I'm So Happy That I Can't Stop Crying

So, Election Day...mad props to the Grand Old Party for pulling off an amazing 60+ seat gain in the House of Representatives, ending Nancy Pelosi's reign of terror in the lower house of the federal legislative government.  Victories in the Senate (albeit not enough for a majority) and across state legislatures and governors' mansions all over the 50 states made the evening all the sweeter.

So why do I feel like it was such a pyrrhic victory, personally?

For starters, I suppose it's because so many of the individuals I hold the deepest ill-regard for--such as Barney Frank, Chuck Schumer, and Charles Rangel--still are able to walk the hallowed halls of government in 2011.  Granted, it was all but impossible to expect any of these true American villains to fall in the wave, but man wouldn't it have been nice?  How the corrupt Rangel and dangerously incompetent Frank and Schumer--whose financial policy flounderings proved so lengendary and integral to the Great Recession that I wrote an entire graduate term paper on it--manage to earn relection year after year is a damning case for the failures of democracy, indeed.

Really, though, I think my woe stems from the fact that, in a year where I should have joyously been caught up in a GOP tsunami, I actually managed a whopping o-fer at all levels.  That's correct: every single candidate I voted for in 2010 lost, and most races were not even close!  Ted's preferred choices for two United States Senators, Congress, Governor, State Senator, State Assembly, Comptroller, and Attorney General all went down to defeat.  New York is now the deepest blue of the blue states, and I have to wonder: is my personal worldview so diametrically opposed to that of my neighbors that I should seek living accommodations elsewhere? Or is it just that my state's Republican party is utterly devoid of leadership and incapable of fielding even remotely winnable candidates any longer?



At least I'll always have Rudy Giuliani.  If you have not seen his confident, facts-based destruction of the hens that populate the daytime trash television program The View, consider this your weekend token of good will.


Links:
Rudy Giuliani Scolds 'View' Audience When He's Booed For Criticizing Obama (NewsBusters)
I Can Has Bailout? (Geek Soap Box)

It's Time to Put Up or Shut Up

Tomorrow marks Election Day in the United States, and I fully intend to be part of the wave that will sweep Republicans back into a position of significant power at the federal and state levels.  The sharp divide that will mark our government once its all said and done is perhaps the only way to ensure no further damage in the form of "historic" legislation, bailouts, or stimulus packages will wind up on the books.

My predictions? GOP takes the house easily, but falls a little short in the Senate. The "wish" races (Bielat, O'Donnell, Fiorina, Angle, Whitman) fail to pain out, but nearly every other race goes red. Statewide, Andrew Cuomo earns the NY Governor's mansion, but at least one major office (either Attorney General or Comptroller) winds up in Republican hands. Locally, Vince Tabone wins my previously Democratic Assembly seat in an open race, and all other incumbents retain.

Anyway, to mark the occasion, let's dig deep down into the most anarchic of the Pink Floyd catalogue and enjoy the tale of comeuppance that is Dogs.  Checking in at nearly 20 minutes in length, it's perhaps my favorite of the Floyd "long" songs and, 30 years later, even this solo remake by Roger Waters hits the mark perfectly.



In case you don't want to sit through the whole thing, at least browse the lyrics:

You got to be crazy, you gotta have a real need
You gotta sleep on your toes and when you're on the street
You got to be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed
And then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight
You gotta strike when the moment is right without thinking

And after a while, you can work on points for style
Like the club tie, and the firm handshake
A certain look in the eye and an easy smile
You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to
So that when they turn their backs on you
You'll get the chance to put the knife in

You gotta keep one eye looking over your shoulder
You know, it's going to get harder, and harder, and harder
As you get older
Yeah, and in the end you'll pack up and fly down south
Hide your head in the sand
Just another sad old man
All alone and dying of cancer

And when you lose control, you'll reap the harvest you have sown
And as the fear grows, the bad blood slows and turns to stone
And it's too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw around
So have a good drown, as you go down all alone
Dragged down by the stone

Gotta admit that I'm a little bit confused
Sometimes it seems to me as if I'm just being used
Gotta stay awake, gotta try and shake off this creeping malaise
If I don't stand my own ground, how can I find my way out of this maze

Deaf, dumb and blind, you just keep on pretending
That everyone's expendable, and no one has a real friend
And it seems to you the thing to do would be to isolate the winner
Everything's done under the sun
But you believe at heart everyone's a killer

Who was born in a house full of pain
Who was trained not to spit in the fan
Who was told what to do by the man
Who was broken by trained personnel
Who was fitted with collar and chain
Who was given a pat on the back
Who was breaking away from the pack
Who was only a stranger at home
Who was ground down in the end
Who was found dead on the phone
Who was dragged down by the stone
Who was dragged down by the stone

The Role of Creating Jobs: It's True, It's Damn True

One of the interesting aspects of visiting Las Vegas is that, as a result, I am now immersed in advertising for the heated election between current Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his Republican challenger, Sharon Angle. Despite being months away, campaign spending is fast and furious out here, a strong indicator of how important this bellwether contest between a long-time Washington insider with incredible power and an insurgent complete opposite may be.

So, since I am not a resident of the fine state of Nevada, why am I blogging about it? Because one ad I saw yesterday from Senator Reid annoyed me to the point of rage.

There are actually a few variants on the same theme, attacking Angle for an off-the-cuff statement on how it would not be her job as US Senator to "create jobs." They usually then roll out countless ordinary, average state citizens who all shake their heads in incredulity over this declaration. Here's one example:



Assuming these citizens are not paid actors playing a role, and actually reflect a philosophical / governmental zeitgeist out here, all I can ask is please remove yourself from all future political discourse, thanks.

It is not, and never should be, the role of the government to create jobs, per se. For now, we are still primarily a capitalist nation and it is the role of the private sector to drive economic growth and employment. When the bloated, bureaucratic government offers its own two cents on the matter -- via such initiatives as the recent failed stimulus package, regulations / subsidies, and other Keynesian initiatives -- the results usually betray a series of unintended consequences that shift the natural supply and demand curves in ways that raise prices and stifle economic development.

Instead, the government should get out of the way and let people go about the business of living their lives and conducting their businesses. That so many disagree and now favor Big Brother as the driving factor in our lives sends a chill up my spine.

Links:

• "No Change in Unemployment, But We've Traded Full-Timers for Part-Timers" (Innocent Bystanders)
• "The Impact of an Excise Tax or Subsidy on Price" (San Jose State University Department of Economics)