Thoughtful essay in The Economist.
Note the recommendations for paid maternity leave and better child care in the US. I support both.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Understanding Progress
The Economist has an excellent essay about the nature of progress. It examines progress from a variety of perspectives and then concludes that progress is real, but not inevitable and that technological progress must be governed by moral progress. I completely agree. The piece is also written very well. I would add that the moral sensibility (analyzed by an American philosopher named Susan Neiman) that the essay refers to must be informed by a spiritual sensibility. That is, people will not sacrifice without an orientation toward the ultimate mystery of life. This mystery Buddhists call emptiness. Christians, Muslims and Jews call the mystery God. If we take the time to let ourselves let go of the rivalries and anxieties that the world seems to force upon us and sit in silence then we will experience that we--individually--are loved and accepted completely. When we then share this experience with others through liturgy and communal practice, we experience that we are accepted in peace by and with others.
It is this experience of wishing humanity well and of knowing our shared dignity that best motivates each of us to take risks, to question communal injustices, to challenge powerful scientific, political and economic interests with the desire to help the world see the truth and to oppose injustice. It is this spiritual experience, described so beautifully by each of the world's great religions, that frees us to forgive, reconcile and fertilize our renewed institutions with human creativity.
It is this spiritual experience that motivated Gandhi, King and Buber. It is this spiritual experience that motivated other lesser known prophets like the prophetic Jan Karski--who voluntarily underwent the torment of a Nazi death camp to attempt to end the Holocaust. It is spiritual experience that motivates Nobel Prize winners like the Dalai Lama and Barack Obama. It is spiritual experience that motivates prophets to critique distortion in spiritual institutions.
Special thanks to the Economist for this insightful piece.
It is this experience of wishing humanity well and of knowing our shared dignity that best motivates each of us to take risks, to question communal injustices, to challenge powerful scientific, political and economic interests with the desire to help the world see the truth and to oppose injustice. It is this spiritual experience, described so beautifully by each of the world's great religions, that frees us to forgive, reconcile and fertilize our renewed institutions with human creativity.
It is this spiritual experience that motivated Gandhi, King and Buber. It is this spiritual experience that motivated other lesser known prophets like the prophetic Jan Karski--who voluntarily underwent the torment of a Nazi death camp to attempt to end the Holocaust. It is spiritual experience that motivates Nobel Prize winners like the Dalai Lama and Barack Obama. It is spiritual experience that motivates prophets to critique distortion in spiritual institutions.
Special thanks to the Economist for this insightful piece.
The Crisis of College Costs
The Washington Post today reports that median household income has increased 17.6% since 1980 while the tuition, room and board at American universities has increased 120.7%. Moreover, the financial maneuvers that families had counted on to deal with universal university inflation have evaporated: students had counted on inexpensive student loans, but after the financial crisis, these have become more expensive and harder to come by. Parents had been using home equity loans, but since housing values have collapsed, home equity has disappeared. In the meantime, declining tax revenues and Wall Street bound endowments have prompted universities to cut back on grants and other financial aid.
Education experts are now worrying that universities will start sacrificing quality. Here are a few brief inter-holiday thoughts to get policy makers thinking about ways to turn this situation around:
1. Maintain the Democratic Congress that values education. If we start thinking we can allow our financial mess to pressure us into sacrificing quality at universities, we are sorely mistaken. In an era of booming trade deficits, our higher education system is still one product (if you want to call it a product) that the world prefers. In this increasingly culturally flat world, we want to ensure that foreign students will want to continue to come to the US to learn and then stay on as risk-taking innovators.
2. Invest in Pell Grants and change the requirements so that some of the middle class can qualify for them. Right now, many middle class families do not qualify for grants and are afraid of racking up tens of thousands of dollars (or even hundreds of thousands of dollars) of debt.
3. Expand Americorps and its student loan forgiveness program. Create more service opportunities so that more college grads have the chance to teach and engage in other forms of service while reducing student loan debt. Expand student loan forgiveness for other post-graduate service programs. More students will take risks and attend college if they know that they have somewhere to go after graduation.
4. As I have written before, expand the Peace Corps and turn it into the Green Corps, spreading carbon free energy throughout the world. If incomes stay flat, consider working student loan forgiveness into Green Corps service. For every month of Green Corps service, the federal government will forgive 5% of the loan. Allow Green Corps volunteers to serve more than one two year term.
5. Universities need to continue to examine needless spending. It is obvious that the increase in university costs have not translated into better economic opportunities for all Americans. If these expenditures did make a difference in the economic well-being of the American people, then median family income would have increased at a faster rate. Truth be told, if you look at the graph in the Post article, median income declined or remained flat from 2000 to 2009 while the cost of universities exploded from 74% to 120.7% (in comparison to 1980). In some cases, universities are spending money trying to create the most chic student housing. In other cases, administrators are being paid ridiculous amounts of money. Perhaps we need a governmental commission to make recommendations and then some kind of government action to enforce them (ie, certain states and universities do not get federal funding if they do not abide by the recommendations).
It is true that some of these proposals will cost money, but it will be money we will invest in our future, money that will increase future economic activity and thus reduce future debt. As for cutting unnecessary costs, all universities have some sense about how to do that.
Education experts are now worrying that universities will start sacrificing quality. Here are a few brief inter-holiday thoughts to get policy makers thinking about ways to turn this situation around:
1. Maintain the Democratic Congress that values education. If we start thinking we can allow our financial mess to pressure us into sacrificing quality at universities, we are sorely mistaken. In an era of booming trade deficits, our higher education system is still one product (if you want to call it a product) that the world prefers. In this increasingly culturally flat world, we want to ensure that foreign students will want to continue to come to the US to learn and then stay on as risk-taking innovators.
2. Invest in Pell Grants and change the requirements so that some of the middle class can qualify for them. Right now, many middle class families do not qualify for grants and are afraid of racking up tens of thousands of dollars (or even hundreds of thousands of dollars) of debt.
3. Expand Americorps and its student loan forgiveness program. Create more service opportunities so that more college grads have the chance to teach and engage in other forms of service while reducing student loan debt. Expand student loan forgiveness for other post-graduate service programs. More students will take risks and attend college if they know that they have somewhere to go after graduation.
4. As I have written before, expand the Peace Corps and turn it into the Green Corps, spreading carbon free energy throughout the world. If incomes stay flat, consider working student loan forgiveness into Green Corps service. For every month of Green Corps service, the federal government will forgive 5% of the loan. Allow Green Corps volunteers to serve more than one two year term.
5. Universities need to continue to examine needless spending. It is obvious that the increase in university costs have not translated into better economic opportunities for all Americans. If these expenditures did make a difference in the economic well-being of the American people, then median family income would have increased at a faster rate. Truth be told, if you look at the graph in the Post article, median income declined or remained flat from 2000 to 2009 while the cost of universities exploded from 74% to 120.7% (in comparison to 1980). In some cases, universities are spending money trying to create the most chic student housing. In other cases, administrators are being paid ridiculous amounts of money. Perhaps we need a governmental commission to make recommendations and then some kind of government action to enforce them (ie, certain states and universities do not get federal funding if they do not abide by the recommendations).
