Forewarned Is Forearmed

With Halloween having struck a dramatic finale to October, my students find themselves heading into the home stretch of the semester. Research papers will be due soon, followed by a breath-taking sprint to Finals after Thanksgiving break. Studies that began in the sultry heat of Summer and greeted the arrival of Fall's vivid foliage masterpiece will at last come to fruition in the growing darkness and nipping chill of Winter's onset in December.

Over the course of the semester, a few recurring themes and issues have come to dominate class discussions. In International Relations, America's waning influence in the international arena, a rising China and a declining dollar have been all the rage. This dovetails nicely with concerns over soaring budget deficits and an exploding national debt in my American Government class.

In International Relations, one of my previously blissfully uninformed students admits to having become an "alarmist". Meanwhile, in American Government the prospects for our children's and grandchildren's futures are bemoaned. The American Dream of a better life for our beloved progeny are darkened by ominously gathering fiscal and economic storms on the horizon. Having been buffeted by the howling winds of what many hoped to be a finally receding recession, there is a palpable fear that the clearing skies are nothing more than the eye of a far greater and more perilous storm than we originally imagined.

This unsettling realization, reverberating from my classroom across the heartland, is beginning to sink in to the nation's collective psyche with predictable results.

As Peggy Noonan so astutely notes, "The biggest long-term threat is that people are becoming and have become disheartened, that this condition is reaching critical mass.....Americans are starting to think the problems we are facing cannot be solved."

Yet, the objective in our discussions, both in class as well as on-line, is not to alarm or dishearten my students, or you, my faithful readers and fellow countrymen. To the contrary, the objective is to inform and enlighten. As the old aphorism goes, forewarned is forearmed.

One of the principals on which our republic is built is the idea that power is derived from the people, not from government. While the Second Amendment states that "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State...", I would postulate that a well informed public is equally critical to the security of our free State.

To that end, I aim to secure our free State by forearming you with knowledge and whatever illumination and insights I may bring to it. As my students are well aware, my personal motto is "Knowledge is power". Accordingly, I hope to in some small way do my part to empower them and you.

At times our discussions will indeed alarm the previously blissfully unaware. On occasion, differences of opinion, interpretation and ideology will give way to impassioned and dogged debate. At times, that debate may become heated and unruly. Passions and blood pressures will run high and disparaging labels and insults will fly like poison arrows.

Yet, in the heat of battle, amidst the snakes and arrows, let's take a moment to remember a few things.

The road ahead will be challenging, difficult, at times despairingly daunting and potentially perilous.

In order to successfully navigate it, it will take all of our energies and efforts - Conservatives, Liberals, Libertarians, Democrats, Independents, Republicans and non-registered, taxpaying Joe Sixpacks alike.

We are indebted to our forebears whose labor and sacrifice paved the way for us and responsible to our posterity whose futures are rooted in our decisions and actions.

These challenges we face are indeed daunting, but no more so than those faced by a small band persecuted for their faith, sailing to an uncharted wilderness in search of religious freedom hundreds of years ago; or a rag tag group of patriots facing down the greatest empire on Earth in the quest for independence; or a tortured president paying the price in the blood of hundreds of thousands of his fellow countrymen as he struggled to preserve the republic itself; or a nation beset by Depression at home and the howling dogs of war abroad that confronted the now dwindling numbers of our "Greatest Generation".

As the Minutemen at the initiation of this great experiment we call American democracy responded to the alarm, the clarion now calls us to action. We must face it with a courage and will equal to that of our ancestors. To do any less would be a disservice to them, bring dishonor to ourselves and threaten the future of our cherished republic.

So let alarm give way to resolve, my friends. Let us embrace candor and rigorous debate, that the course we select will lead us, our posterity and the nation to that brighter future and the promise that her best days are ahead of us in the renewal of the American Dream.

Rest assured, faithful readers. It's out there on the horizon, if we have the courage, strength and discipline to seize it.

Stay tuned for further updates as events warrant and we see if the clouds give way to blue skies or grow darker still.

