Join us on Wednesday, May 26 from 1:00 to 2:00 pm CT
I will discuss the hot topics in the news including the BP Oil Spill and the efforts to clean it up, the National Guard’s efforts to secure our border and political correctness. Additionally, I begin an ongoing feature profiling small businesses and entrepreneurs. My first interview in this new series is with Lynn of Just Kidding children’s hair salons and boutiques located in both Whitefish Bay and Mequon, WI.
Both the West Virgina coal mining disaster and the Gulf oil spill prove that there are devastating consequences to cutting corners.
Scientists are only beginning to investigate the devastating effects of the British Petroleum (BP) massive oil spill. The House Energy and Commerce Committee heard from experts on May 21 about the thousands of barrels of oil spilling into the Gulf.
Critics argue that the cleanup has been ineffective. The blame extends to both the oil company and the government. The Obama administration approved BP’s Gulf drilling bid in February 2009.
ABC News reported on April 29, “The massive oil spill off the Gulf coast has complicated President Barack Obama’s plan to expand offshore oil drilling in areas long out of bounds to energy development, forcing administration officials to promise a more critical look at the potential environmental risks.”
According to a May 21 CNN report, “This is not just a regional issue for the wildlife,” said Carl Safina, the president of the Blue Ocean Institute. Noting common migratory patterns, he warned that multiple forms of marine life from across the Atlantic Ocean “come into the Gulf to breed.”
An independent expert, University of California-Berkeley professor Robert Bea has been interviewing those involved and giving them confidentiality in exchange for their candor. He said on NBC Nightly News May 21 that this accident was preventable. Bea has 50 years of experience in the oil industry. He says that safety was compromised due to improper well design and missed early warning signs of kicks of gas among other things. Bea said, “Drilling and well completion operations did not meet industry standards.” Bea says these bad decisions were designed to save time and money at the expense of safety.
Just like the April 5 coal miner disaster at the Massey Energy Company’s Upper Big Branch South Mine in West Virginia, which was the deadliest mining disaster the U.S. has experienced in 25 years, cutting corners proves to have catastrophic consequences.
Similar to the BP oil spill, authorities will fully investigate what went wrong at the mine, but this particular mine has a history of safety violations. According to the Washington Post, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration cited the mine for 1,342 safety violations over the past five years. Massey Energy reportedly contested 422 of those violations, but paid $742,830 in fines.
The Associated Press reported that just last year “federal inspectors fined the company more than $382,000 for repeated serious violations involving its ventilation plan and equipment.”
There is little debate that offshore drilling is almost as dangerous as coal mining for the workers involved. The risky work environment for both jobs is rewarded with lucrative pay. Workers earn far more than they could make in other positions. While they knowingly accept the risk, the corporations employing them have an ethical and legal obligation to provide a safe environment that complies with existing government guidelines.
We must not forget the severity of these recent and ongoing tragedies and honor their victims by tirelessly working to make sure that mines are safer and oil drilling safety standards are enforced.
Critical thinkers must ask, what is the point of having safety standards if they are not followed and enforced? While there are those that call for a bigger government, what we need is an effective government.
A crisis in this country is a plaguing our children, but it has received far less media coverage than controversy surrounding immigration and financial reform. It’s one that deserves our immediate attention because it can be averted.
Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has introduced legislation to halt “a massive wave of layoffs in our schools and institutions of higher learning that could weaken our economic recovery and cause serious damage to our education system.” These job losses would extend beyond public schools to colleges as well. The end of the two-year stimulus plan is readily approaching and the financial difficulties from the recession that began in 2007 will continue for many more years.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan sent a letter to congressional leaders last week that pleads for the federal government to extend some of the stimulus aid. If not, thousands of education jobs will be eliminated. Duncan’s letter sates, “ongoing state and local budget challenges are threatening hundreds of thousands of teacher jobs for the upcoming school year, with estimates ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 education jobs at risk.”
According to a May 19, 2010 Reuters report, “Harkin’s office said the education fund would cover compensation and benefits, and provide for hiring new employees. It could also pay for training.”
