I admit it! I love the Golden Girls. I was too young to get most of the jokes when I was a kid, but I now know they were hilarious. I own all 7 seasons. Yeah, call me a freak...I don't care.
Estelle Getty died yesterday at 5:30 AM PT.
I hope her death was painless and quick, and I hope her life was full of happiness. The kind of happiness I feel when I watch the "GGs" as they are called around our house.
Goodbye, Sophia.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Obama and faith based initiatives
I have been reading a lot about Obamas plan to continue the "faith based initiatives" program. With all the polarized information floating around, I decided to get the information right from the Obama campaign.
So, I emailed Obama asking him to clarify his position. I was particularly interested in the way he would handle hiring practices based on religious beliefs by these organizations. The bush administration has let these practices go unpunished, despite the fact that they are unconstitutional.
This is what the Obama campaign sent in reply (verbatim from the email):
"Senator Obama firmly believes in the separation between church and state, and he will abide by a set of principles that will ensure this new initiative honors that constitutional mandate. For example, organizations that apply for new funding from Obama programs will not be able to discriminate on the basis of religion in hiring. In these programs, government funds may only be used for secular programs and initiatives, not for proselytizing or teaching religion."
So, as long as President Obama uses the justice department to rigorously pursue allegations of religious discrimination, I suppose I would be content with this program. But, I would really like Congress to pass legislation allowing or disallowing it.
The office of the President must not be allowed to usurp the checks and balanced provided in the constitution. Andrew Jackson usurped the Supreme Courts power, and it led to the trail of tears. He also usurped the authority of Congress when he redirected federal deposits to individual State banks, and destroyed the Bank of the United States. This and other events led to the panic of 1837.
I also noticed a little remark in this email that gives me a great deal of encouragement:
"Senator Obama believes that we need all hands on deck to help people in need, regardless of their backgrounds or where they live, and that government should work with both secular and faith-based partners to this end. Secular and faith-based organizations each bring unique expertise in providing critical human services, whether that’s keeping veterans off the street, feeding the hungry, or rehabilitating ex-offenders."
My biological mother is an "ex-offender", quite possibly a current offender. I have watched her go through the prison system so many times, and I don't see any real progress in terms of helping her break the cycle.
Granted, she earned her high school diploma in prison. She has been through rehab (forced) more times than I can count. But, when she gets out, she still has the same psychological and social impediments that keep her churning in and out of the system.
My mother is a white woman who struggles with the broken system. I can only imagine how black people are treated in a system that is often racist.
I hope Obama can do something to help the 2 million (plus) incarcerated people in this country. We need real prison reform, and we need to help those who "do their time" to move on with their lives in a productive, law abiding manner.
So, I emailed Obama asking him to clarify his position. I was particularly interested in the way he would handle hiring practices based on religious beliefs by these organizations. The bush administration has let these practices go unpunished, despite the fact that they are unconstitutional.
This is what the Obama campaign sent in reply (verbatim from the email):
"Senator Obama firmly believes in the separation between church and state, and he will abide by a set of principles that will ensure this new initiative honors that constitutional mandate. For example, organizations that apply for new funding from Obama programs will not be able to discriminate on the basis of religion in hiring. In these programs, government funds may only be used for secular programs and initiatives, not for proselytizing or teaching religion."
So, as long as President Obama uses the justice department to rigorously pursue allegations of religious discrimination, I suppose I would be content with this program. But, I would really like Congress to pass legislation allowing or disallowing it.
The office of the President must not be allowed to usurp the checks and balanced provided in the constitution. Andrew Jackson usurped the Supreme Courts power, and it led to the trail of tears. He also usurped the authority of Congress when he redirected federal deposits to individual State banks, and destroyed the Bank of the United States. This and other events led to the panic of 1837.
I also noticed a little remark in this email that gives me a great deal of encouragement:
"Senator Obama believes that we need all hands on deck to help people in need, regardless of their backgrounds or where they live, and that government should work with both secular and faith-based partners to this end. Secular and faith-based organizations each bring unique expertise in providing critical human services, whether that’s keeping veterans off the street, feeding the hungry, or rehabilitating ex-offenders."
My biological mother is an "ex-offender", quite possibly a current offender. I have watched her go through the prison system so many times, and I don't see any real progress in terms of helping her break the cycle.
Granted, she earned her high school diploma in prison. She has been through rehab (forced) more times than I can count. But, when she gets out, she still has the same psychological and social impediments that keep her churning in and out of the system.
My mother is a white woman who struggles with the broken system. I can only imagine how black people are treated in a system that is often racist.
I hope Obama can do something to help the 2 million (plus) incarcerated people in this country. We need real prison reform, and we need to help those who "do their time" to move on with their lives in a productive, law abiding manner.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
A Revolution!
I am calling for a revolution!
In Washington and every State Capitol, politicians work behind closed doors to deny and dilute each citizen's vote. They redraw voting districts, ensuring that their cronies continue to raid the Treasury and our paychecks for their personal gain.
