Fair and balanced Christmas

I want Tony Norman's job (and his talent) He is one of my favorite writers because of the way he articulates things that I have been thinking about.

Narnia

This past Tuesday was a sad day. With the release of the Extended Edition of The Return of the King, there will be no more new material in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The good news is that the Chronicles of Narnia are currently being filmed and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is scheduled to be released Christmas of 2005! Ain't It Cool News has a link to a QuickTime file with footage from some of the filming.

Darfur

Nicholas Kristof has done as much to raise the awareness of the American public to the genocide in Darfur as anyone. He does acknowledge that Bush has done more than most Europeans leaders, and his action did save "tens of thousands of lives," but more needs to be done.

The Darfur situation, after a few months of looking a bit more hopeful, is deteriorating sharply. The rebels have grown more intransigent, and security on the ground is getting worse. Save the Children has now had four aid workers killed in Darfur, and aid groups are pulling back.

"The present situation in Darfur is therefore that of a time bomb, which could explode at any moment," Maj. Gen. Festus Okonkwo, the commander of an African Union force, said at a press conference yesterday. He said an "astronomical" amount of weaponry had been brought into Darfur, and suggested that the fighting was now poised to get much worse.

Kristof has some suggestions for both Bush and for the public. I wrote to my senators and representative earlier in the year. This article is a good reminder to do that again.

Administration vs. Lawyers

Yesterday, in the "Economic Summit" (which means "we're getting together a bunch of Bush's campaign contributors to say that Bush is right about everything") Bush sat in on a panel called The High Costs of Lawsuit Abuse.

Surrounded by a panel of enthusiastic supporters, Bush said lawsuits against businesses and manufacturers are a drag on the economy and must be reined in. He called for a new system to deal with asbestos-related cases, and new limits on medical malpractice cases and class-action lawsuits involving groups of plaintiffs.

He chuckled and nodded as panelists at the two-day conference aired their contempt for trial lawyers.

``What you have today is business on one side, and you've got the trial lawyers on the other side. . . . You've got deep pockets colliding with shallow principles,'' Robert Nardelli, the chief executive at Home Depot, said to laughter from the audience and the president.

Shallow principles, huh? So what would you call the principles of a business that knows its practices injure and kill their own customers! Last year the Atlanta Business Chronicle took a look at the "principles" of Nardelli's company.

Home Depot also won't publicly disclose the number of customer injuries that are reported in its stores. But Rasak said the claims totaled 185 a week in 1998. He obtained that number from Home Depot in 2000 during his lawsuit against the company, one of the few cases that wasn't sealed by a confidentiality agreement prohibiting disclosure of such information. No later figure is available, but Home Depot has almost doubled its number of stores since then.

The problem with these debates about trial lawyers vs. businesses or lawyers vs. doctors, is that they ignore one important group. Victims! Some people are killed or injured by negligence on the part of businesses and/or doctors. Are there irresponsible lawyers? Of course! Should it be more difficult to file frivolous lawsuits? Sure! Should we accomplish the reduction in frivolous suits by making to cheaper to continue business practices that create victims?

An unfortunate reality is that for many (but not all, of course) businesses, decisions about safety are not decisions based on "principles," but on economics. Some companies decide that it is cheaper to settle claims with injured customers than to make the changes that would prevent the injuries in the first place. Our legal system understands this mentality, and therefore deals with these companies through non-economic damages to make it more expensive to continue to injure customers.

Making victims rich through non-economic awards is not exactly just (and it does make it more tempting for shady lawyers to file frivolous lawsuits) but it seems that huge financial losses are what it takes to get the attention of many businesses. Maybe those non-economic awards should go to research for increased product safety or reducing medical errors. Simply capping awards, however, is not effective tort reform.

Moral Values?

So, under President Bush, budget surpluses turned to huge deficits. The deficit has many causes; economic downturn, Iraq, tax cuts, increased spending. The moral thing to do is to try to reduce this, right?

But the devil is in the details. There are really only two options, to increase revenue (taxes) or decrease spending. Bush has ruled out increasing revenue, so that leaves deceasing spending.

What would a biblical approach to cutting federal spending look like? I doubt that Medicaid, the program that focuses on health care for the poor, disabled, and elderly, would be where the Good Samaritan would make cuts.

Strengthened by the election, the Republican majority on Capitol Hill looks ready to join President Bush in putting a lid on federal Medicaid spending, according to members of Congress and state officials.

“Republicans are real sincere about cutting the budget, and that makes Medicaid vulnerable,” said Rep. George Radanovich, R-Calif., a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, where Medicaid legislation starts.

Real sincere about cutting the budget, huh?