If you want to help schools avoid these devastating and drastic cuts, please tell Congress to pass the Education Jobs Fund. Let your congressional representative know how you feel about children’s education and supporting teachers. Taking action now is critical because next week maybe too late! Go to http://www.capwiz.com/nea/issues/alert/?alertid=15045411&type=co to forward a letter directly to your representative and be heard. More information on this important legislation can be found at http://www.educationvotes.nea.org.
Listen to Critical Thinking in the Real World on Wednesday, May 19 from 1:00 to 2:00 pm CT as we discuss yesterday’s primaries and the upcoming mid-term elections. National security is another focus of the show–from immigration reform to the alleged Times Square bomber’s other targets. The Supreme Court is another hot topic–from the nomination of Elena Kagan to recent rulings on sex offenders and juvenile sentencing.
You asked for another show on great customer service and I’m happy to deliver. Our last show on great customer service featured Frank Eliason, Senior Director of Comcast National Customer Service and Neroli Salon and Spa was such a hit that we’re going to do a second installment. Frank Eliason is revolutionizing the way customer service is using social media to reach its customers and the results are amazing. Neroli Salon and Spa shared its philosophy for delivering exceptional customer service as a means to be the best in the business and thrive when so much of its competition fails.
You told me that you love Hertz Car Rental. Hertz is known for its excellent customer service and we’re planning to speak about exactly what Hertz does to stay ahead of its competition. You’ve already told me you love how Hertz puts its customers first, helps make travel for families and business people as well easier.
Please let me know what other companies you’d like me to feature. Companies have to work harder to earn business and stay in business. Let’s reward those companies by praising them in public.
Ever since Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed an immigration bill into law on April 23, 2010 that is considered to be among the toughest in the United States, Americans across the country have been arguing over whether the law is legislating discrimination. A poll by the Wall Street Journal and NBC this week says that 64 percent of American adults support the Arizona law. Opponents of the law have called for a boycott of Arizona.
It’s clear that these opinions are translating into actions. A May 11, 2010 USA Today article reports, “tourism officials are growing increasingly concerned at the prospect of huge hotel and convention dollar losses because of fallout from the state’s new immigration law.” A financial impact as huge as this is quite worrisome given today’s fragile economy.
The USA Today article continues, “In Phoenix alone, David Krietor, a deputy city manager who is tracking the issue, said this week the city faces lost business worth about $90 million over the next five years.”
How many of those actively engaged in the debate actually read the bill?
Attorney General Eric Holder admitted, during a meeting with the House Judiciary Committee on May 13, that he hadn’t read the bill. Senate Bill 1040 is not a long or difficult bill to read. It’s available on the Internet in PDF format to anyone willing to take the time to read it and it should be read before being either criticized or praised. http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=read+the+az+immigration+bill&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=read+the+az+immigration+bill&gs_rfai=&fp=ca804df6b427d280
Holder is not alone in his failure to read the bill, but at least he was honest about it. How many of those actively engaged in the immigration debate (or any legislative debate for that matter) actually read it?
Critical thinkers can’t rely upon others’ interpretations of bills, interviews or events as fact. It takes more effort to do the work and actually examine the evidence. But the risks of not doing so are huge.
Some people follow sports. I don’t, but I follow politics with the same amount of enthusiasm as the biggest sports fanatics. My love of politics began quite young. I was born in Washington, DC in 1971 and grew up in suburban Maryland, so politics was always a part of my life.
It is hard to believe, but my first political memory is of President Nixon resigning. I remember seeing the president cry on TV. It stood out because all the adults were glued to the broadcast.
My next political memory is of the patriotism surrounding the 4th of July 1976. My mother made cherry pies, cakes frosted with red, white and blue icing and I even had a bathing suit with the American flag on it. It seemed to me that everything that summer was all about pride in our nation.
