Pray for power (steering)

With folks like these praying, it makes me glad I've forsaken the path of righteousness.

While I'd never want to impugn the motives of anyone's faith, knowing there are many good, and sincere believers in petitioning a higher power, the hypocrisy of many pictured on the pages of TPPT stretches my capacity towards graciousness.

Headed for a reckoning

Following on the heels of Katrina, the latest smack down from Mother Nature, Hurricane Rita, has once again exposed the soft, white underbelly of the American way of life. Built upon a model of transportation emphasizing the automobile, at the expense of any other forms of more efficient and less costly models of public transit, the citizens of Houston are sitting in traffic lines stretching for 100 miles, trying to evacuate the fourth largest urban area in the U.S.

Rather than whisking people out from the path of Rita’s fury by a system of infrastructure common in most areas of Europe, Americans time-and-time-again are forced to jump into their hulks of metal (actually, there is very little metal in today’s modern polymer-laden autos) and sit for hours in a veritable parking lot, formerly used as an interstate.

Not only is the evacuation Houston further evidence of our lack of preparedness in dealing with disasters of both a natural cause and heaven help us, one that might be precipitated by terrorism, but it shows the level of absolute incompetence present at all levels of government—local, state, and federal. Our institutions are broken and in desperate need of major reform—hell, we’d be better off to dismantle it entirely and rebuild from the foundations.

On top of this obvious problem with any form of preparedness for events like hurricanes, the amount of debt our nation continues to take on to rebuild the broken lives and devastated communities has ominous implications for the future. The massive amounts of debt required as a result of our failed fiscal policy and continued waging of an empty and futile war in Iraq leaves our nation vulnerable. This debt, financed and underwritten by foreign investors, particularly nations such as China and Japan, continues to destabilize our economy and puts us on the path to economic ruin.

Currently, there doesn’t appear to be a fiscal policy—it’s debt, debt, and even more debt—compounded by our current administration’s tax cuts for the rich and unabated spending associated with war and natural disasters.

As Allan Sloan, the Wall Street editor for Newsweek spoke about this morning on C-Span, we are poised for an economic meltdown. We cannot continue to embrace our current practices of fiscal irresponsibility, without plunging off the cliff at some point. Markets by nature are emotional, and Sloan spoke of some event in the not-too-distant future “spooking” the credit markets. Simply put, “the shit is going to hit the fan—the only question is what (event) triggers it, when it will happen, and the severity of the pain associated with it.”

Many folks (including Sloan) recognize the solution requires fiscal discipline and austerity, but the actuality of that happening is slim to none. Americans want their cake and also want to devour it—decades of affluenza has made us incapable of making the hard choices required at this juncture.

We are in for a tough slog. The winter in places like the northeast will test our mettle; how and even if we can come out the other side unscathed, remains to be seen. Experts aren’t predicting an easy time, particularly with projections regarding gas prices, as well as looming natural gas shortages.

In search of King Coffee

I’m an early riser—that’s not a bad thing, but it can be an inconvenience for both me and the one’s I love.

This morning’s early start began at 3:45 am, with my domicile being the beloved Ramada Inn in Bangor. Actually, this was a good thing for my long-suffering better half, in that she didn’t face her usual disturbance of slumber caused by my rustling out of bed and creaking down the stairs to the computer that she regularly faces.

For me, my inconvenience stemmed from the unavailability of coffee in my room, or nearby. In the world of sleep-deprivation that I regularly inhabit, caffeine is the drug of choice and even necessity. While I know those health-experts and holistic types will certainly poo-poo my addiction, I don’t know any way around it. If I greet the day at an ungodly pre-dawn hour, inevitably, I’ll need some java within an hour or two of rising.

Interestingly, my choices here in the outer reaches of the city-planning clusterfuck that is Bangor proper, Odlin Road is truly an example of the modern, car-centric style of urban design. Within view of my hotel was the bright orange Dunkin’ Donuts sign, illuminated in neon regalia. In the other direction, was a convenience store owned by those Canadian interlopers, the Irving family. Preferring the corporate black gold of Dunkin’ Donuts to the truck stop sludge of the convenience store variety, I ventured out in search of a jolt of java to quite my pre-dawn jonesing. Of course, there are no sidewalks on Odlin Road, because the planners who visited this nightmare of road layout and design, didn’t take into account that in 2005, there are still a few individuals that will forego a ¼ mile trip in their car, in order to get the blood pumping and stretch their legs.

