Holy Moses!! The stain of New York City's "Master Builder" strikes again in California

I just finished reading The Power Broker, Robert Caro's ultimate documentation of documentations about Robert Moses, a man who innocuously obtained government power through the New York State Council of Parks, then proceeded to become the most powerful man in government in the city and state of New York. Every park constructed between 1925 and 1968, every bridge in that era and every highway bears the mark of Moses. From the southern tip of Manhattan's Lower East Side all the way to the Co-Op City in the Bronx lie the many of the housing projects of Roberts Moses. And the UN on 42nd street? That's his work, too. And Lincoln Center. And the New York 1964 World's Fair. And Shea Stadium.

Coming soon! And by soon, we mean 2025! No, 2030, or 2040 . . .

Such power was not popular with the public or with government officials of his era. In 1953--in the middle of the Robert Moses Era--mayor-elect Robert Wagner, Jr. resolved that Moses would be able to maintain two of his city titles. Moses would remain New York City Parks Commissioner and New York City Construction Coordinator, but he would no longer remain on the City Planning Committee. Wagner did not tell Moses of his intentions, and on inauguration day, merely re-affirmed Moses on two of his three positions. When Moses learned that Wagner wouldn't grant him the the third, Moses was furious.

After the pomp and circumstance the ceremonies had passed, Moses barged into Wagner's office. Why wasn't he allowed to retain his seat on the City Planning Committee? Wagner panicked. A mistake, said the newbie mayor. A mere oversight. It won't happen again. With that, the "Master Builder" walked into another office in city hall, helped himself to the proper stationary, and wrote himself another term to the City Planning Committee. Sign it, said the old man.

Question: Who does that? Who has more power than the mayor? Why should an unelected official have power of the will of the people? The Power Broker brilliantly documents Robert Moses' ascent to power, his abuse of power, and subsequent loss of power. All empires exceed their grasp at some point, and fall. The book made for a gripping read, more like a thriller than a historical record. And now that I've finished reading, I feel a little empty inside.

Never, ever trust a man who looks like Al Capone.

That was, until I saw that the California High Speed Rail Authority has approved $68.4 billion in bonds for construction of a bullet train from Los Angeles to San Francisco. On the surface, this is good news. A high-speed rail line in the United States is more than five decades overdue (Japan's bullet train has been running since 1964, the same year Robert Moses ran the World's Fair finances straight into the ground). Problem is, the California State Legislature had only approved $45 billion. Before I read the power broker, I would have chalked this $23 billion error to human ineptitude. The likely reality is more sinister.

One tactic Robert Moses utilized to steamroll opposition to his government projects was to understate the costs. Once the project had started and the funds ran out, Moses would simply request more money from the state legislature or the city council. If we don't provide more funds, Moses would argue, all the money thus spent will have been for naught!

 At the start of his career, few cared because his projects generally provided more good than bad. For Example, in the construction Jones Beach State Park, Robert Moses spent the entire budget allocation on the foundation for the bathhouses. Not the bathhouses themselves. The foundation. When he was done, few cared that he had gone over-budget because the finished product was so impressive.

When the finished product was not so impressive, the public got angry. The untold billions Moses spent on projects of absolutely no value to the city of New York, such as his many worthless expressways that provide no value to the city of New York, nor any convenience to the motorist--is a cost that New Yorkers are still paying today. 90 percent of New York State's public debt is attributable to ""Authorities," legal complexities that exist under the guise that a private development corporation can deliver results better than the government. Those who wish to see a return to the great public works projects of the 1960s, or the successful government economic policies of the 1960s would be wise to see the detriment of the Robert Moses governing style and the problems inherent with "authority."

In this case, liberals need to understand the case of ire against government spending. In the private sector, it is understood that to impress a customer or client, the business must under-promise and over-deliver. If a project is going cost $100,000, then provide an estimate for $100,000. Billing a customer for $60,000, then asking for $25,000, then $15,000, is a good way to gaureentee you won't see that customer again.

Will Democrats learn from this? Wouldn't it be easier to document the true costs of a project, up front, then explain the benefits? The other tactic--downplaying the costs and dealing with the fallout later, hasn't worked in decades. Robert Moses gave public works a bad name, and that was almost half a century ago. Boston's Big Dig, while a worthwhile endeavor, is probably the only large-scale public works project that has been able reach completion since the Johnson administration. And what good was done by under-selling the costs, or cutting corners in construction of the tunnel to save money? What good did that do?

What can we do? Heck, the next time your conservative friend rails about how the "government can't do anything right," just let them know that they are partially correct. They just need to substitute the word "government" with "private development corporation."

Breaking News: Romney wins Hawaii!

Networks aren't allowed to call an election before the polls have closed, but an exclusive leak of early returns has shown Romney to win decisively and severely over his four rivals in the central Pacific.

"The Hawaiian Islands are lovely chain," said the victorious Romney. "I've got business partners who own some of them."

How many islands do you own, Willard?

Clint Eastwood should savagely beat down on Karl Rove and David Axelrod

Seriously. One could write a college dissertation on Clint Eastwood's sort of creepy, very patriotic Super Bowl Chrysler ad, but the ad has metamorphosed beyond merchandising.

Right now, the one minute spot is an advertisers dream: it has made news; it gets repeated on television without anybody paying for it. Goldmine.

I'm not even quite sure how put phrase my own thoughts on the matter, because apparently Karl Rove and David Axelrod have told me what I should think about it.

Rove's response was, as usual, a baseless lie coupled with character assassination.  On the bright side, Rove's words were stupid enough to induce uproarious laughter.

