About Me

Name: Tim Blessing
Biography
Loading...

Create Your Own Blog Find Other Townhall Blogs

Comments

Blog Roll

 

On the Spot: The Summer Olympics

Posted by Tim Blessing on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 7:20:39 PM
I have French people, while I was in college.
 
They don't mind you working with them, but you can't tell them what to do.
 
The Olympics in Beijing are going to like Tienamen Square was in 1989.
 
A Civil Protest that turned into a mini-revolt with a massive crackdown.
 
All those people in Beijing might cause riots among native chinese who see a chance to embarass the Chinese Government.
 
Instability, that will be perpetuated by the numerous tourists and reporters with cameras.
 
The Chinese Government might freeze in such a moment that lead's to something of a revolution.
 
I would not go into China at that time because there might be chaos in the country that will prevent anyone from getting out.
 
In essence, a giant security risk for anyone involved in the situation.
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

On the Spot: The Clintons Credibility

Posted by Tim Blessing on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 7:13:57 PM
Bill Clinton is considered a great president by some and a failure by others.
 
I have the scandal books on him that show an alternate personality.
 
His credibility rested on a good economy and no major military operations.
 
His personal behavior left a lot to be desired.
 
Robert Samuelson wrote an editorial several years ago on this type of President.  Monstrosity/Great.
 
Clinton was both a monster and great, but the two terms are interconnected and not mutually exclusive.
 
Charles Krauthammer wrote an editorial several years ago that said Clinton was a success in domestic and a failure in foreign policy.
 
Clinton could not exist as a normal person.  He's an intellectual genius and personal failure.
 
Such people can deal with grand things in life, but not the mundane every day reality of life.
 
His credibility was alway's in question and Hillary who was the more successful of the two served as his enabler.
 
Most family members know a darker member of the family has problems, but are unable to analyze in traditional terms.
 
She has a legal background and not a psychiatric background.
 
His manipulations of people cost him his place in history and hurt her reputation as well.
 
She provided order for his chaos, which cost her credibility with public.
 
Hillary made a mistake with Bill, but life is full of people making mistakes.
 
That includes me.
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

Libertarian Republican #15

Posted by Tim Blessing on Monday, March 24, 2008 7:50:00 PM
Should the Federal Government have a role in setting standards for local Public Schools?
 
My inclination is to say if the Feds provide money then they should have some say in setting standards.
 
My second inclination is to say that Public Education is traditionally state and local responsibility.
 
My third inclination is to say that we are competing in a global economy and need to be organized to respond to international competition.
 
However, companies will not locate in Jacksonville, Florida unless there is a viable workforce available.
 
Competition for jobs is forcing state and local governments to make improvements in their school systems if they want to attract outside businesses.
 
What are standards for education?  A bunch of principles that fit in a national prism based on imbalances in performance by schools in a diversity of states and the apparent success of public education in other countries.
 
I guess the root of the problem is should professional bureaucrats in the US Dept of Education set arbitrary standards for every American School Student or should it be done by State and Local Governments who know their own issues better.
 
In essence, does Federal Money trump Local Control.
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

Libertarian Republican #14

Posted by Tim Blessing on Monday, March 24, 2008 7:39:18 PM
Healthcare in my local community.
 
I have good quality and low cost health care in my community.
 
The quality of the doctors, nurses, and technicians I have dealt with are top notch.
 
The technology is good.
 
The paperwork that goes along with is a disaster.
 
I like the patient services representatives well enough, but all of the checks and balances in the system thwart what might be called effective health care.
 
I have noticed that medicare and medicaid patients get the same service as those people on private insurance, but the government set's arbitrary payment rates for doctors and hospitals.
 
I have found in my region that people who work in healthcare are the best all around people to deal with.
 
Its the complexity of the system that drive's everyone nuts from what I can tell.
 
Doctors practice what is called defensive medicine.
 
That mean's to avoid lawsuits they will a lot of unnecessary tests to protect themselves before performing surgery.
 
That drive's up costs.
 
To stay in a hospital under the best of circumstances is not a pleasant experience.
 
The people who work in Healthcare are under an unusual amount of stress.
 
Patients can range from babies to 100 yr. olds.
 
There's no rhyme or reason to it.
 
The Hospitals that I have been in as a patient are constantly shifting the layout of their rooms.
 
Constant Reorganization seem's to be the rule of healthcare.
 
Each Patient is different in terms of injuries, acceptance of medications, and general attitude.
 
To have government take healthcare over entirely would be something of a disaster.
 
The question should be what mixing and matching should be done to achieve the proper balance.
 
