At the risk of sounding unpatriotic, I place the blame for the Navy’s recent lethal collisions between their state-of-the-art destroyers and huge lumbering cargo ships on the top brass. The excuse percolating out of the fog is that the Navy is over-extended and does not have enough resources. According to Wikipedia we have 66 destroyers – not enough? Maybe not for the war industry that President Eisenhower warned us against? Apparently, the destroyers from Navy’s Seventh Fleet are cruising around . . .
Author: Timothy Schell
Our Simple Economist
We are in some bit of danger from our elected leader who has at best a simplistic understanding of today’s world. There are many factors which affect economic growth. These factors work in combination and taking them out of context to make blustery speeches does more harm than good. Factors such as research and development, corruption control, and cultural diversity all influence a healthy economy. Unfortunately, these are all targets for the current administration to either remove or stymie. Problems: . . .
How Long
Great Gig this Public Service
Being a member of congress is a great gig, despite all the “sacrifice and exhausting public service.” Why do some of these characters hang on for decades? I agree with Randy Bryce, Paul Ryan’s long shot iron worker opponent. They should trade places – an excellent idea. Rand Paul is warning his colleagues that they will have to explain their healthcare positions to their “republican” constituents and face their wrath when they return home for the summer. Do these “public . . .
The Team versus The Country?
According to Fred Barnes in an opinion piece in WSJ 7/17/2017: “Politics is a team sport…. legislative success depends on operating as a team”. Wouldn’t a better measure of success be based on legislation that works for the country rather than winning as a team for political benefit? Granted, there are times when having “serious doubts” may require some courage. That is what we should expect and demand. Maybe Republicans care “passionately about ending Obamacare” but the majority of citizens . . .
Responsibility – Article 2 Section 2
The Commander-In-Chief has given “total authorization” to the military. This seems better than having a man-child making decisions to shoot or not, but does represent a fundamental dereliction of duty. There is a reason that tradition and the constitution assign the authority (and responsibility – that is the rub) to the President for control of the military. Has anyone mentioned to the “commander” that responsibility is not absolved, despite any efforts at blame shifting? This tactic, increased military-industrial investment, and . . .
Holocene, we hardly knew you!
The US is going to quit the Paris Climate Agreement for no clear or consistent reason – the latest is that the impact would not be significant enough. Aside from being ignorantly incorrect, this misses the benefits of working with the 194 countries in the agreement. Abdicating leadership and turning our back to the world does not bode well for the US economy or the planet. The Holocene epoch was good while it lasted. These 11,500 years have been hospitable, . . .
Macho Insecurity on World Stage
Does oafish behavior appeal to the base? That would be an interesting study in macho-insecurity. Pushing the Montenegro Prime Minister out of camera range in order to be front and center, now seems like normal behavior and perfectly encapsulates the person. Of course, “America First” and the rest of you get in line! Lecturing from someone else’s written speeches – not very persuasive and let’s call it what it is: embarrassing.
Our Mad Man?
The U.S. appears to be out of step. Our guy is a Mad Men era character with the grabbing, stream polluting, and sclerotic thinking about us against them. Canada seems so much more evolved and now probably France. Sure, if you are in the “us” camp you can look forward to tax breaks but pity the fools over there with “them”. Who do they think they are getting sick or being poor? Our guy created a fabulous empire with only . . .
The Greeks had their Metics
What is so vile and scary about a “path to citizenship”? Amnesty, from Greek amnēstía, “forgetfulness of wrong” seems like a good concept. Who wants to hold on to resentment for someone who bravely escaped a hard and often dangerous life and crossed a border? Could it be simply a dislike and fear of the differences in appearance, language and habits? If so, maybe it is time to do some travelling. This attitude is nothing new. The ancient Greeks had . . .