A Better Way to Spend $145 billion?

How many electricity-generating wind turbines could the U.S. have purchased for $145 billion dollars?

Might that have been a better way to spend such a fortune than to send the money to the American people so that they could buy a whole lot more junk that they don't really need?

Just wondering, as I often do when observing the behavior of the U.S. government.

Bush's Reign of Error

A while ago I used the phrase "The Reign of Error" to describe George W. Bush's eight years in office. People always say "I like that" or "that's a good one" when they hear it, so I figured I should at least write it down here to stake a claim at ownership!

If I were a cartoonist, this title would be the name of my strip. And right now I have a particular frame in mind. It's simple, really. The headline is GEORGE W BUSH'S TO DO LIST. And then there are boxes with check marks in them next to the following list:

* Illegally invade country and destroy the biggest countervailing power to Iranian influence in the Middle East
* Curtail the rights of American citizens
* Break the bank and run up monster deficits
* Bring the American currency to its knees
* Oversee massive mortgage meltdown and epidemic of home foreclosures
* Destroy America's reputation around the world
* Leave entire city of New Orleans to rot
* Weaken environmental laws and hasten destruction of the eco-system

The last box would be unchecked, but Dubya would be pictured in a dopey cowboy hat holding a pencil above the box ready to check this final box:

* Destroy the economy

And the bubble for Bush's comment would read: "Almost finished."

Let's Flip a Coin! (or, Heads We Win, Tails We Win)

Could one coin toss change the fate of the American nation?

Suppose Hilary Clinton and Barrack Obama decided that the stakes were too high to continue on their path to mutual destruction? Suppose they both realized that either of them being President is better than rewarding the Republicans with another four years in the White House after eight long years of utter failure there?

No more primaries, no more anger, no more hateful accusations, no more "gotcha" politics (to be fair, Clinton has been the worse offender on these fronts).

My proposition is simple: toss a coin to determine who will be the Presidential nominee and who will be the Vice-Presidential nominee. Heads: Obama is the Presidential nominee; tails: Clinton is the Presidential nominee. If they and the Democratic party really loved this country, this would be an easy plan to sign up for. Let's face it, the country - and the world - are in such sorry shape it will take the resources of 100 Clintons and 100 Obamas to begin to get a handle on how to solve our problems: with so much at stake, isn't it worth setting aside this nonsense about job titles?

Has anyone forgotten what our problems are and how vast they are? Surely, getting a move on solving catastrophic climate change, skyrocketing oil prices, war without end in Iraq, terrorism, destruction of the biosystem (those tapped out fish, those poor bees!), food riots around the world, overpopulation that will only further press on ever more scarce resources, massive budget deficits, an ever-sinking US dollar, a shrinking manufacturing base.

Have I forgotten anything?

So flip a coin, Democrats, and open a new chapter in American history where the public good is finally put ahead of the ego of politicians and the silly conventions of party politics. Imagine the world-wide TV ratings and the gasp that would resound across the globe as that coin falls. "Heads We Win! Tails We Win!" Go ahead, flip a coin! It could be the coin-toss that forever alters the course of history.