The Scoop on Cass Sunstein

Cass Sunstein is really not what Glenn Beck has him all cooked up to be. At first glance, he does seem pretty scary, pretty left, and pretty bad news, but you have to then consider what his job actually is, what his views actually are, and how they will actually dictate his job.

He is not actually another of Obama’s czars. In fact he is filling an official senate position that has been around since 1980. The title is the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and Budget.

Now, think logically, do you really think someone as seemingly radical as Sunstein would get such smooth sailing in the senate? Wouldn’t you think more Republicans would have voted against him? As a matter of fact, his nomination was met with opposition from the left because he was deemed to conservative. So is Sunstein really the liberal wacko we think he is?

Sunstein has in fact a deregulatory mindset when it come to the economy. In his book ‘Nudge’ he makes clear that he believes that it is more effective for the Gov-t to attempt to ‘nudge’ the market rather than to have all out regulations or even bans as some left wing economists would like. In other words, Sunstein believes in minimal involvement of the Gov-t in our economy. Pretty conservative.

One may argue that Sunsteins alleged views on the environment will dictate his policies, but looking over Sunsteins writing will dispel such worries. While Sunstein seems to believe that we should take caution with the environment, he makes it very clear that it should not be done at the expense of the economy and he has argued for strict cost-benefit analysis of government regulations. In other words he asserts; sure help the environment, but don’t go crazy and throw industry to the wind.

Another concern about Sunstein was that he would attempt to take away our right to bear arms. However he endorsed the Supreme Court’s pro-gun ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller and wrote an article stating that taking away that right would cause unacceptable unrest and outrage around the country, reason enough to leave it alone. But maybe he just doesn't like confrontation. What are his real views on the issue? Sunstein wrote a letter to Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA):

“I strongly believe that the Second Amendment creates an individual right to possess and use guns for purposes of both hunting and self-defense. I agree with the Supreme Court’s decision in the Heller case, clearly recognizing the individual right to have guns for hunting and self-defense. If confirmed, I would respect the Second Amendment and the individual right that it recognizes.”

Despite Sunsteins views on animals, I don’t think this is cause for concern and Sunstein himself stated that pushing such agendas would cause an unacceptable burden on ranchers and farmers.

That is not to say that Sunstein is not an animal rights activist. He certainly is. He does believe that concerned people should be able to sue on behalf of an animal for violations of animal cruelty law. He reasons that frivolous suits would be kept in check because of lawyer’s fees. He also believes that hunting for a hobby or sport (not in reference to food) should be made illegal because it serves no purpose. He is not against farming animals, but rather he is an advocate of improving the living conditions of the animals. He says that meat eating is acceptable so long as the animal lived a descent life. He is not for creating new animal-rights laws, but rather for creating awareness for and enforcing existing ones. Listening to a lecture he gave I discovered that Sunstein’s philosophy for his agenda is not to impose regulations, but to force companies to give disclosures of their practices. Sunstein stated that the mere transparency would nudge (like mentioned above) companies to improve their activities in regard to animals.

Bottom line; The biggest controversy around Sunstein are his views on animal rights. However, Sunstein seems to be a non-confrontation type of person. He pursues non-controversial aspects of the animal-rights debate and seeks to strengthen areas in which there is generally bi-partisan agreement. While he is indeed quite ‘green’ minded, he does not support ideas that would cause societal unrest or force people to change their way of life. As far as his animal-rights agenda would affect his decisions, we can expect him to pursue transparency in the farming, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and entertainment industries, but we need not worry about Gov-t regulations being that Sunstein views Gov-t intervention as bad for the economy. Are there better conservative choices than Suntein? Certainly. But the Republicans need be strategic here and see the bigger picture. While Sunstein is a very lefty liberal, his economic views are rather conservative, and the fact of the matter is this; with the current administration, Suntstein is about as good as the Republicans are going to get (and he’s not even that bad). If they oust him, it is likely that he will be replaced by someone a little less ‘green’, but a lot more economically left (regulations, Gov-t intervention etc). So if the position concerns the economy, get the guy who’s good for the economy whatever his views on animals may be.

Arizona Nightlife

Every other night I go out jogging and I noticed the amount of company I had. It’s amazing how the weather here dictates our activities. It’s too hot to do anything during the day so everyone stays inside or works. But at night, that’s when all the populace come out to play.

I’m coasting down the road and I notice that the place is rather abuzz with activity. Under the light of the stars and moon above, people come out to walk their dogs, to jog, bike-ride, sit in their lawns talk and have beers, a baseball game is underway at the high school, and I myself am heading over to the track for a nighttime run. It’s like the whole Arizona is nocturnal.

