Good Evening My Fellow Americans,

The first Tuesday of November is the traditional end of the campaign season, marked by an implicit acceptance or rejection of political leaders, parties, and ideas through the ballot box. I hope that most of you will find time to vote tomorrow. However, the subject of this address is important in itself and will continue to be so, exclusive of any potential voting outcomes.

The present administration, and others from the recent past, has failed to begin specific discourses with the American people. Many facets of American life are changing, some more rapidly than others. We must work together to confront these realities before our country unravels. Throughout the history of our great nation, Americans from all states, backgrounds, and ideologies have joined together in the face of crisis. This moment may be the most critical crossroads that our country has ever reached.

I have no doubt that the economic recovery and high unemployment are the biggest issues in the minds of most Americans. Nor do I doubt the unhappiness that some have expressed at this administration for its handling of the economic situation. Unfortunately, this recession was probably the beginning of a much larger and longer-term crisis in this country. There are several steps that we can take to forestall this concern, but it will take trust and commitment. Some of the programs which I will lay out are costly, but I firmly believe that they are necessary for the continued success of this nation. Admittedly, there must be some sacrifices, and I will be the first to accept my part. I will be foregoing my own salary, and I have asked members of my administration to volunteer any personal cuts that they can. Without further ado, I would like to lay out a few major points this evening.

First, the “bailout” was not an objective failure, despite its critics. The experts within my administration have studied, debated, and analyzed our past and recent economic history, and they have reached a consensus: we are going to need to spend more money. In large part, the Great Depression was brought to a close by the high government spending, rapid industrialization, and personal sacrifices of our country during the Second World War. Essentially, it appears that the initial scope of our effort was too small, though I understand that $800 billion is a vast sum in the eyes of any one man or woman. I know that many people are irritated with taxes, high government spending, and widespread unemployment, but I am asking you to bear with me and my administration as we press forward. I am calling for a new and larger stimulus effort, and this will include more programs to ease unemployment. Welfare costs and unemployment benefits will be reined in once again, with the hope that these new programs will create a significant number of jobs. The largest of these programs will be a national infrastructure endeavor, and will involve our highways, subways, rails, and other aspects of transportation. The crown jewel of this project will be the development and implementation of numerous high-speed public trains that will rival the best and most successful of Europe. We will need everyone from engineers to laborers in these programs; I expect this to lessen unemployment throughout the American workforce, but I also expect it to be costly. Do not be confused by the short-term price that we will pay: our nation needs these improvements, and our people need these jobs. Over time, the expense will be well-worth the end result.

Second, our national economy has a longer-term concern. We have developed a service economy and, in the process, vastly abandoned our industry. When Wall Street dips we all feel the drop: too many of us our tied into that sector, and we do not have the industrial capacity to back up the paper success of our economy. The American economy does not have many physical manifestations of success: we need to recreate jobs and products. Therefore, the second part of the infrastructure effort will be the recreation of national industry. I am not envisioning revivals of steel plants, but I am looking to our business leaders and captains of industry to be progressive-minded and adaptable to the new global world. I understand that it is difficult to be bold and visionary when your profit margin is in jeopardy, and so, to at least some extent, my administration will offer incentives to such companies and states that create jobs and new products. We cannot afford to wait any longer: we must restructure our economy before we suffer a more crippling, or perhaps even permanent, economic blow to the strength of our nation.

Third, war is an expense that no nation can afford in an era of globalized economies and, ultra-technological weaponry, and short-term soldiers and hired guns. The United States must resume troop withdrawals as fast as possible, and rely on the intervention of international organizations to fill the void of an extensive U.S. military. N.A.T.O. and the United Nations will be stepping into Afghanistan and Iraq immediately. Over the past sixty years, we have been the preeminent global policeman and arbitrator, but we can no longer afford to continue this approach. I expect that the upcoming budget will have significant cuts in spending on military upgrades, research, and weaponry. The conflicts in which we have been recently engaged have not brought us safety, either here or abroad. I promise that our country will remain free and secure, and I expect that the agencies and leaders of our national defense will adapt quickly.

