With the election being a little more than a month away, the airways have been inundated with political talk shows; op-ed’s, call-in’s, write-in’s, you name it!  The thing that strikes me about politics lately is the hypocrisy that exist in media these days and the lack of understanding of our own history.

Since the Republican’s hold the White House let me talk about them for a second. 

Traditionally, the Republican Party have been for a small federal government; fiscal responsible spending [they were always at odds with Democrats and their social welfare programs]; and they were the ones who were considered the ‘elitist party’ always nominating the ‘best and the brightest’.  Why the Republican Party has since changed their mantra is an essay for another time. I hear cries of ‘foul! And’ traitor!’ here. [The Democrats too have changed but I have to keep this under 740 words, a critique for another time.] We have become so decisive that nobody can challenge another person’s view any more without being called a traitor to their country. Nothing could be more patriotic than challenging each other’s views to do better. As Thomas Jefferson said ‘Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.’  We were founded and created on the idea that there will always be a struggle on how this country should work. The role of Congress and our Federal Government is to freely exchange those ideas to protect our society ‘as a whole’ and to uphold the US Constitution.  The role of religion in politics is… that there should be none. This country was not founded on Christian ideals as some would have you believe. It is true that many of the Founding Fathers were Christian. However, they fled England precisely because of religious persecution.  They knew there was no room for religion in politics. Religion was meant to be a moral guide at best. Not an institution of which to bend the Constitution’s ideals around to fit a religious agenda.  The New World would be a melting pot of ideas, religion, and customs. What makes this country great is the influx of different people from around the world on the idea that with hard work anything is possible. I’d ask yourself if you really think those ideals still exist? We have become a two-tiered nation. The have’s and the have-not’s. [In my view, unless you’re making a minimum of mid-six figure income, the Republican Party does not represent you.].  I hear ‘Traitor’ again.

People now a days, can’t see the candidates as themselves-only people in red and blue. Strip away the labels and stop listening to opinionated radio shows and definitely stop watching tv news programs. The media knows no bounds when covering a candidate. However, if anybody is ‘the pot calling the kettle black’, it’s the right not the left. These shameless tactics have been exploring new lows- and it’s something we all learned recently under the Republican Rule and their ‘Swift boat’ tactics. Say what you will about the left media, it’s the right as exemplified by Fox, that have stooped to new lows in what it calls ‘news’ these past several years. The simple truth is everyone is guilty, Fox news, as well as MSNBC and the rest. Some of it isn’t even substantiated news but mere gossip. They both grossly distort news to fit their parent company’s political views. Hey! Here’s a news flash: “You’re not watching news people! You’re watching political advertisements!” However, maybe we get what we deserve? Maybe the media distorts and take things out of context because us people are dumb enough to believe it? If you want to know what’s going in the world, go read a newspaper. If you want to make an informed and balance decision, go read several newspapers  from both left and right views.

This election day, don’t ask yourself what Party is he in- but ask yourself what role do you see the federal Government playing and does that candidate best fit our Society’s needs? The next President will truly have a daunting task ahead of him. He will need to get control of an unwieldy federal government that’s resistant to change; rebuild working relationships here at home as well as abroad; jump start our economy; tackle our dependence on oil; invest in alternative fuels; reduce our enormous debt ; all the while strengthen our military to protect us from terrorist threats abroad. Both candidates will be an improvement from our current President…but which one will get us to where we need to be faster?

“I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”
- James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son 

Architectural and fine art photographer…

however, the best way to explain what I do- is to show you:

www.emmarcusphotography.com

If we are ever to move away from our dependence from oil, the answers are not to be found in more drilling. The demand for oil is growing and the supply diminishing.

The debate over when the supply is depleted is whether it’s 10 years from now or 50? The only difference between the two is that we have room to make some decisions now without sacrificing too much of our “creature comforts.” The longer we wait to transition to some type of alternative fuel, the less options we will have. 