On top of how nice it is to see others out and about under the moonlight, Arizona nights are one of the most unique in the country, especially during monsoon. Being we’re in the valley, there is too much heat radiating from the ground for the storm clouds infiltrate our city. But at night the heat dissipates and they begin to creep in from all fronts. As I jogged around the track I enjoyed the steady breeze coming from the east and it was quite thrilling as the clouds came in from all around me, lightning flashing repeatedly from all sides, and having only a small patch of starlit and moonlit sky above me like the eye of a hurricane. I love living here.

Remember

I remember clearly eight years ago getting up in the morning and seeing my mother watching the television with watery eyes. I went to get some breakfast and my mom came into the kitchen to explain that early that morning planes had flown into the two tallest towers in the world. I had no idea which were the two tallest buildings in the world were and I assumed it was two sister towers in China or Japan or something. She explained that it was the World Trade Center right in NY. Two jet planes. High-jacked. Flown directly into the towers. They killed everybody. Then my mother started to cry.

The whole rest of the day we sat and watched the television. Over and over again we watched that second plane enter the building and almost come out the other side. We listened over and over again to the absolute shock of observers when it dawned upon them, as that second plane came in, that this was no accident. We were attacked. We watched as over and over again people were shown who chose to end their life by jumping out the window than to burn in the agonizing heat of the flames. Over and over again we watched in horror and disbelief as the first tower, quickly followed by the second, peeled like a banana down to the ground ending the lives inside. Over and over again we watched people on the ground run in terror from the debris. We watched people on the rubble, dazed, confused, and unsure what to do next. I remember walking out that night and looking up at the sky. U.S. airspace had been shut down and I could see to F15s on a night patrol over the valley. Days afterward we watched the dust billow from ground zero. The dust we knew, was made up of concrete, dirt—and people.

Never before were we so united. We recuperated like a boxer who just took a hit. Left, Right, we were all together. People made eye contact. They gave knowing nods to one another saying, “We will do something about this.” We were going to go in, get the Taliban, get those responsible, and end terrorism once and for all. We stood united against the evil that attacked us. Attacked us.

Now it’s eight years later and that unity has faded. People have forgotten what they felt that day. They fail to transport themselves back and relive those memories of shock, horror, and unity. Even two years after 9/11 American flags could be seen on dozens of cars and trucks on the road. Today, I saw eight. Things got a little confusing. We found the hotspot in Iraq instead of Afghanistan. I don’t know why exactly we went to Iraq, I don’t oppose it exactly, but now it’s given society a convenient distraction. Once again we are split and lost that ‘go give ‘em hell’ attitude we all had right after 9/11. We need to remember. We need to get that back. We need to remember that we were attacked, our fellow Americans murdered, and that such action can not pass without repercussion. We need to remember that the world still has bad guys. So many things we need to remember.

An Interesting Juxtaposition

Listening to the news on the radio this morning and I heard this;
"and we'll be back w/ some interesting news on American Idol and the reaction to Obama's Health-care Plan."
I found it interesting that the issues shared the same segment. What's up w/ us these days.

Surprise! He's Gone

B”H

It was all by complete surprise. We thought he wouldn’t be able to go until my mother could secure a job which meant he wouldn’t leave till after Succos. R. Bryski in the morning called and clarified that he meant we wouldn’t make a payment plan until a job was secured, but little Simcha really should be in school—tomorrow.

So my mother quickly threw all my little brother’s laundry downstairs, put together a list of what was needed, took my brother out to get some clothes and whatnot, and I stayed behind to keep the laundry going. We quickly bought a ticket for that night and got him packed up. We pretty much had no time to think about it before we were driving him to the airport. My father took him past security to see him off and that was that.

The next morning I realized how strange it was. Until now I was the one going away. I had never experienced having the house to myself. I woke up at four like every morning, but found myself being a little less careful w/ the noise I make. Later it dawned upon me how quiet it was. No Xbox playing, no cartoons on, no computer game noises… it was, nice! Now I can expand my workspace. Now there’s no arguing about getting things done around the house. Now there are no breadcrumbs on the table. I felt like I have more of the house to myself. I can shift my working space into his brighter room and perhaps even get some Xbox games I’ve wanted to try out but Simcha couldn’t play. Yay.

