Gridlock News

Last week, General Casey spoke before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday and delivered an assessment of the readiness of American armed services as “Out of Balance.” Gen. Casey went on to say that the readiness and preparedness had declined steadily over the last few months due to unmet recruiting goals as well as the current overseas campaigns.

The Generals concern also noted that the lack of readily available forces might create a strategic weakness to confront possible emerging threats. This announcement comes on the heels of Sec. of Defense Robert Gates asking for 190 BILLION dollars to sustain readiness in Iraq, a full 50 BILLION more than initially requested.

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If you do a google news search on the term Nursing Shortage you will rapidly see that the United States and Canada both have significant issues with nursing shortages.  The reality is that as baby boomers age and as some of those baby boomers retire from nursing, the demand for nursing is rapidly increasing and the supply is simultaneously dwindling.

In any industry or area of employment, where demand goes up so does pay.  Each discipline of nursing pays different and just because Canada is on a socialized medicine platform it doesn't mean that Canada is avoiding the market forces of nursing shortages either.  In the states a nurse can earn upwards of $100,000 per year in some disciplines.

That high salary can definitely pull both new and experienced nurses across the border and it isn't coming close to solving the supply constraint issues.  There are nursing program options popping up left and right to help stem the bleeding in hospitals, clinics, practices and many other areas but it just isn't enough yet.

Some specialties for nursing programs (after a nurse gets their initial training) has even moved from correspondence to online learning.  Some of these programs are entirely online and some include a mix of online learning for 3-4 weeks followed by a week of intensive study on site and then the cycle repeats.

The reality is that if more people do not heed the call to enter the medical profession, gridlock in hospitals and especially emergency rooms is going to increase.  Universal health care is irrelevant to this particular issue in the states as there just are not enough nurses no matter who pays the bill!

President Bush invited delegates from the worlds leading greenhouse gas emitters on Wednesday to discuss the effect of global climate change as well as ways to curb the effects. Scores of protestors gathered outside the event calling it an attempt to circumnavigate the United Nations.

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice mentioned in a roundabout way that climate change cannot be dealt with as only an environmental matter due to the crippling economic effects of forms of reduction. The talks this week are just that, discussion. The United Nations Kyoto Protocol is set to expire in 2012 and this conference is claimed to be an opening for discussion of future recommendations and suggestions for individual nations to curb climate change in a manner that will be consistent with their continued growth.

Kyoto has a number of obvious flaws, and George Bush like Bill Clinton has made much of those flaws to avoid the protocol.  But at the same time, Bush has done nothing to enter the discussions and provide any substantive alternative.  The result is that even for those Republicans that are dead set against the Kyoto Protocol and what it stands for, by not stepping forward and offering a plausible alternative solution, George Bush has led us by not leading us towards the point where future leaders will have to accept something derived from Kyoto, which the US had no hand in shaping.

It's like sending your realtor out to find you a house without looking yourself.  If you limit yourself to 10 houses and tell your realtor that the first 9 are terrible, you are going to get stuck with the tenth house(I know that analogy is a bit nuts, but so is the manner in which the White House has been run for the last 7 years).  President Bush has failed to get engaged on this issue (like many others) and as such he has not been a leader.  He has been a decider.  He has emphatically decided to abdicate the decision, the  dialogue and the future to someone else, possibly even a Democrat.

President Bush passed tuition assistance legislation last week that he had been widely rumored to oppose. The legislation is intended to make higher education more affordable thus enabling lower income student’s entry into the college system. The legislation became a political football that bookies at Excalibur Las Vegas were probably bandying about like knights jousting with a turkey carcass.  This maneuvering  over the last few months showed both the president and congress seeking to appear that they have taken steps to increase the affordability of higher education.

The legislation increases the likelihood of Pell Grants being awarded and also increases the actual amount awarded. Bush initially was said to have intended to veto this bill however the legislation was overwhelmingly approved in both houses which in turn negates President Bush’s supposed veto.

Arizona Senator John McCain is looking to kick off his own surge this week with a new ad campaign in New Hampshire. After a lackluster few months of campaigning that has seen lackluster fundraising, general campaign stammering, McCain has found himself somehow gaining ground on the campaigns of both Romney and Giuliani.