We must not fear such a transition to alternative energy. We should embrace these changes. Living more efficiently is just another way of being self-sufficient, and since when is that a bad thing? It would mean wasting less and using more of what we have, in a better way. 

Think of all that has happened in the past two years as a direct result of high gas prices – more carpooling, more people using public transportation, biking, buying more efficient cars and appliances; gardening at home, building more modest and efficient homes, shopping and eating locally more often…and so.

Think what else we could do in two more years if this trend continued with the support of our government? Al Gore’s speech of reducing our carbon foot print within 10 years could be achievable if the US government spent the same amount of money it did in the Iraq war in renewable and alternative energy! 

Yet, we live in a political year and despite the good things that have been done, the historic high of almost $140 a barrel for oil has has captured the attention of the media and caused lawmakers to revise their electoral prospects and created a renewed call for more drilling..’Drill here, drill now, drill everywhere!’  

In The Economist, “Twelve years after an infamous spill from a well off Santa Barbara in 1969, Congress barred the government from issuing new offshore leases anywhere but in the western Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. By the government’s own reckoning, there are some 18 billion barrels of oil to be discovered in the restricted areas — enough to supply all America’s needs for two-and-a-half years.”

None of the new oil would be available for public use for at least 10 years,. A recent article in US News & World Report, “What you have is a scarcity of resources,’ said Dory Stiles, investor relations manager for Murphy Oil Corp. ‘Companies are looking for more opportunities to explore.’”

The article goes on to say, that even if Congress were to open the entire Gulf for drilling, there still would be serious constraints to drilling such as a limited supply of equipment and labor.

Only a limited number of shipyards can build the $700 million platform rigs used for drilling and the current orders are going to Brazil, West Africa and Southeast Asia. It could take years just to get a new oil platform to even begin exploration.

Perhaps the 1969 oil disaster is a thing of the past, but for communities who rely on beach tourism, can we really afford to take that chance?

Katrina was a 1 in 100-year storm. How many times do we need to roll the dice before we start making the right decision and not just the easy one?

Tthe real issue is looking forward to the future and not to the past. If drilling is going to alleviate our oil problem for only two years, aren’t we losing site of the bigger picture?

We are dooming ourselves to having the same discussion in 2010 and every year we put off making the tough choices leaving ourselves fewer options as to what we can do. For example, Congress went on vacation and failed to vote on a bill that expires at the end of this year that would allow tax credits and incentives for solar, wind and other renewable energies. 

By not renewing this bill, jobs will be lost in these fields. More money needs to be spent to encourage more investment in these areas not less.

But who cares? Oil is getting cheaper again and all is well, right?

Lawmakers ridiculously claim the recent dip in oil prices is from their public push for more drilling. In fact, the dip in oil prices is a result of three recent things: U.S. talks with Iran (war avoided and so too, major oil disruption); U.S. oil reserves are higher than expected; and Ben Bernake suggested a recession is unavoidable and so the economy slowed down thus creating less demand for oil.

We need to do better and think positively. We need to demand more from ourselves as well as from those who represent us in public office.

Gee. Well let’s see here..It’s been about a year since I last wrote anything of substance…and this probably won’t be ‘of substance’ either. Ahh, but you have to start somewhere.

I’m quickly overwhelmed at the possible topics to blog about: Peak Oil- or to drill or not to drill off shore?; The current election; the importance of ‘keeping it local’; Bicycling whenever possible; The challenges of being in a serious relationship..or… how about Voting?

Let’s talk about that for a second.

When people around the world or Third worlds, have to risk their lives to cast their vote to be heard, whether it be in Pakistan, Iraq, or other places where the general masses feel taken advantage of by the select few who are in power, it makes me think that our attitude about voting in this Country [being the U.S.] should be taking more seriously. We all know the adage of’ voting is a privilege not a right.’ Yet, we Americans are so cynical about politics that many of us think the system is ‘broken’, so why waste your time to vote? A politician is going to say whatever he has to say to get elected and then do whatever he wants to do once in office. Who can differentiate between fact and bullshit? It goes without saying of course, that the power is in the collective of people who are organized and get out there to vote. Historically, voting in this country has seen it’s shares of ups and downs, about who can vote and who should vote.

