State of Bliss

For those of you that frequent my blog I should provide an explanation as to my extended absence. There are several reasons for this: 1) My trip to Haiti in late April; 2) my journey along the path of Ignorance to find that elusive sanctuary of Bliss; and 3) I have been swamped at work. The first two reasons are intimately tied to each other, although maybe not in the way you might think.

When I returned from a week long Engineers without Borders implementation trip in Haiti I was in a good mode, relaxed, and oddly stress free. We had installed perhaps the largest solar array in Haiti. The solar array is able to provide all the electricity needs for a health and birthing clinic in rural Haiti with the sun. We are potentially saving the NGO thousands of dollars per month in diesel fuel costs.

I had not listened to any news in more than a week and did not know the crap our politicians were up to in my absence. I decided that I would continue to ignore the news, stop watching TV, and stop listening to NPR and the all news channel on the radio. I had decided that ignorance was truly bliss after all. I read books and listened to music stations. I was happy and my wife were not getting into political arguments.

My experiment at closing myself to the realities of today thereby saving my sanity, not to mention my health, lasted for a couple of months. Occasionally, a colleague or friend would impart some of the insanity Washington, D.C. was cooking up. I would go off the deep end for about an hour or two and then slowly come back to my senses. I reasoned with myself that it did not do any good to get upset with the morons running the country. I reminded myself that they would do whatever they were going to do no matter how stupid or irrational it was. I was ignorant about cash for clunkers and the health care debate did not seem to upset me. I got a little upset when I was looking at a newspaper in Nebraska and there was nothing but bright red budget deficits projected every year for the next ten years. I firmly reminded myself that it was not my problem. It was helpful that I was working overtime every week and had no time to surf the interweb or watch inane television programming.

Alas, my blissful existence did not last long. While I was staining my deck and thinking deep thoughts I came to the conclusion that, while ignorance is indeed bliss, I cannot remain silent while the ridiculous self-importants in Washington, D.C. decide that a national debt of $12 trillion is not enough and they are willing to allow that to grow to $21 trillion over the next 10 years. I cannot remain silent while they take this once great country and through ignorance, arrogance, and ambivalence slowly run it into the ground. I cannot stand idly by while our so called elected representatives lay the groundwork for my children to be quasi sold into debt bondage because they are weak and stupid. I decided that I needed to get back into the game.

I mostly maintained one aspect of those blissful months; I hardly watch any television anymore. This more than anything has perhaps helped me as I continue to struggle with the addiction of futilely fighting the stupidity of the democrats and republicans. Television is one tool in their arsenal to make us complacent robots. For your sake, as well as your children’s, turn off the drug – you will feel better after about a week. You may go through some withdrawal, but in the end you will never know you missed it.

Photo of Phase I MN Solar Array Installation Team "Caption Ron and the Kissing Gourami"

The Trouble with Political Pronouncements

Martin Frost, a former democratic congressman to the U.S. House of Representatives, wrote the following in a Foxnews.com editorial about energy independence: "Like so many other Bush pronouncements, it turned out to be a statement made for political expediency with no substance or commitment behind it."

Newsflash: ninety nine percent of all political pronouncements, from both democrats and republicans, are politically expedient with no substance or commitment behind them. I have the utmost contempt for the politicians in Washington, D.C. who find it easy to promise so much and deliver on so little of substance. They play their little game with the future of the United States hanging in the balance. If there is pork to be had then everything is easy, but to actually address a real problem like energy independence or the burgeoning national debt or the unfunded trillions in Medicare and social security liabilities the politicians are strangely noncommittal and provide us with nothing but political expediency. No one wants to present the very tough and unpopular decisions needed to address these problems because they fear for their chances of re-election. All the solutions require sacrifices**: cuts in spending, cuts in benefits, and an increase in taxes - that is the truth, you have to have all three - there is no hiding from that reality. Who is willing to go to the American people and present that? Who is willing to look their campaign bankrollers in the eye and say the trough is closed? And if you do present a proposal like that you are shot down. The only thing you hear from the talking heads is criticism, nothing constructive whatsoever. Each of the key issues above needs to be addressed soon otherwise we will saddle our children and grandchildren with an enormous burden. I just do not see anyone in Washington, D.C. that cares about America. I think they care more about ensuring their party benefits and stays in power. I have found that they are all talk. Pretty speeches and flowery rhetoric does not solve problems. And I do not think I am alone in America in thinking this way.

