Matthew Stavros

Your post was right on point. I totally agree. The...

2009-12-31T09:59:14.460-08:00

Your post was right on point. I totally agree. The direction this country is going into is selfish and non-democratic. If it were really about people's views, than the majority might have health coverage instead of wishing for it.

Ed has a point. Reading a guy like Chomsky is boun...

2009-08-30T03:32:02.435-07:00

Ed has a point. Reading a guy like Chomsky is bound to change your world view, but not necessarily for the better. That guy is a nut when he isn't talking about grammar.

Hmmmm. Do you also read authors whose biases are d...

2009-08-16T17:13:02.123-07:00

Hmmmm. Do you also read authors whose biases are different from yours (and those of the authors you named)? George Will, David Brooks, or Tom Friedman, for example? There's more than one reasonable viewpoint on almost every issue.

Cannot wait sensei ^^

2009-07-27T04:57:51.669-07:00

Cannot wait sensei ^^

While I generally agree with your comments about t...

2009-04-19T08:00:05.532-07:00

While I generally agree with your comments about the "tea-baggers", your comments on DoD are a little off the mark. DoD accounts for less than 15% of Obama's budget, and Secretary Gates has proposed cutting several programs.
Furthermore, do you have evidence that DoD is any more "replete with corruption and cronyism" than any other part of the Federal government -- or academia?

On the other hand, without term limits, a politici...

2009-03-26T08:14:57.047-07:00

On the other hand, without term limits, a politician (and not just a president) is tempted to focus on helping those who most contribute to his/her political campaigns. Those people tend to be better off than the typical citizen.
If a politician cannot serve another term, s/he might choose to focus on those issues that best polish her/his reputation, rather than those that support re-election.
In other words, there are advantages and disadvantages to term limits, like most choices in life. I personally do not find them necessary, but I understand the logic of those who do.

What scares me is the prospect of half-trillion do...

2009-03-01T17:08:08.056-08:00

What scares me is the prospect of half-trillion dollar deficits through 2015. These are bigger than the biggest deficits of the Bush administration. I can support big deficits in FY 2009 and 2010, but we need to move the budget back toward balance beyond that, not a steady state of half-trillion dollar deficits. Clinton managed to balance the budget; Obama has to make a real effort to do the same.

I hope that Obama's longer term budget projections are just a starting point for negotiations. Otherwise, Obama is proposing change in the wrong direction.

Comments like this from Ryan are what makes bloggi...

2009-03-01T16:40:02.455-08:00

Comments like this from Ryan are what makes blogging so rewarding.

I see the logic of your argument and can sympathize with some of it.

The idea that championing the poor keeps them poor, however, is uniquely American. In Europe and elsewhere, it is widely agreed that governments' single most important priority is to look after the weakest members of society, those who can't look out for themselves.

What I wish the special interests (and the rich) would realize is that directly helping the poor and middle class will definitely improve circumstances for them as well. Trickle down works to a certain extent but trickle up works much better.

Disjointed thoughts early in the morning.

I feel that this is the problem with politics in g...

2009-03-01T11:33:50.262-08:00

I feel that this is the problem with politics in general, especially populist liberalism.

Class warfare creates more class envy. Championing the poor tends to keep them poor.

How about the idea that we can all work together despite our differences? Different socioeconomic groups may have opposing views but bating one against the other does nothing constructive for either group.

I would like to see Obama do a better job with conveying his message of helping the less fortunate while holding to his campaign theme of unifying the country.

Ryan

I suppose Japanese impressions of the US based on ...

2009-02-27T17:56:51.712-08:00

I suppose Japanese impressions of the US based on films is just as accurate!

Matthew,I hope that seeing me say this doesn't sho...

2009-02-25T08:39:25.899-08:00

Matthew,
I hope that seeing me say this doesn't shock you, but -- I agree with you.

Reagan did the US a great disservice when he convinced so many people that "government isn't the solution; government is the problem." Government is not inherently either; it's more like a tool. Administered poorly (as Nixon and Carter did before Reagan), it's a problem. Administered well it's (at least part of) a solution.

For the most part, I agree with you. But I will be...

2009-01-28T10:34:24.088-08:00

For the most part, I agree with you. But I will be disappointed if what columnist Nat Hentoff claims proves true: that Obama will defend FISA.
http://www.dailynewstribune.com/opinion/x799538753/Hentoff-Obama-disables
We should have no need for warrantless wiretaps.

Even if that was said in jest, it brings to mind t...

2009-01-12T16:32:40.176-08:00

Even if that was said in jest, it brings to mind the ridiculous hubbub in the UK when a national hissey fit was thrown when Keating briefly touched the Queen's back.

But more than that I've never been happy about the convict comments, something one hears a lot of online. In Australian schools the convict origins are just treated as interesting neutral facts, but always used pejoratively by people from other countries (most irritatingly when done by Americans ignorant of their own history). The same sort of people who have no other knowledge or interest in Australian history, and certainly no idea about the massive waves of immigration.

Similarly, in other countries Australians seem to have a reputation for racism. This completely baffles me, it seems to have sprung from absolutely nowhere, and tends to be intoned by the most hypocritical of people.

