Category: General

Victims of Party Politics

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The news today that Mark Warner had decided against seeking to be the Democrats’ nominee for President in 2008 was proof of how we all suffer from politics that is driven by party affiliation rather than being driven by what is best for the country. I consider it to be good for the country to have two strong parties that can debate the issues from different perspectives, but when that escalates to our current system it becomes counter-productive.

One Democratic official friendly to Mr. Warner said: ‘He realized how hard this was going to be. He’s a great general election candidate, but he thought he would have difficulty winning the primary.’

When candidates find it necessary to make themselves appear more extreme in order to “energize the base” for primary elections and then attempt to appear moderate for the general election the result is that the voters can never tell which version of the candidate to believe.

That is one of the greatest failings of party-driven politics.

Tags parties, reactions

General

Mutual Dependence

I found it very interesting to read the news story in Reuters about the whole Hugo Chavez address to the UN. What really got me thinking was this snippet:

Despite accusing the United States of seeking to oust him, Chavez has never stopped Venezuela’s supply of crude to the United States, its biggest customer.

It seems obvious that we are dependent on Venezuelan oil and if they stopped selling to the U.S. our economy would suffer. I then wondered what would happen if we just stopped buying from Venezuela. The answer is – their economy would suffer, probably worse than ours. So while President Chavez can make all the inflammatory remarks he wants, the fact is that he probably could not afford to stop the flow of oil to the U.S.

Even if President Bush wished to stop buying from Venezuela, the fact is that it is not the government that is buying all that oil, it is a wide range of U.S. businesses who operate independently. They have a stake in the nation, but sadly their greatest concern is making money for investors so they don’t care who is the devil and who isn’t so long as the well does not run dry.

That’s what happens in an interconnected world run by impersonal business interests. There must be a better solution.

Tags Hugo Chavez, oil, reactions

General

For Sale: Senate Seat

Election season is upon us and that means I get to be entertained by campaign politics, which seems like regular politics on steroids. As I was looking at some of the close races being covered by the New York Times I stumbled upon one little blurb in one senate race that needs to be discussed. The article about this year’s senate race in Rhode Island has this little fact at the end of the article:

All told, more than 80 percent of the money in this race comes from outside the state.

This is just wrong. The fact that money has a large influence in our political system is not news but there should be sharp limits on which money gets to have that influence. I think that at least 75% of all money in any campaign should come from those who fall within the jurisdiction being contested. In other words, for a statewide office such as senator or governor, at least 75% of the money in either campaign should come from within the state. For national offices – in other words the president – 25% or less of the money should come from international donors. For congressional seats 75% of the money should come from within the congressional district. The same should hold true for campaigns at all levels of government. In all these cases the 75% limit should probably be applied to every type of donor – individuals, businesses, and special interest groups.

I suspect that this particular problem is most pronounced in senate and congressional races. I would be very surprised to learn that 80% of the money in a presidential campaign came from a foreign country – just as I would be surprised to learn that the campaign for my local school board seat was being financed by a corporation in Kissimmee Florida. Regardless of where the problem is the worst, the rules should be the same at all levels of government.

Tags ideal, money, reactions, State

General

Good News for the G.O.P.

While I was just catching up on the news, I came across an article in the New York Times declaring that the rank and file memebers of the G.O.P. are not following the dictates of Karl Rove. I think that’s great news. I have thought many times that the Democratic Party seemed to have lost its way. I felt that they had very little to contribute outside of a constant cry of “Republicans are bad, just look at what Kink George is doing.” Lately I have begun to think that the Republican Party should lose their way since the way they seem to be leading the country is looking more and more like a path to self-destruction.

I am not talking about the war in Iraq, or the economy. I am talking about the “us vs. them” mentality. The Democrats seemed to be lacking an “us.” From the Democrats it felt like a “them vs. not them” mentality. Thankfully that looks like it might be changing. I just hope that one or both parties can come to something along the lines of “us and not us” where there is no assumption that “anyone who does not agree with us is anti-American (or stupid, or evil, or any other slanderous generalization).” The parties should stand for something so that I can respect them even if I disagree with them.

