“You ain’t got no problem, Jules. I’m on the MUTHA’ FU#$%R. Go back in there and chill them nigg!@#s out and wait for the wolf, which will be comin’ directly.”
That line was from the movie Pulp Fiction and was spoken by the character Marcellus Wallace. In the midst of a stressful situation, a frantic Jules calls his boss Marcellus Wallace and demands that Mr. Wallace take action to get him out of the mess he is in. The calm and cool collected boss with a few choice words reassures him that he is taking steps to fix the problem.
As I watched the political news cycle unfold in recent weeks, I see several comparisons between the situation in the movie and the political scene in Washington, DC.
The Crisis
There are several things that happened this year that have caused some people to perceive a crisis. In the 2008 elections, the Democrats won sweeping majorities. Early in 2009, the Democratic congress passed a stimulus package that despite much opposition. There was a bailout of the Auto Industry that no one liked, but most think had to be done. There was a heated debate regarding healthcare – one of the Democratic Party’s major agenda items. There were 2 governor elections that the Democrats lost. And the final straw seemed to be the election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts after the death of Ted Kennedy. Most Democrats started freakin' the heck out. This was akin to a frantic Jules calling Marsellus Wallace and freaking out. He wanted a solution to his problem, he wanted his boss to appreciate his dilemma, and he wanted assurances that things were going to work out.
To add to this, there were many people in the Democratic Party who have been critical of the administration. Some claimed that Obama was not moving fast enough. Some said he was not delivering the change he promised. Some claimed that he was not doing enough. Some felt that if he didn’t move more to the left that he would alienate the very people that put him in office. It seemed that the change we could believe in was coming apart at the seams.
The Response
A response to all this came at the State of the Union Address. Obama gave what many political experts call one of the best speeches of his political career. He reiterated his agenda with an optimism that had been lost in recent months. He provided a historical context, and reminded viewers that the reasons we are in the pickle we are in now have more to do with the previous administration than the last year. It was political mastery completely putting his opponents on the defensive.
About a week later he did something even more impressive. He went on live television in a room full of his political enemies and had a debate. This was the best setting for the Republicans – he was out numbered and the debate was at a time of their choosing. He then proceeded to make them look like idiots on national television. He deflected their rhetoric with well thought out answers that were completely sensible and completely improvised. He then used the opportunity to debunk much of the political mythology.
The final part of this response was to debate his most controversial legislation on live television. The “Health Care Summit” was a forum in which Democratic and Republican law makers sat down with the president for SIX HOURS on national TV to debate health care reform. Once again, Obama shined, taking maybe the most complex political issue of our time and arguing specific points of such a complex issue.
The Wolf
I think this was Obama’s finest two months in office for several reasons. The first reason is the nature of the response. Obama won by a decisive majority. The Democrats won the Senate and the House in the last election. I believe the Democrats underestimated their position. America made a choice. In 2008, the American people were presented with two different directions to take the country. The majority of people chose Obama and the Democrats. The last few months were the first time I felt the Democrats were governing from this position. It is time for the Democrats to do what they were elected to do. I think they waited a year too long before they started governing. I hope it was not too late.
The two live debates were truly significant. To go on live TV and to debate an issue as complex as health care would be impressive in itself. To handle every single question without batting an eye is amazing. I am trying to picture George Bush going on national TV and debating health care with the level of competence that Obama did. To go into a room filled with your political adversaries and be the smartest person in the room is amazing. I think this will completely change what we expect of a president. In this YouTube and Podcast streaming society that we live in, we are going to expect every president to be able to do this. I think he has raised the bar for everyone that comes after him.
I am going to make a statement that may be pretty crazy when you consider that Obama has been in office for a little more than a year. Obama is the greatest politician of our generation. Whether you agree with Obama’s policies or not. Whether you think he is an American citizen or not. Whether you think he is a communist or not. Whether or not you think he is has been propped up by the American media. Obama is the greatest politician since FDR; maybe the greatest politician in American history. Even if you disagree with his policies (and I disagree with some of them), I hope that you can appreciate what you are witnessing. I am not saying that this is a good thing. Being good at politics is a means and not and end. The ends are to be debated, but the political means by which Obama is proceeding are nothing short of spectacular.
Obama is much like The Wolf (Harvey Keitel) character in Pulp Fiction. He walks into the room completely in control of the situation, completely informed and completely in charge. He instructs all the people in the room to get the job done. He recognizes the urgency of the situation and motivates the major players to take action. He takes on the problems of the situation one by one, but keeps in mind the over all goal. Whether he gets the job done remains to be seen, but the way he deals with the politics is like watching MJ play basketball.
I guess that makes me Marsellus Wallace. The Democrats just need to chill out. Yes Scott Brown is a Senator. Yes the Democrats have lost 2 governorships in the last 2 elections. Every night Glenn Beck finds a new conspiracy theory and Sean Hannity complains about loosing his country. Sarah Palin’s book is selling like hotcakes. The tea party movement is getting louder and angrier. CHILL THE FREAK OUT!!!!!! The Democrats will loose seats, but we will still have a majority. Two years from now unemployment may be under 10%. When that happens, the Republicans will still be the party that voted against the stimulus. They will still be the party of “NO”. The angry hoards will not burn down Washington. Just chill out and wait for The Wolf who will be coming directly!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Imagination
On Sunday the Academy Awards winners will be announced. This is one of the few award shows that I actually watch. I watch the Toni awards because I LOVE musicals and if I am going to pay 80 bucks for show I want to know something about it. I watch the Grammys but I only watch the performances. I don’t watch who actually won. I do watch the Oscars every year. I don’t watch the Red Carpet or Barbara Walters or all that other non-sense. I could care less about who is wearing what. I just like movies and I see a lot of them. This year I saw everything nominated in a major category plus all of the short films that were nominated. The big change in the format was increasing the list of best picture nominees from 5 to 10. I was fortunate enough (or crazy enough) to see all of the nominees. Here is what I thought of the movies nominated for best picture this year. I will also mention what films I think should win in the other categories.
NOTE: I am not going to discuss specific plot details of these movies but I am going to give you my conclusions so read at your own risk. I wouldn’t want to ruin anyone’s element of surprise.
District 9
Lots of people HATED this movie. Honestly I can see why they did. It is a very slow pace especially in the beginning. On the surface in look likes a sci-fi movie with ugly aliens and unflattering scenery. The handheld camera documentary look is also uncomfortable to some people. This movie also does not have any "A" list movie stars. The actors in this film to must American s are unfamiliar at best. Once you get passed all that, this movie was really good. First, the actual movie making was spectacular. It does not get the credit I think it deserves because the technology is so subtle. The effects are so well blended into the movie that you may not even notice them at first. The fact that you just accept what you are seeing as real is the triumph of the visual part of this movie. The story is very interesting. It is suppose to be a parallel of South Africa during the Apartheid government. One of the best things about science fiction is that it can use alien races and sci-fi tech stuff to make you consider the other side of an equation. This movie does that very well. If you are not thinking carefully you could find yourself rooting for the good guys I, I mean the bad guys.
Up
I am a big fan of Pixar. I am big fan of their creativity as well as their technical innovation. I do not think I have seen a bad Pixar movie. “Up” is the story of an old man who takes a trip to South America. It is a typical Disney story where he meets many cute friends and talking dogs along the way. There were 2 aspects of this story that I found very interesting. The first is how this movie deals with the idea of regret. What we want to accomplish when we are kids vs. our adult expectations are very often different. How reconcile those differences is important. It is often difficult but worthwhile to realize what we have actually accomplished vs. what we have not. If one is not careful they can find themselves regretting what they did not do instead of celebrating what they have done. The other theme I found interesting was the perceptions we have as children and how they change as we move into adult hood (I AM ABOUT TO TALK ABOUT A SPECIFIC PART IN THE PLOT OF THIS MOVIE). In this movie the main character’s childhood idle turns out to be the villain of the movie. How the main character looks at the world as a child vs. what he sees as adult turn out to be very different. This also highlights how we perceive people in the media. Sometimes we do not realize that the media image of a person we see is quite different from the reality of who this person actually is. I believe this movie is one of Pixar’s better efforts.
