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NOAA is one of the more important agencies of government, like those that feed and heal it has a mission that is fundamental to our survival: the survival of our oceans. These wonders are part of the engine of the planet, holding sun heat, making winds, clouds and rain; feeding a majority of the world from its fish and seafood stocks.
During the Bush years which is a little like saying the Dark Ages...it was politicized, its thought process co-opted by a ridiculous Party line...no danger to fish stocks from overfishing, the ocean dead zones might be natural and cyclical; the rise in ocean temperatures does not affect climate...and the biggie ...we must wait a few hundred years to be sure of anything. NOAA was in the pettifog business ---big time, content to confound and confuse the big issues...the ones upon which our fates seem to depend.
Now there is NOAA the foot dragging non-presence while an incredibly bold and reckless corporation acts to damage the oceans in its world-be-damned pursuit of profits. There are potentials for ruin of the nation's most productive ocean food supplier, irreplaceable estuaries, and a cycle of damage that we cannot yet foresee so powerful and unprecedented is the dump of crude oil into the oceans.
The Obama Administration has not been in Office long enough to have created this inert mass of political denial at NOAA that has displaced the effort--frank and open effort- needed to address the huge footprint of mankind on the oceans and climate of our little world's eco-system, but they have been in Office long enough to see it. Now that they have seen it, we will see if they will effect a cure. The health of our place in the world...depends on things like this...
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Election Day is a time to learn
sometimes the lessons are difficult and bitter, sometimes the sweet feeling is a very misleading sugar coating on a hard medicine inside. This election day is about change and the opposite reaction to change---resistance. I have read so many( and I think-- wrong headed) reports of the Tea Party movement and its power, I think it will be seen now and in November, that the Tea Party will affect one party more than another, because it borrows from the same bank of resistance as the Republican Party.
American voted for change in the society when electing President Obama, some opposed him then and now. They have formed and reformed into a movement that is being led by ideals that seem more like a jingo--taking back our Government/ too big government/ socialist government. They are a grass roots movement and have an internal structure of leadership that seems newly created and genuine.
Yet their spokespersons, the people who stand before the cameras, the candidates-- are people like Sara Palin, or Dr. Paul, the son of a Republican Congressman, who says he is an outsider to Washington... there is every appearance of a hijack of the energy of governmental resistance by people who are traditional, insiders, and have no real connection to reform of government.
I think the Tea Party will grow, gather more funds, and might eventually become allied with the flood of corporation monies that are now allowed by our Supreme Court's incredible decision in the Citizens v. FEC case. It may become a 3rd party that will consume a major party at least in some areas of the country and at least in some elections. It is anathema to modern ideas of government- global government, the corporate world for which national boundaries are merely a fact of doing business.
I think there is a balance that has been lost in America- so much acceptance of global factors, so much accommodation of external interests. The Tea Party movement reminds that domestic populations, their aspirations and goals, have a priority at least as important as foreign corporations. The Obama Administration has taken a quantum leap in that direction, and that...as much as anything... has inspired the strength of dissent, that so much change has come...proves that change can come.
American voted for change in the society when electing President Obama, some opposed him then and now. They have formed and reformed into a movement that is being led by ideals that seem more like a jingo--taking back our Government/ too big government/ socialist government. They are a grass roots movement and have an internal structure of leadership that seems newly created and genuine.
Yet their spokespersons, the people who stand before the cameras, the candidates-- are people like Sara Palin, or Dr. Paul, the son of a Republican Congressman, who says he is an outsider to Washington... there is every appearance of a hijack of the energy of governmental resistance by people who are traditional, insiders, and have no real connection to reform of government.
I think the Tea Party will grow, gather more funds, and might eventually become allied with the flood of corporation monies that are now allowed by our Supreme Court's incredible decision in the Citizens v. FEC case. It may become a 3rd party that will consume a major party at least in some areas of the country and at least in some elections. It is anathema to modern ideas of government- global government, the corporate world for which national boundaries are merely a fact of doing business.
I think there is a balance that has been lost in America- so much acceptance of global factors, so much accommodation of external interests. The Tea Party movement reminds that domestic populations, their aspirations and goals, have a priority at least as important as foreign corporations. The Obama Administration has taken a quantum leap in that direction, and that...as much as anything... has inspired the strength of dissent, that so much change has come...proves that change can come.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Oil can still ruin the economy...
...even as we sit on the edge of electric cars and vehicles, truly synthesized fuels, the Earth's carbon storage system that we call --oil-- hangs over our heads and threatens once again to ruin our economies and change societies for the worse. Here in the US let's say disaffection over the Administration's response to the Gulf Spill changes politics and we vote Obama out of office. Replacing him with a man/woman chosen by the War machine...the businesses that finance and equip our massive defense establishment. Then we would find a reason to go to war and begin to extinguish hundreds of thousands of lives...sisters, brothere, fathers mothers...loved ones, precious people to many others--and incidentally we terminate a wonderful adventure in this Obama Presidency.
