The issues...

So here is an initial list of the issues that I think are important/critical and in dire need of attention.  Part of my goal in blogging is to come up with a more focused list of priorities and some way of forging my thoughts about them into some kind of coherent vision.  I eagerly welcome comments/feedback on the list and my thinking about it as it evolves.  I started this list as part of an email exchange with a friend, who added to it.

The Issues That Concern or Scare Me Most

• Exploding federal debt
• Systemic poverty in the US
• The growing gap between the rich and everyone else; this includes the stagnation and decline of the middle class
• Dependence on fossil fuels, especially foreign oil
• Nuclear proliferation and loose nukes
• Our inefficient and costly healthcare system (we'll see how well the recent healthcare reform fixes this.  It is at least a first step...)
• Human/sex trafficking
• Campaign finance reform
• The future of the media (Fox News, decline of newspapers, etc.)
• Climate change
• Decline of infrastructure
• Water quality in US
• Water shortages worldwide
• Lack of public faith in government/politics
• Outsourcing of military and intelligence work to contractors (Blackwater, etc.)