Obama's "inexperience".

While experience is important, it's certainly not the most important trait of good leaders. Also keep in mind that while McCain has lots of political experience, he has less executive experience than Obama.

Here's a quote from my father that conveys my feelings exactly....using history as a guide (March 6, 2008):

"This afternoon on the way back from the polling place, I was thinking that another Illinois lad ran for president. He had some experience in the state legislature, but only two years in Congress. Not only that, he disparaged the military, opposed a war(Mexican War) and was opposed within his party by a man with substantial legislative and executive experience. Still, he wasn't half bad as a president. The capitol of Nebraska is named after him today."

For those of you who are geographically impaired, the capitol of Nebraska is Lincoln, as in Abraham Lincoln.

2008: Start of the "Mother of all Depressions".

Whoever gets elected (looks like Obama) will have to deal with this horrible turn of events to start his presidency.

There's blame aplenty, but placing it squarely on one man's or one administration's shoulders is out of line. The past few administrations were just following policies put in place in the late 70s and early 80s. Policies and tools that were meant to curb the out of control inflation of the 60s and 70s, not the out of control credit of the past 20 years.

Oh, criminal negligence (on the part of government officials), corruption, and irrational salary explosion (especially at the top) hasn't helped...

I'm sure my Ron Paul supporting, fiscally conservative brother will chime in with more, so that's all I have to say, for now.

And so it begins...

...or ends.

If there was any doubt that the US's dominance in this world was coming to an end, the (poor/lack of) management in the sub-prime lending scandal and its culmination (for now) in the Bailout Abomination should erase whatever's left.

And Paulson has wasted no time in bringing a Goldman Sach's buddy into the fray.

Look for more cronyism, and very little in the way of substantive reform...in the short term. And hold onto your pants (if you still have them). We're in for a rough ride!

Bailout Abomination!

I was hoping that Congress would implement some oversight measures to ensure that Paulson's $250bil "slush fund for buddies" is used properly. Instead, the Senate adds tons of irrelevant (and wasteful) "pork"! The only good thing about the Senate re-jiggered bill is that it increases the FDIC limit from $100k to $250k.

Jeez! Congress's moment to shine and they end up looking no better than the Wall Street criminals that got us in this mess... Nice!

It's not Just McCain That's "Out of Touch"...

...it's (apparently) his whole campaign!

In this article, the following is stated:

Holtz-Eakin also defended McCain's assertions about the fundamentals of the U.S. economy being strong and cited the Republican presidential candidate's work on the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees telecommunications, as part of his qualifications to lead the country through a financial crisis.

"You're looking at the miracle that John McCain helped create," Holtz-Eakin told reporters while holding up a Blackberry device.

Thanks Mr. Holtz-Eakin. Now I know who to blame for the mess that is this country's telco "market". Dominated by a few ILECs (Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers) that are more interested in squeezing profit out of their current infrastructure than updating it for 21st. century needs. A few years ago we ranked near the top in broadband speed. Now we sit at an appalling 15th!


Why does this matter? Well, not only is the internet the future of commerce, but the future is already here and we are falling behind...far behind!

Get a clue! Stop taking credit and asking for laurels where shame would be more appropriate!

John McCain: Serial Liar

Or rather, John McCain's campaign is based on a series of lies. Negative campaigning gets McCain nowhere, with me, but apparently a long ways with a fair portion of the U.S.

It's not surprising, though it is disappointing.

GOP Tricket...a Bit Difficult to Swallow.

This is what the GOP is asking you to believe:

"I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

• Grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents: you're "exotic, different".
• Grow up in Alaska, eating mooseburgers: a quintessential American story.

• Name is Barack: you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
• Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track: you're a maverick.

• Graduate from Harvard law School: you are unstable.
• Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating: you're well grounded.

• Spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees: you don't have any real leadership experience.
• Total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people: you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

• You have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches: you're not a real Christian.
• You cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month: you're a Christian.

• You teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control: you are eroding the fiber of society.
• If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant: you're very responsible.

• If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family: your family's values don't represent America's.
• If your husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA: your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now."

If you actually believe the GOP's crap: you need to read more or, perhaps, go back to school.

This guy could be my father...

Here's a quote I found in a comment on a "The Moderate Voice" posting.

