The pundits have been at it over the last number of weeks to tell the world what is wrong with Washington. What is clear is that there is no courage to make the tough choices necessary to bring us back from the edge of the abyss. What the Economist depicted is absolutely right on. I am sure that Mr. Linclon will look at the cast of characters in Washington now and just shake his head in disgust.
Let's begin with a bit of a reality check. Dr. Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia laid out a very scary set of facts that is in the public domain. He reminded the World in his Time Magazine Article that the Federal Budget has a budget gap of 1.6 Trillion Dollars. That amounts to 10% of the gross domestic product of the entire country!!! The current growth of Public Debt Amounts to almost 60% of the Gross Domestic Product and is slated to grow to 70% of the Gross Domestic Product at the current rate of spending. The revenue being collected by the Feds goes to pay for the following: The military, Health, Social Social Services and Interest on the National Debt. That's about 17% of the intake. Everything else the Feds do is being financed out of borrowing. This includes Education, Homeland Security and all the other functions of the Federal Government. As for the deficit, it amounts to $ 4400 for each and every American.
In the midst of this perfect storm, both parties are sticking to their talking points. The Republicans are beating the drums of tax cuts, tax cuts and more tax cuts. Well, someone needs to tell them that tax cuts is going to blow up an already lousy situation. Presidential wannabes Like Mike Pence need to be able to have the courage to say that there needs to be an increase in order to provide the long-term viablity that is necessary. The Democrats also need to stop wanting to score political points by demonizing Republicans. The Republicans are not really helping themselves by simply acting as the Party of No. Their true colours and aspirations has been proven time and time again by changing the rules. Their latest talking point: Their campaign slogan to repeal healthcare.
Dr. Sachs called for Republican Statesmen to stand up to help change the paradigm. When I read his thought, my reaction was: yaaaaaaaaaaaaaah right!!! There needs to be a radical rethink of budget and tax policy in the United States and a real need to bring back a sense of fiscal sanity while preserving the best of the programs that have continued to make a difference. We can't do no less.
Glenn Beck and others within the so-called Modern Conservative movement have a right to speak. The First Amendment gives them the right to say what they have to say. Mr. Beck makes a heck of a living peddling his views and has quite a following. I think he is quite an entertainer and has proved to be quite an organizer and provocateur. As Senator Lindsay Graham once said, he makes quite a living crying on Television.
I think that he has found quite a home on Fox News. I found his comments here quite interesting:
Of all the nonsense he's said, this one was really over the top. First of, somone needs to tell this egotist fool what has given him the right to question someone's heritage. What gives this man the right to be so vicious and vindictive in the name of ratings? What is even more sickening is that he works for a network that seems to welcome such crap. Because Beck works for Fox, Fox has condoned his assertion that unless your name is Jones or Smith, you're not an American. I wonder if Mr. Beck considers the name "Ailes" as not being American either. What about "Carlos"? What about "Jose"? When will this stop? When will someone tell this man that enough is enough?
America is the land of the free and home of the brave. When people escaped tyranny and destitution to come to America, they yearned for a better life. It was that promise and opportunity that prompted Barack Obama's father and my own parents to seek out a better life. America is better for it. What is troubling that Beck and his friends seem to have a different vision of America? It is just for ratings? Does Beck want to be President? Or does he want to help his compadres Rick Santorum, Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee to be President?
Some have said that Journalism is dead. With people like Glenn Beck, it is going to be dead for sure. The need to counter such overtly racist remarks must be countered with the truth. Thankfully, with organizations like Media Matters, the fight goes on to expose the utter fraud that Beck and the rest of the so-called conservative media peddle every day. What is freightening is the number of people who actually believe this nonsense that he peddles everyday on his radio show and on his TV show.
With this increased viciousness as peddled on Fox, Conservatives have given up the right to be called Conservative. As for Beck, I am convinced that he is a Neo-fascist. Although he fashions himself to be an American, he has no clue about America. Barry Goldwater, Jack Kemp, Nelson Rockefeller and Jacob Javits were those who were the true conservatives who always kept the interest of the nation at heart. I yearn for such men as we continue to deal with the profound challenges we face today.
