Which side of history this Christmas?

Things stay the same.  Things change.
The Governor has an open house at the Capitol and a tree lighting.  But, not exactly the same this year.  Gone are the open house festivities with local authors, local vendors.  The tree lighting was waiting, the choir was nice, seeing the families was nice and especially the little kids perched on mom and dad's shoulders so they could see.  With 3 kids and only 2 parents, I was tempted to pick up one of the kids without shoulders to rest on, but resisted that temptation..

The droning of boring speeches.  Hmm.  And I wonder, earlier in the day I heard on cspan the historic moments when Palestine was voted in to the UN with non-voting member state status.  Wow!  And the U.S., again, on the wrong side of history.  Reminded me of Kyoto.

Are we on the wrong side of history?  And as Lindsay Graham said later on, well now that gives Palestine the right to file charges in the International Criminal Court.  Yes well don't the Palestinian people deserve to be free?

Chinese names, Dr Who style (thank you Economist)

Calling Dr Who fans:  the Economist annual "The World in 2013" just hit my mailbox.  And in tribute to the Good Doctor, predicts the world, looking  back from 2063.  Yes Jennifer we should chose our Chinese names now, while the good ones are still to be had.

Ideology: the Loser in this Election

Everything has its time.
Grover Norquist sounds intelligent, but his "pledge" has had its time.
Unions still represent a collective voice, but perhaps they need to be a little less entrenched, a little more awake to the fiscal realities they have helped create.
Maybe even those oil companies, risking their stockholder's profits on tar sands oil, and fracking, and hiding money for those lawsuits down the road - not just from Americans with pollutants in their drinking water, but from banana harvesters and workers in Nigeria.

I do not want my government forcing Catholic charities to buy birth control for their employees.  If their employees want birth control let them buy it on their own.
I do not want union dues taken out of my salary anymore as a "fair share".  If I want to join the union, let me sign up and be union proud and pay my dues out of free choice.

Yep, everyone will be glad when this election cycle is over.  I am a bit nervous.  In Oregon we may end up with another 30:30 15:15 split Legislature.  Which means nothing will get done (boring to watch, and our PERS-induced problems do not just magically 'poof' go away when the stock market recovers, if it recovers).

Nationally, fascinating races - cspan plays many debates.  It is ideology that will be the loser when it comes to passing legislation.  No one side has a corner on The Truth.  If you force everyone on my block to buy compact fluorescent light bulbs, maybe our energy bill will go down, but the mercury that seeps through the landfill cause everyone doesn't know what to do with the spent bulbs will pollute our water.

Likewise if you force every citizen to "make a choice" on health care, or retirement investment, some of us will chose badly, and suffer for it.

Balance.  All voices.  Let 2013 see the end of ideology.  If not, we have no one but the voters (ourselves) to blame.

"Big Bird"

I heard on the radio that of the 10 million tweets about the Presidential debate, 250,000 of them were about "Big Bird".

.. back in a little apartment with gold shag carpet, a sliding door to the lawn outside the building, I lived on the same floor as Big Bird's parents.  They were old then, and that was 20+ years ago, so they are probably in their final resting places, dear Peg and Chet Spinny.

I got to meet Mr Big Bird himself in the parking lot once.  Very cool, he gave me his Big Bird voice and everything (but was dressed like a normal human - sorry kiddies).  So the fact that Big Bird got more attention than Obama's lack of teleprompter moments, or Romney's grand performance, is this a symbol of the importance of:
Public Television
innocence
childhood
?
What is the role of government in supporting these things?  And would those things (PBS, innocence, childhood) exist without government funding?  What about Big Bird?

Maybe he would exist, but maybe he wouldn't have 100 million followers.  Or is it billions if you could fans across the world.

When I listen to the classical station, I am always impressed with the "Scottish National Orchestra" and other national orchestras (since I don't think Scotland is actually an independent nation) across Europe.  And yet.  We're not Europe.  We don't even have universal health care here.

So, sorry Big Bird, you're going to have to take up a private collection.

Even on Satellite Radio

I thought Romney came through clear and uncluttered, and to the point.  And even on radio, Obama sounded defensive.  And even referred to his own health care policy as "Obamacare", which some find disparaging.

Then again, do debates sway voters?  They say the slice of undecided voters is quite thin this time around.  So Romney would have to steal votes.

Which is possible.  Can't wait for the foreign policy debate, just 2 weeks before the election.  Then again, I've already declared myself a Paul Ryan voter - with now his human running mate Mitt Romney.

Unintended Side Effects

Or, pernicious policy?

My local Street Roots vendor, on the consequences of the President's "Dream Act".  Has young people now living in fear as their names are identified on public lists.  They are currently illegal.  Obama wants to give them a shot at in-state tuition and a plan for legal status.  But meanwhile, they are publicly identified as illegal.  A positive path, or the Power of the State clamping down ?

Satellite Dust

There are more stars in my backyard now, here in the city, than when I lived in the suburbs.  How can that be?  Could be that Mt Tabor is light free (just a few blocks from here), and in the burbs we had major highways in earshot, with loud lights.

From my backyard, with our enormous patio, and new sustainable patio furniture, you can even watch satellites in the sky.  At least I think they are (and not planes), stay tuned.  When I lived in Beaverton which was a really long time ago, I can remember laying in the backyard watching the sky which was filled, absolutely filled, with satellites moving across the sky.

Could be there is more to spy on in Beaverton.  Or that satellites have gone the way of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles).  Which for some reason fascinate me.  Could be the guy I met on a plane one time who was an Intel retread, and gone to work for the UAV manufacturer out near Hood River.  And was telling me about the peaceful uses of UAVs, like watching your fishing fleet.  Makes sense to me.

Like any technology, it can be used for peaceful purposes, or for destructive ends. Hey even language, or fire, or compilers, or uranium is like that.

So I will blame the satellite dust for the failure of my set top box to work in my kitchen.  I kept that old tiny (and heavy) portable (sort of) TV which has a manufacture date of 1982, alive, after normal TV signals bit the dust.  I kept it going with a digital set top box, and it did work.  Used to.  In the suburbs.  Here in the city, its either the brick wall in the kitchen, or that extinct volcano up in the park, or maybe just satellite dust.  It gets a picture, but no sound, no moving images.  Good bye Jim Leher news hour while I make dinner.  I am left with satellite radio, which is quite compatible with satellite dust.

