Unexpected Consequences

As previously mentioned, my wife and I were forced to cancel our long-planned getaway to Florida last week because of an unscheduled series of extreme weather events - events that the insurance companies like to call "Acts of God".

So I feel empathy for the million or so people who have already had their travel plans disrupted or (more likely) ruined because of the volcano eruption in Iceland. The ash plume from that erupting hell-hole consists of fine pieces of rock and glass that can shut-down a jet engine and etch a windshield and make it useless. The plume is affecting many European airports and some scientists are predicting a cold summer as the volcanic dust in the stratosphere blocks the sunlight. (Drat! Another factor that will undoubtedly impact my tomato harvest in August.)


It's bad enough to be forced to stay at home, unable to start your trip, but consider the agony of being stranded at Heathrow or DeGaul airport, waiting for a flight back to the states. The hassle of getting re-booked on future flights is overwhelming because those flights are already fully booked by millions of other Spring travelers who are returning from their vacations. The horror stories of travelers who cannot get here from there evoke a sense of dread.

The old saying that the gods laugh at our plans seems apt.
And, if you weren't already annoyed enough by the vulnerability factor, physical discomfort and cost of air travel, the next trend in passenger gouging should send you over the edge. is to charge you for your carry-on luggage. Huh? Not checked baggage but carry-on! Up to $40.
Spirit Airlines has announced that they will charge up to $45 per carry-on if you book after August 1, 2010. Public outrage is building. Several congressmen have rushed opportunistically to the microphones to announce bills that would ban such fees by airlines. In one case, Sen. Charles Schumer sees an opportunity to raise taxes on the airline by charging an excise tax on fees. Hey Chuck, excise taxes are paid by customers. Instead of penalizing the Airline, Shumer's bill would add to the cost of the fee. What a dolt!

I hate being nickel and dimed as much as anyone, but I can see a valid argument in charging for services used. If I don't check a bag, Maybe I should get a discount. If I don't need a lot of legroom, maybe I should pay less than the fat and tall folk. Itemizing these costs seems sensible. The problem is that there is no list or set price for a seat on an airplane. The airline executive goniffs adjust the basic price based on what they think the market will bear.

Some thing ought to be done, but I do not think the government making laws about what the airlines can charge for. This is not the role government should be playing. The government needs to worry about safety and security. Let the customers show the airlines what they are willing to bear in terms of fees and charges.

Spirit Airlines is taking a lot of criticism for their over-the-line announcement. Most of the major airlines are vowing that they will not follow suit. Something tells me that the carry-on fee will go away and fast. Ironically the Spirit ads will then say "See, we listen!"

The Dragon in my Basement

This morning, my wife admitted that she was responsible for the recent flood in our basement.

"I should have known better," She said.

"What?"

"The Dragon. I put him down in the basement on the elfa shelving, near the cat box. I thought it might help prevent, you know, accidents."

Of course, she was referring to the priceless dragon vase that had been handed-down through countless generations of her family.
Perhaps some long-dead forebear had found the treasure during an archaeological dig on a perilous trip to some ancient Chinese city. Then, sometime after the establishment of electrical power, some artless utilitarian had drilled a hole in the bottom and turned it into a lamp, a fact which actually made it just about worthless (another way of saying priceless, n'est ce pas?). Or maybe her mother bought it at Walmart. We'll probably never know.
A few months ago, my wife decided that she preferred it as an ornament as opposed to light source, and so she had restored it to its natural power. To the superstitious, the emblem - a coiled dragon - represents a potent symbol which is capable of warding-off unlucky and evil spirits. In case you have not been paying attention, you should know that your life is ruled by Feng Shui (pronounced fung shway).

If your wife believes in Feng Shui, you might as well believe in it too, because since she rules your life, you are stuck living in a house that is arranged with mirrors facing specific directions and dragons watching over you.

