Field Poll: Californians sour on Obama

This article from the Sacramento Bee confirms my belief that Americans want a new leader.

Field Poll: Californians sour on Obama

By David Siders

Published: Wednesday, Sep. 14, 2011

Even in heavily Democratic California, President Barack Obama’s job approval rating has plummeted among voters, largely on his handling of the economy, according to a new Field Poll.

Though Obama is strongly favored to win California in his re-election bid next year, the poll suggests many Democrats may vote for him only begrudgingly, and it is yet another indication of weakening support nationwide.

“When you’re seeing vulnerability in a state like California, I think that really is ominous for his national standing,” Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo said.

For the first time since Obama took office in 2009, less than half of California voters – 46 percent – approve of the job he is doing, just two percentage points more than disapprove, according to the poll.

Obama’s decline has been quick and widespread: As little as three months ago, his approval rating in California was 54 percent. Since June, his rating has suffered double-digit percentage drops among Democrats, nonpartisans, Central Valley residents, men, African Americans, Asian Americans and voters over 65.

It has fallen nearly 20 points since Field’s post-inaugural measure in March 2009 had him at 65 percent approval.

Though a plurality of Californians remain inclined to re-elect Obama, his margin is slimmer than before. Forty-nine percent of California voters are inclined to re-elect him, according to the poll, five percentage points more than are inclined not to.

via Field Poll: Californians sour on Obama – Sacramento Politics – California Politics | Sacramento Bee.

America has Failed in Afghanistan

Today, after 10 years of fighting in Afghanistan, the Taliban have attacked the U.S. embassy in the capital city of Kabul. This attack says more than anything else about our success in permanently ending the Taliban control of that country. It will be no surprise that after the U.S. army has withdrawn that the Taliban returns to power.

This situation is so reminiscent of Vietnam. In that country our armed forces could not identify the enemy because they were dressed in civilian clothes and were part of the society we were trying to help. The Vietnamese did not want our help and neither do the Afghans. We have been trying to re-build their nation into a society that looks like America. Our generals and Defense Department managers have called it “nation building.” I call it American stupidity.

Of course the Karzai government wants the U.S. to stay and continue its fruitless effort. We have poured millions of dollars into that nation. We have propped up their phony government. Quickly departing that country is the best thing we can do for our nation.

The President’s Job Speech

Everyone knows the president is an outstanding speaker. He has the ability to convey his message with an emphatic call to action. He did just that in this evening’s speech to a joint session of Congress. You just wanted to jump out of your seat and make his proposals happen.

However, his proposals did not address the problem of an economy stuck in neutral or more likely in a downward slide. His ideas on improving infrastructure from schools to bridges will certainly put people back to work. The problem is there was nothing in his proposals that would reinvigorate the private sector. Specifically, there was no discussion of methods to stimulate manufacturing activity.

Bill Gross, CEO of PIMCO, pointed out on “Piers Morgan Tonight” that manufacturing accounted for 45% of America’s GDP after WWII but today accounts for 9% of GDP. There is the crux of the problem. Mr. Gross pointed out that globalization and cheap labor elsewhere are barriers to re-employing the millions of people who have lost their job in the United States. Mr. Obama’s solutions are short term in nature and do nothing to address this issue.

So while Republicans and Democrats might come together to implement some of the president’s ideas, they will not have addressed the real problems facing this nation.

A Boring GOP Debate

I watched about one half of the first GOP debate and honestly it was a bore. The Mitt Romney/Rick Perry disagreements over job creation and Social Security were the only two disagreements that slightly stirred my attention. Since there are at least two more GOP debates perhaps there will be something substantial spoken. The Obama job creation speech, tonight, will giver GOP candidates some fodder to chew on.

Today’s latest BLS, Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report, provided continuing disappointment along with a struggling stock market should give Republican candidates sufficient ammunition to continue their attacks on the Obama administration.

1911 – 100 Years Ago

THE YEAR IS 1911

This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine!

************ ********* ***********

The year is 1911 — One hundred years ago.
What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1911:

************ ********* ************

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.

Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores only.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower !

The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.

The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year ..

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
A dentist $2,500 per year,

a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year,

and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at home .

Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which

were condemned in the press AND the government as “substandard.”

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month,

and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from

entering into their country for any reason. Probably too many illiterate immigrants like my grandparents.

The Five leading causes of death were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4.. Heart disease
5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars…

The population of Las Vegas , Nevada , was only 30!!!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn’t been invented yet.

There was neither a Mother’s Day nor a Father’s Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn’t read or write and only 6 percent

of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter

at the local corner drugstores.

Back then pharmacists said, “Heroin clears the complexion,

gives buoyancy to the mind, Regulates the stomach and bowels,

and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health!”

( Shocking? )

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help ….

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. !

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

Nonsense on Sunday Morning Talk Shows

Why watching Sunday morning talk shows is mostly a waste of time!

The Sunday morning political TV talk shows are really just an opportunity for the partisans to spew their positions not matter how outrageous they are. Whether Democrats or Republicans they all just repeat the same lines over and over. It’s like they don’t think we notice the repetitiveness of their spiels.

This week I thought I would try to catch them at the downright lies and truly ridiculous statements.