Of course I then realized that now I’m walking to shul by myself now. During Shobbos meals it’ll just be me, and my parents. and sometimes when I just feel like goofing around and now…well I’m all by myself. I wonder how he’s doing up there. If he’s met any of my old pals, which room he got, whose class he’s in, if he’s getting around all right. I’m really curious. For the first (limited) time, I’m the one staying behind. He’s so little and now he’s all the way in NY. I also wonder how it’ll be for my parents when I go off to Australia and then the house will really be empty. I imagine it would be pretty nice for them. As for me, my mother hasn’t gotten a job yet so we hang out together, but when she gets a job, I will be all alone. Although I am extremely good at staying busy, I imagine it will start to get at me. I can only run around doing things for so long, and then, just maybe, I might start to miss my little brother. Good thing I’m going off to Australia.

Obama Talks to Kids and Our Public School System

B”H

It’s not unordinary for a president to address school children and was under the impression that this was no different. It seemed to me that people were making way to big a deal just because the president wanted to make a clique ‘stay in school’ speech. I do believe he may have planed to make it political, but now that would be suicide. This is going to be a neutral speech. Sure I don’t like Obama, but what’s the big deal?

Then I looked at the accompanying lesson plan put out by the Department of Education under the suggestions of the Administration. Then I looked at the actual manner this speech would be given in comparison to others. When Bush senior gave a speech to school children about staying away from drugs, it was on closed-circuit Television and all, but it was not broadcast to every single school in the country. There were no lesson plans given out. Never before has there been such a broadcast address to children. There has never been a speech that was placed in every schoolroom in the country. If you’ve read ‘1984’ then you know what this sounds like. If you know history you can see its similarity to the strategies of fascist dictators. If you keep up w/ world news you’ll see a striking resemblance to N Korea.

Even then I wouldn’t have such a big problem w/ a feel good speech, but the lesson plan is alarming. It is supposedly meant to promote critical thinking to analyze the speech. But when I looked at it (now revised) it was based on pre-conclusions. It would make sense if had questions such as:

· Do you agree w/ Obama? Why or why not?

· What do you like about the president? What do you think he could improve upon?

· What suggestion would you have for the president?

These are is material that promotes true critical thinking. Here’s what the orginal lesson plan had:

· What is the President trying to tell me?

· What is the President asking me to do?

· What new ideas and actions is the President challenging me to think about?

· Students can record important parts of the speech where the President is asking them to do something. Students might think about: What specific job is he asking me to do…Are we able to do what President Obama is asking of us

· What resonated with you from President Obama’s speech? What lines/phrases do you remember? Is he challenging you to do anything?

These are my favorite:

· How has Obama inspired you?

· How will his speech make you a better person?

There is no part that questions whether we agree w/ Obama in general or not. Instead the answer is assumed and we can simply move on to the part of ‘how can we do what Obama wants us to do?’ And o geez, “How has Obama inspired you?” It is forgotten that the president is elected to serve us. Instead the notion will be promoted to impressionable kids that we have a duty to serve the president.

Thank G-d private schools and yeshivas don’t have to worry about all this. Only public schools, a Gov-t program, are being bombarded by all this. That is the fact. Public school is Gov-t education. It is extremely inefficient because there is no competition. Think about it. Competition promotes choices. If people had competitive things to choose from then the pubic system would have to improve to stay competitive. But they don’t have to. All they need to worry about is training the kids to take standardized tests to keep their funding. It’s also simply not fair. We all know how yeshiva costs an arm and a leg in tuition. Anyone who wants to send their kids to a superior private school has to pay the tuition, and pay the taxes to pay for public school that they don’t use! There are options, such as vouchers for private schools or more charter schools, but changing something we’re used to would be to inconvenient, aside for obviously not being in the Gov-t’s favor.

Jefferson had proposed public education but the legislature didn't want to levy a school tax, so it failed. The first real public schools appeared in Massachusetts around 1850. The public system was minimal and had to stay competitive w/ many other private options. Therefore the education remained on par. Along came the great depression and FDR. FDR poured money into public school along w/ his other Gov-t programs (which prolonged the recovery) and greatly expanded its influence (not to mention financial hardship had removed some private options.). The public school system had become a much bigger deal w/ the New Deal. Later the Soviets launched Sputnik in 1957 and the notion was “My G-d! We gotta get smarter to catch up w/ the Commies!” and the public school agenda was pushed further. Finally in the 70’s policies were pushed that practically made public school our only sensible option.

The result? Today’s 11^th grader is acquiring the same critical thinking and problem solving skills that yesterday’s 8^th graders were mastering.

H1N1

It’s the flu. There, I’ve just summarized all the horrors of swine flu. It is just the flu.

