by James Glaser
January 22, 2004

I listened to the radio today and heard many people talk about what the President had to say last night. There were people that thought George Bush hit a home run and the nation is on the right track. Others thought that Bush struck out and we need new leadership.

What was true about all of those people, who were giving their opinion, was the fact that they all had a vested interest. They were either from the media, a political party, or some Washington think tank on the right or left. Nobody asked the American people what they thought, so at ten below zero with a wind chill of -25, I went to town for some answers.

I did need some groceries. The weatherman is talking about 28 below tonight and 50 below wind chills, so I thought is best to get what ever I needed to ride out this coming deep freeze.

I asked at the grocery store and the gas station, I asked at the library and the post office, and I asked at the café and found that nobody even watched George last night. Yes, everybody knew the State of the Union was on, but only one woman said she had watched and she thought the whole thing was, "Bullshit." She said that she and her husband never got any tax cut, they both work, and now her husband is out of work. (Construction jobs are pretty seasonal up here) The rest of the people said that it didn't matter what the President said, because it was just politics.

We are in a Republican area of Minnesota and most of the people I talked to had voted last time for the President. This time they are not and if they can't find someone else to vote for they are going to pass on this election. Apathy abounds in the dead of winter, when you are looking at your wood pile and figuring out if you have enough to make till spring.

One thing that was pointed out to me by a man whose mother depends on help with heating bills, was the fact that 300 million dollars was cut from the federal program that provides subsides to poor families so they can heat their homes

People in this area are still feeling bad because we lost Sgt, Dale Panchot in Iraq. 500 Americans killed over there and what are the chances that one of them would be from Northome, Minnesota. Apparently the chances were pretty good.

People up here are pretty astute when it comes to politics and current events. Minnesota Public Radio and the Canadian Broadcasting System keep us informed on what is happening. We see that things are not looking up for the average American and medical costs are a big issue here.

The drug plan the President passed is laughed at here as we are so close to the Canadian border that it isn't that much longer of a drive to go their to fill a prescription. Prices are much lower over there and Canadians do like having universal health coverage no matter what the commercials on American TV say. We all know they are paid for by the drug companies and the insurance industry.

People up here and in the rest of the nation too, know that George Bush is looking out for the rich and major corporations; the only thing is we think the Democrats are doing the same. Everyone on both sides keeps talking about helping the average American, but we can see that our take home pay does not go as far as it once did and that the rich are getting richer and the CEOs of this country are getting paid like kings.