WWOD

In my last article I listed what I thought were our countries four biggest problems. I stated that these problems were the environment, our education system, our health care system and our countries infrastructure. (See the article titled “reality” for my explanation). I believe that this time could be a turning point in the history of the world. We as a planet have huge challenges. We also have a huge amount of potential we can draw on to fix these problems. What we cannot do is to continue doing the same things we have done for the past hundred years. We as a society have must find the strength to fundamentally change the way we do things. This change has to be universal. Everyone in this entire civilization must participate in this change. Nothing signified this era of change more than the election of Barak Obama. This administration will inherit a host of problem. How they go about solving them will say a lot about the future of this planet. If they try to solve them using the play book that is 80 years old and written for a very different era then we are all doomed to failure. If they can find the political will to attempt the bold strategies they have promised us, then we have a chance to do a lot of good for ourselves as Americans and as citizens of this planet. There were a lot of promises made during this election. Here are the top 4 things I would like to see this new administration accomplish.


1. A New Power Grid

When I mention this in conversation I am usually greeted with a bunch of puzzled stares. How could this be the number one thing I want the president to do? I stated earlier that I think the biggest problem we are facing is the environment. A power grid would be a big step in our environmental policy and out energy policy. This project would also begin to address the problem of our crumbling infrastructure. Our energy grid is completely insufficient for our 21st century needs. It is extremely inefficient and it leaks power. We need a grid that can regulate the amount of energy used in off peak hours. A new grid needs to be able to store energy being produced in non peak hours and then use it during peak hours. Our current grid cannot do this well if at all. There also aren’t enough safeguards built in. To be honest, I am shocked that we have not had crippling power outage on the east coast. With an expanding population that is continually using more energy it is only a matter of time before the whole thing collapses.

The second thing to consider is what the politicians have promised in terms of energy policy. I have heard a lot of people promise wind and solar power. These are things that I very strongly support. The only way that these things will help us is if there is a way to get the power from where it is generated to where it is needed. It does little good to build a solar field in Arizona if the power it generates cant be used in Los Angles. A wind corridor in the middle of the country would be a great thing, but if we can’t get all that power to the big cities on the east coast then we are not getting the most out of a very costly investment. We need a power grid that can transmit power from where it is produced to where it is being used. Our current grid cannot integrate these technologies. Also consider the idea of an electric car. If we do manage to solve the problems of battery technology, what is going to happen when millions of people plug their cars into a power grid that is 90 years old and already inadequate? We will need a new power grid no matter what alternative energy policy plan we adopt.

The other thing building a power gird will accomplish is creating jobs. We will need people to build these power lines and infrastructure. We need city planners, architects, ditch diggers, foreman, metal workers and a whole host of other people do to this. The people whose jobs are threatened by slow downs in other sectors of this economy can be employed in this endeavor. This could also create a demand for these kinds of jobs. The people who decide to do these jobs will be building something that we will all desperately need.


2. Government Audit

Everyone knows that are government has a lot of wasteful spending. We have all heard politicians say that they are going to do something about it. This is time it must get done. We have a 9 trillion dollar national debt. In reality all of the wasteful spending is only a drop in the bucket but we first must stop the bleeding. Before we can go forward we must stop funding things that do not work. In conjunction with this I would like this president to change the way things are done in Washington. The idea of adding a bunch of frivolous spending programs just to get a bill passed has got to stop. The practice of earmarking must go away. Not only do we have to fix passed mistakes but we have to change the way things are done in the future. We cannot continue going down this same path of waste and corruption. Maybe I am expecting too much from this president but with the situation this country is in I don’t see how I can expect any less. I heard both presidential candidates say they would end the process of earmarked spending. I also heard Barak Obama say in several debates that he would “go through the federal budget line by line” well this is one campaign promise I am going to hold him to.


3. Health Care Reform

We have a 9 trillion dollar debt but we have 54 trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities. This is money that the government has obligated itself to pay. A big part of this number is health care cost. I must pause here. I HAVE NO ANSWER FOR HEALTH CARE. I admit this problem may be too big to solve. Perhaps someone that is smarter then I has a solution but I do not. Having said that, there are a few principles that I intuitively believe should be considered when embarking on health care reform.

The first thing my gut tells me is that if you computerize health care records you will save money in the long run. I believe this will initially cost money. To outfit every health care facility with new computers, bar code scanners, training of employees, and everything else they will need will be a huge investment. Consider how much it cost to record data by hand. How much time is wasted just on medical record keeping? How much does it cost to store and further retrieve this information. I also think that in the long term there will be fewer mistakes made. Cutting down on mistakes is also crucial to reducing cost.

My second thought about health care is that if everyone is insured the cost will be cheaper. I intuitively think that my health care cost is so high because built into my cost is the bill for someone who didn’t have health care that still had to be treated. I believe that cost is passed on to everyone. Insuring everyone would ultimately be cheaper for everyone. Any plan that doesn’t insure everyone is inherently inefficient. I also think that if everyone has health care more people will go to the doctor more regularly. That means more problems will be detected before they become serious and these problems will be less costly to treat.