What is unique about it? It’s off season so it is a little weird I’ll give it that.

But people have died! People die every year from the flu and it is almost always, and the same goes here as well, when they have underlying health problems.

But more people have died. Because it’s off season and there’s no vaccinations. duhhhhh

I finally shout this out because I’m sick of all this H1N1 hullabaloo and today was the last straw. We find this new strain of the flu that rises up off season and all of a sudden it’s the Bubonic plague. A pandemic they’re calling it. Ask any doctor and they will tell you that while you should get vaccinated (because they always tell you that) it is essentially no less or more deadly than the flu because that’s what it is. Every year we get a new strand and this is no different.

But it makes for such good news material! First it was Swine Flu, then Pandemic, now it’s H1N1 Virus because the official name sounds really scary and not like it’s just the flu. Call it whatever you want, the Godzilla Flu if you may, it won’t change anything. Yet when I was in NY I must have read about at least 5 schools shutting down because a few students got sick. They don’t do that w/ the flu because that would be ridiculous. But w/ H1N1, oh boy don’t mess.

I finally vent about this because of what I saw on the news this morning. In MA they are trying to get a bill passed that would allow way to much power to the Gov-t. Basically in the event that the governor declares a state of emergency, people will still retain the right to refuse vaccinations, but the state will have the authority to forcefully enter houses and detain and quarantine those who are sick and deemed health threats. Those who refuse to comply can actually be fined and put in jail.

Now I read the bill (S. 2028) and I believe it’s preposterous. Who gets to decide who’s a ‘health threat’ and who isn’t? A politician? All this for the flu? This is the most absurd thing ever. What a poor excuse for absolute idiocy. At least it is being done in a legal and democratic way; as in it is being passed through the state senate (it got a unanimous vote!) and w/ enough resistance can be shot down. What scares me is that this come at a time when the Obama administration is trying to pass their healthcare bill which has already shoed in some shady stuff (like the ability to peer into private IRS tax records. What does that have to do w/ healthcare?). What if in the name of the ‘H1N1 Pandemic’ the Federal Gov-t decided to adopt the same practice? Do you know what that would mean? They could turn this whole silly Swine Flu hysteria into a means to have absolute control on society.

I’m sick of this flu business (no pun intended).

Manafacturing Facts

B”H

I’ve been noticing (and becoming quite annoyed) how easily people and society are manipulated or how quickly they simply they accept things for the way they are. I’m not talking about major things (though that is equally ridiculous) but about everyday assumptions. Things about daily life that people just accept without question.

Passport photos for example. My mother took me out to Walgreen’s to get me one. They charge who knows what for that photo. Everyone knows that you have to get a passport photo. It has to be a passport photo. I didn’t get it. I mentioned that it was the same thing as getting a regular miniature photo printed. We could just take our own digital camera and take a picture, then have it printed for a fraction of the cost since it would be charged as a photo and not a passport photo. Of course, you can’t do that. You have to make a passport photo.

The same day again I was at the pet store. We wanted to get a ball to play w/ the dog. They had a ball for six bucks. Someone bought that ball without blinking. I was about to do the same thing but then I realized how absurd that was. Why buy a ball for six dollars when I could get it anywhere else for 75 cents? But then it wouldn’t be a dog ball. It would just be a ball. No one thinks about that. They just do it.

Already on a roll, I confronted my mother about buying club soda. The notion had circulated around our community that adding club soda instead of regular water to challah dough was better. Everyone accepted that including me. After all, if that’s what they said then it must be so! But yesterday I actually allowed myself to think about it for two seconds. No it didn’t help the challah at all. As you knead it all the carbonation escapes and you just have regular water. It’s the dumbest idea ever, completely pointless. Yet it’s got all these women buying club soda every time because that’s just the best way to make it right?

Just how unnecessarily inconvenient and inefficient are our lives because we just mold to accepted practice without thinking about how things could really work or what could actually be the best way to do something? How many absurd assumptions do we let control our lives? Pop-rocks and soda right? Many say eating those together will make your stomach explode or at least cause a stomachache. Do you think if that were true they wouldn’t change the formula of something to make it safe? Don’t you think you’d see it in the news? Yet many people think this stupid thing because they were told so (the same thing goes for diet coke and mentos. If you drink Diet Coke and eat mentos at the same time, nothing will happen). The next time you decide to inconvenience yourself, pay for something, complete a chore, or avoid something, give yourself at least two seconds to consider whether it’s actually practical, or perhaps it could be a wives’ tale.