Sen. Vitter symbolic of the new GOP

I really want to like or at least respect Republicans. I once voted for certain Republicans. Unfortunately, when they aren't casting stones at the unemployed or Mexicans simply trying to earn a living, they are making derogatory comments about how people look. Makes it difficult to feel warm and fuzzy about the GOP.

Republican Sen. David Vitter felt compelled to make a wise crack about MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on a right-wing radio talk show today. He implied that she looks like a man. Link to story and audio.

Normally, this might not be a big deal. But during these troubled times, when we are looking for leaders to lead, this stuff is just plain stupid. I realize that Republicans tend to not like anyone who doesn't look or think like they do (not they they are the most attractive group). However, stooping to parochial insults about a political commentator who happens to intelligently expose GOP ignorance on a nightly basis is just beneath a U.S. senator, particularly one who represents a Gulf Coast state with much bigger problems than Rachel Maddow.

Senator Vitter's attack on Maddow is just another indication of how the GOP has fallen. Republicans like to trumpet Ronald Reagan, but Reagan didn't stoop to juvenile yucks on talk radio shows. Yes, Reagan cut taxes. We all know that. Make of that what you will. He took on the Soviet Union and should be credited with many positive things. But modern-day Republicans conveniently forget that there was a certain elegance to Reagan. He was a statesman, not a clown. It was Reagan who first suggested that we and the Soviets reduce our nuclear arsenals to zero. You would think from listening to conservative talk radio that this is an Obama exclusive.

Today's Republicans yell out "you lie" during presidential addresses and giggle and name call on the radio. They apologize to BP and suck up to the Tea Party. They worship Sarah Palin. It's getting more difficult by the day to respect a single member of this political party. Democrats aren't much better, but do seem to have some sense of decorum and connection to reality.

We need at least two viable political parties in this country. Actually, I'd like to see everyone run as independents, but that will never happen. Ideally, I'd like to hear ideas from individual candidates, not political groups. In lieu of that, Republicans need to offer up something that will appeal to voters who aren't thrilled by idiotic, divisive comments and pure political grandstanding. Republicans need better men than David Vitter and Sen. Jim Bunning. They need to elevate the conversation, not by tearing down people who have fallen on hard times or who look a little different but by being more inclusive. This is something that has alluded Republicans for years. When they get in trouble, they rally around their own kind. Well, it's time for Republicans to do what Democrats did in 2008. Open up the tent. Extend a hand. Lead with strength and compassion. Stop stereotyping everything and everyone. Walk in the shoes of those looking for work or who face daily discrimination based on sex, age, race or religion. Then see if you want to giggle about someone's appearance or assume that jobless people are drug addicts.

Earthquake a wake-up call

We had a 3.6 earthquake this morning. It was centered in Rockville, Md., about 20 miles from where I live in Northern Virginia. The quake occurred about three miles underground.

Of course, Californians are probably mocking us for even reporting on such a small quake. But keep a couple things in mind. First, this was the strongest quake within 30 miles of Washington D.C. in recorded-history. Because of the geographic qualities of the area, a 3.6 quake here is perceived to be much stronger than a similar quake in California.

With that said, I didn't feel the quake. It happened early, while I was in bed. I am a light sleeper, so it is surprising that I didn't hear or feel what other people reported.

They say there might be some after shocks for a week or so. In the grand scheme of things, it's not much to worry about. What is of far more concern is what is happening in the political halls of Washington, where Republicans and Democrats continue to play nasty games that are dividing our country. It is beginning to appear like Republicans in particular want the economy to languish just a bit longer so that they can win a few elections in November.

I hope it doesn't take a bigger earthquake to awaken people to what is happening in D.C. Gains in the economy were moving forward until Senate Republicans shut down the bridge to a fuller, self-sustaining economic recovery. I hope voters will remember that it was a Republican politician who apologized to British Petroleum and, with the exception of three senators, nearly shot down a financial reform bill that protects consumers. I pray that those impacted by the loss of unemployment benefits will remember that it was Republicans who voted down stimulus extensions that not only would have helped individuals, but would have aided businesses and the economy as a whole, with virtually no impact on the deficit despite GOP claims.

