Congress Should Increase Congressional and Judicial Pay; Shareholders Should Reduce CEO/CFO/COO Pay (March 5, 2007)

Posted in Market Solutions, Spending on March 5, 2007 by e-commentary.org

Supreme Court Justice Kennedy recently testified that the salaries of federal judges should be increased to provide some competition with the private sector.  He points to the substantial signing bonuses paid to former Supreme Court judicial law clerks when they go to work with wealthy law firms.  Many young law students plan to retire on the federal bench.  The power and prestige are the most significant draws. However, the pay must be competitive or only the wealth will apply.  Raise their salaries consistent with his request.

Congressional salaries should also be raised.  The public is better off if the hired help is paid by the people rather than by the lobbyists.  Fifty thousand a year is a cheap and prudent investment.

Arguing that Congressional salaries should be increased is never popular.  After passage of a pay raise, every candidate running against an incumbent makes a stink.  To provide political cover, a commission should be established and the findings adopted by voice vote.  Commissions provide cover.

CEOs, CFOs, COOs and their colleagues are paid salaries and bonuses far out of proportion to their contribution to their companies and shareholders.  The contention that the companies must pay big money to attract talent is a chimera because there is no thriving market for the positions.  A small select group simply pays more to their management which provides an excuse for their colleagues/competitors to pay more and thereby to provide an excuse for other companies to pay themselves even more.  When the company makes money, for whatever reason, management issues huge bonuses.  When the company loses money, management continues to draw inflated salaries and/or parachutes out with a bucket of loot. The market is broken beyond redemption.

The government is not the player to challenges the salaries.  Large shareholder groups should simply dictate the pay.  The various state PERSs (Public Employees Retirement Systems) programs in particular should state that they will sell shares and not buy shares unless management sets salaries within a defined range.  All shareholders should vote on all executive compensation at every annual meeting.

Bumper sticker of the week:

We all live downstream

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Looking Back. With Regret. And Respect. (February 26, 2007)

Posted in China, Race on February 26, 2007 by e-commentary.org

Another positive resolution.  Assembling on the grounds of the former Confederate Capitol, the Virginia General Assembly voted unanimously this past Saturday to express “profound regret” for the state’s role in slavery and for the exploitation of Native Americans.  The resolution states that government-sanctioned slavery “ranks as the most horrendous of all depredations of human rights and violations of our founding ideals in our nation’s history, and the abolition of slavery was followed by systematic discrimination, enforced segregation, and other insidious institutions and practices toward Americans of African descent that were rooted in racism, racial bias, and racial misunderstanding.”  Not an apology, yet a major step forward.

Many Saturday’s ago in February 1972, President Richard Nixon, National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger and Chinese leader Mao Zedong met in Beijing.  To talk.  Nixon aggressively sought out the meeting with an adversary.  The anti-communist met with one of the uber-communists.  Nixon took off without knowing whether the Chinese FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) would clear Air Force 1 to land.  Nixon engaged what was then the 800(0) lb. panda.  The United States had been in regular communication with the 800(0) lb. bruin, the former Soviet Union, the CCCP (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). Courageous and prescient, “Tricky Dick” worked some magic that week.

Bumper sticker of the week:

I Never Thought I’d Miss Nixon

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Bush’s Valentine’s Day Message: “I’m Invading Iran. With Love” (February 19, 2007)

Posted in Bush, Iraq on February 19, 2007 by e-commentary.org

Bush’s recent Valentine’s Day press conference did not show much love.  Bush sees red again.  He is looking for a pretext to invade or bomb another country.  Iran.  The wellspring of opposition may not stop him.

The House was able to pass a resolution on Friday that contains language challenging the escalation surge:

(1)  Congress and the American people will continue to support and protect the members of the United States Armed Forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq; and

(2)  Congress disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.

Non-binding according to its terms but pivotal in light of the fierce opposition from Republicans.  The Senate Republicans would not even allow a debate on a similar resolution.  Congress needs some resolve.

Congress should introduce a resolution to condemn and oppose any invasion or bombing of Iran.

Congress also should introduce a resolution to withdraw the 2002 Resolution Bush used to excuse his invasion of Iraq because it was based on lies and no longer serves any national interest.

