Idud, questions

So Apple officially introduced their next “big” thing, the Ipad.  I watched some of the demo video and to be honest, I don’t get it.

To me it just appears to be little more than a super sized Iphone.  It’s too big to throw in your pocket and too small and too limited to have the functionality of a regular laptop or even a netbook.  I think Apple has swung and missed on this one.  The thing starts at $500 for cripes sake. No thanks.

I didn’t watch the state of the union address last night but evidently a lot of my conservative FB friends did as I saw their ranting as I scrolled through the site this morning.  Most of the ranting went something like this “I can’t stand listening to this guy, hi is a no good, lying, liar, liar, liar!”  Ok I would like to address some of this with some questions instead of answers.

Health care.  The health care debate has taken center stage and I have already said I am not happy with what it has turned into.  However let me just focus on the core of the issue, should Americans be entitled to health care? 

Obviously there are many out there that the answer is a resounding NO.  I would like to ask these people if they also view existing government “entitlement” programs like social security, medicare/medicaid, food stamps, and unemployment benefits as equally heinous?  Should old people that neglected to adequately plan for their financial future be thrown into the gutters?  Should people laid off by businesses to pad their bottom line be left to sink since they didn’t have an adequate nest egg to survive such an event?  Of course to answer yes to any of these questions would be crazy yet the same crazy premise is being applied to the health care question. 

Hell that’s almost as crazy as uncapping the limits on what corporations can spend to buy elections. Oh wait, that just happened.

I’ve heard people saying that Obama should no longer be blaming the cluster f he inherited from 8 years of George Bush.  After all it’s been a whole entire year since Bush slinked away from office.   Surely in today’s world of instant, I want it yesterday agendas Obama should have been enable to wipe the slate clean, fixed all of the wrongs and set America sailing down a path lined by rainbows and framed in white fluffy clouds.  Of course again, that is pure lunacy.

Mr Liar, Mr big stinky liar.  I would like examples of the lies that Obama has told.  The most common example I hear is the lack of transparency in the health care reform process.  The bill failed to follow the guidelines that Obama hoped all legislation would once he became president.  Instead it fell into the same muck of secret deals, compromise and bullshit that all legislation has for the past half century.

If anything Obama is guilty of thinking his resounding popularity after he got elected would immediately wilt the will of the legislative branch to change their carved in stone ways.  Critics of Obama seem to think it’s reasonable that he should be able to exert his will on Congress and make them basically do what he asks.  Of course it doesn’t work that way.  There is a reason the legislative and executive branches of government are distinctly separate.  One has no absolute control over the other.  Obama can not force Congress to do a damn thing. 

If you compare where we were a year ago with the financial system collapsing, the stock market imploding and the economy in free fall, there is no question we are on more stable ground today.  Obama ran into a building that had a four alarm fire going on.  Although the fire is still burning, it at least is partially under control.

I guess the biggest question of all is if you are part of the problem or part of the solution? 

There is no denying it is now in vogue to be negative about anything Obama says or does.  Human beings get reassurance from “me too”.  Maybe the lesson learned is people really don’t want to change after all, pass the cheese fries.