Lincoln's Grave Warning Realized

Eight Principles of Uncivilization

by Paul Kingsnorth and Dougald Hine

‘We must unhumanise our views a little, and become conﬁdent
As the rock and ocean that we were made from.’

We live in a time of social, economic and ecological unravelling. All around us are signs that our whole way of living is already passing into history. We will face this reality honestly and learn how to live with it.

We reject the faith which holds that the converging crises of our times can be reduced to a set of‘problems’ in need of technological or political ‘solutions’.

We believe that the roots of these crises lie in the stories we have been telling ourselves. We intend to challenge the stories which underpin our civilisation: the myth of progress, the myth of human centrality, and the myth of our separation from ‘nature’. These myths are more dangerous for the fact that we have forgotten they are myths.

We will reassert the role of story-telling as more than mere entertainment. It is through stories that we weave reality.

Humans are not the point and purpose of the planet. Our art will begin with the attempt to step outside the human bubble. By careful attention, we will reengage with the non-human world.

We will celebrate writing and art which is grounded in a sense of place and of time. Our literature has been dominated for too long by those who inhabit the cosmopolitan citadels.

We will not lose ourselves in the elaboration of theories or ideologies. Our words will be elemental. We write with dirt under our ﬁngernails.

The end of the world as we know it is not the end of the world full stop. Together, we will ﬁnd the hope beyond hope, the paths which lead to the unknown world ahead of us.

The Dark Mountain Manifesto

(excerpt)
Walking on lava

The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilisation
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Those who witness extreme social collapse at first hand seldom describe any deep revelation about the truths of human existence. What they do mention, if asked, is their surprise at how easy it is to die.

The pattern of ordinary life, in which so much stays the same from one day to the next, disguises the fragility of its fabric. How many of our activities are made possible by the impression of stability that pattern gives? So long as it repeats, or varies steadily enough, we are able to plan for tomorrow as if all the things we rely on and don’t think about too carefully will still be there. When the pattern is broken, by civil war or natural disaster or the smaller-scale tragedies that tear at its fabric, many of those activities become impossible or meaningless, while simply meeting needs we once took for granted may occupy much of our lives.

What war correspondents and relief workers report is not only the fragility of the fabric, but the speed with which it can unravel. As we write this, no one can say with certainty where the unravelling of the financial and commercial fabric of our economies will end. Meanwhile, beyond the cities, unchecked industrial exploitation frays the material basis of life in many parts of the world, and pulls at the ecological systems which sustain it.

Precarious as this moment may be, however, an awareness of the fragility of what we call civilisation is nothing new.

‘Few men realise,’ wrote Joseph Conrad in 1896, ‘that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief in the safety of their surroundings.’ Conrad’s writings exposed the civilisation exported by European imperialists to be little more than a comforting illusion, not only in the dark, unconquerable heart of Africa, but in the whited sepulchres of their capital cities. The inhabitants of that civilisation believed ‘blindly in the irresistible force of its institutions and its morals, in the power of its police and of its opinion,’ but their confidence could be maintained only by the seeming solidity of the crowd of like-minded believers surrounding them. Outside the walls, the wild remained as close to the surface as blood under skin, but the city-dweller was no longer equipped to face it directly.

The remainder of the essay can be read online: Dark Mountain manifesto.

Paul is the author of One No, Many Yeses and Real England. He was deputy editor of The Ecologist between 1999 and 2001. His first poetry collection, Kidland, is forthcoming from Salmon Poetry. His website is www.paulkingsnorth.net

Dougald writes the blog Changing the World (and other excuses for not getting a proper job). He is a former BBC journalist and has written for and edited various online and offline magazines. His website is www.dougald.co.uk

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Editorial Notes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The "Eight principles of uncivilisation" are expanded in the Dark Mountain manifesto (also available as PDF or purchased as a limited-edition, hand-stitched pamphlet.

See the site for the blog and information about their upcoming festival May 28-30.

Several Energy Bulletin contributors are on their Blogroll, including John Michael Greer, Sharon Astyk, Rob Hopkins and Dmitry Orlov. Also mentioned are Wendell Berry and Ivan Illich.

George Monbiot recently wrote a column in the Guardian about Dark Mountain Project: I share their despair, but I'm not quite ready to climb the Dark Mountain.

On Common Dreams, Robert C. Koehler wrote a related piece: Dark Green.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original article available here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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."

The Continuing Case for The Second Bill of Rights for All American Citzens

...from Michael Lind on Salon.com on 11 January 2010 ....

The Case for Economic Rights

FDR said it and it holds 66 years later: There are benefits and opportunities every American should expect to enjoy

Three score and six years ago, the greatest president of the 20th century gave one of his greatest speeches. On Jan. 11, 1944, in a State of the Union address that deserves to be ranked with Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" and King's "I Have a Dream" speech, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for recognition of a "Second Bill of Rights." According to FDR:

"This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights -- among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty. As our nation has grown in size and stature, however -- as our industrial economy expanded -- these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness."

Roosevelt did not argue that economic rights had superseded basic, old-fashioned political and civil rights. The argument of authoritarians and totalitarians that economic rights are more important than non-economic liberty was abhorrent to him. Instead, with the examples of the fascist and communist regimes of his time in mind, he argued that the purpose of economic rights was to support and reinforce, not replace, civil and political liberties:

"We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. 'Necessitous men are not free men.' People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all -- regardless of station, race, or creed."

President Roosevelt was not promoting economic rights that were necessarily enforceable in court, but rather economic benefits and opportunities that every American should expect to enjoy by virtue of citizenship in our democratic republic. Many of the rights he identified have been secured by programs with bipartisan support. These include:

"the right to a good education" (the G.I. Bill, student loans, Pell Grants, Head Start, federal aid to K-12 schools) and

"the right of every family to a decent home" (federally subsidized home loans and tax breaks for home ownership). But even before the global economic crisis, the U.S. fell short when it came to full employment --

"the right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation"

-- and a living wage --

"the right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation."

Roosevelt's vision was controversial at the time and is contested today. When it comes to providing a safety net for Americans, there are three distinct paradigms, which I would describe as economic citizenship, welfare corporatism and faith-based charity.

Supporters of faith-based charity among "theoconservatives" such as Marvin Olasky argue that modern social insurance like Social Security and Medicare was a mistake. The medieval British and colonial American systems of relying on religious institutions to care for the sick and poor should have been continued and built upon, with government subsidies to "faith-based institutions."

The secular business-class right, however, has shown little interest in faith-based charity, perhaps because it is difficult for rent-seeking bankers, brokers and other private sector actors to extract huge amounts of money from tax-exempt church hospitals and church soup lines. The right's preferred alternative to the progressive vision of economic citizenship is what I call "welfare corporatism." Whereas economic citizenship views protection against sickness, unemployment and old age as entitlements of citizens in a democratic republic, welfare corporatism treats these necessities of life as commodities like groceries or appliances, to be purchased in a market by people who are thought of as consumers, not citizens.

Let's contrast ideal versions of the two approaches. In the ideal America of economic citizenship, there would be a single, universal, integrated, lifelong system of economic security including

single-payer healthcare,

Social Security, unemployment payments and

family leave

paid for by a single contributory payroll tax (which could be made progressive in various ways or reduced by combination with other revenue streams). Funding for all programs would be entirely nationalized, although states could play a role in administration. There would still be supplementary private markets in health and retirement products and services for the affluent, but most middle-class Americans would continue to rely primarily on the simple, user-friendly public system of economic security. As Steven Attewell points out, the Social Security Act of 1935 was intended not merely to provide public pensions for the elderly but to establish a framework for a comprehensive system of social insurance corresponding to President Roosevelt's "right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment." Attewell writes: "We need to go back to the original drawing board -- the Social Security Act of 1935 -- to finish the job it began and create a truly universal and comprehensive social welfare state."

