Run Al, Run! (pardon the many disruptions here)

Now that he has won the Nobel Prize it seems only natural to me that he jump into 2008 campaign and run — it feels like he spent his entire life readying himself to be president and caught a bad break in 2000 but times have changed.  The issue he championed in his book Earth in the Balance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_in_the_Balance), global warming may not be the top issue on Americans' minds but it has moved up the ladder.  Honestly, Iraq still tops the list of what people care — and there are plenty of good reasons for that, as a short-term issue there is no more important one facing our country.

The long-term is a different story.  Our dependence on oil is one of the reasons we are in this Iraq mess (or so many people think).  When we invaded Iraq there was another cruel dictator who remains a real threat to us, Kim Jung Il, has always posed a bigger threat than anyone else.  And just a side note; by attacking a county without nuclear weapons to remove one without them just inspires would be nuclear powers (look at Iran) to build them.

Back on point: global warming is the most important issue of this generation.  We need to find new, renewable sources of energy, we need to conserve — give up our gass guzzling cars, that make up a huge amount of the energy we use, if every house went solar tomorrow we would still have to deal with transportation, look at things like ethanol — though Brazil imports no oil because of their own reserves and the fact that they use sugar to make ethanol but it's not a perfect solution, the water required for this conversion has sucked up a lot of that important resource there and heed the other suggestions made by groups studying the problem.  It's a security issue that affects our national and economic security.  People talk a lot about getting us off oil so that we do not have to depend on our allies in the Middle East but we should be as selfsufficient as possible, we have already let China buy all our bonds we need to reclaim at least part of our country.  Additionally, there are great jobs in this industry — the 'green business.'  There are good, non-outsourseable jobs in this industry.  We need people to develop the technology and show people how to use it.  There are a million of options here, all were championed by Al Gore long before it was popular to do so.

I was never an Al Gore 'fan' if you will but I have read his book and watched his movie and thought they were both brilliant.  That's one of his problems.  Bill Clinton is the best politician of my time (David Brooks of the NY Times said the only campaigner who comes close is John Edwards) but he is the reason we have Dubya living in the White House.  I do not think Dubya is an idiot, regardless of how I feel about him personally, he is not a dumb man except for the way in which he has governed but that's the stuff of books not blog posts.  Bill Clinton is brilliant but he is also 'Bubba.'  He is a guy people would like to go for a beer with.  In 2000, his personality was split into two people; Al Gore was the brilliant side and George W. Bush was the fun guy.  At their heart, campaigns at every level, are popularity contests, and I have heard more than one person say "I voted for Dubya because he reminded me of Bill Clinton."  Their policies are very different but his public and privare personas are very different.  In small meetings or at small events, he can be a really nice and funny (I mean that) person.  On TV, during that election cycle, he was stiff and boring.  The Mets were in the playoffs that year and I watched the Met game one night while the debate was on  Granted I had made up my mind, NY is a D state so I did not think it would hurt anyone and a girl has to have priorities.

Now that both parties have had 100 debates each and even political junkies are not watching so all they are doing is provide the other side with footage for campaign ads, I think Mr. Gore should jump in.  Shake things up a little.  People might be pissed, they've been running for a lifetime already — who is he to join the race now?  He is the last Democract to win a presidential campaign, that's who.  He may not live at 1600 PA Ave, NW but his new, relaxed nature and the substance of his work and ideas would add some much needed fresh air to a campaign  — that has more than a year left — desperately needs. 

Is Al Gore the best candidate?  No one will know until he runs therefore I say, run Al, RUN!

 

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Six years ago this morning

I was at my desk when my boss came in and asked me if I had seen the news.  As part of my job was to monitor US news coverage of certain topics I assumed she was asking about that and it was what I had just started to do and was really irritated that she had not given me more than a few minutes to finish.  I was wrong, she just wanted to know if I had seen the first plane hit the WTC. My first thought was a small Cessna had hit it (that had happened before and it was a perfectly clear day). I had not but we gathered around one of the office TVs and saw the second one.  We could see the smoke from the Pentagon fire.  I could go into how it feels to be a New Yorker, how I want my skyline back and how scared I was for the people I knew in the buildings or how badly I feel for the people I know who did not make it out and almost as badly for those who did but in the interest of not turning this into a personal therapy session I will stick to the one question I do not think anyone is really addressing:  Are we safer?  My gut tells me after all the investigations and hearings we have had the answer remains ‘No.’