My final topic for the evening strays from economics into the sociopolitical sphere. In many ways, America is sharply divided. At this moment of our national existence, we are clustered by faction and staring at each other across the abyss. Democrats versus Republicans, whites versus blacks and Hispanics, northerners versus Southerners, and so forth. Enough is enough. This country does not need to fight old battles of race, gender, politics, or statehood. Our government can barely operate in the face of such divisions, and the larger success of our country can hardly afford such hindrances.

None of us will ever forget 9/11, but I am afraid that we have forgotten how we each felt on 9/12. Overnight, everyone felt as if they had become a New Yorker. We stood as one nation, fully and passionately united without regards for politics, or race, or religion, or sexuality, or state. We stood together as Americans, and if anyone else had a problem with that, there was going to be hell to pay. And so my fellow countrymen, I ask you to band together once again. The time has come for us to forsake our differences, whatever they may be. The future of the world begs for a strong America, and in turn the future of America requires a strong and unified American people. I trust that we will work through our current struggles and our diversity to emerge a stronger, more durable nation.

This is and has long been considered the greatest country in the world for its promise, power, and success. Now, we must take up our mantle and prove ourselves. We are all Americans, and we can bridge these gaps. We will bridge these gaps. We will adapt to our toughest challenges with our great tradition of American ingenuity, and we will emerge from the darkness triumphant. I ask that you stand behind me and stand by each other. Together, we will usher in the next great age of this American Nation. Thank you, and God Bless America.

The President of these United States of America

Let’s Restore Sanity (and Civility too):

The mainstream media has expressed amusement and indifference to an impending “rally to restore sanity,” because the rally’s organizer is considered a “comedian.” I recently saw a Tea Party candidate for the House of Representatives at a debate, and can absolutely confirm the nation’s need to restore sanity as soon as possible.

The Tea Party is taking what little remains of our political sanity and civility, and throwing it off a cliff. I watched one of their Congressional candidates support the bombing of innocent civilians and the massacre of illegal immigrants as they cross the border. This “religious” candidate supported flagrant disobedience of international laws and treaties, while claiming that the recent health care law was the single worst piece of legislation that Congress has ever produced, and seemed to unequivocally vouch for eliminating the deficit. These claims ought to be questioned, respectively, in the wake of Jim Crow laws and the obvious success of Keynesian economics to move America out of the Great Depression. I was literally sick to my stomach from the disgust and embarrassment I felt as the audience applauded the bombing of innocents. A few members of the crowd booed at this point, and were immediately threatened with physical violence from part of the majority.

I fear for a country that could elect people who ignore basic human rights, common civility, the sovereignty of law, and the lessons of our nation’s history. People are angry, and part of that anger is probably justified. However, rational people need to be elected to fix the sources of that anger. Rational people may be Democrats or Republicans, but they certainly do not promote such rampant killing. No purportedly religious person should either.

A group of Chilean miners have been rescued from a cave-in. They were trapped underground for two and a half weeks.

The Wall Street Journal offers a segment on Iran’s nuclear ambitions and American efforts to rein in Iranian President Ahmadinejad. The Journal suggests that economic pressures could push Iran towards a drawback of its efforts, but the country’s leadership may not be interested in such a move. In the meantime, Ahmadinehad has recently unveiled a new long-range drone aircraft.

Huffington Post is suggesting that Michael Steele will bear the brunt of blame and anger if the GOP fails to meet its expectations in the mid-term elections. If I was Mr. Steele, I would keep a few bags packed near the door.

The New Yorker is highlighting two billionaire brothers who are “waging a war with Obama.” David and Charles Koch have been giving hundreds of millions of dollars to right-wing groups like the Tea Party. Perhaps more notably, David appears to be ready for a Michael Caine look-alike contest.

Finally, Tiger Woods’ divorce is apparently official. This is probably the second-least surprising bit of press I’ve seen this summer…the first would be Brett Favre’s announcement that he is returning for his 187th season.

