In my mind the winners were, predictably, Romney and Huntsman, the two Moderate candidates, because they were articulate, sane, and made good sense.  Although, I did agree with each speaker on at least one issue. 

One of the issues for me that hasn’t yet been addressed is the underlying position of many Tea Party members that the United States is not a single country, but a co-op of a bunch of States run similarly to the European Union, which is made up of a bunch of different countries.  Some candidates even seem to want State’s rights to supersede Federal rights.  I believe this would weaken the United States.

When I Agreed

• Mitt Romney did a kick-ass job of describing Social Security as something to FIX, rather than eliminate, after Rick Perry called Social Security a “Ponzi Scheme.”  Probably one of the first things that should be done to “fix” Social Security is to stop Congress from using it as their own private piggy bank.
• I agree with Rick Perry on two big issues:  First, all kids, even kids of illegal immigrants, should have access to educational grants.  He and I are very simpatico on this.  Second, the requirement of young girls to be inoculated for HPV, which is the cause of cervical cancer.  For Michelle Bachmann and Rick Santorum to say this was a parent’s decision and responsibility—well that’s just bull shit.  Too many parents are dead beats.  And, if a parent was a good parent they aren’t going to care if this is a requirement.  It’s unfortunate, but too often government needs to make laws to protect children (e.g. car seat laws, vaccine inoculation laws, and educational laws).  It’s naïve to think that all parents want what is best for their kids.
• I agree with Jon Huntsman on global warming.  It’s disturbing that so many of the Republican candidates are anti-science because of their religion.  It’s like the Evangelicals have replaced the Catholics on trying to subvert science because it gets in the way of their ideological teachings.  I also agree with Jon Huntsman that this is not the time to get into a trade war with China.
• I agreed with Newt Gingrich on his appraisal of the Charter School issue and the kudos to President Obama regarding getting Osama bin Laden.
• I agree with Herman Cain that economic issues need to be the priority, rather than social issues.
• Now that I think about it, I don’t recall agreeing with Michelle Bachmann on anything.  The woman is so far right that she’s taken herself off the page.

How I Disagreed

The one topic that I disagree with all of the candidates on is health care.  We needed some changes to the health care system because insurance companies were running amuck and citizens (not illegals—but actual American citizens) were abusing the system and costing taxpayers millions of dollars every year.  The main thing I don’t like about ObamaCare is that it doesn’t go far enough.  But at least insurance companies can’t dump their customers anymore when they get sick.  It’s better than nothing.  We can dump it when something better is available.

• Herman Cain’s solution to use the Brazilian model for Social Security is nothing but a soft way to suggest that it be privatized.  Mr. Cain also seems to subscribe to the Ayn Rand philosophy that corporate executives are humanitarians and that the government is evil (a reasonable conclusion for her since she was born in Communist Russia).  I guess Ayn never met the CEOs of British Petroleum, Bank of America, Pacific Gas & Electric, or Wal-Mart—all companies that have cost American Tax Payers millions of dollars and whose actions have weakened the U.S. economy. (And let’s not forget the loser Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE who has an annual salary of >$14 million and whom Obama named as his job czar, and then he sent jobs to China.  What a farce)
• Rick Perry seems to be proud of how his State is going, even though it has either the worst, or one of the worst records on Education, Health, and Poverty compared to every other State in the nation. Also, it’s asinine to blame the Federal Government for the fact that Texas is dead last in health care.  Of all the States, Texas is the worst, and yet, this is somehow Washington’s fault?   And his stance on Climate Change just made him look ignorant, particularly with the weather conditions in his State.  If he wants to be elected President, he has to NOT look like a dunce.  Mr. Perry—grow up and admit your mistakes rather than pointing the blame finger at someone else.  I think one of the things that bothers me the most about Governor Perry is his inability to plan and be prepared.  Texas is having historic wildfires, and yet there is no emergency response team and a lack of firefighters due to budget cuts this past spring.  What would happen to us as a nation if this type of behavior was set on a national stage. 
• Newt Guingrich got on the Moderator’s case, claiming that Brian Williams was trying to get the debaters to argue.  However, Brian Williams was merely repeating what the candidates had said—he wasn’t putting words in their mouths.  And he was trying to get the candidates to express their opinions on controversial topics that voters need to hear and understand.
• Michelle Bachmann seems to think that it’s okay for the military to waste billions of dollars, because she flat out stated that our military budget shouldn’t be cut.  And that if we just let the gas and oil companies destroy our natural resources, we’ll get back to $1.79 gas prices.  The woman is clueless.
• Rick Santorum wants to cut corporate taxes to 0!  He claims this will create jobs (although he doesn’t explain how).  And that Democrats will vote for it (yeah, like this is something they can all get behind).  The only way to make American companies move jobs back to the United States is to eliminate their tax write-offs if they don’t do so!  And like Michelle Bachman, Rick Santorum focuses too much on social issues.  How is it that the Tea Party claims they want a smaller government and more personal freedoms, yet seem to want to give the Federal government authority to regulate social issues like abortion and gay marriage?
• Jon Huntsman wants to first repeal ObamaCare and then figure out what to replace it with.  It should be the other way around.  Come up with a plan and then exchange it.
• Ron Paul claims the market will regulate itself and we don’t need government to do so.  Oh, really?  I seem to remember a financial break-down that occurred a mere 3 years ago that was a result of deregulation of the banking industry (Levin & Colburn Report of April 13, 2011).  Washington Mutual, Goldman Sachs, and Deutche Bank weren’t doing a very good job of policing themselves, now were they?  And Dr. Paul’s comment that Americans are smart enough to not need companies to be regulated, are you kidding me?  The large number of regulations that exist today are a direct result of behavior by companies that was so bad that laws had to be put into place to ensure that it never happened again.  Like the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley law after the scandals of Enron, Tyco, Adelphia, and WorldCom.  The type of behavior of these companies is what would happen frequently were it not for government regulations.  Note to Dr. Paul:  you either have a short memory or you weren’t paying attention in the first place.