Birthers and Pipers - Enough Is Enough

First there were the Birthers - those who fervently believe President Obama is in fact a constitutionally-ineligible usurper who is actually Kenyan, Indonesian, British or perhaps even Martian by birth. Now we have the Pipers - who believe the silver-tongued Obama will so enthrall an entire generation of our children over the course of 30 minutes that he will lead them like so many starry-eyed tweens at a Jonas Brothers concert down the primrose path to his vision of a Socialist American utopia.

Yes, despite the White House's billing of the President's remarks as the latest iteration of "eat your vegetables, do your homework and stay in school", the Pipers have seen through his poorly-crafted charade. Indeed, they see him for the pernicious political pied piper he truly is! Ever the duplicitous schemer, Obama will eschew mere encouragement for megalomaniacal indoctrination when he speaks to our children - gasp - live in their very classrooms via satellite today.

Allow me to say this as clearly and unequivocally as possible - Enough is enough.

First, there are more than enough rational and substantive reasons to oppose Obama. We need not eagerly embrace an intellectually vapid knee jerk response to everything even remotely associated with his name. As a matter of fact, I can think of several trillion reasons off the top of my head. A figure that just so happens to coincide with projections of what the President's policy proposals and budgets will add to the national debt over the course of the next few years.

From health care reform and taxes to "cap and trade" and Afghanistan to fundamentally altering the role and reach of government in society, there are too many consequential leviathans lurking in the political waters to waste our time drunkenly trawling for insubstantial red herrings.

Second, do you truly believe our children are so vacuous that the televised remarks of the President will turn them into subservient socialist zombies? Is your influence so inconsequential that Obama will be able to undue in a mere 30 minutes what you have tirelessly worked at day in and day out over the course of their entire lives? Is his appeal so alluring, his image so magnetic and his words so hypnotic that they will follow in his wake in Liberal lock-stepped legions?

In the process of fighting the supposed indoctrination of our children into mindless socialist vassals you're reinforcing the Liberal line of Conservatives being mind-numbed robots and nattering nabobs. Indeed, such hyperventilated histrionics ultimately give the President too much credit and parents too little.

Finally, has the political environment become so toxic and polarized that the President of the United States can't encourage our children to focus on their homework and do well in school without being accused of cynical and devious ulterior motives? Can't we all agree that it's a positive thing to encourage our children to spend more time with their textbooks than on Facebook? Shouldn't our children's education and the impact it has on their and our nation's futures transcend petty partisan cynicism and bickering?

Look at where we land in global rankings of literacy, math and science scores and primary graduation rates. Nationally we're approaching a 30 percent high school dropout rate, while major cities like New York and Los Angeles already graduate less than half their students. That's to say nothing of Detroit's truly horrific 75 percent dropout rate.

Sorry to offend the faithful, but I'll happily accept the President's and anyone else's assistance in keeping our children focused and in school. I'll also have faith in my wife's and my own parenting abilities to be able to counteract any half-baked educational trends and ill-conceived politically correct tripe my son may encounter at school. He, his education and future are our responsibility and we, not the state, exercise the greatest influence over them after all.

In the end, perhaps the best words of wisdom come from an unlikely and ironic source, Liberal music icons and lyrical peaceniks Crosby Stills and Nash.

Teach your children well.

Remember, faithful readers, a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Or as former vice president Dan Quayle so insightfully stated, "What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is."

Stay tuned for further updates as events warrant and we see if Obama can both inspire our children and spell potato without the assistance of the ever-present presidential teleprompter.

Once Upon A Time...A Fairy Tale of American Democracy

Despite the cacophony and chaos that has become the hallmark of congressional town hall health care reform meetings as of late, the President has nonetheless elected to embark on a series of his own.

Filled with pride, his supporters dutifully tout his bravery in the face of flagging poll numbers and dogged opposition. They swoon at the sight of their champion riding off to battle the forces of fear and hysteria with his cool demeanor, soft-spoken logic and zen-like rationality. They point to the subdued and respectful tone of his audiences as evidence that the fury over health care has reached it's zenith and will soon subside. Logic and reason will win the day and their knight in shining armor will deliver peace to the land and health care to it's weary people.

