Not Done Yet.

Analysis: After healthcare victory in court, new challenges for Obama | Reuters

The President and his party have not done very well in telling the people what they are going to get for their money.  Polling consistently shows the ACA in disfavor but the individual provisions meet a much better fate.  This is a communication problem.  The President should lead the charge but depend on other outlets to carry water.  He is a winner over some terrific odds.

The Supreme's Hit

How the Justices Ruled on the Health Care Law - Graphic - NYTimes.com

I have rarely been as surprised as I was that Justice Roberts provided the deciding vote but in reading his decision it is apparent that he relied on existing precedent in reaching his conclusion.  Those in dissent seem to have disregarded precedent which is their right.  What I would really like to know is what in the world is up with Justice Kennedy.  He was a reliable moderate voter, usually in cahoots with Justice O'Connor before she retired.  Now here he is associating with the likes of the court's right wing.

Muscle Shoals Blues

Jason Isbell - Hurricanes and Hand Grenades - YouTube

The Death of Coal

Tom Eblen: Straight talk from a U.S. Senator (not Kentucky's) about future of coal | Tom Eblen | Kentucky.com

Managed Care or Profiteering?

Navigating the Labyrinth of Medical Costs - Your Money - NYTimes.com

Take the time to read this article.  this is what the Affordable Care Act is supposed to mediate.  This is why medical costs and insurance costs are so out of reach for so many people.  People who are secure that they are covered then find they still owe thousands of dollars for their medical care.  It is a mystery to me why anyone would not want this insane practice stopped and yet people will pitch a royal fit over the Affordable Care Act.  Go figure.

Democracy for Sale

The Super PAC Fund-Raisers in the 2012 Election : The New Yorker

the cancerous world of fund raising in political elections.   They really only want good government, not favors.  Can you believe that?

The Will of the People?

Egypt's democratic revolution is being crushed by a slow-motion coup | Observer editorial | Comment is free | The Observer


some time back I remarked that the Egyptian military and ruling elite could have crushed the revolution like the Chinese did and now the Syrians.  It seems they chose a more prolonged way of attempting to do the same thing.  The questions are what will the Muslim Brotherhood do and will the revolutionaries rise to form a political bloc.

Bullied Bus Monitor Karen Klein Doesn't Accept Apologies - ABC News

Bullied Bus Monitor Karen Klein Doesn't Accept Apologies - ABC News


This seems to me to be nearly what the kids were guilty of.  If a person is offered an apology it should be accepted if it even comes close to acceptable.  It is simply a matter of grace.  Instead this woman is anticipating a half million dollar payback and says she will believe it when the cash is in her hands.  An astounding lack of grace.

Are Markets Prescient

So, do we really expect a 13 or 14 year old person to peer into the future and decide what kind of job may be available in 10 years when he or she finishes school? With reliance on markets to create jobs as a result of demand that is exactly what we are doing. I can tell you that at that age my future was not on my mind nearly so much as cars and girls, in that order. If I had chosen cars then I would have run into the great GM bankruptcy and consequent bailout but if I had chosen girls then there are several ways that could have worked out and a few that it may not have done so well.

What about one of those people who came out of high school and went to work right away for some big company like General Motors or big steel? When they get 25 years in and are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel the global markets change and they are left hanging with skills that are no longer required and 45 or 50 years old. In this job market being that age, with those skills, a mortgage and two kids in college the prospects are not good. Should that person have been prescient enough to foresee that the automotive and steel production markets were going to change drastically and spurned those high paying jobs for something envisioned to take place in the future?

Even here, in Somerset-Pulaski County we have an aircraft mechanic's vocational training application that, when a student is graduated, still cannot find work here and must move to some other area in order to practice his or her vocation. Is the proper decision here to not attend the aircraft mechanic's school and if that is the case then why do we have it?