A Serious Man
I ABSOLUTLY HATED THIS MOVIE. Sorry but I just didn’t get it. I like the Cohen brothers but this movie did nothing for me. It is the story of a sub-urban Jewish family in the 1970’s. This family has there own set of weird personalities and its on set of problems. I like the situations that the characters find them selves in but there is just not enough for me. I found the “chapters” and the choices to divide the story telling effort not worth the time I needed to invest in the movie. The prologue of the movie had no tie in or if it did I missed it. At the end of the movie I was left with the feeling “What did I just do for the last two hours?” I can appreciate the moving making skill of this movie but not the actual movie.
The Blind Side
I read this book a few years ago. Michael Lewis is one of my favorite sports authors. I would suggest that every football fan should read "Everybody’s All Americans" by Sally Jenkins and "The Blind Side" by Michael Lewis. The Blind Side is a football strategy book about the evolution of the Left tackle position. More accurately it is about how changes in offensive and defensive strategy have impacted the left tackle making it one of the highest paid positions in sports. The author uses the Michael Oher back-story as a framing for this strategic analysis. The movie itself focuses on the Tuohy family and Michael Oher a homeless kid who is given a chance to excel at football. I was saddened when I think of the potential that we will never have a chance to see developed because I believe there are many gifted people who will never get the opportunity to succeed at something. This movie and this story are an example of what can be accomplished when some people are simply given a chance.
An Education
I liked this movie a lot. I love the acting. I love the pace of this movie. While the story was very, very, creepy I was still completely sucked into it. Having said that, this movie pissed me off more than any other movie this year!!! This movie is about an older man who has an affair with a 16 year old girl. The thing that pissed me off was not this relationship (although it was very very VERY creepy) but the views expressed about women in general specifically the idea of education in the lives of women in 1960s England. The main character in the movie is confronted with the question “Why should I work to go to Oxford if in the end I am just going to be a housewife or teach kindergarten”. The role that women were expected to play in the 1950s-and 60s to me is absolutely revolting. I like to believe that we have come much farther than that. I believe that there is much more work to be done in the feminist arena as long as Women are 50% of the population and 66% of the workforce yet they own ONE PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S ASSETS. As long as that statistic is accurate out entire society is doing us a disservice. Some would argue that there are biological reasons for this reality. I would contend that we will never really know as long as there are economic and education inequalities that are infused in the fabric of our society. I believe that education is essential for any individual to have a chance at upward mobility.
Up In the Air
I really liked this movie. I am not really a George Clooney fan. To me he will always be the goofy stock boy with the long hair on “The Facts of Life”. I was not expecting to like this movie as much as I did. The main character in this movie is a man whose job is to go around the country and fire people. In this movie, when a big firm has to lay off a bunch of people they hire George Clooney to “drop the hammer” on their employees that they are planning to layoff. The subplot of this movie also deals with the characters personal life. It raises questions about the role that our jobs play in our lives and asks the question “How much do we sacrifice for our jobs?” What are the ramifications when we sacrifice our relationships for material possessions? One cannot question the timeliness of this movie. If this movie were made 10 years ago it would not be nearly as effective. It also very possible that that this movie was more effective to me because of what stage I am in my life. I am not sure if I would be as moved by this movie if I saw it 10 years ago or 10 years from now.
Precious
This was by far one of the most disturbing movies I have ever seen. It tells the story of an inner city teen named Precious and the many things that happen in her young life. I do not believe this movie is typical of the inner city. I do believe that this movie highlights the many challenges that people in the inner city face. I believe that the success or failure of a person is ultimately determined by the individual. I do not think it is helpful to blame others for the problems in your life. I do think that we must acknowledge that there are people who are born into circumstances (through no fault of their own) that can effect there life outcomes. I think that we must realize that there are people that are born into circumstances that will make it harder to succeed. There are several barriers that are put up that can block the path of an individual to success. I believe that we as a society must do a better job of realizing these barriers exist and must work to remove the machinery that creates these barriers.
Inglorious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino is one of my favorite story tellers. Reservoir Dogs is one of the best movies ever. The Movie Inglorious Basterds is Quentin Tarantino’s latest film.
This movie was a great blend of suspense, humor, and gratuitous violence. The core of this movie plays on our desire to see wrongs righted and to see a happy ending. This movie takes place in occupied France during the Second World War. It is a great historical juxtaposition of the Native American Apache Resistance and the Nazi Campaign in France. The movie is centered on an American Commando Unit charged with performing paramilitary action and eventually takes part in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. This movie blurs the line between heroes and terrorist while the humor and violence can make you question your own sanity for liking it.
The Hurt Locker
This movie was at the Philadelphia film fest last year. It tells the story of a U.S. Army unit in Iraq charged with diffusing bombs. On the news, we hear statistics of people who died in the Iraqi theater. Many times the small number of casualties may seem acceptable to us until you consider that each one of those people is an individual. Each one of those numbers is a person with a family and a life to put on hold to do a very dangerous job. This movie shows how people cope in a very dangerous situation. It also portrays the human side of these events as well as being a good action movie that will make your heart race in places.
Avatar
I thought this was the best film of the year. This movie could completely change my expectations for science fiction movies. I now want to see every science fiction movie in 3D IMAX. The technological leap in movie making is also pretty remarkable. The fact that 2 Sci-fi movies were nominated for best picture made my little geek heart happy. This movie looks amazing. I think the story is just as impressive as the actual movie making. I love movies that put my position on the wrong side of the movie. When you consider the role that America has had in the destruction of indigenous populations as well as the way we have exploited resources it makes the message of this movie very powerful. I do not believe it is intended as a guilt trip but I think it makes us ask some very important questions about what it means to be American. It makes us ask what level of exploitation is acceptable to support our lifestyle. I am not going to ride a bike to work or get rid of my cell phone but I have to think about the consequences of that choice. Do we have a responsibility as Americans to use some (not all) of the wealth that this country has taken from others to make the world a better place? This move finds a clever way to do this while making you look at 10 foot tall blue people and glow in the dark trees.
In a 2008 Harvard Commencement speech, the author J.K. Rolling defined imagination. She said “It the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.” Perhaps that is the biggest power the movies have. I have never lived under Apartheid. I have never been homeless. I have never been told education is a worthless endeavor because I am female. I have never had to diffuse a bomb while under sniper fire. The ability to make a person think about someone else’s point of view if only for a few hours is a worthwhile endeavor. This is only the first part of the power of movies. There is also the possibility of movies like other art forms can not only allow us to empathize but to prompt us to take action. The informative power of movies when coupled with their entertainment value can be something very special and will probably keep me going to the theater for a very long time.
These are my picks. They are who I think should win. I have gotten more picks “right” than “wrong” only one time in the last three years.
Best Picture – Avatar
Best Actor – Morgan Freeman – Invictus
Best Actress – Carey Mulligan – An Education
Best Supporting Actor – Christopher Plummer – The Last Station
Best Supporting Actress – Anna Kendrick – Up In the Air
Best Director – James Cameron – Avatar
Best Original Screenplay – Inglorious Basterds
Best Adapted Screenplay – Up In the Air
On another note the animated shorts this year were all AMAZING. They are usually released on DVD. I highly recommend trying to find them. I think the best of these is called Logorama.