That brings me to my third thought that if there are more primary care physicians health care will be cheaper. If there are lots of accessible primary care physicians it will reduce the cost of health care in the long term. More physicians mean more accessibility for more people. Maybe people will feel more of a connection with their doctor because the doctors are seeing fewer patients. Maybe people will go to their doctor for treatment instead of the emergency room which is much more costly.

These are only gut feelings. I have no evidence to support this. I also have no coherent policy to integrate all this instinct. I have no solution. I have not even considered lawyers and the pharmaceutical industry or the education cost or any of the other factors that lead to the bad health care system we have. It makes my head hurt. That is why I am not president. I am not smart enough. I just know it needs to be fixed and I would like to see this president make it a priority.


4. Education Overhaul

There are many parts of education that need to be fixed. This area has been neglected for far too long. There are several parts to education I would like to see a new administration address. There are several things I would like to see happen at the k-12 level. Some of them are not entirely in the administrations control but none of these things require a crystal ball. They require the strength and will to do what is right not what is popular.

States must fund education in the state with something other than property tax. Funding with property tax creates an inherent bias in the way education is funded. The people who live in the nicest neighborhoods and pay the highest taxes get the most money for their schools. We need a system where the schools in need get the most state money. (Honestly if you just legalize marijuana and have state run casinos you will have all the money you need but that is another argument). We need a massive school building program. The schools in many urban and rural areas area simply falling apart. I know several people that teach in inner city schools where the building is over 75 years old. One person actually works in a school that is 100 years old. We can not go another 100 years without building schools in the inner city and in our rural areas.

TEACHERS NEED A PAY RAISE. A big one. I think teaching is one of the most important jobs in this society. The impact that K-12 teachers have on children cannot be measured. We can not have a viable economy or a peaceful society without an educated populous. In light of this importance the people dispensing the education need to be paid like the most valued members of this society. Why is it an absurd idea for teachers to make $ 150,000 a year? As of now we have to find whatever noble people we can find to take this hard underpaid job. As a result when a teacher is bad we are often stuck because someone in most cases is probably better then no one. We cannot replace the bad teachers until we have an over abundance of good teachers who are paid what they are worth. This country needs to take both education and its educators seriously.

The idea of a national teaching academy was purposed by John Edwards in the presidential debate. This academy would take the best and brightest and train them to be educators. People accepted into this academy would receive their education for free. This would be a format similar to the one employed by our military academies. In return they would have to do a “tour of duty” in the urban school districts where they are needed. When you consider the rising cost of higher education this would be a way to both find qualified teachers and to give more opportunities for people to earn a college degree.

I also think we need to look at the possibility of extending the school year. The idea of getting the summers off came at a time when most of the country lived on a farm. In the summer everyone of working age had to be home to help with the harvest. In today’s world that is no longer the case. Furthermore, the amount of information that the workers of tomorrow will have to master does not give time for kids to take a 3 month hiatus. Also consider the fact that because of globalization American children will be competing with BILLIONS of people for jobs. Can we really afford to take ¼ of a year to unwind?

We also need more opportunities to offset the cost of higher education. More money is needed to allow more people have a chance to earn higher degrees. Research also needs to be funded a lot more then the current administration is funding it. The age of information technology that we have all benefitted from was the culmination of a massive education effort in the 1950's and 1960’s. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were the products of this education movement. The educational investment we made in the 60s did not end with the moon shot. That energy and investment continued into the 70s and launched a computer revolution. That same energy continued into the late 80’s and 90’s with the application of the internet and other technologies. The return on the investment we made in the 1950’s has been immeasurable. The only way America can stay competitive in this world is to make education the highest priority.

I realize this is the only half of the picture. Parents must be held accountable for seeing their children get the best education they can. Parents must instill the importance of education in their children and then work with the school and the community to educate the child. Parental involvement is not the government’s job. Asking the government to be parents is not the solution to education. Government however has to do its part. It must stop passing the ball and minimizing the importance of education and the roll that it should play.

Is this expensive? YES. Are we going to have to cut other things to have this? YES. Will this require sacrifice by all levels of society? YES. Is it worth it? ABSOLULY. I believe the long term benefits of taking education seriously are immeasurable. I believe that radical education reform is necessary if America is to remain at the forefront of this technological revolution. Our very survival as a society may be at stake.


I will be watching this president very closely. Just because I voted for him doesn’t mean he gets a free pass. I would like to hear what others think this administration should do.
This is what I would like to see done. The question we all need to find the answer to is
WHAT WILL OBAMA DO.

WWOD

REALITY

Most people in this country would admit that America has some pretty serious challenges. There are people however on both sides of the spectrum. There are nuts like Sean Hannity that say we are not in a recession and we liberals are paranoid. There are also people that think we are FREAKED and that any effort to solve our problems would be an exercise in futility. I am an optimistic realist. The reality of the situation is that we have MAJOR problems that need to be fixed RIGHT NOW. They cannot wait until the next generation or the next election cycle or maybe not even until next year. Our future as both Americans and citizens of this planet is in jeopardy. In my opinion these are the four biggest problems our country currently faces in my perceived order of importance.

