The strange detail is that four government men make a peacock display of the game of golf in order to show common purpose with regard the fragile state of the US economy and the overbearing Federal debt load that threatens the national security. What about golfing is sober? It is a boy's game invented in Scotland for the royals and played by many presidents for one hundred years as a demonstration of athleticism in the White House. TR preferred tennis, hunting, riding and camping. Golf is not what is easy to associate with strength of conviction. "Good walk spoiled" is the golfing definition of choice. What do we learn from the theatrical exercise? These four government men are not in the same economy as the rest of us working fellows: they take the Treasury's check, and we pay the Treasury's bills. Stats show there are 30 million American males working full time between the ages of 15 and 45. There are 15 million American men working full time between the ages of 46 and 65. The younger, larger group is frustrated and stuck. Spoke Mike Dorning, Bloomberg, to learn that one million fewer men and women are changing jobs each month now than before the Great R; and that is a reflection of fear, caution, lack of choice, frustration, drift, underemployment. In addition, there are nearly 14 million unemployed; in addition, hourly wages year over year (2010-2011) have retreated 1.6%. In sum, the youngest workers are going backward in the same job. All this adds up to tens of millions of men and women who do not have the leisure, cash, temperament or desire to play golf on a Saturday in June. It is the Protestant scold in me. We work to live, and we live to work; endeavor is pleasure as much as it is mission. Golfing is not working. So what to conclude from the golf summit? These four government men have too much down time and not enough anecdotal information to realize that the US is in existential trouble. What happened in the Great Recession of 2007, 2008 and 2009 is that the US government took money from taxpayers and gave it to the the bankers and sharpies who crashed the economy with gambling dens and fraudulent markets. TARP was theft from a generation of working men and women. The US government (Bush approved and signed: Obama and Biden and Boehner voted yes; Kasich was out of office) colluded to take $1Trillion of TARP for the bankers and whatever else struck their fancy and whined loudly. TARP was theft from a generation. Now the TARP thieves can golf together to demonstrate purpose? A golf ball on grass is meaningful? This is the Republic for laughs?
Spot on analaysis, John.
"The strange detail is that four government men make a peacock display of the game of golf in order to show common purpose with regard the fragile state of the US economy and the overbearing Federal debt load that threatens the nationals ecurity. What about golfing is sober? *** Golf is not what is easy to associate with strength of purpose . *** What do we learn from the exercise? That the four government men are not in the same economy as the rest of us working fellows. *** Golfing is not working. So what to conclude from the golf summit? These four government men have too much time and not enough information to realize that the US is in existential trouble."
Amen to the 1000th power. Occasionally the Washington bubble serves a useful purpose insulating the government from the electorate's whims. More often, it puts them too out of touch with the facts to be useful by any definition of the word. Now we have a bubble within a bubble. The 2 million (plus or minus) in the immediate vicinity of Washingon, the ones whose lives and fortunes are protected by the likes of Jim Moran and Barbara Mikulski, form the secondary bubble - those people never suffer the same fate as the rest of the economy. And then there's the primary bubble, the Congress and 1600 Pa. Ave. (aka the Zone 1 Taxi Bubble).
Spot on JB! Great talking points for the right candidate. The sharpies aided by the preening, do-nothing political class have looted the younger citizenry and its offspring.
We must cast off reins and run toward economic growth.
I wonder what my tax rate will be in 20-25 years when I'm retired. My retirement savings will be hallowed out by inflation and then taxed up a storm to pay for what - somebody's 3-year unemployment? a bonus for somebody's down payment on a house in Greenwich? nationbuilding down a rat hole? And I'm a saver. What about millions who are already wiped out with slim prospects for getting well financially? Congress can't produce a budget. Top 3 elected officials go golfing?
Europe is worse.
Dark days ahead.
Playing golf together is paradigmatic bonding for some.
This is process over substance.
Who believes for an instant that progress was made here?
This administration is all about display, smoke and mirrors, then again, I ask, should Boehner
have dissed POTUS on this invite??
Obama, of blessed mercy, used the golf summit to appear more Centrist and accommodating. He has a White House full of borderline Marxists and needs to appeal to the center.
Speaker Boehner cannot reject a request to play golf, it would look childish. They should have invited two enlisted airmen from Andrews to the game.
The VP can make jokes about only hitting one Airplane at Andrews, that what VPs do.
Smart for Obama to wear slacks, he has skinny legs.
The Speaker could not invite POTUS to Congressional CC, the US Open just concluded a spectacular championship yesterday, with an Ulster-man winning the cup.
The current leaders are bound by their ideology and pressure groups, movement in any direction is difficult.
"The accelerated drawdown will dismay American and British commanders in Kabul, who have privately expressed concern that the White House is now being driven by political rather than military imperatives."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/21/barack-obama-and-pentagon-split-on-afghanistan
Indefensible.
Reckless.
A real accelerated draw down is questionable. Better intel comes from C-Span Jun 1st House Foreign Affairs Sub-commitee Mideast.
In the section aired at 1pm on Jun 4th, listen to Rep. Ackerman's opening statement (comes about 6 min. in) concerning USAID employing a Division and a half of "diplomats" who are trained in anti-morter response and destruction. Like declaring that all combat troops are out of Iraq but that we still have 50,000 "advisors"?
A draw down will be a shell game. Take out 10 grand soldiers replace with 8 grand Army green diplomats who can drive Abrams Tanks and attack helos.
The bellweather to watch will be if the 55th Brigade of the PA Guard and the 27th Brigade of the NY Guard still deploy this winter.
Praying for soldiers who now fight in the shadows of our discontent.