Pentimento

What We Have Is A Republic, Not A Democracy

There is an interesting discussion going on at Gather on my article about Obama being the Ralph Nader of this election, and someone said something about democracy. I made the mistake recently of saying something to the effect of "what kind of democracy is this?" to one of my smarter friends, and she corrected me by saying that we do not live in a Democracy. We live in a Republic. The following is from Merriam Webster Online:

REPUBLIC

Main Entry:

re·pub·lic

Pronunciation:

      \ri-ˈpə-blik\    

Function:

noun

Etymology:

French république, from Middle French republique, from Latin respublica, from res thing, wealth + publica, feminine of publicus public — more at real, public

Date:

1604

 

1 a (1): a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president (2): a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government b (1): a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law (2): a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government c: a usually specified republican government of a political unit <the French Fourth Republic>2: a body of persons freely engaged in a specified activity <the republic of letters>3: a constituent political and territorial unit of the former nations of Czechoslovakia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or Yugoslavia.

Now look at the definition of DEMOCRACY: 

Main Entry:

de·moc·ra·cy

Pronunciation:

      \di-ˈmä-krə-sē\    

Function:

noun

Inflected Form(s):

plural   de·moc·ra·cies

Etymology:

Middle French democratie, from Late Latin democratia, from Greek dēmokratia, from dēmos + -kratia -cracy

Date:

1576

 

1 a: government by the people; especially : rule of the majority b: a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections 2: a political unit that has a democratic government 3. capitalized : the principles and policies of the Democratic party in the United States <from emancipation Republicanism to New Deal Democracy— C. M. Roberts> 4: the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority 5: the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges.

As you can see, there is a vast difference in the two forms of government. And this, from Wikipedia:

A constitutional republic is a state where the head of state and other officials are elected as representatives of the people, and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government's power over citizens.

Just thought I would clear that up. Besides, it gives me something to refer back to should I forget again.

Obama Is The Ralph Nader Of This Election

I am incredulous, but not surprised, that the American people are again being hoodwinked by the Republican party into dividing their powerful votes for the Democratic contenders. Can’t you see that Obama is the Ralph Nader of this election? I haven’t seen such an untried and idealistic Presidential candidate since Carter was running in the 1970’s. Why in the heck do you think Obama has such good backing? Because the Republican candidates were not as strong as Clinton and they knew if they got some momentum behind the weaker of the Democrats they would stand a chance of buying winning this year’s election too!  Are you too naïve to even consider, much less think, that the Republicans are probably pumping money into the Obama coffers?

And while I am at it, let me just berate the women who are not voting for Clinton. What in the heck are you thinking? For once in the history of this nation we have a viable candidate that could lead. You don’t have to agree with all of her policies, and keep in mind they are not all going to fly anyway, but you should be voting for her because she is a woman. We have consistently voted men into the highest office in our country and they have effectively kept women down now for 232 years. Instead of worrying about Hillary standing by her man, you should see that she was tough and smart enough to keep him in her life because she knew a divorced woman would never stand a chance of getting elected.

Hillary Clinton could do a lot of good for this country if she was given the chance. Women of this country love to do good things, but they are still living under men’s thumbs. That probably won’t change even if Clinton is elected. We think we are such a progressive, modern country and yet the women here give their votes away while keeping a woman, yet again, beneath the highest glass ceiling in the land. Don’t you get it? It isn’t even this woman that could make our country strong again, it is that we need to set the precedent that a woman can be elected here.  Stop being Sheeple and think for yourselves!

Pareto’s Rule and the 2008 Election

If you apply *Pareto’s Rule to the mechanism of the 2008 election, it could be argued that 20% of the voters will determine 80% of the outcome of the election. Could this be true? What about other factors, like the incessant meddling of the news media that constantly skews the outcome?

 

* Originally, the Pareto Principle referred to the observation that 80% of Italy’s wealth belonged to only 20% of the population.

More generally, the Pareto Principle is the observation (not law) that most things in life are not distributed evenly. It can mean all of the following things:

· 20% of the input creates 80% of the result

· 20% of the workers produce 80% of the result

· 20% of the customers create 80% of the revenue

· 20% of the bugs cause 80% of the crashes

· 20% of the features cause 80% of the usage

· And on and on…

 

I just have some random thoughts about this election and the people running. It doesn’t matter a bit to me if you agree or not, but at least read what I have to say and mull it over. 

