JOHN McCAIN'S PARALLEL UNIVERSE?

One of the more interesting developments during this presidential season has been the transformation of John McCain. A one-time "Maverick" who took shots at right wing religious fanatics and special interests, McCain learned the lessons of republican politics well during his first presidential run in 2000.

Specifically, McCain learned that in order to win the hearts of Conservatives he would have to break with his principles and embrace both groups if he was going to succeed in his quest for the White House. In the process, McCain lost his political soul and has given himself up to Conservative Puppet Masters. This might not be all bad if McCain had the energy to stand up for himself. But, alas, not only has McCain been muttering inconsistent and incoherent thoughts on Iraq, war, and the economy, but he seems tired on the campaign trail.

Fast forward to a parallel universe in 2268. We see another respected leader propped up by selfish and egotistical forces, bent on promoting their interests above those of society. In the Star Trek episode "Patterns of Force" John Gill is a former Starfleet professor who breaks Starfleet principles laid out in the Prime Directive (don't get personally involved in the affairs of planets).

By breaking with principles laid out in the Prime Directive, Gill exposes himself to the militarism of Melakon (rhymes with "neo-con") and other evil forces that drug and use his tired body to pursue war and rule society.













While there is no doubt that McCain is not drugged like Star Trek's John Gill, there is also little doubt that both McCain and Gill compromised basic principles that led both to be manipulated by Puppet Masters they, under different circumstances, would have rebuked.

Unfortunately, the prospect of winning the presidency has created a toxic brew of special interests and compromised principles that John McCain seems only too eager to drink. In the process, The Maverick has become The Puppet of Conservative forces he simply cannot control.

- Mark

DEBUNKING THE “TAX-CUTS CREATE GROWTH & REVENUE” MYTH

Here’s an article from The Wall Street Journal that, once again, claims higher tax rates on the wealthy are not good for the country. Essentially the WSJ article makes this standard Republican-Conservative claim: Tax cuts for the rich will spur economic growth, enhance tax revenue, and lead to balanced budgets.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Here’s what’s NOT happening, and why we're in dire straits today ...

... THE REVENUE ARENA

BALANCED BUDGETS? When Supply-Side economics arrived on the political scene with Ronald Reagan in 1980, our country owed approximately $979 billion (with a “B”). Today, after almost 20 years of tax cuts for the rich, America now owes $9.4 trillion (with a “T”). This, my friends, helps to explain the dollar’s collapse, and why prices are climbing. As an aside, the only time we started balancing budgets was under President Clinton, who raised taxes on the rich.

ECONOMIC GROWTH? Do tax cuts on the rich increase economic growth? Check this out. With the exception of five years, federal tax receipts have increased every year since 1962. Did Bush’s tax cuts (or supply-side economics) have an influence on the economy starting in 1962 that we don’t know about?

INCREASED REVENUE/CORPORATE INCOME: A 2007 Congressional Budget Office report makes it clear that increased tax revenue after 2003 is due primarily to an “increase in corporate profits” and other policy measures that disallowed certain write-offs. Read the report. Tax policy plays a minimal role.

... IN THE AREA OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

THE BUBBLE ECONOMY: The vast majority of growth that occurred during the Bush administration was driven by low interest rates and the subsequent housing bubble. As the value of homes increased, homeowners took out equity lines and used their homes to purchase cars, boats, vacations, etc.

DEBT FINANCED PURCHASES, I: If more money was put into the pockets of ordinary Americans it’s not because of higher wages or the jobs created by new investments (effectively zero in both areas). It’s because the Bush administration borrowed money to send to American tax payers. A monkey could have borrowed money and sent out checks. Tax cuts were a political Trojan Horse designed appeal to unsophisticated voters. But they worked politically.

DEBT FINANCED PURCHASES, II: Americans went further into debt to finance consumption. This helped create the illusion of prosperity. Credit card and personal debt are at all time highs.

That's it. Debt, demographics, and bubbles. This explains the Republican-led spending and debt binge since 1980.

My friends, the argument that tax cuts for the rich creates growth is, at best, misleading. More probably, it’s a lie. At the end of the day we need to build bridges, roads, and schools. Someone has to pay for this. Contrary to the ideas pushed by Republicans, there are no Infrastructure Fairies out there. Oh, and did I mention that we now need to pay down trillions in debt caused by the Republican's tax cut jijad? No? Well, we do.

Borrow and Spend is not an economic policy we should continue to follow. That almost one-half of America can't see this says alot about the state of this nation.

- Mark

LOVE IS BEING THERE ...

I don't usually post on topics like this, but I wanted to share this "smell the roses" moment ...

This past Tuesday when my ex came to pick up the kids, my 10 year old daughter Monica informed me that her school's last recital and choir for the year was that evening at 7:00 pm. It was 5:30 pm.

After going through the usual routine of "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier, I have plans, and I need to teach class tonight ...", I told Monica that I might not make it. As she went off to her Mom's car my feelings went from consternation to guilt. I changed my plans.

When I walked into the auditorium, I saw an open seat in the middle isle. As I made my way toward the seat I spotted my daughter playing the flute. She saw me and seemed surprised. But her eyes lit up in a way that always let's me know that she has a smile in her heart. And just like that my guilt was gone.

Since I take care of the kids when they get out of school, the next day I asked Monica about her look of surprise. She responded, "I wasn't surprised Daddy. I knew you'd be there. You're always there ... because you love me."

- Mark

THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND?

The blind leading the blind? Nope, it's worse than that.

First we had White House spokesperson, Dana Perino, doing her best Sgt. Schultz impersonation and admitting that she knew nothing about the Cuban Missile Crisis (she apparently doesn’t know much about the Bay of Pigs either).

Now we are treated to Right Wing nut job, Kevin James, railing against Barack Obama’s apparent appeasement in the Middle East because he's willing to talk to the enemy. Never mind that Bush the Elder's Secretary of State used and called for the same strategy.

For his effort, Keving James is then painfully embarrassed by Chris Matthews for not knowing what Neville Chamberlain did to forever earn the title of Hitler’s Appeaser.



Apart from demonstrating what a blowhard Kevin James is, the clip is actually pretty funny … until, of course, you realize that Perino and James are the same “people of influence” who like to use historical references to justify their positions.

No wonder everything’s messed up under Bush. History is not something to learn or draw lessons from. Team Bush sees history as something to be manipulated and used to prop up failed policies, or to adorn a bankrupt ideology.

This really puts another spin on former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill's description of President Bush approaching policy like a “blind man in a room full of deaf people.”

- Mark

EINSTEIN & RELIGION

From the NY Times ... A letter Albert Einstein wrote to philosopher Eric Gutkind in 1954 just sold for $404,000. In the letter Einstein described the Bible as “pretty childish” and scoffed at the notion that the Jews could be the “chosen people.”


This should help settle the issue for those who enjoy sending that annoying "Evil is the absence of God" chain-letter. The chain-letter is usually sent by true believers who (1) want to revel in the humiliation of an atheist teacher by Einstein when he was a schoolboy (which hardly seems Christian to me), or (2) seek to use Albert Einstein as a foundational source for Intelligent Design, which requires a stretch of imagination (like what you are asked to believe if you visit the Creationist Museum in Kentucky).

But, alas, the appearance of this letter probably won't settle anything. Evidence is a hard thing to accept when you're used to making things up.

- Mark

P.S. It should be noted that Einstein was an agnostic, and not an atheist. There's a difference. He believed that any understanding of God “is too vast for our limited minds.”

THE "REAL McCAIN"

BUSH FAILS IN OIL ... AGAIN

Everyone in America knows that George W. Bush was a failure as a businessman in the oil industry. Well, in spite of touting his oil credentials as a potential plus with OPEC members when he ran for the White House, it turns out that he's an abject failure at Oil Diplomacy too.

Here's a quick overview of President Bush's most recent efforts at "jawbone" diplomacy, which he claimed he would bring to the White House.

For the second time in two months, President Bush's efforts to "jawbone" his Saudi friends over the cost of oil fell on deaf ears. On Friday, oil surged to a record $127 after Bush's meeting with King Abdullah failed to secure a production increase beyond the meager 300,000 barrels the Saudis previously committed to on May 10th. In all, it was just the latest dismal failure for the jawbone of the Texas oilman who campaigned on his powers of persuasion when it came to OPEC ...

... For its part, OPEC brushed off Bush's feeble entreaties and rejected calls for an emergency meeting ahead of the cartel's next scheduled gathering in September. On Saturday, the Qatari oil minister put it simply, "The oil market is balanced...There is no threat to or crisis in supply."

There's no secret to what's happening here. OPEC members do not respect, nor trust, the capabilities of George W. Bush. And they're particularly not happy with the Bush administration's dollar policy (there is none). As Fadel Gheit, an oil analyst at Oppenheimer & Company in New York, put it: "It's really not surprising that they have ignored [Bush]" when you consider the collapsing value of the dollar.


Indeed, while Saudi King Abdullah has "shut down grandstanding talk from Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad" (which focused on moving OPEC away from the "worthless piece of paper" this past February) OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri is still suggesting that the oil cartel might switch to euro-based pricing.

My guess is that this will become a real issue some time during the next administration. When this happens it will be yet another tattered feather in President Bush's lifelong headban of failure.

- Mark