Happy New Year... sort of
Leigh Pomeroy
The other day my friend Tom Hagen — a true Renaissance man in the 21st century if there ever were one — showed me a calendar someone had given to him for Christmas. Entitled "The Out of Office Countdown"
, it covers all of the next 365 days... plus 19. It ends abruptly on January 20, 2009, the day when a new president will take office.
Reaching January 1, 2008, is somewhat like hitting your funny bone — you don't know whether to laugh or cry. On the one hand there are only 384 days left of the Bush administration, which will undoubtedly go down in history of one of the worst ever in this country. On the other hand we have survived it... so far.
On the one hand Saddam Hussein is no longer in control of Iraq. On the other, the cost has been tremendous: Over 3,900 U.S. fatalities and tens of thousands of U.S. casualties affecting hundreds of thousands of U.S. families; a total cost projected to reach $2 trillion ($2,000,000,000,000); an all-time loss of respect for America around the world, mostly because of the war.
On the one hand the American economy is stable, if not robust. On the other, the national debt has increased by nearly $3.4 trillion ($3,397,811,251,670) — almost 60 percent — since President Bush took office; defaults on U.S. mortgages are at a record high; income and wealth inequality is growing; Social Security and Medicare are facing ominous deficits within a generation.
On the one hand President Bush is finally acknowledging that climate change could be a problem. On the other, we have lost precious time while the planet warms and his administration is still acting as if global warming does not exist.
And we could go on....
Yesterday, one of my 20-year-old sons asked me, "Dad, why do you care so much about politics?"
I said that's because the past seven years has been the most mismanaged period of government I've witnessed in my lifetime. And that it was important to me, to his future and to the future of this country that this level of mismanagement never happen again.
A final note: If you have not seen the Iraq documentary No End in Sight, rent it or buy it right away. While Iraq seems to be quieter, at least for now, this film details the myriad of mistakes our government has made in dealing with this catastrophic policy decision. I try to believe that anger is not a beneficial emotion, but if the anger that this documentary engenders creates a better understanding and a positive outcome, then it is well worthwhile.
The other day my friend Tom Hagen — a true Renaissance man in the 21st century if there ever were one — showed me a calendar someone had given to him for Christmas. Entitled "The Out of Office Countdown"
, it covers all of the next 365 days... plus 19. It ends abruptly on January 20, 2009, the day when a new president will take office.Reaching January 1, 2008, is somewhat like hitting your funny bone — you don't know whether to laugh or cry. On the one hand there are only 384 days left of the Bush administration, which will undoubtedly go down in history of one of the worst ever in this country. On the other hand we have survived it... so far.
On the one hand Saddam Hussein is no longer in control of Iraq. On the other, the cost has been tremendous: Over 3,900 U.S. fatalities and tens of thousands of U.S. casualties affecting hundreds of thousands of U.S. families; a total cost projected to reach $2 trillion ($2,000,000,000,000); an all-time loss of respect for America around the world, mostly because of the war.
On the one hand the American economy is stable, if not robust. On the other, the national debt has increased by nearly $3.4 trillion ($3,397,811,251,670) — almost 60 percent — since President Bush took office; defaults on U.S. mortgages are at a record high; income and wealth inequality is growing; Social Security and Medicare are facing ominous deficits within a generation.
On the one hand President Bush is finally acknowledging that climate change could be a problem. On the other, we have lost precious time while the planet warms and his administration is still acting as if global warming does not exist.
And we could go on....
Yesterday, one of my 20-year-old sons asked me, "Dad, why do you care so much about politics?"
I said that's because the past seven years has been the most mismanaged period of government I've witnessed in my lifetime. And that it was important to me, to his future and to the future of this country that this level of mismanagement never happen again.
A final note: If you have not seen the Iraq documentary No End in Sight, rent it or buy it right away. While Iraq seems to be quieter, at least for now, this film details the myriad of mistakes our government has made in dealing with this catastrophic policy decision. I try to believe that anger is not a beneficial emotion, but if the anger that this documentary engenders creates a better understanding and a positive outcome, then it is well worthwhile.
Labels: George W. Bush
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1 Comments:
Having read your postings, I wouldn't say that you care about politics … instead it is evident that you care about the future. Politics is just a game that people play to determine who controls the management system … unfortunately the current CEO is not doing a very good job.
The future is being dictated by the Republican’s blindsideness to address any problem … debt and climate change are just examples of managing only in the present tense.
They argue but don’t offer solutions. According to PEW Research for Americans, the biggest story last year was gas prices. Yet, the best solution is not being addressed because of political implications. Let’s ignore US ethanol (Brazil sugar cane ethanol is financially viable) as there are so many problems (tax subsidies, environment, production costs, transportation bottlenecks, etc.) – it’s just a politician’s campaign speech that gets votes. Why did gas fluctuate so much in 2007? Iran and Bush. Bush rattles the saber and the futures market goes crazy. The recent price surge is due to Pakistan … yet Iran is a neighbor of Pakistan and probably has as much of concern with having a stable nuclear power neighbor as America does. (Isn’t Iran Shiite and Pakistan largely Sunni?) If the next American President sets his mission to engage in trade with Iran (instead of ineffective sanctions), gas prices will plummet as the futures market does not have that concern … of course if that happens, the US ethanol market will collapse.
Regarding No End in Sight, it made my list of Best Pictures (along with Sicko).
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