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August 31, 2005
Poverty Rate Rises
The NY Times reports that the poverty rate reached 12.7%, the fourth straight year for an increase. You can read the entire article here. It seems to me this is a rather bad loss for the old supply side, trickle down team. It merely serves to reinforce the perception that the very rich are getting very much richer and everyone else is not. The Bush team should hope that their economic strategy starts to actually provide something other than low-paying, Wal-Mart type jobs to Americans, otherwise they are going to find themselves in more political do-do.
Posted by Chip Spear at 10:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Another View On Looting
BlondeSense has a different take on the looting, see here. I can understand this, and it has some validity. That is why I mentioned houses below. People taking from businesses to get "life support" when there is no one around, no way to buy anything and such might be justifiable in these circumstances. Looting furniture, TVs, and stereos from missing homeowners is not.
Posted by Chip Spear at 9:58 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
A Personal Note on Looting
I am generally against the death penalty. The criminal justice system is too flawed to be certain that the individual being executed is actually guilty. That said however, I read about the looting going on in New Orleans and I can't help but think that anyone found looting from others, especially in homes, should be shot instantly. I cannot think of anything more disgusting that stealing from people who have endured such unbelievable loss. People like that don't deserve to be part of humanity. One could probably take a small step further and say that anyone engaged in price gouging during the rebuilding efforts deserves the same fate.
Posted by Chip Spear at 8:53 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 30, 2005
New Orleans and Homeland Security
In my review of news this morning I read that New Orleans was having problems communicating between all the relief workers. One of the primary issues identified after 9/11 was the need to improve communication for city services throughout the country. It was supposed to be an extremely high priority for the new Department of Homeland Security to address the problem. New Orleans is one of the biggest ports in the country and home to some of our biggest oil refineries. Many would consider it a prime target for terrorism. Now we learn that Homeland Security has failed to solve one of its highest priorities in the 4 years since the attack. We are talking about communication equipment here, nothing particularly complex or expensive. This is strickly my opinion, but someone has really dropped the ball here. Think they will be fired? That was a joke.
Posted by Chip Spear at 12:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 29, 2005
Flexibility and Adjustments
A football team always starts a game with a plan. In fact all good teams start games with a plan. They begin to execute it and hope that it works. If it doesn't they usually don't keep running the same plays. They adjust, at least the good ones do. If one thing doesn't work, perhaps something else will. They explore and prod the opponent looking to exploit any weaknesses. The coach fine tunes and develops a new strategy as the game evolves. If he doesn't the team usually loses. Sometimes they don't have the ability to adjust, perhaps the players are not good enough, or they don't have the immediate skills necessary to exploit what they found. It is a very simple concept.
I bring this up because of Iraq. Rumsfeld, Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz and company had a plan. They attacked Iraq, took Baghdad and begin to find that things were not happening as they anticipated. The people were not waiting in the streets with flowers. Many viewed U.S. troops as another in a long line of occupiers. Saddam's army dissolved into the landscape to reemerge as a vicious insurgency. The Sunnis wanted nothing to do with the U.S. constructed Iraqi government. To many experts it seemed the U.S. had far too few troops to do the job properly. The original plan was not working. So have we adapted? Have we implemented new strategies to contend with events we did not consider when we first entered the country? If we did, these strategies don't get much play in the mainstream media. If we are serious about winning instead of playing politics with our military strategy and the U.S. electorate, then we better adjust, or we will lose. big time.
Posted by Chip Spear at 3:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Truth, Truth, Where Lies the Truth?
George W. and supporters on the right say that we are doing well in Iraq. We must stay the course. Members of the left and opponents of the war say we are losing and the best course is to start bringing our troops home now. Administration advocates point to the proposed constitution, the Iraqi election, the continued training of Iraqi security forces and a whole host of accomplishements, many of which you can find here, as proof that the U.S. is making progress.
There is no doubt that many good things are happening in Iraq. We don't hear much about it, since the media sees little outside the Baghdad Green Zone. However, the progress of political and economic reconstruction is extremely slow and there are VERY large problems, like the growing insurgency, the reluctance of Sunnis to participate in the government, the growing hatred of the occcupation, the fighting between Shiites in the south, the influence of Iran and Al Qaeda, to name just a few of the major ones. Polls show falling support for the President and his Iraq strategy. Polls don't indicate whether a particular policy is going to work. It only indicates opinions. Think of all those people in the 1400s who thought the earth was flat. Just because most people believed it did not make it true. Likewise, just because many doubt the wisdom of Bush's policies does not mean that it is not the best long term strategy for the Middle East.