It is true that some of these proposals will cost money, but it will be money we will invest in our future, money that will increase future economic activity and thus reduce future debt. As for cutting unnecessary costs, all universities have some sense about how to do that.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
A Guiding Principle For Christians Considering Health Care Reform
The principle is now accepted by many different churches, but originated with Catholic Biblical reflection in Latin America. The principle is called "Preferential Option for the poor." Because the poor are so vulnerable (as in the case of the 12 year old who died of a tooth ache), and because they are affected by government policy more than the middle and upper classes, we must opt for the poor. That is, we need to choose the health care policy that most benefits the poor. As we look at the two basic options--the Democratic option that, although it seems to have lost the public option, will cover 90-95% of the uninsured (working poor) or the Republican option that will cover 5% of the uninsured (working poor)--the choice is clear: support that Democratic option. We have these statistics from the Congressional Budget Office, the most reliable source.
Recall Matthew 25:40 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
And Acts 2:45 All who believed were together and had all things in common;
they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one's need.
I am not advocating socialism. The principle allows for income differences, but when faced with two options--one helping the poor and the other indifferent to the poor--you choose the option that most helps the poor.
I have never heard an effective conservative response to this argument.
Moreover, you could argue that the policy that most helps the poor is also the most reasonable. Following the analysis of John Rawls in his Theory of Justice, the most rational choice is to choose the policy that most helps the poor because it is possible that someday you could be poor and would need the government subsidy for health care.
As the Catholic Church has taught me for years, faith and reason are always in harmony for God is the author of both faith and reason.
Recall Matthew 25:40 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
And Acts 2:45 All who believed were together and had all things in common;
they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one's need.
I am not advocating socialism. The principle allows for income differences, but when faced with two options--one helping the poor and the other indifferent to the poor--you choose the option that most helps the poor.
I have never heard an effective conservative response to this argument.
Moreover, you could argue that the policy that most helps the poor is also the most reasonable. Following the analysis of John Rawls in his Theory of Justice, the most rational choice is to choose the policy that most helps the poor because it is possible that someday you could be poor and would need the government subsidy for health care.
As the Catholic Church has taught me for years, faith and reason are always in harmony for God is the author of both faith and reason.
Prayers of Gratitude For Democracy
Given some of the rancor in the Senate, it seems to me that we should be praying for the well-being of each other, not that a 91 year old sage should be too infirm to make it to the Senate Chamber. It is the Holiday season. I pray for the well-being of all Americans, liberal and conservative. I pray in gratitude that I live in a democracy when so many do not. I pray that the USA might renew its commitment to freedom and the open and charitable exchange of ideas. I pray in gratitude that, as we move to a Senate vote on the Health bill, we might very well improve the lives of the poor.
Perhaps it would help to actually read passages of the Bible:
Matthew 25:
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne,
32
and all the nations 15 will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34
Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,
36
naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.'
37
Then the righteous 16 will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
38
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
39
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'
40
And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41
17 Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42
For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
43
a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'
44
18 Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?'
45
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.'
46
And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Micah 6
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my crime, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8
You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.
9
Perhaps it would help to actually read passages of the Bible:
Matthew 25:
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne,
32
and all the nations 15 will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34
Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,
36
naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.'
37
Then the righteous 16 will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
38
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
39
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'
40
And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41
17 Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42
For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
43
a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'
44
18 Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?'
45
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.'
46
And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Micah 6
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my crime, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8
You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.
9
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Here's Another Reminder: Twelve Year Old Deamonte Driver died because he did not have insurance
The Washington Post article
Senator Cardin just reminded us of the event on C-SPAN. Could just one Republican respond to this example? I want to read the rationalization. No disrespect intended. The Democrats have a few blind spots too. I just want to hear someone respond to this.
How can you claim that we already have the best health care in the world when this happened? A twelve year old. Can we give the working, and the word is working, poor the Christmas gift of ensuring that their children will not die of toothaches?
Let's let the Spirit of Justice lead us on this one.
Senator Cardin just reminded us of the event on C-SPAN. Could just one Republican respond to this example? I want to read the rationalization. No disrespect intended. The Democrats have a few blind spots too. I just want to hear someone respond to this.
How can you claim that we already have the best health care in the world when this happened? A twelve year old. Can we give the working, and the word is working, poor the Christmas gift of ensuring that their children will not die of toothaches?
Let's let the Spirit of Justice lead us on this one.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Congratulations to President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton
Congratulations in successfully accomplishing what has evaded American leaders for twenty years: leading (and the word is leading) the industrial world into a preliminary agreement that will lead to monitoring and reducing green house gases. From more than one account, President Obama played a crucial role in preventing China, India, Brazil and South Africa from cutting a secret deal without the US. The President continually challenged other leaders to make commitments and the US led the effort to provide $100 billion to poor nations to help them deal with their own carbon problems. Secretary of State Clinton also challenged China to allow for international inspections, something the Chinese were not willing to do.
The issue is simple: we are the world's leading democracy. We set the example in transparency and accountability for the world. Recall the world's amazement with the way we resolved the 2000 election. We can do this again--this time with carbon, and it will provide an economic boon for us. The world's citizenry is concerned about carbon. We are Americans. We can surpass the other nations in carbon free production. We can prove it, advertise it, and thus lead. We lead the world in almost every other form of technology. Let's provide leadership in green cars, green energy, green production. The world will buy more American than Chinese because the world knows that, unlike the Chinese (whom I respect), we are not afraid of letting international observers prove that our products are ecologically sustainable.
Once again, thanks to the Obama administration for leading the world!
The issue is simple: we are the world's leading democracy. We set the example in transparency and accountability for the world. Recall the world's amazement with the way we resolved the 2000 election. We can do this again--this time with carbon, and it will provide an economic boon for us. The world's citizenry is concerned about carbon. We are Americans. We can surpass the other nations in carbon free production. We can prove it, advertise it, and thus lead. We lead the world in almost every other form of technology. Let's provide leadership in green cars, green energy, green production. The world will buy more American than Chinese because the world knows that, unlike the Chinese (whom I respect), we are not afraid of letting international observers prove that our products are ecologically sustainable.
Once again, thanks to the Obama administration for leading the world!
This Generation's Crucial Vote: Health Care Now!
This is it. If the Senate does not pass this bill, we will not have Health Care Reform for another 15 to 20 years. 30 million uninsured will continue to be uninsured, another 5 to 15 million will lose insurance, and, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the federal debt will increase by trillions. Vice President Biden makes the case in The New York Times.
The Vice President is absolutely correct. This bill represents progress! There will be opportunities to build upon it in the future, but if we fail to pass it, we fail millions and hasten the dissolution of the Democratic majority in Congress.
From a Catholic perspective, the bill is fantastic. It provides health insurance for the working poor in a manner that progressives since Teddy Roosevelt have been attempting to secure for 100 years. For those religious people who argue that the bill is somehow excessive government decadence, please review the Torah's legal requirements to provide for the poor. The requirements to leave part of your field unharvested so the poor could glean food from them, to provide for widows and orphans, to provide for the foreigner, all of these were legal requirements for a nation. It is not a coincidence that Israel has had universal, government guaranteed health insurance for years. It is also not a coincidence that the Catholic Bishops, guided by the Holy Spirit, have very vigorously, and at times, ferociously demanded universal health insurance for all Americans for 100 years.
Here in Ohio and all around the Lake Erie region, where unemployment is in double digits, this reform is most welcome!
Cheers to the Senate for getting to this point and prayers that the Senate will finally get the job done and that the House-Senate conference will reconcile the different bills in the most progressive manner.
