Obama is finally unable to hide his frustration

I have been wondering over the past few weeks about whether Obama's patience would begin to flag. Not only does he have to contend with a Republican minority fiercely opposing anything he proposes, but he has a Democratic majority dragging their feet and failing to flex their muscles. At times, lately, his tone has almost been one of a parent trying to mediate between 535 obnoxious, ornery children packed into one giant minivan of uselessness. CNN finally caught Obama losing his patience a bit during the meeting between congressional Republicans and the president last week. At this point, it's almost too bad we can't vote to take away Congress' healthcare. I bet they'd find a solution then.

Here's the video:

Obama losing his patience

What a time to decide to be fiscally responsible...

Good thing Senator Jim Bunning is retiring this fall, because I think if he ran for reelection, he'd have a lot of unemployed people leading the charge against him. He was the lone Senator blocking a vote on extending unemployment benefits today. When Jeff Merkley (one of our OR senators incidentally) was speaking in criticism of Bunning's comments, Bunning said, "Tough shit." under his breath.
Well, Bunning, where was your fiscal responsibility when you voted for the Iraq War? You choose NOW to suddenly decide $10 billion is worth filibustering over? We spend that in a month in our current wars. Where was your fiscal responsibility when you voted in favor of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and didn't reduce any other spending to make up for the loss of revenue? So fiscal irresponsibility is fine when it benefits people like you, old white guys with great healthcare coverage and a nice cushy salary, but when it benefits people struggling in a recession it's fiscally irresponsible? Senators like you are why so many people are disgusted with Congress. Have a nice, relaxing, taxpayer-funded retirement you old fart.

OK, even I am confused about healthcare

So, here's my problem with the Democrats' healthcare plan: How are we supposed to understand it? Like so many other government plans, it started out as something most Americans supported, and then through a series of bureaucratic tweakings and special interest amendments, has now become a 1000+ page behemoth that most people don't approve of. Obama seems to be struggling with his role as chief legislator.
BUT, he is not the only one to blame. Congressional Democrats seem to be more concerned with getting their dip into the pork barrel by dragging their feet, and Republicans seem rather unwilling to compromise even as many of the things they call for are added to the bill. One thing is certain, the White House needs to do a better job of communicating its plan to the American people. There's a lot of evidence that if people knew what was actually in the bill, they would be more likely to say they support it.
So, I guess here is my thought for each party:

Democrats: Communicate more clearly to America, stop being a bunch of wusses and pass a reasonable healthcare plan.

Republicans: Your strategy of treading water and refusing to cooperate with Obama until you (big maybe) regain a majority in Congress in the fall isn't fooling anyone. P.S. Obama said he would try to reach across the aisle and listen to your thoughts, he didn't promise he would adopt your conservative ideas.

The Establishment Clause vs. the Free Exercise Clause

There has been an interesting debate in Oregon over the last few months about the issue of teachers wearing religious garb while in the classroom. While Oregon was one of only 3 states that did not allow teachers to wear head scarves, turbans and other religious garments, the legislature voted today to eliminate this ban, and once the governor signs the bill into law, schools will have one year to write new rules for teachers.
I am somewhat torn on this topic, as it is really an interesting battle between the two main components of the freedom of religion portion of the first amendment. The establishment clause lays out the idea that the government will not establish a particular religion, and the free exercise clause says that anyone is free to practice whatever religion they desire without government interference. What then do we do when teachers' religious dress is protected by one but maybe violates the other?
Opponents of the change make the argument that KKK members and other extremists will be able to express their views because of this new law. My response to this is that the KKK is not a religion, but rather a political group. The new rules can be written in a way that makes it clear teachers are not to use their freedom to wear religious dress to attempt to influence students. Considering that the origin of the ban in Oregon was a KKK attempt to target nuns and alienate religious groups from the education system, it is hard to defend not allowing these garments.
While there is no doubt a chance that there will be a few lawsuits and people attempting to push the envelope, we need to remember that people who enter the field of education do it because they want to help kids. How many crazy whacko klansmen are out there lurking, just waiting for a chance to sue the school district? The better question is: How many great teachers have been prevented from working with Oregon's students because the state wouldn't let them wear religious garments while they teach? I guess we're about to find out...

Related article from The Oregonian

Time For Nuclear Power

In an era of partisanship in government, it was refreshing to hear Obama throw a bone to the Republican side of the aisle in his State of the Union address. I completely agree that it is time to return to the use of nuclear power in America. Clean Coal technology is one of those buzzword topics that politicians (including Obama) use to try to secure votes in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, but the scientific possibilities of burning coal in a truly "clean" fashion are roughly equivalent to the chances that Congress will vote themselves a pay cut to help decrease the national debt.
Nuclear energy is efficent, relatively cheap, and safe. It will provide a relatively stable energy source for generations to come, and could help the United States provide enough electricity for the expansion of such ideas as electric cars. Anything that will help us break our oil addiction and let us break ties with "friends" like Saudi Arabia is a welcome change in my mind.
For those concerned about the environmental effects, many have been reduced or eliminated over the past few decades since we last built a new nuclear plant in America. Here is a great article and interview that illustrates what I am talking about:
Nuclear Power's Time Has Come
Maybe this is finally something that both parties can get on board with, and we can move towards an America that is energy independent. I think we can all agree that is in our nation's best interest.

Return of Plainclothes Politics

So it has been a year since I started and then abandoned this blog, and I am feeling like I need a new outlet for my thoughts about the current state of politics in America. It is time to start blogging again. We have undergone a lot of changes in the last year, The glow of Obama's historic election has faded, and the Tea Party movement is now in full swing. Regardless of political affiliation, however, the vast majority of Americans now agree that government is broken. Two polls in the last week have placed Congress' approval rating at around 15%, and I am certainly included in the 85%.
My students have been asking me lately what I think will happen in the 2010 and 2012 elections, so I will make this first post in the new year one of prediction.

2010: This will be very similar to 1994, when Democrats lost over 50 seats in the House. the difference this time, however, is that not only are Democrats unpopular, many people are not any more excited about Republicans. My hope, then, is that this election is one in which incumbents lose large amounts of seats, and it just so happens that Democrats hold many more of those seats. There will likely be a lot more turnover in Congress this November than in the past several elections. Congressional leadership will get a much-needed shakeup, as Harry Reid will lose his reelection bid in Nevada.

2012: While Dems will lose a lot of seats, Republicans will only grow more divided over the next two years, as they fail just as badly as Democrats to fix the growing problems that conservatives look to them to fix. Newt Gingrich will emerge as the surprise nominee for Republicans, and the Ron Paul libertarians and Sarah Palin Tea Partiers will tear the party apart. The economy will turn around in 2011, and Obama will manage to take most of the credit, as Americans will still be sour towards Congress. Obama will win in a close reelection bid.