When those people hit the unemployment line what should our response be to them. Even if you do not believe that we owe our fellow citizens some kind of assistance it has to be recognized that if those people don't find some gainful employment they will be a drag on the economy and we will have been deprived of what they can contribute to the community.

Here in Eastern Kentucky as well as the rest of the country we have so shortage of parents who have done an abysmal job of rearing their children and training them to achieve the highest level of excellence that they are capable of. These former children become dropouts, are much more likely to be overtaken by drug addiction and to end up in prison where they become a dead weight on our society. How do we deal with such people. It seems evident that locking them up has not worked and won't work and only results in a huge prison population that is such a growth industry that private enterprise wants in on it.

If we do not respond to these people in a collective sense then surely the nation will not prosper and the weight of providing basic services to them will drag us down. Even now, as we have so many unemployed and underemployed, we find the weight to be quite heavy. Unless we are willing to allow those people to suffer and die then we are forced to the conclusion that we must be proactive.

Some of our leaders want to abolish the Department of Education as if to say, “let the markets decide what kind of labor force we need. It is of no interest to us nationally whether or not our citizens have prospects for gainful employment.” It seems clear to me that government is the only entity that has the capability and resources to identify areas in which to prepare workers for the future. What do we do with the displaced worker whose job has been either shipped overseas or no longer exists. Rather than allow that person to remain a drag on society shouldn’t we be able to offer some kind of retraining and hope for the future? If so then not only do we need retraining but we also need for private enterprise to be able to offer that person a job.

In the cases of those who have missed the boat or have been devastated by drug addictions should we allow them to stagger along on the fringes of society all the while depriving us of the benefits of their labor and the taxes they would pay? I think not. We can help these people recover but for what purpose? They have no ability to even seek a job much less find a decent one and become a good citizen. It was never intended that the various Social Welfare benefits would be an unending trip to the trough. It was always intended that dependence would be a temporary stop on the way to self-sustainability. People are quick to point to those who depend on government largess as lazy, shiftless and wouldn't work in a pie factory. The truth is that many of them are just exactly like that but far more would be exhilarated to be able to work and regain the pride of self that comes from that. The point is that the other side of the welfare coin is back to work and for that to happen there must be jobs. For these people to get back to work they may need extensive assistance from a social worker to be able to enter the work force however, it is the social worker who is among the first to get a pink slip when budgets get tight.

The role of government should be and has always been to act in concert with business to anticipate jobs before they happen and act proactively to have people and jobs ready to fill the gap when it opens. For instance, It has become evident to all that for the United States to employ its people there has to be products that we can sell. What we are good at is innovation and technology but we don't have the mathematicians and engineers available to seize the opportunity. We lack the political will to act proactively to encourage students to prepare for these fields while we wait for markets to demand them. What our markets have created are scads of business majors to fill jobs on Wall Street. If we wait for demand to fuel our job preparation then we will be perpetually ten years behind the curve. If we are behind the curve then someone else will not be and will seize the opportunity.

So, I encourage you to rethink the idea of the infallibility of the markets. It is true that our markets have fueled the rise of our nation but not without problems such as the current economic doldrums we find ourselves in and many others. Our goal must be to regulate markets in order to achieve goals but not so much as to stifle them beyond usefulness. It is only through the regulation of markets by government that we are able to sustain a viable and vibrant middle class and it is that middle class that has proven to be the engine of our greatness.

Bloomberg Poll

msnbc video: Favorable poll puts outsourcing expert Romney on the ropes


interesting video if you would like to see why Romney is just clueless when it comes to speaking to the average joe.

Changing of the Guard

Mubarak taken off life support - FT.com

Mubarak has been a staunch ally of the United States for many years keeping Egypt firmly in the western camp.  During the first years of Nasser's reign after the coup Egypt was a client of the Soviets but gradually, especially after Sadat came to power, came to the United States.  Egypt has been our representative in the Arab states and a partner in the Israeli peace efforts.  With the rise of democracy comes the voice of the Islamic multitudes including those with a radical voice.  Remains to be seen how we will deal with that but if we are to promote democracy then we must be accepting of where it takes us.

