Keynesians / Liberals – Relent

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Cash for clunkers didn’t work. Neither did much of the stimulus. OK? Game over.

PS. This is economics, not politics (so says I).

Well, As Steve Lukather said, “All’s Well That End Well”.

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If you’re into music, and keep up with the comings and goings of your favorite artists, and one of your favorite artists happens to be Steve Lukather, then you know the reference is to the title of his forthcoming album. If you don’t keep up with the comings and goings of your favorite artists, and one of your favorite artists happens to not be Steve Lukather, then you probably don’t know the reference is to the title of his forthcoming album.

The title of this post could also be “Turn The Lights Out, The Party’s Over” sung by either the original writer / performer Willie Nelson or Dandy Don Meridith.

OK. Now you’re thinking… “What the hell is he going on about now”?????

Well. I have made a decision concerning my life’s direction, at least as far as it concerns my blogging life. When I started to blog over five years ago, my intent was to improve my writing / organizational skills. I can say, though I don’t take the time to proofread as much as I should, I am a much better writer than I was five years ago. My typing speed is much much better than it was before I started blogging. Even my horrible spelling abilities are greatly improved*. Just ask my blog-pal Jeff Alberts, my personal spelling czar, who hasn’t had to correct me in quite a while.

[* Back in my college days, in a time before the World Wide Web, you had to type everything out on a type writer, which did not have spell check. One of my college instructors told me my spelling skill were atrocious, and I needed to make a dictionary my best friend. I got her point, but she could have been more tactful (with one “l”), maybe. Me and that instructor did not get along well. But I did get a B in the class.]

As a blogger, you often feel compelled to find something interesting to write about. I find one of the funnest and easiest things to scribble about is politics. With the exception of the short lags between campaign seasons, which are getting shorter all the time, there is always something fun going on. A few years ago, I was having a blast writing about the disdain, disaffection and disillusionment of the Republican party as it fell gloriously from power. Though I identify closer to conservative leanings than to liberal ones, I none-the-less took great joy in watching the Conservative house of cards come crashing down. And today, things are more exciting than ever. I am currently giddy watching the Democrats, as President Obama would say, drive their car into a ditch with Obama at the wheel. At the same time you have a revolt within the Conservative establishment with the advent of the Tea Party movement, creating the potential for a massive political purging not seen in generations.

Which makes what I’m about to do so incredibly difficult.

I’m getting out of politics…..

Huh?

I have to. Here’s why.

In the past year, I have struggle to find work as a full time teacher. To keep me distracted from that misery, I have used my blog for comfort. Sounds OK. But I am realizing that this has taken time away from other things that I want to… and need to do. You see, in order to write stuff about politics, you have to do research and be well informed. This means spending a ton of time on the web finding an interesting topic to write about, or finding a way to flesh out an interesting twist on a current story that no one else is talking about. That takes time. This is a classic Opportunity Cost situation. Opportunity Cost is a principle often used in economics that says simply, basically, if you use a resource on one thing, then you don’t have that resource to use toward another thing. In my case, that resource is time. I use so much time trying to write about political stuff, that I don’t have time for other things.

What things?

When I started my blog, my intentions were to also start recording some of my songs that I have written over the years and post them on the web. I have had the equipment to do so since even before I started blogging, and I certainly have a backlog of already complete or mostly complete songs to flesh out. But I haven’t. When ever I get in front of the computer, even if my intent is to do music, I always find myself reading a researching political stuff. This week end, I had two gigs, both on the same night, with my two Fresno bands (had to rush from one venue to the other). After I was done, I was exhilarated, and marveled at how much fun I had that night. I LOVE playing and singing music.

I want to become a better musician. I want to record some of my songs, even if the recordings will be only a sketch of what I want. I need to devote more time to expanding the business, or, getting a second job to help pay down my enormous debt. acquired while pursuing my teaching credentials.

So, for now, today’s post will be the last one about politics for a while. It won’t be easy, as there is even now there is so much fun stuff going on. But, I will let it all flow behind me, and take a different path down the river that is life. I don’t intend to stop blogging, as I like to write. But the focus will be different.

See ya soon.

How The Worm Turns.

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The NYT has published an article describing how the Obama administration and Democrats are trying to devise a political strategy to minimize the expected losses in the upcoming elections. I do find it interesting that, as the political crisis builds today, the constant theme in the press is that the Dems must find a way to reunite, gather strength against the political foe, and reignite the passions that led to the Obama / Democrat victory in 2008. Two and four years ago, when the press was writing about Republicans, the ruling party at the time facing a similar voter revolt, the headlines were heralding the demise of the GOP. How many times did we read “The GOP brand is dying”, or “The Republicans MUST CHANGE if they ever expect to be relevant in todays society”. Well, guess what, they changed, but it wasn’t the change you were hoping for.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the candidate that you refused to vet, to turn a critical eye toward, is now President, and, coming on two years later, his flaws, the ones you so convenient avoided during the campaign, are clear for the world to see. To any journalists who may stumble upon this post…. This is what happens WHEN YOU DON’T DO YOUR JOB!

Hat Tip: Althouse.