Election Results

Just a few quick thoughts on a politics. I do not claim to be an expert. In fact, I claim to be quite ignorant. I am mostly posting questions here, even if not phrased that way, and would much appreciate your input.

Listening to the pundits talk about elections last night drove me a bit crazy. However, I was definitely happy to hear that the Democrats were going more moderate overall. With a country this big, how can anyone not agree that we need constant compromise?

The fact the longest serving Senator just got convicted of a felony is maybe one of the scariest things I've heard.

I am happy that the Democrats do not have a super-majority, if for no other reason than that the system of checks and balances would become woefully out of whack.
There are problems with the two-party system, but I think there is little reason why any new potential member of Congress would go alone.

Republicans are already looking to 2010 as a possible repeat of 1994. Personally, I thought 1994 was the start of a pretty good time in the USA, but I was only 12. As they say, correlation is not causation.

Not that I am an expert, but I've been thinking about the structure of our government. Specifically, the relationships between states and the feds. The comparison to our major corporations that are called 'too big to manage' is very apt. The value of a state being in the union with another is that if one has a major disaster, they can count on the other to help bail them out of it. That could mean one state may be supporting others in most years. Very similar to a large corporation where one division is a cash cow funding everything else (e.g., Google with AdSense funding YouTube, etc.).

Not every issue needs to be a national issue. Some issues can be dealt with at the state, county or city level.

Also, I think this election (and coming recession) may have at least a short term impact on the personal accountability of Americans. I believe that sometimes things go wrong. I believe that by trying to legislate wrong-ness out of existence we are trying to pass on accountability.

All of these thoughts deserve a lot more conversation. I almost wish I hadn't started thinking about them. Any pointers to already written papers on these topics would be appreciated (please don't suggest the Federalist Papers)

The Bailout

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeI haven't written in a while because I've been more than a little bit caught up reading anything I could about the Bailout being proposed by Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke (hilariously termed 'Hanke-Panke' Bailout). So, I've shared a lot of stories in google reader that I thought people might like. You can check them out if you are my friend in google reader or you can go to the 'bailout' tag that I made public.


You can also see everything that I've shared.  And, of course, I have a google reader gadget on the left.

I try not to get into crazy political discussions on the blog (and in real life), but I have no idea if I am in favor of the plan or not. I don't know if I really had a problem with the original proposal, though I admit it feels better that they are going to take equity stakes in the new proposal.

The most interesting part of all of this has been thinking about how devastating this could be in a worst case scenario. The vicious cycle created by credit-ratings, bad assets, and capital requirements is amazing.

TED Conference Video: Education Kills Creativity

Not much to say in addition, but watch this video. I only wish Sir Robinson would have provided a more concrete sample solution to the problem. Though, I suppose that giving concrete answers would defeat the point.



It's amazing. Here'e the direct link

The Food We Eat

Back from Costa Rica. An unbelievable trip. I highly recommend it to everyone--and don't miss the Volcano. I will write more in depth about it as I get more time. In the meantime, check out my Flickr page.

However, I wanted to put up a link to this blog posting about the America's weight problem. I watch a lot of people think they're eating well by getting a salad for lunch, but then get extra ranch dressing and don't think twice. This guy, Ruhlman, writes a lot of good postings about a topic that's become more relevant/important to me every day. If you have a chance browse through some of his older stuff, I think it will raise your awareness (more than some Wilmer Valderrama movie). Even if it doesn't change your behavior, at least you might know the impacts. I can't believe that over the last few months, I've made an effort to eat less meat.

I think the food we eat has major implications on two of the biggest issues facing us today--the environment and health care reform--not to mention my opinion that more government regulation leads to lazier/stupider/greedier citizens with an undo sense of entitlement. I'm not going to get myself worked up right now about either of these (but I almost did), but expect that at some point, I'll be posting more links to relevant and politically charged articles like these:

Bittman on the costs of eating so much meat
Bloomberg on electing a president

I always wondered why people were so ignorant, but I never really cared until recently. I'm really learning a lot these days and, to quote Michael Jackson, "I'm starting with the man in mirror".