Upfront, let me tell you I was hugely disappointed when the public option and/or single payer got shelved in the formation of Obamacare. And as one in the health care industry I was amazed that candidate Obama was willing to trust the health insurance industry to do the right thing for a revamped health insurance public policy, having seen them in action up close and professionally.
NSA overreach revelations just keep coming and yet Sen. Feinstein's Intelligence Committee, created to provide oversight to protect our privacy rights are trying to expand the reach of surveillance and data collection by our government. Google's CEO's critique in the last days is an example, as the surveillance net entraps our data held by his company.
Any better conclusions than that? Seriously, after the huffing and puffing and bluster that the News Journal and his critics were trying to mislead people or trying to hurt him or trying to delegitimize his function in office -- Treasurer Chip Flowers finally meets with the News Journal and what we find out is that he really is that incompetent. And we find out that records requested are conveniently missing. From this morning's NJ, where Flowers admits that there are financial records missing from his office:
James Clapper, the Obama Administration's Director of National Intelligence has said NSA does not "wittingly" collect data on citizens. General Keith Alexander, NSA's Director as well as his predecessor have testified that NSA is not spying on or collecting data on citizens. Even the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee has told the media that the American intelligence community is not intrusively monitoring the communications of our citizens without a warrant.
Rebecca Walker has, on paper, the kind of background I look for in a legislator--demonstrated accomplishment in arenas other than politics. She's both a nurse and an attorney, and has practiced in each field. Ernie Lopez first ran for office in New Castle County. I voted for him. Why? Because he was clearly the better candidate when he ran against the ghastly Paul Clark for County Council President in 2004.
As of today, there were 137 incidents of gun violence in Wilmington (not quite 11 months into the year) which surpasses last year's incident total of 119. Deaths as a result of gun violence (see the NJ article) is down (14 homicides vs 25 -- 15 vs 25 as of Sunday) from last year though. We've seen lots of reports of armed robberies, which seem to be up (but no data) and if there was any confidence in the Williams' Administration's ability to get a handle on Wilmington's violent crime problem, that confidence is now waning. Alot. Sunday, the 136th victim of gun violence was shot at 7th and Washington. Just a few blocks away from the Market St patrols that manage panhandlers. Also on Sunday, the 137th victim of gun violence was shot at 24th and Washington.
During the October 22 committee meetings, some New Castle County Council members showed a surprising degree of independence from the Gordon administration by rejecting two of the administration's proposals. It probably helped that vociferous Gordon allies Jae Street and Bob Weiner were not present during these committee meetings. The first proposal (presented in the Community Services Committee) to be routed was Ordinance 13-078, which would create an Office of Community Governing. This was an office established by Gordon during his first turn as County Executive.
Like many of you and a few visionaries around the country, I'm sure trying to figure out how we change the interlocked political and economic systems which brought us to this place none of us like. You know, Gridlock and Crisis City, exemplified by last weeks nightmare. These systems served us reasonably well early on in our nation, but clearly, in their present forms, they've outlived their usefulness.
Remember Dylan Ratigan? He delivered epic rants on the Bush bailout and the too big to fail fiasco on MSNBC and then abruptly left. He reemerged with a hydroponic farm venture in California. Quite a change from a really good career in finance journalism, including with Bloomberg, NBC and MSNBC. I loved his show and hated to see him go.
I regard him as one of the visionaries I want to listen to in search of solutions to the current wheel spinning we are doing. I don't know if I really agree with him, or not. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around some of his concepts. I am particularly uncomfortable with his critique of the role our two main political parties play in getting us where we are right now. He thinks parties ought to go away, replaced by a sort of direct democracy model. While often critical of my Democrats, I still cling to the belief we offer the best way out of this bad dream.
But let me summarize some of his thinking for your perusal. If you want to go deeper, go to his web site. Just Google his name.
He sees an American Renaissance bubbling up from the grassroots.
Today's installment asks the musical question: "Do I grade on a curve when it comes to Republicans?" Why, yes, yes I do. Except when I don't. Another question: Does public comment influence me. Yes, but only to a certain extent. Puzzled? I'll make everything as clear as taupe (think stockings, as I often do). Starting now.
Today's entries: Republican Mike Ramone and Democrat Andria Bennett
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