In the utopia of welfare corporatism, today's public benefits -- Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance and, in a few states, public family leave programs -- would be abolished and replaced by harebrained schemes dreamed up by libertarian ideologues at corporate-funded think tanks like the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation. Tax subsidies would be funneled to insurance companies, brokers and banks. Social Security would be replaced by a bewildering miscellany of tax-favored personal savings accounts. Medicare would be replaced by a dog's breakfast of tax subsidies for purchasing health insurance and personal medical savings accounts. Unemployment insurance would give way to yet another Rube Goldberg scheme of tax-favored unemployment insurance accounts. As for family leave -- well, if you're not wealthy enough to pay out of pocket for a nanny for your child or a nurse for your parent, you're out of luck.

The strongest case for economic citizenship instead of welfare corporatism is economic. Economic citizenship is more efficient and cheaper in the long run, because the government need only meet costs, while subsidized private providers must make a profit. The Democratic and Republican supporters of welfare corporatism justify their system of massive subsidies for for-profit healthcare and retirement security with the claim that market competition will keep down prices. If only that were true. Competitive markets are probably impossible to create, in the highly regulated insurance sector and the highly concentrated financial sector that sells private retirement goods and services.

It follows that a policy of subsidizing oligopolies and monopolies, via government subsidies to consumers, in the absence of government-imposed price controls, is a recipe for cost inflation, as the providers jack up their prices, sending the consumers back to Congress to demand even more public subsidies. By its very nature, welfare corporatism funnels public resources, in the form of tax breaks, to rent-seeking, predatory firms in the FIRE (finance, insurance, real estate) sector, with ever-swelling dead-weight costs on the economy. Welfare corporatism equals corporate welfare.

Unfortunately, most progressives have failed to make the case against the libertarian myth of market competition in the provision of social insurance. All too many, including President Obama, have made the too-clever-by-half argument that the public option would keep prices down by means of market competition. In other words, the center-left has borrowed a bogus argument about competition from right-wing free-market fundamentalism in order to defend a token public program that ceased to be of any interest once Obama and the Democrats in Congress ruled that Americans with employer-provided insurance would be banned from joining the public option. When you're reduced to parroting the opposition's erroneous theories, in the process of begging for a slight modification of the opposition's pet program, you clearly don't have the nerve or the patience to play the long game in politics.

In a response to one of my earlier columns, Will Marshall wonders how I can dare to criticize the legacy of Bill Clinton, a Democrat. My reasons should be clear by now. I am not a partisan Democratic operative focused on winning the next election. I am interested only in strengthening the republic through a gradual expansion of economic citizenship in the tradition of Franklin Roosevelt's Second Bill of Rights. If this means criticizing Democratic presidents who expand welfare corporatism instead of economic citizenship, so be it.

As part of his opportunistic policy of triangulation between his own party and the opposition, Bill Clinton joined the Republicans in a three-pronged assault on New Deal economic citizenship. He and the Republican Congress abolished Aid to Families With Dependent Children, a flawed and unpopular means-tested program for the poor that should have been reformed as a national program rather than turned over to the states as the neo-Confederate right insisted. Instead of piecemeal expansion of single-payer healthcare, Clinton pushed a version of employer-based welfare corporatism plus subsidies that came out of the playbook of moderate Republicans like Nixon. And we now know that Clinton secretly agreed to support Newt Gingrich's drive to partly privatize Social Security, in return for dedicating the federal government's imaginary future surpluses to what was left of Social Security. In 2005, Will Marshall argued in favor of private accounts, on the grounds that they would soften up Americans for cuts in Social Security: "If today's workers start saving and investing more in stocks and bonds, the returns they earn would allow us to trim their Social Security benefits later, without reducing their overall standard of living."

While George W. Bush pushed for partial privatization of Social Security, he failed because of massive public opposition. But Bush and the Republican majority in Congress succeeded in enacting the Social Security drug benefit, a flawed but genuine expansion of economic citizenship. Clinton is the only president to have successfully supported the destruction of a New Deal entitlement, while Bush presided over the greatest expansion of the Rooseveltian entitlement system since Lyndon Johnson passed Medicare.

For his part, Barack Obama, like Bill Clinton, rejected single-payer in favor of a moderately conservative welfare corporatist approach to healthcare reform. In contrast, Obama's proposal for student loan reform, an idea discussed in the Clinton years, would move in the right direction, away from welfare corporatism and toward economic citizenship, by replacing subsidized third-party lenders with direct government provision of student loans to needy college students.

Parties are coalitions of interest groups, they are not public philosophies, and presidents, great and minor, are and have to be opportunists. In contrast, reformers only have a chance of succeeding if they stick to their basic principles and keep their eyes on the prize. Progressives should support any politician, Democrat or Republican, who expands economic citizenship to the detriment of welfare corporatism, and they should oppose any politician, Democrat or Republican, who expands welfare corporatism to the detriment of economic citizenship.

Any more questions?

16 January 2009

The 53 Biggest Dirtbags and Scumbuckets in America Today

...From the website Center for American Progress (first 43); and the website marketplace dot com (final 10) by Thomas M Kostigen; both on Friday 16 January '09...

The 43 Who Helped Make Bush The Worst Ever

Next week, "change is coming to America," as President George W. Bush wraps up his tenure as one of the worst American presidents ever. He wasn't able to accomplish such an ignominious feat all by himself, however; he had a great deal of help along the way. The Progress Report heralds the conclusion of the Bush 43 presidency by bringing you our list of the top 43 worst Bush appointees. Did we miss anyone? Who should have been ranked higher? Let us know what you think.

1. Dick Cheney -- The worst Dick since Nixon. The man who shot his friend while in office. The "most powerful and controversial vice president." Until he got the job, people used to actually think it was a bad thing that the vice presidency has historically been a do-nothing position. Asked by PBS's Jim Lehrer about why people hate him, Cheney rejected the premise, saying, "I don't buy that." His top placement in our survey says otherwise.

2. Karl Rove -- There wasn't a scandal in the Bush administration that Rove didn't have his fingerprints all over -- see Plame, Iraq war deception, Gov. Don Siegelman, U.S. Attorney firings, missing e-mails, and more. As senior political adviser and later as deputy chief of staff, "The Architect" was responsible for politicizing nearly every agency of the federal government.

3. Alberto Gonzales -- Fundamentally dishonest and woefully incompetent, Gonzales was involved in a series of scandals, first as White House counsel and then as Attorney General. Some of the most notable: pressuring a "feeble" and "barely articulate" Attorney General Ashcroft at his hospital bedside to sign off on Bush's illegal wiretapping program; approving waterboarding and other torture techniques to be used against detainees; and leading the firing of U.S. Attorneys deemed not sufficiently loyal to Bush.

4. Donald Rumsfeld -- After winning praise for leading the U.S. effort in ousting the Taliban from Afghanistan in 2001, the former Defense Secretary strongly advocated for the invasion of Iraq and then grossly misjudged and mishandled its aftermath. Rumsfeld is also responsible for authorizing the use of torture against terror detainees in U.S. custody; according to a bipartisan Senate report, Rumsfeld "conveyed the message that physical pressures and degradation were appropriate treatment for detainees."

5. Michael Brown -- This former commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association was appointed by Bush to head FEMA in 2003. After Katrina made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, Brownie promptly did a "heck of a job" bungling the government's relief efforts, and was sent back to Washington a few days later. He was forced to resign shortly thereafter.

6. Paul Wolfowitz -- As Deputy Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2005, Wolfowitz was one of the primary architects of the Iraq war, arguing for the invasion as early as Sept. 15, 2001. Testifying before Congress in February 2003, Wolfowitz said that it was "hard to conceive that it would take more forces to provide stability in post-Saddam Iraq than it would take to conduct the war itself." Wolfowitz eventually admitted that "for bureaucratic reasons, we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction," as a justification for war, "because it was the one reason everyone [in the administration] could agree on."

7. David Addington -- "Cheney's Cheney" was the "most powerful man you've never heard of." As the leader of Bush's legal team and Cheney's chief of staff, Addington was the biggest proponent of some of Bush's most notorious legal abuses, such as torture and warrantless surveillance, and is a loyal follower of the so-called unitary executive theory.

