Reclaiming Patriotism

A worthy read (.PDF) from the ACLU is their call for an end to the Patriot Act.

More than seven years after its implementation, there is little evidence to demonstrate that the Patriot Act has made America more secure from terrorists. But there are many unfortunate examples that the government abused these authorities in ways that both violated the rights of innocent people and squandered precious security resources.

Many provisions of the Patriot Act are due to expire on December 31, 2009, but Congress may renew the law. We stand to lose more than we have lost already if we fail to send the Patriot Act to the dust bin this year.

The Patriot Act vastly – and unconstitutionally – expanded the government’s authority to pry into people’s private lives with little or no evidence of wrongdoing.

The time has come to rectify this mess and move into a future of Constitutional rights and privacy protection.

Peace.

Mike Castle is Still Supporting the Banking Giants

No surprise, but Congressman Castle continues to be the leading proponent of big banking interests in opposition to the administration.

U.S. Rep. Mike Castle (R., Del.), who represents Bank of America's and JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Wilmington-based credit-card bankers, wants Congress to slow down.

Castle brought Federal Reserve consumer affairs chief Sandra Braunstein before reporters yesterday to warn that rushing restrictions on lenders "could end up further constricting credit."

When ever will the people of Delaware awaken and replace the man? We need real representation in Congress, not another toady of the corporate interests.

Peace.

Carper Against the People One More Time

Personal Collection

In an effort to get bills passed and further the agenda set in the campaign, President Obama is considering the process of reconciliation for the budget bill.

Reconciliation would only require a majority vote in the Senate rather than the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster (the Democrats control at least 58 seats).

Under Senate rules a filibuster is not allowed with this process.

Not only would the administration include tax and spending proposals in the legislation, but health care and possibly environmental measures as well.

But the naysayers rise to the fight. Our friend, Senator Carper is leading the opposition saying

warned that including health care in reconciliation would do "serious damage to our bipartisan effort.

Since when is health care not a major interest of the people of our nation? Since when does anything bipartisan (meaning in most instances Republican driven since they won't listen to many Democrat led ideas) benefit the majority of the people. Senator Carper is also opposed to increased taxation on incomes above $250,000.

We need real change in our politicians today. President Obama and his administration are far from perfect, but at least the proposals seem to aim at helping the majority of the people. Now we need a real Democratic Party to stand up and speak in support of these propositions. We have lived far too long under failed Republican policies and the Democratic supporters of those policies. We need and we deserve real change today, not tomorrow.

Peace.

Remembering Lefty Frizzell

On March 31, 1928, Lefty Frizzell was born. He died in 1975, but had he lived today would be his 81st birthday. Happy Birthday, Lefty, in memoriam.


zombophoto, Flickr, Creative Commons

Lefty is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame today. In his time he was a remarkable singer with an original sound all his own. His legacy lives on to this day in the sounds of country music around the world.

Peace.

March 28, 1979

On this date in history, March 28, 1979, occurred the largest nuclear power plant accident in U.S. history. In Pennsylvania

Just 10 miles southeast of the state capital, Harrisburg, a reactor core partially melted at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, releasing a small amount of radioactivity.

And to this day our Senator Carper continues to support nuclear power saying

nuclear power is necessary to meet clean air and climate goals.

Yet he concedes in nearly the same paragraph

But broad support for the nuclear industry will vanish if another nuclear accident occurs.

How many more nuclear accidents must occur before we in this world see the light? Current nuclear technology is not safe at any cost. In addition the production of large quantities of radioactive spent fuel and other products will leave a problem for hundreds of centuries into the future.

If we are to solve our national energy problems we must pursue renewable energy resources in a new and much more aggressive way. We may continue to evaluate nuclear power in the hope that one day a safe and sustainable energy resource may be found in that arena, but for today nuclear power is far too risky and costly for consideration.

Just say "NO" to the building of more nuclear power plants in the U.S. or around the world.

Peace.

The Neverending War

With the recent announcement by President Obama of expansion of the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan we face another long and difficult course. Did none of our leaders learn anything from Iraq, Vietnam or other past wars? Why do we have to continue to repeat our history these days? Where is the change we were promised in November '08?

Tom Engelhardt in a pointed posting yesterday hits hard at the new direction to a failing course.