From WSWS.org, they put it more to the point of “ defense of democratic rights has always been fundamentally a class question. In the past, the disenfranchisement of African Americans in the South was aimed at preventing black and white laborers and farmers from waging a common political struggle against the economic forces that oppressed them. Today, America’s ruling elite increasingly views the traditional forms of bourgeois democracy as an obstacle to its accumulation of wealth.

The defense of basic democratic rights is bound up with building a mass political party that will unite all working people to oppose the two parties of big business and reorganize society on the basis of genuine democracy and social equality, to serve the interests of the vast majority rather than the wealthy few.”

The current Republican Party has traditionally been in favor of less government policies to let the ‘Free-market’ of economics do it’s thing. We have discovered two things these last 8 years: The Republican Party is no longer a party about small government…and that if left to it’s own devices, a ‘free market’ only profits the really wealthy and thus further divides the the gulf that exist between rich and poor.

Class struggles have always existed. From the website of GlobalExchange.org “the richest 20 percent of the world’s population receives 83% of the world’s income, while the poorest 60% of the world’s people receive just 5.6% of the world’s income. The richest 20% of the world’s population in northern industrial countries uses 70% of the world’s energy, 75% of the world’s metals, 85% of the world’s wood, and 60% of the world’s food. This 20% minority is also responsible for producing about 75% of the world’s environmental pollution.”

There are many problems that exist in the world today. Here in the United States, we have our own issues that need to be resolved-from Health care cost, to immigration, to our national Debt to our energy policy, foreclosure rates, banking industry, and so on…  not to mention, in my opinion, we are probably at least responsible for half of the Worlds problems with our involvement, either directly or indirectly, through globalization of trade; tariffs being imposed; military arms being bought and sold, influencing government policy and on and on. My point here again, is to reiterate that the wealthiest 20% control 80% of the world. Here in the United States, and in other Democratic nations, the remaining 80% of the population have the power every couple of years to make change. That’s the power the collective people have. 

Now ‘we the people’, will be met with over zealous police and government policies intent to keep the rich getting richer. Change doesn’t come easy. There will be bureaucratic red-tape to dissuade us; elections might even be stolen from us; wars might be waged on false information; civil liberties might be curtailed in the name of security and so on and so on..All of this because we know that the American people have a tendency to give up easy: ’This is a pain in the ass- just how badly do we want to invest our time in this?’ After all isn’t it easier to just ignore everything and watch tv or play Wii? 

We must be consistent on keeping the pressure on them. One thing history has shown, that when the general public gets mobilized, ‘change’ comes more quickly…er, not necessarily for the better but it does come one way or the other.

It’s an appalling statistic to read that in 2006, the US population of 220,600,000 had 135,889,600 registered voters of which only 80,588,000 voted- meaning 43.6%! We are ranked 23rd, just behind the Canadians with Iceland’s general population ranked the best, with 89% of the population voting.

The power of your vote can be seen more easily at a local level. [Which is funny, because I think most people ignore the local voting contest and only pay attention to the National contest]. Government at a local level is much more accessible, more transparent and easier to be apart of to influence the changes you seek. Policies at a local level will affect and influence your daily life a lot more than government at a national level. You can see that our system of government does work, but only when the general masses get involved. Other wise, local politicians are left to make up their own mind about things and usually, but not always, it’s in their own self interest they make those decisions. Not for the sake or the well being of the general public that they claim.

