Questions? We Have Questions…..

In a recent event Obama was asked questions by Repubs and he answered…it was a win for him (and he did not need a teleprompter….a fact that is overlooked by the opposition that accuses him of too much)…..and now there are calls from bloggers, progressives, libertarians, etc for a regular session of questions by the Congress to the Prez and it is suppose to be broadcast…..thoughts?

For me, I think it is a damn good idea……no teleprompter….random questions…..with short concise answers…that would be a win-win for the people and their education on the issues….. I agree with Voltaire, “Judge a man by his questios rather than his answers”……meaning……the question that is asked will be far more telling than the answer that is received….if it is the Repubs then we will see if they truly want to work bi-partisan or just there to say NO to everything……and because it is televised the people will be the winner and become more informed…..

From the website:  demandquestiontime.com:

America could use more of this — an unfettered and public airing of political differences by our elected representatives. So we call on President Barack Obama and House Minority Leader John Boehner to hold these sessions regularly — and allow them to be broadcast and webcast live and without commercial interruption, sponsorship or intermediaries. We also urge the President and the Republican Senate caucus to follow suit. And we ask the President and the House and Senate caucuses of his own party to consider mounting similar direct question-and-answer sessions. We will ask future Presidents and Congresses to do the same.

It is time to make Question Time a regular feature of our democracy.

Please join us by signing the Demand Question Time petition.

If you believe that this type of thing can make our democracy a bit stronger then I urge you to sign the petition!

Question time has been an institution in the UK for some time now and I am sure that there are those that think it is a waste of time, but I prefer to hear from my friend Quin of Quintessential Havoc (blogroll will get you there…a site worth the visit)……

What Happened To The Passion?

Note:  This was suppose to be a Monday post….but the Saints took precedence ……..sorry……..but the delay in this post gave me a chance to hear and read what others thought of the incident…..apparently few see it as I do…….

I recall the days of yore……60’s and 70’s…..when there was a actual passion in political movements…those days are long gone…now it is more about the money…prestige and power……no longer are there any statesmen…..instead we get a/holes on a power trip…..

I watched the speech given by Sarah Palin at the Tea Party Convention…..sorry to say…I was underwhelmed…….once again it was all about the attack on the Prez…..I was hoping that there would be a few more alternatives to the problems that everyone seems to want to point out…but I was disheartened yet again…..anyone and I mean anyone can attack a position or an issue…that takes absolutely NO thought or prep….the speech was all about what is wrong with the Obama Admin….I expected that and was looking forward to hearing her options…..but they NEVER came…as a matter of fact the speech was about as boring and noncommittal as her book…..sorry guys…call as I see it!  Personally, I do not see where her speech was worth the $100,000 price tag….

The Blogs on the Left are all over Palin and the notes she used written in her hand at the speech…..this from a HuffPost Exclusive:

Closer inspection of a photo of Sarah Palin, during a speech in which she mocked President Obama for his use of a teleprompter, reveals several notes written on her left hand. The words “Energy”, “Tax” and “Lift American Spirits” are clearly visible. There’s also what appears to read as “Budget cuts” with the word Budget crossed out.

I have NO problem with speakers writing notes about the subject…hell I have done it when lecturing…..but the words she scribbled look like core principles….energy, taxes, security, yada, yada….are core principles of the GOP….Like I have said I have used notes before but I NEVER had to remind myself what my core principles were…..

Now, if a person has to be reminded of their core beliefs then they are either scamming the public or just talking points….I have NO idea what Palin’s excuse will be…but the more I see and hear her, the more I question any position that sees her as a viable presidential candidate……

She offers lots of criticism but NO alternatives and apparently she is not sure what her core beliefs are either…..maybe her supporters should move past the “rock star” with cute sayings and look for someone that would do the movement proud…..sorry people…she lacks any passion; it is more about the money than the politics……..I do NOT think she is your answer……

Holy Crap! Saints WIN!

