Weekend Special

It's just not easy being green. Here's a secret for you all. One of my dream jobs is to work on Sesame Street!!

Human Rights Watch

I happen to have a lot of angry moments that have to be constrained because I'm in a public place. For instance, tonight I was sitting in the "quiet" wing of the library reading the NYT's op-ed section and I ran into an article that just made my blood boil. Usually I would grab the nearest person and explain my grievances, but given my circumstance and the fact that the english major next to me wouldn't have understood, I restrained myself.

The article I'm referring too was written by the founder of the Human Rights Watch, Robert Bernstein. The former chairman basically outlines why the HRW should stop critizing Israel and begin focusing more on crimes committed in other middle eastern countries. Bernstein believes that the HRW should focus on "closed" societies e.g. North Korea, Iran, Sudan. In a response officials at the HRW said,

"If that were the case, we would not work on US abuses in Guantanamo Bay, police abuse in Brazil, the "untouchables" in India, or migrants in South Africa. "Open" societies and democracies commit human rights abuses."

The other point to consider here is that who determined that Israel is an "open" society, the policies enacted by the Knesset have proven to me that it is not. Those living in the occupied territories are forced to pay taxes, yet they have no voting rights. Walls and checkpoints are constructed each day that limit the mobility and livelihood of those living in the OT. And still to this day land policies discriminate against Arabs in the OT. For instance in East Jerusalem Arabs are forced to apply for residency each year, if they fail to renew they are evicted.

Bernstein says that through vigorous public debate and an adversarial press, democracies can change by themselves, yet over the last 60 years not much has changed for those living in the OT's and Palestinian refugee camps longing to return to their homes. So while Palestinians continue to live in third world conditions where water, electricity and food are luxuries the Human Rights Watch should have an obligation to report on any further crimes committed against them. Because in the end their mission statement reads:

We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all.

Held By The Taliban

I wanted to link you all to this great article in todays NYT's. David Rohde was captured by the Taliban in November of 2008 outside Kabul, Afghanistan. Today's piece is the second in a five part series detailing his capture and imprisonment. If you read Dexter Filkins first hand account of his time in Iraq and Afghanistan you will really enjoy this series. Its unreal to think these are factual events, imagining yourself in these situations is near impossible.  

TLH

C-o-l-a cola.

So it turns out Obama is proposing that we spend an additional 13 billion this year to give seniors the bonus they won't be receiving through COLA. Since the cost of living didn't increase for the first time in 40 some years social security recipients will not have their benefits increased. A professor of mine lashed out at the policy decesion today citing that it was a waste of money, if the cost of living did not increase why would recipients need more money.

I tend to go along with the Administration on this one. Besides the fact that this gets the AARP off Obama's back and decreases a little pressure from seniors over the proposed medicare cuts, we still have to remember we're recovering from a recession. 401ks are still in the gutter, and recipients are bound to spend this money on the essentials. I doub't most will be saving it for a rainy day, considering its been raining for the last 12 months. If anything this is a stealthy stimulus that can gain support from both sides of the aisle.

TLH

Changing views on Afghanistan.

If you woke up today it was hard to miss the differing analyses on the war in Afghanistan. Dexter Filkins wrote a piece on the challenges facing McChrystal over the next 24 months, Thomas Friedman laid down an argument calling for a stronger US hand against Karzai's courruption, and the Times reported again on Vice President Biden's "specialized security" strategy.

If you didn't read all of Filkin's piece on McChrystal I don't blame you, it was about as long as a small book. Although if you did, you noticed he pointed out some interesting characteristics of the strategy being deployed in Afghanistan. McChrystal is focusing on three new goals, protect the Afghan people, build an Afghan state, and make friends with whoever you can. Its obvious if we want to "win" we need to gain the support of the local population, to do this the commander has decided to back off from engaging the enemy. Instead new tactics will revolve around making the insurgents come to us, if the insurgency revolves around people, McChrystal says "What I want to do is get on the inside, looking out — instead of being on the outside looking in.”

The general also believes that he can make many of the insurgents switch sides. Much like Iraq in 2007 when large groups of insurgents became police officers (aka we paid them to switch sides), McChyrstal believes the insurgents in Afghanistan could be handled in similar fashion. I tend to go along with this theory too, the Pashtun's like any people are looking for a stable, safe environment, they are not ideologically driven so they will flock to whoever offers them that haven.

McChrystal likes to talk about the 2 different ways of fighting the war. There is the hard side and soft side, for the general and his commanders the "hard side" necessitates an increased number of soldiers in the country that can provide security to civilians, while they rebuild their government. The soft side focuses on training soldiers, the problem here is that a large percentage (something like 1 in 4) of Afghan's are illiterate. Imagine training soldiers that cannot read or write, it took nearly four years to create Iraq's security force. Not to mention you have to consider funding a force of around 200,000, that would cost about 4 to 5 billion dollars, the Afghan yearly revenue is more in the ball park of 600 million.

