I have been listening to Al Frankin on radio Air America to catch up with some of the more “left wing” political rhetoric. Last week Mr. Frankin presented some great ideas for a Democratic Plan for the future. We keep hearing that the Republicans are off base, but the Democrats have no direction. I wonder why that might be. Maybe it is that they just don’t have the nerve to say what they think. In any case, here are some suggestions that he had concerning what we should be aiming for in the next admistration.
“First insure all kids.” He is referring to health insurance. Personally, I disagree with him. We shouldn’t be insuring kids, we should be eliminating insurance! Everyone should have excellent, free, health care. This will eliminate the disparity in health care, take a huge burden off of the shoulders of American businesses (who keep saying that the reason that they can’t compete worldwide is that their health insurance is too expensive. I say, “Fine, let the government pay for the health care out of tax money.” This has been shown over and over again to be hugely less expensive than our current plan, will save money for all portions of the economy (except of course the insurance industry), will provide the type of health care that we all believe is appropriate. Just do it, not just “insurance for kids” but health care for all.
Second, restore fiscal sanity. Start by repealing the tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans. I am probably in the income bracket that benefits from the tax cuts, but I don’t want the cuts – I want the services from the government that we need , not a cut in my taxes or the taxes of the very rich. The current approach is just inconceivable, especially in a time of war, problems with health care and problems with education.
Three. Corruption. Restore honor and integrity to government. No outing CIA agents. Clean up Congress. Real lobbying reform. Clean elections – meaning public financing of federal elections. It will save the American taxpayer billions and billions of dollars a year that get eaten up by special interest tax breaks, earmarks for contributors, and special exemptions from environmental and workplace safety rules. It’ll save us so much money – get Congress working for us instead of their donors. Make sure our election results can be trusted. Meaning a paper trail.
I have no new comments on number three. It of course makes perfectly good sense – however the corruption is what drives politics and the politicians control the honor and integrity of government. Fat chance!
Four. Education. Really Leave No Child Behind. Understand that the poorest kids in this country need MORE resources, not less. Pay teachers more to teach in at risk areas. Make the best teachers compete to work in at risk neighborhoods. Don’t make districts rely entirely on their tax base to fund schools. Lower property taxes, but let’s get serious about education about funding it from general revenues and training the best teachers possible.
Once again, this sounds right to me.
Five. Science. We have to recognize that global climate change exists, and do something about it. An Apollo program for renewable energy. Wind, solar, yes, switch grass, ethanol. Conservation. Energy independence. Higher fuel efficiency standards. Stem cell research. Adult and embryonic. Let’s not throw out 400,000 frozen embryos. Which are made up of about 12 cells. Let’s use them to find the cure for juvenile diabetes. For Parkinsons. For spinal injuries. MS.
He is of course correct, but actually the list is much longer. There are some odd things like the need to regulate energy costs and the cost of things like conservation tools, the cost of solar installations, the cost of alternative energy techniques, etc. We need to further regulate the gas mileage requirements for autos, trucks and other vehicles. As it is we are in a “what the market will bear” mode on all of these things, not an economy that is based upon supply and demand. What this means is that large portions of our economy is basically a monopoly, with the providers using all sorts of techniques to prevent a free and open market. As long as that is the situation, we need to regulate them to make sure we get a fair price and they get enough profits to stay in business.
Six. Real National Security. Real port security. Secure the loose nukes in the former Soviet Union. WORK WITH OUR ALLIES IN THE FIGHT AGAINST GLOBAL TERRORISM.
Good idea, we need to work with our global partners, not against them.
Seven. Stop lying. Tell the American people the truth. Especially before leading us into war.
I don’t know if it is especially anything. I think it is important to not lie to us on everything. Otherwise we cannot know what to believe or who to trust. Therefore we can’t know how to make decisions. Therefore, we cannot vote and express ourselves in a valid way. Hence, our democracy cannot work. Honesty and trust are central to the success of our form of government.
Eight. Fair trade. Let’s make sure that our trade laws contain labor and environmental standards – so that workers at home and abroad aren’t exploited and the environment isn’t destroyed.
Nine – Pensions. Make sure that Americans retirements are secure.
I find this list to be a pretty good list of items. It is a bit short, there are many more things that need to be done, but it gets to some of the key items. If we could actually accomplish the items on the list we would all be much better off.
Saturday, April 8, 2006
Saturday, February 4, 2006
Red versus Blue
I woke up this morning with a question floating through my head. I got to wondering about the difference between “liberals” and “conservatives.” The first thing that became obvious is that the terms really have little or no intrinsic meaning any longer. Maybe “red” and “blue” is just as meaningful.
