Uncle Walter for President

DC Opinion: The Purple Line vs Rail

The Washington D.C. Metro area has subway system linking many portions of the city with the surrounding areas in Virginia and Maryland. The system is used by many on a daily basis and allows the Washington area to operate when snow blocks the roads and minimizes traffic on the already congested streets. As the original tunnels expanded outward into the suburbs those who lived on the edge of the lines are forced to travel a very long time at a higher cost to get to some areas even without switching trains. For example someone who hops on at Shady Grove will have to take near an hour to reach Glenmont even though they are both on the Red Line and geographically realtivly close. 

After years of planning and screaming a new line is in the plans known as the Purple Line. It would connect both sides of the Red Line to the Green Line. With an estimated completion date of 2020 at a cost of roughly 2 billion that some are saying that it is too expensive and that we should just use buses. In fact the portion of the line that runs through PG County mirrors some bus lines which opponents claim makes the rail line redundant. Many who support the line just don't want it in their backyard.

The problem is that buses consume fuel, have high maintenance costs and are limited in capacity. Rail is clean and can transport many more people than the buses can. Not to mention that buses share the road with cars. Even when they have express lanes they are bound to the same problems that cars have. We need to build the Metro system up with more rail lines instead of buses. Instead of arguing over the cost of building it people need to look at the cost of not investing in light rail. Look at the long term emissions, the lost productivity of those late to work and the maintenance of a fleet of buses which wear out rapidly. Long ago virtually every large city had trolley cars. Those lines were shutdown when the automobile spread, quite probably at the insistence and financing of big auto. We are not back to where we were before the loss of the trolleys and we need to play catchup in the light rail efficient public transportation business that we used to excel in. Other countries around the globe keep expanding their systems, and Washington D.C. as the nation's capital needs to set an example. We need to say that the future is worth investing in.

-UW

A frightening series of problems from fiscal responsibility to a de-funded NASA

Modern literature is riddled with tales of collapsed civilizations and populated areas turned to wastelands. Here in the United States we see a deficit reaching record heights as government spending skyrockets on military spending while cutting other "less worthwhile" programs. Southern California is talking about seceding from blue California and forming their own red state. For this to happen congress would push for another blue state be it D.C. or West Ohio. It is easy to see the fragmentation possibilities as the politics of this current fiscal crisis grow in their complexity with congressmen stating "No resolution can be reached while Obama is in office!" yet there seems to be no path to salvation for us. At least not on the path we seem dedicated to taking.

I am not running for office.

I am not an elected official.

I do not have to pander to lobbyists or the public.

I can say what I feel needs to be done, even it is isn't popular.

First we have to do something that scares everyone... raise taxes. Why? Because the government needs additional income to balance the budget and to pump back into the economy. Do not forget the government is the biggest employer and if it falters we all will feel the pain. Taxes are far too low at current levels put in place during the past few administrations. Higher taxes may have a short term impact on hiring, but it will not increase unemployment. Long term the benfits will increase hiring as companies feel the economy grow on a while. Next we need inflation.

Yes, inflation hurts, but it is a necessary component of a growing economy. Without controlled inflation balanced by the Federal Reserve though interest rate manipulation. Immediate rapid inflation is painful, but in a controlled fashion we will see the debts of a nation lose value as salaries steadily rise to counter the higher costs of  living. Those with $10,000 in credit card debt will see its impact drop while those who have money stagnant will feel the need to invest it to encourage greater returns. It will lubricate the economy and breath life back into communities which have been stagnant.

NASA needs a mission to fill the spot that was held by the Shuttles. 23,000 people kept the three shuttles operating, that is bigger than most companies and they are all being displaced. We need a clear and funded mandate be it to go to the moon or mars or wherever. Whatever goal we set it must be achieved. We need this kind of national goal rather than the hunt for a man who was living in the suburbs of Pakistan. We need to be able to say, "We did that" and feel pride. And, we need those people working. The past hairy audacious goals were unfunded and as such never stood a chance which is why the aging shuttle program kept running despite its obvious disadvantages. As with the space program we need to see spending on national projects increase as well, from transportation to the arts. Each area of growth helps us all and builds a better America.

