The Associated Press reported Saturday that Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Senate Democrats defeated a GOP filibuster 60-34 over a $1.1T bill mostly covering domestic and entitlement spending. My faithful readers will be delighted to know that in a struggling economy with an official unemployment rate of 10% (and many others underemployed or no longer counted in statistics) and families, businesses and state and local governments having to make sacrifices to live within their budgets, Congressional Democrats are "profiles in courage", writing America's grandchildren an IOU to bump up program spending an average of around 10%, and to vote raises for federal employees and funding for nearly 5000 earmark projects.
You may ask yourself, what about the national defense budget? Well, the crafty Senator Reid is holding that back as a political chip to be used in raising the national debt ceiling above $12.1T, daring the Republicans to vote against defense spending.
Given the penchant of Barack Obama and 2009 Jackass of the Year winner Alan Grayson to issue apologies, I have one of my own to make: I apologize to young Americans that we have elected clueless politicians of both parties whom subordinate the long-term economic interests of the United States to their reelection campaigns, leaving as their legacy a mountain of debt, a weak currency which will almost certainly result in inflation and a lower standard of living, actuarially unsound, rapidly growing entitlement programs (and inevitable rationing), and unsustainable, unmanageable, obtrusive government expansion, both expensive and ineffective.
I also apologize to the Founding Fathers and to the millions whom have sacrificed their lives and health in service to this country, for betrayed their memories and trust by electing unworthy individuals whom are more interested in class warfare than in shared sacrifice and have abandoned traditional American values that have built this country (e.g., hard work, self-reliance, integrity, thrift, and initiative), substituting moral hazards and unintended consequences in the process of adapting the framework of a European-style nanny state, where paternalistic government bureaucracy trumps individual freedom.
The Tiger Woods Kerfuffle
I have been deliberately silent about this scandal, along with recent news of Jenny Sanford's decision to divorce South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, once considered a rising star in the GOP. I feel very badly about the wives of politicians whom have often stood by the side of their disgraced spouses, e.g., Dina McGreevey, Silda Spitzer, Suzanne Craig, Wendy Vitter, Darlene Ensign, and Patti Blagojevich (to name a few). It's bad enough to face these challenges in their private lives--but to have to share the burden of public humiliation due to her husband's irresponsible sexual or political indiscretions? It brings to mind the example of Hillary Clinton before Bill's election to the White House, whom notoriously said, given allegations of Bill's affairs, that she "wasn't some little woman 'standing by my man' like Tammy Wynette."
Tiger Woods has impressed me in a manner similar to Barack Obama: both are mixed-race gentlemen whose immense talents and achievements seem to embody the ideals of the great American melting pot and the American dream. I have no doubt that each individual has dealt with prejudice in ways none of us will never know or experience; they are remarkably articulate, personable and not defensive.
I have played golf only on a few occasions (the last time years ago with a brother and some brothers-in-law). Golf is a difficult sport to master; just ask Michael Jordan, the most gifted basketball player ever. I usually don't watch golf very often (except an occasional major championship). I do recall Tiger Woods' first Master's tournament in 1997 at the age of 21, when he became the youngest winner, set a tournament record and also won the 12 strokes over the rest of the veteran field (a huge margin), one of the most extraordinary achievements in sports history: you knew from the get-go Tiger was something special and would rewrite record books. His mere participation in a tournament guarantees monster crowds and television ratings. And he has been handsomely rewarded for his talent, pulling in tens of millions of dollars per year for various product or service endorsements.
Then, earlier this month, Tiger Woods' personal life came crashing down with news reports of a bizarre auto accident (not involving another auto) near his home in the early hours of the morning. Tiger Woods until that time understandably had always insisted on leaving his family life out of the public spotlight. But rumors soon spread over a marital dispute over alleged infidelities; Tiger Woods sought to put a lid on the emerging scandal, demanding privacy, but it was like bleeding in shark-infested waters; Tiger's purported affairs seemed to be coming out of the woodwork. This was Tiger's worst nightmare come to life--Bill Clinton to this day still gets late-night jokes over the Monica Lewinsky affair. This image he has carefully cultivated of a solid family man, ambassador to the sport and role model to millions of young boys and girls is gone forever.
Why did he do it? The answer I give is, because he thought he could get away with it. You can ask the same question about why Martha Stewart did what she did about her ImClone holdings, why Bill Clinton couldn't keep his pants zipped up in the White House or why some of the students I caught cheating were among the most capable in class. I'm not a psychologist; maybe it was a false sense of security that they wouldn't get caught (that they had managed to get away with it for some time); they liked flirting with danger of exposure or pulling one over other people; or they thought the same rules didn't apply to them, that nobody would believe the other party if the truth ever did surface.
The fallout will be considerable. Accenture, an IT services company which has heavily invested in their relationship with Tiger Woods, has just pulled its relevant promotional activities. I have little doubt that Tiger Woods is consulting with public relations gurus and lawyers, and the recently announced hiatus from the sport is a deliberate part of his journey to rehabilitate his public image. His image, though, stands in stark contrast to fellow superstar golfer Phil Mickelson, whom earlier this year suspended his PGA tour schedule indefinitely to be with his wife Amy after her breast cancer diagnosis.
I do hope that Tiger Woods takes time to go beyond rehabilitating his public image and rediscovers his true legacy--his family: his beautiful wife and their two children. I believe with God, all things are possible, including forgiveness and redemption.
Political Cartoon
Michael Ramirez gets it. No word yet on whether Cracker Jacks has managed to license the right to call its little prizes at the bottom of the box "Nobel" so everyone who thinks he or she has potential can get one of his very own and complete a collection! (No doubt Obama wants one for literature given his two autobiographies by the time he turned 46. Expect a third autobiography in 2013.)
Christmas Musical Interlude:
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, "Christmas Eve in Sarajevo/Carol of the Bells"
Making their second appearance in my countdown...