It feels to me that the difference is something like “compassionate and loving” versus “mean, nasty and greedy.” This clearly is isn’t the difference between Democrats and Republicans because both of these kinds of people populate both parties. I think that this is not a useful, or true, distinction – it is merely what it feels like to me most of the time.
It dawned on me that maybe the issue has something to do with an opinion about the differences between people. As a liberal, I believe that people come with all kinds of built in differences, and that in addition to that the environment that they are raised in causes many more changes in their capabilities. Some people are very capable, some are not very capable, but much of the difference is inherited by the person (either by nature or nurture). I believe that generally people do the best that they can. Some succeed much better than others, but that is just the way the bell curve goes. I think this opinion that people are not always in control of their lives, compassion and assistance is appropriate.
It seems that conservatives believe that all people are created equal and that any differences in abilities or actions are caused by choices that the person has made. Those who succeed are more willing to work hard, and are somehow “better” than people who don’t succeed. Since their condition is created by choices that they have made, there is little reason to do anything to help out. Since they are of the opinion that people get to the position that they are in because of their decisions there is no reason for compassion or assistance. In some odd cases it is clear that people really couldn’t avoid the problems that they are in (acts of God such as earthquakes come to mind), there is sometimes a place for compassion and assistance.
Conservatives that are successful seem to think that they got that way because they worked hard and deserve it. They seem to figure that all other people have the same abilities, options and support and therefore could have been successful too if they were only good enough or worked hard enough. Since people who aren’t doing so well decided to do that on purpose, then there is no reason for helping.
There is also a bit of a difference having to do with how people work together. Liberals tend to believe that people want to do good things and work together, finding ways to be friendly and peaceful to each other. Conservatives seem to believe that people want to do bad things, and need to be forced to obey and be good. One side acts as if people are basically good, the other as if people are basically bad.
The trick is that there are obviously a lot of “bad guys” out there. In many cases there is a need to control people with force. However, there are also lots of instances where other approaches work better. If you go hard to either end of the spectrum it won’t work. Therefore, the problem is one of degree.
If given the choice, I would rather trust people and help out if needed until it is clear that this approach won’t work. Other people seem to think it is best to distrust and avoid helping unless it has been proven that they can trust the other and that they need help because of problems that are really outside of their control.
I guess I still haven’t gotten very far with this issue. I still can’t figure out the differences, but it seems to be tied to the idea of whether others have done something to “deserve” their situation. Do rich and powerful people deserve it, or did it just happen to them? Do poor and sick people deserve it, or did it just happen to them?
It feels to me that the difference is something like “compassionate and loving” versus “mean, nasty and greedy.” This clearly is isn’t the difference between Democrats and Republicans because both of these kinds of people populate both parties. I think that this is not a useful, or true, distinction – it is merely what it feels like to me most of the time.
It dawned on me that maybe the issue has something to do with an opinion about the differences between people. As a liberal, I believe that people come with all kinds of built in differences, and that in addition to that the environment that they are raised in causes many more changes in their capabilities. Some people are very capable, some are not very capable, but much of the difference is inherited by the person (either by nature or nurture). I believe that generally people do the best that they can. Some succeed much better than others, but that is just the way the bell curve goes. I think this opinion that people are not always in control of their lives, compassion and assistance is appropriate.
It seems that conservatives believe that all people are created equal and that any differences in abilities or actions are caused by choices that the person has made. Those who succeed are more willing to work hard, and are somehow “better” than people who don’t succeed. Since their condition is created by choices that they have made, there is little reason to do anything to help out. Since they are of the opinion that people get to the position that they are in because of their decisions there is no reason for compassion or assistance. In some odd cases it is clear that people really couldn’t avoid the problems that they are in (acts of God such as earthquakes come to mind), there is sometimes a place for compassion and assistance.
Conservatives that are successful seem to think that they got that way because they worked hard and deserve it. They seem to figure that all other people have the same abilities, options and support and therefore could have been successful too if they were only good enough or worked hard enough. Since people who aren’t doing so well decided to do that on purpose, then there is no reason for helping.
There is also a bit of a difference having to do with how people work together. Liberals tend to believe that people want to do good things and work together, finding ways to be friendly and peaceful to each other. Conservatives seem to believe that people want to do bad things, and need to be forced to obey and be good. One side acts as if people are basically good, the other as if people are basically bad.
