Update and a Musing(s)

It's been awhile since I provided an actually post, so I guess I should put one together.

Life has been quite busy for me.  Work has been keeping me for long hours and it seems like it's dark when I head to Best Buy for work and getting dark when I leave.  So I'm assuming fall is here now or I'm working much longer hours than I thought I was.

I'm also made the commitment to actually change my drivers license and voting registration to reflect my residence.  It was a bit delayed, but "I'm legal" now.  Not that I was "not legal" on purpose.  I do plan to vote on November 2 though in St. Paul.

A couple of musings:

- As the election enters its final weeks, it appears the Presidential contest is a close as ever.  It could be the President's or Mitt Romney's to win.  Frankly, I still think the President is the favorite in this election.  The electoral math is simply too much in the President's favor.  As of this date, I'm thinking the President will win a President Bush "43"  type victory with between 270-290 electoral votes, keeping us up until the wee hours of the morning.  Romney has been surging in most polls, particularly in swing states.  However, he would pretty much need to win VA, CO, FLA, NC and at least OH or PA to assure victory.  I don't see that happening at this point.  I expect the President to have a strong debate on foreign policy tomorrow  and perhaps regain momentum in the polls.  The reason why I think the President will do well in tomorrow's debate is not because it's been a sound foreign policy.  The situations in Libya and the Middle East are quite hostile these days, however, the President's should simply be stronger than Romney on these issues based on pure experience.  Perhaps I'll be wrong, but I'm thinking it's still the President's race to lose.

- Earlier this month the Centers of Disease Control released a study on births in the United States, including out of wedlock births.  The short story is that nearly 41 percent of all births are born out of wedlock.  That includes 72.3 percent of non-Hispanic blacks are now born out-of-wedlock; 66.2 percent of American Indians/Alaska Natives; 53.3 percent of Hispanics; 29.1 percent of non-Hispanic whites; and 17.2 percent of Asians/Pacific Islanders.  

All in all, this is a disaster in my myopic opinion.  I'm struck by how prevalent societal ills regarding alcohol, drugs and crime are associated with these same populations.  How different would these children's lives would be if these societal ills were not prevalent in their lives and they were raised by a heterosexual married couple?  How much would our society as a whole gain in lower social support costs (the federal government paid a trillion bucks in welfare payments last year), economically (perhaps the educational attainment of these populations would provide them higher-skilled, higher paid labor) and socially.    I'm frankly sadden by this news.

- Finally, I'm sadden to hear that the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra has locked out it's musicians after failing to come a contract agreement.  I've purchased tickets for various concerts this season and am quite disappointed of the very real possibility that I won't be able to attend the concerts due to a contract dispute.  The crux of the dispute is simple: the SPCO management wants to shrink the orchestra and reduce pay by 15 percent in exchange for larger severance packages to save money.  The musicians want the same pay and to reduce the operating deficit raise ticket prices.   This dispute looks like it will take awhile and that really concerns me.