Calvacca Blog

All eyes on Florida

2012-01-31T12:58:00.000-05:00

I haven't written much lately. To some degree, I attribute that to the chill of winter. The season tends to freeze my creative juices. Like some people, I feel worse all around in the winter. It's the time of the year when I always wonder why I left South Florida.

With that said, it's going to be in the mid 60s today, so no complaints from this blogger in Northern Virginia. At least not about the weather. Not today.

As Floridians head to the voting booths to pick a favorite Republican in today's primary, I am mildly curious to see which presidential candidate emerges. The rhetoric has heated up in the Florida sun in recent days, but unfortunately rhetoric doesn't always equal intelligence or honesty on the GOP stage. So, one has to take what is said by these wannabe presidents with a grain of salt. From what I have seen so far, this is a particularly desperate and mean-spirited group of candidates that has only modestly improved by the worst of the lot dropping out in recent weeks.

Florida is a diverse state. Unlike the previous three state primaries, I view Florida as more representative of America. While Florida has its rebels, misfits and folks who act like they've been out in the sun a bit too long, overall there is a demographic balance in the state, which is why many presidential general elections are pretty darn close. The state is not simply made up of white, evangelical Christians, who tend to vote one way for generations. Florida sways back and forth in the warm Gulf breezes from year to year, decade to decade, as its population shifts.

I suspect Mitt Romney will be declared the winner this evening, not because he's head and shoulders above the others, but because he's closer to that sweet spot that appeals to a broader range of voters than exist in Iowa or South Carolina. Romney is the "safe" choice.

However, when the general election finally arrives in November, I can't envision President Obama losing the Sunshine State to Romney or anyone else. While the economy there is worse than most places, Florida is a state where seniors vote on issues like Medicare and Social Security. Too many threatening proposals about those programs have been suggested by Republicans for Obama to lose the senior vote.

The Cuban-Americans in South Florida have always leaned right, but a new generation of Latino voters is moving to the left. They are not tied to antiquated GOP ideas. The harsh tone of Republican stances on immigration will potentially sink the Romney ship in Florida in November, assuming he's the nominee. The red-meat immigration comments made to gain votes in conservative states will not be forgotten by the people of Florida or any other state where that type of thing rubs people wrong.

I've always been fascinated by Florida. Everything from its people to its politics is interesting to me. Its clean beaches and casual lifestyle is good for the soul. It's a place where young and old can feel they belong. You don't need to be wealthy to live well in Florida, although if you are, there is no shortage of places where you will fit in. You can be from somewhere else and still be accepted in Florida. That isn't always true in other southern states or even in places like New England.

Yes, Florida has problems. It always has. Sometimes, like now, it's the economy. Other times it's been the crime rate or political corruption that has spiraled out of control. Yet, Florida remains an attractive place to get away to -- whether for a week or a lifetime. When jobs return to Florida, I suspect the population will increase rapidly again, as it has for decades. And the only way for jobs to return to Florida is for the U.S. economy as a whole to improve. In that regard, I will continue to place my faith in Democrats and Independents, and only be a casual observer of the GOP results tonight. It is clear to me, despite comments from the GOP presidential candidates, that Republicans have no interest in rebuilding the middle class in Florida or anywhere else. Romney, in particular, seems clueless as to what the middle class even is, let alone how to rebuild it.

Required viewing for voters

2011-12-30T11:42:00.000-05:00

The late George Carlin was always ahead of his time. This video about the loss of the "American Dream" is from a standup comedy act several years ago, before the great recession. He hits the nail right on the head. I wish politicians had the guts to speak this frankly and to actually do something about the real cause of why this country is in the shape it's in. Instead, they and their greedy ways are part of the problem. (Click here to read about the wealth gap between Congress and ordinary Americans).

I also wish voters would wake up and realize why things are the way they are. Perhaps, the "Occupy" protesters get it to some degree, but their message doesn't always come across quite as clear or succinct as Mr. Carlin's classic and justifiable rant.

This video needs to be required viewing for anyone heading to the voting booths. Real change -- whether it be in improving our education system or restoring the economy or just forming a fairer society -- will never take place until people give up on the illusion that we currently have a government that works for the people and not for the corporations.

A much-needed law

2011-12-13T16:25:00.002-05:00

The NTSB recommended today what should be painfully obvious to most everyone by now. The use of cellphones while driving needs to be banned in every state. Penalties comparable to DUI violations need to be enforced. And this needs to be done now, not five years down the road. We don't need anymore studies to confirm what is already clear to everyone other than cellphone addicts. Their over-the-top sense of entitlement does not supersede our right to be relatively safe.

I drive about 16 miles per day. That's not much of a commute, particularly in the D.C. suburbs where people routinely spend hours in their cars getting to and from work. Yet, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't see someone doing something dangerous while driving. And 90 percent of the time, I can see they are using a cellphone in some manner, texting, talking or using "smart" features like GPS. It's infuriating.

Any experienced driver with an ounce of sense and two eyes knows that cellphones have turned our roads into a nerve-racking, metal-crunching and often bloody adventure. Doesn't matter if you're driving to the corner to store or navigating along the interstates, the problem and the danger remain the same.

People have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that they can't drive safely while distracted by alcohol or hand-held gadgets. In fact, some people struggle with driving regardless if both hands are on the wheel and their sober eyes are on the road. But that's another issue with a more difficult fix. In a part of the country where the worse drivers reside (according to insurance industry studies, metro-D.C. has more accidents than anywhere else), many responsible people would welcome any rules that would make our roads safer.

Getting cellphone laws enacted should not be a heavy lift for any politician who isn't swayed by lobbyists. Of course, I am not sure there are many politicians left who aren't persuaded by greed. So this might not be the slam dunk it should be, particularly in states where "regulation" has become a dirty word, even if the regulation saves lives.

Discrimination costing companies

2011-11-17T09:07:00.005-05:00

You would think that with companies having to pay out a record $365 million in awards to victims of job discrimination, employers might stop foolishly firing or not hiring people over a certain age. Not only are businesses being challenged legally by folks who feel blatantly discriminated against, they are also shooting themselves in the foot by favoring less qualified new hires (cheap help) who often have to be replaced in six months for one reason or another. High turnover is rarely a good thing in business.

Discrimination against anyone in the workplace has been proven to be bad for business for decades, yet the lawsuits keep piling up because certain industries never seem to get the message or think it's cheaper to pay settlements than to invest in proper hiring practices. Now, with so many folks out of work, discrimination against the unemployed is becoming an epidemic. Too many employers are making incorrect assumptions about many well-qualified job candidates based on reasons that are supposed to be against the law. I've seen this happen from all angles in recent years, and I have heard well-intentioned human resource people agonizing over not being able to pursue good job candidates because of pressures from above to steer the search to a certain demographic. And most of the time, those faulty assumptions and shadowy pressures lead to bad personnel decisions that directly impact the quality and quantity of work produced, not to mention the morale of existing employees who might start getting a few gray hairs.

Hiring the best person for the job, regardless of age, race, gender or anything else, still makes the most sense to me and should be the mantra of anyone involved in hiring and staff development.

Baby boomers are a resilient and resourceful group, and would much prefer to work than to collect unemployment or to pitch a tent at an "Occupy" demonstration. But if boomers aren't given a fair chance to hold or compete for jobs (the data indicates folks over 55 are being shut out in the job market at a rate twice as high as younger people), they do seem more willing than ever to fight for their workplace rights in a court of law. And they do appear to be winning those cases.

Read about some baby boomers opting to leave the U.S.

Good words in gloomy times

2011-11-16T12:31:00.003-05:00

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves. One is made of anger, envy, sorrow, regret, self-pity, guilt and resentment. The other is made of hope, peace, love, serenity, empathy, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a while and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee replied, "The one you feed."

Iron men of metal are back

2011-11-14T19:57:00.001-05:00

Black Sabbath, the defining heavy metal band from about 150 years ago, is back. These are the original four members. Amazingly, they are all still alive, which is good because I hate it when some oldies rock band does a reunion tour but only has one or two original members left. Why should I pay good money to go listen to what is essentially a cover band or an Ozzy Osbourne impersonator? Yes, I am referring to you Journey, Chicago, Grand Funk Railroad and Jefferson Starship, not to mention countless others who have done reunions with a fraction of the real band members on stage.

I am glad the Sabbath guys decided, after three decades, to crank it up one more time, but I won't go see them perform. Call me "paranoid," but I fear there will be one too many Spinal Tap moments in their shows, and I already have enough of those in my day-to-day life.

I am not sure metal lends itself to senior citizen reunions. Will anyone want to see 70-year-old Metallica members in leather screaming about things that, well, really aren't relevant anymore or are just pathetically redundant? I am still cool with ZZ Top rolling out in white beards (now age appropriate) and playing some great blues=based rock, but I am not as comfortable with the idea of Judas Priest telling me that I "have another thing coming." Heck, at this stage of life, those lyrics are just a form of kicking baby boomers when they're down.

I won't deny any band's right to wheel out the Marshall amplifiers and have some fun in their senior years. There is nothing like playing in front of a live audience at any age, and Sabbath still has a pretty loyal following and, I presume, the chops to pull it off. But please, Ozzy, no biting off the heads of birds or any other critter. Don't even pretend to do it. This isn't 1970. PETA will be all over your case, and I'll just cringe from embarrassment and have to explain myself (and my generation) to people half my age. Just play your music, enjoy the energy from the crowds and don't trash any hotel rooms.

Sobering election results in Va.

2011-11-09T10:40:00.009-05:00

Virginia is a strange state. Folks here in the commonwealth elected one of the first black governors (Douglas Wilder) years ago, when it wasn't a popular thing to do elsewhere. It also elected Tea Party darling, Eric Cantor. It has a bunch of famous, intellectual presidents buried in its red-clay soil. Many universities are named after them and other home-grown leaders. Virginia is also the home of some of the least progressive thinkers in U.S. history. It has a warm-and-fuzzy, long-lasting marketing slogan to help boost tourism. And, until recently, it allowed people to smoke in restaurants. You can still carry a gun almost anywhere in the state, and also get one of the best educations available in the world.

Voters are fickle here, too. There seems to be no logic to how or when they vote, or what values they support from year to year. It's a big state with demographics that vary wildly. It's often unpredictable in its politics and legislation. It's local economies are uneven.

Loudoun County, in an area of Northern Virginia that traditionally leans left, now has an entirely Republican Board of Supervisors and a new Republican sheriff. And with the results of one election still pending, Richmond is on the verge of being ruled entirely by Republicans.

Yesterday's election results are disheartening to me, an on-and-off resident of Virginia for over 20 years. I want the state to be more progressive, or at least politically and socially balanced. I am embarrassed by the tobacco industry ruling Richmond for decades. Yet, I admire much of the history and beauty that can be seen throughout the state. It's a great thing to be able to go to a University of Virginia football game in Charlottesville and realize you're on the campus that Thomas Jefferson founded. Head over to Colonial Williamsburg or Yorktown in the Tidewater region and you will likely experience something uniquely Virginian.

But there are no more Jeffersons left in Virginia, only smaller and smaller minds encased in the skulls of leaders who want to make this a state where everyone only looks out for themselves. Our state and local leaders now speak to the wealthy and prey on the emotions of the uninformed. They don't warn of the dangers of greedy corporations, as Jefferson did. They romance big business and call for oil rigs to be constructed off of Virginia Beach. Virginia isn't for lovers anymore. It's for BP, factory farming and big-time lobbyists.

While some of the national results from Election Day are modestly encouraging, I am not feeling so good about Virginia. It's beginning to feel like a part of the country that is buying into all the Tea Party garbage and "Obama's a socialist" crap. Even Northern Virginia seems to be turning as red as the soil in the southern part of the state, which for an area as diverse as this, is quite alarming.

Over two-thirds of the registered voters did not vote yesterday. If that happens again in 2012, Obama will lose Virginia and empower conservatives in Richmond even more. It probably won't be long before Virginians are smoking up a storm in restaurants again, as the "Don't Tread on Me" slogan replaces the "Virginia is for Lovers" motto.

GOP declares victory in Virginia Senate

Voters scarce in my town

2011-11-08T16:24:00.003-05:00

I voted at around 3 p.m. today in Loudoun County, Va. I had my choice of voting machines. All were vacant at the middle school polling place.

While this was an "off year" in Virginia, there were at least two state races of some significance in my district. For anyone concerned that the commonwealth could turn red in all branches of government, this was not an election to sit out. This was also a good opportunity to send a message to politicians in Richmond and Washington that we don't want to wait until November of 2012 for change. A big turnout in an off year would have helped to deliver that message.

Instead, it appears most people chose not to vote. I will know more tomorrow on the actual voter turnout, but on a spectacularly beautiful Election Day just outside of D.C., I expected to see a few more folks at the voting machines.

I am not judging anyone who didn't vote. Not everyone feels the pain of what has transpired in the last three years the way I and others have. Many people, especially in affluent Northern Virginia, are comfortably numb to most societal problems and therefore don't have my motivation to vote. However, as I grow older I realize that we only have two weapons against injustice -- public demonstrations (like the Occupy movement) and voting. Surrendering either of those options at a critical time in our history, when we are in such decline, seems dangerous.

On the other hand, many people vote based on little more than bumper sticker slogans, outdated stereotypes or self interests, and Fox News soundbites, so maybe low voter turnout isn't all bad.

Click here for more on Loudoun County voter turnout.

"Years to come" a death sentence

2011-11-02T20:25:00.006-04:00

The main story headline on The Washington Post home page tonight wasn't exactly a sight for sore eyes, but it wasn't a surprise either.

Any longtime unemployed or underemployed person could have told you that the job market shows practically no signs of improving. It's been that way for three years and the unemployed don't need data or comments from the Fed to prove it.

Trying to convince anyone who hasn't directly felt the hardships of unemployment that good jobs are scarce to non-existent is like beating your head against the wall. It's useless and causes severe headaches.

There is a large percentage of people who still don't know why protesters are occupying various cities or why they are angry at Wall Street and Washington. Those sitting in judgment of the occupiers look at the help wanted ads and see plenty of jobs. Just today I heard someone making fun of the demonstrators, saying they should all go get jobs and give the public parks back to the homeless.

It's maddening to hear comments like that from people who haven't missed a beat in their careers through this recession, which for many folks has been more of a severe depression. It's disheartening when I hear these things from people who I know aren't bad or heartless souls. For some reason, they just cling to the old stereotypes about the unemployed. They tend to place the blame where it doesn't belong and grossly underestimate how bad the unemployment situation is for every from white-collar professionals to blue-collar tradesmen. I am sure there must be some psychological explanation for this misinformed, careless attitude in otherwise decent, thoughtful folks. Maybe they have a deep fear of losing their jobs. So to feel more in control of their fates, they place the blame on the unemployed rather than the system that could claim anyone's job on any given day or prevent people from re-entering the workforce. They think that if they just continue to do a good job that everything will work out. Well, that's simply not true anymore.

For guys and gals like me, in my age group and predicament, the Post headline is particularly sobering. The phrase "years to come" is like a death sentence. Years to come puts me in my 60s or pretty damn close to it. How many people do you know who have been hired in their 60s lately, let alone started new careers? One can still be a valuable resource to any employer in their 60s, but try convincing the folks in hiring positions of that fact.

I have read many times that if you got laid off in your 50s during this recession, you may never work again, at least not in a regular, career-oriented job. You might be able to patch together a part-time position here and there, get a contract or consulting gig or two, and get by until Social Security kicks in. In the meantime, you may lose your house and have to give up your health insurance. Pleasantries like vacations are a thing of the past. And once you turn retirement age, what at you going to retire on? Those freelance and part-time paychecks without benefits don't last. They are merely week-to-week or month-to-month funds to survive on. They aren't an ideal option in trying to rebuild nest eggs. Social Security alone won't pay for a used mobile home in swamp, let alone medical bills or other expenses. And if the Republicans get their way, Social Security won't even exist in 10 years.

"Years to come" isn't what I want to hear from the Fed concerning the future of the unemployment epidemic that already feels like an eternity. That phrase tells me that worse days are ahead and that the golden years are going to be a tragic time for millions of Americans. That phrase makes it hard to enjoy the present, too, which in itself is tragic. Maybe it's just time to turn off the news.

Good music, good cause

2011-10-29T16:54:00.002-04:00

Click here to go to Neil Young store.

Dude (looks like a mess)

2011-10-28T10:36:00.001-04:00

Steven, Steven, Steven ... I don't know whether to believe you or not about your recent "accidental" fall in a bathroom that caused these injuries. What I do know is that I am getting tired of aging rock stars -- musicians I admired in the 1970s -- ending up a mess.

I warned you before about falling down. I'll assume you don't read this blog, but I would imagine you have people around who advise you to be more careful. Apparently, they aren't getting through.

Sadly, there is a whole generation that only knows Tyler as a judge on American Idol or as the singer on movie soundtracks. People my age know him from his early work, when he and his band Aerosmith turned out great songs like Seasons of Wither. Some of Aerosmith's earliest and least popular songs were actually their best.

As I have said before, I wish rock stars would age more gracefully. I don't need them to wear glittery spandex pants anymore. I don't need big stage productions on platforms they often fall off of in their senior years. I just want to hear the music, perhaps done with a little less theatrics and a lot more soul that often comes with aging. I don't care if you can't hit the high notes anymore. Change the key of the song to fit your aging vocal cords. But please, no more self-induced falling down and not being able to get up.

Tyler, like others inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, have earned the right to finally be themselves. I would hope most fans my age would be content seeing Tyler and his bandmates wearing old jeans, without the eye makeup, just performing their old tunes in a fashion that is age appropriate -- maybe even in an acoustic setting.

Heal up, Steve. Rock 'n' roll still needs you ... just not like this.

A voice from the 1 percent

2011-10-27T12:21:00.010-04:00

"Many of the 53% crowd seem quite proud of their Christian faith. I am not religious myself, but I am reasonably certain that Jesus would not respond to the poor and unemployed with shouts of "Get a job!" I vividly remember what it was like to be poor. To be concise, it sucked, and my heartfelt sympathies automatically go out to anyone who has to experience it, especially children who are blameless for their circumstances. Whenever I meet someone who has not been as lucky as I have been, I recognize how easily our roles could have been reversed by the random forces of fate. And despite my lack of religion, I instinctively think "There but for the grace of God go I."

The above paragraph was written by someone in the 1 percent. Not a mega-wealthy person, but someone who makes enough money to be economically excluded from the 99 percent. Click here to read the entire text.

Not everyone in the 1 percent is evil or greedy. Many in the top percent want to pay their fair share of taxes in order to create a better society. Some want to hire people and expand their businesses. And few might even see that it is the Republican Party and certain corporate forces that are preventing a more fair and equitable system that would eventually improve the overall economy. I hope more 1 percenters speak out and support the movement to clean up a corrupt system that they have benefitted from but know is morally wrong.

To counter the 99 percent movement and prop up the Tea Party, a new group is forming on the right. They consider themselves in the 53 percent -- which I am still not certain what that number represents or if it's even accurate. Much that comes from the right never checks out factually, but I think their point is that they are employed, tax-paying citizens who want to put themselves above the protesters. To me, it seems the only purpose of this group is to place blame on the unemployed rather than the system that has led to mass layoffs over the last three years. These 53 percent live in an imaginary country based on a world that hasn't existed for decades. To them, everything is just fine. Opportunities for all still exist. All you have to do is work hard and pursue your dreams. Gosh, what a naive view.

Those who followed the rules -- worked hard and were loyal -- found out the system was rigged. Many of them lost their jobs. They are denied re-entry into the workplace because of the lack of openings, age discrimination or skills that are no longer needed. Those who are working are hit with furloughs so that massive bonuses can be paid out to top-level executives. Meanwhile, the people most responsible for the collapse of the economy remain free from prosecution and continue to profit from their unethical practices.

