The state of our union is....cold!
Tonight is the President's annual State of the Union Address to Congress. I will probably not be watching. I am much too cynical to actually watch what our Commander in Chief has to say. I know, it seems strange that someone who tends to write about politics will not be watching the single largest political speech of the year, but, that's the way it is. There are two main reasons: 1. My wife won't want to watch it with me. This one should be good enough, but, there is another. 2. The whole concept kind of bores me. The President will spend around ninety minutes talking, and won't actually say anything. There will be long passages about what he wants to do in the upcoming year, but, when he's done talking, he won't have actually given us any details. Then, after the speech, the partisan spin doctors will get busy telling us all exactly what he meant...and why it's either the best thing since sliced bread, or concepts tantamount to the destruction of the Union. Thanks, talking heads....I'm not able to think for myself, so, I need you to spoon feed me the salient points, and tell me how I should feel about those salient points.
One difference, tonight...some Republicans and Democrats will be seated next to each other during the speech. I am a fan of this arrangement. Up until last week, I always thought that seating was dictated...with Republicans on the right, Democrats on the left, and the Supreme Court and Joint Chiefs front and center. Apparently, the only seats that are reserved are those for the Supreme Court and Joint Chiefs. Huh...who'd've thunk it? The news agencies are really playing this up, now, creating drama. Can you imagine....what do you do when you disagree with the President, but the guy sitting next to you leaps to his feet in an unadulterated binge of applause? I'm guessing you just quietly sit there, and I'm not sure why it's an issue. I guess the news agencies are concerned that they're not going to be able to determine the partisan differences in the Hall because it won't be obvious who's applauding, and who isn't. Hey, new stations...here's a clue....the people applauding will be Democrats...the people sitting there with those disdainful looks on their faces will be Republicans. With the current partisan tones, you can bet that even if the Republicans agree with the President, they won't dare applaud. Oh, and the people yawning in the back? Those are the Freshman Senators and Representatives, who haven't been around long enough for the lobbyists to tell them what they're supposed to be thinking.
The President is expected to focus a fair amount of his speech on bi-partisan government. Look, people, we have two political parties for a reason....they represent disparate viewpoints, and bring those views to Congress. This is a GOOD THING. Debate between differing views should lead to better legislation, and a better rule of the country. Unfortunately, the recent political history has shown that our representatives in Congress are more concerned with denigrating anything the other party has to say, and refusing to work together to accomplish anything. The abject lack of respect for anyone else's ideas in politics these days is preventing anyone from doing the people's business in Washington. Until this changes, I fear we won't see any meaningful legislation accomplished.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Grammar
I read a lot of online news, and, as a result, a lot of online message boards attached to the news stories. As I read all of these posts, I am continually assaulted by poor grammar and spelling. And I'll admit, it confuses me.
Grammar is one thing. I can understand that the vagaries of the English language can be difficult to grasp. Run on sentences don't bother me that much, but, completely misused apostrophes really kill me. Didn't we all learn the correct method of using apostrophes when we were in school?
Inappropriate verbiage really drives me nuts. If you can't spell the word you're trying to use, don't use that word. I know that homonymns can be difficult, but, c'mon, at least give it a try. People don't seem to understand the difference between except and accept; or their, there, and they're. Really? Where were you in fourth grade? You accept a theory, or you take exception to a rule. But, you don't except a story as true, or include everyone accept those people over there.
Some folks use words to make themselves sound more intelligent. My favorite is irregardless. I don't care that this travesty has been recently listed in some dictionaries, it's not a word. The prefix ir- means not or without. The suffix -less means not or without. So, the summary of the made up word is, simply without no regard. What you probably mean is: without regard, which would be the word regardless. Surely everyone remembers the double negative rule from basic grammar!
With the preponderance of online reference material available today, there is no excuse for spelling words incorrectly, other than laziness. Nearly every online forum that I read has a spell checker as a part of the posting form that people fill out. Hey, those red squiggly lines under the word do not indicate that it's a special word that only you understand, it indicates that you spelled it wrong! Press the button that says spell check! If you think that you're spelling a word incorrectly, why don't you look it up. Go to http://www.dictionary.com/ and type the word in. You may even read the definition while you're there, and realize that the word your using doesn't even fit into the context of what you're writing! Of course, that will require that you actually comprehend the definition that you're reading....that's another story.
Grammar is one thing. I can understand that the vagaries of the English language can be difficult to grasp. Run on sentences don't bother me that much, but, completely misused apostrophes really kill me. Didn't we all learn the correct method of using apostrophes when we were in school?
Inappropriate verbiage really drives me nuts. If you can't spell the word you're trying to use, don't use that word. I know that homonymns can be difficult, but, c'mon, at least give it a try. People don't seem to understand the difference between except and accept; or their, there, and they're. Really? Where were you in fourth grade? You accept a theory, or you take exception to a rule. But, you don't except a story as true, or include everyone accept those people over there.