NOTE: I am not going to discuss specific plot details of these movies but I am going to give you my conclusions so read at your own risk. I wouldn’t want to ruin anyone’s element of surprise.
District 9
Lots of people HATED this movie. Honestly I can see why they did. It is a very slow pace especially in the beginning. On the surface in look likes a sci-fi movie with ugly aliens and unflattering scenery. The handheld camera documentary look is also uncomfortable to some people. This movie also does not have any "A" list movie stars. The actors in this film to must American s are unfamiliar at best. Once you get passed all that, this movie was really good. First, the actual movie making was spectacular. It does not get the credit I think it deserves because the technology is so subtle. The effects are so well blended into the movie that you may not even notice them at first. The fact that you just accept what you are seeing as real is the triumph of the visual part of this movie. The story is very interesting. It is suppose to be a parallel of South Africa during the Apartheid government. One of the best things about science fiction is that it can use alien races and sci-fi tech stuff to make you consider the other side of an equation. This movie does that very well. If you are not thinking carefully you could find yourself rooting for the good guys I, I mean the bad guys.
Up
I am a big fan of Pixar. I am big fan of their creativity as well as their technical innovation. I do not think I have seen a bad Pixar movie. “Up” is the story of an old man who takes a trip to South America. It is a typical Disney story where he meets many cute friends and talking dogs along the way. There were 2 aspects of this story that I found very interesting. The first is how this movie deals with the idea of regret. What we want to accomplish when we are kids vs. our adult expectations are very often different. How reconcile those differences is important. It is often difficult but worthwhile to realize what we have actually accomplished vs. what we have not. If one is not careful they can find themselves regretting what they did not do instead of celebrating what they have done. The other theme I found interesting was the perceptions we have as children and how they change as we move into adult hood (I AM ABOUT TO TALK ABOUT A SPECIFIC PART IN THE PLOT OF THIS MOVIE). In this movie the main character’s childhood idle turns out to be the villain of the movie. How the main character looks at the world as a child vs. what he sees as adult turn out to be very different. This also highlights how we perceive people in the media. Sometimes we do not realize that the media image of a person we see is quite different from the reality of who this person actually is. I believe this movie is one of Pixar’s better efforts.
A Serious Man
I ABSOLUTLY HATED THIS MOVIE. Sorry but I just didn’t get it. I like the Cohen brothers but this movie did nothing for me. It is the story of a sub-urban Jewish family in the 1970’s. This family has there own set of weird personalities and its on set of problems. I like the situations that the characters find them selves in but there is just not enough for me. I found the “chapters” and the choices to divide the story telling effort not worth the time I needed to invest in the movie. The prologue of the movie had no tie in or if it did I missed it. At the end of the movie I was left with the feeling “What did I just do for the last two hours?” I can appreciate the moving making skill of this movie but not the actual movie.
The Blind Side
I read this book a few years ago. Michael Lewis is one of my favorite sports authors. I would suggest that every football fan should read "Everybody’s All Americans" by Sally Jenkins and "The Blind Side" by Michael Lewis. The Blind Side is a football strategy book about the evolution of the Left tackle position. More accurately it is about how changes in offensive and defensive strategy have impacted the left tackle making it one of the highest paid positions in sports. The author uses the Michael Oher back-story as a framing for this strategic analysis. The movie itself focuses on the Tuohy family and Michael Oher a homeless kid who is given a chance to excel at football. I was saddened when I think of the potential that we will never have a chance to see developed because I believe there are many gifted people who will never get the opportunity to succeed at something. This movie and this story are an example of what can be accomplished when some people are simply given a chance.
An Education
I liked this movie a lot. I love the acting. I love the pace of this movie. While the story was very, very, creepy I was still completely sucked into it. Having said that, this movie pissed me off more than any other movie this year!!! This movie is about an older man who has an affair with a 16 year old girl. The thing that pissed me off was not this relationship (although it was very very VERY creepy) but the views expressed about women in general specifically the idea of education in the lives of women in 1960s England. The main character in the movie is confronted with the question “Why should I work to go to Oxford if in the end I am just going to be a housewife or teach kindergarten”. The role that women were expected to play in the 1950s-and 60s to me is absolutely revolting. I like to believe that we have come much farther than that. I believe that there is much more work to be done in the feminist arena as long as Women are 50% of the population and 66% of the workforce yet they own ONE PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S ASSETS. As long as that statistic is accurate out entire society is doing us a disservice. Some would argue that there are biological reasons for this reality. I would contend that we will never really know as long as there are economic and education inequalities that are infused in the fabric of our society. I believe that education is essential for any individual to have a chance at upward mobility.
Up In the Air
I really liked this movie. I am not really a George Clooney fan. To me he will always be the goofy stock boy with the long hair on “The Facts of Life”. I was not expecting to like this movie as much as I did. The main character in this movie is a man whose job is to go around the country and fire people. In this movie, when a big firm has to lay off a bunch of people they hire George Clooney to “drop the hammer” on their employees that they are planning to layoff. The subplot of this movie also deals with the characters personal life. It raises questions about the role that our jobs play in our lives and asks the question “How much do we sacrifice for our jobs?” What are the ramifications when we sacrifice our relationships for material possessions? One cannot question the timeliness of this movie. If this movie were made 10 years ago it would not be nearly as effective. It also very possible that that this movie was more effective to me because of what stage I am in my life. I am not sure if I would be as moved by this movie if I saw it 10 years ago or 10 years from now.
Precious
This was by far one of the most disturbing movies I have ever seen. It tells the story of an inner city teen named Precious and the many things that happen in her young life. I do not believe this movie is typical of the inner city. I do believe that this movie highlights the many challenges that people in the inner city face. I believe that the success or failure of a person is ultimately determined by the individual. I do not think it is helpful to blame others for the problems in your life. I do think that we must acknowledge that there are people who are born into circumstances (through no fault of their own) that can effect there life outcomes. I think that we must realize that there are people that are born into circumstances that will make it harder to succeed. There are several barriers that are put up that can block the path of an individual to success. I believe that we as a society must do a better job of realizing these barriers exist and must work to remove the machinery that creates these barriers.
Inglorious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino is one of my favorite story tellers. Reservoir Dogs is one of the best movies ever. The Movie Inglorious Basterds is Quentin Tarantino’s latest film.
This movie was a great blend of suspense, humor, and gratuitous violence. The core of this movie plays on our desire to see wrongs righted and to see a happy ending. This movie takes place in occupied France during the Second World War. It is a great historical juxtaposition of the Native American Apache Resistance and the Nazi Campaign in France. The movie is centered on an American Commando Unit charged with performing paramilitary action and eventually takes part in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. This movie blurs the line between heroes and terrorist while the humor and violence can make you question your own sanity for liking it.
The Hurt Locker
This movie was at the Philadelphia film fest last year. It tells the story of a U.S. Army unit in Iraq charged with diffusing bombs. On the news, we hear statistics of people who died in the Iraqi theater. Many times the small number of casualties may seem acceptable to us until you consider that each one of those people is an individual. Each one of those numbers is a person with a family and a life to put on hold to do a very dangerous job. This movie shows how people cope in a very dangerous situation. It also portrays the human side of these events as well as being a good action movie that will make your heart race in places.
Avatar
I thought this was the best film of the year. This movie could completely change my expectations for science fiction movies. I now want to see every science fiction movie in 3D IMAX. The technological leap in movie making is also pretty remarkable. The fact that 2 Sci-fi movies were nominated for best picture made my little geek heart happy. This movie looks amazing. I think the story is just as impressive as the actual movie making. I love movies that put my position on the wrong side of the movie. When you consider the role that America has had in the destruction of indigenous populations as well as the way we have exploited resources it makes the message of this movie very powerful. I do not believe it is intended as a guilt trip but I think it makes us ask some very important questions about what it means to be American. It makes us ask what level of exploitation is acceptable to support our lifestyle. I am not going to ride a bike to work or get rid of my cell phone but I have to think about the consequences of that choice. Do we have a responsibility as Americans to use some (not all) of the wealth that this country has taken from others to make the world a better place? This move finds a clever way to do this while making you look at 10 foot tall blue people and glow in the dark trees.