We must reign in the military spending. We invest in many areas simultaneously funding projects that produce no results while positioning large numbers of troops to "keep peace" in countries we are not welcome in. Yes, we need a military presence throughout the globe, but we have fallen into the habit of being the world police and that is not the role we should hold nor is it one the American taxpayer should be responsible for.

We are at a cross roads where the country could conceivable splinter or come together. We must make the choice to succeed or continue down a path of uncertainty. We need politicians to make some hard choices that will hurt some but save the whole. We need people willing to buckle down and make the effort work. We need to set an example for the world to follow. We need to start now.

Raise the debt ceiling, raise taxes, manage controlled inflation, decrease military funding and invest in projects throughout the nation like NASA.

Only then will we rise out of this crisis we are sinking into.

-UW

Illegal Immigrants are Burning Arizona??? Really???

McCain was a decent candidate back in the 2000 election. By the time had had Palin and a real run at the White House last election he seemed to have lost focus. Palin became the new face of the Republican party. After McCain lost he seemed to fade from the limelight, but he is still a US Senator from Arizona.  In case you missed the news, Arizona is currently on fire. Something like 100,000 acres of fire. It is not good yet is seems that McCain felt it was time to push border security making the following statements.

"There is substantial evidence that some of these fires are caused by people who have crossed our border illegally,"

“They have set fires because they signal others, they have set fires to keep warm, and they have set fires in order to divert law enforcement agents and agencies from them,”  

“The answer to that part of the problem is to get a secure border."

Really, people come here looking for a new life and decide that burning the place down makes sense? This is an example of McCain jumping on a crisis and trying to divert attention to another matter.  

Later McCain's team issued a statement, to try and change the meaning of McCain's words

“The facts are clear. For years, federal, state and local officials have stated that smugglers and illegal immigrants have caused fires on our southern border," said Brooke Buchanan, Senator McCain's communications director. "During the press conference on Saturday, Senator McCain was referring to fires on the Arizona/Mexico border, not the Wallow Fire.”

Sure I believe that, and I have a bridge to sell you. McCain was simply trying to drum up support for border security and using the fire as an excuse.

-UW

You can watch McCain's remarks at this URL http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/19/john-mccain-illegal-immigration-arizona-wildfires_n_880145.html

Colbert's Political Action Committee

So let me get this straight. Stephen Colbert, of Comedy Central fame, has successfully formed a Political Action Committee (PAC) with Federal Election Commission (FEC) approval? Now he can accept unlimited public and private funds and channel them into the 2012 elections? Yep, that's what happened.

See our whole campaign financing thing is a bit messed up because of these mixed message laws. On one side they say that you aren't allowed to buy elections so people, and only people, can only contribute to any campaign. In theory this will level the paying field and candidates will win on their own charm. On the other side is the case that businesses, as legal entities, should be able to contribute. Then you have the whole, unlimited contribution bit, thrown in there to negate the bulk of it.

So as it is now Colbert's PAC could dump all their money into any candidate and, in theory, buy the election for them. Of course we live in a world of balances so another PAC could counter act Colbert's PAC. For example, let's say, hypothetically, Bob Newheart decides to run for president on the Retired Comedian's ticket. Colbert could fund the entire campaign and as such we could see Present Newheart take office pushing his pro comedy album politics. But in the real world another PAC could rise to counter Colbert, say George Takei ran for office under the Gay Actors of Star Trek ticket then a Star Trek PAC could finance his campaign. Are you with me so far? Let's recap, Comedians, Newheart, Gay Star Trek, Takei. They duke it out and we end up with President Stallone on the Over the Hill Action Hero Ticket.

See when these large groups fight they take the little guy out of the picture. My $50 to Newheart or Takei loses it's value because corporations can funnel millions in overriding my value as a contributor. If Exxon gives Takei 500 million because he may be lighter on laws to clean oil bathed birds then my $50 is essentially irrelevant.