My wife realized the error of placing a dragon in the basement after perusing her dog-eared copy of Feng Shui Room by Room. Not only was the dragon annoyed at being placed on a shelf near the litter box in the cellar, but he was facing outward (to ward-off evil spirits from the street). Two no-no's.

"The dragon must face inward," she said, as if quoting some rule. "But, not to worry. He is now upstairs and facing the right way. Everything will be OK now."

Somehow I was not much comforted, noting that the forecast was for three more days of rain.

She looked at me and smiled.

"It's not raining rain you know, it's raining violets..."

I went down to the cellar to check my pumps. Floor dry. Electricity on. Pumps pumping.

When I came back upstairs she remarked that I appeared to be calmer. My brow, which had become sore from frowning about the water, seemed less tense. I shrugged.

"See, it's working. The curse is lifted."

"Yeah, we'll see" I muttered as I went out to take another load of soggy paper and ruined furniture to the dump. Standing by the van, I had to squint at the abrupt break in the clouds and the bright sun fighting its way through the mist.

Unconsciously, I began looking for a bluebird, and listening for its song.

Apologia

Despite my vow never to carry ads on my Blog, I have caved -in. My daughter urged me to do this because she belives that someone will send me money if enough people click on ads that interest them. As one who has been critical of rampant advertising, I feel a bit like a prostitute.

Comparison Therapy

Is there anything more stressful than seeing water gushing into your basement? If you had asked me this question a few days ago, I might have said "Hell no!" But that was then. Today I think everything is relative.

Time and water will do that. Change the priorities in your life.

One of my teachers in high school was wont to intone "All comparisons are invidious." (Come to think of it, that quote is one of the few pieces of wisdom I can recall from my high school education . For some reason the assertion has stayed in my head all these years.) It made complete sense at the time. It seemed to convey a deep understanding about the nature of envy and competition.

These days, I am not so sure about the invidiousness of making comparisons. Hierarchy is all about distinctions, and we cannot escape the hierarchical nature of society, and the fact that we have a "place". The key to contentment is: Instead of obsessing about people who are better-off (and higher-up) than you, it is much more therapeutic to consider one's situation relative to others who are less fortunate. You know like, eat your spinach, they are starving in China. Or, you are complaining about not having shoes; then you meet someone who has no feet(see note 1).


So if you can feel a little better-off than at least one other person, it helps with the stress, right?

On further thought, if I was creating a list of stressful situations, the gushing water would not be so high on the list.

For example: watching your nest egg being depleted by forces you do not understand...that ranks up there on the stress curve. How about nagging rectal itch? Pretty stressful as Capt Hargreaves (Ret.) has informed me. Hell 90% of the world would love to have a house with a basement, and 50% of them don't get enough water to keep the crops irrigated.

So why am I whining about a few thousand gallons of misplaced H2O, and a few ruined LP's that I would never have listened to again?

I am lucky!

Like I say, everything IS relative.
Time and water will do that: wear away at those sharp and brittle edges of fear and logic , until you end-up as a smooth stone of acceptance on a beach called Serenity where you tell yourself, "It could be worse, you could be stuck in Dayton, Ohio." (see note 2)

======================================

Note 1 One time I complained because I had no shoes. Then I met a man who had no feet. So I asked him what he did with his old shoes, since he didn't need them anymore. He just looked at me like I was a cold hearted moron. Hey, How can you have empathy for a guy when you can't walk around in his shoes?

Note 2 - Actually, I have never been to Dayton, but my sister-in-law assures me that this is the last place on Earth anyone would want to live.

Apres le Deluge, Moi

After twenty four days, we still have pumps going in our heroic efforts to keep the ground water from flooding the basement again. Frankly, I am getting too old for this shite.