Next time I’ll talk about President Obama’s Job Act bill.

Yesterday I gave a list of things I think our tax money should be spent on.  Today I will focus on those things that our tax money should NOT be spent on.  And in perfect time, the Commission on War Time Contracting came out today with a report describing how over $60 BILLION has been wasted in Iraq and Afghanistan.  If this news doesn’t outrage every American, I don’t know what will.  With that thought in mind, this is what I think Congress should NOT spend U.S. tax dollars on:

1. Attacking Other Countries.  I don’t care if their leader is a tyrant, or if they have lots of oil that they won’t share with us.  Don’t make up stories about Weapons of Mass Destruction.  That kind of mistake is something that a world leader should be fired for.  We have no business in Afghanistan.  We had no business in Iraq.  And yet, here we are spending $ Trillions in “Defense” that looks an awful lot like “Offense” to me.  The 2011 U.S. Defense budget exceeds $850 billion.  (In contrast, China spent only $114 Billion on defense in 2010).  Shaving a mere 10-20% from this excessively bloated budget would probably be enough to fix all of our roads and bridges, create a fabulous educational system, and feed all of America’s poor.  But instead we continue to give money to the deepest and darkest Money Pit the U.S. has ever known.  Incompetent Fiscal Management includes the $60 billion in fraud, $9 billion missing Iraq reconstruction funds; $720 million in late fees for rented storage containers; $360 million in agricultural funds the U.S. paid to Afghani farmers to do what they were doing anyway; and $100 million in NASCAR endorsements!  Oh, and apparently some of the $ billions that were paid to contractors ended up in Taliban hands.  Why are we using contractors at all?  Obviously the Generals and Admirals and other military leaders who went to school to learn The Art of Invading Another Country failed their classes in Remedial Economics for the Military.  Forget about cutting the military’s budget by 10-20% and instead cut it by 60%.  I’m sure we can find a useful purpose for $510 BILLION dollars every year.  Purposes that benefit AMERICANS.  And it still leaves $340 Billion dollars annually for the military to squander.
2. Foreign Affairs.  We should not give a single dime to countries whose citizens hate us.  I don’t care if the leader of that country is a U.S. puppet.  If they don’t like us, why should my hard-earned money go to them?  Nor should we give any money to countries whose leaders are dictators or war-mongering tribesmen.  Actually—why are we giving money to other countries at all?  Are we trying to bribe them into liking us?  Is there evidence that these billions of dollars make the world safer for Americans?  What have we gotten for our money?  Keep that money at home, for cripe’s sake, and fix the levies in California.
3. Congressional Perks.  First, Congressional pensions need to be eliminated.  Completely.  If the average American doesn’t get a pension, then why should Congress?  Why should my taxes be given to him/her after they retire?  I keep hearing about Congressmen who want to eliminate Social Security, well maybe they need to set an example!  (And unlike Congressional pensions, Social Security is NOT an entitlement).  And travel should be limited to 2 foreign trips and 4 domestic trips per year.  I’m tired of paying for congressional vacations!  Anyone elected to office needs to (a) drive their own car, rather than a Limo or leased luxury vehicle paid for by tax dollars, (b) pay for their own meals, and hair cut, and alcohol rather than bill these to American taxpayers, and (c) pay for their own mail the way average Americans does by purchasing 44¢ stamps.  And Public Image costs need to come out of each congress person’s personal funds, rather than taxpayer money.  Why should taxes I pay go to help that Congressperson have improved public appearance?  Overall, it is clear that Congressional perks cost the taxpayers millions of dollars every year.  These all need to be closely examined.  Maybe the process needs to be changed so that the benefits are Incentives, rather than Perks.  While I’m talking about Congressmen, I would like to mention one of my pet peeves:   Lobbyists should be outlawed.  The Lobbyist system is corrupt and totally ensures that our elected officials will be more concerned about keeping the Lobbyists happy than doing what is right for the country.
4. Welfare.  I turn blue in the face when I see capable adults collecting welfare.  These people definitely need help, but I believe it would be better in the form of Workfare, rather than Welfare.  Why can’t recipients of federal funds do something that earns that money?  Maybe they could assist overworked teachers.  Maybe they could paint schools.  Or pick up garbage on the road.  Or clean up after a natural disaster.  Or watch the children of others who are doing other jobs.  And rather than increase the allotment for each additional child, I think the allotment should be decreased with each additional child.  I know this is not a very popular sentiment, but it’s what I think.
5. Immigrants.  Not one penny should be given to immigrants.  They can come here if they wish, but let them make it on their own like the rest of us.  And if they commit a crime, send them back home immediately.  Don’t put them in jail where my tax dollars have to pay to feed and house them.  Having said this, I do believe that we should allow the children of immigrants, whether legal or illegal, the same opportunities to get government grants and scholarships for their education.  First, education is something that we should encourage with our dollars, and second, if they are educated, they are less likely to commit crimes as adults.
6. Criminals.  I resent it that more money is spent on building prisons than schools and that criminals have better access to computers (and sometimes books) than students do.   And that prisoners have access to medical care that many law-abiding Americans don’t have.  Maybe certain types of criminals could be put under house arrest instead of being put in jail and then forced to support themselves so that taxpayers don’t have to do it.  Maybe punishment for some types of criminals shouldn’t be jail time, but instead some type of restitution to their victims.  Only violent criminals need to be behind bars to protect the public.  Maybe thieves should, instead of being locked up, be required to work for free to pay off their debt to the victims (I mean, who wouldn’t want someone to come in and clean the house or cook dinner?)  Okay, it’s an idea that I haven’t fully worked out yet.  It’s not that I don’t think criminals should be punished; it’s just that I don’t want to have to pay for their upkeep. 