This doesn't feel like class warfare. This feels like class surrender. Yet, maybe the surrender was premature. There is an awakening in America -- one that hopefully can't be stopped by Wall Street dollars, political liars like Eric Cantor and John Boehner, or even police brutality. It's sadly ironic that police, who have been hit hard by layoffs and flat wages, are turning against the very people protesting to help them get back on track. I wonder if police officers will eventually realize that they are a part of the 99 percent -- part of the population screwed over by some in the 1 percent -- and join the protesters? Imagine how Wall Street and extreme right-wing conservatives will tremble at the site of the blue marching with demonstrators?

I don't think the 53 percent will get much traction, but then again, I never thought the Tea Party would actually sway elections in 2010 and create a Republican field of presidential candidates that is so scary, so intellectually inferior to any presidential field I've ever seen in my lifetime, that it makes me wonder if we are indeed done as a country.

The Occupy Wall Street folks are exposing some ugly truths about America and are ruffling the feathers of those in power who will use groups like the 53 percent and Tea Party to create smoke screens. But the OWS demonstrators have the truth and numbers on their side. They have the data and the facts that show how the political system in this country has catered to the elite at the expense of everyone else. Bad policies drove us into the recession and mass unemployment -- policies created by and for the 1 percent. No amount of b.s. or high-paid lobbying from the far right will be able to extinguish what most of us know to be true intellectually and what we feel in our hearts every single day.

The chart below shows the problem. Since about the Reagan-era, the top one percent (red line) has seen their income skyrocket. Everyone else has been relatively flat. What this chart doesn't show is the timeline of public policies that created the gross advantages for the one percent while everyone else was losing their jobs or not getting raises. That, in a nutshell, is what needs to change and why people are protesting.

Class warfare vs. class surrender. Watch YouTube video

Killing sharks solves nothing

2011-10-26T12:03:00.001-04:00

There have been 13 deaths caused by shark attacks worldwide this year. Think about the size of the oceans and the number of human beings on the planet. Now tell me that 13 deaths is a good enough reason to start slaughtering this allegedly protected species.

Humans are unbelievable. Anything that is remotely a threat to us in any way has to be killed without any thought about what that ultimately means to the natural balance of life on land and in the sea. We spend so much time, energy and money chasing the boogie man that we can't see the real threats in our lives each and every day.

Time and time again we imperil ourselves in worse ways in the quest to eliminate rare and unlikely threats. We'll kill every shark in sight because the number of attacks on human beings is up slightly. We'll kill sharks for profit. And we'll kill sharks in order to pound our chests while they hang from a hook.

I presume some people like killing for the sake of killing. It's not a public safety issue with them. There is something primal in certain people who want to dominate all other living things. Even when we don't kill, we abuse various species by putting on animal shows in circuses and rodeos.

When you go into the ocean, there are threats. You might get stung by a jellyfish. You might stub your toe on coral. You might get caught in a riptide and drown. Should we drain the oceans so these things don't happen, thereby depleting our food supply?

Look, if you don't want to feel threatened by a shark, don't go in the water. If you don't want a black bear to bust into your picnic basket, don't go in the forest. But do not destroy the entire ecosystem because you've watched "Jaws" one too many times or have an irrational fear of animals -- critters that will normally will leave us alone if we leave them alone and don't do anything stupid while in their habitats. Animals that directly and indirectly benefit human beings by their mere existence.

We have to stop overreacting to things that are not common threats to our safety and start identifying the things that do endanger us. There is more to fear in the air and water supply -- invisible things -- that should get more of our attention than a shark that is, well, just being a shark. We have more to fear from Corporate America than a wolf roaming through Yellowstone. You want to be scared of something? Be frightened to death by right-wing politicians who want to remove regulations that are in place to keep us safe.

Millions of people die from heart attacks and cancer, yet we somehow want to divert our media attention, public research and dwindling resources to 13 people who had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some people want to blindly kill the top predator in the oceans without regard for how that will alter the food chain in ways that could come back to haunt us much more than these 13 deaths.

Yes indeed, humans are unbelievable.

Evil, lack of regulations at fault

2011-10-20T08:23:00.010-04:00

This is what happens without reasonable regulations.

This pile of dead exotic animals, including 18 endangered Bengal tigers, could have just as well been a pile of dead people if these big cats had made their way into populated areas of Zanesville, Ohio yesterday.

Instead, the animals were shot by police -- a tragedy on top of a bigger and prolonged tragedy.

These animals were bought and held captive by a lunatic named Terry Thompson. There are no regulations in Ohio to prevent idiots like Thompson from purchasing wild animals.

This is the face of evil. This is Thompson.

It's hard to fault police for killing these animals. Thompson released the mammals and then committed suicide. The animals were on the loose and posed an immediate danger to the public. However, in a town where Thompson was well known by authorities, and where he had been arrested for allowing some of the dangerous animals to escape before, I do have to question as to why police did not have access to tranquilizers. Perhaps more animals could have been saved if bullets weren't the first and only option.

The legal and illegal exotic animal trade is an outrage. Wild animals belong in the wild, hopefully protected from poachers and other man-made threats. But what really has me steamed is this idea, constantly trumpeted from conservatives and Tea Partiers, that somehow we don't need any regulations regarding anything in this country. We don't need our food inspected. We don't need our drinking water protected. We don't even need air traffic control. There are people on the right who want to do away with government agencies that actually keep a lot of us alive.

In my opinion, we don't have enough regulations. Human beings are terribly flawed creatures that need some sort of boundaries and civilized protections against people like Thompson. That's why we have laws. Someone in an authoritative role must at least try to protect us from getting mowed down by a teenager speeding in their car while texting. We have to have someone in charge of making sure the medicine we're taking is relatively safe. And there should be safeguards that reduce the chance of someone unleashing dangerous animals on us.

Perhaps in a perfect world, where evil and stupidity weren't a part of the human condition, we wouldn't need rules or even religious leaders guiding us. Everyone would just do the right thing and not impose upon their neighbors or strip the planet of its most amazing creatures. But the more I see of people and the things they are capable of -- the misuse of freedom and power, the over-the-top sense of entitlement -- the more I think we are going to end up in a pile one day.

Warren a potential ray of hope

2011-10-10T11:26:00.002-04:00

Elizabeth Warren is running for U.S. Senate from Massachusetts. She has the right combination of intelligence, compassion and authenticity to make a real difference in these troubled times. As seen in this video, where she is speaking about fair taxation, Warren has a thoughtful sense of what it means to "pay forward," and how there is a lack of that in this country right now. She is not a career politician. She does not forget where she comes from -- humble beginnings. Warren is exactly what we need in Congress, and she needs your help to get elected. Visit her website: www.ElizabethWarren.com.

More on Warren: Read Oct. 28, 2011 Washington Post article.

Rep. Wolf calls it as he sees it

2011-10-07T21:45:00.000-04:00

Rep. Frank Wolf, from my district in Virginia, bravely attacked Grover Norquist on the floor of Congress this week. As far as I know, this is the first Republican to speak out against Norquist and the anti-tax pledge he sold to the GOP. The pledge has helped paralyze Washington and delayed any economic recovery. The idiots who cling to the pledge should be thrown out of office for not performing their sworn duties. Their allegiance to Norquist, instead of their constituents, makes them unfit to govern.

Wolf, who has actually read this blog and who I have met while I was the editor of a local newspaper, is a relatively honorable politician, which is quite a contrast from Eric Cantor, another Virginian Republican who is such a conniving brat that it makes me ashamed to be a part of the Commonwealth whenever I hear him speak. Of course, Cantor is a Norquist supporter.

Hopefully, other Republicans will follow Wolf's lead and not allow Norquist to drag down America any further. We elect our politicians to vote in our best interests, not to take pledges to a single man who no one elected to any public office. Whether you believe in Norquist's ideas or not, it is a dangerous thing for politicians to limit their own abilities to negotiate solutions for the country by aligning themselves with a single individual or organization.

For what it's worth

2011-10-07T12:13:00.000-04:00

I was listening to as much conservative talk radio as I could stomach today. The Wall Street protesters were being criticized by all the usual suspects on the right. It reminded me of the days when Vietnam War protesters were taking the heat from a similar-minded establishment crowd who thought there was absolutely nothing wrong with America.

Ultimately, the anti-war movement proved to be a just cause, similar to the environmental and civil rights movements born in the same era. I suspect history will one day credit the corporate greed demonstrators with helping to change the system for the better. I am grateful that so many Americans are beginning to voice their opinions again. Staying silent usually solves nothing in life, and there is too much wrong with this country for the masses to remain inactive.

An appreciation for history isn't a strength of modern-day conservatives. They still blame "socialist hippie" protesters for our losing the war. Heck, they probably still think Vietnam, like every war, was a noble way for us to sacrifice American lives and spend taxpayer money. In right-wing land, what's good for corporate America is also good for waging war and winning elections.

This new generation of hawks and greed monsters must be called out for their bad behavior over the last several years. Invading countries, using our money for bailouts to bolster executive bonuses, threatening our Social Security and busting unions just can't continue. If government is going to side with Wall Street and not Main Street, then I expect these protests will spread. If corporations are going to turn their backs on the unemployed, then they will also hear from us.

Sadly, righties like presidential candidate Herman Cain think unemployed people are to blame for not having jobs. Yup, that's what he said in a recent interview. That's how out of touch he and the Republican Party have become. And by the way, Mr. Cain, your pizza is as terrible as your politics.

I hope Americans grow weary of sacrificing their sons and daughters, their paychecks and their homes to a political ideology that has done nothing but provide advantages to people who don't need help. Granted, not every social or economic policy from the left works, but at least the intent is usually good. Can you really say the same for those who are protecting oil companies?

It seems to me that all great ideas -- great music, art, innovation and righteous causes -- of the last 40 years, did not come from hard-line, close-minded conservatives protecting the status quo. The iconic moments, movements and inventions in recent history have almost always been sparked by those with a more inclusive, liberal, out-of-the-box approach to life in general. People with empathy who can relate to the struggles of the poor or the decline middle class. They see a need and try to fill it. People daring to make a difference, like a Steve Jobs, who grew up among the hippies and embraced many liberal principles. And while those progressive principles were being formed and ignited, there was always a group on the other side of the room, stuck in wanting to protect themselves from change while remaining on top of the economic and social ladders. This left-brain, right-brain battle has probably been going on since the beginning of time, but it has now reached a boiling again because the do-nothings won't even provide us with a ladder to climb anymore.

Companies can't continue to grow massive profits while driving their employees into the ground and claiming they don't have the cash to hire some help. They used the recession and layoffs to expand profit margins and, I guess, thought no one would notice the accumulating pile of cash sitting in the corner office. Well, we've finally noticed.

Corporate America, you should resume hiring. You can provide help to your employees who are stretched thin and, at the same time, put some unemployed Americans back to work. You only have to do one thing to accomplish this: Reduce your greed. You don't have to wait for the recession to end or for the 2012 elections. You don't have to necessarily have more customers. Your profits are at a record rate now. Burning out your employees and not getting more money into the economy by expanding your workforce might help your quarterly reports for the short term, but it won't do much for your business in the long run.

I remember a scene from the Godfather II film where a young and upcoming Michael Corleone is meeting with other mafia bosses on a balcony overlooking Havana in the 1950s. He mentions that he saw some rebels while traveling to the hotel. The other established, older mob bosses told Corleone not to worry about the silly rebels. They were no threat to the powerful government of Cuba, which was in bed with the mafia. Still, Corleone felt that people willing to demonstrate, get arrested and even die for a cause were not people to be overlooked. Within days of that conversation at the hotel, the revolutionaries overthrew the government and the wealthy mobsters had to grab their riches and flee the country. Maybe one day Rush Limbaugh will be forced to vacate his Florida compound the way the mobsters had to leave Cuba.

We are at a crossroads where one group of people sees the folly and injustice of continuing to do the same abusive thing over and over (giving tax cuts to the rich and protect Wall Street), while the other side holds on tightly to its accountants, lobbyists and country club memberships. One side is seeking the truth. The other side is trying to cover it up, even when the truth spills all over the Gulf of Mexico or steals the jobs of once hard-working citizens so that outrageous bonuses can be paid to executives whose main value is in their willingness to eliminate jobs.

One side is trying to educate us, the other is selling us something that simply doesn't work for most people, much the way PCs didn't operate as well as Macs, yet PCs were shoved down our throats by big business their marketing branches.

Even the wealthy are divided. The rich on one side want to be taxed in order to help solve our problems, while the rich on the other side never offer an extra dime of their money for anything that doesn't involve them getting even wealthier.

Both sides claim to be for the middle class, but is there anything in the record on the far right that indicates we really matter to the top 1 percent? Put aside the flag-waving, country music festivals and Tea Party nonsense and what do you really have on the right that is of any use to those of us trying to build or maintain middle class life? I am not interested in false patriotism that is based on emotions more than facts. I am interested in truth and solutions.

As these protests continue, people are going to feel compelled to support or reject the demonstrations. I hope folks will base that decision on the message and not on the interpretation of the message from those on the right with a hidden agenda. The Eric Cantors of the political world are not your friends. They are not on your side. Don't help them support the 1 percent. Help yourselves by uniting with those who are fighting for you.

While the mobsters thought that an increasingly corrupt Cuba was safe for their criminal enterprises to continue forever, people with nothing left to lose often have a very different opinion. Whether you're a college student worried about finding a job or a mid-career victim of layoffs, you intimately know something that some Americans still don't realize. The deck is stacked against us. No matter how hard we work or how well educated or trained we become, we can't claim our fair share of the pie if the pie is taken off the table by the 1 percent of elitists and antiquated tricksters in Washington. That needs to change. That is what these protests are about.

Unemployed from variety of backgrounds join protest.

The man made great products

2011-10-05T22:05:00.011-04:00

Like most people, I didn't know Steve Jobs personally. But I do know a thing or two about his products, having worked with them professionally for years.

Everything Apple makes works. While some folks marvel at the company's innovations, I appreciate the fact that anything Apple is intuitively easy to use and functions as advertised. That says a lot about the former head of the company who died tonight.

From the design of the packaging to the development of software, Apple products gave people the impression that Jobs ran a different type of business. In this day and age where CEOs know much more about corporate profits than they do their own products or employees, Jobs was a breath of fresh air. You could feel his hands-on passion for perfection in every iPhone, iPod or Macintosh computer.

While Jobs was also a marketing genius and great pitchman, Apple products spoke for themselves. He didn't wait for the recession to end before pursuing his visions.

And, oh yeah, Apple became one of the most profitable companies in America at the same time other companies were cutting corners, laying off thousands of employees and providing services and products that no one wanted.

Jobs deserves a lot of credit for being the anti-CEO CEO and for creating a business model that a lot of other company leaders could learn from if they could put aside their shortsightedness and greed.

Buddhism and Steve Jobs.

A cause that deserves some play

2011-10-05T11:57:00.012-04:00

This is the top of the CNN.com home page today. As you can see, there is a picture of unemployed people (mostly mid-career white guys) standing in line to apply for jobs. Next to that picture and story is a photo and article about the growing protests against Wall Street, our gridlocked government and a variety of other social and economic issues.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I support any movement that is going to shine some light on the gross unfairness of what has become a corrupted, rigged-for-the-rich system -- a system that has led to catastrophic unemployment rate and the loss of the American Dream. I also support the media coverage.

While the Tea Party on the far right seems to focus only on one or two issues -- abolishing taxes and supporting gun ownership -- these protesters on the left have a broader sense of what has really caused the collapse of America and what it will take to restore hope. And it isn't more guns or less government intervention.

I applaud this coverage and high-visibility display by CNN and hope other media outlets will give these current movements as much publicity as they gave to the Tea Party and protesters abroad.

Along with the 99 percent finally waking up, maybe the mainstream media has also awakened to the fact that they don't have to go overseas to cover chronic injustices. Perhaps the media will put a little less time into covering one American girl's battle to beat a murder rap in Italy and place more prominence on what is becoming massive movement that addresses issues that impact virtually every citizen of this country.

As prudent news judgment and smart story selection continue to slide, the media has been late on a lot of important and relevant stories in the last decade. Underplaying and overplaying stories is an epidemic in more and more newsrooms and is a factor in creating fertile ground for abuse of power to grow in government and society in general. Missing the boat on the unemployment crisis is quite ironic for an industry that has been as hard hit as any in terms of job loss. I often wonder if a more responsible, competent news media could have prevented a lot of economic pain, not to mention two wars, if it had concentrated more on watchdog journalism instead of pouring limited resources into what is essentially fluff.

Perhaps if editors, news directors, writers and photographers would return to covering news that matters most to our way of life -- to our very existence as a nation -- they would not only help inform an apathetic or often misinformed public, but they would help themselves in restoring the once-positive image of journalism.

1 percent should not rule 99 percent

2011-09-30T09:02:00.028-04:00

I think most of us agree that government is broken. At some point, probably a couple decades ago, politicians began caring more about themselves than us. And we, the voters, allowed it because life was generally OK for most of us for many years, particularly following the end of the Vietnam War and military draft. The civil rights protests went away. More and more kids were going to college. Retirees were enjoying their pensions.

But now a massive vortex has formed as the country has reached a point of division and dysfunction that we might not ever recover from. We're spinning out of control. There are no more pensions. Even Social Security is at risk.

We're at a juncture where individuals most hurt by the shenanigans of Constitution Avenue and Wall Street have exhausted all options to remain afloat, let alone thrive. Unless we unify, mobilize and get into the faces of bankers, senators and others who make up the approximately one percent of those getting rich on our pain, the lives of 99 percent of Americans will continue to spiral downward -- some slowly, some quickly depending on where you're at in the social-economic order.

While the one percent holds the power and privilege in this county, the 99 percent possess the numbers. However, if the majority continues to sit back and do nothing, or dilute and divide itself into mindless red and blue camps, then the one percent will continue to flourish at our expense.

We don't need a Tea Party, we need an informed Unity Party. We need for people to rally around groups like Occupy Together in order to send a message to those who have abused their powers that we aren't going to take it anymore. Regardless of political leanings, we as Americans should have one cause in common, and that is to stop being abused by those in power. We want our jobs back. We want a more level playing field. We don't want to make anymore sacrifices so that corporate titans can profit while we struggle to put food on the table. That isn't a political philosophy -- it's common decency. And everyone except the 1 percent should be for that.

It is the 99 percent that gives the 1 percent their power. We can also take it away if we stop allowing ourselves to be manipulated by various powerful factions that intentionally try to divide us.

Three years of unemployment and underemployment are taking an irreversible toll on the country as a whole. Roads are crumbling, families are splintering, stores are closing, tax rolls are dwindling. Eventually, the bridges that carry the trucks that bring products to market will collapse. And what will CEOs do then? Layoff more people? Is that how we're going to continue to handle this crisis, by firing capable workers? Is that really the best Corporate America and government can do to address a complex problem that they helped create?

Layoffs just make things worse for society, which in turn eats away at the economy and our national security. Yes, corporate profits have risen, but for how long and through what means? Eventually the recession will catch up to these job killers, who may then realize that gutting the workforce and sitting on their wealth might not have been such a good strategy. In fact, that tactic has fueled a dark super cell -- a storm on the horizon that is so ominous that it may threaten our way of life, our freedom.

There seems to be only one way out of this. We and our elected officials need to start working together. I mean really work together, not just give lip service about it. We need to put aside our philosophical differences, reject the lobbyists/special interests groups and hit the voting booths harder than ever in order to get rid of any politician who seems unwilling to compromise or unable to think outside of the box.

We need to work for and do business with responsible employers who protect and create jobs here in America. When a lawmaker trumpets a claim, they need to back it out with facts not partisan theory and manipulation. We need to verify that tax cuts for the wealthy help create jobs. If that claim can't be supported with hard data, then politicians need to let go of it and move on. And we, the voters, need to punish any politician who clings to any false statements or perpetuates economic myths. Those falsities are a distraction. They are delaying our finding real solutions for the 99 percent of us who don't have a pile of gold stashed away or more time to waste.

The cost of not working together is our destruction. Plain and simple. If you want to cling to your bumper sticker, red and blue mentality, do so at your own peril. But if you want to force our leaders to do something for us rather than against us, you have to abandon your preconceived notions about our two political parties. You must educate yourselves and realize that most politicians do not have our best interests at heart. You must join protesters marching in New York and form your own protests at your State Houses and corporate headquarters of the most offensive companies. You must write and call your representatives. Elect governors who can govern for the people and not just take money from special interest groups. Reject anyone and everyone who doesn't stand up for workers' rights, whether those workers are unionized or not.

At this stage, the 99 percent being passive or uninformed will only make the 1 percent stronger. The 1 percent doesn't need either political party helping them. You must be willing to reinvent yourself, your views on politics and government, and not fall for the same tricks that have done nothing but weaken the 99 percent for a generation or two while right-wingers and centrists have ineffectively ruled the country. If that means swallowing a little pride and admitting your party is overrun by folks who say they are for the middle class but aren't, then open your eyes and vote them out. But at the same time, be cautious with who you're voting in. Make sure they are qualified, honest, sincere and intelligent. Examine their records and make sure they understand history. Don't elect anyone based on your emotions or their empty promises.

Look around your neighborhoods, your offices and see who is doing well and who isn't. Dig beneath the surface and don't just assume that someone who lost their job or house must have done something wrong. If you do that, you're sealing your own faith. Your pink slip will come.

Statistics show that if you're a white male over 50 years old, and get laid off, there is an increasing chance that you will never work again regardless of your credentials. Age discrimination is running rampant, which is another thing the system is supposed to prevent but doesn't because we don't do a damn thing to make sure employers aren't operating outside of the law. Apathy is killing us.

I am outraged whenever I hear politicians talking about raising the retirement age. Who exactly is going to hire or keep a 70-year-old employee these days? It sounds fine to say we're living longer than ever and need to save money on Social Security by delaying benefits, but does anyone ever think about enforcing age discrimination laws so that we can work into our senior years? Simply raising the retirement age without putting some teeth into discrimination laws is a recipe for disaster in a job market that openly excludes experienced workers. I've read a lot of job ads in the last three years, and it always astonishes me how employers aren't shy about their not wanting to give anyone over 50 a chance to even apply, let alone interview. It's a tragedy for mid-career professionals and for less experienced workers who could learn from the seasoned pros. In addition, current job seekers do not need a whole new wave of people to compete with.

Recently, I've heard some Republicans want to make job training mandatory for anyone who receives unemployment benefits. Sounds good on the surface, but surface solutions are often flawed. The real agenda of these Republicans has more to do with throwing the vulnerable overboard than it does guiding them back into employment.

Unemployment benefits are just that -- benefits earned by once-employed people. You don't qualify for them if you didn't work. So the premise that unemployment is some sort of handout is completely wrong in most instances, particularly during this recession. In addition to that, many people who get laid off have years of experience and a wide range of skills. A few months of additional training aren't going to make them anymore employable. It's another illusion promoted by intellectually challenged morons who want to place the blame on the victims of this horrible economy rather than on the culprits. Heck, in many cases it was their vast experience (and larger paychecks) that got good people canned in the first place -- usually older workers.

I resent any statement that implies that all unemployed or underemployed people must have a shortage of skills. In fact, in certain cases, unemployed people from certain professions probably have more skills, education and ethics than those who remain employed. Companies throughout this recession have been letting go of the wrong people for the wrong reasons.

While adding tools to one's toolbox isn't a bad idea in a struggling job market, it should not be mandated as a condition to receive what laid-off workers are rightfully owed. In a day and age where companies don't even have the decency to provide severance, unemployment benefits must be paid as long as those receiving the benefits can prove they are searching for work. Unemployment benefits not only help individuals, but they have been proven to boost the economy.

Why have we all -- outside of those current protesters in New York and previously Wisconsin -- become so apathetic about blatant injustice? Social, economic and institutional injustice is reaching epidemic levels. Have we somehow collectively accepted that we can't fight city hall anymore? Are we willing to voluntarily march off a cliff, clinging to our stale political beliefs right until the end, while the one percent gathers more riches and power? We should be outraged by the one percent who are picking our bones clean, practically robbing our gold fillings from our graves. Where are these people acquiring their nerve and authority to make up the rules as they go?

If you're fresh out of college, and unable to find a job, it's going to be impossible to pay back your school loans, let alone begin your quest for the "American Dream." We have always sold that dream in order to create peace and tranquility among the masses and to drive the economy. It's worked for a long time because people were able to climb the social ladder, buy a car, put food on the table and pay into the system through taxation. That just isn't the case anymore. There is no ladder to climb anymore. Young adults are getting out of college and moving in with their parents nowadays. If you don't work, you can't pay taxes, which in turn causes more economic and societal woes for everyone.

Some are seeing a connection between our disillusioned young, educated people and the youths in Egypt who recently became so disenchanted with a government that wasn't working for them that they took to the streets in full revolutionary mode.

Can that happen here?

I don't see why not. Maybe it has already started.

Chronic institutional unfairness alters social norms regardless of nationality. You want to see class warfare, wait another few years. You won't be able to go the ATM without getting mugged by someone who once paid taxes and lived a three-room rambler with a white picket fence, but is now starving on the streets because politicians couldn't put aside their differences in order to address a national crisis. Wait a few more years and things could be considerably worse. At that point, who do we blame? The politicians or the people who elected them without doing their homework?

Close-minded voters who rely only on talk radio to help them decide on a which candidate to cast a ballot for are worse than people who don't vote at all. Recent Republican primaries are driven by some of the most ill-informed people on the planet and are taking away our options in general elections. I'd like to get back to having two viable candidates to choose from in a general election. I'd like to return to the days when Corporate American didn't control our politicians and where crazies didn't make it beyond their local homeowner association boards in the political world.

We have reached the point where if we don't compromise and find lasting solutions, we will fall and fall hard. The despair, the poverty, the lack of hope will eat at the inner core of America and reduce us to a nation of have and have-nots, with the have-nots eventually rising up to create chaos that even the rich won't be able to shelter themselves from. Perhaps this is why some wealthy folks are finally coming out and pleading to have their taxes raised. Yes, raised. They can and want to help the economy, realizing that if they don't take on a fairer share of the load, they might end up with nothing, like the 50somethings, who were once vibrant, middle-class contributors to society but who are now living in their cars all across this nation. Yet, there are some leaders in Washington who ignore the pleas of the moral rich in favor of the still-greedy rich. They won't raise taxes.

It is time to shut out the extremists and the selfish and work together. The media can play a role in this by not giving any airtime to all the usual suspects who do nothing but promote themselves. We need smart, sincere people on the front pages of our newspapers. People willing and able to make a difference, not manipulators of media who flirt with their short-sighted followers through bus tours and book signings. These people are a cancer. They are not patriots. At best, they are distractions. And we can't afford anymore distractions. Time is running out.

For some victims of the last three years, it's already too late. But there are millions more who could be saved from a very bad ending if politicians, business owners and others can simply redirect their energy to rebuilding the middle class rather than tearing it down though obstructionism and partisan inaction. Politicians can't create jobs, but they can create an environment more conducive to combating joblessness. In that regard, both Republicans and Democrats have failed us miserably.

Jobs, not "Obamacare" or debt reduction or anything else, must be the central focus of Washington. Every time I hear a smoke-and-mirrors politician utter the word "Obamacare," I know they aren't serious about job creation and I won't vote for them. If you're unemployed or want to remain employable for the next decade or two, I would recommend you do the same -- vote out anyone who seems distracted by lesser issues or who doesn't back up their jobs rhetoric with action. Real action. Not speeches, not phony bills that are dead on arrival. I want to see a look of authenticity and truthfulness on the faces of our leaders in Congress. I want to feel a sense of getting along with the opposing party. Please, no more posturing.

I would like to see entire debates dedicated to one subject -- job creation. I don't need to hear anything more about fences along borders, in-state tuition for the children of illegal aliens or English as an official language. I don't need for politicians to sneak in their pet projects or warped values in the name of job creation. I want to see members of both political parties roll up their sleeves and get back to the job of getting us to work.

Everything depends on employment. Everything, including our health, the environment and our defense. We can't protect whales or feed starving children if there is no money going to organizations that do good works. This is not the time for Democrats and Republicans to come out of White House meetings with nasty comments about the other guy or to drone on about why they don't believe in science.. This is a time for unity and a sense of urgency. We have no time left to listen to Tea Party fantasies or to cater to a do-nothing establishment. We must stand together in our demand for jobs. We must turn up the volume in a variety of ways if we want to be a democracy and create a fair and optimistic nation.

Read more about the 99 percent.

Rescue America from Wall Street.

New Yorkers' send wrong message

2011-09-14T08:38:00.006-04:00

Republican Bob Turner's special election win in Anthony Weiner's old Congressional district in New York is about as stunning an upset as it gets in modern politics.

This is a Brooklyn/Queens district that has voted Democratic since the 1920s.

This is a district that, according to poll numbers just a few months ago, did not want Weiner to resign over the Twitter scandal.

This is New York City.

I understand as well as anyone that people are upset about a number of things in this country. The unemployment situation is getting worse and remains the overwhelming top concern for anyone who isn't in Congress.

While the data shows joblessness leveling out at around a dismal 9 percent in the past year, there are very few people left who don't think that number is at least double that when you factor in the folks who gave up looking for work or are severely underemployed. In some parts of the country and in some demographics, the unemployment rate is estimated to be over 30 percent. And the layoffs keep coming, as seen in a recent announcement by Bank of America.

In order to maintain some faith in voters, I have to believe the upset in New York isn't about Democrats or Republicans. It's about rejecting whomever is or has been in power. Of course, that isn't how Republicans will take it, which in turn will empower them to become even worse obstructionists in the coming months.

New Yorkers sent the wrong message by electing Turner. They decided to bite their nose to spite their face.

It appears the tailspin we've be in since Republicans have adopted Tea Party negotiating principles just got worse. Barring a sudden shift to reason and cooperation in Washington, 2012 isn't likely to bring any hope to an increasingly pessimistic society or the millions of people trying to survive as they look for work.

OMG moment at GOP debate

2011-09-13T13:32:00.011-04:00

Texas. Gov. Rick Perry criticized a border fence as being unrealistic during Monday night's GOP debate. Instead of a fence or wall, he suggested more boots on the ground and high-tech solutions to reduce illegal immigration.

And here's a shocker. I basically agree with him.

"The idea that you're going to build a wall from Brownsville to El Paso and go left for another 800 miles to Tijuana is just not reality," said Perry.

He's right. A border fence is nothing more than an emotional response to illegal immigration. It's red meat for Tea Party people and other far right-wing fanatics. It's not a real solution.

Fences make some people feel better but rarely do they work. A ladder or tunnel would easily defeat the purpose of a costly and unguarded fence. In addition, a massive fence along the entire border with Mexico is an environmental nightmare for animals needing to migrate.

Even more border police and aerial patrols aren't enough to address the illegal immigration problem, but they are a start. Preventing undocumented people from entering the U.S., regardless of whether they are coming from the south or flying into JFK, requires smarter immigration policies and some societal changes. That's another blog item for another day.

Perry also talked about how providing in-state tuition for illegal aliens who want to better themselves by going to college was something he supported in Texas. He said the alternatives, which may include illegal immigrants not contributing to society, was far worse.

Again, I concur, although this too is a complex issue with no single solution.

Of course, through all of this, Michelle Bachmann's head nearly exploded, which in my view elevated Perry. Bachmann, the Tea Party favorite, was giving the audience what they wanted. And what they wanted was what they always want -- mean-spirited, shallow remarks that show zero vision and would set us back 200 years if implemented. Remember, these are the same people who applauded the number of executions in Texas at the last debate.

For one night, and probably one night only, Perry had moments of sounding rational. I guess that's not hard to do when Bachmann is sharing the stage.

Still, this group of Republicans is awful. Patti Davis, the daughter of Ronald Reagan, is going around to different media outlets blasting these GOP candidates for aligning themselves with her father. She points to what she saw as compassion in her father and says there is no evidence that modern-day Republicans possess an ounce of empathy for anyone. That perception is once again looking like reality as the GOP is lined up to shoot down President Obama's jobs bill, mostly because the bill raises money by eliminating certain deductions for the extremely wealthy -- the people they insist are job creators, even though there is no data to support that.

The lack of compassion and patriotism in these Republicans should disqualify them from ever aligning themselves with any past Republican president because the GOP has simply decayed into something that is so unsavory that even Reagan would condemn them. If Perry was trying to distance himself from that perception on Monday night, well, he has a long way to go, but I am not holding my breath.

A voice of reason on the right

2011-09-09T17:43:00.007-04:00

“I’d love to get everybody to take a pledge to take no more pledges.”

- Jon Huntsman, GOP candidate for president.

That was the best line of the GOP debate this week. Unfortunately, it way too reasonable for Tea Party reactionaries and other fringe right wingers, many who reside in the current Congress.

If more Republicans felt like Huntsman, we would have avoided the entire debt ceiling debacle. We'd also have more intelligent and productive debates on other pressing issues that require compromise and adult conversations.

No-tax pledges taken by most Republicans, which is what Huntsman was referring to, are simply idiotic. And any politician who handcuffs themselves by taking similar pledges isn't doing his or her job. We pay these politicians to analyze and vote on each issue independently. To use their own minds and to listen to our needs. We don't pay them to limit their abilities to negotiate by taking parochial pledges, the kind of pledge one takes in order to gain membership into a tree house club at 8 years old or to get into fanatical, narrow-minded cults as adults.

Extraordinarily difficult times demand that we move away from pledges made to people and organizations who no one elected. That's right, I am not even going to mention G.N. or his group by name because I don't one one single hit on my blog to come from anyone searching those names. He already gets way too much media attention. I don't want to be part of the problem.

Another anniversary, another threat

2011-09-09T08:43:00.008-04:00

Whenever I see a headline similar to this one (left), all kinds of questions and an increasing amount of cynicism come to mind.

Ever since the 9/11 attacks, potential threats of terrorism have been a part of our lives, particularly on key days -- Christmas, anniversary dates, big event days, etc. Yet, these stories about possible attacks are almost always vague, which makes me wonder why the information is released by the government in the first place.

What are we in the public supposed to do to remain on guard against a "specific" threat that we know nothing about? At least this time two cities, Washington and New York, are named as the apparent targets, but that still doesn't give me much to go on.

Let's face it, most Americans are oblivious to what is going on in their own neighborhoods these days. Expecting people to look for vague clues of possible attacks just isn't realistic, particularly when the government and the media have cried wolf every other month over the last decade.

Frankly, if we want to remain relatively safe and healthy, most of us would be better served to pay more attention to our driving and what we eat than to worry about another 9/11-style attack on U.S. soil. There are people in government charged with keeping us safe. They need to do their jobs and we all need to control what we can to make ourselves and our communities safer -- not from global terrorism -- but from distracted drivers, random crime and environmental dangers. We need to pay more attention to our kids and less attention to reports about things we as private citizens can't do much about. We need to be more observant about the stuff we have some power to influence by electing competent, intelligent people who will work for us, not against us.

As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, I hope that our government officials are doing their jobs to prevent any attacks this weekend or in the future. While I refuse to hide inside my house because of vague warnings, I do recognize that the job of keeping America safe from lunatics isn't an easy one.

Just the facts, please

2011-09-08T09:01:00.006-04:00

I watched the Republican debate last night. As painful as it is to listen to folks who I fundamentally disagree with, I always find it valuable to examine what the other side is saying just to make sure my perceptions aren't being tainted by the commentators who I tend to be more aligned with. This is why I occasionally tune into Fox News.

I had to laugh at how many times the candidates said they would do this or that on their "first day" in the White House. Those are just blatant lies that anyone with a middle school education would know aren't true or even possible. Newly elected presidents get sworn in and go dancing on their first day. That's it. They don't sign off on legislation. With the way our government works, they don't even have the power to do what they say they would do on day one or day 300.

Here are some other statements that the Republican candidates made last night that are distortions of the truth or totally fabricated lies.

A Labor Day message

2011-09-05T14:39:00.011-04:00

Being optimistic about job growth nowadays is just about impossible. Almost 17 million jobs would be needed to bring the unemployment rate down to 5 percent. That's not likely to happen anytime soon, which is a sobering prospect to ponder.

However, if you are a person who is looking for work, remember, you don't need 17 million jobs to be created. You just need one employer willing to provide you with one opportunity. Talent, strong work ethics and the ability to adapt quickly are still valued by smart, worthy employers.

If you are lucky enough to get a job interview, realize that employers do not have to settle for just one or two of the aforementioned traits. The competition is fierce and a sharp portfolio or well-tailored suit alone won't do the trick. Bring your integrity, your experience and confidence to the table. Ask intelligent, thoughtful questions that show you can think outside of the box but still be respectful of certain workplace traditions. Don't be afraid to show some personality, but don't raise any red flags with it either. If you're older, target employers or industries known to value experienced workers. Seasoned professionals shouldn't waste their time on companies only looking to cut corners by hiring unqualified, inexperienced and cheap labor. It will frustrate you to no end.

On this Labor Day, I extend my best wishes to all of those former workers looking, hoping and praying to get back in the game. I hope part-timers can go full-time soon. I hope college graduates will be given a chance to use what they invested a lot of time and money to learn. I hope mid-career professionals who are bagging groceries to get by can find work that is more suitable to their talents. And I hope the elderly who are still able and in need of work will be permitted to do so with some sense of dignity and job security.

We're all in this together. Millions of us. Some have lost jobs already. Some are under constant fear of being laid off.

There are many flag-waving, gun-toting politicians who say they are focused on jobs and country, but their records and agendas tell a very different story. It's a story worth following.

On this Labor Day, we in the middle class should commit ourselves to getting rid of the false patriots and self-serving nuts who are driving us off a cliff. We may never get 17 million jobs back, but we can turn off the Rush Limbaugh show and think for ourselves. We can elect officials who are in our corner and finally put to rest this myth that if we keep catering to the wealthy that somehow that will create jobs.

Political feud sinks to a new low

2011-08-31T19:41:00.013-04:00

Politicians in Washington are now arguing about when the President of the United States can address Congress.

Unbelievable.

Not only does the Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, continue to disrespect Barack Obama the man, he is now disrespecting the office, and one could even argue he's trashing the country with his latest obstructionist behavior.

Democrats hated George W. Bush, but they didn't try to tear down the entire executive branch. For the good of the country, certain traditions were respected despite major political differences, even while Bush was attacking countries that didn't attack us and neglecting an economy that was in a free fall. For some reason, Republicans haven't been able to show that same respect for this president. Wonder why?

Despite the garbage spun by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Tea Party lunatics, Obama isn't a particularly radical president as far as presidents go. He's actually fairly moderate -- much more so than liberals wanted. In some ways, he's more Republican than Ronald Reagan was. So why the hate from the right? Hate that has made Republicans so insanely petty that one has to wonder what's in the filtered water at their country clubs.

