FDR - Part 1

By running for and winning re-election in 1944, Roosevelt ensured that a Democrat would be in the White House until January 20, 1949. Whether it would be him was an open question, considering his declining health (he was secretly suffering from melanoma). Arguably, the Roosevelt Era did not really end until 1968, with the election of Richard Nixon and the Republican adoption of the "Southern Strategy". Up until that point, Democrats had won seven of the past nine Presidential elections; only Roosevelt's Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight Eisenhower, was able to win election in 1952 (and re-election in 1956). In that period of time (1932-1968) Democrats controlled Congress except for two occasions, both of them the result of low approval ratings for President Truman: 1947-1949 and again from 1953-1955. In the former instance, the Republican takeover of Congress was seen as a precursor of Truman's impending loss to Republican Thomas Dewey in the Presidential election of 1948. Instead Truman narrowly won re-election and Democrats recaptured both houses of Congress. In 1952, President Truman was again suffering from low popularity, this time from the protracted war in Korea. Dwight D. Eisenhower ran for and won the Republican nomination for President (secretly bargaining with California Governor Earl Warren to appoint him to the first Supreme Court seat that opened up in return for his tacit support). Eisenhower and Republicans would go on to win the White House and Congress, the first time since 1932. It would be short-lived. Eisenhower lost both houses of Congress in his first midterms, and while he would go on to win re-election in 1956, he had to contend with House Speaker Sam Rayburn and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson, two of the most influential Congressional leaders in U.S. history.

R.I.P. Brittany

I've already done a tribute to Bea Arthur this year, and today I found out that Brittany Murphy died. She played the lovable sidekick on "Clueless" and went on to star in "Spun", "8 Mile", and "Girl, Interrupted" among many other movies. She also collaborated with international DJ Paul Oakenfold. Who knew this multi-talented actress could sing too?

More Republican Idiocy

Read this POLITICO Arena: David Mark's response to 'You be the strategist: How might the Dems minimize their loses in 2010 and what might Republicans do to help them?Plus, The Jobs Summit: A little less conversation; A little more action (please? But what sort of action?)'. Also, the interview with Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is comical, giving his non-response to the questions asked. Instead of giving a thoughtful answer that would provide a positive response or a direction for the Republican Party, he essentially echoes the Republican talking points of "no, no, no" and "everything the Democrats do is bad." He claims that Keynesian stimulus to the economy failed, even though it has saved countless teachers, firefighters, and police officers from being fired by state and local governments. At every road construction site in Bakersfield there is a sign that reads: "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act." Seems like it's working to me...

The Media Tries to Create Another Scandal

So let me get this straight: Montana's senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus, a Democrat, nominates his long-time staffer - whom he recently started dating - for a U.S. Attorney slot in Montana along with five other qualified individuals, and gave no preference as to who should get the job. She was so qualified for the post that she was narrowed down by an independent panel before she took herself out of the running because she and Baucus decided they wanted to live together in Washington. Not only were the two of them separated from their spouses, but Baucus and his estranged wife had split amicably and have decided to divorce after 25 years of marriage. How is this a scandal?

Baucus is being compared to South Carolina's Republican Governor Mark Sanford, who left his state to visit his mistress in Argentina and left everyone in the dark as to his whereabouts, including the state's Lieutenant Governor. "Hiking in the Appalachian trail" has now become a euphemism in the political lexicon for seeing one's mistress. Oh, and South Carolina's First Lady was completely in the dark about his betrayal of their marriage vows. No wonder the South Carolina Legislature has now begun impeachment proceedings against Governor Sanford. Baucus was also compared to Nevada's Republican U.S. Senator John Ensign, who also cheated on his wife. Ensign's betrayal went a bit deeper, though - the woman he cheated on his wife with was married to his chief of staff - a double whammy. And after the scandal went public, it was revealed that Ensign's parents gave a "gift" of tens of thousands of dollars to the couple. This scandal has a chance to mushroom a bit bigger, because Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma - also a Republican - helped Ensign in this tawdry little affair and may have tried to help him hush it up. It should also be noted that Ensign was a member of the Senate Republican leadership before this scandal broke.

