To everyone on Facebook, RSS, Twitter, Friendfeed, etc., please come to www.7daybuzz.com today and comment on this subject.

Hatred (or hate) is a word that describes the intense feelings of dislike of something or someone. For example, one can have a hatred of inanimate objects (e.g. vegetables, bicycles, tables, chairs, etc…) to hatred of other people, and/o entire groups of people.

I’m saddened almost daily by the level of hatred in America; forget about the rest of the world because this is a horrible problem we have right here at home. I don’t necessarily think it (hate) is at an all-time high, but rather it is being overtly displayed more and more. You probably encounter some level of hatred everyday, but you’ve gotten so used to it, therefore, ignoring it for the most part.

Why should I have to deal with blatant hatred?

That is a question we all need to ask ourselves as well as look into the mirror to see if we are one of the many who could be increasing the negative atmosphere.

People Simply Hate Obama

There are many people who hate our president. The sentiments go from being scared of what his policies are doing to our country, to wishing he fails and ultimately, getting killed while in office. Political parties have, and will probably always have, an impact on how people feel about the government. Some people will simply go along with whatever their party believes – something I think lacks individual thinking and decision making. I can understand why someone would be against President Obama because the Democratic way isn’t to their liking and that is where my understanding stops!

I have this feeling that many people don’t like President Obama because he is a black man.

In response to a resolution apologizing for slavery, someone commented saying, “The ni.ggers in the whitehouse. Whatelse do they want?” That is such a short sentence, but it reveals some deep-seated racial hatred to have the nerve to say that in a public forum. Obviously, this person associates the word “nigger” with a black man, more specifically, the President of the United States. Also, he/she feels as though President Obama’s election should mean “they” (Black people in general) don’t need anything else. That is dripping with hate.

I’m not a Republican and I, too, don’t agree with everything President Obama has done. So where do I fit in? I would like to think I fit in as someone who can think independently and judge people on what they do rather than who they are or the color of their skin. Truthfully, I think idiots come in all races, sizes, nationalities, etc. Speaking of idiots…

I am absolutly dumfounded when people have such outspoken and strong feelings about President Obama as if he turned the country upside down as soon as he took office in January. My amazement continues when some of those same people skip over the eight years George Bush Jr. was in office and also try to blame Bill Clinton for the current issues. It’s like these people have selective amnesia as it relates to the 8 years in between.

As of April, 4, 2002 American soldiers have died in Iraq, but former president George Bush Jr. is kicked back in his Texas mansion. Since we went there on false pretenses, or a big fat lie, why can’t Bush be charged with 4,262 counts of murder? Although that may be extreme, I don’t think it is as extreme to think one man has destroyed our way of life from January 20, 2009 to the present, July 2, 2009. That is just silly. He’s only been in office less than six months! Even sillier, if President Obama did exactly what Bush did for the last eight years, many people (mostly Republicans) would still feel the same way.

Not So Heavy, But Still Filled With Hate

Why do people have so much disdain for Barry Bonds, but don’t feel the same way about Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, etc.? All of them have admitted using or have been accused of using steroids. Although I am referencing baseball players, drug use – recreational and performance enhancing – and crime, are rampant in virtually every sport. How does someone come to the conclusion of hating one athlete, but not feeling the same about others? Barry Bonds, who has never admitted to using steroids, but has been accused of using the drug, has hit more home runs than anyone in history and many people would like to have his record erased. But Rodriguez, who readily admits to using steroids during his career, could very well break Bonds’ record. However, noone seems to be calling for his record to be erased. Why is that? Does it have to do with race?

Hate is often driven by envy or by someone who goes against the grain and that is what this baseball example shows. Barry Bonds doesn’t like the media and in turn the media trashed him every chance they got. Since people amazingly believe everything the media prints or talks about, many people have adopted the same feeling towards Bonds. I have personally met Bonds and he was nice to me. Should I jump on the bandwagon and believe the media or should I judge the man on how he treated me?

I’m not sure what happened between Michael Jackson and the various children he was connected with, but a court of law didn’t find him guilty of molestation. But some people are doing their best to drag him through the mud before he is even in his grave. Others have made comments like, “Michael Jackson can’t hold a candle to Elvis.” Please! Can the man rest in peace?

It Will Probably Never End

We could probably talk about different examples of hate until we are blue in the face and it will never end. This isn’t relegated to national politics, sports or the entertainment world. Hatred like this happens in our local neighborhoods, jobs, clubs, schools, stores, restaurants and churches. Since there is about a zero chance of it being eradicated totally, we can at least be mindful of others.

