The Net Delusion

Almost every advance in communications technology brings great hopes and high expectations. Radio was seen as medium to broadcast opera into rural homes, and presidents’ speeches could be heard live. Now radio is a forum for Rush Limbaugh and bad country music.

Television would bring Shakespeare’s plays into our living rooms. We could take college classes on air. Now we have “reality” shows and Fox propaganda.

The Internet was also touted as an amazing advance in the flow of information. It really is, if you like porn or forwarded jokes. Think about this--in a country where most people are wired in, over half of likely Republican primary voters believe that President Obama is not an American citizen. How was that lie spread?

But Twitter and Facebook did help to spark all those mideast revolutions, right? Not according to Evgeny Morozov in The New Delusion. His book, subtitled The Dark Side of Internet Freedom, discusses what Morozov labels “cyber-utopianism, which he calls a belief “in the emancipatory nature of online communications that rests on a stubborn refusal to acknowledge its downside.” Cyber communication can just as easily be used to repress dissent, according to Morozov.

We heard a good deal about the importance of Twitter in the protests in Iran in 2009. Morozov points out that 19,000 Twitter accounts were registered in Iran. That is about 0.027 percent of the population of Iran. That’s not enough. Even if the number were increased, the Army still has the weapons.

You saw what happened in Libya when the government decided to crack down. No one would question that the Libyan government would have crushed that rebellion if it had not been for NATO ships and planes. Some guy busily working his thumbs is no match to some guy busily working his finger on an AK-47.

I’m not being cynical, but I’m with Mozorov. Let’s not get carried away.

Taxes

In 2010 General Electric reported profits in the U.S. of $5.1 billion. Total profits from all G.E. operations came to $14.2 billion.

I am paying more tax on my 2010 income than G.E. is paying. G.E., as you may have read, is not paying any. Nada. Zip.

Recently President Obama appointed Jeffrey R. Immelt, G.E.’s chief executive, to chair the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. President Obama said of Mr. Immelt: “He understands what it takes for America to compete in the global economy.”

I wish the United States had a party of the left. It would make a nice addition to our parties of the middle and the far right.

Smart move

Every so often I do something really smart. Asking my friends to provide guest postings while I was in Alabama and Mississippi was a good decision. Teacher tenure, talk radio, Demo party philosophy, Heffley’s secret town hall--great topics and great writing. Thank you, guest bloggers. Great job.

Highlights of my trip were a visit to the Bear Bryant museum, a meal at Mizz Maggie’s restaurant in Tuscaloosa, eating Full Moon barbecue, and seeing “Rowan Oak,” William Faulkner’s house in Oxford, Mississippi.

The low point was getting food poisoning in Tennessee and visiting rest stops along I-81.

I did notice that Alabama and Mississippi are not cutting their education budgets. Whatever is wrong with Pennsylvania?

Did I miss something?

Guest Blogger: Marian Hoffner

I just read with interest the story in tonight's Times News about the town hall meeting held by Senator Argall and Representative Heffley on Saturday afternoon at the Aquashicola Fire Company. What I was most interested in is how people knew this meeting was going to take place. I looked through last week's issues of the Times News and saw no mention of it. I got nothing in the mail regarding it. Although I have emailed both Senator Argall and Rep. Heffley recently, I received no generic email informing me that this meeting was going to take place. My husband is a borough councilman, but he was not invited. I would think that when two state legislators are coming to town to meet with their constituents, the leaders of that town would be invited.
Did I miss something?

News at the State Level--How Do You Keep Up?

Roy, I can't wait for you to get back! One of the reasons I appreciate Poor Roy’s Blog is that you bring to my attention issues and stories that I would not otherwise be aware of and you offer your unique progressive insights that I usually agree with and am grateful to have in my back pocket.

So while Roy is away this week, I asked myself, “Where DO I get my news? There's lots on the national and international level on TV, but where can I get a digest of STATE news?” If I had an infinite amount of time, of course, I would be reading all the newspapers and searching the web and reading blogs but lately, I simply don't have time for all that despite my desire to stay informed.

So I stumbled on to a Sunday morning talk show at 11:30 am on 6 ABC WPVI called "Inside Story" and find that I am seeking it out to get a weekly summary and panel discussion of "the issues" in the state while I'm enjoying Sunday brunch.  Yesterday, the interview was with Governor Corbett about the state budget. You can just imagine what he had to say to justify all the cuts! You can also watch the 23 minutes of the show without commercials on line.