In a 2008 Harvard Commencement speech, the author J.K. Rolling defined imagination. She said “It the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.” Perhaps that is the biggest power the movies have. I have never lived under Apartheid. I have never been homeless. I have never been told education is a worthless endeavor because I am female. I have never had to diffuse a bomb while under sniper fire. The ability to make a person think about someone else’s point of view if only for a few hours is a worthwhile endeavor. This is only the first part of the power of movies. There is also the possibility of movies like other art forms can not only allow us to empathize but to prompt us to take action. The informative power of movies when coupled with their entertainment value can be something very special and will probably keep me going to the theater for a very long time.
These are my picks. They are who I think should win. I have gotten more picks “right” than “wrong” only one time in the last three years.
Best Picture – Avatar
Best Actor – Morgan Freeman – Invictus
Best Actress – Carey Mulligan – An Education
Best Supporting Actor – Christopher Plummer – The Last Station
Best Supporting Actress – Anna Kendrick – Up In the Air
Best Director – James Cameron – Avatar
Best Original Screenplay – Inglorious Basterds
Best Adapted Screenplay – Up In the Air
On another note the animated shorts this year were all AMAZING. They are usually released on DVD. I highly recommend trying to find them. I think the best of these is called Logorama.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Obama Report Card (Part 2)
Barack Obama has been president for a little more than a year. There are mixed feelings concerning the job he has done. Some claim he has done absolutely nothing, whereas others claim that he has done a great deal when you consider he has only been in office for a year. People tend to have very strong opinions about this president. The intention of these last 2 blog posts is to evaluate this administration. In my last article, I began the process of giving the Obama administration grades for the work they have or have not done. These are the areas that I have evaluated so far. You may see the previous article for my explanation.
Economy: B
Environment/Energy: C
Health Care: C-
Military: C
Here is the second half of the report card.
Foreign policy: A
In my opinion, this is one of the areas that has declined the most during the last 8 years. Although the economy has been in a downturn during the last 2 years, systemic forces have been in play long before this decade that made our economic situation dubious. The last administration may have pushed the economy off a cliff, but there was decades of bad policy that preceded them. In contrast, the last 8 years of foreign policy have been a disaster. Although many of the forces in play had their origins well before the year 2000, a lot of this disaster in my opinion was caused by the Bush Administration. There are some things that the Obama Administration is doing to change this.
One of the first people appointed by Barack Obama was Hilary Clinton in the role of Secretary of State. Although Clinton is defiantly qualified for this position, the political implications of this hiring cannot be over looked. Hilary Clinton may have been the most visible person in American politics (with the most noticeable exception being Obama himself). In the short term, it makes the statement that the State Department is one of the most important parts of our foreign policy. There are people (such as myself) who think the State Department has been under-emphasized during the last 8 years. To many, a revitalized State Department signals an emphasis on diplomacy that has been lacking. As painful as it is to admit, we don’t have enough troops to fight everyone two hates us. Helping people to realize that they share interests in America and then getting them to help us solve our problems is a much more realistic strategy. This president has made it very clear that he is going to use all of the tools in the tool box, not just the hammer.
The Obama administration has also done a lot to engage our traditional allies. Some people think that having allies in Western Europe is a sign of weakness. They believe that by finding common ground with others we are some how giving away what makes us American. I personally think they could not be more wrong. I think this administration has realized that having allies that think differently is not a bad thing.
I think this administration has done well to realize that there are two sides to every situation. Sometimes we disagree with the other side, but to not even admit there is another side is the thing that DOOMED the foreign policy in the last administration. This policy is no more evident than in our policy with Israel. To acknowledge that there is another side even when that other side is not necessarily in our best interest is a sign of strength, not of weakness. If there is going to be peace in the Middle East, it will be because both sides make concessions and because both sides acknowledge that the other position is legitimate.
Nuclear disarmament was proposed by John McCain during the Republican primary and he got BLASTED by his own base for it. I think to make the world safer we are going to have to scale down our nuclear arsenal. We can’t go around telling others not to build nuclear weapons when we have them in abundance. We are also the only nation to ACTUALLY USE A NUCLEAR BOMB. If we want to live in a world without nuclear weapons, then the nation with the most nuclear weapons must take the lead. The Obama Administration has also pushed for this.
The United Nations has been criticized for being an ineffective organization. I submit that it will never be effective when the greatest county in the world doesn’t take it seriously. It would be in America’s best interests to have an international body that could get things done and be respected. This will never happen until the most powerful nation in the world takes the United Nations seriously. This is something the last administration was absolutely horrible at. Fighting a preemptive war that most of the world did not agree with also hurt out relations with most of our allies. When this war ultimately went badly, it created further tensions between us and our traditional allies.
Some say all Obama has done is made a few speeches. I acknowledge that making speeches is not enough. These speeches are the first step in re-engaging our traditional allies and attempting to bridge the gap with our enemies.
National Security: A
I believe that the approach this administration is taking will be much better in the long run than the strategy previously employed. Not a week goes by when either Dick or Liz Cheney is on TV telling us how unsafe we will be with the Obama administration. I believe that the Bush-Cheeney approach has been detrimental to our image and ultimately ineffective.
The first issue I have with the Bush-Cheney approach is torture. Torture historically has never been a reliable means of extracting information. The chance that the info you are getting is true is equal to the chance that the person being tortured is just telling you what you want to hear. There is no way to reliably tell which of these scenarios is playing out. Even if torture were a good way to get information, it still violates agreements that we have made in good faith. The United States as a country is on the record for NOT TORTURING PEOPLE. Our Bill of Rights states that there will be no “cruel or unusual punishment.” The war on terror is a war of ideas. When we violate our own rules in an attempt to win this war, THE TERRORIST ULTIMATLY WIN. In a war of ideas we have to be the example of democracy for those who don’t have it. Torture sends the message that “we believe in democracy until things get tough.” Why should any country that does not currently have a democracy want a democracy when they see us torture people or throw people in jail without due process? We loose all credibility in the non-democratic world when we torture people. Why would anyone in the Middle East want to aspire to democracy when we torture our own citizens? Why should the government of a developing nation choose democracy when we abandon our fundamental principles as soon as things get a little rough? Why would they think that this government is better then the one they have? I wish the people that argue so passionately for the right to bear arms would also argue for the government not torturing people.
Torture also allows our enemies to present the case that America is evil. They can site our torture as evidence that they are right and that we are wrong. This out weighs any information we could learn by torture.
Employing a strategy based on intelligence and not torture may also generate more information. It is possible that more people will be willing to help us when we don’t torture. Consider the Christmas Day bomber. Most of the Intel we got was from his family members. Do you think his family would turn him in if they thought he was going to be tortured? This bomber also continued to talk (and is still talking) even after he was read his Miranda rights (contrary to what Fox News would have you believe). Why are we as Americans less safe because we follow our own rules? The idea that we need better intelligence is not in dispute. How we go about getting and organizing that information is critical. I believe that the current president has a much better approach then the last one.
My only objection is that the prison at Guantanamo Bay is not closed. This is something Obama said he would do in his first year. I can blame him for making a promise in the middle of the campaign that he could not keep. I think this move must be well thought out; and, although I am disappointed that it is not done yet, I won’t take too much off his grade for being prudent.