Pre-Season Number One

Why Indiana starts No. 1: Veterans, strong freshmen boost Hoosiers - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBSSports.com News, Scores, Stats, Schedule and RPI Rankings:

 Beyond that, Crean again will have athletic freak and wild card Victor Oladipo; few teams have a change-of-pace player the likes of this junior guard. Senior Jordan Hulls returns as a veteran sharpshooter, and last year's best sixth man in college basketball, Will Sheehey, is back as well.

That's good enough for me.

And it should be good enough for you.

I think that Indiana was the second best team in the country late last year.  With Zeller returning they should be strong enough to make a run.

Or Could it be the Cards

Why Louisville starts No. 1: Deep, veteran Cardinals still have Pitino - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBSSports.com News, Scores, Stats, Schedule and RPI Rankings:

 No disrespect to John Calipari or Tom Crean, but that's why the Louisville Cardinals enter the 2012-13 college basketball season as numero uno.

Flash back to New Orleans last March 31, when Pitino's bunch had a chance to make it a one-possession affair with a tad more than five minutes remaining in the national semifinals, against a Kentucky crew that has a chance to send a record six players to the first round of the NBA Draft.

Sometimes overlooked amid the flammable quotes and Don Corleone-esque white suit is the obvious: Pitino is one of the elite coaches in college basketball history. Sure, he's not Calipari in terms of recruiting but this season, Pitino won't be completely overmatched when pitting his roster against the one down the road.

Can the Cats take it to #1 again?

Why Kentucky starts No. 1: Nobody else has UK's roster and Calipari - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBSSports.com News, Scores, Stats, Schedule and RPI Rankings

 I realize Kentucky lost its top six players. And that no school has ever won back-to-back titles with such roster turnover. And that Indiana is really talented. And Louisville is so deep that multiple Cardinals have "decided" to transfer to free up scholarships for more talented prospects.

Basketball among the golden three will be exciting this year.

Earnhart to the front.

Final Laps: Dale Earnhardt Jr. snaps four-year skid - NASCAR.COM Video


Junior finally gets it.  In the Batmobile yet.

Resistance is vital to our freedom.

Google Sees Surge In Censorship Demands - Government - Policy & Regulation - Informationweek: Silencing speech isn't just for dictators; democracies are trying it also. U.S. authorities, for example, asked Google to remove information 6,192 times in the second half of 2011.

It is amazing how just about every government attempts to control the flow of information to the people.  The only reason can be in order to deceive them.

Not just yet.

Nuclear Talks Begin, Iran Wants Sanctions Lifted: Western diplomats said the Iranian government is starting to feel the bite of these sanctions. The proof, they say, is the Iranian demand to lift them.

North America! Surely not.

G20 summit: Barroso blames eurozone crisis on US banks | World news | The Guardian

It is difficult for me to see how our Wall Street banks can't be blamed for tipping the global financial system over the edge and for demonstrating to the foreign banks how to do the dirty tricks.  However, other banks than the U.S. were guilty of overleveraging once they saw the amount of money to be made by using the unwise practices.

What this does is illustrate the low regard the right wing holds for the President and the lengths to which they will go to deligitimize his Presidency.  Such rudeness and incivility have never been witnessed in the degree they are now.  It is disgusting.  Someone should have walked over to the arrogant ___ and slapped him.

It's Still Wrong

Foreign Money is influencing elections says McCain | Daily Political


The John McCain I remember.

great cartoon by Horsey for June 15th in the Herald Leader while Joel Pett is in China.

Egypt Near the Edge.

BBC News - Court rulings throw Egypt into state of flux

as much as we may dislike an Islamic government in Egypt this ruling may throw Egypt into conflict much like what we are seeing in Syria.  If the people cannot accomplish revolution through peaceful means then the violent means will have to do..