Most of the time, the panelists' comments balance themselves out. I don't always agree with them--but at least it's one way to keep up with the discussion on issues facing our state. Do you have any better sources?

Where is progressive talk radio?

Guest blogger: Debbie Smith


One of my pet peeves is that in the Lehigh Valley, there is only one talk radio station, and it is all right-wing, all the time.  From the early morning when a local Rush-wannabe hosts the drive to work, through Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and whatever insanity comes next, there is only one side of the story, spouting hatred for President Obama and everything progressive.  I try to avoid it, but sometimes I hit that 790 button and listen in fascination as the most ridiculous statements come out of the mouths of these men, who clearly have no grasp on what life is like here in the real world.  

The Myth of Teacher Tenure

Guest Blogger: Marian Hoffner 

    An article that appeared in January in The New York Times summarizes the efforts of several Republican governors to eliminate teacher tenure in their states. These governors argue that it is virtually impossible to fire ineffective teachers based on the tenure laws as they exist. They also argue that the seniority that comes with tenure forces districts to furlough young, motivated, enthusiastic teachers and hang on to those burned-out teachers at the top of the salary scale. I would like to take issue with both of these arguments.
   First of all, how will a district decide which teachers are ineffective? Will they base their decision on the results of a single standardized test such as the PSSA? That would suggest that no one and nothing is accountable when a child does not do well on that test except for the child's teacher. It absolves the child's home life, parents, economic background, societal conditions, even the child's health and state of mind on the day of the test, from any responsibility for that child's performance. And since most standardized tests evaluate only math and reading, how will a school assess the performance of a phys ed teacher or a foreign language teacher or a physics teacher? Or perhaps a teacher's effectiveness will be judged by an administrator through classroom observations. The problem with this is with the administrator conducting the observation. Unfortunately, being a good teacher is not a prerequisite for becoming an administrator. Too often, it is a teacher who could not handle the classroom or who has had limited classroom experience who chooses to go into administration. Can such an individual fairly decide who can and cannot teach?
    My biggest argument, though, is with the idea that young, motivated teachers are being tossed aside while burned  out teachers with more seniority hang on to their jobs.  As a teacher for 34 years, I am offended by the premise that all of my experience means nothing. A good friend told me once about a piece of research that showed that on the average, a teacher makes more than a thousand decisions in a day. Some of these are as simple as deciding which of the fifteen hands waving in the air should be chosen to answer a question. Others are as complicated as deciding what to do when a student tells you she is being bullied on the playground or abused at home. Every decision has consequences, some of them life-changing. To make the right decision, a good teacher must rely on the wisdom that comes from experience. Not the experience from college classes or in-service training, but the experience that comes from day after day, year after year, making these decisions and learning from their consequences. If all of the older, experienced teachers were gone, who would the younger teachers go to for advice when they have to make these decisions?
   Eliminating teacher tenure might make these Republican governors feel good about themselves because they are taking on the big, bad teachers' union. But it will do absolutely nothing to solve the problems that face the American educational system today.
   

  

Governor Corbett’s Attack on Higher Education

Guest blogger: Debbie Smith

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) boasts 14 high quality universities across the Commonwealth.  To quote the PASSHE website, “Nearly 500,000 PASSHE alumni live in Pennsylvania, serving as community leaders in the business, healthcare, public administration and non-profit sectors while generating an aggregate annual income of $7 billion. PASSHE is the 13th largest employer in the state, with more than 12,150 professional and support staff.”  Quite impressive!

Three of my four children found a college home at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, a state school, where my youngest is now in his Junior year.  Imagine my horror in hearing that our illustrious Governor wants to cut funding to the PASSHE schools by a whopping 50%! I’m dreading what my son’s next tuition bill may look like if these cuts go through. 

When I called my representative, Doyle Heffley, about this, he agreed that the proposed cuts were too deep, but he also wanted to put a lot of blame on the colleges.  He said they got more money every year, yet still raised tuition.  However, in doing some research, I found that the costs to run a college have gone up astronomically for many reasons that you will find familiar: higher fuel and food costs, higher costs for medical insurance and more demand for costly technology, just to name a few.  In the past decade, state colleges have been struggling to keep tuition costs down by cutting programs, increasing class sizes, not replacing retiring staff members or cutting back on capital improvements.  Since 1983, the percentage of the state budget that goes to higher education has steadily decreased.  And now this.

