Archive for November, 2008

Saving the Republican Party – Or Not

Posted on the November 29th, 2008 under Politics by Pete Gaeta

I don’t much like the current version of the Republican party, but there have been some things I have liked about them in the past. Being thrifty, avoiding foreign entanglements, supporting the rights of the individual over the state, and pushing decision-making down to the local level where appropriate have all been Republican principals at one time or another. So, in that spirit, here are some things you can do to make your party viable in the 21st century:

1. Tell the truth.

2. Admit when you’re wrong.

3. Value people over profits.

4. The economic dogma that prescribes deregulation and trickle-down theory for every single scenario doesn’t work. People are the bottom line – not religious adherence to an economic principle.

5. People do not want ANY religion shoved down their throats. Stop trying to.

6. Science is not always infallible, but it the best approximation we have about how things work. Look to science to inform your opinions, don’t cherry-pick science to support the opinions you already have while suppressing other viewpoints.

Try these things and let me know how it goes. Or don’t. It might be healthy for our democracy for a major party to bite the dust now and then.

The Declaration of Independence

Posted on the November 26th, 2008 under Government by Pete Gaeta

DeclarationOfIndependence The Declaration of Independence IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Desperate Measures

Posted on the November 24th, 2008 under Music by Pete Gaeta

Desperate Measures was a band that met weekly for music, wine and food. We played a few gigs, spent a weekend in a recording studio, and had a lot of fun.

Intellectual Property and the Need For Rapid Innovation

Posted on the November 22nd, 2008 under Politics by Pete Gaeta

President-elect Obama emailed me to ask for my thoughts on a long-term plan for the economy. Instead of riffing on bailouts, public-works programs and the like, I went with something else that has been bouncing around my head lately – the hoarding of intellectual property. While not a fully-formed plan, I believe it is one of the meta-issues that is preventing new ideas and technology from fulfilling their greatest promise to our society. Here is what I wrote to him:

The Obama Era Begins

Posted on the November 10th, 2008 under Politics by Pete Gaeta

When the race was called for Barack Obama last Tuesday I was happy, no – more like relieved. The October Surprise never materialized, no message from Bin Laden, no new war with Iran, Syria, Russia or N. Korea, no new lie from the right-wing hate machine that went viral, no gaffe or slip of the tongue that gave people a reason to vote against their conscience. What I did not feel was the emotional catharsis that seemed to grip people all around the country.