Building a stable government that provides basic services for Afghani's was the other key to McChrystal's success. This leads us to the valid point that Friedman brought up in his op-ed today.

"This is crazy. We have been way too polite, and too worried about looking like a colonial power, in dealing with Karzai. I would not add a single soldier there before this guy, if he does win the presidency, takes visible steps to clean up his government in ways that would be respected by the Afghan people."

This problem is not going to be fixed by military leaders, international pressure needs to be applied to the Karzai gang. Freidman pointed out that he is basically running his own form of the mafia. You scratch my back I scratch yours. You piss me off, you end up wearing cement shoes. Until the corruption at the top is cut off, the people will continue to look for service's from outside influences (Taliban.)

I've written a number of post's on Afghanistan and most have concluded with an argument in favor of American withdrawal from the conflict. Biden's plan calls for special forces and drones to keep Al Qaeda down for the count. I really believe that can work, the CIA has already been able to kill 11 of the top 20 Al Qaeda leaders. Yet if our troops withdrawal from the countryside it is certain that the Taliban will again take over. We may be able protect our own interests from terrorist threats, but we won't be able to protect the lives and rights of the Afghans we leave behind. Obama like any good idealist has spread the values of democracy across the world during the last 9 months, last week he won a Nobel Peace Prize for it. We should only hope that the President will insure that those ideals are spread to the people of Afghanistan, they've waited thirty years for peace, and we've already come this far.

TLH

George Will and Rights

George Will wrote an outrageous op-ed in the Post Sunday. Throughout the piece Will finds a way to put down activist's that speak out for the rights of minorities. As he calls them "Rights talkers" are inherently aggressive, tend toward moral inflation and hold preemptive resentments. Yet the last time I checked it was groups of these activists that gained women the right to vote, brought civil rights to the forefront of 60's politics, and more recently have spread the ideals of equal rights for all american's regardless of sexual orientation. I'm sure if the founding fathers sat at home "non-aggressively" we would have formed this nation that is based on rights.

So thats the other point, Will complains about "the inability of people nowadays to recommend this or that health-care policy as merely wise or just. Each proposal must be invested with the dignity of a right." I'm thinking Will missed the 5th grade class that covered the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. The fact is we argue over our rights, everyday legislation is debated over how those rights will affect our daily lives. Somewhere in the DofI it notes that "life" is one of our unalienable rights, well George I would imagine thats why policy makers are debating healthcare in the context of "rights."

In 1944 FDR suggested that the nation should recognize a Second Bill of Rights, he included a job with a living wage, education, and health care. With unemployment reaching almost 10% and our education system in shambles (cough, cough NCLB) health care seems like the most promising objective we can reach for. If it takes some whole foods shopping "rights talkers" in congress to reach one of FDR's goals, go for it. George Will is mistaken "rights talkers" don't tend toward moral inflation we create it. In the 1960's a vast majority of Americans disagreed with the Civil Rights movement, but through moral inflation we not only passed legislation but eventually changed the mind set of the public. Can the same not be done for Same-Sex marriage and Healthcare?

Gone Hiking

I'll be doing some hiking in the Shenandoah for the rest of the week. Lucky for me I'll be free from the forces of the internet, unfortunate for all you the progressive blogging will be limited. I'll try to upload some pictures... proof I wasn't just blowing you all off. Until Sunday I recommend Klien and Drum (see the link over on the right side of the screen.)

TLH

Another brush with Craig Arnold.

I ran into another piece by Craig Arnold today, this one is a translation of a poem written by Ramon Cote Baraibar. Translations are particularly difficult in the poetry world. Finding words that have the same meaning, but that also carry the flow can be an extremely tedious task. That flow seems to be what separates one poet from another, if your familiar with Arnold's other work I think you will be able to tell it's his translation. Also Arnold has a great note on the poem, I've never learned so much about the word "pardon", its meaning and the ways in which we do or do not use it everyday.

Coal Delivery Man

Like finding a bar of aluminum wedged in a bull’s jaw. Like discovering in a sea chest a short obsidian head. Like looking through a padlock and seeing an undeserved dawn. As impossible as all these, as melancholy and lonely, was it to see the green truck that with the punctuality of a sacrament delivered the coal each month. On the slope its strained heart would announce itself vociferously, at the brink of death, and it would stop in front of the house as if to deliver the agonizing news of the fall of Troy. And then a man, wrapped in sacking, would pitch his cargo, resonant and angular, into an orange-painted crate.

