Win-Win

Watching Republicans like John McCain and Orrin Hatch talk glowingly about Ted Kennedy Friday night made me think about what is wrong with this country. Although they may not have said it explicitly, they were all about finding win-win solutions.

Politics today seems to be about winning and losing. For example, the health care debate seems to be more about whether President Obama or the Republicans will win or lose, and not about finding common ground and doing what is best for the country.

Kennedy and his colleagues also realized that even though they may have disagreed on just about everything, they were all Americans that loved their country. They never exhibited the hate and disrespect that many are displaying towards those with differing opinions than their own.  I don't remember Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton being compared to Hitler like both George W. Bush and Barack Obama have been.

We need to get back to finding the win-win solutions in our lives whether it be in public or private, and realizing that even though we may disagree, we are all Americans in the end.

It has been a while

It has been a while since I posted. However, the entire “death panel” silliness got me going again. Sarah Palin should take her own advice and “quick makin’ stuff up”. Her using her own child for political gain is revolting. She is a disgusting selfish human being, and I just don’t understand why anyone in their right mind would support her.

The entire thing boils down to a section of the bill to provide end of life counseling which may include hospice care, living wills and other kinds of directives. My father passed away five years ago. It was an emotional time, but because he had a living will and had hospice counseling, we were clear of what his final wishes were. My wife and I have living wills and we are far from retirement age. It is also something Republicans have supported in the past, so it is purely political.

I respect President Obama for trying to get Republican support. However, it is clear that they are more interested in putting their own self-interests ahead of their country rather than putting the “Country First”. In defeat, we see their true colors.

If the Republicans are not interested in being part of the solution, then the Democrats should move on without them. As George W. Bush once said “I have political capital and I plan to spend it.” President Obama and the Democrats have overwhelming majorities, and should take full advantage of them to do the right thing.

Suburban Sprawl

As I drive up McKnight road, I see a lot of empty spaces. Across from Ross Park Mall is an old Chi Chi's, Sam's Club, Ford car dealership, Damon's and Don Parmesian. These stores all closed and have been sitting vacant for quite some time. A little further up is the closed Famous Dave's BBQ.

Further up the road is a sign for new commercial development at McKnight and Duncan. Up in Wexford a huge new shopping center is currently being built. Rather than building all this new development from scratch, what can we do to reuse the land that has already been developed on?

I am not suggesting that we build the WalMart across from Ross Park Mall. That would have been a traffic nightmare. However, this land already has the utilities available that these new developments do not. They are an eyesore that we drive past every day that we should be rebuilding on rather than adding to the sprawl we already have.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I think part of the problem is that every township does their own planning. McCandless where I live would never give up their developments (and the tax revenue) at McKnight and Duncan even though a better location might be the car dealership in Ross in conjunction with the existing shopping center next to it. A better location in McCandless might be the area around Trader Horn and Showcase Cinema, anyway.

Is there some master plan for McKnight Road that I just don't know about or is it really just every Township for themselves?

Election Day on the North Side

I spent the afternoon of Election Day on the North Side. The pride and excitement in the communities I visited was incredible. We had a hard time finding anyone who had not voted as just everyone we met loudly and proudly proclaimed they went to the polls to vote for Barack Obama.

We stopped by a polling location in Manchester around 6:30 to make sure the people we expected to be waiting in line didn't leave without voting. Except that there was no one in line, because just about everyone had already voted. They usually get at most 200, but at that time over 800 had voted.

Living in the suburbs, I didn't get a sense of what Barack Obama really means to people. On the North Side, people had a sense of pride in him that I know I have never felt for anyone in my life.

I think President Obama will make a huge difference in the African American communities as a role model. Parental involvement in a child's education is assumed here in the burbs, but no some much in the city where I grew up. Obama's story about his mother getting him up at 4:30 to study is a powerful example.

Country First

"Country First" was John McCain's catch phrase, but his actions didn't match it. Barack Obama's message really was "Country First", and it needs to be how he runs his presidency. President-elect Obama and the rest of the Democratic Party need to take "County First" to heart when they govern if they want to be successful.

I hope the Democrats learn the lessons from 6-8 years ago when the Republicans held the Presidency and both houses of Congress like the Democrats are about to. The Republicans were drunk with power. Do you remember "You are either with me or with the terrorists" when anyone questioned just about anything George Bush did? How about Bush's "I have political capital and I intend to spend it" comment after his re-election? They were "Party First," and didn't care what anyone thought about it.

My own Congressman, Jason Altmire, is a great example of what a "Country First" and "Western Pennsylvania First" term in office can get you politically. It got him a comfortable win against Melissa Hart. She had nothing real to attack him on while she still had her "Party First" record from her time in office hanging around her neck. I hope he continues to represent our views and continue his "Country First" governance in his second and subsequent terms in office.

Governing "Country First" is kind of like something I learned from my father. When you focus on the customers and the people that work for you, your career can take care of itself. It is much easier having your customers and employees push you up the corporate ladder rather than you having to climb it yourself. I have found this to be true throughout my professional career.

If the Democrats take Barack Obama's "Country First" message to heart and focus on their customers, the American people, the country, the world and the Democratic Party will go a long way.

Where can he go?

Sign seen in a front yard near my house:


RIP
America
11-4-2008


When Bush and the Republicans were in charge, they told Liberals they could move to Canada if they didn't like it.

Where can this guy go? Albania? The Republic of Georgia?

YES WE CAN!