The trick is that there are obviously a lot of “bad guys” out there. In many cases there is a need to control people with force. However, there are also lots of instances where other approaches work better. If you go hard to either end of the spectrum it won’t work. Therefore, the problem is one of degree.
If given the choice, I would rather trust people and help out if needed until it is clear that this approach won’t work. Other people seem to think it is best to distrust and avoid helping unless it has been proven that they can trust the other and that they need help because of problems that are really outside of their control.
I guess I still haven’t gotten very far with this issue. I still can’t figure out the differences, but it seems to be tied to the idea of whether others have done something to “deserve” their situation. Do rich and powerful people deserve it, or did it just happen to them? Do poor and sick people deserve it, or did it just happen to them?
Monday, December 19, 2005
Mad as hell
I am finally getting angry about what is happening with politics at the top. Up to this point it has only disgusted me, but it now seems to be getting totally out of control – and that is making me mad.
The first thing that started to really get to me is Bush’s insistence that the Constitution gives him the right to secretly spy on our citizens without oversight or control. Of course spying is always secret; otherwise it wouldn’t exactly be spying. I understand that there are times when the good guys have to watch the bad guys without the bad guys knowing about it. The part that really gets to me isn’t the spying, it is the statements that the President is above the laws and rules of the country and can decide to do this without any Congressional or judicial oversight. We have a country with three major branches that was designed specifically to prevent this type of abuse of power by one of the branches. However, right now we have a situation where all three branches are in bed together and they are doing as the darned well please with no oversight. 1984 seems to have come a bit late, but it has indeed come. He is saying that he is above our laws and traditions. He has told us before that he knows what is right because God personally tells him so. (From this, it sounds like he is actually crazy to me.)
The second part that really got me hopping mad is the way that the greedy, sneaky, unworthy bastards stuck the bill to drill in Alaska onto the bill to fund the Iraq disaster (I no long can call it a “war” – it is totally Bush’s folly and is a disgrace). Since the greedy bastards in power knew that the Congress could not politically withhold funding from Bush’s folly, they placed the drilling bill there where it was bound to pass. The reason for this is that they know that the majority of the country, and the majority of Congress, disagree with the drilling in Alaska. The only way that they could get to that oil at this time was to sneak the bill in attached to something that was so motherhood and apple pie that it would have to pass. This is just a case of giant pork barrel.
The drilling will of course do us no good at this time, will deplete potentially critical reserves for the future, has the potential for widespread environmental damage for no good, and has the potential for enriching many of Bush’s buddies. It looks to me like there is no value for Americans in doing this, there is a big chance of great damage – the only thing going for it is the potential for very large, short term profits by the rich oilmen of the world. I doubt if any of these rich guys have ANY desire or willingness to do anything of value for the USA. They are multinational companies that are going around the world doing whatever is necessary to enhance their short term gains. In this case they are going to drain our reserves at a time when they are not needed, which will place us at greater dependency and risk with regard for oil shortages in the near future. We will see the long term costs go up because of their short term profits.
When will all of the killing and pillaging of our nation stop? Is it possible to stop it any longer, or have we entered into the decline before the total collapse and fall of the nation? The feeling that I have is that we are on the brink of collapse similar to just before the fall of Rome, and the unraveling of the USSR. We cannot continue to spend money like it was water (we increased our national debt by over $800 billion last year alone), and destroy our natural resources, while telling the rest of the world to go to hell without paying the price of this sort of government.
It was nice that Bush finally admitted that things aren’t going all that great in Iraq. However, I was not given any hope when he went on to say that it was HIS responsibility to make that kind of decision, and that he have to take whatever the consequences are for his decisions. Where does he get off thinking that he bears ANY of the consequences of his actions? Nothing happens to him. Destroying the American economy isn’t a problem for him, it is a problem for us. Bombing to death tens of thousands of innocent people isn’t a problem for him, it is a problem for the dead and the families of the dead. Making our soldiers fight and die in a war that was not needed, based upon lies and greed isn’t a problem for him, it is a problem for the soldiers and their families. Bush does not have any negative consequences for his actions, and he clearly doesn’t give a damn what it costs anyone else as long as he gets to be king and has the power of the only superpower in his hands. He is doing to America what he did to all of the other companies that he was allowed to control, he is bankrupting us.