The DPW water guys came out and looked around and confirmed that it was high ground water and not a broken water main. Ergo, not their problem. Then, on Tuesday, after a few more calls to the DPW, two highway engineers pulled up in the big orange truck. After looking at the water flowing out the pump hoses, one of them asked me,
"Did it flood from the 50 year event or the 500 year event?" He was referring to the terms the weather guys are using to describe about the succession of freakish storms that inundated southern New England over the past weeks. March was the all time wettest month since they started keeping records. The engineers felt that this was indeed a freak event, that the water table will eventually recede, and chances are we will probably not see a recurrence in our lifetime.

Not much consolation there. The flood has not been kind to many of my memories. I am still leafing through the damp file folders that got drenched in the March 15th flood to see what I have lost. Admittedly, most of the paper that was being saved was toss-able. I am unlikely to need copies of old performance reviews, project plans, write-ups and miscellaneous business flotsam.
The performance reviews were full of ego bruising bureaucratic negativism anyhow, written by over-controlling micro-managers whose fanatical fixation on trivial issues (on-time, under budget, happy customers) manifest the their collective judgement that my work was merely "satisfactory." The project plans were being saved for reasons unknown. Not one of my projects came in on time or under budget, and more than one of them were simply abandoned after months of management dithering.
Among the write-ups I had been saving was my recommendation NOT to acquire a software product that management wanted. In my cover memo, I listed the reasons why the software in questions was not appropriate for our business needs (Foremost of which was that we would have to customize every line of code in the system to make it work in our application.) Naive me. All the logic in the world could not overcome the fact that our VP and the Software company's founder had been roommates at college. Ergo, I was over-ruled and the ensuing system project cost zillions and took two years to implement.

I should be at the airport about now, but instead, I am still monitoring the pumps. Our Florida getaway was another casualty of the flood and continued infiltration of water. Very, very reluctantly, we decided to cancel our long-planned trip to Ft Myers/Sarasota. A bunch of us who had been buddies through high school and beyond decided to have a reunion with our wives/significant others. We had not gotten together for over twenty years, and it was a much anticipated event. Since majority of them have retired to Florida, we hold-outs from the North agreed to meet in Ft. Myers/Sanibel area. While we were in the vicinity, we also included a two day visit to family in Sarasota. The trip was planned: Airline tickets, hotel reservations, rental car.
However, the 500 year event seems to have trumped our twenty year event. The friends and family were understanding and we promised to re-schedule the trip. The car and hotel are easily cancelled with no penalty, but the Airline policy on non-refundable tickets is pretty draconian. There is a cancellation charge of $100 per ticket, and voucher credit on the remainder. Fortunately, Jet Blue was very understanding of the flood situation and they agreed to waive the cancellation charge. So, that was one bright ray of sunshine in an otherwise cloudy sky.

Speaking of which, it is starting to rain outside. Thunderstorms are forecast. (He slumps to the floor, groaning, and curls up into a fetal position)

Wet Records

Two weeks since the deluge of mid March and we are under siege again. We got about two inches of rain today and 4 or 5 more are predicted over night. The basement is wet (again) in spots but so far no deep water, and not much to get spoiled this time. My main concern is not losing power or heat again.

The weather guys are saying that this year we will beat the record for the rainiest March since 1952. I find this mildly comforting. If it is a 50 year event, I will not have to waste my remaining days on this earth trying to be ready for the next one.

The rainiest month on record in these parts is August 1955, when two hurricanes hit the Northeast within 5 days. Hurricane Connie dropped about 6 inches of rain and 5 days later it was Diane which left an additional 13 inches of rain. There was massive flooding and scores of storm caused deaths. I was 13 when that storm hit, and I remember everyone got water in the basement, the electricity was off for days due to trees being blown on power lines. I recall playing Monopoly and Scrabble with my siblings by candlelight drinking warm coke and eating popcorn (the gas stayed on, so you could still cook).

Speaking of records, my old collection of LP's were underwater during the deluge and the covers are destroyed. I decided to toss them since I haven't played on in about 5 years and do not even have a working record player anymore since digital CD's replaced the vinyl. Still, I liked having them and looking at the covers from time to time. Good memories gone to the landfill to be forgotten again.
We shall not see their like again.