1. Environment – I believe this is the most important problem our generation faces. This are affects every aspect of our lives. I believe that if we do not drastically alter the course we are on this planet will not be able to sustain us. I believe the planet will one day repair itself but I don’t believe we as a civilization will be around to see it. Most sensible people would agree with this statement. Most people do not agree with me with the immediacy this scenario will play out. If we stay at our current rate of growth I believe we will reach a level of catastrophe in decades, not in a century or a generation. The reason for the urgency lies in the nature of the solution. It will take years to implement any plan of action. We can not be a polluting careless society one day, and then a completely environmentally conscious one on the very next day. This transition will take time. If we wait too much longer any solution we try will be too late. Indeed there are some that already believe we have passed the point of no return.

People may question why I could put the environment first when we have so many problems. To people who hold this opinion let me ask a series of questions. What would our national security and foreign policy look like if we weren’t using any Middle Eastern oil? What would our economy look like if companies didn’t have to build the cost of fuel into their profit margins? What would the stock market look like if we weren’t going trillions of dollars in debt to other countries because of what we are consuming? What would health care look like if all our citizens were breathing clean air? What would health care look like if we could remove the environmental component to cancer and other complex diseases? What would our country look like if we did not have to deal with record flooding and increasing number of hurricanes? Many of these problems may still occur with improved environmental policy but one cannot deny the role that bad environmental policy has played on every aspect of this country. This issue is the biggest threat to our way of life and our continued existence on this planet.

2. Education – Education is absolutely essential for making sure this country is competitive in everyway in 21st century. We have lost track of how important education is. Education is one of the principles that have made this country great. The idea of public education is essential to the American dream. The idea that America is place where one can rise as far as their ability will take them is IMPOSSIBLE in the absence of an excellent public education system. This is the idea that attracted hard working dedicated people from all over the world and education is the vehicle that allowed them to attain much of their success. In the later part of the 19th century we as a country adopted the principle that education is the great equalizer. No matter where you were born, no matter where your parents came from, No matter your economic status America had free public education and if you worked hard you could attain your dreams. That is the American dream. The reality is that many people’s life outcomes are determined by their zip code. There are two school systems in this county. There is the one that the wealthy and middle classed has access to and then there is the school system in rural and urban areas. The second school system does not work. It is completely inadequate for the 19th century to say nothing of the 21st. America can not be good at anything when a significant portion of the society is relegated to being a permanent illiterate underclass.

The second part of education deals with the university experience. We have the best universities in the entire world. These institutions are becoming less accessible to the average person. More opportunities must be made to grant access to worthy individuals to pursue their academic endeavors. The third part of education deals with the training and retraining of a work force. It is estimated that the average American will change careers (NOT JOBS) three times in their life time. In a fluid dynamic economy it is essential to have a training mechanism that can train and retrain large groups of people quickly and effectively.

3. Health Care - America has a staggering 9 trillion dollar debt. This debt is growing at a record pace. The scarier number is that we have 54 trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities. At this rate the dollar will become completely worthless. If the dollar is no longer valued we are SCREWED. People say this could never happen but when you look at the situation objectively how could it NOT happen. Most of this 54 trillion dollars comes from medicare/medicade and other healthcare cost that the government has obligated itself to pay. This number cannot be reduced until healthcare is fixed. Further more I do not believe American businesses can compete in a global market place as long as they are saddled with health care obligation. In addition to this, no one wants a significant number of people to go without basic medical care. It is a tragedy that people die of so many preventable causes.

4. Infrastructure - There are several parts of this country’s infrastructure that need to be completely rebuilt. We have a power grid that was built a century ago when electricity was not being used at the rate it is today. In addition to this the power grid leaks electricity and it does not allow us to take advantage of modern technology. We have a highway system that can not handle the increasing population. We have a complete lack of public transportation infrastructure. In addition to this we have levees, bridges, and roads that we depend upon for our very survival (in some cases) that are completely falling apart. We cannot wait another fifty years for these things to be fixed. They must be fixed now.

Notice that I didn’t mention the economy or job creation. If you fix our energy policy, our healthcare, and our education you will fix the economy. If you fix these problems you will create jobs and a better country for ourselves and our children.


I think the world as we knew it is coming to an end. America has had a wonderful 100 year window. We could spend as much money as we want and not worry about paying it back. We had a nice big ocean that separated us from most of the world. We could pick and choose who we wanted to be friends with and keep our enemies ad a distance. We could enact any policy we chose and not worry about the consequences. We were in a situation where no one could really hurt us. We could betray our fundamental convictions and no one would see anything other then what we wanted them to see. We could make any crappy merchandise we wanted and we could sell it to every one with out any competition. We were the only game in town. We had tons of free fuel and the fuel we didn’t have we could manipulate others into selling it to us cheaply.