The first thing that started to really get to me is Bush’s insistence that the Constitution gives him the right to secretly spy on our citizens without oversight or control. Of course spying is always secret; otherwise it wouldn’t exactly be spying. I understand that there are times when the good guys have to watch the bad guys without the bad guys knowing about it. The part that really gets to me isn’t the spying, it is the statements that the President is above the laws and rules of the country and can decide to do this without any Congressional or judicial oversight. We have a country with three major branches that was designed specifically to prevent this type of abuse of power by one of the branches. However, right now we have a situation where all three branches are in bed together and they are doing as the darned well please with no oversight. 1984 seems to have come a bit late, but it has indeed come. He is saying that he is above our laws and traditions. He has told us before that he knows what is right because God personally tells him so. (From this, it sounds like he is actually crazy to me.)
The second part that really got me hopping mad is the way that the greedy, sneaky, unworthy bastards stuck the bill to drill in Alaska onto the bill to fund the Iraq disaster (I no long can call it a “war” – it is totally Bush’s folly and is a disgrace). Since the greedy bastards in power knew that the Congress could not politically withhold funding from Bush’s folly, they placed the drilling bill there where it was bound to pass. The reason for this is that they know that the majority of the country, and the majority of Congress, disagree with the drilling in Alaska. The only way that they could get to that oil at this time was to sneak the bill in attached to something that was so motherhood and apple pie that it would have to pass. This is just a case of giant pork barrel.
The drilling will of course do us no good at this time, will deplete potentially critical reserves for the future, has the potential for widespread environmental damage for no good, and has the potential for enriching many of Bush’s buddies. It looks to me like there is no value for Americans in doing this, there is a big chance of great damage – the only thing going for it is the potential for very large, short term profits by the rich oilmen of the world. I doubt if any of these rich guys have ANY desire or willingness to do anything of value for the USA. They are multinational companies that are going around the world doing whatever is necessary to enhance their short term gains. In this case they are going to drain our reserves at a time when they are not needed, which will place us at greater dependency and risk with regard for oil shortages in the near future. We will see the long term costs go up because of their short term profits.
When will all of the killing and pillaging of our nation stop? Is it possible to stop it any longer, or have we entered into the decline before the total collapse and fall of the nation? The feeling that I have is that we are on the brink of collapse similar to just before the fall of Rome, and the unraveling of the USSR. We cannot continue to spend money like it was water (we increased our national debt by over $800 billion last year alone), and destroy our natural resources, while telling the rest of the world to go to hell without paying the price of this sort of government.
It was nice that Bush finally admitted that things aren’t going all that great in Iraq. However, I was not given any hope when he went on to say that it was HIS responsibility to make that kind of decision, and that he have to take whatever the consequences are for his decisions. Where does he get off thinking that he bears ANY of the consequences of his actions? Nothing happens to him. Destroying the American economy isn’t a problem for him, it is a problem for us. Bombing to death tens of thousands of innocent people isn’t a problem for him, it is a problem for the dead and the families of the dead. Making our soldiers fight and die in a war that was not needed, based upon lies and greed isn’t a problem for him, it is a problem for the soldiers and their families. Bush does not have any negative consequences for his actions, and he clearly doesn’t give a damn what it costs anyone else as long as he gets to be king and has the power of the only superpower in his hands. He is doing to America what he did to all of the other companies that he was allowed to control, he is bankrupting us.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Freedom
Good morning. Christmas is coming and thoughts of peace, justice, love and compassion keep floating through my mind. When I was young, I was taught that that is the “Christian” way. However, as I grew up I came to realize that it is only the Christian way for a small minority of believers. These believers seem to be the ones that are willing to accept the idea that Christianity is just an idea; represented in our culture by a set of myths, accepting the idea that other myths are just as valid.
I have been amazed by the news that Bush ordered secret wiretaps on Citizens, and is apparently proud of his action. I am not particularly amazed about his actions or statements about it because I have come to understand that he is one sick puppy. What amazes me is the lack of outcry from the public.
I was taught that one of the worst actions of countries such as the evil Russians was their insistence on using their secret service police without any checks or balances to their power. We were told that the horrible things included spying on their citizens, arresting people and holding them without charging them for anything (we called it “political arrest”). We were told that the evil bastards even put people in jail for years without charging them, without identifying who they were, without providing them any trial or legal representation. They also tended to do some other things like attacking other countries for political power or resources, such as oil. We laughed at them for these actions because it was obvious that they could never succeed in fighting wars that were not supported by the people in the country that they were converting to their idea of the best type of government – in the case of the Russians, communism.
