A DIPLOMAT HAS DIED

This morning I listened to former Ambassador Ryan Crocker pay tribute to his friend Chris Stevens, new Ambassador to Libya who has just been killed in mob violence in Benghazi, Libya. Federal Service runs in my family - State Department, Defense, CIA, Management and Budget. In a movie that inspired me back in the 1950s, an Admiral asks aboard his aircraft carrier (it was the Essex) "Where do we get such men?" Chris Stevens was one of our very best; helping execute our foreign policy in Libya, a policy that is helping the Arab world reach for their freedom. Serving in this theater is full of risk. Even as four lives were just lost in the service of our country, U.S. political sharpshooters were on the scene looking for partisan advantage. It is hard not to be discouraged about trends in world events and in national governance. At times like this I think that maybe we have reached a "Tipping Point." Perhaps we have been on a downhill slide for a number of years, such that "The last best hope on earth" offers not much hope anymore. Let's look at some indicators: A Congress unable to pass a budget or agree on a jobs bill and a deficit reduction package. A Supreme Court that has overturned decades of campaign reform with a decision allowing corporate money to flood our elections. A housing collapse brought about by fraudulent lending - banks that hold up their customers! With a global population growing past seven billion inhabitants, we see enormous disparities world-wide in wealth and availability of resources. Shortages of fresh water and food coincide with dozens of conflicts between tribes and nations. And the USA profits from arming all sides in these wars. How will we know when we have fallen from our summit? How do you ask a warrior to be the last to die in an unjust war? There are no answers that are easy or simple. I grew up pledging to a nation with justice and liberty for all. One nation, not divided. I don't see that nation today. I am afraid that we have passed that tipping point already.

BROKEN POLITICS

Both political conventions are now over. Billions of dollars are flowing, and the fighting is fierce - on TV, billboards, radio, yard signs, and bumpers. The language is intemperate. Lies, fact-checkers disparaged, "socialists, radicals," on and on. Is the two-party system beyond repair? The other week a friend repeatedly referred to his opposition as the "enemy." I tried to protest, but he continued with more insults. Plainly, many partisans cannot talk to others with anything like civility. Every day I receive emails telling how much money is needed to counter the hundreds of millions that a few billionaires are pouring into the campaign against Democrats. When I watch the blizzard of negative TV ads I think of all the better uses for my money than to fuel this fire. When neither federal nor state legislators can agree on whether government is necessary, or how it might be funded, we have lost our way. The way that children in America are taught about how democracy and representative government are supposed to work. Compromise is weakness? My way or else? I think I have already made enough contributions to the candidates who have demonstrated some common sense. I cannot abide any more partisan food fights.

ELECTIONS - FIXING GOVERNMENT

When gridlock gets you down, in Washington and in St. Paul, go and find a candidate running for office in your community. Listen, and then tell him/her what's wrong with the way things are for you. Unemployment, recession, climate changes, banks that hold up customers, housing fraud, politicians serving themselves. I have found my candidate in Crosby, Minnesota. His name is Joe Radinovich, a fourth generation Ranger from the Cuyuna Range, where we used to mine manganiferous iron ore. Joe is running in the new House District 10B, which includes Eastern Crow Wing County and all of Aitkin County. There is no incumbent here. I was present at Joe's announcing speech at the west edge of Ironton on May 30th. Quoting from this speech, Joe advocates "Investing in the best possible education and job training for our people, rebuilding our roads, bridges and public works, and by allowing everyone the dignity of a fair wage for a fair day's work." His campaign theme is "Together. Rebuilding Our Future." We can fix our government. One legislator at a time. On August 14th in Minnesota we choose our political party nominees in the Primary Election. On November 6th in the General Election we choose a President, a U.S. Senator, a Member of Congress in the U.S. House, a State Senator, and a State Representative. When they take office in January perhaps the promise of American Democracy can be fulfilled again.

THE JOB CREATION MYTH

Some desperate politicians will say anything to win elections. In these troubled times of foreclosures and joblessness, the current promise of these electoral wannabes, with not much else to offer, is a "policy of job creation." Back in my engineering career, when the corporate boss wanted to increase our efficiency and pare costs down to the basic essentials, the search was on for "dead wood." By definition, the dead wood included those the Company could get along without. The 1980s and early ‘90s were a time of job reduction for many areas of the private sector. In the early years of the Clinton-Gore Administration, Vice President Gore was put in charge of "reinventing government," a process that resulted in widely-announced numbers of federal jobs eliminated. Any businessman who inflates payroll without an increased demand for his products and services doesn’t remain in business for very long. So how in the world does reducing income taxes for the wealthy bring about more jobs? It’s worse than a myth for the vulnerable and the gullible. It is a bald-faced lie.