If Republicans are truly worried about the deficit, they should be leading the charge to not only get us out of Iraq and Afghanistan, but to reduce our troops around the globe. Even some higher-ups in the armed forces say that the military is way over funded. Reducing the military budget by getting us out of the global-policing business would do more to lower the deficit than almost any other viable option. Why do we still have Marines in Okinawa? World War II was a long time ago. Isn't it time that we ask other countries to do more to protect themselves?

America is going to have more challenges to face. Natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes will occur. Getting the economy back on its feet through smart, targeted stimulus and by cutting wasteful spending on the No. 1 biggest budget item, the military, is essential if we are going to be able to cope with future disasters.

I like to think of today's small earthquake as a message to those in Washington to speed up the recovery and to stop playing politics. Find solutions to reducing the deficit that don't involve screwing people who worked all of their lives until the recession landed on our shores. Stop with the Tea Party rhetoric. It's childish and naive to think we can return to the ways of revolutionary days. Stop thinking that a free market will solve all of our ills and that we don't need any government regulations. Human beings need boundaries, that is why we needed financial regulatory reform. Sorry if that sounds socialist but if it weren't true we could do away with police, and in fact, the entire military. It is ridiculous to think that corporations will always do the right thing. We have courts and a justice system because it is within the nature of man to sometimes take advantage of situations or other people. The track record of big businesses and banks speaks for itself.

Total freedom has never been a part of this country. We've gotten in the most trouble when oversight has been weakened, when the powerful have been able to run over the folks with the least money and affluence. Until human beings reach a higher level of enlightenment, I suspect we will always need rules and regulations to prevent things like careless oil spills and discrimination in the workplace. No one should be free to abuse an innocent person, the environment or anything else.

Yes, today's earthquake was centered close to where many politicians live in Montgomery County. I hope Republicans in particular felt the jolt and don't blame it on President Obama, the jobless (who GOP'ers like to refer to as loafers and drug addicts) or the financial reform bill. The quake could be the ultimate wake-up call for those who refuse to look at both sides of the issues -- those narrow-minded people who believe whatever agenda-driven media is spewing today.

Read more about today's earthquake.

One bad Apple spoiling a reputation

I am generally a big fan of Apple. However, the handling of the iPhone 4 technical problem is an indication that the company might have morphed from a consumer-friendly innovator that marched to the beat of a different (better) drummer to, well, just another company that puts profits above product and customer satisfaction.

The iPhone reception problem is real and doesn't appear to be software related as the company first said. Actually, the initial response from Apple head Steve Jobs was that people were holding the phone incorrectly. That didn't go over well with the public and was uncharacteristically stupid of Jobs to say.

Someone who works in the technology field recently demonstrated to me how the phone drops calls. It took him about 30 seconds to get the phone to malfunction. Other than that one rather significant flaw, the phone is a fascinating, user-friendly piece of hardware, like most Apple products.

The iPhone 4 is Apple's most successful product launch, which makes this debacle that much more significant. The company will hold a press conference tomorrow to address customer concerns.

I am not an iPhone user. I considered switching to the iPhone 3Gs recently, but my local dealer said that family-owned AT&T stores have not been permitted to sell iPhones, something that I did not previously know. She was not happy about Apple's decision to only market its phones through corporate franchise dealers. I could go to another AT&T store, but I generally prefer doing business with locally owned and operated companies whenever possible. Plus, something didn't seem right about Apple shutting out family businesses.

Apple's recent success with the iPod, iPad and iPhone is good news for a company that has always produced some of the best personal computers. However, Apple computers still struggle to compete with Microsoft Windows-based machines in terms of sales, mostly because of pricing.

Let's hope the company's handling of one rotten Apple doesn't open the flood gates to other problems experienced by previously revered manufacturers like Toyota. Jobs needs to address the iPhone problem with complete honesty and a plan to resolve consumer complaints. With the public suffering a massive British Petroleum hangover, we don't need for yet another company to try to spin and market its way out of a mess that it created.

Businesses now swimming in cash. So why aren't they hiring?

Nonfinancial companies have $1.8 trillion -- far more than they had just two years ago. Sadly, they aren't spending much of it on hiring jobless Americans. Some business leaders say they aren't confident that the economy is improving, despite profits being up. Way up. So what's it going to take for company leaders to invest in their businesses by hiring more folks? Hiring not only improves the psyche of the America, but it would also help those who have been pulling double-duty in understaffed offices and factories across the country since the start of the recession.