Like opening a Bible and finding three leaves of laurel. Like lifting a stone and remembering someone’s name. Like finding the same snail again a hundred miles away. As impossible as all these, as melancholy and lonely, would it be to find, fifteen years later, the same coal deliveryman carrying on his trade, bent from the strain, determined to show the heavens that a man might do that job his entire life, that he scraped in the mines, that he stole hread from his wife to sew his sacking, that he dreamed of infinite excavations, of tunnels, and that they might forgive him for not having done more than that.




I hope this stays with you
TLH

The Wyden Admendment

So it turns out Max Baucus rejected my favorite amendment last night. I've talked about the Free Choice Act before, but in short it would offer more individuals a choice between healthcare providers. Apparently it didn't have the support of labor unions and big business, which means Max Baucus can't support it. His excuse was that it did not have a CBO report, so he threw it out... it wasn't even voted on.

Rightfully so Senator Wyden was clearly upset he told his colleagues "We have stripped this bill of choice and competition" that statement could not be more accurate. With no public option, and no real choice the finance bill is projected to only cover around 29 million additional people. Not only would a public option offer more people the opportunity to purchase health care, it would also lower the costs for everyone else (more people in the system cheaper for everyone.) But come on I sound like a broken record, I've said all this before.

Wyden's amendment would have offered an additional 175 million people the option to choose their own health plan, now they will literally be stuck with whatever their employer provides or whatever their union could lobby for. Instead of having more competition, insurance companies will have no motivation to improve coverage and lower costs. Like I've said before the status quo is a sinking ship. So after three months, the Finance bill has ended up to be just that, the status quo.

TLH

Weekend Special

I just heard Luego for the first time last night, I gotta say it was fantastic. Lots of great guitar rifts, and the lyrics take you back a couple decades. It's just classic, kickass local music. The lead singer Patrick Phelan is touring Europe in November, but on October 17th he is releasing his new CD at the Local 506. (check it out!!) Also it should be noted he plays with some members of Roman Candle and Peter Holsapple who was part of R.E.M and later Hooty and the Blowfish. So its not just an entertaining act... the music is preformed to perfection.

TLH

Mediatation on a Grapefruit

I told a friend not to long ago I was finding it difficult to connect with any of the pieces in "Poetry". I had of course spoken to soon, at first I skipped over Craig Arnold's "Mediatation on a Grapefruit", but luckily it was the last piece I read. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

To wake when all is possible
before the agitations of the day
have gripped you
To come to the kitchen
and peel a little basketball
for breakfast
To tear the husk
like cotton padding a cloud of oil
misting out of its pinprick pores
clean and sharp as pepper
To ease
each pale pink section out of its case
so carefully without breaking
a single pearly cell
To slide each piece
into a cold blue china bowl
the juice pooling until the whole
fruit is divided from its skin
and only then to eat
so sweet
a discipline
precisely pointless a devout
involvement of the hands and senses
a pause a little emptiness

each year harder to live within
each year harder to live without

I've formed many relationships over my life, whether it was with a piece of music, a girl, or a good book I've learned that the best, are the ones formed in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately I usually miss out on those opportunities, I forget the bands name, the author of the book, or the last four digits of the girls number(your right Ian i never get that far.) These lines were different though, from the start I was taken, carried away in its prose, I wasn't going to forget this author. Craig Arnold.

I flipped two pages and opened up the Comments section, here are the first words I read, " Its now been seven months since Craig Arnold died." He was 41... i briefly new his work, but I won't forget, because the best relationships are the ones formed in a matter of seconds.

I'll leave you with another piece of his work this is an exert from "Couple From Hell"

Here is a small café
opening for breakfast
a zinc counter catching the light
at every angle in bright rings of glitter
A cup of black coffee is placed before you
brimming with rainbow-colored foam
a packet of sugar a pat of butter
a split roll of bread
scored and toasted and still warm
The butter is just soft enough to spread
the coffee hot and sugared to perfect sweetness
the bread grilled to the palest brown
crisp but not quite dry
You tear it neatly into pieces
eat them slowly when you finish
you are exactly full

Here are bread butter and coffee
Here you are your own body
eating and drinking what you are given
as one day you in turn will be devoured
and that is all You were never the lord
of a lightless kingdom any more
than she has ever been its queen
and the world you talked each other into prison
suddenly seems to be made of glass
and your eyes see clear to the horizon
and you feel the molecules of air
part like a curtain as if to let you pass

I hope these stay with you.

TLH

Obama's next move in Afghanistan.

The NYT's reported today that the Obama Administration has been weighing its military strategy in Afghanistan over the last few weeks. Since the release of the McCrystal report which said that "Mission Failure" would be inevitable without adequate support (i.e more troops.) The President has taken a step back to review his options. One of those options is strongely advocated by Vice President Biden. His strategy shift would scale back the number of troops and focus more on capturing and dismantling Al Qaeda. The idea is that the fight is not just in Afghanistan, earlier this month a US air strike killed Ilyas Kashmiri the leader of Al Qaeda paramilitary operations in Pakistan. With stronger intelligence along side highly trained special forces Biden believes the US can subdue Qaeda and protect Americans from future attacks. On the contrary though Secratary Clinton told reporters that without the International Security Assistance Force the Taliban would easily create a safe haven for Al Qaeda.