It would certainly be wonderful to see into the future. I would be a very rich man, however that part of my brain doesn't seem to work extremely well. So we are left with guessing. Bush might be right. Iraq might actually approve the proposed constitution. The Iraqi army might be able to take over the war against the insurgents and defeat them within the next year or so. Electricity might be on 24 hours each day all week. The Shias might find a way to co-exist with the Sunnis. American troops might be able to return home without leaving much of the country as a terrorist training ground. That all could happen and maybe it will. It is just at this point in time my perception of Iraq is that the possibility of any one of those events happening is extremely remote, let alone all of them.
Posted by Chip Spear at 1:14 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
The Team Must Do Exactly What the Coach Says
The NY Times has a most interesting article on the demotion of an Army procurement officer, who had outstanding performance reviews until she criticized a Halliburton contract.
A top Army contracting official who criticized a large, noncompetitive contract with the Halliburton Company for work in Iraq was demoted Saturday for what the Army called poor job performance....
"She is being demoted because of her strict adherence to procurement requirements and the Army's preference to sidestep them when it suits their needs," Mr. Kohn [her lawyer] said Sunday in an interview. He also said the Army had violated a commitment to delay Ms. Greenhouse's dismissal until the completion of an inquiry by the Pentagon's inspector general.
Known as a stickler for the rules on competition, Ms. Greenhouse initially received stellar performance ratings, Mr. Kohn said. But her reviews became negative at roughly the time she began objecting to decisions she saw as improperly favoring Kellogg Brown & Root, he said. Often she hand-wrote her concerns on the contract documents, a practice that corps leaders called unprofessional and confusing [this one is a joke, right?].
In October 2004, General Strock, citing two consecutive performance reviews that called Ms. Greenhouse an uncooperative manager, informed her that she would be demoted.
Ms. Greenhouse fought the demotion through official channels, and publicly described her clashes with Corps of Engineers leaders over a five-year, $7 billion oil-repair contract awarded to Kellogg Brown & Root. She had argued that if urgency required a no-bid contract, its duration should be brief.
Ms. Greenhouse had also fought the granting of a waiver to Kellogg Brown & Root in December 2003, approving the high prices it had paid for fuel imports for Iraq, and had objected to extending its five-year contract for logistical support in the Balkans for 11 months and $165 million without competitive bidding. In late June, ignoring warnings from her superiors, Ms. Greenhouse appeared before a Congressional panel, calling the Kellogg Brown & Root oil contract "the most blatant and improper contract abuse I have witnessed during the course of my professional career." She also said the defense secretary's office had improperly interfered in the awarding of the contract.
This is another in a long list of similar incidents where individuals in the Federal government, who do not do exactly what the administration wants are punished. The administration values unquestioned loyalty above all else, even if it is counter to the interests of the public. In this case we are talking about the contract procural process and saving huge amounts of money for the American taxpayer.
Posted by Chip Spear at 9:11 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 26, 2005
Do as I say, not as I do
This is too funny to not pass on. Sometimes life is just plain ridiculous.
Posted by Chip Spear at 1:47 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Iraq: At Another Crossroad
If I were a Sunni, why would I agree to the latest Iraq constitution proposal? The NY Times, among others, reports here. Under the current version, the country would divide into autonomous regions. The issue here is that the Shiites would control 9 of 18 Iraqi provinces holding the largest oil fields. The Kurds would control 3 in the north but have designs on Kirkut, another rich oil province. The Sunnis want each region permanently restricted to 3 districts. They fear that they will be left with little if each region controls much of its own oil revenue. They also fear that the Shiites will align their region with Iran more than any centralized Iraqi government.
Why would the Sunnis want to agree to this constitution? What is in it for them? Any agreement between parties has to be one of mutual benefit. This is as true in a macro context, international, as it is in a micro context, interpersonal issues. Though there are many interrelated issues it does seem that the Kurds and Shiites come out way ahead in this particular scenario, while the Sunnis are clear losers. They didn't help themselves by boycotting the elections, but nonetheless, the Kurds and Shiites must understand that the Sunnis are only going to increase their support of an insurgency if they do not obtain increased benefits from the agreement.