With the issue of abortion, most people talk about “pro-life vs pro-choice”. Both sides seem to be for something. Unfortunately, I have heard ardent supporters of each side of the debate talk about “pro-choice vs anti-choice” or “pro-life vs anti-life.” Those are both “us righteous crusaders for truth, justice, and the American way vs those stupid, communist, fascist, devil worshiping, neo-something-or-other social lepers” types of mentalities. They are not constructive, but they are passionate. I don’t mind passionate, but I would hope to have more constructive attitudes come to the forefront of both parties so that we can have some lively national debate on issues, and at the end of the day we still make things happen.

Tags insights, parties, political figures

General

Lunch with the President

No, that is not just a catchy header to get your attention. I really was invited to have lunch with the President this month. And yes, I mean the President of the United States.

It came as a surprise at first. I read the email subject from one of my senators and thought, “Wow, it’s amazing that I was among those chosen out of all his constituents.” I am at a slight disadvantage when someone sends me an email which is an image because my email client does not display images without my consent. This was one of those emails, so I did not know anything about what was in the message except the subject at first. While clicking the button to display the message, I thought that it must be because I had recently corresponded with this senator to express my views on some current bills in the senate. How else would he have picked my name out of a hat.

Display the image and . . . it’s from the committee to re-elect. Although I disagree with this senator and do not wish to have him re-elected I would still like to go – for a chance to say “hi” to the President.

Scan to the bottom of the image and it’s only going to cost me $500 a seat to accept this invitation. I’m so flattered. They even offer me a great group rate of $4000 for a table of eight. Okay, I’m not going to spend $500 that will help elect a man I don’t want elected – not even to meet the President. I’m not sure I could find $500 to meet the President and help elect someone I want elected (although I did recently find $503 to pay for new tires on my car – I still don’t know how the checkbook balanced this month after the tires).

So why write about this – I’m not going to the lunch and I was “chosen” because they hoped I’d cough up $500 like I did for my tires. I’ve been thinking about this since I got the email and considering my reaction to the possibility of meeting the President.

Some may assume that I am a fan of the President. The reason I’m writing is because I realized that my reaction to the possibility of meeting the President, or even a former President, would be the same whether I liked him or not. There is something about getting to meet people in positions of importance. I would love to meet the Pope even though I have already clearly stated that I am not Catholic. What it really comes down to is that I respect the office. I love this country and what it is supposed to stand for. Certainly there are times and places where it becomes a symbol of things which it should not stand for, but that is the exception and not the rule.

I just hope, and will always do what I can to ensure, that our country and the man who leads it at any given time, are worthy of our respect and deserving of our support, even if there is need for some dissent over some issues. I’d hate to see the day when I could no longer be comfortable being identified as a citizen of the United States, or meeting the President.

Tags candidates, money, State

General

Well Stated

I stumbled onto Peonicus’ View of Politics the same day I started my new blog and I thought it would be a good excuse to post a reaction and test out my blog a little more.

I was amazed to hear criticism for both the left and the right so early in the post. Right off I was saying to myself “my thoughts exactly.”

When I read:

What we need is for the existing society to behave with the primary goal of the
good of the whole. This means that we focus less on our personal fortunes, and
more on using our influence to do good. We must start at the most fundamental
unit of society: our families. First, we need to respect and honor our spouses
even more than ourselves. Then we must be loving parents, and teach our children
to love and respect others despite inevitable differences.

I recognized some positively primitive thinking – like my own. The answer does not lie in making new laws to govern campaign finance – although those might be helpful. The answer lies in returning to who we are – people who want better lives for ourselves and our children. If that is our primary focus, and if we can remember to “forgive and ask for forgiveness,” we may be able to get past our mudslinging and divisiveness and start to find actual solutions. That makes me begin to wonder, is Peonicus right in suggesting:

What would happen in the Middle East if everybody there, Jews and Muslims alike
taught their children that there is no us and them, there is simply us. I think
the fighting would end tomorrow, and the poverty of the region could be ended by
2007.

It would be nice if he was, but we’ll never know unless more people think like this.