The president wanted to give an address about jobs on Sept. 7 -- something we've been waiting three years to hear. However, Republicans didn't want their candidates' debate (scheduled for the same night) to be overshadowed by something as "trivial" as a major jobs address from the leader of the free world. The debate is one of many and will be filled with nothing but idiotic rhetoric from a field of candidates so weak that they make most fair-minded, thinking human beings cringe just to hear the nonsense that flows from their mouths.

Sure, Obama's jobs speech is way overdue and could turn into a campaign moment, but that's the privilege we give to sitting presidents. We give them the benefit of the doubt in hopes that what they are proposing is a real solution to what ails us. Or at least that was the perk given to every president prior to this one.

Well, Obama relented and moved his speech to Sept. 8. Again, this is just stunning that a president has to back down from a handful of fringe nuts in Congress over something as routine as scheduling a talk to the nation about our No. 1 problem.

Given a choice between listening to Michelle Bachmann drone on about subjects she knows nothing about or listening to whatever glimmer of hope the president might offer to the unemployed, I will tune into the latter, probably like most Americans. The Republicans knew that and successfully blocked it in an unprecedented and disrespectful manner, similar to the debt ceiling fiasco that they created and that led to our credit rating being downgraded for the first time in our history.

Despite pleas from the public for politicians to work together, it seems the GOP refuses to listen and is picking fights over the silliest issues that are leading us into total paralysis and worse. These are fights that were never fights before. Fights that only bring me to one conclusion about these renegade, unpatriotic Republicans. Destroying a black president is more important than saving a country. That's not playing the race card, it's just calling a duck a duck.

Damage done by Irene coverage

2011-08-30T19:15:00.013-04:00

Media hype was at a fever pitch last week. It would be easy to blame an uncooperative Hurricane Irene or the forecasters who misread the storm, but once again the fault lies within the newsrooms and corporate offices of America, particularly on the East Coast -- the center of the universe for big media.

While the storm certainly created some nasty weather and flooding, it didn't warrant the closing down of New York City more than 24 hours ahead of the first drop of rain. Imagine the damage that did to the local economy.

By the time the storm reached Washington, it was barely a Category 1. Damage where I live, about 20 miles west of D.C. and over 100 miles away from the Atlantic Ocean, was practically non-existent. Didn't even need to reset a single blinking clock in my house. I know others are suffering without power, but with the way the media was warning us, you would have thought the entire electrical grid was going to collapse.

While I can forgive forecasters for erring on the side of caution, I am not so understanding of media outlets that produced around-the-clock coverage of a storm that was clearly, even to a layman's eyes, no Katrina in strength or in the angle of approach. It lost steam as it traveled up the coast, partially over land that zapped its energy long before it hit NYC.

Politicians were falling all over each other to appear like they were the most-concerned public officials, offering tough-love warnings into any TV camera they could find. But in this case, was all that tough love genuine, or were they using the storm to gain much-needed points in this increasingly combative political environment?

I was particularly bothered by the panic in New York. When I was growing up in and around the Big Apple, New Yorkers prided themselves on being tough and not reacting to every storm like it was the end of the world. Yes, unlike people in Washington, we went to school or work when it snowed. We knew how to drive in the rain and didn't freak out whenever storm clouds gathered. We didn't cancel Woodstock because it rained for three days. We laughed at the rest of the country that seemed soft.

But this is a different time, even for New Yorkers. This is an era of media hype that is driven by news organizations' struggle to survive. This is an era where politicians are desperate for more favorable poll numbers and where lawyers are lined up to sue any state or municipality that appears negligent in preparing citizens for an attack by Mother Nature.

I have written about media hype several times in this blog. I believe the lack of seasoned journalists in newsrooms is contributing to the loss of perspective in how the news of the day is played. Ultimately, this will hurt readership or viewership, but the empty suits don't see it that way right now. They pretend to be long-range thinkers, but their vision is often clouded by falling profits. The corporate types that run big media are not making news decisions based on anything other than money. Many of them have never worked in a newsroom in their lives. They often come from the business side or advertising ranks of TV or print journalism. That was all fine and well when newspapers and evening news broadcasts had big profit margins and the suits didn't interfere in editorial operations.

Then came the recession.

When I was a young reporter and editor, I always had to make a strong case to get a story on the front page. Inevitably, there was a veteran news and/or managing editor who acted as gatekeepers. Truly big stories with proper attribution, facts and significance to the general public went out front, lesser stories went inside. It was the editor's call, not mine, not the circulation director's or even the publisher's. Period. Regardless of my whining, it was their choice where my story was played, and I respected that and learned a great deal about news judgment from their decision-making process. We didn't ignore less important stories. We just didn't waste a lot of time or prominent newsprint on them.

We didn't panic the public just to sell newspapers, and we certainly didn't buy into what politicians or so-called "experts" were telling us if it couldn't be backed up with relevant facts that checked out. But the gatekeepers are mostly gone now -- retired, laid off or dead -- and the rules of the game have changed. Now it's all about quantity versus quality. More news delivered faster trumps a objectivity and accuracy in the minds of the business leaders running news organizations.

The age of tabloid journalism and 24-hour news channels changed the profession even before the recession hit. Everything became "breaking news" even if it wasn't fresh or particularly significant. Now, with the web, it's all about speed and flash, which is why typos are so abundant online.

A Category 1 hurricane isn't anything to take lightly, particularly if you are in the path of it, but it isn't worthy of the coverage Irene received. Ditto on the East Coast earthquake last week. If the media continues to hype these kinds of stories, one has to wonder what news coverage will look like if we experience a real catastrophe.

As the media chases the low-hanging fruit and eye candy (I can't look at another TV reporter standing in the rain with a microphone or a toppled gas station canopy), more significant stories and investigative pieces are being overlooked. Budget cutbacks and layoffs have gutted newsrooms and practically done away with watchdog journalism. The checks and balances that existed in most newsrooms are pretty much gone. The game is now to bombard viewers and readers with trivial information, air the same video footage over and over, and dial up a fancy Flash graphic or two in order to drive web traffic.

This is what for-profit journalism has become during bad economic times. This is, in part, the reason we got the non-stop garbage coverage of a relatively weak hurricane. It wasn't just that the media hyped the coverage, it also gave us nonsensical tips about how to pass the time if the power goes out in our homes or what to do if a tree falls on our cars. It was just ridiculous fluff. But it probably kept people tuned in.

As reporters stand outside in the middle of a storm preaching to us how dangerous it would be not to listen to their warnings (does something seem odd about that that you?) they are not digging through documents in city hall or chasing down tips about corruption in government. While they show close-ups of some fallen bricks after a minor earthquake, they neglect to do the type of journalism that can improve society.

I came out of the post-Watergate era, when people went into journalism in order to make a positive difference, expose injustice and inform the public in a manner that wasn't influenced by dollars. Heck, just talking to someone from our own advertising department was taboo back in the day. The newsroom was separate from all revenue departments for a reason.

I wasn't interested in sensationalizing rain. I was more driven to expose the truth about corruption on the board of education. I wanted to shine a light on problems like homelessness and animal abuse. I sought out the underdogs in society and tried to bring their stories to the front page. I tried to entertain people with columns, features and sports stories. For me, it wasn't about what the executive offices wanted. It was about what I thought our readership wanted or needed to know. If I and everyone else in the newsroom did our jobs, circulation would increase. But that wasn't our primary goal or only focus.

So what I am seeing now in the mainstream media sickens me because I know that without the mass media fighting the good fight, it will be much easier for crooks to hide and for an already apathetic public to stick its head into the sand even deeper. The media resources spent on the quake and Irene last week did not serve journalism or the public very well. Perhaps TV ratings and news website traffic spiked, but what was really accomplished other than creating hysteria at the grocery stores and panic from ailing seniors in New York being transferred from hospitals in preparation for storm surge that never came. In fact, as the media continues to cry wolf in order to boost profits, I wonder if the public will become dangerously skeptical about future storms with much more merit than Irene.

My first real earthquake

2011-08-23T15:34:00.014-04:00

I was sitting on the ground floor of my office building in Reston, Va., today when the earthquake hit. Even though I had never experienced a significant earthquake, I figured within seconds that what was shaking the building had to be a quake. Nothing else I could think of would move a large building in that manner. Fearing the above floors might pancake down, I left my office quickly and stood outside on the edge of the parking lot with coworkers. By then, it was over.

Despite it being a weird and somewhat frightful experience, it wasn't nearly as bad as the media and those being interviewed are portraying. And I was just an hour's drive from the epicenter, so the intensity was about as strong as anywhere. The D.C.-metro area tends to overreact to everything from minor snow storms to quarterback controversies.

Today's quake was more interesting than scary, not that I'd want to experience that on a regular basis. I found it strangely reassuring that the earth still reminds us every once in a while that we aren't the masters of the universe.

Click here for a humorous look at the "devastation."

Mediocre QBs can still win in the NFL

2011-08-23T12:46:00.011-04:00

Professional football fans like to point to Trent Dilfer as the one exception of a mediocre quarterback who led his team, the Baltimore Ravens, to a Super Bowl.

Of course, there have been other average-at-best quarterbacks who have taken their teams to the big game, which gives teams like the Washington Redskins some hope this season.

The 'Skins have two quarterbacks, John Beck and Rex Grossman, competing for the starting job this year. Neither is highly regarded by fans or forecasters. But that could change if Beck or Grossman get Washington to the playoffs.

Most people believe that to win in the NFL these days you have to have an above-average quarterback. Recent history would support that theory to a degree. Yet, I can't help think about some of the teams of the past and how they were pretty darn good, even without star quarterbacks.

David Woodley (picture above) took the Miami Dolphins to the Super Bowl in the 1982 season. The Dolphins lost the game but nonetheless got there with a quarterback who I bet most of you under 40 years old never heard of before. Woodley was the Miami quarterback prior to Dan Marino. Marino, who many regard as one of the best QBs of all time, also went to a Super Bowl once, and lost just like Woodley. It was Marino's only trip to the title game, mostly because his Dolphin teams had no defense or running game. Marino was a star without a supporting cast.

I liked Woodley as a person more than Marino. I interviewed him many times in Miami. He was a quiet and modest guy, unlike many other NFL quarterbacks. His life came to a tragic end after his brief football career, but Woodley was certainly a winner while on the field -- mobile like Beck and a gamer like Grossman. Didn't have the arm of Marino but made the most of what he did possess.

So cheer up Redskin fans. Your quarterback situation might not be as bad as you think. As with that 1982 Dolphin team, it's the rest of the players who will need to contribute to a winning effort in D.C. this fall. So far, after a 2-0 start in the preseason, the supporting cast on offense and defense (both ranked No. 1) looks much improved.

Dreaming of mini bikes, freedom

2011-08-22T11:47:00.021-04:00

Until I stumbled upon this website, I assumed mini bikes were a thing of the past.

They're not.

They are now called "old school" mini bikes, but they look essentially the same as the one you see me sitting on here in the late 1960s. Mine consisted of a lawnmower engine mounted to a crudely welded steel frame (that often cracked and had to be re-welded). No shock absorbers. No lights, horns or turning signals. Small wheels. Questionable brakes. And a very hot muffler.

In terms of safety, a mini bike was an amazingly dangerous vehicle. But these tiny motorcycles also provided the first taste of freedom for many kids my age in that era. You could go farther and faster on a mini bike than on a bicycle. In a pre-Internet, pre-virtual reality time, this was a way to see the world -- or at least the world beyond my school and backyard. There was a bit of an anti-establishment vibe to riding a mini bike, too, which was appealing to anyone over 10 and under 30 years old in the rebellious 60s.

Like other kids, I went everywhere on my mini bike, whether it was legal or not. Cops would chase us. Parents would freak out if they learned about our cruising down Sunrise Highway or along residential streets where adults would wave their arms at us in anger. But we had a blast and weren't confined to the new cookie-cutter neighborhoods that sterilized life on Long Island. For less than 50 cents worth of gas, any day could be turned into the ultimate adventure and escape from whatever we needed to escape from. Regardless of age or circumstances, we all need an escape at times.

The only other material object that I can recall being as cool as a mini bike was an electric guitar. And, in a different way, the electric guitar also represented freedom.

To this day, nothing remains more symbolically cool in my mind than a motorcycle or guitar. A motorcycle can physically transport you in a way that a car, plane or train can't. Its engine rumbling as the wind blows against your face creates quite a feeling -- one that can't be simulated on a computer. Strumming a guitar can also transport me to a good place, particularly if shared with the right people or audience.

Playing music and riding motorcycles can be solitary or group activities, though I suspect doing either is better with people you enjoy being around.

Even though I no longer ride motorcycles of any kind, I am always looking at them -- gazing like I am staring into the past or longing for more freedom in the present -- examining color and chrome. Wanting to reconnect to something that even my guitar doesn't totally allow me to recapture these days.

While the digital age has provided an array of new toys and opportunities, I would gladly turn in my laptop for a Harley and a chance to play music in a dive bar or two a couple times a week with friends. I'd blissfully turn off CNN for a chance to strap a six-string to the back of a motorcycle. I would never give the debt ceiling or politics another thought.

These are the dreams of that kid sitting on that mini bike in the picture above. Dreams of freedom and simple pleasures, not of bills, deteriorating news and colonoscopies. Dreams and desires that settle the soul and ignite the spirt, and that become strangely more vivid as time passes all too quickly.

Bachmann won't back down

2011-08-17T08:58:00.013-04:00

You can look at Michelle Bachmann's countless mistakes as petty. Or, if you're like me, you can view these flubs as indicators that she isn't up for the challenge of the campaign trail, let alone the presidency. She can't even admit to a mistake, which is usually a sign of low character and the inability to improve.

Less-than-sharp people tend to surround themselves with even dumber people. And Bachmann's fact-checking crew must rank right at the bottom of the intellectual scale. I sure wouldn't want her choosing a cabinet. You and I can afford the occasional flub or bad advisers. Presidents can't.

The latest error was in getting the anniversary of Elvis Presley's death confused with his birthday. She did it in grand, over-the-top Bachmann style at a rally on Tuesday.

I also noted that Bachmann has stopped using a Tom Petty song at her campaign events. You see, like most (non-country) musicians, Petty doesn't agree with Bachmann or anyone on the far right and has asked her to stop playing his music to promote herself.

Creative types, such as Petty, Bruce Springsteen and others, don't want to be associated with the lunatics on the GOP fringe. Yet, these right-wingers keep using the music of our best creative songwriters to pump up their political rallies. The problem is, creative people tend to loathe everything Republicans stand for these days, leaving candidates only the music of country stars or dead musicians to use as theme music.

I find it interesting that creative folks -- musicians, actors, poets, painters, etc. -- tend to shy away from the political right. With the exception of Ted Nugent, I can't think of a popular rock 'n' roll act that would support a Bachmann, Rick Perry or Sarah Palin. Although I do wonder where ZZ Top stands on Perry? You know, the whole Texas thing.

Our most thought-provoking, substantive songwriters have almost always favored Democratic principles, and so have many college professors, journalists and other thinking, introspective people. I'm not claiming that you can't be a smart, feeling person and be Republican. I am just saying that it's getting harder because of the character decay and extreme political shift in the party.

I am not sure where Elvis would stand on Bachmann politically, but I am guessing "the king" is looking down with a bit of what many of us feel about politics these days -- total disbelief and disgust.

Keep this cowboy away from D.C.

2011-08-15T16:08:00.020-04:00

Gov. Rick Perry scares me.

Why?

Well, besides being another Republican governor from Texas (the last one in the White House didn't work out too well), he's the only candidate who could actually beat President Obama in 2012. And that would be a disaster for America.

You see, Perry has one very big gun in his arsenal. He can point to data that supports his claim for having created jobs in Texas -- lots of jobs -- during rough times. That one surface fact, without further examination, could lead Americans to believe that Perry is the solution to our biggest problem, which remains high unemployment.

Perry could become a bumper-sticker candidate for bumper-sticker voters, a champion of the unemployed. His supporters won't bother to look at what kind of jobs have been created in Texas. The fact is, many new jobs in Texas have been at or near the minimum wage level. Some have been public jobs, which I thought was against all that is Republican, and have helped artificially inflate the total figure. But Republicans don't like to be bothered with analysis these days, particularly when they smell Democratic blood in the water.

While I made reference to our previous president, Perry is no George W. Bush. He's worse. Far worse. He fits the new GOP mold better than any Bush ever did. He can appeal to Tea Party fanatics and mainstream Republicans. His pathetic macho swagger often crosses the line and hints of violence. Not real presidential stuff. His flaunting of his time in the military is about as classless as it comes, especially when you consider all the politicians (past and present) who have paid a much more costly price through their military service.

My hope is that Perry self destructs from stupid comments on the campaign trail. However, even if he controls his tongue, there is enough in the Perry record that could give Republican voters some doubts.

Under Perry, Texas ranks as one of the worst states in terms of funding education. At least Bush pretended to care about providing a quality education. For the record, Perry has already criticized Bush for funding educational programs. That's truly remarkable, even for this shallow Texan.

Environmentally speaking, Texas has become the new New Jersey. Perry's hands-off-big-business approach to governing has turned sections of the state into toxic pits inhabited by corporate polluters, who in return create crappy jobs for under-educated Texans. This is the cycle of Texas life for many people.

And this is a feather in Perry's cap?

If I believed in the Biblical prophecy relating to the existence of an "anti-Christ," the words "President Perry" would send chills down my spine. In the race for who is the biggest evangelical candidate since Pat Robertson, Perry wins by a Texas mile. Or does he? (Insert spooky music here).

Republican candidates to this point have been laughable. This GOP field is probably the weakest I've seen in my lifetime. By weakest, I mean clownish, crazy-eyed and just idiotic. I bet even "W" is going to have a hard time endorsing any of these people.

Enter Rick Perry with his big Texas smile and forceful hand gestures, shooting from the hip at every opportunity he gets. His emotions are his strength, and they are also his major weakness. I like to think Americans want a president who is passionate but under control. However, I am not sure enough voters will take the time to distinguish between passion and just plain craziness, especially if we're still sitting at over 9 percent unemployment next year.

While Obama left the door wide open for a GOP win in 2012 by not addressing unemployment from day one in the White House, I can't stomach another president who is going to lean on God, Satan or Dick Cheney types to solve our serious problems. Yes, compared with the rest of the field, Perry and his firm handshakes, jobs talk and longevity in an executive office probably looks pretty good to some people. However, that says a lot more about the other candidates than it tells me about the Texas governor who presides over a state that tends to favor boots and twang over substance and progress. Perry knows how to play to that crowd, but will that cowboy "charm" work on the coasts where Bush fatigue still lingers and basic requirements for living differ vastly from Texas?

Smirk is worth a thousand words

2011-08-03T11:55:00.014-04:00

Today's jobs numbers are disappointing and yesterday's passing of the debt-ceiling/deficit bill will, by all accounts, make things worse. Reports of mass layoffs and businesses closing are beginning to trickle in again, as they did in 2008, and Wall Street seems unimpressed by the legislative actions in Washington this week. The news is quite dire and confidence in government is about as low as it can get.

Yet, there was Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, smirking on television on Tuesday, expressing how happy he was that he and the GOP got "98 percent" of what they wanted in the debt-ceiling deal. Within hours of Boehner's bragging, objective economists were lined up warning us that the pulling of billions of dollars out of the economy at this fragile point could send us into a second recession. As the GOP-owned bill was examined, it became clearer that the economy was about to take another hit.

Many experts believe that whatever improvements we saw in the economy in the last year were undone by bickering politicians in recent weeks. The debate, of course, was caused by Republicans bent on ruining a presidency that was beginning to be bolstered by improving economic numbers, not to mention the killing of the architect of the 9/11 attacks and the plans for a drawdown in two wars.