Perhaps Baucus shouldn't have nominated his girlfriend for a U.S. Attorney slot, but it's not as though she wasn't qualified. He had a long-running professional relationship with her dating back to 2002, so he had an opportunity to see her work ethic. He is also a longtime U.S. Senator from Montana and presumably chose her because he knew she could do a good job for the people of Montana, which is backed up by the fact that she was one of three people that made it to a narrowed-down list of possible nominees. Seems like the media is desperate to create a "scandal" where there is none, perhaps to balance out their coverage of very real Republican scandals.

Consumer Revolt (Part 1)

These stories follow a familiar pattern, one which I sympathize with: consumer revolt against the rich and powerful, who have received hundreds of billions if not trillions of dollars in bailouts while average Americans get screwed. Witness this woman's one-person crusade on YouTube against Bank of America and its sky-high credit card interest rates. Andrew Cuomo, the Attorney General of New York, is filing charges against Bank of America executives for their failure to disclose bonuses paid in connection with their acquisition of Merrill Lynch one year ago (at the height of the financial crisis). As if that weren't enough bad news for Bank of America, a federal judge has also ruled that a $33 million settlement between it and the Securities and Exchange Commission cannot be allowed to go through.

Hitler and AIDS

This picture is from a poster in Germany, part of a new ad campaign for World AIDS Day. It has generated a lot of controversy, especially considering that some have viewed this as confusing Adolf Hitler with people with HIV/AIDS. I personally don't have a problem with this kind of public awareness campaign, because it elicits a great deal of controversy and gets people talking (which is the point of the ad campaign). The following video is difficult to watch, so for anyone squeamish about sex I don't recommend viewing it. However, it leaves a sinking feeling in my gut that dramatically conflates AIDS with the banality of evil.

A New Day

This is a sample of my autobiographical writing. I hope you like it:

I woke up this afternoon in a haze, sweaty and groggy from the summer heat. The bad dream I had the night before set the tone for the day. The black printer on my desk had lost its shine, covered in a fine dust that mirrored the decay I was to discover inside it. Stuck as it is in permanent error mode, its former luster has faded in contradistinction with the beads of sweat on my forehead. Disgusted with the contraption, I distract myself by pouring a tall glass of iced tea. I feel a wave of pleasure as the cool liquid hits my tongue, knowing that my thirst will soon be quenched.

Women's Rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo

This is an excellent perspective on the recent hubbub over Hillary Clinton's "outburst" when a male Congolese student asked her to relay what her husband thinks about the World Bank's interference in Chinese contracts in his country. For those of you that missed her response, here is the video:



Please watch this video of Secretary Clinton speaking forcefully for women's rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The whole point of her trip has been to shed light on the treatment of women, and it is fitting that she has done so but not in the way she probably foresaw. Her trip has highlighted the blatant sexism in the American media, with comments ranging from her "bad-hair day" to her wearing of single-color pantsuits to questions about whether her husband Bill has "upstaged" her with his securing the release of two American journalists in North Korea. Nowhere in the mainstream media has there been an effort to honestly and soberly delve into the very difficult problems that currently plague African countries. One of the best messages America has given the African countries is that they should treat their women better - a message we should take to heart ourselves before preaching to others.

Thoughts on China

I think people are absolutely right when they say that we should not only research clean coal technology, but we should give it to China. Given that China (like the United States) consumes more oil than it produces and has huge domestic reserves of cheap coal, it's a given that the Chinese will continue to use coal for their energy far into the future. The Sino-American relationship in the 21st century will be a strangely symbiotic one, and I don't think that the United States will necessarily decline as some have predicted. From a certain point of view, our relations are reaching the apex of what American traders in the 19th century always wanted: an open China with a huge middle class that will demand American goods.

In order for that long-held dream to finally become a reality, it will be necessary to crack China's protectionist tendencies and its brilliant but short-sighted policy of having American industries produce products in China at the expense of the U.S. workforce.

Democrats: Better Than The Alternative (For Now)

This is from a registered Democrat: President Obama had better get his act together. I see some troubling signs that he is tone-deaf on some very key issues that are critical to our recovery as a nation and a society. If he truly wants to restore America's greatness, he needs to solve these problems to prove that he is up to the task:

One, California. I've been going back and forth on this for a while, but at this point the crisis has become critical. The state needs a bailout. If government loans are the answer, so be it. Attach strings that will force our state to get its financial house in order. We simply cannot handle junk status on our bond ratings, falling tax revenues, and huge cuts in our world-class university system and expect the biggest economy in the United States to recover.

