Birther Argument Will Bear No Fruit

Amazingly, this is an argument that still continues on. There are still plenty of folks pondering the question as to whether or not President Obama was born here in the United States—questioning whether he's even eligible to be the president.

It is an argument that no doubt will find its way into the campaign circles by some. I think the entire birther argument, however, is one that will bear no fruit.

Look, I fully grasp the importance of the "why" for some people. The position of the president is no small matter. This is arguably the most powerful position in the entire world. Still, in the grander scheme, as things stand right now, I think the question has about as much merit as the question that was posed as to whether or not George W. Bush was really the president based on the election, and the fact that the courts ultimately made the final decision.

Whether we love it or hate it, President Obama is the president of the United States. So was Bush. So, rather than focus on the birther argument, we need to focus on the issues.

There is the thought that some pose that perhaps the White House is trying to hide something. A lot of documents and other things have been sealed. True enough. Why would the Obama administration want to keep the records sealed? Because it means if we are talking about the question of where the president was born, we won't be talking about the issues that very much need to be at the fore of every campaign discussion we have. Make no mistake, those who cite the birther argument will very quickly be labeled wack-jobs, and guess what? That will stick before anything else does.

That will bear fruit for the democrats. That will bear fruit for the Obama administration's campaign to remain in office in 2012.

I want to be very clear about this. The birther question is one for history to take a look at. It has no place in the upcoming debates. Nor does it have any real basis for discussion in my opinion. And again, it will absolutely detract from the real issues that plague us.

We've frankly got much bigger fish to fry if you ask me.

If you want Barack Obama back in office in 2012, make the birther argument the top issue in the campaign. He'll win. I guarantee it. Focus on the issues of his presidency, and he'll be out. Mark my words.

25,000 More People Out of Work Last Week

I think it's terrible that the jobless numbers rose by the largest amount in over 3 months. Still, I think we have to get it into our mindsets that this is going to happen. We're letting these numbers rip the stock market to shreds, and we're acting surprised when we see that people are still having difficulty finding and keeping work. Companies are not hiring, in fact they are firing.

This is the reality. No news here.

We're not out of the woods yet. We're not going to be out of the woods for a long time to come. Things simply don't happen lickity-split. We have to have patience and sensibility with regard to this situation. Until people have a sense of security about where their next dollar is going to come from, there is going to be a holding back from spending. That's going to curtail demand. And that curtailed demand is going to put pressure on companies who may want to hire more workers.

You can't do it, and they are not going to do it (that is, hire workers) if customers aren't buying their products or services.

Unemployment numbers are abysmal. I don't like them anymore than the next guy. But patience, I think, is in order here. And again, sensibility. We can't keep reacting to the news like it's news. And by the way, the only reason the numbers improved over the last three months or so was because of the hired census workers. That was at least a large part of it.

So, weren't we simply ripe for a little setback? Like what's going on in the stock market right now. Weren't we simply ripe for that too?

The Grandview Resort Las Vegas

I don't mind a sales pitch. I understand a little bit about marketing. I also follow business, and I know how important it is to capture the attentions of potential customers. After all, no business could ever survive without its customers.

Still, there is a fine line, I think, between marketing and just being a flat-out pest.

My wife and I recently took a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, and stayed at the Excalibur. We flew Southwest airlines and took a Showtime shuttle to the hotel. We had an early flight, and so when we got to the hotel it was too soon before check-in. We went through the casino, luggage in tow, and headed for the bag storage. Walking past the registration desks, we were approached by a woman, "How long will you be in Vegas?"

"Till Sunday," I told her.

"Come with me," she said and walked us over to another desk a few feet away.

We were offered a choice between two tickets to a show, or $100 worth of gambling money which could be used in any casino where the MGM Player's Club card was accepted and two buffets at the Excalibur. All we had to do was sit through a presentation for a new resort in Las Vegas, The Grandview, which is a time share, and have a look around the place.

All fine and dandy. It's not really my thing. But I let my wife decide and she decided if we couldn't check in yet anyway, and we'd get a few things free, why not? What did we have to lose?

Well, nothing really. Though we did have to cough up $40 right off the bat. $20 would be returned to us at the end along with the rewards.

We sat through the presentation, and checked out the condos, and listened to the spiels. I won't get into the details. We all know what a time share is. We also know what it is not. All I will say is that we politely said "No thank you" to at least 3 people before they finally let us go and we were able to collect our rewards—which we did get.

The time share deal was a bogus one. The presentation was weird at best. But my problem was more with the fact that throughout our stay we were approached by the Grandview people on the casino floor at the Excalibur at least 25 times in 4 days and 3 nights. It probably would have been a much higher number had we spent our entire time on the Excalibur's casino floor—but it's Vegas, and there's myriad casino's to choose from. So we went to others.

The Grandview folks were at the Luxor as well, I should note.

Again, I don't mind being thrown a sales pitch. Business is business. And no matter what my thoughts may be on time shares, it's a business, and there are customers who enjoy them. There is a market. And if you want to fill rooms, you have to market them.

But I will say this. The experience left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

I like the Excalibur. It's a nice hotel. The staff was courteous. The room was nice. The price was right. And they have an amazing casino and the upstairs section between the Excalibur and the Luxor is very convenient with McDonald's, Starbucks, Krispy Kreme and whatever else you may fancy, including Pizza Hut.

But when you have to constantly say no to someone who approaches you it becomes annoying. When it's repeated over 25 times? It's extremely annoying. Excalibur should be aware that it has customers too. It needs to keep those customers coming back. I'll likely stay there again. But this is strike one. In this case there are only two strikes allowed. If my next stay at the Excalibur is riddled with sales people at every door, and at every turn, I will not stay there again.

As for The Grandview Resort Las Vegas? It's a scam. It may not seem that way in the beginning. But once you reach the end of it, it becomes all too clear.

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