$283K

The mid-term elections are now over we begin a new phase of lacking political consensus. When I see the new Speaker of the House, John Boehner (Fake Tan) is the largest House recipient of Wall Street money this past year, much of it from financial institutions bailed out by TARP and the single most important goal of the Republicans in Congress these next two years, per Senator Mitch McConnell, is for President Obama to be a one-term President, I figure it is now wise to concentrate on state politics.

But wait, the teacher union backed Jerry Brown is our new Governor. Hold on to your checkbook, California will now become even more expensive to reside in. Once small business gets a handle on how Governor Moon Beam will run the state, businesses will be heading for Oregon, Utah, Nevada and Arizona. I figure it is now wise to concentrate on local politics.

But wait, when I see that our City Manager in Claremont earning $265,789 per year in salary for a city with a population of 37,780 and when I see the Fire Chief of the City of La Verne, population 33,981, take a salary of $283,865 per year, I have to ask the question should I give a hoot! Stop the madness! From Washington to Sacramento to La Verne do any of these people have a clue? Have you ever visited a government agency or office? Does this behavior and expenditures warrant these salaries and policies?

Oh well, thank God Macy’s will be open at Midnight on Friday after Thanksgiving, I can feel better while I max out my credit card on products made in China, India, Vietnam by companies who used to be in the United States.

FIRST LOOK -- HENDRIK HERTZBERG, lead "Talk of the Town" in the forthcoming New Yorker: "Obama's temperament has become a political liability. In 2008, his calm was a synergistic counterpoint to the joyous excitement of the throngs that packed his rallies. In the tidy, quiet isolation of the White House, his serene rationality has felt to many like detachment, even indifference. For him and for the country, the next two years look awfully bleak. Capitol Hill will be like Hamburger Hill, a noisy wasteland of sanguinary stalemate. There will be no more transformative legislation; it will be all Obama can do simply to protect health-care reform from sabotage. The economy, like the climate, will be left to fend for itself. And the world will watch, wonder, and worry."

GEORGE W. BUSH's memoir, "Decision Points," will be out Tuesday and is getting the most extensive rollout of any book in history, according to publishing sources. The plan was choreographed by Bob Barnett; Dana Perino; David Sherzer, of the Office of George W. Bush; and David Drake, the director of publicity at Crown Publishers. It all starts Monday on NBC with a prime time hour with Matt Lauer. On Tuesday, Bush does a book signing in Dallas, and is featured on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." (The segments already taped at her studio in Chicago, and WITH HIS MOTHER AND FATHER in Kennebunkport, in a boat and at their compound on Walker's Point.) Also on Tuesday, Bush does Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity radio and TV.

--On Wednesday, 43 appears again with Matt Lauer, this time live on "Today." On Thursday, he does Bill O'Reilly, at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, near Dayton, in connection with a Veterans Day Tribute. And on Friday, he does Greta Van Susteren, in connection with the groundbreaking of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, at SMU. On Saturday, a SEPARATE Sean Hannity interview airs. On Sunday, Nov. 14, he does a CBS News "Sunday Morning" segment with Jim Axelrod (with Mrs. Bush), and the president and Jeb Bush appear on CNN with Candy Crowley (so every interview has a unique component.) Then, the president is on "Fox and & Friends" from Monday, Nov. 15, through Wed., Nov. 17. Then on Thu., Nov. 18, he's on JAY LENO.

"DECISION POINTS" ($18.90 on Amazon)

FRANK RICH, "Barack Obama, Phone Home": "You can't win an election without a coherent message. Obama, despite his administration's genuine achievements, didn't have one. The good news ... is that the G.O.P. doesn't have one either. ... The president's travails are not merely a 'communications problem.' They're also a governance problem ... The plot of Obama's presidency has been harder to follow than 'Inception.' ... He can no longer limit interactions with actual working Americans to photo ops on factory floors or outsource them to a 'Middle Class Task Force' led by Joe Biden. ... In the 1946 midterms, the unpopular and error-prone rookie president Harry Truman, buffeted by a different set of economic dislocations, watched his party lose both chambers of Congress ... Two years after this Democratic wipeout, ... Truman roared back ... Surely there are dozens of supporters reassuring Obama with exactly this Truman scenario this weekend. But if he lacks the will to fight, he might as well just take his time and enjoy the sights of Mumbai."

MAUREEN DOWD - "'Blindsided': A President's Story": "In his deftly crafted and utterly selective new memoir, W. is the president we all wished him to be: compassionate, bipartisan, funny, charming, instinctive, independent, able to admit and learn from mistakes ... Heck, after I finished reading it, I was ready to vote for the guy. The book lacks the vindictive or vaporous tone of many political autobiographies. It's peppered with endearing personal stories, like the time W. made a Rose Garden speech supporting a Palestinian state and his mother called afterward to ask sarcastically, 'How's the first Jewish president doing?' But when I look at the sad eyes of President Obama, buried alive with his party beneath the heedless decisions and reckless spending and tax cuts of his predecessor, I snap out of it. ... Yet if W.'s decision-making leaves something to be desired, his story-telling is good. He writes of a visit to Russia, when Putin showed him his black Labrador, Koni. 'Bigger, stronger, and faster than Barney,' Putin bragged. Later, when W. recounted this to Stephen Harper, the Canadian prime minister, Harper drolly noted, 'You're lucky he only showed you his dog.'"

DRIVING THE WEEK - Obama will face some serious opposition to trade targets at the G-20 meetings on Thursday and Friday. He will also continue to get an earful from world leaders concerned that the Fed is pushing down the dollar to boost U.S. exports at their expense ... SIFMA annual meeting takes place at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan beginning this morning. Top speakers include retiring Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro ... MSNBC's Keith Olbermann returns from his suspension on Tuesday ... Conan O'Brien kicks of his TBS show tonight at 11 p.m. ... Bond markets closed Thursday in honor of Veteran's Day

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Barbara Boxer (70), Bob Gibson (75), Billy Graham (92), Miranda Lambert (27), Al Michaels (65), Chris Noth (56), Gen. David Petraeus (58), Warner Wolf (73), Neil Young (65).

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICK OF THE WEEK – Saturday 11/14, as the season is winding down a key SEC matchup with #22 South Carolina Gamecocks (6-3) visit the Florida Gators (6-3), 7:15 PM, ET ESPN. Can former coach Steve Spurrier pull off the upset in the swamp, Florida is 7 point favorites, we think they are too – pick Florida.
Season to date (9-1).

SMALL COLLEGE PICK OF THE WEEK – Saturday 11/14, an Empire 8 rivalry game with the Ithaca College Bombers (6-3) visit the 24th ranked Cortland State Red Dragons (8-1). Cortland State is playoff bound and has too much defense for The Bombers, pick Cortland 24 – 7.
Season to date (7-2).

NFL PICK OF THE WEEK – Sunday 11/15, New England Patriots (6-2) visit the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) in this battle of AFC big boys. Pittsburgh is 3.5 favorites and beginning to get into playoff form, give the points and pick the Steelers.
Season to date (4-5).

IN MEMORY – Sparky Anderson, the only major league baseball manager to win The World Series in each league, passed away this past week. A players’ manager he leaves behind a legacy of great baseball and philanthropy second to none.

SPORTS BLINK – Congratulations to the St. Lawrence University Saints football program for winning the Liberty League conference and earning a place in the D-III college football playoffs. The Saints record is 4-5 but who cares they are in the playoffs.

VETERANS DAY – is Thursday November 11, put up your flag and support our service men and women.

Next week, catalogs and holiday shopping.

Until next Monday, Adios.

Claremont, CA
November 8, 2010