Snowpocalypse? NO!

Cross-posted from BlueJersey.com

Where in America can there be a moderate rainfall and the weather report lists it as “partly sunny?”  Where in America can a foot of snow on the ground be categorized as a “trace?” That, my friends, describes the weather outlook for Syracuse, NY.

I lived in Syracuse for 32 years before moving back to my home state of New Jersey. The area is a wonderful place to bring up a family. It is a diverse community with ample cultural, sporting, and recreational attractions. It is a microcosm of America with traffic jams, nearby rural isolation, and the transformational challenges facing a city that was once dominated by manufacturing jobs. The people are wonderful, and regardless of political leanings or ethnic differences, they always rally around the Orangemen’s exploits. But the one thing that sucks in the Salt City is the weather. There’s a dearth of sun in the spring and fall, and a plethora of snow in the winter.  Average snowfall is north of nine feet per year.

Yet, the city has found a way to cope with the white stuff, and there are lessons to be learned for Governor Christie, Mayor Bloomberg, and New Jersey’s municipal officials who have not yet found the recipe for handling the snow. The city’s population is 140,000,  putting it about the same category as Paterson and Elizabeth.

As recently reported in the New York Times on a 70-inch snowfall this winter,

Through all of this snow, public schools in Syracuse closed for only two days, and the airport shut down for 15 minutes. Piles of cleared snow grew to two-story heights, but the roads were plowed and kept open.

So what is Syracuse’s secret? To find out, I spoke with Pete O’Connor, the city’s Commissioner of Public Works.

O’Connor’s career with the DPW spans eleven years, and he is just finishing up his first year as commissioner. Without hesitation, his first response to my question about Syracuse’s success in clearing the roads was the dedication and pride his crews take in a job that impacts every citizen of the city. There are about 100 people, drivers and mechanics, who work two shifts to keep the streets clear and the plows operating. Readers who have been to Syracuse know that there are some pretty steep hills and most of the major hospitals are located in those areas, so that’s the first priority for the DPW in a snowstorm. Next come the main routes through the city, followed by the residential areas. Drivers are always assigned to the same routes so that they get to know the idiosyncrasies of each block in the city. Their goal is to have every one of the 800 miles of streets cleared within 24 hours of the end of each snowfall. And that goal is almost always met.

O’Connor also gives credit to the city for not suspending alternate side of the street parking during blizzards. He emphasizes that citizens are generally cooperative and provide the room needed for his plows to get through. In major snowstorms, they plow out city lots and ask residents to move their cars to provide even more room for the plows.

And speaking of plows, the commissioner wondered how effective other cities are in simply slapping a plow assembly on the front of a sanitation truck. Syracuse has dedicated plow trucks with experienced snow removal drivers. That makes a big difference according to O’Connor. Now, maybe New Jersey’s snowfall doesn’t necessitate dedicated trucks, but keep in mind that most reputable climatologists predict that the global warming of our oceans will result in more severe snowstorms as the years go by. Municipal planners should not ignore this fact.

Another challenge that Syracuse faces is that the temperature rarely goes above freezing in the winter, so snow just stays around - it doesn’t melt until Spring. In the old days, excess snow from downtown used to be dumped in nearby Onondaga Lake, but this is now precluded by environmental regulations. Instead, the city has a seven-acre plot adjacent to the downtown area where snow is brought as necessary.

Of course, none of this is free. The city budgets $4.5 million for 150 inches of snowfall per season. Since the average snowfall runs around 111 inches, most years the Snow and Ice Bureau returns money to the city coffers for things like road repair. Yet, the city is prepared for the inevitable anomalous winter when even the hearty Syracusans are surprised. Overtime is carefully monitored across the Department year-round to build up an additional funding buffer if needed.

As we have seen in the recent blizzard in New York City, it costs more in the long run when budgets are slashed and experienced public servants are let go. Lives were lost in the Big Apple when ambulances were unable to get to their destinations and commerce came to a halt. Experienced supervisors were demoted, and staff cuts are undoubtedly part of the problem. With apologies to the Gipper, when done right, “government is not the problem, government is part of the solution.” Public servants like Pete O’Connor and his dedicated crews teach us this lesson every day.

The Second Onslaught

Most Progressives are prepared for the onslaught of harmful legislation to be introduced by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives in January. Whether it is more tax breaks for the wealthy, elimination of health care for millions of Americans, or pollution-inducing legislation written by their corporate benefactors, nothing that the GOP does to increase its power and wealth should surprise us. Nor should we be surprised at how much they increase the deficit while increasing the economic apartheid in the years to come.