Some folks use words to make themselves sound more intelligent. My favorite is irregardless. I don't care that this travesty has been recently listed in some dictionaries, it's not a word. The prefix ir- means not or without. The suffix -less means not or without. So, the summary of the made up word is, simply without no regard. What you probably mean is: without regard, which would be the word regardless. Surely everyone remembers the double negative rule from basic grammar!
With the preponderance of online reference material available today, there is no excuse for spelling words incorrectly, other than laziness. Nearly every online forum that I read has a spell checker as a part of the posting form that people fill out. Hey, those red squiggly lines under the word do not indicate that it's a special word that only you understand, it indicates that you spelled it wrong! Press the button that says spell check! If you think that you're spelling a word incorrectly, why don't you look it up. Go to http://www.dictionary.com/ and type the word in. You may even read the definition while you're there, and realize that the word your using doesn't even fit into the context of what you're writing! Of course, that will require that you actually comprehend the definition that you're reading....that's another story.
Friday, January 7, 2011
It's Time to Legislate
I have no intention of this blog only being a commentary on politics; but, at the moment, it's politics that has my attention.
The new Congress was sworn in on Wednesday. The House is now under Republican control, and the Republicans have promised a fiscally conservative approach to legislating. They were swept into office on promises of reducing the deficit, maintaining (or reducing) taxes, and ensuring that no new legislation is passed without knowing how it will be paid for. I happen to believe that these are all respectable goals.
So, what was the first thing our new House of Representatives did? They read the Constitution on the floor. Hmm...not sure how that fits in, but, they claim that it's to remind themselves of their responsibility to the Constitution, and the people. All right, I'll grant that that is a noble concept, and, I'm pretty surprised that this was a first for the House. I'll even go so far as to suggest that every Congress begin their session with a reading of the Constitution after the swearing in ceremonies.
Today, the Republican leadership has announced that it will take action to repeal the Health Care Law. Here's the link to the Associated Press story. It did so on a purely party line vote. It also did so knowing that the Democratically controlled Senate will not pass this new bill; and that the President will veto this new bill. So, exactly why are they even attempting this legislation? Because they believe it will generate political traction for themselves in the 2012 elections! Here we go, a Congress that promised to govern differently, and the first actions they take are a bid for elections TWO YEARS from now. This is beyond insanity. Maybe it's time to term limit all of Congress....to one term, period. Spend your time LEGISLATING rather than politically positioning yourselves for reelection.
The CBO has reported that repealing the Health Care Law will actually increase the deficit by $230 BILLION from 2012 to 2021. But, wait, you say...the Republicans passed new rules in the House that requires all bills to be deficit neutral. How could they pass a bill that is not neutral? Easy....when they drafted those rules, they specifically exempted any attempts at repealing the Health Care bill.
House Republicans response to the deficit increases? They counter that even if it's technically true, it would save money in the long run. Translated: We're not really sure what's going to happen in ten years, good or bad, but, because we don't like that the Democrats passed this bill without us, we're going to try to thwart them now. If we're right, we'll say we told you so. If we're wrong, we'll blame it on President Obama anyway.
If this is what we have to look forward to for the next two years from this Congress, then I'm afraid that nothing of any substance will be achieved. I would also expect to see the Republicans soundly thrown out of the Capitol come 2012, and a relatively easy reelection campaign for the President.
The new Congress was sworn in on Wednesday. The House is now under Republican control, and the Republicans have promised a fiscally conservative approach to legislating. They were swept into office on promises of reducing the deficit, maintaining (or reducing) taxes, and ensuring that no new legislation is passed without knowing how it will be paid for. I happen to believe that these are all respectable goals.
So, what was the first thing our new House of Representatives did? They read the Constitution on the floor. Hmm...not sure how that fits in, but, they claim that it's to remind themselves of their responsibility to the Constitution, and the people. All right, I'll grant that that is a noble concept, and, I'm pretty surprised that this was a first for the House. I'll even go so far as to suggest that every Congress begin their session with a reading of the Constitution after the swearing in ceremonies.
Today, the Republican leadership has announced that it will take action to repeal the Health Care Law. Here's the link to the Associated Press story. It did so on a purely party line vote. It also did so knowing that the Democratically controlled Senate will not pass this new bill; and that the President will veto this new bill. So, exactly why are they even attempting this legislation? Because they believe it will generate political traction for themselves in the 2012 elections! Here we go, a Congress that promised to govern differently, and the first actions they take are a bid for elections TWO YEARS from now. This is beyond insanity. Maybe it's time to term limit all of Congress....to one term, period. Spend your time LEGISLATING rather than politically positioning yourselves for reelection.