“I was, frankly, offended by it,” said Rove. “I'm a huge fan of Clint Eastwood, I thought it was an extremely well-done ad, but it is a sign of what happens when you have Chicago-style politics, and the president of the United States and his political minions are, in essence, using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising.”

Um, okay. I guess the ad had too much hope and unity and Rove went ballistic. I guess it just goes to show how much the Republican Party is focused on letting us know that our country has been on a one-way track to the underworld ever since January 21st, 2009.  And that the fact that people have jobs, well, that just makes things worse!

Okay. Whatever. Karl Rove doesn't like the ad. I guess that means Obama's people love it, right?

Not so fast. Thanks to the genius of twitter, David Axelrod was able to share his douchbaggery to the masses within seconds.

“Powerful spot." Tweeted the twit Axelrod. "Did Clint shoot that, or just narrate it?”

Hey Punk! Maybe we should stop sending jobs overseas and rebuild at home!

From his tweet, I can't tell if Axelrod should have utilized a medium that would allow to speak more than 140 characters to further explain himself, or if he should have just kept his mouth shut and enjoy the game like everybody else.

But what is Axelrod saying? That Eastwood's words don't matter, simply because he didn't direct the commercial? Is he afraid that Clint Eastwood will make a run for president?

If that's the case, it underscores how much President Obama doesn't know how to play it cool. But what better can we expect from a man to full of cowardice to simply let the Bush tax cuts expire?

And when it comes to re-election, he's worried about Mitt Romney? Aka, BarMitt RomnObama? I guess Obama's losing sleep about actress Roseanne Barr, and the thought about Dirty Harry making a run has the President not feeling lucky at all.

What do you think? Should Clint go for it? Who cares if he's a Republican. Obama sure governs like one! Or should we call on McGovern once again? And does anyone want to fill in the scantron dot for macadamia nut farmer Roseann Barr?

Whatever. Maybe I should just watch Gran Torino again.

Exploring reality and artifice in the Saturday New York Times

Two articles in today's New York Times underscore the difference between perception and reality in more ways than one. On the hand, there are abstractions; political talking points, statistics with little if any context, and outright lies. On the other hand, there is cold, harsh reality.

For people living in rural Maine, the reality is very, very cold right now. One family on extremely hard times is a retired couple on by the name of Robert and Wilma Hartford. The Hartford's are on disability, making a bad situation even worse. Dan Barry of the New York Times reports:

Heating oil currently averages $3.71 per gallon, and that doesn't include delivery charges. To add insult to injury,  the Obama administration and Congress have trimmed the energy-assistance program that helps the poor — 65,000 households in Maine alone — to pay their heating bills. Eligibility is harder now, and the average amount given here is $483, down from $804 last year, all at a time when the price of oil has risen more than 40 cents in a year, to $3.71 a gallon.

That adds up to about $350 a month just so that homeowners can prevent themselves from freezing to death. And it's not as if the oil delivery man is getting rich off the endeavor, either. Ike Libby, owner of hometown energy, confesses that he would sell his business in a heartbeat to be a store greater at Wal-Mart.

Are we going to use 19th century technology to heat our homes?

Seriously, he said that.

That's the reality. Fossil Fuels aren't cheap: they're expensive. Many alternatives are more affordable that the status quo and would help, rather than hurt, our economy. Thermal solar systems could save homeowners in cold weather climates hundreds, even thousands of dollars every year.

The savings wouldn't stop there. Fewer oil deliveries to far-flung residences would mean less diesel. Less diesel and less oil would mean fewer oil tankers making deliveries.

Or we will enjoy the comforts of the 21st century instead?

The savings continues. Less oil and diesel exhaust means less particle matter in the atmosphere. Less particle matter means fewer heart attacks. Fewer heart attacks means fewer ambulance trips to the hospital. Not only does the ambulance use diesel fuel, but that life-saving medication that the paramedics give you to keep your heart from killing yourself? That's right, it comes from oil!

But that's not the analysis that the New York Times--or any other mainstream news source--chooses to pursue. The Grey Lady saved that ink and paper to "analyze" the political implications of the nation's unemployment rate that had just "fallen" to 8.3 percent. It's almost farcical to hear Mitt Romney and company complain about high unemployment--a problem that wasn't on the Grand Old Party's radar until January 20th, 2009. A problem that has was caused by and has been exacerbated by Republican policies.

But the article implores you to keep reading. Obama might win, he might not. Check the polls. But it's early. Check back again later. Keep reading your daily paper. Follow us online. Stay tuned after this commercial break.

The artifice of the news cycle never ends. It's not so much a cycle as a continues stream of horse manure. Occasionally, that manure does fertilize the soil of news into something that is actually newsworthy, and we learn about the Hartford's.

We can do our best to stop the lies. In this case, any homeowner who pays for heat in the winter (just about any of us) can benefit from a solar heating system, even in grey New England. Some companies, like Sunrise Solar in Vermont, specialize in geographic areas in which there is little sunlight in winter. Maine Solar is another example of an organization that tailors to the needs of local residents.

Said the wise man: "Be the change you wish to see."

It's worth noting that a solar system need not replace one's entire heating system, but can simply augment it. If the solar panels only heat your hot water to 100 degrees, your furnace won't have to use nearly as much energy as if it were heating 40 degree water.

If one of us embraces the future, well, that's one person who's saving some money and helping out the environment. If a dozen of us do it, well, than we might even establish a trend.

And if we all do it? Then we've solved a very big problem.

What are we waiting for?