What affect would such drastic cuts have? Tuition hikes, coupled with possible cuts to federal Pell grants (being proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives now) would mean fewer middle- to low-income students can attend college in Pennsylvania.  Those who do manage to go would be facing larger student loan payments after college.  

The Pennsylvania budget should not be balanced on the backs of college students and their parents.  The majority of students who attend the state schools are not wealthy; most are there at least partly because of the affordability.  Pennsylvania needs educated citizens, and the opportunity to get a a higher education should not be reserved for the well-off.  We need our state colleges to remain affordable.   

Please call or write your legislators if you feel this is an important issue.  I did. 

What Democrats Stand For

Guest Blogger: Sarina Berlow

On Tuesday night at the Carbon County Democrats for Change meeting, Dr. Bill Roth's presentation was on cultivating leadership in the Democratic Party, the role of labor unions in the past and how we need to help develop union leadership within the Democratic Party again.  What really stuck with me the past few days, however, was that he reminded us what Democrats stand for:

Democrats are the party of "We"...Republicans are the party of "Me"...
Democrats want to do what's best for the country...Republicans put the emphasis on winning...and doing what is best for themselves...
Democrats are "The Party of Hope"...Republicans are "The Part of Fear."  (They always find a way to to  twist the truth to make you afraid...and then blame the Democrats.  Like "Universal Health Care--It's socialism!  Be afraid!"  It seems they don't really understand that we already ARE a socialist country to some extent as they cling to their Medicare cards!)

The quick summary, as my dad would say, "Democrats are for the little guy..."  At least remember that much the next time someone asks you what the Democratic Party stands for...How else would you answer?

Credit Where Credit Is Due

   This post is written by Guest Blogger, Marian Hoffner.

    We're not giving our Governor enough credit regarding his recent budget proposal. I think it has shown him to be very proactive and forward-thinking. After all, along with the drastic cuts to education on all levels, he has proposed increased spending on welfare and prisons. He obviously knows that the lack of a quality education is a reason many people end up on welfare or, worse, in prison. His budget indicates that he is preparing for that inevitable consequence.
   Let's give the man the credit he deserves!

(And at the risk of not giving you, the reader, the credit you deserve, please listen for the sarcastic tone in my voice as I write this blog!)

Frustration

At the monthly meeting of the Carbon County Democrats for Change this evening, the frustration was palpable.  Why does the U.S. have one of the most expensive health care systems in the world combined with a higher infant mortality rate and lower life expectancy than other industrialized countries? Why are American executives paid outrageous salaries while employees are asked to take pay cuts?  How can liberals enter into the national dialogue when corporate interests dominate the networks?  How can regular people compete for political influence after the Supreme Court removed restrictions on corporate campaign spending?

Everybody has heard about the anger on the right.  What may not be obvious yet is the growing anger on the left.  Perhaps because the lefties don’t wear funny hats and carry guns into political meetings, they don’t receive the same publicity, but the determination to change the politics of this country and state and fight the misinformation and sheer stupidity of the right was evident in that room tonight.  

Note:  For the next six days three guest bloggers will be taking over this spot.  Poor-roy will be back on the 29th.

Labor Council Forming in Carbon County

Twenty-five representatives of various labor unions met tonight in the Amvets Hall in Lansford to discuss the formation of a county-wide labor council.  The group heard from representatives of the Lehigh Valley Labor Council and the North East Pennsylvania Labor Federation.  

A Labor Council would provide a single voice for labor, could more effectively fight anti-union activities and support union actions, could influence legislators, and could educate workers and their families about the benefits of bargaining as a group.  Other goals included voter registration for union households and encouraging job creation in Carbon County.

Attendees were galvanized by Gov. Walker’s union busting activities in Wisconsin, by Sen. Toomey’s support for a Right to Work for Less law, and by Gov. Corbett’s attempt to weaken unions right here in Pennsylvania.  Teamsters, steel workers, carpenters, laborers, school teachers, communication workers, and government workers at the meeting emphasized the need for unity in the face of the anti-union assault.

A second meeting to discuss a constitution for the Council will be held at the Lansford Amvets on April 18 at 7 p.m..  Current or retired union members living in Carbon County are welcome to attend.  

This meeting was not covered by the Times News, so help to spread the word.