Posted by Chip Spear at 9:04 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 25, 2005
The Idea Battle
The Dems need to counterattack the Republicans in the battle of ideas. During my vacation travels I was increasingly aware that many centrist Republicans feel that the Democrats have no new ideas. They contend that the left is rehashing and repackaging old, liberal, programs without finding new creative solutions for today's problems. I see this reinforced on many web sites and blogs. If the Democrats are going to make any gains with mainstream America they have to do a better job of marketing their message.
Now I know that the Democrats have plenty of ideas, that is not the issue. The issue is packaging and marketing. Where are the cheerleaders? Where are the leaders and politicians inspiring the fans? The Republicans are very effective at convincing the American public that they are a dynamic party, seeking and finding new ways to solve problems of the 21st century. I understand this is easier for Republicans since they control The White House, Congress, and much of the judiciary. It probably doesn't hurt they they have the media intimidated either. They paint the Dems as stuck in a time warp, with ideas and solutions that clearly don't work. Howard Dean, and leading Democrats need to take their good ideas, simplify then to sound bites and push them as hard as they can. Simplicity and repetition. Subtle changes to existing programs are not the sorts of things that inspire people to action.
Posted by Chip Spear at 9:22 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 23, 2005
Iraq Constitution
What if the three groups don't really want a national constitution? It is certainly conjecture, but what if large factions of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds are making demands they know will scuttle any agreement on a constitution? That would leave the U.S. in a pickle wouldn't it?
Posted by Chip Spear at 11:26 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Travels in the Sports World
I find it hard to return from wonderful vacations. I usually go through a period of wondering why the world is the way it is. I continue to live in the vacation fantasy world of doing what I want, when I want, in gorgeous places with terrific friends and family. My mind and body don't want to readjust to the work day world and the routines of house, commutes, kid duties and shopping. But here I am, infected with a sense that many of us live in ruts, caught in mindsets that are too often closed. Though many of us read papers, magazines and books, and listen to the news I feel that much of the intent is more to reaffirm what we already know than learn new ways of thinking.
I was a member of a debate team in high school. We had one subject we debated over the course of each year. As members of the team we researched our topic, gathering information to support either a pro or con position. We scoured newspapers, magazines, and books looking for anything to bolster our arguments. Senators and Congressmen were our favorite sources. During debates we would rifle through our card catalogues looking for some piece of information to counter our opponent's attack. Nothing that was said ever changed our minds, the information we had was a support tool, meant to reinforce a position we already had. Our listening skills focused on the game not the meaning of the discussion. The next debate we might switch positions where we would take the other side and do the same thing.
I found during my hiatus that too many of my friends and family seemed caught in the same type of thinking. Their positions on political or cultural subjects were already established. I did not feel they were really interested in listening. Articles or books they read were ammunition to further already established thinking. I could have been the foremost expert in my field and it would not have made a difference. That was disturbing.
So I come back wondering if I can somehow find a magic wand, a means to get people to stop for a time, to reassess their beliefs, to think outside the box, to put themselves in another's shoes for a time, to open their eyes in the hope that we get a better understanding of each other. It is a big hope, but I am determined to continue to try. That is what Political Sports is all about, trying to find a way to look and think about the amazingly wonderful, crazy, confusing, complex, irritating world we live in. So vacation is over, time to put the car in gear and get moving. There is much to do.
Posted by Chip Spear at 9:03 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 7, 2005
Vacation Time
It is time for me to take a vacation with my two amazingly wonderful, fun, beautiful daughters. Postings shall be very infrequent for the next two weeks. Internet access will be very infrequent, which is both good and bad for a news junkie like me. Enjoy!
Be right back...........
Posted by Chip Spear at 11:23 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
August 5, 2005
More on North Korea
Paul French, an expert on North Korea, gives this interesting analysis of the current crisis in negotiations over nuclear weapons with the North Koreans. His view that the Chinese are tired of dealing with North Korea's problems is something I had not been aware of.
He (Kim) was shown round a GM plant and a hi-tech factory in Shanghai, and received a lecture about the benefits of Chinese-style reform.
The Chinese were effectively telling Mr Kim that it was time for change - and that they were fed up with the growing number of refugees fleeing over the Chinese border, and increasing demands for aid.......
But the diplomacy is failing because North Korea, with no allies but the increasingly exasperated Chinese, and little prospect of economic revitalisation, needs to ensure a continued drip feed of aid.