The arguments for and against increasing troop levels could fill a multi volume book, but this is my take. We cannot automatically think that an influx of troops will solve our problems. The surge in Iraq worked for a number of reasons. First it was primarily aimed at the city of Baghdad, in Afghanistan this will not be the case. Instead of focusing our troops in a single city we will have to fight on a number of fronts throughout the country. It should also be noted that the McCrystal report showed that we will be facing three different enemies with extensive financing. The other point is that a backlash against the insurgency coincided with the surge in Baghdad. With an increase in troops and more incidents like the ISAF's air strike that killed 30 civilians the only back lash I see is one against international forces. With that said, I cannot say I disagree with the deployment of additional troops. If the president does decide to go forward he must realize that the bare minimum is not enough, Kennedy gave that during Vietnam and it did not solve our problems. If you want complete security with out the risk of the Taliban and Qaeda returning you must go in strong and with a conviction to show the people that you are fighting for their future.

On the other hand that strategy could take another 8 years and even more US causalities. Not to mention the fiscal cost. My final consensus... Follow Biden's plan, but also go along with Senate democrats and rapidly increase the Afghani military/police force. Oh yea and Karzai has to show his people that he is willing to have a legitimate government, even if that means he is not President.

TLH

CBO on Wyden

I've been a fan of the "Free Choice Act" for awhile and it looks like the amendment might be picking up steam on the hill. The Congressional Budget Office announced today that it could save nearly 1 billion dollars over ten years. Thats not exactly as much as Senator Wyden initiatally thought, but its substantial and its not going to destabilize the markets.

So if your wondering what the amendment is all about here is the run down. The goal of the legislation is open up the health care exchanges to more Americans. Right now those exchanges are limited to employees of small businesses and the self-employed. The amendment will offer workers who are already insured by their respective company a choice. They can either keep their company insurance or if they are unhappy they can go onto the exchange and choose a plan that fits their needs. If the employee chooses an option on the exchange he will receive a voucher from his company which will pick up 60 to 70 percent of the tab. That of course leaves either 30 or 40 percent of the cost which the worker is responsible for, this is where the cost saving measures come in. If you have to pick up part of the tab your going to shop around and find a plan that not only covers your health needs, but which also fits into your price range (your gonna save some dough.)

As always with health care the big picture is we are going to be saving money, while insuring better quality. If more people are choosing their insurance on exchanges we will see competition and hopefully lower premiums.

People talk about how this bill will do nothing to control actual costs of medical care, but I think it lays a solid foundation. Think about it, if insurance companies want to lower premiums to insure more customers then they will have to change how they pay providers. Instead of the old fee- for service system doctors are going to have to provide quality care that is rational and not excessively wasteful. To end today, Judy Feder who is an expert on health care at the Center for American Progress told Ezra Klein earlier that "Until we stop paying too much for the wrong kind of service, we won't get providers to deliver the right kind of service."

TLH

Weekend Special

A lot of my "Monday Music" choices focus on new bands I find while DJing at KNC. This means that most come from the "hypster" indie music world. Today though I'm going to feature an artist that is far from the KNC scene. Its been about a year since Jackson Browne released "Time the Conqueuer" and almost 40 since his first album simply titled "Jackson Browne." That first album included some of his best "Doctor My Eyes", "Rock me on the Water", and "My Opening Farewell." (yes he wrote the song Bonnie Raitt would make famous.)

"Time the Conqueror" keeps it going, political messages can be found in "Going down to Cuba" and "Where were you" which brings to light the government's faults during Katrina. The great thing about Browne is the music arrangements never get complex, nor do they need to, with quality lyrics Jackson carries each song. If your looking for classic Jackson Browne then you won't be disappointed with "Just say Yeah" it evokes the simple theme he has written about in every album, finding love.

Also check out "Sky Blue and Black", some people cannot name their favorite song across all genres, but this is mine. The best lines every written, "Your the hidden cost and the thing that's lost in everything I do/Yeah and I'll never stop looking for you." Jackson also wrote "These Days" which was preformed by Nico in the 60's and "Take it Easy" the instant hit sung by the Eagles. Jackson has been focusing lately on a lot of solo work so lucky for those readers in the triangle he will be preforming an acoustic solo set on November 11 at the Durham Arts Center. I'm not sure a day goes past I don't listen to at least one of his songs, they just don't get old. Check him out I'm sure you'll enjoy.

