It’s ironic that in an election year highlighted by the contest between a black man and a white man for blue and red states, the determining factor should be which of these men is better able to deal with the grey area in which much of today’s world resides.

There have always been questions and musings about issues and ideas that didn’t have clear cut answers. Today however, with the acceleration of global communication and commerce, one of the unintended consequences of the earth being flat (thank you, Mr. Friedman) is that there’s a nearly overwhelming amount of information, coupled with unprecedented degrees of cultural difference, that need to be acknowledged and processed in order to reach productive conclusions. It may be a bitter pill to swallow, but much of the populace is either unwilling or unable to exert the mental muscle needed for constructive change to take place.

As this critical mass of information/cultural overload was building we saw a longing for simpler days and times that manifested in, among other things, the election of President Bush. His amiable personality was embraced while his lack of success in the private sector and lack of experience in the foreign policy arena at the time of his election were conveniently disregarded. If you’re not familiar with his history, he ran a couple of businesses into the ground and had never been overseas prior to his presidential candidacy.

At the risk of sounding fatalistic, at this point I’m not sure there’s an alarm clock loud enough to wake the populace. There’s too much static masking the alarm. Since a lot of folks can’t or won’t deal with the complexity of today’s growing grey area, they settle for simple, clear, awful solutions. President Bush is, unfortunately, one of those folks as well as one of those awful solutions.

I have great respect for my elders and cherish their wisdom. Senator McCain does not lose my vote on that count. The grey hair does not preclude him from mastering the grey area. He has not, however, displayed himself to be nimble enough to deal with a world whose complexity is increasing exponentially, regardless of what we might like it to do. Focusing on McCain’s near illiteracy when it comes to the internet might seem like nit-picking, but it belies a lack of intellectual curiosity that is a necessary requirement for governing in this day and age.

The grey area has got to become part of our comfort zone if we and future generations of Americans are going to prosper in the years ahead.

In rough, round numbers, the U.S. consumes around 20 million barrels of oil/day. Just released data indicates that crude oil inventories increased by 3 million gallons. A bit more than a sixth of a day’s worth. And the equity markets, desperately looking for a positive data point, grab this one and run with it.

We’re going to get what we deserve. An economy that looks a lot like the rest of the scorched earth that Dubya will leave behind. The Emperor will eventually be seen to have no clothes.

If Obama’s elected, he’d be wise to trot out his supporter Paul Volcker to explain to the nation that there’s some pain to be gone through while the excesses are wrung from the system. Volcker can refer to his success in the ’80s in which he, as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, inflicted relatively short term pain on the nation (around 5 years worth) in order to have it followed by long term (20 years) prosperity.

This may well make Obama the best one term president in American history.

Full disclosure: I have nothing to disclose at the moment (although that could change at any time), as I’ve found it less painful to step aside when I have no clue, than to freeze like a deer in the oncoming headlights.

If the Fed and the Treasury are going to supercede the free market, and everything big is too big to fail, then short America, ignore the day to day gyrations, and pick up your profits in 7 years or so. Congress and Bush are utterly impotent failures. Bernanke and Paulson, representing both theoretical and hands on experience, are doing yeoman’s jobs buying time while temporarily selling out the U.S. citizen/taxpayer. They’re hoping that John and Jane Q. Public don’t notice their added burdens, while Ben and Hank bail water in the hope that the ship of state doesn’t capsize and sink before help arrives.

Oh, and they have no idea what form that help will take, or when or even if it’s coming.

I’m dismayed by a populace that sees adapting to a changing environment as flip-flopping. Using a Darwinian train of thought, if we hadn’t flip-flopped, we wouldn’t be here now. We’ve become so used to politicians who drift where the wind blows, and/or aren’t mentally agile enough to think on their feet, that when one does, they’re accused of wavering. This is only compounded by our current president, who, if one is to be judged by one’s actions and words, can’t much think at all.

It’s depressing.

As I’ve written previously “it’s going to take dismissing … polarizing categories of thought in order for us to get back on track with the expediency that’s necessary”.

Therefore, I hold these truths to be self-evident, and not mutually exclusive:

Barack Obama, although by no means ideal, is this country’s best hope for improving our individual daily lives and our nation’s relationship with the rest of the world.

If anything, the Christian Right should be the most tolerant folks around, and yet they are the epitome of “my way or the highway”. If you’re a Bible believer, we’re all sinners, we’re all imperfect, and the candidates, none of whom are members of the Holy Trinity, are no exception. Why Dr. Dobson gets apoplectic in the face of Obama’s carefully considered modulations is inexplicable, and would be inexcusable if he and we weren’t directed to turn the other cheek while reminding ourselves that no one is beyond redemption. If he’s secure in the knowledge that his God is both just and vengeful, he should simply take comfort in knowing that pro-choicers (to take one contentious issue) will meet their fate in due time, and realize that he’s being a bit presumptuous giving them hell on earth. That’s not his job, although I’m sure his staff can dig up a line of scripture making it clear that it is.

