Radical Avenue

And having seen and understood the Word of the Gipper, John McCain descended from the top of Capitol Hill and spoke these words:

1. I am the presidential nominee of the Republican Party, which has brought thee out of the land of winner take all primaries. Thou shalt have no other deities before Ronald Reagan.

2. Thou shalt not take the name of Ronald Reagan in vain.

3. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image of Ronald Reagan, or any unpleasant likeness of anything that is associated with Ronald Reagan. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to anyone but Ronald Reagan, nor serve any cause higher than exalting in the conservative mantra of Ronald Reagan.

4. Remember Ronald Reagan’s birthday, to keep it holy.

5. Honor Ronald Reagan as thy father and Nancy as thy mother: that thy days may be long.

6. Thou shalt not kill public works projects named after Ronald Reagan.

7. Thou shalt not get caught committing adultery as that would embarrass the party of Ronald Reagan.

8. Thou shalt not steal Ronald Reagan’s political slogans except when giving full credit to the Great Communicator.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against Ronald Reagan.

10. Thou shalt not covet Ronald Reagan’s ranch in Santa Barbara nor his presidential library in Simi Valley; thou shalt certainly not covet Ronald Reagan’s wife, nor his ex-wife, nor his daughters, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is a part of Ronald Reagan’s most venerated heritage.

Republicans

Don’t expect John McCain to do the Democratic presidential candidates any favors between now and November. The game is already on for the big prize and there’s no reason to expect any let up until it’s all decided. So the Democrats would do well to just strap themselves in and get ready for another bumpy ride.

It’s not tiddlywinks. Presidential campaigns are vitriolic, partisan affairs which last for months and leave polite contenders in the dust. Every candidate will get roughed up sooner or later. The Democratic slugfest could help Democrats in the long run.

Who can take a punch?
Some people considered George H.W. Bush’s 1988 Willie Horton advertisement racist and unfair. But there’s no law against nasty political ads. In fact, such ads are protected by the First Amendment. Dukakis didn’t handle the attack well and lost the election.

In 2004 John Kerry failed to adequately respond to the Swift Boat ads questioning his patriotism and service in Viet Nam. Voters expect to see candidates defend themselves, forcefully if necessary.

Who can run a marathon?
This election has been in the news for over a year, and it’s still seven months away. Candidates that don’t wear well have no chance. The successful job applicant must maintain a steady course despite the inevitable hazards on the road to the White House.

Who can play the margins?
It wouldn’t matter much if Obama lost a few thousand Clinton voters in California just as it wouldn’t matter if McCain lost a few thousand Huckabee voters in Texas. Turning out the vote in swing states like Missouri, Ohio and Florida makes the difference in close elections. We’re in for another bruising battle.

Democrats, Obama, Clinton, McCain

No matter how things turn out in Mesopotamia, President Bush will undoubtedly continue to consider the war in Iraq a smashing success for the rest of his life. He has chosen to simply ignore the majority of Americans who believe that invading Iraq was a mistake. Bush governs as though he were king. When it comes to the US Armed Forces, one man and only one man is in complete control.

Article 1, Section 8
The first page of the Constitution states that Congress shall have the power to declare war, but Congress has completely abdicated that responsibility. The last time Congress declared war was during World War II.

President Truman sent troops into Korea without a Congressional declaration of war in the 1950s. We then failed to obtain a surrender from, or sign a peace agreement with, the North Koreans. As a result American taxpayers are still paying for the 50,000 troops we’ve had stationed in South Korea for over 60 years.

Empire Building
Since Truman, presidents have repeatedly sent our troops into foreign countries without a declaration of war. These presidential initiatives put us in Cuba, Viet Nam, Panama, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Cambodia, Laos, Lebanon, Haiti, Nicaragua, Grenada, Kosovo, Bosnia and Kuwait. We still have military bases in many of these countries. The sun never sets on the United States Empire.

The Corporate Model
CEOs exercise tremendous influence over the companies they lead. But they don’t make decisions from a bubble. Shareholders expect the Board of Directors to weigh in on initiatives requiring a major investment of human and capital resources, particularly when it involves a radical change in the direction of the company (country).

The US Military on the other hand has no board of directors. The Commander in Chief calls all the shots when it comes to direction of the most powerful organization in the world. America needs to transfer Commander in Chief responsibilities to a small elected group.

Commander in Chief, Cuba, Viet Nam, Panama, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Cambodia, Laos, Lebanon, Haiti, Nicaragua, Grenada, Kosovo, Bosnia, Kuwait, Korea, Truman, Bush, king, empire

During a recent trip to the Middle East, presidential candidate John McCain repeatedly suggested that Iran was training Al Qaeda in Iraq. Senator Joe Lieberman eventually corrected Mr. McCain. Iran, inhabited mostly by Persian Shia, does not support Al Qaeda or its Sunni Arab leader, Osama Bin Laden.

The purposely misleading rhetoric sounds like it could have come from the lips of Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney still believes that Saddam Hussein aided Al Qaeda, even though the 9-11 Commission found no such collaboration. Men who can not clearly and honestly identify the enemies that we’re fighting overseas are not fit to serve as commander in chief.

Actually improved relations with Iran would benefit the US in many ways.

Enemy of Our Enemy
Iran assisted us in our fight with the Taliban in Afghanistan. More cooperation between the US in Iran would help isolate the Taliban and their allies, Al Qaeda. After all, Iran never attacked the United States. Al Qaeda has declared war on the US and has attacked us repeatedly.

Friend of Our Friend
The new government of Iraq has made a point of developing a friendship with Iran. Iranian President Ahmadinejad was recently welcomed to Baghdad with open arms. If the US hopes to leave Iraq more secure than when we invaded, a positive relationship between Iraq and Iran is essential.

Potential Peace Partner
Iran has ties to Hezbollah of southern Lebanon. A lasting peace agreement between Israel and its northern neighbor will probably need to include help from Iran.

McCain , Iran

Vice President Cheney had it right in 1994 when he predicted that toppling the Hussein government in Iraq would create a “quagmire”. Now, after five years of nation building, nearly 4,000 American soldiers dead and $500 billion spent, Mr. Cheney has declared the war in Iraq a “successful endeavor”. Of course this is the same guy who, on August 26, 2002, said this:

Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us.

On that day Cheney was either incredibly misinformed or completely dishonest. In either case, he was wrong. America can’t afford to get it wrong when it comes to the reasons for invading another country, especially one that has never attacked us. Virtually anyone could have predicted all of the problems we’re now having in Iraq.

Hostile Towards Us
The historical animosity of Arabs toward western civilization goes all the way back to the Crusades. Today many people in that region disagree with our strong support of Israel, or the presence of US troops on what they consider their holy land. Some Iraqis benefited from Hussein’s rule, battled us in 1991 and are still fighting us now. Even with only 1% of the Iraqi population actively targeting Americans, in a country of 27 million, we’re up against a homegrown insurgent force of 270,000.

Hostile Towards Each Other
After decades of iron fisted rule by Saddam Hussein, many aggrieved Iraqis had old scores to settle. Tribal and spiritual leaders exert a strong influence in this part of the world. The religious and ethnic rivalries are well documented. Post Saddam sectarian strife was inevitable.

Hostile Neighborhood
Syria and Saudi Arabia support Sunnis living in western Iraq. Iran supports the majority Shiite. The Kurds of northern Iraq have stepped up their battle with the Turkey. At least we still have Kuwait on our side.

Cheney, Iraq

Joseph Lewis must have a lot on his mind today. He lost $1.6 billion in equity when Bear Stearns went belly up over the weekend. Bear Stearns was one of the most respected institutions on Wall Street. Now, with a little help from the Fed, they’ve been sold for less than the value of the skyscraper they own in downtown New York. That got the attention of a few investors. And with Lehman Brothers stock losing 20% of its value on Monday, the bad news just keeps on coming.

Iraq
The latest estimates project the total monetary cost of the War in Iraq at over a trillion dollars. At the same time, political polls have shown that Americans are more concerned about the economy than Iraq right now. But American voters can still put two and two together.

If the federal government spent a trillion dollars on infrastructure improvements, we’d be fixing roads, bridges and public facilities all across the country. It would put ordinary Americans to work and breathe life into the economy. Iraq is like an anchor stuck in quicksand on the ocean floor. Most Americans have already figured out that we’ll need to cut that anchor loose if we ever hope to sail again.

Unhelpful Happy Talk
George W. Bush lives in an air tight bubble which the real world never penetrates. His response to a crisis never changes. He smiles blankly, assures us that everything is wonderful, slaps a few of his buddies on the back and goes back to watching baseball.

Bush was paralyzed by Katrina, clueless about the ongoing violence in Iraq and indifferent to a federal deficit spiraling out of control. There’s no reason to expect any presidential leadership on the economy either. We’ll have to wait until 2009 for that.

Bear Stearns, economy, Iraq, Bush

To understand the importance of energy, try turning off all the power to your home for 24 hours, then see how your day goes. No, you don’t get to jump in the SUV and drive to a motel either. Energy is a vital resource and diversifying our energy production portfolio will strengthen America in the long run.

Protect the Economy
Whenever the OPEC countries decide to squeeze us, they reduce oil production and trigger an increase in the price of gas in America. This wreaks havoc on our economy. Our country’s dependence on foreign oil unnecessarily jeopardizes America’s national economic security.

