Some prefer unbridled capitalism. I prefer capitalism with a bridle. Opponents call capitalism with a bridle socialism. I prefer to think of it as compassionate conservatism.
Michael Moore's new movie called Capitalism: a Love Story is an uneven treatment of the recent financial meltdown. There were two parts of the movie I found particularly interesting. He had extensive film of the recent, December 2008, sit-in in Chicago of the terminated workers at a factory that made windows until it could no longer get financing from Bank of America. The workers were not paid what they were owed and were thrown out of work just prior to Christmas. I grew up in Chicago and the film showed how close to the Loop the factory was. The Loop is Chicago's center of political and financial power. During the sit-in, a Catholic Bishop visited the strikers to voice support. He told how his life was shaped by growing up on the South side of Chicago where abandoned steel mills sit empty and the lost jobs they represent. His experience was similar to Barack's when he was a community organizer in the same area.
The other part of the movie that impressed me was a much shorter segment that showed FDR making a radio address just before his death. FDR thought that the voters should see that part of his speech so he invited movie cameras into the office where he was broadcasting. FDR proposed another bill of rights for the US in which certain rights would be guaranteed: adequate affordable healthcare, a living wage, decent housing and affordable higher education. He died before these rights could be enacted, but the US imposed these rights on the constitutions of our defeated enemies in WW2, Germany and Japan. Isn't it ironic that our defeated enemies enjoy those rights now and after more than 60 years, US citizens are still denied them?
The recently announced agreement of Turkey and Armenia to recognize each other is a big deal. In itself, it almost justifies Barack's Nobel peace prize. Since the forced relocation of Christian Armenians during WW 1 by the failing Muslim Ottoman Empire as a potential fifth column in which 1 million to 1.5 million Armenians died, both sides have been at odds. Armenians both in the US and Armenia have been demanding that Turkey acknowledge past misdeeds, which some have labeled genocide.
For its part, Turkey has always denied responsibility for the actions of the Ottoman Empire although Turkey occupies the heart of the former Ottoman Empire. When he established modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk westernized the Turkish alphabet making it very hard for Turks to read the voluminous documents from the past.
Why is this first step to better relations between Armenia and Turkey so important? Turkey and Armenia at peace with each other will make it easier to route oil from farther east through the area. Turkey is a member of NATO and a US ally. Turkey wants to join the European Union and this brings them closer to membership.
I am not an expert on the events of WW 1 and the Ottoman Empire, but I am currently reading A Shameful Act by Turkish historian Taner Akcam which covers that period. This bodes well for the soon to happen Arab/Israeli talks.
Barack has accomplished nothing say his critics. If he had accomplished anything, they would have opposed it. If he had accomplished nothing, then much of the reason is the opposition of so many in Congress.
On the contrary, I say he has accomplished a great deal in nine months and the prospects for more look excellent. Jobs and homes have been saved and more is on the way. Relations with the world are improving. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and possibly Pakistan are receiving a hard look. Neglected reform and infrastructure here in the US are receiving the attention they need.
Why did the Patrick Henry Caucus choose Patrick Henry for the name of their organization? For his quote, "Give me liberty or give me death," I suppose. During his lifetime, Patrick Henry was the greatest living speaker. People said that he could convince anyone of anything. He teamed with John Marshall for a short period. It is the opinion of some that Marshall and Henry made the greatest legal team of all teams anywhere in the world for all time. Marshall wrote the legal arguments and Henry delivered them. As much as I respect Patrick Henry, there were two members of the Supreme Court who I regard more highly, John Marshall and Louis Brandeis.
John Marshall served with Washington during the Revolutionary War and later wrote a long biography of Washington. He served as John Adams secretary of state at a time when the Secretary of State assumed the duties of the Presidency when the President was out of town. This was before the Vice President assumed those duties. Adams was out of town a lot. At the end of his Presidency, Adams appointed Marshall Chief Justice of the Supreme Court where he served for many years. Marshall was the third Chief Justice but it was during his tenure that the form and substance of our federal court system took shape. Marshall was related to Jefferson but they were on opposite sides politically.
Louis Brandeis was an associate justice of the Supreme Court from 1916 to 1939. Before went on the Court, he did a lot of pro bono work for the disadvantaged. He actually defeated the insurance companies of his day in New England when they tried to overcharge workers for term life insurance. Before he went on the Court, he defended an Oregon law that limited the daily work of women in factories. He won that case using vast amounts of economic data gathered by volunteers. With this case he changed how cases were argued before the Supreme Court and later as a member, he changed how cases were decided. At first, he and Holmes were on the minority side of 7-2 decisions, but over time his decisions carried the majority.