The Vice President is absolutely correct. This bill represents progress! There will be opportunities to build upon it in the future, but if we fail to pass it, we fail millions and hasten the dissolution of the Democratic majority in Congress.
From a Catholic perspective, the bill is fantastic. It provides health insurance for the working poor in a manner that progressives since Teddy Roosevelt have been attempting to secure for 100 years. For those religious people who argue that the bill is somehow excessive government decadence, please review the Torah's legal requirements to provide for the poor. The requirements to leave part of your field unharvested so the poor could glean food from them, to provide for widows and orphans, to provide for the foreigner, all of these were legal requirements for a nation. It is not a coincidence that Israel has had universal, government guaranteed health insurance for years. It is also not a coincidence that the Catholic Bishops, guided by the Holy Spirit, have very vigorously, and at times, ferociously demanded universal health insurance for all Americans for 100 years.
Here in Ohio and all around the Lake Erie region, where unemployment is in double digits, this reform is most welcome!
Cheers to the Senate for getting to this point and prayers that the Senate will finally get the job done and that the House-Senate conference will reconcile the different bills in the most progressive manner.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Cheers to Mr. Charles Krauthammer
Congratulations to Mr. Charles Krauthammer, conservative extraordinaire. Mr. Krauthammer is celebrating twenty years as a columnist. In my opinion, political discourse has benefitted from his column.
No one with any intellectual or rhetorical integrity can deny that his columns about Western self-hatred and liberal equivocation have encouraged liberals to move beyond our weaker moments.
Here's to another twenty years of combative clarification!!
No one with any intellectual or rhetorical integrity can deny that his columns about Western self-hatred and liberal equivocation have encouraged liberals to move beyond our weaker moments.
Here's to another twenty years of combative clarification!!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Important Warning From EJ Dionne
Regarding Democratic Governance. Dionne is one of the clearest thinkers in the US and a committed liberal.
The Link
It would be a disaster to lose the midterm elections.
The Link
It would be a disaster to lose the midterm elections.
Proposal: Host A Future UN Climate Conference in the US Rust Belt
Bring the intellectuals to the places where the rubber hits the road, where ecological thinking has to meet economic reality.
Great Article About Economic Hardship in Ohio
I have to say that the title "Beyond Repair" is a little off. I happen to think that Ohio is going to turn around.
Please note the absolute need to pass Health Care Reform (and I would add the need to have some kind of public option). Also note that NE Ohio would be the perfect place to locate Green Manufacturing!!
Here is the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/12/16/ST2009121604368.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Please note the absolute need to pass Health Care Reform (and I would add the need to have some kind of public option). Also note that NE Ohio would be the perfect place to locate Green Manufacturing!!
Here is the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/12/16/ST2009121604368.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Turn the Peace Corps Into the Green Corps
People are concerned about how to fund carbon free development in the developing world. Here is a proposal: expand the Peace Corps and provide it with funding to develop carbon free energy sources in the developing world. Currently there are a significant number of college grads with majors in math, engineering and science who cannot find jobs in the US. Employ them in the Peace Corps and send them to every developing country in the world. Then, after they have learned the local language and how to inculturate green practices in the local culture, US business can hire them and US manufacturing can build the wind turbines and photovoltaic cells to equip the green energy machinery. It is a win-win for everyone.
George Soros on Green Development
George Soros has an excellent proposal regarding using Special Drawing Rights to fund green development in the developing world. It will not hurt the American economy at all and may actually help our manufacturing sector. This is explained in his most recent GeorgeSoros.com Newsletter.
Homestretch For Health Care Reform
We are very close. The Senate still has to pass its bill and then the two bills go to committee, but we are close. Please contact your senators.
International Holiday Giving
I can think of many worthy causes, but one in particular always tops my list--the Fabretto Foundation of Nicaragua. It was established by Kevin Marinacci, a college friend of mine. Wonderful guy, wonderful staff, wonderful work!!
Here is the link: www.fabretto.org
Happy Holidays!!
Here is the link: www.fabretto.org
Happy Holidays!!
Holiday Giving In the Akron Area
Please visit the Akron Beacon Journal website for people helping people: http://holidaycentral.ohio.com/people-helping-people-2/#more-234
God Bless Akron!
God Bless Akron!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Jobs and Climate Change
A few sensible thoughts:
1. The future of the American economy is green. More American consumers want products that do not increase our carbon output, but, even more significantly, the global majority wants to buy products that do not increase our carbon output. We have to remain competitive. If the American government and American industry are perceived as being indifferent to ecological concerns, then global consumers will take their business elsewhere. We are finally beginning to become concerned about our trade deficit and the amount of money we owe the Chinese and others. Let's not make it worse.
2. There is a real risk to Climate Change. Even if it is not as catastrophic as some predict, the thought of losing a big part of Manhattan, California, etc, needs to be taken seriously. If 9-11 was catastrophic, losing these areas would be more catastrophic. If the financial meltdown required a huge bailout, imagine the catastrophic bailout of our coastal areas. We are talking about direct, irrecoverable losses of property. The insurance industry alone would lose billions.
3. Here is a great opportunity for investment. As government investment in the space program led to great business opportunities and satellite tech, as the government invention of the world wide web created opportunities (including this blog), government investment in green technologies is already beginning to employ many people. People who mock this should read the way people mocked the possibility of the internal combustion engine when we were first developing that or the way people mocked the idea of the computer.
4. As Americans we are forward thinking, positive people. As we retooled for World War II, we can retool for the preservation of our climate.
God Bless America and the future (and I do mean future) heroes who will take a risk and put together an international treaty!
1. The future of the American economy is green. More American consumers want products that do not increase our carbon output, but, even more significantly, the global majority wants to buy products that do not increase our carbon output. We have to remain competitive. If the American government and American industry are perceived as being indifferent to ecological concerns, then global consumers will take their business elsewhere. We are finally beginning to become concerned about our trade deficit and the amount of money we owe the Chinese and others. Let's not make it worse.
2. There is a real risk to Climate Change. Even if it is not as catastrophic as some predict, the thought of losing a big part of Manhattan, California, etc, needs to be taken seriously. If 9-11 was catastrophic, losing these areas would be more catastrophic. If the financial meltdown required a huge bailout, imagine the catastrophic bailout of our coastal areas. We are talking about direct, irrecoverable losses of property. The insurance industry alone would lose billions.
3. Here is a great opportunity for investment. As government investment in the space program led to great business opportunities and satellite tech, as the government invention of the world wide web created opportunities (including this blog), government investment in green technologies is already beginning to employ many people. People who mock this should read the way people mocked the possibility of the internal combustion engine when we were first developing that or the way people mocked the idea of the computer.
4. As Americans we are forward thinking, positive people. As we retooled for World War II, we can retool for the preservation of our climate.
God Bless America and the future (and I do mean future) heroes who will take a risk and put together an international treaty!
Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown's Sensible Letter On Climate Change
Please see: http://brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press_releases/release/?id=ad9cc0fa-53c2-442c-ab20-eee0a7572f02
The letter was signed by several Democratic Senators. The letter asks for provisions guaranteeing that industry will not take American jobs overseas to countries that pollute more than we do. A sensible concern. Surely more American Senators can support the President and Senator Brown's initiatives.
The letter was signed by several Democratic Senators. The letter asks for provisions guaranteeing that industry will not take American jobs overseas to countries that pollute more than we do. A sensible concern. Surely more American Senators can support the President and Senator Brown's initiatives.