When I stayed with my grandparents on Saturday nights as a child, I was given two options; either I watched Lawrence Welk with my grandmother or Agronsky & Company with my grandfather in the other room. I found Lawrence Welk boring, but the passion on Agronsky & Company was quite compelling. I loved the roundtable discussion format which is now common today even though I rarely understood the substance of the debates.
President Reagan inspired many of my generation and I was no exception. I wrote him a letter when I was 10 and he wrote back. From then on, I watched every single speech. The one that stands out as the most inspiring is his 1986 State of the Union Address where he said:
And tonight I want to speak directly to America’s younger generation, because you hold the destiny of our nation in your hands. With all the temptations young people face, it sometimes seems the allure of the permissive society requires superhuman feats of self-control. But the call of the future is too strong, the challenge too great to get lost in the blind alleyways of dissolution, drugs, and despair. Never has there been a more exciting time to be alive, a time of rousing wonder and heroic achievement. As they said in the film “Back to the Future,” “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”
Well, today physicists peering into the infinitely small realms of subatomic particles find reaffirmations of religious faith. Astronomers build a space telescope that can see to the edge of the universe and possibly back to the moment of creation.
I began college at Milwaukee’s Marquette University in 1989 and I was embarrassed to be from Washington, DC which was then Murder Capital of the USA and where Mayor Marion Barry was convicted of drug possession. Later, I began actively campaigning for Pat Buchanan and was actually one of the leaders of the WI chapter of his campaign for presidency. Buchanan appealed to me because he grew up in Bethesda, MD with my mother, aunts and uncles. He proved to be far too right-wing for me and for America at large.
During the 1992 presidential election night, I worked for the Associated Press Milwaukee Bureau helping to tabulate the votes and was stunned when Bill Clinton won. I didn’t share in my fellow co-worker’s excitement and felt left out.
I graduated from college and began working on Capitol Hill for Representative Steve Gunderson and my political views became much more moderate as I realized that the Republican party did include a tent wide enough for a large spectrum of voters. I also gained an appreciation for the majesty of the Capitol. Walking through its halls daily left me awestruck in a way all the grade-school fieldtrips hadn’t. I was a part of things and that was exciting. More exciting still was when the Republicans took control of the House and Senate. I remember clearly when a much older and experienced staffer who was legal counsel said, “Oh my God! Now we actually have to create legislation rather than block it.” His statement shocked me because I knew that wasn’t how it was supposed to work.
Speaker Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America was impressive and I was thrilled to be playing even the smallest role in his plan. It was so refreshing to see a politician follow through on his promises even though those first 100 days were quite exhausting.
The congressman announced his retirement and I went to work for an agriculture association. Each day on my way to work, I walked past Monica Lewinsky’s attorneys’ offices and the media permanently camped outside. I watched fascinated as President Clinton looked straight at the camera (and it seemed at me) and said, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” I read the Kenneth Starr report alternately shocked and disgusted. Clinton had lied and it had been proven with DNA evidence. When Clinton was impeached in 1998 and then refused to resign, I was dumbfounded. When he won reelection, I was both impressed with his tenacity and incredulous at his victory.
The George W. Bush and Al Gore presidential race was riveting. Like most Americans I watched as NBC’s Tim Russert held up a white board and said, “It all comes down to Florida.” The hanging chads situation reminded me of just how important each vote is in the country. I was thrilled when Bush won and grateful he was our president on September 11, 2001. I was proud of him when he spoke at Ground Zero and felt reassured by his State of the Union afterwards. The surge of patriotism that followed was comforting and unifying for Americans. It was wonderful to see something great come out of such a devastating tragedy.
The first time I saw IL Senate Candidate Barrack Obama speak at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, I knew that he had a special charisma. Still I was surprised that he became the 2008 presidential candidate. Senator John McCain didn’t excite me even though his service to our nation was impressive. I was reinvigorated in the election when McCain picked Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. For the first time ever, I really felt as if it might be possible for a woman to hold such a high office.
While I didn’t vote for Obama and couldn’t believe he won, he is my president because I am an American. I believe strongly in the system our forefathers created and I love watching it play out.
Similar to sports enthusiasts, I’ve found politics is always interesting even if my team doesn’t win.