With executive bonuses still flowing liberally, I would guess that CEOs and CFOs aren't cutting back much on personal spending, which leads me to wonder whether they are being truthful in their economic forecasts for their companies or just hoarding profits in order to buy another summer home or exotic sports car. Perhaps they are angry at President Obama and the pressure he's putting on big businesses to clean up their acts. Maybe they are resisting hiring out of some sort of political payback. Or maybe they are sincere in their cautious approach. Could be all of the above.

Whatever the reason for the lack of hiring, it's bringing down the country and a lot of innocent people with it. Employers who have the cash and a need to hire but won't are acting in an unpatriotic manner. Their reluctance to hire is ripping apart families, crushing the real estate market, and hurting retailers and smaller business from coast to coast. State and local governments are suffering because fewer people are paying taxes. Highly profitable companies that aren't filling much-needed positions aren't being fiscally prudent. They are being selfish.

Doing business has always involved a degree of risk. Many companies have been rewarded for taking those risks. But we now seem to be in a new era where innovation is trumped by cutting jobs, where the quickest and only path to profits seem to be in eliminating employees or exporting jobs overseas. If this continues, not only will the American dream fade away, capitalism itself will be at risk. Simply put, without jobs people can't buy things. That fact will cause many more businesses to go extinct. So in a way, businesses that are refusing to hire are sealing their own fates.

Getting back to the concept of risk. Republicans like to argue that cutting taxes allows the wealthy to take risks, to open or expand businesses, which creates jobs. But from what we've seen so far in this modest recovery, bulging profits aren't sparking expansion. Cutting taxes on the rich seems to only grow the deficit and the money pocketed by the wealthy. If there was hard evidence that more tax breaks would create more jobs, I'd say go for it. However, the opposite seems to be true. This is not the Reagan era. The wealthy have enjoyed the fruits of the Bush tax cuts, yet have not increased hiring. So why continue with this strategy?

The mindset of those who are prospering in the recession seems to be to hold onto every dime they earn or get back from Uncle Sam. If businesses want to make a case for more tax breaks, they need to start taking more risks by hiring. I don't say this just to get people back to work, but to illustrate that one hand washes the other. Businesses that hire should get certain concessions. Those that don't, even though they could, should not receive any breaks from the government or taxpayers. In addition, hiring could actually increase profits. I think too many businesses have lost sight of that in the quest to reduce the workforce. There is a price for cutting too close to the bone. Competitors that maintain or grow their businesses could gain a huge advantage over those who refuse to take smart risks. Perhaps this is why smaller, more nimble companies, like Martin Guitars, are weathering the storm. The family-run Martin company has not cut jobs, yet they are still selling quality instruments, innovating and maintaining their position in the market. The company did not panic and as a result are being rewarded.

A new report suggests that there will be one million home foreclosures in the next 12 months. This is another sign of the stagnant job market and unemployment benefits running out. It is hard to find a job when you don't have a home. It's difficult to obtain credit to buy new things in the future when you have been foreclosed upon. Until jobs return, this cycle of pain will continue to ripple through the country and the entire economy. And some believe that we lost so many jobs in this recession that things will never return to normal. So it is in the interest of everyone that profitable companies resume hiring sooner rather than later. Payroll is the top expense for most businesses, but there are other ways for many companies to tighten their belts. Some family-owned businesses are particularly good at cutting costs without cutting jobs, maybe because smaller companies tend to view employees as human beings and not just numbers.

I have long suspected that there were far more layoffs in this recession than there needed to be. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that some job eliminations were a way for companies to raise their stock prices by fattening their profit margins. Wall Street seems to react favorably to slash-and-burn tactics. In this recession, it appears too many businesses jumped on the opportunity to get leaner, whether they needed to or not. The job losses spun out of control. A hundred here, a thousand there soon added up to millions of laid off workers. People who held jobs for decades began collecting unemployment benefits for the first time, and were made to feel bad about it by those on the far right. That travesty continues.

Now that the stimulus money is circulating through the economy and companies are making larger profits, one would think that jobs should return -- not all but far more than we're seeing. However, given human nature, greed and the tendency for some companies to embrace doing more with less, it is probably going to take something more dramatic from the government to force what businesses should be doing on their own by now. It appears that if businesses want to avoid further federal mandates, it would be in their best interest to begin using some of the $1.8 trillion to hire qualified people who have been desperately looking for work. It's up to profitable businesses to help restore America. This is no time for hoarding profits.