The thing that distresses me most about Gov. Palin and Sen. McCain is that they appear to be trying to deceive the public into voting for them, or more accurately, against Obama. They lie openly about Obama's policy proposals and about their own histories. They know that the facts will contradict them, indeed that video footage of their own words will contradict them, but calculate that the public will buy their talking points without heeding other sources of information. The calculation works, because most do not have the time or depth of interest to dig into every statement.

Most cynically of all, their campaign openly supports the idea of making the race for the presidency a popularity contest rather than a decision based on the issues. They seek to raise their positives while raising their opponent's negatives, with no regard for the fact that their policies are anti-democratic; that is, they are attempting to scare voters into voting against their own clear personal interests, as well as those of their children.

And so, we boomers, and those older than us, will exit the scene leaving to our children a mountain of debt and a degraded planet. To my own son, to your children and all others, I am truly sorry. I have tried my entire adult life to support those who would take us in a different direction.

Credit to GreenDreams.

Republican Convention News.

Palin a Big Government Republican.

Looks like Palin, in addition to being another spend-and-spend, big government Republican, is also intolerant to opinions that differ from her own. That sounds familiar, doesn't it?

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/kilkenny.asp

If McCain/Palin get elected, it will just confirm my belief that the US is chock full of a bunch of sub-par thinkers.

Palin just another right-wing Nut Job

While Sarah Palin has achieved some great success in Alaska, and is a smart woman. She is not a good speaker, and, most definitely, not an intellectual. If there's any truth to the rumors of her "book banning" as mayor of a small town in Alaska, then she flat out scares me. Based on my direct exposure (so far), she certainly doesn't have the temperament to lead our country. The Republican negative-spin machine has (once again) hit full steam and, (once again) they've lost my vote.

Additionally, in theme with my previous post, I cannot vote for another "common man" appeasing ticket. I don't want someone like myself leading the country, I want someone decidedly _better_ than myself!

McCain Intellectually bereft?

While I'm not certain that either of these articles captures McCain, I am certain that I don't want another "ignoramous", non-intellectual running our country:

• Cafferty on McCain
• Butler on McCain

While I could, perhaps, write off Cafferty's article as over-the-top, Butler's lack of faith in someone he spent time with (both at Annapolis and as a POW) I can't dismiss.

I'll certainly be studying McCain's studiousness over the coming months, as I can't condone someone dumber than myself running this country.

Iran: Ramping up for War?

Recently BushandCo have upped funding for covert operations in and around Iran to $400m. For the sake of my children's children, I hope outright war with Iran doesn't happen.

Also, though Ron Paul takes a very clear stance on these sorts of foreign relations issues, neither McCain nor Obama have been as forthcoming, though I suspect McCain to be closer to the Bush philosophy. Personally, I prefer the Teddy Roosevelt approach to foreign relations... from the West African proverb, "speak softly, but carry a big stick". To me, this means that wars (conflicts, police actions, whatever you want to call them) should only be used when all other options have been exhausted. Starting another "preemptive war" flies in the face of this philosophy....and common sense!

Terrorism, the Executive Power Grab, and the Politics of Fear

While I think that terrorism, and terrorists are certainly a concern, I viewed the events of 9/11 as inevitable, both because of our policies of supporting oppressive regimes around the world, and because we'd (quite frankly) been quite lucky up to the tragic events of 9/11. While 9/11 demonstrates, perhaps, the pinnacle of what terrorists can do, I don't feel that it merited the life-changing reaction that the Bush administration advocated and has (largely) brought about. Declaring war on terror has only served to strengthen, not weaken the terrorists.

My belief is that the Bush Administration's real goal has been to increase (or "restore", in their words) power to the executive branch of government. 9/11 merely provided an ideal opportunity to use fear as a catalyst for their ambitions. Fear is a powerful ally, but it is generally short-lived, especially in democracies. Though the Bush Administration has inflicted as much damage as they could, their window of opportunity is closing. The politics of fear, I hope, is coming to an end.

Being socially liberal and fiscally conservative, I view the Bush Administration as the worst in the history of the United States. They have grown and centralized (federalized) big government, while attacking fundamental rights. I feel that my children will be paying for their mistakes throughout their lives.

I will vote for the candidate that I feel can start the process of undoing the damage that BushandCo have done.

