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Energy, Tax Cuts, Lift American Spirits…

khagler1 — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:32:34 +0000

“Energy, Budget Tax Cuts, Lift American’s Spirits”

This is the to-do list (crib/cheat sheet, whichever you prefer) scribbled on the palm of Sarah Palin’s hands while she gave her speech at the first Tea Party convention in Nashville Saturday night. For someone who is critical of the president’s use of teleprompters….well you get the drift.

The funniest part is that she apparently couldn’t remember those bullet points.

Palin gives speech

Closeup with words clearly visible

Obama sets stage for success in the U.S.

Joel Mendelson — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:36:56 +0000

Republished from 2/2/10 Sentinel:

By: Joel Mendelson

President Barack Obama entered the House chambers last week amid growing criticism and plummeting poll numbers, and with an American public who is beginning to sincerely doubt his ability to bring change to Washington. The speech was heavily focused on the economy and helped set the tone and agenda necessary to pull the United States back from the abyss.

The economic portion of the speech centered on job creation and what it would take to finally get the 10 percent of Americans who are unemployed back to work. The president asked Congress for a jobs bill to inject the necessary funds into the economy that will stimulate growth. According to Obama, his stimulus package has saved or created an estimated 2 million jobs and will create an additional 1.5 million by year’s end. While skeptics and critics of the stimulus package still trumpet it as a failed piece of legislation, when one goes beyond what critics and pundits say, it is working.

President Obama staunchly defended his policies from conservative attacks by proudly reaffirming that his administration cut taxes for millions of Americans during his first year in office. This announcement did not find any support among Republicans who are seething with anger over Obama’s decision to let George W. Bush’s tax cuts expire at the end of this year. These massive cuts did little to help middle class families and allowed the wealthy to live lavishly during these lean times.

Health care reform took a smaller stage than usual, but Obama reaffirmed his commitment to the long embattled debate and hopes to have health care reform passed in the near future. With Americans concerned over the mounting deficit, the president proposed a federal spending freeze. Estimates show that there will be a $1 trillion deficit reduction during the next two decades. These represent just some of the ways the of tackling the continuing economic issues plaguing our nation.

Aside from the economy, which dominated the speech, President Obama discussed at length the lack of leadership on Capitol Hill. Republicans in the Senate have been using the filibuster option at a record pace, requiring the Democratic majority to scrape together a supermajority (60 votes) that they just don’t have. This obstructionist behavior led to a legislative standstill and is partially responsible for the lack of progress on the president’s legislative agenda. The president looked sternly toward the Republican side of the chamber declaring, “Just saying no to everything isn’t leadership.”

This obstacle of hyper-partisanship has created gridlock in Washington at a time when few Americans can afford to sit idly by and watch Congress bicker. President Obama laid out an agenda filled with ambitious yet achievable goals for Congress and the United States. Financial, energy and infrastructure reforms are hardly hyper-partisan in nature.

If one throws their ridiculous partisan label out the window, you might start to realize the importance of true reform in this country. The president isn’t proposing some scary socialist agenda, as some would have you believe; it’s an agenda that supports the United States and its people, something that’s been regularly neglected over the past decade. Some will still fight against investment in education, jobs creation, energy independence and the middle class, but if the president were of the same party as those in opposition, they’d support every word that came from his mouth.

That’s what has become so unfortunate in the United States: If you don’t support the political party of the president or any other government official their message instantly becomes wrong and poisonous to American growth. We remain divided due in part to our constant need for political news, and we lack the knowledge to separate politics from governance. This isn’t the Democratic Party takeover of America, this is a man trying to lead the United States in the direction he feels is best, and he’s giving it everything he’s got. President Obama is ready to roll up his sleeves and so are the American people. Let’s hope Congress can follow suit. From the economy to education, from infrastructure to national security, President Obama is my president, he’s your president, and he’s the President of the United States. If we let him lead, the country will not spiral downwards into oblivion, and we can recapture the American spirit and build a better tomorrow.

Doomsday approaches for Georgians

Joel Mendelson — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:25:07 +0000

Govenor Sonny Perdue getting funky with Georgians

By Joel Mendelson

Reposted from the KSU Sentinel:

The 2010 session of the Georgia State Legislature has commenced, and what a glorious 40 days it shall be – unless you believe anyone at the Gold Dome will actually accomplish true reform for a state desperately in need of major overhauls. In the last several years, Georgians from all the walks of the political spectrum have called on their state representatives and senators to take an active role in reforming the major infrastructure issues the state, and, more specifically, the metro Atlanta. Water, transportation and education are just three issues requiring major reform, and our leadership is poised once again to do nothing.

With jobs and tax revenues evaporating quicker than Lake Lanier’s waters during the drought, the economic and budget crises have put Georgia in dire straits. Sonny Purdue’s final budget as governor will feature three additional furlough days for state employees and $1.2 billion in cuts from the proposed $18.6 billion budget. Not factored into this budget is the estimated $1.4 billion in federal stimulus funds the state stands to lose next year. Yet, rather than attempting to solve this mess, it’s business as usual downtown.

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle had a very simple plan to help Georgia’s sagging economy: cut taxes. Yes, the typical Republican answer to everything came out while speaking to the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. While conservatives continue to push the notion of corporate tax cuts as a way to stimulate the economy and bring jobs back to Georgia, cutting taxes during a budget crisis is about as smart as going hunting with John Oxendine’s kid.

