Ten Dollar Dinner w/ President Obama: More jaw work is in order

An Alexander Hamilton for an audience with current President Barack Obama, that's right our nation's leader is inviting four people to a "casual dinner" with him. The only catch is that you do have to drop that ten-dollar bill, or more if your leaning more toward the left, to get your name in the drawing.

In the name of transparency, I did put down my ten bucks for a chance to meet the President. Why not, its only about half an hour salary for me, plus with looming chance to meet the leader of the free world, win the Powerball, or get hit by lighting I figure I'm due for one of the three. Plus like many American's I'm sure my thoughts are at least worth a dime of that ten dollars. So many topics to cover over three courses from Obama's recent announcement of troop withdrawals, higher education student loan reform, and bringing American ingenuity to meet energy needs and disaster recovery plan.

First have to get in the appetizer, a little light wedge salad or Maryland crab cakes would be a nice lead in to the tough to stomach debt that many of America's college educated are now accruing. The national debt continues to grows, and students that are not ready to make the leap into the real world are applying for graduate schools. While specialty studies can help, they can then be too narrowed as individuals and when they do get the first real job in just out side of their specialty they may have lost the ability to adapt. Especially when that first job as a shift manager doesn't even cover the student loan interest payments on their student loans. Tack on other expenses of the real world, i.e. transportation, rent (even if living back with the parents), groceries, bad spending habits developed on care-free campuses and the American Graduate is stuck breaking bricks off their legs at the bottom of the pool while the rest of the world swims laps above us.

Ready for the main course Mr. President? Lets bring more of the steak and potatoes. Just a week ago you made the announcement in prime time, in front of the nation that it was time to make good on your promises of bringing troops home. Alright as Commander and Chief you have the right to make this call, and with in meetings with your joint chiefs of staff, and top Pentagon officials I'm inclined to believe the other headlines that your administration is going to let those on the ground make the call on which forces are ready to leave and which combat forces must stay and hold their lines. However, this is a chance for your administration to let actions speak louder than words and headlines. Bring home the troops you can yet don't boast numbers and their geographic relation in the battles in Afghanistan and Iraq. This is easily taken by enemies of the United States as propaganda to boost they have beaten our armed services, and it allows them to reoccupy areas our service members have worked so hard to gain, maintain, and try to reform. Granted the cost of keeping large amounts of troops there would bankrupt America, the cost of using technology to keep terrorist at length. It's also one thing to keep them at distance when an ocean separates us, however to the vast amount of troops returning home their skill sets can still be applied at our boarders. With our economy still trying to recover, create jobs, and bring back more value to the dollar these brave men and woman would be flooding a job market that isn't ready for them yet. This isn't like the 1940's and 50's where Rosie Riveter just gave up the assembly line and stepped back into a Better Homes and Gardens kitchen. For one thing the assembly lines aren't there for the solid paycheck as they once were, and our Armed Forces members have a skill set they can apply to our boarders with Mexico, Canada, interstate commerce, travel, and infrastructure protection. It still allows them to dawn the uniform they were proud to serve wearing in foreign lands now bring the reality of their commitment to the vision of the neighbors around them.

Its amazing how heavy just a few ideas and suggestions can weigh on you. Yet there is still room for desert right, of course there is you play hoops and take care of yourself. Just stay open minded for a few more lines and see what good we could accomplish. The push for newer, cleaner, electric energy was a big part of the platform that put you in your current seat. So now lets look a head 10-20 years when your no longer in that seat, but you hope its in good shape especially if one of your daughters looks to follow in her father's footsteps. Starting in my own corner of the country, the might Missouri River is being poured out of Gavins Point Dam at 150,000 cubic square feet of water/second causing massive flooding. The cause of this massive snow falls in the Dakotas and upstream. Why more snow? More violent storm systems are being directly linked to our global warming. We are not going to stop nature, but we can prepare for it. Why not start initiatives to redirect flood waters when needed to win-win hydro electric damn systems. A system of mini-Hoover dams along the Missouri could supply massive amounts of clean energy though out the heartland. There are already win farm projects in place yet they could be connected to an electric rail system to make transportation easier especially in urban areas that haven't always had rail travel yet current infrastructure could support it.

Either I'm stuffed or I'm full of it, and need to go walk off and exercise this vent out of me. While I still have a slim chance to bring these ideas personally to President Barack Obama, at least I did my part of chewing the fat.