Cheney is no patriot.

As most Americans know by now, Dick Cheney, former member of Congress and former Vice President of the United States of America is no patriot. At the very least, he is a disgrace to our system of government.

This afternoon, the New York Times reported the latest and certainly the most serious violation of his duty to uphold the US Constitution. Details will follow no doubt but here is the NYT report:

"The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a
secret counter terrorism program from Congress for eight years
on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the
agency's director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and
House intelligence committees, two people with direct
knowledge of the matter said Saturday.

"The report that Mr. Cheney was behind the decision to conceal
the still-unidentified program from Congress deepened the
mystery surrounding it, suggesting that the Bush
administration had put a high priority on the program and its
secrecy.

"Mr. Panetta, who ended the program when he first learned of
its existence from subordinates on June 23, briefed the two
intelligence committees about it in separate closed sessions
the next day."

It is my hope that every news organization, every blog, and every legitimate news organ in America will print/report this story.  When you hear the details of this Cheney authorized plan that only he had the right to oversee, you will be as disgusted as I am.

It is time for all of us -- Republicans as well as Democrats -- to denounce this individual for what he is.

Just thinking about highways…”electric” highways, that is.

There are some people in the electric utility industry who just don’t get it. One CEO actually wrote in a leading utility publication, “We already have a smart grid.” The one we built 50 years ago, he says, with its upgrades, is doing just fine, thank you. He doesn’t get it. Yes, today’s transmission and distribution systems allow better monitoring of use, leading to great efficiencies and conservation of electricity.

But that is not enough by a long shot. We have to do more.

Just as President Eisenhower saw the need to build an interstate highway system and superimpose it on the existing hodge-podge of two-lane highways choking our cities and slowing down economic expansion, so President Obama has in mind a network of electric transmission superhighways crisscrossing the continent. And the electricity they carry will be a result of new technologies – some that we know about and some we don’t know very much about – that will, for example, convert AC current to DC at a series of substations across the land before converting the DC back to AC at the point of distribution to final customer.

Wow, that’s new.

No, it’s not.

It’s definitely not a new idea. They’re already doing it in Quebec and China and working on it other developed countries. Another idea is to kick up the voltage to an extra high 765 kilovolts, almost twice as much as is typically carried on those heavy duty high voltage lines now. The advantage, engineers say, is that utilities could minimize the need for converting back and forth between AC and DC.

As they say in the movies, “We have people working on these ideas right now.”

Look, I don’t know if this is where we are going. I’m not an engineer. I just know that we have to do something in order to keep up with demand, in order to provide electricity at cost effective rates, in order to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels (this new superhighway would enable renewable energy – wind and solar – to be carried great distances, from places where it is easily generated to places where it is needed most), and we should all be in favor of that.

It will be a true paradigm shift, yes, in the way we think about electricity, the way it is generated, transmitted and distributed to customers. It will definitely not be business as usual.

To claim that we don’t need to spend the money on a new way of generating, transporting and delivering electricity is naïve at best and irresponsible at worst.

Utilities would do the country – and especially their customers – a service if they would begin to open the window on what the future will make possible, and explain it clearly. For it is through such major innovations that the nation will begin to realize exponential growth in all areas of the economy which, in turn, will lead to the productivity growth we must have to generate the revenues required to service the national debt more easily while continuing to provide the services people have come to expect from their government.

"Politics as Usual"

Friends have asked, "So, what do you make of Sarah Palin's resignation?"

Well, I want to take her at her word so I will use what I call the "Larry Craig test of political truthiness." You remember when Larry Craig first walked to the microphones to defend himself on the charge that he had solicited sex in an airport men's room, he said very clearly in the middle of his defense, "I am not gay. I never have been gay. I have never engaged in gay activity." Now, right there, you knew he was gay.

Trust me, I have studied political non-speech for 38 years and I am sharing with you the benefit of that carefully cultivated insight.

What does this have to do with Sarah Palin? In her rambling resignation speech, she said she did not believe in politics as usual. Not three times, but five times she referenced this closely held conviction:

1. "...I promised no more politics as usual."
2. "...Trust me with this decision and know that it is no more politics as usual."
3. "...It's no more politics as usual..."
4. "...No more conventional politics as usual."
5. "...I'm not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual."