So to summarize the posts from the past 2 days, I believe that we are wasting too much money in military programs that are fiscally mismanaged and that Congress needs to get a few less perks than they have been.  Hard-working Americans who have contributed to Social Security need to get every penny of Social Security and Medicare that they are eligible for.  I believe that we should provide the finances to make sure every kid who wants to go to college gets to go, including the children of illegal immigrants (it will cut down on crime in the future), and that any kind of assistance to immigrants needs to be terminated.  Excluding the sick, old, and infirm, Welfare needs to be replaced by Workfare. Annual donations to countries that don’t like us needs to stop.  Radical ideas, I know.   But they’re not etched in stone and so, with some logical arguments, maybe I can be convinced otherwise.

One of Congress’s jobs is to decide how the federal tax dollars will be spent—they create the U.S. budget.   The far left and the far right have dominated this topic for too long.  I believe that the Federal Government should participate in those things that make us a stronger nation and improve the lives of every American citizen.  I believe that the Federal Government is there to represent ALL Americans, not just the rich, or the Caucasians, or those whose families have been here for more than 2 generations.  I believe that the Federal Government is there to protect the People, rather than serve the Corporations.  Regarding the spending of precious federal tax dollars, this is where I think our money should go, in no particular order of priority:

1. Education.  The whole No Child Left Behind is a crock and needs to be eliminated.  It causes too much competition between the States, who have subsequently lowered their various Standards so that in the end, every child is left behind.  We are a single nation and any program that pits the States against each other is not good.  Take education completely out of the State’s hands—too many of them have totally bungled the job, and create a National Curriculum and Educational Standards.  A portion of the curriculum can be thrown back to the States a so that they can each teach their own local history, geography, and quirky topics.  As one of the world’s wealthiest countries, it is appalling that we are incapable of educating our children (except for the rich who send their kids to private schools).
2. Infrastructure.  We need our roads, bridges, dams, wastewater treatment plants, and other basic resources repaired and maintained.   We need a sophisticated high speed rail system so that we can move goods and peoples around efficiently.   One of the reasons the North beat the South during the Civil War is because they had far superior transportation infrastructure.  Our degrading infrastructure threatens our ability to defend ourselves should there ever be war on our soil.  And infrastructure such as roads and trains and wastewater treatment plants should be government owned and operated.  Profit is definitely a noble cause—but there should not be a profit on those items that comprise the basic needs of living, such as air.  Time and again, private companies have proven that they can’t be trusted to manage utilities.
3. National Defense.  The key word here is “Defense.”  Going over and attacking other countries so that we can ensure our supply of oil should NOT be one of the U.S. missions.    The comment that “A good offense is the best defense” is the biggest crock of manure I’ve ever heard.    Instead, secure our borders, protect our citizens within our borders, and leave the rest alone.  The Founding Fathers wrote that the U.S. should not have a standing army, and that instead the States should be in charge of the military.  In times of DEFENSE, the Federal Government would then combine the various State militias.  I don’t think the Founding Fathers ever envisioned that defense spending would be the primary use of federal funds.  In 2011, the U.S. will spend >$850 billion in Defense.  It seems that the military is the biggest welfare recipient of them all.  More than any other budget line item, it is the military that is bankrupting the U.S.
4. Natural Disasters. Hurricane Irene is the exact type of situation in which the Federal Government should be involved.  However, their role should be tertiary after local and State governance.   This storm crossed boundaries, requiring coordination of effort.  It hit areas little accustomed to and unprepared for these types of events.  We are a single nation, and not a bunch of little fiefdoms.  It is appropriate for the Federal Government to step in and assist, and hopefully prevent more deaths.  It should also be the Federal Government’s continued responsibility to fund programs and research that allow us to predict hurricanes (and tornadoes and earthquakes and tsunamis and volcanic eruptions) and then follow the progress to prevent deaths.  The proposal by Ron Paul to cut funding in FEMA and NOAA is outrageous.  How about we just not give the hurricane information or provide assistance to his State—Texas?  By the way, Texas received $227 million dollars in Federal Aid in 2009. The 2010 report isn’t out yet and 2011 isn’t over so who knows how much Federal funds will find their way into Texas.  Maybe someone should suggest to Mr. Paul that Federal Aid to Texas is where we should start cutting.  However, since I have loved ones in Texas, I don’t really want that to happen.