The Inspector General of the Pentagon found that Doug Feith, a former Undersecretary of Defense, and his office manipulated pre-war intelligence to heighten fear of a connection between Iraq and al Qaeda.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said that Barack Obama’s proposal to remove U.S. combat forces from Iraq by March 31, 2008 would create disaster in  the Mideast.  “If I were running al Qaeda in Iraq,” he whined, “I would put a circle around March 2008 and be praying as many times as possible for a victory, not only for Obama but also for the Democrats.”  American timetables are irrelevant to the Iraqis.  The Australians as a people are just exactly, precisely like Americans, except that they are smarter, better looking and far more laid back.  And they share a common problem with Americans.  Wankers in power. Howard has spent too much time in the sun.  Let him run al Qaeda.  He is out of his league even in Canberra.

The agreement with North Korea is a promising start.  Talk.  With no conditions.  Keep talking.

Abraham Lincoln is reputed to have said:  “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”

“We won’t get fooled again.”  From the song “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who.

We might get fooled again.

Bumper stickers of the week:

Give War A(nother) Chance–Bush

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

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Is Afghanistan On The Map? A Failure That Hasn’t Succeeded? (February 12, 2007)

Posted in Afghanistan, Bush, Law on February 12, 2007 by e-commentary.org

Is Afghanistan on our radar?  What happened to Osama?  Iraq has diverted attention and resources from the true war on terrorism and from domestic needs in the United States.  Afghanistan should be the focus of national attention and resources.  The world supported the United States in the pursuit of a defined mission in Afghanistan.  Matters are percolating and festering over there.  There should be a national debate about undertaking a focused surge in Afghanistan.  The upcoming attack on Iran will compound an already almost intractable problem.

The Eric Blair Award for Orwellian Newspeak for 2006 was awarded in December.  In an interview on December 28, Ed Henry with CNN (Cable News Network) interviewed White House homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend and pressed her to admit that Bush’s failure to capture or kill Osama bin Laden in the past five years is a failure.  “You know, going back to September 2001, the president said, dead or alive, we’re going to get him. Still don’t have him. I know you are saying there’s successes on the war on terror, and there have been. That’s a failure,” Henry observed.  “Well, I’m not sure,” Townsend said.  “It’s a success that hasn’t occurred yet.  I don’t know that I view that as a failure.”

Success is failure.  Failure is success.  Black is white.  Truth is ugly.  Beauty is a lie.  Up is down.

Bumper sticker of the week:

War Is Peace
Freedom Is Slavery
Ignorance Is Strength

[Love is intoxicating; toxins are poisonous; poisons can kill.  She did something awfully stupid.  Really stupid.  Profoundly stupid.  And maybe even embarrassing.  But not unusual for a human.  Poking out an eye, pulling a tooth or spraying her with pepper spray are counterproductive.  She has one role and duty in this life–feed, clothe, love, discipline, inspire, threaten, reward, punish, and cajole one son and two daughters.  In the name of family values, the condign punishment:  therapy; a lengthy probation; a desk job that allows her to repay the country that trained her; defendant pays all costs.]

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Black Hawk Down. And Down and Down And Down (February 5, 2007)

Posted in Bush, Foreign Policy, Global Warming, Iraq, Military on February 5, 2007 by e-commentary.org

A fourth American helicopter was shot down or crashed under fire in the last two weeks.  The Iraqis are now emboldened and have figured out how to evade the evasive measures undertaken by the American helicopters.  [See the concern raised in the e-ssay dated September 25, 2006.]

The decision by the Chinese to blast the satellite a few weeks ago is another ominous threat particularly because the officials most likely to oversee such an action indicated that they were not aware of the decision to launch.  Things may be out of control over there also.

The recent declassified version of the “National Intelligence Estimate” offers another bleak analysis of the quagmire in Iraq.  The situation is deteriorating and requiring more graves.

A soldier killed in a roadside bombing was the 100th British death attributed to hostile action since the invasion in 2003, according to the Ministry of Defense.  American deaths are one or two away from 3100.

One reader noted that more horses than soldiers were killed and wounded in the Charge of the Light Brigade.  The horses are the unnamed Iraqis whose deaths are unacknowledged if not disregarded.  The Barbaros of the battlefield.

Congress is debating a resolution that may express its resolve, yet Bush will not detour from his collision course.  It is time to take a stand.  Young kids are dying while old men (and women) debate and dawdle.

Congressman John Conyers (D-NY), the new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, announced that he will soon hold hearings on President Bush’s use of presidential signing statements.  [See the concern raised in the e-ssay dated May 22, 2006 and the article entitled “Who’s Afraid of Presidential Signing Orders” by Stanley Fish in the February 4, 2007 edition of “The New York Times”]. 

