by Art Smith
When James Madison and friends put together the Constitution, one of the key things they endeavoured to do was ensure that the Chief Administrator (President) did not have the power of a king. After all, we had just fought our tails off for the right to not have to be subjugated by King George, and as such provide sovereignty to the people and not the President.
I say this in preparation for something that Valerie Jarrett, co-chair of Obama's transition team, said on Meet The Press yesterday:
"Given the daunting challenges that we face, it is important that President-elect Obama's prepared to really take power and begin to rule day one."
DavidL at BitsBlog takes this at face value, which is not in the least unfair. He characterizes this [...]
by Art Smith
Conservatives have lost our political credibility. We have totally squandered opportunity after opportunity over the years because self-interest and ambition have eroded the integrity of Conservative politicians along with Liberal ones. And blind political stupidity in the Republican Party created a mess of alienated constituencies, including African Americans. P.J. O'Rourke wrote in The Weekly Standard (aptly titled "We Blew It"):
An entire generation has been born, grown up, and had families of its own since Ronald Reagan was elected. And where is the world we promised these children of the Conservative Age? Where is this land of freedom and responsibility, knowledge, opportunity, accomplishment, honor, truth, trust, and one boring hour each week spent in itchy clothes at church, synagogue, or mosque? It lies in ruins at our feet, as well it might, since we ourselves kicked the shining city upon a hill into dust and rubble.
O'Rourke goes on to[...]
by Art Smith
From the Washington Post:
Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team.
All of you that were taken completely off-guard by this news, please raise your right hands. Now smack yourself on the back of the head.
Any turmoil and angst over this should[...]
by Art Smith
I don't want to be morbid, but I'm starting to lose confidence that we can find a balanced exchange of ideas any longer. That the patently unproven and risky hypothesis that humans, are creating environmental change on a global scale, is now becoming a point of agreement by some of those arguing on the left and right about how to deal with "global warming", is alarming.
In a pair of pieces presented in the Wall Street Journal today, Ian McEwan and Bjørn Lomborg present differing perspectives on how to deal with global warming. But they are not the typical side of the discussion we've had in the past. The perspectives shown here are answers to the question "What should Obama do about Global Warming?".
McEwan, well known for his works of fiction, extends those skills to the front of the Weekend Journal section. He expresses[...]
by Linda Morgan
I’m struck by a column by Tim Ellsworth:
JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)–An unusual obituary ran in a California newspaper in August.
It was an obit for 79-year-old Delores Aguilar in the Times-Herald of Vallejo, Calif. Her daughter Virginia Brown was the writer.
“Delores had no hobbies, made no contribution to society and rarely shared a kind word or deed in her life,†Brown wrote about her mother. “I speak for the majority of her family when I say her presence will not be missed by many, very few tears will be shed and there will be no lamenting over her passing.â€
…
John Bogert of[...]
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