Behaviours

Protests in Athens, over those harsh austerity measures that Germany wants to impose, in exchange for aid, to bail out the sinking Greece economy.  30,000 to 40,000 took to the streets.

Would you bite the hand that feeds you?  Even my cat knows better than that..

Loans from China, to prop up the sinking U.S. economy.  How does this kind of "aid" change behavior?  No protests here.  Right now.

What if the Chinese set conditions on us, a "super power".  Would we have super powers to get out of it?  I didn't watch all of that Superman flick, but somehow even after he gave up his super-humanity to marry Lois Lane (or at least shack up for a night) the poor folks on earth needed him to rescue them from the evil trio - and he was able to get his super human strength back and be victorious.

What if they set conditions, tightening that Nyssa bracelet ever tighter.  Like on the old Doctor Who episode, Nyssa from Trachon (one of Adrick's friends) was given a bracelet by the Master - to do his bidding all he had to do was tighten its hold on her, and she did as instructed.

Are we free?  What conditions could they put on us?  No more $3.99 Dove bars?  No more 99 weeks of unemployment?  No more retirement at age 62.  No more Medicare A B C D..

New bridges - financed with Chinese labor, Chinese equipment.  Like those African nations.  could we become a colony?  Are we?

The Beech Tree

Do we need a federal budget?  Maybe if they don't pass one, we can just live on Chinese yuan or something?

So Congress is, again, no surprise, down to the wire.  Two more days till they break, till after the election.  So today instead of the Senate voting on a continuing resolution, as passed by the House (a full 6 months of a budget!  well, thats half a year in any case), Senator Reid canceled the vote.

The buzz on POTUS was that Reid wanted to be sure the Massachusetts debate took place - that incumbent Scott Brown debated challenger Elizabeth Warren.  Well its nice to know he cares about airing these two in public, to give those Mass voters a chance to get the candidate of their dreams.

But is that a reason to stop a federal budget vote in its tracks?  I had (past tense) respect for Harry Reid.  Could be I shouldn't believe everything I hear (seems I just said that to someone else the other day..) and that maybe he had valid reasons for not voting today.

The Beech Tree at WPI, the most beautiful tree you've ever seen.  In historical political lore as the rallying location for students to amass, the progressive Republicans at the WPI campus in Worcester, Mass, who rallied for Scott Brown when he visited their town.  I hope they were all watching the debate from their dorms tonight.

The Middle Class

Everyone (well, every politician) seems to be talking about the middle class these days..

At the Democratic National Convention, they had pre-made signs for the middle class.  I know VP Biden has been touting the middle class for some time - and may even lead up one of those blue ribbon commissions that is out to "save the middle class".

Now save the whales I could get behind.  But something about this strikes me as pandering to voters.  What about the lower class?  The wealthy class?  The used-to-be-middle-class?

That is how I feel about it, either that or my general universal tendencies thinking - a president or a politician should be out there to represent *all* of us, right?  Not just those with campaign contributions to kick in.  Or bundlers who can raise piles of money to raise still more piles of money.

I used to think of myself as middle class I suppose.  Dual income, no kids - then we even had dual kids and maid service too once upon a time.  Till she ran off with a check without cleaning, well, we clean our own homes since that time thank you.  But give someone used to car payments and maid service several years on the dole as they say in Britain.  It reorients your thinking.

Still think of myself as one step away from the kindness of strangers that always seems to get me by.  So this pandering to the middle class - nope, not falling for it.  But I suppose you can read tax policy, the i-ching of everything today it would seem, into this:
* keep those mortgage interest deductions, so we can write off $2000 of the $4000 per month mortgage we can't afford, and actually never could!

* keep my company eligible for those health care deductions!

But none of this is much of a rallying cry.  Not like "save the middle class".  hmm.  I am reminded of new subdivisions named after trees they have felled.  Like Cedar Crest, which felled a forest across the street from my own house - county commissioners promised the citizens they would keep several trees per lot!  In reality, they kept one lone cedar at the top of the hill, till that had to make way for a cul-de-sac.  So now in honor of the stately cedars that used to grace the property, all that is left is some root structure down there someplace.

Is save the middle class like that?  A vanishing species?  Maybe, but you know what, it means nothing to me.  How about "save our freedom"  "save upward mobility".  Any more, it seems the Republicans have a lock on progressive stands - things like education reform.  While the Democrats have lost any progressive edge, looking to hang onto the status quo.

Consumerville

I always say, if you knew everything about your consumer purchase -where it comes from, the conditions of the people who made it, where the source components come from - then you could make an intelligent consumer choice.  Save the world!  Encourage healthy and safe working conditions!

So faced with a choice of patio furniture - most of which is very ugly, to my surprise we found some sustainably harvested Ipe wood furniture.  The wood is grown in Bolivia and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, and manufactured by Jensen Leisure Furniture.

In the store (Fishels in Beaverton) they even have an entire book about their community, where the wood is grown, how it is harvested, how it has helped the community with jobs, income for education, housing.

And it is the most beautiful wood furniture, and way prettier than any other patio furniture out there.  So maybe the consumer choice is political.  rah.

Which Tent?

Since when did the Republican Party become the party of the immigrant work ethic?  Catching up on cspan videos (see www.cspan.org/rnc for updates on all those convention videos you missed).

Marco Rubio taps into the essential immigrant work ethic, while his dad worked as a bartender, and his mom the night shift at K-Mart, he is now speaking as Senator, introducing the party's nominee.  Inspiring.  Looking at all the other boxes on the R page, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan - they all tap into this second generation immigrant experience.

Kind of hard to turn that down. I suppose both sides offer this up, and offer to accept us into their tent.

While the Dems bash the Rs as representing the party of the rich, lets take a closer look.  Which party will lead your great-grandchildren into serfdom due to massive debt?

Beyond the Rhetoric

It could have been someone like Condi Rice, or Rob Portman, and then I would have a choice.  Or it could have been someone like Marco Rubio, or Chris Christie, which would be interesting.  But Paul Ryan.  Lets give him some credit.

The rhetoric and devil names are already coming out, since I still seem to be on Mr Obama's favorites email list.  I get to hear about all the rich and famous movie stars he will be dining with.  Is this supposed to make me think he can solve fiscal policy problems, and get us on a sustainable path to the future? So that my kids won't have to pay for my medical bills when I am aged, and their kids don't have to wait till generations hence to cash in that Millenium Barbie (please try to save it till Year 3000)..

As they explained on Poli-Optics, when our own Ron Wyden joined up with Mr Ryan to propose Medicare reform, well some of us wrote letters of praise.  Yes, bipartisan cooperation!  Yes, a chance at real reform!  But Poli-Optics explained how Wyden was chastised so badly by the Democrats that no one else was going to stick their neck out.

It is going to be painted as an epic battle between good and evil.  Light and Darkness.  Before you believe, like apparently half the cspan callers-in (the other half are authentic!) the rhetoric, stop and think.

Who is actually trying to solve our fiscal problems.  Who is actually putting forth solutions - maybe not perfect ones - but even trying to start the conversation.  Who cares about the American economy and is not willing to give up on it, and let us sink into a hand-out society.  Which is really what we've become.

Beyond the rhetoric, give Paul Ryan a chance - he is authentic.  And now Romney has my vote too!

Political Cover

What does it take?  Can I run down to the local antique dealer/lotto shop/gun shop, in a neighborhood near my nice urban enclave, and buy an automatic assault rifle?

Now don't get me wrong, AK-47s have their place.  I will always always remember the brave truck drivers like Reynaldo, from my 2-week stint in Nicaragua doing random technical chores (in solidarity).  He carried such a weapon on his food distribution rounds.

Well, if that is what it takes to get rice and beans to equalize inequality in a less developed nation, then I am all for it.

But we do not live in a less developed country.  Though it appears every day that Oregon is in some kind of dis-reality bubble.  But nevermind state politics.  Assault rifles.

Listened to the weasley Jay Carney, President Obama's press secretary, on the "reaction" to the latest episode of horrific violence on normal average Americans.  This incident in Milwaukee Wisconsin, the last in Colorado.  And the evening radio news talking about cracking down on gang violence in my city of roses (my city!!).

Mr Carney spoke about needing a broader discussion beyond specific legislation, aimed at reducing violence overall.  So - the time is not right for anti-assault weapon legislation?  But to talk about stuff??  Like some sort of encounter session?

Flash the episode of West Wing - the one where Josh gets shot.  Maybe if someone close to the core of power was involved, instead of normal average Americans, who are supposedly represented by The Executive Branch We Voted For, then maybe the time would be right?  Help us all.

A Tiny Bug

I must not complain about bureaucracy today.

Today while waiting for exploratory surgery on my car A/C - where I learned I can rightly call my hybrid "vintage" since people think it was the first off the assembly line.  But alas, that long ago (2005) we were lucky to have A/C.  Today, maybe I will settle for opening the windows.  When they tested it, it was truly colder outside the car than inside.  Well, at least they didn't charge me.

So I had plenty of time to research "bringing a car to Canada", as in moving.  The vehicle must meet the requirements of:  Canadian Border Security Agency, Transport Canada, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Transport Canada maintains a Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) which list the safety standards required in Canada.  Welcome to the Commonwealth.

Turns out that soil (everyday dirt) is a "high risk pathway for pests", controlled by the following legislation:  Plant Protection Act, Health of Animals Act.  So beware if the border patrol agents find some on your vehicle.  If your vehicle doesn't pass muster, you must either export it, or destroy it at your expense under Canadian Border Security supervision.  Oh, and your entry duty and General Services Tax will not be refunded.

Sometimes I truly wonder how the average person gets by in the thicket of bureaucracy presented up every day.  But I suppose today I should be glad to have a dirty, vintage car, here in the US of A.

The Seeds of ..

If you lived in a country where someone was jailed for failure to file taxes..

If you lived in a country where "executive privilege" was a reason to hide policy decisions from its citizens that resulted in dead federal employees, due to guns run from its own agents..

If you lived in a country where the elected branch of government was continually engaged in political theatre, and nothing else..

If you lived in a country where the chief executive had broad powers - to exempt key fundraisers from any criminal prosecution (whats a couple $billion?), power to pass laws unilaterally, target drones on U.S. citizens in foreign countries on his say so, orchestrate more policies to stop life in its tracks by witholding care from aborted babies..

If you lived in a country where the rich stayed rich, the poor stayed poor, the vanishing middle class stood close to the edge of peasantry..

This used to be considered the definition of a "third world country".  Now the politically correct term is "less developed"..

But - this is the US of A.

What has gone wrong with this picture.  We have surely lost our way.

Today Tomorrow Yesterday

I miss cspan.  Well, its still there, its just that I don't have as much (or any) time to legitimately watch it on the job anymore, what with this project management coup and all..

Listened to some of the House Budget Committee hearing this past week on cspan radio.  Paul Ryan is all about "social mobility".  Then I reflect on Obama and how he rails against the unfair tax system, wanting to divide the pie now for everyone.

Yesterday.  The 5th amendment to the Constitution "nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."  So, shall I hand over more of my hard earned paycheck (private property) for public use (more bailouts, handouts, and the like) - where is my just compensation?

Today I see a debt this country owes of $16 trillion and growing.  Had to ask a lawyer friend what comes after Trillion?  To my surprise he answered right away, Quadrillion.  Of course, there must be something to those Latin roots and all.

Yesterday, people learned the classic languages - Greek (so they could read the original un-translated Bible) and Latin (the root of all the romance languages).

Our national discussion now routinely includes trillions, but some day may evolve to quadrillions.  It seems meaningless, except that it will render every human in this country (and then some) with a debt choke collar around their neck.  Perhaps all the amor over dogs in Portland is just training us for the day when each of us has a debt load that chokes off our social mobility.

hmm, Atlas Shrugged on my bookshelf, awaiting completion.  Required reading for Paul Ryan's staff.  If he were candidate for VP, I would vote Republican.

Andresson Watch

Its always fun to determine trends from one data point.  Case in point, Marc Andresson.

If you don't know who he is then you are too young, or too old.  But if you've been following the internet since its inception, you know, when Al Gore invented it, then you know he was the entrepreneur behind Netscape.  Which was a popular browser, no doubt engaged in mortal lawsuit combat with Microsoft, who of course always likes to have the shiniest toys on the block, even if they have to bully their way to it, and buy up all the other browsers on the block, and buy ice cream cones for everyone too..

In the 2008 Obama Presidential campaign, Mr Andresson gave the maximum in campaign contributions to Obama.  I don't know what the amount was back then, but assumably some amount where you can use a 'fraction' and 'a million' in the same sentence.  Probably not 3/8 of $1Million (does not have a great ring to it), though it might have been.

In the current 2012 Obama campaign, perhaps to hedge his bets, he gave $100K to the Romney campaign.  Of course all of this is public record, unless of course the money went to a "Super PAC" which then can give money to anyone, and its all legit.

Is this the pulse of Silicon Valley politics?  Steve Jobs, when hammered by Obama about caring about jobs in the US, responded that he didn't have any responsibility to create jobs in the US.  Quintessential business, and the mantra of the last decade (and this) was "maximize shareholder return".  Notwithstanding the cute "happiness index" that some economists like to play with - hey, beats Solitaire I suppose.

But why would this Silicon Valley entrepreneur give real money to the Romney campaign, instead of to the Canmpaigner-in-Chief?  I think Steve Jobs answered this question quite well, and for many business people.  But alas, does anyone remember Mr Andresson?  On the revered Tim Farley Morning Briefing show, he was referred to as 'Mr Anderson', as if he was one of those drones who control The Matrix.

This isn't France, and Obama is not a socialist.  But businesses aren't in it to tend to the poor among us, or to tithe their income, or to satisfy the ole Democratic Party.  They are in it for capitalist freedom, which the US still espouses.  Now thats not in your Constitution, but maybe because of our Constitution, we have more private sector freedom that most nations.  And the Andressons of the world would like to preserve it.

Old World Shadows

Worcester, Mass.  A town heavy with the old world shadows.  Though some churches have been re-purposed to new evangelical purposes.  The three-flats remain, the parking-ban-when-ever-it-snows streets.  The old mill buildings, some vacant, some waiting. 

Worcester, Mass.  A town of colleges.  At least three graduations this past weekend.  WPI, for those poly people.  A 90% placement rate!  Becker College - home of international gaming experts.  They had a commencement speaker who was a co-founder of twitter!  MCPHS, taking up several city blocks (Mass College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences), large enough to graduate at the ice hockey rink.

The President of WPI gave an inspired speech.  "Think no small thoughts".  Yes, an accessible college president. I even met him at the freshman graduation.  Even those prodding professors eat at Subway, like ordinary people.

Unlike a sister college, in another old mill town, in upstate New York, whose college president keeps her own tent for her and the privileged.

Come Hither

Sometimes you have to find out the truth, get past the perception, the expectations.  And all this time I thought Arizona's SB 1070 was about targeting suspected immigrants so they could be locked up and deported. 

The reality is more complex than that, from what I can glean by listening to the Supreme Court's oral arguments this week.  Joint enforcement is not easy.

The way it works is - someone is arrested for some garden-variety infraction - like speeding.  An officer of the law asks that person if they can prove they are here legally.  If not, then they place a phone call to a federal support center.  The support center searches through 8 databases looking for the person.

If they had a legal visa, or green card, or State-Department issued passport, they would be found.  If they are not found, then this call is a notification to the feds.  Hey, we found an illegal, come do something!  Come hither!

If the feds don't do anything, then the state can lock up someone and take action.  The same action the feds would take.

But what if they don't find someone in a federal database, and that person isn't carrying anything to prove they are a citizen?  OK so I have a passport, I'm sure I am in a database someplace.  Also a social security number.  But what if I didn't have a passport.  Or didn't have proof that the SSN number I claim is mine is really mine.

Ah, that becomes, as the Supreme Court justices say, "the citizen problem".  There is no way to prove that the average person is a citizen.  No citizen database.  Just a way to suspect that you aren't one.

So of course the logical solution is to have a citizen database.  For every individual born in this country, and hence a citizen, to be tagged (like my cat, so in case I go off wandering one day due to Alzheimer's, that they can scan my embedded microchip and figure out who I am, and where to return me).  Then every citizen is accountable.  Non-citizens would not have this tag.  That is, until they develop fake microchips..

Bake Sales for Bombers

Its real, the day is upon us.
Remember, back in the day, the t-shirt that said "It will be a fine day when schools have all the money they need, and the Military has to hold a bake sale to build a bomber".  And kids were climbing in sillouette on a jungle gym?

Yep, got one of those t-shirts, yellow-beige with green text.  Stored away someplace, awaiting moving to a new house.  If I had a dollar for every t-shirt I've saved, I could probably have a nice down payment.

So this week, the U.S. House passed a FY 2013 budget template, handing certain $dollar amounts to the 12 different subcommittees responsible for appropriation.  The meta picture is that they are working with a budget amount $1.028 trillion, that is less than that agreed to in last year's summer budget drama.  Just like an ongoing mystery saga that is so horrible you cannot avert your eyes, I do wonder what new drama this coming summer will bring - or more likely they will keep me hanging, cspan episode by cspan episode, till the fall.  And force me to squander early morning and late nights trying to see how it all ends - does he get the girl?  Do we fall into the ocean, with or without global warming?  Or do we elect some savior who brings our economy back to the exceptional place it once was?

The President has already said the budget figure is $1.047 trillion.  Honestly, these numbers don't mean anything to me - they sound pretty close.  I mean we're not building a rocket to Mars or anything, what is .019 trillion between friends?  Except of course no one is friendly in Congress, its all out war.

So the line items for the various appropriation bills show:  $573 billion, as an outlay for Defense.  Sounds like a lot.  Another category that I am obligated to follow is Labor/HHS/Education - and, while the discretionary portion is small, the 'mandatory' amount is $593 billion.  This covers mandatory spending (which is not discretionary, so not subject to slashes unless they take dramatic and revolutionary action) - includes unemployment insurance, Medicaid, Medicare.

So we are paying out more in entitlement programs than we are spending on the military.  Of course this is all projected for Fiscal Year 2013.  Which starts in October. 

Lets see, if I wanted to bake something for my favorite missle sysetm - I liked the ones they used in Libya.  We were the only country armed and ready to step in, at a moment's notice.  War Powers Act?  Hmm, well the President can engage in war for up to 60 days without Congressional approval.  And he did so.

