Dear Congress: Grow Up

After listening to this bit of news, the following went out to my (Republican) congressman:

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Dear Representative,

I am writing in regard to what should be among the U.S. Congress' highest priorities at the moment: addressing the federal budget, the annual deficit and the national debt. Like most Americans, I have read and listened to a dizzying amount coverage of this issue recently. Radio, television, newspapers and online sources have been consumed with the subject, high levels of hyperbole and posturing obscuring reality. In my efforts to weed though the rhetoric, I have determined the following:

• The federal debt stands at a staggering $15.476 trillion. This level is projected to exceed our GDP for the first time in decades. Reducing the deficit will not put a dent in this; indeed, at best it will only slow growth. It doesn't take sophisticated bookkeeping to figure out that any spending which exceeds income will still add to the debt.

• Our economic recovery from the recent downturn is spotty at best, with unemployment levels, housing starts and other economic indicators still at uncomfortably poor levels in many areas of the country. Even those areas with better numbers are still fragile in their recovery. And every one of those numbers represent our neighbors.

• At the same time, large corporations are showing record profits and individuals with higher incomes are taxed at some of the lowest rates since the Great Depression. These also represent our neighbors.

• In the end, there are really only two ways to deal with a budget that is out of balance: decrease spending and/or increase revenue.
  

I agree with the necessity of cutting federal spending. I do. It's hard, but it's necessary. However, given the state of our economy and the level of debt that is simply not enough.

Now, the deal on the table today (when the last round of negotiations broke down) involved more than 3 trillion dollars in cuts-- cuts that would be acutely felt by those who are already suffering in our society. And by all reports the revenue increases asked by our president were roughly $1.2 trillion-- 1/3 of the previous figure, most of which was found by simply closing loopholes that never should have been open in the first place. Not accepting this as a viable compromise seems to me to be simply ridiculous posturing and thoughtless intransigence.

So I expect-- no, as one of your constituents, I require-- that you speak to your colleagues about finding a point at which you can compromise, and that you find a way to agree upon tax increases for the wealthier citizens and corporations in this country. It is not unreasonable to expect those who most benefit from our society to bear more responsibility for its upkeep.

"From those to whom much is given, much will be required." This teaching applies clearly, not only to the tax argument on the table but also to the role of leadership you hold. You are in a position of great privilege, sir. With that privilege comes great responsibility. In other words, someone has to act like the grownup. Please do so.

Desperate Blogscape

Have you ever seen the show Desperate Landscapes? It's one of those home improvement shows that are so very popular these days. Each episode features a neglected yard in dire need of some attention. Overgrown weeds, patchy grass, dying shrubs... places that sometimes look suited to Halloween haunting, inhabited by overwhelmed owners who know they need help, but simply don't know where to begin.

However, by the end of the show the yard is a showplace-- abundant plants, trees and flowers, and often patios, water features, and other improvements. And it happens so quickly! Through the frenzied application of money and manpower, an elaborate design that would normally take several days or weeks happens in the space of one day. It's almost magical to watch.

Here in the blogiverse, I have some sympathy with those homeowners. After more than a year, this blog was a desperate landscape: a template with an outdated header and a blogroll full of links that were either equally neglected or simply no longer functional and a background that honestly seems boring. I hardly knew where to start, and I didn't really want to, knowing how time-consuming the effort would be.

But it seems there's no one interested in stepping in to take over the clean up of my untidy mess. No video crew standing by to record either the knowledgeable instructions of savvy html specialists or the well-intentioned efforts of clueless assistants. There's only me, dagnabbit.

So I have been spending my allotted blogging time chipping away at the mess. And finally it's beginning to clear up. The header is not precisely how I want it, but at least it's not inaccurate. The blogroll is generally functional, with links that work to sites I favor or at least care about. I've changed the name back to what I used when I started blogging, lo these many years ago. I don't know that I'll keep it, but it's as good a place holder as any while I mull over possibilities.

And the background? Well, that is an abundance of code work which will simply have to wait for another day(s).

Suggestions for continued improvements welcome.

Taming the Beastie.

Beginning in seminary I had a laptop that, like Mary's little lamb, followed me everywhere. I was a "weekend commuter," at school during the week and home with my family on weekends. The laptop made school work and connectivity possible and portable. My first call was at a church roughly 45 minutes from my house, so transportablility was a continued blessing. Then I moved to Montana and took up the challenge of serving four widely dispersed mission churches. My office became my car, and "blessing" became "utter necessity."

All this meant that I always had a fully functional computer with me. It was easy to post to my blog and keep track of dozens of others with the click of a mouse and an rss reader.

Then we moved last summer. The laptop I was using at that point had been purchased as part of a diocesan grant, so it stayed behind. I needed something to replace it, but we also needed a computer for the house, upon which The Boy could do homework and upload music to his iPod (not necessarily in that order).

The cost of two new computers was beyond our means. But Apple thoughtfully came up with a new option: the iPad. Portable, less expensive, and seemed at first blush to let me do everything I needed: email, web browsing, calendar and address book, etc. So we bought a desktop iMac for the house and an iPad for me to cart around.

I think I'm generally comfortable with new technologies, but I've had a frustrating learning curve with this little beastie. It's a clever toy, and wonderfully lightweight to cart around; but operates very differently. It's rather like dealing with an idiot savant: it does some amazing things in elegant ways, but others are functionally clunky. And some things it just plain refuses to consider. Stubborn Beastie.

One of the trouble spots for me was blogging. I couldn't use my old rss reader, and the app versions I've tried so far are decidedly unsatisfactory. With my own blog, functionality was bad for posting and I couldn't work on my template at all.

But time marches on, and new apps appear. I'm posting this with one such: a test run of sorts.

I'm still looking forward to a new laptop one day. Don't tell the Beastie.