States challenge nat’l driver’s license Wiki has a summary of the issues. I am in favor of a universal ID system to help separate predators from the general population. I would like for my society to know who is entering the country, who is buying explosives, who is moving around large amounts of money, to keep tract of chronic predators who physically, emotionally or financially prey on others. In fact I support going further by gathering multiple forms of biometric data so that we...

David Brooks writes in today’s NY Times about “Children of Polarization”, “For many students, the main axis of their politics is not between left and right but between idealism and realism” …I’m struck by the universal tone of postboomer pragmatism. …In general, their writing is calm, optimistic and ironical. Most students in my class showed an aversion to broad philosophical arguments and valued the readings that were concrete and even wonky. Many...

The Congressional Quarterly offered some valuable insight into the mindset of the Democrats at this weekend’s Congressional retreat Democrats Serve Up Clinton-Style Centrism at Retreat …The retreat will give the Democrats some uninterrupted time to discuss what they intend to do with their new majority in the 110th Congress — and how they should interact with opposition Republicans in Congress and with President Bush. “This is one of the first tests for Democrats,’’...

Legislator Wants Green Lights in California A California lawmaker wants to ban the use of incandescent light bulbs in order to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gases which are linked to global warming. Instead, compact fluorescent light bulbs (COLS) would become the alternative for California residents. This is a noble idea that responds to the fact that fluorescents consume far less energy and generate far less heat than incandescents. A significant percentage of US energy use is for lighting...

Bush seeks to cut farm program funds Trying to tighten the federal budget, the Bush administration on Wednesday proposed to reduce farm spending by $18 billion over the next five years. …The administration is seeking to eliminate farm payments for wealthy producers, limiting subsidy payments to those making less than $200,000 in adjusted gross income annually. The current income cap is $2.5 million. That would rule out payments for about 80,000 producers who currently are eligible, officials...

In Dems Should Dump Ethically Challenged Harry Reid the case is made that Senator Reid has personally benefited from favors in exchange for promoting special interest legislation. I suspect that with enough investigation many legislators may be guilty of promoting self serving policy. And it would be appropriate for their constituents to vote them out of office as ethically challenged. But this is just not likely. Graft is an inevitable consequence of wielding great power and influence over the...

David Broder writes today about promising movement towards building Senate cross-partisan rapport. Forty senators showed up on Jan. 9 for the first of a planned series of weekly 8 a.m. breakfasts designed to provide neutral ground where lawmakers of both parties can meet, rather than caucusing separately. Yesterday, some 60 top Senate staffers of both parties held a similar breakfast session aimed at obliterating party lines and fostering personal relationships. The core of the “Gang of 14″...

The brand new publication “The Politico” starts its second day featuring a creative article Fusion Is the Ticket for 2008 that argues for the timeliness of a cross party ticket. There is a strong voter pull from the Center that a clever ticket could capitalize upon. This is the intention Unity08 There are lively arguments for and against this kind of approach. But it is being considered much more seriously by credible political operatives. Whether it happens or not it is refreshing...

The New York Times has a piece on the obsolescence of the Public Election Fund which can not compete with the escalating amounts of money it takes to run a Presidential campaign for a front runner. Any primary candidate who raises an initial $100,000 receives federal money to match the first $250 of each donation. For 2008, candidates could receive matching grants of as much as $25 million for the primary season, grants of about $15 million for a nominating convention and grants of about $83 million...

It impresses me that the House Democrats achieved their “6 for 06″ goals with so much GOP cross over. It is relatively less impressive to achieve something like this with only sheer force. But now that the initial agenda is achieved, the ability to legislate moves to a higher standard, that of withstanding debate, conference committees and vetos. The political talent and skill I am hoping to witness is the ability to collaborate on trans-partisan refinements. Can the minimum wage...

A Coalition for Firm Limit on Emissions This NYTimes article describes how big business is getting behind the global warming band wagon. Assessing their risks, the Big Companies realize that the consequences of global warming can be threatening to their business while getting ahead of the curve and providing solutions can be a substantial business opportunity. I only wish they had this epiphany earlier. Something similar is happening with Health Care. An inefficient national health care system puts...

Link …An Iranian offer to help the United States stabilize Iraq and end its military support for Hezbollah and Hamas was rejected by Vice President Dick Cheney in 2003, a former top State Department official told the British Broadcasting Corp. The U.S. State Department was open to the offer, which came in an unsigned letter sent shortly after the American invasion of Iraq, Lawrence Wilkerson, former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s chief of staff, told BBC’s Newsnight in a program...