5. Care of Our Aged and Infirm.  As a wealthy nation, we need a process to take care of our citizens who have worked hard.  The Social Security system is a process that allows people to support themselves by the hard work of their youth.  I’m always so surprised when people who proclaim that the U.S. is a Christian nation are often the same ones who want to eliminate Social Security.  Or, “privatize” it.  Social Security should not EVER be privatized.  Can we really trust the same financial institutions that gave out subprime loans and then sold the toxic assets to the U.S. government? (Note:  TARP was signed in by President Bush, not President Obama).   Besides, Social Security would be doing fine today had it not been for Congress borrowing money from it to pay for things like wars.  Social Security, unlike government pensions, is NOT an entitlement.  People worked hard and paid into the Social Security funds.  Rick Perry’s comment that it is a “Ponzi Scheme” is an outlandish Fib.  (What is it with these Texas politicians?)  Ponzi Schemes are FRAUD where the payments go to people who didn’t invest in them.   Remember Bernie Madoff?  Wait a minute! Maybe Social Security IS a Ponzi scheme because Congress dipped into those funds to pay for their pet military projects in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Hmmm. 
6. Science and Technology.  We need to put more money into technology that will both improve the lives of Americans and serve as a source of revenue for private corporations in the future.  We are falling behind European and Asian countries and we will feel the pain economically unless we make some major changes. 
7. Preserving and Protecting Natural Resources.  This includes things like our water.  Our forests.  Our air.  Our historical resources.  These things belong to all citizens of the United States.  I also put into this category Agriculture.  I believe that agriculture needs to be subsidized because it is almost impossible for a small farm or ranch to make a living wage.  We have a growing population that needs to be fed and if farmers can’t make a decent living, there won’t be any farmers.  Everyone benefits when farmers are protected from economic ruin. 
8. Encouraging Creation of New American Businesses.   The Small Business Administration should be given more money.   Small Business loans are crucial to the creation of new business.  Without the ability of entrepreneurs to start businesses (which creates jobs) our economy will suffer.  It is getting harder and harder for the Mom-and-Pop shops to compete with the National Chains, but it is the Mom-and-Pop shops that provide higher wage jobs, boost local economies, and enhance local culture. 

There are those who argue that America is a Capitalist country and who would privatize everything.  You know, I don’t remember seeing anything in the Constitution about Capitalism.  Capitalism is good, but it’s not everything.   I believe that our taxes should make it possible for businesses to thrive in America, but not at the expense of her people so that only a few millionaires and billionaires can grow wealthier.  A long-term secure economy is dependent on a thriving middle-class.  Many of the larger companies take advantage of tax loop-holes and then ship jobs to places like India or China so that their executives can have a larger bonus.  That has to stop.  And only our government, which is supposed to represent the people of this country, can stop it.  Too often in the modern world we need government to protect the People from Corporations.  Without the government representing us, too many Americans would become nothing more than serfs or slaves.  That’s not what this country is about.

Tomorrow I will discuss what the U.S. should NOT spend tax money on.

For the last several weeks, I have been posting on Huffington Post, and shamefully ignoring my own blog.  It’s time for me to have a long tirade because it will do me good to vent.  

One of the things that became clear to me as I participated in a larger fishbowl than my own little blog allows, is that there are a lot of people out there who justify my opinion that the world has gone mad.  Or, maybe it’s always been mad, and I’m just now becoming aware of it. 

For instance, there are a lot of people who have opinions that are not based on legitimate data, or, at best, a single outlying data point.  The whole Climate Change issue demonstrates this best.    Climate Change is real and to believe otherwise is like being an ostrich with your head in the sand.  And then there are people who “quote” the Founding Fathers, but it is clear that they have read neither the U.S. Constitution nor any of the supportive literature.  Or if they have read the Constitution, they have interpreted it in a way that is dissimilar to that of the Supreme Court, who have studied Constitutional Law and whose job it is to interpret the Constitution.  And finally, there are people out there making economic decisions that don’t have the vaguest understanding of economies and how to keep them sustainable—they make decisions based on the input from their constituents or high school cronies.  The overspending by Congress for the past 10 years and the recent Debt Ceiling Debacle caused by the Tea Party legislators are the best examples of this.