We return our economy to a war footing just when green energy, and improvements in the American way of life...better health maybe, longer life spans; maybe some research that would improve the presently awkward state of medical science---we know so much more than we put into practice these days, and the gap is growing.
Oil--- and the people who would come to power are those who have kept us in the shadow of the Oil cloud, who eschewed or even blocked alternative fuels and hydrogen or electric vehicles. Oil can still ruin an economy because almost every contribution it makes has a damaging side effect- on air, water, even our physical routines of sedentary lifestyles...I walk a lot now and drive little---makes a big difference.
The thing itself is a vast energy source that we use in such a poor way...we burn it and send most of it off into the air, where we wear and breathe it. I have a strong feeling one day OIL will be used in many ways- to heal, to nourish, to build things ---and people will wonder of that primitive ritual of burning such a precious thing for a mere momentary pulse of energy.
We return our economy to a war footing just when green energy, and improvements in the American way of life...better health maybe, longer life spans; maybe some research that would improve the presently awkward state of medical science---we know so much more than we put into practice these days, and the gap is growing.
Oil--- and the people who would come to power are those who have kept us in the shadow of the Oil cloud, who eschewed or even blocked alternative fuels and hydrogen or electric vehicles. Oil can still ruin an economy because almost every contribution it makes has a damaging side effect- on air, water, even our physical routines of sedentary lifestyles...I walk a lot now and drive little---makes a big difference.
The thing itself is a vast energy source that we use in such a poor way...we burn it and send most of it off into the air, where we wear and breathe it. I have a strong feeling one day OIL will be used in many ways- to heal, to nourish, to build things ---and people will wonder of that primitive ritual of burning such a precious thing for a mere momentary pulse of energy.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
things change into the same...
in America, there is change and then there is the appearance of change----like the TV commercial dominated society we have become, thoughtless wonders we...some ideas that appeal to us because they are cute or trendy, or more likely the opinion of our friends...I call them friend shepherds - they guide a flock of sheepish friends, guiding tastes in clothes, tastes in cool, approving an disapproving, by virtue of superior knowledge of life and happiness. They guide their friends through the perils of life, to the barn in the season of shearing, and of course the season of lamb chops too.
But here we have it, Segregated Public Schools, well segregation by wealth has always been the case here and continued with only small interference from the Civil Rights movement and government policies of progressive administrations--it has been a difficult thing for Americans to give up their idea of privilege. I think the whining Tea Party movement is born of this -- a sense of privilege lost,
how dare they tell me I can't carry my gun in public-- so that everyone will know I am a dangerous man, not to be taken lightly as my appearance might suggest-- having a palatial home, a space age car, and more credit cards than a wallet can hold...is not enough, someone has to lack all those things, many ...most people must lack them, then i feel ...like a real American; [oh and anyone who disagrees should leave the country...taking the memories of your children and family lost in war with you...]
yes, the Tea Party is a reflection of something very insidious indeed, privilege raised to the point of worship. The loss of understanding, the reduction in essential intelligence about a thing-- we must be free to have health insurance on our own, and not as part of a mandate--- we must be free to become burdens on the public, we must be free to be poor and uninsured against our will...
Dorothy Height and Benjamin Hooks died in recent days, Civil rights leaders who gave productive lifetimes to raising the level of life in the US. I also read that parents in Mississippi take their children into racially exclusive schools, not for racially discrimination purposes I'm sure ...but maybe somewhere a friend has been a shepherd.
Maybe the idea is to have more friends like Benjamin Hooks and Dorothy Height, then I would call them...Angels.
But here we have it, Segregated Public Schools, well segregation by wealth has always been the case here and continued with only small interference from the Civil Rights movement and government policies of progressive administrations--it has been a difficult thing for Americans to give up their idea of privilege. I think the whining Tea Party movement is born of this -- a sense of privilege lost,
how dare they tell me I can't carry my gun in public-- so that everyone will know I am a dangerous man, not to be taken lightly as my appearance might suggest-- having a palatial home, a space age car, and more credit cards than a wallet can hold...is not enough, someone has to lack all those things, many ...most people must lack them, then i feel ...like a real American; [oh and anyone who disagrees should leave the country...taking the memories of your children and family lost in war with you...]
yes, the Tea Party is a reflection of something very insidious indeed, privilege raised to the point of worship. The loss of understanding, the reduction in essential intelligence about a thing-- we must be free to have health insurance on our own, and not as part of a mandate--- we must be free to become burdens on the public, we must be free to be poor and uninsured against our will...
