Integrated Man

The Republican Stealth Ticket

Call me crazy, but I have to believe that the Republican Party is only half as dumb as it looks, based on the current crop of personalities masking as Presidential candidates.  If you take them at face value, they all share the characteristic of ego at some multiple of native intellect. None seem to have a credible chance of beating Obama in the general election, even with historic trends portending an incumbent defeat.  At this moment, Obama's chief strength is the relative weakness of his opponents, most of whom will arrive at the convention DOA.

So what if...

It's the Environment, Stupid!

First, let me apologize for the lack of creativity in the title. If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, then Bill deserves his due.  More to the point, though, is that the original hook of the nineties deserves, indeed demands, to be updated to the new century, with its new priorities.

How do you recycle a culture?

How do you recycle a culture?

We know how to recycle bottles and cardboard and other forms of waste.  But in what bin do you put an entire culture, or the larger part of it?

Let's start with Black Friday.

The Republican Party's Vision of America's Future

As an auditor, I learned early that when a perceived situation seems utterly crazy when judged by expected criteria, it is often because the subject is operating on otherwise rational, but non-standard, assumptions or objectives. Stated more simply, ' crazy ' is a relative judgment.

I have struggled for the past two years to find a rational comprehension of the Republican vision of America's future. I have concluded that the term ' rational '  should be removed from the criteria. That leaves the perception of Republican strategy as a condition best described as ' fog of war ' rather than a coherent statement of policy goals.

So, what is the Republican Party's vision of America's future?

Afghanistan.

Onward

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It's All Illusion

Image is everything.  Or at least 99%, or so it seems.

It obviously worked for Madoff, but the sad truth seems to be that Madoff was just a petty thief compared to our more accomplished operators.

In 2008, September 18, my blog  explored the conditions that have eroded our trust in everything, just as the true dimensions of our financial crisis were beginning to manifest.  We are now three years down the road from those momentous events. And the echos persist.

The False Economics of Fossil Fuels

Reading Bernard Weinstein’s letter in the Time’s November 2 edition, I am reminded that we continue to fail to grasp the failure of our supposedly 'free market system' to effectively price key commodities, if that is in fact its intent, and not merely a philosophical mantra.  Let us begin with the first sentence of Mr. Weinstein's letter:

 “As “Future of Solar and Wind Power May Hinge on Federal Aid” (Energy, special section, Oct. 26) points out, the renewable power industry has become addicted to federal subsidies and probably can’t stand on its own without them.”

We can acknowledge that the renewable energy industry is addicted to federal subsidies at present and for the foreseeable future.  But let us apply Mr. Weinstein’s metaphor of addiction fairly.  Society is addicted to fossil fuel dependent energy.  If we are the junkies, Big Oil and Coal are the pushers.