LSJ Blogs: People's Politics

Loss of newspapers

There was an excellent editorial in the Williamston Enterprise this morning by Phil Power entitled “Loss of newspapers a danger to democracy.”  Mr. Power seems to know what he was talking about as he has over 40 years experience in the newspaper business.  It turns out the column was originally published online yesterday as “The crisis in newsgathering;” it is rather ironic that it appeared online first.  I strongly recommend it as a well thought out, expert view.

Why Not Sotomayor?

The right wing is about to have kittens about Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor.  To hear them talk, Obama and Sotomayor are both racists who want to stage a Bolshevik coup while forcing Eagle Scouts into gay Islamic marriages.  Truthfully, I don’t believe they object to Obama making this appointment, they really object to Obama making any appointment.  I think many of the talking points were pre-written to be brought out instantaneously no matter who Obama would have picked.  Rush Limpbrain calls her a "reverse racist", which is funny coming from a reverse genius.  Such luminaries as Newt Gingrich, Sean Halfwitty, and Karl Rove are feverishly trying to rouse the right wing base against her.  Let’s see, what do they have?  Looks like a lot of whining to me. Point by point:

Waxman-Markey; Are you serious?

The Democrat clowns in Washington on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, along with one Republican, Mary Bono Mack (CA), passed the Waxman-Markey Bill out of Committee on May 21st.  There were at least four clear thinking Democrats who saw the light and voted no—John Barrow (GA), Jim Matheson (UT), Charlie Melancon (LA), and Mike Ross (AR).  This remarkable piece of garbage may be worst legislation coming out of any House committee since the “stimulus” bill a few months ago.  The real name of the bill is American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACESA) and I suspect it hasn’t been read by any more committee members than read the stimulus bill as it is almost 1,000 pages of detritus.

The axis of evil

Now that North Korea has stuck its thumb in the collective eye of the civilized world with their nuclear detonation and multiple missile launches, what is the appropriate reaction for the Obama Administration or the world?  The UN and US had both warned North Korea about their continued work on nukes and long range missiles, but didn’t do anything about it, other than passing resolutions and implementing weak sanctions that didn't work in Iraq either, so now they have both.

Why Sotomayor?

I’m endlessly fascinated by politics, which is why I enjoy offering my opinions in the People’s Politics and reading the counterpoints as they come in.  Obama’s choice of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court replacing Souter is another compelling situation to me.  For the sake of full disclosure, I am not a lawyer and don’t have any legal training (other than the excellent Cooley Law School seven week series).  I think Obama's choice was based on politics, not jurisprudence, but I would love to hear opinions from some legal minds.

Memorial Day musings

This column is to commemorate those who have fought and died defending a cause they believed in.

This column is to commemorate those who have fought and died defending a cause they may not have believed in.

This column is to commemorate those who volunteered for military service and fought and died.

This column is to commemorate those who were drafted into service and fought and died. 

I especially want to remember Jeffrey Borr from Grand Rapids, a friend who died in Vietnam.

When I go to the Vietnam veterans memorial in DC, I touch the names of people I knew, and I cry uncontrollably.  If you have never seen "The Wall" in person, it's hard to describe how deeply moving it is.  Seeing a photo of it just isn't the same at all. You really have to walk along it to feel its impact.

The first time I went to Italy, it was a group trip arranged by my father's cousin Leonard, who served there in WWII.   Leonard wanted his family to see Italy as he knew it from serving there.  We met people he is still friends with there, who view him as a hero.  We went to the monastery that sheltered and hid him and a few other soldiers.  We saw the field where Leonard was shot and injured.  We went to an American WWII cemetery.  We went to a German cemetery.  There were a few people on the trip who didn't want to go into the German cemetery.  Leonard responded, "They were just kids doing what their government told them to, just like we were."  

This column is to commemorate all the kids who have died doing what their government told them to.

Credit card legislation

I just had a chance to read Senator Carl Levin’s statement on the Freedom from Credit Card Abuse law that recently passed Congress.  While I am typically against any government interference in private enterprise, I think some sort of regulation on credit cards is long overdue.  I do not think regulation is required to ensure the banks’ don’t make obscene profits (I’m using banks as a generic term for all credit card companies in this post), but I think it is needed because the banks have overstepped common decency with their practices.

Guantanamo vs. American Values

Whether we are liberal or conservative Americans, we share a number of values.  We believe in freedom and in fairness.  We believe in justice for all.  We believe (or we strive to believe) that a person is innocent until proven guilty.  We believe that if we were falsely arrested, we would get a fair trial and be vindicated.  When we hear of people hurting kittens or puppies, we are horrified. 

And then there is Guantanamo...

Obama v Cheney

In one of the more remarkable examples of principled debate I’ve seen recently in the political arena, President Obama seemed to square off with former Vice President Dick Cheney yesterday in “dueling” speeches.  Their views, not surprisingly, were dramatically different, but the biggest surprise to me was the general tone of the two speeches. 

Why increased CAFE standards now?

On Tuesday last, President Obama, with great fanfare and supported by joined by our very own Governor Jennifer Granholm (D-MI), Arnold Schwarzenegger (R(?)-CA), Ron Gettelfinger (D-UAW), and a host of other luminaries announced “an historic agreement to help America break its addiction to oil."  What does this mean and why now?  Will it help or hurt us?