The Week In Polls--GW Is Still Number One

For this Fourth of July week, Rasmussen has released a poll showing 43 % of Americans consider George Washington the greatest founder, up 11 points from last year.  Perhaps that's due to Ron Chernow's fantastic GW bio (900 pages no less) which came out this past year.  I would agree with 44 %.

Jefferson comes in second at 24 %--inability to free his slaves due to his destitution at the time of death, not to mention impregnating Sally Hemmings--will probably doom TJ to runner-up status forevermore.  I'd actually rank Ben Franklin number two  (Rasmussen has him third at 16 %).  Probably the greatest Renaissance man America ever produced, Franklin actually became anti-slavery by the end of his life and joined a society to end the vile practice (if you don't believe me, just ask Michelle Bachmann).

John Adams and James Monroe scored only 5 % each in the poll.

Rasmussen also finds that 46 % of Americans think the country's best days are behind us (thanks to Obama for sure--thanks to Obama, the American dollar has collapsed; I used to get $1.30-1.40  Canadian and one place over the weekend tried to charge me 10 percent--it's about 96 cents at the exchange counter).  37 % say the naton's best days are in the future.   Count me with the majority again.

Rasmussen also finds 65 % prefer a government with fewer services and lower taxes over one with more services and higher taxes.

Amen! 

Not a good omen for Barack I.

The President survived the Fourth weekend without his popularity falling any farther.  Does anyone not believe he released strategic oil reserves with an eye toward staying about 40 in the polls?

As of July 6, Obama had moved to plus 1 with Gallup 47-46.  He's down only two with Rasmussen (49-51) and is up 1.2 points in the Real Clear Politics average, 47.5-46.3.  The Republican lead in Rasmussen's generic Congressional ballot slipped to three points, 43-40.

Most pollsters seem to have taken the weekend off.

There was a new Fox News Poll which shows Rick Perry making a move on Romney.  It's Romney 18, Perry 13, Bachmann 11, Palin 8, Paul 7, Cain 5, Newt It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy Gingrich 3, poor Pawlenty 3, Huntsman 3, and poorer Santorum 2.

Romney still leads by 13.7 points in the RCP average.  However, if you could take Perry, Bachmann, and Palin as a block (you can't), Romey would be trailing by 7.  It's Romney 25.0, Perry 11.3, Palin 11.0, Bachmann 10.3, Cain 8.0, Ron Paul 6.5, the Newtster 5.0, Pawlenty 4.5, Santorum 3.3, and Huntsman 2.0.

McClatchy/Marist provided some fodder as to which Republican could beat Obama.  They all trailed last week, but Romney was within four points (46-42), and Palin is the only one who allows Obama to get above 50.  She's down 26 points, 56-30.  Perry is down 9 (48-39), Bachmann 12 (49-37), and Pawlenty 14 (47-33).   My candidate Ron Paul was apparently not deemed worth of inclusion--boo to Marist!

The one other poll of interest for the week is the Virginia Senate race which I have Republicans as likely to pick up enroute to gaining 6 or 7 seats and taking firm control of the Senate.  Quinnipiac has former Governor and Democratic Chair Tim Kaine leading former Senator George Allen 43-42.   We need more numbers from that state.

Lawrence Welk They Ain't--The B-52s Rule

With apologies to Chester Alan Arthur, perhaps the least known American President, whose house near the Canadian-Vermont border I had planned to film the Fourth of July, I never made it.

Life came between us.  In this case, life was the need (desire) to spend an extra day in Montreal to see a fantasatic live free outdoor concert (it was hot and humid) of my all time favorite group, the B-52s.

The raw power, driving force of Rock Lobster...

The haunting strains of Planet Claire...

The clever word play of Private Idaho (one of the lines I must use in life is from this song...when I need to get away, I channel Fred Schneider's admonition to "get out of the state your'e in")

The manic admonition of Party Out of Bounds...

Not to mention more main stream offerings like Love Shack (probably their most recognizeable tune, but not for me) and Roam and their new tribute to that greatest of all American architectural achievements, the suburban mall...

They did it all, and Montrealers and guests loved it as the finale for the 32nd annual jazz festival.

Those famliar with this blog know I like to refer to how as a child I was forced (child abuse) by an aunt to watch Lawrence Welk every week.  A vapid friend in high school was fond of Billy Vaughn, the Ray Conniff Singers, and Herb Alpert; he insisted I listen to them.  I encountered the usual rock and roll in college (early 70s), but the first and real love of my life turned me on to glam rock like David Bowie and the ultimate new wave like the Bs and Devo in the early 80s.