People like those chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. They even sound healthy!  So if everyone in the country made a batch of cookies - sold them for $10, that is $10 * 300 million = $3 billion.  Sounds like enough for an arsenal of bombers.

Celebrity in Chief

Have been getting texts from my main man from November 4, 2008 this week.  He never calls, just texts.  Today he is trying insistently to get me to donate so I can win a dinner with not just him, but George Clooney too.  As if.  Yesterday it was just the Pres, so I suppose he felt that was not sufficient.

Now this is the 21st century, do you get it?  If you text me with some line like, "hey girl, what do you think about single sales factor today"?  Now that would hook me!

Time Theft

Who was it who coined the term "time theft" - it was in one of those books where a white chick goes slumming, investigative journalist style, and works at Walmart or something.  The employees are prevented from fraternized, it even has a name - not yakking or talking but "time theft".

Anything can sound like a legitimate crime if you chose the right words.  No one wants to be labeled a thief.  Or a racketeer.  Or a thug.

So who are the real thugs?  If you spend 10 years giving tax breaks to rich political benefactors, is this economic stimulus?  But if you funneled this money to terrorists it would be criminal.  Funneling it to financial institutions that plunder the poor, well that is just capitalism.  Let the buyer beware.

Or if you sign legislation that satisfies the pharmaceutical companies that advertise late night on cable, oh and every other time of the day too.  It is very obnoxious.  Legislation that benefits them, picks up the tab for seniors' medicine cost through Medicare.  While marketing day and night and creating needs you didn't even know you had.  If my cat is restless at night, perhaps there is a medicine for "restless cat leg syndrome".  But even he's too smart for that.

If you are now a defender of the status quo, does that make you stable and righteous?  Or complicit.

Who Are You?

For awhile there it was an initiative every day.
From health care reform to equal pay for women to clean energy investment to doubling exports. Yes our federal government has many domains.

Fundamentally, its domain is national security. The Rs will say, in their sing song political rhetoric, Obama is about "big government".

To which I generally think - big country - big government - FDR saved us from The Great Depression...

And yet - we have more warrantless wiretaps than ever before. Larger deficits than ever recorded. A larger debt burden, and growing.

National security. Am I safer than I was on November 19, 2009 (pre Obaama inauguration)?

Economically, we are all stuck feeling shattered. Maybe just maybe, Obama could ponder "less is more". If the federal government did less activist legislation - which only results in confrontation with opposing forces - maybe everyone could calm down a bit. Calm, less shattered. Is that a way forward?

Warren Buffet in Context

ok the Buffet Rule, our President's solution to fairness, tax policy reform, and deficit spending all wrapped up in a neat little package. Who could argue with that?

Except its none of these things.
Fairness - if our system was so broken, why after 5 years are we finally hearing about this? The facts (if anyone cares to listen to actual facts, instead of the lovely political rhetoric) are that the well off pay 60-80% of all tax revenue. So lets get past the percent paid and brackets on the brain, shall we? The road you travel down, the B-1 bomber in its silo, yep those wealthy ones with lots of capital gains - paying for most of it.

Tax policy reform - ha. At 70,000 pages of tax policy, lets add more!

Deficit spending. The real truth, as it came out today, is that implementing the Buffet rule would bring $46 billion to the Treasury over a 10 year period. Some context. That is $4.6 billion per year. Well remember that Stimulus, and all the unemployment benefits bequeathed on states to keep social order and protect the peace (and pay for food and rent)? Oregon netted over $2 billion in federal benefits. In context, $4.6 billion sounds like chump change.

Puzzle Pieces

I wanted to have a party, and invite my red and my blue friends (and my white ones too). Each was to bring something of an opposite color.

Now, I'm not a color artist.. nor a sandwich artist, nor any other kind of artist. If you saw my attempt at drawing rabbits, or cats, or probably trees, you might think they all look the same. Ah, but add some color and its plain - green leaves, see! Black cat, see!

So the blue friends would bring something non-blue. Get them to think outside the box. Maybe they would bring large red steaks. And my red friends would bring something non-red, like maybe a vegan casserole made with endive topping. And the white friends - well they could bring something black I suppose - blackened tilapia. Something farmed and sustainable, but chemically changed.

All assembled, it would be a chance to trade recipes, trade ideas. Only instead of food, I will have them bring political philosophies (or both, wrapped up, like fortune cookies, or baked inside like a tur-duck-hen). Only you'd have to bring a policy option that didn't belong to you, and it had to be convincing.

Then, we save the world. Or couldn't do any worse than the current political deadlock in Congress. I used to think about Canada, only now I want to be optimistic. I like red, white, blue, and I like this country! So make it happen. Maybe I should send my members of Congress one of those mystery games so they can get used to the role-playing concept. Or maybe, as the Gen X and Gen Y types grow up and take congressional seats, all their pokemon role-playing will come in handy for solving the nation's policy problems. Where is Ash, the fate of the world is at stake..

Sustainable Minions

There is no rest for the weary..
At home sick for a few days, so subject to the calls of those recruiting "volunteers". Like the caller from my town yesterday, looking for volunteers for the Organizing for American campaign, aka President Obama's re-election.

Well he didn't know that I was home and could still speak (till my voice wore out later) so I hammered him as best as I was able. What was really telling was asking him "So, is the federal budget sustainable?"

His response "It is very sustainable". He started to go on about % of GDP as compared with other countries, blah blah.

Well, if that is the view of a rather intelligent Obama supporter, then all hope is lost. If mortgaging our kids future to Chinese borrowers isn't a national security issue, isn't generational theft, if this is all seen as perfectly fine and sustainable..

Then we are truly sunk. But I do not believe that. Our President speaks the party line. Hell, he creates the party line. The minions just echo it, and he echos them, and its all a big echo chamber.

sustainable - able to be sustained. Hopefully better tomorrow than today.

One Size Fits All is not a 21st Century Strategy

You can tell the players by their keywords. A "balanced" tax plan - ok, Obama and the Democrats.

Today's NY Times had a play by play of the budget deal that fell through this summer. Since I am sick I took the liberty of pouring through this. I was reminded of how frustrating it was, being the designated cspan watcher at work, to not find any actual legislation or text about the various plans that were being talked about. Well thats cause there weren't any. That's a relief!

