Republicans environmentally unsound (2/8/2016)
The 2016 Republican presidential candidates want to destroy or defy the federal agency that a GOP president created to protect us from our worst selves.
Disgraced President Richard Nixon, R-Calif., did at least two good deeds for his country: He normalized relations with China and created the EPA. "The Congress, the Administration and the public all share a profound commitment to the rescue of our natural environment, and the preservation of the Earth as a place both habitable by and hospital to man," Nixon said in an urgent July 1970 message to Congress about launching the EPA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The EPA is an essential element of the public's environmental protection vanguard. If the public does not like EPA policies, they should change the laws governing the agency. Destroying or defying the agency is a recipe for more environmental disasters.
Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump have all blasted the EPA.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush /AP photo
N.J. Gov. Chris Christie /Reuters photo
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas /Image via www.salon.com
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida/Fox News image
"The EPA has unilaterally changed how the Clean Water Act is interpreted. Now it not only protects rivers and lakes, but also drainage ditches and private retaining ponds. So when mining or drilling, Jerry and Tom now have to take caution not to disturb bodies of water barely bigger than a puddle." -Marco Rubio
Billionaire blowhard Donald Trump /AP image
"Environmental Protection! What they do is a disgrace! Every week they come out with new regulations." -Donald TrumpPutin playing predictable role in Snowden intrigue (6/24/13)
While getting my weekly dose of the Sunday morning news shows, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry watching some of the pundits and politicos bemoan Russia's role in the U.S. snooping community's Edward Snowden Fiasco.
One wonk wailed over Vladimir Putin's propensity to "stick it" to the United States; in this case, allowing the rogue U.S. National Security Agency contractor to pass through Moscow on his way to seeking refuge at one of the bastions of left-wing politics in Latin America. This was "not the behavior of an ally."
With Putin exercising an iron grip at the helm of the Kremlin for more than a dozen years, it's shocking there are still U.S. foreign policy prognosticators who do not understand how he wields power.
As is fitting for a Russian leader, Putin is a character who literally stepped out of the pages of an epic co-written by Niccolo Machievelli, Leo Tolstoy and Ian Flemming. Putin is a former KGB officer and the strongman ruler of a strong nation. Like Machievelli's prince, Putin is only an ally to the extent that it serves the interests of his country and his ability to rule.
The Kremlin's decision to give Snowden at least temporary refuge on Russian soil is just Putin being Putin. It was surely an irresistible opportunity: a chance to gain access to the man responsible for one of the biggest breaches of national security in U.S. history and to remind Washington that it is not the only powerful player on the world stage.
Equip Tornado Alley schools with storm shelters (5/21/13)
"To not have storm shelters in the schools -- it has to change."
- State Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, May 21, 2013
Putin shameless at levers of propaganda machine (5/6/13)
I have lived in and around Boston for nearly all of my adult life, so I have nothing but scorn and disdain for the ethnic Chechen Tsarnaev brothers' attack on the Boston Marathon.
But Vladimir Putin's claim that the marathon bombing vindicates Russian actions in the North Caucasus, particularly his crackdown on Chechnya, is shamelessly self-serving propaganda. Speaking at an annual question-and-answer session on April 25, Putin said, "I was always appalled when our Western partners and the Western media called the terrorists, who did bloody crimes in our country, 'insurgents,' and almost never ‘terrorists.'"
Moscow has had a literally tortured relationship with Chechnya over the past 70 years, bookended by Stalin's deadly winter 1944 forced deportation of about 400,000 people from Chechnya and the brutal warfare Putin launched on the Chechens in 1999. There's a long history littered with the deaths of innocents that has turned Chechnya into a hotbed for terrorism.
Chechnya has been a blot on Russia's human rights record for the past 20 years. The U.S. State Department's 2012 annual survey on human rights released last month is highly critical of Russia's record in the North Caucasus:
- Rule of law was particularly deficient in the North Caucasus, where conflict among government forces, insurgents, Islamist militants, and criminal forces led to numerous human rights abuses, including killings, torture, physical abuse, and politically motivated abductions.
- There continued to be reports that security forces used indiscriminate force resulting in numerous deaths and that the perpetrators were not prosecuted.