I do not normally post too much on sports…I figure there are enough bloggers that will take up the slack……but……

After 40 years of pure torture watching the Saints play football….we have been vindicated….after years of bags….bitches….and Bayou Defense (everything runs by you)….we at LAST have the team that we knew we could have with just a little effort….and personnel……

They DID IT!  The Saints win Super Bowl 44….31-17…..bless their hearts!

Congrats, guys!  See ya next season……

What Is With Representative Democracy?

Professor’s Classroom

Subject:  Political Theory

Paper #2

A good question…..some will say nothing and yet others will say everything…..after many years of watching and participating in the political process of this country I have come to believe the latter….I have been a radical that believes that the people are the political power and have been an advocate of participatory democracy for all those years….but yet there will be those that say the our present form of democracy is the best…that representative democracy is the best way for the country to behave…..I will disagree.

Is there a good reason that I feel this way?  Yep and a big one……the present system eliminates the people from the process with the exception of elections every so often…all other decisions are made for us…whether we think they are a good idea or not….it is all about what the ruling elites want, not what the people want…..

People are starting to question the validity of the representative democracy for many reason, but the most common are:

1–too much is expected of the process

2–it completely fails to rev the people up or to generate much interest in the process

3–the people gravitate to individuals not issues

4–fails to find solutions to complex problems and issues

Since the days of our Civics classes, which are a thing of the past, we have been taught that the answers to ALL of life’s problems can be fixed by our representatives, whether it be in Washington or at the local level……but there is a bigger truth that is somehow lost in the shuffle and that is that the representative body is too weak to solve the massive problems facing the people…..if an example is needed then just look at the whole recent debate of health reform (at least at the time of this writing)……why would I say this?……the players in the representative game are pre-occupied with the longevity in Washington and everything else is just a bothersome task that has to be attempted……the masses are nothing but a pack that needs to be manipulated….

The representatives seem to be trying less and less to involve the people in the decisions that concern them…..the people are nothing more than a consumer of the political rhetoric that is uttered daily….there is NO more face to face discussion between the pols and the people, instead there is the one way media….that means that the media reports on one aspect and all else matters not……the media has gained so much influence that it leads to a massive manipulation by the elites and because of that the original idea of the Founders is only a vague memory in a historian’s head…..

The Founding Fathers, back in the day, did not want the masses involved in the national discourse….but they thought that a face to face with the reps back home would make the running of the country much easier and more streamline…..originally it probably was, because in the communities everyone knew everyone else…..but today that is NO longer possible….the idea of a face to face debate with the rep is just a pipe dream from the past….

For many many years the representative form of democracy has been failing the people……yet those same people allow it to continue…..why?

The answer is very simple…..Americans allow the rep form of government to continue because they are too passive and badly misinformed…just an example of what I just said…..in a recent survey of self-described Repubs, 63% said that Obama is a socialist….that right there illustrates the completeness of American ignorance…..Americans have a very weak commitment to educate themselves on political matters, they prefer to rely on slogans, sound bites and lies to make the political decsisions….

The champions of Rep dem point to the need for an “educated elite” as the tools of governance…….Rep government is “by the people” but it rests on the wide shoulders of the elite to make it so…..

Is there another way of governance?  For me there is….I prefer what is known as participatory democracy, where the decision are made by the people…..but sadly it will NEVER come to fruit for the very reasons I outlined above……why?   Well as I see it…the masses, for lack of a better word, are at times too intolerant, nationalistic, anti- intellectual, alienated, hateful and violent….issues that would make good governance a nightmare….

So for now we are saddled with the representative form of democracy…the people trust their reps to govern as they intend, which is naive at best….just look at health reform…the majority wants reform but a few ruling elites have decided that it is not to be….and in turn the people get in line and accept the lies as truth……a pathetic ignorance……

There is so many facets to this debate that it would be virtually impossible to summarize it in a 1000 words or less…..I hope that a little more understanding has been had by my readers……..

Next watch for Part 3 of this series entitled Bureaucracy:  Management by paperwork.

