111th Congress Most Productive in Half a Century

"Gridlock? It may feel that way. But that's not the story of the 111th Congress..."

According to Jim Abrams of the Associated Press, in his article of October 17, 2010,
"... the session of Congress now drawing to a close was the most productive in nearly half a century."

"Congress passed an $814 billion economic stimulus package soon after President Barack Obama took office, tapping a staggering sum of money to avoid a full-blown depression (emphasis added). "

"The two other landmark acts of this session were the health care overhaul, a giant step toward universal coverage that had eluded presidents back to Franklin Roosevelt if not Teddy Roosevelt, and the Wall Street accountability act.

Obama has also signed into law at least a dozen other pieces of legislation of significance. They include:

_Making college loans more affordable.

_The Cash for Clunkers program that helped rejuvenate the auto industry.

_New consumer protections for credit card users.

_Making it easier for women to challenge pay discrimination.

_Increasing federal regulation of tobacco products.

_Cracking down on waste in Pentagon weapons acquisition.

_Making attacks based on sexual orientation a federal hate crime.

_Giving businesses tax incentives to hire unemployed workers.

_Tax credits for first-time homeowners. "

As we approach the upcoming election, take a moment to reflect on all that has been accomplished.

Congratulations to the People of Germany!

It was twenty years ago, October 3, 1990, that the details of Germany's unification were finalized. Now, after twenty years of hard work, Germany's story is a true success story!

Berlin, the Capitol of Germany, where we have lived for the past month, will be the main place to celebrate this anniversary. It promises to be a BIG party, but also with serious speeches and discussions, a bit of looking back and a lot of looking forward. We are a bit sad to miss the party but it is rather a personal celebration for the people of Berlin.

This anniversary is also the opportunity to remember November 9, 1989, when Berliners joyfully participated in the breaching of the Wall, the Mauer, that had separated the people in East Berlin from those in West Berlin since 1961. The removal of the wall was just the beginning of the Friedliche Revolution, the 'Peaceful Revolution' in East Germany. The SED government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was unwilling to abandon its absolute claim to power and it took demonstrations and negotiations to convince them that the times had changed. On March 18, 1990, the first free ballot in the GDR was held and people voted overwhelmingly in favor of the "Alliance for Germany" the party that promised rapid reunification.

Then the work began to negotiate the unification agreement between East and West Germany and, amazingly, to us, a separate agreement between East and West Germany and the WWII Allies: Britain, USA, France and Russia!

Indeed, our congratulations go out to all Germans, as they take stock of how far they have come since October 3, 1990. After all, twenty years is not long in the history of this country but, perhaps these last twenty years have been Germany's best. Willy Brandt, former Chancellor of Germany and former Mayor of Berlin said, "Now what belongs together is growing together again!"

During these twenty years the Germans have radically transformed their country. So, we wish them a great and joyous celebration.

Rare Earth - Earthquakes around the Planet #2

More from Pat Boland in Christchurch, NZ....

Hi Susan and Blair
Great to hear from you and delighted that you are continuing to enjoy your trip and the variety of experiences that you have been lucky enough to partake of.

We are, as a city and individually, working through the issues of the earthquake's aftermath with its continuing aftershocks of varying dimensions. There was quite a grunty one of over four this morning at 6.30 am which set properties a shaking once again. Fortunately Tess and I were up on the hills taking our morning constitutional so missed its impact for which we were grateful. One the other hand even the stronger ones are becoming so familiar that one is tending to take a que sera sera attitude now.

After the first shocks everyone was coming to grips with their problems, checking on friends and family, and what the overall situation was in reality. This took a short time to sink in and then it was all hands to the grindstone to help wherever possible. The citizens of Christchurch came together willingly to help in any way they could and many long hours were spent in manning such areas as civil defense, fire service, police and ambulance services, etc. by trained personnel and volunteers, while others including school children and tertiary students were out in the devastated areas assisting families to clear their properties and houses from the liquefaction, i.e. basically sludge, that rose to the surface and did so much damage breaking water and sewerage systems, causing huge fissures up to over a metre in depth in roads and properties, cracking house foundations and flooding homes and sections. Relief centres for those forced from their homes were quickly set up and volunteers brought food, gave comfort where possible, and generally helped in any way they could.

There has also been destruction to central city business areas and heritage buildings with facades falling and stock destroyed. In many cases shop keepers have taken in fellow retailers who have lost their shops either in the short or long term and combined shopping outlets are being set up. A lovely sight to see a little hairdressing salon operating in conjunction with a florist shop. What a nice aroma you would be able to enjoy while having your hair cut.

Now the third phase with reality setting in, and where do we go from here. It appears that over one hundred thousand homes have been affected though many with only superficial cracks to internal and external walls etc., movement on foundations, loss of chattels or most of all falling chimneys causing damage to the houses on the way down.

Claims are being made and assessors working overtime to provide reports so repair work can proceed. But it is understood that in certain of the worst hit areas all the houses will be pulled down, if possible the land will be stabilized and houses rebuilt a process that could take years and put huge pressure on services for a long time to come.

