Fun With Dick & Jane

I’m sure you have noticed that I’m having trouble uploading podcasts lately. And I owe Jay Fleitman another spot on the show once I get it working.

Tuesday’s show was fun – we talked Charlie Rangel, health care, reconciliation, Jim Bunning, Climategate and lots more. The hour flew by!

WE now have live streaming so if you want to listen to the show simultaniously with the broadcast go here and click on “listen”. The show is broadcast Tuesday morning at 11:00 AM.

Keep your fingers crossed that the upload works – oh and don’t forget to check out You Too Congress!

We started today’s show simply giddy over the Brown victory in Massachusetts. I’ve been smiling for a week and it has been really fun seeing Massachusetts voters so clearly proud of themselves.

Tom Wesley joined us. Tom is running for the republican nomination for the Congressional seat in MA 2nd District, currently held by Richard Neal. He has a primary opponent, Jay Fleitman who we will interview next week.

Tom talked about his credentials, his plans for the economy, taxes, health care and terrorism and other issues. If you are in the 2nd District, he is clearly a contender and wants your support early and often. Check it out.

BTW A few weeks ago Joe Managiacotti replaced Dick Vaughn as my co-host on the show. For obvious reasons the “Fun With Dick and Jane” title is no longer relevant. We don’t really have a new name yet, but apparently we do have theme music!

This is my first attempt to download the podcast by myself, and for some reason it is in 4 parts. So persevere.

Finally I’m involved in a new project with some friends. Check it out here.

When I initially hired my business partner as an associate I knew she was a lesbian. It played no role, positive or negative in my decision. I liked her and thought she had the makings of a great lawyer. I was right.

We quickly became great friends. And given my personality, no subject was off the table. I was pretty sure she wasn’t likely to sue me for crossing the line of political correctness, which I do regularly and always have.

I was raised to believe that “differences are the most interesting thing in the world” and I still believe that. That’s why my best friend in college (a Chinese woman) and I spent hours in front of the mirror examining just how our eyes were different (I have an extra fold). It’s the same reason why, as a kid, I visited every church I could, to see the differences. And yes, as a kid I laughed at my second grade teacher’s wedding when the clergy started to talk in Greek. It sure sounded funny to seven year old me. It’s also the reason why, in the early ’60’s when they circulated a petition in my neighborhood in favor of having a popular black teacher move in, I asked my mother why on earth he needed a petition. Nothing seemed more stupid to me at the time.

For me, meeting someone who is different – in color, in heritage, in orientation or age or anything else always meant I had a huge opportunity to learn new stuff. It certainly isn’t beyond me to ask someone “what’s the best/worst thing about being blind?”, or “do you think this town is racist?, or “how does it feel to grow old?”

Inevitably, the answers bring me closer to the person I asked the question of. Questions, break down barriers. And people seem to like to talk about the things that for so many are off limits.

Not long after Amy and I started working together, we decided to go on a diet together, thinking that there was power in numbers. In our typical morning pre-work bull session, she mentioned that she had gone off the diet the night before. My reply: “You are just a tubbo lesbo”.

Her reply: “Well you are just a tubbo hetero”.

At that point I knew our trust in each other was complete.

We could actually laugh at ourselves and each other regardless of our differences. We were on the same side.

Over the years the proponents of political correctness have undoubtedly meant well. But they have served to push us apart instead of together. They have demanded that the curiosity that blurs the lines be replaced with thicker lines. And then the thicker lines get replaced by lawsuits, and hate crimes legislation.

In today’s liberal world differences are things to be ignored not explored. The things that could bring us together in understanding now keep us apart out of fear of offending. It’s time to put political correctness, out of vogue.

It was a historical show today. Unfortunately I forgot to turn on the recorder.

Sorry.

WE started the day reflecting on the Drudge Headline:

CAN HIS PRESIDENCY BE SAVED?

It has really been an amazing, spectacular and steep steep fall for this president.

And as evidence of the fall we went on to discuss the CBO projected 10 year debt of $9 Trillion dollars – ($2T more than the administration projected.) The servicing costs of this debt are staggering – not to mention that we are still spending $5m a minute. We talked about Ben Bernake being retained by the administration as Fed Chairman, which appears to be an endorsement of the Bush economic policy.

