Obama's Crackberry

One think I always liked about Obama was his use of his communication tools directly. He will probably be our first computer literate president and like so many of us, he is hopelessly dependent on his cell phone to give him his e-mail as soon as it is sent. While the question of whether or not we should hold our phones so close is important, for Barrack there are more pressing concerns.

For instance, he might have to give up his e-mailing. While a scary idea for even me, only mildly addicted, this might seriously destroy the way he works. The way that won his election for president. The way that I and so many others want his government to work.

Now the reason for all of this is the Presidential Records Act. It basically was made in order to preserve everything the president does in order that we might be able to have transparency in government as well as a nice historical record. Instead it has only made the White House all the more insular. Instead of opening up records it has only made the president more protective of what is written down. This is unhealthy.

If Obama really wants to change Washington he will set a new trend of allowing everything that he does to be seen by the public. While it might sound like overly loud language for me to say this, we have the right to his information. Not only that, if we want to have a fully functional government we have the need for it as well.

So Obama, I know you don't read my blog. I am just one voice crying out into the night, but I say keep your Blackberry. Leave a huge (figurative) paper trail. Ensure that we will spend the next 8 years looking at everything you do with a microscope. It will keep you on your toes and it will let us warn you if you start to drift away from what it is that we think is proper for our country.

Whose Responsible for the Economy?

(This is what I would say if I were running for president.)

My friends, I know we are all worried about the economy right now, but fear not. Yes, we are experiencing one of the hardest economic times in recent memory, but things are still good. We still have food to eat and are coming together to make sure we all have a roof over our heads. It could be worse. Remember this.

Now I won't stand here and say that the economy is hunky-dory and we are doing just fine. Everyone from the investors on Wall Street to the corn growers in Iowa know that we are being effected by the bad decisions of a few institutions.

I will tell you this, however it is going to get better very soon. America cannot be kept down. We will bound back and be even stronger than ever.

Now in order to do this we much all stand strong and stand together.

As president, I will do my part to make sure that the government is watching out for its citizens. I will make sure that our workers, with every color collar, do not go without the basic things we need in life. To ensure a healthy democracy we need healthy people out there doing what needs to be done.

That said, I want you to know that the huge businesses that helped cause this mess will likely not be around much longer. The government will help the people. That's its job. But we will not provide a free pass to those who cannot create a stable marketplace for our investments.

This is what I will do. While we are concerned about specifics right now, I promise that this spirit will be in whatever economic plans I support.

Now this isn't enough however. I need, We need, America needs you all to be patient. It is hard right now to sit back and watch the news and the rest of the media sound like Nostradamus soothsaying or investments away. There is the temptation to pull your money out of the economy. Don't do this.

Your savings in your bank accounts are insured. The government will pick up the slack if it came to that, but that is not an issue thanks to FDIC. The reason we insure your accounts is so that you can keep your money in the bank. This keeps the banks strong. If you were to take back your money and put it in a hole in the ground then the banks would have no way to play their parts in the economy.

Along with staying calm I ask for us all to spend the next few months living frugally. This doesn't necessarily mean tightening our belts, but it does mean simply paying attention to what we are spending our money on. If you want to make sure that your money is safe start with looking at how most of us loose most of our money, living beyond our means.

If we simply spend wisely and save over the coming times we will soon be able to bring our economy back to where it was not too long ago.

You do that and I will keep of my end of the deal.

Obama's formula

It would seem that Obama has won the primary. I have long been a Hillary supporter if only for what I saw as more long term hopes and goals for the left, but in doing so I clearly neglected the one thing that I have been very concerned about for the past year, what it takes to be cool.

No one will doubt that Obama is way cooler than Hillary. From his smoking to being young and black Obama has always had that advantage. But he takes it a step further by being a person of the people. Back in 1992 he held a voter registration drive in Chicago in which he registered more than 150000 people! While in a city of millions this might not be too big of a deal, yet here reflects what I see as Obama's way of winning this election. He understands how to flatten a campaign.

The only efficient way to achieve such success with something like that campaign drive is to get everyone involved continually. It is sort of like a pyramid scheme. The only difference is that each person only needs to get two people and they are done in that sort of scam. In this flat campaigning each person works for as long as they can. This way new members to the campaign are accepted as new, but not as lower on the pyramid.

This does something Hillary never could do. It makes everyone gathered together to support Obama feel like they are all part of something equally. This is what my generation wants. We all want to change the world. Obama told us that we can.