The CBO has reported that repealing the Health Care Law will actually increase the deficit by $230 BILLION from 2012 to 2021. But, wait, you say...the Republicans passed new rules in the House that requires all bills to be deficit neutral. How could they pass a bill that is not neutral? Easy....when they drafted those rules, they specifically exempted any attempts at repealing the Health Care bill.
House Republicans response to the deficit increases? They counter that even if it's technically true, it would save money in the long run. Translated: We're not really sure what's going to happen in ten years, good or bad, but, because we don't like that the Democrats passed this bill without us, we're going to try to thwart them now. If we're right, we'll say we told you so. If we're wrong, we'll blame it on President Obama anyway.
If this is what we have to look forward to for the next two years from this Congress, then I'm afraid that nothing of any substance will be achieved. I would also expect to see the Republicans soundly thrown out of the Capitol come 2012, and a relatively easy reelection campaign for the President.
Monday, January 3, 2011
New Year, New Congress, Same old Crap
Today the 112th Congress will be seated. The Republican party rode a wave of popularity into the Capitol, based mostly around vitriolic rhetoric, and a governing principle of doing anything that is opposite what the Democrats wanted. Some folks think this is a good thing, some folks think it's a bad thing. Me, I think it's wholly idiotic. When given the opportunity to legislate throughout 2010, the GOP came off as needlessly antagonistic, and as obstructionists. This tact is rapidly leading to a wholesale split in the Republican party, which, theoretically could birth a third party, but will most likely result in a Federal Government with little to no popular support.
The wave of newly elected Congress-people will immediately be faced with a couple of realities. First, and foremost, they'll find out that as freshman, they really don't have any power to do any of the things that they promised their constituents that they would do. They'll realize that as freshman, their primary responsibility is to sit on the bench in the back of the chamber, and vote the way their leadership tells them to vote. They will, quite promptly, forget the promises they made during their campaigns, as they endeavour to discover what it is they are actually supposed to be doing. The next thing that they'll realize is that in Congress, nothing is quite as it seems. They will find that that spending bill that they told their constituents that they would adamantly oppose is attached to a bill that provides additional funding to our troops over seas, and to the Veterans Administration. No Congress-person wants to be accused of not supporting our troops...and, so, they'll vote in favor of unrelated legislation to avoid the impression of non-support. Before they know it, their campaign promises of no earmarks will develop into a "what's in it for me" attitude, where they slide in whatever ear marks they can for their home state.
In the meantime, the Nation will be watching. There are a lot of expectations for this Congress, and a number of those expectations are needed. The Country needs to get its fiscal house in order, and this Congress has promised to do this. President Obama has already shown signs of moving towards the center, in an attempt to work with the Congress to achieve economical success. If the GOP leadership persists in its anti-Democrat stance and rhetoric, it won't take the left long to paint the right as obstructionists who are more concerned about the upper-class than the middle or lower-classes.
The left and right wing of Congress is necessary to the continued success of this country. A difference in ideas is what a bicameral legislature is based on. Those ideas should be debated by different minded people, in an attempt to hash out the best solutions to the largest issues. Political grand-standing by either party needs to be eliminated. Congress-people need to be more concerned with getting their jobs done than with getting relected at the end of their terms.
Good luck to the 112th Congress of the United States of America.
The wave of newly elected Congress-people will immediately be faced with a couple of realities. First, and foremost, they'll find out that as freshman, they really don't have any power to do any of the things that they promised their constituents that they would do. They'll realize that as freshman, their primary responsibility is to sit on the bench in the back of the chamber, and vote the way their leadership tells them to vote. They will, quite promptly, forget the promises they made during their campaigns, as they endeavour to discover what it is they are actually supposed to be doing. The next thing that they'll realize is that in Congress, nothing is quite as it seems. They will find that that spending bill that they told their constituents that they would adamantly oppose is attached to a bill that provides additional funding to our troops over seas, and to the Veterans Administration. No Congress-person wants to be accused of not supporting our troops...and, so, they'll vote in favor of unrelated legislation to avoid the impression of non-support. Before they know it, their campaign promises of no earmarks will develop into a "what's in it for me" attitude, where they slide in whatever ear marks they can for their home state.
In the meantime, the Nation will be watching. There are a lot of expectations for this Congress, and a number of those expectations are needed. The Country needs to get its fiscal house in order, and this Congress has promised to do this. President Obama has already shown signs of moving towards the center, in an attempt to work with the Congress to achieve economical success. If the GOP leadership persists in its anti-Democrat stance and rhetoric, it won't take the left long to paint the right as obstructionists who are more concerned about the upper-class than the middle or lower-classes.
The left and right wing of Congress is necessary to the continued success of this country. A difference in ideas is what a bicameral legislature is based on. Those ideas should be debated by different minded people, in an attempt to hash out the best solutions to the largest issues. Political grand-standing by either party needs to be eliminated. Congress-people need to be more concerned with getting their jobs done than with getting relected at the end of their terms.
Good luck to the 112th Congress of the United States of America.
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