- Armed forces and police units reportedly abused and tortured both rebels and civilians in holding facilities. Human rights groups noted that physical abuse of women was becoming increasingly common in the region.
- Government personnel, rebels, and criminal elements continued to engage in abductions in the North Caucasus.
- Burning the homes of suspected rebels reportedly continued. Memorial (a leading Russian human rights group) reported that on April 22, two days after a special operation in the village of Komsomolskoye in the Gudermes District of Chechnya, armed men in camouflage burned the house belonging to the grandparents of Akhmed Bantaev, one of the men killed in the special operation.
Republicans missing political revival mark (4/20/13)
After polling poorly with everyone except white men in the November 2012 elections, Republicans engaged in collective hand-wringing over broadening the party's appeal. The party's race to become competitive before the 2014 congressional elections has started with Republican lawmakers in Congress stumbling to their knees out of the gate:
- Couldn't or wouldn't cut a deal to stop the meat-axe "sequester" federal budget cuts, which have slowed the job market and probably weakened economic growth overall
- Blocked universal background checks for all gun purchases
- Made little progress on immigration reform
Blogger-activist's trial dangerous Putin political stunt (4/18/13)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has projected a strongman image for years: KGB colonel, Judo expert, hunter, swimmer, pilot, equestrian, fisherman and ruthless Kremlin leader worthy of a leading role in a James Bond movie. Although Putin's publicity stunt machine has misfired recently, the St. Petersburg native has thus far passed the greatest test in Russian politics: time. Putin has held sway in the Kremlin directly or indirectly for more than a dozen years.
One of Putin's most vocal critics, anti-corruption blogger Aleksei Navalny, faces upto 10 years in prison on embezzlement charges that are viewed as at least politically tainted, and at most politically directed. Local prosecutors dismissed the charges against Navalny, but federal prosecutors revived the case after the 36-year-old helped lead huge Moscow street protests against Putin's government in 2011.
The attempt to use the federal courts against a political opponent is ominous even by Putin's Bond villain standards. The strongman is playing with fire. Domestically, Putin runs the risk of cementing Navalny's status as the top opposition leader in the country. Internationally, the trial is publicizing a top concern about Russia's new market economy: corruption.
For the past five years, Navalny has exposed graft at major Russian companies and natural resources monopolies, including:
- VTB Bank's oil drill purchase scam estimated at $156 million
- Transneft's Chinese oil pipeline embezzlement estimated at $4 billion
- Federal government fraud such as rigged contracts documented at $56 million
Movie-goers would love seeing Putin playing himself opposite Roger Craig in the next Bond film. /Image via itv.com
Venezuela's socialist experiment enters new phase (4/15/13)
The socialist experiment in Venezuela continues, with Nicolas Maduro, who served as foreign minister and vice president under Hugo Chavez, winning an incredibly thin victory in Sunday's election. Maduro has pledged to follow in his mentor's footsteps. But his country is politically polarized as well as facing a host of domestic economic and social problems.
Chavez's so-called socialist revolution is at a crossroads. Power outages are frequent in a country with the largest known oil reserves in the world. Capriles ran his campaign almost entirely on the government's mismanagement, waste and corruption as steward of the $1 trillion in oil production revenue generated during Chavez's 14 years as president. NPR reports: "Venezuelans are afflicted by chronic power outages, crumbling infrastructure, unfinished public works projects, double-digit inflation, food and medicine shortages, and rampant crime."
With such a narrow margin of victory and such widespread abuse of public office, Maduro would be wise to heed Capriles' call to clean up the government. Finding Capriles a ministry post would be a good start.
Orwell fiction reveal facts about North Korea (4/8/13)
/Image via www.bite.ca
I wish George Orwell was still alive to provide the world with an insightful analysis of Kim Jong-un and the totalitarian North Korean government. It should come as no surprise that the quotes below from Orwell's masterpieces, 1984 and Animal Farm, are as revealing about the Hermit Nation as anything you will read, hear or see in the media today.
The Korean Workers' Party is nearly a mirror image of the humanity-crushing Party described in 1984: The state has a monopoly on information, a cult of personality helps keep the government's leader in power, citizens are constantly whipped into a frenzy of fear over attack from foreign invaders, and anyone who dares to dissent or defect runs the risk of persecution as a political prisoner.
