Lyndon Furst's
A Different Perspective
"A Very Confusing World"
POSTED 8/3/09
A Very Confusing World
There are a lot of things I do not understand about this world and the way things work in modern society. I just wish some smart person would explain it all to me. For example, every time the President breaths heavy, conservative America goes into a fit of rage. Everything he does or says seems to evoke a most hateful diatribe in response. Yet, I seem to remember that when George Bush was President, the slightest suggestion that he may not have reached perfection was met with charges of treason. After all, America was at war and any criticism would weaken our troops by giving aid and comfort to the enemy. We are still at war so why now is it OK to criticize the Commander-in-Chief?
One of the main complaints against Obama is that he spends too much money. Doesn’t anyone remember how Bush spent money at an unprecedented rate, And his father before him? And that great conservative, Ronald Reagan, before him? The only break in profligate spending came when the liberal Bill Clinton was President. Speaking of liberals, they get blamed for causing the current turbulence in the economy by passing laws that required banks to lend money to people who could not pay it back. Really now! Poor people caused the recession? I didn’t think they were smart enough to develop mortgage backed securities and all those other fancy things that threatened to bring down the world banking system.
On the topic of smart people, if they are so smart, how did all these rich people get hoodwinked by the ponzai scheme of Bernie Madoff? How was he able swindle them out of billions of dollars? Yes that is billions, spelled with a "B."If the smart rich people get cheated so easily, what chance is there for us ordinary folks? Speaking of rich people, Steve Jobs (reported to be worth several billion)recently had a liver transplant. How did he get to the head of the line of 16,000 people who are waiting for similar surgery? Livers as well as other organs are in short supply so a system of rationing is implemented to see that the right people get the surgery. Wait a minute! Rationing in health care was not supposed to happen until after the Obama reforms are implemented. Looks like we have it right now.
Moving on to another topic, both General Motors and Chrysler have indicated that they plan to cut the number of dealers who sell their product. I may be missing something here , but it seems to me that they need more dealers to sell their cars not less. I would really like to hear an explanation on this one. Selling cars is what car dealers do, isn’t it?
Which brings me to the latest government scandal from the previous administration in Washington, DC. It has been discovered that shortly after the September 11 attack on America, the Central Intelligence Agency developed a plan to assassinate the leaders of the terrorist network known as al Quaida, which carried out the dastardly deed. Predictably, some liberals howled in rage that agents of the American government should even consider such a thing as cold blooded murder of a foreign national in another country.
Again, I am more than a little confused on the issue. The attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon was an act of war. Congress overwhelmingly supported that view. Governments kill people in war time. That is what war is all about - killing people. So, why should it be such a shock that the CIA planned to kill some leaders of the enemy? The bigger issue with me is, why didn’t they succeed?
Talk about succeeding, Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin has been very successful in keeping the news media all hyped up. The latest allegation of wrongdoing against her is that a committee of people has been formed to raise money to pay the legal fees accumulated to fund her defense against multiple charges of wrongdoing. Most of these accusations have been of a frivolous nature and have no real substance in fact. Yet, she has to mount a legal defense which is quite expensive. What is wrong with having her supporters raise money to pay her legal fees? I fail to see the issue here.
A final confusing issue is the recent Senate hearings on the nomination of Sonia Sotomeyor. Much was made, by partisans on both sides, of the fact that she is of Hispanic ethnicity. She will be the first of that ethnic group on the High Court. Conservatives were particularly incensed that Obama had played the race card with this nomination. "Race should not matter!" fumed one veteran politician. I agree that race should not matter, but it apparently does. Of the 110 people who have ever served on the high Court, 108 have been White. This racial restriction on the make-up of the Court has been so firmly established in our nation’s history that I do not understand why it is now being questioned.
From my perspective, it is a very confusing world out there. I wish someone could explain it all to me!