A perfect example of a rediculous waste of time for our legal system.  If I were the judge I’d find exactly the way I would have over the McDonalds hot coffee incident of years ago.  The lady suing would get the cost of the cup of tea and a band aid.  It’s a hot drink idiot!  Treat it as such!  Leave our courts out of the picture, PLEASE!

Today, I had a coworker mention to me that their partner was running for a local office, which would, under normal circumstances, have made me happy that someone was willing to deal with all of the BS we all know would surely come with holding any office.  But then they told me about how the media treated even the local candidates.  This, and only this, gave me even more ammunition for what I have suspected for a long, long time.

Even after more than 40 years of life, I am surprised that I’m finally succumbing to the fact that every single communication that comes from the media . . . regardless of whether it is from FOX news or NPR, is tainted and biased.  For a long time I have looked for a source of news and reporting that was unbiased and for awhile, I thought that was NPR.  And, while I still think public radio is less prone to bias, I must say I’m pretty sure there is bias there too.  (Though is question whether there is strong intention behind it.)  What does this mean for each person who truly cares about their vote, their influence in the government process and their part in their community?

I believe this means we have even more burden placed upon our time.  Every day, we have service after service barraging us with messages that “A” is bad or that “B” is too costly.  We are told that “C” is immoral and that “D” is unfair to the party against it.  Think about it.  What was the last message you heard about a candidate?  About the government?  I’m willing to bet that the message you heard was negative or was painting a “dire” picture of the events and gesticulations of the main subject.  My gosh!  How sad it is that I didn’t realize I heard this pap every day without realizing how it was conditioning my thoughts!

Now – this means our first response to what the media says should be: “Really?  That’s interesting.  Is this really all the facts?  Did you tell me everything I need to know?”  The answer is they didn’t.  The media is there to CREATE news, not report it.  The media has to stay in business, so they creat “spin.”  They sensationalize the most radical position and then look at what the public’s response is.  They then adjust to make more sensationalization if they can.  It sells papers.  It sells magazines.  It sells viewership.  But what it doesn’t do is try its very best to portray all positions and as much of the truth as they can.

Because this is the media’s task  . . . their call to action.  Ours must be to dig and dig and dig, for more information on the people running for office.  No, I’m not talking about the petty stuff.  I’m talking about the important stuff . . . like how the candidate views public finance or how the candidate feels election law is out of whack.  Ask them what they think about abortion?  The freedom of speech?  The role of government in everyday life?

You think that is enough?  No!  Ask them everything you are concerned about.  And if you don’t get a response, pester them for one.  It is their job to let you know what they believe and to know how well they will represent your concerns.  Unfortunately, you must do this for every serious candidate; and don’t forget your independents and Libertarians.  Each party, or lack thereof, has a role to play in our political process.

What is disturbing is most of us don’t have the time or energy to fully vet each of our candidates.  There are dozens of people running for office and studying each one; studying to find the real truth behind each one, is a massive task.  What I choose to do is focus on the offices that are important to me and to where I live.  Yes, this ignores certain offices, but I truly don’t have the energy to study all candidates for each election.  My advice is for all of us to focus on what is important to us and then find the offices that have the most influence over those things.  Examine the candidates for those offices and then vote for the one candidate that most matches your conscience and logic.

If we all would put at least 10% more effort in finding the truth about the candidates and in ignoring the crap the media espouses, I’m betting we would see a good uptick in confidence in the government and in happiness in our country.  Study and vote wisely!

BP

Yes, I understand that grounded flights cause lost money for airlines, but large masses of volcanic ash are not easy to predict in the air and none of the planes carrying masses of passengers are equipped to detect these masses early enough to ensure passenger safety.  Losing money sucks – I’ve done it in the stoc, market several times.  But risking the lives of your customers to ensure you lose no more is nothing less than irresponsible and borders on immoral.

As air passengers, we only fly because we believe there is a good deal of safety in doing so.  Yes time is a factor, but I don’t care how long I have to wait nor do I care  how long I have to go without a shower to ensure I actually get from point A to point B without panic or death.  The last time we had a flight flyh though volcanic ash their engines cut out and with some great amount of luck they were able to restart their engines.

Now think about that folks.  Your flight is going pleasantly along and then suddenly the noise of the engines is cut in half.  Moments later, the noise is completely gone and your flight has now turned into a free-fall.  How pleased would you be?  How much would your dry cleaning bill be after you take in a pair of poo-soiled, wool pants?  No thanks.  Keep me grounded and let me get home by train, car, boat, hang-glider, tricycle or even walking.  I don’t think I want to experience having the metal tube I’m sitting in plummet to the earth for more than 10,000 feet.  I think I’d rather rest my a$$ on hot, molten lava than do that.

