Integrated Man

Law and Justice . . . and the Looting of America

"You go to court for law; not justice.  Law and justice are not the same thing. Never confuse them."

Those words were spoken back in 1963, not by a supreme court justice, not by a lawyer, but by a street cop I knew. He was my father.  The statement was made as a throw-away remark reflecting on a day in which he appeared in court as the arresting officer on a case in which he believed Dame Justice had suffered not a miscarriage, but an abortion. In his observation, it was regrettable, though not uncommon.

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.

Obama Was Right on Health Care

Obama was right to make health care his number 1.2 priority (along with propping up the financial system long enough for it to a) sort itself out or b) subject it to more responsible regulation (neither of which have occurred to date). I recognize that this flies in the face of conventional wisdom as proffered in the business and political punditry. Whatever.

But if you believe that the strength of the private sector, the preservation of jobs, and the control of the long term trajectory of the public debt at all levels are critical, then I would argue unequivocally that health care was and is the single most proactive strategic initiative that Obama could pursue.

Gates Gets Energy

Bill Gates gets energy, almost.

In today's Politico, he addresses the need for a concerted long term energy policy.  He comes closer to the speech that Obama has yet to give, and has possibly lost the opportunity to give.  But Bill, too, has yet to go the distance. He has yet to tell the public what it must know. In the face of dwindling long term supply of fossil fuels and increasing world demand, energy innovation and evolution is not an option but a necessity. Without it, economic and ultimately civil failure is not an option but a probability.

Are We on Frack?

I  read an article in the New York Times on the recent East Coast earthquake of 2011, August 23rd. You may remember that it didn't put the big numbers on the board (Magnitude 5.8) that the West Coast typically enjoys, but it had a much larger audience (like most of the eastern seaboard). Its damage was more symbolic than substantive.  It put cracks in the Washington Monument and National Cathedral, compromising structures we typically think of as enduring and eternal, perhaps more so than the underlying institutions they symbolize.

Strategic Reserves, Strategic Reservations

They pulled the trigger.  Was it a bang?  Or a Pop? More importantly, will the projectile of a joint release from the IEA members' strategic petroleum reserves prove to be a ricochet that produces a self-inflicted wound?

Much of the immediate commentary in the business press since yesterday's announcement has been superficial and unenlightening. 

End Game

When my daughters were growing up, and coming to me for advice on some crucial problem in their lives, I would put them through a three question drill to clarify the issue (not necessarily resolve it):

1)    What's the worst outcome you can anticipate?

2)    Are you prepared to accept it?

3)    If not, what are you capable of doing and willing to do to prevent it?

Again, these questions do not resolve the issue, but they set the boundaries of possible consequences and responses.  It seems that a lot of adults in high places need to ask these questions on some critical issues.

Libya, The War Powers Act, and the Rule of Law

One of America's glaring hypocrisies is to lecture the world on the 'Rule of Law' as we contrive infinite stratagems to bypass, bend, fold or mutilate it, if we do not just outright ignore it.  Libya and the War Powers Act is an excellent case in point.  The only humor in this is that the Administration's contention that the US is not engaged in hostilities is more absurd than Anthony Weiner's assertion that he could not positively affirm the identity of his personal 'real estate' in a photo that he took.

Beware the Avatar!

The following interesting piece happened across my screen this morning, courtesy of Forbes.com newsletter: "Should Artificial Intelligences be Granted Civil Rights?"  

At first thought, this seemed the logical extension of the Supreme Court's illogical extension of campaign funding privileges to corporations.  The next stop will be voting rights. And then came a whole flood of equally preposterous possibilities that spawn in the toxic political/cultural/social environment that provides our off-cable reality shows.

Energy: A Few Unanswered Questions

Context is everything.  Nothing exists in a vacuum. Yet many of the issues relating to energy options are discussed as absolutes, devoid of context. Many options are sold as virtues, un-netted by their offsetting potential liabilities.  This suggests either genuine ignorance by supposedly enlightened people, or self-serving disingenousness. Either way. It leads to bad policy, and worse consequences.

A few examples to illustrate: