Polls in Palestine (and Israel)

We all see a lot of polls of Americans. But we do not see too many polls of countries abroad, especially those in the Middle East. What we get a lot of is breaking news (such as the Flotilla incident) and punditry. But what do "the people" think?

While I was reading an article in the Web version of the NY Times, a link to a poll of Palestinians was shown, and I went to check it out. What I found was very educational.

This is the link to the poll:
http://www.pcpsr.org/

I look at the data from this and I realize that most Israelis and most Palestinians want the same things, and that the main thing getting in the way is (lack of) trust. The lack of trust is due, in my opinion, to fear, and the fear is perpetuated by a combination of bad (extremist) leadership and sensationalist media.

I hope that everyone who looks at this poll makes an effort to tell others about it. Maybe some misperceptions can be removed. Ones about Israelis AND ones about Palestinians.

Thanks for reading.

Like Father Like Son?

An Unpublished Letter to The Editor

From: Alan Rotnemer
To: letters@nytimes.com
Sent: Sunday, June 06, 2010 10:28 PM
Subject: Re: For Paul Family, Libertarian Ethos Began at Home

To The Editor:

Mark Leibovich’s expose of the inheritance of traditions and values in the Paul family was both enlightening and intriguing. As I read it, I recalled a House vote for Resolution 951 in March 2008.

This resolution condemned Hamas’s terrorist rocket attacks on Israeli civilians. The vote on this resolution was 404 yea, 1 nay, 23 no vote/present.

At the time, I curiously looked up the details of the vote. Of the 24 non-affirmative votes, six were from representatives of our oil-rich state, Texas (the most by far of any state).

And the lone dissenting vote? None other than a Republican Presidential candidate from our Lone Star state, Mr. Ron Paul.

So now I ask – like father like son? Makes me wonder what kind of voice Nominee (for US Senator From Kentucky) Rand Paul will be on future Mideast policy.

The vote is documented here

Thanks for reading

Anthem of the (S-H-I-)Tea Party

Came up with this the other day after hearing of Rand Paul's nomination. You know the tune:

Gimme an "S"
Gimme an "H"
Gimme an "I"
Gimme a "Tea"
What's that spell?
What's that spell?
What's that smell?

And it's 1-2-3 what are my taxes for?
Don't ask me I don't give a cent
I don't want no government
And it's 8-9-10 goes the unemployment rate
Well it ain't no ifs, ands, or buts, WHOOPEE for those budget cuts

Anthem of the (S-H-I-)Tea Party
(John Lennon- AlanRockville)

---
Imagine there's no taxes
My money's only mine
Government is narrow
Lives by the divine

Imagine all officials
Back out on the street

(Ha-ha-ah-ah)

Imagine there's no health care
No entitlement
No wasted UN bureaus
Our might will build our tent

Imagine all the people
Living for themselves

(You-ou-ou-ou)

You may say that I'm greedy
Well that's true but that’s okay
Cause we’ll win this battle
“World is one” will go away

Imagine there's no liberals
Socialism's dead
World’s gone where it should be
Liberty has spread

Imagine all the countries
Vying on their own

(You-ou-ou-ou)

You may say I'm uncaring
Well that's true but I don't care
Civility’s not for us
In our world we never share





(Join me next time for the flip-side  "Give Banks a Chance")

Proof that Capitalism Works

This is a trying time for the people of Louisiana, and I send my deepest sympathies to them.

But I couldn't help this:

I researched past articles about oil spills and found a VERY old copy of an article written in October, 1978 that provides a proposed capitalist (read: non-Government) solution to these spills using a combination of advanced technology and camels. The article was from a paper called "Not The New York Times", published when the NY Times was on strike (just substitute "New Orleans" for "Santa Barbara"). (The first picture is my scan, the second came from the Times itself (just search for it)).

So far I sent this to John Stewart's and Steven Colbert's blogs.

I'm also trying to contact one of the writers of "Not The NY Times" (Carl Bernstein) to see if he can identify the original author. That whole newspaper was an absolute classic, and I wish I can get a fresh copy.

Thanks for reading.

A Proposal to Generate American Jobs

If I have not mentioned it before, my job, as well as those in my office, was replaced by people overseas (about 30 jobs total). Not only that, but I had to train my replacements (I hear that is common).