I am also mildly disappointed that this administration has not done more to find out which of our officials may have broken the law in their search for actionable intelligence. Since this is not political feasible, we will leave the prosecution of John Yoo and others for another day and another article.
Education: A+
I believe that so far this is Obama’s best area. The amount of money at Arne Duncan’s disposal is unprecedented. What is even more encouraging is the way this money is to be spent. Too often in the past money is given to districts with the highest level of dysfunction. Part of the money at the Secretary of Educations disposal will be given to school districts that show the most improvement. The idea is that there is an incentive for school districts to become more efficient and try new things. This is a system that should reward innovation.
Domestic Issues: B+
The idea that women should be paid the same amount for the same work seems like something that people should agree with. This president signed the Lilly Ledbetter Act this year. This closed a loop hole in the Civil Rights Act that has been in place since 1964. The president has also pledged that gay people will be allowed to serve in the military and will not be fired if their sexual identity is discovered. I think this is something that absolutely has to be corrected. I can criticize him for not moving fast enough but I do believe this will get done this year.
FINAL GRADE: B+
I give Obama an over all grade between a B and a B+. I do think you have to grade him on a curve when you consider where we were a year ago. Most people who hate Obama say they hate him for his policies. Then I ask what policies specifically do they hate. They say they hate the bank bailout, but that was set in motion before he got there. Then they say they hate the Omnibus bill, but that was done before he got there. Then they say they hate the socialist policies, but the economy was in crisis when he took office. They say they hate his foreign policy, but he was handed two wars as well as deteriorating situations in Iran and North Korea. We have no way of knowing how much he could have gotten done if he weren’t thrown into a disaster. The truth is most of this was completely out of his control by the time he took office.
I see this time in American history as a game of hot potato. For 80 years we as a country, both Democrat and Republican, have set up systems that will only help us in the short term. This may be a negative built into our government. The fact that our elected officials have to operate in the short term to keep their careers viable may mean that we have just accept this as part of democracy. Very few presidents will implement a policy that will take 20 years to be successful because their term is only 8 years long. We have employed policies that have been detrimental to our long term success. We as a country benefited from these policies. For 90 years we dumped what ever crap in to the air that we wanted to. For 90 years we meddled in the affairs of other regions with no fear of reprisal. We spent what ever money we wanted and didn’t worry about paying it back. NOW THE MUSIC HAS STOPPED and we are the generation left holding the hot potato. We are the generation that has no choice but to fix these problems.
I believe we do not have the foundation necessary to carry us successfully through this new century. I believe that this president must start building this foundation. It is very possible that the effects of this presidency will not be seen for decades. Fixing our problems will not only need short term solutions, but long term considerations. I am an optimist and I believe that we can rise above these problems. I believe this presidency can truly be transformational.
Economy: B
Environment/Energy: C
Health Care: C-
Military: C
Here is the second half of the report card.
Foreign policy: A
In my opinion, this is one of the areas that has declined the most during the last 8 years. Although the economy has been in a downturn during the last 2 years, systemic forces have been in play long before this decade that made our economic situation dubious. The last administration may have pushed the economy off a cliff, but there was decades of bad policy that preceded them. In contrast, the last 8 years of foreign policy have been a disaster. Although many of the forces in play had their origins well before the year 2000, a lot of this disaster in my opinion was caused by the Bush Administration. There are some things that the Obama Administration is doing to change this.
One of the first people appointed by Barack Obama was Hilary Clinton in the role of Secretary of State. Although Clinton is defiantly qualified for this position, the political implications of this hiring cannot be over looked. Hilary Clinton may have been the most visible person in American politics (with the most noticeable exception being Obama himself). In the short term, it makes the statement that the State Department is one of the most important parts of our foreign policy. There are people (such as myself) who think the State Department has been under-emphasized during the last 8 years. To many, a revitalized State Department signals an emphasis on diplomacy that has been lacking. As painful as it is to admit, we don’t have enough troops to fight everyone two hates us. Helping people to realize that they share interests in America and then getting them to help us solve our problems is a much more realistic strategy. This president has made it very clear that he is going to use all of the tools in the tool box, not just the hammer.
The Obama administration has also done a lot to engage our traditional allies. Some people think that having allies in Western Europe is a sign of weakness. They believe that by finding common ground with others we are some how giving away what makes us American. I personally think they could not be more wrong. I think this administration has realized that having allies that think differently is not a bad thing.
I think this administration has done well to realize that there are two sides to every situation. Sometimes we disagree with the other side, but to not even admit there is another side is the thing that DOOMED the foreign policy in the last administration. This policy is no more evident than in our policy with Israel. To acknowledge that there is another side even when that other side is not necessarily in our best interest is a sign of strength, not of weakness. If there is going to be peace in the Middle East, it will be because both sides make concessions and because both sides acknowledge that the other position is legitimate.
Nuclear disarmament was proposed by John McCain during the Republican primary and he got BLASTED by his own base for it. I think to make the world safer we are going to have to scale down our nuclear arsenal. We can’t go around telling others not to build nuclear weapons when we have them in abundance. We are also the only nation to ACTUALLY USE A NUCLEAR BOMB. If we want to live in a world without nuclear weapons, then the nation with the most nuclear weapons must take the lead. The Obama Administration has also pushed for this.
The United Nations has been criticized for being an ineffective organization. I submit that it will never be effective when the greatest county in the world doesn’t take it seriously. It would be in America’s best interests to have an international body that could get things done and be respected. This will never happen until the most powerful nation in the world takes the United Nations seriously. This is something the last administration was absolutely horrible at. Fighting a preemptive war that most of the world did not agree with also hurt out relations with most of our allies. When this war ultimately went badly, it created further tensions between us and our traditional allies.
Some say all Obama has done is made a few speeches. I acknowledge that making speeches is not enough. These speeches are the first step in re-engaging our traditional allies and attempting to bridge the gap with our enemies.
National Security: A
I believe that the approach this administration is taking will be much better in the long run than the strategy previously employed. Not a week goes by when either Dick or Liz Cheney is on TV telling us how unsafe we will be with the Obama administration. I believe that the Bush-Cheeney approach has been detrimental to our image and ultimately ineffective.
The first issue I have with the Bush-Cheney approach is torture. Torture historically has never been a reliable means of extracting information. The chance that the info you are getting is true is equal to the chance that the person being tortured is just telling you what you want to hear. There is no way to reliably tell which of these scenarios is playing out. Even if torture were a good way to get information, it still violates agreements that we have made in good faith. The United States as a country is on the record for NOT TORTURING PEOPLE. Our Bill of Rights states that there will be no “cruel or unusual punishment.” The war on terror is a war of ideas. When we violate our own rules in an attempt to win this war, THE TERRORIST ULTIMATLY WIN. In a war of ideas we have to be the example of democracy for those who don’t have it. Torture sends the message that “we believe in democracy until things get tough.” Why should any country that does not currently have a democracy want a democracy when they see us torture people or throw people in jail without due process? We loose all credibility in the non-democratic world when we torture people. Why would anyone in the Middle East want to aspire to democracy when we torture our own citizens? Why should the government of a developing nation choose democracy when we abandon our fundamental principles as soon as things get a little rough? Why would they think that this government is better then the one they have? I wish the people that argue so passionately for the right to bear arms would also argue for the government not torturing people.
Torture also allows our enemies to present the case that America is evil. They can site our torture as evidence that they are right and that we are wrong. This out weighs any information we could learn by torture.
Employing a strategy based on intelligence and not torture may also generate more information. It is possible that more people will be willing to help us when we don’t torture. Consider the Christmas Day bomber. Most of the Intel we got was from his family members. Do you think his family would turn him in if they thought he was going to be tortured? This bomber also continued to talk (and is still talking) even after he was read his Miranda rights (contrary to what Fox News would have you believe). Why are we as Americans less safe because we follow our own rules? The idea that we need better intelligence is not in dispute. How we go about getting and organizing that information is critical. I believe that the current president has a much better approach then the last one.