Congress will have many high-ticket items on its agenda next year. Bush has called for a reform of the tax code that almost certainly would result in lost revenue. Bush wants to overhaul Social Security, a process that could force the federal government to borrow an estimated $2 trillion to fill the gap between lost tax revenue and the benefits promised taxpayers 55 and older.

While the President on Thursday ruled out tax increases to finance any Social Security changes, aides say his views on Medicaid will be contained in the budget he unveils in February.

As he met in the Oval Office with a panel of advisers on Social Security, the President declared: “We will not raise payroll taxes to solve this problem.”

Hmm. So since Bush must be responding to the huge mandate he received in November, then most Americans probably agree with this approach, right?

Americans, while supporting deficit reduction, are overwhelmingly against targeting Medicaid for big cuts, said Linda A. DiVall, a GOP pollster.

When asked where Congress should cut spending, survey respondents start with trimming the tax cuts enacted by Republicans during the first Bush term, and follow with cuts in foreign aid, corporate tax breaks, the war in Iraq and welfare, DiVall said.

But where did those survey results come from? Can you really trust those GOP pollsters?

Thomas Friedman

Friedman wonders why some countries seem to care more about ensuring a US failure than helping ensure an independent, free Iraq. You would think that contributing troops to guard polling places would be a no-brainer. If elections happen that are widely accepted as legitimate (meaning a lack of violence and Sunni participation) then the US will leave sooner. The money quotes:

Hey, look, I have no idea what sort of government the Iraqis might elect. I believe it's their first step in a thousand-mile journey to make that country something halfway decent and normal. But I do know this: There are a lot of Iraqis who would really like the chance to vote on their future, just once, and there is a virulent minority that is butchering people there just so they can never have that chance. Yes, the Bush team's incompetence in securing Iraq is a travesty. But even with all that said, is it such a hard call for Arabs and Europeans to figure out on whose side they should be? Do these people really feel good about not lifting a finger?

...The situation in Iraq is a microcosm of what is going on in the whole Middle East today. Everywhere you turn, the debate is over but the fight is not - because determined minorities are determined to thwart the will of majorities, and the majorities are too weak or divided to push back. The vast majority of Israelis want to get out of Gaza, but a determined, potentially violent, fanatical Jewish minority has been holding them back. Among the Palestinians, the debate is over, but the fight is not. Most Palestinians clearly want an end to the conflict with Israel and a chance to live a normal life, but a determined minority from Hamas has been resisting. Most NATO countries (I hope) would prefer a decent outcome in Iraq, but a determined minority, more worried about an American success than an Iraqi failure, is holding NATO back.

Rumsfeld on the Defensive

Rumsfeld's meeting with troops in Kuwait on Wednesday received a lot of media coverage. Some of the troops told of scrounging through a landfill for scrap metal and bulletproof glass to protect their vehicles.

"Why don't we have those resources readily available to us?" Specialist Wilson asked Mr. Rumsfeld, drawing cheers and applause from many of the 2,300 soldiers assembled in a cavernous hangar here to meet the secretary.
A few minutes later, a soldier from the Idaho National Guard's 116th Armored Cavalry Brigade asked Mr. Rumsfeld what he and the Army were doing "to address shortages and antiquated equipment" that will affect National Guard soldiers heading to Iraq.

Rumsfeld response was "You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time."

You go to war with the Army you have if you cannot choose when you go to war. If you can choose (and clearly the timing of our invasion was our choice), you go when you are ready. These shortages, of both troops and equipment, come from a lack of planning. If you don't plan for the very thing that most experts, including your own Army Chief of Staff told you to expect, then you are not ready to go to war.

If the generals really did not ask for more troops (as Bush claimed while campaigning) until this week, then they should be fired for incompetence. Of course, they probably saw how General Shinsheki was stripped of his authority for speaking the truth about the difficulty of securing Iraq, and decided their job was to do whatever the Commander-in-Chief wanted with whatever resources the Administration was willing to give. And those resources have not been enough. Who is going to be held accountable?

Honesty?

The Bull Moose notices that once again, a member of the Bush Administration must wait until he resigns to tell the truth. Which moral values does that reflect?

WHAT IF IT'S NOT ISRAEL THEY LOATHE?

This column, which originally ran in the Jerusalem Post, questions the conventional wisdom that solving the Israel-Palestine conflict is the most important issue in ending the conflict between the Islamic world and the West. He makes some interesting observations based on conversations he has had in several Arab countries during Ramadan, as well as media coverage of non-Arab Muslims.

I think the point that he leaves out is that because the political elites are so focused on Israel, the concerns of the so-called "common man" cannot be addressed until there is peace between Israel and Palestine.