Four of the original Bs are still together (Rick Wilson died of AIDS in 1885).  The women Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson are still looking might fine as is guitarst Keith Strickland.  My favorite shouter/singer Schneider, truth be told, has aged more than a few years since I first saw the Bs at Hampton Beach in 1980, but then, we've all aged more than a few years since then and Fred still belts out lyrics like no one else.

Three new musicians have joined the Bs to give them a fuller sound.

Kate Pierson, who according to the Montreal alternate media has discovered her inner lesbian self and is running a b and b with her partner in upstate New York, is simply phenomenal.  The red-haired wonder, a pleasure onstage as she girates like we were back in the 80s, never sounded better than in the oddly meldoic yet shrill intro to Planet Claire (probably my favorite of the Bs).

My one disppointment--a minor one--was that they didn't more of the real early stuff, including Dance This Mess Around (if you see me writing, "I'm just askin' ", it's from that song--how the Bs continue to influence me in ways large and small!),

With the power of the Bs in mind, I spent all night driving home, leaving the Arthur homestead in Fairfield for another trip. We do have our priorities.  And getting out of the state we're in should always be a priority.

For those who insist on politics in this blog, I read in the Montreal Gazette that all members of the band are extremely left wing...no surprise there...but you wouldn't have known that from the show...who after all can be against peace and treating all people equally.

Oh yes, I filmed most of the concert (I wasn't alone) and may get some of it on my TV show or other machestertv23 programs.

People Just Don`t Drive Sixty Five

Dateline Montreal, Quebec, Canada

National Bibliotheque et Archives

July 3, 2011

On the way to Calvin Collidge`s House on the first leg on my journey here Thursday, I conducted a little experiment which I`ve done many times in the past.

I got the same results but you don`t have to take my word for it.  You can replicate the experiment.

For the approximately 60 miles of Interstate 89 between Concord and Lebanon, I decided to go exactly the speed limit, 65 miles and hour.  Thus, any car which passed me would be guilty of speeding.  On the other hand, any car I had to pass would be going less than the speed limit.

You`re already thinking what the results were, you`re most assurely ready to sign on to an increase in the speed limit...because ALMOST EVERYONE BREAKS THE LAW EVERY MOMENT HE OR SHE IS IN HIS OR HER CAR ON THE INTERSTATE.

This little experiment was conducted during the noon hour on June 30.

While upwards of a hundred people (I lost count) sped by me, guess how many people I had to pass?

The answer is not quite zero, but that`s close.

I had to pass one trailer truck, heavily laden with wood chips, going up a big hill.

Near Lebanon, I had to pass one very old man but he might have been slowing down to get off at an exit.

Survey says--nobody is going the speed limit...or as close to nobody as we`re likely to find.

When I`ve done this survey in years gone by, it was usually a 10 or 20 to one ratio of speeders to law abiding citizens.  Even with the steep price of gas, it was totally off the chart this time.  People may not be going 80, but they`re not obeying the law either.

For the sake of respecting laws which really need to exist, isn`t it time to get rid of a law which is so universally broken?

Maybe on the way back, I`ll put the camera on the dash so the Transportation Committee can have an hour of evidence of law breakers when the bill comes up next year--yes, it`s already been filed--again.

Alls Quiet On The Canadian Political Front

Dateline Montreal, Quebec, Canada

National Bibliotheque et Archives

July 3, 2011

There was a time when a trip to Montreal included an immersion into the politics of separation or sovreignty as it was more often called.  Those days are gone, if not forever, then they are certainly long gone and not likely to return soon.

The Canadian political scene, since the election of conservative Steven Harper with an absolute majority two months ago, seems to be quiet.

At the Arts Festival, I entered into a conversation with Tick Tock Tom, the creator of The Bleeding Heart, a bizarre mechanism which I filmed for More Politically Alert.  When I noted how New Hampshire has gone conservative, Tom replied--and he didn`t seem entirely happy to admit it--that so has Canada.  Quebec and Montreal, of course, have not turned conservative.  This province is like a New York, California, or Massachusetts, dominated by the left wing.  It`s so bad that the Liberals are no longer liberal enough for Quebec.  The New Democrats (virtual socialists) won here, driving the separtist Bloc Quebecois nearly off the map.

