It's been a while since I last checked in, and a crap load of newsworthy things have happened. I won't get into all the gossipy bullshit, though there is plenty of it. No, I'm talking about the big stuff. The meat and potatoes of the news world. Here is my take on a few of the things going on in the world today...
The earthquake in Japan. Wow. One of the largest quakes in recorded history. At the moment they are saying over 300 are dead and as many as 500 are missing. Not only was the earthquake devastating, the ensuing tsunami that brought waves up to 23 feet high has been absolutely destroying many parts of Japan. We have even felt the effects as far away as the entire West Coast of the United States. I am praying for all of the people that are affected by this awful tragedy.
Governor Walker of Wisconsin passes a bill that strips public workers of nearly all collective bargaining rights. In a move he has been dying to make, Walker has taken away the voice of many state workers, including teachers and public safety workers. This was all done under the guise of balancing the budget, but let's be honest about something. Union busting has nothing to do with balancing the budget. If this was a financial issue, a dire move to help save the Wisconsin economy, he wouldn't have given tax breaks to large corporations at the same time, which he did. This move, and we will see it happen across the country by other Republican governors, is a political move. See, by busting up unions, Republicans are making an attempt to get rid of a group that typically backs Democrats, both with money and with votes. This has nothing to do with balancing the budget. It's another shot at the middle class, and is an attempt to take a shot at Democratic supporters. Things are just getting started in Wisconsin, and the rest of the country will follow suit, just wait and see.
Charlie Sheen is crazy. Not exactly a shocking development. The level of crazy he has reached, however, is a little shocking. He went from a bit odd straight to off his damn rocker crazy. I'm sure high amounts of coke will do that to a person. Fortunately, he has provided us all with tons of entertainment, and at the end of the day, he is WINNING!
During his campaign, Paul LePage, Governor of Maine, promised to run the "most open and transparent" administration in the history of Maine. Well, turns out, that was just a line to help people rally behind him. Governor LePage plans to form more advisory groups that will be exempt from Maine's freedom of information law, in addition to the business council he created by executive order last week. That doesn't seem very open and transparent to me. If we are talking about an Executive Session, that is different, but that is usually to talk about personnel issues, not statewide issues. If people are meeting, and discussing information that can form and mold legislation, the citizens of Maine should have every right to either watch the meetings or read the transcripts. Otherwise, I fear we are going down the path of back door deals and cronyism. I don't care what past Governor's have done, or what Federal politicians are doing. Governor LePage promised to be open and transparent, I want him to stick to his word. If we are less than 3 months into his term, and he is already going against his word, we are in worse trouble than I thought.
Just a couple of things going on in the news today that I had some commentary on. Much more to follow in the coming days. Stay tuned as I give you my thoughts on the unfolding Lindsey Lohan scandal, Christina Aguilera's arrest for public intoxication, Newt Gingrich's past indiscretions and more WINNING from Charlie Sheen! I'm just saying...
About Me
- Mark
- I've always wondered if people actually read this stuff. I never do when I'm on other pages. Well, in case, for some strange reason, you find it necessary, I'll give you a little knowledge. I was born in The County. For those of you who don't konw better, that would be Aroostook County. For those of you who do, your jokes won't work on me, they are lame. I'm the son of an investment banker that squandered his every penny on tuna fish sandwiches in the late 80's, and my mother was the lead singer for the Bangles. Neither of those is true, but again, I'm convinced nobody is reading this anyways. I met my wife at a carnival, and we were married by the bearded lady in front of the entire clown brigade. I have a daughter who is training for the 2012 Olympics where she will compete in the Triple Jump and Javelin. We live in a nice little shanty in the woods and are hoping to one day have running water. Any questions?