But we should also be prepared for a second onslaught and series of half-truths that will be heralded by the GOP and amplified by the mainstream media in February - the continuation of the deification of Ronald Reagan culminating with the centenary of his birth on February 6th.

If modern conservatism continues to drive America down the path of economic ruin and the demise of the middle class that was the legacy of George W Bush, history will show that this decline was started under President Reagan with his “trickle down” economic policy.

It’s difficult and not very productive to debate whether Reagan was a worse president than Bush, but the legacy of the Gipper’s reign has been colored by his adorers in the conservative movement and the media.  After his eight years in power, there was a frenzy of putting his name on everything in sight including schools, the nation’s airport, highways, and even an aircraft carrier. His acolytes even proposed desecrating Mount Rushmore by adding his visage to those of some of our greatest presidents.

Reagan did not start out as an icon of conservatism - in fact his original positions would be characterized as “liberal” today.  In his acting days, he was a union president, and for a short time he was pro-choice. Upon assuming the governorship of California, Reagan inherited a budget deficit, and he immediately raised taxes in response. But as the darling of the Republican party, Reagan quickly changed to do what was politically expedient rather than what was right.

The telegenic Reagan was blessed by two incredible strokes of luck during his presidency. First was the release of American hostages held in Iran, timed to occur simultaneously with his inauguration. Although unproven, some posit that Reagan operatives worked behind the scenes with the Iranian government to ensure that this timing was not coincidental. Given subsequent illegal dealings of his administration with the Iranians, this would not be a complete shock.

The economic collapse of the Soviet Union was the second lucky break for Reagan. As a master of propaganda and his ability to present a folksy persona, Reagan was able to make it seem that his belligerent attitude toward our Cold War foe was the impetus behind this collapse. The myth that Reagan ended the Cold War holds as much water as the myth that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction during Bush’s failed reign.

Reagan’s presidency was the precursor to today’s war on unions, the poor, and the middle class. He popularized the racially-charged term “welfare queen” and sent his anti-union shot across the bow by firing 11,000 federal public servants in his first months in office. He gutted environmental protection and decimated funding for the arts and humanities. His insensitivity toward others is epitomized by his visit to a German cemetery where hailed Nazi soldiers buried there as “victims” akin to those who died in the Holocaust.

The biggest crime of his administration, and certainly an impeachable offense, was that he covertly disobeyed the will of Congress by illegally providing money to the Nicaraguan Contras using ill-begotten funds from selling arms to Iran. His supporters claim that Reagan knew nothing about what his White House subordinates were doing. That’s difficult to fathom, but even if true it shows what an ineffective leader he was.

Perhaps his most significant failure, and the legacy that lives on today, is what is now called “Reaganomics”, a theory that has been repeatedly tried and failed whereby cutting taxes and incurring massive deficits are supposed to stimulate the economy.  It didn’t work under Reagan, didn’t work under Bush, and will not work when the new crop of Republican House members try it again in January.

Today, there’s a whole generation of post-Reagan Americans who grew up listening to the incessant adoration of the former actor from those who want to continue his heartless policies. Just like after 150 years we have history revisionists who celebrate the Confederacy, Reagan’s down-to-earth mien will ensure that he has his adorers for many years to come. But when the onslaught of Reaganmania has its resurgence this February, keep in mind that much of the distress that America is experiencing right now falls in the lap of Reagan, his acolytes, and their descendants.

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Prior to his political life, Reagan was the corporate voice of
the General Electric Company.
Watch for more GE advertising of the Reagan myth in February.

Leveraging Rights

The President’s recent announcement that he is reconsidering his stance on marriage equality is encouraging, not only for its move toward extending equal rights to millions of Americans, but also for its potential to help derail the draconian Republican agenda that will torment poor and middle-class citizens starting in January.

Until recently, Mr. Obama’s position was that individual states should be encouraged to allow civil unions, but he was against gays and lesbians having the right to get married. But just like in the recent repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, he appears to be realizing that marriage equality is not a legislative issue, but a civil rights issue.

As we have previously written, it is clear to us that marriage equality is a right guaranteed by the Constitution. But just as it did take legislation and Constitutional amendments to institutionalize rights across racial boundaries, the same approach may be necessary to guarantee rights regardless of sexual preference.