Meanwhile, Mark Mardell of the BBC writes that “Fictional and philosophical reflections aside, has America lost its taste for intervention and if so, is the world a better, or worse, place as a result?” Without going into an in-depth essay (which I’ve somewhat done before, including on this blog), here are a few thoughts:

1. America, and everyone else has lost or should be losing a taste for interventionist foreign policy. I’ll take a page from Thomas Friedman here and say that it is now an economic liability for a country (see: this editorial and, more thoroughly, this piece). I challenge to find another major country that fought a war in the past decade…I’ll snooze like Rip Van Winkle while you scratch your head for awhile. Countries no longer can get the economic benefits, while maintaining positive diplomacy and a stable military. Everything just goes ka-boom now.

2. The world is not a better or worse place, but a different place. The new world is the village of globalization: Cold Warriors be damned. Seriously, there is no place for old ideology. Where can you find it today? People like Sarah Palin and the Tea Partiers. Did that make you cringe, or do you really think that President Obama, the leader of the free world, is a communist?

Finally, I’d like to make a little “Mission Accomplished” claim right here as well. Osama Bin Laden is out of the game. Dead? I don’t know. Alive? I don’t know. Hiding somewhere/laughing at us from a cafe in some major city/basking in retirement? I don’t know. What I do know is that the U.S. hasn’t had a recent terrorist attack. This could mean a few things. Perhaps our intelligence forces became the smartest and most coordinated on the planet. Wow, it’s amazing that happened virtually overnight. Perhaps our military forces have managed to occupy Iraq, subdue rebels and insurgents in Afghanistan, secure the Pakistani mountain border and suppress Bin Laden and his splinter cells, without letting any of them leave the region. Absolutely remarkable, to a point of unparalleled efficiency and achievement.

What I’m saying is that the country is more vulnerable than it has been in…well, let’s just leave it at that. An attack on American soil would shatter the political system by splitting two highly divided parties and stir up a populace that is going a little rogue. This leads me to believe that Bin Laden no longer matters, no longer lives and left a fractured organization behind, or is no longer capable of carrying out major plans. In any event, kudos to the United States. But somehow, I don’t think I’ll be seeing any celebrations.

In the vast concrete jungle that is our nation’s capital; one lion continues to sleep more soundly than most.  That lion was a champion, my champion.  Truer words have never been spoken about a man whose life was lived in a cloud of family pressure, media frenzies and scandal.  All too often there are those on the right and even some in the center who forget that the persistent wind that blew away those controversial clouds was the legislative record of the late Senator Edward Moore Kennedy.  From his beloved home on Cape Cod, Hyannis Port to be precise, Senator Kennedy represented far more than the interests of the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  For those of us who believed that, as Americans, we are capable of achieving the extraordinary, Ted Kennedy was our champion.  For those of us who believed in quality health care as a fundamental right, Ted Kennedy was our champion.  For those of us who believe that our children deserve a “Head Start,” Ted Kennedy was our champion.  For those of us who believe that all human beings-black, white, Hispanic, Asian, gay, straight, bisexual, transgender, tall, short, fat, thin, blonde, brunette, English-speaking, Spanish-speaking-are innately created equal, Ted Kennedy was our champion.  For those of us who support gender equality, Ted Kennedy was our champion.  For those us who support it all, Ted Kennedy was more than just our champion, he was our lion…my lion.  As we approach the one year anniversary of the good Senator’s death we are called upon to remember him as he ought to be remembered; a hero.  To so many men and women who believe that the best way to remember the late-Senator is by the personal issues that plagued his life, I say “shame on you.”  Whatever personal transgressions and shortcomings befell Edward Moore Kennedy, he survived them not for himself, but for us.  He was our advocate; the voice from which the voiceless were able to speak.  As he was called upon to join his family, we can only imagine what his brothers said when he looked them square in the eye.  I can only imagine it went something like this. “What took you so long?”  To which his reply must have been, quite simply, “I had to finish things up.”

~Jordan Nicholson~

The life of Ted Kennedy was a controversial one, perhaps as much or more than that of any other great political figure in our country’s present or past. Naturally, his legacy remains a topic of fierce debate. I could use this space to recount the man’s shortcomings; Chappaquiddick was a dark and painful moment never forgotten in the discussion of Kennedy. I could use this space to merely summarize his successes, but that too would ring hollow as only part of a long saga. Rather, I would like to take a moment to describe what Ted Kennedy means to me.

