September 2007 - Political Certainty

A very close friend and I were musing one evening and he developed the half-serious chat into an interesting concept. Now one can play a meaningful role in the family for generations.

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Michael Vick – the Other Shoe Drops

September 26th 2007 15:02

In an earlier article on these pages, Really Long Link I discussed the peculiar results of a federal system in which a criminal prosecution by the federal government based upon certain facts that violated a federal statute, regardless if that prosecution resulted in an adjudication of guilt or an acquittal, did not bar a state from prosecuting a violation of a state statute predicated on essentially the identical facts. These dual prosecutions do not violate the “double jeopardy” prohibition in the Constitution, as they are considered separate actions taken by separate sovereigns.

Part of the problem, and that is exactly what it is, results from the federal government’s inclination to create federal crimes from that which are traditionally state police-power violations. Often this practice results from the belief that the states were not adequately enforcing its laws, thus resulting in unjust results

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The Case for Gun Control

September 21st 2007 17:19

I have just “found” the posts of Lester Caudill and found them fascinating, although I disagree with most of his positions. However, I am a dedicated and, some would say, a compulsive debater and feel the need to challenge him.

Mr. Caudill is an opponent of gun control. Unfortunately, he frames the issue as one of liberal/conservative and takes the position that those in favor of the regulation of firearms are lacking in patriotism and American values. Thus he writes

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The Potty Police and Other Excesses

September 20th 2007 15:51

There are some activities of which I disapprove, perhaps even offend me. Should the government devote limited resources to put the offenders in jail because of my disapproval?

I usually am considered by others as a liberal and, when it comes to social policies and programs to protect and aid those of us who are in need, the young, the infirm and the elderly, I want the federal, state and local governments to take an active role. I am, however, a libertarian when government seeks to take an overly active role in regulating private conduct by adults

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The Senator and the Men’s Room

September 17th 2007 17:47

Let me state at the outset that I have few political viewpoints that correspond to those of Idaho Senator Larry Craig. He has been a vocal opponent of laws that would protect gays from employment and other discrimination, has opposed marriage or even civil unions for homosexuals and, on non-sexual issues, has been on the far Right of political thought in this country.

Recent news stories have painted Senator Craig as a hypocrite, posing as a homophobe but, in reality, gay. N 1982, then Congressman Craig’s name came up in an investigation of misconduct involving young pages. At that time, Craig made this statement:

“persons who are unmarried as I am, by choice or by circumstance, have always been the subject of innuendos, gossip, and false accusations. I think this is despicable.”

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The Objectives Change but the Killing goes on.

September 15th 2007 17:57

The other day, I commented on S.L. Bradish’s previously lucid site that I could and would no longer attempt to engage in debate or rational discourse with her. It seems that, in an all time low, she compared those in opposition to George Bush’s policies to be the equivalent to those who supported Axis Sally or Tokyo Rose during the Second World War. She exclaimed that liberals and democrats constitute a “fifth column” a phrase that originated during the 1936 Spanish Civil War. The term means a population who has loyalties to countries other than the one in which they reside, or who support some other nation in war efforts against the country they live in, which makes them traitors.

I am totally opposed to the political positions of the present administration and I readily acknowledge, with pride, that Mr. Bush is my duly elected president and will be until January, 2009. For anyone to infer that I am a traitor to my country is hardly one who will be invited to bring salad to a Mensa picnic

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Why can’t the Democrats get it right?

September 11th 2007 18:03

The long awaited report from General David Petraeus has been received and presented to Congress and the American people. There was something to quiet the far right and the far left and, from the Administration’s point of view, an excuse and rationale for keeping our men and women in harm’s way, in Iraq, until January 20th, 2009, when the mess will be on the plate of our next president. The General suggested a withdrawal of about 5,000 service members soon and a total withdrawal of some 30,000 by next summer. Coincidentally, this is the number of “surge” troops that President Bush just added; the result would be a continuing United States military force of about 130,000 men and women. The nature of the withdrawal (hoped but not guaranteed) is similar to a store raising its prices 25% and then proclaiming a massive, unprecedented sale reducing prices by one quarter!

I was fascinated by the statements of General Petraeus regarding our aims and objectives in Iraq. Originally, that objective was the destruction of weapons of mass destruction, and then it was the removal of Saddam Hussein, then the creation of a democracy in Iraq and a stable government able to maintain domestic control. The General said that we were on the way to achieve our goals. He would not explain what those goals were

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Happy Grandpa's Day...and Grandma's, too

September 9th 2007 18:50

Today, September 9, 2007, is National Grandparents Day, so designated by an Act of Congress (36 U.S.C. 125). That makes me feel very special; Congress and the President are at logger heads over taxes, government spending, national security and progress made or lacking in transforming the Middle East into a number of Jeffersonian states, but my status as Grandpa in preserved.

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Why am I here? Certainly not for the money!

September 5th 2007 20:24

It is obvious that I do not submit these posts in an effort to become wealthy. I have checked my statistics over the period since my first submission in July, 2007; my two blogs come out to be between 400 and 500 in ranking, readership not very high in spite of my begging four children, 14 grandchildren and assorted relatives and friends to, as we used to say about Boston elections, vote early and often.

Thus far, according to my AdSense account, I have earned 19¢! On another site, in just about a year, I have brought to the family bank account $55 monthly, more or less. I have no idea if these meager results are typical but I cannot help but believe that others do far better

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Abortion quandaries abound.

September 4th 2007 19:58

I have become engaged in posting and commenting upon the right of a woman to seek and obtain an abortion, which I am defining as an intentional termination of a pregnancy. Several writers have expressed their point of view indirectly by suggesting Democratic candidates want to kill babies! Not only is this silly, but it hides the real issues in the abortion rights debate.

At the outset, let me explain that, generally, my personal view is that a woman has the exclusive right, after consultation with religious counselors, parents, the prospective father, or anyone else, to make the determination to continue or terminate a pregnancy

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Victims and Heroes; Confusing them Devaluates the Greatness of the Latter.

September 3rd 2007 18:17

I am extremely ambivalent about this post.

On the one hand, I am certain to be misunderstood by those who believe I am casting aspersions on those who were killed on September 11th at the World Trade Center or those police officers, in Hillsborough County, Florida, who have been killed by punks and lowlife bastards who have fired guns randomly into police cars or Pat Tillman, killed in Afghanistan by “friendly fire”. On the other hand, I am bothered by assigning the term “hero” to those who were and are more properly, “victims

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Doggie Bliss or the Helmsley Attorney Financial Relief Act of 2007

September 3rd 2007 16:08

By now, we have all heard about Leona Helmsley’s will, executed in July, 2005. The hotelier and real estate mogul became a symbol of 1980s greed and was given the nickname ''the Queen of Mean'' after revelations of her tyrannical treatment of employees came to light during her 1988 trial on tax evasion charges. A housekeeper testified that she heard Helmsley say, ''Only the little people pay taxes.'' Helmsley was convicted and served 19 months in prison

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