However, a closer, more objective look reveals something distinctly different from the fairy tale the President's supporters so eagerly espouse with starry-eyed devotion.

Are the President's forums more civil and placid in comparison to their raucous congressional counterparts? Clearly, but one should remain mindful of a few facts.

First, despite our partisan passions and philosophical differences, the vast majority of Americans remain respectful of the institution and office of the presidency. Regardless of the individual, there is a level of decorum and propriety that is inherent to the office. He is The President of the United States, a title of unrivaled weight and distinction in both our political system and national history.

Furthermore, beyond these intangible elements and social customs, there is the very real and tangible presence of the highly-trained, well-armed and psychologically-intimidating Secret Service. Should someone be so bold and dim-witted as to attempt to get in the President's face and shout him down, they would quickly find themselves forcefully removed from the venue and facing potential federal charges. The combination of these elements create an imposing atmosphere that discourages the catcalls and confrontations that have greeted Representatives and Senators in the dog days of their August break.

Indeed, despite the earnest hopes of the President's supporters, the fury over health care reform rages unabated. Moreover, in spite of his best efforts, the President's attempts to extinguish the populist wildfire have been for naught. Neither prime time White House press conferences nor intimate town hall meetings have had any impact whatsoever on public opinion towards the overhaul of the nation's health care system or their understanding of the details and components of the competing proposals.

Why is that, you ask? Because the President, much like the nation itself, knows dangerously little of the proposals' specifics. Nor, as demonstrated by his erroneous assertion of an AARP endorsement, does he know who supports what.

How can that be, you ask? Because the President is following and not leading.

Despite the President's references to "his proposals", the White House has failed to produce any bill whatsoever. Indeed, the confusing and contentious proposals at the heart of the conflagration are products of the House and Senate. Adding to the disoriented discourse is the fact the Senate bill remains a work in progress, still in the hands of negotiators in no less than three committees.

In light of the President's deference to the leadership of the House and Senate in drafting the proposals for health care reform, perhaps he and the nation would be better served if the authors of the bills, the committee chairs, Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid would take point in leading us through this steamy legislative jungle. Put the Speaker of the "People's House" in front of the people themselves, place the Majority Leader in front of the majority of Americans.

Pelosi and Reid are the elected leaders of the Democratic Party in Congress. They should embrace the principal enshrined in their party's name and eagerly engage in the discourse of our democracy. Allow them to unequivocally demonstrate that the courage of their convictions is equal to their desire for the speedy passage of their proposals. Indeed, if they wish to be the architects of the Republic's future, let them be as forthright as those who laid it's foundation in the past. That dialogue, between the people and their elected representatives is at the very heart of American democracy, after all.

Then again, perhaps that is nothing more than a quaint fable from the fairy tales of yore.

Once upon a time, faithful readers. Once upon a time in America.......

Stay tuned for further updates as events warrant and we see if there is indeed a happy ending to this story.

The Hubbub Over Health Care

With the recent hand-wringing and flurry of activity over health care reform, including the President's fourth primetime news conference, it would be perfectly understandable if one found themselves quoting Bugs Bunny and asking, "What's all the hubbub, Bub?" The answer, the President's assurances to the contrary notwithstanding, is simplicity itself.

Wait for it....Wait for it......

Politics.

Yes, despite the jubilant choruses of kumbayah that rang from sea to shining sea on Inaugural Day, Washington is yet again in the steely grip of.....wait for it.....politics. Moreover....gasp....partisan politics.

"Hold on", you say. "Didn't the President promise us change? Didn't he assure us that, yes, we could?"

Indeed, he did. The problem, however, is there is one thing neither the President nor Congress can change no matter how much they'd like - time.

Time waits for no man, however historical or profound they may ultimately be. This rule applies to the President as much as it does you and I. And when it comes to the President and health care reform, time is most definitely not on his side. Why is that, you ask?

Again, the answer is....wait for it......politics.