Next we talked a bit about the fact that 43% of all appointments by the WH have not yet been made including whoever should be monitoring Medicare and Medicaid, hallmarks of the President’s government health care plan. More disturbing is the 50 Czars that have been appointed in a sort of shadow government, unaccountable to no one but the President. What is really going on here?

WE talked about Michael Steele’s proposed Seniors Bill of Rights. Dick complained about the costs of his prescriptions. I suggested that since Big Pharma is sponsoring the President’s ad campaign, he was unlikely to see any relief soon.

WE talked about the release of the memos that vindicated Dick Cheney’s position that EIT’s prevented thousands of the deaths in the war on terror.

WE went on to talk about David Axelrod and Tom Daschle’s obvious conflicts of interest.

There is more, including a bit of a battle at the end, when Dick suggested his opinion trumped the actual facts when it came to Karl Rove, a point I shot down with vigor.

Enjoy.

Another slugfest in the first half hour of FWDAJ today. I think Dick is sick of the health care debate. He insisted that there was no reason to pay attention because we don’t yet have a bill. I vehemently disagreed noting the importance of letting our reps know how we feel about Government health care. Dick was also gleeful that a Tea Party organizer was on TV saying they were sending out the word to Tea partyers to show up at these meetings. As far as I am concerned we need more “organizing” not less. Heck, our own president tells his supporters to “get in their faces”. What works for the goose…

We anticipated the Barney Frank Townhall in Dartmouth on Tuesday night. Neither of us even imagined that Frank would say things like: “Talking to you is like talking to a dining room table”.

We talked a bit about the left’s Alinsky methods. “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it and polarize it.” Recent recipients (via Breitbart) of the Alinsky method include: George Bush, Sarah Palin, Joe the Plumber, The Mormons, Rush Limbaugh, Tea party goers, a beauty contestant, a Cambridge cop, and Town hall “mobs”.

Dick veered into his usual rant about how much he hates Rush.

The Joker poster, Milk carton politicans, Pharma’s deal with the White House and the “fishy emails” made small appearances as well.

The first half of the show was all about health care, health care and health care. WE had a bit of a battle over who could talk but by the break we had worked it out.

I brought up my weekly complaint about the irresponsiveness of my Congressperson Richard Neal who continues to answer none of my calls or emails. Dick promised to contact him and get him to respond as they are “very good friends”. Nothing so far.

We talked about the 8 new jets Congress earmarked for their personal use – and the pushback which was apparently successful.

I noted that the ethics committee decided that Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad did not act unethically when they received their VIP mortgages from Countrywide. Shocker!

In the tawdry part of the show we talked about John Edwards and the fact that the grand jury is meeting to see if his campaign misused funds by funneling them to his mistress.

That led to a discussion about what matters and what doesn’t when someone runs for office. That was the most interesting part to me, because I still haven’t made up my mind on it.

Enjoy!

Health care dominated the beginning of the show this week. Neither Dick or I are thrilled with the current proposals, perhaps because we are subject to the closest thing to Universal Health care in the country, here in MA. Dick reminded me that we have “Romney care” made worse by the hand of Deval Patrick. I cited a comparison of costs between Georgia ($200 a month average premium) and Massachusetts (over $800 a month average premium) and wait to see your doc – (9 days in Georgia), and (53 days in Massachusetts).

I continued to stress my mantra that all elected officials should agree to be subject to any plan passed by this administration – with no exceptions.

We talked about the current head to head polling showing Obama at 45% in a dead heat with Romney at 45%, and Obama at 48% compared to Palin at 42%.

We talked a little about the Stimulus failure, MA unemployment and the President’s refusal to release the budget numbers due in mid July.

I then brought up my congressman, Richard Neal, who has now ignored my requests for information 5 times. Dick is “close friends” with him so he promised to deliver a number to reach him. I suggested that although that might get my questions answered, it would not get my neighbors questions answered. Dick then bragged that he had sent an email to Sarah Palin and had already received two responses.

Funny Governor Palin does not work for Dick, but Richard Neal is supposed to be working for me, and can’t give me the courtesy of a reply. Dick did not deliver the number.

There is more but you will have to listen.

I’m a huge proponent of the Tea Parties and have attended both local ones. My friend Carole and I prepared together for the first one – she made 10 signs which we handed out to the protesters on April 15th (I watched). When we went to the Tea Party in June we were happy to see three of the signs we handed out make a reappearance.

At any rate, Caro memorialized the experience here. You can find the rest of her art here.

The music is by Kathleen Stewart.