Unlike the federal government, state governments cannot run deficits, which is why state tax cuts that appear similar to George W. Bush’s cuts of 10 years ago are irrational. Universities across the state, KSU included, are suffering due to the budget cuts. Increases in class size and tuition with decreases in the number of classes and services offered on campus are just some of the expectations KSU students should have with these continued cuts. Slashing taxes for the wealthy and corporate interests will not help KSU or other state entities escape their own budget crises, and the strain will be passed down to students and staff.

Education is just one area that is suffering in Georgia. Gov. Purdue announced recently his support of a regional SPLOST (special local option sales tax) in a desperate attempt to solve our growing transportation problems. The state would be split into distinct regions which would vote on the sales tax option. While ideas are floating around as how to fix our transportation nightmare, they all require significant funding, which if you haven’t figured it out by now, Georgia cannot exactly accomplish. After the sales tax idea was announced, Purdue quickly backed down, stating that this will be a ballot issue in 2012. Yes, several more years of inaction on transportation. What a glorious idea.

With the legislative session in full swing, I’ve heard more from state representatives on the importance of expanding where Georgians can take concealed weapons than the transportation, water and budget crises that are effectively destroying this state. Whether the United States fully recovers from the current recession remains to be seen, but it seems far likelier than recovery in Georgia. State leadership is more focused on those who fund their campaigns than those who actually put them in office. As long as our leaders remain the pawns of interest groups and lobbyists, Georgians across the state will feel the stranglehold of their power, while state infrastructure crumbles and jobs burn.

Solving these problems will require true leadership at the state capitol, not politics as usual. The year 2010 cannot be about partisanship; it must be a year in which Georgia voters take action and choose state candidates committed to rebuilding rather than business-as-usual and pandering to corporate interests. Georgians are scrambling and calling on the state for help, yet with a kind smile, Gov. Purdue and company have turned a blind eye and a deaf ear. Our calls have gone unheard and now we’re left to pick up the pieces. It’s currently a dark day in Georgia, and there will not be action unless we take it.

All we are saying…

Joel Mendelson — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:46:02 +0000

A fresh decade, a fresh start

This new decade begins with a message of hope and opportunity rather than the politics that typically dominate this column. While it may be debated that the new decade technically starts next year rather than 2010, the world celebrated the end of a tumultuous 10 years and we were glad to be done with what is now referred to as the Naughts. It was a decade that started with the Y2K scare. George W. Bush beat Al Gore in the smallest election in United States history (Bush won the election five votes to four). The United States was attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001, an event that subsequently led to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, New Orleans was washed away live on television while millions watched. The economy collapsed and, in an odd turn of events, the United States elected the first African-American president.

It has been an interesting few years, and for many of us here at KSU, it was the decade we came into our own. We grew up in what history may soon say was the most fascinating yet utterly devastating decade since the 1960s. Yet for all the bumps and bruises we’ve taken since the world rang in 2000, somehow the world is still here. Future historians will surely scratch their heads at the one element the Naughts failed to accomplish – bringing people together.

Yes, it’s an idea straight from the Hippies, but when the tough times hit, history suggests we do something so foreign to us now: We unite under a banner of survival, giving it all we’ve got until the world is truly a better place. For a brief instant following the 9/11 attacks, we did just that, but when the war drums started beating and President Bush started calling for Saddam Hussein’s head, the unity ended in one fell swoop.

It would be far too easy to turn this into a piece that simply thumbs my nose at the previous 10 years, but this is meant to inspire. We put up with a lot for the better part of a decade and now it’s our time to shine. The naysayers would have you believe that we are on a collision course with Hell, whether it be the fault of global warming, those evil “socialists” in Washington D.C. or al Qaida. Yet somehow, some way, I’m here, writing this editorial to tell you the ballgame is far from over. Find the issues that inspire you and make a difference that counts.

As we watched those difficult events unfold, there was so little we could do, but that’s all changed. During the 2008 election, I was an organizer for the Obama campaign and I truly felt that I was able to make a difference simply by standing up for something. Whether you support President Obama or not, the euphoria felt by those who worked so hard to see Barack Obama elected was simply a testament to what we all can accomplish when we’re willing to work for it.

This decade, don’t let the images on television stop you from finding your passion and pursuing it. College is the beginning of the rest of our lives, and we can’t spend it bickering over the decisions made by elected officials or those who wish to do us harm. Rise up to the occasion and realize and that each of us individually can make a difference in the world. Find your passion and pursue your dreams. We so rarely get a chance this great.

We survived a decade of false starts, setbacks and challenges and now it’s our time to shine. Get involved at KSU with a student organization, pursue a career in which you know you can make a difference, and realize that you, not our leaders, can bring true change to the country and world. Not the size of your paycheck, but the actions you take will truly define who you are in life. We were the witnesses; now we are the ones who can inspire the world. Let those witnessing our actions see the greatness we can achieve together. It sounds naïve, but give it a chance. You may not be disappointed with the results. The future is ours and it has arrived. Let’s get to work.

Reposted from the KSU Sentinel: http://ksusentinel.com/op-ed/all-we-are-saying…/