Leave Howard be - he is the best PM we have ever h...

2009-01-10T16:29:58.072-08:00

Leave Howard be - he is the best PM we have ever had.

Congratulations! But look at what the best job in ...

2009-01-07T07:52:10.430-08:00

Congratulations! But look at what the best job in the US was.
Signed,
A mathematician

I basically agree with your assessment. The main r...

2009-01-04T08:30:38.333-08:00

I basically agree with your assessment. The main reason to save the American auto industry is to avoid paying unemployment or welfare to the millions of workers employed, directly or indirectly, by the industry. Such payments seem likely to exceed the cost of saving the industry, at least as discussed so far. This problem has both short- and long-term aspects. The loans address the short-term aspects. The op-ed addresses possible long-term aspects, but I agree that (except possibly for solar panels) they are not likely to be practical or useful in any reasonable time-frame.

I believe the industry must be saved, if only to p...

2009-01-04T05:00:15.584-08:00

I believe the industry must be saved, if only to prevent America becoming dependent on foreign goods in yet another industry. America failed to save its electronics industry and textile industry, so cars are basically one of the few things that are still actually made in the States. Having some form of home manufacture is necessary because without it, we see the debt driven consumer and business spending which led us to this in the first place. Any recover must be focused on the things we make, rather than the bubbles we finance.

The fact that things have hit the fan presents an opportunity to reform what is wrong with the industry. The American car industry has been hit so hard and failed so spectacularly because, compared to cheaper, arguably more reliable and attractive foreign cars (in particular Toyota, who managed to have a decent year despite the turmoil) American cars just cannot compete in the free market (stats do show American cars do reasonably well overseas and struggle in the homeland, but even this small success cannot continue forever). Cheap gimmicks such as those the article suggests will do nothing to solve this problem, though it is clear simply throwing money at the industry isn't enough. The industry needs a new direction to avoid this occurring again. The new direction is of course focusing on developing cheaper, more efficient cars. The US government should demand such a course of action before any bail out occurs.

I'm not sure why you claim that giving Warren the ...

2008-12-31T06:54:39.128-08:00

I'm not sure why you claim that giving Warren the invocation is "a bitter pill to swallow" when the rest of the blog gives such an excellent justification for this decision. As you pointed out, Bush tended to listen only to those who agreed with him; it is refreshing to see Obama incorporating into the inauguration and the cabinet people who don't agree with him on every significant issue. I hope we really can get the best ideas for America and the world by bringing a wider variety of opinions to the table.

Interesting, view on the Iranian President. Howeve...

2008-12-29T06:40:21.036-08:00

Interesting, view on the Iranian President. However, have you looked to the reasons as to why many condemn the Iranian President? Lets not look too far, with Iran's ambition to nuke Israel of the face of the earth. The US, indeed have massacred thousands of innocent lives in the name of justice, but at the very least it is in the open. Look at Iran, because of such secrecy, how do you know that they have done far less? Perhaps, unlike the US theirs is covert and the use of third parties i.e. terrorists receiving Iranian funds to carry out their mission.

Are "any" proper? Of course; you yourself pointed ...

2008-12-26T06:19:21.361-08:00

Are "any" proper? Of course; you yourself pointed out some cases (and not everyone would agree with all your examples!). So why the cynicism?
You need to judge each instance on a case-by-case basis. For example, many of us believe Bush's pardon of Charles Winters was well-justified, but I suspect there are people who disagree.

Stage a cold civil war, 'overthrow' the constituti...

2008-12-22T05:27:36.384-08:00

Stage a cold civil war, 'overthrow' the constitution instant restoration of full military. capacity - It all becomes so clear now!

Saw it a few days ago.It was alright. The film its...

2008-12-12T19:30:58.505-08:00

Saw it a few days ago.
It was alright. The film itself could never live up to the hype, but surprisingly Heath's performance did, more or less.

I'm a little confused by your post. I didn't see a...

2008-12-01T08:41:33.693-08:00

I'm a little confused by your post. I didn't see anything in the article saying that "very top people in the military are ... passing judgment on Obama", at least in public. [There were indications that military leaders had done so about Pres. Clinton, however.]
Furthermore, the idea that members of the executive branch, including the military, owe absolute loyalty to the President, not to the Constitution, has been one of the big flaws in the Bush administration. In fact, interestingly enough, the current oath of office for military officers doesn't even require them to obey the orders of the President, although the oath for enlisted personnel does:
http://www.history.army.mil/faq/oaths.htm
[I found this surprising.]
Last, and certainly least, you mean to say "pales in comparison".

I don't share your cynicism. If the test project i...

2008-12-01T08:27:19.097-08:00

I don't share your cynicism. If the test project in the Detroit River succeeds and the cost is competitive with coal, I expect there will be a market for it. Have you added your two cents worth on it to Obama's web site?

I see you've ditched the "Teaching On Japan" blog ...

2008-11-30T00:11:28.281-08:00

I see you've ditched the "Teaching On Japan" blog ... Really, oughtn't you to have named your new blog "Makura no Soushi" or some such to honour a modern development of the zuihitsu tradition? :-P