After all, the U.S. seems to be in the process of trading in a limited war in a mountainous, poverty-stricken country of 27 million people for one in an advanced nation of 167 million, with a crumbling economy, rising extremism, advancing corruption, and a large military armed with nuclear weapons. Worse yet, the war in Pakistan seems to be expanding inexorably (and in tandem with American war planning) from the tribal borderlands ever closer to the heart of the country.

The economic consequences of continued militarism around the world are overwhelming and may not be well understood today.

Unlike with A.I.G., where the financial inputs of the U.S. government are at least announced, we don't even have a ballpark figure for how much is actually involved right now, but it's bound to be staggering. Just supporting those 17,000 new American troops already ordered into Afghanistan, many destined to be dispatched to still-to-be-built bases and outposts in the embattled southern and eastern parts of the country for which all materials must be trucked in, will certainly cost billions.

How long will we Americans continue to allow our government to pursue these failing wars in our names? We must find ways to resolve the world's problems without resorting to violence and military force in every instance. No part of the world can long sustain the current course without collapse in the end.

Peace.

Spanish Judge Accuses Six Top Bush Officials of Torture

At last a judge is taking real action toward the wrongs of the Bush administration.

Criminal proceedings have begun in Spain against six senior officials in the Bush administration for the use of torture against detainees in Guantánamo Bay.

Officials named in the lawsuit include

Alberto Gonzales, a former White House counsel and attorney general; David Addington, former vice-president Dick Cheney's chief of staff; Douglas Feith, who was under-secretary of defence; William Haynes, formerly the Pentagon's general counsel; and John Yoo and Jay Bybee, who were both senior justice department legal advisers.

If the judge allows arrest warrants President Obama

would have either to open proceedings against the accused or tackle an extradition request from Spain.

International court proceedings are the only measures being taken to date to investigate the criminal offenses of the Bush administration. The time has come for a full and open pursuit of the entire episode. We as a nation will not be able to lead on any substantive issue in the court of international opinion so long as the Bush cloud hangs over our heads.

Peace.

The Republican "Alternative" Budget Proposal

After having voiced large amounts of criticism in recent weeks about the Obama budget proposal, House Republicans released their suggestions today.

Republican lawmakers refused to offer details of how much their alternative budget proposal would cost or how much it would increase the deficit, saying they would release overall numbers next week. Instead, they provided a general outline of proposals that included cutting overall government spending except for defense, banning any additional spending for bailouts of financial companies and a huge income tax cut that would make the maximum tax rate 25% instead of 36% as under current law.

It is just like the party of "My way or the highway" to offer this sort of rebuttal. Nothing of substance is included. All is about a media ploy to attract attention and take people's eyes off the ball once more.

Let us hope Congress has more sense than to fall for this mess. We need a budget that reflects the needs of the nation. The failed Republican ideas of tax cut after tax cut must be opposed. We cannot afford to continue that course one more day.

Peace.

Disposable Bag for Wall Street

Works for me! We should all have one when we listen to most of our pols these days, too.

Peace.

Can You Spell Entitlement?

What about accountability? Or responsibility? What is with the current crop of corporate executives who expect massive paychecks while laying off workers and destroying their companies? They need to get a real life for a change. The time of entitlement is gone once and for all.

The NYTimes today has a piece about corporate bonuses and the legacy in American business. Despite the furor of today, this mess has a long history and what looks to to a lengthy future.

The payments, in the form of cash, stock or both, are expected to be made over the next few years, in some cases regardless of how the executives or their companies perform.

At least one resigning executive said he was no longer going to do work for which he was not being paid. What he meant was someone took away his million dollar bonus for running a company into the ground.

Peace.

Obama's Latest Health Insurance Proposal

The health insurance industry is reportedly not happy with the latest foray into their realm by the Obama administration. According to a story in the New York Times

the insurance industry and others wary of too much government intervention vehemently oppose the idea.

Of course the insurance industry opposes any change in the status quo. There are large profits to be made by offering health insurance for a big premium and then denying services whenever possible. The administration is taking baby steps to change the situation.

It is one of the most contentious health care proposals President Obama has floated: offer a federal, Medicare-like insurance plan to anyone, at any age. And let commercial insurers offer their private health plans alongside it.

This is not the universal, single-payer system we need in America today, but at least this is a start.

Under the current Medicare program, expenses run near 3-5% of total costs. Private health insurers are more likely to eat up 15-20% of the total revenue in expenses and profits.

While private health insurance premiums increased an average of 7.3 percent annually from 1997 to 2006, Mr. Hacker (Jacob S. Hacker, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley) said, Medicare spending per enrollee rose only 4.6 percent a year for the same benefits.