I had to negotiate the 4-way intersection at Odlinn Road and the I-395 spur, having to cross four lanes of traffic, much of it of the 18-wheel variety. Upon arriving at my favorite donut shop of the corporate variety, after once again negotiating four lanes of traffic, I was greeted by a locked door—this despite the interior being well-lit and seemingly in the throes of commerce. I of course unleashed a salty stream of profanity at my displeasure of being greeted by a locked coffee shop door at the late hour of 5:20 in the morning!

Back in the other direction, I trudged, ½ mile to my second (and only) choice for caffeine—the Irving Qwik-stop (who comes up with these spellings?). Their coffee was being brewed as I walked in and they had a coffee roll that would have made Bill Clinton proud (before his pre-coronary difficulties, of course).

I’m pleased that I have my coffee for now and my sugar-laden treat to enjoy later; I’m not so pleased at the lack of pedestrian-friendly options available to most business travelers. This isn’t my first early morning fiasco while traveling and it won’t be my last. Most hotels of the variety I can currently afford are usually located in similar industrial cul-de-sacs, whether I’m in Bangor, Maine, or Youngstown, Ohio. Designed during an era that proves the vacuity of a college degree and illustrates how useless most higher education truly has become, these areas scattered across the American landscape are an ode to cheap gasoline and consumptive excess.

In the coming days, it will be interesting to see what happens to areas like these and whether they’ll continue to be sustainable, particularly in light of $4.00/gallon gasoline. At that point, the question will be moot for me, as I won’t be able to afford to travel, even if it’s to schlep my books to distant parts of the state.

The great divide(r)

The president who said he would be a “uniter” continues to sow discord and division across our land. Rather than bringing people together, he causes enmity and strife between long-time friends, family members, all to accomplish what?

Once again, anti-war protestors are mobilizing for another march to protest our involvement in Iraq, this one organized by United for Peace and Justice. This one will take place this weekend in Washington, DC and is expected to attract upwards of 100,000 people. I don’t mean to burst any bubbles of hope, but significantly larger anti-war events have had little effect on Mr. Bush, who prides himself in his ability to ignore the will of the people.

I read in my local daily that an Army veteran and retiree from Poland, Bob Chapman, is planning to march against the war. He’s also calling for the impeachment of the president, because of the blatant lies used to justify going to war.

The article in the Lewiston Sun Journal mentioned a counterdemonstration, sponsored by a group called Move America Forward—apparently unnecessary carnage under the guise of lies and obfuscation means progress for these folks. The photos on their website show people amazingly white (and probably privileged). Per usual, those willing to support this administration regardless of the horrible acts and death that they sponsor, continues to maintain a core constituency.

For me, it defies logic, but then again, many in Nazi Germany were able to bury their heads in the sand and maintain denial of the holocaust taking place right before their eyes. I’m not sure why it's so important to ignore the obvious in order to maintain an ideology, but then again, I’ve been burned enough by those purporting to have the corner on truth, to know better at this stage of the game.

Post-Katrina clean-up riddled with corruption and cronyism-

Keeping with the theme of the Bush administration's absolute lack of concern for the wishes and well-being of all but their richest friends and cronies, we have this:

Sept. 14—Some of the first large-scale Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery contracts awarded by the Bush administration were awarded on a no-bid basis to corporations with strong ties to the administration and the Republican Party, according to news stories in The Wall Street Journal and other media. At the same time, the administration is using the catastrophe to push a reactionary anti-worker agenda, gutting federal regulations that protect worker safety and ensure quality work and living wages.

The no-bid deals include $100 million contracts to the Fluor Corp., a major donor to the GOP, and the Shaw Group, which is client of Joe M. Allbaugh, President George W. Bush’s campaign manager in 2000 and the former director the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Meanwhile Halliburton Co., subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root Services received a $29.8 million clean-up contract, while Halliburton, formerly run by Vice President Dick Cheney, is doing repair work at three Navy facilities in Mississippi under an existing contract. The company also has been awarded billions of dollars of federal contracts for work in Iraq and that work and the Bush administration’s Iraq procurement policies have been heavily criticized in recent years.

