Radical Avenue

It’s great to see so many of my fellow bloggers speaking out about the genocide in Burma. Andrew Sullivan has covered the Burmese popular uprising extensively. As Andrew points out in Burmese Haze, the internet is vitally important to the success of this revolution.

In the Newsweek article The Problem with Burma, Melinda Liu describes a harrowing encounter she had with the Burmese military years ago as she attempted to investigate reports of live people being cremated. These monsters have been terrorizing the Burmese people for far too long. Ms. Liu also says that the Burmese leaders are highly superstitious. Hmm.

Ordering soldiers to fire on unarmed civilians will surely lead to bad luck down the road somewhere for the Burmese terrorists. The souls of those innocent victims will undoubtedly be looking for retribution in the next life.

Breaking into monasteries and beating up Buddhist monks has bad karma written all over it. After all, the monks are the country’s spiritual leaders. The Burmese generals believe in karma right?

We also have the entire world watching the massacre of peaceful Burmese protestors in real time, and the Burmese military is utterly incapable of stopping it. I guess that’s their misfortune.

And if the Burmese regime continues its campaign of terror, they’ll have decadent westerners dressing up as sadistic Burmese generals on Halloween, complete with whipping canes and bloody fangs. Hell, that’s just embarrassing.

Here are more links to organizations documenting the popular revolution in Burma: The US Campaign for Burma, Burma-Myanmar Genocide 2007, Newdesk Special Burma

Burma, Myanmar, Burmese military, Andrew Sullivan, Burmese revolution

I made a mistake yesterday by referring to Burma as Myanmar. The military regime currently subjugating the Burmese people changed the name of the country after brutally suppressing a popular uprising there in 1989. According to published reports, the illegitimate rulers of Burma stepped up their campaign of terror yesterday by raiding Buddhist monasteries and killing several civilians, including a Japanese journalist. Yes the Burmese military leaders are terrorists.

The US political response has been tepid. Our policy of enacting economic sanctions has never made a difference in the past. There’s no reason to believe that it will work this time around either. Laura Bush got on TV to complain about the situation. It’s nice to see her speak out, but she looked like she was late for a tea party. We all know Laura’s husband isn’t losing any sleep over the plight of the Burmese people.

Our leaders need to engage in a much more aggressive political campaign in support of the pro-democracy forces in Burma. The Bushies know about politics right? That’s when you go to great length to expose the shortcomings of your political opponents and their supporters.

Condoleezza Rice should be speaking out forcefully every day about the terrorist regime in Burma. She should be bending the ear of our allies in Thailand, India, Australia and Japan. After all, it’s not like she’s busy dealing with Iraq.

We need to put more heat on the totalitarian leaders of Burma. These guys don’t want to be the focus of the world’s attention. They would prefer to operate in the shadows. But we’ve got some very bright lights in America.

Here are links to organizations closely following the Burmese pro-democracy movement: Burma Digest, Democratic Voice of Burma, The Irrawaddy, Mizzima News, The Burma Campaign UK

Burma, Myanmar, Bush, Buddhist monks, pro-democracy, Laura Bush

We could do ourselves a big favor by thinking about how other countries see us once in a while. In Iraq, we’ve spent hundreds of billions of dollars and have committed over a hundred thousand troops for five years running to further our regime change strategy. It’s not clear how much good we’ve done. Iraq is still only nominally democratic and we’ve had numerous reports of government officials engaging in ethnic cleansing. The future there is murky at best.

In Myanmar, pro-democracy forces have been risking life and limb to peacefully end the tyrannical rule of their countries’ military leaders. These dissidents already have a democratically elected leader ready to lead a new government. And what has the US done to promote democracy in Myanmar? President Bush mentioned economic sanctions in a speech the other day. Economic sanctions? When have those ever worked? Where is the political and diplomatic pressure? Why aren’t we pushing our allies in the region to do more? It’s clear to any outside observer that our country is highly selective when it comes to supporting democracy in other countries.

Our leaders are like schoolyard bullies, constantly threatening smaller, weaker opponents. Then they try to convince us that we need big brother around to protect us. The Soviet Union was ten times more dangerous than North Korea, Iran or Syria ever will be. Instead of fear mongering, our president should be focused on protecting all of the struggling new democracies springing up in Asia, Eastern Europe, Central America and Africa. Of course that would require him to look beyond partisan politics for a change. Karl Rove would never stand for it.

Myanmar, Burma, democracy, economic sanctions, Bush, Rove, Iraq

Every 20 years or so a humpback whale wanders up the delta in northern California and becomes an inland sensation. Police officers and local officials hate it. It means they have to use scarce resources on crowd control and porta-potties.

Where public entities see headaches, private groups see profits. You’d better believe that as soon as the crowds show up, so do the T Shirt vendors. There’s no law that says local governments can’t profit from spontaneous gatherings.