2 candidates

We've already reached the point where the media is reporting on only two candidates. If reliable, independent news sources such as NPR automatically default to covering only the two party nominees, what hope does a third party candidate have to get any traction or coverage for their ideas?

What's more, it appears that the coverage is more and more about the campaigns themselves and how they are polling, how much money they are raising etc. What about covering the candidates actual positions, views, and beliefs?

It seems as though our media outlets (even NPR!!!) are turning election coverage into a reality TV show. We might as well go all the way and start texting in our votes. Probably more reliable than the damn Diebold machines anyway.

Newt weighs in on gas prices.

Though I don't agree with all he has to say, I'd certainly welcome releasing more of the petro reserves and the push (more and larger government subsidies) for alternate fuels.

21st. Century Battle: Autocracy vs. Democracy

More and more it appears that the world is prepared to accept, and even embrace, a free, market-based economy. Sure, not everyone is "playing fair", and there are likely to be (and have been) stumbling blocks on the way towards a completely global field of play, but we are well on our way towards this end.

The rise of China as an undeniable economic powerhouse is disturbing because it is a government bent on repression and control, except where profit is involved. My hope is that some successful Chinese entrepreneur will rise above the brainwashing their regime has imposed upon them and speak out against the basic rights their government denies them. My fear is that they will be paid handsomely not to do so, and the Chinese government will be allowed to continue repressing these rights, to the detriment of most...and benefit of the very few. This fear is made all that much stronger by my feeling that an autocratic government can make things easier for business. At a minimum, schedules become easier to predict and government-funded projects are less likely to be put on hold or delayed.

Democracies are great for people (as they should be), but more difficult for business. Schedules and government funding are more unpredictable and businesses are forced to adapt to constantly changing (and sometimes overly restrictive) regulations. Still, I think that the marriage of democracy and capitalism is what's best for the world, and it's future. For the benefit of all of us, let's hope that businesses (and China) feel the same!

I doubt that either Obama or McCain will seriously address this issue in their respective campaigns, which is a shame because I feel that it just might be the most important "battle" of the 21st. century. If the autocracy-capitalism combination wins out, our world (at the end of this century) will be pretty ugly...

[UPDATED 6/25/08]

Ok, so this isn't so much of a "new" battle, but rather the continuation of an old one. Still, it is no less important. Democracy(ies) must find a way to win... No 21st. century battle is more important!

I just received (and finished reading) my Father's Day gift from my father. It's a book called "The Return of History and the End of Dreams" by Robert Kagan. Not only is it an excellent read, but it strongly supports the view I present in this post.

Drilling in ANWR won't solve anything.

We need to insist that McCain do more than talk about opening up ANWR for drilling when fielding questions about energy policy.

We can't drill our way out of $4/gallon gasoline. Anyone with an elementary school level understanding of math and economics can figure this out.

The statistics don't lie:

Total world oil production: 82,532,000 barrels/day (2005)
U.S. petroleum consumption: 20,687,000 barrels/day (2007)
U.S. crude oil production: 5,102,000 barrels/day (2006)
U.S. petroleum exports: 1,317,000 barrels/day (2006)
See http://www.eia.doe.gov/basics/quickoil.html

Projected peak ANWR oil output: 1,595,000 barrels/day (ten years after start of drilling)
See http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/ftproot/service/sroiaf(2004)04.pdf

Let us assume that the oil coming out of ANWR will go directly towards our consumption and that it will somehow, miraculously, be free. This 1,595,000 barrels/day represents 7.7% of our needed oil, so if it were free it would reduce the cost of $4/gallon gas to $3.69/gallon. Ouch.

But the ANWR oil won't be free and it won't go directly towards our consumption (did you notice how the U.S. exports petroleum?). The ANWR oil will go directly into the world market, where it will increase the world oil supply by 1.93%. Care to take a guess as to what a 2% increase in oil supply will do to gas costs here at home?

Loss of a Good Man

While my meager voice won't add much to the chorus of sympathy and well wishes already expressed, here's to you, Tim:

May the sun shine gently on your face,
May the rain fall softly on your fields?
May the wind be at your back,
May the road rise to meet you,
May the Lord hold you in the hallow of his hand.
Until we meet again.

Tim Russert (May 7, 1950 - June 13, 2008) RIP.