A recent executive order requires each agency to establish a “regulatory policy office run by a political appointee” that “strengthens the hand of the White House in shaping rules that have, in the past, often been generated by civil servants and scientific experts.”  The agencies are becoming outposts of the White House.  Someone should monitor the organization charts for later repair.

The trial of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby is intriguing and filled with intrigue.  Truth may emerge.  Some justice may be done.  A Bush pardon?  Stay tuned.

“Man is impacting the environment.”–The science jocks.  Now the economists, moral philosophers and the public must join the debate.
 
Bumper sticker of the week:

War is not working

[Molly Ivins died on January 31.  Her last column “Stand Up Against The Surge” is available at

www.creators.com/opinion/molly-ivins/stand-up-against-the-surge.html.  She concludes in part:  “We are the people who run this country.  We are the deciders.  And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war.  Raise hell.  Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous.  Make our troops know we’re for them and trying to get them out of there.  Hit the streets to protest Bush’s proposed surge.  If you can, go to the peace march in Washington on Jan. 27.  We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, ‘Stop it, now!'”]

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The Charge of The Light Brigade (January 29, 2007)

Posted in Bush, Iraq, Military on January 29, 2007 by e-commentary.org

Bush is in a hole and is digging deeper; he is digging even more graves.  The troops are being sacrificed because of arrogance, cowardice and stupidity.  Of the 21,500 or more troops to be condemned, there are likely to be 600 casualties.  About 70 to 80 likely will die.  There is a 7 to 1 ratio of severe wounds to deaths.  About 490 to 560 brave Americans will be severely wounded.  600 towns, 600 families, 600 moms, 600 dads, and innumerable wives, husbands, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, grandmoms, granddads, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

“. . .

Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Someone had blunder’d:
Their’s not to make reply,
Their’s not to reason why,
Their’s but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

. . .”

–Sir Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Memorializing Events in the Battle of Balaclava, 25 October, 1854, Written in 1854

And likely 6000 dead and wounded Iraqis.

Bumper stickers of the week:

Reason why

Would you send your child?

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Tombstones as Milestones: Do Body Counts Count? (January 22, 2007)

Posted in Iraq, Military on January 22, 2007 by e-commentary.org

Another tombstone was reached recently, the current box score from the Crusade in Iraq: 3000 flag-draped coffins slipped into Dover, Delaware using the cover of darkness.  The travesty is justified by new twists on the time-dishonored and twisted “Body Count.”

A nation has a monopoly on the use of violence to advance public concerns.  Under international law, a soldier serving a nation may only take another soldier out of combat (the “hors de combat” rule).  A soldier who is “out of the fight” is one incapable of performing in a military capacity which includes the wounded, sick, disabled or detained.  According to the laws of war, they are accorded special protection including POW (prisoner of war) status. 

In Vietnam, the title to real estate changed daily depending on the time of day.  The U.S. owned the village at 1400 hours; the V.C. owned the village at 0200 hours.  It took a village in the morning and relinquished it at night.  A new benchmark of success emerged — the Body Count.  The number of dead and wounded became the “goals” and “assists” of the game.  These benchmarks of success contradicted international law, yet they became the only daily measure of success reported on the nightly news.

In Iraq, the body count has been further perverted.  Some commentators are saying that the body count of fallen Americans must be kept in perspective relative to other conflicts.

Comparisons are made to the invasion at Normandy or the battle of Antietam.

Comparisons are made to deaths in Vietnam (58,000 KIA) or to Korea (54,000 KIA).  Americans, KIA.  That does not include others killed and wounded.  

Comparisons are made to World War II.  Some note that the United States got into and out of that war in less time than it has spent invading and occupying and destroying Iraq.

Comparisons are made to the number of individuals lost in the Twin Towers.  The comparison is advanced by those who seem to suggest some connection between Iraq and the “war on terrorism.”  Should half the lives that were lost in the Twin Towers or twice as many lives that were lost be an acceptable target?

Comparisons are not made to the number of Iraqi dead and wounded.  On October 12, 2006, an updated study was published in the British medical journal “The Lancet” which found that between 393,000 and 943,000 excess deaths have occurred in the 2003 invasion and its aftermath.  The study estimates the likely figure to be 655,000.  That number seems high.  No one disputes that the actual number, whatever it is, is way too high.

The United Nations recently reported that more than 34,000 Iraqis were killed violently in 2006.  Prior estimates were much lower.