Water Woes - Continuing Saga

Mother Nature curse you! We had to cancel our St Patty's Day plans to mop-up. My version of the wearin of the green was my flood/fishing outfit.

It's been 4 days since the rain stopped, and groundwater is still welling-up in the basement. I have 2 pumps going to try to stay ahead of the subterranean tide.

Starting to dry-out a bit, but the clean-up will take many days (and many trips to the dump).

People have been helpful. Thanks to the Fire Dept for loaning me an industrial strength pump to get rid of most of the water. Thanks also to my water savvy friend who loaned me the 2 pumps I am running now. One neighbor stopped by yesterday with two big fans and a nice bottle of Chardonnay.

Perhaps she was impressed by the sight of me in my hip waders.

We got the heat back on yesterday, but still no hot water.

Hoping to see a plumber today...

The Weight of Water

In the play Julius Caesar, there is a minor character known as the soothsayer who walks through a scene or two before the (Spoiler alert) brutal stabbing of the Emperor, shouting "Beware the Ides of March."

I wish somebody had warned me that Mother nature would be stabbing me in the back, on the 15th. I might have been better prepared for the deluge. Then, again, like Caesar, I might have regarded the matter as fated by the gods. I'm picturing the musical version with Caesar singing "Que sera sera"in the first act.

After 23 years in this house without a significant water event, the torrential rains of March 12th, 13th and 14th added to an already saturated terra firma (or should we say terra squishy) and a higher than normal water table. By the morning of the 15th we had at least 6 inches of water in the basement. Everything below that height was drenched. Rugs, luggage, pictures, records (both paper and vinyl), books, cardboard boxes full of treasures. The interesting thing about cardboard is that it loses it's rigidity when it gets wet, so if you had stuff piled on top of a cardboard box, that stuff was likely to end-up in the water. Another thing I would not have predicted: if you pile stuff on top of a plastic bin, and the bin becomes buoyant, it will become top heavy and dump the stuff into the water. The same principle applies to a paper shredder.

The only amusing sight that morning was watching the cat try to use a floating litter box. Ok, not really that funny. The litter stayed dry but the cat got really wet. I hope he was not too traumatized.

Fearing the worst, we shut everything down that had a motor. This included the gas heating system and the downstairs refrigerator. The water extinguished the pilot light in the water heater (on Monday) and we have had no hot water since then. My wife went to our daughter's for her shower today. I believe an icy shower builds character. Plus, I notice that it takes much less time for a cold shower.

Did you know that unless you have specific flood insurance, your normal homeowners policy does not cover damage from rising waters?

As far as I can tell, we are the only house with a flooded basement in our neighborhood. Our nice flat lot seems to be a perfect storm drain. My wife blames it on all the building activity upstream - oops I mean: up the hill from us. Possibly, but then again we haven't had 8-10 inches of rain fall in such a short time for the past 20 odd years. So, maybe the perfect storm will never happen again. At least not in our lifetimes.

Despite these (manageable) hardships, we felt somewhat fortunate, compared to the devastating losses you see on the nightly TV news from all manner of catastrophe. Thousands of people got hit much worse in this storm. People with finished basements, people whose toilets have backed up and filled the house with sewage (our flood is from high ground water, not runoff or backups). Down hill from us there are people who live near the Charles River bank, only a few feet above the current river level - which is at flood stage. Their basements must be swimming pools.
We have been luck that the days have been springlike, so the no-heat situation is tolerable. Forecast for today is a balmy 70 degrees. We were fortunate that water never got high enough to short out the electrical system. So we have lights and power to run pumps.

Not being soothsayers, the future is not ours to see, but we remain resolute in our fight against the tides of fate. The stuff that was drenched will be tossed and soon forgotten. The beer refrigerator will dry out and be returned to service. I will bathe again in warm water. We shall overcome.