I have had a recent experience where I needed to show tolerance for someone who isn’t like me. I charged down one path and did not encounter the attitude I was expecting, which really blew me away. Without going into detail, I told my wife that I may have to reach out to this person because now I know where their heart is and I could be of help. Eventually, it will make me feel better because it will take far too much energy for me to show hate.

Hate is an energy draining emotion and is taking far too much time on the Internet, TV and other news media. We should have something better to do.

This week we lost Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. These three will surely be missed and thinking back on what they’ve accomplished gave me an idea. I’m going to give $20 to the first person to answer/do the following via the comment section below (on www.7daybuzz.com):

1. Complete WordPlay Wednesday (click here to jump to the page).
2. Who was the Tonight Show band director while Ed McMahon was on there with Johnny Carson?
3. How many years was Farrah Fawcett on the TV show Charlie’s Angels?
4a. What former NBA star was in one of Michael Jackson’s videos?
4b. What was the name of the song and album for that video?
4c. Who did Michael Jackson kiss in that video?
Bonus for $5 – What star of the show “21 Jump Street” was in Michael Jackson’s Beat It video?

If you wish to participate, do what you have to and get your Paypal account ready. I will contact you and get your paypal information to send the money to you.

Many people, my wife being one, will be happy to know that Big Brother will not be watching like there were or at least could have been. Remember that Will Smith movie where he was being watched via satellite? In many ways, that program was a reality/possibility, but Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will be putting an end to the program.

The controversial program begun during the Bush administration. U.S. spy satellites were used for domestic security and law enforcement missions. Uh, I don’t think the general public has seen any decrease in heinous crimes committed since the program was announced in 2007. So what were they really using those satellites for? Hmm.

In reality, the program never got fully off the ground because of what we all knew: this program had privacy and civil liberty issues written all over it. What I would like to know is how the Bush administration didn’t see this one coming from miles away. Were they too busy writing the fictional WMD script? Oops, did I say that? Some of our friends would have you believe the last 8 years were a glorious time in America, but in reality, we didn’t get where we are since the end of January.

I guess we can relax and worry about other things besides the eye in the sky.

“There are those who will try and scuttle this opportunity no matter what”
Barack H. Obama

President Obama is going all out to change our health care system; he will speak his mind regardless of the audience. Yesterday he told a group of doctors that he is against what he believes to be their number one priority – to limit how much money they pay out for malpractice. The response was a smattering of boos. Imagine that, you attend this function to garner support for your side from the POTUS and he plainly tells you he is against your priority that will effectively keep more money in your pocket.

Obama continued by directly addressing those he considers “naysayers,” “fear-mongers” and peddlers of “Trojan horse” falsehoods. He also spoke about those who are spreading the word that he is attempting to socialize medicine. Actually, he warned them – I’m not sure what that warning means, but it seems like he is serious about over-hauling the system.

GOP Rep. Tom Price (Georgia) thinks Obama is orchestrating a “government takeover’ of health care in America. These statement was made when talking about a committee allegedly established to overrule doctors and deny patient care. Another way to look at this could be from the perspective of patients who are placed on medicines that become addictive and do not improve the condition. Check out this rivalry on JealousBrother (click here).

What Will This Cost?

Obama let the cat out of the bag and estimated health care reform would cost about $1 trillion over 10 years! After saying, “That is real money, even in Washington” (duh), he went on to say failure to reform the system will cost trillions more in lost economic growth and lower wages.

The plan to pay for this, or find the money, was outlined, but it could be political speak in reality; smoke and mirrors meant to make us think we won’t feel the pain. In theory this plan sounds good, but the questioning side of me thinks about spreading this out over the next 10 years – obviously after Obama is out of office if re-elected.

I would say we need to be cautious of any money spent and/or allocated to things like this. Think about it, all of us have had legitimate things we needed to buy, but lack of funds kept us from doing it. Are we at a point where spending money, regardless of the impact it will have on the next 10 years, could impact the generations to come for the next 50 years? Most of us have also been in a “lean time” where every expendature was questioned. Although this is not within our personal households, but on a national level, shouldn’t we have the inclination to question it as tax payers? It is something to consider.

Still As Smooth As Ever

Obama didn’t leave a bitter taste in the doctors’ mouths, he also sympathized with the situations they often find themselves in. He acknowledged the fact that our society always has them looking over their shoulders and that is the cause for expensive malpractice insurance. This got them on his side right before he mentioned how he is against malpractice caps.