He also does not deal with why the US might be so hated in the region. I believe it is primarily because we are seen as following in the footsteps of Britain and France's imperial ambitions. Until we sponsored the 1953 coup in Iran, we were widely considered to be friends of the Middle East. Since then, more and more of our involvement in the region has made us look eerily similar to the previous colonial powers.

Jimmy V Classic

It was a big night for college basketball in the Smith house last night. First, Pitt dominated Memphis with a 70-51 win. They look just as strong as last year's team.

In a much closer games, OSU pulled away at the end for a
74-60 win over #4 Syracuse. OSU had trouble with the Syracuse zone in the first half, but started to look better in the second. Once OSU went on an 8-0 run with about 5 minutes left, Syracuse went to full-court pressure. Big mistake. OSU handled that the way you would expect from a team starting five seniors .

Bring on the Big 12!

Friedman

Since the NY Times archives their articles quickly, I'll quote extensively from Thomas Friedman's Dec 5th column.

"If President Bush is looking for a legacy, I have just the one for him - a national science project that would be our generation's moon shot: a crash science initiative for alternative energy and conservation to make America energy-independent in 10 years. Imagine if every American kid, in every school, were galvanized around such a vision. Ah, you say, nice idea, Friedman, but what does it have to do with your subject - foreign policy?

Everything! You give me an America that is energy-independent and I will give you sharply reduced oil revenues for the worst governments in the world. I will give you political reform from Moscow to Riyadh to Tehran. Yes, deprive these regimes of the huge oil windfalls on which they depend and you will force them to reform by having to tap their people instead of oil wells. These regimes won't change when we tell them they should. They will change only when they tell themselves they must...

If President Bush made energy independence his moon shot, he would dry up revenue for terrorism; force Iran, Russia, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia to take the path of reform - which they will never do with $45-a-barrel oil - strengthen the dollar; and improve his own standing in Europe, by doing something huge to reduce global warming. He would also create a magnet to inspire young people to contribute to the war on terrorism and America's future by becoming scientists, engineers and mathematicians. 'This is not just a win-win,' said the Johns Hopkins foreign policy expert Michael Mandelbaum. 'This is a win-win-win-win-win.'

Or, Mr. Bush can ignore this challenge and spend the next four years in an utterly futile effort to persuade Russia to be restrained, Saudi Arabia to be moderate, Iran to be cautious and Europe to be nice.

Sure, it would require some sacrifice. But remember J.F.K.'s words when he summoned us to go to the moon on Sept. 12, 1962: 'We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.'

Summoning all our energies and skills to produce a 21st-century fuel is George W. Bush's opportunity to be both Nixon to China and J.F.K. to the moon - in one move.

A few thoughts on Rumsfeld

This is from the Bull Moose:

"Despite the mass exodus, the incompetent one remains -Rummy. All that happened on his watch was an abysmal post-war plan and a prison scandal. This confirms that the only ones held accountable in this Administration are welfare mothers and struggling third grade students. For them, standards and accountability apply. For Rumsfeld, he is just passed along to the next grade (or term) regardless of his performance. "

And from Talking Points Memo:

One criticism of the president that loomed large in the last election -- and not just among Democrats but with many Republicans too -- was that this president either does not recognize or will not admit mistakes. And whichever it was, there was no accountability for them. In most cases those 'mistakes' people were talking about were ones under Rumsfeld's purview. And he would seem to be the only one -- certainly the only one of the principals -- that the president insists on keeping in place.

In this administration, the buck may not stop at the Oval Office, but the hard line against accountability sure does start there.

Accountability is one of a number of issues in which President Bush seems to have difficulty applying his faith to his vocation. While many who voted against Bush feared his faith playing too large a role in the way he governs, my fear is that it does not play a large enough role.

OSU v. Wazzu 81-29

How about that defense? They sure impressed WSU coach Dick Bennett. Here's some quotes from the Daily Oklahoman:

"In my 40 years I've never ran into that kind of defensive intensity for as long as they played it," WSU coach Dick Bennett said. "It was most impressive. Their defense has been good. Today it was excellent."

"Stanford last year was ranked No. 1," Bennett said. "Believe me, they weren't like this team. Stanford plays a different kind of game. They were really good at it. But (OSU's) pressure will eat a lot of people alive... I don't see anybody with that kind of intensity combined with the athleticism and their ability to score."

Tuesday will be a great night. OSU plays Syracuse right after Pitt plays Memphis in the Jimmy V Classic. I can't wait!

Q Cafe

My New Testament class was canceled today because the professor has the flu, so I had a few hours to kill in Seattle. I hopped online, found a cafe that offered free wireless internet access, and made my way over to the Q Cafe.

