Good morning again folks. Today I wanted draw your attention to a little quiz that I recently took online. It is only 10 multiple choice questions. The Nolan Quiz So give it a go if you like and please return and share your results with me.
In the spirit of facts and truths I took the quiz and I ended up pretty much where I thought I would. I am a centrist and I lean to the liberal according to the chart. I am close to that line but I didn't cross over. I am not saying that my result was the correct result by any means. I would just like to see where a few of my readers fall. But, this is not a perfect quiz by any means. It is very and I say very heavily weighted toward the Libertarian side of things. The choices for answers are not very nuanced at all but it is interesting and seemed pretty accurate at least in my result anyway. So please check it out and stop back by and let me know how you did.
Showing posts with label Democracy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Democracy. Show all posts
Friday, March 12, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
2-15-2010 (Presidents Day)
Good morning everyone. I feel like I have emerged from the gloom that was possessing me last night. I hope my posting wasn't to depressing for you. I also would like to apologize for the video I posted. When I get gloomy I often find that music works for me to get my feelings out but choosing 'Mad World' as much as I like the song was just plain melodramatic. That being said I hope at least some of you got to hear a song you had never heard before.
Today is two things both Presidents Day and the day that we observe Washington's Birthday. According to Patriotism.org
"This holiday is often called President’s day as well, though the official name is Washington’s Birthday. This federal holiday is celebrated each year on the third Monday of February, though it was originally celebrated on Washington’s actual birthday of February 22nd.
It’s the first federal holiday to recognize an American citizen and was enacted in 1880 as a holiday for the District of Columbia only. In 1885 it was named a federal holiday for all federal offices in the U.S. It wasn’t until 1976 that Washington’s Birthday was moved to the third Monday of February in an attempt to establish it more along the lines of President’s Day to also honor Abraham Lincoln who was born on February 12th. Though the change in day passed the change in name did not.
Currently 12 states have renamed Washington’s Birthday, President’s Day or a similar variation to honor all of the U.S. presidents. In Massachusetts the holiday focuses on honoring presidents from that state and a few other states have passed similar holidays as well."
I am glad that we honor the men who have run are country over the years. I think that even if you do not like all of the decisions that a particular President has made we should all be able to agree that it is a hard job and, I think, a thankless one. I myself would not want to be President at all. When I think about the abuse that the President takes it is pretty upsetting to me at times. And by this I mean all Presidents not just the current one. The President is second guessed at every turn. There always seems to be someone who thinks they know better then the President and in this day and age of the Internet these people have more opportunity then ever before to express that opinion. I am often more guilty of it then most as I step up on my blogging stump and throw my opinion out on the tube of the Internets.
I do not think this should change. One of the great joys of living in a relatively Democratic society is that I am free to put my opinion out there. I am free to write or say pretty much any crazy thing I want to without fear of reprisal. That is a great thing. Yes I am aware that we are living in a Representative Republic and not a true Athenian Democracy. But, honestly, in some ways I actually prefer this model. I say that even though I disagree with what my elected Representatives often do. I think the sheer size of the United States would make true Democracy a really messy, messy experience.
Though that does make me wonder that if what kept purely at a individual state level what it would be like. I know it would be messy and everything but I wonder if it would be a manageable mess. Then each state would just send one representative to Congress and they would kind of stream line issues. Hmmmmm, I realize this is an idea that would need lots and lots of work and I am sure there are all kinds of problems with it. But, it intrigues me. I may have to do some thinking about this one and get back to it later.
All of that being said and all of my rambling aside. Please take a moment today and be thankful for our past Presidents and present as well as future Presidents and at least acknowledge the hard job they have done. It is a job that frankly I would not want to do and I think most of you wouldn't want to either.
Today is two things both Presidents Day and the day that we observe Washington's Birthday. According to Patriotism.org
"This holiday is often called President’s day as well, though the official name is Washington’s Birthday. This federal holiday is celebrated each year on the third Monday of February, though it was originally celebrated on Washington’s actual birthday of February 22nd.
It’s the first federal holiday to recognize an American citizen and was enacted in 1880 as a holiday for the District of Columbia only. In 1885 it was named a federal holiday for all federal offices in the U.S. It wasn’t until 1976 that Washington’s Birthday was moved to the third Monday of February in an attempt to establish it more along the lines of President’s Day to also honor Abraham Lincoln who was born on February 12th. Though the change in day passed the change in name did not.
Currently 12 states have renamed Washington’s Birthday, President’s Day or a similar variation to honor all of the U.S. presidents. In Massachusetts the holiday focuses on honoring presidents from that state and a few other states have passed similar holidays as well."