The President, keenly aware of time's inexorable march, eagerly longs for a vote on the health care overhaul sooner rather than later - with Senate Majority leader Harry Reid's announcement that the upper house would not take up the bill prior to the August recess, it appears that vote will indeed be later. Nonetheless, among the political concerns that compel the President to anxiously watch the clock and calendar are....

- Fear of the ides of August. Though a soothsayer bade Julius Caesar to beware the ides of March, it is their August counterpart that haunts the Obama administration. By the month's midpoint, members of Congress will have been on their recess for two weeks. The White House dreads the probability that not only those first two weeks, but the whole month will be dominated by non-stop haranguing over the Byzantine reform bill at the hands of cantankerous constituents. With Democratic Blue Dogs in the House and fiscal Conservatives in the Senate already balking at the gargantuan costs and projected deficits the overhaul would trigger, the administration fears the weak-willed and faint of heart in both houses may succumb to the incessant barrage of criticism and consternation over the coming month. Contrary to what Speaker Pelosi has assured the White House, they believe not only does she not have the votes to pass it now, but come the end of the August recess, she may well have even fewer still.

- Mid-Term Mania and Re-Election Ramp Up. Learning from his previous experience in the Clinton administration, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel insists that the first year of an administration is critical in terms of passing it's policy agenda. He could not be more correct. Passing health care reform is a part of Obama's lofty agenda as well as a tangible and substantial accomplishment he can tout during the '12 campaign. Failing to do so will disappoint millions and leave a considerable chink in his political armor, but will most likely fail to be the political Waterloo that South Carolina Senator and would-be political oracle Jim DeMint prophesized. Nonetheless, for all intents and purposes, the end of the calendar year is the deadline for a comprehensive health care package till 2011, if not 2013.

Once Congress returns from it's end of the year holiday break in January, the focus will be on the upcoming mid-term election on November 2nd next year. Accordingly, raising campaign money and avoiding the ire of constituents will be the order of the day. Therefore, the odds of any significant legislation passing, much less one that impacts a sixth of the nation's economy, are exceedingly slim to say the least.

Moreover, there is mounting concern both on Capitol Hill and in the White House that the economy may continue to languish and remain stubbornly mired in recession. If that's the case, the focus will be on staving off a massacre of Congressional Democrats at the polls. Though many activists will insist that passing health reform is a vital part of the Party's defense, the more pragmatic and politically palatable course will be extending unemployment benefits in conjunction with a possible second stimulus package. Even this may face internal party opposition from the Blue Dog Coalition, leery of facing deficit-enraged voters in the fall.

A growing fear within the White House is that 21 months into his term on Election Day next year, the public will no longer be inclined to give the President and his party the benefit of the doubt at the polls. Should we remain in the grip of the economic doldrums, voters will view it as Obama's recession. That being the case, the odds are exceedingly high the electorate will vent their spleen and punish Obama and his fellow political travelers at the ballot box in the process. Not only does this have the potential to weaken the Democratic majority and empower the Republicans and their fiscally conservative Blue Dog allies in the House, there is the possibility of a political tsunami large enough to sweep the Grand Old Party back into power in Congress's lower house.

Even should the mid-term fail to return the Republicans to power in the House, the remainder of the President's term will be focused on shoring up his position for and conducting his 2012 re-election campaign. If the political waters run red with blood in the wake of next year's election, visions of Jimmy Carter and 1980 will dance like sugarplums in Republican heads. The problem with this, however, is two-fold.

First, Barack Obama is no Jimmy Carter. Obama is energetic, articulate and possessed of an almost zen-like political intuition. He is an ardent campaigner whose political legs remain strong and in running shape. Additionally, he will not reprise Carter's political impersonation of Mr. Rogers - no sweaters by the fireside and monotone monologues on malaise for this President.

Second, though Obama may emerge wounded from next year's mid-terms, Republicans still can't beat something with nothing. They need look back no farther than 1996 to see how a Democratic president can turn a mid-term massacre into a re-election victory. If they hope to regain the hallowed political ground of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, they must put up a worthy and credible candidate and not reprise the folly of Bob Dole's sacrificial candidacy. Obama and his political guru David Axelrod know this and will be prepared accordingly; Republicans would be well advised to do likewise. If not, they may find the tables have turned with an incumbent Obama slyly whistling the Rolling Stones' classic, "Time Is On My Side".