BUT there was no loss of life and it was only a small percentage of the city that was destroyed. IT COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE.

This is I am afraid a little pessimistic. It is not all doom and gloom for everyone, and those of us who have been so lucky as to escape basically unscathed, certainly acknowledge their good fortune and do what we can to help those less blessed.

Pat Boland
Christchurch, New Zealand
September 23, 2010

Rare Earth - Earthquakes around the Planet

Earthquakes have been in the news quite a lot this year! Haiti, Chile, and most recently, Christchurch, New Zealand.

But what is the 'Earthquake Experience' really like? Our friend, Pat Boland, lives in Christchurch. She and husband Bob felt the first shakes on September 4 and are living through the continuing shakes that are occurring. Here is Pat's report....

Hi Susan and Blair, or should I say Good evening?
As it is evening two days after the earthquake which has rocked the sox off us in ChCh even if we are lucky enough for it to be figuratively and not actually.

Bob and I and our immediate family have been lucky enough to be in the first category though many hundreds of our fair city have not been so fortunate and we are still experiencing aftershocks. There was one as I am typing 2 1/2 days after the initial shock at 4.35 AM last Saturday.

How fortunate that it happened then. If it had been during the day loss of life would have to have been a factor.

We ourselves experienced a shock of about 30 seconds but it was not too traumatic as nothing collapsed and furniture did not move, etc. but others have very scary tales to tell. There were many subsequent shocks in the next hour and they have continued since. The devastation has taken place in pockets throughout the city with seemingly no obvious reason for it to happen in that particular place. Things like water table, foundations on sand/peat, quality of workmanship, and age of buildings must be factors.

You talk to people and they say "no we are OK" and you begin to think it cannot be too bad but for those whose houses are destroyed or are going to have to be bull dosed (and there are hundreds of them) life will not be the same. And the memory of those few moments for them will be a challenge.

For me it seemed surreal to be sitting in the sun porch on a clear windless sunny day with a stunning view of the Southern Alps and the Estuary with a full tide (which remained most of the day) with everything as normal and knowing that a few km away peoples lives and aspirations had changed perhaps for ever.

Enough of this we are all battling on. The City is closed for a couple of days so Bob can not go to work. As I work in the suburbs it is work as usual.

Pat Boland
Christchurch, NZ
September 6, 2010

Remembering September 11, 2001 from Berlin

September 11, 2001 - Every American remembers this day, now nine years ago, in his own way. We are far away, in Berlin, so we decided to spend this day remembering another event that changed history, August 13, 1961, the day that construction of the Berlin Wall began. At the great Brandenburg Gate, we joined many others to gather around this Berlin icon to admire its tall columns topped by the Quadriga, the statue of Victory in a chariot drawn by four horses. We followed the course of the Wall north past the Reichstag building and the other great buildings of the Government Quarter to Bernauer Strasse and the Berlin Wall Memorial. The Wall separated West and East Berliners from each other indiscriminately as family members and friends were separated by this incredibly effective barrier.

As we spent the day, walking along this stretch of the Wall where so many incidents occurred, watching the films, viewing the photos, reading the documentation, and seeing the remnants of the great slabs that made up the Wall, we were reminded that we had lived through the whole history of the Wall in Berlin. For us, it was the essence of Communist tyranny, the testimonial that such terrorism and tyranny can exist only if the people are forcibly confined and many tried to escape.

Surely the experience of the Berlin Wall and the ways that people reacted must provide some messages for us today as we consider the terrible events of September 11, 2001. After all, the Wall came down and now Berlin is a city of peace and hope, continuing to renew itself, to provide a good life for a rich diversity of people. Perhaps New York City will also become a city of peace and hope when enough time has gone by. But nine years may not be enough time, we fear. Still, we are hopeful that time will heal the wounds and that in the interim, people will try harder to learn tolerance as the struggle to eradicate terrorism and tyranny continues.

Build the Muslim Center near NYC's City Hall!

In the Netherlands, the negotiations among the three political parties that won the most votes in the recent elections for the Netherlands Parliament have been in the news ever since before we arrived here six weeks ago. One of the three parties is the PVV, the party of Geert Wilders, an avowed anti-Islam advocate. As we have read the limited news available in English, we are amazed that in the Netherlands, a country known for tolerance and openness, such large numbers of voters supported this frankly, perhaps aggressively, anti-Islam party.

Then, we became aware that a great, divisive and contentious debate is raging in the USA that has strong elements of Anti-Islam emotions because of a proposal to build a Muslim Center in Lower Manhattan, a few blocks from City Hall....and Ground Zero. Actually, the nearness to Ground Zero is the real source of the contention. No one is concerned about the proximity to City Hall.
So far, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, President Obama, Fareed Zakaria, and Lexington of The Economist have made strong statements supporting the right to build the Muslim Center. According to Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the spokesperson for the project,

"The whole point of the proposed Muslim center blocks from the World Trade Center is to heal wounds, not open them. The project has been mischaracterized, so I want to explain clearly what it would be. Our planned 13-story community center is intended for Park Place between Church St. and West Broadway.