I am glad that we honor the men who have run are country over the years. I think that even if you do not like all of the decisions that a particular President has made we should all be able to agree that it is a hard job and, I think, a thankless one. I myself would not want to be President at all. When I think about the abuse that the President takes it is pretty upsetting to me at times. And by this I mean all Presidents not just the current one. The President is second guessed at every turn. There always seems to be someone who thinks they know better then the President and in this day and age of the Internet these people have more opportunity then ever before to express that opinion. I am often more guilty of it then most as I step up on my blogging stump and throw my opinion out on the tube of the Internets.
I do not think this should change. One of the great joys of living in a relatively Democratic society is that I am free to put my opinion out there. I am free to write or say pretty much any crazy thing I want to without fear of reprisal. That is a great thing. Yes I am aware that we are living in a Representative Republic and not a true Athenian Democracy. But, honestly, in some ways I actually prefer this model. I say that even though I disagree with what my elected Representatives often do. I think the sheer size of the United States would make true Democracy a really messy, messy experience.
Though that does make me wonder that if what kept purely at a individual state level what it would be like. I know it would be messy and everything but I wonder if it would be a manageable mess. Then each state would just send one representative to Congress and they would kind of stream line issues. Hmmmmm, I realize this is an idea that would need lots and lots of work and I am sure there are all kinds of problems with it. But, it intrigues me. I may have to do some thinking about this one and get back to it later.
All of that being said and all of my rambling aside. Please take a moment today and be thankful for our past Presidents and present as well as future Presidents and at least acknowledge the hard job they have done. It is a job that frankly I would not want to do and I think most of you wouldn't want to either.
Monday, February 01, 2010
2-1-10 (Monday)
Well here we are Monday morning Feb 1st. I hope you all had a good weekend. While mine was by and large uneventful I would say that the most eventful thing I did was to finally stop working at the church. Now, those of you who read this blog and know me in meat space are all well aware of how long I have worked at the church on and off over the last I would say nearly 20 years. I was not a pastor or any kind of officiate there. I used to call myself a church sexton But I was really just a custodian. I grew up going to that church. My parents had been missionaries in Indonesia coming out of there and I went with them. In fact I lived in Indonesia for basically the first three years of my life and when we returned to the states I spoke better Indonesian then I did English.
I grew up going to the church and being involved and once I got out of high school and after spending some time working in a few different movie theaters I ended up working at the church. I enjoyed it there but it also was a place that allowed me to be lazy and to not move forward or to pursue things that I might have had I not had that safety net to fall back into. It isn't the church's fault it was my own doing. Basically a mix of fear and a desire to be comfortable kind of locked me into place. Well! I have already written more about this then I intended to. I guess it was more of a big deal then I thought it was or wanted to admit. I guess that is what happens when I write without the filters in place. I hope people didn't mind a little bit of the old autobiographical this morning.
On to the politics....................I read an interesting quote by Gore Vidal this morning,
"“It makes no difference who you vote for — the two parties are really one party representing four percent of the people.”
I am not sure when he said it but it really rings true for me today the Monday after President Obamas state of the union address. Because we have a two-party system, the only choice people have if they don’t like what’s happening is to vote for the other guy, even if the other guy is largely responsible for what’s happening, and the guy that’s in there now is in there because of the other guy’s mistakes.
People are angry at deficits, largely run up by the irresponsibility of the Bush administration, and topped off by Obama. They’re angry that the bankers who got us in this mess are making millions . Thanks mainly to deregulation promoted primarily by Republicans (but signed off on by Clinton). They’re angry about jobs, but there would be a lot more of them if the stimulus package had been larger, which would have increased the deficit, which they are angry about. They are angry that Washington seems totally controlled by special interests, so they’re going to vote for the party that loves special interests at least as much as the party in power now. They’re angry at the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which were started by the party they just voted out a year ago. They are angry that President Obama has accomplished so little of his agenda, so they’re going to vote for the party that has unanimously opposed every single aspect of it.
I have said it before and I will say it again. The two party system is a failure in America. There is no real difference. The agenda they both seem to have is to look for themselves and not for the good of the American people. The Democrats in Congress have proven that with their actions over the last few years. It was interesting to see the populace rise up in anger and shake their collective fist at the Republicans a few years ago and pretty much sweep them out of Congress. Oh the Democrats cheered. "It is a mandate from the people." they said. What is was was a mandate for these guys stink and we have no other option. Sure the Democrats said they would be different...they haven't been. So few years have passed and nothing has changed and surprise, surprise, surprise people are angry. Throw those bums out they are yelling. We will replace them with the same kind of bums we threw out before and then we will act surprised when they screw us.