Yet, here again, voter turnout was a dismal 26% for County Commissioner election in my neck of the woods. I live in an area where probably 80% of the county’s money comes from my area but 80% of the population live to the north of me. We have one representative to their four. Our philosophy on just about anything from World Views to mosquito spraying are probably at polar opposites. So, with an opportunity at this years elections to vote someone into office to properly represent my district came up short on the voters turnout, I was left feeling ‘empty’ and frustrated. I knew that the numbers were against us and if we want to put someone in office, we had better get out there and vote. It seemed more people were aware and were eager to vote this time around.

Maybe I surround myself with too many ‘like-minded’ people?.

How can we want change if we can’t even take advantage of a system that allows us to exercise those changes? It seems like it’s a disease that exists all the way from local politics to the national level. We are stupefied, numb, dumb,misinformed and lazy…maybe it’s informational overload because of the internet iprovides too much work to decipher fact from fiction and it’s much easier to get our news from the tv [which we all know is unbiased, right?]. I don’t know..but I do know that voting in a high numbers would be a step in the right direction to putting the power back into the 80 and not in the 20.

The government claims that the people need more security against ‘outsiders’. In the name of ‘National Security’ they deliberately withhold information to the press, or sensor it all together; obtain bank records ‘legally’ [but unconstitutionally] for back ground checks, as well as unauthorized wire-taps. They even say that people who help these ’suspected’ terrorist by defending them should be punished by the public. They broadcast scare tactics and distort the truth to the general public in order to start a war and then widen it. They tell the general public that it’s ‘us against them’. They insulate themselves with like minded people. All of those who have opposing views are ridiculed publicly, force to retire or worse. They claim it’s within our rights to protect our ‘natural resources’. They claim that the reason our economy is in such bad shape is because of the immigrants- that they are ‘taking over’ and before long we will all be out of work. they even claim that their religion is the only one as well as freely give their opinion on what is acceptable as art.

All of this sounds familiar. Sounds like what’s been going on in the US the last 8 years doesn’t it? It should be interesting to note that I wasn’t talking about the United States. I was referring to Nazi Germany and their political, social and military agenda to achieve what they felt was justifiable means for a better Country.

The media was one of the first things that Hitler took over when he assumed power. The Nazi’s propagand machine is legendary for it’s distortion of the truth and outright lies; taking over radios and newspapers to persuade the general public that it was they who the world was against. The so called immigrants of their time were all Slavic minorities as well as Jews. The nazi’s destroyed all who opposed their ideals in this quest for a superior nation. The purging of all oppostion . What we now call ‘Natural resources’ , they called Lebensraum the desire to acquire more land or space. All of these acts were under the guise of a better world for Germans. .

The idea that another Nazi regime is possible is preposterous ofcourse. It’s an extreme comparison. I don’t believe that the current administration is Hitler-esq. I do believe that in their quest to widen the powers of executive office to fight terrorism, that they trample or simply ignore some basic constitutional principals that this Country was founded upon. The fact that there is even a slight resemblance to Hitler’s taking over Germany should be alarm bells for this Country. Yet, I don’t see it. Like a wise man said once, “you’re paranoid until you get fucked. Then you weren’t so paranoid afterall.”

How did the 3rd Reich start anyway? what were the ‘ingredents’ needed for a totalitarian dictator to take over his country and convince the people his way was right? an Economic depression [also look up Nazi germany's economic policy]? a scapegoat? [ see Consolation of Power and the Reichstag Fire Decree]; the medias distortion of events as fed by the government?; a war that will ‘lead to a better way’?; purging the nation of unwanted minorites?;bending the constitution through so-called ‘legal ways’?; art that is deemed acceptable or degenerate; and a general public that either bought into what was being fed to them or were too scared to fight the government?; or quite possibly was so ignorant or malaise about government affairs that they never believed or better yet never wanted to know what was going on around them. They couldn’t be disturbed from their daily life.

