Miscellaneous Reflexions Incisive thoughts on government, society, and some deeper thoughts. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 12 3714

Articles from Miscellaneous Reflexions

Legislation Without Representation 2007-10-23 19:05:25 President Bush is asking for more money to continue the war in Iraq. In order to get that money it must be approved by our elected representatives. Every poll I have seen indicates that 67% to 75% of the American people want to see the war come to an end. If this is the case then we should see about the same number of representatives voting to end the war. Yet we only see about half who are willing to take that position. Either the polls are wrong or our elected representatives are not doing the job for which they were elected. I am not a big fan of polls, but given a choice of these two scenarios I'd have to say our representatives aren't doing their job.Those in Congress are supposed to be the voice of their constituents. They are not there to impose their will, represent their party, or special interest groups. If the viewpoint of a representative opposes that of his or her constituents, then it is that persons job to change the view of those who disagree ...

A Tale of Two Georges 2007-10-23 16:50:58 While watching The Revolution, a 13 part series on the American Revolution from the History Channel, I found myself dumbfounded with the similarities in the way King George and President George dealt with their respective problems. The starting point of these thoughts came when the narrator referred to the first colonists engaged in violence as an insurgency. I can't recall the exact line, but it began with "what started out as an insurgency". Having heard the terrorists we are fighting referred to as insurgents , I found myself pondering the matter further.As we all know, it was King George's belief that he would crush the rebellion with his military might. It seems to me that this is also a belief shared by President George. Both men believe in the ability of force to achieve their objective. It was said that King George attacked a political problem with a military solution. Ironically, we hear the same said of President George.During the time of the American R ...

Division Over Time 2007-10-22 03:57:11 As we look at the deep division that exists in Iraq, there is something to be learned from the cumulative effect of division over time. You would think that in going from oppression to freedom there would be a softening of the hatred and animosity that division brings. It seems that even freedom isn't enough to overcome the long term effects of division. Once there is division only two paths exist, coming together or growing apart. Coming together takes effort, it is not something that will happen on its own. Growing apart happens all by itself with the absence of effort. Given enough time, division can lead to all kinds of horrible things, including war.We need to look no further than our own history. The division that existed over slavery led to our own civil war. Looking at our nation today we can see there must have been effort to end the division that existed after the war. Although there are still a few who believe the south will rise again, the hatred and animosity b ...

Iraq: More Harsh Reality 2007-10-18 18:50:11 Some of the supporters of the war and the surge are boasting about the current success in Iraq. The death toll for our military is down and that is good news, but it won't be great news until the death toll is zero. Those who talk about the success only speak of reduced violence and death, and mention nothing about political achievements. Like I said in my entry, Success of the Surge, the success of the American troops is not the same as the success of the surge. I never doubted that more American troops could reduce violence and death, but I have serious doubts about seeing any political gains. With statements such as "mission accomplished" and "Iraqi oil will pay for the war" it is hard to get excited about anything except hearing that the troops are on their way home.I have to wonder about this current success. We did announce our military intentions to the enemy, which gave them time to develop a plan as to how they would deal with the surge. I still have a problem ...

The Proper Time 2007-10-17 19:27:51 When Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense he stressed the importance of the proper time for declaring independence. The colonists were most likely not ready for independence at an earlier time, but had they waited the colonists might have missed an opportunity to achieve it. Thomas Paine also spelled out the consequences of not seizing that opportunity. Everything was in place and the time was right for declaring independence. Ironically, we are faced with the same situation. We have reached a point in our history where we must consider the importance of the proper time. A large majority of Americans believe we are heading in the wrong direction and our window of opportunity for getting things turned around is upon us.Ten or twenty years ago was certainly too early for us to even consider the need for getting things turned around. There certainly were problems, but not enough people were concerned enough to consider it. How about the future, will things improv ...

Viewing the World 2007-10-16 19:17:18 The hatred and animosity between the conservatives and liberals is reaching epidemic proportions. Whether it is the politicians, media, or on the Internet, the tension has risen so high that our country has become dysfunctional. We have become like a damaged car with one front tire pointed ninety degrees to the left and the other ninety degrees to the right. We are unable to move forward and attempting to do  so only causes more damage. If we are to get America moving in the right direction we must get those tires pointed straight ahead by bringing an end to the hatred and animosity between the left and the right.One thing I have noticed is that both sides see the world the way they want it to be. Unfortunately with this view they are unable to see the world the way it could be. With all the knowledge and technology we should be able to create a world far better than what we see today. The division that exists is nothing new to our nation. There was opposing views at th ...

Defending President Bush 2007-10-15 19:43:17 Before presenting my defense of President Bush let me share my thoughts on the job he is doing. I believe he is a horrible President. He has taken an already divided nation and has not only further divided it, but has deepened that division. I wonder if there was ever a time in our nation's history where there was so much animosity between the right and left. He has displayed no ability to bring unity to our country. Contrary to his campaign statement, President Bush is a divider not a uniter. His fiscal management has been completely irresponsible. With over a year to go President Bush has already added over three trillion dollars to our national debt. When he took office our national debt was 5.7 trillion and is now over 9 trillion dollars. He has probably added more debt than any President in our history.President Bush displays little if any characteristics of a leader. He has run our country like a spoiled child. When he doesn't get his way or people disagree with ... President

The Word Game 2007-10-14 19:17:12 How is it that words have become so powerful in society today? It seems how something is said has become more important than the meaning of what is said. Words are supposed to be used for communication, not deception. Factcheck.org does a good job of exposing word trickery in the article titled 99% Fact-Free, although the problem is becoming much deeper. There are even experts who advise politicians on how to use words that sound better. The fact that they are doing this will only add to communication problems. How can we listen to the message someone is trying to deliver if we have to worry about being deceived by words? There is enough of a communication breakdown in society, we don't need to add to it.The word game seems to be everywhere. Recently I went to buy a new mattress and box spring only to find out that a box spring is now called a foundation. This really gave me a good laugh as I was able to tell the salesman I wanted to buy a bed, not build a house. While wait ...