To me, Ted Kennedy’s life is a beacon of hope and a challenge to all those who have troubled lives or are underachieving. His life was a fight for redemption, improvement, and bettering the lives of others. He overcame crushing expectations, largely those that he held for himself to match his brothers, and devastating personal failures in his early life. Kennedy didn’t buckle. He took a long, hard look at the way that he had been living his life, and he took it upon himself to change the man he was. But then he went a step further: he strove, and succeeded, in passing legislative measures that would better the lives of working Americans.

Ted Kennedy fought for workers, soldiers, women, children, health care, the poor and middle class. He was the third-longest serving Senator in our nation’s history, but he was more than that. His legislative record is impressive, and maybe the most important resume in the Senate’s history for social progress and reform. Lyndon Baines Johnson, in my opinion, has the strongest domestic presidency in the nation’s history. Kennedy was born of that era, and he was its greatest champion for progress and bettering the lives of average Americans.

Kennedy was known as the “Liberal Lion” and so forth, but he was obviously more than that. Look again at the picture above. That’s Teddy with the great liberal President Ronald Reagan, obviously a staunch progressive. In fact, Nancy Reagan said she was “terribly saddened” and would dearly miss Kennedy after his passing in 2009.

Ted Kennedy was a Senator who I could connect to, a man really striving to help people that I know. Imagine that. In this time of governmental distrust and anger, imagine a politician really, really working to help the people. Not just people from his state. Not just businessman. Not just his voting bloc or lobbyists. Everyone.

Teddy was committed to his causes, and he took the causes of the masses upon his shoulders. At the DNC in Denver, on August 25 (exactly one year before his death), Teddy arrived to speak briefly. Two hours before, he’d lain in a hospital bed. No one thought he would make it, nor that he should try such an effort. Yet, there he was, at 9:30 PM. As a tribute ended on the screen, Ted Kennedy shocked and electrified the audience by casually walking onstage. Commitment. Emotion. Excitement. Joy. Not even a brain tumor could keep Uncle Teddy from being there to celebrate with Barack Obama and pass the torch to the next generation. Ted Kennedy was indeed a Lion…maybe the Senate’s last. It is time for the Senate to regroup, and I hope we will soon see someone take up Kennedy’s mantle. Only then will we see the needs of this American people truly reflected in its government. Requiescat in pace, Edward M. Kennedy; February 22, 1932- August 25, 2009.

The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on.

Outer Banks

I spent the past week in the Outer Banks, so I’m just catching up on my news for the past few days. Naturally, it seems like the interesting stuff starts happening when I’m not paying attention (seriously, what happens in August?).

Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani is claiming that twenty million people have been affected by the recent floods in the country. The United Nations’ Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon believed the number to be closer to fourteen million originally.

In economic news, the infamous “Hindenburg Omen” is stirring up concerns around Wall Street. The Omen is a technical indicator for major stock-market crashes and has caught every downturn in the past quarter-century. However, only about 25% of its readings actually developed into downturns; three-quarters were overly pessimistic.

Buffalo made national news today, with four dead and eight wounded in the wake of a restaurant shooting. The incident has been described as senseless and random, and the shooting will be investigated quickly.

Finally, an oddly titled New York Times editorial caught my attention, as well. I’ll just leave that one for you to enjoy though…

I’m spending the night in Gettysburg before returning home. May our soldiers rest in peace.

5.  Cubs’ Dempster (9-8, 3.76 ERA) @ Giants’ Lincecum (11-5, 3.15 ERA); The Pick: Lincecum gets the win.

4. Rockies’ Jimenez (17-2, 2.61 ERA) @ Mets’ Pelfrey (10-6, 4.16 ERA); The Pick: Jimenez gets the win.

3.  Red Sox’ Matsuzaka (8-3, 3.96 ERA) @ Blue Jays’ Romero (9-7, 3.37 ERA); The Pick: Romero gets the win.

2. Marlins’ Sanchez (8-7, 3.50 ERA) @ Nationals’ Strasburg (5-2, 2.32 ERA); The Pick: Nats win, Stras no-decision.

1. Cardinals’ Garcia (9-5, 2.53 ERA) @ Reds’ Cueto (11-2, 3.24 ERA); The Pick: Cueto wins a close, low-scoring game.

Play ball!