Dorothy Height and Benjamin Hooks died in recent days, Civil rights leaders who gave productive lifetimes to raising the level of life in the US. I also read that parents in Mississippi take their children into racially exclusive schools, not for racially discrimination purposes I'm sure ...but maybe somewhere a friend has been a shepherd.
Maybe the idea is to have more friends like Benjamin Hooks and Dorothy Height, then I would call them...Angels.
Monday, April 12, 2010
there will be war and rumors...
Foreign policy is important, sometimes vital to the nation's economy and security. A nation that depends increasingly on the jobs we have exported to produce needs and wants is more and more vulnerable to the effects of events everywhere.
The Republican party-- which has centered it's approach on engaging in warfare at every opportunity-- would like to convince the public that:
it has a superior view of American international interests; and
that military policies and foreign policies overlap to an extent that perhaps only humanitarian aid is outside of the scope of military foreign affairs.
The result is that they would keep us at war and profits from those wars would fuel their political base. Corporate America is overwhelmingly Republican as is the military leadership, they say.
I have fundamental doubt about the affiliation thing, but the rest is unfortunately true. It makes life smple for Republican leaders: GET SOMEBODY-- GET THE GAYS, FAMILY VALUES man + WOMAN= Family. Get the poor it is their fault they didn't pick rich parents. Read the bible and support killing in the name of freedom. the art of hiding the ball at its best.
The lack of ideas and meaningful direction in governing the domestic agenda--the reason they are the Party of --No...is that governing is not important to them, war is. That is the big payoff. I think they are right, fixing domestic problems is not nearly as expensive nor profitable---quick example-- for the money we spent --no, wasted in Iraq doing a job that might have been done much better and more quickly by an international effort without an invasion---lets say $1.5 trillion over eight years--- every child in the US could have had health insurance, a college trust fund, down payment on their first home, and spending mney for weekends at the mall...or a ringside seat at the Iraq civil War, $1.5 Trillion essentially donated to a nation with more oil than political will to find peace.
Oh, I know my Republican friends, I hear your robotic voices - -- if we helped a generation of children become wealthy and successful it would ruin the country, it would be un-American like giving rights to gay people, or saving lives in New Orleans instead of just finding a way to blame Democrats; but still it shows what you can buy when you pass by the daily special on war in aisle 7 and shop around a bit, many Americans see, there is an appealing sale on CHANGE.
The Republican party-- which has centered it's approach on engaging in warfare at every opportunity-- would like to convince the public that:
it has a superior view of American international interests; and
that military policies and foreign policies overlap to an extent that perhaps only humanitarian aid is outside of the scope of military foreign affairs.
The result is that they would keep us at war and profits from those wars would fuel their political base. Corporate America is overwhelmingly Republican as is the military leadership, they say.
I have fundamental doubt about the affiliation thing, but the rest is unfortunately true. It makes life smple for Republican leaders: GET SOMEBODY-- GET THE GAYS, FAMILY VALUES man + WOMAN= Family. Get the poor it is their fault they didn't pick rich parents. Read the bible and support killing in the name of freedom. the art of hiding the ball at its best.
The lack of ideas and meaningful direction in governing the domestic agenda--the reason they are the Party of --No...is that governing is not important to them, war is. That is the big payoff. I think they are right, fixing domestic problems is not nearly as expensive nor profitable---quick example-- for the money we spent --no, wasted in Iraq doing a job that might have been done much better and more quickly by an international effort without an invasion---lets say $1.5 trillion over eight years--- every child in the US could have had health insurance, a college trust fund, down payment on their first home, and spending mney for weekends at the mall...or a ringside seat at the Iraq civil War, $1.5 Trillion essentially donated to a nation with more oil than political will to find peace.
Oh, I know my Republican friends, I hear your robotic voices - -- if we helped a generation of children become wealthy and successful it would ruin the country, it would be un-American like giving rights to gay people, or saving lives in New Orleans instead of just finding a way to blame Democrats; but still it shows what you can buy when you pass by the daily special on war in aisle 7 and shop around a bit, many Americans see, there is an appealing sale on CHANGE.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
How to measure...Change
Maybe the problem is that today's government is being measured by yesterday's standards, fear and loathing and the rainbow of dread ( I know you want to forget the red, orange chartreuse alerts--but I wont let you...;). We were whipped into a frenzy to invade Iraq, and when allies insisted on sharing in contracts and rebuilding, they were dismissed. So it shaped up as a painless war, full of high-tech show, an opportunity to reward the people who elected George Bush, many of whom had made money in the first Gulf War--the righteous one- repel the invaders of Kuwait. This one was not righteous, it was calculated and largely purposed to hide a vulnerable condition of our national defense, re-elect the man who oversaw the terror attacks; and spend as much money as possible before a grief stricken nation began to ask--we are invading who? For what? and why isn't my life as important to you Mr, President as the oppressed majority in Iraq...I mean we need roads, bridges, better education, democracy, economic growth, health insurance, better access to education, --did I mention roads and bridges?--all right here Mr. Bush---the answer was a trillion plus dollars spent in Iraq, which now---wants us out, wants to do business with practically everybody else but US companies, and are running elections that look a lot like Bush's elections, so much for democracy .
