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I can’t
remember which politician ranted with some version of the above line.
Heck, maybe it was a journalist. Either
way, most of the regulars in either of those professions are in the same
category from my perspective (and I’ll let you guess which category that is). Anyhow, I was
amused when my AOL popup window blurted out something along the lines of this
brilliant statement when providing a teaser to this Tuesday’s elections.
If this is really the case, the Republicans (whose platform would be
perfect if they didn’t court the far right on issues that no moderate can
tolerate) should win BIG. If the
Republicans don’t win big, then it isn’t the economy, because there aren’t
any Dems with any plans to bring things around.
The gubernatorial election in my home state, Maryland, is a perfect
example. The Democrat, Lt. Gov.
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, has never won an election on her own. However, she is a Kennedy and is a Democrat in a state that
has only elected one Republican governor in 140 years. The Republican, Robert Ehrlich, is a Congressman who was
elected to Congress in 1994 with the Newt mandate.
Issues are: the Dems have a
minimum $1.7 Billion budget deficit. The
Lt. Gov. says she’ll raise taxes to cover it.
The Republican has all those votes in which he voted for many of Newt’s
causes. The race:
too close to call. If the
Dem wins, I’m moving out of state. I
don’t care to go from 5th highest taxed state to 2nd
highest. The problem is that almost
half of the voters in the state pay very little income tax so they don’t care
if she raises taxes. I guess
that’s why they call it a Democracy. More raving
about the economy is in order. At
one point this year, three out of the five male heads of household on my
cul-de-sac were out of work. Two of
the three had an affiliation with high tech jobs.
At a summer luau in the neighborhood at large, I made a rough estimate
that 15% of the men were out of work. This
quick and dirty analysis can’t be good for the economy since I’m fortunate
enough to live in a neighborhood where the average home value is about five
times the national average. This
Fall, several more buddies of mine find out that their jobs were eliminated.
Damn! What’s going on?
Is there a movement afoot to neuter the white, male professional?
Wino John, I think we’re going to need a link to jobs websites! Ok.
If the economy is plunging, then why don’t I see wine prices,
particularly from California, heading South?
I keep hearing the rumors, but I don’t see the declines in pricing. Maybe all those surplus grapes are going into those Smuckers
PB&J lunch box kits. Life is
good if you read The Spec, Wine Enthusiast Magazine, or Cigar
Aficionado. They act like all
of us should continue to shell out $3,000 for verticals of some of the
lesser-known California Cabs. I’ve had it
with the snobbery. If I’m going to continue to drink wine, I’m going to find
some of those Australian, Chilean, and Spanish bargains (are there any Italian
bargains anymore Wino Bob?). Winos
unite! Help me find bargain wines
that come in a bottle (if I can’t handle the modern screw cap, I ain’t gonna
go for a box!). We’ll publish
your best selections as well as put out the press for the retailers who push the
reasonably priced vintages. Let’s
turn this thing around and have the wine prices in California follow the lead of
their technology forefathers! Wino Wally P.S. Even Hummer has wisely released a cheaper option, the H2. Not that $49,000 falls into the economy model. However, you could bring a small wine cellar back from the liquor store if you drove one of these! |