More Polls, and Charlie Wilson’s War
2 Comments Published by Dr. Beyster January 15th, 2008 in The Book.I’m happy so many of you are responding to the poll. As we promised, we will endeavor to update you each week. On the issue of social networking, Linked-In is still at the top with 37% of the vote. Based on your opinions and feedback, I decided to sign up. If you’d like to become part of my Linked-In network, you can contact me through their web site.
I’m happy to report that your votes on our poll correctly predicted the outcome of the New Hampshire primary, where Hillary Clinton and John McCain took the lead. As of today, Hillary Clinton leads Barack Obama with 54% over Obama’s 37%. On the Republican side, John McCain has surged ahead with 44% of your votes. Giuliani and Romney are still tied for second, but have slipped to 19% each. 71% of you think there’s more bad news ahead regarding the subprime mortgage mess, and 61% of you believe there is a recession in our near future — an increase of three points over last week. Finally, 81% percent of you feel that there will not be a favorable settlement of the Iraq War in 2008 — an increase of three points.
I would like to comment on Charlie Wilson’s War, a movie I saw recently. It depicts how Charlie Wilson, a congressman from Texas, was able — with the help of a few other people — to convince Congress to appropriate the resources for the Afghan Mujahideen to fight the occupying Soviet military forces. It probably shows reasonably realistically how you get things done in Congress, and how the horse trading is accomplished. It’s not a sport for the faint of heart. Betty and I found the movie enjoyable, and I recommend it to you.
If you’re interested in buying copies of The SAIC Solution, we have extended the holiday special pricing through the end of January.
In keeping with my interest in knowing your opinions on geopolitical matters, I’m curious what you think about Russia and taxes. So here’s my latest poll — feel free to record your own response if it’s not on this list:
What is Russia up to nowadays?
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Tax increases?
There are signs that there are going to have to be tax increases to pay for all the shortfalls in state and local budgeting, at least here in California. I’m not sure what the situation is nationwide at the state and local level. Nationally, I think that income tax changes will depend on whether the Republicans or Democrats win. So my question to you is:
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Dr. Beyster,
The situation in Russia is complex – tracking political developments and the impact on military decisions is not like it was in the Soviet period. I am intrigued by the results of the poll. Russia’s influence on former Soviet states varies substantially – but many of these states are inclined to gravitate toward Russia without pressures from Russia.
It’s also telling that 50% say state and local pressures to raise taxes exist, while 50% say no. This is probably a very accurate reflection of the nation at large. I only know that the costs of infrastructure replacement and modernization are larger than anyone wants to accept, and some of the states with the biggest need do not have personal income taxes (Nevade, WA state, etc).
It is quite a new year.
All the best,
Gael
Gael: In case I haven’t done it, I would like to congratulate you on your election to the Seattle Port Commission. I have a question for you now that you’re in a position of responsibility: What you are you doing about port security, and how important is this issue for Seattle and other American port cities? You’re more knowledgeable than I am about Russia — I am just suspicious that they are up to no good.
– Bob