Travel: An Overlooked Gem in Alabama

Travel: A Gem in Alabama


I have previously suggested trips to distant lands in Asia and Africa in this series. You may recoil at the time, effort, and expense needed to reach those places. You have no such excuse with respect to today’s posting. It surprises me that so few of my acquaintances have ever been to what I regard as the second best travel destination in Alabama, Tuskegee University.

Booker T. Washington was an amazing man. He was employed in the late Nineteenth Century to run an impoverished school for Negroes in an unlikely locale in Southeast Alabama. When he completed his work, Tuskegee Institute was one of the finest educational institutions for African American in the United States and remains so today. He had a remarkable ability to raise funds from rich Yankees and Southern white politicians. He also became the primary spokesman for African Americans during the first two decades of the Twentieth Century.

Tuskegee University campus remains a reflection of the man, Booker T. Washington. He believed that true liberation to the black man would come from education, particularly education that qualified his graduates to have the skills necessary to be gainfully employed. His students constructed the early buildings on the campus out of materials that they had manufactured themselves. These buildings remain today. They are simply designed but an eloquent statement of the history of the school

Monty and I visited Tuskegee primarily to see the “Singing Windows,” portraying various Negro Spirituals. It is probably the best known window in the state. The window was nice enough, but I was stunned by the chapel itself. The old chapel had burned down and the new one was designed by the famous architect and Auburn graduate, Paul Rudulph. It is the most impressive contemporary building I have seen in Alabama, and there are few that can match it anywhere.

Other sites well worth the trip are the Booker T. Washington-George Washington Carver museum. We saw the movie on Booker T. Washington, and it is well worth the twenty minutes or so. Washington’s home is now on display on the campus. The airport where the Tuskegee Airmen were trained during World War is a few miles out of town. One of those flyers, Chappie Hayes, a Tuskegee graduate, became the first African American General in the Air Force. I had the privilege of hearing him speak at the Birmingham Rotary Club in the early seventies, where he received a rarely bestowed standing ovation.

Spend a day at Tuskegee and you will not regret it.

Breaking News - President Obama’s News Conference

I have just heard Obama’s news conference concerning his meeting with Congressional leaders from both parties. It was, in my judgment, a watershed event

Obama seems to be doing all the things he should done a year ago. He stated that the country cannot endure another year of wrangling over health care. He called on the leaders to find those parts on which they can reach agreement.. In addition he indicated a willingness to horse trade on the issues which are the sacred cows of both parties.

He must have been persuasive because the Republican leaders hinted that they are willing to participate in the process.

He also took a middle position on the energy policy. He said that both sides must recognize that there is a need for expanding our use of carbon fuels to satisfy the needs for the short run and for research and development of “clean” sources of energy, particularly for the long run. I believe that his position will resonate well in Congress and in the country.

I view that this new position towards compromise and accommodation may reverse the downward trent of hyper-partisanship and that the country will benefit from it.

What has happened to bring about a change of heart? We certainly can thank the people of Massachusetts who sent a welcome wake up call to Washington. Another possibility has not been mentioned anywhere to my knowledge. Obviously President Obama read, studied and understood the message contained in Mainlineexpress.blogpot.com last week!

Travel - A Charming Saharan Land

If you are squeamish about visiting Arab countries, then consider Morocco. The U.S. enjoys its oldest non-broken friendship treaty with this country. It has a peaceful history and is very hospitable to foreigners.(Morocco is not to be confused with the neighboring Algeria, which has a much more speckled history.) It is also a delightful country worthy of a trip.

Geographically, Morocco is divided by the Atlas Mountains which run parallel to the Mediterranean coast. Most of the economic and governmental centers are north of the mountains. The Saharan desert is located to the south.

We flew into Marrakech, which lies on the northern edge of the Atlas Mountains. Marrakech is a popular spot for Europeans but does not get its due from USA. It has great hotels, top restaurants and other accoutements of a modern tourist town and also has authentic old town where story tellers and snake charmers can be found.

We stayed in a small residential hotel that ranks with the best we have seen. Our luxurious room was accompanied by a private rooftop patio. Having breakfast on the roof was an unforgettable experience.

From Marrakesh we hired a driver for the rest of the trip. Using a driver is probably the best means of travel and not prohibitively expensive, although driving a rented car is a perfectly acceptable alternative. We crossed the Atlas Mountains into Ouarzazate, where the best known Kasbahs have been preserved. Kasbahs are adobe buildings associated with Saharan Morocco.

From Ouarzazate we drove to Erfoud on the eastern corner of the desert. The drive was very interesting. We were able to observe life in the desert where camels remain the staple transportation of people and property.