That is in terms of a Public/Private Partnership of government/insurance companies/hospitals.
 
No one has found the right formula from what I can see.
 
I have a catholic hospital in my region that I toured in Graduate School, which has a good operation.
 
I have used a baptist hospital that I like.
 
Quality and Affordability are two contradictory concepts.  Our hospitals have good quality services, but are too expensive for the average person.
 
The question and answer lie on the monetary side.
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

On the Spot: Obama's Church

Posted by Tim Blessing on Monday, March 24, 2008 7:21:20 PM
The main question on this issue is why did Obama stay at this Church for so long?
 
Afrocentric Organizations probably have or will have a collective bad reputation because of this one church standing as a symbol of racialist religion and politics.
 
Its a phenomenom that has percolated for decades, but I wonder if it is relevant to the wider world.
 
The old joke in churches is do the congregation run the pastor or does the pastor run the congregation?
 
In this case, it could be mutual or a binary meltdown based on the mistaken belief of racial persecution.
 
Jeremiah Wright appears to be something of a racialist prophet in old testament terms, but the time of such an approach are long past.
 
If this minority within the black community wants a future black president then there's got to be a toning down of such bombastic rhetoric.
 
That's no different than say Jerry Falwell in the 1980s when he and his crowd went overboard.
 
I did not like those TV Evangelists and I do not like Jeremiah Wright or his ilk.
 
Religion should be a more uplifting experience rather than a littany of continual complements.
 
Paul wrote, "You need to work for a living rather than siting around waiting for the second coming".
 
In Wright's case, he's stuck in the 1960s.  Racism is still present in our society, but Wright set back Obama's chances from becoming President.
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (1) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

On the Spot: Triangular Politics

Posted by Tim Blessing on Monday, March 24, 2008 7:09:33 PM
Its becoming increasingly evident that the democrat race for President look's like 1980 when Carter took on Ted Kennedy.
 
Under normal circumstances, Hillary or Obama could take McCain because of their newness or gender.
 
Unfortuantely, like Russians and the Chinese during the cold war who were at each others throats Nxion could develop a policy known as triangular diplomacy.
 
Meaning, he played China and Russia off of each other.
 
Either one could outlast us in a direct one on one confrontation, but they hated each other more.
 
In McCain's case, he take's advantage of the ever widening split of Presidential Democrats and Presidential Democrat Voters.
 
Triangular Politics by any other name. Let your two main opponents in the other part do their dirty work to each other, while you prepare for the fall election.
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

Libertarian Republican #13

Posted by Tim Blessing on Friday, March 21, 2008 7:44:47 PM
ILLegal Immigration is a Federal Government issue and a State's Rights issue.
 
Where are they coming from?  Latin America is the primary source, but no one knows what to do about it in an organized sense.
 
If we help Latin American Countries develop their own internal economies then their people are less likely to come here.
 
If we put up border defenses then that helps and that is a Federal Responsibility.
 
If we fund the FBI and other police agencies to round up and deport people then the issue is when to stop.
 
Do you throw out all the illegals? 
 
Do you throw out all the criminals and naturalize the rest of them?
 
Do you mandate by law that the sanctuary cities have too report illegals?
 
Do you mandate a five year waiting period for citizenship with a fine, jail time, and court costs?
 
Does the Federal Government provide revenue sharing so state and local governments can round up illegals in their own way?
 
How do you determine who is an illegal and who is a legal immigrant?
 
Once, you determine if they are an illegal immigrant how do minimize costs to deport, jail, or naturalize?
 
The Court System is too bogged down in details, numbers of illegals, and all other related issues.
 
I could see making it a national priority, but if your going to get lower level governments to cooperate then you have too provide them with resources to get the job done, while not infringing on the rights of true citizens.
 
In the final analysis, I would set up an immigration court, appeals court, and appeal to the US Supreme Court as a way to expedite the process.
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

Obama and Richardson Endorsement

Posted by Tim Blessing on Friday, March 21, 2008 7:29:27 PM
Obama had a bad Friday with Bill Richardson.
 
Latinos have voted more for Hillary than Obama.
 
They say we prefer the Republicans who don't want us and we don't like the democrats, but they'll take us.
 
Richardson has a base to work with in Latinos, but I don't know the extent of his influence.
 
He was one of the democrats I could have considered voting for in the coming election, but he did not have charisma.
 
He has influence just by being governor, but McCain has an appeal that cut's across different voting groups.
 
Where does Obama's idealism and Richardson's influence end with Latinos and McCain's begin's?
 