Illinois State Of Mind

Over the years many disturbing stories have come out over the politics, especially the politicians, in the state of Illinois…..A mayor that was less than squeaky clean, several governors, including the now famous Blago, that have been anything but honest or truthful and a representative, one Dan Rostenkowski, that was jailed for corruption….those are just the ones that make the big headlines…..but now the nominee for Lt governor for Illinois is a story all by itself…..

In a story in the Chicago Tribune:

Scott Lee Cohen sold himself to Democratic primary voters as a shining example of integrity, transparency and business acumen. “Scott is prepared to bring his professional and life experience to the office of lieutenant governor,” declared his campaign Web site.

But his vague account of the battery case fell apart a day after his Democratic primary victory when an examination of the police record portrayed a more troubling picture than what the candidate offered.

His ex-girlfriend, it turned out, is a convicted prostitute. And she accused him of holding a knife to her throat, a detail in the police report that Cohen didn’t disclose when questioned earlier last week.

He has been sued dozens of times for back taxes, had trouble paying his mortgage and has been cited numerous times by the city for building code violations and failing to pay water bills.

His ex-wife accused him of being a serial cheat who shot up illegally obtained steroids, physically abused her and failed to pay child support even as he spent millions of dollars of his own money to get elected. .

Now tell me these guys are the most entertaining of individuals….there is something so sleazy about Illinois politics …….I am waiting to see how the radical right plays this to involve Obama…..wait for it…you know one of the dick brains will have a theory….

A Black History Menu

We are in the middle of celebrating Black History Month…where people learn about the lives, accomplishments and history of African-Americans in American history……

NBC is celebrated Black History month with a special menu:

Fried Chicken

Collar greens w/ smoked turkey

White rice/Black eyed peas

Jalapeno cornbread

A special meal to let people know the diet of African-Americans—sorry but if I was black I would be offended by this stereotyping….Hell…I am offended by this overt comment on black Americans…..

Black History Month is celebrated to show the diversity and accomplishments off ALL that fought for civil rights and especially those in the early years that fought against the institution of slavery….and this “special” menu is just an ignorant move but an unfeeling and uneducated group……

A Machine Gun In School

Today is my day for posting some of the most absurd news that I ran across last week while surfing for info…..I found this one on MSNBC’s website:

A tiny toy led to big trouble for one fourth-grade New York City boy.Patrick Timoney, a 9-year-old student at PS 52 in Staten Island, N.Y., was in the school cafeteria Tuesday playing with LEGOs when he was taken to the principal’s office and threatened with suspension. One of his toys was a LEGO policeman that holds a 2-inch plastic gun. The school has a no-tolerance policy when it comes to toy guns.

Pat Timoney, the boy’s father and a retired police officer, was also upset, saying that he’s dealt with people who use imitation weapons as a way to threaten others and commit crimes, and that this situation is different, considering the pinky-size gun in question.The toy was confiscated by principal Evelyn Mastroianni, a conference was held with the boy and his parents, and ultimately, no further disciplinary action was taken.

Zero tolerance for guns in schools is NOT a bad idea…..but only a moron would see a Lego toy the size of a finger as a danger to anyone….kinda reminds me of the girl in jr high that got in trouble for giving her friend an aspirin……Idiots like this guy is the crop that is teaching your children now….how confident are you know on the educating of your children?

Yet Another Stim Plan?

Many on the Left as well as others have been mouthing that there needs to be yet another stim plan to help us out of the recession that is crippling the US…….of course there are others, mostly on the Right, that say it will be way too expensive and it would expand the deficit even further……

So Professor, will there be yet another stim plan?  Easy and simple answer is YES……but it will not be called that…..there will be some other cutesy label put on it to try and make it look like something other than what it is…..another stim plan…..

Professor, please qualify that answer…….sure thing people……let us begin with demand….there is NO demand……with no consumer demand there will be little to no jobs created…..no jobs then no expansion of inventories and then NO recovery……it is just that simple….