Amazing, but only if you haven't been paying attention the last six years. What I find unconcionable is the fact that people who've literally had everything ripped from them, must now face the impossible specter of rebuilding their lives, while this administration strips them of their livelihoods and jobs paying a living wage.

The Bush administration also is using the disaster to attack federal standards ensuring quality work and worker safety. Last week, the administration announced it was eliminating the high-quality work standards set by the federal Davis-Bacon law for hurricane reconstruction contracts work, allowing contractors to pay substandard wages to construction workers in the affected areas, and the administration also is lifting many affirmative action rules for reconstruction contracts.

Bush now wants to suspend wage supports for service workers in the hurricane zone as it did for construction workers on federal contracts last week, according to The Washington Post.

The administration also has suspended regulations limiting the number of hours truckers can drive when transporting fuel. In addition, Bush has weakened restrictions giving contracting preferences to small and minority-owned businesses and has suspended the Jones Act, which requires transport of petroleum, gasoline and other petroleum products on U.S.-flagged ships while operating in U.S. coastal waters.

The no-bid contracts “guarantee profits regardless of how much those companies spend or waste,” says AFT President Edward J. McElroy. “This is happening at the same time that the local hires of these firms will, in many cases, not earn a living wage. It is unconscionable that our national government would act to hurt those most in need while delivering a windfall to wealthy contractors. These decisions must be reversed.”

This is a blatent declaration of war on the working class and poor by an administration that received votes from many of these same people. There is no representation any longer for anyone but those on the top runs of the socio-economic ladder. Everyone else is being pissed on below!

An honest assessment

The level of arrogance exhibited by most Americans continually amazes me. In all honesty, I am part of that culture of arrogance and privilege that is uniquely American. Growing up during an era of limitless cheap oil and an economy that allowed a high school graduate to support a family on living wages from the local mill, it was natural to assume that America’s limitless growth would continue.

Interestingly, over the 25 years that have elapsed since I graduated from high school, I’ve come to understand a few things that go against my capitalist socialization from the 1960’s and 1970’s. During the end of my high school years in the late 1970’s, I witnessed gas lines that resulted from the oil embargo of that period. For the first time, a red flag was raised concerning the myth of a limitless supply of cheap petroleum. Even our president at the time, Jimmy Carter, spoke of the need to alter our way of life—i.e., we could no longer consume energy (namely in the form of oil and gas) at the rates that we were currently gorging ourselves with. As Carter quickly learned, you can’t tell arrogant Americans that they can’t have what they think they are entitled to—gasoline and cheap oil were non-negotiable pillars of our American way of life. Hence, Carter lost to Reagan and of course, it was a “new day in America.”

We recently witnessed gas prices spike steadily skyward, with prices in this area nearing the $3.50 mark in some places. While the price has fallen back below $3.00/gallon , the specter of a difficult winter for many in the northeast and other colder climates of the U.S looms before us.

Yet, in spite of these clear signposts indicating serious concerns about maintaining perpetual growth and consumption of finite natural resourses, there seems to be little if any conservation being done, let alone talked about. If we had begun building rail and public transportation options into the U.S. infrastructure back in the 1970’s, as well as mandating enactment of conservation programs and had aggressively developed alternatives to cheap oil, then we might be in a different and far more secure place today. Many experts think it’s too late, as we near the peak of global oil production and begin heading down the slope of diminished supplies.

Two articles came across my desk that make me think back to those optimistic days of my youth, when I thought that I’d get a college degree and be set for life. How naïve (and yes, arrogant) I was. Do people in Europe have a sense that things will get progressively better? Certainly, if I was born in parts of the third world, my life would have been dramatically different.

Economically, the opportunities that were available to many in the 1960’s and even the 1970’s have disappeared. Globalization (and the off shoring of good-paying American jobs) has seen to it that earning a living has gotten more and more difficult with each passing year. Many don’t understand why that is. I say a lot of it has to do with the tax shift that began around 1970, when the burden was moved from those in the wealthiest brackets, over to the middle class and many working poor.

In addition to taxes shifting from the wealthy, to the less wealthy Americans (namely the working classes and poor), we’ve also seen how we’ve embraced technology and cheap oil as the panacea to all of our problems. Wendell Berry’s latest article in Orion, has some interesting things to say about this.

While I’m not purposefully trying to be dour, I’m one that prefers to deal in reality and not fantasy. Leadership in our nation calls for some tough and honest discussions about these types of issues.