Oh, Really?

Technorati Tags: Gov Palin,Senator McCain,Republicans

Sometimes it might be beneficial, Dear Gentle Reader(s), to take a moment to look at some of the cliches people bandy in their discussions.

For instance, in defending the choice of Governor Palin for the Vice Presidential nomination, one Stephen F Hayward is referenced in a Los Angeles Times story discussing "Founding Fathers."  The LAT story maintains:

Stephen F. Hayward took up that argument last week in the Weekly Standard, arguing that the Founding Fathers had envisioned "regular citizens" rising to leadership, in part because they possessed a "self-knowledge" and core beliefs that made them natural leaders.

It might be profitable to remember, DGR(s) that the Founders limited voting primarily to white male property owners.  The 1789 writers of the Constitution had a different concept of "regular citizens" than do we.  Sarah Palin would not have qualified.  Perhaps the Republicans ought not to discuss the Founding Fathers' concept of "regular citizens" in today's political realities.

The cliche is often a good tool for making a point in a discussion.  The cliche is often a sign of weakness for making a point in a discussion.  Always it is the responsibility of the person hearing the cliche to make the distinction between good and weak.

Trust, but verify.

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United States Department of No!

Technorati Tags: Cabinet Offices,Government,U.S. Constitution

Kings of old, Dear Gentle Reader(s), had fools; the Vatican has Devil's Advocates; the United States should raise the concept of naysayers to cabinet level.  Presidential policies should be forced to pass the "smell test" before implementation; the Secretary of No should be forced, under threat of incarceration, to present an honest case for "No!" to every other cabinet level or administration bureaucratic proposal; and those honest No! arguments should be made public.

Look at the recent catastrophes which might have been prevented had there been a loud, Constitutionally mandated, naysayer.  Since 1960, we've had the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam involvement and escalation, Savings and Loan debacle, Higgeldy-Piggeldy de-regulation, and the Iraqi invasion.  That covers both political parties, as well as the loss of much blood and treasure.

There's always been some argument, one hopes, before these disastrous policies were implemented, but they were behind closed doors, for the most part, in the various administrations.  The opposition political party doesn't count (obviously).

An immediate benefit to Secretary No! would be the necessity of a very strong "yes" position.  If the proponent is aware of an impending strong opponent, solutions will contain more comprehensive thinking, and that will be to the good.

Imagine if a cabinet-level cadre of researchers had been turned loose on the debate about Mr. Hussein's weapons of mass destruction with the explicit instructions of the Constitution to refute the allegations that those weapons existed in reality in 2002. 

Hmmm.

What has taken so long for us to see the wisdom of saying "No!"?

Trust, but verify.

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Niggling Pessimism

Technorati Tags: 2000 Presidential Debates,Senator McCain,Gov Palin

Do not, Dear Gentle Reader(s), quote me, but memory seems to contain a moment in none of the presidential debates in 2000 in which Al Gore looks at George W Bush and the expression on his face says something akin to:  "What on earth am I doing debating this clown?"

And here we are, in 2008, with John McCain imploding on so many fronts, and Sarah Palin losing conservative support on a daily, if not hourly basis; yet, there's this drip, drip, drip of 2000 which just won't quit. 

Polls indicate a statistical dead heat.

Why is it that the race is still close? 

Has our education system so failed us?

What is happening?

Trust, but verify...and if one verifies, a vote to put McCain-Palin into office in 2009 is just inconceivable, isn't it?

 

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The Education of Richard Shelby

Technorati Tags: Economic Bailout,Senator Shelby,Secretary Paulson,Republicans

Senator Shelby, Dear Gentle Reader(s) was first elected to the Senate as a Democrat in 1986; he switched parties in 1994 when the Republicans took control of congress with the Contract with America--remember that one?

Today, one wonders if Mr. Shelby is having some regrets...or if he's planning another switch, having shown his propensity to read the political winds. 

Shelby has come out against the lack of oversight written into Treasury Secretary Paulson's plan to "save" the economy.

Section 8 of the act, as written at this moment, prohibits oversight by courts or Congress.  That's hard to swallow.  Even for Mr. Shelby.

After nearly 8 years of "trust me" from this Republican administration, they want to have Congress issue a blank check for nearly 1,000,000,000,000 dollars without oversight?

Balderdash.

Even a turncoat Democrat recognizes the absurdity of that one.

Welcome back, Senator.

Trust, but for God's sake, verify!!!!!

 

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Red Buttons and Black Robes

Technorati Tags: Supreme Court,Senator McCain,Senator Obama,Gov Palin,New York Times

As Cathy might say, Dear Gentle Reader(s), "Aaaaagh!"

