bubbahotep's Blog

In consideration of the fact that Obama has never had the background check required for a security clearance (aspecially a Top Secret one), I think it is a horrific travesty that he is now receiving Top Secret briefs every morning. Individuals that apply for the FBI get a VERY thorough background investigation, and something like this would disqualify them instantly:

http://keeptonyblairforpm.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/
the-sarah-obama-tape-on-obamas-birthplace/

Why is it unreasonable to expect that the President should go through AT LEAST that thorough of a check? Does anybody still wonder why our nation is still at risk?

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Each year I get to celebrate Independence Day twice. On June 30 I celebrate my independence day and on July 4 I celebrate America's. This year is special, because it marks the 40th anniversary of my independence.

On June 30, 1968, I escaped Communist Cuba and a few months later I was in the United States to stay. That I happened to arrive in Richmond on Thanksgiving Day is just part of the story, but I digress.

I've thought a lot about the anniversary this year. The election-year rhetoric has made me think a lot about Cuba and what transpired there. In the late 1950s, most Cubans thought Cuba needed a change, and they were right. So when a young leader came along, every Cuban was at least receptive.

When the young leader spoke eloquently and passionately and denounced the old system, the press fell in love with him. They never questioned who his friends were or what he really believed in. When he said he would help the farmers and the poor and bring free medical care and education to all, everyone followed. When he said he would bring justice and equality to all, everyone said "Praise the Lord." And when the young leader said, "I will be for change and I'll bring you change," everyone yelled, "Viva Fidel!"

But nobody asked about the change, so by the time the executioner's guns went silent the people's guns had been taken away. By the time everyone was equal, they were equally poor, hungry, and oppressed. By the time everyone received their free education it was worth nothing. By the time the press noticed, it was too late, because they were now working for him. By the time the change was finally implemented Cuba had been knocked down a couple of notches to Third-World status. By the time the change was over more than a million people had taken to boats, rafts, and inner tubes. You can call those who made it ashore anywhere else in the world the most fortunate Cubans. And now I'm back to the beginning of my story.

Luckily, we would never fall in America for a young leader who promised change without asking, what change? How will you carry it out? What will it cost America?

Would we?

Manuel Alvarez Jr. Sandy Hook.

Notice to All Employees

 As of November 5, 2008, when President Obama is officially elected into office, our company will instill a few new policies which are in keeping with his new, inspiring issues of change and fairness:
 
1. All salespeople will be pooling their sales commissions into a common pool that will be divided equally between all of you.  This will serve to give those of you who are underachieving a "fair shake."  
 
2. All hourly employees will be pooling their wages, including overtime, into a common pool, dividing it equally amongst yourselves.  This will help those who are "too busy for overtime" to reap the rewards from those who have more spare time and can work extra hours.
 
3. All top management will now be referred to as "the government."  We will not participate in this "pooling" experience because the law doesn't apply to us.
 
4. The "government" will give eloquent speeches to all employees every week, encouraging its workers to continue to work hard "for the good of all."
 
5. The employees will be thrilled with these new policies because it's "good to spread the wealth."  Those of you who have underachieved will finally get an opportunity; those of you who have worked hard and had success will feel more "patriotic."
 
6. The last few people who were hired should clean out their desks.  Don't feel bad though, because President Obama will give you free healthcare, free handouts, free oil for heating your home, free food stamps, and he'll let you stay in your home for as long as you want even if you can't pay your mortgage.  If you appeal directly to our democratic congress, you might even get a free flat screen TV and a coupon for free haircuts (shouldn't all Americans be entitled to nice looking hair?) !!!

 
If for any reason you are not happy with the new policies, you may want to rethink your vote on  November 4th.

