Catalog of links

I've been doing much more reading than writing since the semester got underway. Here are the pieces I've found worthy of note:

The Inheritance Tax

"Case Against Inheritance Tax is Bogus", co-authored by Bill Gates, Sr., whose son, Bill Gates, Jr., founded MicroSoft and is America's richest man. Both of the Gates oppose the Bush/Republican plan to ditch the estate tax; instead they propose raising the wealth exemption to $5 million

Writing teachers are big fans of a good conclusion, and this one works--and I especially love the last line.

The estate tax is the most fair and equitable tax in the land. A levy on estates in excess of $5 million is an appropriate mechanism for those who have disproportionately benefited from our marvelous system of wealth creation to pay back the society that fostered the fertile ground for their success. The estate tax should be rightfully understood as a "gratitude tax."

Also, I think this column expresses the underlying values that support our combination of the government philosophy of democracy and the economic philosophy of capitalism. Noblesse oblige was the term when applied to the high-born, the nobility. The super-rich would be the equivalent in America. The Gates seem to understand that the super-rich have an obligation to those who aren't.

Next--the Condition of the Gulf of Mexico

While the humanitarian issues connected to Katrina are the primary concern, the environmental issues are the next most important concern. The Gulf is in for some heavy damage that affects all of the coastal states.

Oil slicks from Gulf rigs and pipes -- toxic wastes from New Orleans and the Mississippi -- we surely aren't hearing this as clearly as people in Britain are--read this article from the Guardian.. When I google for U.S. news on oil slicks, I get a lot of minimizing and reassurance that "things are going well," which is par for the U.S. press, since they believe we can't take too much bad news at once, especially since there's a big push to increase Gulf drilling in the wake of Katrina.

This article from Greenpeace, Oil Spills in the Gulf, reports on the oil slicks (that no one is talking about), some of which are 30-40 miles long. If you look at the image (the link at end of "Oil Spill" article), the slicks are off Port Fourchon, LA. Another article, Are We in Phase One of a Major Environmental Disaster, is Jan Frel's report of a whistleblower at the EPA who claims that the water being pumped from New Orleans into the Gulf is far more toxic than we've been led to believe, and may have massive effects on the entire Gulf.

I think this may be the answer to the burning question: Why, now, is Bush taking responsibility for failures within his administration? For many people, Bush's switcheroo (from "let's not play the blame game" to "I'll take some blame") is a warning that we are going to hear MUCH more stuff we don't like. As the BBC pointed out, Bush didn't accept ALL the blame: "to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility," Mr Bush said at a news conference."

Good Government

I don't always like Thomas Friedman, but I liked this article, "Singapore and Katrina." The first half is interesting, but then it really takes off. I love this, "Last year, we cut the National Science Foundation budget, while indulging absurd creationist theories in our schools... Our president and Congress held a midnight session about the health care of one woman, Terri Schiavo, while ignoring the health crisis of 40 million uninsured." And he continues to explain how we're off track.

Molly Ivins

Even though I have a link to her archive, and I regularly recommend her columns to everyone who will listen, this one, "The Graft Goes On," is particularly good, especially the ending, where she seems to be channeling my own feelings:

Many a time in the past six years I have bit my tongue so I wouldn't annoy people with the always obnoxious observation, "I told you so." But, dammit it all to hell, I did tell you, and I've been telling you since 1994, and I am so sick of this man and everything he represents -- all the sleazy, smug, self-righteous graft and corruption and "Christian" moralizing and cynicism and tax cuts for all his smug, rich buddies.

Next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please pay attention.

Now We Hear From a Republican

I think this essay by Peggy Noonan, "The Storm Before the Balm, is important because (a) it is from a recognized Wall Street Journal contributing editor and (b) it gives an honest view of George Bush from a Republican who was special assistant to Reagan and chief speechwriter for George H.W. Bush. It's also well written.