So what is Colbert going to do with his PAC? I have no idea, but I do think it makes a strong public statement that our campaign finance rules are out of whack. Besides do we really want Takei and Newheart to go against each other? No I don't think so. But a combined Newheart Takei ticket, that has some promise. ;)

-UW

Guess what, he's still a citizen

Today Obama released a long-form birth certificate after the "birthers" kept stating his citizenship did not meet the requirements to be president. Sure he released a record of live birth in 2008, but some idiots out there decided that he was still not American enough. Trump has been a pompous baffoon screaming to the heavens that Obama is not qualified. When presented with little things like evidence he says things like Obama is, "in bed with these (OPEC) people."

Now Trump is stating he is proud of the part he playing the in release of yet another document showing that Obama was born in the US. What an idiot.

Face it people Obama was born in the US. We all knew it last week, last year, ten years ago and so on. People keep investigating it and every time he is a US Born Citizen.

Sometimes I am really shocked at how stupid people can be.

Birthright Citizenship

Section one of the fourteenth amendment of the United States Constitution states:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Yet this year there are five states, Arizona, Georgia, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, which are pushing legislation to change the law so that people who are illegal immigrants cannot have children who are citizens of the US.  Only if one parent is a legal citizen will citizenship be granted, and in that case it is a limited "state citizenship".  In essence they are looking to undo 150 years of law that was enacted as the foundation of civil rights for the freed slaves.  

When the war ended there were those who wanted to make the case that slaves were not US citizens and as such would not be able to vote or carry any other rights.  In essence they were not real people in the country.  Congress saw this threat and created the 14th amendment which guaranteed this right.  Now by the law of the land all who were born here are citizens.  

There are those who want to overturn it and eliminate birth rights to citizenship. Now those born here to illegal immigrants may have no home.  They are second class citizens who will not have a country. Then look at the legal ramifications for those who are legally here working on attaining citizenship.  Suppose they have a child during that process.  Now they can be a citizen, but their child could be deported.  Are we going to have immigration officials at every maternity ward, ready to process and possibly deport babies? 

Yes, illegal immigration is a problem, but this change will not help it.  Fortunately changing the constitution is not a simple act, and those with rational minds can prevent it.

-UW

Juan Williams Fired by NPR and Picked up by FOX???

Ok, if you are reading this then you know what happened, I'm not going to repeat myself.  The bottom line is that Williams was fired for making racists stereotype comments while on a news commentary show.  The problem is that, as a journalist, one is supposed to report as impartially as possible, regardless of personal opinion.  It is an issue of journalistic integrity, and he appears to have none.  NPR cut him loose for violating their guidelines (which has happened previously without dismissal).  So Fox, which has made a fortune as commentary based news, picked him up for a few million.  

Now people are calling out against NPR, stating that they are censoring him and that they should have all public funding cut.  Fortunately the public funding is only 2% of their budget.  Which would hurt them, but it would not kill them if such an insane measure ever passed.  This is reminiscent of the time, a few years back, when a Republican controlled congress attacked NPR and hired analysts to see how "far right" NPR was.  The report came back that NPR was the most balanced newscast on the air.  The measure to drop funding ended there.  Now NPR is being attacked for its greatest strength: maintaining a balance of news delivery without direct commentary.  Those who call to kill the funding should be ashamed.

-UW

Juan Williams Just Doesn't Get it

Yesterday NPR fired Juan Williams after an appearance on O'Reilly Factor where he made the following statement:

"I mean, look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country,"  

"But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they're identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous," 

"He said the war with Muslims, America's war is just beginning, first drop of blood. I don't think there's any way to get away from these facts," - Commenting on a statement made by Faisal Shahzad, the attempted Times Square Bomber.

Williams is a well known author and commentator who has written quite a bit on the civil rights movement, but he fails to understand the truth of what he states.  His statements are horrible, but there is a fact behind it that he doesn't appear to understand, and strangely no one else does either.

You see everyone is a little bit racist.  It is something that we cannot help.  We grow in an environment where profiling is enforced by stereotypes in the media and real life.  Today, all too often, a member of Islam is viewed as a terrorist.  This is a racial stereotype and it has, once again, been reinforced by the statements that Williams made.  But he is saying something that sits in the back of all our minds.  If I see someone in traditional garb, I do not see a terrorist, but I have spent a good deal of time in the middle east where such a look is quite standard.  Here it is less common and easy for people to be convinced that it is the terrorist uniform, just as seeing a black man with baggy pants and his boxers showing suggests "drug dealer" in so many minds.  These racial stereotypes persist in the back of our minds, and it will not be until a generation grows and matures without these that we will see an end of it for good.

