What’s Wrong with the Middle?

Please go to my commentary on the Huffington Post. I view this posting on a major BLOG to be a milestome in my blogging.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-evans/moving-uphill-to-the-midd_b_112764.html

Your interest and comments are appreciated.

Reverend Jesse Jackson And The Past

View the movies “Gentleman’s Agreement” or “To Kill a Mocking Bird” and you understand the attitude of many White Christian Americans in the 1960s and earlier times. I myself, as a Jew born in 1939, experienced discrimination as early as the age of 10 and heard negative remarks as late as the 1980s.

Jesse Jackson came from that time of hatred and fear. He and Louis Farrakhan are both from that same era. Both of them are foolish old men that really do not understand how much the world has changed. I know that I have trouble accepting this new world. I know that poor Latinos and Blacks are still hating and killing each other but the people involved are diminishing in numbers quite rapidly.

Barack Obama is part of this new society that really does live up to the dreams of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Obama’s lectures to Blacks about taking responsibility is correct. Obama is not running for president as the Black candidate. He is running as the change candidate. He keeps saying he is running as president for all Americans. I believe him. That does not mean I am voting for him. I will judge him based upon his qualifications and his views on the affairs effecting America. Everyone reading this should do the same.

Selecting the Next President of the U.S.A.

I take this very seriously. The world is filled with so many challenges. The next president must be wise enough to bring this nation around many obstacles. Just because John McCain was a committed soldier and showed extraordinary bravery does not necessarily qualify him to be our President. Likewise, Barack Obama’s opposition to the Iraq War or his support for change in government is not specific reasons to select him to be President.

Those two leading candidates need to address real issues and offer specific solutions. The issues are many but to date their ideas have been vague.

I want answers to these questions listed below but I fear that neither of these men will give me the specifics that I and most Americans want to hear. The questions are grouped from international issues to domestic issues but are in no particular order except perhaps in the order of what I am most concerned about.

How will you end the Iraq War and bring home all of our troops?
How will you deal with the Islamic terrorist threats?
How will you stop nuclear proliferation and specifically Iran’s apparent effort to obtain atomic weapons and ensure that North Korea doesn’t re-start their programs?
What are you plans regarding global warning?
What is your plan to address the energy crises?
What is your plan to address the lack of health care in America?
What are your plans to address the economic challenges facing most Americans?
What do you intend to do to correct the obvious imbalances in our income tax code?
What are your plans for social security and medicare?
What is your plan to rebuild America’s deteriorating infrastructure?
How will you save American jobs?
How will you address the issue of illegal immigration?
What is your position on abortion?
What is your position on polygamy?
What is your position on protecting the Bill of Rights?

Telling The Truth

Oops! Telling the Truth hurts! That is the reason I watch and listen to the Sunday morning political interview shows and listen to all talk radio. We just might get to know McCain and Obama’s real views. That will help in our November voting. I believe all of these “gaffs” were all factually correct.

Retired Gen. Wesley Clark told Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation this past Sunday that John McCain was not necessarily qualified to be president because of his Vietnam experience. Barak Obama half apologized by saying that Clark’s wording was “inartful.” Clark did not back down.

Charlie Black, campaign manager for John McCain, told a reporter that if there is a terrorist attack on the U.S. before the election it will benefit his candidate. Of course McCain criticized his advisor’s terrorism comments.

Geraldine Ferraro told the Daily Breeze of Torrance California, “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.” Ms. Ferraro resigned her position in the campaign rather than being fired for that remark.

Senator Clinton told Tim Russert on Meet The Press that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. relied upon President Lyndon Johnson “… to make the changes that would last for generations beyond the iconic, extraordinary speeches that he gave. That’s why he campaigned for Lyndon Johnson in 1964.” That statement by Hillary Clinton created a major uproar.

Is War With Iran Inevitable?

Is George W. Bush trying to get the U.S.A. into a war with Iran before he leaves office? That seems to be the implication of Seymour M. Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize writer for the New Yorker. I do hope that Mr. Hersh is wrong. He should be a guest on a Sunday morning interview show (Meet The Press, Face The Nation, or This Week) to discuss this article that was released on Sunday, June 29, 2008. You can read it at http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/29/9962/ .

Mr. Hersh was a guest on the Michael Jackson talk radio show this morning in Los Angeles. You can hear the interview at http://www.1260.am/programming/podcasts/ . No one wants a war but apparently Sy Hersh suspects that Bush and Cheney see this as a necessary event to protect America and the world. Shouldn’t we negotiate before we start to fight?

Party Unity My A**

Have you heard of the P.U.M.A. group? This is one of the Democratic groups that feel alienated by Barack Obama becoming the presumptive nominee. There are a few of these groups that do not accept the idea of an Obama run for president. This group received national attention when they were discussed on CNN. The letters stand for “party unity my ass.” Want to learn more about this group? Go to http://riverdaughter.wordpress.com/puma-power/

My view is that unless this gaggle of people do more than write in a BLOG there will be no disruptions at the Democratic Convention. If they do get organized they could be a disruptive force at the convention. What fun!