As far as I can determine, we have done all of the things that the evil countries such as the nasty commie Russians, and seem to be pretty proud of it. We spy on our citizens without controls or any checks and balances to “protect” us, even though there are plenty of laws and processes in place to do this type of surveillance with the appropriate checks and balances in place. Bush obviously doesn’t believe that our system will work, or that our citizens are trustworthy. He has to protect us in spite of ourselves – he knows best. We also have many citizens who are “detainees” (political prisoners) in Guantanamo Bay who, after four years, have never been charged with anything, never provided with lawyers or other forms of legal defense, and have never even been identified. It appears that they are treated poorly, probably tortured and surely are stuck in our political trap. Of course there is the little war in Iraq that was never necessary, killed tens of thousands of the folks we were supposedly saving, and is draining our national resources while reaping bad results. In the middle of this we are so bold as to set up torture camps in the countries of the really nasty governments (the “good” countries would never allow such a thing to happen in their country).
This whole story seems to just go on and on. There appears to be much corruption, secrecy, funneling of money into illegal activities, failure to provide real support and protection, destruction of the environment, etc., etc. The part that really amazes me is that there are so many people that still think all of these things are reasonable and appropriate. I wonder what could possibly be going on in their heads to not see what is happening. (I suppose they are wondering the very same thing about me, how could I possibly not see what is going on that demands all of these actions.) In my view, we are clearly doing what the evil Russians (or pick a terrible country of your choice) were doing. I assume that this is clear to all that are watching the actions of our administration. I don’t think we have a difference in seeing what is happening; it is that we have a different opinion on whether it is appropriate or necessary. The Russians were doing this to control their citizens. We are doing it to protect our citizens. The Russians had to use these approaches because their goals were bad, we need to use these approaches because our goals are good. They were evil, godless men – we are good, god fearing men. God was not on their side, god is on our side. Not only that, but god is a Christian American.
If for a second we let our minds consider that the Russian leaders may have actually being trying to help their citizens. What if they thought that they had the right idea, and that they were doing what was necessary to help and protect their citizens of Russia? Oops, if you let you mind wander to that point of view you find that they were doing exactly what we have been doing lately for the very same reasons. They were doing pretty awful things, but the end justified the means. We are doing the same kinds of things, with the idea that the ends justify the means.
I do not understand how smart, well educated people can see all of these activities and not understand that they are not necessary and are in fact hurting the very goals that they believe in. Not only are many of our actions morally wrong, they don’t and won’t work. We say we are “fighting terrorism,” but are making it worse. We are strengthening the economy by giving huge tax breaks to the rich, but it is just taking money out of the economy and is weakening it. We have helping the Iraq people, but we are killing them. We are protecting our civil liberties, but are taking away the checks and balances that protect us. We are destroying the environment for economic gain, but it is only for short term gain for the rich, it will end up being a huge long term expense for all of us. The list goes on and on. The goals are often ok, but the approach isn’t, and can’t, work. We are in the midst of a huge money and power grab by the very rich and powerful, but think it is all ok because they are protecting us from ourselves. Actually, they are protecting themselves from us.
I have been amazed by the news that Bush ordered secret wiretaps on Citizens, and is apparently proud of his action. I am not particularly amazed about his actions or statements about it because I have come to understand that he is one sick puppy. What amazes me is the lack of outcry from the public.
I was taught that one of the worst actions of countries such as the evil Russians was their insistence on using their secret service police without any checks or balances to their power. We were told that the horrible things included spying on their citizens, arresting people and holding them without charging them for anything (we called it “political arrest”). We were told that the evil bastards even put people in jail for years without charging them, without identifying who they were, without providing them any trial or legal representation. They also tended to do some other things like attacking other countries for political power or resources, such as oil. We laughed at them for these actions because it was obvious that they could never succeed in fighting wars that were not supported by the people in the country that they were converting to their idea of the best type of government – in the case of the Russians, communism.
As far as I can determine, we have done all of the things that the evil countries such as the nasty commie Russians, and seem to be pretty proud of it. We spy on our citizens without controls or any checks and balances to “protect” us, even though there are plenty of laws and processes in place to do this type of surveillance with the appropriate checks and balances in place. Bush obviously doesn’t believe that our system will work, or that our citizens are trustworthy. He has to protect us in spite of ourselves – he knows best. We also have many citizens who are “detainees” (political prisoners) in Guantanamo Bay who, after four years, have never been charged with anything, never provided with lawyers or other forms of legal defense, and have never even been identified. It appears that they are treated poorly, probably tortured and surely are stuck in our political trap. Of course there is the little war in Iraq that was never necessary, killed tens of thousands of the folks we were supposedly saving, and is draining our national resources while reaping bad results. In the middle of this we are so bold as to set up torture camps in the countries of the really nasty governments (the “good” countries would never allow such a thing to happen in their country).