June's Garden

One of June Price's gardens in Easthampton, Massachusetts.  Send me your photos of gardens if you would like to share them.

Occupy Congress

Sanders Releases Explosive Bailout List

this is one of the most alarming and distressing things I have read recently and the news is full of such things.  Every one of us should be in the street protesting the very idea that this could be done while the Middle Class crashes.  Bernie Sanders is owned by no corporation or person.  God bless people like him who will stand up for right.  Wouldn't it be great if they all did.  Oh wait!  They may do that if we let them.

Please take the time to follow the link to see the list and then ask yourself if that is what you think should have been done.

Lots of free speech.

Gingrich Gone, Billionaire Now Showers Romney With Money - NYTimes.com

He just wants his free speech to be heard.  And heard and heard and heard.

Vlad is back!

Sending Gunships to Assad Displays Breathtaking Cynicism - Bloomberg

It seems that Russia is feeling cocky enough to try to face down the US again.

Ford, General Electric Jobs

Ford makes big investment in Louisville | Fox News

Normally I am not for jobs that come at the expense of tax revenues which were give up to the tune of $240 million.  While these commitments are great news for Kentucky as a major hub of the auto industry it also points out that we need to reform our tax code so that the burden can be alleviated in other ways.

An Interesting Concept

Did Republicans deliberately crash the US economy? | Michael Cohen | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

while I may not think that the GOP deliberately crashed the economy I do think that their intransigence has contributed mightily to it.  This article makes some interesting points.

More Mob Money

Crossroads takes on six more Democrats in crucial Senate races – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

More big, unidentified money hits the market.  It is disgusting that corporate interests can funnel money to defeat a candidate (or help another win).  It is reprehensible that they can even donate money and worse that they can avoid being identified..

More of the same.

Syrian Conflict Takes New Turn for the Worse - NYTimes.com

When the people speak...............

IMF chief Christine Lagarde warns world risks triple crisis | Business | guardian.co.uk


the people will not forever allow the wealthy to be the only ones to enjoy the fruits of their labor.  There is now a restiveness in the streets that will only grow.

Austerity?

Interactive: An austere trip through Europe - Interactive - Al Jazeera English

this is an interesting exercise for those who actually want to know what is going on.

Tell Me Mr. Dimon

Five Questions for Jamie Dimon - Bloomberg  

The reason we need to get the new regulations in place.  If Romney is elected the regulations will disappear and we'll repeat the financial crisis in a few years.  Difference?  We won't survive it this time.

What? Me Worry?

The investors are so worried that they can't find a place to put all of their money so that it will not lose value while they are sitting on it.  Tell me where the investors are that were supposed to put their money into creating businesses and jobs.  The middle class has lost over 1/3 of its net wealth over just the past few years while the wealthy investors are sitting on trillions of dollars in hedge funds and other financial instruments that don't create a single job anywhere.  Oh, they are so frightened in Europe over Spain, Italy and Greece that they just don't know what to do with their money.  Guess they will have to put it in dollars where at least they know they will get it back.

And what kind of idiot would want to return to the same practices that landed us in this spot in the first place?  The only way we can get out of this is by more stimulus to the middle class to create demand and federal tax policy that allows the middle class to keep a larger portion of its productivity.  Targeted stimulus to infrastructure, innovation and states will do more to get things moving than anything.  Cutting taxes again and doing more deregulation will only assure the demise of the middle class.

Not The Problem!

U.S. has wrong idea of Syrian opposition, backers say – USATODAY.com

Why doesn't someone over there like maybe Turkey or the other Arab states act like they want to intervene?  Everything is not our problem to solve.

The Death of Coal

Alpha Closes Mines as Coal Industry Faces ‘New Normal’ - Bloomberg

the demise of the importance of the black rock will not be an immediate thing but economic factors are drastically reducing the importance of coal in the energy production picture.  Those states who are held hostage by King Coal need to recognize the power shift and adjust to a new strategy.

With Friends Like These......................!

