Demagoguery

I realize that Howard Dean's main appeal is his demagoguery that panders to the extreme left. To be successful, all he has to do is keep giving them "red meat". The quote that caught my attention was his "no more fundamentalist preachers". By that, he means anyone who is a Southern Christian (Baptist, Pentacostal, Assemblies of God, etc.).

I am sure that will really broaden his appeal in the South, not that he really cares about the South. His appeal is to the Northeast, Upper Midwest, and Left-coast. As long as Dr. Dean keeps spouting Bush-hatred and anti-Christian rhetoric, he will be nominated.

I was interested in Hugh Hewitt's assessment about how Howard Dean could get some traction in the South. He would name a leftist "Black" politician as his Vice-President. Then, he would mobilize a grass-roots effort to register new voters from that block, and do it in such numbers that they give him some victories in the South.

William Safire is predicting a major terrorist attack between now and the election (an "October surprise"). Would that help or hurt Howard Dean? Howard Dean seems to fall in the category of those who preach to us, saying that we need to do a self-examination about what we are doing wrong that caused the Islamists to attack us on September 11th.

The new holocaust

I have been surprised to find that I am really angry about the wholesale death of gay men we have known, since 1986 or so. I am especially angry at the man who had seduced a friend of ours, when he was just 16 years old, and infected him with HIV. Our friend died about 2-1/2 years ago. The only good thing about this is that the miscreant probably paid what I would have said was the "ultimate price".

Before we lost our friend, I had been in a jury pool for a man accused of having sexual relations with a 13-year old boy. I was dropped because I did not feel that I could be a party to letting this man have some minimal punishment, if he was found guilty and it was decided to "give him another chance", as this was a first offense. That still seems like the wrong approach.

Glenn Reynolds and outsourcing

I would say that the issue is not so much "outsourcing" as it is sending work offshore, regardless of how well that strategy works (other than as a financial measure).

If you are an executive, who is removed from the actual technical work, I can understand that it is easy to decide to send work offshore. As I have said, previously, the biggest challenge is to have adequate communication and supervision.

An important, and apparently overlooked, issue is that people working in India on technical work are not working on a customer's project, long enough, to have climbed the learning curve for the customer's business (or technical issues). I know of an example in the telecom industry, where this was a major issue. A prominent Indian software company was not able to provide personnel continuity, and this had an adverse impact on their ability to produce a useful product.

AIDS and the blood supply in the early 1980's

I have just finished reading an article about Howard Dean's latest statements (rantings?). One of the things that he criticized was this administrations approach to combatting HIV and AIDS. The good news is that the approach taken to promote abstinence is working with young people (at least those who are heterosexual).

The big issue reallyy is personal responsibility for one's actions, and knowing the consequences. I keep reading of increased infection with HIV and the resulting development of AIDS among those pursuing a certain "alternative lifestyle". They don't have responsibility, as it is "just the way they are".

When homosexual men were dying in the early 1980's, activists realized that heterosexual people were ready to just watch it happen. It was at that point that we found that the blood supply had been contaminated, and our wives and children were dying of AIDS. After that, you could get people's attention to start funding research.

An unpleasant fact of life, since the latter 1980's has been the waves of men dying. They were simply trying to live the lifestyle that came naturally to them. They paid the price, and continue to do so. During a six month period, we lost three friends (in 2001). How long does the slaughter need to continue?

The latest space failure

Our European friends seem to have failed in their attempt to land the unmanned Beagle 2 probe on Mars. I don't like being so negative, but I suspect that the Beagle 2 has been reduced to scattered rubble on the surface of Mars.

I understand the desire to combine saving money while still attempting to do space exploration. In this case, the missing ingredient is man. Manned space flight is risky, and costs some lives, but there is no shortage of daredevils ready to make the attempt. If there were a man (or woman) at the controls of the Mars landing vehicle, your odds for success are much higher. Otherwise, you end up with great waste, as automated landers are more likely to fail on attempted landing.

Why not bow to the inevitable and put people onto Mars (and back on the Moon). The effort will pump money into the technology industry, provide more work, and provide new sources of inspiration for innovation.

Of course, our buddies on the left won't allow it. They would rather spend the money on buying votes so that we can turn this into a worker's paradise, along the lines of North Korea or Cuba (two obvious successes).