Then how will the economy recovery?  The new stim plan will not use that label but it will employ such tactics as cash for clunkers, extension of unemployment benefits, etc….things already used that have helped the economy in a minor way…there is already some indications of this will be their tactic….like the cash for caulkers, which is suppose to help people spend money on weatherizing their homes and businesses….

Basically, this is an end run, to use a sports analogy, to help the economy to start its recovery…..personally, I do not think this will do all they intend…..the first stim plan should have been used in other ways than they used it……as I have always said…..it is always good to create demand….without it there is NO recovery….

But this is not just an idle issue…..

More than 230 mayors are in Washington for the winter meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors, and many said they had been forced to impose layoffs, furloughs, service reductions and fee increases to deal with falling municipal revenue. The next fiscal year looks even worse, they said.

“We are in the middle of a ‘jobs emergency’ that demands decisive and swift action,” said Elizabeth Kautz, the mayor of Burnsville, Minn., and president of the conference. “We need the Senate to pass a Main Street jobs package now.”

Mayor Kautz is a Republican, and while many Republicans in Congress oppose a second stimulus package, many of the Republican mayors here support it.

The economy is NOT looking good….but is a second stim plan really going to help or just be another massive bailout of gamblers and thieves as the first one was?  We have heard lots of lip service about jobs….but where are those jobs?….what sector is employing people?  This is just another “gimme” to Wall Street!

Is Tea Party In Self-Destruct Mode?

Soon, very soon…..there will be a National Tea Party Convention…the first ever…and it is NOT without problems….

A spat between organizers of the National Tea Party Convention, which starts Thursday in Nashville and will feature Sarah Palin as its keynote speaker, has largely centered on fees, speakers and profits.

Supporters of the convention to be held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center say the national conference will build alliances across state lines, strengthening into a force that can press the Democratic and Republican parties to change their ways or face a threat to their existence.

The convention’s opponents, however, believe the event threatens to ruin the movement. They say their disjointed, grass-roots uprising is being turned into a top-down organization that will be co-opted by the major parties.

Marcus Pohlmann, a professor of political science at Rhodes College in Memphis, says supporters see the convention as a means to build alliances between local conservative activists that could strengthen the movement into a national political force which could force the Republican and Democratic parties to alter their policies, The (Nashville) Tennessean reported Sunday.

The rift is starting and it could tear the movement apart……the Paulites are pissed at the Freedom Works groups for turning the movement into a circus, at best….

The Tea Party folks are trying to turn a profit…a doubtful occurrence……the main idea was to try and influence the direction of the two parties….but then there are those within the movement that ant to replace the two parties with an ultra-conservative party….The Tea Party….

AP writer Beth Fouhy wrote in an article recently:

Relying on Internet tools like Facebook and Twitter for communications, tea partiers have organized meetings, marches and protests almost overnight, often catching establishment politicians off guard. They’ve put together a Capitol Hill rally hours before President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech Wednesday to protest his health care plan.

Tea partiers boast that they are a leaderless, grass-roots political army not beholden to either party, even though some of them acknowledge that Republican candidates who share their conservative fiscal views are most likely to benefit from the movement’s efforts.

About 50 activists from 30 states gathered in Washington over the weekend for a conference that former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, helped put together. Armey, a lobbyist until late last year, has made it clear he doesn’t want to be the face of the movement.

Tea parties began cropping up around the country last February, responding with anger to the government’s bailout of banks and insurance giant AIG, then Chrysler and General Motors. They then took on defeating Obama’s health care overhaul, showing up at and often disrupting lawmakers’ town hall meetings in August.

Democrats and some Republicans dismissed them as “Astroturf,” or fake grass roots, loud but ineffective. Few in either party now doubt the tea partiers’ legitimacy. And woe to Democrats and Republicans alike who don’t recognize their power.