NPR

I don’t listen to NPR.  The few times I’ve heard it by accident, the announcers always sound like really sincere people who don’t smile much.  Nevertheless, from everything I’ve read and heard about NPR, it reports the news reasonably straight and in an unbiased manner.  Which brings up an interesting point:  the Right in this country has such a skewed view that it sees unbiased news as left wing.  Truth is left wing.  Science is left wing.  Objectivity is left wing.  

I read reports of what the NPR fundraiser said to the fake guy in the so-called sting operation.  It seemed to me that everything he said was self-evident.  I don’t see why he needed to quit or apologize.  

As for cutting off funding, NPR would be better off if it did not rely on the government.  It should announce that it was depending on private donations.  Then it could tell the Republicans in Congress to keep their funding and stick it.  Objectively.

Note

One of my readers asked me why I bought a Honda instead of a car made in the USA.  My Honda was made in the USA--I  think in Alabama.  

Staying on the offensive

When you enter a business and Fox is on the television, speak up.  If the manager doesn’t listen, go higher.  Here’s a copy of a letter I recently sent to my Honda dealership about the Fox “News” channel after the manager told me the television had to stay tuned to Fox.  I also sent a copy to the Honda Corporation of America.

My wife and I purchased a Honda Fit from your dealership in the fall of 2009.  We were quite happy with the price, your salesman, and the service you have provided since our purchase.  

What we are not happy with is that your customers musty watch Fox “News” while they are waiting for their cars to be serviced.  Evidently you require that Fox play continuously in the waiting room.  At least four of Fox’s commentators are potential Republican presidential candidates, and the coverage and commentary is invariably slanted to the right.  What is worse, Fox features people like Glen Beck and Hannity who encourage paranoia, hatred, and even violence.

Other less political channels are available--the Weather Channel, ESPN, CNN, Animal Planet, Turner Classic movies--to name a few.  I am asking you to stop the propaganda and give your customers a pleasant waiting experience and their own choice in television viewing.

I’ll let you know the results.

Obsessing

All day long I have been thinking about the decision by the House Republicans to eliminate food containers and utensils that can be recycled.  The House cafeterias are again using styrofoam and plastics.  Problems with Libya and the reactors in Japan are certainly important, but I can’t get out of my head how irritating and downright stupid the House Republicans are.  

This is a party that is so concerned about the effect of the deficit on future generations but has no problem inflicting environmental catastrophes on our children and grandchildren.  From Marcellus shale to mountaintop removal to a refusal to even recognize that we have a climate change problem, Republicans consistently are willing to pass on a blighted environment to our heirs.

And for a party that is always touting its economic savvy (with absolutely no irony), the debate on the House cafeteria takes no account of the negative externalities involved with plastics. It might be cheaper to use styrofoam dishes only because the long term cost to the environment is not factored in.  A negative externality is a part of the cost of a good that is not reflected in the price.  For example, if the price of natural gas does not reflect the cost of cleaning up the water pollution that results from fracking, the pollution would be a negative externality.  See <www.economics.fundamentalfinance.com> for a fuller explanation of negative externalities.  See the Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives for providing us with a current example.

Republicans fight composting

When Nancy Pelosi was Speaker of the House, the Democratic majority moved the Capitol to more environmental-friendly policies.  Among the changes was one obligating the food vendors in the House cafeterias to provide dishes that could be composted.  

The Republicans have now ended this program.  Vendors are again using styrofoam cups and plastic utensils.  The Republicans say this is a cost-cutting move.  

I’m not buying that.  This is one more way for the Republican majority to thumb its nose at environmentalists.  This is one more way to make a statement that Democratic policies will be opposed no matter how beneficial simply because they are Democratic policies.

Winner!

Judy Schwank (D)  58%

Larry Madaglia (R) 42%

That was the result in the 11th Pennsylvania Senate District race yesterday to replace Sen. O’Pake, who died earlier this year.  Ms. Schwank had enough money, almost all of it from small donors, to run a credible campaign.  Mr. Madaglia was opposed to a severance tax on natural gas and pledged no new taxes, supporting the Corbett budget cuts.  That stuff isn’t working anymore.  

Two items made this victory personally sweet.  First, I participated in a Schwank campaign Get-Out-the-Vote phone bank located in Lehighton.  The phone bank was put together by the DNC’s Organizing for America.  I called two people whose votes were a direct result of my phone calls.  One of my fellow callers in Lehighton was actually able to arrange a ride to the polls for a voter in residing in Reading.  That is real coordination.

