Why does this remind me of Washington politics?
Many of you might be wondering why I haven’t posted anything lately. I have been so busy with two online courses that I am taking. They are self paced and I wanted to get them done so I actually can have some summer. I have been working like I am possessed! I am happy to report that I am finally finished with both courses. A couple of weeks ago I came across an article that made me think.
We are creating new jobs in America. As our manufacturing jobs continue to be outsourced we have some new biomedical type jobs being created. However, this one I had to read twice to decide whether it was put out on the internet by “The Onion” or some other prankster. It seems that some people are just fed up with dog poop. There must be a market for this product or it probably wouldn’t be produced. Deborah Violette is a property manager for a housing complex. At this complex, Timberwoods Commons in Lebanon, New Hampshire you must submit your dog’s DNA. This just means a swab of the dog’s mouth. However, it will cost you. You can check out the article to see what the fees entail. When Deborah finds dog poop, she sends it to a lab to be analyzed. If it’s your dog’s DNA, heaven forbid what the penalty might be. It’s a strange new world. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/us/02dogs.html?_r=1&hp
I’m sure some of you are thinking this is a good idea and maybe I’m missing something. I just think it must be time to get into the biomedical research business because there sure is plenty of dog poop around! I have a fenced in yard and my dog has his own personal lavatory. I won’t be analyzing his DNA any time soon.
Since I have dogs on my mind, I wonder what will happen with the budget talks in Washington D.C. as we move into the dog days of summer. I keep thinking about that August 2nd deadline. According to some experts a deal has to be reached between July 15th and the 22nd in order for all the dominoes not to fall. Where is President Obama in all of this? Once again it appears that the devil is in the details. Just like the deal struck in December, I’m sure the President will work his magic and give in to the demands of the Republicans. Jo Connelly has written about the work ethic of the House and laments days gone by when things were settled over a drink or two. http://www.seattlepi.com/local/connelly/article/Will-Congress-Get-Back-from-Recess-and-Get-to-1447691.php
I came across this opinion piece that does a pretty good job of summing up the status of our current congress. http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20110710/COLUMNISTS107/107100302/1155
As far as President Obama goes, I keep hearing the song from the Wizard of Oz in my head, “Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!” The President is lost in a forest when suddenly the Cowardly Lion hops out and tries to scare him. Those Republicans are pretty scary and President Obama seems to need constant companionship and protection just like Dorothy. So we, the American people, end up with a standoff. I see a whole lot of nothing going on but posturing. These two political opponents are wasting much political capital trying to look like they’re doing something important. What I see is crazy Republicans antics from the far right facing President Obama, a Republican from the middle. Too bad we don’t have any real Democrats that could balance this scale out a bit better. Republicans have changed so much in the last forty years that it is shocking. However, the Democrats have changed even more. Back in the seventies Republicans were all about population control. They even supported Planned Parenthood! http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/6714-planned-parenthood-republicans-a-decades-long-history
The current Democrats are as bad as the Republicans. They are helping the Republicans find ways to chip away at Social Security and Medicare. President Obama and the Democrats are playing games just like the Republicans. I hear in President Obama’s speeches that hint that these programs must be changed. He implies that he will protect them but from my perspective it seems to me that he protests too much. We all know he will cave just like he caved in December. He doesn’t stand for anything but he wants us to believe he does. His principles are not clearly defined. He hasn’t been leading this country. He caves on Elizabeth Warren and he will cave on this as well! http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2011/07/18/138475440/obama-makes-it-official-cordray-not-warren-as-consumer-finance-head
These dog days of summer make me think that the American people better get their pooper scoopers ready. There is going to be a lot of crap to clean up after the summer is over!