Read more in The Washington Post.

BP incapable of making this right

BP is using the phrase "make this right" in an advertising campaign that claims the oil giant will clean up the Gulf of Mexico and restore life as it was before the accident.

Of course, that is a ridiculous and manipulative claim -- a marketing ploy that creates the illusion that BP has the power to perform miracles. At best, BP can attempt to clean up their mess in a way that could limit further losses. But that, of course, doesn't sound as good as "making this right." Doesn't do much for the company's image.

There is no making it right. BP can't bring back those who died on the company's exploding rig, restore the wildlife that has perished in the thick oil or resurrect the suicide victims who couldn't endure yet another setback in their lives. BP can't even bring back the loss businesses or jobs. The way of life along the Gulf Coast has been altered for years, maybe decades. BP would have to turn back time in order to make things right.

BP and other oil and gas companies have a gun to our heads. They provide jobs and energy. They are also destroying our planet. Watch the documentary "Gasland" if you believe that natural gas is a clean alternative to oil. The process of extracting natural gas is profoundly polluting waterways in at least 30 states, literally in our own backyards.

Oil and gas companies aren't in the business of making things right. They are about making money -- lots of money. Until obscene profit is removed from the energy equation, it's more than likely that human beings will move closer and closer to extinction.

"If we go on the way we have, the fault is our greed and if we are not willing to change, we will disappear from the face of the globe, to be replaced by the insect. "
- Jacques Cousteau

Helping the jobless more righteous, beneficial than aiding the wealthy

Many people are beginning to wonder why President Obama isn't fighting as vigorously for the longtime unemployed as he did for health insurance reform. As unemployment benefits expire for millions of average Americans, Obama and some Democrats seem to be joining most Republicans in Congress in turning their backs on a looming disaster that will ripple through the economy. Here's what one American had to say in a Washington Post article today.

"President Obama talks a lot about making the victims of the gulf disaster whole, but what about the victims of this economic disaster?" said Dwight Michael Frazee, 50. "Nowadays, he seems mostly concerned with image. Now, he doesn't want to be seen as a big spender. But people need help."

People 50 and older are having a particularly hard time finding work. However, professionals in their 20s and 30s aren't exempt from difficulties in landing new jobs. Even here in Northern Virginia, where jobs are allegedly plentiful, people are on the edge. More from the Post article:

A 34-year-old resident of Vienna, Va., named Brian, who withheld his last name because of his embarrassment about being out of work, worked in corporate finance for nine years before being laid off three years ago. He exhausted his unemployment benefits long ago and has been living off savings and credit. "Before this, I figured that if you can't find a job in two years, you're not looking," he said. "But I keep looking and jobs just are not there. The economy is not recovering. It's being propped up by government spending. But when that ends, I think this whole mess is not over with."

In a recent study, Washington D.C., was ranked as the No. 1 city to find a job. What it didn't say is that while there are more jobs here than elsewhere, the competition is more fierce. This is one of the most-educated areas in the country, and the people looking for good jobs here come from all corners of the planet. In addition, many of the lower-end jobs that are available do not pay enough to make ends meet in this extremely high-cost-of-living area.

Some CFOs are saying that real hiring might be at least two years away.

It is frustrating to listen to people, particularly politicians, making assumptions about why people are unemployed. Until they have walked in the shoes of a longtime-unemployed person, they really can't or won't grasp all the complexities of why millions of folks still can't find work. Simply put, the jobs are not there. The economy has not recovered. To assume that someone who educated themselves, built a professional career and achieved middle class status or higher can suddenly take a job stocking shelves at 55 years old at Target is unrealistic. Yet, those are the types of jobs that some right-wing politicians say we should take. That's almost laughable because many politicians have never earned an honest day's pay in their lives.

With that said, many people with solid work ethics would take those jobs in Target if they could stay afloat by doing so. But they can't. And the insult-to-injury aspect of all of this is that those jobs aren't being given to 55-year-old men and women with PhD's or years of professional experience. Where do those folks go to find work? If they don't have friends in high places, they will end up on the outside looking in for a prolonged period of time as a double-dip recession seems more likely with each passing day.