I have been in the military health care system and thought Vitamin M (Motrin) was given for…well I don’t know why they give if for so much stuff. But civilian doctors seem to give medicine in excess as a defense mechanism should a lawsuit come up. Our litigious society is to blame for that one.

A Timely Warning

The president finished by adding GM and Chrysler into the mix. By mentioning how health care for auto industry workers played a part in getting GM and Chrysler in trouble, the message was clear: “If we do not fix our health care system, America may go teh way of GM — paying more, getting less and going broke.”

• Phil Jackson – After winning his tenth title as a coach no other coach has more NBA championships than him.
• Derek Fisher – Fisher returned to LA after spending time withe Golden State and Utah, mainly to be in LA where his daughter could get the best medical care.
• Lamar Odom – Always considered a supreme talent, Odom was key to many of the team’s victories all year long.
• Pau Gasol – He was called soft after the playoffs a year ago, but he has been chugging along and putting in the necessary work to become a champion.
• Trevor Ariza – He seems to be getting better and better, displaying skills few people thought he had.
• Kobe Bryant – The hated one.  The best player on the planet.  The player who has went through ups and downs, but is only comparable to one player on the court…you know who.

I’ve been a fan of the LA Lakers every since they drafted Magic Johnson.  There has been no player, in the history of the game, to play with such joy as the Magic man!  But these Lakers are lead by Kobe Bryant and it has been a bumpy ride.  Forget going into all the drama and hate – the Lakers are at the top of the mountain again!

CONGRATULATIONS LAKERS!!!!!!

Most people, that I know, fall into three groups concerning Barack H. Obama, President of the United States of America (I say his whole name and title because I know it upsets some people):

1.  Pro-Obama – This is the group who are still stuck in November – sorry if that comes across too harsh.  Electing a black man to the highest office in the land has truly been a historic event, but…he still has to be president.  We can’t celebrate his election for four years and not look at the things he promised in addition to the things he is doing.  This group would have you believe that any opinions against what Obama is doing is Republican in nature.

2. Anti-Obama – This is the group who have nothing to very little good to say about our president.  This group includes Republicans (obviously), actors, athletes, singers and racists – openly and closet racists.  People in this group could belong to one or many of those groups and more that I failed to mention.  Now, now, I’m not calling any names so if you are anti-Obama, but don’t fit into any of the groups I mentioned you must belong to a group I failed to mention.

3. The Rest – The rest of us (yes, this is the group I’m in) simply don’t belong in either of the first two groups.  We simply don’t have the blind faith to follow another human being without question and do have enough common sense to see when our government is doing something shady AND people who are anti-Obama want to tear the man down.  We are basically stuck in the middle and have to take it from both sides.

Taking It From Both Sides

Recently, I have been taking it from both sides.  One side says (not in these words) that I’m drinking the Obama Kool Aid and the other side says I sound like a Republican.  The truth of the matter is this: my parents taught me to have some common sense, I’ve been let down by human beings before, I’ve been (figuratively) kicked when I was down, I served in the US Air Force for 20 years, I have seen immoral acts played out by those who should be of the highest moral (and spiritual) standards, I have been the victim of obvious and descrete racism, I have been played by some of the best and I’ve been burned trying to get away with some stuff myself!  Basically, I’m going to question almost everything because I refuse to be somebody’s fool!!!!!!!!!

Having recently nominated myself the spokesman for group 3, “The Rest”, I would like to say we will remain faithful to our common sense and remain steadfast in our believing of the following:

1. Everything Obama is doing and has done isn’t necessarily the best thing for our country and that belief alone does NOT make us Republicans.
2. Everything Obama is doing and has done does not make him the anti-christ and/or the worst president in the world.  This thing isn’t over yet and if people think the direction we are going is going to lead to Socialism and/or the end of the US as they know it then that is their opinion.
3. I have seen Obama’s swagger before, in nightclubs all across America, and that swagger in combination with a nice speaking voice/rhythm isn’t enough to have me caught up.
4. Comparing Obama, and his swagger, to every person with a voice means absolutely nothing!  John Voight, Rush and every other person who has either been compared to Obama or tried to go head to head with him is missing one thing: they are not the President of the United States of America.  They really need to make suggestions to help and get off his…I almost lost it there.
5. The Obama administration has made some mistakes, but at least they are trying!  I don’t think anyone can say Obama is doing things to make the country worse or for his personal gain – something we couldn’t say for the past 8 years.
6. Bush and Palin ARE INDEED two of the biggest…negative examples (you thought I was going to say idiots) for the Republican party.  Rush Limbaugh is probably third and Joe Biden, while not a Republican, is gaining fast in the idiot department!
7. We need more rational thinking and less thinking along party lines.  A Republican administration got us here and a Democratic administration might not be able to get us out of this mess.  If these political parties were the answer we wouldn’t have problems.  Think about it!

