This blog has a center-left philosophy, more liberal on some social issues and more conservative/quasi-libertarian on economic ones. It focuses on many of the problems afflicting the United States and the world such as Iraq, global warming and the like. It is also a place to comment about startling new technological advances, because I believe that technology can solve many of our planet’s problems (as well as cause some new ones).

What follows is a quick summary of views, which are subject to evolution or change:

Crime

Education and economic opportunity are the strongest deterrents against crime. Lacking that, our society has to be tough on crime in a way that balances individual liberty interests with our safety needs. Penal law has deterrent and rehabilitative effects, but neither of these outweigh or mitigate the retributive power of the law. The death penalty is justified as the judgment of society upon those committing the most egregious crimes, provided that constitutional protections remain in place and allow a defendant every opportunity to demonstrate his innocence both during and after trial.

Energy

The nation is long past due to eliminate its dependence on foreign oil. Some experts believe we are approaching a peak and subsequent decline in world oil production, which if true will mean very bad news for our oil-addicted economy. We must encourage the development of alternative non-fossil based fuels, including nuclear, ethanol-based, solar, and wind power. The markets are doing an excellent job of encouraging this development in this era of high fossil fuel prices, and that trend should be encouraged to continue.

Environment

Environmental protection is important and justifies regulation on industry. Our burgeoning population is placing severe demands on our planet that place the environment’s ability to support the human race in the future into doubt.

Global warming is a serious threat that promises to displace hundreds of millions of people and drive millions of species of plants and animals to extinction. As such, the environment is a moral issue as much as it is a political or engineering one. Humanity should not consider itself in dominion of its environment, which encourages its destruction. Instead we should focus on the sustainability of our species into the indefinite future by behaving in ways that preserve the environment.

The markets cannot be trusted to protect the value we place in the environment, making regulation necessary. This is especially true regarding the emission of carbon dioxide, which is allowed to go on for free without accounting for the enormous long-term damage and costs being inflicted on the planet and our society. That must stop.

The United States generates a third of the world’s global warming pollutants while representing only 5% of its population. The Bush administration’s stance on continuing to demand research is the height of irresponsibility when the overwhelming majority of scientists agree on the source of the problem. It is long past time that the United States join the rest of the world in combating the problem by signing on to the Kyoto Protocol and its successors.

The current trend in development of alternative energy in the wake of high oil prices is an excellent example of how environmental stewardship can go hand in hand with innovative industry and job creation.

Federal Budget

The country is on a course to a fiscal train wreck, between huge budget deficits and the looming shortfalls in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Doing nothing on the entitlement programs is not an option, and the sooner we start the less the pain will be. On the budget front, we must return to a “pay as you go” system where spending is tied to actual money available. The “spend and borrow” philosophy of the Republicans in Congress and the White House in recent years has been extremely reckless, damaging the reputation of the US dollar and jeopardizing our fiscal future.

Healthcare

Basic healthcare should be universally accessible. Prescription drug costs are outrageously high, and safe drug re-importation should be permitted. While the drug companies need to make a return on their investment in developing new medicines, the fact that they can make do with the lower prices found in the rest of the world means they do not need to be charging their sky high prices in the United States.

Industry and consumer protection

Innovation is the key to future economic growth. In a world of global competition, the ability to innovate new products and services ensures our competitive advantage. Excessive regulation dampens innovation and inhibits job creation and should therefore be used only in exceptional circumstances not addressable by the markets.

Consumer protection is important, but it must be balanced against the impact of regulation on industry’s ability to innovate. Areas where consumers are helpless to guard their basic needs, such as safety in food and drugs or in the air we breathe, are those where regulation is the most justified. Regulation to address what individuals or groups might consider “wants” or “oughts” (such as the current Net Neutrality debate) is less justified and should be left to resolution in the markets.

Iraq

Iraq is a disaster that was fully preventable. Had the United Nations inspectors been permitted to complete their work it would have become plainly evident that no weapons of mass destruction were present. Instead, the Bush administration saw what it wanted to see, then marketed that “evidence” as the drumbeat to war. There were, of course, no weapons, but we are now burdened with the consequences of our actions.

The American people have grown tired of a war that bears no relationship whatsoever with our national security interests. The public is weary of a $500 billion+ price tag, of body bags, of videos showing mutilated civilians and soldiers, all for nothing.

The US government made a big mistake by discouraging foreign investment in re-building Iraqi infrastructure. Had other nations been permitted to bid fairly at the table, they would see a more direct relationship between their future interests in the region and the need to protect those interests financially and militarily. That would have given the US some much-needed allies in quelling unrest in Iraq. Instead, we continue to insist on doing it alone.

We must make clear to the Iraqi government and people that America’s patience has worn thin with the never-ending conflict. Iraq must take a much more proactive role in ensuring its own security. Leaving the country immediately is not an option given our responsibility in the huge mess we created. However, a timeline for withdrawal with reasonable deadlines would send a clear signal that we do not intend to remain there forever.

National Security

Terrorism in the wake of the 9/11 attacks forces Americans to do what every culture in the history of mankind has ever done: adapt or die. The realistic response is to adapt security measures that are reasonable when compared with the loss of privacy incurred. For example, in the recent discussion about the NSA obtaining call data from some phone companies, the benefit of more quickly finding terrorist cells at home or abroad must be weighed against the privacy lost when the government has access to from/to/when call detail information.

It is not rational to single-mindedly oppose all security measures; it is better to be a living society that has adapted to the times while preserving its core values, than to be a dead one. But neither is it rational to sacrifice our liberties for a relatively small return. The current Bush administration has drawn the line very much in the wrong place, going to such extremes as holding American citizens indefinitely without access to a lawyer and without a speedy trial. These and other unilateral measures do not greatly help our security interests, cause great harm to our nation’s reputation, and are unjustified when compared with the profound constitutional guarantees being violated.

Same-sex marriage/civil unions

The government has no business in the bedroom or the household. Same-sex marriage does not prevent, diminish, or in any way denigrate heterosexual marriage, nor does it prevent the latter from procreation or rearing children. If preserving heterosexual marriage is the goal, then we should examine things that have really been shown to diminish it such as household debt, teenaged pregnancy, child/spousal abuse, and the like. Otherwise, let’s call prejudice for what it is.

Science/Technology

Technology is the key to resolving many of humanity’s problems, while perhaps creating new ones. Developing trends in nanotechnology, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence and their potential to revolutionize what it means to be human force the evaluation of ethical issues in a whole new light. Major advances such as stem cell research should not be stymied by religious concerns. A scientific achievement must be evaluated with an eye towards the benefits versus burdens to society as a whole.

Trade

The US is running a dangerous trade deficit with the rest of the world, much of it due to the offshoring of our industries and our excessive reliance on foreign oil. We are borrowing almost $2 billion a day from foreign central banks to keep our economy moving. Sooner or later there will be a financial day of reckoning, as is reflected in the collapsing value of the dollar.

The way to protect our trade interests is to encourage industry to remain at home, and by pressuring trade partners to implement fair labor standards and environmental laws–the lack of which allow foreigners to unfairly compete with our products. All currencies should be allowed to float freely instead of creating unfair trade advantages by being pegged to the dollar.