I think that the country would be better off with more citizens like Louis Brandeis. They have been too rare in our history. Now if we return to strict construction of the Constitution as the Patrick Henry Caucus and others advocate, we will be overturning the good work of Brandeis and others to protect the weak. Do we really want to strike down laws that protect the weak, such as hours worked by women in factories? I think not.
Last night, Keith Olbermann devoted the entire hour of Countdown to a passionate denunciation of health care insurers. I enjoyed every minute of it. If you play by the rules, you expect to be treated fairly. I was not treated fairly by my insurers and they keep changing the rules in their favor.
To be fair, the insurers are not the only problem with health care. There is big pharma overcharging for drugs; malpractice suits frequently over reward a few and neglect the many; records are archaic, and doctors are forced to practice defensive medicine. Please watch this special comment
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NEPUo_IcO8&feature=related
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers is the true story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun's life as a painting contractor in New Orleans before, during and after Katrina. He is a Syrian-American known by his last name because people found it easier to pronounce. He arrived in Houston by ship and found an American woman to marry and raise a family and start a successful business. His family evacuated before the hurricane but he decided to stay and look after the rental properties they owned. The hurricane did little damage in his part of the city but the flooding caused by the levee breaches did extensive flood damage. He helped rescue some people who were stranded and fed some abandoned pets. He owned a used canoe which he used to get around. About a week into the aftermath of Katrina, he and three other men were arrested on suspicion of being looters or terrorists. He was held incommunicado for about three weeks before he was able to smuggle out a message to his wife who was able to contact a lawyer for help in arranging his release. The experience humiliated him and caused weight loss and aging. His wife is suffering from a mysterious illness which may be PTSS, post traumatic stress syndrome.
This book is well worth the read. Then please recommend it to a friend. A portion of the purchase price is being donated to the rebuilding of New Orleans.
Where in the world is Osama bin Laden? Pakistan probably, acting as a magnet to draw the US into another war we cannot win.
We invaded Afghanistan to punish the Taliban for harboring bin Laden. It is a Muslim country and bin Laden was a Muslim guest. Treating guests well, even enemies, is paramount with the Afghans. To expect them to surrender him to the unbelievers of the West was not realistic.
Then to show off his mojo, George W. Bush led us into Iraq where al-Qaeda and bin Laden were not. Now we think that bin Laden is in that part of Pakistan that was once part of Afghanistan. The British made it into a buffer zone when they incorporated it into India, now Pakistan. The people inhabiting that area still regard it as part of Afghanistan. To them the tribe comes first, then religion second, and country a distant third.
Obama is sending more troops to Afghanistan. A stategy that will not work unless we are very lucky and more skillful than the British and Russians before us. Bin Laden is hoping that our actions destroy the fragile balance that is Pakistan. I hope that Barack has a better strategy for Pakistan. Let's outsmart bin Laden this time with a plan that does not rely on the use of force.
I lie
He/she lies
You lie
We lie
They lie
Who tells the truth?
Who do you trust?
Barack Obama
Republican voices are being raised and crocodile tears shed at the rising federal deficit. During my lifetime, Republican incumbents have a historical record of pumping up the economy every four years to win the White House and if successful, then slamming the brakes on the economy to fight deficits and inflation. Usually their efforts are at the expense of the middle class and the poor, never the fat cats who support them.
Now that they are out of power, the same people who support deficits to win the White House are raising warning flags about the current deficit. I have confidence in the Obama administration that once the economy is firmly on the road to recovery, they will take the needed steps. Healthcare reform is one of the first steps required to combat that deficit.
More troops for Afghanistan? I thought that we changed commanders there to implement a new strategy.
Afghanistan will not go away. I recommend two books to get a feeling for the situation. The first is An Unexpected Light, Travels inAfghanistan by Jason Elliot. The unexpected light is caused by Afghanistan's altitude and thin air. It describes the country before the Soviet invasion. The second book is hiding from me at this time so I cannot list the title and author. However, it should be required reading for all our troops over there. It was written by Afghan rebel leaders and describes their tactics in attacking and defeating the Soviet troops. The geography of the country has not changed and what worked before will work now.
Imagine the US economy as a huge pie consisting of $10 trillion. In round numbers there are 300 million of us Americans. Dividing $10 trillion by 300 million gives an answer of $33,333 per person if the pie were divided equally. However, it is not divided equally. The top 1% receive 40% of the pie and the rest of us divide the remaining 60%. That adds $1,300,000 to each slice of pie for people in the top 1% making their individual slices $1,333,000.
What does that do to the slice that 99% of us receive? It reduces that slice from $33,333 to $20,200. That means that 99% of us donate one-third or $13,000 plus of our slices to the richest 1% in our country. Is this right or fair? No it is not. We can change the distribution by letting Congress know that we will not accept this distribution any longer.
