Presidential Foundations or Pre$idential FUndations

For most of the United States’ history the transfer of power on inauguration day marked the end of public life for the departing president.  In the latter part of the 20th Century this began to change.  Laws were introduced to provide a pension to former presidents and secure their presidential papers.  By the 1970's, in a dramatic shift, former presidents began to cash in on the prestige of the presidency.  The trend runs counter to hundreds of years of wise counsel and is viewed by many with increasing concern.

Until the late 1900's presidents largely returned to their former private life after leaving office.  There were a very few exceptions along the way; John Quincy Adams became a member of the House of Representatives; Andrew Johnson became a Senator;  William H. Taft became a member of the U.S. Supreme Court.  But most, like President George Washington, returned to their farms and businesses, careful to remain out of the public eye and disengaged from national level discourse.

President Harry S. Truman left office in January, 1953 penniless.  He went to the train station in Washington D.C. and returned home to Missouri.  There was no presidential pension, no secret service detail, and no presidential library.   His term ended, his perceived duty was to return to private life and allow those who followed in the office the opportunity to govern.  His honor and integrity disallowed any action “that would commercialize on the prestige and dignity of the office of the presidency.”

NoBushClinton2016

NoBushClinton2016 is a rallying cry for action to end the Bush and Clinton dynasties and take a new direction in national leadership.

America’s political system is ramping up for the 2016 presidential election.  The two leading candidates for the Democratic and Republican parties are Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, respectively. Each has formed a leadership political action committee (PAC) to prepare for a run.  Both are expected to announce their candidacies in the coming weeks.

The Bushes and Clintons served at the pinnacle of American power without interruption for three decades beginning with Vice President George H.W. Bush in 1981.   They remain as power brokers even while holding no political office; Bill Clinton serves as the de facto head of the Democratic Party.  Some are concerned that potential Democratic candidates are holding back for fear of the long shadow cast on the party by the Clintons.   The Bush family, too, maintains a position of power within the Republican Party.  Jeb Bush has been depicted as waiting “his turn” while his brother served as president. Now, with his family and its powerful supporters behind him, his nomination is highly probable.

Measles (or worse) for your child?

An outbreak of measles in California has now spread to several other states and the number of infected people will soon pass 100 if it has not already.  Reporting on the outbreak has largely focused on Disneyland as a common site of infection rather than more important substantive issues.

Proactive engagement and action by parents and grandparents of school age children is needed to ensure that children are protected from highly contagious and potentially deadly diseases.   Immunizing your own child is not enough.  Relying on government and school officials is not enough.

Cape needs Universal Utility Plan

National Grid’s action in December, 2014 to disallow any new gas service hook ups on parts of Cape Cod due to gas main limitations is a symptom of a broader problem – the lack of comprehensive utility and infrastructure planning on Cape Cod.   Regional Universal Utility Planning should be established as a major goal of the Cape Cod Regional Policy Plan.

Robert Kennedy said, “Some men see things as they are and say why.  I dream things that never were and say why not?”  Take a moment to dream of a day 20 years in the future.  In that dream there is a Universal Utility Plan in place that has finished its first major goal:

A disappointing press corps

President Obama held a press conference at the White House on December 19, 2014 prior to his departure for a two week vacation in Hawaii for the holidays.   Watching the entire one hour press conference revealed yet again how fatuous the press has become. 

Two issues that were discussed – the hacking of Sony Corporation and the opening of diplomatic relations with Cuba – revealed that the press members the president selected to ask questions are reluctant, if not incapable, of asking difficult questions of the president.   Here are two questions that should have been asked but were not:

Reducing tragic police encounters

Amid the debate, protest, and violence that followed the recent grand jury decisions in Ferguson, Missouri and Staten Island, New York what can be learned?  Can the incidence of violent civilian-police contact be reduced and the outcomes of such contact mitigated?

Some have described the deaths as indicative of a broader pattern of rampant unjustified police violence by white officers motivated by racism against black men. They call for a national conversation on race and the overhaul of police departments.  Others question the linkage of the events with a broader pattern motivated by racism and increasingly reject demands for redress of past oppression. In the end, making race the focal point of discussion will generate a great deal of emotion, but may be ineffective and even counterproductive in reducing violent civilian-police contact.

The pathway to preventing such incidents for Americans of all races is through better policing and the transformation of a mindset, often concentrated in dangerous neighborhoods, that is hostile to acceptable social norms.

Thank you officer

Thank you officer for putting on the uniform every day and going out into the night to face danger on my behalf.

Thank you to your loved ones who must worry about you responding to danger each and every day.

Thank you to the 126 families of police officers killed in the line of duty in 2013 for the sacrifice your family has made on my behalf.

Thank you for the restraint you show every day as you confront the worst among us.