Hillary Clinton 

Today on CNN the question was asked asked if women should vote for Clinton because she is a woman running for President. The short answer is ‘no’, but here is my longer answer. Just to be clear, I wouldn't vote for Hillary because she is a woman any more than I would vote for Barack Obama because he is black.

Of all the candidates running for President, I feel that Clinton has the best record of being ‘for the people’. Clinton has campaigned for better health care in this country since her husband was first elected in 1993. She was dismissed and thwarted every step of the way. Truthfully, I am not sure it is the best way to go, but at least we should be covering our children’s health. Bush declined to do that, but he has allocated billions for this bailout of our lending institutions. Gee, another handout for big business. But, I digress.

Maybe your memory has failed you, but I remember that when Bill Clinton was President that we had a balanced budget. Clinton didn’t do all that by himself. He had other smart people around him and they did good work. Personally, I couldn’t care less if Bill was unfaithful to his wife. That’s between the two of them. Was he unfaithful to his country? NO. Has George Bush been unfaithful to us…? Yes, multiple times.

Hillary Clinton is no slouch in the brains department, and if you elect her, you get a package deal, whether it has been declared or not. You get Bill too. He’s a dumb ass when it comes to his libido, but smart as a whip when it comes to being President. So why are so many gravitating towards Obama? Because Hillary is a strong woman, and we all know what happens to strong women in this country, right? Ask Martha Stewart. Do you think a man would have been thrown in jail like her. NO! As proof, revisit the Enron scandal. Martha was made an example. If you are on the fence between Hillary and Barack, it would probably be a safer bet to vote Hillary.
 

Barack Obama 

Obama is a ‘fad’ as far as I am concerned. He has no practical experience in dealing with foreign entities. Just today I heard him say that he would actually go to Tehran and talk with the leaders of that country with an open mind. OK, fine. Does he think that as a Muslim that he will be welcomed with open arms? Maybe so, but at the same time they are laughing out the other side of their mouths at the naïveté of this malleable President. Obama might be acceptable as a Vice-President, but (to me) he is not Presidential material. I wonder if he “gets it” that he is just being promoted as a Presidential candidate because he would be the easiest to defeat by the Republicans? Duh! No, he has that holier-than-thou Oprah backing him, and the irrelevant Kennedy’s. Geez, WAKE UP PEOPLE! If you vote for him you are giving our country away!

John McCain 

I have followed McCain’s voting record for quite a while now and as far as I can see he is an opportunist. He votes whatever way that keeps him out of trouble. He tries to come off as a “military man” and I respect and appreciate his prior service to our country, but he has done little to keep us out of unnecessary war. He is also too old and out of touch with what this country’s needs. If I was going to vote for a Republican, I would vote for him though. Only because I think our President should have some honorable military service and an understanding of when to Presidentially lead, and when to get out of the way and let the Generals do what they have been trained to do.
 

Huckabee and Romney 

Save your money guys. I wouldn’t vote for either one of you. Too bad Edwards had to drop out, but it wasn’t for lack of ability. It’s all about money and backing. He didn’t have enough. Remember, Presidency’s can be bought. Right George?

Change !?!

I am ready for a change! I am sick of hearing that we need it. Hell yeah, we need it! We need a lot of change. Let’s quite paying lip service to the word and spell it out how you are going to make this country better with change.
 

No matter what…..at least get out and VOTE. And try to use some common sense when you do it. 80% of you are going to be unhappy….20%, we are in your hands.

Rumsfeld Confirms His Lunacy

I always thought that Rumsfeld was a megalomaniac, but this latest revelation goes a long way to confirm it. Daily, I am in awe of the American public that continues to exalt the likes of Rumsfeld and his cronies. It is no secret that I am firmly against anything this current administration has done. What infuriates me is that there are still twits out there willing to believe the swill that comes out of Washington DC via news conferences and news bites. Read this article and take a look at the propaganda this nut was/is promoting. They truly think the majority of Americans are ignorant sheep. If they elect another Republican this time, I am inclined to agree!

Obama and Clinton Captured In Iowa

 

Hillary Clinton was in New Hampton, Iowa this week on Friday, and her rival Obama was there on Sunday. Notice the background corn in the Obama picture? My husband's cousin Charlie was in attendance and snapped these candid shots. Charlie seems to think that one of them will be the next President. Makes one wonder, huh?