From 1984:
- Do you begin to see, then, what kind of world we are creating? It is the exact opposite of the stupid hedonistic Utopias that the old reformers imagined. A world of fear and treachery and torment, a world of trampling and being trampled upon, a world which will grow not less but more merciless as it refines itself. Progress in our world will be progress toward more pain.
- The three slogans of the Party:
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH - Never again will you be capable of ordinary human feeling. Everything will be dead inside you. Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or joy of living, or laughter, or curiosity, or courage, or integrity. You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty and then we shall fill you with ourselves.
- We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power.
- The ideal set up by the Party was something huge, terrible, and glittering—a world of steel and concrete, of monstrous machines and terrifying weapons—a nation of warriors and fanatics, marching forward in perfect unity, all thinking the same thoughts and shouting the same slogans, perpetually working, fighting, triumphing, persecuting—three hundred million people all with the same face.
- All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
- It had become usual to give Napoleon the credit for every successful achievement and every stroke of good fortune. You would often hear one hen remark to another, “Under the guidance of our leader, Comrade Napoleon, I have laid five eggs in six days” or two cows, enjoying a drink at the pool, would exclaim, “thanks to the leadership of Comrade Napoleon, how excellent this water tastes!"
- They had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes.
Venezuela: Democracy vs. autocracy (3/3/13)
A new political era appears to be dawning in Venezuela.
Hugo Chavez's cancer battle has set off jockeying for the country's next election, which could come soon if illness claims the Latin American autocrat.
At the very least, the Chavez cult of personality will never be the same. In the former army paratrooper's last public address three month's ago, an emotional Chavez said he faced a mortal fight against cancer.
Although it was fascinating watching how a dictator operates, I will not miss hours-long television displays of Chavez lording over government officials and ordering tank deployments in front of a national audience. Whether or not Chavez can hold on much longer, it will be fascinating to watch whether change in Venezuelan politics will be democratic or autocratic.
Honest American C. Everett Koop dies at 96 (2/25/13)
Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop was a rare Washington official: He didn't give a damn about politics and he wasn't afraid to tell the ugly truth about powerful interests.
USA Today, CNN, Reuters and other news outlets reported some of the flood of praise for Koop that followed his death today:
"As one of our country's greatest surgeons general, he effectively promoted health and the prevention of disease, thereby improving millions of lives in our nation and across the globe." - C. Everett Koop Institute
"Dr. Koop did more than take care of his individual patients -- he taught all of us about critical health issues that affect our larger society." - Dartmouth College President Carol L. Folt.
"Dr. Koop was not only a pioneering pediatric surgeon but also one of the most courageous and passionate public health advocates of the past century. He did not back down from deeply rooted health challenges or powerful interests that stood in the way of needed change. Instead, he fought, he educated, and he transformed lives for the better." - Wiley Souba, dean of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College
"He saved countless lives through his leadership in confronting the public health crisis that came to be known as AIDS and standing up to powerful special interests like the tobacco companies." U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.
Open letter to N.H. congressional delegation (2/23/13)
Feb. 24, 2013
N.H. Congressional Delegation
Capitol Hill
Washington, D.C. 20002
Dear Senators and U.S. Representatives,
I was an extremely proud New Hampshire voter this fall, when the elections installed the nation's first-ever all-women congressional delegation. But I am extremely disappointed this winter, as Congress continues to fail its Constitutional obligations to steward the federal government’s finances.
The ongoing uncertainty over federal taxing and spending – set to be punctuated March 1 with the sequester’s automatic budget cuts – is bad for the country and bad government. After all the suffering millions of Americans and billions more around the world have endured since the Financial Collapse of 2008, fostering the U.S. economic recovery must be a top priority in Washington.
I will not support any of you in the ballot box again unless all of you take an active and constructive role to help break the Capitol Hill gridlock over the federal budget. I urge all four of you to seek out common ground across party lines, to press yourselves and your congressional colleagues to put aside political expediency and put the interests of the country first, and to restore faith in the U.S. government’s ability to function effectively.
Congress is holding the federal government’s purse strings with paralyzed hands. Be part of the cure that gets those hands moving again.
Respectfully,
Chris Cheney
Concord, N.H.