Just like in the ongoing wars for racial equality and women's equality, there will be multiple battlefields in the quest for marriage equality.  Congress and the courts, including eventually the Supreme Court, are the front lines. So, like it or not, once again a civil rights issue is being played out on the political battlefield.

President Obama can use this to his advantage. Vice President Biden recently said that the nation’s attitude toward same-sex marriage is evolving, and the acceptance and legalization of marriage equality is inevitable. So as the legislative and judicial processes churn on, why not take advantage of this fact? The President should take a lesson from the Republican Tea Party’s playbook and make this into a wedge issue that works towards progressive goals. In his January State of the Union address, he should rally the nation around the next great civil rights struggle - equal rights for LGBT citizens - starting with marriage equality and the repeal of the oddly-named Defense of Marriage Act.

In addition to promoting what is right and decent, bringing marriage equality to the forefront will result in the Republican Tea Party frittering away time and money on a cause that they are inevitably going to lose. Sure, this issue will rally those on the right who oppose civil rights, but generally those people are motivated already. But making marriage equality a linchpin in Obama’s 2011 agenda will reinvigorate the netroots progressive crowd who put him in the White House and then slept through the mid terms. Spending more and more time on achieving these rights has the added impact of taking some of the wind out of the Republican Tea Party’s sails in their quest to kill Social Security, pollute the earth, tax cut the nation into fiscal bankruptcy, and return to the Bush/Rove quest to deregulate us into disaster.

In the fight to repeal DADT, one of the things that helped change the country’s (and the military brass’) attitude was the fact that the media paid attention and put individual warriors with real stories on the front page and in prime time. Looking at the impact on real people is more effective than promoting the cause in abstract terms.

Next month, the President has a choice. He can let John Boehner set the agenda, or he can take bold action and preempt much of the anti-Obama, anti-middle class demagoguery that will be spouted by the House leadership. By taking an aggressive stance, the President can achieve a foothold into the next great civil rights struggle while mitigating the inevitable havoc that’s about to be wreaked on the nation.

A Whole New Ball Game

In baseball, batting .750 would be miraculous. In politics, it’s not too shabby either. In the past week, President Obama was on a hitting streak.

Passage of the long-overdue health care for 9/11 first responders, the repeal of the discriminatory “Don’t Ask - Don’t Tell” policy in the armed services, and the ratification of the START nuclear arms control treaty - all over the senseless and highly partisan objections of the extreme wing of the Republican party - are the capstone of the first half of he president’s first term. Only the failure of the DREAM act kept the week from being perfect.

Some much-needed legislation never made it to the plate, and that’s unfortunate. Don’t look for much progress in Wall Street reform or in the repeal of the misnamed Defense of Marriage Act in the near future.

Yet, despite these important advances, it’s a whole new ballgame starting next month. Corporations Republicans will have the majority in the House of Representatives, and the Party of No will become the Party of Investigations. Keeping up with their stated goal to destroy the Obama presidency at all costs, the incoming chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Darrell Issa, has already indicated that he will start witch-hunts investigations of just about everything and everyone in the Obama administration. I’m afraid that the $50 million of taxpayer money wasted on the Whitewater investigations will pale in comparison to the spending of the incoming House on these political extravaganzas.

It was refreshing to see many Republican senators break from their party line this week and finally perform to John McCain’s campaign slogan of “Country First.”  But with the GOP in control of the House, and the upcoming 19-month presidential marathon, we will look back at the last two years of obstructionism as “the good old days.”

Despite the significant compromises he was forced to make, the president deserves a victory lap. But he should remember that he defeated a weak team like the 1962 Mets. In January, he will face a much more powerful opposition. For the sake of the country, I wish him well.

A Tale of Two Republicans

“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”

It seems that these are good times for the Republicans. Their Supreme Court has tilted the playing field in their favor, allowing unlimited secret contributions from their corporate benefactors. GOP gains in the November election, including capturing the majority in the House of Representatives, also demonstrate that times are good for the Party of No. Their overtly stated goal of bringing down the Obama administration as their first priority seems to be well in reach.

Yet, Republicans seem to be living in their ivory tower of ideology, ignorant of the realities of life in America outside their cocoon. While it may be “the best of times” for those Republicans, it is “the worst of times” for millions of middle- and lower-income Americans.

