Nosey Online

Well, hello there. Remember me? Yes, it has been too long since we last spoke.

But Sean, where have you gone?

I'm still here in San Diego, working my butt off. In the 8 weeks following the election, it dawned on me that part of the recovery process would require "unplugging" for awhile. Through think and thin, I've kept the site up and fought off comment- and trackback- spam alike.

So here we are, already the end of the first week of February. Needless to say, it's been a relatively stress-free life for me (outside of work that is) since the end of last year. My mind still would react to things I would hear in the news, but my mouth could only utter "get ur lips sealed, sonny."

I spent the better part of last year building this site and keeping guard over the nosey online corner of the web. Even during the "silent time," the urge to speak my mind through the language of ones and zeros persisted. But I was mentally unable to continue my blogging efforts. But lately, the urge is coming back strong.

So what to expect in the future for nosey online? First off, I'm going to do a site redesign. So if you come back in a week or so and nosey online is off the air, don't fret. Version 2.0 of this site will incorporate more of my non-political tastes. So bear with me as I dive back into the world of HTML and Movable Type tags. Maybe my brother, the future graphic designer extraordinaire, could help me with the "look."

Anyway, for those of you who still come back to peak behind the curtain, I apologize for the long absence. I visit your sites daily, even if I never left a comment. Keep the information flowing!

One parting shot for this post. I'm speaking to my fiscal-responsible friends out there. Do you really believe Bush's SS plan is good for the country? How can, as the president put it, "[w]e [...] make sure there are good options to protect your investments from sudden market swings on the eve of your retirement"? This one’s a snake in the grass folks, just waiting to strike and inflict harm. Just like the old saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Anyone with a reality-based view of things can understand that the President's crisis is not one at all.

Oh, and by the way. Here's another line from the speech.

Because courts must always deliver impartial justice, judges have a duty to faithfully interpret the law, not legislate from the bench.

The Founding Fathers fully knew the implications of separation of church and state. And they meant for these kind of Orwellian phrases to stay out of the debate.

Sigh. Deep breath.

Until next time...

Does anyone else find it hilarious (as I do) that history is so soon forgotten? Wasn't it just over a year ago that the AARP was being bombarded with attacks for supporting the President's Medicare Drug benefit? I guess that now the AARP has decided to do the right thing and not support the President's Social Security, uh hem (Clear Skies, Healthy Forests, fill in any Orwellian adjective here) "overhaul," the advocacy group is no longer welcome to the party. To be fair, Democrats lambasted the AARP for supporting the Medicare benefit, only to surely rally around the group over the current PR problem. But I find it interesting that the AARP is getting "Swift Boated," which I view as the nuclear option.

So here's an overview. The AARP decides to work against the President over the Social Security "overhaul" issue. The GOP loads a chamber and pulls the trigger. Out comes USA Next, headed by Charlie Jarvis.

Taking its cues from the success of last year's Swift boat veterans' campaign in the presidential race, a conservative lobbying organization has hired some of the same consultants to orchestrate attacks on one of President Bush's toughest opponents in the battle to overhaul Social Security.

The lobbying group, USA Next, which has poured millions of dollars into Republican policy battles, now says it plans to spend as much as $10 million on commercials and other tactics assailing AARP, the powerhouse lobby opposing the private investment accounts at the center of Mr. Bush's plan.

"They are the boulder in the middle of the highway to personal savings accounts," said Charlie Jarvis, president of USA Next and former deputy under secretary of the interior in the Reagan and first Bush administrations. "We will be the dynamite that removes them."

But just 14 months ago, the AARP was the darling of the conservative community. Here are a few examples.

The first is from an issue of Time. Senate Majority Leader Senator Bill Frist picks the AARP for his handball team...(Subscription only)

Frist was dogged, tracking down AARP executive William Novelli at home or on the road to trade ideas by cell phone on reforming Medicare. "I don't think they were used to that," Frist told TIME, noting that Republicans had traditionally seen the group as being too close to Democrats. "But I made it clear I needed them." It worked. AARP--which boasts 35 million members--threw its weight behind the G.O.P. overhaul.

And then we have House Speaker Dennis Hastert singing their praises (through his spokesman).

As John Feehry, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., put it, "The AARP is the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval when it comes to seniors' issues."

It seems kind of disloyal to go after a former teammate so harshly. Especially when the President recognized the players so vocally.

But the groups that speak for the elderly did fantastic work on this legislation. See, there was a lot of pressure not to get something done -- for the wrong reasons, I might add. But Bill Novelli, the CEO of AARP, stood strong in representing the people he was supposed to represent and he worked hard to get this legislation passed. And, Bill, I want to thank you for your leadership. [...]

Charlie Jarvis, the Chairman and CEO of United Seniors Association, worked hard.

So there you have it. No one is safe. But you've got to love the irony.