Month: July 2009

Today marks 40 years since the moon landing, and the walk on the moon by Neil Armstrong,  a day to be celebrated and commemorated with great pride.

I remember vividly the excitement felt all through the 1960s, as the space program united and boosted the spirits of the American people,  from the Mercury program and the original seven astronauts  (including Alan Shepard and John Glenn), to the Gemini program  (including the tragic loss of three astronauts on the launch pad in 1967),  to the Apollo program and the trips to the moon leading up to the landing and walking on the moon on this day in 1969.   We continued to go to the moon and explore through 1972,  then delayed  making further progress until the space shuttle program began under President Reagan,  and then
further space accomplishments we have witnessed  since then, but unfortunately due to end in September 2010.

I have always been a believer in space exploration and strongly opposed the stopping of the main components of the space program after 1972,  and the lack of purpose that now seems to exist in the space program after next year’s last scheduled space shuttle.  We need to go back to the moon and to plan for Mars exploration and beyond,  not just because of curiosity and intellectual interest, but because of its value scientifically.  Many advances in science and medicine have made the space program worthwhile,  and we certainly don’t want to leave it to other nations to make the advances in space while we sit on the sidelines.  If we do that, we will regret it in the future.

Meanwhile, let’s continue to honor the heroes of the space program, including those who gave their lives in the three tragedies that took place in the name of progress.  This is a time for renewal of our commitment to world leadership in the exploration of space!

Barack Obama marked six months in office at 12 Noon today.

Looking back at the halfway mark of a year,  I would continue to say that Obama has done a very good job of inspiring the American people and initiating bold action on many fronts.

He has proved to be a magnificent orator and role model for  America’s image in the world, and has shown compassion and principle in his dealings with domestic issues.

The economy may still be questionable, but realistically no one could have expected that after such a short time,  that we would have definitive results, but the indications are that things are starting to improve, although it will be a long haul to get out of what most experts call The Great Recession.  We cannot expect miracles overnight after years of mismanagement and incompetence by the Bush Administration.

Obama has not been afraid of controversy and challenge,  and while he has not been able to please all constituent groups,  no one can deny that his intention is to bring fundamental social and economic and diplomatic change, but the key word is patience, as after all,  "Rome was not built in a day!"

Obama continues to have independent support and the good will of most Americans,  and he has been helped by the complete breakdown of the opposition party, which continues to be simply the party of "No", offering no constructive alternatives in any area of policy, and allowing their party to be hijacked by the extremist, hate mongers of the far Right, meaning many of the radio talk show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage;  and the irresponsible, reckless rantings of TV talk shows on Fox News Channel, including Glenn Beck,  Bill O’Reilly, and Sean Hannity.  Fortunately, their propaganda is not reaching intelligent, thoughtful people who understand the horrible mess that Barack Obama is faced with, and the courage he has displayed in facing these problems with a sense of confidence and purpose.

So I say to President Obama:  Congratulations on a job well done, and I continue to give you a professor’s grade of  B+! 

Congressman Eric Cantor, the Republican Minority Whip in the House of Representatives,  has been seen by many in his party as a potential long shot candidate for President in 2012, based on his youth and fast rise to leadership in Congress.  The fact that he is from Virginia, an important swing state,  and is the only Jewish Republican in Congress,  is also seen as points in his favor.

However, Cantor has been unimpressive in his statements and actions in opposition to the agenda of President Obama.  He seems to offer no alternative but for criticism.  And his latest statement makes him look really foolish.

This involves the issue of a summer employment program for young unemployed teenagers and early 20s youths in the inner cities and other poorer areas of the country.  These jobs give young people experience, job skills, confidence and self image in a difficult job market,  and is better than having them loiter around the streets and possibly be influenced by evil intentioned contacts.

But Cantor says this investment in summer employment is a waste of taxpayers’  money–that paying these teenagers on the average $2000 to keep them employed and doing something useful is a poor utilization of stimulus funds.  On this, and generally with his lack of constructive alternatives, Eric Cantor strikes out as a possible alternative for President in 2012 or after.

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Bob Woodward of the Washington Post,  most famous for uncovering the Watergate scandal in tandem with Carl Bernstein 37 years ago, but also author of numerous other works, including three on Bush and his war policies after 9/11,  is just back from Afghanistan, and he comes back with a warning to the nation and Barack Obama.

Woodward says it can now be said that Afghanistan is Obama’s War with the greatly increased commitment, of troops,  and the growing number of US casualties, including many by suicide bombers and IEDs. 

Woodward says this is a much harder and different war than Bush’s war in Iraq, with far less potential for progress and success despite increased US and NATO forces in that backward country.

Woodward is very perceptive,  and makes one wonder when or if Barack Obama will come to realize that the battle against the Taliban is, in my opinion, an unwinnible war that will drain our ability to accomplish domestic reform and will, over time, undermine his standing with the American people.

Just as World War I ended Woodrow Wilson’s New Freedom;  World War II ended Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, and the Vietnam War ended Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society,  Barack Obama is in mortal danger of seeing his ambitious plans for what might be called "The New New Deal" or  "The New Foundations"  destroyed or cut short by a long drawn out, unsuccessful war in a forbidden land, Afghanistan, which helped to bring down the old Soviet Union  by the end of the 1980s.

Instead of sending our young men and women, the treasure of our nation,  into battle far away,  better to reinforce and develop a strong Homeland Security defense system that will make America impenetrable from another 9/11 attack.    I hope that the President will come to his senses in this regard very soon,  as it is important for the future of his agenda and for the nation itself.

Wall Street, which is the major culprit in the economic collapse of 2008, which has led to the Great Recession,  the biggest downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s, is actively opposing President Obama’s proposed Consumer Financial Products Agency.

Obama’s idea is that consumers should be protected when they sign up for a credit card,  apply for a home mortgage, or qualify for a student loan.  Contracts would be simplified;  fine print would be eliminated;  and there would be no deception in mortgages that takes advantage of people by tricks and traps.  Credit card and loan applications would be brief in nature and be very specific in detail, so that anyone could understand what they are signing and committing themselves to pay back.

The agency would have enforcement powers, including ability to sue financial service corporations who try to ignore the rules.  The average American would be protected in a way that has never been true before.

The American people MUST make it clear to their members of Congress that this legislation is essential, and that we are not going to allow the banking and financial services industry to take advantage of us anymore.  The days of abuse MUST end NOW!

America suffered an irretrievable loss tonight with the news of the death of CBS News Anchor Walter Cronkite at the age of 92.

Walter Cronkite was THE epitome of electronic journalism, who represented the images of America and the world in the 1960s and 1970s, gaining the affectionate name of  "Uncle Walter", the most trusted man in America, who was approached to run for the US Senate in New York and was considered by Ross Perot for Vice President  on his third party candidacy for President in 1992,  even though by then Cronkite was 75 years old.  In both situations,  Cronkite was not interested, and remained totally objective in his coverage of the news, something sadly lacking in modern electronic journalism. 

Walter Cronkite WAS the news to millions of Americans,  having the largest news audience ever in history with CBS News always being Number One in viewership, and telling us about the assassination of President Kennedy with emotion just barely under control;  reporting with enthusiasm on the space program and the moon landing;  and only once, with the Vietnam War, abandoning total neutrality and making clear his belief that we could not win that war.  Lyndon Johnson stated,  after hearing Walter question the Vietnam War,  that he had lost the middle of the country and that the game was up, and this led to the beginning of change in his strategy on that war.

We will never have another Walter Cronkite, and the country has lost a great deal in his death.  I am extremely saddened, almost as if he was part of my family.  He is the model for what should be in journalism,  and I hope someone will come along to match his stature,  as we face the complex issues and problems of the 21st century.

Lately, because Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been sidelined due to her broken elbow caused by an accident,  the rumor mills have been spreading propaganda that she was losing her influence over foreign policy in the Obama Administration.

Any such belief was quickly dispensed with by Secretary Clinton herself when she spoke before the Council on Foreign Relations today, showing complete command of all the issues of the day in foreign affairs.  She declared that she had broken her elbow, not her larynx  LOL  :)  

Clinton is going on a week long trip to India and Thailand, and it seems clear to me that she has not been "elbowed" out of her role as Secretary of State!  LOL  

In his speech to the NAACP tonight, Barack Obama has reminded us of what he has said during the Presidential campaign and ever since he was inaugurated President—that the way to social progress and change and accomplishment is to promote good parenting and family responsibility.  Children must be given limits and goals, and must know that their family structure is there for them.

Just like WEB DuBois stated one hundred years ago,  Obama declared that African Americans must set the sky as the limits–that there are no controls on what the future generation can achieve.  Hard work and dedication is essential, and one cannot expect handouts to accomplish change.  Young people cannot all expect to be entertainers, basketball players,  and rappers.  They have to work to become surgeons, lawyers, professors, journalists,  authors,  engineers,  corporate leaders and every other occupation.  Race cannot be allowed to be a limit.

Obama is the perfect leader to promote this necessary attitudinal change, just as the comedian and actor Bill Cosby has done in the past decade.  While we can all expect a lot more work by government at all levels to achieve the end of discrimination,  it is also necessary to promote self help and willingness to deal with the issues of the black community internally.

President Obama spoke today to the Centennial gathering of the NAACP, founded in 1909 by WEB DuBois and other black and white reformers, who saw a need for a national civil rights organization to deal with the reality of prejudice and discrimination.

It was founded on the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, and now celebrates its centennial on the bicentennial of Lincoln.   While much progress has been made, and Obama’s election is a great moment in racial reconciliation,  there is still plenty to do, as Obama pointed out.

Obama emphasized the importance of national health care,  and also education reform.  He particularly re-emphasized what he has been saying lately–that we need more college graduates, and that the nation’s community colleges play a major role in the promotion of educational attainment.  Excellence is essential, and new approaches to education are required at all levels from preschool to graduate school. 

As usual, Obama was inspirational with his message, and there is no doubt that he has set high standards in all of his speeches dealing with both domestic and foreign policy.  If only we can attain the goals that he has set for the nation this year and in future years!

I have already written on the incompetence evident in many state legislatures and governments, and now the National Journal has proceeded to analyze which state governments are the most dysfunctional.  They have come up with a list of the six most dysfunctional state governments.

On the top of the list is New York, which has seen a paralyzed State Senate, which now has returned to Democratic control by the two rebels who had left the party resuming their membership, and one of them becoming —crazily—the new Senate Majority Leader!   Governor David Paterson remains very unpopular and seems unlikely to be able to win a full term as Governor in 2010, with State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo still seen as likely to challenge him and to win the Governorship over any Republican nominee, including former NYC Mayor Rudy Guiliani.  If Cuomo does not run, then Guiliani, if he ran for Governor, would easily defeat Paterson, according to polls.

Second on the list of dysfunctional state governments is Nevada, where sex scandals and criminality seem to reign, even at the Senatorial level with John  Ensign.  Third is Illinois, with the mess left by the scandal around Rod Blagojevich,  impeached and removed from office by the Illinois legislature earlier this year.   Fourth is Alaska, which has not been the same since Sarah Palin ran for Vice President , and she is now leaving office within two weeks.  Fifth is South Carolina with the scandal centered around Governor Mark Sanford.  And finally, number six is California, with its total meltdown regarding its state budget, and the inability of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic legislature to resolve the difference and issuing IOUs, which may not be honored by the state’s banks.

With all of the regular complaints against the US Congress,  the states do not make an impressive record, and realize that listing six states does not mean that all of the other 44 states are jewels of outstanding performance, far from it!   There is a great need for reform of how the state governments operate,  in order to restore public confidence.  Unfortunately, that is not likely anytime in the near future.