Just another Labor Day

I officially retired on December 31, 2002, so Labor Day doesn't have any real significance to me, but it's the first time my wife didn't have to worry about working on Labor Day.We are going to have a relaxing day. I'll eat my cold cuts and read another 100 or so pages of Cheney's book and my wife will do whatever she wants to do.

Labor Day is the official kickoff of the political season but when did it ever stop? Yesterday's talk shows were following the same script and just juggling the hosts and guest. The question of the day was “Will President Obama come out with a big bold plan that will not get past the House of Representatives, or will he go with plain vanilla short-term solutions?" I think David Gregory of Meet the Press said what I've been saying all along, this election is about the role of government. Presidential historian, Doris Kearns Goodwin, made the quote of the day when she said” why do these politicians want to run the government if they hate it so much?" I've always wondered that myself. Meet the Press had the extremes from Paul Gigot to Maxine Waters, but if it wasn't for Ms. Waters, Paul Gigot would have gotten away with that “Governor Perry created more jobs than anyone" talking point. David Gregory gave her about 10 seconds to correct the record by saying most of those jobs were government jobs.

I have read about 130 pages of former vice president Dick Cheney's new book, and I've found it to be quite interesting, even though I haven't gotten to the juicy parts yet. I've always been interested in the behind-the-scenes activities of Washington. Dick Cheney's parents and grandparents were Democrats and admired FDR. It's funny because Ronald Reagan admired FDR, yet he governed exactly the opposite. The former vice president mentions his deferments in avoiding the Vietnam War, but he never mentions how many, he received (5) and he doesn't dwell into the reasons. I was very surprised that Chris Wallace, asked the former vice president about secret plans to destroy the Iranian nuclear facilities. I was equally surprised that Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, said the president would have been impeached if we had done that. That last part wasn't in the book so, Wallace, didn't ruin the story content for me. The rest of the interview with the former vice president was pretty much status quo, no one really challenges the former vice president. Chris Wallace tried to start a little political mischief, by asking the vice president if he thought Hillary would've made a better president .Dick Cheney took the cue and gave the answer Fox News wanted for their audience by saying that she would have made a better president. As always, former vice president Dick Cheney is never apologetic or wrong.

We're starting to get more dribs and drabs of the president's Thursday night's speech, as parts of it are being leaked to get the public's reaction. NPR's Mara Liasson said the president should include big bold steps and that another stimulus might be approved, if the president also mentioned ways of reducing the deficit and debt without giving specifics. It's like a small business asking for loan that will keep them going but presenting a business plan to show how they will tackle their long-term debt. Mara made an excellent point, but she's in denial if she thinks that the Tea Party will approve anything the president presents.

Michelle Bachmann is proving why she should not be considered a credible candidate for the president of United States by saying that we should lower the minimum wage and lower the corporate tax rate to zero in order to get this country going again. Someone should send her a copy of the Wall Street Journal. I take that back, someone explain the financial section of the Wall Street Journal to her. Corporations are doing great, it’s the working middle class that continues to struggle, and she wants to cut minimum wage standards. I feel sorry for Mitt Romney because he feels he needs to adjust this message to appeal to the tea party folks. Mitt Romney is a smart man. I don't know why he's lowering himself to that level. Mitt Romney doesn't have the political skills of Rick Perry, who is very comfortable playing both sides of the fence.

Our community has a political issue of its own. Our police officers want to organize to form a collective-bargaining union, and the city wants to know why. I didn't pay much attention to the editorial board's recommendation because it was their opinion, but now I'm having second thoughts. I imagine the city's largest advertisers don't want any type of union talk. That's been the standard for many years. When I saw the comment made by the editorial staff stating “Please elaborate for us on why you can't work together with the city now. Are city officials refusing to meet and talk with you about any concerns?" It made me wonder as to why our newspaper editorial board is so interested in this issue. I remember those same words being used by my employer's representatives when we asked if we could join a union. It's collaboration because; once a union gets a foothold it spreads, causing concern for our nonunion businesses. The city, local businesses, and editorial board want to cut this off because a "meet and confer petition" is the first step of changing how we do business in Victoria.I imagine they are wondering  how far this will go. This is a local issue and, I don't want to nationalize the issue but the national GOP board of governors decided to take down what's left of unions. Victoria doesn't want to let it put its nose inside the tent.

For those are you still working; Happy Labor Day, enjoy.