You can think what you may, but I am as cynical as I have ever been about our elected officials and their chances of finding a "consensus" on any issue. Let's just look at becoming energy independent. It will take nuclear power. It will take new coal power plants with carbon sequestering. It will take coal to oil. It will take more wind and solar power. It will take more drilling in areas like ANWR. It will take more fuel efficient vehicles. It will take higher gas taxes to encourage a reduction in consumption. It will take significant investment in renewable technology. It will take more than just biofuels (never mind that we are taking land away from food production for energy production). It will take a change in mindset. It would not take much to convince me to change, because I know what is at stake. You need someone that has a grasp of how to convince everyone else including the anti-nuclear crowd, the auto manufacturers, the oil companies, and the citizens of this country. You need someone that can convince the left that this is a responsible way to become energy independent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. You need someone that can also convince the right that this is a reasonable way to get us out of the Middle East and other areas run by despots. In the present political climate I do not see anyone that has the ability to unify people to make the changes necessary and that is a sad commentary on our society as a whole.

**Sacrifice is not in the American dictionary anymore. It is a word that is fading fast with the greatest generation. Our society has become fat and lazy. And so have our politicians.

Photo by KCThinker, sugar cane loading appartus, March 2007

Where are our leaders?

Is it sad that I wish for some incredible event to make us see that our differences are imagined? Yes, we have differences of race, class, religion, and gender. But why can we not put those behind us and look forward, use our potential, and harness our energy to do good works instead of destructive ones. When I walk through an international airport I witness first hand the slow mixture of the societies of the world. We have thousands of years of history at our disposal. Yet, we seem to make the same mistakes over and over and over. We learn nothing from those who came before us.

Being a parent I often think what this world will be like for my children. Will they have the same opportunities that my wife and I have had? Will they know a world at war with itself or will they know a world at peace? Will they know a world barely surviving with rampant famine and disease or a world that has figured out how to supply the needs of an ever growing population?
I think part of the pessimism that people feel is that there are so few real leaders out there. There are not enough people that will stand up and shout “Enough!” The few people willing to go against the grain are either marginalized because they are not politically or media savvy or they quietly go about their work, making a difference, but only reaching and inspiring a few people at a time (I realize that even a small number of people can make a difference, but I fear that the situation is slowly spiraling out of control and real leadership on a large scale is needed immediately).

Many of our “leaders” are in my opinion not leading; rather they are leaches. They suck the goodness out of everything for their own gain whether that is monetary, political, or both. This world has become one that rewards greed and selfishness. The concept of sacrifice does not go beyond the cross that Jesus bore. It seems most people find excuses for not doing their share. The concept of selflessness is outdated. Real leaders are not nurtured in such an environment; only greedy CEOs and unscrupulous politicians are.

I am disappointed in our government’s inability to properly lead as the world’s only willing “superpower”. The United States seems willing to do what is in its own best interest. The United States has meddled in a number of countries only to fail miserably because it refuses to listen and learn. The United States fails to recognize its lack of true leadership. The United States is divided because of our “leaders” inability to find common ground and realize that is not about the “me”, it is about the “we”.

I am disappointed in the United Nations and its inability to lead. This august organization has the potential to help bring about the societal change needed to address the concerns of 21st century; however, they care more for crafting resolutions and being word smiths than a body that actually does what it says it will do. A resolution is only works if you intend to go through with it. The United Nations has been absent in the Balkans, Rwanda, and now in the Sudan. There is no will to put the hammer down on Iran and North Korea. Words and more words is the only thing the United Nations is good for. We learned nothing from the Nazi concentration camps and the end game of fascists. Not much leadership is present in that organization when it counts.

You can say what you will but I do not see a true leader in any of our elected officials at the national level. I cannot say I really see one person in particular willing to make the hard decisions and explain to the American people or even the world why those hard decisions need to be made. Every decision and every sound bite is crafted for political purposes.