Gov't: Storm will pass over settl... JPost - Diplomacy & Politics

the fate of the Palestinians is the driving force behind Islamic radicalism and we can't get Israel to even attempt a resolution to the quest for peace.  The world knows that Israel could not exist in that location without the backing of the United States and they thumb their noses at our concerns.  Try a little harder.

Assad, Go..........................Somewhere.

Clinton tells Syria's Assad to quit, leave... JPost - Middle East

Or what?  This guy is not going to leave until he is carried out in a body bag.  The fate of the other leaders of Arab countries who have been deposed is not an encouraging sign to him.  What is clear is that the United States should not unilaterally intervene in Syria.  If anyone should intervene it is the Arab League which has the most to gain from seeing a resolution in Syria.  Truth is, the leaders of the Arab countries are only concerned about their own skin and find it difficult to deal with democratic governments should they arise.

With Friends Like These......................!

UPDATE 3-U.S. losing patience with Pakistan, says Panetta | Reuters


This is one of the reasons that we should leave that part of the world to the miserable people who inhabit it.  If we need to we can always return to bomb more of it to rubble.  Pakistan controls the supply routes to Afghanistan and Karzai is not a reliable partner in Afghanistan.  There is no likely good outcome.  Pakistan is determined to maintain its leverage and will not surrender its ties to the Haqqani group.

More Layoffs in the Public Sector

UK Begins Notifying Employees Of Layoffs | LEX18.com | Lexington, Kentucky


what people don't realize is that the massive job losses in state and local governments are responsible for negating the gains made in overall hiring.  The Obama stimulus kept the losses to a bearable level but now those federal funds are depleted.  If a stimulus were enacted with enough funding to allow those governments to rehire the teachers and other workers it would be a tremendous boost to the economy.

Let's hear it for the Green!! Go Rondo

Boston Celtics take third in row to put Miami Heat on brink – USATODAY.com

I was seriously worried about the Celtics taking this game in Miami.  I am so impressed that they can take "the best team money can buy" to the brink.  One more, please.  Dang it!  I thought it was a best of five series.

The Righteous Mind

Jonathan Haidt Explains Our Contentious Culture | Moyers & Company | BillMoyers.com



I strongly urge you to watch this if you think that political speech is out of control and that we can't compromise for the good of the people.

The Righteous Mind

I want to recommend a book to you. Truthfully, I haven't read it yet but I watched an interview with the author, Jonathon Haidt, on Bill Moyers' Journal and the author expounded on its premise and it is one that will challenge the way you think. That assumes that you are willing to have that challenged. The title of the book is “The Righteous Mind” and it deals with how, when we are thinking, we come to a place we call righteousness. I am not dealing with religious thought here although the book does say that we deal with many issues in the same way that we think about religiosity.

The book deals with how we, as a society, think about social and political issues and come to believe that our conclusions a correct (righteous) and it then must follow that the opposing thought will be wrong (unrighteous). In it the book argues that we do not necessarily proceed to conclusions in a rational manner but rather that we are evolved to reach conclusions based on how it will support our position in our societal group. It is a survival skill, in other words. Mr. Haidt says that it is only when we create an opportunity for conflicting thoughts to come together without being critical or demonizing the other side that we have the opportunity for compromise and rational thought to prevail. If we seek to gain advantage by calling the other side stupid or otherwise delegitimizing them then we have retreated into our enclave where reason is not possible.

As you know, I tend to lean to the left of center but I think I stay pretty close to the center. Depending on where you are you may not see it that way. However, I have found that I do see the rationality of some conservative thought and the flaws in traditional liberal thinking. I try to see the nuances between the poles. Let me give you an example. I can see how unrestricted government subsidization can create a dependent class and lessen the drive to provide for one's self and family. However, I strongly believe that we should not allow our fellow citizens, through no fault of their own, to go without sustenance or health care. I recognize that there is a tension inherent in those positions but I cannot accept that we are powerless to alleviate the burdens. That is the purpose of societies, after all. What has to happen is that people from both ends of the spectrum must come together to reason. The purpose of the reason must not be to bring the opposition into the light but rather to find something in the middle that may accomplish our desire, although imperfectly. We must get rid of the notion that compromise is evil.