Wonderful Holiday Story From the City of Brotherly Love
See: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Mystery-Couple-Pay-It-Forward-79179347.html?yhp=1
People paying it forward!
People paying it forward!
Please Contact Your Senators About A Climate Change Treaty
John Broder in The New York Times on December 12 claims that there is too much division and doubt in the Senate to secure ratification of any kind of International Climate Change Treaty. It is amazing to me that Coca Cola and Unilever, two very profit oriented organizations can sense the danger of delay on this issue, but the US Senate is afraid to act. Who will be the focus of the next Profiles in Courage? I hope someone will step forward.
The rest of the world considers this matter as urgent as terrorism. As Thomas Friedman has written, if there is even a 1% chance that any of the proclaimed impact of climate change is true, we need to act now.
Yes, yes, not all of us live on the coasts. I live in Ohio, but I love to vacation on the Outer Banks. Every American loves our coastal areas. If we do not act with common concern for each other, how can we call ourselves Americans? I am not just an Ohioan. I am an American. We are all Americans.
The rest of the world considers this matter as urgent as terrorism. As Thomas Friedman has written, if there is even a 1% chance that any of the proclaimed impact of climate change is true, we need to act now.
Yes, yes, not all of us live on the coasts. I live in Ohio, but I love to vacation on the Outer Banks. Every American loves our coastal areas. If we do not act with common concern for each other, how can we call ourselves Americans? I am not just an Ohioan. I am an American. We are all Americans.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
A Reflection on today's psalm:
God is among you. God is among us. Now what does this mean? As we approach the remembering of the birth of Jesus, God is among us.
God is in my wife, as she struggles to balance the demands of being the mother of an Asperger’s child with the very rigorous standards she has for herself as a composition professor. Maria will not turn in a second best effort. She always gives her all. Perhaps too much of her all. She gives her students her all times three, but she does so because she firmly believes that educated people should write well.
God is even in me. Now what does this mean? In my heart, in the most real place I know, there is a gentleness and an attentiveness to what is wonderful in life. When things get really noisy and I am pulled in two directions, trying to satisfy others needs (or is it their wants?), I can slip out of my heart and into the psychic structure of anxiety. But when I let go and return by looking my three year old in the eye, or by listening attentively when my father speaks of the pain in his legs, there is that attentiveness to the human, the tender, and there is wonder in that.
God is in my three year old Emilie as she invents words, dresses herself with her clothes inside out, and lays down her various laws. She takes such delight in a Robek’s Smoothie and in the rides at the Summit Mall. She smiles and I am real.
God is in my nine year old son. He can spell any dinosaur name. He has a very full laugh. At times, he is a bit of a trial. He demands a lot of attention and does not seem to be able to quietly negotiate household diplomacy with Emilie, but when I can walk with him and tell him an amusing story, his noisy distractions fade. Perhaps God’s presence is there most powerfully when I cannot figure John out because at that moment he is so much a mystery. I cannot figure out how to encourage him to sit quietly during his older sister’s performance. I cannot figure out how to encourage him to stop panicking because the three year old imitates him. I just don’t understand why at nine years of age, he has once again jumped back into the world of Thomas the Tank Engine. John is beautiful. There is no doubt about that, but, and it is not easy for me to write this, I mean no harm by it, John is very different, so different from so many other kids and so different from the way I was as a kid. It is hard for me to admit, but in many ways, I just don’t get him. I used to feel guilty about that. I don’t any more. He is different. He has Asperger’s Syndrome. He is simultaneously brilliant and weird. I love him, but he is a mystery to me and so, as mystery, in him stands the Holy One of Israel.
God dwells in Luisa. She is just a very stable, very great kid. Few surprises. A wonderful dancer and a good student. A nice kid. Very helpful with the other two. Very accepting of her brother with whom she shares a room. He will give her a dissertation about trains or dinosaurs on any given night and she will just listen until she falls asleep. Yes, at times, she reaches her limit. I’m just surprised that it doesn’t happen more often. She is a gift.
All my kids are gifts. At times, when Emilie bites the dog, followed by John’s yelling at Emilie, followed by my correcting both of them, followed by John’s pained grimace screaming that Emilie has broken a rule, followed by the dog peeing on the floor, followed by my wife whining that I am not acting quickly enough to get the dog outside, I will think for just a moment “What the heck have I gotten myself into?”. And then my humor returns—another moment over which I have had very little control, another moment like 99.999999999999% of human existence. We don’t have control over much. The great and Holy One of Israel has control and look at what he did—he let go of all of it. He became a completely vulnerable child. He trusted himself with us in the most delicate, powerless and gentle of ways: he became a child. And so my task is to create as he creates—from my vulnerability, from my humanity.
God is among us in our humanity. I know most certainly that the divinity of Jesus is revealed in his humanity, that he is divine because he is the most authentic human who has ever lived. This is perhaps Christianity’s most difficult secret. We like what Roland Flint called “all the stunting with Lazarus and the lepers,” and no doubt it must have been amazing to witness those signs of God’s presence, those works of power. Nevertheless, I have witnessed God’s presence in the powerless--in the homeless who do not smell powerful and proper, in the death of a fourteen year old boy when I was a volunteer in South Africa, in the tears of the twelve year old child of a drug addict, in the suffering of my wife as Luisa’s head got stuck and she had to undergo a C-Section. Never have I sensed God’s presence more than when I have been with people who had no power at all and, who in their helpless condition, looked to me to just listen, to hold a hand, to just say “I’m here.”
I am here, I exist now, I am here with the crucified and risen Christ, in the miracle of his world, in the power of faith, as a sign of God’s love myself. I am here and I know this gentle Jesus, revealed as most human—as a child—powerless and vulnerable. He just is—human—and, as a powerless human, he is divine.
God is among you. God is among us. Now what does this mean? As we approach the remembering of the birth of Jesus, God is among us.
God is in my wife, as she struggles to balance the demands of being the mother of an Asperger’s child with the very rigorous standards she has for herself as a composition professor. Maria will not turn in a second best effort. She always gives her all. Perhaps too much of her all. She gives her students her all times three, but she does so because she firmly believes that educated people should write well.
God is even in me. Now what does this mean? In my heart, in the most real place I know, there is a gentleness and an attentiveness to what is wonderful in life. When things get really noisy and I am pulled in two directions, trying to satisfy others needs (or is it their wants?), I can slip out of my heart and into the psychic structure of anxiety. But when I let go and return by looking my three year old in the eye, or by listening attentively when my father speaks of the pain in his legs, there is that attentiveness to the human, the tender, and there is wonder in that.
God is in my three year old Emilie as she invents words, dresses herself with her clothes inside out, and lays down her various laws. She takes such delight in a Robek’s Smoothie and in the rides at the Summit Mall. She smiles and I am real.
God is in my nine year old son. He can spell any dinosaur name. He has a very full laugh. At times, he is a bit of a trial. He demands a lot of attention and does not seem to be able to quietly negotiate household diplomacy with Emilie, but when I can walk with him and tell him an amusing story, his noisy distractions fade. Perhaps God’s presence is there most powerfully when I cannot figure John out because at that moment he is so much a mystery. I cannot figure out how to encourage him to sit quietly during his older sister’s performance. I cannot figure out how to encourage him to stop panicking because the three year old imitates him. I just don’t understand why at nine years of age, he has once again jumped back into the world of Thomas the Tank Engine. John is beautiful. There is no doubt about that, but, and it is not easy for me to write this, I mean no harm by it, John is very different, so different from so many other kids and so different from the way I was as a kid. It is hard for me to admit, but in many ways, I just don’t get him. I used to feel guilty about that. I don’t any more. He is different. He has Asperger’s Syndrome. He is simultaneously brilliant and weird. I love him, but he is a mystery to me and so, as mystery, in him stands the Holy One of Israel.
