How can government property be private?
Any property that the government owns was paid for with our tax dollars. So, how can government post signs saying no trespassing - private property? Would you pay for something then have somebody else declare that you can't use it, can't even walk on it?
"Of the people, by the people, for the people" seems to say to me that all government property is owned by the people, which is you and me. So how can government declare limited or no access to that property?
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
is it liberal?
When did liberal become a dirty word? Somehow the Righteous Right has managed to convince many people that to be a liberal is to be un-American. Frankly, I'm not sure what the word is supposed to stand for anymore. Liberal does not mean Socialist. It used to mean that people believed that they had a responsibility to help each other, that part of government's job was to level the playing field, that all Americans had a right to be regarded equally, that all Americans had a right to be treated with dignity.
Some people say that this has been carried too far. I may not disagree, entirely. Government actions are not necessarily the best route. Individuals also have a responsibility to help themselves and not simply sit back and expect government to do for them. But they must have equal chance, equal access to oportunities. People also have to do for themselves to have the qualifications to partake of that access. If one is not qualified for a position, then no government should force an agency to accept the person. Maybe we do need programs that help certain segments acquire what is needed but those programs should not be based on one person over another. Everybody deserves a chance for decent and safe shelter. Everybody deserves a chance for decent nutrition. Everybody deserves a chance to be the best he/she can be.
That is the point, "deserves a chance." Not that have it handed to one on a platter but the chance to access to opportunity. We are a stratified society. We will always be a stratified society. That is the nature of the beast. Some are born into better circumstances than others that lead to better opportunities. Even so, there are those who have risen from the bottom to the top, primarily through their own hard work.
To me "liberal" is more opportunities for more people with fewer restrictions. This country is not perfect. It needs to keep moving ahead. The Righteous Right wants to keep the status quo. A status quo from about a hundred years ago. That way lies stagnantion, the loss of vibrancy that this country has stood for for two hundred and thirty-three years. Is it un-American to want this country to keep forging ahead trying to bring about the ideals we were founded upon?
Some people say that this has been carried too far. I may not disagree, entirely. Government actions are not necessarily the best route. Individuals also have a responsibility to help themselves and not simply sit back and expect government to do for them. But they must have equal chance, equal access to oportunities. People also have to do for themselves to have the qualifications to partake of that access. If one is not qualified for a position, then no government should force an agency to accept the person. Maybe we do need programs that help certain segments acquire what is needed but those programs should not be based on one person over another. Everybody deserves a chance for decent and safe shelter. Everybody deserves a chance for decent nutrition. Everybody deserves a chance to be the best he/she can be.
That is the point, "deserves a chance." Not that have it handed to one on a platter but the chance to access to opportunity. We are a stratified society. We will always be a stratified society. That is the nature of the beast. Some are born into better circumstances than others that lead to better opportunities. Even so, there are those who have risen from the bottom to the top, primarily through their own hard work.
To me "liberal" is more opportunities for more people with fewer restrictions. This country is not perfect. It needs to keep moving ahead. The Righteous Right wants to keep the status quo. A status quo from about a hundred years ago. That way lies stagnantion, the loss of vibrancy that this country has stood for for two hundred and thirty-three years. Is it un-American to want this country to keep forging ahead trying to bring about the ideals we were founded upon?
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
the universe
Here is a poser for you.
Scientists say that the universe started from a single point then turn around and say that there is no center to the universe. I find this confusing. If the Big Bang started at a point, shouldn't they be able to back track to that point? If you blow up a balloon, you would be able to determine the center point of the space inside of the balloon. So why can't they do the same with the universe? I assume that the universe when it started expanded in a spherical shape so why can't scientists do the same as with the balloon? If the universe did not expand in a spherical shape, what shape is the universe?
Scientists say that the universe started from a single point then turn around and say that there is no center to the universe. I find this confusing. If the Big Bang started at a point, shouldn't they be able to back track to that point? If you blow up a balloon, you would be able to determine the center point of the space inside of the balloon. So why can't they do the same with the universe? I assume that the universe when it started expanded in a spherical shape so why can't scientists do the same as with the balloon? If the universe did not expand in a spherical shape, what shape is the universe?
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Whose is the activist
Why are the Republicans always accusing the Democrats of being activists, especially when it comes to judical appointments?