John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., is a brilliant man and a gifted strategist. He is also, by all accounts, an ethical and forthright fellow. I don’t agree with every conclusion he reaches, but his input should be sought by whichever party wins control of the White House.

Big oil is not the big problem. Their profit margin is less than most businesses; they do such a large dollar volume that they appear to be far more greedy and prosperous than they are. Except for Dick Cheney and those of his cronies who were cut from the Jeff Skilling cloth. Way back when, big oil had to take on the risk of drilling when they didn’t know if the well was going to be dry or a gusher. America has always rewarded and been rewarded for risk taking. When did that change?

Another energy related problem is the NIMBY (not in my backyard) crowd. Years ago, Texans and Louisianans were willing to alter the land and seascape if it meant energy independence. And the nation flourished. The Hyanisport and Malibu elites can’t have it both ways. Spouting bright green doctrine while claiming a privileged exemption to wind farms destroys their credibility, and cripples the pace of progress towards national energy independence.

To be continued.

As a result of Obama’s recent comments on Iraq, in which he demonstrated an ability to think on his feet and remain flexible based on new input, he’s been accused of waffling. This has intensified a line of thought that’s been gnawing at me as I’ve traveled around the country these past few months and seen the transformational mess that can be laid squarely at the feet of the Bush administration.

Operating under the erroneous belief that it’s desirable to appear unwavering, and to strictly adhere to one set of party platform positions, leaves us all wearing blinders we’re often not aware we’ve got on. It’s also leading me to change my approach to LK, with the current slogan soon yielding to a new one:
“Don’t cross party lines, erase them”.

It’s going to take adopting strategies from the left, center, and right to steady this ship. In fact, it’s going to take dismissing those polarizing categories of thought in order for us to get back on track with the expediency that’s necessary.

Examples of this liberating and hopefully productive frame of mind will be evident in future posts.

P.S Speaking of Obama and the statements that led to the Barack uproar of the week, the below is from the AP:

ST. LOUIS (July 5) - Barack Obama celebrated “active faith” as an obligation of religious Americans and a chief agent of societal change while speaking Saturday to a nearly all-black roomful of churchgoers, but hoping to reach far beyond them.
Earlier in the day as he flew from Montana to Missouri, Obama told reporters he was surprised at how the media has “finely calibrated” his recent words on Iraq, and reaffirmed his commitment to ending the war if elected.

He said he was perplexed that his statement on Iraq was dissected as it was.

“I was a little puzzled by the frenzy that I set off by what I thought was a pretty innocuous statement,” he said. “I am absolutely committed to ending the war.”

On Thursday in North Dakota, Obama said that “I’ll … continue to refine my policy” on Iraq after an upcoming trip there. With a promise to end the war the central premise of his candidacy, the Obama campaign has struggled over the past two days to push back against Republicans and others who say his recent statement could be a softening or change in policy.

Obama has always said his promise to end the war would require consultations with military commanders and, possibly, flexibility.

“The tactics of how we ensure our troops are safe as we pull out, how we execute the withdrawal, those are things that are all based on facts and conditions,” he said. “I am not somebody — unlike George Bush — who is willing to ignore facts on the basis of my preconceived notions.”

There’s a scene you’ve probably seen in the movies where the power to a major metropolis is cut, and the lights on the skyscrapers systematically and sequentially shut down. That’s what’s happening to America, albeit at a slower pace. But not in slow motion.

Airlines are eliminating flights, placing surcharges on bags and free tickets (yes, that’s an oxymoron), and I’ve heard rumblings that weighing passengers is being considered, as we are morphed from unique sentient beings into freight. As we’re f’d by the price of the two f’s (food and fuel), lifestyles are changing for all but the super-rich, and even though they’ve got the cushion to continue to live as they have, they’re not immune from having to deal with lower corporate profits and quite probably lower end of year bonuses. My hankie remains dry while considering their plight.

Any self-respecting extra-terrestrial dispassionately monitoring our planet sees a perfect storm of indeterminate nature and length brewing, unless of course, they’ve long since tamed chaos theory, in which case they know how things will play out. If they do, I respectfully request that they direct one of their supercomputers to e-mail us a printout of their projections.

These documents can be sent to lk@loosekannon.com. Anything sent to D.C. would be a waste of time and bandwidth.

Questions:

How quickly will we be lulled into a catatonic stupor by Saudi promises of increased oil output?

Now that we’ve alarmed their obscenely wealthy princes by cutting down on our consumption in the face of budget busting prices, are we going to stick our heads back in the Arabian sand and put our urgency to fund and implement alternative sources of energy on the back burner?