The Conservative swept 160 of 233 seats outside Quebec with 48 percent of the popular vote.  In Quebec, they captured only 6 of 75 seats and tallied just 16 percent of the vote.

Progressive Quebec was determined to keep Harper from a majority.  They knew the Liberals were doomed and they didn`t want the Bloc either, so they went NDP.  Unfortunately, the wave failed to carry into Ontraio, so it`s now the worst of all possible worlds for Quebec liberals-progressies.

Buyers remorse seems to have set in already. Gay friendly Montreal, for example, takes heart that Harper promised not to roll back gay marriage rights, but there`s a palpable fear that a conservative social agenda will be brought forward.

That, however, is mostly beneath the surface, in the less than main stream media.

About the most controversy I could find in the outstanding English language Montreal Gazette is an editorial, "Sovereignists, federalists alike can delight in royal visit".

Ho hum.

Apparently, the visit was more eventful here than elsewhere.  Some dared yell "parasite" at Kate and William.  I even heard on the radio that they were subject of the middle finger salute.

It that`s the most riled up Quebecers can get, you know domestic peace reigns.

More typical of the news here--Transport Minisiter shows contempt for the public.

I encountered a rally for Syrians down at the Old Port on Canada Day--well, that`s overstating it--it was really two people handing out flyers urging a peaceful solution.  Who can argue with that?

Canadian media seems more concerned with American politics than their own.  There`s a full page story in the Gazette, Americans are mad as hell, including a photo of a flag-draped Tea Partyer with a sign,--Ì`ll keep my guns, my freedom, and my money.  You keep the change.

Now, there`s good reading heading into the Fourth of July from north of the border.

Riddle me thiss--would you consider it  job creation (socialism) or just plain waste to have men standing around doing absolutely nothing at the entrance to this library?  Certainly a good conservative (I am not volunteering) could cut back on this facility while keeping it open at the same time.

Happy Birthday Silent Cal And America

Dateline Montreal, Quebec, Canada

As promised, I made it to Plymouth Notch, Vermont on my way up here Thursday and filmed a half hour at the Coolidge birthplace.  Actually, it`s much more than that.  An entire community has been restored to the way it was when Coolidge was born there in 1872.

He was, by the way, born on the Fourth of July.  We read about how Presidents Adams and Jefferson both died the same day, the Fourth of July 1826, and Monroe died in the Fourth of July a few years later, but--correct me if I`m wrong--Coolidge was the only President born on the fourth.  That was 139 years ago--five years and three days after the country of Canada was born.

Coolidge was also sworn in as President in Plymouth Notch.  He was visiting there when news of Warren Harding`s death spread in 1923.  Cal`s father John, a JP, actually swore in Coolidge.

His grave is also in a cemetery less than a mile away, and that`s perhaps the most impressive thing of all.  It`s just a simple slab, one of the most unassuming markers you could imagine.  Coolidge died of a heart attack while shaving in January 1933.  His son Calvin had died a horrible death--blood poisoing from a blister while playing tennis--but his other son (John) lived 94 years, until 2000.

To get to the Coolidge site (it`s really great), take 89 into Vermont; get off at Exit 1 as if you`re going to Killington.  Follow Route 4 through Woodstock and Bridgewater and head up, up, up for about five miles at a red country store (Route 100).

As part of my filming, I shared many Coolidge quotes from "The Quotble Calvin Coolidge" compiled by Peter Hanaford.

In celebration of the Fourth, here`s a Coolidge quote from a speech he gave while President in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence (July 5, 1926 in Philadelphia).

Happy birthday Cal (he was anything but silent) and Happy birthday America.

"In its main features, the Declaration of Independence is a spiritual document.  It is a declaration not of material but spiritual conceptions.  Equality, liberty, popular sovreignty, the rights of man--these are not elements which we can see and touch.  They are ideals.  They have their source and their roots in religious convictions.  They belong to the unseen world.  Unless the faith of the American people in these religious convictions is to endure, the principles of our Declaration will perish."

"W cannot continue to enjoy the result if we neglect and abandon the cause.  If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable right, that is final.  If governments derive their just power from the consent of the governed, that is final.  No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions.  If anyone wishes to deny their truth and their soundness, the only directin in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people.  Those who wish to proceed in that direction cannot lay claim to progress.  They are reactionary."

Amen.

How anti-Obama and anti-Wilson are those words from a much great President, Calvin The Green Mountain Man Coolidge.