TLH

Books, Books, Books

So I'm almost finish with American Tribes: Journalistic Discoveries of Our People and Their Cultures. I've been trying to decide what's next so here is the list of possibilities. If you have any feedback leave me a comment either here or facebook. Also if your interested in reading one of the books with me, I always thought it would be cool to form a book club. (where i got to choose the book every time) Well here they are...

"Harlen County Speaks" focuses on how the coal industry affected a small county in eastern Kentucky during the 1930's.

On the same theme George Orwells "The Road to Wigan Pier", this is a journalistic approach to the industrial heartlands of England in the mid 30's.

Stephen Ambrose "Pegasus Bridge" I believe this details the capture and defense of a crucial bridge during D-day.

The 7 Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence aka Lawrence of Arabia. This book was written after the first world war and is based off Lawrence's actions with Arab revolt in 1916-1918.

Let me know what you think.

TLH

Rockefeller Stands Up

The 5 term Senator from West Virginia met with the president yesterday to voice his concerns that the Baucus bill will do too little for America. He expressed to the president what a lot of liberals have been feeling over the last couple weeks. Rockefeller like any sensible American wants to see a public option, and he wants the co-op out. No proof exists that the co-op can compete with the monopolies of private insurance plans. Even if they could compete the idea is to drive down prices, the only plan that lays the foundation for achieving that is government run public option.

Rockefeller also mentioned that the Children's Health Insurance Program which provides care for the children of the working poor should remain independent from the overhaul. I can hardly disagree, Baucus is trying to save money by rolling families into the health exchanges. The program though is already a success, so dismantling it could have devastating consequences for parents who are not aware that they will need to take extra steps to insure that their children are covered.

I'm relieved that someone is finally standing up for an agenda that will provide quality, affordable care for all Americans. Over the last couple of months Senator Baucus has been trying to reach a bipartisan solution, but through that compromise many sacrifices have been made. The Baucus bill will leave around 28 million Americans uninsured in 10 years, it has significantly cut the subsidies for middle class Americans, and it includes a free rider provision that could hurt the job market for low income workers. Even with these amendments not one republican has signed onto the bill. Democrats continue to give into republican demands and they continually tell us that its not enough. Well the time for bipartisanship is over, democrats have one of greatest majorities in the history of Congress. As a former boss once told me "its time to man it up." If republicans will not sign onto a compromise leave them behind, pass a bill with a strong public option and subsidies that will help the middle class. If you cannot get the 60 votes you need to avoid a filibuster, use the budget reconciliation process.

The purpose of this legislation from the start has been to radically overhaul health care, yesterday the president told students at the University of Maryland that the health care fight is "the defining struggle of this generation." If that is the case, then I expect more democrats will stand with Senator Rockefeller demanding quality government oriented health legislation.

TLH

Why Scraping the "Shield" is Good Policy.

The Obama administration announced today it was scraping the Bush era's missile defense program. The republican response was no surprise, John Boehner (R-OH) said “It shows a willful determination to continue ignoring the threat posed by some of the most dangerous regimes in the world.” The fact is though that regime he is talking about (Iran) is not capable of attacking Europe. Their arsenal contains short and medium range missiles but those can only reach neighboring middle eastern countries and Israeli. I have no doubt that if Israel felt threaten they would neutralize the threat. It's also important to realize that the nuclear factor with Iran barely exists, at earliest experts predict they could have nuclear capabilities by 2015.

These neo-conservatives like Senator Jim Demint(who said we "have signaled weakness") are so fed up on protecting America and her allies they forget that we can diplomatically solve the nuclear problem with Iran. On Oct. 1st the UN security council, is going back to the tables to negotiate Iran's nuclear program. The bottom line is we want Russia on our side. This is a chance for real progress. Why risk dismantling Iran's nuclear program for a missile shield that is not only over budget, but also provides no real security benefit. Even if Iran did back out of the talks we would at least be in a better position to ask Russia to place economic sanctions on Iran.

The fact is many democrats have been tossing around the phrase "reset" and if you ask me this is one way of starting. Exerting our influence on a less than democratic Russia is key, not only in nuclear negotiations, but also trade policies. After the announcement Putin said he would meet with CEO's of GE, Morgan Stanley and TPG one of the worlds largest private equity firms. At present BP and Royal Dutch Shell are the main players in Russian oil market, but given time American companies could be allowed into Russian oil fields. America gave up a less then mediocre missile program and look at the prospects we now have.

TLH

George Will

Rather busy day, to hold you over until tomorrow read George Will's piece on the first admendment.

TLH

Grassley's Bipartisanship

The Ranking Member of the of Senate Finance Committee released a report today claiming that bipartisan efforts to forge a compromise on healthcare have begun to fall apart. Here's an exert of the memorandum.