Do you have the common sense to form an opinion without bias?  If so, it is plain to see that no one person, or group of people, has all the answers.  That would make them God and there is only one Him!

I’m going to jump right in and say that in the most generic way, government healthcare insurance for everyone isn’t a good idea.  I’m using the word generic to mean everyone shouldn’t be under a system like this.  It probably wouldn’t happen, but it is necessary to break down, not only what a system like this would mean, but also who it would benefit.

Immediately throw people who can afford their own doctors out of this equation.  I think it is safe to say that people with the means to do so would want to choose their own doctors and wouldn’t be part of a government healthcare system.  It is a really big stretch, but could you see Bill Gates and Oprah waiting down at the free clinic?  I don’t think so!

What President Obama Wants

Obama wants this done period.  Reports are saying he is flexible on how things work out as long as it gets done.  For many, regardless of party, this is refreshing coming from the president.  Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa said, ”When the president is flexible on controversial things … I think that that’s good news.”

Those of us who still have just a sliver of faith in our president need to hear some positive things about him since everyone is so eager to tear him down.  I’m sure [wink] there are some who will read this and will have negative feelings about Obama.  He could make it rain, like Pac-Man Jones in a strip club, for some people and they will still find fault!

Can he at least get an E for effort?

What The Hang Up Is

Of course, the hang up is money.  Somebody is going to have to pay for this and the last thing we need is more debt.  In true political fashion, the wrong move by Obama could cause some to doubt his words.  Check this out: To pay for the health care overhaul, Congress is seriously considering a first-ever tax on some employer-provided medical benefits. But Obama campaigned against that last year, and its inclusion would require him to reverse course. Obama says health care legislation must be paid for, but his own list of tax increases and spending cuts doesn’t cover the full cost.

Uh, Mr. President, there are people waiting to jump on you (again) with both feet if you go back on your word.

What We Don’t Want

What we don’t want, or need, is a cattle call in the doctor’s office.  If government healthcare becomes a reality, the next problem could be the quality of care given – I’ve been down this road before with another version of government healthcare and it still burns me up.  I envision long waits, short visits and Motrin (vitamin M) in mass quantities. 

Think about it from a doctor’s point of view.  They are sitting there with massive student loans, expensive malpractice insurance and need to find a way to pay the bills.  If they were to see patients in this system, would they be paid as much as they normally would?  If not, that means they need to up the quantity per day; I already think many doctors rush in (late) and rush back out.

What We Have

What we have is a president who means well, people in need and a potential massive bill that must be paid.  Even if those things are worked out, the quality of care is still to be determined, but I don’t think it will be all that great.  Unfortunately, I don’t think Obama is in a winnable situation.  If he fails people will be all over him and if he somehow succeeds, people will be all over him because they simply don’t like him.

He is doing the honorable thing – at least that is how it seems to me.  He is trying to help those he can despite the naysayers.  We really didn’t think he would say, “During my term I’m going to put more money in every Republicans’ pockets.” did we?  Come on!

I want to start off by making one thing perfectly clear: I do not think the government’s involvement with the auto industry signals the beginning of socialism in the United States.  I think we are far from socialism, but right in the middle of what the Bush administration created/allowed and played a vital part in.  I don’t think enough blame is placed in Bush’s lap, especially by those looking to find every crack in the Obama administration – an administration that was backpeddling from day one.  Now back to cars.

Since the government is going to control 60% of General Motors, will Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Energy Secretary Steven Chu or even President Obama make decisions on what cars may or may not be brought to market?  Could someone from the White House give the go ahead for the next truck from Chevy or the next Cadillac to hit showrooms?  For all of our sake, let’s hope the White House isn’t nearly as involved, but rather becomes Big Brother making sure GM really changes its ways.

One thing that worries me though is the attitude taken by President Obama.  He said, “GM will be run by a private board of directors with a track record in American manufacturing.”  Isn’t that what got us where we are today?  I could have been the vice president (of GM) and sent the company to bankruptcy in the same manner that Bob Lutz did.