So those of you running the airlines, TAKE A CHILL PILL!  Something tells me God is somehow sending a message, and it sounds like this:  “Relax!  You humans have set such a pace, I’m now having to enforce a moment of relaxation.”  Next?  Think about what you are doing!  You want to stop losing money, which I completely understand.  But stop looking at this as a complete loss!  Grab the opportunity this presents.  Tell your customers that you value their safety and lives more than you value any schedule or any profit.  Yes it sucks to lose money, but I’d be much more inclined to spend 5% more on my air fare if I knew the carrier was going to put my safety first.

So there you have it.  Don’t let profit push your planes into volcanic ash that will solidify into a glass-like coating on the inside of the ram-jet engine.  Keep your planes grounded and let nature take its course.  Please keep passenger safety first.

BP

There has been far too much “news” about Toyota in the last several months.  It seems statistically unusual to me.  For years and years, Toyota was reviewed and espoused to be the best of the best in terms of consumer vehicles.  But suddenly . . . accelerator problems . . . floor mat problems . . . flip over problems.  It just seems too often/frequent to be coincidental.

Yes, some US made cars were dinged with issues, but not to the amount or frequency that Toyota was.  I can’t believe US auto manufacturers (and I own stock in Ford) were so much better in managing safety issues than Toyota.  I owned a Prius and I have to say the attention paid to design was meticulous.  In the entire time I owned the vehicle (75,000 miles worth of ownership), I had only one complaint and that had to do with the glove box opening mechanism.  Yes, I’m only one example, but I’m also a well-informed, mechanically inclined man who understands how design can have undesired consequences.  I saw nothing about my Prius that said to me: “They didn’t think about safety when they designed this.”

“Well what about the guy in California that had his accelerator stick????  You know, the one that called the police as he was speeding down the freeway?”  Is that proof to you?  Were the police able to see what the man was doing with his feet?  Did the facts of the investigation point to a stuck accelerator (like heavily worn and heated brakes)?  Um, no.  I’m curious.  What was this man’s credit rating?  How much debt did the man have.  Did he recently lose his job?  Dig a little and I bet we will find a little bit of desperation.

What I believe is going on is someone high up in the government wants the US auto makers to look better than Toyota, who, by the way, is the big dog on the playground now.  I don’t know what the motivation is.  Maybe they own a ton of GM stock.  Maybe they sold-short Toyota stock.  Maybe their nephew is the top design engineer at Chrysler.  Regardless of the reason, the coincidence seems far, far too drastic and convenient.

Oh, and I blame a lot of this on the media in the US – talk about an industry that blows things out of proportion!  The Lexus GX they reported on was a concern when the vehicle was, and I quote the man I saw on the news report moments ago “taken to its extreme.”  Since when do we set policy and recall on something that happens when a vehicle is “taken to its extreme?”  Why would the driver take the vehicle to the extreme?  If the car flipped when it was taken to the extreme, wouldn’t that be the driver’s fault and not the manufacturer of the vehicle?  For heaven’s sake people!  Take responsibility of your actions and realize that almost any vehicle, when taken to its extreme, will flip or will not respond as the passengers need.

Toyota, has responded to the issue with the Lexus GX very carefully and sensitively – like any big corporation probably has to.  I’m not sure they should have made any response – it just feeds the “blood in the water” media.

The whole point of this post?  I don’t think we know the whole story behind this.  Something just doesn’t smell right to me.  If someone reading this knows more, please fill me in.  We all could use a big dose of truth.

BP

In the speech, one phrase in particular made me think: “What the ???”

This line:  “It is not simply the degree of his conduct that is so egregious here; it is the fact that he disappointed all of us, and more importantly, our kids and our grand kids . . . Our hero did not live up to the expectations of the role model we saw for our children.”   This is the line that caught my attention.

So what Mr. Billy is saying is because Tiger Woods parked his putter in different garages while he was married and because he is a hero to hundreds of thousands kids, his actions were “egregious.”  I’m sorry, but that is the biggest load of bovine pucky I’ve ever heard.