You're searching for good times, faithful readers. But just wait and see. You'll come running back.

Stay tuned for further updates as events warrant and we see if indeed the President won't have to worry no more.

America's $7 Trillion Hangover

According to CreditSights, a research firm in New York and London, the U.S. government has put itself on the hook for some $5 trillion, so far, in an attempt to arrest a collapse of the financial system. In addition to the $5 trillion identified by CreditSights, there are rumblings on the horizon of a growing storm of consumer credit card and college loan defaults. Some estimates place the potential amount between $1.5 and $2 trillion. Add to this the potential collapse of the commercial real estate sector that needs an estimated $800 billion in refinancing next year from what increasingly looks like a dry credit well. With the financial and banking sector unwilling to take the losses, the American taxpayer may well be placed on the hook for what is ultimately $7 to 8 trillion dollars over the course of just 24 months; that in addition to a National Debt that has continued to grow by an average of $3.95 billion a day since September, 2007. Rounded to $4 billion a day, the President’s proposed automakers bailout only amounts to four days worth of additional national debt. At that rate, why not go ahead and take Friday off? Maybe we’ll save an additional $4 billion?! I know, I know; it doesn’t work that way. But it’s a nice a thought, nonetheless. As of today, each citizen's share of the National Debt is $34,851.77. On average, Bare Knuckled readership runs at about 68 faithful readers and wandering souls a day. So, if all the Bare Knuckled faithful would be so kind as to send their checks off to the Treasury for their share this afternoon, collectively we could knock out our $2,404,772.10 share of the tab. On the other hand, were all my 361 Twitter friends and followers to fire off their checks to Washington today, we’d cover a none too shabby $12,581,488.97 worth of the bill. While I'm sure Hank Paulson would be oh so appreciative and inspired by our selfless act of noble citizenship, at a party that's running up a roughly $4 billion bar tab a day, that's not even a round of well shots, much less top shelf or my personal favorite, Jagermeister. As I told my American Government class recently, what is truly frightening is the increasing ease with which commentators, politicians and governmental officials use the term “trillions of dollars”. We're long past the fabled "a billion here, a billion there and pretty soon you're talking about real money." Make no mistake about it. This is GENERATIONAL debt we're talking about here. Debt that will outlive the political leaders, captains of industry and fallen financial titans responsible for it by decades and yes, generations. Despite this, Democrats in Congress and the President-elect have been tossing around $700 to $800 billion figures for a proposed fast-tracked stimulus package that would await his signature soon after his recitation of the Oath of Office. No doubt Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid will use the deepening recession as justification to move ahead with a universal health care program that conservative estimates indicate will add an additional $100 to $150 billion dollars to the annual budget deficit a year. With inflation, that's quickly headed towards tossing another $1.75 to $2 trillion on to the National Bar Tab over a decade. Then again, when you're running trillion dollar-plus deficits annually and toss on between $5 and $8 trillion in a single a year, what's another $100 billion between friends? The problem is no one's had the good sense to close the tab, much less give any serious thought as to how we're going pay it off. To hell with the hangover, this should instantly sober up every American from the halls of Congress to baby's lying in maternity wings with an instant $35,000 IOU attached to their birth certificates. I'm not fool or arrogant enough to think I have the answer that will magically get us out of the dire straits we currently find ourselves in. However, I would dare say a first step is to take a deep breath, calm down and look at the long term, generational impact of the decisions that are currently being considered by our leaders. Put the shot glass down, close the tab, step away from the bar, drink a pot of coffee, toss back some Tylenol and think this thing through. Failing that, we're going to drink ourselves to death and leave our children, grand children and great grand children to struggle to pay off the tab. Last call, faithful readers? Stay tuned for further updates as events warrant and the demon in the bottle seductively asks, "What harm can one more round do? Just one more round...."