Sunday Morning Coming Down

As a thirty year plus veteran on the ground administrator of  Florida "Welfare Programs" it has been a long and winding road.  The big changes brought on by "welfare reform included time limits on benefits, participation requirements, and incentives to making work pay.  The money provided to the State of Florida was conditioned on having people look for work(really), attend training classes if needed, (after failing in job search), and participating in work experience activities or educational activities to improve reading skills or language skills for speakers of other languages.  Successful participants received short term help with bus passes or gas cards, child care or in a small number of cases money to move to places where there were better job opportunities.  The goal of these programs were to get people off of public assistance and initially were successful because the economy was humming along and we probably hassled enough people that if...

My friend Patty is trying to sell some handmade dolls at the local Pulgero (flea market).  This requires logistical support which is just about a seven day operation to purchase supplies and then get the whole thing set up for the weekend. I hope she has some success and is able to cover her costs.  As with most small businesses they are under capitalized, and there has been very little marketing research.  She will have some feedback this weekend and was hopeful that all will go well and that there will be no problems.

I have always been a little bit conflicted on the subject of money.  How can you believe that you probably have enough money for what you need but still try to figure out ways to make more money?  If truth be told, when I was in college I never had hardly any money for anything other than a few beers in the evening and I spent an awful lot of hours working to pay towards my tuition at the UM.  It was only after I started working that I had even the least concern about money and or things.  This concern has become a bigger part of my thoughts as I have aged.  Health issues and money seem to go hand in hand these days.  And so it goes that sometimes you might publicly profess one idea while privately you may be just as pissed off as the next guy at being taken advantage of.  The simple reason for me is that I'm much more aware of the concept of vulnerability as it can affect me and others I know.  I know for some people rallying consists of do...

This is indeed the silly season politically.  On the Democratic side there is an entertaining commentary between Rahm and Michelle and on the Republican side Newt and Mitt are into some familial class warfare. The pundits, talking heads, and news coverage is all about the horse race.  Should the election of leaders be analogous to a horse race? At the end of the day there is too much political short hand and the use of code to energize the bases of both parties. In some ways I think the discussion of the role of venture capital needs to take place but I think that sniping by Newt at Mitt over the success of Bain Capital is more ironic than a search for truth or any suggestion for reform.  This is one of the many issues that concern the 99% but I doubt that Newt is anywhere near Nixon in China. On the Democratic side I think the world of ideas would have been better served by a primary challenge of our sitting president.  In spite of all the road blocks...

I have several thoughts about yesterday's Orange Bowl.  The game was entertaining if you like a shoot out, and Geno Smith has all the tools.  The 70 points were the most points scored by a team in any single team in a bowl game.  The Orange Bowl without a Florida Team and the the University of Miami in particular was a little bit of a let down for me but the game was so wild and wooley that I forgot about the distinct lack of Sunshine State weather and enjoyed the show.  The link up between the ACC Champion and the Big East Champion given the current flux in college football conferences points to the need for some changes.  WVU has plans to move to the Big 12 and that might be a mistake, but it did not figure into the anything that happened last night. The Orange Bowl may need to look for a new conference partner to replace the Big East or I think there may be problems.  The BCS Championship might have the two best teams but even that match up...

I feel sorry for the old eastern Rockefeller Republicans, Dirksen Republicans and even Reagan Republicans on the Left Coast.  The Southern Strategy of Nixon has made this country a place where reason has been replaced by excuses of every sort for bad behavior.  Why can't a republican be for the worth and dignity of people, economic justice, a proper health care system, civil rights for all, and  a reasonable social safety net without being called a socialist. Bomb throwing rhetoric from the right and left has shown me that is getting almost impossible to govern in a way that is understandable and acceptable for moderates like myself.  I will admit my liberal friends think I'm conservative and my conservative friends point to my actual voting record saying I'm really a liberal. I come from Illinois and wonder what Lincoln would think of today's Republican and Democratic Parties. If there was only third way.  Is there any wonder why Congress and its m...