33 Job Openings of 2012, No Experience Necessary...Silver Spoons Preferred

  Hello friends,

  Today's post will be slightly EPIC, as far as the amount of information that I will be posting.  As stated in the title, there are 33 job openings...and they are all in the Senate. To be Senator, you need only these requirements:

• at least 30 years old.
• a U.S. citizen for at least nine years at the time of election to the Senate.
• a resident of the state one is elected to represent in the Senate.

The following list, shows which Senators are retiring and which seats will be contested ( meaning the incumbent will spend millions of dollars, to keep the $174,000 a year they receive as salary ).

First, the list of Democrats/Independents retiring.

1. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut
2. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii
3. Ben Nelson of Nebraska
4. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico
5. Kent Conrad of North Dakota
6. Jim Webb of Virginia
7. Herb Kohl of Wisconsin

Continuing list of Democrats/Independents seeking re-election

8. Dianne Feinstein of California
9. Tom Carper of Delaware
10. Bill Nelson of Florida
11. Ben Cardin of Maryland
12. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan
13. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
14. Claire McCaskill of Missouri
15. Jon Tester of Montana
16. Bob Menendez of New Jersey
17. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York
18. Sherrod Brown of Ohio
19. Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania
20. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island
21. Bernie Sanders of Vermont
22. Maria Cantwell of Washington State* Who received a loan in excess of 3 Million dollars in 2006 for her re-election campaign....a gross violation of campaign finances.
23. Joe Manchin of West Virginia

Republicans retiring:

24. Jon Kyl of Arizona
25. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas

Republicans seeking re-election:

26. Richard Lugar of Indiana
27. Olympia Snowe of Maine
28. Scott Brown of Massachusetts
29. Roger Wicker of Mississippi
30. Dean Heller of Nevada
31. Bob Corker of Tennessee
32. Orrin Hatch of Utah
33. John Barrasso of Wyoming

  Hello all,   this is another post that I apparently didn't publish to my blog. Originally written in December of last year.


  Hoping to see many changes in the Senate, and Congress in general.  Have a great day.


Trevor

My opinion ( prediction ) for the 2012 Election results

  Hello readers,

  I figured I would do this sooner than later...not that anything I write here will compel changes to the popular vote or change the minds of the College of Electorates ( remember...the 538 people chosen just prior to the Presidential Election, who will cast their 538 votes among the Democrats, Republicans and few Independents and decide our next president.

 Take a deep breath....let it out. 

  Are you ready?  Okay.

 The final tallies from the College of Electorates will result in approx. 350 votes for our incumbent president Barack Obama, with the remaining 188 votes being split between the Republicans and Independents.  Give or take....maybe 50 votes one way or the other....meaning, a second term.  Why?

 There are numerous reasons...let's start with the recession.  It actually began around late 2006, early 2007.  It was not the fault of a junior Senator ( at the time ) and can not be attributed to him in 2008 until now.  The huge, grotesque bank bail outs and auto industry bail outs....we can thank Congress for those..and they did so to protect their own interests.

  End to the war in Iraq:  Even though it was originally declared by President Bush, it was actually President Barack Obama who ensured that our troops, while maybe not yet home, were out of Iraq before the deadline.  Huge thumbs up.

 Snuffing of Osama Bin Ladin:  Took 10 years, but it happened on President Barack Obama's watch. Big thumbs up.

 Congressional Infighting:  Folks try to find the faults, and perchance even with only partial success getting bills passed ( Jobs Act, etc, etc ) Americans will remember more that Congress fought and accomplished little, compared with what President Obama was actually able to do.

 Here is a condensed list of more accomplishments:

1.  New S.T.A.R.T. ( strategic arms reduction treaty ) with Russia to reduce the number of intercontinental ballistic launchers by half.

2.  Repeal of D.A.D.T. ( Don't ask , Don't tell ) in armed forces.

3.  Tax cuts.  He re-signed to continue Bush era tax cuts through 2012.

4.  Fair Sentencing Act: To reduce the racial disparity that exists for crimes, more specifically drug related ( crack and powder cocaine ).

5.  Childhood Obesity Act:  Good to get it started...but truly, parents need to get their kids off the computers and X boxes.  Kids don't need cell phones at age 5 and need to engage in outdoor sports...or something.  In the 70's, extra curricular sports was all we had....unless you count the video game PONG.

6.  Health Care reform....while controversial and not yet up to speed, he is trying..which is more than any president before has done.  I have friends that are not covered....not by choice...so it is still a ways off....but can be done.

7.  Wall Street Reform Bill:  Put an end to ( hopefully ) tax payer funded bailouts.

8.  HIRE Act:  Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment.  Basically, a huge slab of money and tax incentives for companies that hire unemployed folks.

  There are more items....but I really don't need to fluff this.

   I just realized that I had written this last year, shortly after the start of my blog in September.  It was never "published"  AAAArrrrrrrrggggghhhhhhhh!!   It is no less relevant now.

Have a great weekend coming up.


Trevor

In Memorium

  Hello everyone,

    I hope everyone is having a great weekend.  Sunny weather, going to the beach and hitting yard sales.  I hope also today that everyone takes just a moment to honor those who sacrificed so much to preserve our freedom and way of life.  Many folks confuse Memorial Day with Veteran's Day.  I don't mind being thanked for my service, ever.  It is an honor to do what I can and has been an honor for the last 19 years and four deployments.  Today is not about me though.  It is about those who fought in the earlier and larger wars ( WWI, WWII,  Korean and Vietnam wars, respectively ).  It is about those who died in their attempt to right a wrong and return peace to our world.  Have a great day, and if all you do is remember...THANK YOU!


Trevor Dodge

Promises, promises.......

  Hello everyone,

  I watched a somewhat funny movie yesterday. It was called "Man of the Year".  Brief synopsis:  Robin Williams plays a comedic news man who runs for president of the United States...and due to a glitch in the voting process, he wins.  In the end, after finding out about the glitch, he walks away and continues to be a comedic news man.

   His arguments during the one debate he was allowed to attend really struck home.  How can candidates pledge to find or discover alternative energy when they have oil lobbyists in their pocket?

   How can candidates "promise" to...1) Repeal Obama care,  2) Get folks jobs,   3) Lower taxes and the list continues to grow.

   Presidents cannot wave a wand a la Harry Potter and expect promises made as candidates to come true.

   Until candidates realize that they need to rein in Congress and stop the bi-partisan bickering, nothing will change for the better.



Trevor

Big happenings this weekend

  Hello everyone,

  On this past Sunday I re-joined my National Guard unit to discover that they had reconfigured while I was gone, and they have no need for a Army truck driver of my rank ( SSG/ E-6 ).  I have several options on the table and will look at them in earnest next month.  Will keep you posted for sure.


  Also, found some grass growing ( finally ) where we had sowed our side lawn.  That's a good feeling, seeing as i will be having some family up next weekend.  I stopped using some political sites that I use to get info....will go back to traditional methods or will use several sites to get a good cross section of news.


  Have a great week everyone.


Trevor

Google Plus-I-Fied.....or something to that effect...

  Hello all,

  The blog-o-sphere is going through more changes and updates than Face Book.  Now my blog is connected to Google Plus.  Who knows where this will lead.  The new job is keeping me plenty busy , as is the work we are trying to accomplish around the house since my absence last year.  I will get back to the swing of things and usual political oddities that are seeming to propagate as I type this.  I hope every one has been doing well.  I will be military this weekend up in Tacoma and parts unknown.  Take care and catch back up sooner than later.


Trevor