THE SIZE OF GOVERNMENT

In Aitkin County in Northern Minnesota we are experiencing record high water in lakes and rivers after torrential rains. We have received more than half a normal year's rainfall in May and June. The ground is saturated, so rainwater is all runoff. Watersheds are flushing into rivers and lakes, overflowing banks and flooding roads, structures, and farm fields. Local and state road crews, state troopers, sheriff deputies, and police officers have been on the scene, providing rescue and emergency services, flagging washouts, protecting lives and property. In this time of trouble let us remember who we depend on. Public servants. Police, Fire, Ambulance. Utility Workers. Well Drillers. Paramedics, Nurses, and Doctors. When wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods strike, the angry cries of those zealots who would "shrink government" are exposed as the rants of cruel fools. As I departed our County Board meeting June 26th I was proud of our Sheriff, County Engineer, and Commissioners, along with their capable staff members. They are committed to our safety, and they serve us well. Today the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the State Department of Agricultural representatives were in the County Seat to help coordinate our recovery.

POLITICAL MONEY

A week of punditry has come out of Wisconsin. The recall failed and many are the supposed lessons spreading across the land. My tweet describes an empty suit stuffed with money, who bested the loser mayor from 2010. Too bad Democrats didn't rally with the labor union candidate to defend the right to unionize and bargain collectively. It's not enough just to fight and raise money. We've got to battle smarter and make every dollar and every volunteer hour count. I'm not singing the blues about all that Big Money from billionaires. Truth is, politicians of all stripes have gotten very comfortable with Big Money - Liberal and Conservative Money. How many votes will Charles Koch and his brother cast this November? The same number as you and me! Yes, a lot of distractions have been erected by politicians who think they can fool enough of the people this time. Do you want a picture ID for every voter? Are you shook up about homosexuals marrying each other? We have serious questions to think about between now and November. Questions for citizens who seek out facts, opinions, and exercise their own judgment in making decisions. No amount of money can persuade you otherwise, when you have judged right from wrong. These are the questions on my mind tonight: war, joblessness, child poverty, foreclosures, new graduates with debt, a changing global climate. I want candidates to answer these questions to my satisfaction, before they will get my vote. I have chosen three candidates to support and have sent them "political money." I have urged others to consider voting for these three. I will be at my polling place for the Primary and General Elections, as an election judge, to see that our precinct has integrity. Some things money cannot buy.

MERCHANTS OF DEATH

Why do they hate us? In the novel "Bloodmoney" a young man in mountainous Pakistan near the Afghan border survives a U.S. drone strike on his house, in which the rest of his family is killed. So begins a tale in which a new breed of CIA operatives in the Mideast become the mysterious victims of assassination. These new spies are loaded with money, not appropriated by Congress, but gained through crooked dealing with compromised financial partners. They are able to buy their way into positions of influence in the Middle East. Pilot-less aircraft have been around a long time. For decades kids with model airplanes flew them, and aboard ship we trained our anti-aircraft guns on radio-controlled fighters from World War II. In today's War On Terror the Air Force has gone farther. From a base in Utah, halfway round the globe, technicians, plugged in to the latest intelligence, are targeting sites where suspected Al Qaida members live and travel. Of course in war, mistakes are made, and collateral damage occurs. This week we learned how the President, on Terror Tuesdays, chooses which suspects will be killed in this manner. Indeed, why do they hate us? Men from Saudi Arabia were outraged that the U.S. had placed Air Force fighter aircraft and pilots in their sacred land. Osama bin Laden was one, and 15 of the 19 attackers on September 11 were Saudis. Our Congressional-Military-Industrial Complex creates and supplies weapons from most of the fifty states where disarmament would be an economic disaster. Whether it is the Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG), the Stinger anti-aircraft missle, the IED (Improvised Explosive Device), or the Land Mine, it was invented and manufactured in the USA. We are killing our own - and thousands of others - with our exports to a weaponized world.