People from all walks of life are clamoring for real leadership. Are we coming up on a new revolution? Is there a ground swell forming of people willing and ready to shout “Enough!”? I know I am ready. I am tired of the “me first” attitude. I am tired of our attitude towards poverty and crime (the two go hand in hand). I am tired of our society's cavalier attitude towards morality. I am tired of the Hollywood elite telling me what to think (they are actors - what makes their opinion more valid than mine?). I am tired of the posturing. I am tired of useless rhetoric. I am tired of the politicians. I am tired of the leaches running our countries. I know have had ENOUGH!

It is every generation’s responsibility to leave the world a little better for the next. The generation with the power today is definitely asleep at the wheel and heading towards a cliff. Please take a moment and thank them for their ignorance.

Photo by KCThinker, Dominican Republic, Batey 50

Disgust

I am completely disgusted with our "leaders" - and I use that term loosely - in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere. Here are some examples of my disgust:

1. Taking more than 3 years to realize that you really f---ed up Iraq because you refused to listen and think about the consequences of your actions in an area with THOUSANDS of years of history. Then still not listening to what the real solution should consist of.

2. Being asked to guard our border but not being allowed to shoot back when shot at by criminals.

3. Kicking off your presidential election campaign in New Orleans by complaining about two Americas and then returning to your 28,000 square foot house (supposedly "connected space") on 100 acres across from a trailer park.

4. Spending more than $300,000 for a ONE-WAY trip across the country arguing that because you are the first woman speaker of house you have security issues and you do not want to stop to refuel a plane. A ROUND TRIP first class ticket from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco costs $1,937 (an equivalent coach ticket costs $283.80). To top it off, complaining about global warming while flying on these planes that emit more carbon dioxide in one trip than I do in a year driving around in my VW Jetta diesel.

5. Providing immunity from prosecution to a known drug smuggler who later on sues the United States for $5 million because he was shot in the ass while smuggling drugs into the country (last I checked I thought it was illegal to smuggle illicit drugs into the country). Sending the border agents who “covered up” shooting the smuggler in the ass to jail for 11 to 12 years because they really did not think they hit him.

6. Claiming that you need 5 years to balance the budget when you have a $9 trillion "credit card" bill.

7. Lying to (sorry, "misleading") United States representatives during a congressional inquiry into the shooting in the ass of the drug smuggler mentioned above essentially throwing the border patrol agents under the bus.

8. Providing social security benefits to illegal aliens who worked in the United States for 18 MONTHS as long as they provide their paycheck stubs that have their illegal identities on them. A United States citizen must work at least 10 YEARS before being eligible for social security benefits.

9. Black listing scientists and lay people who disagree with your self-righteous slide show while flying around in your personal jet to tell us how bad carbon dioxide emissions are screwing up this planet. This coming from a man whose father made millions in the oil industry. Al Gore is the modern day Joseph McCarthy.

10. Worthless politicians doing what they do they best – NOTHING. Debating a non-binding resolution ad nausea. I think we know where they stand on the Iraq issue. When can we finally move on and tackle other issues that this country is also facing. How about tackling that balanced budget thing? Let’s come up with a real plan and decide the best course of action? And no, pulling out is not an answer. It is time we became accountable for the messes we create. And the United States has made some really big ones.

11. Studying the No Child Left Behind Act and determining that only minor changes need to be made to the act while turning a blind eye to a broken system. Teaching for a test does not provide the tools necessary for our children to learn and prosper and ensure they can compete in a GLOBAL economy. It only creates a generation of morons that cannot think for themselves – I suppose that is what the democrats and republicans really want.

12. Allowing a former Clinton cabinet official to get away with stealing official documents. Wow.

13. More or less giving a pass to a democrat who made some stupid remarks about Obama when a republican would have been asked to resign under the same circumstances. Hypocrites.

14. You and me sitting on our asses and letting the idiots in Washington and in the media run our country into the ground. Nice.

"The past does not repeat itself, but it rhymes." ~Mark Twain

Photo by KCThinker, Door in German castle