Take, for example, Senator Lindsey Graham. This week, he made a passionate speech on the Senate floor bemoaning the fact that their work load this week was too heavy (despite the fact that he and his GOP colleagues spent the last two years doing nothing more than blocking the work of the Senate and creating the logjam.)  It was as if he and his colleagues were the only ones in the nation who had to work more than 40 hours a week. Perhaps he should experience “the worst of times” and work two full-time minimum wage jobs as I’m sure many of his South Carolina constituents feel fortunate to do because they have jobs. This probably won’t happen, and at some point Senator Graham will be able to relax after he retires from the Senate with his two government pensions.

Another Republican who is riding the GOP tidal wave is Governor Chris Christie. As was amply demonstrated in his appearance on 60 Minutes this past weekend, the media’s love affair with him and their unwillingness to press back on his half-truths and innuendos during interviews make him the darling of the mainstream media. He is rarely called out on these issues. Perhaps the press was intimidated with his handling of an inquiring reporter. Since he took office, Christie has refused to negotiate with the teachers’ union, and when his ultra-conservative Commissioner of Education dared to do so, Christie fired the commissioner. Now, Christie is comparing the union to segregationist George Wallace - and that blockbuster comparison is being ignored by his adorers in the national media. Perhaps the governor should experience “the worst of times” by spending one day teaching in an economically segregated Camden elementary school before he berates our teachers any further.

While the Republicans ride their wave of good times, their day of reckoning will come soon. Their squandering of our tax dollars on breaks for millionaires while they ignore the needs of everyday Americans will become more evident as some of the mainstream media catches on and alternative media spread the message. It will remain to be seen whether Democrats, and especially progressives, can act as a catalyst to ensure this message is accurately and effectively received by the American voter in 2012, With the GOP surge, we have some pretty bad times ahead of us - can we turn things around to put America back on track toward the “best of times” before it is too late?

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Cross-posted to bluejersey.com

Senator Kyl Lies to Advance his Social Agenda

It’s no surprise when a GOP leader blatantly lies to advance his political agenda. After all, the Bush presidency set the standard by lying to justify our wars in the Middle East.

After the Senate voted to eliminate the ill-conceived “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, Arizona Senator Jon Kyl spouted that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military would “cost lives.”

Au contraire, my dear Senator!  The DADT policy, which has been in effect the last 17 years has more than likely caused unnecessary death and injury within the ranks of our troops while costing the taxpayers as well.

How many troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan have become casualties due to faulty intelligence caused by the firing of hundreds of gay Arabic linguists?

How many lives have been lost due to the firing of skilled infantrymen and logisticians just because they are gay?

How much taxpayer money has been wasted by firing highly trained ace combat pilots just because they are gay?

While a vast majority of servicepeople have declared that in a foxhole, no one cares about your sexual orientation, what Senator Kyl needs to realize that modern warfare transcends the foxhole.  Combat is a high-tech endeavor which calls for skilled intelligent individuals to work in less-than-pleasant environments at pay scales below those of their civilian counterparts.  We should not place unnecessary barriers in front of any American who wants to serve his or her country.

Soon, the president will sign the DADT repeal into law. That’s a beginning. The military must adopt their new policies quickly, and not stretch out the transition. And in the longer term, full equality must become a reality in all 50 states and at the federal level.  Politicians like Senator Kyl should join other bigots like Governor George Wallace as mere specks in the history of civil rights.

Broken Dreams

A minority of Senators have succeeded in blocking the DREAM act, which would have provided a path to legal citizenship for children of undocumented residents. Apparently these misanthropes have declared that the America I grew up in is no longer the America I live in. Generally, these naysayers are the same Neanderthals who voted against medical care for the 9-11 heroes that they use as political pawns and whose House colleagues are in favor of oppression of children around the world in their blocking of the Child Marriage Protection Act. (My apologies for insulting Neanderthals.)

The America I grew up in was not perfect. There have always been problems in how we have treated non-whites and non-Christians in their search for the American dream, whether it is the thousands of Japanese who we put in internment camps, the thousands of Jews trying to find a home free of the tyranny of the Nazi state, or the thousands of Muslims who run into hateful opposition when they attempt to construct houses of worship or cultural centers.

The opposition to the DREAM act is based on contention that some of the immigrants might be criminals. So, they want to punish all potential Americans for the sins of a few. Let it be also noted, that there are more than a handful of GOP senators like Ensign and Vitter who have engaged in criminal activity and are still “serving” in that body.

It is not unusual to see the Republicans’ hypocrisy when their flag-waving acolytes use the Statue of Liberty in their xenophobic messages. Perhaps they should read the timeless words of Emma Lazarus that appear at the base of that icon of America’s welcoming attitude:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.