Hodgepodge

© Dr. Gary D. Lemmons, February 10, 2008

THE REBATE:  It looks as though the government is going to send most of us from 600 to 1200 dollars depending upon whether or not we are married with children.  They want us to spend it and spur the economy. Too bad those deadbeats in Washington haven’t been paying attention to the economy over the past seven years.  The liberal spending of Georgie Bush and the Corporatist Republicans has just about broken the bank.  Likely, we will replace “Shrub”, as the late Molly Ivins used to call him, with a Democrat.  Then, we will really learn what government spending is all about.

THE ELECTION:  We muddled through “Super Tuesday” this past week and, for all practical purposes, finalized the Republican nominee.  With the withdrawal of the corporatist, Mitt Romney, John McCain, the maverick, appears to be the man.  Mike Huckabee will probably continue on for a while, but given that the media plays up his Christian conservatism as opposed to his support of the Fair Tax and other sensible policies, he has little chance.

On the Democratic side, it appears that neither Senator Clinton nor Senator Obama may win enough delegates in the caucuses or primaries to clinch the nomination.  That being true, the fight will be taken to the Democratic Convention where the outcome will hinge on the “Super Delegates”…those Democratic leaders who get to vote by the fact that they are prominent in the party. 

Is that the smell of a smoke filled room in the air, I detect?

THE STORMS:  Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, and especially Tennessee were hit with terrible early spring storms on “Super Tuesday." Tornadoes claimed the lives of over 50 people.  This didn’t have anything to do with the outcome of the election, but it gives one pause to understand that we have not seen these sorts of storms since the 1970s.  Couldn’t possibly have anything to do with climate change or global warming, which we all know is just liberal propaganda.

THE EXPLOSION:  The tragic explosion at the Imperial Sugar Refinery near Savannah, which has cost the lives, thus far, of five workers, was a horrible event.  Three more workers are still missing and some 17 are hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.  This tragedy reminds us of the dangers that surround us all, and, while we cannot withdraw from life and live in a bank vault environment, we come to realize that caution should be our watchword. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families in Port Wentworth.