'Hope and Change'

Sending Eric Cantor to Room 101

My April Fools post is becoming decidedly not funny. Unfortunately the present administration seems to have learned how to deal with opposition from Orwell's novel.

The WSJ Reports on the Administration's Attempt to Destroy Eric Cantor [click to read]. (ht/SWAC Girl). Cantor, you remember, made some honest criticisms of the stimulous package only to be told to sit down because "I (Obama) won." The problem is Mr. Cantor won too. In 2002 Cantor defeated Ben Jones, the actor who played 'Cooter' on 'Dukes of Hazzard' quite handily. In a representative republic I consider him MY representative. He was properly executing his responsibility by speaking out.

I know Mr. Obama wishes he could have Ben Jones in congress, fixing the economy just like old 'Cooter' fixed the 'General Lee' after it was wrecked in just about every episode, but both scenarios are, to put it bluntly, fiction. The show's producers actually had about twenty Dodge Chargers when the series started. They 'recycled' some of the crash scenes too. Ben Jones owned some of the cars that survived and you could see one at his store in Sperryville.

Unfortunately there is only one United States economy. You can't wreck it every week to get ratings and see it completely restored in the next episode.

At the G20 Summit, Mr. Obama Dissed the Declaration of Independence [click to read]. He seems intent to override our national sovreignty. Right now we need a Jefferson, ready to take on the Barbary Pirates, not someone intent on giving away the store.

Eric Cantor is not alone. Look at the Attacks on Bob McDonnell [click to read]! So, where are the lofty new ideas we were promised? Looks like politics as usual to me.

I'll leave you a quote from a time when we knew what 'Hope and Change' were supposed to look like:

"Whatever else history may say about me when I’m gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears; to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty’s lamp guiding your steps and opportunity’s arm steadying your way.” -- Ronald Reagan

Ethical Considerations of 'Custom Time'

"There is a moral hidden in a laugh, be wise and take the grain but leave the chaff." -- Chaucer

Last April Fool's day it was "Paper Email." Now its "Custom Time." You can send your email so it arrives on time even if you are up to four years late. Actually I must confess to having discovered Custom Time about four years ago when I screwed up the time/date settings in my computer and sent several emails in 1904!

I had to tell some people to look way way back in their inbox for some things I sent that morning!

Scripture calls our Creator the "High and Lofty One, Who inhabits Eternity." G-d can handle the responsibility of being outside of the constraints of time. For humans, time is a factor that helps us. It keeps us honest. I give you the quote from the "Investment Banker" on the Google spoof site:

"I used to be an honest person; but now I don't have to be. It's just so much easier this way. I've gained a lot of productivity by not having to think about doing the 'right' thing."

Wow, that's profound. Time, it would seem, is just one tool in our healthy quest for mutual accountability. What's really amazing and profound though is the "equation" that Google provides as logic for allowing users ten time-altered emails apiece! As you know, Googe uses a "secret" algorithm to assign "trust rakings" to various websites. Most of the time it works really well and makes Google the great tool that it is. Occasionallly mathematical models fail or can be hacked by what are known as "black hat" techniques so that bad content rises over good. That is why webmaster "terms of service" are necessary. I never knew an April Fools joke would contain so much wisdom!