SAIGONBOB

Why the Pundits are Wrong about President Obama

    

President Obama will be making a major speech before the US Congress tonight (9pm EST).
     With the exception of MSNBC, most of the political pundits are waiting for the new President to make a Roosevelt or Kennedy type of speech---where the country is electrified by his words.
     But, in the words of former Presidential candidate, Adlai Stevenson, "Words are not deeds."
     With the economy in a mess, and the Iraq war draining around 10-billion dollars per month---what he does in the next few weeks is far more important than what he says tonight.
     Making our vast government bureaucracy work in a practical manner---saving homes, building roads, saving jobs--is much more important than the style or the emphasis of his speech.
    He has to remake the structure or our federal government, much in the same way as President FDR did during the great depression.
   Franklyn Roosevelt had the Republican Party snapping at his heels, as does Obama now.
   However, President Obama does not have to worry about the GOP and their constant harping on tax relief, as if people have the money to pay taxes.
   No, in Obama's case the  proof is in the eating of the pudding.
   During the great depression the GOP blamed the farmers for not having enough faith in the "almighty."
   But, the real problem is regaining the faith in our government, and making the day to day decisions, which will improve our economy, and the ability to fight the war on terrorism.
   President Obama is making great strides by hiring some fabulous, and learned people, in controlling the Executive Branch for the next 4 years.
  Thanks for reading:
  Bob Kholos

  

Will Obama's Brother-In-Law Be PAC-10 Coach of the Year?

     The Brother-in-Law of President Barack Obama is the new coach of the Oregon State Beavers Basketball squad this year.
     Last year, the Beavers lost every single game against the PAC-10.
    So, Craig Robinson, Mrs. Obama's brother, thought he would leave his Ivy league surroundings for the rain-soaked state of Oregon(due to global warming, the Beaver State is 9 inches below normal for this rain season) and take a chance that his coaching skills could improve the hapless Beavers of Corvallis.
    He was hoping for just one victory against a PAC-10 team this season.
    His first victory came in an upset victory at home, against the Trojans of USC.
    The team went down to the Bay Area, and for the first time in 16 years swept Stanford and Cal on their home court.
    Yesterday, February 21, 2009, the Oregon State Beavers won their 6th game against a PAC-10 foe, this season.  Nothing short of a miracle.
    Rumor has it that Robinson will be voted in, as the PAC-10 coach of the year.
    What a great season for the  Obama-Robinson family.
    In other sports news:  The Oregon Ducks fielded their first mens baseball team, and won their first game in 28 years.   Of course, it was 28 years ago that the Ducks last put a baseball team on the field.
    The Ducks, just couldn't stand that their civil war rivalry---the Oregon State Beavers---have won two out of the last 3 NCAA College baseball World Series.
     The Ducks built a new baseball stadium,and the Eugene fans are already going nuts, because they have yet to play a home game, and standing-room-only seats are available.
     The Oregon Women have improved in Volleyball, and wound up  in the "sweet 16" NCAA playoff this season.
    With both the Beavers and Ducks winning their football bowl games this season.....look for a noisy and happy Oregon sports crowd for the coming years, for this small state.
   Thanks for reading:
   Bob Kholos
   
   
    

Obama to Sign Stimulus Package in Denver--500 TV Stations Switch to Digital---Millions of Viewers Shut Out.

     Probably the biggest piece of federal legislation to ever be signed into law on Tuesday, February 17, 2009, will be missed by millions of television viewers when their local stations turn from analogue to a digital transmission.
    When President Obama signs the almost trillion dollar stimulus package in Denver on Tuesday, around 500 television stations, will not wait for the June digital transmission delay, and viewers with "rabbit ears" will be shut out and angry.
   If they don't already have a converter box, hundreds of thousands of American's will start hunting for the item by Tuesday evening.   Undoubtedly, many stores will be sold out of the item, creating more problems.
  I assume that cable and satellite television companies will be overloaded with questions tomorrow, but may make some money out of some of the conversions by people who have been holding out on spending hundreds of dollars a month for paid TV.
 Here is part of the story about "conversion," from the Washington Post:
 

By Kim Hart

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 17, 2009; Page D01

At midnight, more than 400 broadcasters across the country plan to permanently shut off analog signals and air only digital programming.

None of the stations is in the Washington area, but the change could potentially confuse television viewers elsewhere who were expecting to have four more months to make the transition to digital TV, as was approved by Congress this month.

Although Congress voted to delay the nationwide transition to June 12, the bill allowed stations to make the switch early with the approval of the Federal Communications Commission. The agency said it wanted to reserve the right to prevent stations from switching earlier if doing so posed a threat to public safety in particular markets."

------------------------------------------------------------

     This problem is going to put poor people in a harder place.  With the economy in a mess, poor families could, at least, sit down for a little free entertainment, before going to bed.   This will not be the case in the future.