On May 5, 2010 David Obey (D-WI) announced he will not run for reelection. Obey has served 20 terms and is the third longest serving member of the House. For the first time since 1994, Obey faced a major challenge with Sean Duffy.
This news is significant for all Americans, not just those in WI because Obey was the chairman of the House Appropriations committee and authored the Stimulus Bill. The committee decides how to spend the $1 trillion in annual government funds are spent.
Obey made his decision to retire after Democratic polling showed he was vulnerable. His retirement is overdue. He’s been serving since 1969 which is before Duffy was even born. Obey is the classic career politician.
Recently the campaign got ugly and desperate when The Democratic Party of Wisconsin sent out a press release on April 14, 2010 attacking Sean Duffy for being a white supremacist and used racial overtones to do it.
The press release stated, “Duffy was scheduled to appear at a Wausau Tea Party event Thursday alongside white supremacist Alabama militia Col. John Eidsmoe (Eidsmoe since canceled).” It continues, “But even before not answering questions about the Tea Party scandal, Duffy was not answering questions about his unexplained role at a Wisconsin Dells resort where he reportedly fled the scene after his wife got into a shoving match with GOP rival Dan Mielke. Shortly thereafter, his campaign manager either quit or was fired.”
Perhaps the worst of the short press release comes at the end from Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate where he is quoted, “For someone who has spent the better part of his adulthood trying to prance around on television, Sean Duffy has been pretty scarce when it comes time to come clean about just who is funding his campaign and just what orders his Tea Party masters have given him,” Tate said. “Maybe he’s trying for a gig on “Dancing With the Stars,” where he can pretend he knows how to rumba instead of pretending to be a timber worker.”
Duffy for Congress campaign manager, Matt Seaholm fired back with a press release. It stated, “In response to the baseless claims of racism thrown at Ashland County District Attorney Sean Duffy, Duffy for Congress campaign manager, Matt Seaholm, said the Democrat Party of Wisconsin (DPW) owes the Republican congressional candidate and his family an apology. Today, the DPW and its Chairman Mike Tate accused Duffy, who is married to Rachel Campos-Duffy, a Mexican-American, of being a white supremacist.”
Seaholm said, “Sean Duffy is proudly married to a Mexican-American and together they have six wonderful children. The DPW crossed the line by blatantly playing the race card and insulting the Latino community. The Democrats owe the Duffy family an apology and Mr. Tate should resign immediately.”
What then about DPW’s claims of Duffy’s association with Eidsmore. Duffy’s press release says, “Sean believes the views of John Eidsmoe are abhorrent. Sean is not scheduled to speak at a Wausau Tea Party event and he had no more knowledge of the speakers than Mr. Tate did.”
Seaholm further addresses the allegations that Dufffy is racist by saying, “But today the DPW continued to play the disgusting race card with thinly veiled insults using Latin terms to smear the Duffys such as ‘majordomo’ and suggesting the 4-time elected prosecutor pretends to ‘rumba’.”
The Duffy campaign believed that DPW used that language intentionally in an attempt to attack Rachel Campos-Duffy’s ethnicity. Seaholm said, “It’s no mistake the DPW is using these Latino terms to smear Sean and his spouse’s Latino heritage. Dave Obey should publicly call on the Democrat Party of Wisconsin to retract their accusations. What the DPW is doing is truly disgusting and shameful.”
Who is the man who posed such a challenge to Obey? Duffy is the Ashland County District Attorney with more than a 90% trial success rate. You might recognize his name because he was on the Boston cast of MTV’s The Real World in the 1990s. Duffy has also received national attention in the New York Times, Time magazine and many other media outlets. His wife is also famous in her own right. Rachel Campos-Duffy is a conservative Republican commentator, guest co-host for The View and author of Stay Home, Stay Happy: 10 Secrets to Loving At-Home Motherhood.
Career politicians are no good for the country. Term limits are a great idea. If Members didn’t have to worry about constant re-election cycles, they could spend more time on the people’s business rather than on securing their own jobs.