By the way, that flap this week about Hillary's laugh...that just irks me as something disrespectful by those who have never been taught any respect for the office-holders. There are those of us who know that there is a lot at stake in the next election, and in my opinion, having a female President is "about time". After all, could she be any worse than the MEN we have had in that position?

Why Can’t We Be An English Speaking Nation?

From its inception, the United States of America has been, and should still be, a predominantly English speaking nation. Up until more recent decades, we have always expected those who immigrate to learn to speak English or not thrive here. It was expected and respected. Now, we have a whole new set of rules for those who speak Spanish or Farsi. What is driving this new language concession? As usual, it is economics. Those who have the money dictate to the elected who are suppose to be representing all of us, and they tell them they want rules just for them.

In California, because the Persian population is wealthy, they have asked for voting ballots in Farsi. See: BEVERLY HILLS, California: The city's decision to publish its first completely bilingual election manual featuring Farsi side-by-side with English has generated hundreds of complaints…

And, this week when I emailed my own Representative, Norm Dicks, his response was that it would limit voter materials from being written in any language than English. My question is, why do we have to have them in other languages at all?

When my husband’s German ancestors came to the USA they had to learn to speak English. They did. When my own Swedish ancestors came to this country in the late 1890’s, they had to learn to speak English. They also did so. When we lived in Germany from 1970-72, we knew we were not going to live there the rest of our lives, but we still tried to learn our host country’s language because we were residing in Germany. We didn’t ask for any special services, nor did the German or Swedish ancestors. They were proud to adapt, and so were we.

We have become a country afraid to stand up for what it right and normal. When I go to the grocery store, I don’t want to look at labels on my products and have to scan down until I get to the English translation. I want my ballots in English only. I don’t want to have to push 1 or 2 for English when I call a business. I want the immigrants to adapt to my country and its language, not demand that we cater to their special needs. If they don’t want to learn English, then they will have to suffer the consequences, or go back to their own birth land.

And, to my elected officials: Stop voting with your re-election in mind. Vote what your constituents dictate. That is why you are in office. You serve us, not the other way around.

What Will Be the "October Surprise"??

I saw on the news Tuesday night that Rove has some sort of October Surprise to boost the Rep. elections. Oh boy, is he going to trot out Osama in irons? Or maybe he will divulge just what did go on during the meeting between Cheney and Ken Lay before the Enron debacle. Mark my words, this recent torture hoopla came about because someone was about to get caught with their pants down. Hey, you can say one thing...they are consistant!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if our govenment could just govern and not play all these stupid politcal games?

Something Wicked This Way Comes: Please vote on September 19th anyway!

It's almost here...the contestants are at the gate....elbowing each other and salivating over the next big prize. Yes, the elections are just around the corner on September 19th. And of course, the television stations are no doubt gearing up to make a bundle from political ads (or should we call them "ad naseum(s)"?) that will be blasting away at us as we devour our lunches and dinners.

Here in Washington, our voting choices have changed, and in my opinion, NOT for the better. It was only during our short sojourn as residents in the state of Florida did we ever have to register for a specific political party. I bristle at the thought that I have to vote a straight party line, even though for the most part, I have done so in the past. I don't like anyone telling me what to do, and that is putting it mildly.

Not only is it an enormous waste of money (three ballots: one for Dems, one for Republicans, and one for non-partisan offices), it is also another road block to getting the notoriously apathetic voters in Washington State to go to the polls (or their kitchen table, as it were)! It smacks of children who are losing at a game and so they change the rules to make sure they can win.

Glad-handing, empty promises and more of the same for yet another year. How I dread it! They say the same things year after year, and if they are WA state electorates they go to Olympia and dither and dicker and get absolutely nothing accomplished. I am sick of the party politics, lies, deceit and wasting of our money....again!

Our state pays its state employees wages that, on the surface, look generous, while they whittle away at their benefits each time they are up for re-evaluation.

And years ago they soaked us hundreds of dollars each year for car tabs, expecting us to be able to pay $400 to $500 for each one. That got shot down courtesy of Tim Eyman's initiative that we all embraced. But the spendthrifts were not happy with that, so they found little ways to make what we pay increase over the $30 we voted for. They tried to scare us and tell us some programs would go away and they wouldn't be able to fund them, but to me, there were no major economic catastrophes.

So, we shall see what this election season portends for the future of Washington state citizens. More of the same, no doubt. If nothing else, please do VOTE. You can register to vote online.