On Sunday mornings I try to catch the network news talk shows like Meet the Press and Face the Nation. On the latter, host Bob Schieffer was talking to Representative Nancy Pelosi and asked her about the slow or non recovery from the recession, and asked if it means President Obama's economic policies have been a failure. She prefaced her answer with something to the effect that Obama had "inheritted the recession from President Bush". Schieffer then produced a letter from then-House Speaker Pelosi from the Summer of 2008, in which she said "with unemployment now at 5% and gas prices at 3 dollars a gallon, it shows President Bush's policies are a failure." Schieffer then asked Pelosi if Obama, who has been in office for 2 and a half years and has an unemployment rate of more than 9% and gas prices at 4 dollars, has been a failure. Pelosi replied, "Oh we don't want to talk about the past." Wow.
I don't know how these people of power and fame, whether it be Congressman Charles Wiener or Brett Favre, think they can get away with sending pictures of their genitals to strangers via the internet and think they can get away with it. In Favre's case, the "victim" didn't want to press charges but in the case of Weiner (what an unfortunate name, in light of things) his victims are not so forgiving. National reporters asked some of his constituents their thoughts on Weiner after he admitted his guilt. Some actually thought it had nothing to do with his performance as a member of congress and he should stay in office. Hey, maybe Jeffrey Daumer or John Wayne Gacy would make good legislators despite their moral foibles...I guess using that argument, maybe they should have been given a chance. In my book being rotten to the core morally disqualifies a person for public office, whether it be Larry Craig, Charles Rangel, Arnold Schwartzenegger, John Edwards, Bill Clinton or Charles Weiner. People who cheat on their spouses are cheaters, period, and the American people are the victims just as much as their spouses are. And didn't anyone ever tell Wiener when you get caught with your pants down, don't deny it's your....well, you know. The coverup is always worse than the offense.
My wife and I spent a week in Milwaukee earlier this month and we had a great time. Drank lots of excellent, locally brewed beer, ate a lot of brats and cheese. I gained 5 pounds. We took a cruise on the Menominee River onto Lake Michigan, toured the Pabst Mansion, went to a Brewer's game at Miller Park (it was raining cats and dogs outside but the retractable dome kept us bone dry) and toured the Lakeside Brewery. I also brought my bike and rode more than 50 miles. One day I rode north, along Lake Michigan, past mile after mile of multi-million dollar mansions. Another day I rode through north Milwaukee, past mile after mile of boarded-up businesses, soup kitchens and run-down houses with people sitting on their porches, drinking beer. I was a white guy, riding a funky red recumbent bike, in a nearly all-black ghetto. Yet I never felt threatened...in fact, I got a lot of thumbs-up from people who liked my bike. The people of Milwaukee were, almost without exception, very friendly and accomodating. Even the myriad of homeless people populating downtown were non-threatening...not one of them asked me for a dime. Comparing Milwaukee with Minneapolis, I'd have to say our Wisconsin neighbors have a ways to go. The downtown area is much more run-down than Minneapolis, many more people sleeping on benches in parks, streets and public areas and a lot more empty store fronts. But all in all it was a fun week and I'm glad we went.
