Ted Cruz is one scary messenger for the Christian fundamentalist fringe. The only good thing about him winning in Iowa I think, (it is only Iowa after all), might be that he made that world renowned comb over ass a loser. But we should all fear Ted Cruz, think about that book "The Handmaiden's Tale." That would be his kind of America. And how about Clinton? Bernie showed that young people in that midwestern state are looking for some support for a future. I have sent money to Sanders, but I am not so sure he would be a great president on the world stage. But, I sure like what he says.
Will some brave soul in the NM Legislature really become a champion of increasing the gas tax? There are some halfway attempts to do so at 5 cents a gallon. But I am thinking more like 12 cents. With our new era of gasoline prices, this would be a painless thing to do while providing good revenue to fix our crumbling transportation infrastructure. Where are the leaders that can broker such legislation?
What are the odds on the passage of the school bonds in the APS elections today? Iffy at best. The Albuquerque Journal's Editor has set up that scenario with his relentless obsession with some of the problems there. When will the publisher of the Journal, Bill Lang, understand that his editor is out of control? Is he absentee, or is he really as right wing as his editor? He needs some heat and sunshine on him as well.
Will some brave soul in the NM Legislature really become a champion of increasing the gas tax? There are some halfway attempts to do so at 5 cents a gallon. But I am thinking more like 12 cents. With our new era of gasoline prices, this would be a painless thing to do while providing good revenue to fix our crumbling transportation infrastructure. Where are the leaders that can broker such legislation?
What are the odds on the passage of the school bonds in the APS elections today? Iffy at best. The Albuquerque Journal's Editor has set up that scenario with his relentless obsession with some of the problems there. When will the publisher of the Journal, Bill Lang, understand that his editor is out of control? Is he absentee, or is he really as right wing as his editor? He needs some heat and sunshine on him as well.
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Reading that Cruz won Iowa by organizing the religious right made me a little sick to my stomach over the prospect of the return of the evangelical talking head to the airwaves. The Tony Perkinses have been keeping a low profile, it seems to me, what with the Republican Party's attempt to rebrand itself, horrific abortion clinic violence and the reality that they've lost the culture wars, which may have pulled the rug of self deception from under that arrogance that made them think they could come on TV and crow like inflatable little roosters.
As for Bernie Sanders, I've had similar feelings in that regard myself, if I understand you correctly. Maybe not. He's very intelligent, but I grew up with a certain image of a president and think of him as my representative to the world, and I have some sense of the combination of political skills, personal skills, and mental abilities required to lead the country, manage the big bureaucracy that is the government and to conduct foreign policy.
On the other hand, that perception of the president is based in large on the misperception that he's doing what he says he's doing and not something else, namely acting as the spearpoint of a capitalist, imperialist nation wreaks havoc around the world, moreso now that ever before arguably, pursuing multiple Mideaast wars and simultaneously trying to bully Russia and China and anyone else they have time for by various means. The deference paid him by our allies owes to their realization of this role, and not to his charm and good looks.
Another model for a chief executive was the immediate past president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica who when he was president drove around in his Volkswagen Beetle and donated 90 percent of his salary to charity, and has a certain weight and respect around the world owing to his character, humility and wisdom. Granted, Uruguay is tiny and not very significant, but imagine if there was a US president who acted like that. There's the Jimmy Carter danger -- the media and the people turning on you -- but it's a different people now and eventually will be a different media. Among the youngsters Sanders got 70 percent of the votes last night, and as I've been scanning the media today there's been a sudden transformation, as if the ice has been broken. Not among every writer but a noticeable portion of them, in how they talk about Sanders. If as president he could manage problems better than Carter he might be able to transform what the presidency is and what America stands for. I say this not as a big fan of his but as someone who welcomes the transformation that's been occurring around concepts like Socialism and populism that he's taking advantage of and in some ways furthering.
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