Things were looking up, but Republicans couldn't allow that modest trend to continue. They knew that the one way to beat President Obama in 2012 was for the economy to tank. The way to do that, without bringing America totally to its knees, was to prolong a debate about the debt ceiling that never should have taken more than a few minutes of anyone's time, and to pass a bill that removes just enough money and jobs from the economy to spark more voter fear but avoids a catastrophic depression. It was a brilliant ploy by a Republican Party that has completely lost its soul.

When the recession returns and job numbers continue to fall, who will voters blame? Will they look at the facts and remember how Boehner and his right-wing posse forced a positive momentum-killing bill upon us (and smirked about it on national TV), or will they just continue to believe the mindless, self-centered talking points that Republicans have taken to new lows in this current, Tea Party-driven Congress? Will voters remember how the Republicans said jobs were priority No. 1 after the 2010 election, then proceeded to talk about everything except jobs once elected?

This bill, job growth and the economy from here until the 2012 election is on the Republicans. Period.

Tea Party to blame for bad deal

2011-08-01T11:49:00.023-04:00

"The budget deficit is not the biggest obstacle to our prosperity. Lack of jobs and growth is. And the largest threat to our democracy is the emergence of a radical right capable of getting most of the ransom it demands."

– Robert Reich (Click here to read his entire blog posting)

I can't say it any better than Robert Reich stated in his blog today. We went from one crisis – the debt ceiling debate – to another much more disturbing and potentially prolonged reality. Without smart investments, a fair tax code and visionaries instead of obstructionists in Washington, I don't see how America will move forward culturally, economically or educationally. The Tea Party, and those who back it, are blinded by a single issue in which they see no gray areas or alternative solutions. And, for now, they have won.

The Tea Party pridefully doesn't listen to experts like Mr. Reich. They cling to the idea of there being simple answers to complex problems. In fact, any kind of facts, scientific proof or sense of economic reality totally escapes these extremists on the right, who truly seem averse to educating themselves about subjects that require an open mind and a little bit of studying. (See Sarah Palin's dumbest quotes.) They took a nugget of truth – Washington needs to manage its money better – and turned it into a movement that honors some of the least-capable politicians to have ever been elected to state or national offices. These people, with the help of ratings-hungry conservative talk-show hosts, fueled this current, self-inflicted crisis and drove somewhat responsible politicians to a "solution" that does little or nothing to inspire true growth and confidence in America. The only positive thing this deal does is to avoid a sure overnight catastrophe.

Whether the debt ceiling/deficit reducing deal passes the House and Senate is almost moot now. Jobs aren't going to come back as a result of this pending deal, which is exactly what Republicans wanted in order to insure that Obama does not get re-elected in 2012. Remember, the main goal stated by these current Republicans isn't jobs or the economy. It is making Obama a one-term president. No one who goes into a voting booth should ever lose sight of the fact that when the country was down, and people were out of work, the Republicans chose to prolong the agony of many Americans in favor of playing politics. That is a fact – stated on the record in 2010 by top-ranking Republicans – not my opinion.

There is no compromise or country-first angle in this debt ceiling deal. This is a Tea Party-driven pact with budget cuts that will surely hurt the most vulnerable Americans. When it fails, and jobs don't return, voters need to remember whose deal this really was and put the blame where it has belonged for the last 10 years -- on the far right, the right that continues to protect the wealthiest individuals and corporations on the planet while asking the rest of us to sacrifice everything from our paychecks to clean water.

Breaking my limited ties to Twitter

2011-06-14T17:22:00.006-04:00

I rarely log into my Twitter account. I never liked tweeting. But this morning, before work, I decided to sign on. Much to my surprised, I was hacked, if that is even the right term.

Yup, someone was tweeting rants in my name. And before you start accusing me of going all Anthony Weiner on you, while the rants were not the kind of things I want said in my name, there were no inappropriate pictures or other personal material. Someone just apparently wanted to make a point about a topic that is not worth even mentioning here. And they made it over and over and over again by linking to related topics on the net. Needless to say, I did not share these views.

After deleting several of the rogue tweets, I just decided to leave the Twitter universe -- deleted my account. It's a useless venue for me. I wasn't following many people, nor did I have any interest in what they said 90 percent of time. Just seems like a lot of gloating and trivial content.

I doubt I will miss Twitter. This hacking episode reaffirms my position that while social media does some good, it's mostly a useless hazard that brings down everyone from politicians to regular folks just innocently trying to stay connected. Twitter in particular, even more than Facebook, seems particularly high on risk and low on value.

A voice that does not need silencing

2011-06-09T15:41:00.012-04:00

Whether it's because of my Brooklyn bias, sense of historical perspective or political views, I have to say that the calls for Rep. Anthony Weiner's resignation seem premature.

Yes, I know what he did. It was juvenile. Men, especially under the age of 50, do a lot of juvenile things. But put into context with Sen. Ted Kennedy driving off a bridge and causing the death of a woman, or President Clinton's real-life shenanigans in the Oval Office with an intern, Weiner's cyberspace exploits with a handful of strangers seems pretty tame to me. Unsavory, yes, but not the end of the world. Both Kennedy and Clinton went on to serve the country well. I don't see why Weiner can't do the same.

Yeah, Weiner lied. But since when is a politician lying such a crime or surprise? It's what some politicians do to make a living. Frankly, I rather Weiner lie about his personal Twitter romps than mislead the American people about tax cuts for the wealthy somehow creating jobs for you and me. I rather he lie about his inappropriate photos than lie to us about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. That lie cost a lot of lives.

We are all flawed. Some of our flaws and quirks can ruin lives. But to say that Weiner's lies about tweeting women mean that he must not have any credibility related to trying to get help for 9-11 emergency workers, well, that is simply absurd.

Weiner, like Kennedy, is often on the correct side of fairness. He speaks for the underdogs, the working class. He was born in Brooklyn and had to earn his way in life. This New Yorker is not like Donald Trump. While the congressman appears to have a Big Apple ego, it doesn't seem to prevent him from showing empathy for those in need.

According to some polls, Weiner's constituents in New York still support him despite the Twitter scandal. That does not surprise me at all. If you're in a middle or lower class neighborhood in his district that lies in Brooklyn and Queens, you probably aren't too concerned about Weiner's personal life. He hasn't committed any crimes, unlike a few Republican politicians who have been in the headlines recently. What you are concerned about living in those places, however, is whether or not someone is fighting for you in Washington, trying to get you a fair shake in the workplace and bring a better health-care system to people on the fringe.

To me, the real immoral leaders in Washington aren't the ones who occasionally get tripped up by simply being human. The immoral politicians are the ones who don't care about the elderly, the environment or the jobless. They vote to end unemployment benefits and put the economy in further peril by playing political games with the debt ceiling. The politicians who should resign are the ones voting to end Medicare while cutting teaching jobs and lining the pockets of their most wealthy contributors. These are the real creeps. Even if all creepiness were equal, I would always prefer the creep who is doing more good than harm.

Weiner can text and tweet all he wants as far as I am concerned. I'm not married to him, nor do I seek his spiritual advice. As long as his votes are in line with creating a better, more humane society, and he does not break any laws, I don't really care what he does in his personal life. Unlike a lot of right-wing hypocrites who flaunt their own holier-than-thou claims of virtue, Weiner pretty much sticks to the issues of governing when conducting public business. He does it in a flamboyant style, which is in part why this has gotten so much attention. But sometimes it takes a loud voice to drown out the real bullies in Congress. Weiner, like very few others, has that ability and personality to standup to the powerful. He's forceful and articulate. Like many New Yorkers, he's quick on his feet. He's not an intellectual train wreck like Sarah Palin, at least not in public view. He's smart enough to know when he's made a major blunder. Palin, and her army of airhead followers, wear stupidity like a badge of honor. She's a money-making machine whose central focus is herself, not her country or fellow citizens. Everything about her is as phony as her eyelashes. But I digress...

Do I wish Weiner would not have done what he did? Of course. I also wish Mickey Mantle wasn't an alcoholic. But Weiner's tweeting, like Mantle's flaws off the baseball field, is not a deal-breaker in my mind. Mantle did not cheat in hitting all those home runs. And Weiner, at least as far as we know as of this writing, did not neglect his duty to protect and represent his constituents. Can others in Congress truly make the same claim?

Just because someone doesn't get caught behaving badly doesn't mean they aren't doing something personally offensive to someone. And even if they are as pure as the driven snow, that alone doesn't make them fit for representing me, you or anyone else. We have to start judging political leaders by their votes, legislation they introduce and intelligence. We have too many problems and too few visionaries willing to stand up for common decency and logic. Weeding out people because of some trivial and personal matter isn't good for the political process.

Read another opinion on the Weiner saga.

End times? Not what I expected

2011-05-22T09:59:00.016-04:00

The world didn't end yesterday, but my and my wife's little corner of the planet was certainly rocked with a trip to the emergency room -- coincidentally, right about the time we were all suppose to be feeling the doomsday earthquakes. We're not out of the woods yet, but hopefully things will work out. Once again the universe is teaching us how fragile human beings are and how we need to manage stress and treasure our loved ones. More details at an appropriate time.

PART TWO (May 26, 2011)

My wife, Ana, experienced a rapid heart beat last Saturday. It lasted for a good part of the morning and into the afternoon. Her visit to the emergency room that evening included various tests. All but one were negative. She had a very high concentration of a specific enzyme that indicates the heart was severely stressed within the last 24 hours, meaning there could possibly be significant damage to the heart muscle. That set off all kinds of alarms in the ER. She was admitted later that night. She is out of the hospital now and has various appointments and tests lined up with a cardiologist. As of today, there does not appear to have been any permanent damage to her heart, nor does it appear that she had a heart attack. We're grateful for that, but the tests will continue as there are some lingering problems.

This racing heart thing isn't new for her, but it's been dismissed in the past by doctors who were baffled by it and concluded it was nothing serious. I believe everyone, including us, figured it had something to do with stress. Each episode usually came about during high-anxiety times but went away within minutes of striking. Then came last Saturday. The racing heart led to breathing problems, dizziness and other troublesome reactions. The stress level of the previous few weeks leading up to that day was off the charts. In hindsight, this attack was not a surprise. As the doctors told us, extreme fatigue and chronic worrying does all kinds of destructive things to the body.

Like most folks, we've had a lot of anxiety for at least three years. A lot of it relates to the toll the recession has taken on our lives. At 50something, the body does not deal with the stress or anxiety in the resilient manner it did at 20something. So if this turns out to be stress related -- and it very well could because Ana is an otherwise very healthy woman -- it will be time to make some internal and external changes in our world, which include distancing ourselves from toxic situations and people, and processing better what we can't filter out. There is good stress and there is bad stress, and right now we have too much of the latter. We bite the bullet in order to survive day to day, but that strategy may have to be altered.

Getting sick is one of the forgotten byproducts of the recession. You mostly read about savings accounts having been depleted, careers being destroyed and homes falling into foreclosure. Unfortunately, all of these things take a toll on the mind and body. So first comes the economic collapse, then comes the physical and personal problems that we are all prone to.

In a way, we are hoping this was caused mostly by stress and that no further invasive procedures or potent medications are necessary. We can rearrange our lives -- make various sacrifices in order to alleviate some of the pressure -- but we can't turn back the clock to better times when her job was manageable and my career helped us save for the future. I would rather deal with the risk and challenge of creating a less pressure-filled life than for either of us to end up on an operating table. We need to change the lens in which we view ourselves and our situation -- control what we can control -- and live more in the moment. And we need to somehow do all of that without putting more pressure on ourselves in a year that has already included Ana being a donor for her leukemia-stricken brother and the sudden death of my daughter's 16-year-old sibling.

Unpredictability of the "end times"

2011-05-21T13:20:00.014-04:00

I'm waiting to see if the world is going to end in a few hours.

I went for a jog this morning and am getting my haircut later this afternoon. Besides that, I have no grand plans for this sunny Virginia day other than to check out CNN around 9 p.m. ET. The end is suppose to start with a major earthquake, somewhere around Australia. Hopefully, CNN hasn't been hit too hard by layoffs and still has some competent reporters down under.

You all have heard the latest "end times" story by now. No need for me to repeat the theory or even link to it. You can believe whatever you want, of course. Go about your business or wait in church for the mega earthquakes to erupt. Remember, this is strictly a Christian-based scenario, so all other denominations are exempt as far as I know.

Frankly, I don't think the world is going to end today. Not in the Biblical sense. You see, if there is a God, he probably is going to take us out at our lowest point, when we just become hopeless morons roaming a planet that we thoroughly trashed. We're close but not quite there yet.

God probably isn't going to torch the place until we've torched ourselves a tad more. I suspect we still have some work to do in that area -- maybe lob a few nukes at each other or, at the very least, wipe out the fish from the oceans. We need another world war or two, not over oil, but over drinking water. Yup, that's what future wars will be about, according to some observers. Water.

Our simply becoming more obnoxious by the year isn't necessarily going to piss off God enough to say "OK, I am done with y'all." Our growing sense of entitlement, bad manners and worsening driving habits are annoying but not worthy of a good Rapture.

According to the Bible, Jesus wasn't much of a fan of wealthy folks but I doubt he'd blow up the place because the rich are getting richer during the last three decades while the rest of us are going broke. That little Gulf of Mexico/BP thing ... well, probably not good in the eyes of the "maker." I mean most people don't want kids walking on their newly sodded lawns or freshly sealed driveways, so can you imagine how God feels when we wreck an entire body of water and most everything He put in it?

Fortunately, God gives us more than our fair share of mulligans. But we're certainly pushing our luck, particularly in recent years where humans behaving badly, from all segments of society, is becoming the new global norm.

When the tigers go extinct and little Johnny can no longer read or write a complete sentence, I think we'll be on the edge of Armageddon. Until then, there is still some hope.

Any signs of optimism for mankind will likely come in various forms, probably starting with a decline in Fox News ratings. Perhaps people will begin using their turn signals again. Young men may pull up their pants at least to mid-buttocks. Employability will be based on competency, not age, race or gender. Young (and not so young) women will stop using the word "like" five times in every sentence. These are the subtle signs that I will look for in order to feel that we're back on the right path.

Here's another reason the world will probably not end tonight. God has to give us more than just a couple extra weeks on the planet than he gave Osama bin Laden. Fair is fair, right?

Personally, I am thinking we need at least another year to begin to correct our course. That will put us right around the next major doomsday prediction -- the 2012 Mayan calendar's last call. If by then Rush Limbaugh remains on the radio, Rep. Paul Ryan's proposed budget is still under consideration by Republicans and cell phones haven't been banned in nice restaurants, well, maybe we deserve to perish.

I am not sure that any god, Christian or otherwise, will ever end the world. I suspect we will do that on our own. It will probably be a slow and painful process. The real end times may even go unnoticed for decades or be mistaken for something else (economic problems, political strife, climate change, dwindling SAT scores, etc). Eventually, after enough religious zealots have cried wolf for their own selfish purposes, we might all discover that the wolf is not a god. Indeed, the wolf might be us.

Hyping the death of a terrorist

2011-05-02T16:03:00.023-04:00

As I was driving home from work today, I heard a caller on a radio station say that in the course of his and most people's daily lives, the killing of Osama bin Laden isn't going to make any long-term difference. He spoke of other more pressing priorities and cautioned people and the media (including the dismissive talk show host who obviously wanted to hype the killing) not to make more of this than it deserves.

You know what? He's absolutely right.

It has been a good several days for President Obama. He proved he wasn't born in a foreign country or on another planet by releasing his long-form birth certificate. Then yesterday, he confirmed that he was indeed a patriot and a darn smart strategist by directing the military mission to kill bin Laden in a targeted manner rather than bombing the heck out of the hideaway in Pakistan. It's nice to have a president with guts and brains. Obama's not getting much credit from all the usual idiots, but I think the taking out of bin Laden pretty much sealed the deal for the 2012 election.

Well, maybe sealed is too strong of a word.

Bin Laden swimming with the fishes doesn't really do a lot for me. It's mildly satisfying at best but won't influence my vote. We have worse threats both in the international world of terrorism and in our own domestic backyard. I want my president focused on getting us out of wars and into jobs. I want a fair president who doesn't rob the poor and middle class in order to give to the rich. I want a visionary as a president -- a person with a sense of fairness, honor and respect for the planet.

Symbolic victories are just that -- symbolic. They don't lower gasoline prices. They don't get people back to work, slow down foreclosures or reduce crime. Symbolism doesn't cure cancer, stop corruption on Wall Street, educate young people or prevent oil spills. Those are far tougher problems that if solved would actually change millions of lives in positive, tangible ways for generations to come.

If Obama were to fail in his bid for a second term, it would probably be because of the sluggish economy. He can have bin Laden killed, show his birth certificate and rally young people into a frenzy in front of the White House, but if he doesn't address the economy in a meaningful manner, his re-election will not be a slam dunk. The caller on the radio, I suspect, represents how many Americans will feel once this feel-good moment from Sunday night wears off. As we enter the voting booth, we tend to focus more on what really matters in a practical sense. The demise of bin Laden won't get the potholes fixed. Nor will it stop people from trying to murder Americans.

The killing of bin Laden gives us immediate, primal satisfaction but doesn't put food on the table or teachers in the classrooms. As evil as bin Laden was, comparisons with Adolph Hitler by the media and others are absurd. Stopping Hitler changed the world. Killing bin Laden won't even prevent us from getting frisked at the airport.

We need a little perspective, folks. Seven or eight years ago this would have been a bigger story because bin Laden would have been perceived as a more viable threat. Now, as boxed in as he became, does anyone really think his death in 2011 is a game-changer in the lives of most Americans?

American aristocracy's stranglehold

2011-04-13T14:51:00.018-04:00

"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country."

- Thomas Jefferson, America's third president

Today is Thomas Jefferson's birthday. The above quotation has a permanent home on right-hand column of this blog's home page.

Unfortunately, we didn't heed Jefferson's warnings about corporations running the government. Not only did we give birth to an aristocracy, but that segment of society is all grown up now and creating havoc for the rest of us at a time when we desperately need to pull together.

In one corner are the lobbyists, the big corporations sitting on piles of cash demanding more tax breaks, and the politicians (mostly Republicans) who shake in their boots every time an obscenely overpaid CEO makes a threat. In the other corner are the rest of us -- folks without a whole lot of power just trying to get by, hoping that the worst corporations won't pollute our backyards, poison our foods or steal our retirement funds. If we're nice to them, maybe they'll throw us a bone and create a few low-wage jobs They have the funds to do better but won't, which is why no one should believe that cutting corporate taxes helps create jobs.

It doesn't take a liberal to charge what many large corporations prove every day, that hoarding profits is more appealing than expanding the payroll. So if these employers aren't creating much-needed jobs, why would we continue to give them tax relief? And if you think that new jobs aren't needed at many companies, ask any regular Joe or Jane employed in an office that has been devastated by layoffs whether they could use some extra help. The need is there, the business is there, but the will of the greediest executives isn't.

Not only have the corporations challenged the government, but they are the government. They have thousands of lobbyists twisting arms on Capitol Hill and even more lawyers finding tax and other legal loopholes so that they can make more money that they are becoming less willing to share or reinvest.

What do the rest of us have? One vote each and a political/social gullibility that is allowing for what Jefferson feared. We don't need a Tea Party. We need a Wake Up and Smell the Coffee Party.

The ones getting crushed by the modern-day Republicans and large corporations are the middle and lower classes, students, seniors and folks with serious illnesses. The Republicans hitched their wagons to the corporations and together sold middle America (and Fox News) on the idea that somehow they were on our side, even though they want to rob us of everything we've worked for in our lifetimes. While this new breed of CEO/Republican is despicable, our supporting and electing these aristocrats is totally on us. They can't do what they do if we don't buy into it.

