When you take the "conserve" out of "Conservative"...
Thursday, Nov. 09, 09:32 PM
Lest anyone assume I'm your run-of-the-mill whiny Democrat!...
Let me say, for me it's more an issue between ideologies rathen than parties – Conservative versus Moderate versus Liberal rather than Republican versus Democrat versus Independent. So if you have to call me whiny, I prefer to be called a whiny Liberal
My dissent with conservative politics (whether it be by Republican or Democrat or Independent) is really just a matter of chronolgy – more than culture, religion, economics, etc. I just think it's no longer current or modern. I believe that we no longer live in conservative times. Or more accurately, we live in a world where conservative measures are not appropriate, effective or even fair. The planet and poor nations of the world are painful, vivid, living proof of that. We long ago pushed our societies (most, not all) past the point of no return – into a plunge that demands radical, creative, and responsive ideas just to save us from killing each other and ourselves – literally speaking.
I imagine that the day we dropped the A-bomb on Japan is the day America (and by force, the rest of the world) left behind the word "conservative". So it couldn't have been a more obvious or poetically-tragic sign that our government was returning to a bygone era, than when President Bush dropped yet another bomb on Japan (figuratively speaking of course). When he withdrew America's compliance from the Kyoto Treaty.
Maybe it would be nice to simply reverse time and go back to a place when conservative govenrment and values were the source of proud progress – but that is not possible. We cannot undo the past or avert the consequences that must follow.
We have caused much pain and suffering to others on our journey to the current state of our society – therefore the path to any beautiful resolution is likely to cause us pain and suffering at some point.
Again, It's just a matter of time.
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Let me say, for me it's more an issue between ideologies rathen than parties – Conservative versus Moderate versus Liberal rather than Republican versus Democrat versus Independent. So if you have to call me whiny, I prefer to be called a whiny Liberal
My dissent with conservative politics (whether it be by Republican or Democrat or Independent) is really just a matter of chronolgy – more than culture, religion, economics, etc. I just think it's no longer current or modern. I believe that we no longer live in conservative times. Or more accurately, we live in a world where conservative measures are not appropriate, effective or even fair. The planet and poor nations of the world are painful, vivid, living proof of that. We long ago pushed our societies (most, not all) past the point of no return – into a plunge that demands radical, creative, and responsive ideas just to save us from killing each other and ourselves – literally speaking.
I imagine that the day we dropped the A-bomb on Japan is the day America (and by force, the rest of the world) left behind the word "conservative". So it couldn't have been a more obvious or poetically-tragic sign that our government was returning to a bygone era, than when President Bush dropped yet another bomb on Japan (figuratively speaking of course). When he withdrew America's compliance from the Kyoto Treaty.
Maybe it would be nice to simply reverse time and go back to a place when conservative govenrment and values were the source of proud progress – but that is not possible. We cannot undo the past or avert the consequences that must follow.
We have caused much pain and suffering to others on our journey to the current state of our society – therefore the path to any beautiful resolution is likely to cause us pain and suffering at some point.
Again, It's just a matter of time.
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Just a matter of time
Thursday, Nov. 09, 04:24 PM
Honestly, I think most of the mid-term elections' outcome was inevitable. It was just a matter of time.
The President's numbers have been in the mud for a while; 1) there's the rising body-count in Iraq; 2) the rise of violence in the Middle East and on the African continent; everywhere you turn, some army is spraying it's bombs on civilians and children; 3) even the rise of violence in stereotypically peaceful places like Amish towns; 4) the administration's quietness during louder environmental concensus; 5) the hurricane Katrina aftermath; 6) heavy losses in blue-collar jobs; 7) Jack Abramoff's long-lived scandal involving so many Republican politicians; 8) and all of this playing out on more TV networks and Internet blogs than ever before.
The state-by-state charts show county after county that voted for Bush in 2004 – switched and voted Democrat on Tuesday.
I think those people used to connect the Republican party to Tradition, Values, Prosperity, Honor and Respect for Life. But over the past few years I believe they have come to connect the party more to images of guns, violence, money, oil, war and pollution.
I think it was just a matter of time for people to change their votes.
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The President's numbers have been in the mud for a while; 1) there's the rising body-count in Iraq; 2) the rise of violence in the Middle East and on the African continent; everywhere you turn, some army is spraying it's bombs on civilians and children; 3) even the rise of violence in stereotypically peaceful places like Amish towns; 4) the administration's quietness during louder environmental concensus; 5) the hurricane Katrina aftermath; 6) heavy losses in blue-collar jobs; 7) Jack Abramoff's long-lived scandal involving so many Republican politicians; 8) and all of this playing out on more TV networks and Internet blogs than ever before.
The state-by-state charts show county after county that voted for Bush in 2004 – switched and voted Democrat on Tuesday.
I think those people used to connect the Republican party to Tradition, Values, Prosperity, Honor and Respect for Life. But over the past few years I believe they have come to connect the party more to images of guns, violence, money, oil, war and pollution.
I think it was just a matter of time for people to change their votes.
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Nancy Pelosi Becomes First Woman Speaker of the House
Wednesday, Nov. 08, 12:31 PM
This morning America woke up to a majority-Democrats Congress! And with that majority, Nancy Pelosi of California was appointed as the majority Speaker of the House - the first woman to take the chair. And as Speaker, she is second in the line of succession to be President, behind V.P. Cheney.
There is currently a dead tie in the Senate of 49 to 49 between Republican and Democrat seats. the final 2 remaining seats are still being contested in Virginia and Montana, where the Democrat challengers are narrowly leading in polls that are all but final. By law, there will likely be recounts in each state due to the tight results. But the fact that Democrats are so close to victory in Virginia and Montana is practically a victory unto itself.
Thank you to everyone that voted – Democrat and Republican alike. And for all who have the right to vote but didn't – you missed out on being a part of landmark history.
Read more about the results of last night's election here in the NY Times.
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