"Come Along"

This is a little ratchet and cable machine that is used for pulling or lifting heavy objects. My present usage is for trees knocked over in our recent Noreaster. Kate and I hook the Come Along CA to the base of another tree or knock a stake deep into the ground. We then hook one end of the of the CA to the tree base or stake. Other end goes to downed tree. Then using the ratchet we slowly begin to pull the tree back up. Slowly is necessary to give the roots a chance to go back into their original position. We now have the trees back up in the original positions and we hope they are happy enough to maintain life there.

I began to see the CA as a metaphor for President Obama’s attempt at consensus. Because the CA is a machine it is in the realm of reality. Maybe that is one of the reasons I need to spend at least some of my time with machines. Yes they can fail, God, I sure know that. Yet compared to human behavior they are far more predictable.
Which brings me to the Tea Party affair.

Is it believable that these folks are protesting Obama’s Wall Street big bank bailout? These are the very same champions of the FREE MARKET ECONOMICS that got us into our present stink hole. "All you government regulators should just get out of the way of the MARKET!" Well they did and now we have 17 million out of work and millions of homes foreclosed and the Tea Parties are up in arms over it. “It’s all Obamas fault” so they just want to elect some more marketeers so we can get on with the the economic free for all that will mostly benefit the Goldman Sachs bonuses.

The Tea Party folks have stolen the Democrats issues. They have done this by turning the present highly justified anger and resentment that is out there in the land against the Dems. That happens to be an old right wing strategy. Karl Rove didn’t invent it but he sure knew how to use it. It boils down to this. Keep your ear to the ground and pick up any collective grumbling, resentments, anger, hostility etc. Then just blame it all on those socialist minded left wing Democrats. When the facts, as in the present case, are exactly the opposite. This has been lost on the Obama White House. They are only beginning to learn the art of fighting back instead of still dreaming of some kind of human "Come Along." Some months back I wrote a blog in which I pleaded with the White House folks to wake up and start playing hardball instead of “reaching across the isle” as there is NOBODY ON THE OTHER SIDE. Unfortunately there is no human effort that can do what the Come Along does.

Well, hopefully now the Obama team will wake up to their dire situation and just use that Come Along on their own side of the isle to begin to pass some serious legislation. Here are some down trees that will need the Come Along for November 2010 and 12.

Get that unemployment rate down whatever it takes. Pass the health Care Reform legislation whatever it takes. Get some control over the financial markets ending deficit default swaps. Banks need either to be in banking or investments. Bring back the Glass Steagull Act. That will put an end to the banks playing craps with peoples savings. Obama this agenda is your only hope for a future in the White House. Otherwise we might just end up with Sarah Pailin. No don’t laugh it could happen. Remember George W. He wasn’t much brighter than her.

Many times over in my long life I have learned a terribly important lesson. No matter the catastrophe, humans have the unique ability for continuing every day life. That’s precisely what millions of unemployed are doing right now. No, I don’t thing it’s good. It is just a way of not thinking that the world is coming to an end because I am out of work. I do want to make an exception to that rule. If the planet is threatened then in fact everyday life as we knew it may begin to come to an end. Subject for another blog.