What a cool place! This former warehouse has been renovated into a cafe/community center/worship center. Here is some of what their website says:

In November 2002 Quest Community Development (QCD) celebrated its grand opening in a beautifully renovated warehouse space located in the Interbay area of Seattle. Composed of Q Café and Q Community Center, QCD differs from many traditional public spaces in that it is a non-profit geared toward pouring something new and refreshing back into the local community. The following outline defines the approach QCD takes in being a ‘good neighbor’ to the city of Seattle.

1. Supporting local artists and musicians by allowing artists to show their work in the café and launching a live music venue.
2. Adopting local families by responding to their physical and emotional needs.
3. Providing a resource center for the displaced and marginalized in our community.
4. Implementing activities to help build "community" amongst neighbors.
5. Helping raise funds for other non-profit organizations.
6. Creating a space welcoming of families as we have a special corner and a playroom just for children and finally . . .
7. Serving the best coffee in Seattle.

...This vision and project was birthed by Quest Ministries. In 2002, about 80 20-30-somethings who gathered each Sunday at the new churchplant were compelled to do something significant for their community. During the summer of 2002, the church community sacrificially gave and helped raise close to $80,000 to help start this non-profit/non-religious organization with a vision statement to "build and engage community, cultivate and support the arts, demonstrate compassion and care, seek mercy and justice and empower and advocate people in their visions and dreams." The founders chose the letter "Q" to name the café; Q is the least used letter in the alphabet, and symbolized the uniqueness of the café and project.

This makes me wish we lived in Seattle!

The Power of Reconciliation

Here is more by Jim Wallis. Apparently he and Bill Bright, founder and president of Campus Crusade for Christ, expereinced a bitter and public polarization for years. After two decades of conflict, and shortly before Bright's death, they reconciled.

MSNBC - Transcript for Nov. 28

Here is the transcript for the Meet The Press with the four pastors. They are in the second half of the show.

Religious Leaders Clash on 'Meet the Press'

I caught most of Rev. Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority; the Rev. Al Sharpton, the minister-politician who ran in the Democratic primaries; Jim Wallis, editor-in-chief of Sojourners magazine; and Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Commission on Meet the Press this past Sunday. It was a frustrating interview. Falwell and Sharpton generally seemed immature; more interested in "winning" than in shedding light on the topics of the conversation.

I do not often agree with Land, but he was thoughtful and respectful, while Wallis was far more biblical than any of the others. If Russert just had these two guests, then they could have reacted to each other, answered each other's questions, and presented two different perspectives on the intersection of Christianity and politics. The egos of Falwell and Sharpton prevented such a conversation from occuring.

Basketball

With so many veterans on the team, this would be a great year for OSU to let Eddie Sutton retire with a National Championship. Go Pokes!

Are Christian voters swallowing camels?

Tony Norman is one of my favorite columnists from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. His article, Are Christian voters swallowing camels? is one of the reasons for that.

Informed Comment

One more from Informed Comment, this one about the US Marine who shot the wounded Iraqi fighter in the Fallujah mosque.

Informed Comment

Juan Cole's blog is always insightful. He often gives a round-up of Middle Eastern media, as well as his thoughts about the Iraq. Here is one of his posts with a suggestion on how to salvage the elections in Iraq.

A frustration I've had with many "Middle Eastern experts" is that their criticism of current American policy is not followed up with any suggestions of how to proceed. Cole sometimes falls into that, but not here.

Article about Arafat

Juan Cole is a professor of Modern Middle East and South Asian history at the University of Michigan. He has some thoughts about Arafat's passing.

Democracy & Islam?

This article by Michael Hirsh in the Washington Monthly is well worth reading. The subtitle says it all; What if Islam isn't an obstacle to democracy in the Middle East but the secret to achieving it?

Something that should have been talked about BEFORE the election

Israel/Palestine: Why was there only one question in any of the debates, the VP debate, about this topic? (Cheney did not really answer the question, and Edwards' answer was terrible) Arafat's illness and the oportunities his death might bring makes this a huge issue. And even if Arafat had remained healthy, how could our country have had any discussion about terror without talking about Israel? We might not see the connection, but most of the Muslim world does.

One facet of our "war on terror," must be working to create an environment in the Middle East in which terrorism is unthinkable - the whole "hearts and minds" thing. The festering war between Israel and Palestine does not help. And the fact that the US is seen as siding with the enemy of the Arabs makes it worse. We need to be an honest broker who is willing to put pressure on both governments to prepare their people to make the sacrifices necessary for peace. Sure would be nice to know how our President would go about doing that.

First Post

Here we go. I imagine that this will mostly be a place to link to interesting articles and other blogs that I across. We'll see how it goes!