President Obama delivered his second prime time news conference this evening. He has been accessible to the media during his first 60 days in office, much more so than any other president. I value each opportunity to learn from his leadership.
The purpose of his conference this evening was to advocate for the massive budget he has presented to Congress. High deficit predictions cause some to worry on its viability. I have confidence in his ability to lead. He has a strong team and a level of competence that will serve him well. The idea is to spend on projects that will pull us from what has become a spiraling recession while simultaneously advancing our society.
The opposition continues to argue for a spending freeze. This seems a ridiculous proposition with unemployment rates in some major cities in excess of 20 percent, some states in excess of 10 percent, and a national unemployment average in excess of 8 percent. Only through government investment, or spending, have we been able to stabilize housing and initiate the flow of credit. Mortgage rates, I have seen, now hover at below 5 percent. With a spending freeze, as the Republicans want, the economy would crumble.
Mostly, I feel encouraged by President Obama’s courage to lead. He bases decisions on data rather than ideology. This difference shows up in the executive order he signed that provides federal funding for stem cell research. Leading scientists from across the world have been calling for this funding to advance medicine. Under George Bush’s legacy, no such funding was available as stem-cell research went against his ideology. Bush was our equivalent of the Dark Ages, when the Catholic church ruled the world and declared the advancement of science a capital offense.
Another example of a break from the stuck-in-the-mud policies of George Bush was President Obama’s order to support the states’ rights to issue medical marijuana through appropriate dispensaries. Science shows that marijuana can alleviate pain, despite the ideology of the hypocritcal right. I look forward to further leadership that will bring a more sensible drug policy.
By relying on scientific evidence rather than right-wing ideology or lobbyists, we ought to see prison reform introduced soon. The economy, health care, energy, and education will take an understandable priority. The evidence from academia and social science clearly show, however, that long-term imprisonment for nonviolent crime does not serve the interests of our society. I am confident that President Obama will lead us into a more enlightened prison system.
This morning I began my work at 2:30. I finished writing two blogs before 4:00. Then I completed a lengthy article for change.org. I ran 10 miles, lifting my total to 913 miles over the past 102 days. In the afternoon I wrote another article in response to what I considered a misleading statement to Congress by the director of the BOP.
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
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