Nevermind the Environment, It's The Economy, Stupid!

(somebody has to say it!!)

I'm reminded of the scene in Ang Lee's "Sense and Sensibility" where Col. Brandon marries Marianne Dashwood, and the Coloniel throws gold coins to the cheering mass of well-wishers.

What? I thought this was about the Economy?

Oh yes. It is. Work with me, it's my blog and I can say what I like.

Here we are, as a country, embarking on a new adventure. A brand-new President, all huzzah-ed and popular, and everyone (i'm generalizing) is feeling REALLY GREAT about this brand new world we're stepping into.

...And anticipating the sweet sound of cha-CHING! that happens (just like that scene in Sense and Sensibility) when something Big happens. The brand new new deal. I pronounce thee, Mr. President. Leader of the Free World. Dispenser of Funding for REALLY important projects.

Let me tell you what is probably happening.

All over our fair nation, city, state, and federal agencies are dusting off projects that are "done" and making sure they are "shovel-ready" to propose when the moneybags open. Because when those moneybags open, you'd better be goddamn good and ready to bid that fucker for construction. Because those are the projects that will get funded...if not, the press will have a field-day with "well, we HAVE all this money, why aren't we SPENDING it?" (ala the energy conservation measures Bush promised the last time he was elected) .

Let me let you in on a secret: Projects don't get designed unless somebody somewhere has an idea that they'll be funded. Otherwise, why put pencil to paper (ok mouse to... mousepad) and design something you won't get paid to design?

P.S.? New projects take time to design. A lot. And everybody comments on this stuff. But nobody out in "the real world" sees that time. They just notice when they're stuck in traffic because a construction crew is tearing up roads and scratching their butts.

Which means??? That it is projects that were put on the shelf that are going to be funded. And possibly more-worthy projects who are like the biblical virgins who let their lamps go out will not be chosen when the bridegroom comes through (it doesn't matter HOW long the virgins have had to wait for the bridegroom... that oil had better still be burning).

Nor will the projects be chosen which are being re-done for more energy conservation measures... Why? Because conservation measures cost money, so if it's NOT required and there's no obvious economic benefit, its not going to be designed...SO, these projects aren't sitting around on shelves to be picked. And to go to "green design" paradigm from standard engineering design is like changing from thinking like a man to thinking like a woman. You can't simply flip a switch and it's done. Designing a building as a green building requires a different kind of thinking. A holistic thinking, that, unless that choice to go green is made up-front, long before "shovel-ready", duct-taping green-stuff on later doesn't happen efficiently and doesn't work anywhere the way its supposed to. We're dealing with Frankenstein-green projects...

And because the press doesn't know squat and they love to make politicians look bad, and they will WHINE that "Nothing's being done!!!" and somehow the general public actually believes them, and the general population doesn't understand that you can't just buy a highway, and an engineering firm pulls it down off the shelf and hands it to the client... Well..it'll be projects that the politicians can be certain will be ready to roll, because politicians want to be elected by the general population who presumably listen to the news (because how Else do you find out what's going on?).

And now, you see what projects are going to be funded. Where does money tossed to the throngs go, exactly??

Did we really need that road?

If it was so important, right now, why didn't we have money for it to begin with?

If we're creating opportunity and more energy efficient design... YOU HAVE TO FUND THE DESIGN, NOT JUST THE CONSTRUCTION. But hell, engineering isn't as sexy as construction. When was the last time you saw engineers on a beefcake calendar?

And still...ya gotta stand with your hands out, ready for that cha-Ching. Because you KNOW it's coming, and you're happy that someone, somewhere, will be kept from being laid off. And you hope it's you.

Where is our brave new world coming from?

Where are we going, peeps?

1/14... PS! Someone else said it too!! Apparently I'm as smart as people who work at think tanks!!!
Commentary: Obama must get infrastructure investment right
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/59659.html

Harlem, New York City, 11/4/2008

I woke up this morning early, intending to cast my vote, and get to work on time.

I was inaccurate on one thing.... that I'd be getting to work on time!

