Comments & Observations: Politics to Vampires

The Mayor's race here is starting to get "interesting". Yesterday we learned that the opposition candidate (and by that I only mean the guy NOT currently in office) was served with a "cease and desist" order by the local NBC TV station because his YouTube campaign ad not only used copyrighted news broadcast footage without permission but it was altered in such a way as to change the meaning of the reporting. Funny that this bit of info did not make it into the local paper this morning. It was on the 6 p.m. news last night, plenty of time to make the press...

Today the candidate called yet another press conference (he did that earlier in the week too, code enforcement issue) to rant about a company called Global Energy - a project that is admittedly on hold. I didn't see the entire report as of yet but from what I gathered the gentleman was casting aspersions over the fact that the City's has "dropped the ball" on this thing, that permits have expired and that there is a problem with the City's Finance Director being involved in the project. No the City hasn't dropped any ball, funding is on hold because the bond market is still "soft", the project is not dead. Permits have not expired to the extent that he is charging, some need to be renewed on a regular basis and are in the process of being so renewed. The gentleman serving the City as Financial Consultant is not the current Finance Director thus not a direct City employee so there is no conflict of interest.

Word to the wise: get all the facts before calling the media.

Speaking of words to the wise: the US Congress is not the British House of Commons - we don't heckle and yell at each other when the President is speaking. Of course the Honorable Gentleman has a right to his opinion, which he can express to whichever news outlet will stick a microphone in his face afterwards. But there is a certain sense of decorum to be maintained when the President is speaking to the Joint Session. This decorum holds even if you don't agree with the President (which you certainly may) ... there should be respect for the office if not the individual. There have been presidents I haven't cared for but never EVER would I have thought a member of Congress would yell out "You Lie!" to the President of the United States. Respectfully disagree certainly but good grief!!!

And for the record HR 3200 specifically prohibits insurance coverage to illegal immigrants (the source of the outburst). Yes there was a proposed amendment to allow it, it was dropped. It is gone. End of story. At least in the current version of the bill. Yes presently no ER can turn anyone away illegal or not but isn't that the way it ought to be? For more info check out Newsweek's site for an article on "The Five Biggest Lies in the Health Care Debate" http://www.newsweek.com/id/214254 for more information.

Is there some kind of rule that teens must be yelling instead of talking as they walk/ride/roll (skateboards) down the street? Cannot watch the news (or anything else for that matter - what curfew?) without having to turn the volume WAY up to hear when batches of them (gaggles?) park themselves near the house or simply wander by it (at speeds a snail would think slow). I don't remember being that loud. I know we weren't, our mothers would have killed us. We used to get in trouble for shrieking when we played as kids. No mother wanted to hear screaming unless we were actually hurt. Made sense then, makes sense now... not that anyone seems to understand that at the moment.

There is a plethora of vampires about... the Twilight series of books and now movies and tonight the debut of The Vampire Diaries on the CW. The supernatural/gothic genre of romance and adventure has gone far beyond Buffy and birthed a HUGE section of offerings in any (every) bookstore. Some is trite, some is well researched with legend and myth. Yummy!

So there we are... thoughts and observations from politics to vampires... oh wait, perhaps they are one in the same?