Even when I was a child, I knew my heros might disappoint me.  I knew that they were human.  And with the degree of stardom and fame Tiger enjoyed, I can safely say at least 90% of those casting spears at Tiger’s current debacle would have succumbed to the pressure like he did.  I was not at all surprised by these revelations and I’m betting very nearly all widely known, high fame people have done things that were less than puerile.  We like to think they haven’t.  We like to think the world is a world of static rules . . . that fidelity is the standard rather than the exception.  I might be jaded, but I don’t believe it works that way in the world of stars and sports greats. 

Additionally, I cannot believe the PGA is getting on the “Let’s bash Tiger” band wagon.  What the PGA Chairman should have said is something along the lines of: “Tiger made mistakes, like we all do.  He disappointed many of us . . . like we all have done at some time in our lives.  But he is beginning a walk.  A walk that may take him in an amazing new direction.  As his friends and as his fans we then should be called to help him and cheer him along this walk.  Yes, he may have times where his walk is difficult.  But I can say that if he needs the PGA to help him continue walking, we will be there.  We are thrilled he has come back to the game and we truly hope he will succeed in his walk.”

This would have shown to the “disappointed children” a far greater lesson.  The lesson of forgiveness . . . the lesson of grace . . . the lesson of standing by your friends when life goes less than perfectly.  If Billy Payne wanted to show PGA fans how strong and upstanding the PGA is, he would have welcomed the “prodigal son” back with a speech of support.

Mr. Payne, I have no respect for you and I’ve lost a great deal of respect for the PGA – they elected you and now I wonder why.

Tiger.  Yes I’m sorry you’ve had this crisis.  But I’m very glad you have returned to playing golf.  You have my support in making your life better and you will have me cheering for you whenever you play golf.  And, for the actions you have taken since and will continue to work through, you have far more of my respect than Billy Payne will ever have.  Live long and play well.
BP

For those folks who have or will lose their house to foreclosure, I do feel bad for you.  But I cannot say that I believe you should not be blamed for losing your home.  What I CAN say is you are not the only one to be blamed for it.  There are many to be blamed for it.

Who?  First, yes the banking industry holds much of the blame . . . probably 50%.  The banking industry over the last several decades, has been in a gluttonous, self-serving, predatory spree.  Those who were savvy and smart got better deals and more affordable terms and those that were less educated or were the most in need, got higher rates, worse terms and loan structures that were insanely lopsided when compared to the incomes these folks were able to scrape together.  First blame – goes to the banking industry.

Second?  The education system of the United States of America.  We have been grossly negligent in educating our children and teens on one of the most important things one must understand as an adult.  We didn’t learn about loans, compound interest, savings or even the banking system and how checks get processed.  Because we did not teach what we, and I defy anyone to argue otherwise, should have taught to all teens in every school on US soil.  It is a modern tragedy that a graduating senior cannot tell you what a mortgage is or about how adding a little extra to each payment drastically shortens the pay back period.  They can’t tell you what is too much debt and they can’t tell you how much of a monthly income is a reasonable house payment.  Absolutely, a great disservice.  Second to blame – the education system of the United States of America.

Third?  The zeal we have for having more than the other guy.  Where did the attitude of  you spend only what you need to spend and you save the rest go?  Yes, we always want things.  I always want things, but my parents . . . thank God for my parents . . . they taught me what the true value of a dollar was and is.  They taught me that bad things can happen and that what you save is the way to ensure you can survive when the dark clouds roil and the flood waters rise.  The sad fact is most of what we have in our homes, we don’t need.  I did not buy the things I “wanted” until I was sure I had enough put back to cover my needs for a good period of time.  Why don’t we teach our children this concept?  Needs before wants.  It is a simple rule, but it is a rule that so many of us cannot grasp.  Instead, credit cards are maxed out.  Mortgage payments are more than 50% of our monthly income just so we can have a big or fancy house.  A Lexus sits in the drive way when we should have a used Ford Focus.  Our teeth are whitened, our nails are painted and trimmed and our skin is spa treated and our vacations are globe-trotting when we can’t afford these things.  Honestly, this is a gluttony of a different sort that in some ways deserves its own catastrophic outcome.  Blame #3 – the “Gotta have it.”

The fourth blame is actually the mortgage holder themselves.  When you couple the yearning to “Keep up with the Joneses” with a lack of knowledge about the legal contract being signed when a mortgage is written, it will almost surely end in something bad.  Then add to this people taking advantage of this situation, you truly do have some of the driest tinder the country has ever seen for thousands upon thousands of financial flash fires.

So dear representative, wail all you want.  But you are wailing for the wrong reason.  Fix the reason for the failures.  Do not reward any that hold part of the blame.