That means a hard bargaining process, and Mr Kim has one bargaining chip - his nuclear bombs.
Without the bombs, North Korea plays second string in the Far East. Granted it possesses a large army, and will continue to be a threat to the South, but otherwise it plays no significant role in any political or economic activities in the area. As long as Kim has a bomb, or people think he does, they will be more willing to include him in regional issues. He is such a meglomaniac, it seems inconceivable that he will give up his cards without a big economic or political score. Eventually he will have to do something that improves the plight of his people, otherwise the country will completely collapse. If he opens the country to foreigners, including investments, his people might realize how much he has screwed them and revolt.
Posted by Chip Spear at 9:05 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 4, 2005
It's Your Fault I Shot You
Sometimes you can only laugh at the absurdity of things, given how horrible life can be. Osama's second in command condemned Blair and his policies saying that they are to blame for the recent bombings in London. The report by BBC News states:
Osama Bin Laden's lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahri has warned London will face more attacks because of Tony Blair's foreign policy decisions.
The al-Qaeda deputy said: "Blair has brought you destruction to the heart of London, and he will bring more destruction, God willing."
Mr Blair denies his policies provoked the 7 July bombs, which killed 56.
Al-Zawahri also warned the US that Iraq would be worse than Vietnam.
So, if I understand it, if these guys decide they don't like something that we, someone in the West, does, they shoot us, or blow up innocent civilians, or destroy buildings or whatever, and it is our fault. They act as dictators determining what Western governments or civilians or companies do, and if we don't do it, they kill us. That is like someone killing you because they don't like the way you walk. You have to walk, but they don't care, they kill you anyway. Now our actions can certainly be questioned in Iraq, but these guys are using anything convenient as an excuse to continue their dispicable actions. If it wasn't Iraq it would be something else. The U.S. and Britain were not in Iraq or Afghanistan at the time of the World Trade Center attack. And what about the U.S.S. Cole attack, or the U.S. Embassy attacks in Africa? Al Qaeda and company will find anything and use it an excuse to destroy.
This situation reminds me of a young boy I know who has some serious emotional issues. He oftentimes explodes in angry outbursts at the oddest moments. He blames his parents or siblings for things that are clearly not related to the situation, or if they are, only in a tangential manner. He twists logic to fit his state of mind, lashing out at anyone nearby. Sometimes one can reason with him, but usually you have to wait it out. He never accepts that he misinterpreted the situation. He is all too ready to blame others for something that was either his fault or nobody's. At times some change will trigger an explosion because he is unable to adjust to change. In some ways I see the same thing happening with Muslim extremists. They are troubled young men who need something that we haven't or can't provide. That is not to say that it is totally our responsibility to solve their problems, but it is truly a pathetic situation.
Posted by Chip Spear at 3:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 3, 2005
North Korea in No Hurry to Give Up Nukes
Latest reports from the AP here indicate that North Korea is in no hurry to give up either its nuclear weapons or its weapons making facilities. Kim is more interested in power than he wants to provide for his people. Aid would only be another tool that he would use to solidify his hold on the country. And by all accounts I have read, that does not appear to be an immediate problem. Hence, no hurry to lose the weapons. I would suspect he will string negotiations along in one form or another for quite some time.
Posted by Chip Spear at 4:29 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
I Hope They Include an "Earth is Flat" Section
President Bush said that he thought schools should include teachings about "intelligent design" in their curriculums. You can read the full article here.
President Bush said Monday he believes schools should discuss "intelligent design" alongside evolution when teaching students about the creation of life.
It certainly makes me wonder what is fact and what is conjecture. If science is the study of natural phenomena based on systems, measurement and analysis, how does this compare to the thinking and analysis of intelligent design? Or is that a contradiction, because we cannot analyze intelligent design? Some guy, or guys, no women please, wrote a few thousand years ago that such and such happened. So that is it, end of discussion, an established act that can't be refuted, and is as valid as anything determined by science? Are we now suggesting that the foundation for the scientific method is potentially faulty? Wow, maybe we should stop and think about the implications of that for the rest of the afternoon. If people don't believe in the scientific method and science, will they give up those things developed by that method, like their cars, TV, computers, and cellphones?