The line at my polling location snaked back, forth, back, forth, back, forth, back, forth, back, forth, back, forth... at least that much... in the gymnasium almost always previously vacant on election days. My district's line was apparently the longest, and I waited for TWO HOURS to cast my vote. The line was no shorter when I got out of it than when I got into it.

I felt a lump of pride in my throat. That people, in droves, of a variety of colors, religions, and sexual orientations, are participating in droves in this Presidential Election. That this election, however it turns out, reflects more of the diversity of the country than prior elections. The candidates represent at least 3 classes of people who have experienced discrimination (oh, wait, McCain gets 2 for his vietnam veteran status and his age) in our country's history.

My prayer, is that for the eventual victor in this race, that they are truly listening to what is really happening. The ears and eyes of the nation are on this contest more than ever before, and on what the outcomes of this contest can be. My hope is that the population will continue to be fully engaged in government and politics, and that, in the words of a quote I am so grateful was passed on to me today:
“I have to come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians” – Charles De Gaulle

My desire is that we all collectively get past the snarky emails and fear-mongering commentary, and, going forward, begin to stick to the actual issues. That this is the beginning of an increase in consciousness of our society, that, Yes, each one of us does matter, and that it is our individual responsibility to behave and lead, exactly where we are, from our personal and well-thought and well-felt ideals. That we get past our fears and hurts, and come into a place of communication and healing. That leadership is not based in gender, race, age, creed, money, or beauty. That leadership comes from each one of us, choosing what we know is right for our own self, and for knowing that others will have differing opinions, and that all perspectives are required.

I fully expect that moments of disappointment will soon come. That the realization that your candidate is human, or that the other candidate was selected in stead, will reinforce that we are each responsible for, as Ghandi said, becoming the change we wish to see. It is therefore nearly irrelevant who is in the Presidential seat if that does not happen, and it is nearly irrelevant if that does happen as well.

That the consciousness of each of us exceeds and defines the consciousness of the society, and its direction. That the old conventions only stand by and with our permission. We elect a President by our collective permission. This does not relieve us of the responsibility of our participation, going forward from today.

It is up to each of us and it always was. Be the Change.


.

My Choice. My Voice. My Vote.

I have settled on my vote for tomorrow.

I will be writing in the candidate for United States President who I believe would have been, and who may be the best person for the job. I am taking the stand I wish to take. That the candidate who I watched with interest in the primaries who handled herself as a person who I believe was well informed about the issues, and who I believe was dismissed for reasons that had less to do with politics... at least no politics that were above the skirt. And as I watched all of this unfold, and recognized that I was truly warming to a candidate who I can't say I really liked in past years in general... "That candidate has something. Means something. To me."

After this candidate stepped aside, that I listened to all of the discussions that occurred when I, an undecided, put one foot to the left, heard all the noise from the right; and when I put one foot to the right, heard all the noise from the left, of why the other party's candidate had no business in the Presidential seat. Ok fellas, I'm agreeing with ALL of you... and I am voting for someone else.

I am no longer listening to the people who say "you're throwing your vote away unless you vote for brand x or brand y". Actually, you only believe that because you want me to vote for brand x or brand y. I am done with your rhetoric. My vote is only thrown away when I vote for someone other than who I think is the best person for the job.

I have voted for minor candidates before, being, in ideology, a Libertarian (the Libertarians, by the way, were the first party to have a woman in the vice-presidential running, and the first woman who received an electoral vote for that role). I desire My vote to be meaningful. There is a voice I want to have that I am taking on in my one vote tomorrow, and it is My own voice.

I am proud that I've found my way here, in perfect time.

The Undecided Voter

I am

the undecided voter.

I have PLENTY of people telling me why I should vote for, and not vote for, and why, why, why...

Apparently neither John McCain nor Barack Obama are fit to be in office for a variety of reasons. Just ask the supporters of Barack Obama and John McCain.

McCain is charged with all kinds of stuff (sample):
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain

Barack Obama is charged with all kinds of stuff (sample): http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=190343


anybody got any ideas on how to determine, and discern the actual truth?