AddingUnderstanding

It is a bit funny that a very conservative president ushered in a stimulus package that seems to be doing more for the porn industry than any other industry.

Our PHP group had a great discussion of politics and the meaning of government last night. So this little video seemed appropriate to post for some Friday fun.

Doing some live blogging from the Watch Party for the Democratic Presidential Debate has me thinking about what question I would ask if I were in the audience in the debate hall. In the vein of actions speak louder than words I would ask this: Global warming is the greatest challenge facing our planet. Leadership is important in changing energy policy. More important is what the billions of people on the planet do in their daily lives. What are you doing personally and what is your campaign doing to reduce your impact on the planet.

Doing a little live blogging from the Democratic Presidential Debate at UNLV tonight. Senator Biden is clearly coming out as the winner in the first half of the debate. Senator Clinton said at the opening of the debate that she was wearing an asbestos pant suit. That pant suit certainly got a workout in early sparing with Senator Edwards. Senator Biden was way ahead with charm and down to earth answers and staying on point about how we take the country and world forward instead of political sparing.

I've recently been doing some letter writing. Though I'm still far behind on my emails and correspondence with friends there are some issues that require the attention of our elected officials and government agencies. As a part of this process looking at how to be most effective has been important. Fortunately the Congressional Management Foundation has done research on this very topic and can help show us how to make letters more effective.

A few points jump out immediately:

• Personalized letters have more impact than form letters
• Shorter is better
• Grassroots groups can gain from understanding the process

None of these should be barriers. It is far better to write a long windy letter than none at all. While understanding the process and getting the timing right is great perfect timing doesn't do anything if the message isn't delivered.

Launce Rake tried to get an estimate from the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) what they now estimate the water grab is going to cost. He points out that however many billions of tax dollars are going down this hole, er pipeline, it is certainly more than the 20-year-old $2 billion figure that is oft tossed about.

The SNWA plan seems to mirror the decades-old plan for the downwinders. The plan then suggested that if the government didn't collect data it couldn't ever be sued to release data under sunshine laws. Apparently SNWA would like us to believe the same of the water grab plans. A staff person for SNWA told Rake that they hope to have a number soon that they can share with the public.

Understanding that the number is a moving target that changes with time is easy. It is harder to understand why SNWA doesn't have a figure. Unlike the downwinder situation SNWA is dependent upon state and local funding for their project. The nominal blank-check of the defense industry is tucked away and not out on the table as it was for nuclear testing during the cold war. So the situation is either that SNWA's mis-management of this project is so great that they don't have a number or that they don't want to share it for fear it will awaken citizens of Nevada to what is going on here.

The last few days make it clear that the United States has a president bent on his way. It does not matter how many better plans are laid out, how many brilliant people offer suggestions the power of the presidency has gone to his head. Dave Winer has a suggestion about how to get the president to go. There is really just one major problem with the idea.