Secondly, Ms. Schwank understands farming.  She was a leader in Berks County in preserving farmland, and she was the person responsible for Pennsylvania’s master gardener program.  Unfortunately, if the Corbett-proposed cuts in the Penn State extension service are approved, programs like that may come to an end.  Nevertheless, I’m not worrying about that today.  I’m celebrating.

The Scapegoat

“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” by Ursula K. LeGuin, is a story about a utopian city whose residents enjoy happiness and prosperity, but this state of bliss requires that one child should be kept in misery and darkness and filth.  Residents are told this, but most are able to live with the idea.  After all, what is the misery of one child compared to the good fortune of the entire city?  Nevertheless, every year some of the inhabitants walk away from Omelas.

I thought of this story when I read about Private Bradley Manning, the American soldier accused of providing material to WikiLeaks.  He is kept in solitary confinement at the brig in Quantico.  He’s allowed to walk around one hour a day--in shackles.  He is forced to remove his clothing at night.  He is forced to stand naked outside his cell every morning.  This is because, supposedly, he is suicidal, although he, his lawyers, and his friends deny this.  Even if he were suicidal, since when does a suicide watch require nakedness?

Philip Crowley, a State Department official, said that the military’s treatment of Mr. Manning was “ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid.”  For telling the truth, Mr. Crowley was forced to resign his post.  And now President Obama, the Commander-in-Chief, has said he will not interfere with the way Private Manning is treated.

If Dick Cheney were doing this, we would raise the roof.  We need to raise it now.  What is wrong with our President?  It is not enough to walk away from Omelas.  We are required to speak out.

Pascal's Wager and Poorroy's Corollary

Blaise Pascal (1623-1692) was a gifted mathematician, but he spent the last years of his life as a religious fanatic.  He did manage to combine his work on probability and religious mysticism in what has been labeled “Pascal’s Wager.”

Here’s a summary.  Suppose you are a betting man, and you wonder if God exists.  You can bet either way.  If you bet God does not exist and you are right, no harm done.  If God does exist, however, you spend eternity in the fiery pit.  

Let’s say you do bet on God’s existence.  If you are wrong, you haven’t lost anything.  On the other hand, if you are right, you go to heaven and spend eternity in bliss.  Obviously, the smart money is on the existence of God.

Putting aside the question of whether, if God does exist, he or she would reward the clever bettor, Pascal’s proposition makes sense.  Let’s apply it to global warming.

If you bet that global warming has no connection to human activity and you are right, no harm done.  If you are wrong, however, the earth continues to warm, the planet’s ecology changes, and human life as we know it pretty much goes down the tubes.  

On the other hand, if you bet that the pollution caused by human activity has an effect on the climate and you are right, your subsequent policies may have saved the planet.  If you are wrong, you have done no real harm--in fact your subsequent actions will have made the atmosphere less polluted.  

Let’s make the intelligent bet.

The law of the infinite cornucopia

Governor Corbett believes that the way to improve the business climate in Pennsylvania  is to cut aid to universities and school districts.  Most of the new Republican members of the House believe that the whole idea of global warming is a hoax.  Republicans in both the House and Senate think that the best way to deal with a recession is to cut government spending.  Many Americans think that gas prices would go down if all restrictions on drilling off the coast were eliminated.  

How can people sincerely believe what to you and me is obviously wrong, even silly?

Polish-born philosopher Leszek Kolakowski (1927-2009) provides an answer.  Dr. Kolakowski formulated “the law of the infinite cornucopia.”  This law states that there is never a shortage of arguments to support any idea or doctrine that someone wanted to believe in for whatever reason.  Since we see this phenomenon every day in this country, it is gratifying to have a name for it. 

Tomorrow:  Pascal’s wager updated.

"the most irrational public policy"

Governor Corbett has proposed cuts of more than 50% of state aid to some universities.  He also opposes taxing natural gas produced in Pennsylvania.  In the words of state Democratic State Senator Daylin Leach, “This is the most irrational public policy I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Governor Corbett touts how business friendly he is.  Does he really think employers will move to a state or remain in a state where the universities are in shambles and the work force is not prepared for the modern world?  I always try to be fair, but Governor Corbett is either not very smart or an ideologue who will not face reality--probably both. 

