The journey from there to here
Gideon MacLeish's Articles In Politics » Page 18
April 29, 2006 by Gideon MacLeish
One of the most glaring oversights of our founding fathers was in not adopting English as the official language of this country. Virtually every other country on the planet has at least one (some, like Canada, have two...damn frenchies!); we have none. As we discuss the plight of millions of individuals in this country who demand to be recognized as American citzens despite the fact that they are habitual criminals, and who refuse to learn the accepted if not official language of this country...
April 29, 2006 by Gideon MacLeish
Monday should be an interesting day. It is the day many immigrants are planning to walk out on their jobs and boycott all American industry, in support of those here illegally, who they feel should be offered blanket amnesty and be given a national anthem in their own language, rather than in English, to sing. In the midst of the discussion, some angry voices have come out. While I hope these voices are in the minority, I am concerned they may not be. One individual expressed the fact that he...
April 26, 2006 by Gideon MacLeish
President Bush's selection of Fox News commentator Tony Snow to replace outgoing press secretary Scott McClellan was an interesting one, to say the least. For many years, Fox News has tried to portray itself as "fair and balanced", and has chided other stations for either getting in bed with the current administration, or putting the administration in their sights, whichever accusation best supported the thesis of the pundit making it. Their commentators have taken on the self appointed mant...
April 19, 2006 by Gideon MacLeish
As the debate goes further on reparations for African Americans for years spent in slavery (despite the fact that no African American living has lived under LEGAL slavery in America), it is important to note why the reparations movement should NEVER be successful. Pro and con arguments can be advanced, but the simple fact is, reparations as proposed are unConstitutional. You see, our Constitution specifically prohibits the introduction of ex pos facto laws. That is, you cannot impose a penalt...
April 11, 2006 by Gideon MacLeish
The illegal alien situation in the United States is reaching a boiling point. I know of absolutely nobody who has gone unaffected by this issue. The anger of many Americans, while justified, over our government's failure to enforce our southern border, is being directed at people of Hispanic heritage (or in some cases I could cite, who APPEAR to have Hispanic heritage). I am afraid that if we are not extremely careful on this issue, we could wind up repeating some of Germany's mistakes in the le...
April 9, 2006 by Gideon MacLeish
Link In testimony this past week, Alberto Gonzales left open the possibility that President Bush could order warrantless wiretaps on domestic conversations, in direct defiance of the fourth amendment and multiple high court rulings. When the wiretap story broke, we were assured that the only warrantless wiretaps that were allowed in America were international calls that included a terror suspect on one or both sides of the conversation, despite the fact that under FISA law warrants can ...
April 6, 2006 by Gideon MacLeish
An interesting bit of news came across my desk the other day. Seems there is an independent who has filed to be considered on the ballot in my race. Because he filed as an independent, though, he needs to gather 500 signatures to get on the November ballot (harder than it seems--those 500 cannot have voted in either of the primaries or in a third party convention, such as Libertarian). He filed under the impression he was the only other candidate on the ballot. I called him and spoke with him...
April 6, 2006 by Gideon MacLeish
In the recent discussion on the resignation of Texas Representative Tom Delay, I expressed a frustration with the status quo that preserves the GOP's place on the ballot, no matter what. I had to file, and every other candidate had to file, by January 2 to be on the November ballot, and I believe that the same should be said for Delay's replacement. Heck, we're even a month and a half past the Texas Ethics Commission's deadline for Personal Financial Statements (the biggest barrier to candidates...
April 4, 2006 by Gideon MacLeish
The following information was copied from a Libertarian candidates newsgroup, of which I am a part. My comments follow at the bottom: With news that Tom DeLay is withdrawing from his House reelection contest, the question is what happens now in his race. It appears that the following is the applicable Texas law (putting aside any caselaw that might affect interpretation of these chapters): Under Texas Election code section 1.005(7) , DeLay was running in a 'General electi...
March 27, 2006 by Gideon MacLeish
Now I have the district, county and precincts out of the way. I mailed the required forms to the Secretary of State to be on the ballot in November. One more hurdle down on the race to the statehouse. I would like to point out that I am, technically ahead of Gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman in this regard, as he has yet to collect all the signatures necessary for ballot access. I am ahead not because I have worked harder, but because of the ballot access efforts of the Libertarian Part...
March 24, 2006 by Gideon MacLeish
A news story yesterday revealed that my esteemed opponent in the upcoming race for Texas State House of Representatives is headed down to Austin to drum up his support for the school finance bill that will be the subject of the sixth special session of the state House and Senate to discuss this very issue. He's trying to be the knight in shining armour, declaring that he will cut property taxes to fund the schools, because the issue revolves around property taxes, state law, and a Texas Supreme ...
March 10, 2006 by Gideon MacLeish
George Bush is once famously quoted as saying that the US would be easier to govern as a dictatorship if he were the dictator. While I've never heard this quote directly, I have often heard it attributed to him (mostly by critics). He appears to have taken steps to make the US easier to govern over the years. Operating with a solid base of UnConstitutional legislation from his predecessor, Bush used the tragedy of September 11, 2001 to further erode our rights and remove our government furthe...
March 10, 2006 by Gideon MacLeish
Flashback to 1985. I was a 15 year old idealogue. A friend of mine and I climbed out of my 1976 Cutlass S (with swivel bucket seats...WAY cool at parties!) and went down into the dank basement of a church in my hometown. Around the table sat about 20 people, many of whom were college professors, doctors, and other intellectuals within the community. After I was introduced, I was excited, as they began talking about situations near and dear to my heart: The apartheid system in South Africa, th...
March 9, 2006 by Gideon MacLeish
The Dubai ports deal has pointed out an amazing inconsistency among the left. Maybe they should have a little powwow and get their stories straight rather than rely on talking points to guide them in policy making decisions. You see, since September 12, 2001, the liberals among us have insisted that Islam is a "religion of peace", and that we shouldn't consider terrorist extremists as representatives of Islam. Over the last couple of years they've taken it upon themselves to relabel the terro...
March 7, 2006 by Gideon MacLeish
Last year's film "Good Night and Good Luck" ressurrected the image of Joseph McCarthy, and I have found it interesting that many right wing pundits, in their zeal to attack George Clooney, have gone to great lengths to redeem the image of the tarnished senator. The movie about Edward R. Murrow's efforts to bring down McCarthy is one political movie that was necessary for Hollywood to make. In fact, it was long overdue. Many actors, screenwriters, and other entertainers lost their livelihoods...