WAKE UP PEOPLE!! The system is broken and the Tea Party pipe dream is not going to fix it. Keith Olberman and his Olbermaniacs are not going to fix it. Glenn Beck is not going to fix it. There needs to be! There must be viable third party candidates that are willing to listen to the needs of the populace and not the needs of the business as usual crowd. I hope one day true change will come in America but I am not holding my breath.
I grew up going to the church and being involved and once I got out of high school and after spending some time working in a few different movie theaters I ended up working at the church. I enjoyed it there but it also was a place that allowed me to be lazy and to not move forward or to pursue things that I might have had I not had that safety net to fall back into. It isn't the church's fault it was my own doing. Basically a mix of fear and a desire to be comfortable kind of locked me into place. Well! I have already written more about this then I intended to. I guess it was more of a big deal then I thought it was or wanted to admit. I guess that is what happens when I write without the filters in place. I hope people didn't mind a little bit of the old autobiographical this morning.
On to the politics....................I read an interesting quote by Gore Vidal this morning,
"“It makes no difference who you vote for — the two parties are really one party representing four percent of the people.”
I am not sure when he said it but it really rings true for me today the Monday after President Obamas state of the union address. Because we have a two-party system, the only choice people have if they don’t like what’s happening is to vote for the other guy, even if the other guy is largely responsible for what’s happening, and the guy that’s in there now is in there because of the other guy’s mistakes.
People are angry at deficits, largely run up by the irresponsibility of the Bush administration, and topped off by Obama. They’re angry that the bankers who got us in this mess are making millions . Thanks mainly to deregulation promoted primarily by Republicans (but signed off on by Clinton). They’re angry about jobs, but there would be a lot more of them if the stimulus package had been larger, which would have increased the deficit, which they are angry about. They are angry that Washington seems totally controlled by special interests, so they’re going to vote for the party that loves special interests at least as much as the party in power now. They’re angry at the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which were started by the party they just voted out a year ago. They are angry that President Obama has accomplished so little of his agenda, so they’re going to vote for the party that has unanimously opposed every single aspect of it.
I have said it before and I will say it again. The two party system is a failure in America. There is no real difference. The agenda they both seem to have is to look for themselves and not for the good of the American people. The Democrats in Congress have proven that with their actions over the last few years. It was interesting to see the populace rise up in anger and shake their collective fist at the Republicans a few years ago and pretty much sweep them out of Congress. Oh the Democrats cheered. "It is a mandate from the people." they said. What is was was a mandate for these guys stink and we have no other option. Sure the Democrats said they would be different...they haven't been. So few years have passed and nothing has changed and surprise, surprise, surprise people are angry. Throw those bums out they are yelling. We will replace them with the same kind of bums we threw out before and then we will act surprised when they screw us.
WAKE UP PEOPLE!! The system is broken and the Tea Party pipe dream is not going to fix it. Keith Olberman and his Olbermaniacs are not going to fix it. Glenn Beck is not going to fix it. There needs to be! There must be viable third party candidates that are willing to listen to the needs of the populace and not the needs of the business as usual crowd. I hope one day true change will come in America but I am not holding my breath.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
And Now Back To Our ..............
Good morning everyone. I hope you enjoyed the brief interlude into the adventures of L. Andrew C, gentlemen philosopher and adventurer. I hope to be able to continue his adventures at a later date. So any feedback as to interest or enjoyment or even if you felt it was a waste of time please feel free to comment.
I hope that the absurdity of the writing was a nice break for people from all the stress in the news with the health care debate and Iran playing around with nukes and General Macrystal (sp?) calling for more troops in Afghanistan. I really am truly glad to be back on the train and able to blog again. While last week was a good one and beneficial in terms of getting work done and for the future of VOTE Oregon (Protecting the Electorate since 2009), as well as a shorter commute. I really missed the time I have on the train to sit and write and share my thoughts with my readers.
I know some of you read this everyday and I am thankful for that. Those of you who read me every few days I am thankful for that as well. I just had some thoughts about last week. I would say that I was in the minority in the room. Not in terms of race or religion but in terms of politics. You see this was a predominately conservative group of people. The room demographics seemed to break down like this. The majority of volunteers being both Seniors and Republicans. Then there was one or two, at most, senior Democrats followed by some middle-aged Republicans and then some younger college age Republicans. Now where does that leave me? Well I am an registered Oregon Independent Party member. So I found most of the discussions pretty interesting.
