Today's "Independent" Voter

I am scared of what the Republicans would do if in charge of the executive and legislative branches of government, but I dislike most of the things I've seen the Democrats do in power.

My right-leaning friends would say the same thing, switching the order of the two parties' names.

Is this what it means to be "Independent" today?

The United States should not release Osama bin Laden's death photos.

Osama bin Laden is dead, and now many want to see pictures. The high school gossip in me wants something to gawk at. The doubting Thomas in me needs "proof" to settle my suspicions. But some suspicions can never be settled, and I believe that releasing these photos will put Americans, especially those overseas who are trying to protect us, in danger. For me, that is the deciding factor - we should not do anything that makes their tough job even more dangerous.

Document the history of this weekend's raid, put the photos into an archive, and release them in 50 years. Hopefully, by then the world will be so far past the present terrorism insanity that the pictures will appear an incredible relic of times long ago.

P.S. For those doubters, were Osama bin Laden alive, he could completely discredit the current U.S. government by releasing a verifiable video of himself discussing the events of this past weekend while holding Monday's copy of the New York Times. That is an opportunity that he would not pass up for long.

The minority party should focus on the effectiveness of existing programs

Today, our Congressman spoke at a local business alliance luncheon. Being from the minority party, he had the usual comments about what the majority is doing wrong. I suggested that the SBIR grant program for small business was flawed - the focus should be on growing businesses, not perpetually small operations whose main expertise is applying for and winning government grants. (This was not my opinion, but the GAO's.) He replied that rather than give out the grants at all, he'd like to give every business that creates a new job a 25% tax credit.

This is where the minority party gets it wrong. Both parties focus on strategy and power, regardless of their majority or minority status. But the minority party, especially when a minority in all 3 branches, is not going to drive policy. Better to present their alternate proposals, then focus on the government's execution of its existing programs. Uncover waste, fraud, unintended consequences; expose these to the public, and push the majority party to govern effectively.

Going back to the SBIR example, when the minority says "We shouldn't spend that money at all, we should give it back to the people"; well, no matter how valid that position is the majority will respond, "We won the most votes last time, so more people clearly agree with us that it should be spent."

On the other hand, if the minority party points out that the SBIR program has stated goals of creating jobs, yet half of all small business grants go to "small businesses" that have been small for decades, receive the bulk of their money from a never-ending stream of small business grants, and have few productive skills outside of winning those grants - what will the majority party say? "True, but we won the election so the American people clearly want us to waste that money."

John McCain - Secretary of Defense

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has served exceptionally under two Presidents. Now that he plans to retire in 2011, I would like President Obama to consider John McCain as the next Secretary of Defense.

McCain has the experience and respect for the position, he’s a warrior who knows the cost of war, and he’s a budget hawk who will be able to both cut wasteful spending *and* improve our future security. John McCain is an American hero and was a proven independent before he ran for President.

Secretary Gates has recently attacked spending priorities in the Defense Department. Only a strong character with unquestionable courage will be able to fight the political-military-industrial complex that has led to so much bloat in Defense. McCain possesses those characteristics, is respected by most Republicans, and has the experience and background to take over the Afghanistan war effort.

Candidate Obama stressed bipartisanship during his campaign; a McCain appointment would be his biggest step yet in fulfilling that promise as President.

Build a trans-Palestine Corridor to Gaza to secure peace.

Last week, The Economist published a leader recapping the roadmap to peace in Palestine. I've heard the same proposal for over 20 years, yet with the focus on securing a peace agreement, no one explains to me how the peace would be maintained against the focused efforts of a small minority of radicals (on both sides) who don't want a two-state solution.

I think that most Palestinians, like most people everywhere, would rather support themselves and their family than strap a bomb to their chest and wreck havoc. Yet with unemployment in Palestine at 16% and Gaza at 41%, the sheer number of rootless men will prevent a lasting peace.

I propose the addition of a "trans-Palestine Corridor", connecting southern Palestine with Gaza, to the peace roadmap. In exchange for the Israeli West Bank settlements and land enclosed by the security barrier, Palestine would receive a wide corridor between their two territories. This would be a world-class transportation corridor, funded by the international community.

I'm imagining a mile-wide stretch of four-lane highway with room for 12 lanes, high-speed passenger and freight rail lines, power transmission, water canal, natural gas pipeline, fiber optic lines, gas stations, rest stops, emergency vehicle areas, a manned security barrier isolating the corridor from Israel, secure crossing points to leave the corridor (part of Palestine) and enter Israel, north-south tunnels under or bridges over the corridor connecting the resulting northern and southern portions of Israel. This 30-60 mile corridor through current desert, coupled with the construction of a major port in Gaza, would take a generation to complete, creating hundreds of thousands of long-term jobs at all skill levels for Palestinians, billions of dollars worth of contracts for companies from Israel, Palestine, America, Europe, and other countries who pay the bills and ensure the security during the transition period. The resulting work-driven economic boom in Palestine could be enough to unite a majority against the violent minority, instead of standing by indifferently as we see today.

Would Israel give up 50 square miles for a corridor between Palestine and Gaza in exchange for the West Bank land and settlements they have already built? Will the world stop spending money on military actions and repeat the conflict for another 50 years, or find the billions needed to develop a viable Palestine and lasting peace?

The President should resign from their party after election

Previously, I advocated that the Vice President should perform party duties so the President can focus on American issues, not party concerns. Recent news from the White House, defending their attempts to divert Joe Sestak from the Senate primary race against Arlen Specter as "politics as usual", now makes me think that the President should resign their party in their Inauguration address.

While I don't think that anything illegal was done, the whole system stinks. All candidates for political office are American citizens, and they each should be able to count on neutrality from their President. Were the President to become an Independent on day 1, then they could establish a standard that they won't participate in political activities. As a bonus, the President could avoid the poor appearance of speaking at a fund-raiser for a Democratic Senator while oil continues to pour into the Gulf of Mexico.

It doesn't help America when mass media manufactures anger to boost their ratings.

There are very few things that you should get angry about, but there are a very few number of things that you should get very angry about.