"In addition to concerns about costs to taxpayers and affordability for individuals, there are still some serious outstanding issues that have yet to be resolved like preventing taxpayer funding of abortion services and the enforcement against subsidies for illegal aliens."

If you ask me the first line here is a contradiction. Grassley wants the bill to be cheap, but he also wants affordable healthcare. The way to provide affordable care for Americans though is to require citizens to purchase insurance, an idea Grassley has been fighting against. Instead Grassley wants a reinsurance program, which would be a voluntary system. If we want to bring tax payer costs down it only makes sense to require citizens to be insured and for those who are not, we can make them pay into the system through tax penalties.(around 3,800 for a family of 4)

I also want to touch on the issue of illegal aliens. Ezra talked about this earlier in the week, most immigrants come to America when they are young, therefore they tend to be healthy. On a large scale, insurance must cover all the people under its plan, so if insurance companies were able to add an influx of cheap healthy workers, individual premiums would be lower across the board. The other thing to consider is that if a mandate passes requiring companies to offer benefits to citizens, but not illegals, blue collar Americans could suffer in the job market. Then again it could be Grassley's intention to keep labor cheap for American corporations, while the tax payers continue to pay for immagrants expensive ER care. I don't have much hope for illegal coverage in this bill, but future congress's should look into it.

To be quite honest I'm sick of the Finance Committee we heard last week that they would vote this week and now that's been delayed again. This bill will be molded in conference, the leadership just needs to push it through the gang of six. If you ask me throw Senator Snowe a bone, get her vote and we can move on to conference and maybe not worry about the filibuster.

TLH

Nominations Still Facing Delays.

Hillary Clinton put it best when asked by A.I.D.S workers why they were still without a chief, "The clearance and vetting process is a nightmare.” Matt Yglesias pointed out today that another appointee has been held up from senate confirmation due to tax issues. Lael Brainard was nominated to be The Under Secretary for International Affairs in March, seven months later her appointment has stalled due to a discrepancy with her Home-Office tax deduction.

Her role in the Treasury Department entails advising the Treasury Secretary on international affairs (rather self-explanatory.) With G-20 preparations under way and apparently a recent tariff on Chinese tires, it looks like the Treasury Department could use some leadership. If your telling yourself "well they still have acting officials" your right, but you can almost compare an interim appointee to a substitute teacher. The sub lacks a certain loyalty to the students, just like the students lack loyalty to the sub, from the start authority and control crumble. With international markets still struggling to recover after the events of last year, Obama and the American people need a strong, loyal Treasury Department.

So how do we fix it, apparently the blame is being tossed around, but I think you start by controlling how far we investigate these appointees. Not many people outside the IRS have heard of Home-Office tax deductions, in some ways we need to start making some trade-offs. We can spend months vetting candidates and bickering over party politics or we can have individuals appointed swiftly to vital positions, where they can serve national interests. Now the latter might lead to some rotten apples, but we're talking about 500+ appointments (each with crucial tasks), I think its a fair trade in the end.

Music Monday

Bill Callahan's record "Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle" is filled with some great new songs. Callahan sings with a deep, smooth voice which applifies his creative lyrics throughout each track. Backed up by guitars and a unique string set the music becomes easy listening. It just happens to be my favorite album to pull up in the ipod while I'm reading down at Cup Of Joe.( it tends to go great with Tribes of America by: Paul Cowan) I leave you with some of Callahan's lyrics, these are from a song titled "My Friend."

Now I'm not saying we're cut from the same tree

But like two pieces of the gallows
The pillar and the beam

Like two pieces of the gallows

We share a common dream--
To destroy what will harm other men

TLH

The State of Water.

The NYT's published an article in yesterday's paper detailing how America's water is becoming more polluted as regulators continually fail to prosecute offenders. Its been 37 years since the Clean Water Act became law. The bill's goal was to eliminate toxic substances from America's water sources by 1983, in 2009 the Times estimates that nearly one in 10 Americans is consuming water that does not meet federal safety standards.

In Woburn, Massasuchesutts between 1969 and 1973 cancer deaths increased by 17 percent. The cause was found six years later when high levels of chemical contamination were found in Woburn's city wells. W.R. Grace a chemical company was to blame, they had been burying chemicals near the wells since the 1960's. The company settled with the families for a mere 8 million, eight years later the EPA was able to prove Grace's negligence in an official report. Cases like these are found all over the country, from coal slurry's in West Virginia to liquefied feces that seep into wells near dairy farms in California and Wisconsin. Woburn and Love Canal might be historical references, but the fact is even with the publicity of those events America's water sources are still in great peril.