As a Moderate who usually agrees with bits and pieces from both sides of the political spectrum, there is something that pisses me off—and extremists from both sides do it.  Just because I don’t agree with your extreme viewpoint doesn’t make me less of an American and less patriotic than you are.  If I hear/read one more opinion about how “so-and-so” is un-American or how “blankety-blank” is a terrorist, I think I’ll scream.  Get Over Yourselves!  There is no single right way to demonstrate patriotism.  George Washington or Thomas Jefferson did not create a rule book or check list to follow.  I don’t agree with either the Tea Party extremists or the American Socialist extremists, but I don’t doubt the patriotism of members of either group.  They are all American and patriotic in their own way.

When discussing the U.S. Government, it is NOT “us vs. them.”  WE are the government.  If we don’t like what the government is doing, then we have no one to blame but ourselves because we are the ones who voted the idiots/criminals into office.  If we are fooled into believing lies told on television commercials or magazine ads, then we are fools because we didn’t do our research.  So, if you think the government is comprised of a bunch of thieving imbeciles (and you’re right), you don’t have to look much farther than the mirror and across the dinner table to know who is to blame.

Nothing is absolute.  Nothing.  Despite what the Tea Party says, not every decision made by President Obama has been bad.  The same can be said about President Bush.  Both men have made some good decisions and both men have made some huge mistakes.  But the minute someone says or writes that “Obama wants to destroy this country” or “Obama is a Muslim socialist,” then I know that that person is an idiot without the skills to have a legitimate discourse on the topic.  The same can be said about anyone who claims that all the problems with the U.S. today are the fault of George Bush.  There is plenty of blame to spread around.  Why waste it on a single person?

Finally, and I’ll end today’s rant with this so that I have more material to rant about on a future date, I am appalled at the blatant racism coursing through our society.  Blatant.  Horrific.  Terrifying.  I read an opinion on the Huffington Post last week from a person who wanted the government to do something about the illegal immigration because (and I paraphrase)” it allowed the influx of the Spanish language and changing the American culture.”  I almost gagged when I read this.  I’m sure that my Choctaw great-grandparents were turning over in their graves.  How dare any American complain about the influx of a new language and changing American culture when not 150 years ago the great immigration from Northern Europe started (peaking in 1907), wiping clean the language and culture of the North American indigenous population.   The United States was not formed so that the population of Northern Europe would have a place to expand to.

It was the early 1900’s when the immigrants started coming from places other than Northern Europe, and so the Immigration Act of 1924 was implemented to specifically limit the numbers of Italians, Asians, Slavs, and Jews from entering the U.S.  The quotas were based on 2% of the existing immigrants already in the U.S.—which meant that any number of Northern Europeans could continue to immigrate, but Southern Europeans and Asians were strictly limited.  The quota system was abolished in 1965, but the U.S. still has processes that limit legal immigration to 170,000 per year and only then if they are educated, have important skill sets, or relatives already living here.  Personally, I am greatly concerned that many more than 170,000 immigrants come into the U.S.  every year because it impacts our limited resources; I do not care about the color of their skin or change in our culture.   But as resources are used up in other countries and the number of births climb, more and more people will steal their way into our borders.  They will have no other option if they want to survive and the desire to survive is quite strong.  The issue should not be the impact on our culture, nor the impact on our economy (studies have shown that there is none), but instead the use of our limited resources to support an out-of-control growing population—water, food, energy, etc.  These are t he real issues.  Not race and culture.  But it does show that for many Americans, the impact on culture has a higher priority than impact on water and land.  That is true madness.

By now everyone must know that News of the World, a British news medium owned by Rupert Murdoch, has been found to have hacked into the phones of politicians, murder victims (interfering with investigation), and soldiers killed in Iraq .  The result of this illegal and immoral activity has resulted in the demise of News of the World, a 185-yr old newspaper.  The biggest surprise to me, however, was not that this criminal behavior occurred (because Murdoch has a history of lacking journalistic integrity), but that this very same Rupert Murdoch owns and operates several news media here in America, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and Fox News.  And there is a possibility that Americans have been victim to similar illegal and sordid activities by these other Murdoch holdings.

Put simply, Rupert Murdoch is a pimple on the butt of society.  He is the king of yellow journalism, surpassing even William Randolph Hearst in duplicity and lies aimed solely to expand his own financial empire.  He changes political support at the drop of a hat, thus creating psychotic fear in our elected officials that to not do his bidding will result in their ouster at the next election.  If you want to know what is wrong with our society morals, declining middle class, and economic recovery, you don’t have to look much further than men like Rupert Murdoch.  And he is considered one of the most influential people in the U.S.  (On a side note, is there not a more perfect name for a villain than “Rupert Murdoch”?  Hollywood couldn’t have devised a more exquisite moniker for a bad guy than “Rupert Murdoch”.  Is there a Batman or Superman out there who is going to fly by and save the threatened citizenry from some sensational ray gun pointed at us by the villainous Mr. Murdoch?  I’ll even take an Austin Powers to rescue me).

Going back to the discussion of Murdoch’s media holdings, I’ll admit here that I like the FOX local news (weather, local issues, etc.).  The anchors are personable and seem trustworthy.  I also like the Wall Street Journal.  But we Americans need to find out if the kind of behavior seen in Murdoch’s British media is also happening here in America.  And if so, we need to let Murdoch’s advertisers know that it won’t be tolerated in the U.S.

