Colin Powell must be planning a run for president.
How else to explain the lackluster stand-up comedy routine presented to UB Wednesday night? General Powell, can we talk about those missing WMD's? No. What about the CIA leak scandal embroiling your former cronies? Nope. Would you like to expound on the White House Iraq Group's efforts at marketing the war on Iraq and how your failed UN speech fit into those efforts? Most definitely not!
Powell's paid presentation was noteworthy for what wasn't discussed. An impartial observer watching would conclude his life's work's primary focus was peace and prosperity, not war and conflict. It's not surprising that Powell, the former U.S. secretary of state, shied away from controversy. His speaking engagements are for entertainment value, not political relevance. But by glossing over the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, not mentioning the expanded front in Syria while focusing on Europe and Asia, Powell's speech was thoroughly disappointing.
It seems as though UB's Distinguished Speaker series is fading into irrelevancy. Maybe this has something to do with bringing in politicians who have nothing to say. Does UB pay for the potential of what heavy hitters say, or the iconic value their name represents? Unlike his chief of staff's recent remarks describing a "cabal" comprised of Cheney and Rumsfeld that "hijacked" U.S. foreign policy, Powell's speech never discussed the inner workings of the White House under Bush. UB paid way too much just to be able to say that Colin Powell came to campus.
But, he did come out against torture when questioned and said we must stay the course in Iraq. Thanks, Colin, for being so obvious.
Miserable wages
Senate's failure to raise minimum wage another slap against country's poor
You would think the images of Hurricane Katrina's poorest victims clinging to rooftops begging for help would resonate in the minds of Washington's lawmakers. But they seem to have forgotten the promises made to that segment of our society living in perpetual poverty after the emergency Katrina aid legislation passed.
The Senate's rejection of a bill proposing to raise federal minimum wage requirements by $1.10 makes this most evident. The same Congress that voted itself seven pay raises worth $28,000 since the last minimum wage hike figures the $10,700 one makes a year on minimum wage sufficient to live on. Somehow they forget minimum wage comes up $4,500 short of what our government deems the poverty line.
Republicans objecting to the bill did so on the grounds that mandated wage hikes actually work against the poor because they force small businesses to cut payroll or go out of business. And while small businesses may take some hits, they can collectively cope. People on minimum wage have smaller margins for error, and a too-low minimum wage makes it impossible to climb into prosperity. In fact, nothing has been done by Washington to address the root causes of poverty that devastate families, communities and dying cities like Buffalo.
A pro-business, Republican-dominated legislature isn't expected to look out for the interests of labor. But the legislation's failure is disheartening because even with the situation presented by the hurricanes and the exposure of the plight of the poor, partisan politics still rules the day.