Today's The New York Times lead on line editorial carries this headline:  "The Candidates and the Court."  It concerns the likely imminent change in the make up of the United States Supreme Court. 

The discussion centers on Senators Obama and McCain, with the bias of the editorial, to this biased eye, in favor of Mr. Obama, because of his stated inclination to "pick moderate justices, who would probably not take the court back onto a distinctly liberal path, but also would be unlikely to create an unbreakable conservative bloc."  Mr. McCain, according to the Times, "has promised the right wing of the Republican Party that he would put only archconservatives on the Supreme Court."

 No contest, eh wot?

The Times doesn't go into the vice presidential candidates.  Perhaps someone should.  It's been pretty much established that no one wants Governor Palin's finger on the red button, but what about her position on Supreme Court nominees?  James Dobson's ilk?

Goodbye Roe v Wade; hello back alley abortions, again.

Looking a little peaked, there, habeas corpus.

Welcome back tommy guns.  We've missed ya.

Sarah Palin one heart-beat from the presidency?

Forget Palin's foreign policy inexperience, how about her verifiable social experiences and decisions?

Um...what, DGR(s), was McCain thinking?

Trust, but, for the sake of the health of the Union, verify.

 

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This is the bridge to nowhere; this is the road to the bridge to nowhere...

Technorati Tags: Gov Palin,Republicans,Earmarks,Pork Barrels,Honesty

Ah, Dear Gentle Reader(s), this is a wonderful day for sniggering and snorting and giggling and guffawing.  The Los Angeles Times carries a front page article on a construction site in Alaska.  One's eyes do roll!

There it is.  It's designed to connect to the canceled ("I told Congress, Thanks, but no thanks.") bridge to nowhere.  Construction began in June, 2007.  The bridge project was canceled in September, 2007.  Work on the road continued. 

The mayor of a nearby town has this to say,

On a clear day recently, Mayor Weinstein flew over Gravina Island, looking down on the nearly completed road. "When Sarah Palin goes on national television and says: 'I told Congress, "Thanks but no thanks," ' it's not true," he said. "The implication is we didn't take the money. But we did."
The mayor said he was considering posting a sign on the road for the rest of the world to see. He said it would read: "Built Under Gov. Sarah Palin, Paid for With Federal Earmarks."

Indeed.

Is the Governor being truthful?  If she fudges on an issue such as this, what else is getting, um, fudged?

Trust, but verify.

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Sexism or slow recognition?

Technorati Tags: Gov Palin,Todd Palin,Sexism,Republicans,Politics,NRA,Pundits

Much, Dear Gentle Reader(s), has been made about sexism regarding the treatment of Governor Palin by the mainstream media as well as by the blogosphere.  If one thinks about it, Republican pundits and whiners might have a point when they assert that no one would think of asking Senator Biden if he  has the time to be Vice President, given his extended family.  Shouldn't his family come first, before his political ambitions?  After all, if we have developed a society free of gender bias, shouldn't the same questions about raising family apply to candidates of either sex? 

Theoretically, yes.

Could it be though that what is happening is that the society has not yet caught up with certain configurations of the nuclear family which are particularly late 20th and early 21st century phenomena?

Governor Palin and her husband, Todd, seem to have built the sort of family where the responsibilities have been well divided according to the aspirations of each of the partners.  She wants to be political; he wants to run snow races.  She wins elections; he wins races.  The children seem to be thriving.  What's the problem?

The problem could well be that the primary bread winner has been the governor, and the general society has not yet caught on to the fact that the female, the child bearer, can well be the primary bread winner and have a successful nuclear family.  If the husband has evolved beyond the stereotype of the male-as-final-arbiter and bread winner, isn't that all to the good of society?  To each his own strengths.  Finding a complementary partner to one's strengths is the great challenge of the 21st century.  The Palins seem to have accomplished this. 

It's a giant step forward in the development of a gender-blind society.  We will all benefit from it.  As soon as we understand the accomplishment of the Palin family, the scales will fall from our eyes, and the family/sexist questions will never again be asked.

Congratulations to the Palins.

Now, if they could only rid themselves of the burdens of an evangelical religious background (it's easy, just ask any recovering Catholic--free advice given here), and the buy-in of the Republican Party's winning strategies of the culture wars in which we've been involved since the Southern Strategy, and the insane blinkered NRA interpretation of the 2nd amendment, we'd have a cracker jack couple whom we could emulate.

Trust, but verify.

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