My time unemployed has given me the opportunity to think about how we can, in America, help keep our jobs. I have some ideas.

First, let me state that there is one aspect of our current Income Tax system that I find to be unfair. It's the Capital Gains Tax Rate. This allows people who are investors - as opposed to producers (laborers) - to pay a lower tax rate on income. Why should that be?

The answer frequently given by economists and politicians is that investment stimulates job growth. I am finding, however, that this is not always true. I'm a living example of the opposite. The company I used to work for is making record profits - did they really need to lay me off, or is this a matter of maximizing stockholder returns? I cannot blame upper management for this decision as they need to "listen" to the market, but if we can change the system, maybe we can save American jobs.

The solution I have is a potential win-win for American workers and those who invest in them.

First, end the "income inequity" that I mentioned before by bringing the Capital Gains rate back to the standard income rate.

Second, companies will need to show American jobs created or lost within a given year. If they have a net "gain" in American jobs (American new jobs gained minus jobs "lost" due to overseas hiring or outsourcing), they can produce a positive dividend for their stockholders. The dividend would be tax-free and could end up, for an individual stockholder, exceeding the amount they might have gained with the Capital Gains break. If however, the American jobs gain is negative, there would be a negative dividend on stockholders, with the proceeds going towards unemployment benefits.

If you think this is a good idea, please let me know by commenting. Even further, please let me know how I can promote this idea. Perhaps if we got a petition this could come up for a congressional vote.

Thanks for reading.

Gun Rallies - This is a Test!

Just today, in my former home state of Virginia, there was a rally in a public park expressing support for those who wish to be able to carry their guns in public.

This is part of an overall movement to redefine the role of government. The "guns" issue is just part of the rally cry.

To the people at this rally, our government has become too intrusive, and we are weak in the world because we rely on alliances and world agreements to shape our policy (as opposed to letting us just act unilaterally).

I wish I could have been at the rally. I'd have a "conversation" with the group. I'd ask them: Are they against the following:
Prohibition of drugs
Prohibition of prostitution
Speed limits (hey, can't I drive as fast as I want - why would I buy a sports car anyway?)
(There are plenty of others that I'm sure you can think of, if you catch my drift)

For me, SOME prohibitions make common sense. To me, SOME regulation makes common sense. My dogma is no dogma, I take each case as it comes.

So the question for me is not whether they are right or wrong - they are wrong - but rather, what do we do about it?

There are 2 parts to this battle - the ideological and the tactical. Within that there is the logical and there is the emotional.

I've explained the ideological - their view is dogmatic, not flexible, and driven by fear and rage. It preaches that we cannot live the life "we want" because of government. Yet, as I explained above, it is full of contradictions. They'll go along with government control when it benefits them.

Tactically, what we need to do is continue to win at the ballot box. I know that there were recent losses in Virginia and Massachusets, but if we have an effective strategy, the moderates will be with us.

Part of the strategy is to make sure that people understand the impact of having virtually no government. Imagine having a country where anyone can carry an Uzi, where health care is totally free market, where anyone can do anything they want to our air and water. Let's have explicit commercials, books, and web sites that describe this world, and let's see then what people think.

Thanks for reading. Comments welcome.

Let's reload and pull the trigger

I am fascinated as well as angered by the language and actions of those on the right. I can't get into their mindset, but they must be acting out of fear.

What am I talking about? the use of the "gun" metaphor in their remarks. Some examples:
1. Sarah Palin's statement that her backers need to "reload".
2. Senator McCain's statement that America has "pointed the gun, but not pulled the trigger" on Iran. (Just exactly what is he advocating?)

Given some events in my neighboring (and formerly home) state of Virginia, where guns are now allowed to be carried, we may be seeing the progression of an alarming trend. (I'll have more to say about the current administration in Virginia in a future post.)

What kind of country are we moving towards, and what can we do about this?
(See my earlier post on the Tea Party for some suggestions).

Thanks for reading.

Update 4/18 - It was reported that Secretary Gates was critical of the Obama administration on Iran policy, but he has since denied it. My comment about McCain stands - during the 2008 primary campaign I never heard him utter the word "diplomacy".