I don’t like seeing folks lose their house, especially when a family is going to be put out on the street.  But bailing them out, doesn’t help the parents learn the repercussions of making a bad family decision.  We have to fix the system and we have to let our people understand that their actions can end in a bad result.  It isn’t the job of our government to fix bad decisions and I want our government to stop trying to do so.

BP

It was during the half-time break at the Colts/Ravens playoff game that I experienced one of the worst displays of disregard for the respect one should have for those who are elders.   Though I know the subject that must be addressed in this blog is uncomfortable for some readers, I have to explain the scenario to make the point I need to make.

As one would expect, Lucas Oil Stadium, like many other stadiums, does not have enough urinals to handle the influx of bladder distress during half-time.  Therefore, lines form behind each urinal as men try to relieve themselves in the short window of time provided by half-time.  It was during this time I experienced a (and I use this word extremely loosely) “man” heckling what I had to assume was an octogenarian who was trying to relieve himself.  (It sounds funny.  Trust me, it was not.  It was painfully embarrassing.)

The man said, and I quote: “You’ve got to be kidding me!?  10 minutes!  What is going on with this guy?”  Ok, I understand that someone who had consumed a good portion of beer might really need to pee.  Hell, I would probably need to pee.  But there is NO WAY, regardless of how drunk or bloated I was, that I would heckle a roughly 80 year old man that was having an issue peeing.  I would have moved to one of the other 10 lines behind urinals that had youthful folks in the line.

Not only did this man loudly chastise a man that was trying to enjoy a football game, but he continued and said “I think he is dead.” loud enough for everyone near me to hear it.  If you were 80+, would you want to hear that behind you while you were trying to take a leak?  It was painfully embarrassing and someone should have kicked the heckler in the nuts!  As I said before, there were at least 10 other urinal lines that the man could have moved to, but no.  This baboon had to heckle an elderly gentleman.  How “big” or “adult” is that?

I was taught to respect my elders when I was young, and that phrase really hit home during this experience.  We all will be elderly some day, if we are lucky, and we will have the health problems that go along with aging.  I should have chastised the man.  I should have punched him in his stupidity-spewing gob!   If I were a bigger man myself, I would have.  But I didn’t.  I honestly feel ashamed I did not say something to him like:  “Shut up you ass!  The man is doing the best he can.  Do you think that will never happen to you???  Change lines already!”  But I did not and I have suffered for it since it happened.  I still feel bad for the man.  If anyone reading this ever experiences something like this, and you have the guns to do something about it, do me a favor – deck the guy!  He deserves it in spades.  Thanks everyone for letting me get that off my chest.
If you are the man that was taking to the elderly gentleman (Section 145 at Lucas Oil Stadium) then I value you as much as I did the dog turd I stepped on during my walk downtown.  If you are the elderly gentleman that was heckled – I apologize for the fact that the Neanderthals were allowed into the stadium to experience a Colts playoff game.  Please do not let this brain-less baboon’s words dissuade you from coming to another Colts game.  If I have to, I’ll give you my seat.

Thanks for reading!    BP

The noise is point blank ridiculous!  Socialist agenda???  Really?  You can’t be serious and you can’t think one speech that is a little more liberally leaning than the past eight years of Imperialist bull crap will drastically change your children.  Do you think your children are incapable of critical thinking and of considering there might be another perspective than that of the President of the United States of America?  If you really do, then I feel very, very, very sorry for your children.  You haven’t given them the tools needed to make it though life, if they are indeed so open to reacting to and completely believeing in one 18 minute speech.  Shame on you if your children are indeed this gullible!

More likely, these are people that are finding their loss of the White House a bit of sour grapes.  I fail to see why the media is even reporting something so pithy and worthless.  Time and again in the past, the US President has addressed the school children of the country and we didn’t see news reports about people keeping their children home or about them claiming: ‘The President is trying to brain wash my child into believing a socialist agenda.’  Come on!  This is the stupidest thing I have heard on the television this year and I have watched Big Brother and America’s Got Talent, and trust me, there is some stupid stuff on these programs!

My advice to those that are in the media . . . stop trying to make something out of the hollow words and lies talk show hosts continue to spew.

My advice to those that think there is some Socialist agenda that flows under the work our current government is trying to do: Please chew those sour grapes for the next 3 years and stop trying to sensationalize everything the current administration is trying to accomplish!  I’ve never seen such a collection of sore losers!  It makes me sad that you are more concerned for your personal OPINION and less concerned about the country’s future.  You ARE the problem and you ARE affecting the efficiency with which the government can get health care reformed and can get our economy back on track.