Kevin Drum recently did an interview where he was asked whats the next step for progressive bloggers. He said "the liberal blogosphere needs to use our platform to mobilize real-world action more effectively." In the case of water contamination I imagine the people in power pick up the Times and read the same article everyone else does. If that knowledge is not enough to invoke a solution, you and I have to let them know we care about it. So here's my activism. If you read this and maybe the Times article and your fed up with the system go to this link. Call your congressman and senator and tell them its time to step up to the plate. The fact is every morning I shower, brush my teeth, and brew my coffee with clean water. If you ask me access to safe water is a fundamental right and as of right now you, me, the EPA and congress are all failing to fulfil that right to thousands of Americans.

The status quo is a sinking ship.

TLH

Weekend Special

Kelloggs Corn Pops, that saturday morning(if you consider 2pm the morning) tradition. Have you ever wondered why those pops have a special foil lined bag? Me too. So here's the short version.

Much like the name denotes Corn Pops are one of two(the other being Smacks) cereals kellogg's produces that are acutally puffed grains. So unlike most cereals which start out as pasty mix of sugar and ground grains Corn Pops have no flavor of their own. To get that golden delicious flavor Kellogg sprays them with a sugary mix.

It turns out when you sugar glaze Corn Pops they are easily prone to absorbing water. If this happens you end up with one big glob of Pops. For cereal this is not ideal, although it might be like one of those candy corn balls you get at halloween..yum. Well those food scientists (most likely NC State Alum) found out that regular plastic bags let to much water vapor penetrate the bag. In response the foil line bag was created to make sure all those pops stayed at a comfortable distance from one another... much like my middle school dances.

TLH

A Poem to Remember September 11, 2001

I have a love for poems and a teacher awhile back (thanks Linda Miranda) introduced me to Billy Collins and his poem that is dedicated to those who lost their lives 8 years ago.

"The Names"

Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
Then Baxter and Calabro,
Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
As droplets fell through the dark.
Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
Names slipping around a watery bend.
Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
In the morning, I walked out barefoot
Among thousands of flowers
Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
And each had a name --
Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.
Names written in the air
And stitched into the cloth of the day.
A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox.
Monogram on a torn shirt,
I see you spelled out on storefront windows
And on the bright unfurled awnings of this city.
I say the syllables as I turn a corner --
Kelly and Lee,
Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor.
When I peer into the woods,
I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden
As in a puzzle concocted for children.
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton,
Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple.
Names written in the pale sky.
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
Names silent in stone
Or cried out behind a door.
Names blown over the earth and out to sea.
In the evening -- weakening light, the last swallows.
A boy on a lake lifts his oars.
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
And the names are outlined on the rose clouds --
Vanacore and Wallace,
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound)
Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z.
Names etched on the head of a pin.
One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel.
A blue name needled into the skin.
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,
The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.
Alphabet of names in a green field.
Names in the small tracks of birds.
Names lifted from a hat
Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.
So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart.

-Billy Collins Former Poet Laureate of the United States.

TLH

Windows down with Yo-Yo Ma.

So I was driving back from campus tonight and I happened to be listening to 89.7. For those of you not familiar, WCPE airs classical music 24/7. I happen to listen a couple times a week, but every once in awhile when I hear a song I recognize I automatically roll down the windows. It can be 30 degrees outside and I still have them down, naturally then I crank up the volume. Tonight it just happened to be Yo Yo Ma preforming Bach's Suite for Cello No. 1 G Major. Unfortunately I didn't have any red lights, but I did get to slowly drive by a group of kids with their windows down. I would like to think I shared the musical love... but in reality I probably shared as much of Yo Yo as they did of Miley Cyrus.

Here's the video of Yo-Yo Ma's appearance on the West Wing. Not only is the music great, but this is by far one of the greatest scenes in the shows seven seasons.

TLH

Financial Transaction Tax. Cutting the Deficit

Last month the Congressional Budget Office raised its 10 year deficit projection from 7 to 9 trillion dollars. It's easy to see that the cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with TARP and the stimulus package are beginning to add up(that's just in the last year). While unemployment continues to rise, and the poverty rate jumped for the first time since 04 I can suspect the spending will continue. That of course does not mean we have to continue to see the deficit rise. One idea that's been floating around the blog world for awhile is the Financial Transaction Tax.

Dean Baker a prominent economist has argued extensively for the tax and has written this report outlining the benefits. The basic idea is to impose a .25% tax on the sale or purchase of a stock. The percentage here seems relatively small, but the impact of a tax could potentially raise close to 100 billion dollars in the US. With Wall Street trading millions of shares of stock each day its easy to see how we can begin to pay down the deficit.

The impact for an average American who holds a stock over a long period of time would barely notice such a small tax. Where this tax would gain most of its revenue is from the day traders who buy shares at 10am and sell three hrs later, this is also on the larger scale of financial institutions like Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan. The tax would not only raise money from these traders and corporations, but also stabilize the volatility of stocks that are traded on pure speculation.