Remember 25% of Hillary's vote will not vote for Obama under any circumstances.
 
In the final analysis, where do Latinos stand on economic, social, and foreign policy issues?
 
 
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

On the Spot: State Dept Files

Posted by Tim Blessing on Friday, March 21, 2008 7:21:57 PM
The State Dept has a problem with internal security.
 
Or these contract workers were intent on commiting political sabotage of one the candidates.
 
I do not like Hillary or Obama and while I somewhat like McCain it seem's somewhat strange to pour through their private files.
 
Again, politics is a bloodsport for some people almost a religion, which mean's they'lll stoop to any level to destroy the candidate(s) they oppose.
 
Another thing to consider is the fact they may engage in monetary blackmail of one of the candidates to effect some sort of change.
 
I write about Bush because he has problems that go beyond policy disagreements, but McCain, Hillary, and Obama apparently haven't done anything really evil.
 
I would vote for McCain in terms of a Libertarian Republican vote.  I would blog Hillary's and Obama's policies, but I don't think its right to engage in political blackmail
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

On the Spot: China's Riots

Posted by Tim Blessing on Friday, March 21, 2008 7:13:56 PM
China's Riots will get worse the closer we get to the Olympics.
 
The main question to this is will the International Press get access to cover the riots.
 
In China, they will ruthlessly enforce censorship.
 
Thus, the Journalists who go in their will be at serious personal danger where the Chinese Military is concerned.
 
If reporters stick it out then it will be the story of the century, but they need what you might call safe houses to operate from within China.
 
The Chinese Population has a lot of frustration where their economy is concerned.
 
Its been uneven in economic development, while the social safety net is vanishing.
 
Their cities are polluted beyond belief and the rest of their environment is not much better.
 
The Chinese Government has control of the country for now, but the country is unstable below the level of camera.
 
In the final analysis, the domestic population of China see's the Olympics as a way to force secession, change, or embarassment of the Central Government by their civil disobedience.
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

Star Trek: Is it Consevative or Liberal?

Posted by Tim Blessing on Thursday, March 20, 2008 9:57:36 PM
I watched the original Star Trek as I was growing up.
 
I have watched Star Trek: TNG throughout its 7 seasons and all 4 movies.
 
I watched Star Trek: DS9 intermittently.
 
I watched Star Trek: Voyager off and on through its run.
 
I watch Star Trek: Enterprise through its 4 seasons.
 
Ultimately, I would have to say that the original series/movies are the ones I am expert on as a fan.
 
Kirk represent's reason, Spock represent's logic, and McCoy represent's emotion.  Sulu, Uhura, Chekov, and Scotty represent what humanity could become.
 
I know the actors had their personal disagreements, but they created a unigue show.
 
Lightning in a bottle like they say within the Star Trek Community.
 
I noticed that the Producers on latter shows tried to balance out the order of things with the characters.
 
Stewart's Star Trek had a more ensemble feel to it, which was fun to watch.
 
Unfortunately, Patrick Stewart could not develop Picard into a more formidable character, until Roddenbery let go of the production.
 
Both Picard and Kirk are explorers, but Kirk is a soldier whereas Picard is a diplomat.
 
Deep Space Nine was an outpost that was a good concept from the start, but I had gotten burned out on Star Trek.
 
You had more religion in DS9 than the other shows.
 
Voyager had the strongest female presence of the five shows more like a family structure and Janeway dealt more with political situations.
 
Star Trek: Enterprise favor's the white male roots of Star Trek, but again you had token characters for whatever reason.
 
Is Star Trek Conservative or Liberal?  Depend's on your show that you are watching.
 
I tend to view myself more through my military experience than anything else.  Kirk was Soldier and Shatner has had personal problems, but we all make mistakes don't we?
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

The President's Entire Psychological State

Posted by Tim Blessing on Thursday, March 20, 2008 9:20:14 PM
When my grandmother had demetia I talked long and hard with her psychiatrist about Bush since I am a Political Scientist interested in Leadership types.
 
The President has schizophrenia in that he hear's voices like God as related Foreign Politicians on Fox News.
 
Auditory Hallucinations, Visual Hallucinations, and split off from reality.
 
I think by watching television anyone can see he is disconnected from reality.
 
He has manic depression because he is optimistic/war like in public and fatalistic in private, which was documented in Time Magazine a few years ago.
 
The President suffer's from what's called Opposition Defiance Disorder because he won't stand down on the terrorists.
 
He is angry all the time, which is a symptom of opposition defiance disorder.
 
He could be suffering from delusional disorder since he see's himself as a gigantic figure in human history when most people see him as an idiot.
 
He might suffer from cognitive disorder since he seem's to have an inability to learn.  God know's his been hammered more than once in public.
 
He definitely has expressive language disorder because of his warlike rhetoric and the other garbage that come's out of his mouth from what my source at Fox News tell's me.
 
The President will be an interesting psychological study for the mental health people in the future, but as a historically significant and positive figure I don't think so.
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

African Americans crossing over. Maybe?

Posted by Tim Blessing on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 7:42:03 PM
Racism is an ingrained behavior on both sides of this issue.
 
From what I can see its more of a problem in psychoanalysis than civil rights legislation.
 
More the province of ministers and psychotherapists than politicians and lawyers.
 
I have had more than one intense debate with African Americans, but it was a debate and not racially motivated.
 
In the Southeast, people are polite, well-mannered, and discreet.
 
Northeasterners say you don't know where you stand with Southerners.
 
Northerners are rude, honest, and straight to the point.
 
You might say we lack tact.
 
Midwesterners from what I have seen are polite, tell the truth, and are easy-going.
 
Our Presidents represent this phenomenom from the states they come from.
 
Culture is the key.
 
Latinos, Africans, Asians, and European Americans each have different cultures, traditions, values, and mannerisms.
 
A Book on Intercultural Communication is necessary to bridge the gaps.
 
I know of one college instructor in my academic career who taught this subject matter.
 
There is a show called Sliders that was on several years ago that dealt with this issue each episode.
 
Star Trek Shows are based on Secular Humanism and Social Commentary, but they interrelate with other species.
 
Not an exact fit, but an indirect fit.
 
The Military act's as a crucible in bringing together divergent people into one unit.
 
Colleges are another avenue to bridge the gap of intercultural communication.
 
Work environments are stressful and are not a good way to bridge this divide.
 
 
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

Toxicology: George W. Bush

Posted by Tim Blessing on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 7:29:21 PM
I worked in a Law Office a long time ago as a gopher.
 
One of my errands was to go to a detox facility to meet with a patient, but the doctor denied me permission.
 
I learned from experience that toxicology deals with alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence.
 
I am not sure of the difference, but I do know in either case it can be devasting to the individual's life, the family's issues, and the friends of the individual.
 
I have known another Minister who has a cousin in the Washington Press Corp who say's that George W. Bush is an alcoholic.
 
He's been drinking heavily for about 2 years nonstop.
 
He use to be a party animal, but the wear and tear of the Presidency must have gotten to him.
 
He's not right in the mind to begin with as an individual, but alcohol needlessly complicate's the business of government.
 
*As William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy talking as their mutual characters in Star Trek II said, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one".
 
George Bush need's to get help and stop making his problems everyone else's problems.
 
How can one man be so evil without realizing it?
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive

Libertarian Republican #12

Posted by Tim Blessing on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 7:19:31 PM
The Iraq War is clearly an abuse of Presidential Power and causing something of paralysis in our government.
 
Our Invasion of Iraq was unjustified and probably Bush did not get the proper constitutional authority from Congress.
 
At the very least, he got it under false pretenses.
 
Be that as it may where I would prefer to withdraw from Iraq now it doesn't seem like its going to happen in the next 10 months.
 
The next question is is Iraq a salvage operation or a war without end.
 
Arabs are not the smartest people around, but they do know how to conduct terrorist operations with a stunning expertise.
 
How to salvage Iraq without bleeding ourselves to death over lost personnel and resources.
 
What do the other countries in the region want, except Saudi Arabia.
 
What do the Kurds, Sunnis, and Shiites want?
 
What would end this occupation on a good note for all concerned?
 
Ultimately, Islamic Nations want our Navy and Air Force nearby, but an Army or Marine Force is unsustainable.
 
What do the Europeans, Russians, and our other allies want done?
 
President Bush seek's a war without end to achieve his place in history even though everyone else want's to end this phase of the Terror War?
 
The Terror War will continue, but the Iraq War could be considered a strategic error of the highest magnitude.
 
Special Operations of various Militaries plus the Intelligence Agencies should be used as a first, middle, and last resort.
 
3rd World Populations are anti=Western in terms of occupation or attack.
 
They have long memories, which mean's you need to use a below-the-radar screen approach to deal with the Jihadists.
Email ItEmail It | Print ItPrint It | CommentsComments (0) | TrackbacksTrackbacks (0) | Flag as offensiveFlag as Offensive
« Previous12…2930313233343536373839Next »