At one time, I recall the ad, senior citizens didn't have enough money to live a decent life. One lived in a chicken coop. Enter social security. Later one, enter Medicare. Retirement accounts and full medical care for all seniors.

And yet, this is still called a "safety net". Now it is a safety net if you are on the verge of living in a chicken coop and eating dog food. It is not a safety net if you have $millions in the bank, eat caviar in Switzerland, and can get cat-scans whenever you feel the need.

At one point, like in 1935 when the Social Security Act was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the average lifespan was age 65. So most people would not see any of these benefits, or maybe a day or two of this money.

In the 21st century, everything is customized. There are no more black rotary dial phones from Ma Bell. There is no large telecommunications firm where everyone's dad works, and the moms all stay home and bake cookies.

I have a smartphone and can pick any plan or color I want. Or I can not have one and therefore no GPS so the feds won't know my whereabouts. And people have to piece together jobs that satisfy them and pay their bills - most switch about 7 careers in their lives.

So why do we still have a one-size-fits-all social security plan, and Medicare plan. The easy term for this is "means testing". If by the time you are a senior, and have an elevated standard of living, then maybe just maybe, it is Your Turn to give back something to society.

2 Hours Later

I swear, the price at Shell on Cornell Road was $4.09, then 2 hours later it shot up to $4.15. But that is very local. Perhaps some problems can be solved locally.

In Portland the rage is (was? so 2 hours ago?) chickens. People and their love for having chickens in their yard. I know that I don't wish to live in a neighborhood that doesn't allow chicken cages in the yard. Maybe chickens are easy to solve. Though not for some of my family members without good fences, not a pretty picture. Well, chickens have finite lives, so that problem eventually solves itself.

How nice! Some problems cycle over and over. As Ron Paul put it - our Congress fights about "who should pay for birth control pills". Indeed. Did that seem like a small enough problem that they could solve? In light of the massive budget debt problem that seems intractable. More likely it is just idealoguing, scoring points with their favorite political base.

The Supreme Court arguments this week were sure interesting. Well, after the first day, which took a while for me to get into the groove. Kind of like the spinning class I took tonight. The 5 minute warmup nearly killed me, but I kept going, and did get into the groove. Supreme Court arguments must be like watching a Shakespeare play - have to stick with it and learn the language.

I know that if I grow wheat for my own consumption this is illegal. Since wheat is a publicly traded commodity and hence the government can control its production, and pricing. Well, that is for professional farmers, not for me specifically. Since I am not registered as a farmer, I can go forth and grow all the wheat I want.

Tomorrow I hear that the Supreme Court will decide on this week's debate on the constitutionality of Obama's Health Care Reform (some people are offended by the term 'Obamacare'). But they won't announce the decision till June, after writing about it. True enough, writing something brings out what you really think.

Well after hearing all those arguments I am convinced that I don't want my government involved in an amazing scheme to force people to buy products from insurance companies. Its bad enough they've taken away "free TV" and force you to get a digital box or some type of service. Radio is still free. Growing my own wheat is still free. I am free to tell every person I run into what I think.

I am reminded that "freedom is not free", but something we have to keep fighting for. Time for a new direction America! This year, we are cursed, but eventually we will climb out of our complete gridlock, 3 month infrastructure spending bills, scoring political points, and growing chickens. On that day, we will set free to solve problems.

A Little Bit of Sanity

I was outraged when I heard our U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder give a speech at Northwestern and claim that killing an American citizen outright, on foreign soil, who is deemed an enemy combatant, is ok.

Then when I didn't hear any outrage over this, I thought, it is possible I am the only one outraged over this? This is absolutely crazy. Are we a democracy? How can a country who prides itself on the rule of law, and considers itself a representative democracy, condone and even justify such actions?

Much less at my alma mater, Northwestern. Arg.. Well today's Sunday New York Times editorial says it in more legal terms than I would have used. Killing an American citizen without judicial review, no way, not ok. Thank you.

Now lets see, we have a Democratic president. Who would like to kill us. Lets see, I do like Canada, maybe I should learn their national anthem.

Internationalistas - Life in a Red Border State

Catching up with old clippings, mine in this case, not the ones I send out to others, following in my mother's footsteps.

NYT dateline January 22, why Apple is responsible for 700,000 jobs, but only 20,000 in the US of A. Sounds bleak, but would you want to have a lifeless job at Foxconn - the Chinese contract manufacturer where you live in a dorm all week, work 12 hours a day. When they want to change over production they can rout you from your bed at midnight, feed you some green tea and a biscuit, and back to work.

I have to wonder how this global equation makes any sense. Yet surrounding me at the mile-high airport in Denver is a pod of 20-something computer support people tethered to laptops; and another bunch of young Asians talking excitedly.

red state interlude
A pilot sat next to me on the plane and has concerns living in a Red State, like his mother, who lives out in the sticks of Arizona, and needs to be armed to protect her home from over the border intruders.

What would that guy have wanted, I asked him about the intruder standing at his mom's dining room table? A glass of water perhaps, was his reply.

Really ?! Is that why she needed to take weaponry training? I suppose my option would be to give the guy a glass of water.
end red state interlude

Do we even stop to take care of our own? It may be too late for the Foxconn slaves, tethered to Chinese jobs unless they can reach escape velocity (or age out of that system..)

But what about us here? I've always said we should pay the true cost of production. What about that ipod I am listening to right now - what if it was built on American assembly lines. Is that worth something?

Or is it cheaper and easier for the party in control (either one) to pay off unemployed workers so they can buy ipods and imported tomatoes. How does this make any sense?

Help me Obi-Wan Kenobe, you're my only hope.

Its own country

Here in Tucson, I love to read local papers and the Arizona Daily Star is no exception. The letters are interesting - plea to issue bullet proof vests to U Arizona students. Teachers being censored for making "partisan" statements, such as "a capitalist economic works well".

Some people are in favor of the one student-one gun law (I suppose others would like them to own more). Apparently the state legislature, in its wisdom, is even putting forth a bill that would take tax dollars away from school districts that don't adhere to the "non-partisan educator speech".

Well I'm not in Kansas anymore, and certainly not Portlandia. I think this is about as far from Portlandia as one can get, anyplace.

Ah, but the sun is what I need. Every plant along the river trail (with no water, but a large bridge built with tax dollars - maybe for the "monsoon season" as my daughter describes it) is fascinating. Something completely different. From the smallest mimosa leaves I've ever seen, to small fuzzy pods on small bushes (ok need a better vocabulary, just wait).