THE PARTY IS OVER. That world no longer exists. This care free Leave it to Beaver world that we all know as Americans is gone. The reality of the situation is that the difficulties we are facing are a fraction of the pain that most of the world has been facing for centuries. We are now in the same rat race that everyone else is in. “The conspiracy of comfort as” Marty McConnal so eloquently has kept us from seeing the reality of our circumstances. It has put us into a situation where we could first ignore that we had problems and then delay implementing the solutions. We are not in a position where we can pretend any more. Maybe putting and end to this conspiracy is not such a bad thing. It is not a bad thing that we can see the problems the rest of the world is facing. Maybe it is not completely bad that we are in this world with our neighbors and we will have to work together to solve these problems. The fact that others have an increasing standard of living is not a bad thing. The fact that this increasing standard comes partly at our expense may bad a bad thing. The fact that America was caught unprepared for this new reality is the problem.

In spite of the grave reality I have outlined, I am still optimistic. I still think that we can work to solve these problems. I believe that we have an amazing opportunity to correct some of the longstanding injustices and emerge from this era a better country a better people and a better civilization. I think if we can solve these problems the world we will be left with will be a wonderful place. It will be a place where all of the world’s citizens will have hope. I believe that we are not passed the point of fixing these problems but we have to start solving them now.

I would love to hear what problems you think are the most important and why.

My next blog entry will be about the steps I would like to see the new leadership of this country take in solving these problems.

BAIL THIS!!!!!!

Over the last few months the term bailout has been heard everywhere. First there was a 700 billion dollar bail out given to banks. Over recent weeks the American auto industry has been requesting a bail out. These two things have not only dominated the news cycle but come up in everyday conversations everywhere.

I think everyone has blame in this situation. The banks have been greedy and reckless with the money they have been entrusted with. The need to make money and lots of it caused them to be take crazy risks. They made tons of money before the bottom fell out and now that they are caught with their pants down they need some one to “bail them out”. The average American is not off the hook either. There are many examples of reckless and irresponsible spending. There are countless examples of people living beyond their means and buying things (such as houses) that they could not afford. In this age of information people still claim they did not know what they are signing? If you make a 200 thousand dollar purchase and don’t do your homework why should everyone else bail you out? The government for the last 25 years has fostered an environment which encourages this idea of inordinate risk taking and irresponsible spending.

None of this is really relevant for the present (it is relevant for the future but not now). Whatever the reason is for us being in this mess, we are here. The question now is what do we do? I think the idea behind both of these bailouts could not have been more wrong. The methodology behind these bailouts could not be more flawed and the execution or purposed execution has been abysmal. I think the only way we are going to get out of this mess is if we completely change the way we have done things. Giving all this money to the people who led us down this road is a ridiculous idea. Whose wonderful idea was it to give a butt load of money to some of the richest guys in the world with no accountability or oversight? Why would you expect them to do the right thing? I further think the whole idea of trickle down economics is silly in this economy. It goes against all of human nature. I think in this case you have to employ a strategy that lets human nature work for us rather then against us. I say give to people in need not to people who want.

Here is what I would do. The government gave away 700 billion dollars. There are 75 million homeowners in the United States. If you divide 700 billion by 75 million you get a little over 9300 dollars. What would happen if the government gave every home owner 9300 dollars? Before you say it will never work consider the ramifications.

The people who were 4 months behind on their mortgage could catch up. This would relieve some of the pressure exerted on banks by toxic mortgages and bad assets. The people who still couldn’t pay would now have 9300 dollars in cash to try to renegotiate their mortgage. The people who were current on their mortgage would have a number of options. They could pay down there mortgage more and get ahead. They would get a great bargin and pay less interest in the long term. They could put it in savings and thereby amass capital. They could invest it and thereby help the economy. They could pay down debt making their loan possibilities more attractive. They could put it into education for themselves or for their children. This would increase the effectiveness of our work force. They could give it to a charity and help their community. Even if they just brought a plasma TV or something else they don’t need they would buy something which would increase demand and cause companies to perhaps hire more people. This approach would help people who needed it but it would also reward people who did the right thing with their money. The people who paid all there bills on time have many more options then people who spent money foolishly. Isn’t that better then giving all our money to a bunch of rich people who could care LESS THEN A FART about us?

The auto bailout is the other thing that has been on the news. This grinds my gears even more for many more reasons. These American companies have built crappy cars for years. They have built an inferior product. They further had no foresight either economically or environmentally. Some would say that they were just building cars that Americans wanted to buy. In reality they put ZERO energy into marketing an alternative. I have seen more hybrid commercials in the last 6 months then I have in the last 15 years. When they were making profits and selling SUVs and hummers and over priced bad cars by the BUTTLOAD, why weren’t they investing that money into researching a fuel efficient car. Why weren’t they reinvesting that money into re tooling their factories? Why weren’t they preparing for the future instead of giving multi million dollar bonuses to their executives? Now that Toyota and Honda have a 15 year head start on hybrids and batteries they want US taxpayer (the same people who brought crappy SUV’s) to bail them out.

