Politics and People - A Book Review

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AppId is over the quota

Often politicians running for office will write books, and many of them will use these books to rally their base of supporters. It's always been an excellent tool for high-power politicians in the House and Senate or perhaps even running for president. Often governors of states will also write books and they use these books to propel their notoriety, and help establish themselves as experts of integrity and credibility.

Not long ago, I pulled an old book off my bookshelf by a politician that later became president. You will know his name he was once governor of Arkansas and his running mate at the time was a Senator from Tennessee just like his father, a man who would later also run for president and lose. Of course, you already know who I'm talking about, but the book that I like to recommend is;

"Putting People First; How We Can Change America," by Gov. Bill Clinton and Senator Al Gore, 1992

Now before I explain this book, I'd like you know that I am conservative, and I doubt I would have ever voted for the gentleman. Although history has done Bill Clinton well except for his little escapade with that intern. In this book he talks about agriculture, arms control, the degradation of our cities, civil rights, the ADA, healthcare, immigration and all the problems and challenges in the Middle East. Yes, they're still going on.

In hindsight, much of what he wrote in the book didn't turn out all that well with him as president. His Agriculture initiatives turned into corporate welfare. His arms control ideas only caused North Korea to lie about its missiles and when it was his turn to catch Osama bin Laden; he missed. His civil rights initiatives turned into just more political correctness. And his healthcare concepts merely subsidized HMOs and created many billionaires.

As far as the American disabilities act, it's been used all over the country by lawyers to sue small businesses. When it came to immigration he didn't do anything, not that any other president did either, but it is interesting. He also was unable to solve the problem between Israel and Palestin, as if that was ever solvable or if there will ever be peace there.

He did indicate in the book that we need a civilian advanced technology agency, and I believe he was right about that. Anyway, it's fun to read these old political books, because you can look at the history behind the words and see if they mean anything. Please consider all this.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes in fact checking.

Hartmann Ought to Know Better, and Surely Does

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AppId is over the quota

Thom Hartmann's stated aim in Rebooting the American Dream is to, "bring back a strong middle class and restore America to stability and prosperity without endangering future generations." He ought to know better, and I'm certain he does.

Though he never defines the term, Hartmann's idea of the American Dream seems to be straight out of the post World War II era, a period of unprecedented production, expansion and consumerism. Almost anyone with any gumption whatsoever qualified for a job with benefits and a pension; a house in the suburbs; two cars; a color TV, and nearly every imaginable gimcrack and geegaw his or her little heart was persuaded to desire.

That era effectively died about 1973, when America's oil production hit its peak. Though the fiesta of consumerism has gone on for another 40 years, it has been financed by financial shenanigans; booms and busts; outright looting; non-stop wars; and various other diversions such as Monica Lewinsky, 9/11, and NASCAR.

There will be no resurrection.

Peak Oil, to put it bluntly, puts the kibosh on the whole concept of economic growth as we've known it for about 300 years. Hartmann knows this. He wrote The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, way back in 1998, so he is hardly unaware of the phenomenon of Peak Oil, the maximum worldwide production of petroleum. It occurred in America about 1973 and worldwide in 2006, according to the International Energy Agency, so from now on until forever, we'll be chasing diminishing supplies of oil with our insatiable demand; and we'll have to do it in places that are massively hostile to us. At an oil price of about $80 a barrel, economic growth ceases, and we're there now.

Ronald Reagan, or at least his advisors, knew of Peak Oil and its ultimate implications for a society based on neverending growth, fueled by abundant, cheap oil. So did Presidents Bush, Bush, Clinton and Cheney. Carter certainly knew it, hence his doctrine declaring the Middle East a theater of strategic importance to America. For all we know, Nixon understood Peak Oil, too.

The corporate oligarchy and uberwealthy kleptocrats behind both political parties and the presidency have engaged in an orgy of self-aggrandizement, knowing that the petro-industrial train was heading for a brick wall. America's transition from self-sufficiency to import dependency in oil is the most significant reason behind the economic "devastation of 30 years of Reaganomics." It isn't a big secret, except to our willfully ignorant fellow citizens.

Yet Hartmann seems maddeningly oblivious to even the more obvious implications of Peak Oil. There's not even an index entry for it. Even if it were desirable, which it's not, we're not going to "recover the industrial base we've lost." An American Dream of outrageous energy consumption per person is no longer possible under any circumstances, Hartmann's 11 Steps (12 being taken) notwithstanding.

If there were a shred of honesty in the political arena, which there isn't, we'd be told to dig in, plant Victory Gardens, relocalize as many facets of production (craft, cottage and manufacturing) as possible, and virtualize everything else. Hartmann doesn't deliver this message, either.

