Difference Between Politics and Leadership

Since the midterm elections there have been many questions asked about the Republican comments and the Presidential election in 2012. Questions concerning GOP inspired “investigations” of various issues, which are purposely exaggerated, have also been expressed. Come on guys, this is not news and this political nonsense is now the root of our problems as a nation. Instead of finding common ground and coming together on issues, we instead want to talk about;

1) GOP comments that Republicans want to ensure that Obama is a one term President. Is this really a surprise that Republicans want a Republican in office? (This does mean Obama has to be a one term President) Taking one comment and turning it into an argument the GOP has only one objective is just politics as usually and needs to be drowned out by sound minded Americans.

2) The call for investigations by the GOP. Given the mindset of the majority of Americans (as reflected in the midterm elections), we know that congressional bills were not read, financial institution dealings are still not in check, money is being wasted and many other similar issues are having an adverse impact on our country. Is it farfetched that Americans want definitive information concerning what has or will be going on with these situations? No one is saying that investigations are the only thing that should be done. Jobs are at the top of the list, but will be overshadowed by wasteful spending or inappropriate legislation if we don’t have the facts in hand. Building a house on top of this shaky foundation would be a grave mistake.

Let’s see a real effort to first explore common ground between the parties and if that is not possible due to any party’s philosophical ideology, let Americans know what your objectives are and the plans to achieve those objectives so that the American people can have their rightful voice on this very important issue.

2010 Election - 2011 Results

The only piece of information in the blog "Election Returns Are Good for Republicans, Bad for America" ( http://bit.ly/akvhsk )that I agree with, is that the same type of whining that we hear now, we heard from the other side of the isle in 2006. Other than that, when will our politicians, our "journalists" and our TV & radio hosts realize that trying to protect the politics of any party, for whatever reason, will set back any real change for all Americans. Yes, that's "ALL AMERICANS". You can't believe in unity if all you are willing to do is preach the party line & bad mouth each other in what plays out to be some of the most childish conduct we have seen from our "leaders" or at very least our educated communicators. Our system is failing us and that includes the White House, Congress, State Representatives, Business leaders and our objective news media.

In respect to the editorial or "opinion" media - I get it, you have to put on a show each day. This does not give license to purposely take things out of context, sensationalize situations for ratings or for being unprofessional and/or unethical. To our objective news media - where are the lines drawn for professional journalism. It seems that if you were a doctor, you might not do everything in your professional powers to provide the proper care to a patient that you don't agree with - grow up and provide information in a manner in which we can't tell what you or your networks politics are.

In respect to the elections that just occurred - the system works!! Maybe not in respect to your individual wishes this year, but our freedom of speech, freedom of choice and freedom to vote were once again highlighted in a similar manner in which they were displayed in 2008. It is the responsibility of all reasonable Americans to push forward towards creating mutually beneficial laws, regulations & programs for as many Americans as possible (and No, I don't believe you can enact any program that will treat ALL Americans perfectly equal. Strive for perfection realizing that perfection is never guaranteed- that 's the human condition). Any party or individual that preaches an all or nothing approach is pitting Americans against Americans. Although you never stop trying to improve your work product, you work with others that may differ in opinion but that shares a similar work ethic.

Bottom line - if our leaders refuse to do this, the clash of disjointed & opposing goals will and I repeat WILL cause economic & civil unrest for years to come. Is that the choice of an educated, mature, ethical and professional society - I HOPE NOT!

Who Are The Bernie Madoff's Of The Oil Industry?

With regular gas prices climbing towards the $3.00 mark, we should be looking at the question that continues to be unanswered - where is the money going on each gallon of gas. Since we use approximately 380 million gallons of gas a day (http://bit.ly/8Ytq0y), that is nearly 140 billion gallons of gas a year. If the price for gas is raised $.50 - $1.00 per gallon, that will be another 70 billion to 140 billion that the American people will spend this year.

We learned with the Bernie Madoff fraud that the public must continue to question and get answers to these important issues. Although Madoff was investigated by the SEC prior to the truth being known about his dealings and a number of wall street and financial insiders knew that something was not right with Madoff's company, billions of dollars were stolen from the American people. What we learned was not to accept incomplete or simplistic answers to these types of frauds. We learned that you need to press for comprehensive answers that include all the facts, including the names of these criminals and how they conducted their frauds.

Back to the present case concerning current oil prices. There are a lot of smart well informed people in the oil industry, financial community and in the government that understand the oil market and know the players. We must press our US Attorney General, State Attorney Generals and all our public representatives for a thorough investigation into oil pricing. This investigation needs to explain step by step the changing of hands in the oil market. We need to know who is getting what out of each gallon of oil. Only then will we be able to know who is making what and how much the market is being manipulated by outside interests and speculators.

This is one of the biggest frauds and market manipulation in our history. Don't except partial answers - the people of this country deserve better and need to demand more from our elected officials and our business community.