Keep it in perspective, some say, because not that many Americans have really died in Iraq.  Not to worry, they say, everything is relative.  Everything is not relative.  Particularly to those who have lost a relative.  They cannot relate.  Too many Americans have died in Iraq; too many Americans have been wounded in Iraq; too many Iraqis have died in Iraq; too many Iraqis have been wounded in Iraq.  The Body Count keeps adding up; the Body Count does not add up.

[See the e-ssay dated February 27 entitled “The Arithmetic of Futility”].

[See the count of war casualties at www.iCasualties.org.]

Bumper sticker of the week:

Think  It’s Patriotic

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Bush Escalates World War III (January 15, 2007)

Posted in Bush, Iran, Iraq on January 15, 2007 by e-commentary.org

“The war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit, and if we ignore this sobering reality, we will find ourselves organizing ‘clergy and laymen concerned’ committees for the next generation.  They will be concerned about Guatemala and Peru.  They will be concerned about Thailand and Cambodia.  They will be concerned about Mozambique and South Africa.  We will be marching for these and a dozen other names and attending rallies without end unless there is a significant and profound change in American life and policy.  So such thoughts take us beyond Vietnam, but not beyond our calling as sons of the living God.”

–Martin Luther King, Jr., “Beyond Vietnam,” Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church, April 4, 1967.

“Succeeding in Iraq also requires defending its territorial integrity and stabilizing the region in the face of extremist challenge.  This begins with addressing Iran and Syria.  These two regimes are allowing terrorists and insurgents to use their territory to move in and out of Iraq.  Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops.  We will disrupt the attacks on our forces.  We will interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria.  And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq.

. . .

We are also taking other steps to bolster the security of Iraq and protect American interests in the Middle East.  I recently ordered the deployment of an additional carrier strike group to the region.  We will expand intelligence sharing and deploy Patriot air defense systems to reassure our friends and allies.  We will work with the governments of Turkey and Iraq to help them resolve problems along their border.  And we will work with others to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating the region.”

–Emperor George W. Bush, Address to the nation, January 10, 2007.

Bush is escalating his own World War III.  Bush has lost in Iraq; with the ascendancy of the Shiites, Iran is winning in Iraq; Bush is now planning to lose in Iran.  What has not worked in Iraq is now going to be implemented in Iran and Syria.  There are two truths about the escalation surge in Iraq:

1) Those who have been wrong all along about Iraq are in favor of the escalation surge.

2) Those who have been right all along or have come to recognize what is right are against the escalation surge.  

Bush will get his additional troops despite and in spite of the efforts by some in Congress to reduce the American presence.  Any available Marines and Army troops should be deployed to Afghanistan; the National Guard to the Gulf (of Mexico).  The danger is that Bush is taking action that provides Iran with a moral and legal justification to escalate the situation in the Middle East.  Bush is seeking to provoke a plausible provocation for war.  He seeks to manufacture a “Gulf Of Tonkin” incident to justify doing what he intends to do without justification.  The United States must not invoke the doctrine of “hot pursuit” to justify an invasion into Iran by the additional troops being sent to Iraq.  The United States must defuse Iran without stepping foot on Iranian ground.  At this time, the United States is losing ground and is losing the high ground.

There must be a plan to get out of Iraq immediately because events will force America to “cut and run” without dignity later this year.  American units are likely to be pinned down and beyond anything but limited aerial support.  “Remember Saigon, April, 1975” must be the mantra in 2007.  When America is forced to abandon personnel and posts in Iraq, much of America’s technology also will fall into unfriendly hands.  The technology can be reverse-engineered and manufactured.  The United States should declare victory and redeploy to bases in the region.   

There are alternative approaches discussed in an e-ssay that references a lengthy essay by George S. McGovern and William R. Polk.  [See the e-ssay dated October 30].  The plan is discussed in their book, “Out of Iraq:  A Practical Plan for Withdrawal Now.”  The Iraqi Civil War cannot be stopped by American force or American forces.  [See the e-ssay dated April 17].  There is no course of action that will prevent bloodshed except possibly very subtle diplomacy involving every country and player in the Middle East to engage the Sunnis and Shiites and Kurds in a careful balance of power/terror.

Iran has issues with American actions taken in 1953; America with Iranian actions taken in 1979.  Despite this history of conflict and distrust, the situation in Iran requires a diplomatic not a military solution.  There is a percolating civil war within Iran.  The United States must not invade Iran and thereby unite the populace against the invader.  The U.S. must enlist the support of the largely young and secular population in Iran that prefers to carry an iPod rather than an AK, to use a cell phone to text messages rather than to trigger bombs, and to drive a Honda rather than to dynamite a Hummer.  That is the way to neutralize the militant forces in Iran and to bring some stability to the Middle East and even Iraq.  Out-think, out-wit and out-maneuver.