The whole Tea Party movement will be very interesting to watch over the coming months…..will it devour itself?  Or will it survive to become a major mover in the American political scene?  As a student of political theory, I will be watching these people closely…I believe there is a helluva story in this movement…..

Note:  After writing this I found an article in Politico written by Jonathan Martin that sheds a bit of light on this subject:

The widely anticipated civil war within the Republican Party is off to a decidedly dull start.

Defying predictions from last year, early evidence suggests that party leaders and even most grass-roots activists are more interested in winning elections than in ideological bloodletting.

A spate of recent developments points to two conclusions about the modern Republican Party that were in doubt as recently as a few months ago.

The first is that for all the talk about tea party insurgents and fulminating radio and cable commentators taking over, the GOP remains above all an establishment party.

GOP leaders easily swatted down a proposed “purity test” for candidates at last week’s Republican National Committee meeting — an indication that party officials are no more willing to turn over the keys to right-wing activists now than they were during the Bush years.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32502.html#ixzz0eZXX4Lxm

Education Reform?

As always, there is a plan to reform the educational system in the US…there always a plan….and as of yet there has been limited success…..it all looks good on paper but the students are the ones the suffer later in life…..I know, how can that be?

If Obama and the so called experts are right then education is the key to a better life for Americans….and is the answer to stopping the slide of our industrial base…..that is if they are correct….but how will they guarantee a better educational system?

President Barack Obama pledged early on to make improving America’s schools a priority, and changes he is proposing this week signal a much-needed overhaul of the nearly decade-old No Child Left Behind Act. Rather than doling out federal education aid based on the poverty level in a school district, as has been the practice for years, the Obama administration intends to distribute aid based on school systems’ willingness to reform.

Nick Anderson of the WaPo writes;

As legions of schools nationwide fall short of academic targets, the Obama administration proposed Monday to toss out the pass-fail measure that for 15 years has been the bedrock of the school accountability system and replace it with an index that would reward educators who prepare students for college and careers.

The shift, if approved by Congress, would force a wholesale rethinking of school testing standards eight years after enactment of the No Child Left Behind law put a spotlight on disparities in achievement among groups of students.

The changes would reach far into the classroom, potentially affecting how teachers prepare for annual state tests, which students get extra help and what subjects are taught.

Mr. Obama wants to preserve the overall goals of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law, especially the idea that all students, regardless of their race or background or where they go to school, should be expected to succeed. But he also recognizes that the way some elements of the law have been implemented – such as the requirement to make “adequate yearly progress” – has diverted education policy toward a numbers game that is overly reliant on test scores, which may or may not provide an accurate measure of how well students are learning.

Under the current system, bad schools can escape with few sanctions, while those that are forced to reconstitute themselves often get very little support to do so. And the lack of nuance in the testing system can make a chronically failing school appear nearly indistinguishable from a high-achieving school that simply is having a bad year.

Okay with all that said I want to voice a concern of mine…….for years of lecturing and talking with students I have seen an amazing thing happening…..what, Professor?……students as a whole are dumber than a rotten turnip……recently students did not know who the first prez of the US was….or just where Afghanistan was located on a map…….or the Law of Diminishing returns…..or even how the US budget process was approached….my point is something is sadly missing in the education of American kids….

The problem as I see it….the kids retain info longer enough to take a test and then it is forgotten……we have a comprehension problem….students do not comprehend the subjects they are taught….they retain it to take tests and make the grade so school can get its pat on the back and its Fed funds…..sorry that is NOT teaching kids….that is programming them!

As always, they will blame the teachers for any problems that reforms face……it is always the teachers fault…..that is because there are so many “bad” teachers  (this is sarcasm)……..it is more like another attempt to break the hold of teacher’s unions….the kids suffer from really poor education just to break a union……

The whole test score thing is just bullsh*t……a way to educate kids needs to be found….they have had enough programming……absurdity has long been the reaction to education……all plans as they are now have been a failure at educating the kids….but they keep using the same failed process over and over…it is like they do not want the kids to have adequate knowledge