On this 150th anniversary of the Civil War, I wonder if we're heading for class warfare. You see, the rich corporations and extreme right-wingers aren't just after our money. They want to change the entire social agenda of America and get rid of anyone who doesn't look or act like them. They want to be free to pollute in the name of doing business. They don't want to pay a dime for a new road or a new school unless it directly benefits them or their companies. They want to separate themselves from street crime but are perfectly willing to commit more damaging white-collar crime at every opportunity they get. Their silver-spooned vision for America is one that probably has all of our founding fathers stirring in their graves.

As President Obama has learned, it is hard to fight the good fight when the opposition has the resources of corporate America behind it -- the same corporate America that shipped our jobs overseas and needlessly laid off more employees than it had to during the Great Recession. If citizens are going to continue to believe in trickle-down fairy tales and other flag-waving failed theories, then I fear we are done as a just and compassionate nation. When we lose our soul, we will lose our freedom and prosperity.

While liberals have often erred on the side of throwing too much money at social problems, new conservatives are shoveling money at corporations and saying, "Here, you guys lead us back to the mountaintop." Well, that is not what corporations do in 2011. Corporate prosperity and societal prosperity are two different things now. We've lost the balance between the two because the government, including some Democrats, have placed too much trust in businesses that are only concerned about their own bottom lines and executive bonuses. What is good for GM or a publishing giant like Gannett (my former employer) is not necessarily good for America. All the bailouts and profits have not put much of a dent in unemployment. The lack of taxes being paid by companies like General Electric or the government subsidizing of the oil industry are simply mind-boggling.

You can disagree with what I believe, but you can't ignore the fact that the rich are getting richer and the poor and middle class are getting poorer. Who is to share the blame for that seems rather obvious to me. On this birthday of one of our wisest, visionary founding fathers, and with all the political smoke-and-mirror games being played today, take a long look at those words above and then tell me that Jefferson wasn't spot on with his concern about excessive corporate intrusions.

Another loss for journalism, society

2011-03-26T08:56:00.014-04:00

Bob Herbert's final column in The New York Times is essentially a summary of what I have been saying since I started this blog. Our failing economy (as well as many other societal problems) is the result of institutional and individual greed at the very top of our society. Unemployment, record deficits, pollution -- heck, the disappearing of pollinating bees -- can be directly linked to the worst instincts and actions of the most powerful people and greediest corporations.

However, we must also look at ourselves. Columns like Herbert's aren't as well read as they once were because people are not only moving away from reading quality newspapers and becoming apathetic about current events, they are morphing into imbeciles -- refugees of a worn-out, dumbed-down culture who are unable to hold political leaders and the mega-wealthy accountable. Self-inflicted ignorance, as much as anything, is the reason we're on the edge of figurative and literal extinction.

We let it happen -- allowed the rich and powerful fool us into thinking they were somehow on our side. All we needed to do was elect them or put them into the corner office. Then the money and jobs would flow. Well, all they've done for us is take our jobs and support each other in their lies. They lie about war. They lie about profits. They even lie about global warming.

There is no place left for aging writers and editors like Herbert. In this troubling era, when we need thoughtful commentators and smart, objective editors, we are tragically left with Fox News and large newspaper chains that only care about their own stock prices and reducing newsroom payrolls.

Click here read Herbert's last column.

A coalition of America and little else

2011-03-23T17:24:00.016-04:00

The chart on the left shows the so-called coalition countries that are allegedly involved in enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya. Note the "deployment status." (Click on the chart to enlarge).

Despite the political distortions out of Washington about our taking a backseat in this latest military action, it is clear that once again the United States has no problem essentially going it alone to police the world. As the chart indicates, our launching of bombs in Libya has been non-stop while most other nations sit idle.

Folks, we're spending over $1 million for every Tomahawk missile that we propel into Libya. No matter how honorable our intentions might be, do we have the money to spend on another campaign of explosions that is likely to produce even greater costs as time goes on? This isn't even our fight.

The cost of deploying American jets and ships to the region is off the charts. And I take no comfort in the fact that a handful of countries are cheering us on from the sidelines as we empty our wallets again.

We're still trying to recover from the worst recession of our lifetime and dealing with a record deficit, and we're doing so while fighting three wars. Running a peace-time economy in war-time era is beyond stupid. How do you explain to a layoff-weary nation that we need to keep bombing foreign lands rather than pay for unemployment benefits or job-training programs at home?

We bomb countries and don't seem to leave after we do, yet at the same time talk about possibly reducing Social Security benefits to save what we spend in a matter of weeks in Afghanistan, Iraq and now Libya. Republicans slam health-care reform but won't say boo about the expense of the war against the Taliban -- the longest war in our nation's history -- a war that is not winnable. There simply seems to be no fiscal worries whatsoever when it comes to flexing our military muscle, even when we're not at risk of being attacked.

It is truly amazing that ever since the U.S. got rid of the draft, Americans have lost interest in protesting something that is just as ill-conceived today as it was during the Vietnam era. We're still losing lives in no-win conflicts, but since no one is forced to serve anymore, well, the deaths and financial costs are just not on our radar screens.

We can't pay for basic domestic services anymore, but we can apparently fight a third war while coalition partners like Spain stand "ready to participate" in the attack. Ready to participate?

Yeah, right.

I never thought President Obama would drag his feet in getting us out of Iraq and Afghanistan, especially when we could use the money to employ teachers and rebuild infrastructure at home. But he has. What is more shocking is Obama's selling of this operation in Libya as something it is not. We're paying the check again and that is shocking at this time, in this economy and with this president in charge.

The media covers the Libya story as a military operation but says little about the battles we all face on a daily basis on countless American Main Streets. Reports fail to put Libya into context because there is no context for the average American. Additionally, the media, like the politicians, seems to have a tendency to take its eye off the ball. And the ball is and will continue to be the economy.

Source: Chart compiled from The Washington Post

Recession's most powerless victims

2011-03-07T15:32:00.034-05:00

More homeless children and a poverty rate that will likely hit 25 percent in the not-so-distant future -- that is what is emerging from America's so-called economic recovery, according to a 60 Minutes report last Sunday.

A new generation of Americans will be raised in sketchy motel rooms, parked cars and worse places. These are the children of the previously stable, hard-working middle class -- not kids born into decaying urban neighborhoods or to transient families on perpetual welfare. These are the kids who would have gone to college or trade school and become taxpayers themselves one day, helping to pay down the national debt that we've created for them. They have parents who were accountants and teachers, writers and secretaries -- responsible folks who played by the rules, only to find out the game was fixed (and still is).

Parents have been unable to find comparable work for a variety of reasons. Age discrimination, companies stubbornly sitting on piles of cash, politicians using joblessness as venom ... we know what's happening. The point is, kids are now paying the price for a lack of political will to fix the damn problem. We will all be feeling the effects of this institutionalized neglect for a long time. The backbone of this country -- the middle class -- has all but been broken, and few people have given more than lip service to a problem, that if addressed, might also mend or prevent other social and financial problems.

What did we think was going to happen to the families who depended on the 8 million-plus jobs that were lost since 2008? Whatever modest employment gains have been made recently don't even keep pace with the number of Americans who are entering the job market for the first time. Underemployment figures are worsening. Men and women are accepting lesser jobs that don't pay enough for them to live on, let alone enough to raise a family. What will be the mindset of this generation as it grows into adulthood in the back of a Dodge Caravan?

The new norm for millions of Americans is an unfolding tragedy that will transform the United States in ways that go beyond the despair of mass homelessness or the expanding federal debt. The spirit of millions of people -- young and old -- is being shattered with each foreclosure sign that goes up and each rejection letter that is received by a desperate jobseeker. Tax collections are shrinking as layoffs continue. Yes, people are still getting laid off, although you'd never know it based on the lack of news coverage.

The unemployed and underemployed are slowly being forgotten by a society increasingly distracted by celebrity news and other trivial matters reported by mainstream media fighting for its own financial survival and making decisions based on ratings rather than sound news judgment. A free press is only beneficial to a democratic society if it lives up to its responsibilities and the citizenship shows more of an interest in being informed on important topics.

At a time when things are getting bleaker for young and old -- as kids who were once riding their bikes along pristine sidewalks are disappearing from the suburban landscape and Baby Boomers are abandoning retirement dreams -- we could use more informative reports like the one on 60 Minutes.

Big fish facing rapid extinction

2011-02-21T09:48:00.042-05:00

I am beginning to wonder if there is anything human beings haven't messed up in the last three or four decades. Whether it's financial deficits, the faltering environment or the destruction of our own "American dream," it appears that massive consumption, over-population and a sense of unrestrained entitlement are directly responsible for an array of societal and environmental problems.

Today I learned of this bit of sobering news: Scientists have concluded that more than 54 percent of the decline of large predator fish has taken place in the last 40 years. Forty-years! That's not even a blink of the eye in the timeline of mankind.

So what is it about human beings in the last half century that make them so destructive? Are there just too many of us now? Or have we lost our sense of stewardship? Maybe it's a combination of many things, including the never-ending quest for expanding profits. We can blame it on technology that tends to proclaim more is better, or bad parenting, or some sort of cosmic shift. But there is no denying that there is something wrong with a generation of humans that has left so many scars on the planet so rapidly that in one or two more generations we may have to visit an aquarium to see anything bigger than a guppy or a zoo to see a large cat. And if those were the only problems related to mass extinctions, it would be sad but survivable for us. However, extinctions have a domino effect that impacts virtually everyone and everything. Of course, as we get dumber (yes, our rankings in education in the U.S. have also plummeted in the last few decades), it seems less likely that we're going to fix what ails us.

The real predators in this world aren't the sharks. They only take what they need. It's human beings who will cut off a shark's fin (for soup) and callously discard the rest of the fish. It's human beings who destroy oxygen-producing rain forests and kill the Chesapeake Bay with factory farm-produced toxins so that some corporation can produce chickens at a rate that keeps stock prices high. It's developers who knock down trees and fill in wetlands so that it's easier and more cost efficient to build shopping centers and residential subdivisions, even as current retail stores and homes remain vacant. And we're all guilty of wanting everything we consume for the lowest possible price, which leads to all sorts of abuses, including child labor and defective products. So in a way, we create the predators who are cleaning out the oceans and depleting other natural resources.

Click here to read more about the assault on our oceans and why you eventually will be eating sardines instead of cod or salmon.

Loose lips sink Boehner's credibility

2011-02-17T16:36:00.030-05:00

When George H.W. Bush used the "Read my lips" comment to proclaim that he wouldn't raise taxes during his presidency, well, you know how that turned out. His reversing course cost him a second term.

So why would the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, use the same phrase this week to claim he is serious about cutting spending? Essentially, it's a tarnished political cliche and should be shelved for the next few decades. Plus, does anyone believe a politician who excludes the military budget and gives massive tax breaks to billionaires is serious about the deficit or the federal budget? Most people understand the need to cut government spending, but I can't believe Americans want to do it in the way Republicans are suggesting.

I am beginning to think that Boehner just isn't very bright, something some Republicans seem to pride themselves on in recent years. The other day Boehner bragged about his desire to cut government jobs, after first lying about how many federal positions have been created in the last two years by the evil Obama administration. He used the heavy-handed phrase "so be it" to explain how he didn't really care whether federal employees lost their jobs. You would think a guy representing a party that claims to have all the answers to the unemployment problem would be more careful with his words. Putting tens of thousands out of work -- regardless of whether that work is done in the private or public sector -- is not very intelligent or responsible, let alone caring. We don't need for a more competitive job market by displacing thousands of workers. Those federal employees pay taxes just like private-sector employees. I am not saying that some federal jobs aren't a waste of taxpayer dollars or shouldn't be trimmed, but the majority of government positions help to protect our food supply, teach our kids and patrol our streets. C'mon Mr. Boehner, don't kill what little credibility you might have by making Palin-like comments that show no insight or willingness to address the facts. Don't attack PBS (another GOP target) like it's the main reason for our deficit. Don't ask me to read your lips if you aren't serious about cutting from your pet projects.

Here's a fact: The rich are getting richer, the middle class is getting poorer, and the money and jobs are not trickling down as wealthy conservatives continually claim will happen but never does. The dwindling middle class needs to wake up and read the facts.

As I watched a documentary about Ronald Reagan recently, I wondered how Reagan could have turned his back on people who needed a hand when in fact his own family, as he was growing up, received government assistance to weather the economic storm of his childhood. Without that government intervention, Reagan might not have gone very far in life. Heck, he and his family might have found it hard to simply survive or put food on the table. Many people need a helping hand at some point in their lives, something Republicans fail to comprehend. They see it as a weakness. It was Reagan, the first Democrat-turned-Republican to make it to the White House, who made it OK to turn away from those down on their luck. But even Reagan wasn't quite as ruthless or dishonest as the current crop of conservatives. He had some redeeming qualities, unlike today's hardcore conservatives who seemingly want the middle class to go away so that the fat cats can get fatter.

Then there is the military and the funding for our policing the world.

Look, I am all for a strong defense. But I am not for overkill, especially in lean times. We already have enough explosives and war machinery to destroy the entire world multiple times. How many aircraft carriers do we need to stop underwear bombers? But hold onto your wallets because the Republicans, not the Democrats, are aiming to take your Social Security away or delay benefits until you're too old or dead to collect much of anything. Yup, Social Security is just one of those old, nasty government programs that new Republicans hate. In their eyes, the money would be better spent on occupying some foreign land.

So no, I won't support Boehner's selfish beliefs and inarticulate cliches. If Republicans and Tea Party radicals want to make a case for turning off grandma's heating (a miniscule savings at best), they better first find a way to milk their own sacred cows -- the extremely wealthy, the oil companies, the military. That's where the real recovery could occur without breaking the back of Americans who have nothing left to give. That's not class warfare, that's just a sense of fairness -- something we are losing in recent years as we allow one political party to fuel the flames of hatred towards the unemployed, the elderly and anyone else who isn't in a position of power.

And please, let's not even get into Boehner's so-called humble background. As I mentioned, Reagan also forgot where he came from as he stuck a dagger into union workers -- this from a man who was the head of a union early in his career. You would think these types of self-made human beings would help lift others up, but they don't. It's not in their nature. They believe that hard work was solely responsible for their success and that unsuccessful people just aren't vigilant enough.

Any talk of addressing the deficit must begin with where the money really lies, not with nickel and diming the middle class to death and robbing folks of their benefits that they worked for a lifetime to obtain. Not investing in clean energy and education, while continuing to cater to big oil and rich bankers, is short-sighted at best. If Republicans want to act as patriotic as they claim to be, they can start by demanding more from their entitled friends who rarely give back to society in any meaningful manner but seemingly get every tax break known to humankind.

Since becoming the leader of the House of Representatives, Boehner has displayed almost no leadership ability or big-picture thinking. His tone is often hyper-political and confrontational, and could lead to the government shutting down in March if the budget debate worsens. Boehner shoots from the hip and only has the back of the most privileged people in society -- the people and corporations who financially support his campaigns. He is, like so many Republicans these days, a political machine, void of any sense of fair play or fresh ideas. He is the perfect modern-day Republican -- a visionless version of Ronald Reagan with lots of tears and no heart. His shining city on a hill is gated and consists of CEOs driving around in large SUVs while their employees watch their health-care premiums go up.

Republicans are exposing their true identity and lack of intellect lately. You don't have to read between the lines to see it. You just need to read their lips.

Oh, say can we replace this song?

2011-02-07T15:27:00.011-05:00

"The Star Spangled-Banner," musically speaking, is not a good song.

Why do I say this?

Did you hear Christina Aguilera's version before Super Bowl XLV? She is the latest talented singer to maul the tune. Not only did she forget the words at one point, but she also mangled the melody in an attempt to win style points and/or recover from the lyrical error.

Our national anthem has clunky lyrics that don't exactly roll off the tongue. Frank Sinatra wouldn't be able to smooth out the words. To make matters worse, the melody isn't, well, much of a melody. When compared with "America the Beautiful," the SSB is melodically challenged. If it weren't our anthem, and symbolic of something larger than just a song, it would be difficult to sit through without covering your ears.

Sports stadiums aren't great venues for artists to showcase their vocal abilities. Recent halftime shows at Super Bowls have been peppered with production problems that make the performers sound off. The anthem in particular is almost always on the brink of disaster. The only exception I can recall is Robert Merrill at Yankee Stadium. For whatever reason, the opera singer nailed it almost every time. Or at least nailed it as much as it could be nailed, and did so before countless games and other events in New York.

Every time someone botches the anthem, there is a group of people who thinks they did it intentionally out of some kind of ego-driven need to be disrespectful. In most cases, I don't think that is true. I do think, however, that the song is a lemon that needs to be replaced.

Back in the saddle with a new twist

2011-01-26T15:34:00.025-05:00

It should appear obvious by now that Calvacca Blog has been somewhat revived in recent weeks. What is not so obvious is that I am back in the saddle again in terms of having a "regular job" -- a place where I go each day to work, learn and share.

The the details of the job that I started this week aren't as important as the fact that I have ventured outside of the mainstream media for the first time in my three-decade career. I am working in the communications department at a quasi-governmental organization in Northern Virginia. Many of my journalism skills are expected to transfer well as I get deeper into the job, which is not to say that there isn't a whole lot of new stuff that I need to learn in the meantime. I am grateful for the opportunity and welcome the challenge.

While I have sometimes questioned the usefulness of former journalists starting blogs -- it's almost a cliche, particularly since the start of the recession/layoffs in 2008 -- I can report that blogging (and all that goes with it) appears to have been a worthwhile endeavor that helped me land my current position, which required online and writing skills, in addition to a journalistic and design background. In fact, this was the second regular job that I was offered in recent weeks with similar responsibilities and technical requirements. Both hiring managers came from the newspaper world and seemed to have an appreciation for the time that I spent at USA Today and other papers. Neither employer made age an issue, which was a nice change from what appears to be the new norm at many other companies.

While the job market remains pretty tough, particularly for former newspaper professionals with ink in their blood, there does seem to be some glimmer of hope for folks who are able and willing to make a few sacrifices and to learn some new tricks. But be prepared. One's prior credentials or pay grade don't always carry the same weight in a new field. In some ways, you have to embrace starting over. Depending on your financial obligations, that isn't always easy to do.

The vibe of a newsroom is a fairly unique thing. It grows on you. It's hard to duplicate in other businesses. Back in the day, if you were patient and did your job well, you could eventually make a decent living on an editor's salary at a large publication. Those days are just about gone, as journalists with big paychecks are being shown the door at an alarming rate. But there does appear to be life outside of the newsroom, and with any luck, it will be an acceptable life -- one that doesn't involve the constant threat of layoffs that has poisoned the newspaper business and cut tens of thousands of careers short.

Note: I expect my blogging to be light for the next few months. However, I do want to continue to have a presence here, so please feel free to check out the blog from time to time.

Health care a distant second to jobs

2011-01-23T10:34:00.005-05:00

Republicans like to refer to the U.S. House of Representatives as the “people’s house.” Ever since the election in November, they have been on a mission to conduct what they say is the No. 1 priority of the people – repealing health insurance reform.

There is only one problem with that. It’s not true.

According to every legitimate poll, including the recent CBS News/New York Times survey, unemployment (still over 9 percent and much higher in some parts of the country) continues to be the top concern of the majority of Americans. Joblessness is causing cities, towns and local governments to decay. Buildings are still boarded up. Foreclosure signs continue to litter many neighborhoods. Yet, the new House of Representatives, led by John Boehner of Ohio, charged ahead last week and voted to repeal the recent health-care reform package, labeled “Obamacare” by radio talk show hosts, as well as Boehner himself, who should be above this sort of parochial nonsense.