Time will tell if or not this proposal is to become law. There is much force on both sides of the issue. My stance remains solid as ever in favor of a government run, single-payer system guaranteeing health care to every person in the nation. Something along the line of Medicare for one and all works best in my mind.

We must find some way to spend our health care dollars better in our nation. We have almost 50 million uninsured people in the nation today and that number is growing daily. As a nation we spend the most money per capita for health care of any nation in the world. Yet we are down the scale in worldwide measures of both life expectancy and infant mortality.

Our current healthcare system is broken to the point of failing. If we do not change this course we face a system that will collapse entirely. The Obama administration at least offers hope for the beginnings of change, but there is much work to be done to insure Congress passes a bill. We must not allow the pressures of the insurance lobby to prevail in this issue. The health of our nation is at stake here.

Peace.

The Latest Bailout Proposal

Either I am daydreaming, reading this wrong, or heading off to get money for investing. The program sounds too good to be true for an investor with money.

Sample Investment Under the Legacy Loans Program

Step 1: If a bank has a pool of residential mortgages with $100 face value that it is seeking to divest, the bank would approach the FDIC.
Step 2: The FDIC would determine, according to the above process, that they would be willing to leverage the pool at a 6-to-1 debt-to-equity ratio.
Step 3: The pool would then be auctioned by the FDIC, with several private sector bidders submitting bids. The highest bid from the private sector – in this example, $84 – would be the winner and would form a Public-Private Investment Fund to purchase the pool of mortgages.
Step 4: Of this $84 purchase price, the FDIC would provide guarantees for $72 of financing, leaving $12 of equity.
Step 5: The Treasury would then provide 50% of the equity funding required on a side-by-side basis with the investor. In this example, Treasury would invest approximately $6, with the private investor contributing $6.
Step 6: The private investor would then manage the servicing of the asset pool and the timing of its disposition on an ongoing basis – using asset managers approved and subject to oversight by the FDIC.

If I am not reading this very wrong, with a $6 investment one stands to win $100 in return if the securities have the value assigned by the government. The risk:return ratio is unbelievable. There is something very wrong with this idea. Or this is one more gift to the very rich as they prepare to become even more rich.

Even if the securities fail miserably, with a total risk of 6% of face value the investment is very attractive for an investor. Since taxpayers are backing the financing, the losses will be sustained by those of us who pay income tax.

Update 1: Dean Baker said it best.

It's not clear that most of the public should be happy about seeing more of their tax dollars going to Wall Street.

Peace.

Terror Wins Again

In forcing the move of a large and popular cricket tournament out of India, the terrorists accomplished their goal. The repercussions will spread far and wide as fans take their anger out on the government for its move.

Cricket fans said they had little doubt that officials had responded to the attacks in Mumbai and Lahore, blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

The largest use of terrorism is to alter daily life by the mere threat of an attack. In this instance the terrorists won on every count. The sadness is too much to even contemplate.

In our own nation we see many instances of changed life for ourselves. Air travel is complicated and delayed by security measures of unproven value. Armed patrols circle our malls and historic sites. True security lies in open and honest freedom in which ALL people are treated with equal respect. The search for both freedom and security continue day by day.

Peace.

Why No Outrage in America

For the second time in two months demonstrators took to the streets of France yesterday. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in protest of government inaction or ineffective action. One protester put the situation in plain words saying

Of course we are angry against the government when you see the way they serve the banks and leave the people starving and losing their jobs.

Here in America we sit at our keyboards with barely a whimper to be heard as our government continues to spend untold amounts of money in a process that is designed to hide both the true costs and the recipients of monies. People are losing jobs and homes at an unprecedented rate and yet the sound of the protest is a deafening silence. This cannot continue if we are to survive as a nation.

Hit the streets, people. Get out and vote with your presence. We cannot let the situation continue to deteriorate without our being heard loud and clear. Those with jobs need to stand in support of those without. We will stand together or we will fall apart.

Peace.

Obama Reverses Suggestion on Veteran Health Care

Last week a suggestion surfaced in DC that would have forced third party providers to care for our veterans. Under the proposal any veteran with private insurance would first seek pay for medical services from their personal provider. The VA would back up the plan. The thinking was to save the VA massive amounts of money.

Anyone who knows the trouble with our healthcare system today knows private companies are not going to offer payment in line with the needs of veterans. Our veterans deserve the best health care the nation has to offer. That is their due for having served the nation.

