Lincoln's Grave Warning Realized

...a letter from President Abraham Lincoln to William F Elkins on 21 November 1864:

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country...corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."

Our American Objectives

"Our national goals must be to rejuvenate the domestic economy; transfer the economic basis of our nation from consumptive to productive; recapitalize education and the technologies industries; achieve complete energy independence; move towards renewable energy sources;
restore public confidence in the government's ability to undertake large national infrastructure projects, and re-assert its right to set goals and policies to ensure those projects proceed smoothly; define the overarching standards for a reconstructed America including a federal review of the building and planning codes now in use, and probably the writing of new mandates that set out 21st-century standards and priorities for energy use, urban and transportation planning, and environmental design, which once put into law and accepted into general use, will be very difficult to change; commit funding for a massive 10- or 20-year program that will upgrade or replace failing components of America's infrastructure as the nation is broke (as it was in FDR's day) and this kind of spending needs to be seen as the long-term investment in our economic future that it is; restore a fair, honest, broad-based system of public contracting that will put large numbers of Americans to work on these new projects (and write the new rules in a way that ensures that the firms doing the most innovative work don't have to compete with unfair behemoth corporations like Halliburton and Lockheed for the lion's share of the funding) so that once there is a healthy, competitive construction industry that knows how to build sustainable projects—and is relying on the government to keep it in business—we will get a political constituency that will fight to ensure that the rebuilding will continue for the next several decades, regardless of what political party is in power; use the forces of globalization and information to strengthen and expand existing democratic alliances and created new ones; employ these alliances to destroy terrorist networks and establish new international security structures; lead, through our historic principles, on international cooperative efforts in spreading economic opportunity and democratic liberties, nation building, counter-prolification, and optimum environmental protection and safeguards; and cherish, honor, and protect our history and traditions of liberty and freedoms domestically particularly with respect to the Bill of Rights."

"The renewed social contract for America with its middle class and poor must:
  • Raise the minimum wage still higher and on a regular basis. It has fallen far behind increases in inflation since the 1970s, and that affects higher level wages as well.
  • Encourage living-wage programs by local governments. Governments can demand that their contractors and suppliers pay well above the minimum wage. There is substantial evidence that this does not result in an undue loss of jobs.
  • Enforce the labor laws vigilantly. Minimum-wage and maximum-hour laws are violated to a stunning degree. American workers shouldn't be forced by their employers to understate the number of hours worked or be locked in the warehouse so they can't leave on time. Workers often make only $2 and $3 an hour.
  • Unions are not seeking a free pass to organize secretly when they advocate for open check-offs on cards to approve of a union vote. They are seeking to organize without persistent and often illegal management interference. Penalties for illegally deterring such organizing are so light, it makes little sense for management not to pursue strategies to stop organizing even at the cost of prosecution.
  • Request that trading partners develop serious environmental standards and worker-protection laws. This is good for them, bringing a progressive revolution and a robust domestic market to their countries. It is good for America, which will be able to compete on a more level playing field.
  • Demand that the president, governors and mayors speak up about unconscionable executive salaries and low wages. The influence from the top cannot be underestimated. A president who looks the other way sends a strong signal to business. A president who demands responsible treatment of workers will get a response. Business does not like such attention.
  • These measures should be accompanied by serious investment in modernized infrastructure and energy alternatives, which can create millions of domestic jobs that pay good salaries. It should also be accompanied by a policy that supports a lower dollar -- contrary to Rubinomics -- in order to stimulate manufacturing exports again. Accomplishing this may require a new system of semi-fixed currencies across the globe. The unabashed high-dollar policy of the past twenty years has led to imbalances around the world that have contributed fundamentally to US overindebtedness.
  • And finally, the nation needs more balance on the part of the Federal Reserve between subduing inflation and creating jobs. Americans can live with inflation above 2 percent a year. There is no academic evidence to support a 2 percent annual target, although the Fed has made this its informal target."

Monetary Cost of Iraq War

24 August 2008

Recent News Articles and Observations

Here are some news items and reports over the last week that caught my attention and some brief reactions to them. The big news stories of the last week were Tropical Storm Fay and its devastating destruction across much of Florida; the continued Russian military incursion into the nation of Georgia and the likely result of a Russian presence in the small Caucusus Mountains state longterm in the face of a powerless reaction from the US and other democracies across the globe; and the sudden sharp decline in oil prices in the last six weeks with prices nearing $ 110 per barrel which is down about 25 % from its peak of over $147 in early July.