The $800 Billion Tax Loophole “As a result of the 1986 bipartisan tax reforms, the tax base was broadened and the tax code was greatly simplified. But these reforms have been gradually undone as Congress has created scores of new tax breaks and loopholes. Want to preserve historic buildings, encourage alternative energy sources, help working families, or give certain industries a boost without appearing to increase spending? Voila — a new targeted tax break is born. Most tax expenditures...

In what I consider another encouraging step in the right direction link The Justice Department announced today that the National Security Agency’s controversial warrantless surveillance program has been placed under the authority of a secret surveillance court, marking an abrupt change in approach by the Bush administration after more than a year of heated debate…

Earmark Reform The Senate voted Tuesday to shine more light on thousands of expensive pet projects buried in legislation every year after the new Democratic majority bowed to a successful push by Republicans to make new disclosure rules even tougher than originally planned. The vote was 98-0 to require senators to reveal the water projects, hiking trails, defense contracts or tax breaks for specific industries they insert in legislation. That unanimity came five days after Democrat leaders, holding...

Sorry to post so much today but this was too tasty to wait Haaretz In a series of apparently “unofficial” secret meetings in Europe between September 2004 and July 2006, Syrians and Israelis formulated understandings for a peace agreement between Israel and Syria. It is most striking how far along and comprehensive the agreement reached before talks were apparently suspended. One can only wonder how involved the US was in promoting these talks, why the talks were suspended, what could...

Newt Gingrich is one of my favorite conservatives because he is relatively open minded to pragmatic ideas regardless of the source. As you read his list, could not most of his proposals come from moderates and even progressives? It would be wise for the Democrats to find a way to include Newt as part of the process of crafting policy able to draw bi-partisan support. It would be wiser still for the GOP to shift to his pragmatic rather than ideological approach to policy. Newt is preparing for the...

The NY Times today profiled the adjustments being made by the Democratic leaders. …The promise may not outlast their political honeymoon, but Democratic Congressional leaders say they are committed to governing from the center, and not just on bread-and-butter issues like raising the minimum wage or increasing aid for education. They also hope to bring that philosophy to bear on some of the most divisive social issues in politics, like abortion. …The mantra, for many Democrats, is the...

Unity08 is a project to encourage the two parties to move back towards the center. The plan is to host an online political convention to nominate a bi-partisan presidential ticket from Candidates passed over by the major parties. Unity 08 will use its resources to get their candidates on the ballots in all the states. The idea is that the two parties will have to become more moderate or risk losing voters to this third ticket. This all might seem like naive fantasy except for the roster of credible...

Both the NY Times and the Washington Post had articles pointing out the significant number of Republicans who voted with the Democrats on the early agenda items. Eighty-two Republicans joined Democrats in approving an increase in the minimum wage; 68 Republicans backed the new majority’s measure that puts into force remaining recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission; 48 supported a return to pay-as-you-go budget rules, and 37 endorsed expanded embryonic stem cell research. It is refreshing...

David Brooks wrote an Op-ed in the NY Times, “The American Way of Equality”, about the unique way Americans view freedom. (unfortunately it is available only through the Times Select Paid subscription.). He describes the work of recently deceased Seymour Martin Lipset who, over a lifetime of research, made distinctions between the US and other Cultures. Mr. Lipset pointed out that relatively uniform cultures, as in most countries in Europe and Asia, believe that their government should...

I was enthusiastic about the change in Congressional Leadership. Then… Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s minimum wage bill apparently has an exemption for a company Headquartered in her district that operates in American Samoa. But the ban on House debate thwarts making this more public. Senator Harry Reid proposes earmark reform but tries to restrict the changes to a relatively small number leaving the overwhelming majority of earmarks unreformed. The GOP catches this and proposes a more aggressive...

Families USA is a national nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the achievement of high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans. They just issued a Report as House of Representatives Is Scheduled to Vote Soon to End Prohibition Preventing Medicare from Bargaining for Lower Drug Price that shows Medicare Drug Plan Prices Are 58 Percent Higher than VA Prices For all of the top 20 drugs prescribed to seniors, VA prices were substantially lower than the lowest prices charged by...

Enough of the President’s Iraq Speech has been leaked that I will go ahead and declare that although I rarely agree with Bush I support this surge. It may be that 21,000 troops are too few to make a difference, but I support even the smallest chance that we can help move the Iraqi government to a tipping point were they can maintain public order. I think it is worth the investment to try and deny the terrorists a victory. To leave Iraq unstable, and the radicals validated, would make the world...

Norman Ornstein pointed out some encouraging rhetoric coming from Congress and makes a few suggestions to encourage Comity. I excerpt liberally: From Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio)…If there is one lesson that stands out from our party’s time in the majority, it is this: A Congressional majority is simply a means to an end. The value of a majority lies not in the chance to wield great power, but in the chance to use limited power to do great things. “We refer to the gavel...