The Liquor Talking

It’s Thursday, January 5, 2012 and the people of Iowa have mumbled.

I’m not sure why anyone thought there’d be any meaningful results from the Iowa Caucus on Tuesday.

The issues that are most important to conservative voters across the Fruited Plain aren’t the same as those to people in Iowa. For instance, Iowa has one of the best economies in the country. With their unemployment rate a good 3% lower than the national rate and an economy that’s actually growing, Iowans don’t have the same worries as the rest of the country.

Which might explain why the results of the Iowa have Caucus accurately predicted the republican nominee exactly 50% of the time. Which also happens to be the amount of times it can be predicted by tossing a coin. (This of course where there wasn’t an incumbent running unopposed.) So while the talking heads are proclaiming this a major victory for this candidate or that and a disaster for this candidate or that, I’m calling it “Meh” for this candidate and that.

There is however some rather disturbing news from the results.

Of those who voted for Romney, 30% gave an ability to beat Obama as the reason for their vote.

Look folks, we can’t go down this road again. Picking a candidate based mostly on some perceived ability to unseat Obama is folly. We tried that back in 2008 with McCain and got our asses handed to us. We need to proceed from the notion that Obama simply IS beatable, landslide beatable and pick the candidate that’s best for our country.

1. So gas prices are coming down.

   

   I dig it.

   What I don’t dig is that food prices (along with everything else) went up, hot on the heels of gas prices, but are dropping at a much slower rate. If the law of supply and demand is be believed, then either then either:
   

   
   
   • The supply of Velveeta has gone down with demand being unchanged,
     
   • The demand for Velveeta has increased with the supply being unchanged or,
     
   • The supply of Velveeta has decreased while the demand for it has increased.
     

   Most likely, it’s because the people who set prices are trying to squeeze just a little extra profit from the margins between transportation costs and the equilibrium price. I suppose I’ll get the difference back in some small way from my stock investments, but I’d just as soon not have to listen to the wife complain about the cost of Velveeta cheese.

   

   Okay, Liberal Douche, I’ll get right on that.

2. I can do without being told that I’m “over-qualified” for a job I’ve applied for.

   

   That’s three times now that I’ve applied, interview and gotten turned turned down for a job because of excessive smartness.

   My friend Lynne suggests that I “dumb down” the resume. Even if I knew how to do that, I’m not comfortable with not letting a potential employer know exactly what they’d be getting. If I bring too much awesome to the table, well then, good luck with your less qualified choice.

   My brother suggest I respond to interview questions with mumbling and feigned confusion. While this might make for a good YouTube video, I kinda doubt it would lead to an offer and if it did, it probably wouldn’t be an outfit I’d like working for anyway.

   So, if anybody has useful advice in countering this over-qualified nonsense, I’ll exchange a quantity of Hand Salutes for it, depending on its value of course.

Have a great Thursday and be sure to tune in tomorrow for Jim’s latest rant on Batting Cage Etiquette.