Jim DeMint, Republican Senator from South Carolina, appearing on “This Week” said Social Security is bankrupt. In 2010 for the first time in its history the system paid out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes as reported in the New York Times. This is not bankruptcy. The system will run out of sufficient funds in 2037 if things keep going as they are now. Alan Greenspan, the former head of the Federal Reserve, recalled in an interview that the sour economy of the late 1970s had taken the program close to insolvency when the commission he led set to work in 1982. So another commission is needed now not fear mongering.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, appearing on the “Fox & friends” television program, said that if she were in the White House rather than Barack Obama, then things might be different today in the country. No kidding! What a remarkable statement. No two presidents have conducted things exactly the same way. He could also have said things might be different today if John McCain had been elected president. The Associated Press wasted time and posted a story on this non-news item.

Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman contended on “State of the Union” that there have not been any major attacks since 9-11. Well none have been successful. Two most outstanding incidents did no harm but no thanks to our law enforcement officials. He seems to have forgotten the Christmas Day Bomber who only failed because the detonator failed to function in a plane landing in Detroit. There was also the Times Square Bomber whose terrorist attack was foiled when two street vendors discovered the car bomb and alerted NYPD.

Jim Hoffa, head of the Teamsters union (not Jimmy any more), was also on “State of the Union” contending that American companies are not patriotic. He specifically pointed out Apple Computer as one of the least patriotic because they do have their products made elsewhere.

Michele Bachmann, appearing on “Face the Nation” said gasoline had risen from $1.79 to about $3.90 a gallon since Barack Obama had become president. She is correct. She then went on to criticize the president for not taking advantage of the natural gas and oil resources in North America. She would be wrong on that statement. The United States appears to be about to approve the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast. That is a $7 billion project.

Chris Wallace wasted most of his entire program interviewing Dick Cheney. It was basically an infomercial for Cheney’s new book.

So why do I watch these programs? I learn what to expect in upcoming campaigns. Those campaigns are both about re-election and critical legislation.

Petition Against a Unilaterally Declared Palestine

An acquaintance of mine is a strong advocate for Israel. He most likely considers himself a Zionist. He has asked me to post this solicitation on this blog.

Although I consider the effort useless I am providing this information. Of course David Bancroft, a contributor to this blog, is a strong supporter of Israel.

Friends,

I just signed a petition to the UN member nations encouraging them not to endorse a unilaterally declared Palestinian state should this come to a vote in September.

I invite you to join me in raising our voice against this effort and to sign the petition today. Here is the link: http://www.jcrcny.org/udipetition

Please help me spread this important effort and circulate the petition to your networks via emails and Facebook/Twitter postings

Thanks!

Sheree

How Not to Say ‘I Was Fired’

So your last employer terminated you, and your interviewing for a new job? Forget full disclosure. Think spin. Do I think this works? I know it works becasue I did it repeatedly.

From Businessweek magazine

By Liz Ryan

Read her entire article here> link

Here is the summary:

It doesn’t matter how horrible the bosses were at Acme Explosives or how badly they treated you. Something about the words “I was fired” makes prospective managers’ blood run cold.

If you left your last job on less-than-sensational terms, there’s got to be a way to address that issue without summarily ending your candidacy, right? As a longtime HR director, I can tell you, there is. First, shake off some misconceptions.

There is zero requirement ever to tell a hiring manager or HR person that your previous employer let you go.

Here are some ideas on explaining why you left your job.

Option No. 1: The Learning Was Done

“It was a fantastic learning opportunity for me—I credit those folks with teaching me everything I know about SEO, for instance, but it was time for me to go, and we agreed on that just as I was getting interested in social marketing.”

The “we agreed on it” is key. If the “agreement” took place only in your own mind as the security guard escorted you out of the building, that’s fine. In the first place, your new employer’s HR folks probably won’t find out you were fired—that information is typically not conveyed to a prospective employer in an employment verification process. And if they do find out and end up claiming the “we agreed on it” was a lie and terminating you because of it, you’ll know those people are pure evil. You don’t want work for them.

Option No. 2: My Interests Shifted

“I got to do so many fantastic projects at Acme Explosives, but my focus was shifting into project management, and the opportunities for that were very limited over at Acme. I didn’t know what I would do next exactly, but my friend from college was starting a consulting practice, and I decided to collaborate with her on that as I shifted to the next thing.”

This way, you never mention who said what to whom, or in what order. What does it matter, truly?

Option No. 3: We Went in Different Directions

“When I got to Acme Explosives, the mission had everything to do with building the brand fast, and we had great results on that front. Two years later, I was becoming a zealot for branding and customer evangelism, but Acme was moving more into OEM work, where the branding piece was almost nonexistent. I was very glad to have been around to help the company advance its value to the point where the Motorolas of the world found it and formed partnerships with it, but as the business moved more and more backstage and away from the customer-facing arena, it wasn’t a great fit for me anymore, and we decided to move apart. I still have tremendous relationships there, of course.”

Those relationships are with managers who “get” you, and with your amazing colleagues, not with the turkey who fired you, but that’s a whole ‘nother Oprah.

The idea that Ms. Ryan is proposing is that you must be creative. Practice that interview with someone who will be critical of your words and behavior.

A cannibal was walking through the jungle …

A cannibal was walking through the jungle and came upon a restaurant operated by a fellow cannibal.

Feeling somewhat hungry, he sat down and looked over the menu….

Tourist: $8.00

Broiled Missionary: $10.00

Fried Explorer: $12.50

Baked Democrat or Grilled Republican: $100.00

The cannibal called the waiter over and asked,
“Why such a high price for the Politicians?”

The cook replied, “Have you ever tried to clean one?”

“They’re so full of shit, it takes all morning.”