     Thanks for reading:

     Bob Kholos

Blogging with Cancer--Again

I would much rather blog about how Sen. Roland Burris is getting railroaded, or that the Republican Party is playing political Russian roulette by turning their backs on the Obama stimulus package, but I've been diagnosed with more lymphoma cancer.  This is the 5th tumor I've had...under my skin.
July, of last year, I went into the hospital for a stem-cell replacement, which is supposed to be successful 85% of the time....but it wasn't curative in my case.
Over the last 2 years, I have had three separate Chemotherapy situations, been radiated three separate times...around 40 days worth.
Now, they want me to go into the hospital again, have high dose Chemotherapy, and introduce some strangers Stem-Cell into my body.  The biggest problem here is the possibility of rejection of the cells, and my death.
The Veteran's administration says the Non-Hodgkins lymphoma I have, may have been a result of being over-sprayed, by Agent Orange defoliants, while I was a soldier with the 4th Infantry Division, near the Cambodian border during the Vietnam war.
Regardless----I am not looking for anyone to blame.
I'm just sorry that I won't be able to blog with the same consistency, with which, I have had in the past.
My only advice to everyone:  Stay involved with what you love to do, stay very close to your family,
and say nice things to people.
Thanks for reading:
Bob Kholos

Will Meg Whitman Be Too Wealthy--Too Out of Touch---To Be California's Governor?

  She is a billionaire, has a husband who has IV next to his name, and their two kid's attend Princeton.
  Meg Whitman, the former CEO  of eBay, has a lot to offer at Davos,Switzerland, but does she have the "it" necessary to attract Democratic voters in a general election in California?
  Californian's are certainly not opposed to supporting Women in their elections----Hillary Clinton won the Presidential Primary in the Golden State.   Both United States Senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, are women---but they are left of center to very liberal.
  In his reporting today in the Los Angeles Times (Feb 9th, 2009) Michael Finnegan, writes that Whitman, has all but declared officially, she is running for Governor of California in 2010.
 Here is a partial look at Mr. Finnegan's story:
  "Whitman, who was raised in an upscale suburb of New York City, started her business career in marketing, promoting products that included Head & Shoulders shampoo and Mr. Potato Head toys. As chief executive at EBay from 1998 to 2008, Whitman became a billionaire as she oversaw its rapid growth from obscure high-tech upstart to an Internet auction giant with global reach.

Whitman and her husband, Griffith Rutherford Harsh IV, a brain surgeon at Stanford, live in Atherton. Their two sons attend Princeton University.

As a first-time candidate, Whitman faces enormous risks. She has never undergone the intense media scrutiny that accompanies any serious bid for high office. She has only begun to meet the state's vast network of Republican Party players. And with no experience in state office, she must study quickly the panoply of issues facing the nation's most populous state, among them a surge in unemployment, substandard public schools, traffic-clogged freeways and a dysfunctional Legislature that routinely fails to overcome budget shortfalls.

In her statement, Whitman announced she was forming an exploratory committee. But the effort is exploratory in name only: Whitman has hired a team of more than two dozen advisors, including several veterans of Schwarzenegger campaigns.

Whitman named former Gov. Pete Wilson as her campaign chairman. Her campaign co-chairs include Republican Reps. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield and Mary Bono Mack of Palm Springs."
--------------
  She has hired more than "two dozen advisors," which to me, means that her campaign may be as screwed up as Hillary Clinton's, or John Kerry's campaigns for president.
  When someone is unsure of him or herself in politics they hire too many advisors, and the result is often, a mixed, confused campaign.
  The other interesting thing to me is that the declared and almost declared candidates for governor, in both parties, are all northern California oriented.  We have yet to see a credible candidate come out of southern California, where most of the voters reside.
 Thanks for reading:
 Bob Kholos

Wells Fargo Cancels Las Vegas Bash: A Mistake

I'm surprised that Steve Wynn, didn't make a big stink when various politicians demanded that Well Fargo cancel its proposed bash on the Las Vegas Strip, at the Wynn's hotels.
Money gambled at the tables and slots, and tips giving to drink girls, actually would have made a difference on main street.
More maids would have been hired, not fired.
Great Vegas shows would have been sold out, rather than fire some of the dancers because of the economic circumstances, and lower attendance.
Vegas is also known as a great Union town, and many of the blue collar employees can actually buy single family homes and build a stable life for their families.
Las Vegas is one of the cities across America, which has suffered the most during the housing down-turn,and the economic crisis.
If a major firm, like Wells Fargo, is willing to spend millions of bucks in "sin city," so be it.
Pouring money in a town like Las Vegas, is a boon to the local economy, not a bust.
Thanks for reading:
Bob Kholos

President Obama's Distractions

 

Today, Feb. 3, 2009, is exactly 50 years since Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the "Big Bopper," all died in a small plane crash.
  This has nothing to do with the Obama administration, for us old folks, its a reminder of the huge headlines in the afternoon newspapers, announcing their deaths, and the sorrow we all felt.
  President Obama, while trying to push his economic recovery plan on every news outlet in America, is being distracted by the bumps of a new administration.
 Former Senator, and health expert, Tom Daschle, removed his name as nominee for Health and Human Services, where he could have done a lot of good, because of tax complications.
Nancy Killefer, withdrew her name as the newly created Administration's Chief Performance Officer, because of tax complications.
Not only that, President Obama received the bad news that Ford January sales were down 42%, and Toyota's new car sales fell -32%(plants in USA are hurt too), during the same period.
Even with the debate going on in the US Senate over the stimulus package, President Obama said, "Troubled banks could still fail."
As he tries to slide troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, some credible sources are saying that more troops will not solve the Taliban problem.  Then we have Iran, which shot a satellite into space today.
It appears that the only good news for the Obama family, is that his brother-in-law,  Craig Robinson, coach of the formerly hapless Oregon State Beavers basketball team, have won 5 games in a row....a great turn-around for the team from Corvallis.
We, Americans are in a tough spot right now, but I can't think of anyone more competent than Barack Obama to bring us out of our mess.
Thanks for reading:
Bob Kholos