United against Peter King

The Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley invited the community to join today’s Friday service and subsequent press conference in solidarity against the officially-sanctioned bigotry of Representative Peter King and his congressional hearings.

Two friends (a Unitarian and a Jew) and I drove down from Carbon County to attend the  service and press conference.  It was my first time at a service in a mosque; my advice is to be sure your socks don’t have holes in them, because you do have to remove your shoes.  The main speaker (imam?) welcomed the guests of other faiths and those without faith. He quoted from the Declaration of Independence and the German philosopher Schopenhauer and spoke of the need to reach out and help the community.  He told his listeners that Muslims should not be shocked by bigotry and prejudice--that this is a rite of passage for new American immigrants (isn’t that sad?), and he exhorted the Muslims to remain strong and remember that all across America people were standing up to hatred.

The first person to speak at the press conference was a rabbi from Allentown who said, “Today I am a Muslim.”  Sometimes I am ashamed of what some of my countrymen do, but today at that service and press conference, I was very proud to be an American.

Dangerous Times

I have the eerie sense that forces are at work to move this country to a one-party system.  That may sound odd when the President and the U.S. Senate are both controlled by Democrats, but look at some of the indications:

-- It is not legal for corporations or rich individuals to spend as much money on campaigns and political advertising as they wish.

-- At the same time the limits have been removed on corporate spending, Republican governors in New Jersey, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, and other states are curbing the power of unions and denying them even the possibility of collective bargaining.

--U.S. Senators, including Pennsylvania’s Senator Toomey, are advancing “Right to Work for Less” laws.  These laws, which allow “free riders” on union benefits and forbid unions to collect dues automatically from their members, have almost destroyed unions in states where they are in place and will have that effect nationally.

--Alternative sources of information, such as NPR and public television, are under attack.

--Voter suppression laws, aimed at Latinos, college students, and blacks, are advancing in Republican controlled states.

--Organizations that help the poor, such as Acorn, have been destroyed or are under attack.

--Commentators on Fox demonize liberals of all types, meanwhile labeling this propaganda as “news.”

--Not only have the red states gained in population since the last census, but in state after state Republican-controlled legislators will draw lines to shut Democrats out wherever possible.

--What once was the moderate wing of the Republican Party has completely collapsed; the hard right now dominates the party.  This wing, led by people like Darrel Issa and Peter King and Tea Party people, are willing to destroy civil society and resort to racism and slander to advance their cause.  They are interested only in taking and keeping power.  Ethics, morality, and civility are not relevant to their purpose.

NOTE:  Tomorrow a friend and I are attending a prayer service and rally in Allentown for Muslims under attack in the House hearings.  An atheist and a Jew off to support the Muslims.  Only in America, right?

The Happiest Man in America

     Sajeonogi, as you can read above, is a Korean word that means “knocked down four times, rising up five.”  Tonight, though, I’m just a tad discouraged.  We have Governor Corbett quietly giving tax breaks to corporations and cutting funds for the state’s universities.  We have Rep. King, an I.R.A. supporter when that organization was bombing innocent civilians, holding hearings on Muslim terrorists.  We have Karl Rove’s organization sponsoring anti-union ads in Wisconsin.  We have Sen. Toomey supporting a Right to Work for Less law in the Senate.  We have Sen. McCain calling for the U.S. to bomb Libya.  We have the Arizona legislature passing harsher and harsher laws against exploited foreign workers.  We have the Wisconsin legislature passing the anti-union legislation after stripping it out of the budgetary bill.

     So I decided tonight to ignore everything and tell you about the happiest man in America.  I was interviewed by a Gallup pollster a few nights ago on my level of satisfaction with life.  I was told to think of a ladder with ten rungs with the top rung being the best life and the bottom rung the worst.  Where would I stand?  (I said nine.)

     It turns out that Gallup has been polling on the quality of life issues for the last three years.  The New York Times recently asked the Gallup organization to formulate a composite of the characteristics of happiness.  It turned out that the happiest person in America would be “a tall Asian-American, observant Jew who is at least 65 and married, has children, lives in Hawaii, runs his own business and has a household income of more than $120,000 a year.”

     Guess what?  THERE IS SUCH A GUY!  His name is Alvin Wong.  He’s 5’10”.  He’s 69.  He’s Chinese-American.  He is a Kosher-observing Jew.  He’s married with children.  He lives in Hawaii.  He runs a health care management business.  He makes more than $120,000 a year.  And yes, he is one happy fella.  Mr. Wong, for some reason you made me feel better.  

