An open letter to President Obama about the State of the Union Address

Here is the text of an email I just sent to the White House (from www.whitehouse.gov).

"In anticipation of the State of The Union Address this evening I want to put forth the following-I know your focus will be on the Economy and Jobs. With that in mind, I want to share something that doesn't make sense to me. I drive over 60 miles a day to get to and from work; I frequently have to drive to appointments as well. I have heard several predictions that gasoline prices will rise to over $4.50 this summer and with the saber rattling over the Straits of Hormuz I am not surprised by this. Couple that with the fact that my 1999 SUV with 165K miles takes premium my payments will be much higher. So why did you stop the Keystone pipeline project? This is something that will help OUR country and provide immediate jobs (I believe you have used the term Shovel Ready for several other projects that haven't yet started). I try to conserve and recycle and yes, we DO need to come up with other energy sources. But TODAY we need oil and that won't change. We also need JOBS. Please reconsider for the good of our COUNTRY (not political factions). Thanks for you time, good luck tonight!"

So why did he block the Keystone Pipeline project? For Jobs? NOPE. For the Economy? NOPE. For the safety of our fine Union? NOPE. He did it to appease environmentalists. They believe this pipleline to be a horror show for our country. Yes, there are risks involved and they need oversight to ensure they 'get it right'. We DO need alternative energy sources; I wish I could afford a solar array on my roof so I could thumb my nose at the Energy companies during our hot summer but I can't. We don't have enough wind and the more or less 'clean' nuclear industry (yes, I know it's not perfect) is also blocked by environmentalists. SO what does that leave us? OIL. We need oil NOW and it's time to approve this (Especially before CHINA inks a deal with Canada).

So in the interests of our country, why not approve this? OR are you interested in Elections and Polls? We will soon see. I am not so sure...

Chapter 11?

I just read an article about Hostess declaring bankruptcy. Why? To be able to truly bargain with their Unions and to ease some of their Pension pains. Look, I understand the problems of management versus workers but many of our unions have crippled their companies. It's pretty bad when such a well-known and well-loved company has to do something so draconian as to declare Bankruptcy in order to be able to negotiate! What's my thought on this? I am not a huge union fan obviously and I want to see more US companies be able to compete with foreign companies. Why did so many companies move offshore? Cheaper labor! I am sure the hourly wages are much different but if you add in all the governmental regulations PLUS the higher wages PLUS all the Union demands it makes for an easy business decision to relocate (not only that, compare rust belt Automakers vs. all the Southern US Plants--lower wages and benefits, yes, but people are WORKING). Look at all the new auto plants being built in the South--Kia, Hyundai, VW. Not only is it cheaper to produce here (due to exchange rates and shipping costs) we have a solid workforce. So I guess I'm just griping about unions today. Do I "applaud" Hostess' move? In some respects, I agree with it. However, no one wants to see someone 'fail' (at least that's how I see Bankruptcy). Will we see more of this? It all depends on the marketplace. In essence, both sides need to work together--pay a fair wage but work a fair amount. It's all in the balance! I wish Washington, DC worked like that... Cheers, Bo

The US Budget defined

I got this from an email (so of course it's true :) SO even if the facts aren't fully correct, this is a pretty good depiction of why we're in such a mess. Have fun! (Sorry about the layout; don't know why Blogger won't let me format how I want it). Why the U.S. was downgraded: * U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000 * Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000 * New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000 * National debt: $14,271,000,000,000 * Recent budget cuts: $ 38,500,000,000 Let's now remove 8 zeros and pretend it's a household budget: * Annual family income: $21,700 * Money the family spent: $38,200 * New debt on the credit card: $16,500 * Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710 * Total budget cuts: $385 Got It ?