Back in the Jaws of the Lion

We did not see any sharks during our Florida getaway, except maybe some of the patrons at the Gulfstream race track in Hollywood. No Alligators, no killer whales.

The closest brush with danger was from homo sapiens. While sunsnoozing on the sand, one well-meaning tourist grabbed my leg and started to drag me back into the surf. When I protested he, apologized "Sorry, I thought you were a beached...you know... manatee."

Ok that is an old joke, but I (and some of my fellow beach goers) may possess a strong resemblence to large pale sea mammels.


Now, we are back in the teeth of winter. Going outside is like having a refrigerater gnawing your ears off.


We are back to our pre-vacation retirement mode: We get up late, have breakfast, read the papers, then we go out on errands or meet friends for lunch, come home for nap, watch the TV news, have dinner, watch a favorite program or a Netflix Movie, go to bed.

I know it must sound hard, stressful, and crazy-busy to you Gen-Xers out there, but we love it.

March looms just around the corner. How shall we remember it? Lion or lamb?

Chasing the Sun

The forecast for Key West was not sunny, so we checked out of the Best Western and headed for Miami Beach. Booked a room via Priceline at Sheraton 4 Points in North Beach area. Three stars $200 per night.

Today is mid 80's and sunny most of the time. I am about to hit the ocean for the first time since we came to sunny Florida.

Returning to Boston tomorrow night - hope the sun follows...

More later

It also rises

If you get up early enough in Key West you can see the sun rise on the water. Hence the title of Hemingway's best novel "The Sun Also Rises."

However as all sailers know a Red Sky in the morning may bring an ill wind.

Wasting Away...

3:30 pm 77 degrees Key West. Cold Sierra Nevada. Ocean view. Eat your hearts out, New England.

From Pompano Beach

Dear Fans,
I'm using the computer in the PB library - I only have 3 more minutes on the timer. The weather here during the past ten days has been unseasonably cool. 60's most of the day, colder at night. Good thing we brought long sleeves and long pants.
Food has been scrumptious; many of the drinking establishments serve Sierra Nevada on tap so, no complaints.

Heading down to Key West for a few days. Forecast is for high seventies and sunny. Maybe we will get to go to the beach!

Talk soon,

Signed,
The EPA (Exceptionally Pale American)

Out of Office Message

On Vacation for a few days

Please check the archives if you need a Hellhole Fix, otherwise I should be back soon, tanned, relaxed and ready to resume my job here at the helm of the Hellhole Journal.

I'm feeling a need to rethink the raison d'etre for this blog. In the beginning, it was called Hellhole Update to chronical the experiences and learnings of a typical working guy - a victim of hierarchy and professional management that sought to stifle humor, creativity and above all else, dissent. The intention was to be entertaining more than informative.

Then, a few years ago, I retired, sort-of. Since I have been out of (Escaped...) the workforce, I've lost the passion about work topics. After all, how many different ways can you say that management is generally clueless, nasty, brutish and short?

In the past year I have drifted into political issues. There has been no dearth of events and points of view worthy of derision and mockery. Yet, I have become weary of politics. It is clear that no amount of discussion will alter anyone's position, and that is just a sad state of affairs, and not entertaining.

So it is. I have come to a journalistic crossroads, he wrote dramatically

I need a new topic.

Any Ideas?

Jumping Ugly on Obama

On Tuesday WSJ printed an OP-ED piece,  "The Obama Spell is Broken" by Fouad Ajami. The author is a senior fellow at Stanford University Hoover Institution - a  Republican leaning Small Government Think Tank. I mention the author's credentials because this piece reveals how utterly wrong a fancy pants intellectual can be when his research is colored by his preconceptions.

"The curtain has come down on what can best be described as a brief un-American

   moment in our history. That moment began in the fall of 2008, with the great financial

   panic, and gave rise to the Barack Obama phenomenon. 