Well, today was the day after Scott Brown's victory. I think he is to be congratulated for running a very slick campaign. As I noted in my write-up , I think that he tapped into a profound sense of frustruation the people feel about the direction and the on-going anxiety the country feels. I reflect upon those very feelings constantly in my daily write-ups here in "Outsiders".
The Republicans have been having a field day, though. I saw John McCain taking the floor declaring healthcare "dead". I saw Mitch McConnel telling the Senate how the American People don't want Government-Run healthcare. I saw an email from John McCain demanding Scott Brown to be "seated immediately". Harry Reid said that he is willing to insure Scott Brown is seated as soon as the State files the necessary I also caught Sarah Palin's latest act on Fox News telling the Fox devotees how unimpressed she was with Barack Obama. It was amusing to see this as it was also amusing to see Keith Olberman's onslaught on Scott Brown. I think that Mr. Olbeman was a bit over the top when he ridiculed people for calling what happened an earthquake. I called it an earthquake and I stand by it. The question continues to remain what lessons will the Adminstration learn from it. What I see happened is what Bob Menedez, the head of the DSCC noted in his email blast when he said that, "...We must be aggressive in defining our opponents and framing the choice voters face. We cannot be timid about staking out our ground, and we must be strong in reminding voters what the Republicans did to our country and what they will do again if given the chance....". The Democrats have to begin to do that to present the choices. It begins with healthcare in a major way. Whatever Scott Brown did to support himself while in College is his business. Whatever he said prior to his election as a U.S. Senator is also in the past. The question is what is he going to do now.
Now, the question is whether Scott Brown will live up to his admonition not to be beholden to anyone. Supposedly, he is pro abortion and pro gay rights. This flies in the face of the tea baggers. Will he be the true voice of the people or just toe the party line?
This is a new feature I have decided to introduce that talks about the Political Tidbits and to briefly reflect upon them. The talk of the town, of course, was Harry Reid and his comments about Barack Obama. I was frankly amused as to the air time that the talking heads gave to it over the past twenty four hours. To me, it was frankly much ado about nothing. The Republicans have had a field day over it, though.
The other Tidbit of News was Sarah Palin. She's a start and has got loads of fans. I am fascinated by how Brand Palin has shot into the stratosphere. Everyone was talking about her ascendancy d her continued ascendancy. She joined Fox News as an analyst. I really wondered what took her so long. Of course, she resigned the governorship, mades loads of money making speeches and wrote a blockbuster best seller. Not withstanding the spin by some, she still made loads of money from it. She will also be guaranteed to be a blockbuster at Fox. The only problem I see is how she is going to live down this "truth
To me, the challenge of the next two years was illustrated in major way by the Economist's KAL. As 2010 draws near, there is a real need for leadership and firmness. For the President to succeed and have a chance at reelecction, this firmness has to be ever so. But the firmness will be overshadowed by the likes of Brazil and China who will continue to push ahead in spite of the United States. The United States has to figure out how to create the future. But, as the healthcare debate shows, the political elite in the country seems to be thinking yesterday while the rest of the world is thinking about tomorrow
The right in the United States has been celebrating the resignation of Van Jones, the White House apparent pointman on Climate Change and "Green Technology". What is unfortnate is that Mr. Jones was at best, a distraction. Unfortunately, the right seems to only focus on personalities, not solutions. Conservatives continue to refine the art of name calling in such a way that they have moved it up to a whole new level. There has to be more than simply playing the blame game.
While this "celebration" has continued on, the world continues to grapple with the effect of climate change. California's drought continues unabatted. Fires continue to rage on in Southern California. The President of the Maldives has announced that he will not go to the Climate Change Conference in Denmark in December because he needs to spend the funds to defend his island. 50 of the Island in the Maldives are in danger of being completely submerged and at best, no part of the Island is 2.5 Meters above the sea. The Arctic is in danger of being completely ice free which will in turn put further pressure. 20 Million People in Bagladesh (full 20% of the population) are in danger because of the rising sea levels
This past twenty hours the so-called "coup President" in Iran being affirmed in his office by his mentor, Iran's Supreme Leader. As I monitored Iranian Official Media, I was frankly shocked that the Regime's News Network did not break away coverage. The only coverage that I saw was PressTV, the Regime's English Language Service featuring some commentator looking forward to the next four years of the "Coup President
I am right now watching C-Span's Live Stream of the White House Correspodents Dinner. It is quite a show!!! There are a lot of celebrities and the video retrospective of the year is quite a feat. I am glad folks are having fun.
