Sorry Claire, you can't call them stupid if you gave them the money in the first place

Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill was livid last week when she took the Senate floor. It seems that many of the companies that applied for “bailout” money have been using the funds to award mammoth bonuses to senior staff at a time when most stakeholders and many Americans are hemorrhaging money.

It’s too bad the McCaskill and the rest of congress is so out of touch that they couldn’t see this coming back in October of 2008. Now, after we – and by we, I mean U.S. tax payers – have already shelled out hundreds of billions of dollars…and another “stimulus” package is on its way.

McCaskill’s righteous indignation led her to introduce a bill that would limit compensation to corporate executives to $400,000 – the same salary as the president (any one else think our last president was over-paid??). McCaskill even went so far as to accuse Merrill Lynch and others as being stupid for trying to get away with schemes to use bailout money to pay year-end bonuses.

I’m sorry Claire, they aren’t stupid. It’s Congress that is stupid for giving these corporations the money in the first place with precious few strings attached. It's like giving money to a junkie and expecting them to pay for rehab, then expressing dismay when they go out and buy dope. The corporate C-class are greedy. And is many cases, criminally so. They are the ones that have helped derail the economy. And Congress' answer? Give them more money! Republican Charles Grassley has his rhetoric in the right place: take back the money from companies that used bailout funds to line the pockets of their CEOs. But that, of course, is only rhetoric.

News flash: America is a consumer based economy and has been for decades. We are no longer a manufacturing based economy. So someone please explain to me why we are trying to save the contemptible leaches who care more about lining their own pockets than saving the actual drivers of our economy?

If we are going to have a stimulus package that actually gets this country back on track, we need to focus our efforts on American tax-paying consumers. That means helping Americans to eradicate debt – to provide a means to strengthen consumer purchasing power. That means a hard cap on the interest banks can charge for credit cards. It means allowing home owners to redo their mortgages (on PRIMARY residences only). It means allowing consumers who became over extended through predatory LOC loans to negotiate new rates. It means reintroducing (temporarily) the ability for consumers to declare the interest paid on credit cards on their tax returns. It means providing money to America’s agri-businesses in the way of loans and support prices that are actually at or above the cost of production. It means providing financial aid to companies only if the money is used to directly benefit consumers.

So forgive me Claire and Chuck – I appreciate your indignation…but you’ve already left the barn door open…and the pigs are feeding at the trough. What is unforgivable is that you didn’t see this coming months ago when most of America was decrying the bailout for what it is: a corporate cash cow paid for by American taxpayers.

Now the Republicans will try to villify Obama for the economy...which, as my friend Nathan said, is like blaming a coroner for not being able to revive a corpse.

We don't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore...

...But we do have George W. Bush - aka president chim-chim - to kick around for a few more days.

Though I, for one, am thrilled to see him go, I'm worried that he and his cronies are going to get off too easily. It isn't enough that most of the world view him as a failure; perhaps the worst president in our country's history. It isn't enough that he is an object of ridicule. I want some accountability. I want payback for the war in Iraq, his mismanagement of Katrina, our economic collapse, FISA, torture, the state's attorney scandal and every other crooked deal he had his hand in. But, unfortunately, it seems that Bush, Cheney, et al are just going to skate.

Some would argue that it damages the country to "be backward looking" - that with all the problems we have we need to focus on the here-and-now. But that doesn't cut it. Because if we don't hold our president accountable, then what is the point of having balances of power?

Let's hope that the new democratic majority won't roll over. Let's hope we don't bail out the bush administration like we're bailing out all the failed corporations.
If you don't look back and correct the mistakes...you are doomed to repeat them.

Paging Dr. Gupta!

If you have spent any time in a doctor's waiting room in the last 3 or 4 years, chances are you've seen Dr. Sanjay Gupta in an endless video loop. If not, you may have read him in Time magazine, or seen him on Anderson Cooper. With his CNN show, talking head appearances on NPR and ubiquitous media presence, he became somewhat of a running joke in my family.

Now it appears that Dr. Gupta may have to give up the small screen for Washington's big stage with his recent nomination as Surgeon General. Gupta is no dummy. He is a White House fellow and a neurosurgeon. But his nomination has drawn criticism from Democratic congressman John Conyers, among others. Like me, Conyers is probably having a rough time disassociating Gupta the Dr. from Gupta the media whore. Conyers has raised questions about his experience running a federal agency...and the potential credibility gap that could arise because Sanjay has never been a member of the National Health Service Corp.

But let's set Conyer's criticism aside, for a second, and look at what Gupta does bring to this job. He is very media savvy and could prove to be a very potent spokesperson for the nation's greatest health issues. He has served as medical counsel to Hillary Clinton on health care issues (maybe she is the one who recommended him?). And, cynically, he is another cog in Obama's ethnically diversified government machine (though Gupta is actually American, not Indian).

So...while I initially chuckled over this nomination...after 10 minutes reflection, I'm willing to give Obama the doubt. After all, Gupta wouldn't be the first celebrity SG...who can forget C Everett Koop?