God dwells in Luisa. She is just a very stable, very great kid. Few surprises. A wonderful dancer and a good student. A nice kid. Very helpful with the other two. Very accepting of her brother with whom she shares a room. He will give her a dissertation about trains or dinosaurs on any given night and she will just listen until she falls asleep. Yes, at times, she reaches her limit. I’m just surprised that it doesn’t happen more often. She is a gift.
All my kids are gifts. At times, when Emilie bites the dog, followed by John’s yelling at Emilie, followed by my correcting both of them, followed by John’s pained grimace screaming that Emilie has broken a rule, followed by the dog peeing on the floor, followed by my wife whining that I am not acting quickly enough to get the dog outside, I will think for just a moment “What the heck have I gotten myself into?”. And then my humor returns—another moment over which I have had very little control, another moment like 99.999999999999% of human existence. We don’t have control over much. The great and Holy One of Israel has control and look at what he did—he let go of all of it. He became a completely vulnerable child. He trusted himself with us in the most delicate, powerless and gentle of ways: he became a child. And so my task is to create as he creates—from my vulnerability, from my humanity.
God is among us in our humanity. I know most certainly that the divinity of Jesus is revealed in his humanity, that he is divine because he is the most authentic human who has ever lived. This is perhaps Christianity’s most difficult secret. We like what Roland Flint called “all the stunting with Lazarus and the lepers,” and no doubt it must have been amazing to witness those signs of God’s presence, those works of power. Nevertheless, I have witnessed God’s presence in the powerless--in the homeless who do not smell powerful and proper, in the death of a fourteen year old boy when I was a volunteer in South Africa, in the tears of the twelve year old child of a drug addict, in the suffering of my wife as Luisa’s head got stuck and she had to undergo a C-Section. Never have I sensed God’s presence more than when I have been with people who had no power at all and, who in their helpless condition, looked to me to just listen, to hold a hand, to just say “I’m here.”
I am here, I exist now, I am here with the crucified and risen Christ, in the miracle of his world, in the power of faith, as a sign of God’s love myself. I am here and I know this gentle Jesus, revealed as most human—as a child—powerless and vulnerable. He just is—human—and, as a powerless human, he is divine.
Obama's Just Peace Theory
Professor of Chicago Theological Seminary Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite comments on Obama's speech, a groundbreaking oration about the future of peace in our world. In today's Washington Post:
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/susan_brooks_thistlethwaite/2009/12/just_war_and_just_peace_the_emerging_obama_doctrine.html?hpid=talkbox1
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/susan_brooks_thistlethwaite/2009/12/just_war_and_just_peace_the_emerging_obama_doctrine.html?hpid=talkbox1
Poor Turned Away From Cancer Screenings
Another reason to enact life saving, money saving health reform! Without health insurance women are being turned away. If you have the insurance to detect the cancer early, you save your life and the cancer treatment is less lenghthy and less expensive for the whole of American society.
See the Cleveland Plain Dealer: http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/national-82/1260654032208860.xml&storylist=cleveland
See the Cleveland Plain Dealer: http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/national-82/1260654032208860.xml&storylist=cleveland
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Unilever and Coke vow to cut emissions
If these two global giants are willing to cut greenhouse emmissions, then you know that it is not a hoax!! Why would Coca-cola cut into profits for no reason? The right wing has got to get over the anti-Climate Change agenda. Delay holds catastrophe for the US and especially for the global poor!!
See the Financial Times (an excellent periodical): http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7c47befc-e6a5-11de-98b1-00144feab49a,dwp_uuid=728a07a0-53bc-11db-8a2a-0000779e2340.html?nclick_check=1
See the Financial Times (an excellent periodical): http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7c47befc-e6a5-11de-98b1-00144feab49a,dwp_uuid=728a07a0-53bc-11db-8a2a-0000779e2340.html?nclick_check=1
Iran's Green Revolution
Please see al-Jazeera, linked at the right:
also: http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/12/200912764952661398.html
Progress in Iranian society would make such a difference in the Middle East. Cheers to Iran's civil rights revolution!!
also: http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/12/200912764952661398.html
Progress in Iranian society would make such a difference in the Middle East. Cheers to Iran's civil rights revolution!!
Prayers for the University of Akron Men's Soccer Team
As an Akronite, I am very happy to see the Zips advance to the NCAA Final!!! Here is the link: http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/79112157.html
An NCAA Championship would be so wonderful for the heart of the rust belt!!
An NCAA Championship would be so wonderful for the heart of the rust belt!!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Indian Irrigation Market
Please see link to the right Asian News International. Good story on need for irrigation technologies for India--certainly an area for Ohio agri-business to investigate.
The Lombardi Peace Prize
As I consider the future of relations between the US and China, I notice the enormous amount of trade between our two countries. I also notice our differences regarding how to reduce our enormous carbon footprints and how to deal with global hotspots like Iran. Some, pointing to Chinese mistreatment of Tibet, have wondered if China, the emerging giant, will be an imperialist power challenging America's humanitarian-democratic hegemony. Given our crushing burden of debt, some wonder if the authoritarian China will overwhelm America's econo-humanistic influence, strengthening dictatorships and rogue regimes like North Korea.
Whatever the future may bring, whether we rise to the challenge and innovate ourselves out of the current economic crisis, whether we finally outsmart al Qaeda and draw down in the Middle East, we need to deal with China. Why not deal with them the old fashioned American way? Teach them to play American football. Yes, I know that it has been tried in the past, but this time let's market it a little differently. We all know that NBA star Yao Ming has tremendous marketing appeal in the US and China. What if we enticed the Chinese with the prospect of the NFL version of Yao? What if we threw down the athletic gauntlet with a cathartic invitation to the Chinese to see if they can beat us on the gridiron? Is this just a real life version of fantasy football?
Consider this: in the States, Army plays Navy. Air Force has a team. Football is a very cathartic way to act out a military conflict without having one. There is offense and defense. You try to conquer ground as you approach the enemy endzone. You throw the bomb. You blitz. Football is a healthy way to act out geopolitical strife without firing a shot. Imagine if we played three annual games: the Chinese Army's academy against Army, the Chinese Navy's academy against Navy and the Chinese Air Force against Air Force. This would foster friendly rivalry and cultural exchange between two militaries that really need to foster friendship. After the players got to know each other and fostered friendship, popularity for football would spread throughout China.
We have economically fostered ties with China, but this has not led to China's supporting our foreign policy of fostering democracy and slowing the spread of WMD. Fostering a humanizing relationship between our militaries would be quite a score. Let's snap the ball before we lose more time on the play clock.
Whatever the future may bring, whether we rise to the challenge and innovate ourselves out of the current economic crisis, whether we finally outsmart al Qaeda and draw down in the Middle East, we need to deal with China. Why not deal with them the old fashioned American way? Teach them to play American football. Yes, I know that it has been tried in the past, but this time let's market it a little differently. We all know that NBA star Yao Ming has tremendous marketing appeal in the US and China. What if we enticed the Chinese with the prospect of the NFL version of Yao? What if we threw down the athletic gauntlet with a cathartic invitation to the Chinese to see if they can beat us on the gridiron? Is this just a real life version of fantasy football?