It is appalling that the House has chosen to make this symbolic repeal vote its first major piece of business, particularly when millions of folks are still out of work. And to be fair, I have also stated in this blog that President Obama was wrong in highlighting health care while unemployment was seemingly on the back burner during his first several months in office. Only now has Obama, with his upcoming State of the Union address, seemed to have shifted his full attention to jobs.

Little has changed in American politics in recent months. Republicans won big in November for one reason and one reason only: They were not the party in power while unemployment hovered around 10 percent. Somehow they took what American voters told them (fix unemployment) and twisted it into some sort of mandate to attack everything Obama, including needed financial and health-care reforms.

Trying to tie unemployment rates to health care legislation, as Republicans are now doing, is not only contrary to every objective economic study, but it is also proven to be incorrect by recent history.

We didn’t have insurance reforms when we got into this economic mess three years ago. We didn’t even have the law for the first part of the Obama presidency. So repealing the act and expecting jobs to miraculously reappear is not only wrong, it’s ignoring the need for feasible economic solutions.

Where are the studies showing that repealing health reform will reduce unemployment? Probably in the same file that suggests the wealthy create jobs with the extra money they get back from Uncle Sam. Instead of making these broad and often outdated assumptions, Republicans (and GOP-slanted media outlets) should produce facts based on objective research. Show me sound data that says for every $50,000 a billionaire saves on taxes, that money is used to hire someone. Until then, I have a hard time accepting these trickle-down theories, particularly when the income gap between the wealthiest Americans and the middle class continues to widen.

Going back to a system that allows insurance companies to gouge customers, or worse, lets people needlessly die, is not going to put America back to work in jobs that pay livable wages. Losing one’s house because they got sick isn’t going to improve the real estate market. The mood of the country isn’t going to get better by funding unjust wars or continuing to ship jobs overseas.

Congress needs to do better, act with more dignity and intelligence, while attending to the real-life issues that continue to confront our nation. Getting sucked into a Palin/Limbaugh universe is a recipe for further economic and personal disaster. Jobs not only propel the economy, but they also fuel individual self esteem and tighten the moral fabric of this country.

It is time for politicians to turn off Fox News and pay attention to what real journalists and pollsters are reporting. The margin of error for most scientific polls is 5 percentage points or fewer. With health care well behind jobs in most polls in the last two years, there should be no excuses to not make the economy the No. 1 priority in Washington, state houses and the media. The people have spoken. Will Mr. Boehner and others listen, or will they continue to misinterpret the message from the 2010 elections?

An old soul on a final journey

2011-01-03T10:23:00.018-05:00

My daughter, Stephanie Kennedy, lost a young brother last night.

Tristan Evarts (left in photo) died from brain injuries sustained in a car accident last week. He was 16. He had sports and musical interests, as well as a bright future and loving family.

Tristan’s organs were harvested at Fairfax (Va.) Hospital so that others can live. “He would have wanted that,” said Stephanie.

I didn’t know Tristan well. To me, he was the little kid who I saw briefly whenever I went to my daughter’s house in Fulton, Md., where she grew up. As a visiting divorced dad, I would often see Tristan hanging around the kitchen or shooting hoops in the driveway – barely reaching the rim -- while my daughter was gathering her things in order to spend the day with me. That seemingly was a lifetime ago.

Tristan was one of two boys who my former wife, Cindy, had in her second marriage to Bob Evarts. The other boy is Sam (right), who is now 13 and also suffering from the loss of a brother. They moved from Maryland to West Virginia several years ago, pursuing what we all want – a life more in harmony with our personal values and evolving desires.

My daughter now lives close to me, in Northern Virginia, and works at a university where she advises students not much older than Tristan. Her husband, Kevin Kennedy, was a friend to Tristan. They shared an interest in sports and both possessed the same easy-going, likable personalities. Kevin is a high school football coach and educator.

Of course, I am heartbroken over this tragedy. As a father with at least a decade of worries about my own daughter’s safety behind the wheel of a car, I am well aware of the fact that the No. 1 killer of young people is related to motor vehicle accidents. I suspect I will never stop worrying about my daughter. Steph is my only child and is an optimistic young woman with much to offer the world. I don’t want to see her broken by this loss. I am sure Tristan would feel the same and urge his older sister to pursue her dreams.

If I could wave my magic wand, I would create a world where parents never have to bury their children. I would increase the driving age to 18, improve roads to make them safer and enhance driver education for anyone seeking a license.

For the second time in the last few months, someone close to me has had to face the prospect of losing a brother. My wife’s sibling is battling leukemia. To watch my daughter and wife go through this process certainly puts my own challenges in perspective and makes my heart ache for both of them.

Tristan's mom once told me that we walk varying distances through life with various people who come and go in what appears to be a random manner. But, she added, there may not be anything random about this. Perhaps we travel together only as far as we need to in order to learn certain lessons. It’s not so much the length of time that we spend together as it is the profound timing of when we meet and when we separate, and what we gain in between. As I think about the losses and lessons in my 53 years, I believe there might be some truth to this opinion. I also believe that we might all meet up again.

I suspended this blog several months ago for reasons that I have mentioned in previous posts. However, the death of a young man – a brother to my daughter and a friend of many – should not go without mention here in this quasi journal of the last year and a half. I regret not having known Tristan better, as he was a very special person in Stephanie’s world.

During a father-daughter chat at the hospital last week, Stephanie and I came to the realization that Tristan is an old soul possibly nearing the end of a long spiritual journey. She just prayed that the journey wasn’t over quite yet. Stephanie referred to her brother as “good” several times during the week that Tristan was in a coma. That simple word, used over and over by a sister with unlimited love for her brother, speaks volumes about a West Virginia boy named Tristan. I hope this old soul is now and forever at peace.

Contributions may be made to a scholarship fund being established at Hedgesville High School in Tristan's name. Checks should be payable to Hedgesville High School with "Tristan Evarts Scholarship" clearly written in the memo. Please mail contributions to:

Attn: Don Dellinger
Hedgesville High School
109 Ridge Road North
Hedgesville, WV 25427

Click here to read more about Tristan or to sign his guest book.

Reactions from students and teachers at Tristan's high school.

Click for obituary.

SPECIAL POST

2011-01-01T22:51:00.010-05:00

My daughter's 16-year-old brother, Tristan Evarts, was in a serious car accident earlier this week. He is in critical condition at Fairfax (Va.) Hospital. He remains in a coma. Click here to read about his story or to write a message to the family. The family is requesting prayers.

Update: There is sad news on the CaringBridge web site tonight (Sunday, Jan. 2). I will post more information here on Monday, Jan. 3.

2010-08-27T00:08:00.001-04:00

Last post will be this Friday

2010-08-24T10:10:00.030-04:00

I will have written over 320 posts by this Friday. This blog has been part personal diary, part commentary on the news, with the occasional meandering into other subject matter of interest to me. Current events like the BP oil spill and the recession provided a lot of incentive to write, but I am not so certain that becoming consumed by these things is the best way to spend my free time.

Perspectives and circumstances change. If I would have written this blog five years ago, it would have reflected a slightly different mindset. If I were to return to this blog in a few years, I am certain I would question why I said this or that. I freely admit to the probability of being wrong about many things. One of the benefits of maturing is in gaining the security to admit to not knowing everything.

I thought of writing a post about a potential job that I worked very hard to secure recently but realized I had given my word to the employer to not reveal what worsening financial conditions existed at their company that at the 11th-hour prevented them from hiring me. The interview process spanned three months, a lot of probing and some travel. It was an important position at a firm that I felt comfortable with. And I believe they were comfortable with me. After 20 months of not being on a regular payroll, not getting this job was a disappointment and would have made a interesting post in terms of illustrating just how fragile the economy is and why we could be facing higher unemployment rates in the near future. My personal feelings about not landing this particular opportunity run fairly deep, almost as deeply as losing my 13-year position at USA TODAY at the start of the recession. However, life goes on. Eventually, when the right fit comes along, this latest disappointment will fade.

This blog will be suspended on Friday. That's the one-year anniversary of my first blog post. I don't want to use the word "end" because I have seen other bloggers do that, only to return to posting a few months later. I may also start another blog, so check back here occasionally for updates. I plan on keeping this blog up, so in a way, it doesn't end. You can still leave thoughtful comments, which are always appreciated. I hope this blog has at least been mildly entertaining and informative. I think it's important in a free society to have an open exchange of ideas. Whether it be through blogs, newspapers or other venues, presenting facts, opinions and analysis about important topics is what will keep this country strong.

Pondering what is next

2010-08-15T11:42:00.012-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the pros and cons of blogging. I questioned the usefulness of continuing on here. As the first year of this blog draws to a close at the end of this month, and as my life has become considerably more complicated due to my struggles to conquer the unemployment bug, I think I have my answer.

December 2008. That's when my 29-year career in journalism shockingly halted on a Wednesday afternoon in McLean, Va., not because of job performance, but because I got caught in a perfect storm. I never would have imagined that in August of 2010, the alleged "summer of economic recovery," I would still be locked out of a business that employed me, my father and grandfather for nearly a century. Nor did I know how challenging it would be to transition into another industry, particularly industries that could use good editors, writers, designers, teachers and publication/communication managers -- businesses and positions requiring my exact or similar skill set.

Regardless of the economic data and statistics, unemployment is something that I modestly assumed I would beat, even at my age (that previously wasn't thought of as over the hill), and even in a field that has been particularly hard hit by the recession. My entire newspaper career was built on versatility, so I felt like I offered lots of attractive options to employers looking for proven people. I still believe that.

Like with so many suggestions and advice that I followed up on after I was laid off, this blog was created in order to add one more skill to my already-robust resume. I was comfortable with technology, but people said that I needed an online presence to help prove it. I did all of the things required by employers in their job ads to make myself more likely to be hired, including blogging, tweeting and adjusting my writing style for this platform.

It hasn't worked. At least not yet.

Losses have mounted as I have watched time slip away. The losses are ones you would expect (money, professional relationships, etc.) and some you might not associate with joblessness. Another fall is approaching. The skies are getting darker. Another birthday just around corner. Juggling dwindling bank accounts is like brushing my teeth. Second nature. Always waiting for the next e-mail, phone call or job lead, hoping it will come from a stable employer in a good quality-of-life area of the country. Following the news intensely, wishing some political leader will have the silver bullet to finally kill this damn recession.

But there is no silver bullet. It appears any economic recovery is going to be a slow process.

Until the cosmos realign in a more favorable manner, I doubt blogging, electronic jobs boards, networking, career fairs or past experience will be able to pry me or millions of others out of this perfect storm. Extricating myself from this recession has proven to be a task that will take more than just abilities, determination or acts of Congress.

I am confident that my skills and work ethics remain top shelf and am tiring of feeling like a victim for not having a "regular" job. When this storm passes, I hope to be stronger and wiser than ever. Until then, it's important for people, particularly baby boomers, to continue to fight the good fight, piecing together whatever kind of occupational endeavors they can muster. We are not over the hill. We embrace innovation and possess some of the strongest work ethics in America. I will come out of this stronger and become a significant asset to a company or organization that can look past stereotypes and fairly assess my credentials. When that day comes, I will be appreciative. I believe my best days are still ahead and look forward to making meaningful contributions in my next part or full-time regular job.

Many of us have reached the point where the right employment fit trumps seeking a big salary. Employers should not be afraid they can't afford us. As I have said in this blog many times, wise employers will take advantage of the deep pool of talented and experienced people available now. They will see the silver lining in the current job market and slowly but surely put America back to work. At least that's my hope.

Palin losing her luster in GOP?

2010-08-12T10:32:00.009-04:00

Republicans might be wising up in at least one regard. It appears some people in the GOP have had enough of Sarah Palin. How the party of no has said yes to Palin for so long is baffling, but hopefully those days are coming to an end.

There is some evidence that Republicans are now thinking what many Americans have known since presidential candidate John McCain tragically went into the wilds of Alaska to dig up Palin as his running mate in 2008 -- Palin is simply an attention-seeking airhead with no genuine desire to promote anything but herself.

U.S. Congressman Jack Kingston recently said that Palin should mind her own business and stay out of Georgia's politics. The comments came after Palin decided to campaign for gubernatorial candidate Karen Handel, who lost to Nathan Deal in the state's GOP primary on Tuesday.

Palin, the former governor of Alaska, quit on her state when the going got tough. It appears that she saw a more lucrative future in touring the country, making speeches and promoting her book. She wasn't getting enough attention staying at home. Now we are seeing how too much exposure might be backfiring on Palin and the GOP.

"I don't know why she feels compelled to get into primaries all over the country, but fortunately Georgia voters are doing their own thinking on things like this," said Kingston. Read more.

No mosque near Ground Zero

2010-08-10T08:13:00.016-04:00

There are certain issues in life where using intellect alone isn't enough to make a proper determination. I believe the debate over the building of a mosque at Ground Zero in New York is one of those issues.

My gut more than my mind or politics tells me that this is not the time to build a towering mosque just a couple hundred yards away from where the World Trade Center went down in a radical Islamic attack on America.

Sure, our country allows many freedoms. But it also has many commonsense restrictions. You can't build a strip joint or a casino in a residential neighborhood. Zoning laws prohibit it. You can't dig up historic cemeteries to build a 7-Eleven or place a YMCA in the middle of a Civil War battlefield. There are certain things that just aren't appropriate to people who would be prone to feel the most pain.

And so it is with a mosque in lower Manhattan.

Religious freedom doesn't mean rubbing salt into wounds (whether the salt is perceived or real) -- wounds that aren't healed, as a hole in the ground still has not been filled 10 years after the 9/11 attacks. New York is a big place. This mosque can be built elsewhere. It shouldn't be constructed before new towers and memorials are built at Ground Zero. It's just one of those things that doesn't feel right, despite logical arguments made by the mayor and others in support of the mosque. Read more.

This isn't just any old mosque. It's a proposed Islamic center -- an enormous, glowing facility that doesn't blend into the area but instead dominates it.

No matter how you cut it or how politically correct one wants to sound, a bastardized version of Islam is at the core of our fight against terrorism. I say that hesitantly, not wanting to sound like a commentator for Fox News. This is a hot-button reality in a post-9/11 world. We're at war in two mostly Islamic nations, looking for terrorists with jihad on their minds. I don't agree with the wars because I believe there is a better, more cost-efficient way to fight terrorism than militarily occupying countries. Regardless, the fact remains that we're still at war with Islamic extremists.

Eliminating terrorism doesn't mean we're against Muslims or that they don't have the right to worship here. It simply indicates that there is, at the very least, a strong emotional connection between the hateful fringes of that religion and some of the problems we are facing as a country. Some of those extreme fundamentalists will undoubtedly worship at the Ground Zero mosque. Government officials charged with determining the fate of the facility need to keep that in mind. If they don't, things could get uglier. It's not a good idea to congregate and/or provoke the more unstable people on either side of this issue (Muslims and non-Muslims) -- not when there are reasonable alternatives. The city has a responsibility to safeguard its citizens, whether they are Muslim, Jewish, Christian or of no faith. Building this mosque near Ground Zero is taking an unnecessary risk and jeopardizing everyone from worshipers to passersby.

A lot of people died in the attacks of 2001. Most of the deaths came at Ground Zero. We're still paying an economic price for those acts of terrorism. Many rescue workers are suffering from illnesses that were caused by breathing the dust of the burning towers. The point is, 9/11 still remains in the hearts and minds of many people, particularly New Yorkers.

There is a large, elaborate mosque a few miles from where I live. It is set off from the road and obscured by trees. It's accessible and right off a main road near Reston, Va., but not easy to see as you drive by. It appears to have been designed with privacy in mind. It is not a welcoming place to outsiders, as security cameras and locked iron gates surround it. There are also many store-front mosques in the area that are quite visible. Needless to say, Northern Virginia has a large Muslim population. However, I am unaware of any new towering mosques in the shadow of the Pentagon. Commonsense seems to have prevailed here.

The proposal for a mosque at Ground Zero has instigated a controversy that didn't need to be stirred. Frankly, if I was a sincere follower of that religion, I wouldn't want the attention that this debate has brought. Build the mosque elsewhere and let the people of lower Manhattan remember those who died on 9/11 in the manner and environment in which they choose.

Joblessness in N. Virginia could be more in line with rest of the country

2010-08-09T22:09:00.012-04:00

"Virginia is more vulnerable to this kind of policy shift than any other state," said Stephen Fuller, director of the Center of Regional Analysis at George Mason University. "Defense spending was our strength during the downturn. It kept unemployment lower here than in most other states. It kept the economy from crashing as far as other states'. It's also our Achilles' heel."

- The Washington Post, August 9, 2010

The good times in Northern Virginia might take a significant hit if the business of defending the country goes the way of many other businesses in the last couple of years. The unemployment rate here is about half the national average. This is an area that employs hundreds of thousands of government workers and has numerous private-sector companies that do work for the Defense Department and related agencies. Many northern Virginians have simply been oblivious about the horrible job market outside of the area.

Of course, Northern Virginia hasn't been totally immune to the economic downturn. Even before the recession started, AOL (once the charm of the high-tech world) had several rounds of massive layoffs and relocated most of its remaining operations to New York. Gannett, a major newspaper and media company based in McLean, Va., laid off thousands (including me) throughout the entire company. Some restaurants have closed. Some offices remain vacant. But we have always had the government jobs. Those are good jobs that keep housing prices from crashing and continue to bring new and highly educated job-seekers to the area.

Defense and national security, in one way or another, drive most everything here -- from local coffee shops that cater to government employees to the technology corridor that does contract work for Uncle Sam. People who work for the government or related firms have been a fearless, confident group throughout the recession. But that is now in jeopardy here and down in the Norfolk region. The loss of a few thousand jobs might not send the state's economy crashing much further, but it won't help failing municipal budgets or the confidence of people already looking for jobs. Read more.

Have an oyster, everything is fine

2010-08-09T13:34:00.024-04:00

American society suffers from attention deficit disorder. We get bored easily. We want to move on to the next big thing before the old big thing is resolved. We like to interpret facts in a way that suits our beliefs and we generally don't dig too deeply when forming opinions about anything. If a Google search can't provide the answer, well, it's probably not worth pursuing.

Furthermore, if you believe that life on this planet is trending in a positive direction, then you're likely to believe that things like giant oil spills are nothing more than small speed bumps on the way to a better existence for all of mankind. Conversely, if you think that human beings will eventually do themselves in, there is plenty of evidence to back that opinion, too. Either opinion can be supported by data. Numbers, scientific polls, statistical trends can be interpreted however one sees fit.

It seems news consumers really don't want to dwell too long on any one major societal or environmental problem. It's like we have a collective overflow valve that shuts off and allows us to stick our heads in the sand whenever reality gets a tad too real or is contrary to our overall beliefs, causing us to kind of short circuit. Not dwelling on negative things could be a survival mechanism in human beings. It could also lead to our extinction. After all, we need to pay attention at times, even when it's not fun or doesn't suit our world view. Yes, worrying alone won't solve anything but nor will ignorance.

Yup, we either blow events out of proportion that have virtually no impact on society or the planet (see any Lindsay Lohan story) or embrace denial and/or unrealistic optimism when it comes to known, widespread problems like famine, genocide and unjust wars. A lot of innocent people and species perish because, well, we just didn't want to acknowledge our roles in their fate. Didn't want to accept any responsibility. Couldn't bother to watch 15 minutes of news a couple times a week in order to stay somewhat informed or vote once a year. It's easier to be entertained by things that don't really touch our lives, like Lohan's escapades. These distractions pull our collective attention away from the things that should matter more. They require no emotional or intellectual investment. Concern for oil-stained pelicans takes more humanity, the good kind, than obsessing about American Idol. It requires that we pay attention for more than 30 minutes and read something other than People.

