rest easy, I'm back
At least one reader will catch the reference, for the other two, it will suffice to say that I am posting again.
I would like to make a couple of short comments about a couple of things, and, I will admit, up front, that these are quick, first impressions, not well reasoned, studied-to-death positions.
First, there seems to be quite a bit of ugly discourse these days along political lines. I would bet that there aren't too many hot-button issues that aren't heavily disguised by so much polarized bullshit that one wonders if it might be profitable to open a fertilizer plant.
Anything that our sitting President does or says is guaranteed to cause a ruckus with somebody, so let me pick a popular, if not well-worn issue. immigration as it pertains to the state of Arizona. for the sake of honesty, I had occasion to spend a few hours in the Grand Canyon state last week, and while I made a point of studiously minding my own business, I listened and observed to what was happening around me while I was there.
I have commented on my perception of the situation and the law, so I will not recap right now, but I will add my impression that for some residents of that state, the problem that presents itself is not the fact of the illegal influx, it is that it costs them money. To these people, I was every bit as much a danger and an annoyance (until I flashed a mastercard or a $50 bill and purchased something) to the little kingdom/country club that they have operating there. The state motto may very well be "Buy something and move along".
I visited one establishment, (a gas station/restaurant, attached to a casino), where I heard an exclamation that led me to the belief that, for that person anyway, the influx of cheap labor was fine, as long as they knew their place, you know, not in our restrooms, hospitals, etc.
It put a slightly different slant on the whole picture. My earlier opinion stands, and I still feel that all parties need to take a step back and see the issue from the other side before hurling all the invective's, (and frankly, everyone else needs to simply shut up).
By the way, I drove for about 400 miles along the border, was stopped more than a couple of times by the Border Patrol, answered numerous questions about where I'd been, where I was going and so on, and never once saw anyone lurking next to the road, waiting for a lull in traffic so they could sprint across. I almost felt cheated.
On a relaxed note, these, among others, are just a few of the things I saw.
I thought while I was in the desert that it was real Clint Eastwood country.
Then there is the Supreme Court.
Elena Kegan is pretty vanilla as nominee's go. She has a pretty strong paper trail that gives several clues as to her thinking, methodology and her "constructionism" in how she applies the law to given circumstances, and has been described by most observers as a confirmable candidate for the high court.
So it has been a pretty tough challenge for the party on the right to come up with a solid ideological argument to stand behind in forming an obstruction, (I'm sorry, a reasoned, principled stand), in her confirmation. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah has boldly stepped up, not being in a contested reelection battle, and has enunciated his problem with this nominee, which, stated in a couple of typed pages is, "she isn't a republican nominee", and "she applies her own judgement" to cases.
Damn!
Can't have that. It is widely known and taught that the Constitution covers every conceivable situation that the nation or a citizen can encounter and that no judgement is needed.
I have wondered why the Court hasn't been replaced by a late-model Cray II computer, (like the IRS), and the colors of the flag changed to black and white.
I respect Sen. Hatch, but this business of making sure that the Congress exists to humiliate and obstruct the other party has to stop someplace, and hopefully soon. Anybody with ideas on how to reform Congress, in a parliamentary fashion, please comment.
Have a nice day. I am going to watch a short video of "The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly", as performed by a bunch of limeys with ukulele's....
posted by eccentric recluse at 7:25 PM
2 Comments:
You already know where I stand on the immigration problem. It's a big enough threat to warrant a "shoot first" militarization of the border.
As for Kagan ? She's a detached, ivory-tower loon. Here's an example of her reality; talking about a man who's a poster-child for crooked, arrogant, dishonest politicians...
"He opened his mouth, said a few words, and the place was mesmerized. You could hear a pin drop. In part, that is because of all the rock star qualities he has: the eloquence, the magnetism, the great looks, the brilliance. When he opens his mouth, you know what you're getting."
That would even be a scary grasp on reality for a gushing teenager.. let alone a Supreme Court Justice.
Reform Congress ? How about term-limits; a salary equal to the national average, and no retirement package that would make a lottery winner jealous.
The health-care debacle was a display of just how much is wrong in DC, as it applies to "representative" governement, and governing by "consent".
We need to flip things from them taking tax-dollars and the ruling over us with that power; to THEM jumping through hoops to GET the tax-dollars in the first place... REPRESENTING us in the process. They've become a sort of elite, royalty where a temporary, governing majority reprenting a minority of the population , can change the lives forever, of an unwilling majority of thye population, even in the face of that majority of the population's outrage... BENDING legislative practice and flipping the bird to Constitutionality. It's like a "presentable" banana republic.
Thus further earning the moniker "King of the stringed instruments."
("stringed," you accordion fans!)
You already know how I feel about the accordion. Shoot first, or right after the bagpipers, and ask questions later.
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