VOICES | John McCain: Wrong president for a war-weary nation

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A warrior born and bred, John McCain’s worldview is framed by preparation for wars, fighting wars, and creating enemies for future wars. McCain threatens a war with Iran to prevent it from having nuclear weapons, expresses willingness to occupy Iraq for 100 years if necessary, talks tough to Russia, and promises Americans that there “will be more wars.”
How many wars does McCain want us to fight? His recent comment at a New Mexico town hall (8/20/08) indicating support for the reinstatement of the draft foreshadows many wars in McCain’s scary imagination. His purpose is to fight for noble causes regardless of the costs. He “knows how to win wars” and “how to capture Bin Laden” who he will follow “to the gates of hell.” These certainties and assurances despite no previous wars won or efforts to capture Bin Laden. Continue Reading

VOICES | Something spectacular is going to happen

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New York Time columnist Thomas Friedman wrote, “We don’t have a ‘gasoline price problem.’ We have an addiction problem. We are addicted to dirty fossil fuels, and this addiction is driving a whole set of toxic trends that are harming our nation and world in many different ways. It is intensifying global warming, creating runaway global demand for oil and gas, weakening our currency by shifting huge amounts of dollars abroad to pay for oil imports…destroying plants and animals at record rates…..”
More fundamentally our problem is that six billion people (10 billion by 2050) are addicted to the consumption of our alive, interconnected, and interdependent planet. That is not sustainable. Lester Brown of the Worldwatch Institute, Washington D.C., wrote, “A sustainable society is one that satisfies its needs without diminishing the prospects of future generations.” Sustainability is the moral issue of this generation. Continue Reading

McCain Sells His Soul

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We can sell our souls—behave counter to our deepest purpose and values—to many things: fame, money, and power. John McCain sold his soul recently to try to win a presidential election. The Free Speech Zone offers a space for contributions from readers, without editing by the TC Daily Planet. This is an open forum for articles that otherwise might not find a place for publication, including news articles, opinion columns, announcements and even a few press releases. Continue Reading

VOICES | Angry at Obama

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In a recent column, New York Times columnist Bob Herbert wrote, “I’ll say this about Senator Obama. He sure raises people’s hackles.” Leaders who represent change tend to do that. Herbert continued, “I’ve never seen anyone so roundly criticized for such grievous offenses as giving excellent speeches and urging people of different backgrounds to take a chance on working together. How dare he? And 200,000 people turned out to hear him in Berlin. Continue Reading

A well considered patriotism

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I learned as a child that patriotism is love of our country and devotion to the ideals we believe in. Patriots are people who act courageously for their country. I love America, but never thought of myself as a patriot—that title was reserved for those who sacrificed greatly for the rest of us—usually on the battlefield. Somehow over the years the definition and symbols of patriotism changed for some to a narrow and shallow aberration disrespectful to true patriots: lapel pins, polarization, empty swagger, artificial conflicts, and a refusal to admit mistakes or errors of policy. Patriotism became a bludgeon used to intimidate anyone who criticized these pseudo-patriots or their policies in an effort to silence dissent and to deceive, frighten, and manipulate citizens. Continue Reading

An Obama landslide?

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Approximately half the states may be competitive in November’s presidential election. Barack Obama plans a 50 state campaign to take advantage of changed demographics, superior fund-raising, and his unmatched ground organization. A landslide Obama victory is possible. Opinion: An Obama landslide? I believe that Obama will break away from the recent statistical tie with John McCain and win an overwhelming majority of electoral and popular votes. Continue Reading

John McCain: Warmonger?

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Ed Schultz, Fargo’s liberal talk radio host, ignited a political brushfire when he called John McCain a “warmonger” during a passionate warm-up of hundreds of Barack Obama’s enthused supporters at a fundraiser prior to the political rock star’s speech at the North Dakota Democratic Convention in Grand Forks, ND (April 6). Is McCain a warmonger? McCain went on a “biography tour” the previous week and shared his life story with America. He proudly outlined his family’s martial heritage going back to the Revolutionary War; he described his high school years when a chip on his shoulder led him to respond, “aggressively and sometimes irresponsibly to anyone whom I perceived to have questioned my sense of honor and self-respect.” McCain described his four years at the Naval Academy, “were not notable for exemplary virtue or academic achievement but, rather, for the impressive catalogue of demerits I managed to accumulate;” he beautifully described the horror of war and the aliveness fighting for a cause greater than self can evoke as only one who has been there can: “The combat veteran knows what great loss and great joy feel like when they occur in the same moment, the same experience. It can be transforming.”
Clearly McCain’s life and worldview were framed and formed by wars, preparation for wars, and the losses of war. Continue Reading

The Speech

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I see in Barack Obama the potential and possibility of transformative leadership. When I listen to Barack Obama speak, I feel hopeful. Maybe we can renew our nation. Perhaps we can recommit ourselves to the noble values and grand purpose of America. He reminds me of the best energy of the 60s. Continue Reading

Many worlds

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I grew up as a man in white America. I had an unconscious assumption that everyone experienced life and saw the world as I did. Bettye taught me that there are many worlds—that each of us has a unique history and experience life in a singular way. I met Bettye when I was asked to lead a new 4,500 employee business unit in the company we worked for. I held meetings with employees and got to know Bettye. Continue Reading

Politics & Grumpy Old Men

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Images from the campaign trail:
–Former President Bill Clinton in angry exchanges with hecklers,
–A red-faced and finger-pointing Clinton angrily lecturing a reporter in South Carolina,
–Senator and presumptive Republican presidential nominee, John McCain exposing his dark side in a debate with Mitt Romney showing a dark smile of satisfaction when he thinks he hurts his opponent. McCain has a long history of temper tantrums and has been referred to as “Senator Hothead” by several publications. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
–“F—you,” he shouted at Texas Senator John Cornyn last year,
–“Only an a—-would put together a budget like this,” he told the former Budget Committee chairman, Senator Pete Domenici, in 1999,
–“I’m calling you a f—-jerk!” he once retorted to Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley. These guys remind me of the loveable curmudgeon Max Goldman (played by Walter Matthau) in the 1993 movie Grumpy Old Men. But when out of control, Clinton and McCain are not loveable. Continue Reading