Somewhere this is probably about balance. Portlandia balanced by Arizona. Not gray at all but deep blue and deep red.

Using Public Office for Political Gain

Our lovely Secretary of State, no doubt enamoured with the recent vote in neighboring Washington State and the legalization of gay marriage, sent out a message to supporters. Only it wasn't sent as a private citizen, it was sent with her official title as Secretary of State. Her message was one of joy and support, and even asking for financial support for a political action committee in Oregon that promotes gay marriage.

This is the same Office, the very same Secretary of State, that oversees administrative rules, which regulate state agencies. The same Secretary of State that oversees elections. That oversees ballot initiatives.

How can I have faith that she will fairly and objectively manage the state's affairs. Suppose a ballot initiative comes her way that runs counter to her beliefs. What trickery or bias is there.

Here in the Oregon bubble. Since this is so blatantly political, I will attach the email here:
-----------------

To: bro@basicrights.org

From: Kate Brown (at bro@basicrights.org)

There is a lot to celebrate – just earlier this week, Governor Gregoire signed Washington State's newly-passed marriage bill! This victory is an important reminder, especially on this day of love that we all need to do our part to ensure one day soon Oregon will see the day where no one is discriminated against because of who they are or who they love.

I'm forwarding you this email because Basic Rights Oregon is kicking off a great campaign to build equality across Oregon. You can help make equality a reality for every Oregonian.

Please support Basic Rights Oregon. Any amount can help send staff across the state, from Portland to Pendleton, Beaverton to Bend – to expand our work and touch more lives. And they have a donor ready to match all contributions up to $7,000 so let's help them raise $14,000 right now!

Join me in supporting equality across Oregon!

Kate

Kate Brown
Oregon Secretary of State

----------------------------------------Forwarded Message----------------------------------------

Dear Courtney,

This is an exciting time. Momentum is growing for the freedom to marry and public awareness is building on the important issues of transgender health care and racial justice.

That's why we're not letting the grass grow beneath our feet in 2012. We are taking equality across Oregon! Given that 48% of Oregonians live in towns of under 20,000 people, we cannot fulfill our mission of ensuring that all Oregonians experience equality unless our work reaches every community in the state.

We'll be traveling the state this year, building a majority for marriage, increasing the number of employers who provide trans-inclusive health care, and sharing the unique experiences of LGBT people of color through the Our Families project.

We can't do it alone. To build equality across Oregon, we need your help to raise $7,000 today!

Your dollars go directly toward our work in the field: training volunteer leaders, meeting with legislators, recruiting equality-minded business and community leaders, hosting video screenings, and attending community events where we can connect with new volunteers.

And this just in – Basic Rights Oregon Board Member Al Machemehl and his partner John Harrell have graciously offered to match all contributions up to $7,000 – this means we can raise $14,000 with your support!

You can also help us by building a political majority this election year, by registering yourself and your friends to vote and supporting pro-equality candidates. In this election year, we plan to send the message that pro-LGBT voters are here to stay in Oregon, and our numbers are only growing.

We'll be tallying the miles to let you know how far we travel. See you on the road!

In solidarity,

Jeana Frazzini
Executive Director
Basic Rights Oregon

Adaptive Programs

You can write programs that are linear, and always do the same thing with inputs. Or, you can write programs that run in infinite loops, and spend hours of your life debugging them. Hey, back in the 1980s when faced with what kind of computer science I should study, I stayed away from those hot new topics like Artificial Intelligence. Where you could write adaptive programs, like "Eliza", that you could talk to, and they could understand you, and adapt to you.

So how do you debug a President? This one produces the same policy output no matter the circumstances. Spent this morning reading President Obama's FY 2013 budget. Sort of an addictive habit (plus people just want to know what is buried in there)..

More stimulus - same old recycled policies from last year, the $$ to teachers and first responders. $$ for infrastructure like high speed rail, and affordable health care. $$ to Democratic voters (oops, being redundant).

So where is the President who is adaptive, like a computer program that reacts to new situations in new ways? The one, you know, who represents all Americans? Is there any hope for this?

The Highest and Best Use

When it comes to land use, and special property tax assessments - like farmland and forest land, they use the term "highest and best use".

When the highest and best use of Washington County farmland, probably now zoned for industry, becomes one giant Intel parking lot, what does that tell you?

That we have long ago bypassed farmland (at least for busy giant intersections right off the Sunset Highway). Soil quality or not, none of that matters.

And even industry, since the former Fujitsu site next door still has vines crawling over the sign (finally taken down). And the Toshiba plant is now a giant church.

So now a giant parking lot. Since corporate property is assessed based on sales alone these days in this state, I suppose there won't be too many chip sales in that parking lot. Perhaps a nice view for the airshow however.. I suppose highest and best use doesn't consider impervious surfaces and global warming. I would go inspect for that, but the guards would probably shoot me.

The Oregon Bubble

It is nearly spring, the time to buy primrose for your front porch! And for clematis to start budding and flowering, much as I might try to hack them back for blocking the view from my back porch.

It is also an even-numbered year, and following the faithful wishes of the citizens of Oregon (in this case), our state legislature is sitting. And conjuring up bills.

Senate Bill 1534, which would criminalize electronic communication between two or more people to commit a crime. Crime as defined in the annals of Oregon statutes, a very long list, but supposedly includes harm to public statues (placing a blue tarp over the elk downtown?), or occupying public roadways or transitways (Occupy Portland?).

Now I am not a fan of tarps as art, or occupying public parks. I should be able to use the park as much as any other taxpayer. But here are some activities that would be considered Class C felonies under this bill, should it become law:
* twitter alert to a group to schedule a break-in at a bank (are you ok with this one?)
* facebook post to alert a group about a gathering to protest at East Precinct over recent shoot-first-ask-questions-later by police (how about this?)
* blog post about a rally to be held on the weekend in a public square, without a permit (this?)
* invite to the Westboro Baptist church to visit the local veterans cemetery to protest continued military engagements around the world
* notice of Nazis marching in Skokie (ok that is from the Blues Brothers - but in there, they had to have a permit, and that actually happened)
* placing a tarp over the elk statue downtown
* occupying the public sidewalk to protest your favorite complaint against the government

the list goes on. Free speech is protected by the U.S. Constitution. Is it a crime to say you would like to commit a crime (this rain sucks! Kill the weather gods!), but haven't actually committed a crime? The pre-meditation aspect itself is a crime?

