When I started this “blog” (I’m not sure if it’s technically a blog because so far no one has made any comments except me) I wasn’t sure if I would write 2 posts, let alone almost 120 as I’m writing tonight. Additionally, I have always felt that I’m writing to myself, kind of like an online journal, for the purpose of allowing me to express my political views without making all my coworkers turn and walk the other way each time they see me. For several months I had no idea if anyone was “watching” until one of the guys at 1and1 (my service provider) showed me how to get the “web statistics.” These techno geeks can do amazing things these days – I know people are occasionally visiting (my highest count for one day is 49) – I just have no idea where they’re (you if you’re reading this) coming from. That all being said, it appears that I’m going to continue writing for awhile. In fact, I’m almost finished with the new book by Thomas Ricks, the guy who wrote FIASCO – one of the best books I read on the Iraq occupation. The new book is called the Gamble which is about the so-called Surge in Iraq and soon I will have several comments about that book and by extension the surge itself.

That all being said, for the last couple days I’ve been thinking of the word “habit(s).” My previous post was based on the word greed and I’m sure you can speculate on that post if you’ve been on this site before – at least what my take would be on it (if not, read the post :o). In a “nutshell” I believe greed is a MAJOR problem in the United States and has driven us to the brink of becoming a second rate nation. Despite the efforts of Republicans to “help” President Obama “fail,” I believe the future of this nation for at least a generation depends on his success. That is, I feel certain that the rest of the world is loosing patience with America and the policies that the Bush administration (and the Republican party for the past 30 years) was following. They are looking for change almost more than we are. One of the problems that Obama has to overcome is, in my view, the bad habits we have developed as a nation.

For example, take the banking crisis. A small number of “risk managers” – at least as I understand it – took some ridiculous “risky” risks, and the result is huge losses for millions of Americans in their stock portfolio’s, their retirement accounts, and in the value of their homes and other real estate. Now, at least as far as the real estate, it didn’t take a genius to see that prices were escalating at WAY to “brisk” a pace – around where I live upwards of 20% per year for several years. The problem was that as a property owner it’s easy to get in the HABIT of thinking that real estate ALWAYS goes UP! In fact, not only had people in the real estate business (brokers, and sales agents) been convincing one buyer after another that this was the case, but the banks got in the HABIT of believing their own ridiculous rhetoric and they started making absurd loans to just about anyone who could write their name on the bottom line. It was not unusual for me to get several “You’re Prequalified” offers to loan me 125% of the value of my home – EACH WEEK! Thank God, I didn’t fall for it – but unfortunately millions of Americans did – because we have developed the HABIT of living on credit – and our homes became like cash machines.

I am guilty of this (abusing credit) myself. I bought into the 0% credit card scheme that the banks were “pushing” 3 or 4 years ago and ran up huge credit card debt – almost destroying my marriage in the process (well, there were some actual marital issues that were involved as well, thankfully now resolved) – but my point is that it was easy for me to borrow as much as I wanted to borrow. I kept making the payments, so all these credit card companies kept increasing my “credit line.” Ultimately, I could have paid off my house with credit from the credit card companies – which fortunately (again) I’m not that stupid. I had enough equity in our home to pay off the credit cards with a low interest refinance – but had I waited another year to address my stupidity, I would have been caught up in the crisis which is now nearly destroying our nation’s financial standing in the world.

Remember, much of the debt being carried by this nation is held by foriegn countries with China, I believe, holding almost $2 Trillion itself, and who knows how much being held by the oil suppliers of the middle east. This HABIT of constant borrowing is VERY BAD! Then there’s the HABIT of thinking that we are the world’s greatest democracy and we should be turning every other country in the world into a democracy. In fact many people think we are obliged to do this (they think occupying Iraq is a good thing and actually believe we will someday turn Iraq into a thriving Democracy). The problem, as I see it with that line of thinking, is that these people would bring us more of what Bush gave us, and they’re terrified of what Obama is bringing to the table. Tonight I talked to a gentleman who is a great guy (he fixes my garden tractors), very honest and excellent at what he does. He made a comment that led me to believe (I chose not to “get into it” with him) he’s listening to the right wing “talkers” as he drives around from one broken lawn mower to another – saying we are no longer a democracy because we have the “Muslim” Obama as the President. Now, I know this guy is smart enough to know better than that, but we have a bunch of people spewing “garbage” on the radio and television air waves (which are “owned” by “we the people”) which is undermining the very government we all depend on. These talkers aren’t just disagreeing and proposing alternatives, they are “riling” people up with venomous talk that is, not only completely untrue but, seditious.

And these right wing talkers, based on the statistics I’ve seen, control about 90% of the air waves. I know several otherwise intelligent people who listen to them and actually believe what they’re hearing. THEY HAVE A HABIT OF TRUSTING PEOPLE LIKE RUSH LIMBAUGH for their information! This used to be annoying to me, but it is getting to the scary stage. When I start hearing the talk about the President of the Untited States “is going to take your guns away,” or “The United States is no longer a democracy – it’s a Muslim nation with a Muslim President,” or “President Obama is a Communist” I believe the people have gone too far. I realize there are a lot of institutionalized racists in this country who are never going to accept a Black President, despite the competence he’s showing, but this venomous talk going over the air waves is getting to be over the “edge” for me. I believe it’s beyond free speech and someone is going to have to deal with the results of it – SOONER RATHER THAN LATER as far as I’m concerned. Based on what I’ve heard the three police officers who were killed in Pittsburgh over the previous weekend are victims of this venemous rhetoric.

I mentioned a few weeks back that the Republican leaders who are associated with “Walker Texas Ranger” – Chuck Norris – should be forced to either agree or disagree with his successionist remarks IN PUBLIC. Mike Huckabee in particular should be called on this (I often saw Norris at Huckabee rallies during the 2008 election). The guy in Pittsburgh was evidently listening to these extremist whackos who are claiming Obama is a Communist, he’s going to take everyone’s guns away, and he’s going to destroy this nation. These right wing whackos on the air waves have developed a bad HABIT of making vile comments almost routinely with no concern as to what the results might be. REMEMBER TIMOTHY MCVEIGH?? Have we learned nothing since the bombing of the federal building in Oklahama City? Are we going to have another major trajedy before we call these people on this seditious rhetoric? Another really bad HABIT in my view, and this one is on the Democrats – and that is looking the other way when people are breaking laws because they don’t want to “rock the boat.” THIS IS BIG!!! So far, they’ve let the Bush administration walk all over the constitution with little hope that there will be anything close to a full accounting – the Democrats seem to be getting manipulated by what few Republicans remain in the Congress – and I don’t see much disgust with all this armed revolt, successionist, talk coming from Republicans (remember, Sarah Palin’s husband was part of a successionist movement in Alaska and she spoke at their convention – with little or no consequence to her national standing in the Republican party – THAT IN ITSELF SHOULD BE A DISQUALIFIER!)

So I hope we, as a nation, can get out of the HABIT of putting up with these bad HABITS. We all need to start thinking “green” (I didn’t even mention our bad HABITS regarding the environment), stop abusing credit, and definitely stop allowing people with access to the national airwaves to spew anti-American garbage. I put up with eight years of George W Bush and never once suggested anything besides people needed to work together to change things at the polls. That is how things have worked in this great nation for the past 200+ years. These people like Norris, Limbaugh, Hannity, Palin, Savage, and the others who are making comments suggesting that people take up arms against our own government ARE WAY OVER THE LINE! And it’s time the Democrats developed a spine and started enforcing the existing laws which have provisions for whackos like this. Let’s not wait for another Oklahoma City trajedy before we hold people accountable for seditious rhetoric!