Barack Obama
4/6/2009
Speech to the Turkish Parliament
We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so
much over the centuries to shape the world -- including in my own country.
Just the brilliant musings of a Okie displaced in Texas. My motto...."Often right, seldom wrong, never without an opinion" Mostly my observations are about politics...there's a reason the Right Wing is called right, by the way...golf and the trials and tribulations of living in DFW.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Education and the workplace
According to Hackcollege.com, there are 120+ with liberal arts degree programs pumping out 16,000+ grads a year in Texas alone. WHAT KIND OF JOB will they get?
The problem is that our 4 year institutions include degree programs and tracks that lead to nowhere! We need to change the makeup of our post secondary education system such that is produces workers ready for the workplace. Why would the entire University of Texas system need an Art History or Music degree program AT EVERY LOCATION?
Liberal arts should be a part of the jr college system or limited to very specific institutions who specialize there. This liberal arts curriculum that is required in most universities would be "farmed out" to a "feeder system". It would also lessen the burden of student loans on grads and non-grads, as only most people don't actually declare majors until their 4th term or later. If you can't hack it academically in the liberal arts tracks, probably organic chemistry and calculus are NOT going to be your cup of tea later on.
Sure those teaching in those areas would feel they are being relegated to "second class citizens", but honestly, do you think that a professor teaching advanced chemistry or grad level economic theory actually thinks that the guy teaching "Theory of Basketball" is on the same level? Post secondary is where the seimic changes have to occur to fit the new workplace.
The problem is that our 4 year institutions include degree programs and tracks that lead to nowhere! We need to change the makeup of our post secondary education system such that is produces workers ready for the workplace. Why would the entire University of Texas system need an Art History or Music degree program AT EVERY LOCATION?
Liberal arts should be a part of the jr college system or limited to very specific institutions who specialize there. This liberal arts curriculum that is required in most universities would be "farmed out" to a "feeder system". It would also lessen the burden of student loans on grads and non-grads, as only most people don't actually declare majors until their 4th term or later. If you can't hack it academically in the liberal arts tracks, probably organic chemistry and calculus are NOT going to be your cup of tea later on.
Sure those teaching in those areas would feel they are being relegated to "second class citizens", but honestly, do you think that a professor teaching advanced chemistry or grad level economic theory actually thinks that the guy teaching "Theory of Basketball" is on the same level? Post secondary is where the seimic changes have to occur to fit the new workplace.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
DO YOU REMEMBER JANUARY 3, 2007?
This is NOT a political message, but rather a clarification to remind us all of the correct facts.
Remember that on October 9, 2007, 11 months before our “economic crisis” occurred (that was actually created), the Dow hit its highest point ever, closing at 14,164.53 and reaching 14,198.10 intra-day level 2 days later. Unemployment was steady at 4.7%. But things were already being put in place to create the havoc we’ve all been experiencing since then. And it all started on January 3, 2007.
The day the Democrats took over was not January 22nd 2009, it was actually January 3rd 2007, which was the day the Democrats took over the House of Representatives and the Senate, at the very start of the 110th Congress.
The Democrat Party controlled a majority in both chambers for the first time since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995. For those who are listening to the liberals propagating the fallacy that everything is "Bush's Fault", think about this: January 3rd, 2007 was the day the Democrats took over the Senate and the Congress.
At the time:
The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77
The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5%
The Unemployment rate was 4.6%
George Bush's Economic policies SET A RECORD of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB GROWTH
Remember the day...
January 3rd, 2007 was the day that Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee. The economic meltdown that happened 15 months later was in what part of the economy? BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES! Add to this CRISIS by (among MANY other things) dumping 5-6 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from YOUR Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac FIASCOES!
Bush asked Congress 17 TIMES to stop Fannie & Freddie - starting in 2001 because it was financially risky for the US economy.
And who took the THIRD highest pay-off from Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac? OBAMA And who fought against reform of Fannie and Freddie? OBAMA and the Democrat Congress.