It is not a mosque, although it will include a space for Muslim prayer services. It will have a swimming pool, basketball court, meeting rooms, a 500-seat auditorium, banquet facilities and many other things a community needs to be healthy. The center will offer theatrical programming, art exhibitions and cooking classes. These are amenities missing now from this part of the city.

And, yes, the center will have a public memorial to the victims of 9/11 as well as a meditation room where all will be welcome for quiet reflection. The center will support soul and body. The center will be open to all regardless of religion. Like a YMCA, the 92nd St. Y or the Jewish Community Center."

The developer of this project has, to the best of our knowledge, fulfilled the requirements of the NYC planning and zoning regulations and received the necessary approvals. The local community board in Lower Manhattan voted overwhelmingly to support the proposal. Therefore, as Urban Ecologists, we believe that there is no basis for denying the developer the right to build on this private property.

As Americans, we learned in Civics Class that the First Amendment guarantees religious freedom. As secularists, tolerance is one of the values we hold most dear and defend most consistently.

So, we say, "Build the Muslim Center at Park Place 51! We look forward to visiting when it is open and ready to welcome everyone!"

A Golden Opportunity - Let the Bush Tax Cuts Expire

We, as a country, are being offered a golden opportunity. We can reduce our massive budget deficit by an estimated $300 billion per year, and we can do this by doing virtually nothing. All we need to do is let the Bush tax cuts expire.

The simple fact is that all the Bush tax cuts were unaffordable. According to the Congressional Budget Office, they contributed more to the mounting deficit in the last 8 years than either post- 9/11 security spending (including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq) or the prescription-drug bill.

Some say that this is not a good time to raise taxes as it might stifle the growth we need to pull out of the recession. I consider this argument weak as recent history has shown that the impact on economic growth caused by marginal shifts in tax rates is pretty unclear. Clinton raised taxes in 1992 and ushered in a period of extraordinarily robust growth. Bush cut taxes massively in 2001 and got meager growth in return.

We have in front of us a simple, easy way to bring America's fiscal house more in order, reduce our dependence on foreign borrowing, restore U.S. credibility and power, and give us a stable revenue base from which to make key investments for future growth. Let's grab it.

Thoughts about Muslim Beliefs

Having just spent a month in Turkey, where 99 percent of the population consider themselves to be Muslim, I am thinking about my own understanding of Islam beliefs, as well as my evolving world view since September 11, 2001.
We picked Turkey as a destination in order to experience life in a country where most of the people are Muslim, yet one where the government is, by law, secular. We wanted to observe how people incorporated their Muslim beliefs into their daily lives.

Throughout our travels in Turkey, we were struck by the large number of mosques, from small and modest to large and grand. It was impossible to miss their presence as the loudspeakers sent out the daily calls to prayer, the first at about 4:30 AM and the last after 10 PM. In many cases, we observed people headed toward a nearby mosque in response to the call to prayer, but, out of respect, we didn't go into the mosques at prayer times. We also noted a number of women responding to the call, and learned that there is a separate area in each mosque for women to pray.

We observed women dressed in a wide range of clothing, from shorts and tank tops to long black gowns and headcovers. The most frequently worn "covers" were scarves that covered the woman's hair and neck, often in lovely bright colored prints. Long coats with buttons in front always buttoned up were another frequent choice, especially among older women. We saw few full niqab, the complete black dress that showed only the eyes.

As we traveled, I was reading Asma Gull Hasan's book, Red, White, and Muslim. She offers her thoughtful interpretations of Muslim beliefs and a wealth of anecdotes from her own experience as a Muslim of Pakistani descent, growing up in Pueblo, Colorado; graduating from Wellesley College and New York University School of Law; traveling to lecture and participate on talk shows; and just living as a Muslim in America.

Asma Hasan writes that "A debate rages in the entire Islamic community whether the cover is required of Muslim women or not." She explains that the Prophet Muhammed was personally responsible for a great advancement in women's rights in his time (7th Century AD). She believes that the contemporary image of Islam as being against women comes from a minority of Muslims who have either lost touch with the Prophet's example or are from patriarchal cultures. These minority views are contrary to the spirit of Islam, she feels.

We asked Yakub, a friend we met in Bergama, about the practice of Islam in Turkey. He reminded us that Turkey is a secular democracy where all religious views are permitted. He considers himself to be Muslim but he does not read the Qur'an or go to the mosque to pray. He drinks alcohol and smokes tobacco. We are not certain how typical he is but based on our own observations, we guess he is not alone! Still, we are certain that the values taught by Islam influence the way that Yakub and most Turkish people live their lives, which accounts for the friendliness, politeness, willingness to help, and welcoming nature of the people we met. Our days exploring this large and diverse country were agreeable and fun!

Yakub asked us, "Which Arab country are you planning to visit?", and suggested that if we wished to continue our study of Islam, we should expand our horizons beyond only Turkey. He's right, of course and we are thinking about where to go next.