We also do not have a direct vote on very serious issues. Issues like War, Peace, Government Allocation, Military Budgets, etc. The Presidency is the most outrageous one. We do not directly vote for the President. How our votes are "counted", if at all, is completely up to our State Legislature.
To fix this, a simple solution: GET RID OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE! Modern technology makes direct votes very possible. So, get rid of the electoral college, and force a direct vote.
It also bothers me that 4 years pass before Americans get the opportunity to remove a bad President. I think voters should hold or dismiss the President every year, with a full election every 4 years. Part of the hold/dismiss question would be "in the event that the President is dismissed, who should be the replacement?".
It also bothers me to hear "Senator so and so served his constituents for 50 years, until his death". Why do we keep these same people in office for so long? The same people churn out the same ideas. Also, those who are very politically savvy will find ways to bend their constituent's will. Those constituents who don't bend are ignored or demonized. They get elected year after year, decade after decade. They find their way into a committee in Congress, and they sit, waiting for the next election or death.
I propose that we set the same term limits on Congress as we do the President. Two terms, and you're done! No perpetual benefits either. You have served your country, now GET OUT!!! Kind of like the military.
Next, we have HUGE CORPORATIONS making donations to "Political Action Committees", and to candidates directly. Why is this a problem? They always give their money to the candidate that they feel they can force to do their bidding! Basically, they are taking away the voice of the People.
In the Constitution of the United States, it does not say "We the Corporations", or "We the Wealthy", or "We the Elite"; It says "We the People". If you read the rest of the Constitution, you see that our country was founded FOR THE PEOPLE!
To fix this, I propose that only individuals be allowed to make political contributions. I would further limit it to $500 per year, which I think should be tax deductible. That limit would be total for the year, not per candidate.
This business of our Government going into debt is crazy. Citizens should foot the bill each year for the Federal, State, and Local governments. I am very uncomfortable to know that our Government is indebted to the likes of China and Japan.
To fix this, I propose that the Federal, State, and City budgets be put to a direct vote. Major appropriations should be spelled out on the ballot, with the entire budget available upon request. Before the election, the nation could go about debating how much money should be spent and where. Then, THE PEOPLE would form a consensus, and WE could spend OUR MONEY exactly the way WE CHOOSE. Obviously, under this system, things like War and Welfare would be greatly reduced.
Those are my ideas. What do you think?
In Washington and every State Capitol, politicians work behind closed doors to deny and dilute each citizen's vote. They redraw voting districts, ensuring that their cronies continue to raid the Treasury and our paychecks for their personal gain.
We also do not have a direct vote on very serious issues. Issues like War, Peace, Government Allocation, Military Budgets, etc. The Presidency is the most outrageous one. We do not directly vote for the President. How our votes are "counted", if at all, is completely up to our State Legislature.
To fix this, a simple solution: GET RID OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE! Modern technology makes direct votes very possible. So, get rid of the electoral college, and force a direct vote.
It also bothers me that 4 years pass before Americans get the opportunity to remove a bad President. I think voters should hold or dismiss the President every year, with a full election every 4 years. Part of the hold/dismiss question would be "in the event that the President is dismissed, who should be the replacement?".
It also bothers me to hear "Senator so and so served his constituents for 50 years, until his death". Why do we keep these same people in office for so long? The same people churn out the same ideas. Also, those who are very politically savvy will find ways to bend their constituent's will. Those constituents who don't bend are ignored or demonized. They get elected year after year, decade after decade. They find their way into a committee in Congress, and they sit, waiting for the next election or death.
I propose that we set the same term limits on Congress as we do the President. Two terms, and you're done! No perpetual benefits either. You have served your country, now GET OUT!!! Kind of like the military.
Next, we have HUGE CORPORATIONS making donations to "Political Action Committees", and to candidates directly. Why is this a problem? They always give their money to the candidate that they feel they can force to do their bidding! Basically, they are taking away the voice of the People.
In the Constitution of the United States, it does not say "We the Corporations", or "We the Wealthy", or "We the Elite"; It says "We the People". If you read the rest of the Constitution, you see that our country was founded FOR THE PEOPLE!
To fix this, I propose that only individuals be allowed to make political contributions. I would further limit it to $500 per year, which I think should be tax deductible. That limit would be total for the year, not per candidate.
This business of our Government going into debt is crazy. Citizens should foot the bill each year for the Federal, State, and Local governments. I am very uncomfortable to know that our Government is indebted to the likes of China and Japan.
To fix this, I propose that the Federal, State, and City budgets be put to a direct vote. Major appropriations should be spelled out on the ballot, with the entire budget available upon request. Before the election, the nation could go about debating how much money should be spent and where. Then, THE PEOPLE would form a consensus, and WE could spend OUR MONEY exactly the way WE CHOOSE. Obviously, under this system, things like War and Welfare would be greatly reduced.
Those are my ideas. What do you think?
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