     If you are curious about Gallup’s data on happiness, go to <nytimes.com/weekinreview>.

The New Guantanamo Rules

First of all, the U.S. should not even own the base at Guantanamo.  It was seized from Cuba after the Spanish-American War,  and it represents a holdover from the era of imperialism a century ago.  While almost every other colonial power has freed its possessions, the U.S. still clings to Guantanamo.

Having said that, President Obama’s executive order issued on March 7 represents a step forward.  Since Congress in its craven mode passed a law that Guantanamo prisoners can’t be transferred to the U.S., civilian trials are no longer possible.  Military trials, the next best option, will resume, although with greater procedural rights for the defendants.  The President also ordered that all prisoners have their status reviewed within one year, and every three years after that to determine if they should be released or tried.  

President Obama also will ask Congress to approve the portion of the Geneva Convention that relates to humane treatment and fair trials of prisoners of war.  Secretary of State Clinton said this would “reaffirm the determination to treat humanely all detainees in our custody.”  In spite of what “Deferment Dick” Cheney thinks, waterboarding was not humane treatment.

For a more complete account of the President’s executive order, see the New York Times, Mar. 7, “Obama, in Reversal, Clears Way for Guantanamo Trials to Resume.”

Hypocrisy

This is a guest posting from a retired school teacher in the Palmerton Area School District. 

It isn’t much fun being a teacher these days.  One doesn’t have to turn too far on the TV dial to hear some network talking head accusing teachers, and all other public sector workers, of being solely responsible for the economic mess our country is in today.  Never has the concept of “overpaid and underworked” been so overused.  As a retired teacher whose husband, several family members, and many friends are still teaching, I can’t help but take these attacks personally.  

When I was asked to write this blog, my goal was to present a reasoned, researched response to the nonsense Republican governors and legislators have been spouting in the name of fixing education. It has become obvious, though, that they could not care less about fixing the problems of education in this country.  All they care about is busting unions, and I am very angry about that.

Their shameful hypocrisy can no longer be ignored.  During the debate about extending the Bush tax cuts, the president wanted to allow the cuts to expire for anyone who was making more than $250,000 a year. The arguments against the president’s proposal were loud and long. How can anyone think that people who earn $250K a year are rich? These poor people have mortgages to pay! They have children who want to go to college!  $250,000 a year is nothing in this day and age! Yet these same folks decried the avarice of teachers who are making $51,000 a year plus benefits. How greedy can teachers get?

And let’s not forget the sacredness of contracts, but only as they apply to the big shots on Wall Street.  After the taxpayer-funded bailout of the banking industry, it was suggested that perhaps these CEOs and other high-ranking officials of the banking industry might forego their bonuses so that the government “loans” banks received could be paid back more quickly.  But once again, the defenders of the status quo came to their rescue. These are contracts, after all!  Legal documents!  How can we expect to attract talented individuals to Wall Street if we don’t honor these contracts, written and signed in good faith?  

Somehow, these same standards don’t apply to public sector workers. Teachers must make concessions. They can’t expect the taxpayer to continue financing salaries, benefits, and pensions they don’t even deserve.  It is time for them to make some sacrifices for the common good.

Yes, I’m angry. I hope to present the more reasoned response I had intended when first asked to comment on the problems educators face today. But in the meantime, thanks for letting me vent.

WWJD

In November 2006 Bush administration officials said that children born unto undocumented immigrants with low incomes would no longer be automatically entitled to health insurance through Medicaid.  Papers had to be filled out by the parents to prove the child’s citizenship.  Doctors doubted that many parents would do that.

Atheist that I am, I nevertheless often attend church with my wife.  The minister is politically liberal, and I usually like her selection of hymns.  This morning’s lesson was from Matthew, Chapter 25.  That is the passage where Christ separates the sheep and the goats.  I’ll quote a relevant portion.

41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

42  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat:  I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

43  I was a stranger, and you took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

46  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.

If only.

Natalie and Mike

Mike Huckabee is a self-righteous Bible thumper.  Natalie Portman, on the other hand, is absolutely the bee’s knees. If she has a baby without benefit of husband, that baby will not require governmental assistance.

Nevertheless, I believe I understand what Huckabee, in his inept way, is trying to say.  If you could pick one indicator for childhood poverty, it would not be educational level, race or ethnicity, religion, or geographical area.  It would be that the child has a single mother.