 

We have done a number of things in the US to achieve that goal but none seem to accomplish it.  The Washington Post had a great article on this subject, entitled “Are we safer today?” (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090702050.html?hpid=opinionsbox1) .  They argue that we are losing the public relations war and making more enemies than before:

 

“U.S. foreign policy has not stemmed the rising tide of extremism in the Muslim world. In July 2004, the 9/11 commission recommended putting foreign policy at the center of our counterterrorism efforts. Instead, we have lost ground.

 

Our report warned that it was imperative to eliminate terrorist sanctuaries. But inside Pakistan, al-Qaeda "has protected or regenerated key elements of its homeland attack capability," according to the National Intelligence Estimate. The chief threat to Afghanistan's young democracy comes from across the Pakistani border, from the resurgent Taliban. Pakistan should take the lead in closing Taliban camps and rooting out al-Qaeda. But the United States must act if Pakistan will not.

 

We are also failing in the struggle of ideas. We have not been persuasive in enlisting the energy and sympathy of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims against the extremist threat. That is not because of who we are: Polling data consistently show strong support in the Muslim world for American values, including our political system and respect for human rights, liberty and equality. Rather, U.S. policy choices have undermined support.

 

No word is more poisonous to the reputation of the United States than Guantanamo. Fundamental justice requires a fair legal process before the U.S. government detains people for significant periods of time, and the president and Congress have not provided one. Guantanamo Bay should be closed now. The 9/11 commission recommended developing a "coalition approach" for the detention and treatment of terrorists — a policy that would be legally sustainable, internationally viable and far better for U.S. credibility.

 

Moreover, no question inflames public opinion in the Muslim world more than the Arab-Israeli dispute. To empower Muslim moderates, we must take away the extremists' most potent grievance: the charge that the United States does not care about the Palestinians. A vigorous diplomatic effort, with the visible, active support of the president, would bolster America's prestige and influence — and offer the best prospect for Israel's long-term security.”

 

Moreover, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seems to be in disarray.  Its creation was originally proposed by the then Vice President Al Gore in his reinventing government report, in which he also suggested more be done to make air travel safer but no one wanted to hear it then.  Anyone who travels regularly and though different airports will tell you the Transportation Security Administration (http://www.tsa.gov/) or TSA, implements its rules differently from one airport to the next.  Yes, they are there for deterrence but seriously, my lip balm is not a threat to anyone. 

 

DHS is more than TSA.  It took a number of agencies and put them under the same roof, the goal being to improve communications between the agencies but all it seems to have done is create more bureaucracy and red tape.  It also gave the current administration the idea that it had the right to ignore any parts of the Constitution they felt were cumbersome. (see the FISA post, I am just glad Alberto Gonzalez quit, we ARE safer since he did that.  But the creation of a new and very huge government agency has not increased communication.  A plane entered the Washington, DC airspace and the local government was not informed until AFTER it was found to be safe and diverted to another route (it was a governor’s plane that accidentally flew almost directly over the Capitol building).

 

The bottom line is we were attacked and rather than focus on the enemy we had we went after a bad guy who lacked any real means to hurt us.  By doing this we did more to help the people who wish us harm by giving them more reasons to want to so.  Additionally, we have stretched our military so thin we have left our ‘homeland’ even more vulnerable to another attack.

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Death and Taxes

"Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society."  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Supreme Court Justice who was nominated by Theodore Roosevelt and served frojm 1902-32.  This quote is on the IRS building in Washington, DC.  Yesterday was April 15th, normally tax day but it was Sunday so most of America has until the 17th — apparently the storm this weekend was so severe that many people will have until April 19th.  They said on the news that the IRS is considering giving people a few extra days to get the tax forms in — if you were impacted by the storm, keep an eye out for news on this.

We've all heard the quote, "Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes," attributed to Benjamin Franklin, which was news to me.