This whole story seems to just go on and on. There appears to be much corruption, secrecy, funneling of money into illegal activities, failure to provide real support and protection, destruction of the environment, etc., etc. The part that really amazes me is that there are so many people that still think all of these things are reasonable and appropriate. I wonder what could possibly be going on in their heads to not see what is happening. (I suppose they are wondering the very same thing about me, how could I possibly not see what is going on that demands all of these actions.) In my view, we are clearly doing what the evil Russians (or pick a terrible country of your choice) were doing. I assume that this is clear to all that are watching the actions of our administration. I don’t think we have a difference in seeing what is happening; it is that we have a different opinion on whether it is appropriate or necessary. The Russians were doing this to control their citizens. We are doing it to protect our citizens. The Russians had to use these approaches because their goals were bad, we need to use these approaches because our goals are good. They were evil, godless men – we are good, god fearing men. God was not on their side, god is on our side. Not only that, but god is a Christian American.
If for a second we let our minds consider that the Russian leaders may have actually being trying to help their citizens. What if they thought that they had the right idea, and that they were doing what was necessary to help and protect their citizens of Russia? Oops, if you let you mind wander to that point of view you find that they were doing exactly what we have been doing lately for the very same reasons. They were doing pretty awful things, but the end justified the means. We are doing the same kinds of things, with the idea that the ends justify the means.
I do not understand how smart, well educated people can see all of these activities and not understand that they are not necessary and are in fact hurting the very goals that they believe in. Not only are many of our actions morally wrong, they don’t and won’t work. We say we are “fighting terrorism,” but are making it worse. We are strengthening the economy by giving huge tax breaks to the rich, but it is just taking money out of the economy and is weakening it. We have helping the Iraq people, but we are killing them. We are protecting our civil liberties, but are taking away the checks and balances that protect us. We are destroying the environment for economic gain, but it is only for short term gain for the rich, it will end up being a huge long term expense for all of us. The list goes on and on. The goals are often ok, but the approach isn’t, and can’t, work. We are in the midst of a huge money and power grab by the very rich and powerful, but think it is all ok because they are protecting us from ourselves. Actually, they are protecting themselves from us.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Election results
Well, Arnold’s election came and went in California. I found it to be an interesting experience because I was torn between voting on the items on the ballot and the whole concept of the election in the first place.
My approach was probably similar to many others given the results that everything on the ballot failed. I read the propositions with enough care to figure out what would result in a “no” vote, and did that. You have to be a little careful because the folks who write those things like to turn the language around so that voting “no” actually means voting “yes.” I must admit that I got a little confused with the pair of propositions that we written in such a way that they were mutually exclusive. Luckily, they both failed also.
The problem with this whole process was that it could be read to mean that we were against the things that were on the ballot, which may not actually be the case. I am actually not quite sure if I was for or against the items on the ballot – it didn’t matter to me. I figured that they were all changes to our current situation, and our current situation works as well as it works. Therefore, turning down the changes wouldn’t make any difference. That gave me the opportunity to vote against the process rather than the issues.
For me, the process that I was voting against included the election of Arnold in the first place. Once he was put in place in such an utterly disgraceful manner, it was time to watch his walk rather than his talk. As we have all seen, his walk is a typical business as usual Republican walk – with the exception that he seems to believe that he has some sort of special mandate that allows him to continue to subvert the process rather than work within it, or work to fix it. I viewed his propositions as an extension of the power grab that got him in office in the first place. I am very glad to see that at least a few of the voters in the State seem to have woken up a bit and agreed with me that this is not a good way to run a government.
It is really too bad that so much money was sent down the sewer to achieve the non-event of his failed approach. Not only did the State spend a huge amount of money (who knows how much, I have heard figures between $55M and $300M), but the folks fighting him spent even more. There was at least $200M spent in this totally foolish and wasted way, and it was probably double that amount. A few hundred million dollars sure would help out the folks in … (you name it; there are lots of places that need help right about now). Spending that money in Pakistan would really give our country a boost in moral values and might actually get people to see that we are not just greedy, mean spirited folks. Now the money has gone (not actually gone, there are a lot of folks who made tons of money playing the election game), and all we have to show for it is that we didn’t like being pushed around by a giant of a man that just doesn’t get it.
What a colossal waste of time, resources and opportunity.