Because of the Murdoch scandal in Great Britain, I looked at who owns and operates the major American News Stations.

• CNN—Time Warner. 
• ABC (and ESPN) — Disney Corporation. 
• NBC—(and  MSNBC) — General Electric and Microsoft.
• CBS—Westinghouse.
• CSPAN—owned by the non-profit National Cable Satellite Corporation.

And finally,

• Fox News—Owned by Rupert Murdoch.  A billionaire who supported (and benefited financially from) the Iraq invasion, a topic for which FOX News focused in its newscasts, particularly compared to other news channels.

In the past when I’ve watched the national FOX news, I noticed that they seemed to be inaccurate more often than the other news channels.  I’ve since discovered that, according to The Project on Excellence in Journalism (the 2006 report), 68% of Fox stories contain personal opinions (rather than facts), as compared to MSNBC at 27% and CNN at 4%.  A study performed by the University of Maryland (ranked one of the highest Northeastern schools) reports that FOX viewers are the most misinformed.  The same study also reported that MSNBC viewers are also misinformed, but at a much lower level compared to FOX.   So clearly, accuracy in reporting is not one of the core values of the Murdoch media empire, but hacking into phones, violating citizen privacy, and getting revealing and embarrassing information in any way possible, is.  Also, despite their claim of being “Fair and Balanced” everyone knows and acknowledges that FOX is actually more biased towards the far, far, far right and so not really at all a balanced news station.  (The same accusation can be made about CBS being biased towards the far left—however; they don’t claim to be “Fair and balanced”).  CNN and BBCA seem to be more moderate without particular partisan leanings.

I’m certain that those who like FOX News because of the partisan positions they espouse will defend it and say that it doesn’t matter that it is run by someone with such demonstrated greed and avarice that he would bring down a country (ours) in an effort to make more billions.  And it’s okay if people want to watch FOX News and read the Wall Street Journal (a periodical that I happily read whenever I can get my hands on one) because everyone has the right to believe what they want.  As a political moderate, however, I find it disconcerting that good American citizens who are justifiably concerned about the American economy and downfall of moral values are duped into building up the coffers of man whose actions have hurt this country.  As a moderate (and rationalist) I recognize this and will rail against it as much as I can.  I can only hope that my fellow Americans will join me and not tolerate such immoral and unethical behavior.

Over the last several weeks, several people who I knew quite well have died, including, most recently, my mother-in-law.   The cluster of such sad events has made me think about what a short time we have here and how it is important not to fritter it away.  This entry is not a commentary on any one life in particular, but on how all of us  live our lives in general.

Here are some things to think about:

• Life is too short to squabble with family members over trifles and not speak to them for years.   For cripes sake, pick up the phone and start talking to each other.  Your life will be better for it.
• Life is too short to limit our friendships to only those that think the same way we do politically.  I actually know people who don’t fraternize with those on the opposite end of the political scale.  Personally, I love arguing with my friends  and family members who don’t see eye-to-eye with me on the issues.  It doesn’t make me love them any less.
• Life is too short to take too seriously those things we should be laughing at instead.
• Life is too short to not get the best education we can.  I have long since graduated from college, but I still try to learn something every day.  There are too many people walking around who haven’t really learned anything since high school.  And recently it seems to have become vogue to be proud of the lack of education and to celebrate ignorance.   How sick is that?!
• Life is too short to waste good money on junk.   It’s so easy to fall into the trance generated by constant bombardment of commercials, but do you really need a new truck when your mortgage has been late 4 times in the last 12 months?  Or a fishing boat that you’ll use 2 weekends in the first year and then not at all after that?  Or a pair of jeans that were made in China and cost $75 because they look to have the right faded color or logo?  Or a $5 Starbucks coffee every single day?   I hear of people losing their houses not because they lost their jobs, but because they couldn’t live within their means and control their spending on useless items.  (I know of a woman who was on her cell phone asking for rent money from a family member while in line to buy a Starbucks coffee.  Not surprisingly, she doesn’t have a house any more).
• Life is too short to be a racist, sexist, or ageist.  Life is too short to worry about people of other religions moving to America.  Life is too short to hate. 

Life is short so spend your time in pursuits that matter.  Tell your brother you love him.  Buy a piece of art from a struggling young artist.  Pick up some garbage off the side of the highway.  Go to a City Council meeting and express your opinion.  Rescue an animal in distress.  Travel to another country and taste their local cuisine.  Learn another language.  Help a stranger.  Make a difference.  Matter.

After the longest winter I can remember, spring is finally here and every evening we are serenaded by frogs who have taken up residence in every water feature near our house—including flower pots, watering cans, and most notably, our fountain.  This will be the third year in a row that we have had the honor of hosting these noisy creatures and with each year there are more and more frogs. 

My husband, Frank, loves amphibians and reptiles.  Two years ago he found a glop of frog eggs in a water dish in our greenhouse.  He gently collected these eggs and put them in a large container of water (also in the greenhouse) and when the eggs hatched into tiny tadpoles, he fed them daily and nurtured them until they turned into frogs and hopped away. 