I was thinking about the White House Correspodents Dinner past. This one is a good one
Mr. Obama has been in London, Starsburg, Prague and Ankara. He has been quite engaged. I have seen assessments of a mixed bag in the actual achivements. But, I think his speech in Turkey's Parliament has begun a long rapproachment that is necessary and crucial with the Muslim World. America has ignored and antagonzied a signficant and growing portion of the world's population at its' peril. The President's speech has gone a long way to overcome this deep mistrust.
As I write this, the President has begun a town-hall type meeting with students in Istanbul, Turkey. There are those who will dismiss such gestures. But, the need to talk and engage in dialogue is the best panacea to overcome the cancer of extremism that continues to grow unabatted. I am seeing Turkish reports that seem to embrace the President's visit. I am sure that the rightwing in the United States will again raise issues about Obama being a closet Muslim. Even if he is one, my response is the same as Colin Powell's: So what
The World's top 20 countries have desended upon London. London has braced itself for anarchy. Anyone who does not understand the anxiety felt by the people of the world seems to be living in fantasyland
I have been making the rounds of the Sunday Talk Shows. NBC and ABC had Tim Geitner on and CBS' Face the Nation had the President on as well: (available at http://www.cbsnews.com).
As I listened to the Face The Nation Interview, I was glad that Bob Schieffer brought up Mexico. I have regarded Mexico as the soft underbelly that is indeed a major threat to the security of the United States. I did also find Meet the Press quite insightful in explaining in layman's terms how the plan is supposed to work. As I listened to all the shows, the central message I heard was that the Obama Adminstration views the strategies on both the economy and Afghanistan was on track. Time will only tell
Iran's Supreme Leader responded to President Obama's overture. Iran's Supreme Leader is the ultimate decider of all state matters in Iran. The Supreme Leader went to Mashad in Eastern Iran on the first day of the Iranian New Year to talk about this and other matters
I had hoped to leave behind the Bush years in my writings here. Yet, it appears that the actions by the Bush Adminstration will continue to be the talk of the nation for a while yet.
I have been reading with horror comments by Seymour Hersh about what had transpired about an alleged assassination squad. The accumulation of power is quite scary. I realize that the reporting done here by MSNBC is biased. Between the John Yu memos and this allegation, it shows an apparent debunking of the Constitutional Form of Government during the past eight years. Not withstanding the political tone of it, the mere fact that this kind of "command" existed should be of concern to all
I find the recent spat between Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer and Meghan McCain and Ann Coulter hillarious to say the least. Bill O'Reilly talked about it in his Factor show on Monday on Fox News. He talked the Cramer vs. Stewart feud with Stewart Varney of Fox Business and on Meghan McCain vs. Ann Coulter with a reporter for the Washington Times.
I saw Jon Stewart's show, I saw Jim Cramer's "response when he appeared on MSNBC and NBC and then Jon Stewart's rebuttal. Jon Stewart nailed Jim Cramer. There was no question about it. But, O'Reilly's way of lambasting Stewart for going after him for being "liberal" and "mainstream" is a bit far-fetched. What O'Reilly and the folks at fox forget to tell the rest of the world is that they were the "mainstream" during the 8 years of the Bush Adminstration. They pushed this fiction that markets work and self-regulate and had to be left alone. Well, this so-called conservative philosophy (as they call it) was in fact the cause of the economic winter we are faced with today. Bernie Maddoff and Allan Stafford are but the most extreme of examples. But, the entertainment nature of CNBC was also just as much to blame in my view. Jon Stewart called Jim Cramer on it. I do commend Jim Cramer for agreeing to appear on The Daily Show later on tonight. That should be quite interesting. But, this fiction of a liberal bias that Bill O'Reilly continues to push gets to be old. It is entertaining and funny, though. Cramer made some bad calls and he has to own up to it
As the flow of bad news continues about the economy, the Republicans have continued their "jihad" against the stimulus. As I assessed the news and the debate, I was especially sickened by Lindsay Graham's tirade in the Senate. He accused the President of doing nothing and not reaching out. I was especially disappointed in him because I had found Lindsay Graham to be one of the more reasonble Republicans. But, his speech on the floor of the Senate yesterday showed the Republicans for what they truly are: An bunch of Obstructionist idiots who seem to be totally clueless as to what is going on in the Country. This is the reality:
As the bombing and the rocket firing was continuing, Tipzi Livni got U.S. guarantees on a prevention of Hamas rearming. Qatar and Mauritania cut their Israeli ties. There are reports coming through stating that Israel is nearing the "end game". I am still trying to understand what the "end game" is.