When I started writing this column I told the Editor that my purpose was to try to create a space where people of opposing thought could reason together free from the vitriolic speech that causes one to become defensive and the blood to boil. I have independently come to some of the conclusions reached in this book but I lacked the skill to be able to present my beliefs. That is why I always emphasize that the opinions I posit are “My Take” and then ask for your comments, pro or con. It is because I hope to create that space for conversation. Well, Mr. Haidt is a much more skilled writer and thinker than I am and I intend to read the book in addition to the critics remarks that I have seen.

His interview with Bill Moyers was enlightening. Many of you will recognize Mr. Moyers' name as being a renowned liberal but don't let that put you off. If you are of a conservative persuasion then you will delight at Mr. Moyers being contradicted and if you are of a liberal persuasion then you may find some reason to accept nuances.

Mr. Haidt points out that in this technological age we simply are not exposed to viewpoints other than our own. With the profusion of television channels and the internet we can go to sites that support our viewpoints and gain the confirmation that we need that our views are righteous.

I noticed that in the Sunday paper there were three editorials that expounded on conserative viewpoints. One quoted a conservative darling, Ayn Rand. Another spoke of watching Hannity and the other one took on my column about Obama and the Democrats. For me, I think Ayn Rand was a hypocrite and I can assure you that I never watch Hannity. As for the other, I think I probably know more about Kentucky Democrats than he does. See how that sets us up for conflict? Unless we, and I am speaking collectively, are willing to drop the pejoratives and try to find some common ground government of, by and for the people is impossible. And we have to give our elected representatives permission to seek solutions other than victory or capitulation.

I am going to end this with the link to Bill Moyers' interview. It is www.billmoyers.com. Then do a search for the episode with Jonathon Haidt. You can also find the interview on my blog at www.rfmoore.blogspot.com. I urge you to watch the interview. It could change the way you view things.

That is my take on the conundrum we face in our political system. Let me know what you think of either this column or the Moyers interview.

Warren rolls to the nomination. Look out Scott Brown,

Warren secures nomination, avoids primary battle

It is a great move for Massachusetts to nominate the woman that Obama wanted to head up his consumer protection agency and the Republicans fought tooth and nail to defeat.  Well, they can't defeat her here.

Japan's renewable energy options - BusinessWeek

Japan's renewable energy options - BusinessWeek


the situation in Japan just begs for renewable energy options.  Their experience at Fukushima has soured the country on nuclear and they are now filling the gap with fossil fuels which have to be imported.  Their opportunities and not as plentiful as ours but prove that it will take a melange of sources to fill the bill.  On the up side, if Japan pioneers this field it could be the answer to their fiscal problems.

Projection of Power and its Costs

Last weekend Mitt Romney and Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) were in San Diego to commemorate Memorial Day. During that appearance Romney committed to keeping the U.S. Military the strongest in the world with no one else even close. Well, that shouldn't be that hard. Right now the United States spends more on its military budget than the next 13 countries combined. It is true that China is beginning a buildup. Recently they bought an old aircraft carrier from the Ukraine and are refitting it and they do have a new carrier in the shipyards. Russia has several aircraft carriers but only one aircraft carrier strike group. Great Britain has one. France has one. The United States has ELEVEN!

A carrier strike group generally consists of the carrier which has on board a complement of 90 warplanes, at least one cruiser, at least 2 destroyers and/or frigates and can have submarines attached. With the eleven strike groups the United States can project power anywhere in the world in a meaningful way. There is already no one in the world even close to us and we are still mired in a decade long war with tribesmen who maintain no army or functional military command at all.