Posted by Chip Spear at 1:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Government Run Amuck
An 11 year old girl was arrested on a deadly weapons charge for throwing a rock at a boy who hit her with a water balloon. You can read the article here. What is up with that? Kids do stupid things all the time, that is why they are kids, they don't have fully formed social knowledge and skills. It certainly seems inappropriate to punish her so severely for her act. Her parents should certainly punish her and she should apologize to the boy, but for the local government to get involved seems way over the top. Officials have lost their sense of proportion and what is appropriate. To often they want to appear tough on crime to satisfy an imagined need of their electorate. Yes, people want authorities to protect them and punish criminals, but one has to have common sense too.
Posted by Chip Spear at 12:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
More Palmiero
We can really believe this guy. The latest news about his positive steriod test says that it was a type not found in supplements. This is from the AP:
Rafael Palmeiro's positive steroid test was for stanozolol, a powerful anabolic steroid that is not available in dietary supplements, according to a newspaper report.
Ben Johnson lost his Olympic gold medal for using Stanozolol in 1988. Perhaps it is not so remarkable that Palmiero testified before Congress not long before the test that he had never, ever used steroids. He could have a big future working in the White House. You know, no weapons of mass destruction, nothing to do with outing Valerie Plame. He would fit right in.
Posted by Chip Spear at 12:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 2, 2005
A Bit of Disbelief
How could anyone in the U.S. read Nicholas Kristof's piece in the NY Times today and not get sick to their stomachs? Reading about events like this make me feel that I have much more to do with my life. I want to not only find ways to live a good, comfortable life, provide for my family, but also do something that prevents this sort of thing from occurring anywhere in the world. Kristof
described
how local authorities reacted after Dr. Shazia was raped early this year: they drugged her and confined her to a psychiatric hospital to hush her up.
It didn't work, and the incident provoked unrest in the wild area of Baluchistan, where the rape occurred, because of rumors that the rapist was not only an outsider, but also an army captain. President Pervez Musharraf became determined to make the embarrassment disappear.
So the authorities locked up Dr. Shazia and her husband, Khalid Aman, keeping them under house arrest for two months. Then officials began to hint that Dr. Shazia was a loose woman, perhaps even a prostitute - presumably as a way to pressure her and her husband to keep quiet.
This happened in Pakistan, one of "our" allies in the fight against terrorism. Isn't this terrorism? This act and others like it are sponsered and supported by the government that we support. I realize that the world is a very messy place, and the much too often we are forced to interact with "unsavory" characters. But our actions indicate that our principles are somewhat wanting.
And what are we to make of the constitution emerging in Iraq. We spend hundreds of billions of dollars, have thousands of our citizens killed deposing a horrible dictator, while hundreds of thousands of Iraqis die. We watch a new government form that will treat women like garbage, with fewer rights than they had under Saddam. By all indications we will be responsible for building a prejudicial, discriminatory, anti-western religious government. The biggest winner in the region stands to be Iran, who will have more influence in Iraq than we will.
What do we do? Do we ignore horrid acts against women and minorities, in order to further foreign policy or make money? How long do we let this continue? Do we let others do our dirty work for us? If you know a friend is beating his wife, is he still a friend? Do you still call them, ask them over for dinner, play tennis or golf with him? Do you say anything when his wife ends up in the hospital? Do you call the police, a minister, someone? What is the right thing to do? Or is it not our business?
Posted by Chip Spear at 3:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 1, 2005
Rafael Palmeiro
Does anybody actually believe this guy? But then again, what is he going to say, "Oh yes, I cheated"?
Posted by Chip Spear at 10:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Is Bolton Nomination a Gain or Loss?
I don't think that Bush scored any points with his recess appointment of John Bolton to the United Nations. Given the problems he has had over the past month or two it seems that this is only going to inflame tensions with his critics and push a few more fence sitters to the opposing camp. The recent revelations that Bolton forgot about testifying before the State Department Inspector General did not help his cause, either with the public or Congress. How do you forget an interview with the Inspector General of the State Department? Especially just a couple or years ago. I don't want to be partisan, but that is not credible.
Bush got what he wanted with the appointment, but one certainly has to consider the additional damage to his political standing with the public. Will it matter? Is this conjecture? Republicans probably think that it is just a case of political posturing by the Democrats. They would be against any Bush appointment. But what about all the people in the middle? Forgetting that interview isn't good. When this is added to the distrust regarding the start of the Iraq war, Plamegate, the refusal to release documents for John Roberts, and the sizeable giveaways in the recent Energy bill, it just might make a significant difference.
Posted by Chip Spear at 1:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack