I have always felt that there is a fundamental misunderstanding of wild places in this country.  Most people enter a wilderness area or local nature preserve and think about what nature or God created.  And certainly, nature and God play a role.  But the vast majority of natural areas in our country exist because someone or a group of someones had the foresight to either preserve or restore the area.  So, when I see a really intriguing natural area or hiking spot, I often wonder about the people who were responsible for its existence.

And, of course, natural areas would not exist without money and political connections.  With that intro., I just want everyone to know that Great Lakes Day is happening this Feb. 25th.  This is one of those canned days in which local and state leaders and activists can head to Washington to meet federal decisionmakers and lobby for more money and political clout.

As stomach-churning as events like this can be, they are very important.  Michigan and the Great Lakes Region have not done enough to make our case to the nation.  Great Lakes Day events run from Feb. 23-25.  Link below:

http://www.glc.org/meeting/index.html

The New York Times Magazine ran an interview with Henry Waxman on Dec. 19th about his ouster of John Dingell from the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  Read it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/magazine/21wwln-Q4-t.html?_r=1

Politico has a rather cryptic paragraph in an analysis of the relationship between Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and President-elect Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel.  Here is the cryptic paragraph:

In a recent conversation with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rahm Emanuel offered some advice on a Democratic House leadership race. Pelosi’s response, according to several Democratic sources: It is “an internal House Democratic Caucus matter, and we’ll handle it.”

Specifically, Pelosi has told Emanuel that she wants to know when representatives of the incoming administration have any contact with her rank-and-file Democrats — and why, sources say.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16622.html

First off, it’s a great article.  And it fills in some holes for me trying the understand the dynamics currently at play in Washington, D.C.  I have made no secret in the past of identifying myself as a moderate/pragmatic/centrist Democrat.  And it is no secret that Nancy Pelosi has made a very strong push to marginalize moderate/pragmatic/centrist Democrats in her House caucus.

What is interesting about the article is that it suggests an attempt by the White House at influencing a House Democratic leadership race.  I don’t think that any close observer of politics can read that without immediately thinking about the race for the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee between Henry Waxman and John Dingell.  It was, essentially, the only contested House leadership race.

Waxman, of course, won.  It was a strong rebuke to Dingell, and by extension, moderate Democrats.  Liberal Democrats very much have control of the House Democratic caucus now.  However, they do not have a failsafe majority.  There are enough Blue Dog conservative Democrats and Democratic Leadership Council moderate Democrats in the House that, combined with the reduced Republican minority, bills *could* be passed over Speaker Pelosi’s objection.

So, if President-elect Obama decides to govern as a centrist, he could, conceivably, govern over Pelosi’s head.  This would be pretty ballsy.  And it might further alienate Obama’s left-wing powerbase.  But it might also widen Obama’s rather fragile electoral majority.

Personally, I am heartened by the idea that Obama attempted to intervene - possibly - on Dingell’s behalf.  And it would be consistent with his support of Sen. Joe Lieberman in the Senate.  Of course, time will tell if Obama truly intends to govern as a centrist.  But the path is there.

The United States has taken much heat since 2000 over the weaknesses in its electoral college system.  But it is instructive to watch what is going on in Canada right now.  The current Conservative Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, was just, essentially, reelected as Prime Minister, but with fewer than 50% of seats in Parliament.

Now, the three major opposition parties, the Liberals, the New Democrats and the Bloc Quebecois have decided to take down Harper’s government.  They can do this because they have more than 50% of the votes.

The problem is that the largest of these three parties, the Liberals, have a party leader who just lost seats in the Canadian elections.  And he has promised to step down as party leader within the next three months.  This means that Canada is just about to give the leadership of their country to an immediate lame duck.

An additional complicating factor is the Bloc Quebecois.  This is Canada’s separatist party.  Its membership comes solely from Quebec.  It rarely, if ever, joins governing coalitions.  Why would they?  Their ultimate goal is to make Quebec a separate nation.  They don’t really want to govern Canada.  So, in addition to being a lame duck, the prospective new Prime Minister, Stephan Dion, will be beholden to people who want to destroy the nation.

I’m beginning to like the electoral college.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

House Majority Whip, Congressman James Clyburn, suggests that the CEO’s of Ford, Chrysler and GM should quit as a condition for Congressional approval of the $25 billion bailout plan.  Here’s the link:

http://www.wnem.com/news/18181663/detail.html?rss=sag&psp=news

This is incredibly short-sighted.  Certainly, the auto executives did themselves no favors by flying private jets to DC.  And, certainly, the leadership of the auto companies have made some very bad decisions over the years.

But I would point out that Alan Mulally, the leader of Ford, has made some very good decisions during his several years running Ford Motor Company.  He was far-sighted enough to envision the possibility of a credit crunch and opened a $10 billion line of credit for Ford when money was plenty and rates were low.

Now, Ford has a $10 billion cushion that the other companies do not have.

Mulally, the former head of Boeing, has also made the very good strategic decision of fully funding product development.  It would be easy in these times to cut research and development.  GM and Chrysler certainly have.  But that kind of decision is penny-wise and pound foolish.

And Ford seems to have been a bit quicker in responding to the “green” wave than the other auto companies.  Cars like the Focus are small, fuel efficient and popular.  Maybe this has something to do with Bill Ford’s stated love for the environment and his decision to live along the banks of the Huron River in Ann Arbor.

So, the idea that Ford’s executives should be forced out in exchange for the $25 billion seems crazy.

Leadership change often requires a significant period of transition within a company.  To force the CEO’s out of power at a time when weeks and months are all that stand between these companies and bankruptcy seems foolish to me.

It is a popular pastime among the more liberal/affluent classes of the Democratic Party to bash the working class/union Dems that populate half the party’s registry.  And one of this groups’ favorite targets is Congressman John Dingell.

So, I have to admit some surprise that the Seattle Times published a piece of commentary that was extremely favorable to Dingell.  It’s too late, of course, for Dingell to salvage his committee chairmanship.  But it’s not too late for the liberal, coastal Dems to realize that the moderates have worthy ideas and outlooks as well.

Check out the story.  Excerpt and link:

U.S. Rep. John Dingell, recently removed as chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, has touched the lives of people all over this country because of the unique reach of the committee he has served since 1955. He has a hand in everything from the communication technology you use to the air you breathe.

But for us, 1,500 miles from his congressional district along Lake Erie south of Detroit, Dingell’s love of one of our fish, the steelhead trout, and his firm grip on energy policy nearly 30 years ago profoundly affected the way we conduct the electricity business in our region.

The steelhead is a highly successful Midwest transplant of a Northwest icon. A powerful fighter, it is a rainbow trout that goes to sea and grows bigger and stronger than its stay-at-home cousin. Starting 120 years ago, fishermen from the Midwest started planting offspring of the fish they caught on our great Steelhead rivers — the McCloud, the Stillaguamish, the Klamath. Over time, the fish made the same journey they did here only in the Great Lakes and made it possible for citizens there to stand in 35-degree water that is moving way too fast for comfort and cast for steelhead in a stiff, hypothermic motion, just like we do out here.

An outdoorsman, and back then a highly mobile one, Dingell loved doing just that and was hardy enough to outlast any companion and connect with plenty of fish.

His love of the outdoors and his experience with the salmon in Lake Erie made Dingell highly influential and knowledgeable in the development of the Pacific Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Act. This law redistributed the output of federal power generation in the Northwest, put conservation on the table as the first choice for new power and laid the Bonneville Power Administration’s checkbook next to it. The bill also had the effect of saving the region’s aluminum industry for a decade and significantly increased the influence of the states on federal electricity policy through the four-state Regional Power Council.

Full story:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008447156_opin29royer.html

Let’s face facts:  People like to live in places where it is possible to walk to the ice cream stand, library and barber shop.  As a former resident of downtowns in Manchester, Tecumseh and Ann Arbor, I can’t say enough about how great it is to wake up in the morning and just go for a stroll.

And as a former resident of the Chicagoland community of Aurora, I can’t say enough about how great it is to be able to walk to a train station and ride to interesting places.  On weekends, I’d buy a pass for a couple of bucks at the local Metra station and have the run of Chicago.  It was beautiful.  When I wanted to visit my family in Michigan, I could walk to the train station, transfer to Amtrak at Union Station and a few hours later hop off in Ann Arbor.

This was my preferred route.  It was actually quicker than trying to fly through that nightmare of an airport called O’Hare.  It was often cheaper than driving if I purchased one of Amtrak’s frequent sale tickets.  And it was just more pleasant than either alternative option.

Derek Melot at the Lansing State Journal has a nice blog post pointing out that we actually can make a choice in Michigan to lessen our reliance on the automobile.  And I don’t mean that as a dig on the car industry.  I love my Buick and need it.  But why can’t we also have good rail and bus service and efficient pedestrian systems?  I’d wager that it would improve our region’s economy and quality of life.

Excerpt and link:

The Mayor of Toledo, Carty Finkbeiner, plans to raid the $1.2 million dollars saved for eventual dredging of the Ottawa River in Point Place to help balance the city’s budget shortfall.  Toledo Blade excerpts and link:

His plan to close the books on this year includes using money previously earmarked for capital improvement projects - such as nearly $1.1 million for Southwyck infrastructure improvements and $458,380 for Ottawa River dredging.

Councilman Lindsay Webb, whose district includes the Point Place peninsula neighborhood, wants to maintain funds that already are designated for the $5 million Ottawa River dredging project.

“Although balancing the budget is a priority, money set aside for nearly 10 years should not be used to make up for current budget deficits, especially considering the positive economic effect of using the money as intended,” Ms. Webb said.

“I understand the sense of urgency for the Toledo budget. But if the mayor is able to take the money away from this project, it will never become a reality,” Ms. Webb said.

The city has $1.2 million saved for the project, she added.

A 1999 Ohio State University Sea Grant Extension study found dredging of the Ottawa River would have an immediate impact of $5 million for the Point Place community, Ms. Webb said.

But Mr. Finkbeiner disagreed and said that money must be used to balance the budget.

Full story:

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081125/NEWS16/811250334/-1/RSS10

I have been impressed by the Ford Motor Company and Alan Mullaly despite the gloom that pervades the state and industry.  Unlike GM and Chrysler, Ford seems to have enough money to make it through 2009.  And it has not had to cut its product development like the others.

The New York Times has an interesting story related to Bill Ford and his vision for a greener auto industry.  It’s worth a read:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/24/business/24ford.html