Speaking of Bob Lutz, he said 50 mile-per-gallon econoboxes wouldn’t sell.  The sad part is he might be right.  I know that I have beat this dead horse over and over again, but we (Americans) need to fall out of love with big trucks and SUVs.  Similarly to how the car companies need to streamline, we need to streamline what we drive.  It would be a good idea if businesses who rent pickup trucks started popping up so we could have availability when we need to haul something and drive more economical cars the rest of the time.  The environment will ultimately be better for it and so will our wallets.

At least a few of those SUVs might not be American made in the future and I hope that turns Americans off.  If rumors pan out, GM – they are calling themselves the New GM - plans to sell Hummer.  It will be a unit of Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery of China.  Didn’t Hummer originate from a US military vehicle making it one of the most American of all car brands?  Hmm, something about Hummer being a Chinese automobile seems strange, but if it keeps them in the showroom I’m all for it.

Miraculously, GM reported an 11% sales increase from April to May.  Even better (really worse) the Cadillac Escalade sold more than the same time last year.  What is up with that?  Now this is one I really can’t believe in light of GM’s bankruptcy; GM’s sales (down 29%), compared to last year during the same period, haven’t dropped as much as the following:

Porsche -29%
GM -30%
Mercedes -33%
Toyota -38%
Honda -39%
Mazda -40%

Can someone say bad management?

Sonia Sotomayor graduated summa cum laude from Princeton in 1976  and went on to graduate from Yale Law School.  But since her nomination to the Supreme Court, her gender, race and mouth are undoubtedly rubbing some people the wrong way.  Detractors will bring up those negative attributes directly, and indirectly, to cast her in a bad light, but surely those prestigious educational institutions, the New York District Attorney’s office, the first President Bush and the Obama administration all couldn’t be wrong about her could they?

What we very well may have on our hands is something like TV Judge Greg Mathis on steroids – a judge who doen’t fit the mold, but sometimes tells it like it is.  Sotomayor apparently doesn’t come across to many people as the smartest judge ever and could lean on her background too much – she wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth.  The more I read between the lines the more I’m seeing that she simply may not be stuffy enough for some of the old gaurd.  And we know that could be a problem.

The jury (pun intended) is still out on Sotomayor, but here are some quick hits that could paint a picture of who we may have on the Supreme Court:

• During her junior year at Princeton, she spoke up for gays who were being harassed on campus.  One of her public policy professors, Jameson Doig, recalls that she also spoke out against police abuse.
• Eight years ago, while sitting on the federal appeals court in New York on which she still serves, Sotomayor said it was “shocking” that there were not more minority women on the federal bench.  But little of that activist sentiment is revealed in the hundreds of cases Sotomayor has decided in her 11 years on the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, raising the question of which jurist will present herself if she is given the lifetime tenure and complete independence of a Supreme Court seat.  Thomas Goldstein, a Washington lawyer with a Supreme Court specialty, said last week that he had reviewed 50 appeals involving race in which Sotomayor participated.  In 45 of those cases, a three-judge panel rejected the discrimination claim — and Sotomayor never once dissented, he said.
• Jeffrey Rosen interviewed several people, other than her former clerks, who worked with her and the most consistent concern was that Sotomayor, although an able lawyer, was “not that smart and kind of a bully on the bench,” as one former Second Circuit clerk for another judge put it.  “She has an inflated opinion of herself, and is domineering during oral arguments, but her questions aren’t penetrating and don’t get to the heart of the issue.”  (During one argument, an elderly judicial colleague is said to have leaned over and said, “Will you please stop talking and let them talk?”) Second Circuit judge Jose Cabranes, who would later become her colleague, put this point more charitably in a 1995 interview with The New York Times: “She is not intimidated or overwhelmed by the eminence or power or prestige of any party, or indeed of the media.”
• Her opinions, although competent, are viewed by former prosecutors as not especially clean or tight, and sometimes miss the forest for the trees.  It’s customary, for example, for Second Circuit judges to circulate their draft opinions to invite a robust exchange of views.  Sotomayor, several former clerks complained, rankled her colleagues by sending long memos that didn’t distinguish between substantive and trivial points, with petty editing suggestions–fixing typos and the like–rather than focusing on the core analytical issues.
• Some former clerks and prosecutors expressed concerns about her command of technical legal details: In 2001, for example, a conservative colleague, Ralph Winter, included an unusual footnote in a case suggesting that an earlier opinion by Sotomayor might have inadvertently misstated the law in a way that misled litigants.
• “I know the word on the street is that she’s not the brainiest of people, but I didn’t have that experience,” said one former clerk for another judge.  “She’s an incredibly impressive person, she’s not shy or apologetic about who she is, and that’s great.”  This supporter praised Sotomayor for not being a wilting violet.  “She commands attention, she’s clearly in charge, she speaks her mind, she’s funny, she’s voluble, and she has ownership over the role in a very positive way,” she said.  “She’s a fine Second Circuit judge–maybe not the smartest ever, but how often are Supreme Court nominees the smartest ever?”
• In a panel discussion at Duke University four years ago, Sotomayor said the federal court of appeals is where “policy is made,” the kind of statement that can get you tagged as an activist judge who tries to make law instead of interpret it.  Sotomayor appeared to know that was the danger in the words she had just let slip, because she quickly added, “And I know that this is on tape, and I should never say that.  Because we don’t ‘make law’ … I’m not promoting it, and I’m not advocating it.”
• In a 2001 speech at the Berkeley campus of the University of California, Sotomayor aired the view that a judge’s gender and ethnic background inevitably affect his or her decision-making, and probably should.  She said then, “Justice O’Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases.  I am also not so sure that I agree with the statement … I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”