Sen. McCain’s television ad campaign will feature footage of a captivity interview of McCain in Hanoi as well as an ad, which will draw on both the insignificant hurricane Katrina response in addition to the congressional scandals of the past several years. The ads feature patriotic titles such as “Live Free” and “One Man”.

His challenge is the aspect of his almost hypocritical stance partnered with the Bush Administration.  You just can't be their critic and biggest supporter at the same time.  You are either for the people that thought torture would be OK or you are not.  No matter how many checks McCain pulls in through cbu mailboxes around the country it doesn't change the fact that this once independent maverick has been turned into a gelding.  Nothing short of pushing for a withdrawal from Iraq will help McCain right now.  (Provided the other Republicans don't get involved in sex or drug scandals and these days that is definitely a possibility.  You know how those Republicans can be . . . )

While watching the New Hampshire Democratic debates Wednesday night it occurred to me that Elizabeth Edwards, rather than husband John, would make a better candidate or at least a more interesting one.   It doesn't take a lot of market research to see that not only is Mrs. Edwards willing to “go” at the drop of a hat, but also she speaks on issues without a fear of reprisal. Calling out frontrunner Hillary Clinton’s health care platform and lack of courage along with leadership on the issue is truly a bold step.

Even before her husband announced his candidacy, Elizabeth has defended John from the political attacks of Hillary Clinton, character assaults by Barack Obama and even personal vendettas from repudiated harpy Ann Coulter. The best part about Elizabeth Edwards is that she fights back like June Cleaver, you can’t help but love this woman.

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President Bush is an interesting individual. He may not be the brightest bulb or the sharpest knife, but he has managed to find a competent Secretary of Defense in Robert Gates. Robert Gates has managed to secure a residual draw down of U.S. troops while maintaining General Petraeus’ personnel needs over the foreseeable future.

What does all this mean anyway?

Well, General Petraeus will be able to carry out the Iraq campaign as he sees fit as well as be able to (in time) draw down American troops thus enabling the future administration to avoid the pressures of drastically reducing forces in the region to satisfy party loyalists. In addition, Gates’ moves will secure a legacy for President Bush where he will appear to have not passed the buck to the next administration.

All of this is provided that you ignore the fact that General Petraeus wrote a book on how to fight an insurgency and when he was put in charge of fighting an insurgency, he wasn't allowed to run things according to his own manual.  I bet General Petraeus' book is not one of the christmas gift ideas that has made GW's christmas lift.

Additional Perspectives

Voting to condemn MoveOn.org, Democrats in both houses find themselves now at odds with an organization that donated approximately 3.6 million dollars to their campaigns in 2006. The vote to condemn MoveOn.org stemmed from the print ad placed in the New York Times last week that smeared General David Petraeus for delivering his assessment of conditions in Iraq.

MoveOn.org has somewhat maligned the very party in which they operate due to their left wing views on many issues including, but not limited to, the war in Iraq. Candidates backed by the controversial left wing organization carried 40 seats in both houses in the 2006 elections, however many of those candidates do not hold the extreme liberal views of the organization. It will be interesting to see what role MoveOn.org will play in 2008.

The only strategic option they really have here to make lemonade out of lemons, is to essentially treat the organization like one that made a simple mistake.  Its not the worst mistake in the world, not at the level of taking bribes or failing to send federal assistance to an entire city with a population of over 1 million people or going to war for reasons that ended up to be false. 

MoveOn.org needed a slight slap on the wrist for crossing the line, but its not like they need to be sent to drug rehabilitation or even a few days in jail.  After all, we are entitled to free speech here in the US.  In politics, however, speech is not free.

And then . . .

Wednesday night the top tier Republican candidates held a brief debate with the sole question being whether or not they would attend a debate which would be held in Maryland as an opportunity to lay out their platforms to black and Hispanic voters. Needless to say, staying true to GOP tendencies, Giuliani, McCain, Romney and Thompson all declined.  Maybe that had more important things to do like wait in line for Hannah Montana tickets rather than answer to the people and explain how they might guide our country out of the oblivion that their own party has walked us into in these last seven years.

Is it any wonder why Democrats carry 80-90 percent of the minority vote in this country? It’s not that liberal policies favor minorities more than anyone else; it is due to the fact that the Democrats at least acknowledge the importance of the diverse communities in this nation, even if it is only every four years. Another debate focusing on the Hispanic community was canceled earlier this year when John McCain was the only top tier candidate who accepted the invitation.

Further on that