Wage deflation

A large issue for me has been wage deflation. This has particularly affected people doing contract software development ("consultants"). I had thought that this was strictly the result of the "dot-com bust". I saw the beginnings (at Federal Express), as early as January 1997. That was when they stopped all overtime work and required vendors to cut their billing rates. They were on the leading edge of a trend.

The process accelerated since 2001, after the huge declines in tech stock share prices. My friend (who wants to vote for "Jimmy Dean") blames imported Indian programmers and companies sending work "offshore".

I suspect that what we are seeing is an unforeseen and unintended consequence of the "Enron hysteria". Companies are feeling pressed over costs and the need to show profits. Sending work overseas seems like an easy way to cut costs. There is at least the appearance of a mindless rush to send work overseas, regardless of the results.

I have only anecdotal evidence, but there seem to be many cases where the work performed offshore is unacceptable. Part of the problem is simply the challenge of communicating with people who are working on a different schedule (perhaps 12 hours off from yours). Another aspect is that managers no longer have the ability to walk up to someone's desk and computer, talk with them directly, and see what they are doing.

Supposedly, billing rates have hit their low point and are on the rise. That needs to be reflected in the rate to workers, to have any benefit. Even though companies don't want to see wage reinflation (they do want to see inflation in what they can receive for products and services), this seems like a critical issue for a strong economic recover.

Why do they hate Bush?

One question is why certain people are so incensed over George W. Bush being president. I have assumed that the reason was that they were sore losers. After having Clinton/Gore in 1992 and 1996, they couldn't bear losing in 2000.

When they realized that they had lost in Florida, they were mobilized to overturn the result. The recount circus was the consequence of that effort to change the outcome. I am sympathetic to the Bush effort to put a stop to what could have been an endless process (endless, unless they found a way to make Gore win).

Like small children, the Democrats have gone into a pout, after they couldn't get their way. That is my explanation of the irrational Bush hatred. They can't stand that a conservative Republican is president. "They hate it" (almost more than they hate President Bush). Worse yet, he is a Christian, and there is every indication that this is not a pose, for political reasons (like President Clinton).

People that I otherwise like and respect "go crazy" over President Bush. An example is Margaret Carlson (of CNN's Capital Gang).

Stranger are those nominally conservative Republicans, such as Robert Novak and John McLaughlin, who also hate President Bush. This tends to be coupled with a hatred of Ariel Sharon and Israel. You are likely to hear them rant against the influence of "Neo-Cons", as well.

I suspect that this brand of Bush hater represent the big business/George Schultz branch of the Republican party. They are the reason that the Republican party was in the minority for so long. They really are only interested in making business deals. They also really dislike Evangelical Christians, especially those from the South. They are not necessarily non-believers, as Robert Novak converted to Catholicism, due to the influence of Margaret Carlson.

Why now, why me?

Over the weekend, I encountered two people, who from my perspective are politically confused. They seemed to exist in some alternate universe.

For example, a friend of mine credits former President Clinton with the prosperity of the latter 1990's (including the budget surplus) and blames President Bush for the economic decline that began as early as the beginning of 2000. I can say "the beginning of 2000" because the trucking industry, a leading indicator, began to see a decline in business as early as that.

He also wants to vote for "Jimmy Dean" (Howard Dean). He figures that we would see a return to the Clinton economy (I will write, later, about my views on the "Clinton economy").

About all that I am prepared to credit President Clinton with was the ability to fool his leftist supporters into thinking he was on their side, and then to gain votes by supporting Republican initiatives, such as NAFTA and "Welfare Reform". On the other hand, he had his big tax increase in 1993 and the attempt at nationalizing health care, which almost caused him to be a one-term president.

The other misguided person I encountered was a 70-year old woman, at the airport, while we were waiting for our delayed flight back to the (former) People's Republic of Minnesota. She was talking to someone about Vice-President Cheney and the "Energy Task Force".

I have been enjoying hearing about Howard Dean's secret energy task force, as well. His rational for the secrecy is the same as Cheney's task force.

My concern is that perhaps there are many other people living in a dreamland who might elect Howard Dean. I don't mind the Viet Nam anti-war protestors regaining control of the Democratic party, but I do not relish the idea of another Jimmy Carter. Jimmy Carter started my movement to the right, after I grew up a liberal Republican from Southwestern Michigan. The single event that pushed me past the tipping point was the failed attempt to rescue the hostages in Iran.