War on Truth?

In this article from the Christian Science Monitor, the author James L. Cavallaro, is persuading his readers to take a closer look at the importance of accountability for the alleged wrongdoings of the Bush Administration.  This article strongly appeals to Bush-hating liberals and possibly non-partisans who feel misinformed.  These are people who’ve had good faith in their elected leaders, but now feel the need to discern the sincerity of public information. The article incites the readers to find the truth.  But, when will they know they’ve come to the truth?  What degree of the truth is accessible to Americans?  How would the truth commission go about conducting plausible investigations? Will the findings help or hinder the current administrations spirit and goals? Information from people is normally based on their opinion so, it would be difficult to decipher and interpret the truth.  

Instead, we as country should focus on correcting future mistakes. Not to minimize the situation, but it is futile to backtrack. Hypothetically, it would open a can of worms and dissection is messy. Dissent so strong could lead to civil unrest, especially in economic depression.   Exploiting the truth would be detrimental to what little sense of patriotism we have left.  This is one of the government’s greatest fears and the people's greatest objectives.  So, to believe thatBush-era wrongdoings and political exploitations will never happen again is quite naïve.  Watergate is just one of the many examples of this.  If President Nixon had had the power and technology that the Bush Administration had he might not have been caught.  One would also be naïve to believe that there aren’t any injustices committed by our government, but technology has made it tremendously easier for governments to cover their tracks, making it increasingly hard to punish them.  The media has shown that there have been illegal actions taken that should be investigated and punished, and some have been.  However, our country is in no financial state to be conducting some big witch hunt to pick apart the Bush Administration.  It is reminiscent of the Red Scare which only created greater tension and unnecessary widespread violence.  It is obvious that the author feels that truth is an everlasting crusade for knowledge, which is spelled out in our natural rights. 

Cavallaro is a clinical professor of law at Harvard Law School. He worked in human rights in Pinochet's Chile (1988-1990) and in post-transition Brazil (1994-2002).  In the least, he is trying to encourage his readers to speculate and question the misguided information instead of accepting the injustices.  Although, I do not support the investigation/inquisition of facts because the officials that want to put this together don't even know what form the investigation will take, it would be justified to have groups or individuals punished for the wrongful deaths and “lost” information, but, sadly, the American citizens will probably never see this information. I believe we should understand that putting facts on paper or pointing the finger will do little to positively effect our future.  However, Cavallaro is right about one thing: we can learn from our past.  We should take our knowledge from America’s past failures and take better care in holding our elected officials responsible.  As Americans we must be optimistic for our future, but not blind to oppression and depravity.

Austin's Stimulus Plan

The Obama administration is trying desperately to resuscitate America's declining economy. They have proposed an $819 billion dollar stimulus package. Many economists, including the ones that drafted the proposal, have made it clear that the outcome of the package is very uncertain. Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein are two economists that are credited for drafting the plan have said, "There is considerable uncertainty in our estimates." Economists largely use the past to predict our future, but the crisis we are in now is unlike any other. So, Obama is eagerly pushing to pass this plan. About two weeks ago several large cities were asked to quickly provide a list of "shovel ready" projects the stimulus money would be used for. The Wall Street Journal ran a story which mocked several cities proposed uses for their money. Austin was on that list. Apparently, our parks and recreation board proposed an $866,000 frisbee golf course. Austin city council officials have been on damage control for the last couple of weeks.

John Hrncir, the city's governmental relations officer, said,"Austin, Capital Metro and the Austin school district had more than a billion dollars on its list of ready-to-go projects, and most were for general public works, infrastructure, improvements at the airport and the like. There are millions of dollars in energy conservation projects on the list."

There were several other cities on the Wall Street Journals list of friviolous spenders. "The Journal reported that Boynton Beach, Fla., listed an "eco park" with butterfly gardens and gopher tortoises for $4.5 million. Chula Vista, Calif., listed $500,000 to create a leash-free area for dogs. And Lincoln, Neb., proposed $3 million for an "environmentally friendly clubhouse for a municipal golf course."

I believe that this should raise peoples awareness of how their tax dollars are being spent. If this stimulus package is passed I think the citizens of Austin should make their voices heard. We elected these officials and we need to make sure they do their jobs properly. If the resources are allocated correctly it will greatly benefit all of us.

http://www.statesman.com/search/content/editorial/stories/02/05/0205frisbee_edit.html
http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/02/05/0205discgolf.html
http://www.statesman.com/search/content/shared-gen/ap/US_Congress/Fact_Check_Stimulus_Jobs.html