The problem is that Williams allows this racist stereotype to overlay rational thought and, in doing so, spreads the same hatred that we have all fought to defeat.  Then he rationalizes his own racist views with the words of an attempted terrorist.  We all need to understand the views that persist that create fear without real reason.  To spread the fear, however, is irresponsible and wrong from any member of the media, and society as a whole.

-Uncle Walter

Christine O'Donnell my oh my what is wrong with you?

Oh my god, this is just priceless.  Christine O'Donnell, the tea party republican nominee for the Senate from Delaware, was in a debate with her democratic opponent Chris Coons.  This debate was before an audience of law students which even makes this funnier.  During one portion of the debate they addressed creationism and evolution in schools.  Coons made the statement, “religious doctrine doesn't belong in our public schools.”  O'Donnell made the students laugh with her witty response.  

“Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?” 

Sure no one knows about the whole separation of church and state, right?  Well Coons, who is a lawyer, enlightened her with the fact that it is explicitly stated in the 1st Amendment to which she replied.

“Let me clarify, you’re telling me that separation of church and state is in 1st Amendment?”

Ok, those exact words are not in the Constitution, but something pretty close  to that so Coons continued O'Donnell's education.

“Government shall make no establishment of religion,” 

 “That’s in the 1st Amendment,” she asked.

Um, yeah she is clearly a candidate for a quality legislator.  But, don't worry about her, she had a snappy comeback when questioned about her lack of knowledge of the law of the land in the USA.

“I’m sorry I didn’t bring my Constitution with me. Fortunately senators don’t have to memorize the Constitution.”

I'm sure she is just waiting for the next edition of Legislating for Dummies to be released.  Too bad she left her crib notes at home.

-UW

Let's get rid of the incumbents!

That's the cry I hear on the radio and the street.  Obama has failed, we need new blood in congress, why isn't there sugar in my tea party?  Once again those who care about this country are being held hostage by the ignorant masses.  These people who repeat over and over what they hear on the news without understanding it.  Today I heard a woman on NPR complain about Obama and that she would not back any politician who supported him.  Her reasons?

1. Obama promised more jobs and there aren't more
2. Obama promised to bring our soldiers home and they aren't
3. Obama promised to fix the economy and he hasn't

One problem lady, well actually three...

1. Job creation is a direct result of the world economy.  Jobs have increased just as they have fallen and what we are seeing is a situation where the workforce demand does not match the workforce.  Besides that, other than public spending programs how can he "make new jobs"?
2. Soldiers have been pulled back from Iraq and efforts have been stepped up to complete the mission in Afghanistan.  Obama and the dreaded "incumbents" have supported and fought against this effort just as they do during any event.  And Obama lacks the magical power to snap his fingers and make everyone come home anyway.  It isn't his choice, and he recognizes that we do need people deployed.
3. The economy has been steadily improving, the recession is officially over, and consumer confidence is rising.  What more do you expect?  The economy doesn't fix itself overnight.

But, no she and others like her want instant results and demand it.  So, they are fighting to kick out all those who have worked to get this country through hard times.  Some of them should go, but a "kick out the incumbents" stance is madness.  Because then you move on to bringing in fools like these tea party people who want to wreck our country with their strict whole concept of "enacting fiscal responsibility while cutting taxes."  Yeah, cut our income when we don't get enough in to begin with and then claim you are going to make it all work?  Taxes are too low and they fight increases for high income tax brackets?  Utter nonsense and foolishness.  So yeah, if that is what you want I guess we need to get rid of the experienced people and throw novices in there.  Like people who claim to dabble with witchcraft practicing Satan-Worshippers in a religion that doesn't believe in Satan.  They probably have their rituals with a Star of David on the floor instead of a pentagram and can't tell the difference.  Yes, ignorance like that is what we need in government,.

-UW