A long time ago when I was doing office work for a living, I had a terrific boss named Jean. The company had just digitized all of its files and as anyone who's gone through such a conversion knows, this involves a rethinking and reorganization of the whole company. (And though I've done office work in union shops, this place wasn't unionized.)
Jean was very laid-back, unflappable, and knew her stuff. She trained us, handed out assignments, and then pretty much let us take care of getting the job done. Everyone worked hard and steadily in that office, but everyone was also friendly and respectful of each other. We used to have informal talks on break and in lulls in the work day.
Don't recall how we got on the subject, but Jean told us about her first position as a manager -- some years before and at another company. She said some project was royally screwed up somehow. There was a bad storm, people didn't show up for work, they had some kind of a mechanical breakdown. And over the next couple days, they didn't quite get caught up.
Jean's boss called her into his office and she began to explain effusively about the problems she'd had in her department. Truly, most of the failings had been beyond her control.
Her boss looked at her blankly and said, "I didn't ask you why things were messed up. I asked you: What are you going to do about it?"
Jean said she felt like crying as she confronted the reality that it was her job and responsibility to get the work done -- no excuses, no whining, no blame. Just get the work done. But Jean had one of the most positive attitudes of anyone I've ever worked for. She was open to suggestions, gave credit where credit was due, and honestly tried to be fair with all of her employees. She looked for solutions instead of whining that things weren't going the way she wanted them to go. And we got the work done.
So the prez signs an executive order to lift the ban on stem cell research. But not without making a truly nasty and small-minded statement suggesting that President Bush had trompled all over the concept of scientific integrity.
FYI, Mr. Obama, the scientific community itself has ruled certain types of research off-limits for various reasons.... Like, in doing recombinant DNA studies, you don't inject certain types of virus into bacteria cells, even though bacteria cells are easier to work with. The reason for this is that a careless or thoughtless or simply absentminded researcher could inadvertently create something like an airborne cancer bacteria that could be transmitted through sneezing or something like that. So contrary to White House belief, ethical considerations are very much a part of scientific research.
Then there's the whole matter of the $410 billion Pork Bill. I think it might have passed the senate today, but I'm not sure.
While running for office, Obama promised to veto pork, but he's agreed to sign this bill. Why?
Well, as he sees it, it's not "his" bill. It's a carry-over from the Bush Administration. It's old business that should have been done last year, but apparently congress was so busy fawning over and trying to curry favor with the president-elect that they didn't get any real work done. However, the more than 9,000 pork items in the bill are for spending this year.
So, Mr. Obama, if you don't think this is "your" bill and you have nothing to do with, why not send it down to Crawford, Texas, and let George Bush decide whether or not to sign it?
That's just one thing. Have you tried criticizing any Democrats lately? The knee-jerk response is, "Well, the Republicans were even worse...." Or, "It was the Republicans who left this mess...." etc etc.
First, this ain't 'xackly true. The Democrats were a majority in the House even while Bush was in the White House, so all the crap and mess in Congress right now truly does belong to them. They didn't inherit it from anyone. They brought it with them. Nancy Pelosi may even be proud of it. After all, she thinks her position gives her the privilege to boss around the Air Force.
(Having access to an airplane make you feel important, Nancy? Another way to consume the public treasure. I'd suggest she try commercial flights or, being a millionnaire, pay for her own GulfStream, but then Pelosi's philosophy doesn't embrace the concept of anyone having to pay for anything. The whole idea seems to completely elude her. Wouldn't you hate to see her credit card statements? Maybe she's the reason Citibank has crashed....)
Second, what the hell difference does it make whose fault it is? It is what is. If your house is on fire do you spend a few hours trying to blame someone for it, or do you try to put the fire out? The buttheads in Washington wanted the job, so deal with it. Or not. And if not, get the hell out of the way of people who do have some solutions.
I wrote my Senator Dick Durbin a little email today that I'm quite sure will go right over his head. I said something like, "Ever read the Constitution? Congress is supposed to do a few more things than just spend money."
I'm certain he'll be totally clueless about that one. A) I'm not entirely convinced he's fully literate; B) "What Consti-- Wha? How do you spell that?"
The country's in a mess. Go ahead, point fingers if that makes you feel more comfortable. I was going to say, "but how about coming up with a solution?
The thing is -- If Mr. Obama's $3.6 TRILLION budget proposal is supposed to be a solution....
Nah, hey, keep on pointing them fingers. It'll keep you all fired up and busy until we can vote you out.
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