As the authorities begin the process of identifying the cause of the bridge collapse and the people whose negligence may have contributed to this disaster, I think that they should focus on the legislators that made the decision for us to spend our limited funds to ensure that the Minnesota Twins wouldn’t have to play in an old (but structurally sound), non-fancy stadium instead of concentrating on the safety of our citizens that have placed their trust in them. If anybody thinks that the state, county, or city were not aware of the specific structural damage issues, they should read the MN/DOT inspection report at

 http://www.dot.state.mn.us/hottopics/35w/06_br_%2
09340%20.pdf

                 I think that the analogy that a government should budget like a small family is fairly accurate. If you were the head of a family and you had a roof on your house that was about to collapse, you would spend the limited funds that you have to repair the roof immediately instead of buying a new T.V. Unfortunately, our legislators decided for us (without our input) that we needed a new T.V. (i.e. the new Twins stadium) and that we could just put some duct-tape on the failing roof (i.e. the transportation infrastructure).

                Bearing this in mind, why aren't we seeing the owners of the Twins (or for that matter, the players) stepping forward with any donations? Thank you, Well's Fargo, for showing the concern and consideration for the victims of this tragedy by donating $150,000. Now if we could get "Our Team" (i.e. the Twins or the Vikings) to break out their overstuffed wallets to help out the community that has been catering to them for years, maybe we could help out these affected families. 

                 This has been a horrible tragedy, and I have no idea what could possibly console the families affected by this. Unfortunately, I think that this will end up being a very costly lesson for all of us. 

Although the bridge collapse today was surprising and tragic, it was something that I have been expecting for years.

            I was a commercial diver, and performed dam and bridge inspections in the five state area. All bridges in Minnesota that span a body of water are required to be inspected (both above and below water) every eight years, yet the vast majority of the bridges in this state are in violation of this requirement. We used to have a person on my company’s staff that would identify bridges that had obvious damage and bring them to the attention of the state, thereby ensuring that we had inspection work. He had stated that if we were able to identify all damaged bridges in the state, we would never run out of work, yet there are diving companies in Minnesota that are going out of business due to lack of local work. If you need two immediate examples, consider the river bridge in Stillwater and the river bridge in South St.Paul.

            Also, the bridges in Minnesota are built to last for 50 years. At the turn of the century, our engineering knowledge was nowhere near what it is today, so many bridges built in that era were heavily over-built. Most of those bridges are built so well that they can actually last much longer than the 50 years, but the modern bridges are built to last for only the design specification of 50 years and no longer.

            Every bridge that we inspected had significant mechanical damage, footing washout, and concrete spawling, yet we never heard of repair bidding opportunities or knew of other divers that worked on the damage that we identified. This is important when you consider that the Commercial Diving community is very small and close knit in this area.

            It would be very interesting to see a news program showcase the inspection records on some of the major bridges in the state.

After watching all of the recent media coverage of the negligent treatment of our soldier's, I thought that I should see if any Vet's would respond with their experiences. I agree that the treatment is inexcusable and I wish that I could say that I am surprised, but I saw the same conditions at Portsmouth Naval Hospital in 1988. I have three vets (from different generations) in my family and we have all seen identical conditions at the VA. The sad fact is that most Vets are too proud (or too embarassed) to complain. I didn't want to complain, because I am proud of my country and I didn't want people to know that this was the way that my country repaid me. When I got out of the service and returned to Minneapolis, I had to occasionally go to the VA hospital near Fort Snelling. I would always see WWII era Vets sitting unattended for hours in uncomfortable chairs in a foul waiting area. These were not patients that were there for a flue shot, they were there for dibilitating war injuries or terminal afflictions. There was no concern for their comfort, and if you couldn't sit their for hours waiting to be seen, then you would have to reschedule for an appointment a few months in the future. Their was no complaint department, and nobody cared if the treatment was sufficient. Most of the staff belittled the Vets, and the arrogance was appalling. This is not a new story, it is just a story that the public is finally concerned about.

The truly sad part about all of this is that the current administration seems to be far more concerned with spending money to make the lives of the illegal aliens in our country as easy as possible instead of helping our injured Vets to find a way to return to a somewhat normal and healthy life. I personally apollogize to our Vets on behalf of our Government and I am embarrassed that we let our soldiers down. Please realize that it wasn't the citizens that caused this, it was the people that we elected and trusted to take care of you as well as they take care of themselves. We gave the Government the money and power to take care of our vets, but the squandered it.