Where do our taxes go?  There are a number of places you can go to see how your federal taxes are spent. I found this site, "Death and taxes: a visual guide to your federal taxes."   From the site:

“Death and Taxes” is a representational poster of the federal discretionary budget; the amount of money that is spent at the discretion of your elected representatives in Congress. Basically, your federal income taxes. The data is from the President's budget request for 2008. It will be debated, amended, and approved by Congress by October 1st to begin the fiscal year.  The poster provide a uniquely revelaing look at our national priorities, that fluctuate yearly, according to the wishes of the President, the power of Congres, and the will of the people. If you pay taxes, then you have paid for a small part of everything in the poster.

The author wrote this about himself:

"Jess Bachman, that’s me. I am a resident of Burlington, Vermont and freelance graphic designer. In addition to combing through federal budget documents I can be found DJing, drinking tea, making concert posters, blogging, and dressing like Robert Redford from Three Days of the Condor. I am 26 years old."

I do not know anything about this person but thought it was an interesting site and idea but I don't know what his ideology is or what his background or party affiliation, or even how accurate this.  As someone interested in politics, the budget itself bores me to tears so I appreciate anyone who can wade through it and come up with something so interesting.

You can see the actual budget in several places:

1. The White House version can be found at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) site.
2. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has a version.
3. And Wikipedia has an entry.

 

As a godless, tax-loving liberal, I know we need them to keep our society the way we like it.  They make sure we have military, roads, a good education system and the list goes on.  It is easy to forget how important our infrastructure is because when it is doing its job well, it is invisible. The best way I have found to describe it as being similar to a fish tank or well maintained eco-system, it provides everything needed to keep everything in there alive and healthy.  We have a stable government, except for the last six years where my cat could have done a better job and my cat thinks rocks are food, that allows us to have a stable economy and the rest.

One of my favorite people once told me that he votes for Republicans because he wants to pay fewer taxes.  The irony of that statement, which seems to have been lost on him unless that was just his dry humor and I do not know him enough to tell the difference but given his tax bracket, he benefits far more from the taxes he pays than many.  If anarchy broke out tomorrow, my house is not going to be looted.  Again, my cat is one my most valuable possessions and he was born in an alley and still thinks rocks are food.  He is not alone in this view.  Taxes and tax day are things people dread.  A Congressperson told the New Yorker sometime during the administration that President Clinton had “ruined democracy because he showed people that they can get something in return for their taxes.”

While democracy remains intact, well aside from the Bush v. Gore debacle but that’s for another post, there is evidence that many people around the world pay much higher taxed and don’t mind.  This is because they get things like health care.  The countries with the highest standard of living tend to be in Scandinavia.  They also pay the highest taxes in the world but they receive great services for them.  My roommate in (spent my senior year in ) was from .  She had no concept of charitable organizations and did not understand why we need them, why the richest country on the planet could not provide basic services to its people.  In , she told me, the government takes care of such things.  We could learn a lot from her.

So when you send off your returns, whether you will get a check or send one in, remember that you pay less taxes than the rest of the civilized world but that you get far fewer services.  Having said that, the next time you call 911 (ok, that’s a local tax), drive on an interstate highway, go to a public park or do some mundane thing like work in a safe place, drink decent water (exception: Washington, DC – full of lead) and send your child off to school rather than some horrific job remember your taxes make all that possible.

Oh, and if you voted for Dubya (and other GOP candidates), you get the added bonus of knowing you have turned governing into campaigning by politicizing what were supposed to be neutral jobs, started an illegal war (really wish that ‘you broke it, you bought it’ rule applied ONLY to the people to actually broke Iraq and wanted us in there), dang, there are just too many bad things your decision has caused us to do.  We are hated by most of the planet.  All the White House scandals hurt politicians of all stripes – does anyone believe Karl Rove lost email or that Dick Cheney didn’t know what he was doing when he told Scooter Libby to out a covert CIA agent?   Most of you have some money so I know you are not stupid, did you really think Saddam Hussein planned 9/11?  Your tax dollars and vote did all of that.

Sorry I went off the deep end a little.  I do that a lot. 

 

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