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....and the Republican Beef is?
The Republicans have been on a continued warpath to circumvent Barack Obama's agenda at every turn. The healthcare debate has shown that all they are interested in an outright power grab to implement their narrow idelogical vision on the country. They are opposed to anything that remotely insures that the average person has a fighting chance. Paul Ryan's plan to replace Medicare with vouchers is just one of those extreme examples.
While the Republicans have continued to dominate the airwaves and win the public relations war, the real world goes on. There was a spike in unemployment not withstanding the 51,000 hires for the Census temporary jobs. The "real" unemployment rate stands at 16.8 Percent, on par with Spain. What Republicans should take notice of is a speech by the US Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue. He spoke and made five key points:
* First, we can create jobs by doubling U.S. exports in five years.
* SecondÃÂwe can create jobs by rebuilding AmericaÃÂs infrastructure.
* ThirdÃÂwe can create jobs with major investments and breakthroughs in energy.
* FourthÃÂwe can create jobs by expanding credit across our economy.
* FifthÃÂto create jobs we must ease the uncertainty over tax increases as well as health, environmental, labor, legal, and fiscal policies.
What the stimulus did was to insure that all items were addressed. What he also noted was that the US Infrastructure is "running out of capacity" and has to be rebuilt to deal with 21st Century challenges. This is as China came out with growth anticipated to be around 8 percent per year because it has undertaken a massive investment to continue on the cutting edge on all fronts. The full speech can be accesssed at: Really Long Link
Mr. Pence called the current path by the Adminstration "a failure". I hope that Mr. Pence (who apparently has Presidential aspirations) to take the time to review the Chamber's recommendations and not merely hold on to the old ways of just tax cuts and more tax cuts. There needs to be a concerted effort to actually invest too. There should absolutely be a concerted effort to make sure that we deploy resources in a smart and responsible way. This should not be at the expense of creating a society of haves and have nots.
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Is Mort Zuckerman Right?
Mort Zuckerman is no leftie. As one of the leading businessmen in America today, everyone should listen when he speaks. I recently read a column he wrote for the Financial Times about the Free Market. I frankly struggled with the stark realities that he laid out, even though I have also written here and in OV's sister sites about the realities of Main Street.
When he wrote this back on October 19, 2009, the updated unemployment numbers had not come out yet. The latest reports on the US Federal Deficit had not been announced. The continued fiscal bloodbath in States and Local Governments was yet to be announced for the month. Yet, he told us that "...The Free Market is not up to the job of creating work...". (Source: http://www.ft.com., retrieved 11/20/2009). The stark realities he laid out in his comments lays out the reality of the utter failure of the so-called free market as it has been laid out over the last number of years. For those who advocate more of the same, they have to realize that, ".....this is the only recession since the great depression to wipoe out all job growth from the previous business cycle...." (Source: http://www.ft.com, retrieved 11/20/2009). So, what is there to be done?
What I find very clear is that the traditional way of doing things is not going to work. The Fed has done some very creative things to at least insure that the economy did not fall off a cliff. That has to continue. Although, it appears that Congressional Sharks are out to strip the Fed of its' authority in some crucial areas of the economy that has helped it weather the political storm. I also like Mort Zuckerman's idea of a 100 percent tax credit for businesses for their increase in research and development. This should appeal to all those tax-cutting folks who push for incentives to help jump start research and innovation. I also am emphathetic about the need to truly transform our schools beyond the so-called Charter Movement which seems to be the fashion of the day. Teachers have to be free to teach, students have to be free to learn and the best tools have to be provided to them. I talked about it in my "Smart Schools" proposal for the New America Foundation. It seems to me that when the Country of Uruguay can see to it that the entire K-12 student population (some 360,000 of them) is equipped with a laptop with all the necessary curriculum on it, why can't America muster the courage to go beyond the now in how it educates its youth?
There are truly serious challenges that we are facing as a nation. The stark realities dictates a reawakening in all aspects of our lives. I wonder if we have the courage to go beyond the simple slogans and really come together to address the challenges and stop being mad. Do we have the courage to prove Mort Zuckerman wrong? I wonder....
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We Must Never Forget!!!
It has been quite a week!!! I have been quite amazed as to the debate over torture. I realize that some may consider the source of this clip to be dubious, but the person who actually stepped up to be subjected to waterboarding should prove to be quite compelling:
Former Bush Officials, including the former Vice President and Ms. Cheney who served as a top official in the State Department, say that waterboarding was not torture based on the so-called legal opinionis issued by The Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel. They fail to note that the memos were subsequently repudiated. Furthermore, everyone who has been subjected to it notes that it is torture.
Because this is Memorial Day Week-End, it is a day to remember all who have given up so much for the rest of us. We should never compromise on principles. If we did, we will be the the same as the same animals who claim in the name of the so-called religion that they claim to adhere to. What we also need to realize that the three people who were subjected to torture were three people too many.
The Obama Adminstration, though, is pursuing some policies that will go beyond what the Bush Adminstration has done. For instance, the so-called preventive detentions is of concern. In addition, it has decided also to subject a number of the GITMO detainees to the military commisions act process. The need to safeguard liberties and the constitutional process should be uniform. Yet, it seems that loopholes are being found.
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What other shoe will ever drop?
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
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We truly deserve better than this......
We're truly living in extraordinary times. I laughed when I read about Larry Sabato's characterization of the economic policies of Barack Obama and John McCain. Larry Sabato noted that one of them is living in Disneyworld and one is living in Disneyland. Right now, the U.S. is bankrupt. The U.S. is Ten Trillion (that is Trillion with a "T") Dollars in Debt. The number is so high that the U.S. National Debt Clock ran out of digits. With the way committments are being made right now, the debt will only go through the roof.
As markets are falling and wealth is being wiped off, there is no substantive discussion of the issues. The McCain-Palin ticket continued the pathetic path of guilt by association again today with the release of the new video on association with Ayers. The country and the world need enlightened leadership and a renewed sense of purpose to give folks hope. All they have to talk about is Bill Ayers. They are even going to talk about Jeremiah Wright. "Someone" at a rally "begged" Senator McCain to take it to Senator Obama. "Guilt By Association" may come back to haunt both Senator McCain and Governor Palin. For instance, Governor Palin has apparently attended Alaskan Independence Party Convention with all their rather "interesting" views
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Mike Pouraryan
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