My only objection is that the prison at Guantanamo Bay is not closed. This is something Obama said he would do in his first year. I can blame him for making a promise in the middle of the campaign that he could not keep. I think this move must be well thought out; and, although I am disappointed that it is not done yet, I won’t take too much off his grade for being prudent.
I am also mildly disappointed that this administration has not done more to find out which of our officials may have broken the law in their search for actionable intelligence. Since this is not political feasible, we will leave the prosecution of John Yoo and others for another day and another article.
Education: A+
I believe that so far this is Obama’s best area. The amount of money at Arne Duncan’s disposal is unprecedented. What is even more encouraging is the way this money is to be spent. Too often in the past money is given to districts with the highest level of dysfunction. Part of the money at the Secretary of Educations disposal will be given to school districts that show the most improvement. The idea is that there is an incentive for school districts to become more efficient and try new things. This is a system that should reward innovation.
Domestic Issues: B+
The idea that women should be paid the same amount for the same work seems like something that people should agree with. This president signed the Lilly Ledbetter Act this year. This closed a loop hole in the Civil Rights Act that has been in place since 1964. The president has also pledged that gay people will be allowed to serve in the military and will not be fired if their sexual identity is discovered. I think this is something that absolutely has to be corrected. I can criticize him for not moving fast enough but I do believe this will get done this year.
FINAL GRADE: B+
I give Obama an over all grade between a B and a B+. I do think you have to grade him on a curve when you consider where we were a year ago. Most people who hate Obama say they hate him for his policies. Then I ask what policies specifically do they hate. They say they hate the bank bailout, but that was set in motion before he got there. Then they say they hate the Omnibus bill, but that was done before he got there. Then they say they hate the socialist policies, but the economy was in crisis when he took office. They say they hate his foreign policy, but he was handed two wars as well as deteriorating situations in Iran and North Korea. We have no way of knowing how much he could have gotten done if he weren’t thrown into a disaster. The truth is most of this was completely out of his control by the time he took office.
I see this time in American history as a game of hot potato. For 80 years we as a country, both Democrat and Republican, have set up systems that will only help us in the short term. This may be a negative built into our government. The fact that our elected officials have to operate in the short term to keep their careers viable may mean that we have just accept this as part of democracy. Very few presidents will implement a policy that will take 20 years to be successful because their term is only 8 years long. We have employed policies that have been detrimental to our long term success. We as a country benefited from these policies. For 90 years we dumped what ever crap in to the air that we wanted to. For 90 years we meddled in the affairs of other regions with no fear of reprisal. We spent what ever money we wanted and didn’t worry about paying it back. NOW THE MUSIC HAS STOPPED and we are the generation left holding the hot potato. We are the generation that has no choice but to fix these problems.
I believe we do not have the foundation necessary to carry us successfully through this new century. I believe that this president must start building this foundation. It is very possible that the effects of this presidency will not be seen for decades. Fixing our problems will not only need short term solutions, but long term considerations. I am an optimist and I believe that we can rise above these problems. I believe this presidency can truly be transformational.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Obama Report Card (Part 1)
A few weeks ago Barack Obama delivered his first State of the Union address, just a little more than a year after he won a decisive victory to become the 44th President of the
Economy B
Many people will ask, "How can you give Obama a B in this category when every news report says the economy is in the toilet?" Here is how. The Gross Domestic Product is an indicator of how big the economy is. In George Bush’s last year in office the GDP fell 3 out of 4 quarters. The last 3 months of Goober’s presidency the GDP fell by 6% in 3 months. Six months into Obama’s term, the GDP was growing by 4%. Many people have made a big deal about unemployment being at 10% (and they should). One in 10 people not working is not good for an economy. It was reported that last month that the economy lost 85,000 jobs. This sounds like a huge number until you compare it with the 700,000 jobs that were lost the last month of the Bush Administration.
Many of President Obama’s opponents also site the TARP legislation as an Obama economic misstep. The TARP was signed into law in the fall of 2008 WHILE GEORGE BUSH WAS PRESIDNT. Granted, Senator Obama did vote for TARP and Obama was responsible for the distribution of the second half of the TARP. At worst, Obama can only be blamed for continuing the policy of his predecessor. I was completely against the bank bail outs. I stated this in the article titled ‘Bail This’ which I wrote last December (http://spoon-spoonworld.blogspot.com/2008/12/bail-this.html). I think the mistake that this administration made by not demanding more from the banks. The stipulation could have been to ensure that the banks lend instead of buying interests in other banks. Because this stipulation was not made, the big banks got even bigger and at the same time lending did not increase. It also would have been better to attach financial industry reform to this TARP money rather than fight the fight the administration is fighting now. They could have all the reform they wanted while the banks were the most desperate.
Obama was also criticized for bailing out the auto industry. I have a feeling that if he did not bail out the auto industry that he would have been criticized by his opponents for letting the auto industry in this country disappear. I could probably make that same argument for the AIG bailout. Too bad the initial TARP was negotiated by the last guy.
This administration is criticized most for the economic stimulus package that it passed. Many conservatives denounced the stimulus as a prelude to communism. The argument is that the stimulus and many related policies exemplify government interfering in the markets. After the stimulus passed and the free market did not collapse, people began to say that the stimulus didn’t work or that we need a second stimulus. I suggest that the only thing that was wrong with the stimulus is that there were too many tax cuts and not enough infrastructure spending. The tax cuts were added to perhaps appease some of the opponents to the stimulus package.
Critics of the stimulus package also site that unemployment rose past 10% when the administration claimed that the stimulus would keep this from happening. To me this seems like the administration is being blamed for not having a crystal ball. They can be blamed for making a bad guess, but to say that the stimulus had no effect I believe is inaccurate.
One cannot talk about this economy without talking about the deficit. The federal deficit is out of control and this issue is one that is constantly sited as a weakness in the Obama administration. I would first like to say that for the last 10 years I have been YELLING about the deficit to anyone that would listen. In fact, most Republicans I talked to really didn’t care about it. Also, many people have made a big deal about the Obama budget being so expensive compared with George Bush’s budget. There are a couple of factors to consider. First, the two wars in
The prescription drug plan passed by the Bush Administration in 2003, in my opinion, is the thing that is most responsible for our current deficit. This results in most of the budget deficit. When this drug plan was passed the estimated cost was $434 billion deficit. Then, in 2005, it was revealed that the new estimate for this program was $1.2 TRILLION over 10 years. This number was not included in the Bush budget. During the time all of this legislation was happening, the Bush Administration also had TWO tax cuts. You can’t spend more money and at the same time reduce the money you are taking in. Even Ferris Beuller's teacher can tell you about voodoo economics. All of the discretionary spending that Obama is being criticized for makes up ONLY 8% of the deficit. All the pinko communist liberal programs that are going to in theory bring down capitalism and turn us into
My feeling is that when your house is on fire, YOU DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE TERMITES. The first thing you have to do is PUT THE FIRE OUT. The unemployment rate and the economy not growing is the equivalent of our economic house being on fire. The termites represent our long term deficit. It must be fixed. The termites will eventually eat our house. We must fix our fiscal deficit. I am, however, willing to give this administration time to put out this economic fire. It is a fire that they did not start, but they are the ones who must put it out.
Bill Clinton's last year in office left us with an $800 billion surplus. The Obama budget will result in a $1.2 trillion deficit. That trend happened during the last 8 years and fixing this problem will take more than 1 year to fix. If you are driving a car 80 miles/hour in the wrong direction you cannot simple throw the car in reverse. Blaming this administration for the economy after 1 year when we have been going in the wrong direction for the last 8 years, in my opinion, is unrealistic.