Opponents of the tax claim investors will go to other markets, but the fact is Great Britain already has implemented a .25% stamp tax (transaction tax). In the coming years European and Asian governments will be finding ways to pay for the programs they implemented to stabilize their economies, I wouldn't be surprise if more follow the lead of Britain. If you ask me paying down the deficit while returning the stock market to its fundamental values (investors finding quality investments) sounds like a hell of a deal. Lets hope Congress sheds a little light on this next.

TLH

Presidents address to Congress.

Since I'm not cool enough for cable I watched the joint session of congress on the NYT's website. Below the video they were posting peoples live comments. Most ended up being questions or misconceptions so I thought I would set some of these people straight on exactly what this overhaul means.

The first comment went like this.

I'm a student that works a part-time job and I don't want to be forced to buy health insurance.

So plain and simple according to the HC bill in the Senate Finance Committee if the lowest premium exceeds ten percent of your income you are exempt. As a student and part-time worker I imagine this is the case. You should also know though that the reason for the mandate and fee (950 a year) is not to force people into buying insurance, but instead to make sure people don't wait and put it off. Not to mention most of those people will need some medical care and we want them contributing to the system.

I'm starting to think the Public Option is important in controlling cost.

Ezra Klein wrote on this the other day and I think its important to realize that even with this massive reform we will still have a long way to go to curb the costs. So according to the House Bill the PO is only going to be available on health exchanges for companies that employ less than 20 workers. So in 10 years the PO would enroll around 10 million Americans. That's a fair number, but its not enough people to curb the premiums private insurers will be charging. What the public option does represent is a base for which we can build on in the future. Competition is critical for lower costs, so if the PO works for 10 million people then Congress can open up the door in the future and offer it to more citizens.

I just want the President to explain how were going to pay for it.

Well first it should be noted that if any unexpected costs arise over the implementation of this bill, President Obama promised tonight that he will find a way to pay for it through cuts in other government spending. I appreciated this return to the "pay as you go policy" that Clinton initiated in the 90's. Really though Obama only has to come up with about 1/3 of the dinner check on this bill, the rest of it will come through savings in medicare. He didn't mention it in his speech for the sake of politics, but the easiest way would be to tax the health care benefits most citizens receive from their employers. The other proposal would reduce the charitable tax deductions from 38% to 28%. This would bring in about 267 billion over 10 years. The other proposal that was debated in the House was the "millionaires tax" depending if its an increase of 2 to 5 percent on the income tax it could bring in between 300 and 500 billion.

I'll leave you with a quote from the Presidents Address

"We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it."

TLH

Ha Ha Tonka

Found this band last week at WKNC. It's good stuff, unfortunatly most of their shows are out west. The main singer kinda reminds me of David Gray except the lyrics are ten times better. To hear them stream my show live at http://wknc.org/listen/ Mondays 1-3pm.

TLH

The Forever War

I finished this book around the time the McChrystal report came out detailing the need for more troops in Afghanistan. For most Americans myself included the last decade has gone by like any of the previous. We come home from work, flip through the stations and hear of a war torn country far away.For eight years though that far off war has claimed the lives of over 5,000 U.S. soldiers not to mention thousands of Iraqi and Afghan citizens. Dexter Filkins the NYT's middle east correspondent finally has put a face and story behind the two wars.

From the Northern Alliance to Falluja, Filkins has written a book where from the start your not sure if you want to yell out in anger or simply cry. One of the opening scenes depicts the gruesome rule of law under the Taliban. Filkins witness's a pickpocket have his right hand cut off. While reading you don't feel like its Filkin's there,but actually you. That's what keeps you reading, from the IED explosions to the suicide bombers Filkins has portrayed the war like no other book on the shelves.

Every morning I wake up and read the paper, but since I finished "The Forever War" I almost dread flipping through the International Section. Today the times listed the names of 6 soldiers that were killed over the weekend. If it takes an additional 40,000 troops and 10 more years to stabilize Afghanistan I say hell to it, I'm not sure I can stand 10 more years dreading the first couple pages of the paper.

Below I've listed the names of that appeared in today's paper.

Iraq:

Todd Selge, 25, Staff Sgt., Army; Burnsville, Minn

Jordan Shay, 22, Specialist, Army; Salisbury, Mass

Afghanistan:

Darryn Andrews, 34, Second Lt., Army; Dallas, Texas

Christopher Baltazar,19, Lance Cpl., Marines; San Antonio, Texas

Benjamin Castiglione,21, Petty Officer Third Class, Navy; Howell, Mich

Randy Haney,27, Sgt., Army;Orlando, Fla

Introduction

The exciting life of Hargett. If you want to be hip and trendy leave through this link.

If your still here (and are planning a future visit) you can expect to see my recent book list with small reviews. I also plan on posting some of my own political commentary on whatever the subject of the day might be.

Until then