Consider this: in the States, Army plays Navy. Air Force has a team. Football is a very cathartic way to act out a military conflict without having one. There is offense and defense. You try to conquer ground as you approach the enemy endzone. You throw the bomb. You blitz. Football is a healthy way to act out geopolitical strife without firing a shot. Imagine if we played three annual games: the Chinese Army's academy against Army, the Chinese Navy's academy against Navy and the Chinese Air Force against Air Force. This would foster friendly rivalry and cultural exchange between two militaries that really need to foster friendship. After the players got to know each other and fostered friendship, popularity for football would spread throughout China.
We have economically fostered ties with China, but this has not led to China's supporting our foreign policy of fostering democracy and slowing the spread of WMD. Fostering a humanizing relationship between our militaries would be quite a score. Let's snap the ball before we lose more time on the play clock.
The Noble Obama
Our President has just accepted the most noble of awards—the Nobel Peace Prize. He most definitely deserves it. The reason he deserves it is that he has single-handedly improved America’s standing in the world with a new multi-lateral approach to diplomacy. As David Ignatius noted, according to the Transatlantic Trends report released earlier in the year by the German Marshall Fund, Obama’s approval rating in Europe is much higher than that of George W. Bush.
Some have questioned this award claiming that Obama has lowered the American presidency by groveling before the Europeans. What they fail to realize is that American national security and, with it, world peace are connected to countering the threats of terrorism and rogue regimes. The war against rogue regimes and terror is a military conflict but also, in the long run, a public relations war. We need the help of other countries to apprehend international terrorists and we need the Muslim public to believe what is most definitely true--that the values of the United States of America are essential to their security, international peace, ecological harmony, and global prosperity. Otherwise, more Muslims will be tricked into following those, who like al Qaeda, have distorted their great tradition.
Why can’t the USA just go it alone? The answers are obvious. First, we have never “gone alone” on any successful foreign policy venture. Even during the unpopular invasion of Iraq we were accompanied by the British and other allies. We won the cold war with many allies and we won it because Eastern Europe longed for American values. Eastern Europe looked up to America. We need Middle Eastern, African and Asian nations to understand that this conflict is no different. We stand for what is good and not just for what profits us or what relieves our own immediate short term fears (as many in the world and at home believe to be the case with the Iraq War).
Second, we do not have the military or the economic prowess we once had. The financial crisis has damaged our ability to project power. We live in the world of an economically and militarily emergent China that has embraced western economics but not western political democracy and pluralism. As China emerges as a world power, we will need our European allies once again, not to fight a war, but to sustain the interdependent network of democracy and human rights that the U.S. put together after World War II.
Third, countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction has always required international cooperation and trust. President Bush is a good man. Whether or not he was swayed by a militaristic Vice President, he overreacted to the threat from Iraq and undermined trust among many of our allies. Obama has restored that trust. Because we have the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, we are in a strange position to encourage non-proliferation. We need to convince the world that in the long run, we truly do seek disarmament. Our President has managed do that—quite a diplomatic maneuver.
Finally, next to the threat of WMD, the threat of global warming looms as one of our top hazards. Honestly, in terms of what America itself could lose from inaction—Florida, New York City, California coastal areas, trillions in property insurance losses—we need to let ourselves “feel the possible pain.” The President has managed to convince the international community that America is truly concerned about this threat and that we are considering serious action to counter it. Prior to this presidency, most Americans considered global warming to be a hoax.
We live in interesting times and, judging from his many speeches--especially his recent speech accepting the Nobel Prize, we have an engaging leader who has already fulfilled the world’s longing for an eloquent American statesman. We all need to celebrate this for the world once again looks to America for leadership. In America, we technically do not have nobility. We are a land of freedom. Yet, to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, we must foster a nobility of virtues and talents. Barack Obama has done that in his own personal and professional life, organizing communities, legislative coalitions and a presidential campaign in the pursuit of justice and peace. Now he seeks to do this for our nation and for our world, putting all of his energy into a truly noble goal which flies in the face of the corrupting cynicism of our times, an effort that has earned him the Nobel Prize.
Some have questioned this award claiming that Obama has lowered the American presidency by groveling before the Europeans. What they fail to realize is that American national security and, with it, world peace are connected to countering the threats of terrorism and rogue regimes. The war against rogue regimes and terror is a military conflict but also, in the long run, a public relations war. We need the help of other countries to apprehend international terrorists and we need the Muslim public to believe what is most definitely true--that the values of the United States of America are essential to their security, international peace, ecological harmony, and global prosperity. Otherwise, more Muslims will be tricked into following those, who like al Qaeda, have distorted their great tradition.
Why can’t the USA just go it alone? The answers are obvious. First, we have never “gone alone” on any successful foreign policy venture. Even during the unpopular invasion of Iraq we were accompanied by the British and other allies. We won the cold war with many allies and we won it because Eastern Europe longed for American values. Eastern Europe looked up to America. We need Middle Eastern, African and Asian nations to understand that this conflict is no different. We stand for what is good and not just for what profits us or what relieves our own immediate short term fears (as many in the world and at home believe to be the case with the Iraq War).
Second, we do not have the military or the economic prowess we once had. The financial crisis has damaged our ability to project power. We live in the world of an economically and militarily emergent China that has embraced western economics but not western political democracy and pluralism. As China emerges as a world power, we will need our European allies once again, not to fight a war, but to sustain the interdependent network of democracy and human rights that the U.S. put together after World War II.
Third, countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction has always required international cooperation and trust. President Bush is a good man. Whether or not he was swayed by a militaristic Vice President, he overreacted to the threat from Iraq and undermined trust among many of our allies. Obama has restored that trust. Because we have the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, we are in a strange position to encourage non-proliferation. We need to convince the world that in the long run, we truly do seek disarmament. Our President has managed do that—quite a diplomatic maneuver.
Finally, next to the threat of WMD, the threat of global warming looms as one of our top hazards. Honestly, in terms of what America itself could lose from inaction—Florida, New York City, California coastal areas, trillions in property insurance losses—we need to let ourselves “feel the possible pain.” The President has managed to convince the international community that America is truly concerned about this threat and that we are considering serious action to counter it. Prior to this presidency, most Americans considered global warming to be a hoax.
We live in interesting times and, judging from his many speeches--especially his recent speech accepting the Nobel Prize, we have an engaging leader who has already fulfilled the world’s longing for an eloquent American statesman. We all need to celebrate this for the world once again looks to America for leadership. In America, we technically do not have nobility. We are a land of freedom. Yet, to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, we must foster a nobility of virtues and talents. Barack Obama has done that in his own personal and professional life, organizing communities, legislative coalitions and a presidential campaign in the pursuit of justice and peace. Now he seeks to do this for our nation and for our world, putting all of his energy into a truly noble goal which flies in the face of the corrupting cynicism of our times, an effort that has earned him the Nobel Prize.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Future of the Cleveland/Akron Economy
David Brooks recently wrote in the New York Times about the resilience of the American economy and I think that the most resilient place in the US is the rust belt which has been declared economically dead by many an expert. The only problem is to match our true grit with a lucky pot of opportunity or better yet to create some opportunities.
