Washington to Average Americans: "Bail Yourselves Out, Turkeys"

By Si Dunn

Thank runaway deregulation and greed for this: a free-market freefall that will cost the federal government (meaning us) upward of a trillion dollars. Suddenly, the only way to stop major banks and other financial institutions from collapsing under the weight of their own bad debts and stupid decisions is to throw mountain ranges of cash at them.

That cash, of course, will not be coming from a Strategic Money Reserve hidden deep under a Colorado mountain. It will come straight from our pockets, straight from programs we support or desire, and straight, no doubt, from China's Central Bank. (Someday we may discover that China now owns us, and we are just another province.)

With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan also draining billions of dollars per month, the next Administration, Obama or McCain, won't be able to afford to offer us much of anything except platitudes and fervent appeals for us pull ourselves up by our frayed and knotted bootstraps.

Here, without any fanfare for the comman man, is the kind of bailout plan we can expect to receive on Main Street: (1) raise cash by selling your household goods on eBay; (2) raise more cash by selling off your personal library on Amazon; and (3) sell whatever is left over at a garage sale. And if anything remains after steps 1, 2, and 3, donate those items to Goodwill, so you can get a generous tax deduction of, say, fifty bucks or so. Then use the fifty bucks to buy a tank of gas so you can drive away from your foreclosed house.

Oh, and by the way, pay no attention to the golden parachutes now blossoming open all over the sky. It's just those silly clowns from the financial sector, still trying to get us to look up to them.

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John McCain: Open Mouth, Insert Foot

By Si Dunn

According to the Associated Press, Arizona Republican John McCain believes Democrat Barack Obama has no right to criticize McCain's position on military scholarships because the Illinois senator did not serve in uniform.

"And I will not accept from Senator Obama, who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard for those who did," McCain said in a statement issued May 22.

McCain lashed out at Obama's personal history despite Obama's repeated praise of McCain's military service, the Associated Press reported.

An Opposing View
Barack Obama has every right to criticize John McCain on this issue. Our nation is shortchanging recently returned veterans at almost every turn, while giving away and throwing away countless billions of borrowed dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the same time, President Bush and John McCain are claiming that current legislative proposals for a new GI Bill would be too expensive for America.

Speaking of “too expensive,” returning veterans are coming home expecting to be able to go to college with their promised benefits, only to find that their vouchers barely will cover a fraction of the costs they will face.

Thousands upon thousands of men and women enlisted on the promise--the guarantee--of a college education after service. So where is it? Currently tied up and hamstrung by misplaced political priorities and unbelievably massive financial waste.

No, Barack Obama did not fly a jet and spend years in North Vietnamese captivity. And yes, John McCain fought honorably in two conflicts—Vietnam and his battle for personal survival in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. But Sen. McCain seems to be forgetting exactly why he was fighting. Didn’t it have something to do--at least vaguely--with preserving democracy and protecting the rights of people--including Senators from opposing parties--to speak freely?

Personal Experience
The GI Bill gave me just enough money to go to college after I served out my enlistment in the Navy and came home from the Tonkin Gulf. Yes, I had to work some part-time jobs, and yes, I sometimes had little more than a few Cokes and a loaf of bread to live on while waiting for the next check. But the money, when carefully managed, was at least enough to pay tuition, to buy books, and to eat. Part-time jobs covered rent, clothing and inevitable extras. Without the GI Bill, I could never have earned a degree and worked at good-paying jobs.

Bottom line: Those few thousand dollars of assistance I received from the Vietnam-era GI Bill have been returned to the U.S. Treasury many times over as tax payments during my 40-plus years of employment.

Not giving today’s veterans enough money to have an equal chance at college is not just unfair. It is politically and socially immoral.

John McCain should be deeply ashamed of his opposition to more funding for American veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. He, of all people, should be acutely aware of how much they have sacrificed-—and are still sacrificing--for our country.