Back from the dead

The election took a lot out of me. I needed a break to recover from both the stress leading up to the election, and the utter relief of its outcome. It’s not like there was any shortage of topics that raised both eyebrow and dander…so now it’s back to work.

The first thing I’m going to touch on is undoubtedly more controversial than the election: Israel’s latest efforts to bring an end to Hamas (and terrorist) influence in Gaza. I don’t profess to be an expert – and I am deeply divided on the issue. But it evokes a visceral response…and I am sad to say that the current military action was probably inevitable.

There is one primary assumption that underlies my thinking: I’m skeptical about the desire of either side to resolve this diplomatically, whether by long-term cease fire or a two-state agreement.

Before he died in an Israeli bomb strike last week, Hamas’ leader Nizzar Rayyan rejected any long term peace with Israel (a hudna or cease fire) saying:
“The only reason to have a hudna is to prepare yourself for the final battle. We don't need 50 years to prepare ourselves for the final battle with Israel. There is no chance that true Islam would ever allow a Jewish state to survive in the Muslim Middle East. Israel is an impossibility. It is an offense against God... You [Jews] are murderers of the prophets and you have closed your ears to the Messenger of Allah.... Jews tried to kill the Prophet, peace be unto him. All throughout history, you have stood in opposition to the word of God.”

Peace is untenable as long as Hamas or any government threatens Israel’s sovereign (and god-given) right to exist. The mantra “never again” isn’t just a bumper sticker. Nevertheless, the cynic in me doesn’t totally disregard that there are also political motivations that go beyond Israel’s conventional justification for this current aggression (to stop Hamas’ ability to use Gaza as a missile-launching haven). I also don’t dispute that Israel’s diplomatic efforts have been feeble at times.

But the current landscape with missiles raining down daily from within Gaza creates fertile ground for Israel to evoke the Powell doctrine for military response. And the threat Iran poses (both Israel and the overall stability of the region) gives Israel justification to invoke the Bush policy of preemption. (Not that I am an advocate of Bush’s failed foreign policy.)

Israel is often criticized for not having measured responses – but what is the measured response for having dozens of rockets fired into your territory day-in, day-out? What is the response for having school buses, discothèques, pizzerias and public beaches bombed? What is the response when your neighbors pledge your utter annihilation? How do you prosecute an enemy that uses its own citizens as human shields by establishing military bases in hospitals, mosques and schools?

Many will criticize Israel for the recent incursion and the concomitant civilian deaths to follow. But if Israel cannot break Hamas’ grip (and by extension, Iran’s influence) in the region…then the cycle of violence will continue until some greater conflagration alters the landscape. Peace, obviously, is the preferred option. I just haven’t seen any indication that any of the parties are remotely interested in peace.

Proud to be an American...and not from Alaska

What we have witnessed is truly a watershed event in American politics, and in the social evolution of this country.

As has often been said, we are now one step closer to being a more perfect union. Will this end poverty in our country? No. Crime? No. Will every child wake up tomorrow possessed of the skills and tools to excel in school? Probably not (unless they have my wife for a teacher). But I have to confess that I woke up today feeling...different. Possessed of a positive attitude that has seemed so elusive for so many years. For me and for my family - my parents especially, who have dedicated much of their life together championing the cause of civil rights - there are no words to describe the exhilaration and optimism that this election has engendered.

Barack Obama had to overcome monumental obstacles in order to become POTUS #44. That makes his election a resounding repudiation of the failed policies of George W. Bush as well as a rebuke of a McCain/Palin campaign that cared more about fear mongering and character assassination than the issues at hand.

Today I am less cynical. My faith in our democracy is somewhat restored. I am proud, again, to be an American. I'm also damn glad that I'm not from Alaska...where the highest elected official knows less about geography than my six-year-old son. For those who today are breathing a massive sigh of relief...I'll leave you with a reminder of what we possibly could have been in store for had Obama not succeeded. This is a sad commentary about who the Republicans think deserves to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

It's time to put their trust in God

Too often, inspiration comes at the very end. With only 24 hours left to determine whether we diverge from our country's current course (Obama) or carry on in our democracy's death spiral (Mcpalin), I've been touched with "divine inspiration."

By now you are all familiar with republican ploys to suppress the vote...well, I've finally come up with one to work in the other direction. I would robocall, flyer and air the following campaign:

I think it is time for all evangelical christians to abandon the sinful and corrupt ballot box and put their faith in god! Instead of voting for McCain, you should pray for a mccain/palin victory! I challenge every evangelical to qualify and quantify the value of prayer by putting your faith in god over your faith in the american political process. If you choose to vote, then you can not call yourself a true christian any longer!

As I said, inspiration often comes too late and, in my case, is often very silly. I would love to give the Republicans a dose of their own medicine...but god has already punished them enough with a mcpalin presidential ticket that makes the last eight years look like an afternoon in eden.