I may be inclined to give them the money if I thought it would work. I don’t think the bailout of the financial industry is right but I am not going to make another mistake just so I can feel better about the first mistake. The automobile bailout IS NOT GOING TO WORK. The first reason is the state of the American consumer. Over the last 15 years Americans have had a savings rate of -5%. That means that for every dollar an American makes they owe someone else a $1.05. Compare this to the average Chinese worker which had a savings rate of +24%. That means for every dollar they make they put 24 cents in the bank. This is for a number of reasons mainly the cost of living is rising way faster then salaries as well as some good ol' fashioned IRRESPONSIBITY. What ever the reason, many Americans are in no position to buy a new car even if they wanted to. Even if Detroit was making perfect cars, there are simply not enough people to buy them.

The second reason that this will never work is because of the American cars themselves. The cars coming out of Detroit are years behind the industry in hybrid technology. They are even further behind in battery technology. To cut cost what is the first thing they are going to do. LAY OFF WORKERS. This is a classic example of how the little guy is getting completely screwed. Before I go any further I would like to say that auto workers currently in Detroit make $29/hour and not the often reported $75/hour. Why is there a discrepancy? Here is the answer. The car companies pay workers a salary. They also pay their health care and all that other stuff. Then they are still paying retired workers their pensions. By some crazy union negotiating there are some severance packages and job banks and unemployment benefits. The companies add all these expenses up then divide by the number of people currently working and you get 75 dollars per hour. You may have missed that. I just added up the money that EVERYONE (retired unemployed and working) but I only divided by the NUMBER OF PEOPLE WORKING. When you divide the amount the companies are spending by the amount of people they are spending the money on you get $29 and hour NOT $75. The fact that they are paying a bunch of people that aren’t working doesn’t change the fact that the guy on the line working 12 hour shifts is getting 29 dollars an hour. Trying to pin this crisis on the average worker is SHAMEFUL. I can’t believe people actually want to take away from people who have less and give to people that have more. So what is the industries purposed solution? TO PAY THE WORKRES LESS AND CUT JOBS. So the person that is already barely making it is going to have his wages cut and be laid off. I find it ironic that Joe six pack is the guy that the republican ideology is suppose to stand up for and he is the one once again that will be screwed.

So what is the solution? Well I can think of 2. One is the safe answer that I think may work. One of them is the crazy man answer that I really think will work.

Solution 1

Like my bank bail out solution, I would give money to everyone who buys an American car. I am a hard core Toyota guy but if I were given a $5000 Ford coupon I would seriously think of trading in my Toyota and buying a Ford. All the people driving around in a ‘92 Honda civic may see this as an opportunity to buy a much needed new car. If people had cash on hand they would be more likely to get a loan from a bank. It is probably easier to get a loan with a bigger down payment because you need a smaller loan. At the same time the government could offer incentives for buying hybrids and give less money toward the purchase of an SUV. This would make it in people’s best interests to buy fuel efficient cars and would encourage the industry to invest in clean technology. This would also mean that to meet this demand that the auto industry would have to make more cars and more importantly need workers to build them and salesmen to sell them.

Solution 2

Find something else for the big 3 and their workers to build. It is very possible that the big three is too far behind to ever catch up. There are other companies (like Tesla in the Silicon Valley) that have produced a car with a battery that gets 100 miles per charge. The Chevy Volt which is due to come out next year gets less then 50. So Chevy is going to release a car next year that today is already obsolete. The Tesla cost way too much to produce. So give Tesla the money to buy Chrysler and retool the factories. Then they will have a car that can compete and plants to build it cheaper. Let Ford continue building cars because I think they have the best chance of doing it. GM would get money to retool their factories and retrain their work force to build the infrastructure that our country so desperately needs. There are many cities that are building new railway systems that have to go outside this country to buy them. The government has a chance to initiate a massive infrastructure project and at the same time has the power to make sure that GM is at the forefront of this technology. Once we have built all the light and magnetic rail, bullet trains, wind turbines, solar panels, and power lines we need GM will be in a position to SELL THESE PRODUCTS TO THE REST OF THE WORLD. Who knows that may even create more jobs.

Either one of these plans is better then giving a lot of money to a bunch of greedy rich guys to go down a path that will lead to nothing but ruin.

That was supposed to be a 30 second light article but I got carried away. I am not an economist, I know nothing about cars and I don’t like math all that much. As always I want to hear reasons from people why this won’t work.

BAILOUT? BAIL THIS!!!!!

free (this is gonna be a long one get comfy)

This election was historic in many ways. As I was watching the results of this election I was in a state of political euphoria. The guy, who I wanted to win, won. The excitement and enthusiasm people showed for this election was amazing. The speeches that BOTH candidates gave on this night were both inspiring and noble. It was an amazing and historic night. There was however one fly in my political ointment. 

This took place in the state of California. On this historic Election Day the citizens in California voted in favor of proposition 8. This proposition amended the California state constitution to define marriage between a man and a woman. This proposition overturned a state Supreme Court ruling that allowed same sex couples to be married. I found it ironic that the residence of California could put aside centuries of racism and vote for a black man to be president, then on the same ballot vote to disenfranchise a significant part of its citizenry.