Tags family, international, reactions

General

The Iraqi Constitution

I have been very interested to hear about the progress on the Iraqi constitution. Naturally most of the commentary was about how bad the constitution was and how it was a step backwards for the US. I keep hearing about a new Iran. Finally I read this article where there was something positive to say. I grant that David Brooks is one of the people who is more likely to agree with the president, but I have to agree with much of what he says because I had recognized the reality of the following quotes back when I reviewed No God but GOD:

“The Bush administration finally did something right in brokering this constitution,” Galbraith exclaimed, then added: “This is the only possible deal that can bring stability. … I do believe it might save the country.”

Galbraith’s argument is that the constitution reflects the reality of the nation it is meant to serve.

What’s important, Gerecht has emphasized, is the democratic process: setting up a system in which the different groups, secular and clerical, will have to bargain with one another, campaign and deal with the real-world consequences of their ideas. This is what’s going to moderate them and lead to progress. This constitution does that. Shutting them out would lead to war.

The men being quoted here by Brooks are Peter W. Galbraith, a former United States ambassador to Croatia and Reuel Marc Gerecht, formerly of the C.I.A. and now at the American Enterprise Institute.

I make no claim of special understanding regarding the Iraqi people or this draft of a constitution but we must have a constitution that fits the people that it is intended to govern. If these men that Brooks has quoted are right about the Iraqis and this constitution than I have to conclude that it is a good thing. If our American values see it as too much like Iran perhaps we would do well to remember that the Iraqis are much more like their Iranian neighbors than they are like us Americans from halfway across the world and that’s just fine with me. If we are attempting to remake them in our image then we should not be there in the first place because it will never happen.

Tags Constitution, international, Iraq

General

Cabinet Shuffle

Normally I don’t link to things where I have nothing to add, but this seemed like a good exception to make. From the New York Times OpEd Replace the Surgeon General position with the position of America’s Nurse.

Another reason to make this link is to lament that I will soon not be reading the OpEd section of the New York Times once they start charging subscriptions. It’s too bad, they often have good things to say, but not $50/year worth of good.

Tags media, New York Times

General

No god but God

No God but GOD

I have been trying to learn more about Islam in an effort to sort out the truth from the fiction that is reported in conjunction with the war on terror and other similar realities of our day. As a part of that goal I recently picked up No god but God by Reza Aslan, an Iranian born and American educated Muslim scholar. I was well rewarded. This book is a must read for anyone trying to understand the religion that operates in the areas of the Middle East that have suddenly become so prominent in American politics. Not only did I come to a more complete understanding of Islam, but I came to a better understanding or faith, religion, society and America as well.

Aslan explains the difference between faith and religion and helps the reader understand the culture and history of pre-Islamic Arabia before trying to relate the rise of Islam with Muhammed and the changes that brought to the Arab culture of the area. The reader then learns how the challenges arising from the death of Muhammed eventually lead to the various movements in Islam such as Shi’ism, Sufism and Wahhabism.

After reading this book there was no more question in my mind as to why so much strife exists between the Shi’ites and the Sunnis as the Iraqis try to rebuild their country. In the struggle between the west and the people of Iraq in defining democracy in that country, Aslan helps differentiate between secularism and pluralism. With that distinction we may have less fear of letting the Iraqis set up democracy in a way that represents their culture rather than our own.

Representative democracy may be the greatest social and political experiment in the history of the world. But it is an ever-evolving experiment. These days there is a tendancy to regard American democracy as the model for all the world’s democracies, and in some ways this is true. The seeds of democracy may have been sown in ancient Greece, but it is in American soil that they sprouted and flourished. Yet precisely for this reason, only in America is American democracy possible; it cannot be isolated from American traditions and values.

Read No god but God to learn about the traditions and values that will shape the democracies that will make the world feel safe once again.

Title: No god but God: the Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam
Author: Reza Aslan
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1-4000-6213-6

Tags book review, international, Islam

General

More Daylight

What difference will more daylight savings make to those of us outside of Arizona? Not much that I can see.

If the politicians want to pass this I don’t mind it. I would love to use more sunlight, but let’s not fool ourselves that this will make a big difference in our oil consumption. If we save 10,000 barrels per day for an extra five weeks out of the year it would take us 57 years to save one day’s worth of oil at 20 million barrels per day (our current usage level) so it will not make us noticably less dependent on the Arabian peninsula.

Tags issues, oil, reactions