Are we going to drill closer to home instead of innovate? And if we’re going to pay the price of drilling, can we use an equal amount of currency to find a way to harness the energies of the sun, the seas, and the subterranean so that we’re not compromised politically and ethically by our need for fossil fuel from people who don’t much care for us?

Are we that easy to manipulate?

Are we as intellectually lazy as we’ve shown ourselves to be over the last 8 years, voting for a friendly fella whose idea of research in college was finding out which New Haven 7-Eleven carried Heineken by the case?

Are we ready to wake up?

OK, maybe not every single weekend as originally intended, but when the opportunity arises I’ll pass along some material that moves me as I continue to make part of my living creating and listening to music for fun and profit.

The Man In Me by Rodney Crowell. Crowell is a major thinker who uses instrumentation that cause his records to be filed in the country category. The lyrics are a ruthless and eloquent self-examination/dressing down and a guitar riff straight out of Duane Eddy fills in the blanks.

Re-Ron, by Gil Scott-Heron. Rewind to when rappers placed a premium on urgency and literacy, and dealt with matters far more noble than misogyny and the Benjamins. Someone very close to me mixed the record.

Handlebars by Flobots. The first 30 seconds provoked the question “what is this crap?” but by the end I knew it was anything but. Hi IQ and social consciousness that captures the complexity of day to day existence in 2008 meets infectious production.

Hate Me by Blue October. More brutal self-examination and confession that makes the spate of current books by addicts sharing war stories seem like child’s play. First time I heard it I had to pull off a highway because I had never been faced with anything that riveting framed so well, and I couldn’t handle the wheel and listen at the same time. And I’m not half bad at multi-tasking.

Obama is proposing raising taxes on people making over 250K/year. In many parts of the country that’s not even close to rich, but in the industrial swing states it sounds rich to the voters he’s got to collar, so let’s let that go for now.

He’s also proposing raising the capital gains tax. Sounds good to that same constituency but it’s a big mistake. Here’s what happens:

1. Capital gains tax rate rises.

2. A wave of selling prior to and in anticipation of the tax increase occurs, and new investment slows down markedly.

3. The value of 401K’s and IRA’s drop.

4. Upon seeing their monthly statements, working class voters turn on Barack, while cutting down even more on discretionary spending.

5. The spending cutbacks perpetuate the recession that Bush and McCain swear we’re not in. What a pair of Bozos.

What O should do is what he did towards the end of the primaries when he called out Hillary and McCain on their cynical calls for a gas tax holiday, which would have done nothing to ease the pain but might have fooled some of the people some of the time. He’s got to explain, in clear terms, the damage that a higher cap gains tax would do, even though, at first glance, it appears to be a gesture to the working men/women of the country. And he’s got to be big enough to reverse himself, as he’s already come out in favor of raising the cap gains bite.

O’s got to be the go to guy for the truth. If he ends up pandering, he loses some of the luster he’s earned.

End of story.

A bit off the beaten path this morning.

When I was a kid cars weren’t required to have seat belts as standard equipment. Cigarettes didn’t have a surgeon general’s warning on them. Looking back it’s clear that a combination of national denial and economic special interest groups produced a populace that, on a constant basis, placed itself in danger of shortening their own lives.

Fortunately, in two rare instances of sane, large scale change, activists, who shockingly included government officials and agencies, caused car and tobacco companies to adapt to the irrefutable evidence that their idea of safe, wasn’t. Cutting corners was also cutting down on lifespans.

I have little doubt that within 25 years the use of cell phones placed directly against the ear, as well as the proliferation of cell phone towers and the waves they propogate, are going to be seen as a danger more pervasive and deadly than the lack of car restraints and 2 packs a day ever were. And the victims are going to be all of us, not just vehicle occupants and nicotine freaks. Babies, kids, and the elderly won’t be immune even though they’re not chronic users, although they may suffer less than folks we all know who live with a cell glued to their earlobes. The waves are bombarding the twins and their grandparents, with microwaves from both phones and towers causing physiological cellular disruption.

Studies in European countries have gone beyond the fluff pieces on show’s like Larry King, but nothing has yet emerged that equals the vociferous outcry that led to seat belts as a given for every passenger and the recognition of cigarettes as a death accelerant.

It doesn’t take a radical conspiracy theorist to picture the pressure being put on by the major cell carriers to hinder scientific studies, whether public or private, and impeding the public dissemination of the results of those studies that manage to get off the ground.

Maybe Ralph Nadar, instead of playing a role in the election of dangerous knuckleheads, could revert back to being the incredibly effective consumer advocate that made him a hero, prior to his constant misreading of the political landscape.

Cell phones aren’t going away any time soon, so to minimize the damage, buy your loved ones, including yourself, a belt holster no matter how nerdy it looks, as well as a corded, not cordless, earpiece. It may temporarily feed the killer beast, as most of that gear is available from the cell manufacturers and carriers themselves, but it’s better than sitting around waiting for a brain tumor. No joke.