Make no mistake about it: Sarah Palin's decision was strictly politics as usual. Her ambition rules her every move. It is too bad that somewhere along the way she didn't let her brain learn some of the substance that her ambition could use today.

She will soon be free to raise the money she needs, to pick up the favors she needs, to assemble the organization she needs to make a run for President in 2012. And the voters will exercise their good judgment at the polls in 2012....and that is the best part of "politics as usual."

Every Day is Independence Day

Every Fourth of July, I hear someone say, “I wish America could return to the days of our founding fathers,” a wish no doubt for a time when everything important in life was known, certain, and not likely to change.

The only problem is that does not describe our founders’ ambitions. The men who put their signatures on the Declaration of Independence had something else in mind: They were uncomfortable with their present status and wanted to change it.

They wanted nothing of religious constriction, governmental tyranny, or suffocating conventional wisdom in the exploration of science, theology, art and politics. They were focused like today’s laser beam on the future, and were enthralled with the potential that exists in the human mind.

The world was ripe for the embracing of radical change in the era of Jefferson, Adams and Franklin. Our founders wanted anything but the status quo. Tomorrow was always likely to be a better day for the improvements it would bring in previously “accepted” thought.

What would they say about the so-called “improvements” of our time?

Well, the Internet has certainly changed our political process by making it possible for a veritable unknown candidate from Illinois to demonstrate to a majority of the electorate that he can be trusted with the government. Indeed, the Internet has changed our entire world through a diffusion of knowledge that has touched and stimulated people on every square foot of this planet.

Surely that diffusion of knowledge is something the founders would applaud, though certainly not every use of the Internet would be approved.

As for tomorrow, what secrets will be revealed through continued DNA research? What products and technologies will be made possible by the exploitation of nanotechnology? What new fuels will be developed that power our cars while cleaning the air we breathe? And what of the atom smashing capabilities of the super collider recently built but untested in Europe. What a marvelous world awaits our children and grandchildren!

You may laugh at my speculation, but I have long ago ceased to laugh at the seemingly impossible. Too many of those “impossible” ideas are in my house today.

When the colonists decided they didn’t want to be told to send their tax money to England, King George III must have longed for the comfort of “the good old days.” And surely there were citizens in colonial America who would have been more comfortable with seeking an accommodation with the Crown – but of course, it was not to be.

To find comfort for their lives was not the goal of our forefathers. They envisioned a never quite satisfied electorate always “looking forward, not backwards, for improvement” in their government.

The founders believed America could be improved if each succeeding generation could find the mettle to be worthy stewards of the government they bequeathed to us.

We celebrate our Independence from England on one specific day of the year, but we renew our founders’ independent spirit each day we devote to improving this republic.

Dawn of New Era

With so much media attention focused last week on coverage of Michael Jackson’s death, it is not surprising that most Americans are not aware the entire country has entered a new era. Maybe you felt the earth move just a bit last Friday when the vote came in on the so-called “climate change” bill in the House. By passing the comprehensive energy bill by a vote of 219 to 212, the House crossed a threshold never achieved before – one that sets out to change American energy policy.

It's not law yet...but it's moving!

I have been an observer of the many attempts by Congress to address this issue in a substantive way since 1973, and I’ve seen many serious attempts to reform energy policy get sucked into the powerful quicksand of the status quo. Nothing happens to change things. All efforts to do so disappear before your eyes.

But not this time.

Under the bill, greenhouse gases must be trimmed by 17 percent from 2005 levels and all by 2020. Utilities must also generate 15 percent of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. Energy efficiency gains of 8 percent are required by the same time. The overall goal is to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

This bill is a game changer. America’s utilities know it. Some generators of electricity fear the impact on their bottom line and on the economy in general. But they are also aware that if it is accompanied by initiatives to facilitate the development of new technologies in the market, it could work without slowing down economic growth. The growth – real growth – that results from this massive and complex effort could be the beginning of the paradigm shift that awaits this country in its new world leadership role on energy.

Now – on to the US Senate.

Republicans Can't Say "Taxes"

Banks will soon begin paying back the money they borrowed earlier this year from the taxpayers. Obama’s early initiative is proving to have been a good investment for those who pay America’s taxes. When you think about it, isn’t the paying of our fair share of taxes about the most patriotic thing a citizen can do?

(Did you notice I used the word “taxes” in every sentence above? It didn’t hurt at all.)