Two, foreclosures. It was a boneheaded move to tie the hands of bankruptcy judges. They should be allowed to adjust mortgages to keep people in their homes. I've even heard that banks are now bulldozing homes because it's cheaper than keeping them on the market. This is insane.

Three, China. Allowing the country into the WTO without forcing it to change its mercantilist policies was a suicidal maneuver. General Motors is forced to build cars in China in order to sell there, meaning that Michigan will continue its slide into irrelevancy. The fact that Obama's "brain trust" led by Larry Summers thinks this is protectionism on our part just goes to show how out of touch that guy really is. And that leads me to...

Four, the American economy. Why are Joseph Stiglitz, Nouriel Roubini, and Paul Krugman being ignored? These are some of the brightest minds in America, and Tim Geithner and the aforementioned Larry Summers have the President's ear instead. Geithner didn't even pay his taxes until he was trying to become Treasury Secretary, and he's in charge of the IRS now. Does that strike anyone else as odd? These guys are the understudies of Robert Rubin, who did a fantastic job leading Citigroup to zombie status. Obama needs to learn from Schwarzenegger's mistakes and realize that in order to make every single other priority of his Administration a reality, the American economy needs to become dynamic again. That does not mean Goldman Sachs should make billions while small businesses scrape by and unemployment creeps above 10 percent.

I'm not the only person that sees what is going on, and that's why Obama's approval numbers are slipping. If he wants to turn things around, he needs to make a course correction now.

The Never-Ending Saga of Sarah Palin

Of course she jumped at the chance to become Vice President of the United States - who wouldn't? But a serious and thoughtful politician would have thought about whether it was good for the country before diving in to the national stage, especially a one-term governor with zero foreign policy experience. Tragicomically, it was Dick Cheney that taught us how powerful and influential a Vice President can be. Americans took that lesson to heart, and quickly realized that with the septuagenarian John McCain as President, they were uncomfortable with Sarah Palin only a heartbeat away. So does Sarah Palin's resignation as Alaska Governor after only two and a half years in office surprise you? Why should anything she does surprise anybody?

Bush in the News

George Herbert Walker Bush is living up to his reputation as way cooler than his wannabe son. He's celebrating his 85th birthday by skydiving with HLN's Robin Meade. Plus, check out the bikini girl on Bush's lap!

June Reprieve

My first post of June features a couple of different subjects. First, check out why the United States does not feature international news at a time when Americans need to be tuned in to the world. Reagan's vision of America as a "shining city on a hill" could also be construed as Americans putting ourselves on a pedestal for all others to worship. We should not be deaf to the rest of the world and how we interact with it - 9/11 should have changed all this, but our reaction (invading Iraq) and the leadership at the time (Bush/Cheney) prevented a course correction that would have saved our country from decline.

In other news, Germany and the United States are harshly criticizing Switzerland for its status as a tax haven. In response, the Swiss have undertaken a P.R. campaign with shirtless hunks to distract our attention. Seems to be working...

And finally, writer Michael Hiltzik of the LA Times has a great article on the budget problems plaguing California. His solutions for the crisis are remarkably similar to what I proposed back in January (i.e. Prop 13, term limits). Funny how great minds think alike, isn't it?

Obama nominates Utah Gov. for China post

Jon Huntsman is imminently qualified to serve as America's Ambassador to China. He speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, a result of his Mormon missionary work in China. He has also served in diplomatic posts before, having served as President George H. W. Bush's Ambassador to Singapore, which has a large ethnic Chinese population. Huntsman is serving his second term as Governor of Utah, and previously served in the George W. Bush Administration as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. Another first-rate Obama appointment, and a bipartisan one at that (Huntsman is a Republican). Sending Huntsman to China is also a great way of getting a rival out of the way for 2012, when Obama is up for re-election. Up until now, Huntsman has presented a more moderate image for the GOP: he supported a ban on gay marriage in 2004 but supports civil unions and has been a leader for environmental causes as governor. My guess is that he saw the handwriting on the wall and figured barring some kind of catastrophe, Obama's prospects for re-election are pretty damn good. Political considerations aside, Governor Huntsman will be taking one of the most important diplomatic posts in the State Department, and will play a pivotal role in bilateral relations between the United States and China.

Move over Twitter!

While the chattering classes spend their time twittering away, I'm jumping on another bandwagon: Wolfram Alpha. It's a new search engine that will hopefully change the way people do research, and according to some it may even be a Wikipedia killer. That's too bad - I wish it were a Twitter killer instead.

Generation We

I recently came across a website with a great message for my generation. It's called Generation We, from the book of the same title by Eric Greenberg (which is available for free download on the website). I've embedded the video to give a better understanding of what the message is, and what we can do as a generation to change America for the better. Please take the time to look at this, you won't be disappointed.

A Fond Farewell

Growing up in the '80s, I was a fan of "The Golden Girls". I watched the show all the time as a kid, as good an indicator as any that I would turn out gay. My favorite character was Dorothy, played by Bea Arthur, an actress that made her name in theater before becoming a major TV star in the 70s and 80s with "Maude" and then "The Golden Girls". Bea just passed away after a struggle with cancer, and I wanted to dedicate this post to her. The video below is of Bea and Angela Lansbury singing the duet "Bosom Buddies". In the 1960s, the two starred in the play "Mame" with Lansbury in the title role and Bea Arthur playing her sidekick Vera.

The Music of Final Fantasy

What I remember about Final Fantasy - what really made it come alive for me - was the music. It was powerful, and brought the characters to life through emotion. YouTube has some excellent clips of live orchestral renditions of my favorite Final Fantasy songs. Nobuo Uematsu is truly a genius - he isn't given nearly enough credit for all the beautiful music he's created. Here's a video I found that demonstrates just how relevant his music is:

Tea, anyone?

What is just so unbelievable about the tea party protests is that they're not being honest with themselves. During the six years that Bush had Congress under Republican control, he never met a spending bill he didn't like. During the eight years of the Bush Presidency, the national debt doubled from $5 trillion to $10 trillion. The money was spent on exorbitant tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 that favored the rich, on a bloated Medicare prescription drug program, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (which Bush conveniently excluded from his rosy budget forecasts every year). Those tax protesters in the streets were nowhere to be found during the Bush era, but 100 days into Democrat Barack Obama's Presidency, all of a sudden they come out of the woodwork. This is not a coincidence. I prefer the policy of pay-as-you-go, which the Democrats reinstated when they took over Congress in January 2007, as opposed to the Bush Republican policy of borrow-and-spend. The latter got us into this mess in the first place, and yet to keep Bush spending at current levels it is necessary to increase taxes. President Obama is seeking tax money from those that received the most over the past eight years, and it's high time for them to pony up.

Stalin vs. Martians

This one goes out to my Commie buddies. And anybody that knows me well would think I dreamed something like this up. I swear to you, I had no part in creating a war strategy game where Stalin takes on Martians to the beat of catchy dance music.



I just creamed my pants watching this. Yeah, I'm a geek.

Interregnum

I've been out of commission lately, but I plan on writing more this month as things pop up. Sorry for not writing more - I've been sick for the past two weeks and am finally feeling better.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is (Still) My Hero

This TIME article by David Von Drehle is from late 2007, when Governor Schwarzenegger was praised for his handling of the fires that ravaged California from San Diego to Los Angeles. Drehle describes Schwarzenegger's response to the crisis as "competent" and "swift", in stark contrast to the failure of leadership during the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans. This article illustrates how fleeting praise can be in the world of politics. Now Schwarzenegger is facing a budget crisis larger than the one he inherited in 2003, after voters in California ousted Governor Gray Davis. Already Schwarzenegger is being portrayed as "without allies" and practically powerless to effect a break in the deadlock between Democrats and Republicans over spending cuts, tax increases, and more borrowing. The problem with this analysis is that as Governor, Schwarzenegger has complete executive authority to use the California National Guard and draw up emergency plans in the event a natural disaster threatens our state. In the case of a budget crisis, Schwarzenegger's gubernatorial leadership goes out the window; the Governor's office is hampered by the lack of executive authority over the state Controller's office, which is an independent statewide elected office, and hamstrung by a Legislature that requires two-thirds of all members to agree on a budget and tax increases.

In 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger backed Proposition 11, a measure that takes the power of drawing Assembly, Senate, and Board of Equalization districts out of the hands of the Legislature and into the hands of an independent panel of California citizens; this will hopefully end the gerrymandering of districts that ensure safe Democratic or Republican seats, creating a situation where the most zealous on either side get more power than moderates. The effects of this measure won't be seen until after Governor Schwarzenegger leaves office, much like his groundbreaking initiatives in environmental protection and rebuilding California's infrastructure. The budget crisis happened on his watch, to be sure - but I doubt any other Governor could have dug California out of its spending binge and reformed the way the Legislature passes budgets while also reforming the initiative process to control unfunded mandates. Perhaps that could be the agenda for the next Governor of California, but let's not forget that Arnold still has almost two years left in his term. He's come back from worse before, and I hope over that period of time the governor will be able to pull off one more Hollywood comeback.

The Nazi Pope

Move over, Pope Pius XII. Pope Benedict XVI is living up to his Hitler Youth days by reinstating a Holocaust-denying bishop to good standing with the Roman Catholic Church. Elie Wiesel, author of the Holocaust memoir Night , recently expressed "puzzlement, shock, and immense sadness" at the decision. A full list of Catholic-Jewish tensions can be found here.

California's Perennial Budget Crisis

A couple of ideas that Californians seriously need to consider moving forward:

-Abolish Proposition 13, which has kept property tax rates artificially low for thirty years. Property taxes go disproportionately to fund education, which has been cut or remained stagnant for the better part of Governor Schwarzenegger's term. In order for California to improve its education system, sacrifices must be made on the part of its taxpayers or we will no longer be a global leader in the 21st century.

-Make it more difficult to pass initiatives. Initiatives undermine the Legislature, which has now had its wings clipped with the recent passage of Proposition 11, so it should only be in special cases where the California electorate intervenes when its elected leaders fail to act. The myriad of initiatives that appear on the ballot every election have promoted a culture where the popular passions of the moment override the long-term interest (see Prop 8) and tie the hands of the Legislature to shape future budgets. Unfunded mandates now take up a huge portion of every year's budget, leaving lawmakers little discretion to cut funding on programs outside of education and healthcare. Perhaps the threshold for future initiatives should be fifty-five percent, and sixty percent for budget-related items (and a requirement to fund new spending).

-Extend term limits. Current law limits Assembly members to three two-year terms and Senators to two four-year terms. The term limits should be adjusted to allow for at least twelve years of continuous service in each chamber. While term limits can be valuable, currently lobbyists in Sacramento have more institutional memory than lawmakers. The new competitive districts allowed by Proposition 11 will allow for a more centrist and accommodating Legislature made up of professionals willing to reach across party lines to do what is right by California.

China's Male Prostitutes

China's rapid economic growth over the past three decades has produced a middle class that seeks new commodities, and this includes young men as sex workers. In an environment where homophobia is the order of the day, these men have to be very careful with how they express their sexuality. Watch their story below:

PostGlobal

David Ignatius and Fareed Zakaria - two very smart guys who know a thing or two about foreign policy.

Brzezinski pwns Joe Scarborough

I've been pondering the recent Israeli incursion into Gaza and the seemingly disproportionate response Israel has taken to the Hamas rocket attacks. It seemed to me that at the cost of a few dead Israelis, four hundred dead Palestinians and over a thousand wounded seemed a bit over the top. Thankfully my thoughts on this matter were confirmed by Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Adviser to President Carter, who schooled Joe Scarborough on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Money is Power

Having just found out that my financial aid went through for the winter quarter, I've now become convinced of the primacy of money in our society. Where just 5 minutes ago I was depressed and worried sick over what bureaucratic nightmare I had to endure during the first weeks of school, now the suicidal thoughts have subsided and a sense of calm has swept over me. This is the first blog post I've written for my new Blog, and it's just as well.

Without money, I feel powerless and afraid. With money, I feel a sense of control and the ability to acquire things I need or want. Money dictates whether we are raised in squalor and poverty or in affluence and freedom from want. Money means the difference between a single mom of seven children struggling for existence every day and having her babysitter take the kids to the park while the cleaning people scrub the house spotless.

For years I've said I don't want a lot of money, just enough to live comfortably. That's a lie. I want lots of money. The more the better. Why? Because money is power. Power to make a difference in your life and the lives of others. Power to make the difference in a campaign to end gay marriage. Power to send Barack Obama to the White House on a hope and a prayer. Money doesn't buy love or happiness - it gives us the ability to make changes on a daily basis in how people interact with one another.