Instead of US, our money went to Iraq, we got the Republican style of management, see. e.g. New Orleans, hurricanes and old people...and they are still saying we can't afford to help Americans, still trying to convince people it is right to resent anyone who is not rich, and that it is a good thing for the poor to use their assets --even the lives of their soldier children-- for the benefit of the rich...oh man, if there were a higher superpower on the earth, like China may yet be, they will look at this era in America and say...they were so wrong headed, then found a chance for CHANGE. Yes even China of the future may one day routinely do much more for its people than we do willingly here, the POLITICS OF RESENTMENT RUN DEEP, AND ONE PARTY HAS MADE IT,... ITS LIFE BLOOD.
Instead of US, our money went to Iraq, we got the Republican style of management, see. e.g. New Orleans, hurricanes and old people...and they are still saying we can't afford to help Americans, still trying to convince people it is right to resent anyone who is not rich, and that it is a good thing for the poor to use their assets --even the lives of their soldier children-- for the benefit of the rich...oh man, if there were a higher superpower on the earth, like China may yet be, they will look at this era in America and say...they were so wrong headed, then found a chance for CHANGE. Yes even China of the future may one day routinely do much more for its people than we do willingly here, the POLITICS OF RESENTMENT RUN DEEP, AND ONE PARTY HAS MADE IT,... ITS LIFE BLOOD.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The repeal of the Court...
this Supreme Court is no stranger to doing strange things and healthcare legislation, the lifeboat for so many millions of people will be in the crosshairs of the most philosophically backward Court since the days of the New Deal...they have proved that they will not respect the presumed power of Congress to regulate the things it finds fundamental and necessary if there is a conservative cause that can be promoted...and here it is no less a cause than the convenience of the War Machine---the Holy Grail of the Republican Party. They could reword the dollar...in War we trust...
Healthcare is a blip on the screen--$120 Billion per year...the Iraq war on the surface was about $12million per hour...about $1Trillion in six years, and that was just the parts that tended to show in the budget. War is like an iceberg, the greater part is unseen, but it is the precedent that matters most, the idea that people might shape a priority for government.
During the Bush years, we needed healthcare reform- they offered to limit our right to sue for the unlimited damage medical mistakes, we were supposed to be happy if they reduced our insurance bill by a dollar. When we needed roads and infrastructure, they studied why our bridges were falling down; when we needed action to protect pollution of oceans and loss of whole food stock species- they gave us doubts that human pollution was polluting the seas; when we saw the weather weirding, power of storms swamping cities- they said we had to wait to be sure before we would make anyone change the way they do business, in fact wanted to relax air quality standards, mileage for cars ( can you believe they actually made bigger and bigger cars---and we bought them!!!)
So the war machine is starting to get antsy, they have many billions to spend, and the Supremes say baby we'd love to see you spend it to do to public opinion what has been done to the food supply here-- overwhelm the consumer until they think a grease burger and oily potatoes is God's gift -- and they once again choose war: expensive, pricey, high- tech conflicts that show how strong we are, invasions for our liberty...now admit it don't you feel more free now that there is a trillion dollars worth of democracy in Iraq...well you don't quite get what you used to...for a Trillion$ do you?
Healthcare is a blip on the screen--$120 Billion per year...the Iraq war on the surface was about $12million per hour...about $1Trillion in six years, and that was just the parts that tended to show in the budget. War is like an iceberg, the greater part is unseen, but it is the precedent that matters most, the idea that people might shape a priority for government.
During the Bush years, we needed healthcare reform- they offered to limit our right to sue for the unlimited damage medical mistakes, we were supposed to be happy if they reduced our insurance bill by a dollar. When we needed roads and infrastructure, they studied why our bridges were falling down; when we needed action to protect pollution of oceans and loss of whole food stock species- they gave us doubts that human pollution was polluting the seas; when we saw the weather weirding, power of storms swamping cities- they said we had to wait to be sure before we would make anyone change the way they do business, in fact wanted to relax air quality standards, mileage for cars ( can you believe they actually made bigger and bigger cars---and we bought them!!!)
So the war machine is starting to get antsy, they have many billions to spend, and the Supremes say baby we'd love to see you spend it to do to public opinion what has been done to the food supply here-- overwhelm the consumer until they think a grease burger and oily potatoes is God's gift -- and they once again choose war: expensive, pricey, high- tech conflicts that show how strong we are, invasions for our liberty...now admit it don't you feel more free now that there is a trillion dollars worth of democracy in Iraq...well you don't quite get what you used to...for a Trillion$ do you?
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