It’s a scary comparison I know. As an American History enthusiast I’d like to think that Democracy is alive and well in America- That our political and Constitutional process still works. These things have meaning to me. Things like Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion and Habeas corpus are all things that should be alive and well….but seem to be slipping as of lately. It should be viewed that opposing views are not necessarily a bad thing- it should not be viewed as some opposition where they are to be incarcerated. It should be that the right to be secure in our homes are still intact. That the idea of the government deciding to eaves-drop in your home with no warrant or court supervision or having your home searched is still unconstitutional. That the media is still our 3rd line of checks and balance against an ‘over active’ government; That one is still innocent until proven guilty; and that our Constitution is a sacred article that is to be revered and adhered to-not manipulated to fit ones agenda. These are the principles I adhere to of what it should mean to be a citizen of the United States.

I’m going to take the lazy man’s way out on this essay and let some one else explain the meaning behind my subject heading. For one, the Fulbright Scholarship student who wrote this is much more informed than I. For another, I’d just be reiterating his paper- so why not just have you read it? I don’t want to water his argument down into a nice 3 paragraph summation. It wouldn’t do it justice.

However, I’ll say this.

Last night I watched Al Gore’s ‘Inconnvient Truth’. It had an impact on me that I wasn’t expecting. He didn’t say much that I had not read already- but when you see it, the pictures, the graphs..it really hits home. As they say, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words.’ There really is no issue greater to my generation than our environment today. The violence in Iraq, as it equates to protecting our interest there-i.e Oil, seems to have a direct correlation to not only our Foreign Affairs but also to our environment. The skeptics can mock and criticize but the more you read and understand and the more you know about this- the more you realize that there is no argument- there are no real skeptics- this is an issue that involves everyone regardless of religion or politics or even money. This is a moral issue that needs everyone’s attention-because it’s something we can change collectively.

The essay is more about how the theft of oil contributes directly to the escalation of violence in Iraq- but tell me if you don’t see the bigger picture here- a connection between oil, war, US foreign policies, our economy and ofcourse,the environment. It’s all related and the common denominator?

You guessed it. Oil.

The Middle East Forum

I have added a website link [See "Bush's Time Line" below] about Bush’s Acts as President. A biased but probably an accurate account of his actions.

Also, for some Bush family history- checkout ‘Bushwatch’ website [again see link below]….as they say, ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’.

I recently read a review that talks about how, in Politics, how we’re so uptight to say precisely the right thing to precisely the right group of people at precisely the right time…we have polls, and numbers and consultants and advisers-and everything is so planned out in advance that when we citizens finally do hear the speech-it’s so blase, scripted and unemotional that it’s uninspiring.

People are no longer inspired. Especially by Politicians.

why? because it’s recognized that nobody has the courage to say what needs to be said. Those inconvenient truths [pun intended] that nobody wants to hear? it doesn’t have to be pessimism. It can be reality- but it can be the blunt truth. Since when did we become thin skinned as to not be able to stand the truth? Is there no one that can speak from the gut any more? is there nobody who can say the unvarnished truth. And when I say the the ‘truth’- I mean precisely that- the honest no bull-shit truth. I do not mean words that will get one elected.  Are the days of people like Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, and Harry Truman dead? Why is it people watch sports and are always rooting for the underdogs? why do we go to movies? why do we admire people who strive for something that seems unattenable? Marvel at people who can climb Mt.Everest? Or even raise themselves out of poverty and put themselves through school? Or better yet..put their kids through school? It’s all for the same reason- they inspire us to dream of the impossible. Maybe I’m wrong and Politicians today just can’t afford to say the unvarnished truth without it being political suicide- but I sure wouldn’t mind someone trying that approach… even just a little bit.

I leave you with a poem by Rudyard Kipling:

‘IF’

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!

