News From Here and Beyond

I see that my blog has been read in 49 countries.  Cool.  Noticeably absent is any viewership from China.  I did get one hit from Nepal and one from Hong Kong.

I can tell you one person that must be reading this.

Obama.

I mentioned yesterday that we need an Energy Policy and today, he presents one at Georgetown University.  I'm expecting a call at any time to discuss what I think he should do next.  I'll keep you informed unless it turns out to be top secret hero type stuff.

Onward.

Sarah Palin said something like, "We waited for permission to go into Libya and then took a back seat.  That doesn't sound very American to me."   I have to agree.  Invading Iraq has been more of our style. Thank goodness we are finally outgrowing the "Bully the World" attitude.

It amazes me that people are still pushing for another Iraq.  By other people I mean the entire Republican/Tea party.

Elsewhere.

I saw a bumper sticker yesterday.  I actually saw 3; all on the same truck: "Bush/Cheany 04" and then "McCain/Palin 08" and finally there was "Union By Force/Confederate By Choice."  This guy can really pick a winner.

I'm watching the economy recover with over 250,000 new jobs added in March.  Then on the radio I heard a guy talk about how Obama is ruining our country with his Marxist ideas and that we need to get a Republican in right away.  I'll just say, if McCain and Palin were in, there would be boots on the ground all over the world by now.

Republican Rick Santorum says the Social Security System would be in much better shape if there were fewer abortions.  His rationale?  Remember, this is an elected official.  People put a check in the box next to his name thinking "I've got to get me some more of this guy."  Anyway..his reasoning is that we are killing babies that would otherwise be putting money into the system.

I think our elected officials are not smart enough to do the job we've elected them into.  I would love to give them a pop quiz on basic economics or military strategy or even geography.  I'd like to see them explain the math behind their assumptions.  I have a feeling that few would do well.

The Democrats got caught reminding each other to use words like "extreme" when referring to the GOP budget cuts.  Now, I don't know what they are talking about cutting but how hard can it be to not get caught trying to put Lipstick on a Pig?

There is incompetence aplenty on each side of the aisle.

I have to go sit by the phone.  Obama could be calling at any minute and ask me, "Jim, how can you help me save the world?"

Up, up and away...

jim

News and Commentary

Africa is having a fire sale on farmland.

It seems that Saudi Arabia and China are trying to buy up every acre of farmable land on the continent.  This is in a clear response to the last two surges in oil prices.  Higher oil prices results quickly in higher food prices.

Russia is trying to form an Opec-like agreement with some other Big Wheat countries so they can control the price and supply of this staple.  I think they should call themselves Wheaties.

I was having coffee with a couple of friends the other day.  Both, I would consider, to be high spiritual people.  One is a devout Catholic, the other doesn't attend church regularly.  I mentioned a study that said organized religion would be extinct in 9 countries within the next few years.  These are not third-world countries.  Australia and the Netherlands and Austria to name 3 of them.  Anyway, this got the conversation running along.

One of my friends said he thought that we go to church less now because we once went there for answers that are now provided by science.  For example, you may have a sore back and go to church to pray for a cure.  Today you go the doctor for a shot.

The second friend said we go to church to help find answers to why there is so much suffering in the world.

My thought...hmmm...what the heck do I know.    I know as much as anyone else, which is to say, no one else knows either.

A friend, John G.  posted a response to yesterday's blog about Obama's speech.  He basically posted the following quote: "The president does not have the power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military situation that does not involve the stopping of an actual or imminent threat to the nation." - Sen. Barack Obama, December 20, 2007

This is an excellent point.  First of all, Obama mentioned meeting with the bipartisan leadership ahead of his action.  There is no telling if he was looking for approval or just keeping them informed.  If it was the later, then it would appear that he changed his mind at some point in the last 3+ years.  However, I think he may have actually satisfied the need for consultation in the eyes of Congress.  I only say this because the GOP is complaining that this wasn't handled with the same Blunt Force we used so successfully in Iraq (this amazes me).  The only ones complaining about not being consulted are the small players in congress from both parties that are too short to be noticed when they raise their hands.

I think it's okay to change your mind.  I doubt that he looked at the Libya situation and said, "I'd better just let those people get slaughtered or else I'll look two-faced."  I think he learned that there may be situations where action is needed immediately.

He's learned that nothing says "Peace on Earth" like a well placed cruise missile.

Alas, such is our world...

Arnold Schwarzenegger once tried to push through a budget reduction measure that saved a few million dollars by reducing the amount of time a puppy would be on death row before he faced the chair. The public outcry was huge and Arnie reeled that little suggestion back in a hurry.  He changed his mind and I admired him for it.

To prevent this type of thing in the future, we need a policy.  Actually, we need a lot of policies.  Right now, we create everything from scratch every year.  Wouldn't it be great if we had policies that:

• Handled policing actions around the world
• Brought the budget under control during a stalemate
• Planned for energy consumption and creation today and into the future
• Managed our country's manufacturing and trade imbalance
• Created an education system with a goal of second-to-none

Instead, we govern like a small tree blowing in the wind.

Right now, California is having a budget issue (so what else is new).  The Republicans want more cuts and the governor wants to extend taxes.  If taxes don't get extended, the only place left to cut is education.  The last time they cut education (last year) several teachers at my son's high school lost their jobs.  His English teacher has 200+ students.  For the last month, she has been grading research papers.  Can you imagine reading that many paper and adding meaningful comments along the way?

So what's the answer?

Not sure.  Budget resolution is not part of the superhero job description.

Up, up and away...

Jim