Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Feeling Happy.

Do you ever think of someone and it just makes you feel happy? I know you do.

This morning, I was thinking about my mom. Her name is Leona & she lives a long way away from me. This is how I feel when she's in my thoughts.

What else is there to say? Some things are better without words...

Love ya mom. Thanks for being the sunshine of my life. :)

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Where's The Beef, Pt. 2

This is a response to my "Where's The Beef" blog that I received second hand the other day via e-mail. Its from a nice conservative lady who happens to be a friend of a friend. I felt it was worth posting to further illustrate the key arguments of my earlier post.


message begins...


Hi **** – First, isn’t this the guy who knows Dino Rossi? Maybe not, his name just rang a bell.

I read his blog. Although I generally found him to be refreshing, he does seem to be naive with respect to how politics actually work. In the second paragraph he indicated that although he votes for conservative candidates, he “counts on liberals to protect his liberties when given the power to do so”. Not! One of the many things liberals do that piss me off is that they use the judicial branch of government to impose social issues and moral values. They are supposed to interpret existing law – not write new law from the bench. A recent case in point is the New Hope, Connecticut case involving imminent domain. The local government (liberal) took the private property of an individual stating that the new owners would generate more tax revenue. Where did the court find that in existing law – they didn’t – they created it. That falls under his statement about government staying out of our pockets, etc. Liberal activism is a very real threat to us constitutionalists and is the last bastion for the loony left.

Another issue with which I disagree is his criticism of the two party system. He is being idealistic, but realistically, it takes the “machinery” of a large, established party to even get in the race. It would be wonderful if we could vote for Joe down the street because he’s really a cool dude, but besides you and Joe, nobody else will even know his name. Unfortunately, that’s just the way it works (not to mention the ton of money needed, which is one of the big advantages of having the “party” behind you). We have a very competent guy here in Oregon who has run for Governor, but recently changed to the Republican party – I assume because a Libertarian has no chance. I spoke to Kevin Mannix (our Republican Governor candidate) and he confirmed my assumption. You just can’t win a major race outside the two big parties.

Jason has a flair for writing – very colorful and it shows depth of thought.

You are more than welcomed to pass my email on to Jason and I would like to hear his response.

What follows is my response...

Although I agree with just about everything stated above in regards to political theory and practice, I must point out that yes, I realize that I am proselytizing from an ideal. However, idealism and naivety are not one and the same in my book. In fact I would have to say that idealism, or a hope for and belief in something better, is absolutely necessary in a free society. To dismiss desire for change as little more than pipe dreams of the naive and ignorant, simply because "that's just the way things are done around here" or because Goliath is just too darn big to challenge, is to stagnate and eventually lose ones liberty to subtle but steady erosion. You only lose when you stop trying.

The revolutionaries who fought for and founded this great country, by the above standard, would be considered the mental equivalent of a rock. How could they hope to win independence from the English hegemony when the vast majority of American settlers were still adamantly loyal to the crown? A fools errand at best, but fighting for an ideal that was vital to them led to the foundation of the worlds greatest nation, against all odds. Its very easy to simply deal with what is handed to you and convince yourself that this is as good as it gets. Its very difficult to continue hoping against hope that things can still change for the better, especially in light of the last several decades of American political overreach. To strive for an ideal against all odds, with conviction that you are on the side of good, is how a small group of people can eventually effect change in a world populated by the sedentary masses and the "leaders" who would exploit them.


Additionally, let me make it clear that I DO understand that the Libs in our country (as well as the Cons) are not living up to their "Image" and that that in itself is the problem. I desperately want to believe that the Libs really do want to fight to maintain civil liberties for all; I want them to do what they say they will do and fight for the issues that they claim to believe in. But they don't. They just want to get re-elected, at any cost, yes, even by destroying the checks and balances of our political structure. I speak of their perversion of the Judicial branch just as the above commenter has stated. Libs, are you truly the party of Social liberties? Do you remember fighting through the 50's & 60's for the rights of all to live as they choose? Cons, are you really the party of noble tradition & Economic liberty? Do you still fight the new deal plague and the resulting federal overreach? Are the needs of the American worker still foremost in your collective minds? I don't think so. I think power for powers sake is the rule of the day. Actions speak louder than words and pointing fingers and yelling louder does not convince. But at this juncture, one of you will get my vote. What choice do I have? (wink)


One final point. I understand that the political machine works relatively efficiently at its new task. Those who own it must benefit greatly. Just look, they keep getting re-elected. I once owned a lawn mower. Over time, it stopped doing what it was supposed to do, cut grass, and instead just made noise and looked dangerous and powerful. But the grass was barely cut. I had not maintained my mower well. So I had to buy a new one. The last couple of generations have not maintained the American political machine well, and although it still makes lots of noise and seems powerful, it has stopped doing what it was originally intended to do, that is to serve, truly serve, the people. No, it only serves well those who want a loud & powerful machine, just for the machines sake (power for the sake of power?). Sorry if we must disagree on this one, but "That's just the way it works" is not good enough for me. I want a new machine or at least new shiny parts for the old one. Unrealistic? Oh well, just call me an idealist. But at least I'm trying.