  The nation's faith in institutions and time-honored ways had cracked. In a little-known

   senator from Illinois millions of Americans came to see a savior who would deliver the

   nation out of its troubles. ..."

Ajami seems to forget that the reason for Obama's election.  A lot of voters felt like we needed a drastic change in 2008.  There was a huge shift of independent voters who had voted for Bush in 2004 but who became alienated by the Bush administration's arrogant excesses in the name of the 'war on terror' -  which had badly damaged US credibility around the world. 
Voters were further driven away from the republican party by the failure of the "small government" party to keep the government small and instead of tax and spend, they were cut-tax and spend.  Added to that was the palpable weakness of the McCain-Palin ticket.  Then came the stunning collapse of the financial sector, widespread job loss, and the clear indictment against unregulated free markets.   Compared to the alternative, Obama seemed to the majority like "not such a bad guy". 
To those who see Obama as a Socialist and therefore a threat, his popularity is explained by his appeal to the leftmost of lefties.  But that position ignores the fact the independents are the biggest chunk of voters, and neither Bush nor Obama could have won if their support lay only among ideologues.  It may have seemed to his opponents that Obama was protected by some magic spell.  There were furious and unrelenting  efforts to smear him (via associations) as a Socialist bomb throwing sympathizer and Black Nationalist - even questioning his citizenship.   To their chagrin, only the conservative choir seemed to resonate with this negative nattering. 

When Obama won the big election decisively, and delivered a supermajority to his party,  the opposition  -  failing once again to understand that most of the people who actually show up to vote might actually be thoughtful and deliberative -  wrote off the President's popularity to charisma, magic, mystique. 

Progressives pressed for a draconian attack on the workings of our health care, and on the broader balance between the state and the marketplace. The economic stimulus, ObamaCare, the large deficits, the bailout package for the automobile industry—these, and so much more, were nothing short of a fundamental assault on the givens of the American social compact.

I don't think most voters were tuned-in to the same things that conservatives worry about  about all the time.  Sure, people want security, but some of us are not convinced that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are making the US more secure.  Most people don't feel that the mistakes that have been made over the past year were intentional assaults on the American social compact. 

The vast majority of people are mainly concerned with their jobs.  Moreover, they understand that there is little that the government can do in the short term to "create jobs" in the private sector.  Voters are unhappy that the unfettered free market doesn't work.  Most people don't think tax cuts for the wealthy will generate more jobs either. 


Ajami projects his idea of Obama as Icarus; he  has over-reached and has flown too close to the sun

And then there was the hubris of the man at the helm: He was everywhere, and pronounced on matters large and small. This was political death by the teleprompter.

In effect, Ajami (and others) are declaring that Obama has "jumped the shark". This phrase is used to declare the clear turning point where a sitcom or celebrity has lost it's popularity and has started sliding downhill.  

I think they may be jumping the gun.  The shot across the bow sent by Massachusetts was a warning shot, to be sure.   To the amazement of everybody, it changed everything.  It stopped the bloated shipwreck of a healthcare plan dead in the water.  But it does not necessarily sink Obama.

 Deliberative minds might see the election of a Republican to the "Ted Kennedy" seat as a statement about status quo, not so much about Obama.  The conservative claque has been unrelenting in their criticism of every word and gesture of the new president.  But many of those who have expressed disappointment with his results have maintained a positive view of the man.  Much of the criticism is leveled at the leadership of the partisan congress who have botched the public trust.

Obama has 3 more years to get things right.  News of his demise may be premature.

Ask Someone ...

For years, the Toyota tag line has been "Ask some one who owns one."


Today, maybe you should ask someone who owns a late model Camry- as soon as they get out of the hospital.

Ironies - continued

So The Kennedy Senate seat went to Scott Brown the independent Republican, much to the shock and awe of a lot of people who thought the Democratic candidate ("Marsha" Coakley) was a shoe-in.