My advice to those of you that think this is a bunch of noise: Accept the thanks from me and ignore those that continue to pull BS from thin air.  And trust me, they will pull this same crap again soon.  It makes me sad and it shows the true colors of those that are purporting we are on the path to Socialism.

Thanks for reading.

BP

As with any important issue the more noise there is, the less likely it is those who need to know about the issue will actually know enough factual information to develop a good, well reasoned position on the issue.  We have had people literally screaming at “town hall” meetings that their health care shouldn’t change.  I’ve seen talk about “death squads” on web reports and heard the same on conservative radio shows.  I’ve seen people across all political spectrums state that we shouldn’t be messing with the system in ways some suggest we should.

What I’ve seen little of is: agreement.  What I’ve heard little of is: constructive ways we can discuss the issue like adults.  What I’ve read little of is: acknowledgements that someone is trying to address a system that is and has been broken for a long time.

Really, most of what I’ve experienced is nothing more than hyperbole and rhetoric and these, by their very nature, are not conducive to creating a good solution to the problem.  No.  Hyperbole and rhetoric serve to do nothing more than: worry people that need nothing more to be worried about, frustrate those that really are trying to find a solution, turn-off those that may have been able to suggest ways we can achieve something better and deflate those that don’t have the good fortune to have a health plan that doesn’t cost them more than their food for the month!

What do I want?  Read further . . .

I want these hyperbole/rhetoric spewers to shut up!  If your opinion is so “out there” that you must scream to get others to hear and understand you, then your opinion is very likely not of the mainstream.  Shut up and let those that are ready to talk and negotiate constructively work on the right solution.  If you find hyperbole is where you are most comfortable writing your article for MSN or USA Today – hold your pen/word processor!  You, yes YOU are much a part of this problem and you are only serving yourself by continuing your BS.  Why not research the issue and present fact-by-fact information that might help your readers understand the issue?  Your opinion, while important to you, is not important or helpful to solving this issue.

I want those that really do have good constructive input to provide it to the right people.  Can we say representatives and congress folks people?  Why are so many of us loathe to contact our legislators????  THIS IS WHAT THEY ARE THERE FOR PEOPLE!  Don’t say: “They never will read my e-mail.”  This isn’t true.  They have staffs that are assigned to do this.  The will read it.  But what they will not promise to do is vote the way you tell them to.  They may not even respond to your note.  But they will read it.  If you have a suggestion – SEND IT.  It just may be the thing your legislator needs to start a constructive discussion.

I want the rich, that frankly have had a super easy ride the last 8 years, to look at their rate of taxation as compared to the rates of taxation in other countries.  You have more.  You should be willing to support more  – and this is coming from someone that is moderately well off, thank you.  One only need look at: http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html to see the top 1% of the wage earners in the US pay 40.4% of individual income taxes.  Sounds high doesn’t it?  Consider this though: the minimum AGI one must have to break into the top 1% of earners in the US is just above  $410,000/yr.  At the US’ highest nominal tax rate (35%) this would mean these folks have $266,500 left over to spend not considering other deductions like Social Security and other hits to income ($410,000*.65 = $266,500).  Even if the other hits took out $66,500, the person would still have $200,000 to spend as they please.  Remember, this is ANNUALLY and it is the MINIMUM needed to hit the top 1% of earners.  Doesn’t sound so bad any more does it?  Also remember these are the folks that have accountants that likely find ways to further decrease the amount of taxes these folks are paying.  So it is very likely they are actually paying 25% or less in taxes.  Lastly, please don’t tell me taxing the rich would affect the amount being “reinvested” in the country.  The last year of stock market performance shows these “reinvestors” will pull their investment out so fast it likely will make the markets to “fall down - go boom.”  To the rich in the US:  Stop whining and enjoy the fact that you have fared better than 99% of the people you see in your every day life.  Pay a little extra to build a good health care system.

I want the insurance companies to VOLUNTARILY abstain from lobbying their legislators on this subject!  There is no other industry that is more detrimental to providing good health care for everyone.  When the conservatives of the country started talking about “death squads” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and chuckle.  Time and again the insurance companies REFUSED to pay for treatments that could have been the difference between life and death for a patient.  They had loop-holes in their policies that allowed them to refuse payment.  I don’t see how this isn’t exactly the same thing.  The result was the same thing . . . they just let the person die.  I’m not talking morals, I’m pointing out that we already have a form of death squad, so why are we worrying about another one?

I want us to come to a solution that we all can be proud of and that will move us toward a better healthcare system.