Why then is it that the Rs can’t even bring themselves to say the word “taxes” except when they choose to smear initiatives sponsored by the Democrats? Do they take voters in their party for complete fools, Simple Simons who can’t even find their way to the fair? It would appear so.

Of course, nobody wants to pay too much in taxes, but it is disingenuous to pretend to lead voters by promising to magically reduce their taxes and reduce government spending when you know the truth: you may succeed in lowering taxes for short term political expediency BUT you will not be able to effect a commensurate decrease in spending so long as 67 percent of the federal budget is fixed – which it is. All you will succeed in doing is raise the deficit and soon the debt – as Ronald Reagan did.

But I digress.

The American Petroleum Institute is run by a Republican. How do I know? Take a look at the TV commercials API is running on television in support of off shore drilling. A line from one of their TV commercials says:

“Increased production of oil and natural gas can help rebuild America’s economy by creating new jobs and generating more than $1 trillion for federal, state and local budgets.”

They cannot bring themselves to say “…more than $1 trillion in taxes for federal, state and local budgets.” They can’t say “taxes” because their tongues are incapable of saying the word without giving it a negative partisan connotation. Yes, they prefer to attach the word “Democrat” to it each time it is used. The Rs have succeeded for so long with the slogan – “we’ll give you lower taxes and smaller government” – that they know nothing else. Maybe they should change their name to the “Know Nothing” party. Do you think the Simple Simons of their party would ever catch on?

Ronald Reagan Statue Unveiled in Capitol Rotunda

I don’t know about you but I watched in great surprise the other day as they unveiled a statue of Ronald Reagan in the Rotunda of the Capitol. The occasion was the fifth anniversary of his death. I was surprised because there used to be a rule in the Congress that no member of Congress could be considered for such an honor until the 25^th anniversary of his death had come and gone and his reputation stood the test of time. This rule apparently does not apply to Presidents or was waived when the Republicans approved the statue idea a few years ago when they had majority control of Congress. No doubt it was seen by Republican leaders as a way to guarantee their political “saint” would have a place of honor no matter what history may say about him.

And so there it stands – a statue to honor the man who testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 on the extent of the Communist Party’s penetration in Hollywood, a statue to honor the memory of the fiscal “conservative” who tripled the national debt during his 1981-1988 Presidency, the governing “conservative” who grew the federal government exponentially during his eight years of service, a economic “conservative” who presided over two recessions; indeed, a statue to honor the man who spent countless hours in the Oval Office regaling visitors with tales of the more than 50 B-grade movies he made during his 20 years in Hollywood.

Look, he was a wonderfully affable man who made us feel good about him and about the America he saw, shining like a “city on a hill.” He was a great confidence builder. And no one could read a Peggy Noonan speech any better than our 40^th President. But shouldn’t more be required before one gets a statue in the Rotunda? I think so.

Of course, neither party is in a hurry to erect a statue to Bill Clinton. If not for his amoral ways, they might have considered one, but no, his actions of moral turpitude besmirched his reputation, eroded his credibility with the American people and weakened the President’s moral authority on the world stage…so much so that one member of Congress wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post suggesting that his actions may actually require his resignation. But didn’t he give us a strong economy, creating millions of new jobs, putting more people at every economic level on the road to prosperity? But that darn blue dress! So much for the Clinton statue.

Neither man was perfect. The only perfect man we have had in recent memory was George W. Bush. We know that because, in answer to a reporter’s question at that now famous news conference, Bush said he could not think of even one mistake he had made. “Oh, some of the people I have appointed have disappointed me,” he said but no, he could not think of a single mistake he personally had made. Well, the least said about that one, the better. Suffice it to say, there will be no statue to Bush 43 in the Rotunda anytime soon. History will make sure of that and it won’t need 25 years to make a determination.

If you wonder why President Obama is taking on so much, tackling so many issues, launching so many initiatives, and seems to be busy on literally all fronts, maybe it’s because many of his predecessors squandered their time in office, preferring the road of political expediency, enjoying the perks of office, spending countless days on vacations, doing little to address some of the nation’s most vexing problems, and thus disappointed the American people. I have the sense President Obama wants to give the American people something more substantial upon which to judge his service – and I suspect he is willing to give them a full 25 years to evaluate his time in office.