Tuesdays with Paulie 7/8/08

An interesting conversation
Jewish liberals show uncertainty toward Obama

This past 4th of July I found myself with my family at a friends house enjoying Independence Day the same way millions of Americans do. Great food, good friends and the sounds of my children playing and screaming "ooooohhh," and "ahhhh," at the fireworks being displayed by the local municipalities.

During the evening I overhead a conversation between fellow guests about the Presidential race. Normally I would try to avoid political dialogue with this crowd because I didn't see the point. Most of the attendees were members of my synangogue and were typical Jewish baby boomers, Democratic and liberal to the core.

However this conversation came out of left field, no pun intended. After hearing sarcastic comments regarding President Bush and WMD's, the same group which consisted of Jewish teachers in their 50's and 60's, began admitting great concern about Barack Obama and his support for Israel. To say I couldn't resist would be an understatement. However somebody beat me to the punch.

Here comes my mom. The same woman who I'm sure cut my father off from 1980-1988 for supporting Reagan was now reciting facts written by your brilliant blogger as well as other writers found in conservative publications regarding why Jews should fear an Obama Presidency. She glowed with pride as she confessed her support for McCain.

Last week Jennifer Rubin of the Jerusalem Post reiterated many of the concerns American Jews have regarding the Illinois Senator. I must admit that even though I have said for a long time that Obama will have a problem with the Jewish vote, to see die hard Democrats be so open to supporting McCain and willing to listen to the facts about Obama instead of ignoring them, being only concerned about the "D" next to his name is refreshing to say the least.

So what is really going on here? I can't say that I know for certain, but many Jews and I would gather traditional Democrats in general, may not be backing the Democratic nominee as they have in the past.

At some point liberals who defined themselves because of John F. Kennedy and his brother Bobby, will have to wake up from seeing their Party through rose-colored glasses. And why not. Republicans have realized that the limited government virtues preached by Goldwater and Reagan are all but dead within the GOP. When lifelong Democrats realize that their Party has been taken over by nanny state Progressives with anti-America, often anti-Semitic and Socialist tendencies, they too will start prioritizing the person they are voting for instead of just the Party.




Economic woes become obvious
A few thoughts from your brilliant blogger

This past weekend my wife and I enjoyed a night out at a casino in a suburb west of Chicago. In the past we would never go on a Saturday night because of the crowds. However this was a special evening, so we thought we would chance it...and were we surprised.

I wouldn't go as far as to call the casino empty, but for a Saturday night it was dead. The reason is similar to why Las Vegas is reporting financial woes. Gas prices and financial worries are having a heavy impact on activities that require disposible incomes. While high gas prices have caused airfare to skyrocket impacting tourism in Nevada, state or Indian run casino's usually requires customers to drive more than a short distance. At $4.30 a gallon in my neighborhood, that is a steep price to pay for a couple hours of Blackjack and Roulette.

Sadly there is no help in sight at least coming from Washington. Granted I don't want the government involved with the exception of not making matters worse.

Sen. Obama's economic plan will "devastate" the economy according to Steve Forbes. Obama is a true Socialist who hasn't seen a tax increase he didn't like. His current plan will increase taxes on people making as little as $32,000 a year. So much for being a friend of the middle-class. If "change" means increasing taxes on anyone employed, you take your change and stick it where the sun don't shine.

Meanwhile the free-market as always has come up with a few ideas to help people during hard times. If you have good credit, you may want to look into getting a credit card that offers gas discounts. Recently I obtained a visa through Chase bank that gives me a 5% discount at BP. Put in perspective that's about a bout 20-25 cents off per gallon if the price is over 4 bucks.

In fact most major gas companies are in partnership with banks offering similar cards. You also may want to see if your current credit card automatically grants you a gas discounts as long as you sign up for the appropriate program.

Obviously you have to be able to control your spending when obtaining additional credit card and it's unwise to cancel current cards because that has a negative effect on your credit rating. However if you can be responsible, credit card competition offers an array of rewards from gas and restaurant gifts cards to rewards for shopping at Wal-Mart and Target.

Once again the government won't solve your problem, they are the problem. When you need help, look toward the market for solutions.

Paulie