Courtesy of Michael Evans, a political quiz! Third Way Liberal You scored 69% Personal Liberty and 36% Economic Liberty! A third way liberal believes in little to moderate government intervention on personal matters and moderate to high government intervention on economic matters. They tend to be opposed to war, police powers, victimless crimes, and whatContinue reading “On Political Positioning”
Category Archives: Politics
On Interrogation, War Crimes, the President, and Congress
The above-the-fold article in Saturday’s Washington Post covered President Bush’s press conference yesterday. From the two opening paragraphs: President Bush warned defiant Republican senators yesterday that he will close down a CIA interrogation program that he credited with thwarting terrorist attacks if they pass a proposal regulating detention of enemy combatants, escalating a politically chargedContinue reading “On Interrogation, War Crimes, the President, and Congress”
On the Things We Now Know
Bernard Weiner, at the Crisis Papers, has written an essay about the “Twenty Things We Now Know Five Years After 9/11.” Now that we’re five years past the events of that Tuesday morning in September, Weiner takes stock of what’s happened to the United States in that span of time. His observations? Not good. InContinue reading “On the Things We Now Know”
On Staying the Course, and Insanity
Last night, in an on-line chat, a friend brought up a defintion of insanity–doing the same thing repeatedly, but expecting different results. I’m not certain who came up with that defintion–I’ve heard it was Albert Einstein, but it may predate even him–and it’s not a definition I’ve always agreed with–circumstances do change, and that canContinue reading “On Staying the Course, and Insanity”
On Defending V For Vendetta
Last night, browsing one of the bulletin boards I frequent, I chanced across a thread blasting V For Vendetta, the adaptation of Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s graphic novel about an anarchist fighting a near-future fascist British government, for being, and I quote, “boring.” Said the writer of the post: If this was supposed toContinue reading “On Defending V For Vendetta”
On Public Policy and the Middle-East
Yesterday, as I listened to NPR reporting on the Israeli arms build-up on the Lebanon border and the bombing of Beirut, I had a cynical thought. If there were adults in charge of the United States government, the adults would have already brought the Israelis, the Hezbollah, to the negotiating table. The Secretary of StateContinue reading “On Public Policy and the Middle-East”
On the Minimum Wage
Governor Easley of North Carolina signed into law Thursday a bill raising the state’s minimum wage by one dollar, to 6.15 an hour, effective at the beginning of January. I’ve long had an interest in seeing an increase in the minimum wage. Economically it makes sense, because those earning the minimum wage will be ableContinue reading “On the Minimum Wage”
On a Mockery of Lady Liberty
In Memphis, Tennessee a mega-church unveiled a new statue at its entrance: From the New York Times article: As the congregation of the World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church looked on and its pastor, Apostle Alton R. Williams, presided, a brown shroud much like a burqa was pulled away to reveal a giant statue of theContinue reading “On a Mockery of Lady Liberty”
On Receiving a Letter
After years of writing to Senator Elizabeth Dole, today I at last received a response. I’d written to Senators Burr and Dole several weeks ago, to ask for their support of an increase in the minimum wage. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York had sponsored legislation to raise the minimum wage (and tie future CongressionalContinue reading “On Receiving a Letter”
On Ending the Party
It surprises people who know my political leanings that I have a necktie that proudly celebrates the history of the Republican Party. The print is a collection of campaign buttons, stretching from the 1880s through “I Like Ike.” I wear the tie often, perhaps twice a month. I like to wear it. The surprise comesContinue reading “On Ending the Party”