observations

a word about the sidelining of jimmy carter. think about it; here is a guy who actually became president, and his own party doesn't let him speak at their convention. other than clinton, he is the only living former president from the democratic party. carter's "crime" is to acknowledge the humanity of the palestinian people. because of this, he is being shut out of his own party. my point is not to romanticize carter, who was president while we supported the fundamentalists in afghanistan, and while arms sent to indonesia where used to demolish the people of east timor. however, his political elimination is worth noting. he had the courage to stray from the demonization of the palestinian people, and to argue for a two state solution. personally, i would prefer one secular state where the two people live side by side in a state of equality, but for the moment, carter's plan is more feasible. carter had the honesty to state that israel has committed crimes in their dealings with the palestinians. even his book title "peace, not apartheid" is instructive. carter, compared to obama, hillary, and more recent leaders, has a higher level of intellectual integrity. of course, it helps to be out of power. at this stage of his life, carter is free to say what's on his mind, for he no longer has to work within the power structure. and to his credit, he has said what's on his mind. for example, carter certified that the recent presidential election in venezuela was one of the most fair and transparent elections he had ever seen. this is the same chavez who presides over a "rogue state," to use obama's terminology. carter has also acknowledged the wonders of the cuban health care system, and recently, called for a new trial for death row inmate troy davis, a wrongfully accused black man from georgia. in short, carter is more liberal than the current leaders of the democratic party, and for that, he is silenced. of course, he is most strongly attacked for his views on israel-palestine. on this issue, one is not allowed to be open minded. one is not allowed to question any aspect of israeli policy. one is not allowed to to advocate on the side of the palestinians. so, carter, despite the fact that he is a former president, has been cast aside like george mcgovern and michael dukakis. we always heard that these guys were ignored because they lost. well, carter won, and they are still ignoring him. this is because we have a political system that doesn't brook anybody that attempts to think for themselves.

as far as the auto industry goes, i echo the sentiments in the article that our government should be bailing out the workers, not those who already possess a shitload of money. the "industry" doesn't need a bailout; the working poor and the unemployed need help trying to survive. we need to put people to work, and we need to put some people out of work. the fat cats who are being bailed out and then flying around on private jets need to join the ranks of the unemployed. the blue collar workers who work in the auto industry have an array of skills that our manufacturing sector could put to good use, but the current auto industry won't put those skills to good use. therefore, that industry needs to be radically reformed. a group of transportation and environmental experts should be convened to discuss ways to alter the auto industry. the jobs and benefits of the current workforce should be protected, and those workers should be put to work constructing environmentally friendly vehicles, or at least friendlier vehicles. this team of transportation and environmental experts, along with the workers themselves, could manage the company and share the profits equally. and, best of all, the corrupt fat cats who fly to washington in private jets to plead poverty should be forced to find out what real poverty feels like.