8. Stephen Johnson -- The "Alberto Gonzales of the environment," EPA Administrator Johnson subverted the agency's mission at the behest of the White House and corporate interests, suppressing staff recommendations on pesticides, mercury, lead paint, smog, and global warming.

9. Douglas Feith -- Undersecretary of Defense for Policy from 2001-2005, Feith headed up the notorious Office of Special Plans, an in-house Pentagon intelligence shop devised by Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz to produce intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq. A subsequent investigation by the Pentagon's Inspector General found the OSP's work produced "conclusions that were not fully supported by the available intelligence."

10. John Bolton -- As Undersecretary of State, Bolton offered a strong voice in favor of invading Iraq and pushed for the U.S. to disengage from the International Criminal Court and key international arms control agreements. A recess appointment landed Bolton the job of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, despite his stringent animosity toward the world body. Today, he spends his time calling for war with Iran.

11. John Yoo -- As a lawyer for the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, Yoo authored a series of legal memos giving military interrogators authority to use torture and coercive techniques when interviewing terrorist suspects. Yoo said that only those techniques that inflict pain equivalent to "death, organ failure or permanent damage resulting in a loss of significant body functions" constitute torture. Last year, he refused to answer whether or not the president could order a detainee to be buried alive.

12. Ari Fleischer -- Bush's first press secretary helped redefine the role as that of liar-in-chief rather than informer of the public, earning a reputation as "the world's most dishonest flack." Whereas his successors sometimes looked uncomfortable lying, Fleischer was having fun, spinning a cowed and gullible press corps through two massive tax cuts and the initiation of a war undertaken on false pretenses.

13. John Ashcroft -- In 2003, as Bush's first Attorney General, Ashcroft approved waterboarding and other torture techniques on detainees. Ashcroft's nomination was controversial, as he had a history of opposing school desegregation. The chief architect of the invasive Patriot Act, Ashcroft maintains to this day that Bush is "among the most respectful of all leaders ever" of civil liberties.

14. Henry Paulson -- Even as the financial system was crashing down around him, Treasury Secretary Paulson insisted for months that th e banking system was "safe and sound." Once he decided that the economy needed saving, Paulson requested nearly unfettered authority to send billions of taxpayer dollars to banks with no oversight.

15. L. Paul Bremer -- This Presidential Medal of Freedom winner took over the Coalition Provisional Authority in May 2003. Under his mismanagement, the insurgency exploded in Iraq. Bremer claimed he had all the troops he needed to secure the country, overestimated the strength of the new U.S.-trained Iraqi army, disbanded the Iraqi army leaving thousands of Iraqi soldiers with no income and no occupation, and enacted a de-Baathification law that barred many experienced Iraqis from government positions.

16. Bradley Schlozman -- As a recent DOJ Inspector General report demonstrates, Schlozman was a central figure in Bush's politicization of the Justice Department. Violating civil service laws, Schlozman used political and ideological considerations to ensure that only "right-thinking Americans" received jobs. He eventually lied to Congress about his efforts.

17. J. Steven Griles -- A former energy lobbyist and no. 2 official in the Interior Department, Griles went to jail for lying to Congress about illegal favors he did for corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Griles also abused his position "to unlock nearly every legal barrier to exploitation" of our nation's oil and mineral reserves. Before his conviction, Griles left the White House to become a lobbyist for ConocoPhillips.

18. Condoleezza Rice -- As Bush's national security adviser, Rice was another strong advocate for invading Iraq, once famously warning that the U.S. should attack Iraq and not wait for solid proof of its WMD because "we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud." Rice also ignored an urgent warning from the CIA before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that a strike inside the U.S. was imminent.

19. Scooter Libby -- Cheney's former chief of staff was a key player in the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame as part of the Bush administration's quest to punish Plame's husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, for publishing an op-ed debunking one of the White House's main justifications for invading Iraq. Libby was ultimately convicted of perjury and obstructing justice in a federal investigation into Plame's outing but later had his 30-month prison sentence commuted by Bush.

20. Monica Goodling -- Goodling was the most notorious graduate of Pat Robertson's Regent University during her tenure in the Justice Department. As the White House liaison at the DOJ, she based the department's hiring of candidates on their sexual preference, GOP loyalty, and adherence to conservative ideology.

21. Alphonso Jackson -- As Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Jackson let the U.S. housing market crumble while he was busy giving lucrative contracts to his golfing buddies, retaliating against Bush critics, and erecting giant photo homages to himself.

22. Michael Hayden -- As director of the National Security Agency, Hayden ran Bush's warrantless wiretapping program and misled Congress about the program's legality. After moving to the CIA, he dismissed the destruction of evidence implicating the CIA in torture as "in line with the law."

23. Lurita Doan -- The former head of the General Services Administration (GSA)who doled out a no-bid contract to a friend, Doan famously hosted a meeting of White House political operatives where she asked how GSA employees could "help 'our candidates' in the next election." After the Office of Special Counsel called for her firing, she was forced to resign at the request of the White House.

24. Gale Norton -- A former industry lobbyist and Bush's first Secretary of the Interior, Norton pushed a radical ideological agenda "through regulatory rollbacks, suppression of science, preferential treatment, and collusion with industry" -- including doctoring scientific findings on the impacts of oil drilling on caribou. After resigning under the cloud of ties to Jack Abramoff, she joined Shell Oil.

25. Lester Crawford -- After promising to act on the morning-after contraceptive pill during his confirmation hearings, the former FDA Commissioner "indefinitely postponed nonprescription sales of emergency contraception over the objections of staff scientists who had declared the pill safe." Crawford resigned after just two months on the job and later pleaded guilty "to charges that he hid his ownership of stock in food and drug companies that his agency regulated."

26. Harriet Miers -- Well-known for being Bush's failed Supreme Court nominee, Miers also thought it was "important" to her as White House Counsel that Rove protege Tim Griffin was installed as a U.S. Attorney, making her a central figure in the U.S. Attorney scandal. She is said to have called Bush "the most brilliant man she had ever met."

27. Hans Von Spakovsky -- Originally a political appointee in the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, Spakovsky "injected partisan political factors into decision-making" and used every opportunity "to make it difficult for voters -- poor, minority and Democratic -- to go to the polls." In 2008, Spakovsky withdrew his name from consideration for the FEC, following months of opposition from lawmakers and civil rights groups.

28. Tommy Franks -- As head of U.S. Central Command from 2000 to 2003, Franks oversaw Osama bin Laden's great escape from Afghanistan, gave orders for the stabilization of Iraq via PowerPoint, assumed that the U.S. would draw down to 25,000 troops by the end of 2004, and had American soldiers stand idly by as chaos and lawlessness took hold after the invasion.

29. Thomas Scully -- As chief administrator for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Scully was the White House's head negotiator on the Medicare prescription drug bill. Scully threatened to fire chief actuary Richard Foster if he revealed that Bush's Medicare Part D legislation "would cost 25% to 50% more than the Bush administration's public estimates."

30. Julie MacDonald -- A top Interior Department appointee, MacDonald "interjected herself personally and profoundly" and "tainted nearly every decision made on the protection of endangered species" over a five-year period, intimidating the staff with "abrupt and abrasive, if not abusive" tactics. MacDonald also leaked government documents to a young acquaintance whom she met while playing "internet role-playing games."

31. William Haynes -- As the former general counsel at the Defense Department, he was part of a five-person team of high-level administration lawyers, dubbed the "War Council," that tossed the Geneva Conventions aside and hatched out the legal framework for torture in secret meetings.

32. David Safavian -- Safavian was (twice) tried and convicted for his role in the jack Abramoff scandal. Safavian was found guilty of "lying and obstructing justice" in an attempt to cover-up "his many efforts to assist Abramoff in acquiring two properties controlled by the GSA."

33. James Connaughton -- As chairman of the White House Council of Environmental Quality, Connaughton wrote EPA press releases downplaying the danger of the air quality in lower Manhattan following 9/11. "A former lobbyist for utilities, mining, chemical, and other industrial polluters," Connaughton insisted "there's a lot of disagreement" about humans' impact on global warming, and he touted a bogus study purporting to show that the 20th century was not unusually warm.

34. William Luti -- A former Navy officer and Cheney aide, Luti was dispatched to the Pentagon in 2001 to work underneath Feith to find "evidence" to support his boss's belief in conspiracy theories linking Saddam to al Qaeda. Luti was an integral component of Cheney's campaign to pressure intelligence professionals to conform their judgments to administration policy rather than reality.

35. Susan Orr -- As Assistant Deputy Secretary for Population Affairs, this former Family Research Council official oversaw funding for the only federal program that provided contraceptive services to low-income Americans. Orr cheered Bush's anti-contraception record, saying, "Fertility is not a disease. It's not a medical necessity that you have [contraception]."

36. Christopher Cox -- Under Chairman Cox, the Securities and Exchange Commission censored internal reports showing that it ignored critical signs pointing to Wall Street's meltdown. Cox's SEC also failed to detect Bernie Madoff's $50 billion Ponzi scheme, despite a decade of warnings.

37. Elliott Abrams -- An Iran-Contra convict pardoned by Bush 41, Abrams was named by Bush 43 as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Democracy, Human Rights, and International Operations. As a founding Project for a New American Century signatory and a staunchly pro-Israel neoconservative, Abrams supported expanding Israel 's 2006 bombing of Lebanon into Syria and advocated a Fatah coup after Hamas won the February 2006 Palestinian elections.

38. Philip Cooney -- A former oil lobbyist who served as chief of staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Cooney doctored climate reports to "soften" words and phrases linking greenhouse gas emissions to global warming. After his political interference was revealed, Cooney left the White House to become a lobbyist for Exxon.

39. Colin Powell -- Though Bush called him "an American hero" when he appointed him to be the first African-American Secretary of State, Powell placed an ugly "blot" on his record when he pushed the Bush administration's faulty case for the Iraq war in a speech to the U.N. on Feb.5, 2003, using inaccurate information. Liberal hawks and the media rallied around Powell's false case, calling it the "winning hand" for war.

40. Elaine Chao -- The Labor Secretary made it through all eight years of the Bush administration, driving morale at the Labor Department so low that staffers threw a "good-riddance party" to cheer her departure. She leaves behind a "deeply troubled department" that "spent eight years attacking workers' rights, strong workplace health and safety rules, and unions while they carried the water for Big Business."

41. Julie Myers -- After being hired as head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement based on little more than her personal connections, Myers made herself famous by awarding "Most Original Costume" to an employee who dressed up in blackface and a prison costume for Halloween. She was also heavily criticized for conducting politically-motivated immigration raids.

42. Wade Horn -- As Assistant Secretary for Community Initiatives at the Department of Health and Human Services, Horn funneled millions of tax-payer dollars into right-wing abstinence-only programs. Shortly before he resigned, it was revealed that he had given nearly $1 million "to the National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI), where he was the president for at least three years until joining the Bush administration in 2001."

43. George Deutsch -- As a young, inexperienced press officer for NASA, Deutsch "told public affairs workers to limit reporters' access to a top climate scientist and told a Web designer to add the word 'theory' at every mention of the Big Bang." He resigned in 2006 after it was discovered he had lied on his resume, falsely claiming that he had a journalism degree from Texas A&M.

Dishonorable Mentions: Bush appointees who didn't quite make the list included a child pornography aficionado, a patron of hookers, a shoplifter, a mail fraudster, an operator of an illegal horse gambling ring, and a CIA official who took bribes in the form of prostitutes.

*

THOMAS KOSTIGEN'S ETHICS MONITOR

The 10 most unethical people in business

Commentary: Magazine hits those whose flubs have tarnished financial world

By Thomas M. Kostigen, MarketWatch Last update: 8:35 p.m. EST Jan. 15, 2009

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- Ethisphere magazine has released its list of the 100 most ethical people in business. While I was intrigued by those deemed the most influential (Liu Qi, chairman of the organizing committee of the 2008 Olympics, Neelie Kroes, European commissioner for competition, and the man formerly known as Heinrich Kieber, a former computer technician for LGT bank who blew the whistle on corruption, among a hodgepodge of others), I was most interested in its list of the most unethical.

I have my own unethical list, and 50% of Ethisphere's list pretty much jibes with it (Bush administration figures litter mine). In any event, here they are, as Ethisphere defines them: "The top 10 individuals that have influenced business ethics through professional flubs."

Bernard Madoff. Turns out a lot of people were suspicious of Madoff's ability to deliver high percentage returns like clockwork for long periods of time. It also turns out that he allegedly ran a $50 billion Ponzi scheme that, when discovered, ruined many a life savings. It's not yet clear how many people at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities knew of the scam, but it's clear that Madoff was the mastermind.
David Colby. Colby, the former CFO of Wellpoint, was caught carrying on multiple affairs, even once texting "ABORT!!" to one of his many girlfriends after discovering she was pregnant. He carried on relationships with over 30 women and proposed to at least 12 of them.
Rod Blagojevich. Blagojevich is the governor of Illinois who allegedly tried to "sell" the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Some reports say he tried to trade the seat for ambassadorships, money and positions within pro-union groups and even a $150,000 salary for his wife.
Heinz-Joachim Neubürger, Karl-Hermann Baumann and Johannes Feldmayer. The two former CFOs and former chairman of Siemens, respectively, got busted over bribery and their company was fined billions. The bribes that they paid to earn contracts could not have been worth more than the $1.4 billion settlement the company agreed to pay.
Ted Stevens. Stevens is the former senator from Alaska who was found guilty of failing to report gifts given to him by various contractors. He faces up to five years for each of the seven counts against him. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 25.
Bruno A Kaelin. Kaelin, a former senior vice president and head of corporate compliance at Alstom, was arrested in Switzerland in August following a joint Franco-Swiss-Italian investigation into his alleged role in running a bribery slush fund and laundering hundreds of millions of euros. Prior to that, Kaelin was convicted in a separate bribery case in Italy involving payoffs to two officials of the Italian electric company Enel.
Adam Vitale. Vitale was sentenced to 30 months in prison and $180,000 restitution to be paid to AOL after he found a way to spam 1.2 million AOL users in a way that avoided being caught by AOL's spam filter. Vitale also had 22 prior convictions, including running an online prostitution ring through Craigslist.
Robert Rubin. Rubin, like it or not, became one of the faces tied to the 2008 financial crisis. His position of deregulation when he was Treasury secretary is now faulted by some for many of the problems of today. He also became the fall guy for Citigroup's business strategy of leveraging more risk.
Marco Benatti. Benatti, a former Italian director of advertising for WPP, was accused of libel last year for calling WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell a "mad dwarf" and was alleged to have secretly pocketed millions of pounds from a deal he helped to broker. WPP's lawyers, claiming up to 12.5 million pounds for breach of "fiduciary duty," alleged at a court hearing in London that Benatti was the "secret beneficiary" of most of the proceeds from a 17 million pound takeover of Media Club, an Italian advertising company. Benatti sued back, alleging unfair dismissal. He argued that he was really let go because he had fallen out with Daniela Weber, WPP's chief operating officer in Italy, with whom he alleged Sorrell was having a relationship. In last year's libel case, Sorrell accused Benatti of circulating a computer-generated image showing him with Weber labeled "the mad dwarf and the nympho schizo."
James M. DiBlasio. DiBlasio makes the list for going on a three-day bender and hacking into the computers of his company, Ski.com, while drunk. Fortunately for him, the CEO of Ski.com wasn't too angry about the situation and decided not to pursue charges.

If you are looking for those influencing business in a positive way, check out www.ethisphere.com. And let's hope 2009 is a better year for ethics (although it's already off to a rough start).

Thomas M. Kostigen is the author of You Are Here: Exposing The Vital Link Between What We Do and What That Does to Our Planet (HarperOne). www.readyouarehere.com

*

It is a sad state of affairs for our nation when so many noteworthy individuals with important positions in government and commerce are basically nothing but crooks, criminals, shysters, hoods, and thugs. It is unfortunate some names are included on this list (Colin Powell, Tommy Franks), but their record has been tainted with some of their decisions and acts which led to great tragedies and an overall atmosphere of corruption, deceit, arrogance, and greed.

*****

15 January 2009

Details on Obama Stimulus Plan

...From the blog Calculated Risk on Thursday 16 January...

Here is the plan (PDF file)

See PDF for details ...

Here is an overview:

Clean, Efficient, American Energy: To put people back to work today and reduce our dependence on foreign oil tomorrow, we will strengthen efforts directed at doubling renewable energy prduction and renovate public buildings to make them more energy efficient.

• $32 billion to transform the nation’s energy transmission, distribution, and production systems by allowing for a smarter and better grid and focusing investment in renewable technology.

• $16 billion to repair public housing and make key energy efficiency retrofits.

• $6 billion to weatherize modest-income homes.

[CR Note: $54 Billion]

Transform our Economy with Science and Technology: We need to put scientists to work looking for the next great discovery, creating jobs in cutting-edge-technologies, and making smart investments that will help businesses in every community succeed in a global economy. For every dollar invested in broadband the economy sees a ten-fold return on that investment.

• $10 billion for science facilities, research, and instrumentation.

• $6 billion to expand broadband internet access so businesses in rural and other underserved areas can link up to the global economy.

[CR Note: $16 Billion: $70 billion total]

Modernize Roads, Bridges, Transit and Waterways: To build a 21st century economy, we must engage contractors across the nation to create jobs rebuilding our crumbling roads, and bridges, modernize public buildings, and put people to work cleaning our air, water and land.

• $30 billion for highway construction;

• $31 billion to modernize federal and other public infrastructure with investments that lead to long term energy cost savings;

• $19 billion for clean water, flood control, and environmental restoration investments;

• $10 billion for transit and rail to reduce traffic congestion and gas consumption.

[CR Note: $90 Billion: $160 billion total]

Education for the 21st Century: To enable more children to learn in 21st century classrooms, labs, and libraries to help our kids compete with any worker in the world, this package provides:

• $41 billion to local school districts through Title I ($13 billion), IDEA ($13 billion), a new School Modernization and Repair Program ($14 billion), and the Education Technology program ($1 billion).

• $79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cutbacks to key services, including $39 billion to local school districts and public colleges and universities distributed through existing state and federal formulas, $15 billion to states as bonus grants as a reward for meeting key performance measures, and $25 billion to states for other high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education.

• $15.6 billion to increase the Pell grant by $500.

• $6 billion for higher education modernization.

[CR Note: $141.6 Billion: $301.6 billion total]

Tax Cuts to Make Work Pay and Create Jobs: We will provide direct tax relief to 95 percent of American workers, and spur investment and job growth for American Businesses. [marked up by the Ways and Means Committee]

[CR Note: Unknown amount - probably $300 billion]

Lower Healthcare Costs: To save not only jobs, but money and lives, we will update and computerize our healthcare system to cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes, and help reduce healthcare costs by billions of dollars each year.

• $20 billion for health information technology to prevent medical mistakes, provide better care to patients and introduce cost-saving efficiencies.

• $4.1 billion to provide for preventative care and to evaluate the most effective
healthcare treatments.

[CR Note: $24.1 Billion: $325.7 billion total]

Help Workers Hurt by the Economy: High unemployment and rising costs have outpaced Americans’ paychecks. We will help workers train and find jobs, and help struggling families make ends meet.

• $43 billion for increased unemployment benefits and job training.

• $39 billion to support those who lose their jobs by helping them to pay the cost of keeping their employer provided healthcare under COBRA and providing short-term options to be covered by Medicaid.

• $20 billion to increase the food stamp benefit by over 13% in order to help defray
rising food costs.

[CR Note: $102 Billion: $427.7 billion total]

Save Public Sector Jobs and Protect Vital Services: We will provide relief to states, so they can continue to employ teachers, firefighters and police officers and provide vital services without having to unnecessarily raise middle class taxes.

• $87 billion for a temporary increase in the Medicaid matching rate.

• $4 billion for state and local law enforcement funding.

[CR Note: $91 Billion: $518.7 billion total]

Plus add in about $300 billion for various tax cuts, and that give $818.7 billion (by my count).

*

I believe the final numbers will exceed at least $1 trillion, and $1.3 trillion is not out of the question once all the pork is added to the legislation by Congress.

*****

13 January 2009

Looking Back at the Climate of 2008

The final numbers and statistics are in for the year 2008 as well as the recently ended month of December, and overall, they were nicer than what has been observed in recent years. The results are not surprising, as what will be observed will be an upward trend with some years bouncing down closer to historical normals; 2008 was just such a year with it being near average for temperatures across the United States. It is reasonable to expect 2009 to be warmer than 2008, but with one caveat: solar activity such as solar flares, sunspots, and solar winds is at a near zero level, the first time this has been observed by scientists. If this pattern from our sun continues, it very well may result in a cooler than expected 2009, as these solar events do have an impact on our planets climate and weather.

NOAA: 2008 Temperature for U.S. Near Average, was Coldest Since 1997; Below Average for December

January 8, 2009

The 2008 annual temperature for the contiguous United States was near average, while the temperature for December was below the long-term average, based on records dating back to 1895, according to a preliminary analysis by scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

U.S. Temperature Highlights – 2008

National temperatures.

High resolution (Credit: NOAA)

The Central and Southern regions experienced below-average temperatures, while above-average temperatures were felt in the West, Southwest and Northeast. This resulted in a near average annual temperature for the contiguous U.S. and the coolest annual temperature since 1997.

For 2008, the average temperature of 53.0 degrees F was 0.2 degree above the 20th Century average.

The nation’s January-December average temperature has increased at a rate of 0.12 degree F per decade since 1895, and at a faster rate of 0.41 degree F per decade during the last 50 years.

U.S. Temperature Highlights – December 2008

December statewide temperature ranks.

High resolution (Credit: NOAA)

The average December 2008 temperature of 32.5 degrees F was 0.9 degree below the 20th Century average.

December temperatures were much below average across the Upper Midwest and cooler than average across much of the West, Northwest and Midwest. Warmer-than- average temperatures were experienced in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic States.

The East North Central region (Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) had its 10th coolest December on record. Respectively, Minnesota and North Dakota had their seventh and eighth coolest December.

South Carolina and Georgia had their sixth and eighth, respectively, warmest December on record.

U.S. Precipitation Highlights

December statewide precipitation ranks.

High resolution (Credit: NOAA)

The average precipitation for the U.S. in 2008 was 30.48 inches, which is 1.34 inches above average.

2008 was the wettest year on record for New Hampshire and Missouri, second wettest for Massachusetts, and third wettest for Connecticut, Illinois, and Iowa. Also, 2008 was the fourth wettest year for Indiana, fifth wettest for Maine, Michigan, and Vermont, seventh wettest for New York, and eighth wettest for Kansas and Rhode Island.

The United States measured above-average precipitation in December across the Northeast, Great Lakes, Mississippi Valley, and much of the northern Great Plains and interior West. However, December was drier than average across the southern Plains.

At the end of December, 19 percent of the contiguous United States was in moderate-to-exceptional drought, based on the U.S. Drought Monitor. Severe-to-extreme drought conditions continued in the western Carolinas, northeast Georgia, the southern Plains, and parts of California and Hawai’i, with exceptional drought in southern Texas.

Other Highlights

A series of intense snow storms moved across the western, central, and northern states during December, breaking more than 2,000 daily snowfall records.

NOAA satellite observations showed 6.8 million square miles (17.6 million square kilometers) of North America were covered by snow in December 2008, which is 0.4 million square miles (1.0 million square kilometers) above the 1966-2008 average.

In 2008, an estimated 77,772 wildfires were reported in the United States. Approximately 5.2 million acres were burned.

NCDC’s preliminary reports, which assess the current state of the climate, are released soon after the end of each month. These analyses are based on preliminary data, which are subject to revision. Additional quality control is applied to the data when late reports are received several weeks after the end of the month and as increased scientific methods improve NCDC’s processing algorithms.

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.

*****

Rural Housing Avoids Pitfalls of Escalating and Declining Value Seen Elsewhere This Generation

...From Bill Bishop in his 8 January '09 column at New West.net and Daily Yonder.com:

The Divide

Report: When the House Bubble Burst, Rural Prices Kept Steady

The country is going into contortions to deal with the collapse of the housing market. The collapse took place in the cities, not in rural communities.

By Bill Bishop DailyYonder.com, 1-08-09

One reason rural housing prices haven't dropped as far as those in the cities is that they didn't rise during the boom years of 2000 through 2005.

Housing prices in rural America have outperformed those in the cities for the past two years, according to a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. That doesn't mean rural housing prices have risen. They haven't, reports economist Chad R. Wilkerson. But housing prices in rural areas, on average, have been relatively stable.

The good news in the rural housing market is partially a consequence of relatively weak markets in years past, according to Wilkerson. "Rural America was largely bypassed by the national home price boom of the first half of this decade and thus seems likely to avoid much of the correction in U.S. home prices currently under way," Wilkerson wrote in a report titled "Is Rural America Facing a Home Price Bust?"

From early 2007 until the third quarter of '08, housing prices in rural areas have risen by two percent on average, according to figures released by the Office for Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. During the same period, metro housing prices have declined by nearly 8 percent.

Housing markets vary from region to region, of course, but here again rural housing prices are doing well in comparison to the cities. Only portions of the Pacific region have seen sizable rural housing price declines since the beginning of 2007. Meanwhile, in the West South Central region (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana), an area where rural communities have been bolstered by a strong energy-producing and agriculture economy, housing prices outside the cities have continued to grow despite the national bust.

It stands to reason that rural housing would be looking good these days compared to urban markets — there was less rise in rural home prices from 2000 to 2005 so there was less air in the bubble when it finally popped. But why did rural home prices stay relatively low while urban housing shot up?

Wilkerson provides two likely answers. First, rural areas have in abundance what cities, especially fast-growing cities, lack: land. Home prices rose faster in coastal areas between 2000 and '05 than in inland cities, because limited land and greater land use restrictions hiked the price of property. Rural property wasn't under the same price pressures.

Second, Wilkerson surmises that "better credit underwriting standards by rural lenders" reduced the number of mortgages written for people with little income and no down payments. Credit may have been harder to get in smaller towns, and that may have kept the housing bubble from inflating as fast and as far as it did in the coastal cities.

The rural housing market hasn't escaped the housing bubble and bust entirely. In most areas, Wilkerson reports, rural housing prices have been rising faster than personal income, "a likely unsustainable trend."

This imbalance between income and housing prices was nationwide, but it was more pronounced in the cities. In metro areas (from 2000 to '05), housing prices rose more than three times faster than per capita income. In rural areas, however, the ratio of housing price increases to income was 1.8 to 1.

Housing prices rose faster than income across the country, but the rates were higher along the coasts. This map shows the ratio of house price increases to increases in per capita inocme. Wilkerson writes that it's hard to maintain housing prices that rise faster than per capita income.

What about the future? Wilkerson is optimistic. He writes that a "severe drop in rural home values seems unlikely." One reason for that outlook is that rural homebuilders have made more sizable reductions in their construction plans than construction companies in cities. Having fewer new houses come on the rural market should help stabilize prices of existing stock.

Moreover, while metro regions lost jobs in the third quarter of 2008, rural America continued to add jobs during the same period. Wilkerson acknowledges that the rural economy was fueled in mid-2008 by increasing prices for land, grains, energy and other agricultural commodities. Those prices have since come back to earth, no doubt slowing rural economies and slackening the demand for housing.

These trends lead the Kansas City Fed economist to conclude that "rural home values are unlikely to rise appreciably in the years ahead."

Still, not losing these days looks like a big gain.

Excellent insight information that is well worth the read. The author's book "The Big Sort" is a superb read as well and this writer highly recommends it.

*****

No Good News on the Housing Front

Here are some links that continue to tell the sad and woeful story about the disaster the housing industry is, as well as the sharp decline projected for home values that will occur over the next 18 - 30 months. Perhaps the most grim news concerns foreclosures, an epidemic across the land that shows no sign of abatement but promises only to increase, probably markedly, for the foreseeable future. The overall consensus is for a further decline in home values in much of the nation, outside of a few safe sanctuaries, of between 20 and 30 % more at least on top of what declines have already occurred in the last 18 to 24 months. Until the bottom is hit in this economic sector, there will be no easing of or end to the current economic collapse being seen and experienced across much of the nation.

http://promo.realestate.yahoo.com/americas-weakest-housing-markets.html?ref=patrick.net

http://www.thehousingbubbleblog.com/index.html

http://patrick.net/housing/crash.html

http://themessthatgreenspanmade.blogspot.com/

http://www.fixhousingfirst.com/index.php

http://yourmortgageoryourlife.wordpress.com/

*****

12 January 2009

2009 Wyoming Legislative Ideals

The 2009 General Session of the Wyoming Legislature begins on Tuesday 13 January and will meet for 40 days. Under legislative rules and constitutional edicts, the legislature in this state deals with the budget for a biennium period as well as other areas needing attention and legislation.

Here is a list of areas that are in need of attention and new legislation.

--1) Increased cigarette, tobacco, and liquor taxes to fund health care costs and discourage consumption: Wyoming tobacco and liquor taxes are among the lowest in the nation, and there are serious substance abuse problems in this state with ramifications on families and concerning crime. A phased in doubling or tripling of all taxes over 3-4 years should be enacted. Increasing taxes will save tremendous amounts of money in the near and distant future for health care costs for all citizens, as well as result in greater efficiency and savings for state and local government, particularly for law enforcement and the criminal justice system.

--2) Commercial diesel fuel taxes and highway upgrade funding: Wyoming highways and roads are increasingly in deteriorating condition, and funds from the federal government over the last half - century and more that have maintained and improved roads throughout the state are in a serious irreversible decline. Semi truck traffic is largely if not all but completely responsible for road deterioration, and increased truck traffic on interstates has resulted in a reduction in safety, capacity, and quality. Semi truck traffic is projected to increase tremendously in perpetuity. Diesel fuel taxes should be increased by about 10 to 25 cents per gallon. Wyoming citizens who own diesel powered personal motor vehicles should get a reduction in their registration fees and property taxes so as the tax increase does not impact them. At some point soon, fuel stations should be mandated to be designed so as drivers licenses and vehicle registrations can be inputted so fuel taxes can be applied differently for resident citizens as compared to others. This would allow for greater efficiency as well as targeting different kinds of vehicles and places of origination. States that have semi trucks with greater numbers on Wyoming highways should have those vehicles paying higher fuel taxes than those state with less truck traffic on highways. The monies from these new tax sources and reciepts should be directed towards fully improving I-80 its entire 400 mile length across the state as well as I-25 and I-90. Additional projects previously recommended on this blog could be additionally funded as well.

--3) Real ID non-participation: This federal legislation passed by Congress in a time of hysteria fed by a media and executive branch frenzy is clearly unconstitutional and violates the spirit, heritage, and tradition of The Bill of Rights. Over 30 states in the union have already taken steps to some kind of extent to protest this plainly wrong federal legislation. Wyoming should do the same in the strongest terms possible. An approach taken by Idaho as was earlier written here is a good place to start the discussion and writing of legislation.

--4) Government contracts limits on corporate pay: Corporate executive and management pay has gotten so out of line and obsene relative to incomes by most citizens. Steps to reduce this greed and injustice are often difficult to find, but state government should set a restriction on any company wanting to bid or have a contract with any kind of government (state, county, local, schools, and others) that limits all compensation and salary of any and all officials, executives, and management of that company or corporation to be no more than equal of that of the governor of Wyoming.

--5) Stricter limits on re-sale of copper and other precious metals to recycling facilities and elsewhere: There has been an epidemic of theft of important metal materials from all kinds of locations, both public and private. Most always this stolen material is sold to recycling centers, both in state and out. Restrictions need to be put on these kinds of transactions, with identification recording requirements, fingerprinting of sellers, and maintaining of records for law enforcement authorities to be able to consult to solve thefts of these materials. The laws envisioned would be as strict or more than those followed by the pawn shop industry. Wyoming should also formally request all neighboring states enact similar strict legislation to eliminate the problems from crossing borders.

--6) Uniformed law enforcement and state employees professionalism: Many uniformed law enforcement and state and local officials and employees present a less than professional appearance with slovenly facial hair, unusual haircuts, tattoos, and physical bodies distorted by outlandish body building. Such outward displays are unsightly and present a fearful, hostile, threatening, images to most citizens, particularly the elderly and young. Standards should be implemented that follow those of the United States military forces and its personnel, particularly the United States Marine Corps. Our state's and communities' finest should be as exemplary in appearance and performance as our nation's finest. Taxpayers deserve no less.

--7) State capitol renovation: The Wyoming State Capitol building in Cheyenne is in desperate need of renovations, modernization, and technological improvements. Legislation should be enacted to complete all that is needed over a 1 -3 year period. Being in this building for important work for the citizenry should not be an experience that is is inconvenient, dangerous, and uncomfortable to the extent it is distracting and defeats the purpose for legislators and their staffs being there to work conscientiously and carefully.

--8) Dog fighting felony: Legislation was enacted in the last session which strengthened laws that were the nation's weakest, but the laws need further strengthening and toughening including the definitions of crimes and penalties for. Legislation concerning abuse of livestock, particularly horses in rodeos, should be considered carefully for study and research due to the important tradition of agriculture and ranching in the state.

--9) Indexing of state minumum wage to counties cost of housing: Wyoming's minimum wage is equal whether one is in an inexpensive county like Natrona or an expensive one like Teton. The minimum wage in each county should be indexed to housing costs with a base level established in the least expensive county for housing costs, rentals included. A cost of living adjustment should be included so as housing inflation does not weaken the earning power of citizens.

--10) Street racing, automobile mufflers, exhaust, and noise punishment oversight and punishment; Increasingly there is an epidemic of motor vehicles with loud, at times deafening mufflers and exhaust, overt display of racing items like spoilers and lighting to indicate to other vehicles availability for street racing and reckless driving, and tires and wheels that are unsafe and purely exist for street racing. These products should be banned on licensed street legal motor vehicles. Street racing is out of control on streets and roads in many communities and areas throughout the state, with often dangerous and unintended consequences for participants, bystanders, and innocent victims. A committee of individuals in law enforcement and other sectors should put together a set of stringent regulations with strict punishments to remove these threats and perils to citizens from streets and roads.

--11) Availability of tobacco age to 22 over next 5 years: Studies show the older an individual, the less likely they are to become addicted to cigarettes, snuff, and other tobacco products. Alcohol is already an age 21 product, and tobacco products should be as strict and more so given their deadly effects and harm, as well as long term costs for all citizens for health care and insurance. The age should be increased over a five year period to grandfather in all current young consumers who would be difficult to oversee with their existing purchasing, possession, and use practices and addictions.

--12) Carryout food sales tax: Much like tobacco and alcohol, studies show "fast food" has serious health consequences for those consumers and for health care costs for all citizens, as well as social costs for communities statewide and elsewhere. A one or two percent statewide sales tax on these fast foods could be used to discourage irresponsible consumption and fund health care for youths, pregnant women, and adults ages 50-61. A volunteer committee of scientists and health care professionals from various academia and the health care industry appointed by the governor would be responsible for maintaining a list of products that are identified as being unhealthy from these kinds of businesses as well as from retailers.

--13) Censure of Dish network for failure to carry the MTN: The University of Wyoming and its athletic programs that compete in the Mountain West Conference are an important part of being a citizen of Wyoming and a participating, engaged member of communities statewide. The Dish Network satellite service has refused thus far to carry the Mountain West Conference's satellite television network, the MTN. This corporation, its executives, officers, and management should be publicly rebuked and censured by the state for this irresponsible and reckless decision. State law should ban any and all use of Dish. by any government within the state until the MTN becomes available on Dish. DirecTV and cable systems carry the MTN; there is no reason why Dish cannot as well.

--14) Interstate highway interchange & state entrances landscaping, beautification, and upgrades: All five interstate highway entrances into Wyoming should undergo serious improvements to their appearance and outstanding facilities should be constructed. Visitors into Wyoming should be met with the finest entrances with landscaping, public facilities, and other improvements. Playgrounds for children, historical markers and information, and even private enterprises such as restaurants should be included in such upgrades. Beautification and landscaping should also be markedly improved and upgraded at the junctions of I-80 and I-25 as well as I-90 and I-25, particularly with trees, hedges, shrubs, terracing, wildflowers, and other attractive vegetation and improvements. Funds should be earmarked specifically by the legislature to do just that.

--15) Banning of automobile insurance companies use of consumer credit data: Credit information is of no importance or significance to automobile insurance companies and should be made illegal to access or consider when setting rates and prices for consumers. Motor vehicle insurance is already an unfunded government mandate on citizens, and it should be made as inexpensive as possible to all to ensure the fullest participation by citizens possible.

--16) Setting progressively indexed electricity and natural gas rates for the bottom one-third of usage and by the poorest consumers: Energy use by citizens who consume less and are poorer should be charged at a lower rate than for those who are wasteful, higher users, and more financially well off. The lowest one-third of users should pay a progressively less amount for units used to encourage conservation and responsibility as well as to financially assist the economically disadvantaged. The legislature should mandate implementation of such programs by utility oversight personnel and bodies on the various utility companies serving citizens in the state. Rates would be set by a volunteer citizen advisory commission appointed by the governor

--17) Resolution encouraging re-establishment of Amtrak service across SE Wyoming: a fuel tax to subsidize the re-establishment: This is a legislative proposal similar to the one stated here in an earlier blog post concerning recommendations for transportation projects statewide to be funded by the impending Obama Administration economic stimulus proposal.

--18) Strict regulation controlling payday loan companies with strict stringent limits on fees and interest: Payday loan dealers are a blight upon our communities and exploit the poorer and less advantaged citizens of our communities. Largely ineffective legislative attempts in CO to address this stain met with failure earlier this year due to the efforts of an important state legislator, Jennifer Viega, whom was funded by the industry with the intent of killing any attempts to further regulate their industry. This simply must not happen in Wyoming. Payday loan businesses need to be regulated out of existence as they have been in several states. A full extermination of this plague must happen.

--19) Implementation of immigration laws as those enacted in OK and AZ: While Wyoming does not have the problems with illegal aliens as many other states, significant loopholes and inadequacies in state and local law encourage aliens to come to live and work in our state, with noteworthy detrimental impacts on communities, local budgets, quality of life, and crime rates. Implementation of strict laws such as in Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, and Georgia would be wise to enact before such problems occur in Wyoming to any extent.

--20) Continued study on increasing electricity transmission infrastructure to encourage further investment and development of solar and wind energy facilities: Wyoming possesses oceans and continents of wind and solar energy resources, and revenues for state and local governments that are utterly imaginable. State government must take steps and create incentives to encourage development and construction of electricity transmission infrastructure. Continued encouragement of development of these new era alternative and renewable energy resources as well as further research and development on maximizing efficiency and output should be a stated goal of Wyoming state and local governments to help further economic development and diversification. Property tax incentives, as well as other credits and incentives to be defined by consultants to the governor, should be part of state government's stance on this essential element of taking Wyoming into the 21st century. Wyoming's citizens should be individually benefitting financially with all the plentiful energy resources in the state as citzens in Alaska do, and development of wind and solar energy resources will do just that and more.

--21) Recycling mandates for businesses: Wyoming has little if any mandated recycling programs. Mandating such programs for business would be a great start on getting such processes started. The program would also help create additional businesses and employment, diversify the economy, and further protect and conserve Wyoming's delicate lands.

--22) Banning of mail-in rebates on all retail and wholesale sales and purchases : These kinds of offers are simply ruses to increase cash flows to out of state corporations and have the sly and devious side effect of exploitingng less than diligent consumers having to pay higher prices. There is no valid reason for such marketing tools and price deception to exist in business.

*****

10 January 2009

Unemployment Rising Quickly

The official government numbers of how many American citizens are now unemployed were released early on Friday 9 January and they were quite hideous. Officially the unemployment rate shot up one - half percent from 6.7 in November to an over fifteen year high of 7.2. Unofficially the numbers are seriously troubling as the real unemployement rate is now between 15 and 19 % ( and maybe as high as 22 % already ) if one factors in all the disillusioned non-working, the underemployed, and those working only parttime because they cannot find fulltime employment. It is stunning to realize at least over two million jobs have disappeared since September. Look for the numbers for January to be worse, perhaps significantly, than those in the past few months

The trends are looking worse as each week goes by. It now appears certain official unemployment will exceed the 9 % threshold by late Spring or early summer, and 10 % could be here by July or August. Whereas many experts felt the peak would be less than 10 % mere weeks ago, there are some now who feel it will go to 12 % perhaps by years end or early in 2010.
This would be the highest numbers since the year 1940.

Many eminent economists are perplexed on what steps could be taken to reverse this trend and start to return the economy in a positive direction. When one out of eight is officially not working and the unofficial number exceeds one in five, there will be little doubt the nation will be in a depression. The federal government can only spend so much money in attempting to reverse this downturn, and the amount already spent is staggering. And with news that foreign investors are beginning to become averse to purchasing US securities being used to finance this incredible federal deficit, the nearterm and longterm scenarios become only increasingly alarming.

One question that is up for debate by many is whether the economy will start to experience deflation (which is what is happening to a small extent now) or whether a cycle of rapid inflation is going to begin to occur in the second half of 2009. There is no clear consensus among experts and observers about what direction prices will take later this year and into 2010 and beyond. While deflation is less painful for consumers, especially for those living on the edge, the consequences for the economy on an overall basis are believed to be worse than if rapid inflation begins to occur.

The Great Disruption is promising only to worsen rather than abate for the foreseeable future. Hold tight onto your assets in the form of cash as much as possible.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-jobs10-2009jan10,0,5726920,full.story

http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/59365.html

http://ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2009010209/bushs-last-month-sees-unemployment-hit-22-according-wingnuttias-math

*****

03 January 2009

Ritter Taps Bennet to Succeed Salazar in Senate from Colorado

In a surprising move, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter named Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet as the successor to US Senator Ken Salazar when Salazar resigns in the coming weeks to become the Secretary of the Interior in the new Obama Administration. It was believed by most there were a number of much better and qualified candidates to fill the upcoming vacancy. While many of those being speculated about withdrew from consideration (such as Congresswoman DeGette, Congressmen Perlman and Salazar, former Denver Mayor Pena, and others), a number of eminently qualified individuals with records of distinguished public service such as Andrew Romanoff, John Hickenlooper, Mike Feeley, and Gary Hart were passed over for the lessor qualified Bennet, whose record of elected public service is nil and has a less than sterling history of public service. The selection of Bennet has to be great news for Republicans across the nation and particularly in Colorado. While there was no chance the GOP would have beaten Ken Salazar in the 2010, the presence of Bennet heartens Republicans and gives them good reason to think the GOP can win back this seat they lost in 2004. If Romanoff or Hickenlooper were to have been Ritter's choice, the chance for Democrats continuing to retain this seat would be better. Overall, Ritter should have made a better selection for this critical seat, a choice that is likely to come back and haunt him and Democrats across the nation.

http://coloradoindependent.com/18718/its-official-ritter-taps-bennet-to-follow-in-salazars-very-large-bootsteps

http://rockymountainright.com/?q=node/569

http://www.squarestate.net/diary/7382/its-officially-offical-senator-michael-bennet

http://www.coloradopols.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8538

*****

Are You Pro-Free Markets ?

... From the Free Colorado dot com blog written by Ari Armstrong on Sunday 28 December...

Ten Ways to Tell You're Not Free Market

Free markets require the protection of individual rights to life, liberty, and property. While it's more important to talk about what free markets are, there are some obvious cases that show what they aren't. Following are a few, in no particular order. If you answer "yes" to the any of the following questions, you don't support the free market.

1. You endorse protective tariffs.

2. You support antitrust laws.

3. You support censorship -- i.e., government restrictions on speech -- of any kind.

4. You think something (such as a retirement fund) is "privatized" if politicians require its purchase and set the terms by which it's purchased.

5. You think the goal of raising net tax revenues justifies cutting tax rates.

6. You advocate forcing people to purchase health insurance.

7. You believe there are cases in which we must "abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system."

8. You advocate corporate welfare.

9. You advocate welfare -- i.e., the forced redistribution of wealth -- for the poor.

10. You think an "ownership society" justifies political intervention in the economy.

*

This writer answers "yes" to questions one, two, three, four, five, seven, and nine; and "no" to questions six, eight, and ten. That would make this writer clearly not "pro-free markets", something this writer already knew and espouses rather regularly in this blog. No surprise.

*****

I AM the people—the mob—the crowd—the mass.
Do you know that all the great work of the world is done through me?
I am the workingman, the inventor, the maker of the world’s food and clothes.
I am the audience that witnesses history. The Napoleons come from me and the Lincolns. They die. And then I send forth more Napoleons and Lincolns.
I am the seed ground. I am a prairie that will stand for much plowing. Terrible storms pass over me. I forget. The best of me is sucked out and wasted. I forget. Everything but Death comes to me and makes me work and give up what I have. And I forget.
Sometimes I growl, shake myself and spatter a few red drops for history to remember. Then—I forget.
When I, the People, learn to remember, when I, the People, use the lessons of yesterday and no longer forget who robbed me last year, who played me for a fool—then there will be no speaker in all the world say the name: “The People,” with any fleck of a sneer in his voice or any far-off smile of derision.
The mob—the crowd—the mass—will arrive then.

Pollster.com

Lincoln's Grave Warning Realized

Eight Principles of Uncivilization

Our American Objectives

The Continuing Case for The Second Bill of Rights for All American Citzens

Monetary Cost of Iraq War

16 January 2009

The 43 Who Helped Make Bush The Worst Ever

The 10 most unethical people in business

Commentary: Magazine hits those whose flubs have tarnished financial world

15 January 2009

13 January 2009

NOAA: 2008 Temperature for U.S. Near Average, was Coldest Since 1997; Below Average for December

U.S. Temperature Highlights – 2008

U.S. Temperature Highlights – December 2008

U.S. Precipitation Highlights

Other Highlights

The Divide

Report: When the House Bubble Burst, Rural Prices Kept Steady

12 January 2009

10 January 2009

03 January 2009

Ten Ways to Tell You're Not Free Market

Donations of Generosity & Charity

The Time is...

Followers of Mountain Time Zone Perspective

The Code of The West

About Me

My Blog List

The Ideal

I D E A S

Visitor Tally

A Happy Ending Isn't Guaranteed

Blog Archive

The Contemporary Current

I Am the People, the Mob

Scientific American Environmental News

Paul Krugman

PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP...... from The Guidebook for Marines

World Map of Readers

Preserve the Tradition !

Seven Rules of Good Government

Benchmark Oil Price per Bbl

Slideshow

Link Referral

The Sad Truth

State Legislature Political Make Up Map (Red=GOP; Blue=Dem; Purple=Split; Gray= NonPartisan)

What is Up Next: (From Automatic Earth Blog)

10 Ways To Justly and Logically Move Forward

The Unjust Pyramid that is American Corporate Absolutist Market Capitalism

Local Weather

Facebook Badge