Lord Monckton: Right-wing extremist poster boy (2/17/13)
What do global warming deniers, Obama birthers and Australian racists all have in common? Lord Christopher Monckton, third viscount of Brenchley.
This week, Monckton became the most prominent supporter of Rise Up Australia, a new national political party Down Under devoted to opposing Muslim immigration in Australia and rolling back the country's multicultural policies. At an event launching Rise Up Australia, Monckton said, "It is not for me as a Brit to endorse any Australian political party, ... but I'm going to anyway."
In December 2012, the ex-journalist and adviser to former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was thrown out of the United Nations-sponsored climate change conference in Doha, Qatar, after he impersonated a member of the Burmese delegation. Drawing heckling from the other delegates, Monckton told the assembly: "In the 16 years we have been coming to these conferences, there has been no global warming at all. If we were to take action, the cost of that would be many times greater than the cost of taking adaptation measures later. So my recommendation is that we should initiate a review of the science to make sure we are all on the right track."
The viscount of Brenchley was not only expelled from the Doha conference but also banned for life from attending future U.N. climate change talks.
And here's what Monckton had to say in March 2012 about the authenticity of Barack Obama's birth certificate posted on the White House website: "It appears in layers on the screen in such a way you can remove quite separately each of the individual dates. You use Adobe Illustrator and each of the individual dates is in its own separate layer. This thing has been fabricated. Sheriff (Joe) Arpaio of Arizona has had a team on this for six months. And he has now gone public and said there’s something very desperately wrong with this and of course nobody is saying anything because the entire electorate has been fooled."
Here are some historical facts to consider: racism is a scourge on humanity that has fueled the slaughter of millions, the vast majority of the world's scientists have concluded not only that the Earth's atmosphere is warming but also that carbon dioxide from human activity is to blame, and Donald Trump is the only other prominent person on the planet who believes Obama was born in Kenya.
Hate the government until you need its help (2/10/13)
There is a faction of extremist conservatives in the U.S. Congress who are trying to bring the government to its knees. As my folksy mom would say, they are determined to throw the baby out with the bath water.
All U.S. citizens should be disgusted when their elected representatives and other public servants waste taxpayer dollars or, even worse, commit fraud to line their own pockets. But strangling the government to the point where it cannot function effectively in a cynical effort to prove government is a luxury we cannot afford is a huge disservice to the public servants who answer the call when their fellow citizens' lives are in danger.
Please find below images of government employees who rose to the challenge when Hurricane Sandy and Winter Storm Nemo wreaked devastation on the Northeast.
/Image via huffingtonpost.com
/Image via businessinder.com
/Image via twitchy.com
/Image via weather.com
/Image via army.mil
/Image via observer.com
/Image via huffingtonpost.com
Chambliss' parting shots heap shame on Congress (1/25/13)
Two-term U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss seems like the kind of lawmaker most American voters say they want: A politician willing to put partisanship and even principle aside for the greater good of the country.
In 2011 as part of the "Gang of Six," Chambliss showed a willingness to compromise on his conservative principles to help broker a bipartisan deal on the U.S. government's debt ceiling, with the plan calling for spending cuts and tax code reform. Tea Party activists and other leaders in Georgia's Republican Party base have criticized him ever since, and he was certain to face a stiff primary election challenge from the right in 2014.
In Friday's announcement about his plan to retire, Chambliss took some well-aimed parting shots at Congress:
“I have no doubt that had I decided to be a candidate, I would have won re-election. In these difficult political times, I am fortunate to have actually broadened my support around the state and the nation due to the stances I have taken.
“Instead, this is about frustration, both at a lack of leadership from the White House and at the dearth of meaningful action from Congress, especially on issues that are the foundation of our nation’s economic health. The debt-ceiling debacle of 2011 and the recent fiscal-cliff vote showed Congress at its worst and, sadly, I don’t see the legislative gridlock and partisan posturing improving anytime soon. For our nation to be strong, for our country to prosper, we cannot continue to play politics with the American economy.”
Chambliss sounds a lot like former U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, who wrote a March 2012 opinion piece in The Washington Post explaining her reasons for retiring from politics:
"I have spoken on the floor of the Senate for years about the dysfunction and political polarization in the institution. Simply put, the Senate is not living up to what the Founding Fathers envisioned. ...