Last year I started my tomatoes in the greenhouse about April and put each pot into a container of water to keep the soil moist.  Within a few weeks, the water dishes were filled with frog eggs.  Once again Frank collected the eggs and this time put them into a large tub that was soon filled with hundreds of tadpoles.  Like a proud papa, he would watch them every day as they grew and developed.

And so here we are in 2011.  I did not start my tomatoes this year (too busy—will just buy seedlings in a couple of weeks), and so the frogs have returned but there are no dishes of water in the greenhouse.   So, they had to find other sources of water in which to lay their eggs.

Frank has dutifully searched our property daily for frog eggs and those in the flower pots and puddles he has collected and moved to a big container in the greenhouse.  But the eggs in the fountain are too well attached and not so easily removed.  His biggest worry is that once the eggs become tadpoles, the little critters will be sucked up the pump and dumped into the shallow upper reservoir and potentially swept over the edge back into the main water pool.  It would be like you or me going over Niagara Falls without the protection of a barrel.  He wants to turn the fountain pump off, but I object because that will allow mosquito larva to develop.

We’ll know soon enough if the tadpoles are in mortal danger because the eggs should hatch in a day or two.  At least some of them will.  I got a feeling we’ll have several batches of tadpoles in the fountain over the course of the next few weeks because the frogs seem to really like it.

That’s enough about frogs.  I needed a brief respite from world events but now I’ve had enough thought about noisy amphibians.  Anyone who wants more discussion about frogs can take it up with Frank.

Zippity do da, zippity ay, my oh my, what a wonderful day!

First, the Royal Wedding (I admit without guilt that I was mesmerized by the pomp and traditional glamour of the royal couple’s nuptials and wish them all happiness) and then, without warning, Osama’s elimination.  For 4 days I was glued to news channels, flicking back and forth between them during commercials and traffic updates.  Kudos to the military unit who carried out this successful endeavor and kudos to Obama for having the balls to authorize it.

Now a few words about Pakistan.

With the caveat that I am neither statesman nor ambassador of good will, but, EXCUSE ME?!

1. How could Pakistan NOT know that Osama bin Laden had built a huge house in a military retirement town next to a military base?  (A military base funded by billions of U.S. dollars).  NATO reported last October (2010) that Osama was living comfortably in a house in north Pakistan and being protected by Pakistan.
2. Pakistan has THREATENED us if we perform more Al Qaida raids?  They accuse the U.S. of killing Osama in “cold-blood.”  They have it a little backwards:  they are the one who provided protection to a mass murderer and are now trying to switch the blame to the U.S.  I say we cut all economic aid to Pakistan immediately and put that money into improving the U.S. educational system.  (I understand that a bipartisan proposal has already been sent to Hilary Clinton to cut Pakistani aid).
3. Pakistan has lobbyists in Washington to get our congressmen to stop saying that Pakistan was intentionally hiding Osama.  Pakistan has lobbyists in Washington?  I’ve gone on the record many times saying that lobbyists should be outlawed because they erode the republican system established by our Founding Fathers.   If the fact that a FOREIGN COUNTRY is allowed to influence U.S. congressmen doesn’t convince Americans that Lobbying should be disallowed, then I don’t know what will. 

Now a few words about the Post-Osama whirlwind:

1. We don’t need to see a picture of Osama’s dead body.  It would just feed the psyche of those sick individuals who get off on that sort of thing.  We know he’s dead, let’s just leave it at that.
2. It was a good thing that President Obama went to the Twin Towers Ground Zero site to show respect for the innocent people (multi-national) who lost their lives at the order of Osama bin Laden.  It was disrespectful, petulant, and childish of President Bush not to join him because it was his decision that the U.S. take the path that we have trodden these last 10 years.  This would have been a great opportunity to temporarily step aside from partisan bickering and show all Americans that we are united in our endeavor to fight those who would attempt to terrorize us.  President Bush’s decision showed that there is a weakness in America.  Are we really so self-centered and ego-centric that we cannot unite for even a short period and rejoice in this victory?

Barack Obama released the “Long Form” Birth Certificate today.  Big deal.  Who cares?  The abbreviated version of his birth certificate has been available online for a couple of years now.  Only an idiot would doubt his American citizenship.  Unfortunately, there are lots of idiots out there who were either too lazy to look online or too illiterate to understand what they were looking at.  Or they were anti-Obamians that grasped at any idea that might relieve themselves of having Barack as their President. 

The Birthers claim they are “dedicated to the rebirth of our Constitutional Republic” and pretend to be patriotic.  But in fact, if you listen closely to what they are saying, you’ll realize that racism comprises the largest part of their basic tenet. 

Maybe it’s because some people wished that Barack Obama was not President that they let themselves believe that it was just a bad dream and he wasn’t really born here.  Like Dorothy when she visited the Land of Oz.  Too many of these people want to change the rules so that what they consider a bad dream won’t exist, such as laws of citizenship outlined in Amendment 14 of our Constitution.  These people must be the Winged Monkeys under the control of the Wicked Witch of the West (aka Sarah Palin).