I will write specifically about Cleveland, Akron and surrounding areas. Both have been hit hard by globalization and recession. From Steel to Tires, many manufacturing jobs have gone overseas or have passed on to the business netherworld. What Cleveland and Akron don't have that New York and Chicago do have is a foundation for tourism. Sure, sure people will get off of the Ohio Turnpike and grab a bite to eat in Macedonia, but the problem is that they get back on. They don't travel north that often. Sure, sure some come to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but when they've finished with the Rock Hall, can they stroll along a picturesque Lakefront like they can in Chicago?
Akron is the city of invention, but guess what, I didn't know this until six years ago when I moved here. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but I lived in Washington DC for 19 years and not once did a friend of mine say, "Hey let's go out to Akron and check out the Inventor's Hall!" Many people in DC had only heard of Akron once or twice.
That said, we are resilient (and I do mean "we"). How many people are still Browns' fans? Now that is resilience! And Cleveland/Akron still have political pull. We are the swing state!! Not to mention that former White House wonk George Stephanopolous is a fellow Clevelander!! So let's put this muscle and this grit together with some creative thinking. It is time to think outside of the box!!
It was in this spirit that I (unsuccessfully) submitted the following Op-Ed to the Washington Post this past summer:
A Lake Erie Olympics
Michael Jordan wants the next American Summer Olympic games to be held in his city in 2016. As a native Chicagoan, I feel some desire “to be like Mike,” but the economic and humanitarian reality leads me to conclude that the next American Summer Games should take place in Northeastern Ohio in 2020.
To host the games in Chicago, the city of Chicago will have to construct an Olympic park and an Olympic village that will displace the poor and working classes. In contrast to this, the city of Cleveland is economically depressed and could use the construction to foster a Cleveland Renaissance (similar to Barcelona’s Olympic Renaissance). Chicago already has a beautiful Lakefront that draws tourists. The building of an Olympic park and village on the Lake Erie Lakeshore is needed to return Cleveland to its status as a center of tourism and culture.
Detroit is the poorest city in the country and is becoming poorer. Cleveland is the second poorest city in the country. In contrast, Chicago is wealthy and the fundraising that will support its Olympic bid will take away from its already struggling schools and city housing. A Lake Erie Olympics would be a boon to a struggling economy. We could renovate the Lake Erie Lakeshore and build an Olympic Village that could be turned over to the poor of Cleveland as public housing.
Cleveland is six hours from Chicago, six hours from New York, six hours from Washington, eight hours from Philadelphia, six hours from Baltimore, six hours from Toronto and four hours from Detroit. If we manage to build a beautiful Olympic Park in Cleveland, people from these other cities could visit this park and the other cultural institutions that will surround it. The Cleveland Olympic Park could also host LiveAid and other concerts, drawing concertgoers from these cities.
A Lake Erie Olympics would also benefit the poor of the developing world for we will give them a significant percentage of the profit we earn. The poor of this world make the shoes, the uniforms and the equipment of many of the Olympic sports. They should benefit from the Olympics. Chicago is an expensive city. Cleveland, Akron, Detroit, Toledo, Canton, Youngstown, Pittsburgh and Columbus are inexpensive. The Olympic effort would save money in our cities. The construction would cost less because the land costs less. There will be terrible traffic problems in a Chicago Olympics which will run up costs and inconvenience. There is no traffic problem around Lake Erie. We could house many of the athletes in our first rate universities, which in turn would interest these athletes in attending these schools, fostering immigration to Northeast Ohio, which in turn fosters business contacts with home countries, leading to an economic boon for both Ohio and the developing countries that would send immigrants to the Lake Erie region.
Finally, athletics is already an important economic factor for the Lake Erie region. The Akron-Canton area is the cradle of football! Football would make an excellent Olympic sport and the only place to introduce it as an Olympic sport is in its birthplace. We have a wealth of experience in organizing athletic events and an excellent Olympic ambassador in our MVP LeBron James.
I love Chicago. I am a Cubs fan. I love Lake Michigan. I am a Bears fan and a Bulls fan, but I am concerned about the poor. The Lake Erie region is becoming poorer and poorer. The Big Three are struggling. I hope that someday Chicago can host an Olympics, but right now, I firmly believe that the next American Olympics has to be hosted by the good, hard working people of the Lake Erie region and that the proceeds from this Olympics should benefit the global poor.
I will write specifically about Cleveland, Akron and surrounding areas. Both have been hit hard by globalization and recession. From Steel to Tires, many manufacturing jobs have gone overseas or have passed on to the business netherworld. What Cleveland and Akron don't have that New York and Chicago do have is a foundation for tourism. Sure, sure people will get off of the Ohio Turnpike and grab a bite to eat in Macedonia, but the problem is that they get back on. They don't travel north that often. Sure, sure some come to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but when they've finished with the Rock Hall, can they stroll along a picturesque Lakefront like they can in Chicago?
Akron is the city of invention, but guess what, I didn't know this until six years ago when I moved here. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but I lived in Washington DC for 19 years and not once did a friend of mine say, "Hey let's go out to Akron and check out the Inventor's Hall!" Many people in DC had only heard of Akron once or twice.
That said, we are resilient (and I do mean "we"). How many people are still Browns' fans? Now that is resilience! And Cleveland/Akron still have political pull. We are the swing state!! Not to mention that former White House wonk George Stephanopolous is a fellow Clevelander!! So let's put this muscle and this grit together with some creative thinking. It is time to think outside of the box!!
It was in this spirit that I (unsuccessfully) submitted the following Op-Ed to the Washington Post this past summer:
A Lake Erie Olympics
Michael Jordan wants the next American Summer Olympic games to be held in his city in 2016. As a native Chicagoan, I feel some desire “to be like Mike,” but the economic and humanitarian reality leads me to conclude that the next American Summer Games should take place in Northeastern Ohio in 2020.
To host the games in Chicago, the city of Chicago will have to construct an Olympic park and an Olympic village that will displace the poor and working classes. In contrast to this, the city of Cleveland is economically depressed and could use the construction to foster a Cleveland Renaissance (similar to Barcelona’s Olympic Renaissance). Chicago already has a beautiful Lakefront that draws tourists. The building of an Olympic park and village on the Lake Erie Lakeshore is needed to return Cleveland to its status as a center of tourism and culture.
Detroit is the poorest city in the country and is becoming poorer. Cleveland is the second poorest city in the country. In contrast, Chicago is wealthy and the fundraising that will support its Olympic bid will take away from its already struggling schools and city housing. A Lake Erie Olympics would be a boon to a struggling economy. We could renovate the Lake Erie Lakeshore and build an Olympic Village that could be turned over to the poor of Cleveland as public housing.
Cleveland is six hours from Chicago, six hours from New York, six hours from Washington, eight hours from Philadelphia, six hours from Baltimore, six hours from Toronto and four hours from Detroit. If we manage to build a beautiful Olympic Park in Cleveland, people from these other cities could visit this park and the other cultural institutions that will surround it. The Cleveland Olympic Park could also host LiveAid and other concerts, drawing concertgoers from these cities.