The city council should get in touch with the local chamber of commerce when events like this occur. They could rent some farmland and use it for paid parking. A big tent on one corner of the temporary lot could serve as a place to rest, grab a cold drink and get out of the sun. It’s unfair to ask taxpayers to pay the full cost of crowd control at such events.

whales, delta, dawn, Sacramento delta, humphrey, humpback whale

When city councils in this country convene to assess budget priorities, they first hear from the police commissioner, who says no one will be safe without more cops on the street. Then the captain of the fire department arrives to complain about a shortage of working ambulances. Finally, the head librarian drops by to report on unreliable printers and graffiti in the bathrooms. It’s not much of a decision.

All across our country we have treasure troves of knowledge housed in majestic downtown buildings open to the public for about 32 hours a week. Renting out space to retail booksellers would allow these libraries to keep the doors open a bit longer. Mom and Dad could drink cappuccino while browsing through the bestsellers downstairs while the kids work on school projects upstairs.

It seems that very few politicians have considered using public assets to intelligently generate revenue. They see taxes and loans as the publics’ only sources of income.

libraries, public library, public funding

Since when does it require 60 votes to pass an amendment to a bill in the US Senate? The last time I checked, we live by majority rule in this country and in the Senate. There’s been a debate at Talking Points Memo about the value of requiring a filibuster when a minority of Senators threatens to use the tactic. Count me among those who’ve grown tired of watching Democrats cave in whenever Republicans tell them to.

Senator Jim Webb has offered a worthwhile amendment to the defense appropriations bill. Webb’s amendment would require combat soldiers to spend as much time at home as they did on their last overseas deployment. This protects our overburdened troops and is consistent with Congress’ Constitutional responsibilities as described in Article 1:

“The Congress shall have Power To provide for the common Defence, …To raise and support Armies
…To provide and maintain a Navy; To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
…To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
…To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States”

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I would have done much better in college if I had been able to grade myself. In fact I would have aced every test and graduated Magna Cum Laude. I may not have learned much though. If I had been able to grade myself, I would have spent even more time at the bars and even less time in the library.

It makes no sense to allow someone to grade their own performance. That’s why the breathlessly hyped testimony of General Petraeus before Congress was such a farce. General Petreaus has been tasked with making the military “surge” in Iraq work. What is he supposed to say: I’m doing a lousy job and need to be fired?

An independent evaluation of US progress in Iraq is of much greater value. Based on the recent GAO report to Congress, we’re not faring very well. But as usual, the mass media outlets aren’t looking for an impartial assessment of the situation. They’re looking for drama. They figured they would get more fireworks from the General’s testimony than they would from some unknown accountant citing verifiable facts and figures.

General Petraeus, Iraq, Iraq War, Petraeus testimony, GAO report

Homeowner’s insurance could be a lot easier to understand. If your house is destroyed by a catastrophic event, you should get a pre-established sum of money which you can use to rebuild. It shouldn’t matter if your house is destroyed by a hurricane, a tornado, a flood, a fire or a landslide. People purchase insurance for peace of mind. They want to know that if their home is demolished through no fault of their own, their insurance will give them a predetermined cash payout. The amount of the payout should be based on the premium. If you need $100,000 to rebuild, you pay a higher premium than someone needing only $50,000.

As homeowners know, insurance doesn’t work this way. Instead, insurance companies purposely use extraordinarily complicated language to protect themselves from having to pay claims. Only certain types of disasters are covered. And instead of covering types of disasters, like hurricanes and tornadoes, insurance policies cover naturally occurring phenomena which may contribute to disasters, like the wind. This allows insurance companies to bring in experts to decide how much damage was actually caused by the wind and how much was caused by something else, a nonsensical distinction when your former home is a pile of rubble. When homeowners disagree with insurance company assessments, they must then hire their own experts and take the matter to court. Of course very few private citizens have the financial resources or stamina to battle insurance companies in this arena.

insurance, hurricanes, floods, homeowners insurance, wind damage, replacement value

Our federal government provides insurance through a number of programs. The federal flood insurance program protects homeowners from water damage. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation steps in to reimburse account holders when banks go belly up. Federal Crop Insurance protects farmers from catastrophic crop loss. Everywhere you look, the government is in the insurance game. But none of these organizations are designed to turn a profit.

Privately owned insurance companies on the other hand, have enjoyed record profits recently. You certainly wouldn’t know it from listening to insurance company propaganda. They’re busy trying to convince the public that trial lawyers are destroying the world as we know it. Of course the legions of trial lawyers hired by insurance companies are conveniently never mentioned. So consumers have to reimburse their own lawyers in order to obtain reasonable compensation for their losses. And they pay for insurance company lawyers in the form of higher premiums.

Something is seriously wrong with the insurance industry in America. It’s one thing for private groups to make reasonable profits in uneventful times. But we’ve had one natural disaster after another over the past few years. This is what happens when legislatures serve the interests of insurers at the expense of consumers. Some real competition in this industry is sorely needed.

insurance, federal insurance, fdic, federal crop insurance, insurance industry profits, insurance profits, trial lawyers, insurance company record profits

Insurance pays off for private sellers in this country. They profit handsomely while public sector investment goes down a sinkhole. Our government underwrites flood insurance for homeowners but does not profit from the sale of comprehensive homeowners policies. If states sold comprehensive homeowners policies, it would allow government to competitively regulate the insurance industry the way the Post Office regulates the package delivery business.