Support Local Farmers
American farmers traditionally sell their products on global commodities markets. As a result, Oklahoma wheat farmers must compete with Russian wheat farmers and Colorado cattle ranchers compete with Brazilian cattle ranchers. But the high cost of living in our country puts American farmers in a bind. Foreign farmers on the other hand don’t supply power to the US because energy is expensive to transport. Wind farms sell all of their output to local utilities.

Save on Equipment Costs
Oil wells run dry after a few years of pumping. Then you have to pull up the pipes, plug the hole and go drill another well. After a wind turbine goes up, it continues to generate electricity for as long as the wind blows. Wind turbines have a much longer shelf life than oil wells.
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Seeking the perfect gift for that environmentally conscious special someone in your life? Why not shop for your loved one on the Chicago Climate Futures Exchange (CCFE)? Carbon offset futures not romantic enough for you? It’s comforting to know that you can also purchase carbon offsets from Qantas airlines before your next flight to Australia or relax in a carbon neutral luxury resort. The possibilities are endless now that a new kind of green has flooded the markets.

The Exchange
Investors help to reduce world wide CO2 emissions because the carbon offsets they purchase fund ongoing conservation projects. The Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) first opened for trading in 2003. It is “the world’s first and North America’s only active voluntary, legally binding integrated trading system to reduce emissions of all six major greenhouse gases (GHGs), with offset projects worldwide.”

Reforestation
Forests combat global warming because trees capture and store carbon dioxide. A number of conservation organizations in the business of selling carbon offsets have initiated ambitious reforestation programs in environmentally sensitive areas. Carbonfund.org is one such group. It funds reforestation projects in places like the Tensas River Valley, Louisiana and Rivas, Nicaragua. In the Tensas River Valley, Carbonfund.org supports a 1,100-acre project which will “help restore native bottomland hardwood species to Louisiana and protect over 400 species of mammals.”
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Americans love a challenge. The need for long term energy independence becomes more obvious with each passing day, but we just keep finding new ways of satisfying our voracious appetite for power. Politicians should take note of recent trends, which are turning farmers into sellers in the market for gas and electricity. Here are some examples of the new energy farms in action.

Methane
You wouldn’t normally expect to have a manure broker knocking on your door, but gas companies are looking at livestock waste in a whole new light these days. Pacific Gas & Electric recently opened a pipeline that will deliver methane to the utility from a manure to gas facility at a 5000 cow farm near Fresno, California. A machine called a digester converts the animal waste into energy. PG&E has announced plans to construct more methane pipelines in the coming years.

Biofuel
In the last century, public investment in biofuel often went toward the production of ethanol, made from corn in the US or from sugar in Brazil. Now our country has pivoted to switchgrass as a superior energy crop. Farmers can mow or bale switchgrass using conventional equipment. It’s a hardy, adaptable perennial native to the American plains. Once established, switchgrass can be harvested for 10 years or more before replanting. And unlike corn, switchgrass produces five times more energy than it takes to grow.

The Department of Energy oversees switchgrass farms in Alabama, Nebraska and the Dakotas. Environmentalists like switchgrass because the plant has a deep root system which uses water efficiently, retains nitrogen and prevents topsoil erosion. Switchgrass farmers also spend considerably less on tilling, planting and fertilizing, thereby reducing their own energy consumption.
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Blooming in the garden this week we have exploding canary daffodils, curly cue hyacinth and shocking pink geraniums. It feels like spring.

It also feels like our countries’ long political winter is finally coming to an end. Word has it the electorate is so motivated for a fresh start that even teenagers are voting.

In looking toward 2009, Obama supporters can’t help but wonder whether it’s better to be lucky than well seasoned. All of the grim news from today could add up to tremendous good fortune for President Obama next year if he wins the election.

High fuel prices, the mortgage meltdown, stagnant wages and inflation have brought our economy to a standstill. We may have already entered a recession. But the American economy has always recovered from downturns in the past. Some of our past recessions were followed by robust growth. No doubt the next president will take credit when we break out of our current doldrums.

The next president will also need to bring a substantial number of our troops home from Iraq. If the polls are true, Americans would welcome that news as well. After a five year grind, it looks more and more like Iraq will evolve into a loosely aligned, tribal country. The bottom line is Iraq posed no serious threat to the United States when we went in. It likely won’t pose much of a threat after we leave.

After 2-4 years, the next president can allow the Bush tax cuts to expire and use the increase in revenues to reduce the federal deficit. When Republicans crow about raising taxes, the new president will have a simple answer. “You passed the law in 2001. You could have made the tax cuts permanent then and you didn’t.” Our country seems ready to ask for a new beginning in November.

Barack Obama, Better Times, 2009