What I’m seeing is someone who doesn’t necessarily communicate indicating her true intelligence.  I do not see anything wrong with someone who doesn’t feel as though they must continually remind people how smart they are, but in a position such as this it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

 Instead of asking is Sonia Sotomayor ready for the Supreme Court, a better question might be is the Supreme court ready for Sonia Sotomayor!

Have you ever heard someone say something you thought was crazy and/or far-fetched only to have it validated by someone else?  I have this happen on a regular basis; I talk to my wife all the time about something I’ve said that comes to light later on – I also talk to her about some of my (original) dance moves that I see in music videos, but that is another subject entirely.    We are fortunate to have some posters/friends that have opinions that at first seemed absurd, but as time goes on seem to be solid. 

If multiple people from multiple backgrounds are saying the same, or similar things, there must be something to them right?  Where there is smoke there is fire and Peter G. Peterson says some things that I’ve heard before and are starting to ring true in my mind.  Mr. Peterson made his fortune after the company he founded, The Blackstone Group, went public in 2007.  Here we go:

For the first time in my memory, the majority of the American people join me in believing that, on our current course, our children will not do as well as we have. For years, I have been saying that the American government, and America itself, has to change its spending and borrowing policies: the tens of trillions of dollars in unfunded entitlements and promises, the dangerous dependence on foreign capital, our pitiful level of savings, the metastasizing health-care costs, our energy gluttony. These structural deficits are unsustainable. Herb Stein, who served alongside me in the Nixon White House as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, once drily observed, “If your horse dies, I suggest you dismount.” And yet, we keep trying to ride this horse.

Underlying these challenges is our broken political system. Our representatives, unlike our Founding Fathers, see politics as a career. As a result, they are focused not on the next generation, but on the next election. When the long-term problems are large and real, they anesthetize us, mislead us, divert us—anything to keep us from giving up something or having to pay for it. Too often, our political leaders are just enablers, co-conspirators in a disingenuous and greedy silence. Our children are unrepresented. The future is unrepresented. The moment is long overdue for us to become moral and worthy ancestors. So I decided to set up a different kind of foundation, one that would focus on America’s key fiscal-sustainability challenges. The fact is, for most of these challenges, there are workable solutions. Our problem is not a lack of such options. It is a lack of will to do something about them.

Ultimately, I decided to commit $1 billion to the Peter G. Peterson foundation—the vast majority of my net proceeds from Blackstone. Why so much? Kurt Vonnegut once told a story about seeing Joseph Heller at a wealthy hedge-fund manager’s party at a beach house in the Hamptons. Casting his eye around the luxurious setting, Vonnegut said, “Joe, doesn’t it bother you that this guy makes more in a day than you ever made from Catch-22?” “No, not really,” Heller said. “I have something that he doesn’t have: I know the meaning of enough.” I have far more than enough.

Three thing in those three paragraphs stick out:

1. If the horse dies, I suggest you dismount
2. …they are focused not on the next generation, but on the next election.
3. I have something he doesn’t have: I know the meaning of enough.

It seems like there are signs, obvious signs, on a daily basis that indicate we aren’t on the right path.  I hope people like Peter G. Peterson are wrong.  I hope.