Environment/Energy C
This is the most important issue to me. I think this should have been the first thing this administration really pushed for and not health care. The health care issue may make more political sense, but I think the environment is the biggest problem this generation faces. The administration has done work in this area. They have proposed some very good things. However, I believe that we have a very limited amount of time to fix these problems. I think if we stay on the course we are on for next 30 years we will be facing environmental catastrophe. I also believe that any solution we come up with will take decades to implement. WE HAVE TO FIX THIS NOW!!!!!!! We do not have time to wait for people to come around nor do we have time for moderate procedures that slowly will bend us in the right direction. This is not the time for a smooth transition. This is the time for drastic emergency measures. In this context I cannot give this administration a good grade for this despite the good they have done.
This is most evident in the stimulus package. This could have allowed us to rebuild some of our infrastructure to be more environmentally friendly. We could have invested in magnetic rail. Imagine if there were no 18 wheeled tractor trailers using gas because all of the things shipped in this country where shipped by magnetic rail that uses NO GAS. It would use electricity, so we would need to invest in solar power – A 90 YEAR OLD TECHNOLOGY THAT WE KNOW WORKS. Instead of that, this administration let the Republicans talk them into more tax cuts. Five years ago I would have been thrilled with an administration that did as much as Obama has in terms of our energy policy. In this context, however, it is just simply not enough.
My other criticism has to do with the Copenhagen Climate Conference in 2009. I think this conference was completely ineffective. They failed to hit all of the targets they proposed. They failed to address many of the concerns that the world's climate experts had. Obama cannot be blamed for a world wide failure. He did do about a billion times more than his predecessor. The major stumbling block at
Health care C-
Let me say I am for health care reform. I don’t think it can wait. My main problem with health care and this administration is not what was proposed, but how they went about doing it. There are a few things I would like to see done differently. First, they gave Congress too much wiggle room. They tried to learn a lesson from the
My second criticism regarding health care is that the administration was not more confrontational with Congress (at least in public). They allowed a few senators to dictate the debate with no political cost to them. They could have done more to make it more costly to oppose health care reform. I think putting the negotiations on CSPAN may have been impractical, but I think would have helped the White House. It would allow the administration to go directly to the people and take issue with those that opposed reform.
Now, after all the back room deals and compromises were done and after a year of headache and a ton of spent “political capital,” THERE IS STILL NO BILL!!!! Truthfully I am not even sure I want the proposed bill. Any other year I would be happier than a pig in slop, but fixing this problem is so necessary for our success as a country. I think this reform has to be transformative. Our health care system does not need to be tweaked. IT NEEDS TO BE FIXED!!!! The plans that Obama campaigned on were outstanding. The things that the White House eventually proposed were great. I think the administration underestimated their position. I do not believe the health care debate is over. THIS ISSUE IS NOT GOING TO GO AWAY. The problem is too big and too important not to be dealt with. I have confidence that in the future this president will get this done. This is one of the top 3 things I wanted to see this administration do. This grade is based on what he has done not what I think he can do.
Military C
Barack Obama inherited 2 wars. He inherited a war in
I have stated in an earlier article (The Big A: http://spoon-spoonworld.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html) that I have major problems with the strategy in
Very closely related with
One of the most reckless aspects of these 2 wars was how ill prepared
This is only half of the things I am rating this president on. This article has grown longer than I have anticipated. I will post the rest of my evaluation as well as my total grade for this administration in the next article. In the interim, I would love to hear how you rate this administration on what they have done in these areas so far.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Haiti
During the last few weeks we have seen horrifying images coming from Haiti. We saw crying children, mountains of rubble, a destroyed capitol building, and a level of destruction in Port-au-Prince that we have not seen in recent memory. The real tragedy, however, is that even before this earthquake, this country was in a very desperate situation.
Many people have wondered how a country could be so poor and so desperate. Some have even suggested that a pact with the devil is the only explanation for Haiti’s misfortunes. Others would say the Haitians have just been a very unlucky people. I would say luck had very little to do with it.
Haiti is on the island of Hispaniola. Christopher Columbus landed on this island on December 5, 1492. The Spanish enslaved the native population to mine the gold and the natural resources of this island. After the native population was virtually wiped out by smallpox, the Spanish imported African slaves to augment their gold mining endeavors.
Eventually, the French came to rule this island, and they continued many of the practices of their Spanish predecessors. By the late 1700s, the French empire was in ruin. It could no longer hold onto many of its possessions in the New World. In 1804, Haiti won its independence from France and became a nation. France’s response to this was to make Haiti pay reparations. France claimed that if Haiti was independent, France would loose the investment that they had made in the slave population of Haiti. If Haiti did not want to fight a prolonged war, they would have to PAY NOT TO BE SLAVES. France charged this new nation of Haiti (which had no money) 21 billion dollars plus interest. For the next 90 years, 80% of Haiti’s economy was being used to pay back the French. When they couldn’t keep up this pace, they took other loans from other countries to pay this debt. They were even loaned money by the United States in 1922, and had to pay that off as well.
As of last year, Haiti still owed 1.8 billion dollars. This amount seems reasonable when you consider that the U.S. debt is in the trillions. The difference is that 80% of Haiti’s population has an annual salary of less than 100 dollars per year. In fact, after the earthquake, Haiti was LOANED more money (not given) to rebuild the infrastructure of the country.
Add to this situation a genocide that took place in 1922 when the US established a border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The response of the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo was to execute 20,000 Haitians on the Dominican side of the border. For the next 50 years there were policies put in place that fostered discrimination toward the Haitian people. I am not excusing the corrupt government that existed in Haiti in recent times, but this county is not cursed or unlucky, but rather the result of economic and social policy.
This story is repeated all around the world. When you look at the countries in Africa, Asia and South America you can observe a similar pattern. The people in these countries are often categorized as lazy and unmotivated. I will acknowledge that greed and corruption on the part of their governments has often played a part in the lack of development in these countries. I also admit that the destiny of these countries is ultimately in the hands of their citizens. I also am of the belief that the history of exploitation and colonialism of these countries is something that Europe and America should realize.
This history should be taken into account when forming both opinion and policy regarding the developing nations. There is no greater example of this than the continent of Africa. The African slave trade has not existed in the world to the extent that it did in the 17th century. Although the practice is no longer tolerated as an institution, its effects are felt even today. Imagine you live in an African country in the 1600s. The youngest and strongest members of your population are taken away on ships. The smartest people in your population are executed. All of the scientists, teachers, craftsmen, and political figures are killed are imprisoned. This is done for a period of hundreds of years. How long do you think it would take the people that are left to rebuild this country? In addition to that, the process of colonialism strips your land of all of its natural resources during the course of the next 100 years. Even if the remaining population wants to build an industry, the country has been stripped of its natural resources. Add to that the psychological effect of slavery and colonization through generations. When some of these countries such as Haiti do manage to win their freedom, they will face considerable challenges.
Variations of this theme have played in Indo-China and South East Asia as well as in Central and South America, and in countries in the Caribbean like Haiti. I do not think that it is helpful for developing nations to foster a guilt complex in the psyche of the west. I think that is ultimately not good for anyone. I do think that Western Europe and America must share in the responsibility of aiding these countries. We must realize our hand in their misfortune.
There are several countries around the world that are in desperate situations (East Timor, Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Congo, Solomon Islands, Liberia, and on and on). There are a whole list of countries that bear the scars of slavery and colonialism. They have desperate economic challenges that stem from a crushing debt that they have no hope of paying back. I am not suggesting that America and Europe have to help all of them. I am suggesting that it is in our long term best interests to help many of them. Decreasing the amount of suffering in this world ultimately makes us all safer. It is in our best interest to help the people of Haiti, but it is also in our best interests to help other countries that need our help. Jeff Sachs in his book “The End of Poverty” makes several suggestions of how to end extreme poverty. He makes the point that industrialized nations rarely take this opportunity seriously. He also points out that America gives more than any other country but that is still 0.16 of 1% of our GDP.