A. Andrew Bacevich on American Policy, Recent History, and the Future
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Bacevich is an esteemed policy expert, retired US Army officer, academician and educator, and author of several books, the latest being The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. His comments are quite thought provoking and indeed a strong warning about what our future holds.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08152008/transcript1.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-bacevich24-2008aug24,0,3736853.story
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*****
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B. The Summer of 2008 Winds Down
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The great simmering dissatisfaction enrapting most, if not all, conscious and awake Americans is superbly capsulized in this essay in the Boston Globe by James Carroll. Some of us did accomplish and enjoy some fun and accomplishments on a personal level in many places, but it was not nearly enough by any measure and was certainly offset by the deep troubling circumstances we see our nation in on so many levels. Summer 2008 will be remembered by many as being unpleasant for the most part, incomplete in many ways, and one filled with angst, disgust, and sadness towards the numerous negative larger forces now underway.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/08/18/11048/

*****
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C. World Affairs Take a Sharp Turn for the Worse for United States
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The last several weeks have seen a number of noteworthy foreign policy setbacks to say the least for the United States and its interests. The many years of misguided Bush junta policy and overall incompetence are showing up in a number of places. Add in the Olympics where China put on a spectacular problem free workmanship demonstration of Authoritarian Capitalism, and the news internationally has been grim for the US. The only solace is the continued sharp decline in the number of deaths of American troops in Iraq and the early discussions that seem to set a timetable for an overall withdrawal of American forces from Iraq finally after many wasted years, lives, and money.
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http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/08/23/11103/
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*****
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D. Greenland Glacier Nears Collapse
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Another week, another story about a massive body of ice largely unchanged for tens of thousands of years experiencing a rapid change with a resulting collapse soon. This time its on the north coast of Greenland. The melt that is undergoing across Greenland is troubling as this kind of land based ice melt that will contribute to a rise in sea level. Most longterm observers feel the melt is occurring at a frightening pace. Add this on top of reports that indicate it is likely the Arctic Ocean's icecap will set a record for being the smallest recorded in history when the melting season peaks in mid - September.
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http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1834956,00.html?xid=feed-rss-netzero
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*****
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E. Primary Results in Colorado and Wyoming
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The last two weeks saw the conducting of primaries in both Colorado and Wyoming. First up was the Centennial State. There were a couple of surprises as Jerod Polis used his vast wealth to basically buy the nomination and an all but assured election of the 2nd Congressional seat which is based in Boulder being vacated by Mark Udall who is running for the US Senate. Polis defeated the far better choice, former state legislator Joan Fitz-Gerald, by a margin larger than expected. In the other Colorado congressional primary elections, the name recognition, military record, and political experience carried Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman in the 6th Congressional District as the successor to Tom Tancredo, and the citizens of El Paso County made a tremendously poor choice to retain Doug Lamborn as their congressman in the 5th district rather than selecting Jeff Crank or Bentley Rayburn. Crank would have beaten Lamborn if Rayburn had opted not to run. Thus, tt appears Colorado will have Democrat representation in Congress for the '09-10 session in Districts 1, 2, 3, and 7 with GOP representatives in Districts 5 and 6. District 4 looks to be a tossup at this point in the contest between irksome incumbent Marilyn Musgrave and challenger Betsy Markey for the seat that represents northern and eastern Colorado.
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In the Wyoming primary that was held this last week, dogmatic former Cheyenne legislator Cynthia Lummis was chosen on the GOP side to vie for the state's sole congressional seat in a contest to succeed the retiring and ineffective Barbara Cubin against Jackson Democrat Gary Trauner. Nick Carter from Casper was selected by Democrats to face Casper appointee John Barrasso for one US Senate seat being contested. For the other US Senate seat, newcomer Democrat Chris Rothfuss, a chemistry professor at the Universityof Wyoming in Laramie, is running against the incumbent and unaccomplished Mike Enzi of Gillette whose two terms in the Senate have been marked without any noteworthy results for Wyoming citizens. The Wyoming US House seat very well could go Democratic, but it is likely both Senate seats will stay in GOP hands.
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The now ongoing negative advertising on television and radio is already to the point where its revolting, silly, and disrespectful to any citizen who has even a morsel of a brain.
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*****
Posted by "The Cowboy Professor" or "THE Big J !" at 02:27

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