Coastal state governments for example, could offer full coverage for all structural damages caused by hurricanes. Currently, many private insurers only pay for wind damage. This puts homeowners in the untenable position of attempting to distinguish between wind damage and water damage in cases where their homes were obviously destroyed by a combination of the two. Private groups would need to match coverage options offered by public groups or risk losing business.

insurance, flood insurance, wind damage, federal flood insurance, hurricane

Some would say that when George Bush says “Some would say”, he’s about to offer up another dishonest platitude.

Some would say that George Bush only talks about weapons of mass destruction when he’s joking.

Some would say that George Bush has no respect for the truth.

Some would say that when John Ashcroft has reservations about the president’s domestic spying program, you know it’s illegal.

Some would say that George Bush considers himself above the laws which he has sworn to uphold.

Some would say that George Bush has no respect for the Constitution.

Some would say that the American flags which George Bush loves to use as props all have one thing in common: Made in China tags.

Some would say that George Bush doesn’t care about the man who ordered the 9-11 attacks.

Some would say that George Bush has no respect for America.

Congratulations to Michigan and Florida for moving their presidential primaries up on the election calendar. In the US we recognize that monopolies are bad for business. The Iowa and New Hampshire monopoly over early presidential primaries is bad for politics. It’s well past time for the other 48 states to get involved.

Let’s examine some of the reasons Iowa and New Hampshire citizens give to justify their right to go first every four years.

1) Smaller states give less wealthy candidates the opportunity to attract support with less expensive, face to face campaigning. Ok, then lets let Nebraska and Vermont kick things off next time.

2) Iowa and New Hampshire voters are more engaged. This is insulting to citizens from the other states. If voters had the chance to walk down to the corner store once a month and meet each of the candidates in person, we’d all be a lot more engaged. In California, the candidates jet in to attend high priced fund raisers, and then fly out again the next day. The closest most voters get to the candidate is a glance at the limousine as it breezes past. By the time voters in the largest state in the Union cast their ballots, the primary election is already decided.

3) Iowa and New Hampshire partisans also like to talk about tradition. The horse and buggy was a tradition in this country once as well.

presidential primaries, primaries, primary, election, Michigan, Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire

The mission of the US Postal service is described by law. “The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities.” While this certainly sets forth some admirable goals, other package delivery organizations have a more immediate requirement: make money.

In the past decade or so, the Postal Service has quietly begun marketing products not directly related to the mail delivery business. You can now buy t-shirts and phone cards at the Post Office. With millions of people bringing packages in at Christmas time, it only makes sense for the Post Office to start selling some of the products that traditionally go in these packages. No time for shopping? Fax an order form to the Post Office and have them send out your fruitcakes this year. The possibilities are endless.

When FedEx makes money in the package delivery business, its shareholders benefit. If the Post Office were to engage in customer oriented profit making ventures, American taxpayers would reap the rewards.

Post Office, Postal Service, Post Office products, Post Office sales, fruitcakes, package delivery

Communism has failed. When the government monopolizes every industry, it stifles competitive innovation and leads to widespread economic collapse. Private sector monopolies cripple marketplaces as well. The Sherman Act of 1890 declared that no person or business could monopolize trade or conspire with someone else to restrict trade. The law was used to break up John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company in 1911 and AT&T in 1982.

In the package delivery business on the other hand, the US Postal Service competes alongside private organizations and no one entity dominates the market. As a result, you can send packages of almost any size anywhere in the country in a day. And mailing a letter costs less than 50 cents. We should use the Post Office model in other industries.

In an ideal situation, governments infuse neighborhood friendly moderation into the private sector and independent organizations introduce modern business practices into the public sector. The engagement of taxpayer funds directly into commercial enterprise brings legitimacy to our efforts at promoting industry reforms. By developing enforceable standards agreed on by all the players in an industry, publicly owned companies reduce the need for traditional legislative regulation. Negotiated conditions create a certain moral sway which dictated restrictions never achieve.

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Up until the 1970’s, the Postmaster General served as a Cabinet member in the executive branch of our federal government. Then, in 1971, the Post Office Department was replaced by the US Postal Service as part of a sweeping set of reforms. The Post Office became a non-partisan public organization. Congress transferred operational authority to a Board of Governors, with stamp prices set by an independent Postal Rate Commission.

Small minded politicians love to complain about what a terrible job government does when it gets involved in private sector industries. These partisans use this dishonest rhetoric as a means of serving their true masters: fat cat campaign contributors. Extremely wealthy CEOs don’t like fair competition from public or private sector groups, so they stuff the campaign coffers of willing and greedy political candidates. The politicians then give back by using their legislative and administrative resources to block consumer friendly public investments. It’s just good old fashioned cronyism wrapped up in clever sound bites like “personal accounts” and “ownership society”.

The objective evidence indicates that publicly owned organizations perform admirably when freed from the constraints of partisan politics. Postal employees concentrate on delivering the mail on time and don’t worry much about how to use their positions to favor one political party over another. And for the past 35 years, they’ve been as consistent as the seasons. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

Post Office, Postal Service, mail, Post Office Department, Postal Rates, stamps