So when someone tries to blame Bush. REMEMBER JANUARY 3rd, 2007....THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER!"
Budgets do not come from the White House. They come from Congress and the party that controlled Congress since January 2007 is the Democrat Party. Furthermore, the Democrats controlled the budget process for 2008 & 2009 as well as 2010 & 2011.
In that first year, they had to contend with George Bush, which caused them to compromise on spending, when Bush somewhat belatedly got tough on spending increases.
For 2009 though, Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid bypassed George Bush entirely, passing continuing resolutions to keep government running until Barack Obama could take office. At that time, they passed a massive omnibus spending bill to complete the 2009 budgets.
And where was Barack Obama during this time? He was a member of that very Congress that passed all of these massive spending bills, and he signed the omnibus bill as President to complete 2009.
If the Democrats inherited any deficit, it was the 2007 deficit, the last of the Republican budgets. That deficit was the lowest in five years, and the fourth straight decline in deficit spending. After that, Democrats in Congress took control of spending, and that includes Barack Obama, who voted for the budgets.
If Obama inherited anything, he inherited it from himself. In a nutshell, what Obama is saying is" I inherited a deficit that I voted for and then I voted to expand that deficit four-fold since January 20th ".
Remember that on October 9, 2007, 11 months before our “economic crisis” occurred (that was actually created), the Dow hit its highest point ever, closing at 14,164.53 and reaching 14,198.10 intra-day level 2 days later. Unemployment was steady at 4.7%. But things were already being put in place to create the havoc we’ve all been experiencing since then. And it all started on January 3, 2007.
The day the Democrats took over was not January 22nd 2009, it was actually January 3rd 2007, which was the day the Democrats took over the House of Representatives and the Senate, at the very start of the 110th Congress.
The Democrat Party controlled a majority in both chambers for the first time since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995. For those who are listening to the liberals propagating the fallacy that everything is "Bush's Fault", think about this: January 3rd, 2007 was the day the Democrats took over the Senate and the Congress.
At the time:
The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77
The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5%
The Unemployment rate was 4.6%
George Bush's Economic policies SET A RECORD of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB GROWTH
Remember the day...
January 3rd, 2007 was the day that Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee. The economic meltdown that happened 15 months later was in what part of the economy? BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES! Add to this CRISIS by (among MANY other things) dumping 5-6 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from YOUR Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac FIASCOES!
Bush asked Congress 17 TIMES to stop Fannie & Freddie - starting in 2001 because it was financially risky for the US economy.
And who took the THIRD highest pay-off from Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac? OBAMA And who fought against reform of Fannie and Freddie? OBAMA and the Democrat Congress.
So when someone tries to blame Bush. REMEMBER JANUARY 3rd, 2007....THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER!"
Budgets do not come from the White House. They come from Congress and the party that controlled Congress since January 2007 is the Democrat Party. Furthermore, the Democrats controlled the budget process for 2008 & 2009 as well as 2010 & 2011.
In that first year, they had to contend with George Bush, which caused them to compromise on spending, when Bush somewhat belatedly got tough on spending increases.
For 2009 though, Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid bypassed George Bush entirely, passing continuing resolutions to keep government running until Barack Obama could take office. At that time, they passed a massive omnibus spending bill to complete the 2009 budgets.
And where was Barack Obama during this time? He was a member of that very Congress that passed all of these massive spending bills, and he signed the omnibus bill as President to complete 2009.
If the Democrats inherited any deficit, it was the 2007 deficit, the last of the Republican budgets. That deficit was the lowest in five years, and the fourth straight decline in deficit spending. After that, Democrats in Congress took control of spending, and that includes Barack Obama, who voted for the budgets.
If Obama inherited anything, he inherited it from himself. In a nutshell, what Obama is saying is" I inherited a deficit that I voted for and then I voted to expand that deficit four-fold since January 20th ".