When we see this interconnected world that we live in and we see the results of the devastation in places like Haiti, I must ask, “Is 0.16 of 1% enough?” When we consider the role that failed states play in our national security I must ask “Is 0.16 of 1% enough?” I believe that the people in these societies must ultimately decide to help themselves, but I do think that we as the only super power have a very important role to play. I wonder if we can effectively play this role when we commit less than 1% of our resources. I still think that if the world works together we can solve all our problems. For the first time in history we have the technology, knowledge, and the resources to fix many of these problems. The question is "Do we as a country and as a planet have the will to fix them?"
As I am writing this article I cannot shake the sense of inadequacy and guilt that I am feeling. I do not feel this way because of American indiscretions. I do not feel guilty because I have so much and others have so little. I feel inadequate because I do not feel I am doing enough. I gave to the Red Cross, I did the text message thing, and I gave to the missionaries that a community church is sending to Haiti next month. I am going to give to the clothing drive at the place I work. I wonder when those Red Cross workers see the insurmountable circumstances all around them if they feel they are doing enough. I wonder if doctors who go to these areas think they can ever do enough. In light of these observations I have to come to the conclusion that I could do more – but I choose not to. Then I come to the conclusion that the people I care most about an even respect and admire could do more but have made the same choice I made. Finally, I come to the conclusion that this country that I love so much could do so much more and makes the same choice that I have.
Addendum
As I trail off to sleep after writing this article, I am reminded of the power of the individual. In the wake of all this suffering, it would be easy for me to see the futility of my efforts and the efforts or others. The idea from which I can derive some hope and get 4 hours of sleep is the idea that collectively our good works – no matter how small – can be significant. I cannot rewind time and fix the wrongs of America’s past. I cannot undo hundreds of years of racism and oppression. I cannot undo the earthquake. I can only hope that my efforts – no matter how small – when teamed with the small (and not so small) efforts of others can bring about a change for good in this world.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
ROLL TIDE
On Thursday January 7th the 2009-10 college football season came to an end. It was a very competitive matchup even though
There are many (including myself) who would like to see a playoff system decide college football. People who oppose the playoff system site several reasons. The first reason against a playoff system is that it would make a very long season longer. College football is one of the most expensive sports to maintain. Adding time to already costly season would be devastating to most programs. The second thing to consider is that the student athlete would be affected by extending the length of the season. Another reason against a playoff system is that the money generated by a playoff would not equal the money generated by the bowl games. Yet another argument is that having a playoff would reduce the importance of the games at the end of the year. Having said all these things I still think there is a way to have a meaningful play off and still have some remnant of the bowl system. Here is what I would do.
I would start the season 3 weeks later. August 28 is way too early to start the football season. I would play 10 games with one bye and every conference plays a championship game. That gives every one between 10 and 11 games and the regular season would be done by the first week of December. The next thing I would do is cut the number of bowl games. There are just way too many. I would have enough minor bowl games to play a game or two every day between Christmas and New Years Eve. We could still have the same number of bowl games but keep in mine we are going to play 8 more playoff games at the end of the year.
On New Years Eve play the Cotton and Gator Bowls. On New Year’s Day play the Rose, Sugar,
This system I think would have many merits. First we would have a definite national. A champion that was decided in games and not by a bunch of computers and writers. Second it would get rid of all the cupcake games at the beginning of the year. It may also encourage coaches to schedule competitive games at the beginning of the year. In the current system there is no reason for a team in a power conference to play a tough opponent in the beginning of the year. Teams are currently in a system where two losses completely eliminates a team from the national title picture. In a playoff system it would be advantageous to schedule a tough opponent in the beginning of the year to give your team tournament experience. Also an early season loss wouldn’t completely ruin your national championship chances as it does in the current system.
The second advantage to this system is that every bowl game could affect the outcome of the national championship picture. In the current system the BCS game is the only one that really affects the outcome of the national title. If teams were playing their bowl games to get one of the 8 playoff positions every game would mean something. All of a sudden that garbage bowl on December 28 with the #9 team in the country is a HUGE game with national championship implications. The bowl games are more important not less with a playoff system.
We still have all the tradition and pageantry of the bowl games. The bowl people are making money. The season isn’t any longer because we cut the beginning of the season. We could be done by the time most schools opened for the spring semester. We replaced non competitive games that didn’t really matter with meaningful ones. TELL ME WHY THIS CAN’T BE DONE!!!!!!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
THE BIG A (messy and long in both form and content,be warned)
We as a country are facing a tremendous amount of challenges. The headlines during the past year have been dominated by health care, the economy, unemployment rates and a host of other things. The the
This is one of the biggest situations that President Obama has been stuck with. Having said that, there are some issues with how I think the President has handled this situation so far. To put it more directly, I think there is a high probability that Obama will “F” THIS UP.
Before I discuss my criticism of Mr. Obama, I feel it necessary to remind everyone that THIS IS GEORGE BUSH’S FREAKIN’ MISTAKE!!!!! On September 12, 2001 most of the world was on our side. Even people who are normally unsympathetic to
At the same time, the Bush administration blew off the UN and most of its allies and fostered a “go it alone” mentality. To the rest of the world, this invasion was the final straw in a relationship with
First, the invasion of
The political consequences were two-fold. First, a war that most of the world did not agree with strained our relationship with most of our allies. The fact that we were willing to go to war with
The second political consequence of
It also gave Al Qaeda a second front. If you are fighting a guerrilla war against a superior enemy, you want as many fronts as possible so that you can move your troops from one place to another. By fighting the Allies in two places, Al Qaeda is able to use its inherent flexibility to put up more of a fight where it matters – consider the surge in
Now it is EIGHT YEARS LATER. The war has been underfunded and neglected for EIGHT YEARS. For EIGHT YEARS the Bush administration has let this situation go into the CRAPPER while they put most of their efforts into
There are several things that the Obama administration is doing that I think are good. First this administration seems to realize that you cannot deal with
There are several strategic options that the white house is considering. I fundamentally differ with the administration in the sense that I only see to options even worth considering. Having said that I think the Obama administration is operating on many flawed assumptions.
The first thing that I am not sure that this administration realizes is that
At the start of Operation Dessert Storm in August of 1990,
The strategy behind the surge was to put extra troops into
Another strategy tried in
A counter terrorism strategy will not work because most of the terrorists are no longer in
I see two options going forward in
This second option will no doubt devastate
In the late 60s,
The other argument against leaving is that the security of
There are many who would say that we have not yet put in our best effort and we should give it one more shot before we leave. Eight years ago this invasion may have been successful. If we had not let the situation deteriorate it is very possible that
Our prestige as a country will be damaged, but how much more damage will we do by staying in a protracted war? It is a very uncomfortable thing to admit a mistake whether it is us personally, or collectively as a society. However, I do believe that once you realize you are wrong that you correct your course of action. I hope I am wrong. I hope 20 years from now
In 1964, Lyndon Johnson won a landslide presidential victory. He came into office with the highest approval rating in history. He had a huge social agenda. His presidency was predicted to be transformative. The Vietnam War completely derailed his presidency. In three years his approval rating was in the toilet and he couldn’t even run for a second term because we were in such a pickle. American has a lot of problems that need fixing. I believe it is going to take all of this country’s resolve to fix our problems. I hope our current president truly makes his presidency transformative and does not step on the same landmines that his predecessor did.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