Let me state that my religious convictions are different from my political ones.  I am not arguing religion. I am arguing for the belief that the state should be separate from religion. That principle has spared this country from the religious wars that have ripped other countries apart. The idea of separation of church and state means that one religion will not impose its view over the citizens of the state. It also means the state will not impose the views of the majority on others.  It means that despite my own religious convictions I have to act In the interest of fairness toward my neighbors even if their belief system is different from my own. It means that to preserve my rights I have an obligation to defend the rights of the minority even when I differ with their believe system. I have to divorce my religious conviction and side with the principle of equal status under the law for all of this country’s citizens. To deny rights to citizens based on the religious convictions of the masses is exactly what the separation of church and state is suppose to guard against. To put it simply I don’t want the government in my church and I don’t want my church in the government.

In my opinion there are 2 parts of a marriage. The first part is an agreement that 2 people make before God and swear to enter into this new relationship that will trump all other relationships in their life.  A relationship where each individual vows to put the interest of the other person over the interests of their own. The second part of a marriage deals with the rights that the state affords to these 2 people in this new relationship.  The first part of this relationship perhaps may be disavowed based on some moral or religious conviction. The second part of this contract cannot be.

The second part of a marriage is the legal rights afforded to the new couple by the state. These are rights afforded to married couples that are not afforded to other relationships. The assumed power of attorney, transfer of property upon death of an individual, and the equitable division of assets in the event of a divorce are among these rights.  There are also issues of insurance coverage, hospital visitation and a whole host of other rights that are afforded to married couples but not to anyone else. It should be noted that none of the rights I have mentioned have religious implications.  All of these are the rights that the state (which we claim to be separate from religion) affords married people.  

Let me state that this is a question of fairness and legality.  This is not a question of religion and defiantly not a question of morality. This is a question of American citizens being denied rights that all citizens are entitled to. When I was in sixth grade I memorized a part of a one page document with very bad hand writing. It went something like this. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  While the lives of gay people are not being threatened (yet) their liberties and their pursuits of happiness most definitely are. This document further instructs that “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it”. While I do not think out government should be abolished I do believe that some alterations are definitely in order. It is not the job of the government to impose morality. It is the job of government to insure that all of its citizens are treated equally and fairly under the law. It is the job of this government to insure that the rights of the minority are protected.

One of the most striking images I saw on election night was Jesse Jackson crying when they announced that Barak Obama had won the presidency.  This image represented the fulfillment of a movement that began some 50 years ago. The civil rights movement was the movement in this country in which black people sought to have their rights recognized and respected. There efforts were instrumental in assuring that all of Americas citizens (at least in theory) would not have their rights infringed upon based on race. One of the people who have been instrumental in this movement was Jesse Jackson.  I can only imagine what he was feeling as he watched a black man be elected president of the United States. I can only imagine the gratification that he felt as he realized that a country which had a principle of racial inequality from its very foundation could elect a black man as president. It must have been a moment of reflection to realize that 50 years ago he was a young man fighting for something that seemed so far away. It must have been a very fulfilling moment to realize that the idea that he fought for, the idea that he dedicated much of his adult life to, had produce a country that could elect a black man president.

The thing that I find most ironic about prop 8 is that the group that voted most significantly against gay marriage was … get ready…BLACK PEOPLE!!!! 75% of black people and 80% of black women voted for prop 8 and against gay marriage. The group who has had the most of their rights denied over the 300 year history of this country.  The group that has had to fight the hardest to gain equality is the group that voted to not only deny rights but take rights away from their fellow citizens. The black church who was the backbone of one of the greatest non-violent political movements in history is the same group that put the nail in the coffin of the rights of gay people.

The other legal issue I have heard deals with the idea that this is what the people of California want. That the majority of people voted for this and the “liberal court system” reversed the will of the people. I think this idea could not be more wrong. I am sure that if you asked the citizens in Arkansas in 1954 to vote they would have voted that black people should not attend white schools. If you asked people in 16 states in 1967 the majority would have voted against inter racial marriage.  It is not the job of the courts to vote for what is popular. It is the job of the courts to interpret the law and to make sure that all of America’s citizens are treated fairly under it. That is precisely why Supreme Court judges are not elected. They are not suppose to do what the majority wants but to do what is right for America and all of her citizens.   

People asked me why I should care. I am not gay. I can still get married rather gay people can or not. Why does it bother me so much? My first instinct is because I believe in what America can be. I believe as Martin Luther king did that “one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed." If I believe this is true then I have to support this Idea even when it is uncomfortable. If this wonderful experiment called America is going to work then it has to work for everyone. When we allow one person to be treated unfairly we are all less free. When we allow one group to be unfairly treated under the law then we put the rights of all of us in jeopardy. 

History is full of examples of people who did not appear to have a stake in a matter that risked a great deal for what is right. There were white people like William Lloyd Garrison who fought for the abolition of slavery. There are Christians like Corrie Ten Boom who hid their Jewish Neighbors during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. There are white people like Michael Schwerner who were lynched in Mississippi for their work in the civil rights movement. These people risked all to teach us a very important lesson. Everyone is harmed when injustice becomes acceptable and further sanctioned by the very government that is supposed to be protecting us. They taught us that as long as one person is allowed to be devalued under the law that none of us are truly free. This is why I was so upset by the passing of prop 8.

