This is the first diary I've posted on MYDD in months. What prompted me to crosspost this from The Motley Moose was seeing a diary by MYDD's resident homophobe.

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Death of a Love Story

Life is often like a smooth flowing stream. Day follows day with only small ripples to disturb the surface and then, unexpectedly, a large rock breaks the current. Sometimes that rock is more like a surging rapid and at other times, it takes a sudden plunge over a waterfall. We have little control over the current. We can only ride out whatever the stream brings our way.

When J and R awoke on that quiet Wednesday morning, life seemed tranquil and serene. As on any other weekday, J prepared for work while R set the table for their shared breakfast routine. There was little to indicate that this day would be any different from the days that had come before it. Unfortunately, unknown to this loving couple, a waterfall loomed ahead.

R, as a self-employed writer, spent the day in front of a computer, while J went to work as an accountant at a large corporation. The two loving partners had played out this same routine for nearly thirty years. They both agreed that life had been good to them.

First of all this country is unfortunately still about identity politics.  Obama played the game with the best of them, and won.

One of the reasons was that he convinced the Latino community to support him over McCain who had been a friend to Latinos, especially for a Republican.

Remember the "latinos won't vote for a black guy", and "they are the ultimate swing vote"?

Well the decision by latinos as a group both individual and institutional with their media and organizations to support Obama has been insulted.

No one could have blamed some of the Latino groups to say "McCain has been the 1 republican trying, and we don't want to disregard that"... but they did.

Now they get only Bill Richardson in the mix for a Cabinet job, and even he as an afterthought.

There are "A' level cabinet positions:

Sec of State
Sec of Defense
Attorney General
and now
Sec of treasurey

They are so because of the media exposure, the importance of the decisions, and the history of the job.

No latinos.  Also, btw No people from the left.

"B" level cabinet positions:

Environmental Protection Agency (sometimes considered cabinet)
Hud (upgraded because of housing crisis)
National security advisor (sometimes considered)
Homeland Security

No Latinos so far, but probably some coming soon.

"C" level cabinet positons are so because no one either knows or cares what they really do:

agriculture
commerce
interior
Energy
Labor

To name Richardson here, when he was already there before is an insult.

If you think I'm exagerrating about 'C" level status:

We just had a gigantic spike in oil up to over $4 and now a dramatic drop, and who is the energy secretary?
What did they do during the crisis?

We are having an economic crisis, and the commerce sec's job is to do what?

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Obama should have named Richardson to head Sec of State. It would have met his "change" image, and Richardson is Obama's type of Democrat on Foreign issues.

Richardson is too weak to hold any other "A" level cabinet jobs, so that was it.

Hillary will be a great Sec of State but she will be her own person.
Everyone has to know that.

I agree with the pick because to me it means, Hillary will run Foreign Policy.  Otherwise, why would she take the job, to implement Obama's vision?

Obama and Democrats are playing with fire with the Latino sentiment.  Of course there will be chances to fix this with departures later on.  Or maybe a Supreme Court pick.

But for now this is embarassing.

While watching the WAGA-TV Sunday morning public affairs program, "The Georgia Gang," the following ad appeared on my t.v. screen:

"Why Do Liberals Want to Tell You How to Vote?"

On the front page of the Republican group's website, the Executive Director of the National Republican Trust writes, "If the Democrats defeat Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss, they will be very close to getting the 60 votes they need in the Senate to pass Obama's radical legislation."

"Obama and the Congressional Democrats must be denied the 60 votes," the letter reads [Source:  GOPTrust.com, "Stop Obama in Georgia!", November 23, 2008].

In addition to this new television spot, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported back on November 18th that the National Republican Trust has "been spending heavily on online banner ads, e-mail and direct mail"  [Source:  Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, "Groups spend to sway Ga. Senate runoff", November 18, 2008].

The Republican economy has driven states, counties and cities to the brink of bankruptcy.  In Washington the state budget is predicted to be up to $5.1 billion in the red.  To get the budget in balance the Governor has directed the state Office of Financial Management to find ways to slash the state budget without cutting services.  In October Washington State University (WSU)was asked to cut $6 million from its $254 million budget by June 30.  In response to the WSU President Elson S. Floyd asked the regents to cut his pay as part of the university's efforts to slash its budget.  Floyd requested a $100,000 cut in pay.

The Republican economy has driven states, counties and cities to the brink of bankruptcy. In Washington the state budget is predicted to be up to $5.1 billion in the red. To get the budget in balance the Governor has directed the state Office of Financial Management to find ways to slash the state budget without cutting services. In October Washington State University (WSU)was asked to cut $6 million from its $254 million budget by June 30. In response to the WSU President Elson S. Floyd asked the regents to cut his pay as part of the university's efforts to slash its budget. Floyd requested a $100,000 cut in pay.