Erfoud has one main attraction, that is a chance to see the desert sun at dawn. I sometimes wondered why we were going so far to see a sunrise, but Erfoud was one of our favorite stops.

The concierge at our hotel informed us that we would be picked up at four o’clock the next morning and taken to a special place to see the sunrise. The next morning we were met by one of the fiercest and most dangerous looking human beings imaginable. Monty was afraid that this man was an imposter who would kidnap us once we left the hotel. No one was awake in the hotel to confirm that he was indeed our guide for the morning. I kept my thoughts to myself, because I was not sure Monty was wrong.

Our fears were not allayed when our driver stopped the car in the loneliest place on the planet, so it seemed. It was a perfect scene for a mugging. He directed us to get out of the car, which we did with apprehensively. Then he pointed up to the sky. What we saw was as beautiful as any sight I can remember. There was the milky way in its full splendor and virtually every star in the heaven. He then broke into a big smile extremely proud of what he was showing us.

He next took us to an area where dunes dotted the landscape. We then embarked on a camel ride in the dark running through the dunes in the darkness. At the conclusion of the ride we were deposited on one of the dunes to wait for the sunrise. The whole event was so thrilling that the sunrise itself was almost an afterthought.

I have ridden on several camels and have not particularly enjoyed it, but the Erfoud ride was something special.

From Erfoud we drove to Fés, supposedly the sight of the beginning of Moroccan history. Its Medina is supposed to be the nearest the modern visitor can get to a medieval town. It is the sight of the palace of the modern day king and one of the great mosques.

I have noted three principal reasons why people who like to travel tend skip Morocco. First, most of us are apprehensive about going to countries where we do not like their politics. I have long since learned that most people are not the same as their politicians, and that concern is often overrated. Moreover, Morocco is much more closely tied to the West than many of its Middle Eastern neighbors. I believe that there is more danger attached to traveling in New York or the District of Columbia than in Morocco.

The second obstacle is that people fear that their accommodations will be inferior in what they believe to be underdeveloped countries. My experience is that the facilities in many places such as Morocco are superior to what we find in this country.

Last, but not least. Many people, often choose to take a cruise and drop off for a day trip Unfortunately, the real Morocco is not found on the Mediterranean beach. You must explore, and the rewards will be great.

The Failing Health Care Reform Bill IV - The Belligerent Left

The far left seemed to insist on strict conformity with their own agenda and regularly threatened to bolt if anything less was adopted. They ignored the fundamental fact that they can only pass what the sixtieth senator will support.

For instance Senator Baucus warned them early in the fall that the public option was dead. Yet the far left threatened to revolt, if it did not stay in. Keeping that issue alive prevented the Senate leadership from reaching the magic number of 60 before the Massachusetts election..

Obama also reneged on his promise that he would seek a bipartisan solution largely because the far left forced him into a more strident posture.. Both sides accuse the other of abandoning bipartisanship. I come down squarely on the side of the Republicans on this issue. Not because they were enthusiastic participants in a bipartisan strategy, but because the Democrats gave them no other viable alternative.

The Democrats have been in charge and must take the initiative. It appears to me that the Democratic idea of bipartisanship is to adopt their own plan and ask the Republican to rubber stamp it..

I do not believe that the Democrats ever really wanted to reach an accommodation with the Republican leadership. Instead they were simply trying to pick off a handful of backbenchers so that they would have a comfortable margin to pass the Democratic plan. That is not a bipartisan strategy in my book. Those tactics made the job of the Minority Whip to keep the Republicans in line very easy.

If the bill does not pass it will be the left who killed it.

The Failing Health Care Reform Bill III - Transparency

Obama vowed to bring transparency to government. Ironically, he is now identified with a massive, secretive and sometimes confusing campaign to pass health care reform.

We hear about backroom deals with blue dog senators that do not pass the smell test. In most instances the bill was drafted behind closed doors without significant dialogue in public hearings explaining how it works. It was initially presented to Congress and the Senate without any explanation as to how the costs would be covered. The public was simply supposed to trust them.

When details on financing came out, the vast bulk of the costs were to be underwritten by savings which the plan was supposed to generate. The proponents skipped over the details about how these costs would be wrenched out of the system. Obviously they were placing a lot of the burden on new regulations that they were also proposing.

I for one am cynical about cost reduction. History has proved that regulations coming out of the New Deal era were totally ineffective in reducing costs in the long run. Moreover, our government has proved that it has a rapacious appetite for spending saved moneys rather than paying off debt. I have watched the Department of Defense save costs decade after decade, but somehow the actual totals go up. We have already seen the Obama Administration’s propensity to spend. Last year the administration was downplaying the long term cost of TARP loans, because the banks would pay it back. Now that some of the banks are repaying the loans, Obama seems to be looking for ways to put the money into other give away programs.