“Project Independence” is a New Manhattan Project

Both candidates for president have energy plans according to their web sites. The ideas are remarkably similar. The problem is that neither McCain nor Obama have recognized this issue as significant enough to create a “Manhattan Project” to bring about U.S. independence from foreign oil. Some writers like James Pethokoukis in his U.S. News and World Report blog http://www.usnews.com/blogs/capital-commerce/2008/05/30/do-we-need-an-energy-manhattan-project.html will make fun of this idea but there really is no alternative. Too many people are talking and writing about gasoline at $7.00 a gallon for this not to be a real possibility. The consequences of that situation would be devastating to our nation.

Wind: The Power. The Promise. The Business on the Business Week web site http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_27/b4091046392398.htm is a perfect example of the need for a focused national program. The forces wanting to use coal for generated electricity are fighting against those wanting to use the power of the wind. Coal generated power costs about 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour to produce but wind power costs 4.5 cents per kilowatt hour. Can we afford wind power?

Similarly agricultural interests want to convert corn into ethanol and that will impact our nation’s food supply. My own article on ethanol points out the lack of information on the real cost implications and the battle of farmers that are more inclined to fight for their own interests rather than the national interest. See The Energy Crises at http://coastcontact.blogspot.com/2008/06/energy-crises.html.

I believe coal is the answer for the next 100 years. In an article posted August 14, 2007 http://green.yahoo.com/blog/climate411/24/how-much-coal-does-the-u-s-have.html Jeffery Greenblatt, an expert on low-carbon energy technologies at Environmental Defense, and confirmed in a New York Times article dated June 21,2007, indicates the enormous amount of coal in our own country. Project Independence is all about converting our own coal to a non-polluting alternative to gasoline and oil and finding other long term alternatives.

From My Congressman On The High Cost of Gasoline

I sent a letter to my congressman, Henry Waxman (D) 30^th District California, about the high cost of gasoline and oil products. I voiced my dismay with the lack of action by the House of Representatives.

Rep. Waxman is the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and is a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Following is his response. You will notice

The vision for reducing our dependency on oil is vague. I expect more since Rep. Waxman is on the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Improved car efficiency by 2020 is too late. Auto manufacturers should be required to start improving auto perfromance next year.

Undoubtedly he did not personally respond to my letter. It was sent by one of his office workers.

Thank you for contacting me about the high cost of gasoline and the role of oil companies in rising prices. I strongly share your concern and appreciate your taking the time to be in touch.

According to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, the Bush Administration has now implemented 95% of the policies proposed by Vice President Cheney’s energy task force. The result? Big oil companies are now reporting record-high earnings, consumers face soaring prices for natural gas, heating oil and gasoline, and we are more dependent on foreign oil than ever. In June 2008, the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency (EIA) reported that California families are paying an all-time record high of $4.58 per gallon on average for regular gasoline – more than double the cost when President Bush took office. This course is misguided and unsustainable.

To reduce gasoline prices and solve many of the other problems associated with its use, we must enact policies that aggressively promote the development and use of more efficient vehicles and clean, sustainable energy alternatives. Sustainable energy alternatives and energy efficiency will not only help reduce fuel price fluctuations, but can also reduce toxic air pollution and global warming, create American jobs, and increase our national security.

On December 19, 2007, the United States took an important step toward stabilizing the global climate and achieving our clean energy goals when H.R. 6, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, was signed by the President. The centerpiece of this historic law will require an increase in the average vehicle efficiency 35 miles per gallon by 2020, a nearly forty percent increase compared to today’s cars and light trucks. This change is estimated to save American families $700 – $1000 each year, to save at least 1.1 million barrels of oil a day in 2020, and to reduce global warming pollution by an amount equal to taking 28 million of today’s average cars and trucks off the road. This new law also gave the Federal Trade Commission the authority to investigate market manipulation of oil and gas prices and fine those who engage in this behavior.

Unfortunately, the President has threatened to veto a number of other energy bills that might help to further reduce gas prices. In February, the House passed the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act (H.R. 5351), which would shift $18 billion in subsidies and tax breaks for the oil and gas industries into incentives for clean energy technologies. In May 2007, I also voted for two bills to prevent oil companies from cheating consumers at the pump. H.R. 6074 would authorize the Justice

Department to take legal action against OPEC state-controlled entities that conspire to limit the supply, or fix the price, of oil. H.R. 1252 would impose criminal penalties for price gouging, and permit states to bring lawsuits against wholesalers or retailers who charge unconscionably excessive high prices. I will continue to work hard for passage and enactment of these bills into law.

To learn more about my work in Congress or sign up for periodic e-mail updates, please visit www.henrywaxman.house.gov

and www.oversight.house.gov.

Again, thank you for contacting me and I hope you will continue to keep in touch on issues of concern.

With kind regards, I am

Sincerely,

Henry A. Waxman

Member of Congress.