Recently upon reading an op-ed column in the New York Times, I came across a passage where the author talks about how congress helped the demise of the US auto industry by not imposing a minimum higher gas mileage per vehicle. I did not know that the US Auto industry voluntarily chose not to make a better vehicle. Now all US vehicles are years behind the European and Japanese cars. It dawned on me upon reading this article that the US Government is in most ways a ‘reactionary government’. There is no foresight with us. Our entire government throughout history has never acted first to a looming problem, threat or domestic issue…or when we did act first it was over reaching itself on some paranoid and delusional issue which thus ended in disaster: things like Prohibition, the imprisonment of American Japanese in detention centers during WWII; Bay of Pigs invasion, Vietnam and McCarthyism, all come to mind, but you could probably add Iraq and now greenhouse gases and general waste. It’s not just wars that our government reacted that way too- all kinds of things were dealt in this way. Seat belts weren’t installed in cars till people started reporting horrific deaths from accidents…baby locks on cabinet doors to keep poison away from kids, traffic lights, etc, etc. It seems that an issue has to arise, attorneys get involved and file a suit and then-laws and policies change. Sometimes for the better and sometimes not. There’s a problems and then we fix it…. or some industrious savvy person invents the solution.

Well, we have a problem that’s been looming since I was a kid in the 70’s. Our environment..and nobody seems willing to do anything about it. We used to be an industrious, inventive society where everyone wanted to immigrate too, get their education from, be like us, live like us… where hard work and creativity could get you far. Well, the pendulum seems to be shifting. We may still be the ideal democratic country in the world but we no longer carry that status of Greatness. Less and less people want to immigrate to the US- for one it’s just getting too expensive to live here. The dollar is not as strong as it used to be and so the exchange rate is far less. Our higher education system which used to be the epitome of the world, is slowly slipping. We seem to be resting on our achievements from years past and just re- marketing things – but it’s the same crappy product.

I don’t think there’s any deny that we are polluting ourselves and that greenhouse gas is a real issue. Yet, there seems to be some-debate on what to do about it. It’s true the long term solution may be a little hazy but there are some things we can do today that will undeniably make a difference for the better. It’s true, we are lazy people in general [after all we did invent the fast-food chain, no?]…and we almost never get ‘active’ until it directly effects us in a way we can relate too or one that becomes impossible to ignore. for instance maybe there was nothing we could have done to prevent Hurricane Katrina from hitting New Orleans-and i’m not saying it was a result of greenhouses gases [although it could be] but we could have minimized the destruction had our government listen to the Army Core of Engineers when years ago they stated and published a report that the levee and canals need serious repair. This is just a small example of The writing was on the wall but nobody was reading it. It’s my hope that we stop becoming a reactionary government and start having some foresight. Still, till that day comes, we can still do things that can have a huge impact on our environment- and I profess, I am not an expert- and so, surely there are even more things one can do to benefit our surroundings, other than the list of things I’m about to mention here: companies should have an e-waste recycling program- I recently read that Nigeria was being so overloaded on e-waste that it is about to announce that it could no longer receive anymore shipments; people and states should be recycling in general; take your own bag to the grocery store and cut down plastic and paper consumptions; use energy efficient light bulbs and appliances in your home; turn off lights in rooms that you are not using; minimize water usage [things like do not water your lawn during the day where 90% evaporates before getting to the roots- better yet, don't have a lawn at all]; you could even think about choosing to live in a community that’s self sufficient- a place where biking to work is an option. Non of these things should be looked upon as doomsday preventives- all of these things are simply using what we have in a better smarter and more efficient way. But if we do ignore our surroundings for much longer things could get much more serious. If we start to demand better products from companies and our government than they will change to meet the demand….till they show they have foresight to current solutions they need to react to our demands. We need to be the ones with foresight and to do so we have to be the ones to initiate the change.

Again, the writing is on the wall,  but the question remains when will people start reading it?

Our Firm Volunteered for a Charity event ‘Cabins for Kids’  and just about everybody in our firm chipped in from head to toe. It was kind of  fun. The picture in the center was a hair-rasing event of them moving it to the site as it wobbled to-and-fro on the fork lift. At any rate… the auction starts this week! Keep you posted as to how high the bid goes!