Pardon me (I'm begging you)

In an effort to get in front of the story I am going to make a few predictions.

First, the 2006 elections will cost the Republican party seats in both houses of Congress but they will still hold the majority in both houses.

Second, the 2008 elections will put the Senate in the hands of the Democratic party but the Presidency and the House of Representatives will still belong to the Republicans.

Third, President Bush, on his way out of office, will provide Executive Pardons to the extent of which we have never seen. The Clinton pardon embarrassment will pale in comparison.

My guess is that a few early pardons will be floated in early 2006 to test the waters and to prepare the rhetorical ground work.

A funny thing happened on my way

Time, the unforgiving fourth dimension, has a funny way of changing your perspective as you travel through it. It's amazing how Einstein's theory of relativity applies to life. When I ponder the question of who I am, I'm never quite sure because "I" is a work in progress. The question requires that I attempt to determine who I am at any given moment by summarizing who I was in the past but it leaves no room for the unknown - who I will be in the future. When I was "younger" I thought of myself as a conservative and was proud to be Mexican. As I have aged I've come to realize that while half of my family is Mexican in origins, it is not a true representation of who I am, the culture in which I was raised or who I have become. It is nevertheless a part of where I come from. Along the same lines, I considered myself conservative of many years but for the last ten years I've considered myself liberal. However, just as being "Mexican" doesn't completely fit who I am, the labels "conservative" or "liberal" fail to completely sum my beliefs.

I realize this is tedious reading (if anyone is out there) but bear with me.

The labels, "liberal" and "conservative", have become synonymous with equal and opposite negatives with each side viewing themselves as absolutely right and the other as absolutely wrong. This split is as old as civilization, so far as I can tell, and has been addressed by far more advanced minds than my own. However, we live in an age in which ideas, words, and actions can been seen and distributed around the world instantaneously. Perhaps the mass and instant dissemination of information will allow us to over come this addiction to being "right" and concentrate on being better. I'm not holding my breath.

I have always defined "Conservative" as a philosophy which suggests that each person is personally and solely responsible for himself. A belief that society does not owe any specific person any special help or assistance. The idea of "personal responsibility", based on this philosophy, applies to each person regardless of age, sex, race, nationality, or physical limitation, with exceptions being made for those incapable of caring for themselves. From this basic idea has sprung the traditional tenets of conservatism: Small government, low tax rates, few regulations, strong pro business leanings, strict adherence to the U.S. Constitution and a healthy respect for the Federalist system of government.

Along the same train of thought I have and still define "Liberal" as a philosophy which suggests that society can and should perform many basic functions and provide support to the members of society, regardless of ability but with special consideration being given to various "deserving" sectors within the society. The idea being that society can and should provide help to any member of society despite an individual's poor decision making or mistakes. Likewise, this philosophy has lead to today's basic tenets of Liberalism: A social safety net, regulation of business and behavior, larger government roles in society, support for "labor" over business and a more flexible view of the role of the federal government in "State" affairs.

The dilemma I face in analyzing myself is that I am constantly at odds with the rhetoric heaped on me from the so called "Conservatives" and "Liberals". Both of these "groups" are represented by talking heads that insult my intelligence daily with circular arguments, bad logic, and worst of all - the straight, plain to see, bald-face lie. It is so depressing. The talking points are tossed around everywhere but mean nothing and representing nothing. I wish I knew the truth. I wish a politician would stand up and say "Things are messed up right now. They are messed up because we are spoiled little kids and the only way to fix this is to come together, work together, pull it together and act like adults". Would that be so difficult?

The one thing I am completely sure of is that neither party deserves the mantels they have chosen to identify themselves with. The Republican party has abandoned the conservative philosophy, despite their spin, likewise; the Democratic party has abandoned the liberal philosophy, despite all their talk. Both parties are in the pocket of big business and perhaps they always have been. I do not believe a word any of them say... I have no faith in our system. Because the Republicans are in complete power today it is easy to take shots at their open hypocrisy and lies but the Democrats are no better.

I recall a quote, some place or another, and I apologize for not recalling who to credit but the gist of the quote is "There is no limit to what a single man can accomplish, so long as he doesn't care who gets credit". Every..... Single..... Day..... I have to deal with and watch people who are more interested in getting credit than they are in doing what is right or doing what needs to be done.

"Liberals" - give "Conservatives" a chance, believe it or not, some of the conservative ideas and tenets are good and well founded. "Conservatives" - give "Liberals" a chance, many liberal ideas make a lot of sense and are necessary in todays world. Compromise. Winning political battles at the expense of destroying our country is just not worth it.

I am no longer content to being labeled Conservative or Liberal I am simply what I have become, a revolutionary. I feel a bit humble claiming such a title but then again this country was founded and made great by revolutionaries and I believe it is time to return to our roots.

A funny thing happened on my way to life.

This is a must read today.

http://cunningrealist.blogspot.com/

Like Stink on ____

It looks like the media's spine is continuing to stiffen. Paul Krugman of the New York Times jumps on the very same issue we addressed here on Saturday. While Krugman's article points out the obvious facts, I believe there is still a long way to go before we discover the true extent of the damage that this administration has done to Federal agencies, the Pentagon and thousands of private sector support organizations.

The simple fact is that these people came into power with the plan of massive tax cuts with the goal of "drowning" the federal government. They have done exactly what they set out to do and it is just pitiful to see so many Deep Red State folks now looking around and saying "We don't want this." A good friend of mine who still has family living in the little West Texas town where we went to school told me this morning that his family has had it with the Republicans. These are the real "Base" of the Republican party but they have finally had enough.

The real question in my mind is why isn't the POTUS screaming for more tax cuts right now? If the rationale he gave for the original tax cuts made any sense at all (which they don't) then now would be the perfect time for a second round of massive tax cuts for the top one percent. I'm not talking about extending the current cuts but fresh, new cuts that will really "stimulate the economy". Somehow, I doubt you will hear this request out his mouth but the question remains, WHY NOT? Either they believe in their Supply Side Voodoo poopoo or they don't. In Texas speak, "Folks, it's time for the Republicans to shit or get off the pot.

I owe you one and the blamegame

I imagine that many political appointees in the Bush administration are getting their resignation letter ready. Brown has blown the cover on the most open secret in Washington DC, specifically that the whole executive branch is completely mismanaged and that no one is behind the wheel. How many other "FEMA Browns" are out there? I hate to even imagine who has been put in charge of what in Washington DC. The Constitution of the U.S., by design, puts a civilian in charge of the military (POTUS) which has and will continue to lead to unqualified persons (Bush, Clinton and others) serving as commander in chief. However, the current administration has taken the idea of political appointments to a whole new level of distaste and disaster. We can only hope that there will be a mass exodus of "agency heads" in the next few weeks as more and more political appointees come under closer scrutiny and that this president decides to appoint qualified persons to these important posts. The process has started already, check out the article in the Seattle Times regarding the Northwest FEMA direct.

On another note, the spin/talking point "...we don't want to play the blame-game, we are problem solvers, there is time enough later for investigations, etc...." is so stupid. If this administration is a problem solver, why haven't they solved the problem at FEMA? I realize that they called Brown back to DC but that still leaves him in control of the agency and his lackeys are all still holding their positions. I guess the object is to fix everyone else's "problem" but to ignore the huge problems within the administration itself.