Summer Breeze...Makes Me Feel (Not So) Fine...

After seeing some of the changes on the blog of a dear friend whose occasional political musings I respect (even if they're "wrong" *snicker*), I realized that I need to once again play catch-up myself. Fortunately, I think it should be relatively easy to sum up my thoughts on the summer political season.

Both former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner and media mogul Rupert Murdoch "screwed" the public with their self-serving actions. Whether one is progressive or conservative, a public or private citizen, greed and egoism apparently does not discriminate.

Usually when a deal is struck in Washington and no one is happy about it, I feel then it must be a good compromise. However, I don't think I would apply that to the debt ceiling agreement. Although I do concede that Federal spending needs to be cut, I also believe there was a missed opportunity regarding higher income/net worth households and corporations. Granted, progressive aspirations to reverse the extension of the Bush-era tax cuts may have had unintended consequences on some of the middle class. However, increasing tax revenues on households earning above, say, one million dollars would have had made a huge difference in closing the Federal deficit.

Perhaps the one saving grace is that if the newly-appointed bi-partisan "Gang of Twelve" does not come to a more specific agreement on spending cuts and tax revenues by December, an automatic trigger goes into effect that cuts defense spending, a sacred cow for conservatives and strict constitutionalists. Personally, I don't know why the spending cut portion of the $1.5 trillion couldn't be spread out percentage-wise through all of the Federal budget, even the holy grails of entitlement Medicare and Social Security. I suppose that would have been too "easy"...

On a final note related to one of the other proverbial hats I wear...apparently the US is loosening its restrictions on visiting Cuba under the premise of cultural tours. This would add to the educational(?) travel packages as well as family visits by Cuban-Americans that are already permitted. While some say this action should not have been taken, I have also read commentary that the US Government is hypocritical since we allow travel into - let alone do business with - fellow Communist China, paper democracies such as Russia and Venezuela, and less-than-benevolent kingdoms such as Saudi Arabia. I believe there is substance to each point of view.

On the one hand, the major difference between Cuba and the other countries I referenced is that the latter countries allow their citizens to leave the country. (Whether there are positive/negative incentives for Chinese citizens to eventually return home is another subject.) On the other hand, I would personally not want to visit any of these places unless/until human rights issues, particularly the ability to travel outside one's borders, are resolved. I hope that I can avoid being put in a position that does not intersect with my business.

Nazism + Communism = Socialism?

It appears that the doomsday wing of the conservative movement has succeeded in getting a lot of press by equating Obama's would-be "socialist" policies with the repressive regimes of Communist-era Russia and Nazi-era Germany. I'm sure that there are more informed people out there (including some well-intentioned Republicans) who realize that a better comparison would be to the many countries in Western Europe that adhere to various degrees of socialist policy, not to mention our neighbor to the North.

Instead of drawing a fake Hitler mustache onto Obama, they could have attached fake muscles a la Hanz and Franz from the old Saturday Night Live skits. Or instead of referencing Russia's hammer and siecle, the protestors could have drawn inspiration from the flags of Norway, the Netherlands, France and other countries who coincidentally draw from the same red, white and blue palate.

Perhaps when it comes down to it, it's the common theme of one-party rule that Germany once represented - and that Russia is apparently backsliding into - and fear of the long-term effects of such an arrangement here in the USA. I could certainly respect that as I endured the same concerns for six years. I would hope that's something conservatives would think about if <shudder> they should ever find themselves again in charge of both the White House and Congress.

By the way, here's a list of the best countries to live per the United Nations. By my count, it appears that at least seven of the top ten countries have universal health care and/or other socialist policies. An easier-to-read summary can also be found here.