"The Senate of today routinely jettisons regular order, as evidenced by the body’s failure to pass a budget for more than 1,000 days; serially legislates by political brinkmanship, as demonstrated by the debt-ceiling debacle of August (2011) that should have been addressed the previous January; and habitually eschews full debate and an open amendment process in favor of competing, up-or-down, take-it-or-leave-it proposals. ...
"One difficulty in making the Senate work the way it was intended is that America’s electorate is increasingly divided into red and blue states, with lawmakers representing just one color or the other. Before the 1994 election, 34 senators came from states that voted for a presidential nominee of the opposing party. That number has dropped to just 25 senators in 2012. The result is that there is no practical incentive for 75 percent of the senators to work across party lines.
"The great challenge is to create a system that gives our elected officials reasons to look past their differences and find common ground if their initial party positions fail to garner sufficient support. In a politically diverse nation, only by finding that common ground can we achieve results for the common good. That is not happening today and, frankly, I do not see it happening in the near future."
Blurting Thomas breaks silence over Yale trash talk (1/15/13)
Clarence Thomas, one of the most uncompromising jurists to ever serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, has broken his silence marathon ... sort of.
It took a bit of trash talk about Yale Law School graduates from fellow arch-conservative Antonin Scalia to squeeze four words out of the taciturn Thomas, who had not spoken a word during oral arguments before the high court in seven years.
His blurted sentence fragment on Jan. 14 is anti-climatic, to say the least: "Well, he did not ..."
The newest parlor game in Washington must be finishing Thomas' comeback line.
"Well, he did not ...
"... wallow drunk in the gutter outside Harvard Law School like you, Tony."
"Well, he did not ...
"... support Al Gore in the 2000 election case like your Harvard buddies."
"Well, he did not ...
"... kiss up to the president on Obamacare like Roberts did."
Go ahead and play at home. It's fun!
Daniel Inouye, a great American, dies at 88 (12/17/12)
It's hard to think of anyone who loved his country more than Medal of Honor recipient Daniel Inouye.
Back when I was much younger and much more idealistic, Daniel Inouye led a congressional investigation of U.S. government dirty tricks that had helped prop up Iran during its long war with Iraq and supported the Nicaraguan Contra rebels, who President Reagan had dubbed "freedom fighters" for trying to overthrow the Central American country's socialist government. While following the hearings on TV and National Public Radio, I was mesmerized not only by the cabal in the White House that had hatched and orchestrated a blatently illegal plot but also by Inouye, who had a knack for blending senatorial courtesy with a fearless commitment to protecting democratic institutions and the rule of law.
While most of the Iran Contra scandal perpetrators escaped justice, Inouye made sure their "shadowy government" was exposed and dismantled.
During World War II, Inouye was among a select few Japanese-American patriots who were allowed to served in the U.S. military; most were assigned to the Army's the 442nd Infantry Regiment. Thousands of other Japanese-Americans from the West Coast were detained in prison camps. Inouye's regiment, considered one of the most decorated combat units in U.S. Army history, was shipped to Europe to fight the Germans and Italians ... Japanese-Americans had been deemed untrustworthy to fight against Japan.
Second Lt. Daniel Inouye was awarded the Medal of Honor for "extraordinary heroism in action" in April 1945 near San Terenzo, Italy. According to the presidential citation awarding Inouye the Medal of Honor:
"While attacking a defended ridge guarding an important road junction, Second Lieutenant Inouye skillfully directed his platoon through a hail of automatic weapon and small arms fire, in a swift enveloping movement that resulted in the capture of an artillery and mortar post and brought his men to within 40 yards of the hostile force. Emplaced in bunkers and rock formations, the enemy halted the advance with crossfire from three machine guns. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Second Lieutenant Inouye crawled up the treacherous slope to within five yards of the nearest machine gun and hurled two grenades, destroying the emplacement. Before the enemy could retaliate, he stood up and neutralized a second machine gun nest. Although wounded by a sniper’s bullet, he continued to engage other hostile positions at close range until an exploding grenade shattered his right arm. Despite the intense pain, he refused evacuation and continued to direct his platoon until enemy resistance was broken and his men were again deployed in defensive positions."
