Pollywogs!

So I saw change.gov on reddit this evening, and looked around a bit.  It is actually an amazing website…the thought of an administration being open and transparent?!?!  I think I just fainted…fucking check this out, the actual Transition directory used to bring new Obama administration members up to speed…WITH THE VICE PRESIDENT IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH!  Biden is going to be piiiisssed!  

Alright, I’m back, I actually did faint, I was out for like five minutes…

So I find a form to submit ideas.  I am full of bitching and ranting, so I decided to submit a few wandering, wondering thoughts:

So many items need addressed, but scaling back our armed forces into a lean, focused force geared towards rapid intervention in small-scale conflicts would free up desperately needed resources. We’re set up to fight World War III, and have been since the 1950s…and it is bleeding us dry. I made this recommendation to Bush in the spring of 2001, that we needed to refocus on rogue nations and terrorists instead of having this standing army outfitted for war with Russia or China…of course, my recommendations at the time fell on (purposefully) deaf ears…

Second, the environment and energy is so very precarious currently. Everything possible should be done, as soon as possible, to scale back dirty energy and replace it with clean energy, as you have mentioned. Fossil fuel use simply needs to be eliminated, there is no other long term option with regards to the true impact that burning fossil fuels has on the environment. Even if we did eliminate 100% of dirty energy in 10 years (as We Can Solve It has forwarded) I fear the damage has already been done… We ought to be in full damage control mode currently, and yet we’re for all intents and purposes still have our feet still firmly planted on the gas pedal…

Third, our foods need a revolution as well. It is so terribly inefficient to convert plant material into animal material for us to consume. There are so many hungry people in the world, yet we eat like kings, a more opulent diet than any people before us. And ironically it is killing us with heart disease and obesity. Man was not intended to eat meat for every meal (or at least live a long healthy life while doing so). Reducing meat consumption would pay vast returns, reducing the burden on our health care services. Further, reducing our vast factory farms would reduce the needless suffering and unhygienic conditions that so many animals are raised under. By eliminating the subsidies that make factory farmed flesh so cheap (by our wealthy standards), we could put food production back into the hands of small family operated farms, with local ‘slow’ food production and consumption directly benefiting our local economies (as opposed to some faceless giant who works directly with Monsanto to raise GMOs of unknown risks). We could borrow a page from Europe with regards to our entire food situation…they’ve recently been enacting a number of needed reforms (including proper food labeling of aforementioned GMOs).

Which reminds me of another idea I had recently: the governments of the world all have to deal with the same fundamental problems. Your administration ought to form a panel which examines all of the difficulties faced around the world, and cull the best responses. Then, share what you’ve learned (and hopefully integrated into our own nation) with other nations. Treating government like a science, where the best minds work together on the same fundamental problems. It seems like everyone is going around reinventing the wheel currently…

So, those are a few of my humble suggestions, items which I haven’t seen mentioned much on your formidable and very comprehensive list of items to address. I’ve spent the last eight years highlighting and criticizing the Bush administration, do not worry that you do not have a solid partner who will continually remind you of your shortcomings from the view down here.

Thank you very much for simply being who you are, President-Elect Obama.

Oh, and…yes we can!

If you’ve got a couple thoughs that you don’t think have been given enough attention, feel free to drop him a line.  Hopefully he has a team of people to sift and organize what I am sure will be a torrent of input!