Bumper sticker of the week:

Iran is Persian for Vietnam

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Corrections, Additions, Observations and Errors In Progress (January 8, 2007)

Posted in Bush, Iraq, Society on January 8, 2007 by e-commentary.org

World War III d.b.a. (doing business as) Iraq can and is getting worse.  Too many humans are being stuffed in graves (now 3000 U.S. dead) while the situation on the ground is deteriorating.  The proposal for a “surge” in troops is counterproductive, preposterous and absurd.  The surge will only inspire the insurgents.  The United States cannot define victory in Iraq and cannot achieve victory even with a surge of one half million troops over ten years.  Some of the money earmarked for that doomed and futile effort should be used to address the consequences of the storm surge in Louisiana in 2005.  Bush will make a statement about Iraq this week.  The populace made a statement in November, yet it may be disregarded until the public speaks more clearly and loudly.

2006 was the year of World Nuclear Proliferation.  The “Bush Doctrine” directly and indirectly promotes the development of nuclear technology and greatly increases the likelihood of nuclear war.  [See the e-ssay dated March 27].  There are some efforts to secure nuclear technology produced by the former Soviet Union, yet far from enough in light of the danger.  Use of a tactical nuclear today is more likely than ever in the past.

The Duke lacrosse situation is another reminder that we should all embrace the presumption of innocence rather than pre-judge a situation and spew prejudices.  Commentators of all political stripes made some not so innocent presumptions. 

Cheney’s hunting incident provided copious copy and commentary.  Spend enough time in the field and someone will be out of position.  The shooting was accidental.  The cover up was intentional.

George “Cowboy” Allen, a former Republican Senator from Virginia, made a buffoon (baboon) of himself on international tv.  YouTube caught him being himself.  YouTube allows you to tube your career and reputation all by yourself.  “Down the tube” takes on a new meaning.

Some of the e-ssays require correction or addition.  The world is not likely to see the emergence of true “Caliphates” because the pulls of sect, region, country, province, village, tribe, clan, family and side of the street are too strong.  [See the e-ssay dated September 25].  No one will agree on one or two Caliphs.  There are more likely to be spheres of influence in Shiite Iraq/Iran/Hezbollah Lebanon and in Sunni Iraq/Saudi Arabia/Jordan.  The competition between and among them for hegemony will create even more instability. 

Increasing the federal minimum wage may not impact employment as negatively as the theorists suggest because 1) many states have enacted higher minimum wages already, and 2) many employers must pay higher wages to attract qualified workers in the current marketplace.  [See the e-ssay dated July 31].  [See the article “The Right Minimum Wage” by George F. Will dated January 4 on page A17 in “The Washington Post”].

Other birthdays in 2006 – the Suez Crises, the Hungarian revolt, the development of containerized shipping.  [See the e-ssays dated July 10 and June 19].

Bumper sticker of the year for 2006:

Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam 

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Ford, Betty and Gerald (January 1, 2007)

Posted in Automobiles/Automobile Industry, Ford, Society on January 1, 2007 by e-commentary.org

Betty Ford is a classic and a contemporary woman, mother and wife.  She talked to her kids about pre-marital sex and marijuana rather than lecturing them.  She observed publicly that abortion is a private not a public decision.  Her efforts on behalf of breast cancer detection and treatment warrant a Nobel Prize in Medicine or Peace.  She confronted her demons and helped others detect and treat theirs.  She wore her beliefs on her sleeve not up her sleeve.  She wore an “ERA” (Equal Rights Amendment) button while her husband wore a “WIN” (Whip Inflation Now) button.  He confronted his demons – stagnation and inflation – with mixed success.  He did not lose the foreign policy demon of his day.  Although not elected, he elected not to exacerbate the many foreign policy mistakes of others in Vietnam.  The (Nixon) Pardon is still problematic; there was a sotto voce understanding which is not surprising among politicians.  The “Profile In Courage” award was appropriate because the decision to pardon, right or wrong, was courageous under the circumstances.  Not a saint and not a Lincoln, Ford is an endangered specie, a Midwestern Republican who preached and practiced personal integrity, fiscal responsibility, individual liberty, and a nuanced military polity.

Bumper sticker of the week:

Well-behaved women rarely make history

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