Here is an interesting tidbit:
Prior to 2004, the succession law provided for the governor to appoint a replacement to a vacant senatorial seat. This appointee would serve as Senator until the next regular election cycle.

When John Kerry became the Democratic nominee for President in 2004, Massachusetts Democrats, who dominated the state legislature, were urged by none other than Ted Kennedy, to change the succession law, just in case Kerry won in the big election. So, they rushed a bill into law that eliminated the power of the Governor (who so happened to be a Republican, Mitt Romney) to appoint a replacement. The new law ensured that the seat would remain vacant until a special election could be held to choose a (presumably Democratic) successor.

Fast forward to five years later. When it became clear that ailing Senator Ted would not survive to the end of his term, he once again sought to change the law. As a strategic move to maintain the supermajority in the Senate, Ted wrote to the Massachusetts leadership, this time urging them to pass a law that provided for the Governor (Democrat Deval Patrick) to name a successor until the special election could be arranged. Even jaded observers such as your humble scribe were shaking our heads at this blatant example of cynical power politics.

But, they messed up.

If they had simply repealed the 2004 change, Gov Patrick would have appointed party loyalist who would have served until the next regular election in 2012. But they left the special election provision intact, which was a mistake as it turned out..
Into that special election rode Scott Brown in his GMC pick-up truck, fueled with independent voter outrage at the workings of political hacks both in the state and in Washington. Hope collided with anger and hope lost.

There will be plenty of analyses offered as to why Scott Brown won the special election. But the irony of this story is this: the guy ultimately responsible for losing the Kennedy seat was - Ted Kennedy!
Furthermore, the initial change turned out to be unnecessary, since Kerry didn't get elected President.

You may be Right

As the great philosopher Billy Joel said, "You may be right, I may be crazy, but it just might be a lunatic you're looking for..."

It is interesting to see all the reactions to the Scott Brown victory over Martha Coakley on Tuesday. Some disappointed Democrats are pouncing on Ms Coakley for her supposed failures. Elsewhere, Starry eyed Liberals are ranting on their Facebook pages that the Massachusetts Redneck truck drivers voted against homeless orphans getting health care coverage. (I guess these were the same Rednecks who voted for Deval Patrick and Barack Obama). Local Conservative talk show hosts are gloating and taking credit for mobilizing their listeners to produce the sudden last minute surge for Brown.

Of all the analyses, I think Brown himself nailed the reason for his victory: People are fed-up with the status quo. So fed-up that they were willing to vote for a guy that most of us would label Conservative. I say most of us, because my favorite Conservative (George) worries that Brown might be a RINO (Republican in name only).
Another example of how we tend to see what we want to see?

My vote for Brown was directed at the current health care bill, which he has promised to vote against. I am not opposed to health care reform, I am against this "train wreck" of a plan, which would immediately increase the cost of health insurance for most working families an added 15-20% and give them less choice and less access. Not mention that NO one would get ANY benefit from this plan until 2014 for Crissakes!

I think we can do better. I am hoping that sending Mr Brown to D.C. as the messenger will help the Dems get rid of the special deals that have been written into the bill and focus on providing healthcare coverage to people who can't afford it.

By breaking the super majority in the Senate, Brown's election could serve the country well. Instead of maintaining a polarized status quo The Dems will have to seek common ground with Repubs to get anything done.

Maybe it's a little starry-eyed of me, but I'm hoping that the threat of getting thrown out of office will make our elected reps pay more attention to the voters and less attention to the special interests. Yeah, I know, You may be right...

But, the beauty of this vote is this: If we made a mistake, we can fix it in 2 years, when Brown comes up for election again.

Doing the Right Thing

Most of the staff here at the Hellhole Journal have been outraged at the sneaky deals and outright cynical payoffs that seem to be accepted as "business as usual" by US Politicians.
It is distressing to hear Harry Reid say the "by definition legislating is about making deals." (I always thought that by definition, legislating was about making LAWS). Apparently I am not alone.
The other day Ben Nelson senator from Nebraska (who has been getting serious flak from just about everyone in and out of Nebraska) has written a letter asking Reid to remove the "cornhusker kickback" clause from the final bill. Now, after watching his personal approval ratings sink like a whale turd, he says, he believes the tax exemption should apply to all states.

This is encouraging news that someone may be listening to the chorus of boos coming from the customers of this "sausage factory." Now we need to hear from the Unions, Louisiana, Vermont and all those other porkers. (BTW this includes the separate outrageous pork barrel deal that our own John Kerry strongarmed through committee to get a contract for GE to manufacture an jet engine that the Pentagon doesn't want. ) We have to acknowledge that these things cost tax money which we do not have.

I probably need to reiterate that me and the staff are not against health care reform. We think that there are plenty of areas where something positive can be done to help people who want and need it. We just don't want the bloated piece of crap that they are fighting for in congress.

For example, we have changed our position on chronic illness. I confess that I was a bit tin-eared about this issue myself, until I had a discussion with a friend who has been losing mobility because of MS. He recently got laid off and may face the daunting challenge of getting affordable health care coverage in the future. I've always realized that no one except the very wealthy can afford to be chronically ill, but I never actually had to confront the situation with a family member or friend before. While I still defend the business decision of an insurance company to decide who they insure (i.e., they should not be forced to lose money), there is a need to cover people with pre-existing conditions. And, that by definition is the role of government. There are plenty of programs that could be cut to allow the funding of care for people with chronic illness - that would indeed be health care reform!

Surf's Up in Massachusetts

So this morning I read that President Obama is going to come to Massachusetts to promote his candidate (current state attorney general, Martha Coakley) in next Tuesday's special election to fill Ted Kennedy's seat. The dems have been confident the the majority of voters who showed up on election day would vote for a guaranteed 60th democratic vote for healthcare reform and other party line votes.

But, not so fast, says Scott Brown, the republican state senator who opposes Ms. Coakley. Brown has tuned-in to the dissatisfaction many independents have expressed about the current health care bill and the sleazy deals that have been made to ram the plan down the throats of the electorate. The dems have demonstrated chronic tone deafness by dismissing any criticism of its plans as partisan rhetoric.

Following their debate last week Coakley saw her lead in opinion polls going downhill like an outgoing tide. Brown's strong performance in the debate and sharp rise in polls elicited national attention with editorials in WSJ and other non regional media. Coakley's campaign hit back with an expensive attack ad campaign. As a non-partisan, my opinion is that Coakley's ads will backlash against her, because the attempts to distort Mr Brown's record and position are obvious.

The tsunami of support for Brown is palpable here. It is a wave of discontent with politics as usual. It should not be seen as pro-republican either. It is a cry of "We're mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore."

Now, Mr. Obama is in a bit of a pickle. If Coakley loses the election, Brown has already stated that he will vote to block the current bloated health care plan. "We need to go back and start over," he says. So, Obama cannot ignore the situation because his loyalists (and all those who have sold their souls for the current plan) will blame him if he does nothing and Brown wins. Yet, if he comes here and Brown still wins (shades of New Jersey) Obama will be perceived as weak.

The irony is in the fact that if the healthcare bill is defeated and the dems are forced to go back and rewrite a cleaner, less expensive plan, they will ultimately come out better for it. If the current legislation is passed, the dems will be swept out of power at midterm elections and Obama will be heading back to Chicago in three years.

My advice, stay home Mr. Obama, Our minds are made-up. we taxpayers don't need the cost and hassle of your visit. (Ramp-freeze at Logan, traffic tie-ups to allow his motorcade to cruise at will about our fair city). No matter what the final result on Tuesday, one thing is certain: the tide has turned. And the shockwaves will be felt around the world.

(OK so I mixed up the metaphors. Sue me.)