It doesn't matter where on the political spectrum a judical nominee is. The act of interpreting the law and/or the Constitution is an act of forming policy. It can't be avoided. Interpreting the law or the Constitution always sets policy. If it is the Conservatives doing the interpreting, why isn't this considered forming policy? Are Conservatives the one true religion? Conservatives every bit as much as liberals have their own agenda, their own personel views, their own philosophy that very much influences how they interpret legal issues. Who appointed Conservatives as the sole holders of what the Founding Fathers intended in the Constitution?
If the Supreme Court had voted to ban abortion, that is activism. If racial policies had gone the other way back in the 60s Court, that also would have been activism. The Patriot Act which abridges our individual rights is Conservative activism. Activism is activism whichever side wins the day.
It doesn't matter where on the political spectrum a judical nominee is. The act of interpreting the law and/or the Constitution is an act of forming policy. It can't be avoided. Interpreting the law or the Constitution always sets policy. If it is the Conservatives doing the interpreting, why isn't this considered forming policy? Are Conservatives the one true religion? Conservatives every bit as much as liberals have their own agenda, their own personel views, their own philosophy that very much influences how they interpret legal issues. Who appointed Conservatives as the sole holders of what the Founding Fathers intended in the Constitution?
If the Supreme Court had voted to ban abortion, that is activism. If racial policies had gone the other way back in the 60s Court, that also would have been activism. The Patriot Act which abridges our individual rights is Conservative activism. Activism is activism whichever side wins the day.
Monday, July 20, 2009
moon landing
Today is the fortieth anniversary of the Moon landing so of course it has been all over TV. I remember staying up all night to watch. It has to be one of the most momentuous times in the last thousand years.
Unbelievably, I have read on other sites that perhaps the whole thing was a hoax. I know they made a movie with that very premise. They also made a movie about a faked war with Canada. I hope nobody thinks that actually happened. Not to mention the very real following of people who believe the Holocaust never took place. I know people can be gullible about many things but really. What I find even worse is that a lot of these comments were made by younger people. What have they been teaching in schools the last couple of decades?
On one of the programs I watched today, the hoax story was addressed. Maybe they could hoax one landing but not all of them. It would be too expensive and for what purpose, aside from the fact that special effects were nowhere near what they are today.
I heard today that there is a video on the Web purporting that the Pentagon bombing back on 9/11 was also a hoax. I haven't seen the video yet so I suppose I shouldn't comment on it. But it does raise a question of just how much we can believe what our government tells us.
Enough of the negative. Today marks the anniversary of a great human endeavor, possibly on unparalleled in human history. Hopefully there are better to come.
Unbelievably, I have read on other sites that perhaps the whole thing was a hoax. I know they made a movie with that very premise. They also made a movie about a faked war with Canada. I hope nobody thinks that actually happened. Not to mention the very real following of people who believe the Holocaust never took place. I know people can be gullible about many things but really. What I find even worse is that a lot of these comments were made by younger people. What have they been teaching in schools the last couple of decades?
On one of the programs I watched today, the hoax story was addressed. Maybe they could hoax one landing but not all of them. It would be too expensive and for what purpose, aside from the fact that special effects were nowhere near what they are today.
I heard today that there is a video on the Web purporting that the Pentagon bombing back on 9/11 was also a hoax. I haven't seen the video yet so I suppose I shouldn't comment on it. But it does raise a question of just how much we can believe what our government tells us.
Enough of the negative. Today marks the anniversary of a great human endeavor, possibly on unparalleled in human history. Hopefully there are better to come.
Newbie
I am new at this. As the saying goes, "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" but I am going to try. It will probably take some time to figure this out. I may not be able to post every day. May be lucky if it is once a week. I may find out that I don't have as much to say as I think right now. I have no particular agenda in mind. I expect it to be rather eclectic, whatever comes to mind from whatever source, TV, books I've read, whatever. Hopefully, it will be rewarding for you as well as me.
For a large part of my life I guess I've wanted to be a writer but could never concentrate on one thing long enough to get anything written. For the last 50 years, or somewhere around there, I have been asking why. I don't know as I've come up with any answers but it has produced a lot of thoughts. I have reached the point where I accept nothing just because somebody says so. I question the validity of tv commercials. Hopefully, my thoughts will get others to thinking.
Enough for now. Don't want to bore people right from the start.
For a large part of my life I guess I've wanted to be a writer but could never concentrate on one thing long enough to get anything written. For the last 50 years, or somewhere around there, I have been asking why. I don't know as I've come up with any answers but it has produced a lot of thoughts. I have reached the point where I accept nothing just because somebody says so. I question the validity of tv commercials. Hopefully, my thoughts will get others to thinking.
Enough for now. Don't want to bore people right from the start.
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