My approach was probably similar to many others given the results that everything on the ballot failed. I read the propositions with enough care to figure out what would result in a “no” vote, and did that. You have to be a little careful because the folks who write those things like to turn the language around so that voting “no” actually means voting “yes.” I must admit that I got a little confused with the pair of propositions that we written in such a way that they were mutually exclusive. Luckily, they both failed also.
The problem with this whole process was that it could be read to mean that we were against the things that were on the ballot, which may not actually be the case. I am actually not quite sure if I was for or against the items on the ballot – it didn’t matter to me. I figured that they were all changes to our current situation, and our current situation works as well as it works. Therefore, turning down the changes wouldn’t make any difference. That gave me the opportunity to vote against the process rather than the issues.
For me, the process that I was voting against included the election of Arnold in the first place. Once he was put in place in such an utterly disgraceful manner, it was time to watch his walk rather than his talk. As we have all seen, his walk is a typical business as usual Republican walk – with the exception that he seems to believe that he has some sort of special mandate that allows him to continue to subvert the process rather than work within it, or work to fix it. I viewed his propositions as an extension of the power grab that got him in office in the first place. I am very glad to see that at least a few of the voters in the State seem to have woken up a bit and agreed with me that this is not a good way to run a government.
It is really too bad that so much money was sent down the sewer to achieve the non-event of his failed approach. Not only did the State spend a huge amount of money (who knows how much, I have heard figures between $55M and $300M), but the folks fighting him spent even more. There was at least $200M spent in this totally foolish and wasted way, and it was probably double that amount. A few hundred million dollars sure would help out the folks in … (you name it; there are lots of places that need help right about now). Spending that money in Pakistan would really give our country a boost in moral values and might actually get people to see that we are not just greedy, mean spirited folks. Now the money has gone (not actually gone, there are a lot of folks who made tons of money playing the election game), and all we have to show for it is that we didn’t like being pushed around by a giant of a man that just doesn’t get it.
What a colossal waste of time, resources and opportunity.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Raiding the cooking jar
Last night I was listening to an interesting interview with an author of a book (no, I don't recall his name or the name of the book - that would be far too easy). He was talking about the huge waste of money and resources that have been poured into Iraq. By way of illustration, he said that at the beginning of the "war" we sent cargo planes full of money. I believe it was 1600 tons of $100 bills! (Around $20 billion dollars) This money was to be used as needed, basically without any requirement for accountability or tracking - it was just the pocket money for keeping things going. At one time our leader over there had $600 million in $100 in his office to be handed out has he saw fit. The net outcome of all of this cash without accountability was that it was wasted, it basically just disappeared into thin air (I suppose a lot of it was eventually used to buy weapons to point back at us). Because of the environment of free wheeling spending with so much cash floating around, we managed to create a situation where corruption and graft are so prevalent that it is almost impossible to do business or deal with the government without bribes and other forms of illegal activities and payoffs. So we managed to set up another corrupt government.
This got me to thinking about what is happening to the government in general. It feels to me like the current administration is making a giant grab for the wealth of the United States. They are in the process of taking as much as they can get (which appears to be a LOT), without any consideration of what happens to those of us who they are taking from. There are many examples that lead me to this conclusion. Little issues like the person who makes secret deals with the energy companies concerning national energy policy happens to be a huge player in energy (oil). The folks in the administration who are playing chicken little with bird flu and are ordering hundreds of millions of units of a vaccine that has been shown to not work happen to own the company that makes the vaccine. The folks who get non-bid contracts for rebuilding everything (Iraq, New Orleans, etc), happen to be big players in the companies who get those very same contracts. It just keeps going on and on. Every time there is a really big spending of money, it amazingly goes to the folks who are making the decisions on how to spend the money. I find it odd that nobody seems to ask the question of who is going to get extremely rich should the Social Security be changed to require putting the money into private investments. Also, when we hear anything about fixing the medical mess it is always in the form of making it so everyone can buy private insurance - this is the source of the problem, not a solution. But it will make the insurance companies much richer.
All of the decisions being made by the administration seem to be geared toward making rich people richer, they have nothing to do with the welfare of the country, the people, the environment, the world political situation, improving education or anything else even vaguely connected to what there job is.
It amazes me that this is invisible to the vast majority of our population. What is it that prevents them from seeing that they are being ripped off and are headed for a disaster? I suspect it is related to their own greed. For one thing, they keep thinking that they (each individual person) will somehow get in on the scam. In addition, they believe that they will get their personal way with regard to religious matters. They are willing to do anything if they feel that their religious issues will get supported. They really want everyone to be like they are and don't like the idea of other approaches, that means sharing and being tolerant, and that doesn't feel good.
