New Phoenix Light Rail

I, along with 90,000 others, took an inaugural "ride on the rails" on the new Phoenix light rail system.

Henri Levy

Saw a discussion on book tv between bill kristol and henri levy (new
book American Vertigo). Excellent exchange. He articulated very
precisely the difficulty and problems he has with the current neocon
position. The three areas of disagreement: that necons have a
messianic belief in the ultimate spread of democracy, much in the same
way that Marx felt about the inevitability of communism. 2. They are
not discriminating. They aren't critical of persons in power if they
agree on one policy issue or another. The third was the need to
support international organizations (UN World Court, etc.)and
government in general. An interesting exchange. Other postions
discussed:Levy feels that we are in a crisis re religion. The
prevalent brand of religion in the US is intolerant and breaking down
the separation of church and state. He feels that there is a major
role for government in lessening the impact of poverty and the support
of urban infrastructure. That effectiveness of government in these
areas has been undermined by the present administration. The reason
for the lack of planning in the aftermath of the Iraq war was the
"messianic belief" that all we had to do was to walk in, establish
democracy and that the rest would simply take care of itself.

Another Republican should take notice

"I fear that you do not fully comprehend the danger of abridging the liberties of the people. Nothing but the very sternest necessity can ever justify it. A government had better go to the very extreme of toleration, than to do naught that could be construed into an interference with, or to jeopardize in any degree the common rights of its citizens"

Abraham Lincoln

Of course he suspended habeas corpus. Something strange about republicans and power.

budget

"I'm fully prepared to use the veto if they overspend," This ludicrous comment from the king of the over spenders.

Election

The Hamas victory today may be the best thing possible for the Middle east. Placing Hamas in political power will force them to moderate the position vis a vis Israel. It give Israel a wake up call. They now have to deal with "hard liners" who won't be bullied After this "terrorist" issue is put to the side, some real negotiations may take place.

Wire Tap

Perhaps what the Dems should do regarding the current wiretapping flap is to simply explain to the American public why the law requiring judicial review was passed in the first place. Believe it was in response to the excesses during the Nixon years. Putting it in such a context would untangle the issue from national security, link it with the impression that the president is out of control and link him with a particularly odorous group of civil rights violators.

Its been often noted that the times in which we live are fraught with problems and perils. The nature and pace of change is unlike any period in human history. If we make a brief list of the major changes that are currently in play we can clearly see that it must have a profound impact on mankind’s view of himself and the world around him. As Americans we are at the epicenter of all these currents so we take the brunt of their impact.
·The communication revolution -- more people interconnected all the time
·Information revolution – a continuous stream of news and information from all over the world, 24/7
·Globalization of economic activity – outsourcing, shift from manufacturing to service employment
·Government shortcomings – The seeming inability of government to resolve problems and/or becoming part of the problem
·Health care impact – Advances cost money. Health care insurance coverage will soon only be available to those with above average income.
·Energy impact – Continued and growing dependence on unreliable energy suppliers
·Shrinking social safety net – anxiety over retirement issues, increasing poverty, stagnating incomes, etc,
·Iraq war
·Terrorism
To name some of the more prominent. There certainly have been more dangerous times but none when so many profound issues were in play at the same time. As is the case during any period of upheaval, people attempt to resist the seemingly uncontrollable pace or to mitigate those changes by which they feel most threatened. They turn inward by seeking answers in religion (God can change it), government (they can change it) or in self reliance (I can change it). Self reliance is defined as the broader private sector: NGO, Corporations, individuals wealthy or otherwise. God can’t be relined upon to get involved…witness the wars, famines and pestilence throughout history. Self-reliance does not have sufficient gravitas to effectively impact these issues. Still in the recent past .the pendulum has swung in the direction of God and self-reliance. Shrinking government simply makes the problems worse. Trying to compromise between government activism and self-reliance doesn’t work. ..you get the senior drug prescription programs. .Realistically many of these issues can’t be impacted. They have a momentum independent of any individual, organization or god. Those that can, can only be handled by an effective and engaged government. There are no other options.

People have begun to recognize these flow of events. The pendulum is set to swing in the direction of an engaged and effective government. Arguments supporting the God/self-reliant position had been found to be insufficient and often counter productive. What is needed is a leader to talk to the American people about these issues above all calm their fears and provide realistic portraits of what outcomes we can reasonably expect and provide reasoned inclusive responses where appropriate. Change and the insecurity it brings are unavoidable. We need a leader who does just that. Disregarding party and ideological precepts, he looks to the future and, in conjunction with the citizenry, maps a course that is the best for America.

White Teeth

Just finished a book called White Teeth by Zadie Smith. One of the better reads I’ve had in a bit. Story of three, families, one immigrant, one native, and one mixed in London, period 1945 to 1993. Funny, sad, lyrical…The author has a real touch for the use of language and idioms. She provides some insights into the how, why and results of alienation. Published in 1999. It seems that, at a deeper level, she has a lot to say about the nature of choice and how people deal with the results of those that they have made. She explores two views; those who look to religion, particularly of the fundamentalists’ stripe and those who look to reasoned rational thinking…Age-old questions. Her contribution would appear to be that neither offers any answers. The world around us is much too complex to be able to predict, with any degree of accuracy, the outcome of our decisions (reason/rational). Religion is flawed because it offers no answers other than God’s will which keeps you fixated in the past and that it is populated with people of dubious motivations. When making a decision, flipping a coin is as good as using reason or payer to divine the results. At the end of the day…Do it and get on with it.

Musings

Noticed today that the Australian national elections are coming up in a week or so. It is a tight race. One of the critical issues is, of course, is Iraq. Australians have supported the US in every combat situation in recent times. Much of the support has come from self interest....Large country, small population surrounded by potentially hostile neighbors. They have only 840 troops on the ground at the moment and there appears to be a significant anti-war contingent making an effort to bring that paltry number back home. Opposition party wants to bring them home by Christmas. I supposed that this is in fact what will happen. Australians have a love hate relationship with America. The elder members of the population still remember WW II and are still supportive. However, most feel we are arrogant bullies who need to be taught a lesson ( not a uncommon opinion in other parts of the world these days). I had a conversation with a gentleman, happened to by the owner of the company I worked for at the time, who said about September 11; "Now I don't condone what the terrorist did, but, just maybe, we (US) had pushed them too far". He then proceeded to tell me about some tennis match that was to be played in Australia during the year 2000 but was instead held in the US. This, I suppose, was too demonstrate how the US bullies until it gets its way. Now this fellow is more that a bit mad, but he is not alone. I would suggest that of my Australian acquaintances 75% hold similar, if not quite so bizarre, opinions. Now this opinion predates the Bush administration, but it has become more open and acceptable to voice these opinion over the last few years. We are never going to loved, great powers are always envied, but we are becoming more and more isolated and in the long run our influence will diminish. Governments may begin to support countries (China most likely) that they perceive capable of standing up to the US. This Iraq effort could have many unforeseen consequences.