As the talking is going on, I continue to get reports on the grim statistics. So far, almost 1200 people are dead and over 5,000 have been wounded. I just saw a twitter update from Al Jazeera'z Zeina Awad noting, "...one of the biggest air strikes to date". Gaza's infrastructure has totally collapsed. I saw reports on two Israeli Human Rights groups petitoning the Israeli Supreme Court to compel the Army to begin allowing humanitarian aid to the civilans. There is of course a report on another UN school again being hit with injuries
The Economic Tsunami that has engulfed the U.S. and the world seems to have no end in sight. The Chinese President came out to warn about the expected challenges. Here in the U.S., I went out to assess how things were during Black Friday. Many were out, but I found shoppers not to be as keen as years past. People were out looking for bargains. For instance, I saw a 42" Flat Screen for $ 700. The retailers are truly desparate. The desparation shows because the numbers I saw being reported showed a 3% rise. It is a 5% decrease from last year. The more disturbing fact is that there had to be deep discounting to lure shoppers in. I see them being in the Red quite a bit longer.
I was thinking about the future of retailing. I see a very, very bleak future for retailing because the distinction is becoming less and less. When people start competing on price only, all bets are off. I see the following retailers standing after the storm: Walmart, Target, BestBuy & Kohls. On the high end, I see Macys and Nordstroms surviving right now. I also see players like Ross, Steinmart & Loehmans surviving as well because of the interesting niche they have developed. Beyond that, I don't see a place for players like Sears, Penney's Dillard and bloomingdales. What we are seeing in Retail is going to cause some profound challenges for mall operators such as Simon in the U.S. Some of niche players who have high debt will also go by the wayside as well
We all know what a tragedy Katrina was. The bigger tragedy was the inept Government response at all levels to the disaster. To this date, the images and the stories that come out are a reminder to us all about what not to do. But, the beauty of America has also come out. The stories of luminaries like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are but one example. But, there is one that took my breath away. Liz McCartney is one such person.
Liz McCartney She and her companion quit their jobs and moved to New Orleans to help rebuild St. Bernard Parish. They helped to launch the St. Bernard Project . For $ 12,000, they are rebuilding homes. They are working to bring back St. Bernard Parish one house at a time. It is the committment of such people that serves as inspiration to us all. After digging around a bit, I found this story of them featured on DarynKagan.com
General Powell went on the record earlier on U.S. National Television. He has endorsed Barack Obama for President. I found his near repudiation of the right-wing shift of the Republican Party especially pointed. Senator McCain's judgement was the key question, as I saw it. As I listened to General Powell, what especially drove me was how General Powell addressed the question on Muslims on in America:
Campaigns are serious business. Campaigns are a chance to debate and reflect upon the future. As I was reviewing my daily analysis, I thought some humor was in order. Senator McCain's visit to the oil rig prompted a response from the Democrats. I I have commented on the idiocy of this push by Senator McCain. I did get a kick out of the ad,though:
:Maybe Rick Warren Will Try and Talk Some Sense....
By now, I am sure everyone has heard about the upcoming get-together Barack Obama and John McCain have got planned for August 16. For those who are interested, the details are available at Really Long Link It is also going to be broadcast live on CNN, as well as streamed over the internet.
I view this get-together as significant. First of all, it will in a forum moderated by a very interesting man. Rick Warren, Saddleback's Senior Pastor, started this church from virtually nothing a little over 25 years ago. I remember the time when the campus Saddleback Church is now was being built and how it evolved. I view his message of love and compassion as refreshing. He is truly one purpose driven man that should be listened to. I have also been quite taken by his humility in spite of his power and that in and of itself makes him credible in this increasingly cynical world that we live in
Mike Pouraryan
Comments (6)
Add Comments
Read More