It looks to me like unless something is done quickly, we are spiraling into a huge and deadly problem. Maybe it is already too late. We keep asking ourselves why the Roman empire collapsed and could it happen to us. It looks like we get a front row seat, and yes it can happen to us.
This got me to thinking about what is happening to the government in general. It feels to me like the current administration is making a giant grab for the wealth of the United States. They are in the process of taking as much as they can get (which appears to be a LOT), without any consideration of what happens to those of us who they are taking from. There are many examples that lead me to this conclusion. Little issues like the person who makes secret deals with the energy companies concerning national energy policy happens to be a huge player in energy (oil). The folks in the administration who are playing chicken little with bird flu and are ordering hundreds of millions of units of a vaccine that has been shown to not work happen to own the company that makes the vaccine. The folks who get non-bid contracts for rebuilding everything (Iraq, New Orleans, etc), happen to be big players in the companies who get those very same contracts. It just keeps going on and on. Every time there is a really big spending of money, it amazingly goes to the folks who are making the decisions on how to spend the money. I find it odd that nobody seems to ask the question of who is going to get extremely rich should the Social Security be changed to require putting the money into private investments. Also, when we hear anything about fixing the medical mess it is always in the form of making it so everyone can buy private insurance - this is the source of the problem, not a solution. But it will make the insurance companies much richer.
All of the decisions being made by the administration seem to be geared toward making rich people richer, they have nothing to do with the welfare of the country, the people, the environment, the world political situation, improving education or anything else even vaguely connected to what there job is.
It amazes me that this is invisible to the vast majority of our population. What is it that prevents them from seeing that they are being ripped off and are headed for a disaster? I suspect it is related to their own greed. For one thing, they keep thinking that they (each individual person) will somehow get in on the scam. In addition, they believe that they will get their personal way with regard to religious matters. They are willing to do anything if they feel that their religious issues will get supported. They really want everyone to be like they are and don't like the idea of other approaches, that means sharing and being tolerant, and that doesn't feel good.
It looks to me like unless something is done quickly, we are spiraling into a huge and deadly problem. Maybe it is already too late. We keep asking ourselves why the Roman empire collapsed and could it happen to us. It looks like we get a front row seat, and yes it can happen to us.
California job loses
There is an interesting article in the Oct 26 San Jose Mercury News concerning the myth of companies leaving the state of California because of high costs and a poor business climate. The part that is interesting is that jobs and businesses are not leaving the state in any significant numbers. While it is true that companies are leaving, or more commonly expanding, to new areas - it is also true that many companies are coming here to do business. According to the article, which is based upon an independent study of the issues, the net loss is less than one tenth of one percent per year.
The reason that this is important is that the huge flood of businesses leaving the State is the main reason that the governor is using for implementing many of the "business friendly" changes. The business friendly changes are designed to make more money flow to the owners of the businesses, and less to the state in the way of taxes (or environmental protection). As it turns out, there is no need to do that unless you happen to be the owner of a business that will be aided by these new regulations.
Once again, we the people are getting the shaft in order to funnel more money to the rich. This seems to be the order of the day from our representatives. Who are they representing? Certainly no one that I know. They are representing themselves and their friends. Little things like being able to purchase Hummers for free make you wonder how far they will go in their greed. (The free Hummer deal was last year, it is now a bit more expensive to purchase one. They were free because of the tax breaks that you could get if you were in a high enough income bracket. Since Arnold has 12 of the things, I guess he is in a high enough bracket. I am exaggerating with the "free" part, they weren't free, they ended up costing about $1500 after taxes.)
The reason that this is important is that the huge flood of businesses leaving the State is the main reason that the governor is using for implementing many of the "business friendly" changes. The business friendly changes are designed to make more money flow to the owners of the businesses, and less to the state in the way of taxes (or environmental protection). As it turns out, there is no need to do that unless you happen to be the owner of a business that will be aided by these new regulations.
Once again, we the people are getting the shaft in order to funnel more money to the rich. This seems to be the order of the day from our representatives. Who are they representing? Certainly no one that I know. They are representing themselves and their friends. Little things like being able to purchase Hummers for free make you wonder how far they will go in their greed. (The free Hummer deal was last year, it is now a bit more expensive to purchase one. They were free because of the tax breaks that you could get if you were in a high enough income bracket. Since Arnold has 12 of the things, I guess he is in a high enough bracket. I am exaggerating with the "free" part, they weren't free, they ended up costing about $1500 after taxes.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)