A Lake Erie Olympics would also benefit the poor of the developing world for we will give them a significant percentage of the profit we earn. The poor of this world make the shoes, the uniforms and the equipment of many of the Olympic sports. They should benefit from the Olympics. Chicago is an expensive city. Cleveland, Akron, Detroit, Toledo, Canton, Youngstown, Pittsburgh and Columbus are inexpensive. The Olympic effort would save money in our cities. The construction would cost less because the land costs less. There will be terrible traffic problems in a Chicago Olympics which will run up costs and inconvenience. There is no traffic problem around Lake Erie. We could house many of the athletes in our first rate universities, which in turn would interest these athletes in attending these schools, fostering immigration to Northeast Ohio, which in turn fosters business contacts with home countries, leading to an economic boon for both Ohio and the developing countries that would send immigrants to the Lake Erie region.
Finally, athletics is already an important economic factor for the Lake Erie region. The Akron-Canton area is the cradle of football! Football would make an excellent Olympic sport and the only place to introduce it as an Olympic sport is in its birthplace. We have a wealth of experience in organizing athletic events and an excellent Olympic ambassador in our MVP LeBron James.
I love Chicago. I am a Cubs fan. I love Lake Michigan. I am a Bears fan and a Bulls fan, but I am concerned about the poor. The Lake Erie region is becoming poorer and poorer. The Big Three are struggling. I hope that someday Chicago can host an Olympics, but right now, I firmly believe that the next American Olympics has to be hosted by the good, hard working people of the Lake Erie region and that the proceeds from this Olympics should benefit the global poor.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Not So Social Conservatism
Considering the near anarchy that the Students for A Democratic Society, the Black Panthers, The Weathermen, and Timothy Leary were belching into American society in the 1960s, it is understandable that several significant socially conservative movements began to seek political expression, a tsunami that took over many American power centers through the Moral Majority and the Reagan revolution in the 1970s and 1980s. I imagine that many social conservative were trying to conserve America and the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. There were and still are several Marxists in American Higher Academe, theoreticians who have theorized about the supposed innate depravity of a country that has spread freedom and prosperity to billions of human beings, but for Marxists since truths are always non-truths, constructed by power structures, freedom and prosperity were mere bourgeois mirages.
The problem is that liberals learned from the 1960s and conservatives are still running against the liberalism of the 1960s. Speaker Pelosi, as liberal as they come, does not seek to send Christians to concentration camps; truth be told she is quite the believer herself. Moreover, our good (and potentially great) president is no advocate of socialism, the one word epithet that the Rush Limbaughs of the world impulsively belch back. In the 1990s, Bill Clinton informed us that the era of big government is over, and indeed it is. The Democratic party does not seek to turn the US government into a nanny state. It merely seeks to prevent another financial collapse so that Wall Street gives up its need to be nannied by Uncle Sam.
Now, I have tremendous respect for people of all political stripes. I like ideas and it doesn’t matter who is formulating them and I admire institutions that serve human beings well (I have a few ideas about them myself). A good friend of mine once quipped that conservatives have a “good sociological nose.” They tend to notice things that liberals miss and are willing to speak up about them. A good example of this is the attention conservatives drew to the need for fathers to be involved in their childrens’ lives. There were liberals who poo-pooed the notion in the 60s, 70s, 80s and then in the 90s quietly acquiesced. The same is true regarding the dangers of drug use. Conservatives were willing to mount “the just say no campaign,” which many liberals mocked (some while inhaling). That said, let’s be real: the greatest principle to value, to conserve, to incarnate in a tradition is charity (last time I checked the Bible I tote around that Christ guy we Christians worship said lots of stuff about that) and charity is something that is lacking in a lot of our public discourse. Many Republicans do not take on Rush Limbaugh because they are afraid of him so they empower Rush and his shoutmeister ditto-heads to take over more and more of the Republican national strategy.
This is not a positive development. Limbaugh is not George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Andrew Sullivan or William Safire. Rush really doesn’t think. The man just reacts and bellows about his Institute of Advanced Conservative Studies. He holds no advanced degree. He just creates sound bites that resonate with the anxieties of many.
I respect conservatives. I look up to many of them hoping for an intelligent challenge to the policies that I advocate because reasoned discourse and debate strengthen American policies and strengthen my mind. It comes down to this: what essentially is conservatism? What is it trying to conserve and how is it trying to conserve what it should conserve? I will be the first to admit that there are fascists on the left and right and conservatives have the nose to sniff out liberal fascism, but if conservatives are then going to use fascist methods of shouting and intimidating people to try to move people away from certain forms of liberal fascism, what has America gained? “Here comes the new boss, same as the old boss” to quote a creaky, old 60s band. We gain nothing in this country from abandoning policy proposals because of fear of shoutmeisters and we gain nothing in this country from maintaining policies, like a health system that abandons 40 million working people, because we fear being shouted down. The most important principles that conservatives worked hard to conserve in the 60s and 70s—the values of reason and charity—they are about to abandon. What kind of conservatism is that?
The problem is that liberals learned from the 1960s and conservatives are still running against the liberalism of the 1960s. Speaker Pelosi, as liberal as they come, does not seek to send Christians to concentration camps; truth be told she is quite the believer herself. Moreover, our good (and potentially great) president is no advocate of socialism, the one word epithet that the Rush Limbaughs of the world impulsively belch back. In the 1990s, Bill Clinton informed us that the era of big government is over, and indeed it is. The Democratic party does not seek to turn the US government into a nanny state. It merely seeks to prevent another financial collapse so that Wall Street gives up its need to be nannied by Uncle Sam.
Now, I have tremendous respect for people of all political stripes. I like ideas and it doesn’t matter who is formulating them and I admire institutions that serve human beings well (I have a few ideas about them myself). A good friend of mine once quipped that conservatives have a “good sociological nose.” They tend to notice things that liberals miss and are willing to speak up about them. A good example of this is the attention conservatives drew to the need for fathers to be involved in their childrens’ lives. There were liberals who poo-pooed the notion in the 60s, 70s, 80s and then in the 90s quietly acquiesced. The same is true regarding the dangers of drug use. Conservatives were willing to mount “the just say no campaign,” which many liberals mocked (some while inhaling). That said, let’s be real: the greatest principle to value, to conserve, to incarnate in a tradition is charity (last time I checked the Bible I tote around that Christ guy we Christians worship said lots of stuff about that) and charity is something that is lacking in a lot of our public discourse. Many Republicans do not take on Rush Limbaugh because they are afraid of him so they empower Rush and his shoutmeister ditto-heads to take over more and more of the Republican national strategy.
This is not a positive development. Limbaugh is not George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Andrew Sullivan or William Safire. Rush really doesn’t think. The man just reacts and bellows about his Institute of Advanced Conservative Studies. He holds no advanced degree. He just creates sound bites that resonate with the anxieties of many.
I respect conservatives. I look up to many of them hoping for an intelligent challenge to the policies that I advocate because reasoned discourse and debate strengthen American policies and strengthen my mind. It comes down to this: what essentially is conservatism? What is it trying to conserve and how is it trying to conserve what it should conserve? I will be the first to admit that there are fascists on the left and right and conservatives have the nose to sniff out liberal fascism, but if conservatives are then going to use fascist methods of shouting and intimidating people to try to move people away from certain forms of liberal fascism, what has America gained? “Here comes the new boss, same as the old boss” to quote a creaky, old 60s band. We gain nothing in this country from abandoning policy proposals because of fear of shoutmeisters and we gain nothing in this country from maintaining policies, like a health system that abandons 40 million working people, because we fear being shouted down. The most important principles that conservatives worked hard to conserve in the 60s and 70s—the values of reason and charity—they are about to abandon. What kind of conservatism is that?
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