If Obama and Congress don't help the longtime unemployed now, the people who can document that they've been seriously looking for work since becoming unemployed, the entire economy is going to collapse. It's a simple reality that many leaders are choosing to ignore as they jockey for political position.

Republicans seem perfectly willing to increase the deficit by giving billions of dollars in tax cuts to the very wealthy but won't fund meager weekly unemployment benefits for the middle class. They claim that tax cuts for the rich will help fuel the economy, but most studies (including Moody's) prove that to stimulate spending, unemployment benefits provide a much bigger bang for the buck than tax cuts. It is beyond comprehension why Obama and the Democrats don't hammer home these facts to an American public that is often uninformed or taken in by wealthy conservative talk show hosts out to protect their own riches. As I grow older, I am convinced that radio personalities like Rush Limbaugh are toxic to our society, political system and sense of common decency.

When cultural and political leaders make sweeping comments about jobless people using unemployment benefits "to buy illegal drugs," it should set off alarms about the authors of those remarks. They are simply not fit to lead. Their narrow minds and dark hearts need to be exposed. They need to be educated about who the new unemployed are in this country. They are not drug addicts. They are not chronic welfare cases. They are previously respected folks who were contributing to society before politicians and corrupt businesses drove the economy into the ground. The least we can do for them is to provide a bridge over these troubled waters. Many of them were the backbone of this country for decades. Some fought in wars, others were just good citizens paying their taxes and raising their families. To just throw them into the rapids is an horrendous act that will come back to haunt us all.

President Obama needs to step up and lead the charge to provide unemployment benefits to those who earned them. Employers also need to step up by hiring people who don't have jobs. Too many employers are still hiring folks who are already employed, while millions of highly qualified people go without work.

Real patriotism is not Sean Hannity playing sappy country songs on the radio about the good old red, white and blue or pretending to be just a regular Joe. Ditto on Sarah Palin. Real patriotism means everyone pulling together, lending a hand and creating meaningful jobs for all Americans. We have to fight the economic crisis like we fought both world wars. All hands on deck. Our recovery isn't going to come any quicker by throwing our neighbors overboard or by fattening the bank accounts of the wealthiest five percent. I thought Obama understood that, but like many of his supporters, I am losing confidence in his willingness to battle Republican hardliners.

Hiring might be two years away.

Confidence in Obama reaches new low.

Communicating on a higher level

According to one survey, there are a lot of people having conversations with Jesus Christ. The poll was done by a Christian research group. (I will let you determine whether that fact might have skewed the poll results just a tad.) Regardless, 77 percent is a big number. In an election, getting that percentage of votes would be considered a mega landslide.

Now before you start thinking that millions of Americans are hearing voices from the heavens, keep in mind that the poll liberally defined "speaks to them." In fact, only 16 percent actually heard an audible voice of Jesus. Most said that Jesus spoke to them through other means, like reading the Bible or through feelings and experiences in their lives.

There isn't much doubt that most of us do feel a gentle tug every now and then. Some of us call it a gut instinct. Others claim it is something more divine nudging us in one direction or another.

While I will do write about politics and other controversial topics in this blog, I generally stay clear of religion. It's just too complex and personal for this venue. I do wonder, however, that if 77 percent of Americans feel they are being guided or talked to by God -- Jesus in particular -- who is in communication with the followers of other religions from other countries? Does each religion have its own spokesperson? Can we only hear the voice of the deity we favor, or could a Muslim hear Jesus, too?

I know of some folks who believe dead people speak to them. Their dreams, they claim, are portals for the deceased to send messages to the living. Others are convinced that aliens have been communicating with us through crop circles and inscriptions in the deserts. Communications come in many forms, I guess.

I discount none of this. Until proven otherwise, anything is possible in my mind. Jesus sending text messages, UFOs burning mystical symbols into corn fields, the dead speaking to us at night -- I try not to mock any of it because, well, none of us really know much about the nature of the universe, let alone our role in it. In my opinion, the most important thing is to feel connected to something -- nature, a god, the cosmos, or all of the above -- outside of ourselves and to not use that connection or belief system to harm others. To do that, one has to listen -- really listen, without the clutter and static of everyday life. It isn't easy. We have to remain open to a wide range of possibilities and to not get so married to one belief or opinion that we can't hear all of the voices that surround us.