The national election of 2000 brought it to the forefront of our minds. And, if you are living in the state of Washington, you're even more compelled that our nation's electoral system needs a MASSIVE overhaul. Two recounts in Washington gave the governor's seat to the Republican candidate, the third went to the Democratic candidate. All were by extremely narrow margins, all were highly contested. Now, the state GOP is demanding a new election because of the concern that provisional ballot...
I am not a fan of George W. Bush's policies in most areas. I can't say I dislike the man, I've never met him. Frankly, he seems like he'd be a halfway decent partner for quail shooting or cards, or some such activity. But I WILL defer to what I have been taught since I was old enough to have an opinion on such things, and that is that a certain respect for the office is my DUTY as a citizen of this country. While the 2000 election may have been questionable, it doesn't change the fact t...
To those who don't wish to read on about the continuing controversy, I'll give a fair warning that this is a further answer. But I feel that some rather disparaging and inappropriate comments have been made regarding my character, and will respond as I feel appropriate. In the original article entitled "Get Foreign Nations off of Welfare", I made a snide comment that India and other countries had won the lottery. I do not apologize for the comment, and although I probably could have phrased i...
India and many other countries just hit the lottery. In addition to being able to conveniently rid themselves of many of their homeless, they are getting a bonus check from the US government this year for the tsunami disaster. OK, folks, it seems to have trouble sinking in: GOVERNMENT MONEY means YOUR TAX DOLLARS AND MINE get to be spent taking care of India's problems, as usual. But added to that is the UN's criticism that the aid is "stingy". Apparently, they won't be happy until the ...
I rambled over to one of my favorite "conspiracy theory" sites, www.truthout.org , to see what I could see about an unrelated story, and uncovered the following "proof" of Ohio voting fraud. I do not stand by the story's veracity, but simply offer it as a further "talking point" for debate on JoeUser, as we have a number of able, competent debaters who may wish to handle the "latest". I also stand by my original contention that if there WAS such massive fraud in Ohio, we are so far gone as to n...
Those who know me know me as a dove, generally. I believe war to be morally reprehensible, and live in the hope that we can one day find ourselves able to find a less utterly stupid way to solve our problems by training our young men of unknown political affiliations to get out on a field and point lethal weapons at others in the hopes of terminating their life. But I live in a world of reality, not idealism, and that's just not the way things work. I have nothing but respect for the soldi...
Well, the election results are cold and hard, and it's all over but the suing. The Democratic and Republican parties can take a well deserved break. But, the brief respite for third parties should be over immediately following the holiday season. We have much serious work to be undertaken between now and November 2006, if we have hope of being taken seriously. Third parties usually enter people's minds immediately following the party primaries when they realize their favorite candidate didn't...
I was reading an article in the paper on our state senator's proposals for Texas' educational system. EVERY ONE of his proposals revolved around a tax increase. Sadly, this senator was allegedly a Republican. As a private citizen, I base my budget off of my income. I do not spend as I damn well see fit and approach my employer demanding a raise. I expect my government to do the same. Another thought that came to mind is that this is yet another example of the fact that the "small governmen...
In my last two blogs, I outlined some of my opinions regarding the recent election. I did this in part to lay out some reasons why I feel the Libertarian Party is the most sensible choice to represent a nation as large and diverse as we are. The elections underscored how a majority opinion can easily ostracize holders of a minority opinion. This does not make the majority opinion wrong, however, and it is equally appalling for holders of the minority opinion (in this case, gay marriage) to tr...
This is a bit delayed due to my limited access, but in light of the comments made by the left about why people didn't vote for them, I would like to hit some more high points. I will try not to repeat the points from my earlier post. First of all, my dislike for Bush is one of the worst kept secrets on the internet. But just as equally poorly kept is my stance as a Libertarian. While I would not and did not vote for Bush, the latter stance makes it highly unlikely I will ever vote for a Democ...
The following is an old press release from the Libertarian Party website ( www.lp.org ). The message; however, is still relevant: How about 'spreading more freedom' in the USA? WASHINGTON, DC -- If President Bush really wants to "spread freedom around the world," as he said in his inaugural address, he should start by setting an example right here in the United States, Libertarians say. "Freedom, like charity, begins at home," said Joseph Seehusen, executive director of t...
In his novel, 1984, George Orwell quite ominously and infamously coined the phrase "Big Brother". The idea was of a benevolent figurehead controlling our lives because he knew what was best for us. Although Orwell's ideas carried on into common speech, the idea was not solely his. Many authors, notably Aldous Huxley and Thomas Moore presented the utopian ideal, the concept of a government where everybody lived under a government that told them what to do and how to live their lives. In ever...
I found this interesting. These statistics, if true, seriously indict our own national economy: If you’re feeling short-changed by Ottawa, it turns out you’re right. Every year, the federal government spends an average of $3,919 per Ontarian, not including federal interest payments on the national debt. When it comes to spending, per person, Ontarians get the least. The feds spend $4,375 per westerner, $4,974 per Quebecker, and $8,209 per Atlantic Canadian . I found this on a bl...
The title statement is a phrase virtually guaranteed to get my dander up. We have become a law crazy society, asking for legislation in virtually every area of life. But what does legislation REALLY say? Legislation says, in essence, "You're too stupid to make responsible decisions for yourself". It is an affront to our intelligence, a waste of taxpayers' time and money, and, usually infringes on SOMEONE'S rights. Now don't get me wrong. There are instances of good legislation, not because...
One thing I am sick of seeing in blog after blog, is the reference to either liberals or conservatives as "crazy". The LLL label is the most prominent example of this, but apologists for both sides have been rather generous in their appraisal of the mental condition of their opponents. Among those I would classify as passionate liberals, conservatives, or centrists, I have found a common thread: ALL are trying as best they can, from their own perspectives and life philosophies, to improve the...