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Democrats for McCain: Are You Crazy?

By Si Dunn

Pollsters analyzing the Indiana and North Carolina primary results are again reporting a disturbing trend that has been seen in earlier primaries.

A number of voters in the Democratic elections are saying they will switch to John McCain if Barack Obama or (to a much lesser extent) Hillary Clinton is not the nominee.

Of course, some of these party-hoppers are Republicans who have showed up at Democratic polling stations specifically to vote against Clinton or Obama. They are hoping to help steer one candidate or the other into the general election in the belief that John McCain can beat them.

Others are Republicans so disgruntled with the Bush Administration that they are willing to back "an inspiring speaker"--Obama--despite his unabashed liberalism and somewhat thin record. Yet, if Obama is not the nominee, most of those Republicans say they will slink straight back to McCain rather than vote for Hillary Clinton and her slightly more conservative agendas. Never mind that John McCain basically is George Bush in an older--and, okay, yes, genuinely battle-scarred--flight suit. (And never mind that neither one of them could possibly outfly the embattled president in Independence Day.)

Some Democrats completely enamored of one candidate, however, say they will abandon the party and vote for John McCain in November if Obama (mostly) or Clinton (to a much lesser extent) is not the nominee.

Which raises three questions for these voters: (1) Are you crazy? (2) Have you paid any attention to these past eight years? And (3), do you always choose political petulance over practicality and common sense?

We need true change this time, not another pilot who will keep up the bombing runs on Iraq and the nation's economy.

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Bush on Climate Change: Better Never Than Late?

By Si Dunn

With barely nine months left in his lame-duck presidency, George W. Bush is set to propose a “new strategy” for reducing greenhouse gases.

Details have not yet leaked out. But some pundits predict Bush will proclaim that making his tax cuts permanent is the only way to save the planet from thermal runaway. Others speculate that he will call upon all environmentalists to “surge.” Or, he may send Condoleezza Rice on a secret mission to meet with dissident Chinese climatologists.

More boldly, however, Bush may order a preemptive nuclear strike on water vapor, which causes more of the greenhouse effect than carbon dioxide does. That way, if we can’t have victory in Iraq, maybe we can at least have some serious shock and awe… in the stratosphere.

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Obama-Richardson or Obama-Clark?

Some political observers started floating the idea of an Obama-Richardson ticket well before Barack Obama announced his run for the White House. Indeed, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson would be a potent vice-presidential candiate, because he has Washington insider experience and a wide-ranging international resume. He is a former U.S. Energy Secretary and U.N. Ambassador who also has been a capable U.S. negotiator during difficult and sometimes dangerous situations involving North Korea, Iraq and Cuba.

At least one other former Presidential candidate may also get a hyphenated shot at the White House, however. Retired four-star Gen. Wesley K. Clark was NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe from 1997 to 2000 and a Democratic candidate for President in 2004. He has extensive combat experience and has held numerous command posts during his 34-year Army career. His civilian-life credentials now range from investment banker to book author, as well as tireless fundraiser and promoter for Democratic candidates and causes. Gen. Clark has endorsed an old friend, Hillary Clinton, and has worked hard to help get her elected. But if her campaign falters in the next primaries, he may be free to entertain offers from the Obama camp.

The next President, whether Obama or Clinton, likely will need Clark's unique background to help oversee the complex process of getting the U.S. out of Iraq. Indeed, Clark and Richardson both might play major roles in the next Administration, even if neither gets a vice presidential offer and John McCain unexpectedly wins the presidency.

Gov. Richardson might not want to be Energy Secretary again, but the nation now faces enormous challenges in its energy future. It would be a bigger and more crucial job this time.

Gen. Clark might not want to be Secretary of Defense, but America's military is exhausted and short-handed at a time when other international powers, such as China and Russia, are rising again. Someone who knows how to regroup, reorganize, re-equip and re-energize fighting forces will need to have the next President's trust and attention.

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