Of course, one way to reduce single motherhood is to abstain from sex.  That’s probably what Huckabee would preach.  Another more realistic way would be to make abortion safe, available, and affordable.  In any case, I don’t think we should demonize single mothers.  Nor do I think we should glorify the idea.

$4 gas

We are running out of oil.  We have been since Drake drilled his first Pennsylvania well.  Oil is a finite commodity.  Unlike wood, or wind, or sunlight, the earth contains a certain number of barrels.  While I don’t know what that figure is, I do know it is fixed.

The intelligent response is to use oil wisely.  We haven’t been.  We drill off the coast and on Alaska’s North Shore because we have depleted the oil in the easy places like Oklahoma and Texas.  

We could have been raising the required fleet MPG average, including pickup trucks in the fleet average, developing alternatives to gasoline power engines, increasing subsidies for high speed rail, raising the gas tax to discourage use and fund research.  We didn’t.

Europeans are better at this.  Gas at the pump is much higher than in the U.S.  Almost everybody drives very small cars or scooters or uses bikes.  Public transportation is available and fairly reliable, and intercity rail is high speed.  

We had a gas crisis in the Seventies, but we learned very little from it.

Extinction

I once saw a mountain lion.  On Friday afternoons, to avoid the traffic on U.S. 101, I often drove home from San Jose to Fairfax by way of Mountain Road.  About 20 miles longer, Mountain Road had beautiful views of the Pacific and Mount Tamilpais, and redwoods--and no traffic.  One day I saw this large animal streak across the road.  I immediately pulled over and got out of the car, and then it hit me--that was a mountain lion.  I quickly got back in the car.

I had been aware of mountain lions.  When I hiked in the Marin Municipal Water District property, signs at the trailheads contained instructions on what to do if you came across a mountain lion.  Look big, yell, don’t run, and if attacked, fight back.

When I hike in Pennsylvania, I will never see an eastern mountain lion.  The federal Fish and Wildlife Service has declared them officially extinct.  We knew that already, but somehow the official declaration makes it so final.  The last one died in the 1930s.  I will never see one.  My daughter won’t see one.  My grandson won’t see one.  No one will ever see one.  

I sometimes think that people don’t appreciate the finality of extinction.  The eastern mountain lion, a species that lived during my father’s lifetime, is now gone forever.  

Delicious

Sometimes the irony is almost too great to bear.  Mark Bittman, a columnist for the online New York Times, notes that a number of Tea Party congress members are getting  federal agricultural subsidies. Here are three members and their subsidies:

Vicky Hartzler, Rep. of Missouri, $775,000

Stephen Fincher, Rep. of Tennessee, $2.5 million

and (OMG)

Michelle Bachman, Rep. of Minnesota, $250,000.

You can provide your own comments here.

Why are they like that?

Our Republican legislators seem to go out of their way to support policies that any reasonable person can see are wrong for the state and nation.  There were two more mind-boggling examples of this Republican obtuseness today.

The kennel law

Pennsylvania long had a reputation for permitting puppy mills. They were all over the state; one was operating in my own Towamensing Township and another in neighboring Franklin Township.  Many of these kennels mistreated dogs, keeping them in inhumane conditions.  In 2008 the state legislature and the Rendell administration managed to enact legislation insuring that kennels provide certain size cages, exercise for the dogs, and reasonable temperatures.  

The reforms had an impact. Over 1/3 of the commercial kennels in the state shut down.  

Now Rep. Gordon Denlinger, a Republican from Lancaster, wants to reopen the kennel law.  He and five other Republican co-sponsors note that the state has lost millions in sales tax.  Well, yeah, and saved a thousands of dogs from a miserable life.  Here’s a suggestion to make up the revenue--a severance tax on natural gas.  Torturing dogs is not worth the money.

The trade agreement

Republicans in Congress are opposing an Obama trade package.  If they don’t get their way, they will note renew a program called Trade Adjustment Assistance that dates back to 1962 and helps workers who lose jobs because of free trade.  

At this point I would say “unbelievable” but unfortunately, it isn’t.  It’s far too typical of Republican legislators.  Who elected these people?

Info on the kennel law can be found in the Morning Call, Mar. 1, p. 17.  For info on the trade agreement check the New York Times, Mar. 1, p. B-1.