As I witnessed on my trip to DC and visit to the Newseum, some new forms of social media have received constitutional protection under the first amendment. Like a student complaining about her teacher on Facebook. Much more still unproven.

Do we want to restrict free speech in social media, and criminalize organically inspired action? In 48 hours, Susan G. Koman foundation, by public social media pressure, was forced to rescind their decision to defund Planned Parenthood. Social media is social action. It works.

Why would we want to restrict the rights of citizens to exercise their free speech rights? Oh! I forgot! Oregon is in a bubble. Or at least the legislature seems to be.

Stickers are Free of Charge

A taxi driver in Washington DC faces layers of decision makers who determine his livelihood. The Taxicab Commission, who is overseen by the DC City Council. According to my friendly cab driver, 90% of the cabs in the city are owned by individuals, not big firms. Cool!

However, with fuel costs having gone up 2x or 3x over the past bunch of years, it is hard to make a go of it. The powers that be changed the old zone system to a fare system, which also depressed their wages.

Compare this to the struggle going on in Oregon. Like at the Newseum, which has headlines posted out front from all 50 states - all news is local, all news is global.

My cab driver complained of corruption at the city level. Yet, they have been able to stave off the large firms, so far. An immigrant, he said his kids were training to be engineers. Yes, the continued cycle of immigrants climbing the food chain by generation (as a proof by induction - does that mean in several generations we'll all be rich? Famous?) Well now, there's a reason to keep tax rates low - so that when you and I are rich, we can actually do what we want with our money. Invest. Cure malaria. Etc.

Why taxis? This very month in an Oregon Legislature near you.. The taxi cab associations in this state are strong this year (an el nina year?) and trying to defuse the state's enforcement of taxi companies paying unemployment taxes. At a rate of ~3% for the first $37K income for each driver. Which is over $1000 per driver per year. They insist the drivers are independent contractors (who don't have to pay this tax).

Comparison? In the nation's capital, those stickers plastered inside cabs for passengers to view are "provided free of charge". The sticker says so. Who says they don't get perks.

Signs Along the Way

Why are signs in the DC area directing you to the Senate labeled "U.S. Senate", and yet signs to the House are labeled "The House". As if there is only one house. Well, they do call it the people's house.

And will it be upon Congress to decide whether to intervene this time, or our President? I did not realize how close Israel and Iran are to an all-out war, but signs are pointing that way.

Just as public sentiment about "drones" used to kill individuals in other countries (even Americans) gets agitated, I run into someone on a long flight who works on aerial drones. Technically called UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles, like a lot of technology it has its peaceful purposes.

Tuna fishing fleets use them to find schools of tuna. Shipping lines use them to provide safe cover for ocean cargo vessels carrying ipods, alerting them of Somali pirate ships. Then there are the military uses.

The branding to make drones acceptable is that they bring your troops home safely. Since UAVs can provide surveillance in a snap (unlike satellites which can take weeks and congressional authorization to change course), and have the detail of looking around doorways, they can provide on the spot military assistance in battle. An Oregon company InSitu makes these drones for the Pentagon.

Newt, the fading candidate, has expressed all out support for Israel. Not sure about Romney. I thought President Obama was on the right side of history in trying to encourage peaceful dialog between Isralis and Palestinians.

But now I see that Israel feels they are under existential threat, and I wonder what the right side of history is. Looking for signs..

Are You a Middle Class voter?

If so, then Obama was talking to you, in his State of the Union speech tonight. Lets see - stop offshoring jobs! A plea to get those nicely paid manufacturing jobs back. Tuition is too high! Responsible homeowners should be rewarded! $3000 for each of them! Drill baby drill, off our coastal shores!

And do you know why he had to raise the debt limit by $1.2 Trillion just last week? It was to pay for those tax breaks for the uber-rich, like Warren Buffet. Wait, are you sure that money didn't go to pay for the interest on the national debt? Or a B-1 bomber? Or maybe 99 weeks + 2 more months of unemployment insurance for millions?

What is an investment, and what is a payoff to supporters, and what is money down a black hole?

And how exactly are those promises going to be kept? I would like nothing more than manufacturing jobs to return.. but saying it does not make it so. Please, tooth fairy, I know I didn't lose any teeth lately, but I truly believe, and maybe that 50cents I got when I was 6 years old should continue to be compensated now, due to inflation you know.

Bottom line, there is no "there" there, no substance in this speech. But, it does precede his annual budget proposal in February, which will also have no bipartisan support. For now, it is promises to voters, who he hopes will remain on his side through November 6 at least (at most). Its the promise of "hope" and "change". Well how well did that work out last time ?

On the Eve Of..

.. Reading about Iran's second nuclear installation, and their threats to close shipping lanes makes me think of that song "On the Eve of Destruction". You know, the 60's garage sounding band.

I have packed my fears of living minutes away from nuclear war war away with my leg warmers and political cartoons of Ronald Reagan.

For those of you who did not experience the 80's up close and personal, the overriding fear of the era was nuclear annihilation. Now that was something to occupy a public square over.

Today there are terrorists in the world. Somali pirates. Iran's nuclear weapon ambitions. And the homegrown mentally unstable college student detached from reality, armed and loaded with easily obtainable military class weaponry.

The threat is so far out there, like those billions of galaxies the Hubble telescope is finding. The threat is next door to us. The threat is already on the public square, ahead of us.

What is the response? Is it the Patriot Act on steroids, surveilling our every move and every anticipated move, minority report style? I'm so glad the airport scanner can detect tissues in my pocket (perhaps a cover for baked on cocaine smuggling!) and I have to de-belt and re-belt in a public airport terminal (as you get older kiddos, its really no big deal). But I doubt any of this catches any clever terrorists. Though it probably does create more jobs, for TSA screeners.

Gun control, economic opportunity, community.

Unchecked freedom lends to chaos. Don't give guns to people on the edge. Pool resources or forge a sister country relationship with Somalia to allow people other avenues besides looting ships.

Are we on the eve? The eve of what? Today, thinking about being on the eve of community.