The real crime in this scenario is the fact that many forgo treatment because they can’t afford it and in some cases skipping the treatment or drug can decrease life span.  My own parents are a case in point.  Recently, my mother, who for years has had severe issues with the nerves and muscles in her body, fell and hit her head because she thought my father had a hold on her.  Once my dad realized my mother had fallen, he rallied my brother and they both were able to get her into the bed.  (Yes, they moved her.  I know – bad idea.  They have since been coached to do otherwise.)  In the mean time she was bleeding from where she hit her head and was having waves of pain running through her body from the fall.  It was then my brother an father started arguing over whether an ambulance should be called!  Why the argument?  Dad’s insurance doesn’t cover the ambulance call and he thought he could avoid paying the fee by taking her to the hospital himself – if he and my brother could get her out to the car.  I don’t blame my father - limited funds require you think this way all the time.  I’m very thankful he thought this way when I was growing up.  But when it had to do with the health of the family, I wish the situation would have allowed otherwise.

Let’s review:  mom falls, hits her head and bleeds from the site, hurts her hip and is yelling in pain each time she moves and dad is considering finances.  What is wrong with this picture?  There is a lot wrong with this picture!  If we truly had a health care system that worked, the cost of an ambulance call wouldn’t even enter dad’s mind.  This is a guy that served his country and worked very, very hard in a factory until he retired and now he gets to wonder whether he should call an ambulance when his betrothed is in pain.  Wrong, wrong, wrong!  How can we treat those that helped build this country this way?  THIS is what tells me we MUST reform health care.  No argument will sway me otherwise.  (They did eventually call an ambulance after my brother called me and I told them to call because they didn’t know what mom might have hurt.  Mom got stitches in her scalp and apparently wrenched her hip joint really well – but did not crack her pelvis.  She seems to be on the mend now)

While I despise the thought of government run health care – the US government does very little well and those things that it does do, it does at such an expense we should constantly look at ways to insert efficiency into the process, I cannot get around the fact that our health care system doesn’t work well for all of our citizens.  Don’t get me wrong, big government is not something I’m a fan of by any means.  But, I cannot stand idly by nor can I say that if I happen to earn more than others that I shouldn’t pay more into the efforts to bring all good, comprehensive health care.  Right now, not everyone gets the health care they need and that is not the way I want my country to treat its poor, elderly or veterans.  We can and should do better.

First I have to say I am glad these journalists are back home and are with their families.  I can’t imagine what they had to go through and I wouldn’t want to go through even 20% of what they have over the last several months.  Honestly, I think most every citizen of the USA would never, ever want to trade places with them.   (You can read about their release and their return home here:  http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-08-03-clinton-nkorea_N.htm?poe=HFMostPopular&loc=interstitialskip)

While I know much of what was said by these journalists today might be due to exhaustion, extreme emotions and stress, some of what was said kind of bothered me.  What is it that did this?  It was their reference to former president Clinton as “President Clinton.”  Yes, Bill Clinton WAS our president years ago, but he no longer is our president.  Again, I know this might be due to the stress these folks were under, but they are not the only guilty party here.

Over the last several months I have heard time and again people referring to former presidents and even our current president incorrectly.  Bill Clinton should have been referred to as “former president Clinton” in this case and in any case where Bill Clinton is being formally referred to.  The same would apply to George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter.  Each is a FORMER president.  Referring to any of these men as “President” is an insult to the current sitting president and should not be done, unless you wish to honestly insult the current sitting president.

Now, let’s address the issue with President Obama.  Many times I have heard Barack Obama (which is proper because it is his name) referred to as Mr. Obama, even after he was elected to the office of the President of the United States of America.  Referring to him as “Mister” is absolutely improper.  Once it was determined that he had won the office, he should have been referred to as President-elect Obama.   And once he was installed, he should be referred to as President Obama, not Mr. Obama.  He was Mr. Obama before he was elected president but he lost that title once he was elected president.  And after President Obama serves  his term or terms, he will then be referred to as former president Obama.

So quickly: A person elected to the office of President of the United States is referred to as “President-elect [last name].”  Once this person is installed and is currently serving in the role, they shall be referred to as “President [last name].”  Once they have served their term as president, they are then referred to as “former president [last name].”  This concept is neither difficult nor obtuse and I fail to understand why so many folks can’t get this right, and on national TV no less.

Maybe I’m being unforgiving . . . but I’m almost positive I’m not the only one that has noticed this.

Lastly, for those of you that do this correctly:  Thank you!

BP