Daniel Inouye loved his native Hawaii as much as he loved his country. According to a statement on his Senate website, the last word he spoke was "Aloha."
Dearest Europe: Don't forget our past (12/10/12)
Times have been really tough on all our families these past few years. Your relatives here in the U.S. have been watching the troubles you have been having in your family, and we're deeply worried about you.
First and foremost, we really love you and we're not trying to be judgmental. While some can certainly argue that we stole her from your family, you gave us our greatest gift: beautiful, placid Canada. We hope you can all see how the strong relationship we have with her is one of our greatest treasures. We hope you can see the treasures in your own relationships with one another.
Financial woes have the potential to strain any family, and we wish there was more we could do to help solve your debt crisis. This kind of problem should be settled between family members, and we are not trying to meddle, just support you through this difficult situation. The best advice we can offer is for you to stick together, to look past your current struggles to a far more prosperous future, and look to the past, where the divided European family turned on itself time and again with horrific consequences.
To our western and northern European relatives, we know how hard you have worked to educate your children and build strong financial foundations for your homes and businesses. We also know it will take patience and commitment to help your southern clans develop a comparable level of financial strength and discipline. Please don't give up on them, many of whom like elders Greece, Italy and Spain have contributed greatly to the family institutions and culture that bind all of us together.
Germany, Germany. You've always been one of the smartest and most industrious members in our extended family. When it comes to holding your European family together through this debt crisis, you probably bear the heaviest burden. We know it's not fair for someone who has worked so hard and been so responsible to sacrifice for family members who have not lived up to their responsibilities. But you have tried to go it alone or impose your will on your European brothers and sisters several times in the past 150 years, and everyone in the family paid a terrible price.
To our southern European relatives, we know how hard it is to compete with members of our global family, to carve out a comfortable niche in an ever-changing world. We also know how ungrateful some family members must appear in your time of need ... ungrateful of your considerable contributions to the European family such as democracy, architectual innovations and your leading role in the Renaissance many centuries ago. But there are some aspects of your modern lifestyle, such as over reliance on government subsidies, that you will have to change to keep your family together.
To our eastern European relatives, you are the long-lost loved ones who only recently were welcomed as full-fledged members of the European family. Don't despair over the forces threatening to pull your kin apart after enduring decades of painful hardship on a long road home. Do your utmost to encourage your squabbling European siblings to not only settle their differences but also reaffirm their commitment to each other and move forward with a shared sense of purpose.
We in the U.S. ask all of these things not just for our European family but for our own. Since the great discords of the last century, everyone on both sides of the Atlantic has thrived most when our families have tackled challenges with unity and cooperation.
With peace and love,
Your U.S. family
Escaping gridlock's deadly grasp (11/27/12)
The Fiscal Cliff, a sputtering global economy and Iranian nuclear ambitions are huge problems. But President Obama's biggest second-term challenge will be finding a way to work legislation through the U.S. House of Representatives, which is controlled by a conservative Republican majority.
The stakes are far larger than Obama's legacy, the jockeying for pole positions in the 2016 presidential race and even the recovery of the U.S. economy from the Great Recession. The paralyzing gridlock that characterized Obama's first term has called into question the ability of the U.S. government to function effectively. In addition to being the world's largest economy, international and domestic investors have long looked to the United States as a safe haven for their money and other capital because of the enduring and predictable nature of America's democratic system of government.
In a nutshell, a revitalized U.S. economy is only part of what is required to renew confidence in the United States at home and abroad. Political leaders in Washington and state houses across the country must find ways to work together to solve problems. They must prove that the good of the country outweighs the good of their parties.
Capital and labor are more mobile than ever before in the history of civilization. If you have money to invest or are looking for a job, the United States is far from your only option. We've already seen millions of U.S. jobs outsourced to cheaper labor markets. With the ongoing errosion of confidence in the U.S. government, one of the biggest dangers facing the United States now is the allocation of capital to other countries such as Brazil, India and Russia.
In his farewell address as president of the United States, George Washington warned of the dangers political parties pose to the functioning of a democracy:
I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally.
This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.
U.S. democracy's "worst enemy" is stronger than ever and threatens the country's standing as one of the greatest nations on Earth.
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