times. Besides, I actually remember my own mother saying, “I can’t stand that man,” as she pointed to John McCain on the television. I trust mom’s judgment.
Anyhow, I voted for Obama and in another five days he will have been President for six months. So, it’s time for his six-month evaluation. I decided to pinpoint six things that seem to show that he is doing all he can do (although many are now saying he is trying to do too much…too fast).
JANUARY 2009: Obama is an ultra smooth talker. On January 20, 2009 during his inaugural speech he said, “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.”
Promises...Promises...a lot 'remains to be seen'.
FEBRUARY 2009: Obama hailed a passage of a $787 Billion Economic Stimulus Bill
“This historic step won’t be the end of what we do to turn our economy around, but rather the beginning. The problems that led us into this crisis are deep and widespread, and our response must be equal to the task," Obama said.
The stimulus is supposed to be a gradual process. A contractor we know said he recently signed on for a few 'hospital contracting' jobs because the government funds have started to trickle through. Hopefully, this is a sign of MORE stimulus to come.
MARCH 2009: President Barack Obama reverses the Bush administration policies on stem cell research and signs an Executive Order providing wider scientific use and federal funding of embryonic stem cell research opening a new scientific front free of political ideology.
Hurrah! I am all for new, scientific advancements.
APRIL 2009: President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and former President Bill Clinton planted trees with volunteers at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington, DC on April 21, 2009. The President is participating in a National Service Project to actively help America in the spirit of the Service America Act signed earlier on that day.
Hurrah! This is a small positive outlook on MORE 'GREEN' improvements (I hope).
MAY 2009: President Barack Obama, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Doug Shulman remark on tax reform in the Grand Foyer of the White House on May 4, 2009. The President wants to save $210 billion over the next 10 years by clamping down on tax havens and curbing incentives to US companies who outsource jobs.
Taxes are always an 'ugly' issue. Let's see where he goes with this one. Time will tell.
JUNE 2009: I absolutely loved his speech in Cairo, Egypt in June 2009. I was in London when I heard it on June 4, 2009. This speech is what inspired me to write this blog because I found many of the things he said were so 'balanced' and 'right'. He stressed three sources of TENSION during his “New Beginnings’ speech in Cairo:
I. The first source of tension is that we have to confront violent extremism in all of its forms. He continued with the issue of Iraq.
He said, “Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world.”
He went on to say, “Today, America has a dual responsibility: to help Iraq forge a better future and to leave Iraq to Iraqis. I have made it clear to the Iraqi people that we pursue no bases, and no claim on their territory or resources. Iraq's sovereignty is its own. That is why I ordered the removal of our combat brigades by next August. That is why we will honor our agreement with Iraq's democratically-elected government to remove combat troops from Iraqi cities by July, and to remove all our troops from Iraq by 2012.
II. The second major source of tension that he discussed was the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world.
III. The third source of tension he spoke of was our shared interest in the rights and responsibilities of nations on nuclear weapons.
JULY 2009: At a town hall-style meeting, President Obama pushed his proposal for a health care overhaul as a cost-saver rather than an expenditure.
Obama definitely needs to ask himself, "Where is the money coming from?" If he keeps printing money the inflationary pressures will be coming soon. At the end of Bill Clinton's Presidency we had a $559,000 BILLION dollar surplus. The projected 2009 deficit will be 1.845 TRILLION range. That is one big "OUCH" for the USA. Take a peek at the Deficits Do Matter website:
http://www.deficitsdomatter.org/index.html
Perhaps we should concentrate on one, two or three top PRIORITY items and get those things done first. Too many dishes cooking in the kitchen could cause an even bigger mess to clean. Still...I am crossing my fingers for real progress from Obama. He is maintaining visibility to our country and the world. This is good. We need to know and focus on improvements 'together'. I might do a further progress checklist in a future blog. Let's cross our fingers that things turn out for the best.
Twenty-five years ago today:
July 15, 1984
Sunday
My cousin, Cecelia Garcia-Markus, had a little girl on July 12, 1984. She named her Jessica Markus.
I ate breakfast at mom’s and returned to my pad to lay out ‘in the nude’ in my backyard. As I was lying out the phone rang and it was Michael Miller.
We chatted a bit and I told him to come over so we could decide what to do on this lazy Sunday.
“Okay, I’ll stop by and maybe we can go to the San Leandro Estuary to see my friend canoe,” Michael Miller suggested.
We ended up going to the Estuary on Doolittle Drive but his friend was nowhere to be found. We scouted the area anyway and then we checked out the Harbor Bay Business Park. We ate at the Harbor Bay Landing Delicatessen and followed that by hanging out at my pad for a while. We moved on to the Islandia Homeowners swimming pool where we spoke to Patty for a while. Patty is some girl that Michael Miller knew from school. Patty made a hint about moving in with me. What a joke. She is “NMT” (Not My Type).
We returned to my pad and hung out at my house, lounging and wondering what we should do now. I had a feeling ‘it’ crossed his mind but I could not be sure. It certainly crossed my mind but we ended up just hanging out. I took a couple of pictures and then watched ’60 Minutes’ on CBS.
After the show Michael Miller went home. When he left I headed over to my mom’s and ate a bit of ‘this n’ that’. Mom handed me twenty-dollars. She sweetly did that because she understood my tight budget. I love her and I hope she knows I appreciate the small loan.
No one has telephoned me since I have been back at home (except Michael Miller). He is a ‘one in a million’ buddy. I have to let him know that I feel this way.
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