What is most disconcerting is that there are too many politicians willing to take advantage of that ignorance or naiveté and so promoted the idea that President Obama is not an American citizen.  And those politicians, who actually believe President Obama was American, but took advantage of voters who do not, are worse than the Birthers.  An example of such a person is Donald Trump.  He’s not a stupid man, but he listened to stupid political advisors.  But there are also Republican politicians, such as Mitt Romney, who did not fall into the Birther Bubble Bath, but instead chose to behave honorably and claim that President Obama is an American so that actual issues could be discussed.  My opinion of Mr. Romney has gone up a full notch.

As someone more in the middle of the political spectrum, I find such illogical and irrational accusations and concerns exasperating.  I would prefer that real issues such as the budget, the diminishing Middle Class, and the potential for terrorist activities be addressed.  I’m not crazy about some of President Obama’s policies, but I know that he is an American.  I think that is a statement that most Moderates could make. 

So the Long Form Birth Certificate is out now.  Can we finally get away from this stupid discussion and focus on the real issues?  Or are the goons on the far, far, far right fringe going to claim that the Long Form Birth Certificate is a forgery?  Maybe the Birthers keep focusing on the Birth Certificate because they don’t know what the actual issues facing this country are.

Tristan drinks his coffee in front of the green house

I just discovered that the American Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1882 by a Socialist named Francis Bellamy.  A Socialist?  I don’t really know a lot about Socialism other than a Conservative named Fred Sauer claims that Socialism and Liberalism is the end of freedom—but you have to buy his book to find out why.   I also know that our Social Security and Medicare programs are a type of socialistic activity. 

So, armed with a bucketful of ignorance, I looked up Socialism in Wikipedia (which is my first go-to website when I want to find out anything).  According to Wikipedia, Socialism is an economic and political theory based on public or common ownership.  Like a State Park?  It is based on self-management and dispersed decision-making.   Okay, that doesn’t sound too bad.  But then, as I read further it described how ownership of production was through a worker cooperative.  Hmm.  I’m not too crazy about that because not everyone works equally hard or efficiently.   I remember in school there were people like me who studied and worked hard to get good  grades, and then there were people who instead went off to play and just barely passed their classes.    And at work, there are always the lazy ones who don’t merit the same rewards (like the ones who kiss up to the boss to get ahead).

As I read further, however, I realized that there are many types of Socialism.   There is the State-directed economic socialism, which our Social Security, Medicare, and National Parks would be.  And Market socialism.  Overall, I must say I’m not too enamored with the idea of Socialism because there doesn’t seem to be any room for reward based on merit.    It sounded a lot like Communism. 

So what is Communism?

Like Socialism, it is a political philosophy that says there are no classes and everything is commonly owned.  There are Council Communists and Libertarian Communists.  Unlike Socialism, there doesn’t seem to be an economic side that I could find in the descriptions.   However, it is described as the stage after Socialism.    History tells us that Communism has not been a very successful way to govern.  My personal belief is that it could never work because, as a species, humans are greedy and interested only in self promotion.    So, overall, Communism doesn’t sound like a good idea to me.   But considering the nature of humans, when the humans who are in the upper echelons go too far in their mistreatment of those at the bottom, the poor will rise up against the wealthy and powerful and Communism is going to sound good to them.  France and Russia are good examples of this.

So why do Conservatives think Liberals are Socialists?  I looked up Liberal and Conservative.  According to Wikipedia, Liberalism focuses on liberty, equal rights, constitutions, free and fair elections, Capitalistic economy, free trade, and freedom of religion.  That sounds pretty good to me.  The American Revolution used the concepts of Liberalism to justify the armed overthrow of tyrannical rule by a Royal family. 

So what is Conservatism?

Fiscal Conservatism is the economic philosophy of prudence in government spending and debt.  That sounds utterly fabulous to me.  Social Conservatism, however, supports holding fast to traditional ways of thinking even in the face of monumental change.  I’m not sure how I feel about this.  There have been changes to American culture that I find abhorrent and I strongly believe that it would be good to return to some of our more traditional concepts—such as raising our own vegetables (rather than importing them from Mexico), manufacturing goods here in the U.S. (rather than having all the manufacturing jobs sent off to China or India), and the ability for teachers to discipline unruly students.  But I also like the movement away from racism and sexism that each generation seems to make (there is still racism and sexism, but a lot less than there was 50 years ago).  So I guess I’m Socially Conservative on some things and Socially Liberal on other things.  Religious Conservatives seek to apply the teachings of a particular religion to politics.  I consider this un-American and downright evil.  I strongly believe in separation of church and state.  And I also strongly believe that any church that gets involved in political issues should lose its tax exempt standing.

So I finally looked up Moderate. 

“A person who is not extreme, partisan, or radical.”  I like that.  In the United States, Moderate bloggers have used the term “Rationalism.”  Oooh.  I really like that.  I think I’ll go hunt down some of the “Rationalism” blogs and see what they have to say.  And I can’t wait to hear what Tristan has to say.