QUOTE OF THE MONTH: “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms – greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge – has marked the upward surge of mankind.”
Gordon Gekko
Fictional character in the film Wall Street
1987
SENSE AND NONSENSE – THE LEGACY OF INCOMPETENCY
From the editor: The national media now has President Obama on the political rack stretching him between the media’s constant appetite for a leader to show emotion (he seems so “cool, calm and detached”) and a simplistic evaluation of his ability to solve problems (the oil spill is his Katrina). The media enthusiastically reports the right wing’s schizophrenic cries of “too much government in our lives,” while giving air time to the hypocritical question, “why is the government taking so long to stop the oil spill?” The media continues to wallow in the controversy it helps to create so that it can sell advertisement at a higher price.
The controversy that should be documented is the political and fiscal incompetency that created the problems in the first place. Of course, the poster child for incompetency is Michael Brown, the FEMA director under Bush. “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job” will go down in Presidential archives as one of the most vivid examples of misplaced loyalty.
President Obama’s appointed albatross is likely to be Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar, now famous for remarks such as keeping his boot on the neck of British Petroleum (BP) and telling the Denver staff of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) that “there’s a new sheriff in town.” This Bush-like bravado translates into “all talk and no action” in the public forum.
Salazar’s behavior after being elected to the Senate in 2005 further belies his commitment to protecting the environment. In 2005, he voted against increasing fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks. Also in 2005, he voted against an amendment to repeal tax breaks for ExxonMobil and other major petroleum companies. In 2006, he voted to end protections that limit offshore oil drilling in Florida’s Gulf Coast. In 2007, he voted against a bill that would have required the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to consider global warming when planning water projects. He resigned his Senate seat, in 2009, to become Obama’s Secretary of the Interior.
Shortly after his appointment, Salazar upheld the Bush-era policy that prevents regulation of greenhouse gas emissions via the Endangered Species Act (ESA). And presumably, Salazar supported and/or recommended that the Obama administration should end a 20-year ban on offshore oil and natural gas drilling on parts of the Atlantic coast from Florida to Virginia. Exactly one month later in early May, Obama halted all new offshore drilling because of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
President Obama may not know how to plug the hole that has been spewing north of 20,000 barrels of oil every day for the last 50 plus days, but I would bet my house that he knows how to solve the major political realities he faces.
First, with the vital help of the voting public, elect a filibuster proof Senate for Democrats.
Second, pass public funding of all House and Senate elections, thereby eliminating the need for fundraising by elected representatives.
Third, stop the revolving door between corporations and government permanently with a 5 or 10 year prohibition on walking through such a door.
And, fourth, install term limits on senators and representatives until the notion of “service in government” replaces the current emphasis upon “careers in government.”
Will these things happen in my lifetime? Or in Obama’s? Not likely. Why? Because political office is so lucrative, candidates are willing to spend millions of their own money to get elected. For example, Meg Whitman is spending at least $70 million of her own obscene money to run for governor in California. It is not for a commitment to service. It is the same commitment she had as CEO of eBay – to make money. Take the money out of political office and we could return to rational policy making.
Maynard Chapman, Editor
The Compass Newsletter
A CASE STUDY IN GREED
From the editor: Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey tried twice in May to raise liability limits for accidents such as the Deepwater Horizon oil rig blowout. It comes as no surprise to those who follow congressional politics that Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, blocked the first attempt on Thursday, May 13, by objecting to Menendez’ call to pass the “Big Oil Bailout Prevention Liability Act of 2010” by unanimous consent. Menendez tried again the following Tuesday, May 18. This time Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma blocked the attempt to raise the liability limit from the current $75 million to $10 billion.
The bill (S. 3305) has 23 cosponsors, all Democrats. Murkowski has received almost $300,000 in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry, while the Washington Post reports that Inhofe has received more than $1.1 million in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry. Inhofe was chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee between 2003 and 2006. The EPW Committee is now chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer and Inhofe serves as the Republican “ranking” member. The website OpenSecrets.org documents that Inhofe has received more than $400,000 in campaign contributions from oil and gas since 2005. The liability limit remains at $75 million as of June 9, 2010.
CURRENT ISRAELI POLICIES JEOPARDIZE OUR SECURITY
From the Center for Strategic and International Studies: Following are excerpts from a copyrighted article by Anthony Cordesman, holder of the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The article was published on June 2.
“The United States has made it clear that any U.S. support for Arab-Israeli peace efforts must be based on options that preserve Israel’s security….
“At the same time, the depth of America’s moral commitment (to Israel) does not justify or excuse actions by an Israeli government that unnecessarily make Israel a strategic liability when it should remain an asset….
“It does not mean that the United States has the slightest interest in supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank, or that the United States should take a hard-line position on Jerusalem that would effectively make it a Jewish rather than a mixed city.
“It does not mean that the United States should be passive when Israel makes a series of major strategic blunders -- such as persisting in the strategic bombing of Lebanon during the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, escalating its attack on Gaza long after it had achieved its key objectives, embarrassing the U.S. president by announcing the expansion of Israeli building programs in east Jerusalem at a critical moment in U.S. efforts to put Israeli-Palestinian peace talks back on track, or sending commandos to seize a Turkish ship in a horribly mismanaged effort to halt the ‘peace flotilla’ going to Gaza.”
“It is time Israel realized that it has obligations to the United States, as well as the United States to Israel, and that it become far more careful about the extent to which it tests the limits of U.S. patience and exploits the support of American Jews….
“Israel’s government should act on the understanding that the long-term nature of the U.S.-Israel strategic relationship will depend on Israel clearly and actively seeking peace with the Palestinians -- the kind of peace that is in Israel’s own strategic interests.”
Note: The Center for Strategic and International Studies stipulates that “all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in their publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s).”
OPEN LETTER TO SENATOR BINGAMAN OF NEW MEXICO
From Fred Bender of Santa Fe:
“Dear Senator Bingaman,”
“Please introduce and promote a Senate resolution in support of the Administration’s Middle East peace efforts.
“The two-state resolution of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is strategically critical to containing militant Islamic fundamentalism and defeating Al Qaeda; to our counter terrorism strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan; to a diplomatic resolution of the stand-off with Iran; and to removing a road block for the evolution of a stable and progressive Middle East.
“U.S. failure to mediate as an honest broker is the seminal issue prejudicing the U.S. with all of Islam and is of major concern in the Western world. This unresolved cancer now dangerously threatens our security and the existence of Israel as a Jewish state, and we have not even considered the long term financial consequences of a continued stand-off.
“The Santa Fe Tikkun community met with you at your Albuquerque office in 2003 on this very issue, with the same concerns. We expressed our frustration with an AIPAC co-opted Congress. You shared our views, and you have delivered a number of strong statements to the Senate.
“I believe that there is growing alarm in our country at the depth of the Israeli/Palestinian crisis and an awakening in Congress to the fact that the majority of American Jews have supported and still support our and your views, not those of the Israeli lobby AIPAC. The time is now for the Congress to show that there is unity in our government’s resolve to mediate this long standing international problem. We need your leadership.
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Fred Bender
cc. Senator Udall
Copyright © 2010, The Compass Society
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