I’d love to hear from people who supported prop 8. Please tell me the LEGAL reason why you support this bill. Not a religious argument or a moral argument but a LEGAL one.

On a side note, i know mike bloomberg is the mayor of NYC not the Governor of the state. Sorry I'm a dork.

liberal schmiberal

I have voted democrat in the last few elections but I still consider myself an independent.  In this election we have heard not only democrat and republican but we also here terms like liberal and conservative. I think that these terms are not as polar as people make them. I think both sides have something of value to offer.

I agree with the fiscal conservative philosophy. I believe that the individual is better capable of managing his/her own affairs then the government. I also believe in personal responsibility. When something goes wrong in my life most of the time I am to blame. I think we have to be very careful not to blame others for our problems. I also do not think we should absolve ourselves form all blame when we find ourselves in a tough situation.

I do think this philosophy is only effective when the playing field is level. I think that government should realize that people are placed into situations that are inherently advantageous or disadvantageous. It is the job of government to ensure that all people have a fair chance to achieve to the best of their talents.  The inability for the conservative agenda to realize this is the source of most of my disagreements with them.

I also think that the whole idea of social conservatism is inconsistent with the conservative philosophy. Most fiscal conservatives would agree that the government should stay out of people’s way of advancement. I think this philosophy should also hold true for people’s personal lives. I think government should stay out of the personal affairs of others. I think that religion, sexuality, and other things of that nature are matters that should be decided by individuals without the influence of government.

I also think it is a failing of this Republican Party not to embrace issues that effect us all. The environment is something that effects everyone. This is the biggest problem that we face (I can make a very good argument for anyone that disagrees). It effects every part of our lives. I don’t see why environmental causes are considered liberal. It is in everyone’s interests to have clean air and ice caps that aren’t melting. It is in the interests of everyone that find a way to balance the need for resources with the need to consume them. Why is the need for energy sources that could sustain a growing population indefinitely a liberal idea? 

If there were less hunger there would be fewer people willing to perform acts that we would consider radical. I believe that desperation is a big motivation for much of the violence we see in the world. It is in everyone’s interests to end world hunger. Why is this not a conservative view?

I further fail to see the flaws in this ideology when you consider what the Christian God whom I worship and whom they claim to worship says about the environment and helping your fellow man. Why is the idea of being a steward of this creation not a conservative view? Why isn’t the idea of “whatsoever you do for the least of my brethren you do to me” considered conservative. For a movement that considers religions so important it seems ironic that the ideas that affect us all are not higher on the priority list.

I am not saying these views don’t exist in conservatism. I am saying that the way conservatism has presented itself leaves much to be desired. Maybe the liberal media is slandering them. Maybe they have bad marketing, or maybe I am just a TREE HUGGING HIPPY LIBERAL!

While it is true that in recent years I have voted on the democratic side I am not opposed to voting for republicans. With that being said, here are four republicans that I think are ok. I encourage others to try to add some to this list. Who knows next election cycle I may be pushing the (R) lever.

4. Bobby Jindal – The new governor of Louisiana. Text book fiscal conservative. Has based his whole campaign on cleaning up the corruption in one of the most corrupt states in the country. He wants to change the economic environment of his state to attract more business to Louisiana. So far so good. Don’t let the fact that he participated in an EXORCISM freak you out. (Yeah he really did…when he was in college)

3. Ron Paul – The congressman from the great state of Texas. He believes that the national debt is one of the things killing this country and I happen to agree with him. He also wants to adopt a non interference foreign policy which may not be possible in the interconnected world that we live in. Still it is a welcome change from the Dick Chaney kill em all mentality. Anyone who wants to blow up the Federal Reserve and go back to the gold standard deserves some consideration.

2. Arnold Schwarzenegger - The “Governator” of California. I love his environmental policy and his willingness to try new things. I don’t agree with everything he proposes but when he sees something isn’t working he is not afraid to blow it up and start over. His immigration and health care reforms were very bold attempts to fix unfixable problems

1. Michael Bloomberg – The governor of New York. Financial genius. Thinks completely out of the box. Getting things passed like a smoking ban. I like his education reform. The fast food restrictions to fix health care cost. Building a freakin wind turbine island off the coast of the biggest city in America.  I don’t know what is more remarkable. The ability to think of this stuff or the political savvy needed to get it passed into law. Id vote for him in a New York minute.

I’d love to hear from you especially if you consider yourself conservative. I defiantly want to hear from you if you want to add another name to my list.

18 AGAIN!

The fact that I work part time on a college campus affords me the opportunity to get to know many 18-22 year olds. Many of them voted in a presidential election for the first time on November 4 2008.  I was very impressed with the length that some of my students went to inform themselves. Some of them even got involved with some of the campaigns. The enthusiasm expressed by them in this political season was something that was great to see. It actually for a second made me wish I was 18 again.  Before we go any further let me just state that I have no desire to go back to a time where I had no money, no car, and no job. I can honestly say the time I am living in right now is the happiest time of my life. Having said that I can’t help but recall what I felt the first time I voted.

