We have been hearing and reading for a long time that China and India will soon eclipse the world's economies and established economies will be diminished. Because India is an open society, we are aware of its success as well as its problems and recognize that it will some time before it is true for them. But, we know a lot less about the closed communist system of China. What we have heard is mostly from journalists and politician who visit China for a short time and meet with leaders and report the view that the leadership in China reports. But, it is more important to hear from others who share a more balanced point of view.
Such a view comes from Zhang Xin, one of the most successful women in China. I happened to watch an interview with her on the Charlie Rose program on PBS. After the interview, I felt that I had a much better understanding of the rank and file sense of the future and more clearly understand that the viewpoint that we have been presented by others is badly skewed. I was going to try and extract the important information and report a summary but decided not to try to interpret an incredibly urgent interview. I recommend watching the entire 23 minute interview if you feel it as important as I do to understand the complex world dynamic.  Comments welcomed. Two click away...Here.

If you listen to music on Internet Radio you may have come across Pandora. On 12 July they announced the fact that they now have reached 100 million registered users, with 36 million monthly active users. Although the service is similar to TagWorld and Last.fm, it differs in the fact that they have been using what is called the Genome Project. A group of professionals in the music field listen to all types of music to characterize the music attributes of each song. So, when you start a new "station" the service looks at the choice and compares other music by other artists to submit to the listener.
So, for example, I like early blues and delta blues so I might start a new station called "Robert Johnson". The station will return with not only songs by him but others with similar musical characteristics, and not necessarily the same genre. This exposes me to totally different possibilities and I can find artists that I had no idea even existed. There is a thumbs up, thumbs down choice with each song. By using this option I can guide Pandora as to what I like and don't like. The station then is continually evolving and expanding my listening choice. I will however do some comparisons with other Internet Radio and post any new results. It is nice to have music choices and the internet certainly has that.

We have been hearing for a long time that American manufacturing is in decline. We have fallen to the Chinese and other exporting nations to satisfy our gluttony. And in part, there is some truth contained here,  but most of the thought process is badly flawed. Unfortunately, if we hear it enough, it will be true. But consider a different point of view for a moment.
There is certainly some truth in the fact that  the economic slowdown has caused some plans for manufacturing start-up and expansion to be sidetracked, and investors are reluctant to pony up money in a time of uncertainty. But the biggest problem is the fact that we have no national strategy for a manufacturing base to continue. Part of the strategy has to be to repair the trade imbalance that currently exists. We have to make the products that other nations want and need. We need to rethink education and consider that there is a great value in the trades and that everyone neither wants or really has to have a 4 year degree. We must stop China and other countries from stealing our intellectual property and then selling it back to us!  And, we must rebuild an infrastructure that can support a resurgence in the economy.
We continue to be the most technically innovative country on the face of the planet, but without  government support with regulation control, trade imbalances, and private sector activity, we will fulfill  our own prophesy.
I have a somewhat bizarre thought about the American consumer that I suspect may seem unlikely. I believe that we are ready to really support and buy American if it existed. And I am thinking about appliances, and consumer goods that we used to buy. But, before you say we have been down this road before, let me explain why. There was a time when toasters, TV's, and other home goods could be repaired and would last almost forever. This supported many repair facilities and parts suppliers. Now, all of the crap that we buy is disposable and designed to be replaced by more crap.
I would be willing to pay 20 or 30% more for a microwave oven if it could be repaired and, at the same time, supported  American jobs. I tired of sending all this junk made by kids in another country to the landfill!

The word politics comes from the Greek, meaning "of or relating to citizens". It was designed for use in a democracy to serve as a way for representatives to deal with the events relevant to the government and society on behalf of the citizens. But it has been a long time in this country since representatives met to have civil and meaningful discourse to solve problems. But what happened between the idea and the reality?
The founding fathers in the majority thought that government would work best when each state elected representatives for the new congress. Two senators from each state and representatives from each state based on population. They would meet in the capitol periodically and make majority decisions to carry on the affairs of the country. They would serve a term and then return to their "real" jobs, and not become career senators or representatives. But it became clear to those serving that the accretion of power and the financial rewards were far more appealing than returning to their home states and going back to prior jobs. Remember "absolute power corrupts absolutely"?
So, when we observe our congressional representatives today what do we see? As soon as they assume office, they begin to work on re-election, using the perks of the office to work the money angle. Trips back and forth to the home state, sending mail "updates" to the constituents. And trips to anywhere and everywhere to keep their name in the news. All this at the expense of the taxpayer. They are seldom in the house or senate chambers but meeting and greeting, trying to get on the news, and working on getting positions on powerful committees to influence money allocations. If you have ever watched C SPAN, you would see almost nobody in the audience. There is no debate, just exposure.
In a system so convoluted and dysfunctional,it seems that there will be no magic bullet for changing the status quo. But, there is one change that we as voters could affect. And that is term limits. We really do not need career politicians who spend their time building power, accumulating wealth, and failing to solve problems in the country. When a senator is escorted to the podium in a walker, he has been in office for too damn long!
George Washington began the term limit of president by limiting his time to two terms. All presidents until Franklin Delano Roosevelt, followed suit and did not run for a third term. In 1953, congress passed an amendment to the constitution, the 22nd, to limit the term to 10 years if the individual had served an unfinished term.
There have been attempts to limit terms on congress but they have been unsuccessful, as it requires a two thirds majority to pass. Most of the time congress has difficulty getting a simple majority unless it is based on ideology and one party has the majority of members. In 2011, South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint introduced a bill to limit terms with the following comments:
“If we’re ever going to permanently change Washington, we must change the process that encourages career politicians to amass personal power instead of making the hard decisions for the nation,” said Senator DeMint. “We need true citizen legislators who spend their time defending the constitution, not currying favor with lobbyists. We need new leaders continually coming to Congress to ensure every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely, not wasted on Washington special interests. We must end the era of permanent politicians that has led us to a $14 trillion debt and a pending fiscal crisis”
But talk about irony! DeMint had been in the house for three terms since 1998, elected senator once, and re-elected recently. By the end of his second term, he will have been in office for 18 years. Sounds like a career to me!
This is a situation where the politicians will never cut their own path to money and power. If we as voters choose to do nothing as well, we deserve what we have. Just an observation...