Latest news says the plan will be scrapped. From House Speaker Nancy Pelosi comes the word.

Based on the respect that President Obama has for our nation's veterans and the principled concerns expressed by veterans' leaders, the President has made the decision that the combat-wounded veterans should not be billed through their insurance policies for combat-related injuries.

We must insist the VA be funded at a level adequate to the needs of our veterans. Under the Bush administration with increasing needs the budget was cut several times. This must not continue. Even in times of hardship for the nation we must insure our veterans are treated well. A nation that fails its veterans is a failing nation.

Peace.

NCCO 2010 Budget Proposed

As expected the 2010 budget proposal for Newcastle County comes down hard. As the old Stephen Foster song says, "Hard Times" are here.

Facing dwindling revenues and ever-rising expenses, New Castle County Executive Chris Coons unveiled a budget Tuesday calling for broad spending reductions, personnel cuts and a 25 percent property tax increase to shrink the government's $40 million deficit.

The pain of too many good years and overspending is about to be felt. No entity, government or private, can live for long spending beyond its means. With falling revenues and increasing costs the crisis was bound to hit one day. We will see in time how this is to play out, but for now the scene is not a pretty one.

Peace.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Peace.

Waging War via Video Game Console

For some time now in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places the Pentagon has deployed drones as the weapon of choice. Just this past weekend a drone killed people in a Pakistani village. While the use of drones does keep American forces from exposure to enemy fire, the practice leaves much to be desired in terms of civilian casualties and of misdirected fire.

Pilots, who fly them from trailers halfway around the world using joysticks and computer screens, say some of the controls are clunky. For example, the missile-firing button sits dangerously close to the switch that shuts off the plane’s engines.

Imagine yourself at the console with your finger on the trigger. How can you be certain of your target? Are you willing to risk killing innocent civilians along the way? At the end of the day pilots go home to friends and families safe and secure in their own positions while the damage of the day is done. We are influencing people on a daily basis with the use of these weapons but we are winning no friends outside the military industrial complex.

The U.S. needs to reconsider its escalating use of force as the only solution to the world's problems. We must begin to consider the human beings on the receiving end of our attacks. Social and economic issues reign in daily lives for millions. Solutions to those issues will not be found in military action, but solutions to those issues may end terrorism around the globe.

Peace.

Magnet State or Sticky State?

Delaware ranks high (57.4%) overall in numbers of people living in the state who arrived from another state (high magnet state). Nevada is highest as a magnet state at 86%.

But we also rank low (54%) overall as a sticky state (many people born here leave the state). Texas is highest as a sticky state at 75%.

Alaska holds the distinction of being the lowest sticky state in the union at 28.2%. That must be in part the Palin effect.

Peace.

More Trouble in Afghanistan

While the Obama administration touts their reduction of American forces in Iraq plans are being laid to increase those same forces in Afghanistan. The British, too, plan to increase their troop numbers from around 8,300 to about 10,000 in the next year. Meanwhile the 150th British soldier died this week in Afghanistan.

American forces in Afghanistan are facing resistance and increasing problems in the country. The Obama administration is taking a new direction in Afghanistan.

The new strategy here involves a major -- but controversial -- push to better coordinate the efforts of NATO troops deployed in the south, a new focus for counternarcotics operations and the allocation of more troops to train Afghan security forces. It also seeks to apply a fundamental tenet of the U.S. Army's new counterinsurgency doctrine: Deploy the troops to create zones of security around population centers instead of mounting in-and-out raids against the insurgents.

The new strategy depends on American troops gaining the trust of locals in order to get information about the insurgents. That process is going very slowly at best. One American officer put the story in perspective saying

Our expectation for results is now a lot longer than we thought it would be.

The soldiers had hoped their presence in the district would be welcomed by residents, who keep telling the troops that what they want more than anything is security -- and they will side with whomever can provide it. But it hasn't worked yet.

Part of the ongoing problem is the continued rotation of personnel. The locals find themselves dealing with new people at too regular an interval. The ongoing use of military force to run what must be cultural efforts is doomed to failure if the signs are correct.

We need a new approach involving a multinational approach of social and economic reform. The people must come to trust the outsiders in terms of longevity as well as protection. The continued killing of civilians by military force will only increase the resistance to the occupation. If or not this can be turned around remains to be seen, but to date there is no real evidence of the sort of progress we need to see a stable Afghanistan in the future.