Moreover, there are a myriad of taxes, including medicare premium increases, being proposed. Virtually every one of these taxes have been met by a maelstrom of criticism.

The sheer size of the bill also prevented thoughtful and thorough discussion of the ramifications of the plan. Most of the public, including me, does not understand all that the it entails.

Democrats charge the tea party types with distortion when they claim that the Federal government is planning to kill grandmother in order to save costs. The claim is easy to make, however, when no one can give an adequate explanation as to why that will not be the case. The cost savings are largely dependent on removing “unnecessary” expenses incurred in the final months of life. Admittedly a large portion of the costs are related to the final illness. Moreover, the present tends to enable incurring excessive expense for heroic but futile efforts to extend life. Who is going to make the decision as to which costs are unnecessary? Some bureaucrat?

The sprouting Tea Party movement has probably benefitted most from the non-transparency. They smell a conspiracy and have found that many others do, too. It is only human nature to believe that anyone who is hiding something does not want us to know the truth. I do not believe that the Democrats ever took them seriously enough until after they showed their muscle in Massachusetts. And then it was too late.

The Failing Health Care Reform Bill II- Overreaching Legislation.

The Democrats should have learned from Clinton’s experience that it is extremely difficult to adopt an comprehensive plan covering various subjects, all at the same time. One constituency may be concerned about by an isolated portion of the plan, but their best strategy is to oppose the entire package. Another segment may have entirely different concerns but they join in opposition in order to prevent their own interests from being adversely affected. Thus two groups with different interests combine to constitute a more formidable opposition.

That phenomenon is apparent in the case of health reform. Obama expressed shock that the insurance companies invested so much in their lobbying activities. Why not? Proposals such as the public option and single payer government insurance threatened their existence. I already mentioned the unions who suddenly became disaffected with the new taxes being assessed on the health plans they have proudly negotiated over the years.. The Medicare generation, which was betrayed by the NAARP, does not believe that their benefits will be secure. Even those who are approaching 65 have been hearing that they will not receive all the benefits now included in Medicare. Even the issue of the deficits is tied to self interest. Three quarters of the population are happy with the insurance they now have. Most likely they see the plan as a trillion dollar boondoggle for the benefit of some one other than themselves.

Clinton made the same mistake as Obama in attempting to take too big a bite at the apple, but he quickly retreated. If the Clintons had successfully sponsored a less ambitious plan, Obama could have built on what had been done and the Democrats might have had a significant trophy in their cabinet.

Sometimes overlooked is the fact that the most significant health care reform actually enacted was proposed by George W. Bush, who procured prescription drug benefits for the elderly. It certainly was not comprehensive, but it survived the scrutiny of a contentious congress.

Instead all the Democrats have done is generate a lot of hot air and, so far, have nothing to show for their work.

The Failing Health Care Reform Bill I - Who is to blame?

Obama and his party have a debacle on their hands.. They have fiddled with health care reform for an entire year, while more important issues remained unresolved. The Democrats have managed their razor thin majority in the Senate with the sophistication and finesse of a mafia hit man. Now that they have been caught making all the wrong choices, it is time to look for scapegoats.

The media has tended to look for parallels with the first years of the Reagan and Clinton. Both presidents escaped largely unharmed from their early failures. I believe that the Jimmy Carter years may be more apt. Carter had a strong mandate with a convincing victory over Gerald Ford and control of both houses. It appeared that the way was clear for the Democratic juggernaut to restore the New Deal. In fact they squabbled so much that very little was accomplished. The economy went south, and Carter ended up with a one term presidency.

The stunning defeat in Massachusetts now leaves the Democrats in limbo with a few choices that are all distasteful to them.

Abandoning the health care effort will make them look like the gang that cannot shoot straight.

Starting over again, as the Republicans smugly suggest, would take at least another six months. Neither the Congress, which is facing an uncomfortable election, nor the country will tolerate more of the endless bickering and stalemate.

The only viable choice would be for the House of Representative to adopt what the Senate already passed without changes. In that case, they would avoid the necessity of coming back to the Senate where the Republicans are armed with their forty first vote. The problem is that the Senate bill includes terms that the left wing Democrats deem to be abominable, such as restrictions on funding abortions and taxing the so-called Cadillac plans which are largely established through union collective bargaining agreements.

How did they get into the mess? I have three major suggestions, which will be discussed separately over the next three days. I hope you will join me.