Critical thinkers must ask, is the only way to improve congressional gridlock to clean House?
Last week’s debate over financial reform both angered and confused many Americans. The Senate spent the final week of April debating a financial reform bill that failed to pass. It made for great TV and incited much debate.
The Senate’s 11-hour grilling of Goldman Sachs was frustrating to watch. It was filled with heated exchanges between lawmakers and past and present Goldman Sachs leaders. While some expressed a bit of compassion for Americans who lost money during the financial meltdown, most defended actions as falling within the norms of business. Senators accused executives of running a crooked casino. The 18-month Senate investigation found that Goldman Sachs bet against its own clients and profited as the housing market collapsed. It is important to note that Congress also played an important role in the economic collapse by repealing many safeguards put in place after the Great Depression.
The American economy is based on a free market system and there are many who defend Goldman Sachs. Warren Buffett is one of the most vocal supporters. Buffett is a very successful American investor, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and generous philanthropist. At a press conference on May 2, Buffett said, “I don’t have a problem with the Abacus transaction at all, and I think I understand it better than most.” Another defender emerged earlier in the week in Fareerd Zakaria, a Washington Post Columnist in “Cool the Goldman rage.” He wrote, “the rage surrounding the Goldman Sachs case can cloud our perspective and distort public policy.” He continued, “Whatever the new rules, one thing will not change: We can’t be sure in advance which securities are ‘good’ and which are ‘bad.’ If you doubt this, pick any asset you think is overvalued — American stocks, Chinese real estate, Pakistani bonds — and bet against it. Six months from now, you’ll be proved a genius or a fool. Oh, and to make the bet you’ll have to find someone to take the other side, so you’ll need someone to handle the deal.”
It’s true that Wall Street investment has always involved chance, risk and the hope of a financial reward. Wall Street practices may seem unethical, but that is not the same as illegal.
The fact that Goldman Sachs representatives won’t say they are sorry and has ellicited contempt amongst Senators and most Americans. Few executives seemed to find any of their actions wrong, but betting homeowners couldn’t pay mortgages and then profiting when it tanked is clearly wrong. They showed no remorse and the outrage spreads.
Internal documents from Goldman Sachs were most damaging. Emails between employees used profanities to describe faulty deals. Senator Carl Levin, (D-MI) kept using profanities as he quoted the emails to prove his point. Goldman Sachs sold investors sub-prime mortgage packages, but then made its own bet that those investments would lose value without telling investors. CEO Lloyd Bankfein, said that there is no ethical obligation to tell investors when the firms short their investments. How could making money if their clients’ investments lose value not be unethical? He said, “In the context of marketing, that is not a conflict.”
Don’t the highly paid lawyers and consultants realize the proven way to handle a crisis? Step one is to admit wrong-doing. Step two is to sincerely apologize. Step three is to create an action plan to assure Americans that this will never happen again. Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street firms have failed to police themselves and now the government has stepped in to protect Americans.
Goldman Sachs executives weren’t the only ones using double-talk and failing to create an action plan. Senators engaged in a ridiculous battle filled with name-calling and ugliness. Democrats employed a strategy designed to make their Republican counterparts look as if they were against reform. Democrats called for three votes and three times they blamed Republicans who voted no. Republicans like Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) countered, “We, as Republicans, want to make sure we fix Wall Street without crippling Main Street.” Republicans won a few changes and Democrats got a deal to move financial reform to the front burner. The devil is in the details, however. New rules for banks and creating a whole new consumer agency will continue to be points of contention. Firms will lose profitability, but the average investor will benefit. Even the Goldman Sachs website seems to advocate financial reform. It says, “One lesson we have learned from the crisis is the need for more effective regulation. We are working with regulators on improved safeguards for the global financial system. One lesson we have learned from the crisis is the need for more effective regulation. We are working with regulators on improved safeguards for the global financial system.”
Senators have agreed to make changes to the financial system. Is it possible that a Wall Street Reform Bill will pass?
Critical Thinking in the Real World 