Floyd's 14% pay reduction was made because: "These are exceedingly tough times for my students, faculty and staff. We will be asking them to think more creatively and work harder with less as we deal with budgetary restraints. It is incumbent upon me to lead by example."

Imagine that...leading by example.  It should be done by more of our "leaders".  Leaders in finance, industry, and government need to lead by example.  They are rewarded when they "lead" in good times with higher wages, stock options, deferred compensation and other perks.  They should be equally willing to lead by example when the companies, agencies and other sectors of our economy are suffering.  They should share the pain.

I met Elson Floyd briefly last year shortly after he assumed leadership of Washington State University.  I was at a football game and he was working the crowd.  He went row by row, introducing himself to the fans and thanking them for supporting the football program and the university.  I was impressed by his outreach then and now I am even more impressed with his understanding of the role of a leader in times of stress.  

For more on Floyd's unique example of leadership you can read the article in an area newspaper at: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/...

http://www.change.gov/page/s/economy

We need to phase out the mortgage interest deduction.  It doesn't increase homeownership (Canada's rate is about the same as ours without one), it's regressive, it's the biggest deduction in the tax code, costing more than twice the annual HUD budget, it encourages borrowing (like ill-advised interest-only loans) when we should be encouraging saving, and it skews housing production toward high-end homes (often second homes, vacation homes, investment properties, etc.) when we have a national affordable housing crisis.  Grandfather people who've already used or started using the mortgage interest deduction, then give others the option of choosing either the mortgage interest deduction, OR a one time, universal, fully refundable $5000 tax credit to buy their first home.  They'd still have to have adequate incomes and credit histories, reducing the risk of the kind of mortgage crisis we've just seen.  And such down payment and closing cost grants have been shown to help 1 in 9 renters become homeowners, which would also help prop up the real estate market.

Green jobs--yes.  Any auto bailout must include stricter requirements on auto manufacturers to make more fuel efficient cars.  Why don't they make buses, trains, and bicycles?  Those are the future and should be a condition of getting $25-50B.  They should also have to stop exporting jobs, and if we taxpayers are going to give them tens of billions of dollars, we deserve a fair amount of preferred stock and/or other say in the management of these companies.  Failed management shouldn't be rewarded with massive strings-free bailouts.

We now see the auto industry about to go under, and all the government, from the President down to Congress wring their hands. The auto industry in the US has been suffering since the '80's, and it has only gotten worse. A bailout is the most common talk, as has been with near every other big industry in the US this year, like AIG, Lehman Brothers, and near the rest of Wall Street. We cannot let thousands of workers out to dry, and let our biggest industry merely go under. But we cannot continue to accept the US industry to go about on their merry ways thinking they'll just be bailed out when no one buys their gas guzzling, poorly handling, homely designed cars.

I say we do what will make the GOP cry "SOCIALISM," and that is nationalize the industry. Bailouts over and over again will merely increase the moral hazard risk, but government will help direct the industry to finally get things right, and provide the support and capital necessary to keep the industry going. These guys need oversight, as too many jobs and lives are at stake, and so is the market. If the auto industry goes under, we will see a crash like one we haven't seen in a long time, and we've seen quite a bit of crashes this year. This is the only solution, and I hope President Obama, when he comes to office, will muster the courage to bring this to the table. Congress too must help, and not continue to wring their hands, waiting until it is too late.

The Progressive Democrat, as well as Culture Kitchen and Daily Gotham, the other blogs I write for, were featured in the left-wing Finnish magazine Kulttuurivihkot. For any Finnish readers out there, hyvä päivä.

This week I discuss the Georgia Senate race, alternative energy (particularly biodiesel), Mormon desecration of the victims of the Holocaust, marriage equality, and my usual state-by-state coverage (which is pared down to about 16 states rather than the 20 states I used to cover...I'd pare it down more but I know I have readers in those 16 states!) More below.

Federal judge Richard Leon recently ordered the release of five detainees in our torture camp on Guantanamo Bay. They arrived there January 20, 2002, and it is exceedingly unlikely that federal prosecutors will exhaust their options to appeal Judge Leon's ruling before the last day of the Presidency of George W. Bush, January 20, 2009.

A lawyer for one of the defendants has published a brief description of her client's confinement.

For a few minutes each day, he sees the camp guards who bring his meals. He has had no other human contact. The glaring lights in his cell are on 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When we left the cell, we could hear Saber shouting -- brief, truncated cries. We could not understand what he was saying.