So it is with the Gulf of Mexico and the BP oil spill disaster. As soon as the oil stopped flowing, it was like the spill never occurred in the eyes of many Americans, mostly those from outside the Gulf region, of course. Even while the oil was gushing, many people showed very little interest or concern. We are a society where if it doesn't happen in our backyard or impact our checking account, we're just not that interested. And if it drags on for too long we are certainly going to get bored and turn away. We are becoming a culture where sticking with something, seeing it through, just isn't fashionable.

Let's think positive thoughts about where all the missing oil went. Maybe an oil fairy flew down from the heavens and cleaned the sea. Heck, the president is telling people it's safe to eat seafood from the Gulf, even before the scientists have confirmed that. Do you think Mr. Obama will take responsibility for anyone who gets sick as a result of eating tainted fish now or five years from today? Why the rush to declare Gulf seafood as safe? Why rush, period? Everything except the things that are most important to our survival and evolution seem to take priority in our new, superficial culture. Stopping oil from gushing in the Gulf? No rush there. It took over three months to resolve. Getting people back to work? Nope. No urgency or sense of focus over that as bickering about nonsense now occupies most politicians' time. Yet, we keep electing childish leaders because voters aren't paying attention. We have a wealthy mayor in New York City who seemingly has forgotten about 9/11. That's another post for another day.

But there is good news. We can get a quick fix for our iPhone4's. We have EZ-Passes to get us through road tolls quickly. The prices on laptops are way down. There are energy drinks and blue pills that create all sorts of illusions to distract us from some core issues that deserve more attention. Unfortunately, none of those things will restore the Gulf of Mexico. That will take some awareness and a lengthy attention span that we no longer possess.

Meanwhile, impatient Chambers of Commerce are telling would-be tourists to come on down, the waters are fine, even as experts grapple with what impact the chemicals used to control the oil might have on the environment. Many objective scientists and scholars are saying it will be decades before it can be determined how the biggest oil spill in history has altered the Gulf. Yes, I said the biggest oil spill in history. You would think that alone would mean that folks would want to pay more a attention for a little bit longer. But no. It's on to the next big thing. The next special, self-serving interest.

Hey, the well is plugged. All is grand. While we're at it, why not call off the Congressional investigation and allow BP to get out of its agreement to pay $20 billion in claims to Gulf residents and businesses? Let's not fix anything or hold anyone accountable. Do you think the American public is really going to pay attention to a lengthy investigation of BP? Let's just get back to eating shrimp. Turn off CNN. Put down the newspaper. Those faraway wars will end, and even if they don't, who cares? Ninety percent of Americans are employed. Most people don't know a single soldier. That global warming thing is probably a silly hoax, too. So some ice melts and a few polar bears drown. Why all the worry? We'll probably have bigger waves to surf in the future. There's a positive to come out of global warming. No need to be grumpy. The economy will magically get better because...well, just because. Go on, have another Louisiana oyster.

Read another interesting opinion about where America is heading.

'Acceptable' number of casualties

2010-08-06T11:44:00.008-04:00

No matter how you interpret the data, or whether you're a glass half-full or half-empty type of person, you have to admit one thing, today's job numbers aren't causing anyone to jump for joy.

At this rate, the economy will never fully recover -- well, at least not in most of our lifetimes, and that's all that really matters for people already on the edge. There probably is going to be a new economic norm that is somewhere below where it was in previous decades. Sure, some folks will land on their feet. Some businesses will flourish, maybe even exceed pre-recession revenues. But for millions of Americans, this slow trickle of so-called good news -- this one step forward, a half step back approach to economic recovery -- means their pain is going to get worse. A lot worse. We need about 10 steps forward to even begin to get back to where we were in normal times. And that doesn't appear likely.

As I ponder the whole situation it seems to me that like in war there is some acceptable number of casualties that society is willing to live with. Whenever we as a country emerge from this war, however that is defined, a lot of people will be left behind. Whether that number will be in the hundreds of thousands or millions remains to be seen. But it does seem obvious at this point that many folks who were previously in the middle class will not be returning to that status. As long as that number doesn't exceed a certain percentage, most Americans will go about their lives just fine, happy to see a trickle of good employment/economic news each month. Happy that they weren't the ones who got shut out from the recovery.

Rodriguez earning his pinstripes

2010-08-05T15:28:00.009-04:00

Alex Rodriguez hit his 600th home run yesterday, an accomplishment only a handful of players have achieved. He did it in New York, on his home field at Yankee Stadium. Yet, the hoopla around the homer was fairly restrained, particularly considering this is the age of the media hyping everything, whether events warrant it or not.

I suspect that even though Rodriguez finally won a World Series last year and came through for the Yanks in the clutch in the playoffs, he probably still isn't considered a "real Yankee" by some fans. Add in the controversy surrounding his steroid use before joining the Yankees, and this milestone home run was bound to lose a bit of its luster, even in the Big Apple where sports stars are front-page news.

I enjoy watching A-Rod play. For a fairly big guy, he's graceful both at the plate and in the field. He's not a cartoon character like sluggers Barry Bonds or Sammy Sosa were. In addition to hitting the ball over the fence, Rodriguez hits for average, catches the ball and has a good arm. He can even steal a base. This all makes him a candidate to be considered one of the all-time greats, more in line with Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle than the less-complete Bonds or Sosa.

However, A-Rod may never be an absolute fan favorite in the Bronx. First, he is not a home-grown Yankee like Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera or Jorge Posada. He hit most of his home runs while playing for Texas and Seattle. I won't deduct too many popularity points for that because Reggie Jackson, Greg Nettles, Catfish Hunter, Babe Ruth and other beloved stars also played elsewhere before coming to New York. But let's face it, players who came up through the farm system do have an edge in Yankee lore.

Rodriguez never got the personality thing right. He doesn't seem genuine. He seems more suited for Los Angeles. New Yorkers tend to like authenticity. His new strategy of only talking minimally to the media hasn't endeared him to the public but at least he hasn't shot himself in the foot lately. Look, Mantle was a creep. I met him and I wasn't impressed. Everyone knows the stories of Mantle's drinking problems. Thurman Munson was gruff and crude, according to my father who had encounters with him off the field. But those guys were also gritty, and New Yorkers appreciate guys who will get dirty, brawl on the field and shout at the opposing bench. No one did those things better than Lou Piniella and Billy Martin -- two of my favorite Yankees.

Alex stays clean and pretty. Other than a throw-down against the Red Sox a few years ago, A-Rod just plays ball. And that's fine, too. As long as he keeps hitting home runs and turning double plays, he'll move up in Yankee status. It's just going to take some more time.

I suspect Rodriquez will end up with a monument at Yankee Stadium. His number 13 may be retired. A generation who never saw Martin manage, Mantle with knee braces blasting towering homers or Ron Guidry blowing away batters might think more of A-Rod than fans my age do. That's OK. Every generation tends to think their stars shine the brightest. I will add, however, that being a true Yankee fan also means knowing at least something about the many fantastic players who roamed the outfield and ran the bases long before ESPN, free agency and color television. Being a true Yankee fan means passing down that knowledge of guys like Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford to the next generation. Take note of Jeter, Rodriguez and Rivera because one day you'll be telling your kids and grandchildren about them.

A pause for a blog update

2010-08-03T11:46:00.009-04:00

This is month 12 of Calvacca Blog. When I started the blog, it was something to do -- a way to pass time in between playing guitar, searching for work and taking walks to clear my mind. A way to stay connected to the news and maintain whatever writing skills that I might possess. I have learned some technical skills like how to embed video into posts and adjust the HTML coding to make them fit, created links and utilized counters that track the number of visitors to the website. I know the identity of most of my core readers. They are family and friends. Some, however, remain anonymous but are fairly loyal followers. Others just take a peek now and then or are one-time visitors who did a Google search on some particular topic that I happened to have written about. I don't know how many people from foreign countries have come to this blog, but I am guessing it's at least three dozen. My numbers are small compared with the big-time blogs, but drawing a huge audience has never been my intent.

I have hammered away on topics that are important to me. The unemployment situation hits particularly close to home, not just because of my own situation, but because of others in my life who are either out of work or afraid they are going to lose their jobs. I realize joblessness doesn't always make for compelling reading. In fact, I am almost certain people avoid this blog like the plague because they don't want to be reminded of certain realities in my life or in the economy as a whole that might eventually impact their lives. I don't curse. I don't write about celebrity nonsense or show sensational photos. Therefore, the odds of this blog ever going viral are pretty much zilch.

There are very few warm and fuzzy tales or literary moments of note on this blog. While some bloggers focus on one subject, I've tried to remain open to writing about various issues that come up in the news or in my own life. I have tried to write these commentaries in a straight-forward, narrative style.

Besides it being somewhat educational and helping to pass the time on some lonely days, blogging hasn't been all that I expected it to be. With that said, I am not certain what expectations I had 12 months ago. With millions of bloggers across the world, one isn't likely to be discovered here without a lot of marketing. Advertising and sales aren't my thing. One blogger isn't going to change the world, although collectively there is some evidence that blogging matters in shifting opinions and policy. So in that way, I do feel that I am minimally contributing to society. Of course, that doesn't pay the bills.

For the most part, though, bloggers are voices in the night. Some are nut jobs. Others provide a lot of food for thought not seen in the mainstream media. Most struggle to build a following. A lot of bloggers are former journalists, like me, who lost their jobs in the recession and can't find their way back into a newsroom for whatever reason.

I am not sure where this blog is going as the one-year anniversary approaches. Lately, I feel that I have said everything I can say about the economy, the state of politics, the world in general and the condition of my old profession. Until things change, what else can I rant about or applaud?

The blog could use a lot more reader participation, but I have had to tighten filters on the comments because of the typical Internet stream of lunatics that want to leave inappropriate remarks. I don't use foul language or make threats on this site, but apparently those who comment don't have those same values. Seeing how ugly and limited people can be has been one of the negatives of blogging. Doesn't inspire much confidence in my fellow human beings. But that aside, blogging has been a mostly positive experience in a rather negative year. I have no regrets.

A more patriotic approach needed to fix what ails America's economy

2010-07-30T10:58:00.014-04:00

Everyone from Rush Limbaugh to some of my friends like to point out that it is not the role of businesses to provide jobs. In normal times, I would agree.

These are not normal times.

Look, during past wars, businesses refitted their production lines to serve the military. They stopped making goods for civilians in order to supply our soldiers with ammo and other items needed to successfully defend our country. Their missions changed from making profits via the private sector to helping to uphold our way of life. From housewives to Hollywood, everyone was behind the war efforts because losing was not an outcome that served any American's interest.

What I am about to say is the most important point I have made in over 300 posts. The economic crisis we're in might not feel entirely like a national emergency but it is. We should not wait until the enemy is deeply entrenched in every neighborhood across this land before fighting back with everything we have.

Businesses, particularly profitable ones, have a new responsibility and it includes creating jobs just as it involved making tanks instead of cars in World War II. It is no longer acceptable for anyone to say it's not the role of any entity to create jobs. It also isn't constructive to continue to lie about why so many workers were laid off in the first place. Too many corporations over reacted to the recession and exploited millions of their most vulnerable workers, making the recession far worse than it needed to be. That is a fact. It is time for corporations that went too far to make up for their part in bringing down the entire economy, not to mention the personal lives of many good people.

It's the responsibility of government, small and big businesses to work together to restore the American economy. Schools, vocational training centers and banks willing to make loans can also play a positive role. Everything and everyone should take responsibility in some manner, including bloggers and the media.

A true recovery can't happen until unemployment is reduced. We need to throw out the old playbook and figure out a way to get people back to work. That can't be done by businesses pointing the finger at government and government pointing back. It can't be done with the level of partisan politics we're experiencing or the continuing decline in education.

America needs some out-of-the-box thinking that doesn't rely on stereotypes about the role of businesses in a capitalistic society. We would be speaking German if that sort of thinking existed in the past. To say that employers are too afraid to hire because of the uncertainty about the economy is probably true but it's also a trap. It's a vortex that no one can escape. A circular argument that pushes us closer and closer to the edge. Businesses were not exempt in contributing to past war efforts. Why are they now washing their hands of any responsibility during one of the most profound emergencies we have ever faced?

Risk is involved in the operation of any business during up and down times. Those without the stomach for risk probably shouldn't start a company. The excuse that hiring is too risky now is just that -- an excuse. While it might be a justifiable excuse, it is nonetheless an unproductive claim. Profitable companies can't lean on that crutch until the good times return. There will be no good times without companies showing some confidence in America. Government can help lessen those risks, but can't eliminate them. It's going to take brave corporate leaders to chart a new course -- a course that navigates us to safer waters. The profits will return and the stockholders will get paid, but for now, we need a fresh, less selfish approach to doing business.

The fact remains that the private sector provides most jobs in most democracies. With that privilege comes the occasional responsibility to chip in, to do right by society, to give back. Companies hold fund-raising drives for the United Way and other charities, now they need to do a little more for the benefit of the entire country.

We have a domestic war going on. The further collapse of the economy will mean the eventual collapse of a nation. History has proven time and time again that countries without viable economies will implode. Ask anyone on the front lines of this war about the seriousness of our economic woes. They will describe scenarios that might seem unimaginable to most people at this stage of the war.

While I empathize with anyone trying to keep their business afloat with all of the current obstacles in their way, I must say that the time has come for the bigger, more profitable employers to show some faith and start becoming part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Others will follow. I believe in momentum. Businesses that become leaders in this cause will motivate others and stimulate the economy in ways the government can't.

Being frozen with fear while sitting on profits is no longer an option. This is an emergency. A war. All hands are needed on deck. A sense of patriotism that trumps greed needs to emerge, just as it did in past wars. We have to get away from this stuffing-cash-in-the-mattress mentality. Continuing to debate roles and responsibilities just prolongs the conflict and jeopardizes the very thing that most companies and individual citizens treasure -- freedom.

Read what others say about why corporations got rid of so many workers during the recession (far too many in the estimation of some) and why companies are refusing to hire despite bulging profits: "A Sin and a Shame"

Where will we hide the homeless?

2010-07-30T09:08:00.006-04:00

There is a proposal in Hawaii to ship the state's growing homeless population to the mainland.

As the economy continues suffer and jobs remain scarce, homeless people are showing up in places usually reserved for tourists. Some state officials believe it would be more prudent to spend $300 on a one-way plane ticket for each homeless person than to pay $35,000 a year to shelter and feed them. Furthermore, the state has concerns that the sight of homeless people roaming plush beaches will hurt tourism, which overwhelmingly supports Hawaii's economy.

Welcome to the future of America, where homeless people are no longer confined to inner-city soup kitchens and out-of-sight trash dumpsters. The homeless will be everywhere and will include educated people who were living in 3-bedroom suburban homes for most of their lives. The new homeless will look different. They'll be your grandparents and former colleagues. They will be well spoken and mentally coherent. Many will be young adults who couldn't navigate their way into a failing job market despite possessing multiple college degrees. They won't be content to freeze in a back alley in a decaying Detroit neighborhood. They will migrate to places where they can survive in the elements.

Where will we ship these people?

As distasteful as it might be for some folks to picture the new homeless camped out in the parking lot of Whole Foods in suburbia, it's going to happen because of our inability to extricate ourselves from the economic mess we're in. Some people won't even acknowledge how severe the unemployment problem has become. The Rush Limbaughs of the world think there are plenty of good jobs for anyone willing to work.

While those who are still sailing along, bathing in a kind of blissful ignorance, tend to not think about these things, I am here to tell you that current and former middle class people can't continue to drain their savings forever without ending up on the streets. They need jobs. They need to restore their nest eggs.

Tourist areas, tidy suburbs and other places that are usually shielded from society's ills will be inundated by a new wave of homelessness in the next decade if the employment situation doesn't improve dramatically in the next year or two.

Read more about Hawaii's proposal.

Fences rarely provide solutions

2010-07-29T17:08:00.010-04:00

Before there was an Arizona law on illegal immigration, there was a Manassas and Prince William County, Va., law that I have written about in a earlier post. In my opinion, and the opinion of a federal judge in Phoenix yesterday, there are aspects to these local laws that are unconstitutional. I might add, on a humanitarian level, there are also unfair elements to these types of laws born out of desperation to solve an undeniable problem that impacts many communities across the country.

However, I've been in Manassas several times in recent weeks and there is no denying that an illegal-alien problem still exists there, maybe more so than most areas around the state. Some estimates claim that illegal immigration costs Virginia more than $1 billion a year. I imagine the state of Arizona is facing an even bigger bill. Small towns in particular, like Manassas, simply can't afford these kinds of expenses.

Something does have to be done to guard our borders. That's just commonsense. We are living in the worst economic times of our lives. Just from an economic standpoint, moderating the flow of people into this country, regardless of where they come from, seems fairly prudent. We must fight this recession on several fronts and reduce expenses where we can. War and illegal immigration are just two areas where we could save billions.

It is important to look at immigration (legal and illegal) as a economic issue and not a race or emotional debate. In better times, there were some economic benefits to having some illegal immigrants here, working for minimum wage and spending money in various communities. Those times have probably passed with the loss of jobs. Many of those immigrants are still here and are unemployed and not circulating money back into the economy.

The federal government is charged with protecting our borders, issuing work visas and should not be undermined by the states or municipalities. But the feds should also understand that we can't continue to give jobs away to whomever wants to come over here, whether they come legally or illegally, whether they work for minimum wage or hold white-collar jobs. There aren't enough jobs for everyone. We have to shut off the faucet and allow jobs to catch up with the population.

Leaders in Washington should act soon so that states that are already running huge deficits don't have to add to the red ink by providing services to folks who aren't here legally. Police need a clear set of rules to work under in addressing illegal aliens -- rules that don't endanger them or inflame the situation. Employers must also play by the rules when hiring workers. And we all need to bite the bullet and accept that our veggies and fruit might cost a bit more if we really want to solve the problem of illegal workers.

No fence along the Southwest border is going to solve all our problems. Immigration regulations in general need a major overhaul. We need laws that allow people in under a fair system while protecting the economic and security interests of America. Times change and smart legislation needs to reflect that. To do nothing is to ask for more trouble, more court battles, more bad laws and more expenses we can no longer absorb.

All eyes in D.C. turn to the Redskins

2010-07-28T17:37:00.007-04:00

The Washington Redskins will open training camp tomorrow in Ashburn, Va., just a few miles down the road from where I live.

Albert Haynesworth, the only Redskin player to not attend any of new head coach Mike Shanahan's "voluntary" practices and workouts, will be the focal point of the first few days. The all-pro defensive lineman is apparently in shape but still needs to pass a conditioning test before stepping on the field. Haynesworth was often injured and fatigued in his debut season with the 'Skins last year and has asked to be traded in the off-season. However, it appears the disgruntled 100-million-dollar man isn't going anywhere, at least for the time being.

Donovan McNabb, the old Eagle quarterback turned Redskin in the off season, will also get a fair amount of attention in camp. Some of his Philadelphia coaches said the QB still has a couple very good years left. If that is the case, I wonder why the Eagles traded McNabb to a division rival?

Running back Clinton Portis is looking for a bounce-back year and has plenty of competition motivating him. Shanahan has brought in a host of veteran backs. Portis has taken a beating behind a poor offensive line for the past couple of seasons. It seems unlikely that he will run with the same vigor that he showed while he played for Shanahan in Denver eight years ago.

Washington is a football town. You can't get away from it even if you wanted. It's actually kind of nice, especially when you consider that some NFL markets are having trouble filling their stadiums. Regardless of how bad the team has been in recent years, Washington always supports the Redskins. Football always brings a welcomed distraction from the world's problems.