But it's not that his ideas are, per se, bad. Hartmann is a serial entrepreneur and progressive author and talk radio host. He's built businesses, put people to work, created value where there was none. He'd like to see an America like the post-WWII one he grew up in - made in America by Americans for Americans. He wants to reverse "the 'free trade/flat earth' idiocy" of the past 40 years. What Hartmann doesn't say is that globalization is already a dinosaur. The 7,000-mile WalMart pipeline and the 3,000-mile salad are both artifacts of an era that's rapidly passing.

The steps Hartmann suggests are worthwhile to take. But even if they are implemented, there's not a snowball's chance in Hades of their success in restoring the American Dream. I suspect Hartmann agrees.

The nation needs to be saved from the corporate oligarchs... absolutely. We need to educate ourselves and reward initiative and get basic medical care for everybody and abolish corporate personhood (see Hartmann's excellent book, Unequal Protection). But we can't count on the federal government for any of it. For better or worse, that bloated, all-intrusive Washington welfare state bureaucracy is another artifact of the upside of Hubbert's Peak, where we could always do more of everything because we had the energetic capacity to do it.

No more. We have to do it ourselves.

You want to bring jobs home? Stop buying anything made outside the United States. Period. Buy local; make it yourself, or do without. If you must have an item that's only made overseas, buy a used one so the money stays here. Stop exporting your dollars.

You want a healthier society? Stop eating crap and do some physical work. The overwhelming majority of medical problems are diet- and lifestyle-related, and the same companies that make you sick are profiting from treating the sickness.

You want to level the playing field with the corporations? Work to amend the Constitution, as Hartmann suggests, and nullify at the state level all unconstitutional acts of the federal government... now there's a fertile field.

Fortunately, we still do have the US Constitution, written during and for a time of small, self-reliant communities and individuals, deeply mistrustful of self-serving power, whether in the form of the state or the corporation. The Constitution empowers us to take back control of our lives, and still remain a nation, strong where it counts.

Hartmann wants to do good things, but they won't get us anywhere close to where he thinks they will; and he wants to do them on a scale that's more a part of the problem than it is part of the solution; and I don't think he trusts the language and vision of the Constitution, or the power of an aroused citizenry, to see us through the dark forest we're heading into. Too bad.

Rick Ostrander is in recovery from a lifetime as a wage slave. His new blog, http://taylorsprings.blogspot.com/, discusses 21st Century homesteading on the Santa Fe Trail, building resilient communities in a post-Peak Oil world, and whatever else either strikes his fancy or looks like it might make a buck.

Indian MBA problem

Almost a decade ago, computer science or it was the thing 'in'. With a job as a software engineer was so renowned as today's investment banker, of course, the main reason is, that both highly lucrative and therefore are the most sought after. For them, the people of trade background, began learning programming and various IT companies. I know people in my workplace, which of course are from different backgrounds, BSc, BCom and b.e. But after the break the scene drastically changed. And now, since 2001 I think, a new trend has started MBA for engineers. Its literally a rat race.

IIMs, CAT, XAT, etc. become buzzwords "among the engineering community in India." Everyone wants to be a Manager! Without ever knowing what exactly they want to MBA, many people are just jumping the train without noticing that it held a toll on the technical training of the country.

Students in the most prestigious institutes like IITs, have a goal in mind, the IIM. In the third and fourth year the engineer they start early preparation for cat, apart from the technical Studies.Wie the technical integrity of the country under such conditions will improve?

And then we start our universities holding it not freshly made. Lab facilities! Why would they give when they know that a majority of students donot plan to the higher up in their respective technical domain studies. Those who have the passion you study ahead and the technology it carries non-fiction book, because they receive donot enough support for the realization of their dreams.

If it something that has improved our lives, abolish bad habits and superstitions, developed the modern man, his technology! But for Indians who yet always for money. This is the biggest difference between Westerners and us. People in the West such as United States, Germany etc. have passion contribution to technology ' we lack such passion, such zeal. ISRO is a US Pentagon and NASA, or compare the State of the DRDO and the differences are strong. And its all our fault (technician).

To add insult to injury, the IIMs and all Indian MBA schools, you must no mandatory work experience holder. If we are the countries considered "make better than India, then India is the only country, Freshers MBA courses are offered." What a blasphemy! and why do they do this? Money! 10 Lacs, 20 Lacs are charges for the most MBA institutes!

Even if this MBA schools, only her internship is required at least 3 years, it'll do wonders of technological health of Landes.Menschen would take up masters in some technical areas, rather than an MBA. Students become stronger on her technical studies rather than your cat or an entrance examination in the 3.-4 year.

Another major problem is that people, work that not so much time to prepare such as the students for these entrance exams, to not end up getting always a good Institute. Its such an unfair competition.

Of course, one can argue that everything is a matter of choice, but where can you always someone see a decision in a herd! An informed choice is the way to go.