Michael Gitter

Obama’s  biggest problem isn’t that he is a bad President.  It is that he sounds like a bad President. 

He is too deliberate in his mannerisms.   Too slow.  Too mechanical.  He hesitates too much.   He feels lacking in a backbone and a conviction.  And he comes across as a man without passion.

“Yes We Can” was a magnet I placed on my refrigerator given to me by my friend Karen Russell, a very big Obama supporter.  And when he was running, I really believed that we were seeing the dawn of a new politician and like many others, I was excited.

I didn’ t like Reagan, for many reasons.  But whether I agreed or not with his opinions, I really respected him as a President and understood his appeal.  He sounded like a President.  Like a leader.  Like the man I want at the helm of our country.   He made us feel like someone was in charge.  And whether it was an unpopular stance, or whether I agreed or not, he commanded respect.

Democrats will likely lose the House in these Midterm elections.  And he is likely going to be a one term President because the rest of the country feels the same way.  What happened?

So there is a plane crash the other day.  And all but one person survived.  That was amazing and looking at the plane it was quite hard to believe.  They interviewed a husband and wife in the hospital.  The husband said, “We are blessed.  God was looking down upon us and decided that we had a purpose and he wanted to see us live”.  It was nice to see people who survived that..  And looking at his happy face, it was nice to see he was still with us.  But I was wondering…. what about that poor soul who didn’t make it.  God said “he doesn’t deserve to live”?   Or maybe God said, ” Anyone in seat 21A is gonna die tonight!”  Or what about all those people in other plane crashes who didn’t make it.  To me, it was only a matter of time before a crash would happen with a high proportion of survivors.   It is simple laws of probability.

And don’t get me wrong.  I think that religion serves a purpose in the world.  It makes people relaxed.  Do good.  Live a different way.  So while I think religion has a purpose in the world, (except when it is abused or stem cell research is halted, or people decide to kill others to get to a happier place with virgins galore)… My opinion is that… 

     God is a creation of Man.   Man is not a creation of God. 

God = a creation of the human ego..  God = a way to overcome of our fear of death as a finality.  God = Man’s inability to accept the fact that we are not that important in the big scheme of things.  And what about all those people who lived in BC — Before Christ?  or pre-Mohammed?   Or pre-any diety or religious founder?…  Did they not count?   Just wondering.

At one time unions had a purpose.  They protected workers when they needed protecting.  But we live in a different world today.  And we don’t need unions anymore.   Many have taken advantage of their power.  And many of them are not protective or productive. but rather bullies behaving badly.  Bottom line…. It’s time for them to go.

He just voted to prohibit US funding of stem cell research.   The research helps people and can help a lot more in the future.   These are embrionic stem cells, people!  They are not babies, whose bodies are being ripped apart by researchers.    

Someone will dig, and find religion here.  And his decision will prove to be personal and not at all based upon the facts.   But that’s how it works, doesn’t it?   If you are politician, you vote with your constituents or the lobbyists who pay for your vacations.  If you are a judge, you don’t decide only on the facts, do you?    He was put on the bench by Reagan.  Maybe this is a clue.

I will start by saying that I was deeply affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks as anyone.   And I am from the group that thinks that while legally the mosque can be built,  it is insensitive to locate a mosque so close to ground zero.

So I wonder… why did these 9/11 families deserve millions?  Why are they entitled almost a decade later to mourn publicly?  

We need a monument for sure.  But my friends and family who passed away didn’t get a monument.   It was a singlemost memorable nightmare in our modern history.  But more people died in Haiti, and Katrina, and there are no monuments to memorialize these tragedies.    I think that it is time to take their mourning private and for everyone to remember this tragedy (most of us cannot ever forget) and move on with their lives.

I have a friend who had to go to the emergency room. 

At a private hospital.  In NYC.   And he has great insurance.   Yet he still had to wait for hours to get seen by a doctor.  There were no beds so they stuck him in a wheelchair.    As the hours passed,  it felt so frustrating.  Like nobody was in charge.  It felt third world.

I don’t know how ObamaCare is going to change this.  And maybe it won’t.  But unless your name is on the door of that hospital, you will wait like everyone else.  And wait.. and.. wait.  So in other words…. 

“If you have to go to a hospital emergency room, good luck.  Because if you didn’t build a wing, you don’t have a prayer.”

There was a small apartment fire in my building a few weeks ago.  On the 21st (top)  floor of the building. 

Firemen came in by the dozens.  Water started gushing down the emergency stairs. 

By the time they left, there was $3 million in water damage.  The ceiling in the lobby, 20 floors below was destroyed.  One elevator was so flooded that the entire thing was short circuited and has yet to come back on line.   Mold has become a big threat.  And 3 floors of apartments were so water damaged that everyone has to be relocated for months.

Don’t get me wrong.  Firemen are great.  They are heroes.  And like everyone, I appreciate their service and the lives that they save.   But if more care is taken, water damage could be minimized while still effectively fighting fires.   OR maybe there should be something other than water used on the fires?   There has to be some foam or something, right?

I know if I believed in hell, then that’s where I would be going because nobody should even slightly put down firemen.  I just want my elevator back in service already.

Stop the nonsense.  Let HIV- gay men give blood.  This is fucking ridiculous.  The largest population of HIV infection is straight old people.  You want to get clean blood, then keep your horny grandpa away from the blood donation truck.

Gay = 10% of the population.  At this point if every drop of blood isn’t screened then shame on the Red Cross.  If you are begging for blood, then let the homos donate.  We are not spreading disease, and someone should wake up and stop the nonsense. 

This ban is from 1985.  Reagan was President at the time, for Chrissake. 

C’mon queens, where is ACT UP when we need them.

I am a proponent of letting forest fires burn.  Fires kill animals and cause a lot of destruction to homes and property etc.  But they do much more good.  Fires allow for sun to reach the ground and renew the soil.   Pinecones melt open and new forests sprout.  I believe there are ways to save the houses (Nomex tarps, sprinklers outside the houses, etc).  But don’t save the forest or the trees.  Just let them burn.   They’ll come back better and stronger.     Now that I’ve spoken my piece about fires, don’t get me started on floods or dams!

I am not a conspiracy theorist, but sometimes there are a few scandals out there.  And the moon landings are one of them.   I really believe it is completely possible that this was staged, and that Stanley Kubrick directed this film on a sound stage in the desert.

These are interesting videos.  They are part of a documentary.  I am fascinated by this, and perhaps a little bit more than most, because I turned 8 on the day they landed on the moon for the first time in July 20, 1969.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RXrKRuNvNU&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZfHLxWfCLQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivU7WObCFzs&feature=related