Us and Them

-
Here is my latest complaint about politics in this country. If you voted for Barack Obama because you thought he was going to change Washington D.C., then you deserve every bit of disappointment you're feeling today.
  • The American Presidency is one of the WEAKEST heads of state on the planet
  • The powers-that-be in D.C. are extremely happy with the status quo - the special interests (teachers, lawyers, doctors, big pharma, big oil, farmers...) and the career politicians will continue to do all they can to resist change
Between these two reasons and a hundred or so others I could list, it's no surprise at all that Obama hasn't changed Washington. To all you independents and Democrats who are crying foul, get over it.

Now let's examine the Republican + Tea Party message. "How's that hope and change working out for you?" implies that nothing has changed. "We need to take back our government" and "Obama has implemented his socialist agenda and we need to undo it." both make it sound like Obama was the most successful President ever; that he's conducted a complete re-write of American government in just two years.

So which is it? Both of these things can't be true. The Democrats and cynics are mad at him for not delivering the change he promised. The Republicans and Militia men are trying to tell us that our nation is falling apart because he's changed so much of it.

This is like the people who say they want smaller government and then complain that the Federal government is not giving their state enough money. It's like the people who swear they support a free market but somehow farm subsidies and trade tariffs are acceptable. The Christian Right thinks that the evolutionists are winning and thus poisoning the minds of our youth with this crazy science stuff. The Evolutionists are screaming that the Christian Right is winning and thus poisoning the minds of our youth with this crazy Creationism stuff.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

hot dog buns

-
The secret to the bread pudding at Keeneland is hot dog buns. My friend Matt tells me this and his sources are absolutely reliable - he heard it from the chef himself. I was fortunate enough to have some of this excellent bread pudding this week, as Ella and I attended day 1 of the Keeneland fall yearling sale. The top sale of the day brought a mere $5.2 million, as compared with $11.7 million for the top horse the following day. There are so many great things about the Keeneland Association, just one of which is that 99% of their activities are free (or at least inexpensive) and open to the general public. Try popping in for an auction at Sotheby's, or Derby day at Churchill downs - it's just not going to happen. The Keeneland fall yearling sale is one of the premier thoroughbred events in the world, and it's free and open to the public. Heck, all you need is a letter of credit on file, and you too can plunk down $11 million plus for a 1-year-old never-raced-before p...
Read more

Some thoughts on impeachment

-
We've had a few days of the impeachment circus so far, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. For sure, impeachment is always a political process, so it's divisive and disrupts the national dialog whether we like it or not. So I'm writing this piece mostly to try and wrap my head around what I've learned from the witnesses so far. For background, I'm looking at the current proceedings in the broader historical context of impeachment. We've only done impeached 2 presidents in the last 250 years, so it's kind of a big deal. Nixon left office before Congress actually had a chance to impeach him, though they almost certainly would have. So what is the "standard" for impeachment as it has been applied in these other cases: Andrew Johnson defied Congress. The "radical Republicans," as they were called at that time, wanted to punish the southern states and the Confederacy. Johnson disagreed, as he basically thought that approa...
Read more

88 Keys

-
My loving wife bought me a piano for my 30th birthday. Our local piano store was having a good sale, so I got this present early - it was delivered last week. I understand that other family members have also contributed to this gift, making it that much more special. I've wanted my own piano ever since I left home, where I had one available to me at all times. That was just over 10 years ago. Playing piano is something I've always enjoyed, so to have it back in my life after so long is really a shock to the system. I walk by my new piano every day now, and it still hasn't quite settled in that it's mine, and it's here to stay. I have no idea how to say thank you for a gift like this. I did make my way to the music store last week as well, and picked up 3 books: 1) 19 popular works by Chopin 2) Norah Jones' "Come Away with Me" words and music 3) A book on jazz theory, specifically chord structures Let's just say that cracking open some she...
Read more