Peace.

Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side?

According to the Pew Research Center Americans believe they could find a better place to live somewhere else than their current area.

For nearly half of America, grass is greener somewhere else.

For example, most young urbanites consider cities the place to be, while most middle-aged urbanites would like to live elsewhere. Seven-in-ten rural men are content where they are, compared with just half of rural women. Most rural conservatives feel right at home; most urban conservatives don't. But urban liberals do.

According to the poll 24% of people found Philadelphia a fine city in which to live.

For me Delaware and the north end of the state is about perfect. Having lived in several states in different parts of the nation in the past, I have found a home right here at last. How about you?

Peace.

Daylight Savings Time Today

Turn those clocks ahead today. We lost an hour overnight. Daylight Savings Time is in effect today.

This is a good time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors, too. If those batteries are changed with each time change you can rest more easily knowing the detectors are likely working.

Peace.

The Soldiers Who Can No Longer Fight

Conscientious objectors have been part of the military scene for all of human history. That we find some soldiers today who cannot sustain the fight is no real surprise.

A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) showed that 425 servicemen and women made applications for CO (conscientious objector) status between 2002 and 2006.

And the number may be even higher given the system may not record all the applications.

The trek to conscientious objector differs for each soldier. Many find themselves going along with the herd under pressure from their peers. The course to CO status is long and difficult.

I know the trials these soldiers must undergo. My trail was different. I chose to serve out my time and leave the military without making waves. Today I might take a different route, but who can tell. In any event I support those who in full and open examination of their conscience can no longer support a military effort they may have joined in good faith. Good for them.

On the other hand I also support those who choose to remain in the military. They may be choosing a fine life under peacetime conditions. It is the misuse of today's military to which I object wholeheartedly. The troops of every persuasion deserve nothing but the best support we have to offer while we continue to object to the current course of military action.

Peace.

A Detailed Look at the Stimulus Package

The NYT this morning has a detailed look at how to spend $87 billion. A worthy and recommended read. Every category is considered with amounts and brief explanations for the financial illiterate among us.

Peace.

Why Not Warrants for Bush and Cheney

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The ICC is an independent international organisation, and is not part of the United Nations system. Its seat is at The Hague in the Netherlands.

So why not charge Bush and Cheney the same way? The situation is somewhat uncertain as the court has no police force of its own.

The ICC has no powers of enforcing its own arrest warrants, but suspects can be arrested on the territory of states who have signed up to the court's founding Rome Statute.

At least an international warrant might reduce the opportunity for Bush/Cheney and company to travel at their leisure. Of the 108 signatory states the U.S. is not one; so restrictions would not apply on American soil.

Peace.

New VA Woes

The stories of VA failure to provide needed services to veterans continue to pour forth. During the Bush administration funding for the VA was reduced while need for services increased as a result of the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now there is one more tale of veteran loss at the hands of the VA. One past report found claims and correspondence relating to those claims awaiting shredding at VA facilities. Now comes a tale of letters and documentation hidden away.

A new report about Veterans Affairs Department employees squirreling away tens of thousands of unopened letters related to benefits claims is sparking fresh concerns that veterans and their survivors are being cheated out of money.

The disability process is difficult and complex enough without active interference on the part of overworked employees. While there may be no immediate fix, it is imperative the administration begin action to correct the current deficiencies. Any nation that fails its veterans is a failing nation.

Peace.

3/3/09

For you math geeks this is not real news, but today is Square Root Day. Celebrate in style.

Celebrants are expected to mark the occasion by cutting root vegetables into squares or preparing other foods in the shape of the square root symbol.

Peace.

Toyota in Trouble, Too

It is not only the American car manufacturers in deep economic trouble these days. The Japanese auto giant, Toyota, finds itself mired in the same distress as so many others these days.

Toyota has projected it will report a loss of $3.6bn at the end of its financial year in March, its first annual loss in nearly six decades.

The company is negotiating a loan from Japan Bank for International Cooperation reported to be in the range of $2billion in an effort to support U.S. operations.

A spokeswoman said the company expects to make 6.2 million vehicles next year, down from 7.08 million this year.

Toyota is still doing better than US car makers General Motors and Chrysler, which combined have received $17.4bn in emergency loans from the US government, and requested an additional $21.6bn in aid last month.

But still one has to wonder where this crisis is leading. How many auto manufacturers will survive? How many models will the survivors support? What will the future of U.S. automobiles look like?

Peace.