But I want to step away from the political positions of the people and just take a look at the people in the room. What we had was a very diverse group of people who took the time to volunteer in this effort. There were ex-military men, School teachers, farmers, housewives, small business folks as well as college students. What tied all of these people together was their belief in the Oregon System. In Oregon the referendum system is often the only way that the minority can be heard in Government. Some would argue that the system is to messy and results in laws that are not needed and often wasteful.
I would counter that the nature of Democracy is such that it is messy and sometimes wasteful but to me that is the beauty of it as well. We live in a country and state that lives and sometimes thrives under a system that allows for consistent periodic change. I like that. I like that eight years ago for many liberals America was being destroyed before their very eyes. Then the two terms of President Bush ended and now President Obama is in charge and for many conservatives America is being destroyed before their eyes.
Now I am not saying that there are not problems in today's government. Because we all know that there are. But what I am saying is that, for me at least, there is always hope. Because change is always coming around the bend. I look at the makeup of Congress today and remember that several years ago it looked entirely different and after a certain amount of time people grew fed up with it. The grew tired of the actions of Congress and they voted them out. Sure, the pundits on TV said it was a new mandate. I think it was a mandate but it was a mandate for new people and hopefully new behavior in office. Now today's Congress seems to have missed the message and people seem to be getting fed up again. I think soon there will be another change coming. I hope this change wakes some politicians up and makes them realize that this isn't about party politics but about ethical behavior and a responsibility to make America a better nation.
Because for the citizens of this land the only real option for us is to continue to vote out the politicians we do not agree with and vote in those we hope will do a better job. So just remember people when it seems darkest, when it seems like the future of our country is at stake, when it feels like you have no voice. there is change coming. There is change built into the system and by believing in the change and allowing for it to work we can make America a better place. So just hang in there folks.
I hope that the absurdity of the writing was a nice break for people from all the stress in the news with the health care debate and Iran playing around with nukes and General Macrystal (sp?) calling for more troops in Afghanistan. I really am truly glad to be back on the train and able to blog again. While last week was a good one and beneficial in terms of getting work done and for the future of VOTE Oregon (Protecting the Electorate since 2009), as well as a shorter commute. I really missed the time I have on the train to sit and write and share my thoughts with my readers.
I know some of you read this everyday and I am thankful for that. Those of you who read me every few days I am thankful for that as well. I just had some thoughts about last week. I would say that I was in the minority in the room. Not in terms of race or religion but in terms of politics. You see this was a predominately conservative group of people. The room demographics seemed to break down like this. The majority of volunteers being both Seniors and Republicans. Then there was one or two, at most, senior Democrats followed by some middle-aged Republicans and then some younger college age Republicans. Now where does that leave me? Well I am an registered Oregon Independent Party member. So I found most of the discussions pretty interesting.
But I want to step away from the political positions of the people and just take a look at the people in the room. What we had was a very diverse group of people who took the time to volunteer in this effort. There were ex-military men, School teachers, farmers, housewives, small business folks as well as college students. What tied all of these people together was their belief in the Oregon System. In Oregon the referendum system is often the only way that the minority can be heard in Government. Some would argue that the system is to messy and results in laws that are not needed and often wasteful.
I would counter that the nature of Democracy is such that it is messy and sometimes wasteful but to me that is the beauty of it as well. We live in a country and state that lives and sometimes thrives under a system that allows for consistent periodic change. I like that. I like that eight years ago for many liberals America was being destroyed before their very eyes. Then the two terms of President Bush ended and now President Obama is in charge and for many conservatives America is being destroyed before their eyes.
Now I am not saying that there are not problems in today's government. Because we all know that there are. But what I am saying is that, for me at least, there is always hope. Because change is always coming around the bend. I look at the makeup of Congress today and remember that several years ago it looked entirely different and after a certain amount of time people grew fed up with it. The grew tired of the actions of Congress and they voted them out. Sure, the pundits on TV said it was a new mandate. I think it was a mandate but it was a mandate for new people and hopefully new behavior in office. Now today's Congress seems to have missed the message and people seem to be getting fed up again. I think soon there will be another change coming. I hope this change wakes some politicians up and makes them realize that this isn't about party politics but about ethical behavior and a responsibility to make America a better nation.
Because for the citizens of this land the only real option for us is to continue to vote out the politicians we do not agree with and vote in those we hope will do a better job. So just remember people when it seems darkest, when it seems like the future of our country is at stake, when it feels like you have no voice. there is change coming. There is change built into the system and by believing in the change and allowing for it to work we can make America a better place. So just hang in there folks.
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