 

I was raised to take voting very seriously. My parents are very informed citizens who consider it their duty to vote. They stressed to both me and my sister never to take this right for granted. They stressed to me the importance of performing this duty. They always pointed out to me the sacrifices that others had made so that I would have the right to vote. My parents would talk politics to me and my sister at the dinner table on many occasions.

 

About a month after I got to Rutgers University, there was a voter registration drive in the dining hall. I registered to vote in the city of New Brunswick. I remember the excitement I had. It was enthralling to know that I was going to be a part of this thing that was bigger then myself. This thing that I heard my parents arguing about at the dinner table. This thing that was all around me, on TV, in newspapers, in magazines, and on radio. I could finally get to do this thing that impacted nearly every area of my life. I would finally get to participate in this thing which I was forced to only observe for so many years.

 

I was a little disappointed that most of my peers didn't really seem to care. A significant number of them wanted no part of the political process at all. At best they were indifferent at worst they were outraged by the whole process. I remember feeling a little upset and mostly disappointed. I remember thinking "I wonder if Martin Luther King thought that this voting thing really didn’t matter." I wonder what Alice Paul would say if she found out that she was thrown in jail and force fed though a tube so that 80 years later most people would stay home from the polls just because it was raining. I resolved that I would vote even if it were an inconvenience. I would vote even if it was raining. I would vote even if my vote didn’t really count. I would even vote if none of the candidates were worthy of my vote. I decided that I could not let all the people who gave their lives so I could vote die for NOTHING.

 

With a renewed sense of commitment I went to a few speeches about people in government. I researched the candidates running for the congressional district that New Brunswick was a part of. On Election Day I walked to the Sacred Heart on Suydam Street and voted. I got home to find out that 80% of the people eligible to vote let the day pass without voting (the forecast that day was for rain). That night I felt like an outsider in the sense that I felt that most around me failed to see the things that I saw.

 

This presidential election was something VERY different. This election I saw groups of my students who stayed home on Friday night to watch a debate. Everywhere I went I heard people talking about their country and what course it should take. I was very happy to see how many new voters were in this election. How many were excited to cast their ballot for the first time. How many people stood in line for hours to vote. How many people thought they had a stake in this country and how everyone believed on some level that their vote could effect change.

 

I never stopped voting. I have voted in almost every election I have been eligible for (the exception being a few school board elections that I was out of town for). I never stopped believing that my vote mattered. I never stopped believing an individual could make a difference. I never stopped believing that people could unite and make their voices heard. I never stopped believing that this process was worth the effort. This election I was happy not because I did what I do every first Tuesday in November but because I had A LOT OF COMPANY!!!

 

This is the atmosphere I would have liked my first election to have been. I was very happy getting text messages from friends as results came in on Election Day. I was very happy to see the enthusiasm for one of the things that truly makes this country great. I wish that my first election would have been something like the one that my students took part in for the first time.

 

My only wish now is that this involvement continues. I would hate to see people slip back into the grips of political apathy. I hope people continue to inform themselves and to stay involved with the political process. Government works best when the people we elect are held accountable for their actions. The only way they can be held accountable is by having an informed active electorate. I hope that in the future voter turn out continues to increase. I hope that people continue to take the steps necessary to inform themselves.

 

SO I would like to thank everyone who voted in this election. Even if you didn’t vote for the guy I did. Thank you for giving me the sense that Americans do realize how precious the gift of self governance is. Thank you for not making me feel like an outsider on this Election Day. Thank you for giving me the sense that everyone around me sees what I see. With all its problems America can be what it is suppose to be if we all work at it. Thank you for reaffirming that those people who fought and struggled and died did it for a something that was worth while.

 

ALL THIS ENTHUSIAM IS MAKING ME FEEL LIKE I AM 18 AGAIN!!!!!

 

 

 

hello

I have been thinking about doing this blogging thing for a while. Over the course of a day many thoughts pop into my head that I think about sharing with others. The problem is I am terrible at journal writing. I have never been able to write anything consistently so ideas like this eventually die. I am hoping that the people reading this will encourage me to write more. 

I am not sure what to expect but here is what you should expect. I have a lot of opinions about a lot of topics. I have a very diverse set of interests. I love to hear other opinions especially ones that differ from mine. One thing that has helped me to grow as a person is the opportunity to listen to people who think differently then I do. Sometimes I think they are right and I change the way I think. Sometimes I think they are wrong but having a different way of looking at something is never a bad thing.

I look forward to having your help in this blogging experiment. I invite all who read this to chime in with your opinion. I encourage you to tell friends that you think may find this interesting.

If you are reading this and you see it has been a week since my last entry you should yell at me to write more.

The next 3 things I intend to write are going to be about politics. This will not be a political blog but in light of recent events this topic has been on my mind.

SPOON