In the do or die effort last year to come up with a budget deal both major political parties agreed to a formula of automatic cutbacks in military and social services if they failed to reach a deal. Not reaching a deal was considered so far from the realm of possibility that no one feared the outcome. Guess what? They couldn't reach a deal and now it is coming time to make good on the promise come the first of the year. Now, we find the Republicans wanting to toss the agreement and take the whole thing from social services and the Democrats, of course, don't find this attractive at all. The deal calls for some $500 Billion to be cut from the defense budget over 10 years with an equal amount from social programs.

But exactly what does it take to protect our country from tribal militias and radical terrorists. The question has to be whether or not the carrier strike groups, F22 jet fighters or nuclear submarines can accomplish that purpose. The answer seems to be that it is difficult to bring that kind of power to bear on a Taliban base just over the border in Pakistan. Now, when Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz over our embargo of their oil we did cruise a carrier strike group through the strait into the Persian Gulf just to show them we were keeping an eye on them. Message received. For sure, it is useful and powerful to have these resources at our command but perhaps we need to take a strong look at just how much of it we really do need. Eleven nuclear aircraft carriers and over a thousand warplanes? Is that overkill?

The people really need to wake up and ask a few hard questions. One would be exactly what is the mission of the United States Military. If the answer is defense we need to know what it might take to defend against any enemy. Can we get by with just a little less in order to right our budget woes? Or is it possible that the United States uses its military for another purpose? After all, in the war we are fighting it seems that little good comes from carrier strike groups.

Actually, the United States uses the military to keep the avenues open for our mercantile industries and to support a steady supply of raw materials from all parts of the world. One could argue that industry is the largest consumer of our military forces since we have had no attack on the mainland since September 11, 2001 and our vaunted military was not much help back then. Fact is, there are only two countries in the world that have the resources to attack the United States in any meaningful way and conventional forces are not part of that capability. Nuclear attack would result in a devastating response so that is unlikely. My point is that the type of military we have is very useful in an all out war in which there are battle lines but not so much in dealing with foreign insurgencies and terrorism.

So, how much military is necessary for us to present a deterrent to those countries capable of attack? What kind of resources should we allot to dealing with the shadowy world of terrorism? The requirements are vastly different. This type of warfare requires more human assets and technological prowess. As dreadful as they may be, the drones are quite effective and can be flown by some former video gamer on the other side of the planet. No carrier group necessary. The most important aspect is awareness of the threat before it happens and carrier groups don't help much there either.

I have spoken only of our Navy which is a formidable fighting force that includes the Marines. But we also have a remarkable Army that is technologically heads and shoulders above anything else in the world and an Air Force that has the capability of striking anywhere in the world. So, I don't think any President will have a lot of trouble keeping our military far more powerful than any other. The real problem is going to be to keep it relevant and to come up with the money to run it. Fact is, a second rate economy can't support a first class military.

We all have some idea of what we expect out of our military and our national budget. What we need to do now is get past the jingoism and get to the real and logical answers. Only then will the United States secure its preeminent position for the future.

That's my take on a powerful but bloated military. What do you think? Is a military the size of ours necessary and can we afford it?

Now, what about this.

U.S. To Move Majority Of Fleet To Pacific By 2020: Panetta

this is an interesting development in light of my recent column concerning the projection of power by our military and its purposes.

The Death of Coal

Kentucky Power abandons plan to upgrade aging coal-burning plant | Business | Kentucky.com

economic considerations forced the reappraisal of Kentucky Power's application for an increase in the fuel adjustment to finance adding scrubbers to this plant.  Now they say they will either close it or look at natural gas as a fuel.  The think I noticed is that it is only scrubbers that made the plant economically unfeasible.  There is no mention of how much it would cost to achieve the goal of "clean coal" which does not yet exist.  That would require sequestration of the Carbon Dioxide and add even more to make coal as clean as other fuels.  The march inexorably moves toward clean fuels.  Soon those fuels will become more economically comparable to the dying fossil fuels.