Quinn seems to have picked up a nasty cough. He was coughing a little this morning which is one of the reasons we were running late (we originally thought we would keep him home from school), but then the cough seemed to clear up and we decided he could go to school (and we would stop by and vote on the way). But tonight the coughing came back with a vengeance and started getting really bad. He doesn't seem to have any other cold or flu symptoms at the moment, just this wicked cough that was keeping him from going to sleep until we gave him some Pedicare.
The current projections are putting the House under control of the Democrats. The Senate still seems to be up for grabs at this point with a couple of races too close to call. More than likely a recount will occur in at least a couple of those close races so it may be a while before we know who controls the Senate. I'm still not convinced this is going to go well for the Democrats though. Now they'll have control of the House, but with Bush still the president I foresee nothing getting done in the next couple of years (although one could easily argue that Congress hasn't really done anything for a while with everything being controlled by the Republicans, so this won't be all that different). Still, I can't help but wonder if this might not hurt the Democrats in the long run. Since in two years when the next election rolls around they really won't be able to show any tangible results that have resulted from them controlling the House. On the other hand, Bush will still be the President, and that seems to be what's fueling this underlying discontent with the Republican party.
And just so this doesn't become a completely political entry, here's another shot from this past weekend's walk through the woods.
7 comments:
"The core of America is not racist. It is not hostile to women. It is increasingly offended by gay bashing. Yet it abhors government waste. It believes strongly in fiscal responsibility such as balanced budgets. It is pro-economic growth. It is concerned about the environment. It is intolerant of people on welfare who disdain the notion of work. But it wants poor kids to have school lunches and it wants to spend money to have good schools. In sum, most Americans are sensible, good-hearted, and prudent. The issue, then, is whether there is a political party that can welcome them home."
—Senator Paul Tsongas
P.S. Hope Quinn gets better soon. Children having colds sucks sucks sucks.
See, you showed a pretty picture :) It made me smile.
Government stagnation isn't necessarily a bad thing. The absence of new laws and policies means that the economy is happy -- good or bad, it knows the ground rules under which its operating and can go forth and prosper.
I remember when the Bush administration was threatening to go to Iraq. My stand on it at that time was that we needed to go. Why? Because we were going to go anyway (Bush was never going to back down on getting into that war) and the economy was suffering because of the uncertainty. A bad certainty is preferable to uncertainty. Whether the war was actually just and necessary, well that's something that he and his god will have to take up before he takes up residence with the farting demons on the fifth level of hell.
Its too bad Tsongas is dead. He was the real thing and a favorite in Massachusetts when I lived there.
The absence of new laws and policies means that the economy is happy -- good or bad, it knows the ground rules under which its operating and can go forth and prosper.
I've heard the phrase that the market loves political gridlock. And you're right, it's because it means certain things really aren't going to change so the market can move forward with some assumptions (whether the ideas behind the assumptions are good or bad is really irrelevant).
The real issue with gridlock is that only simple, pandering items can get done. Long-term, complex problems can't get fixed in a finger-pointing session.
Has Congress done anything complex since the 1970s? It seems like on the federal level all issue of any consequence are left up to the courts. The legislative branch wants nothing to do with it.
On the state level, at least here, issues of consequence are put on ballet measures. Our legislators don't want to do anything complex either.
Post a Comment