Well, it’s official; President-Elect Obama has named Hillary Clinton as the new Secretary of State. I have to say I am not surprised on one hand and puzzled on the other. I’m not surprised because this is just another power play by the Clintons. Obama smartly wants her where he can keep an eye on her. If she is not part of the team, she would most likely try to undermine him by way of her surrogate, Bill Clinton. I’m puzzled because with Hillary taking this position, I think it is safe to say her ambition to be President is all but gone. Her main drawing card was her gender. I believe Sarah Palin, in all likelihood, will be at the top of the ticket for the Republican Party. She takes gender away from Hillary. That was Hillary’s ticket and she never passed up an opportunity to remind women of that fact. Hillary couldn’t attract people with her personality. She has all the warmth and charm of a rattlesnake. So, in this respect, I honestly believe the Democrat the Republicans loved to hate, Hillary Clinton, is finished as a major player on the Presidential campaign trail. But, I never thought we would elect someone to the far left of Hillary Clinton. I almost miss her…not.

The first week of December and the malls are filled to capacity. Doesn’t everyone know we are in the middle of a worldwide recession? I need a new power supply for a computer I’m working on. I checked with the Radio Shack near my house. They didn’t have the one I needed. But, they said the Radio Shack at the mall did have it. I decided to try my luck since it wasn’t quite 9:30AM. What a joke! I went to the mall and the parking lot was filled to capacity. People were parking on side of the street adjacent to the mall and cops were towing the cars off. Damn! So, I guess the mall is out for a while. It took me 30 minutes to get to the mall where it ordinarily is only a 10 minute drive.

Two more neighbors have lost their homes in the past week. They apparently didn’t qualify for the new mortgage bailout or didn’t know about it. I don’t know which. But, I do know they were forced out of their homes right before Thanksgiving. What can you do? Nothing but think how our government can bailout sorry ass CEOs whose bad loans and investments should have them on the street. Instead, they continue on their merry way of making loans to people who can’t afford them and make investments that the mafia would pass up. Out of 28 homes on our street, 9 homes have had foreclosures. That is just since May of this year.

Finally, it is with great pride that I took part in the Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless in my city again this year. As I have said many times on this blog, I have a special place in my heart for the homeless. Whether it be their own fault or no fault of their own, I want to help those who roam our streets with their carriages or whatever they have to carry their meager belongings. It is not an easy thing to feed the homeless. It is not for the faint of heart or the meek. There are some rough people on the streets. Some of the people showing up for dinner have not bathed for weeks, maybe months. They are allowed to go take a shower at the Mission nearby, put on new/used clothes and come to Thanksgiving dinner. Some have obvious mental problems. Some arrive in wheelchairs. I don’t know how they live with that kind of physical limitation. Feeding the homeless is a 6-9 hour process that takes me away from my own family and friends. But, the satisfaction of seeing a mother and her two children smiling over turkey, dressing, sweet potato casserole, bread rolls, etc…well, that makes it all worth it.