Cashing In On Controversy 2007-10-12 05:09:19 Controversy certainly has become a tool for profit today. Unfortunately it does nothing to help solve our nation's problems or get us moving in the right direction. With one controversial statement a trail of benefit and profit can be found. Ann Coulter recently made some comments about Christians being perfected Jews. This will draw attention to her and most likely help her sell more books or generate interest in her writing. The news media will help her by repeatedly talking about it, which will also help boost their ratings as controversy always does. Some special interest group will most likely make a big stink to energize their base and help with fund raising. Then we'll get politicians chiming in so they can talk about anything but solving our nation's problems; if the controversy is hot enough they can energize their base and fund raise also. All these people profit and our country is left with more animosity and more division.The sad thing is that these people and ...

Time for Term Limits 2007-10-10 19:43:58 There has been plenty of discussion about the Presidential candidates for the upcoming election, but we must not forget about the rest of our elected representatives. It is no wonder we can't get America headed in the right direction with all the time our Congress is wasting. Instead of actually solving problems and tending to important matters, our elected representatives debate and pass resolutions that do nothing to improve our country. Over the past few weeks we have seen a resolution praising General Petraeus, a debate on Rush Limbaugh, and now they are working on an Armenia resolution. What the hell are these people doing? How is any of this going to get our country headed in the right direction? Our Congress seems to have lost touch with reality and it is time to clean house.In the few discussions I've heard on term limits it is always mentioned that Congress would never pass legislation to allow them. Well we don't need permission from Congress, it is time to consider voter ...

Waiting On The World To Change 2007-10-09 19:17:46 The song Waiting On The World To Change by John Mayer is becoming a constant reminder of why things have become so bad in America. It's a decent tune, but the lyrics would be better if they focused on the fact that things aren't getting better because we are waiting for them to change. If we want to get America moving in the right direction we can't sit around and wait for it to happen. A time is coming when we must act. Change is inevitable, we can make it happen or we can let it happen. If we just let change happen it is usually for the worse, but if we make change on our own terms there is a good chance it will be for the better. We must consider the possibility that there is only so much time for us to make change on our terms. There is most likely a point in time where it will be too late to bring change for the better. With the way things are today it seems unlikely they will improve in the future and present a better time. If we fail to seize this opportunity there may ...

Attacking Iran 2007-10-08 19:02:05 There has been a lot of talk lately about the possibility of war with Iran. Of course the primary reason is to prevent them from obtaining nuclear weapons. I find this frustrating because it was predicted that invading Iraq would cause countries like Iran to speed up their nuclear weapons programs. I have to wonder, had we not invaded Iraq would we be talking about the possibility of attacking Iran? I also have to wonder is it even possible to bomb Iran and successfully disrupt their nuclear weapons program? I am sure they have considered the possibility that some nation might try to stop them. I've heard some analysts say that the nuclear weapons program facilities are most likely buried far below ground and even our strongest bombs would be ineffective. Then there is the cost. Can we really afford to be engaged in another military conflict? Some analysts say it would only be air strikes using limited military resources. It is possible that the air strikes c ...

The Religious Faith of the Candidates 2007-10-07 19:28:25 It seems many voters apply a religious test to our Presidential candidates. This has been going on for a long time now and I can't help but wonder, what has it brought us? Our national debt has soared, crime and poverty haven't gotten any better, and those who aren't at the top are struggling even harder to survive. One thing it has brought is another tool for helping the politician get elected. I'm sure most of the candidates are sincere about their faith, but I'd be willing to bet there is a small percentage who are faking it. In all the discussion about a candidate's faith there is little or no talk about where they stand on religious freedom. This should be the most important area of concern. Should a candidate's faith really matter as long he or she believes strongly in defending religious freedom. I would rather have a candidate with no faith who truly believes in religious freedom than a candidate with faith who believes everyone should follow his or her r ...

Power Windows 2007-10-07 19:23:37 Why can't the automobile manufacturers make a power window with a manual override? Recently, I had to shell out 350 dollars to repair a faulty power window. It would have been nice to flick a switch and be able to roll the window down manually. On top of that I had to spend another 150 dollars to replace a one foot piece of hose that was part of the emission system. The hose only cost eight dollars, but because of the location it was labor intensive. I found myself aggravated because I could have easily replaced the hose, but I would have been unable to remove and replace the parts that allowed access to it.  I've heard some say that the big car companies design the cars this way so they can make big dollars on service. I'd like to believe they aren't doing this, but when I have to spend over 140 dollars to replace an eight dollar hose, something is definitely wrong.This got me to thinking about the cost for repairs and maintenance on all the products ...

National Debt Dips Below 9 Trillion 2007-09-30 19:12:04 On September 20, 2007, the national debt dipped below the 9 trillion dollar mark. You would think this would be something to get excited about, but think again. Here are some explanations from US national Debt Clock and treasurydirect.gov.Q: I looked at the Debt Clock yesterday and I think it showed a higher value than it does today. Is the Debt going down?A: Unfortunately, no. On average, the Debt is always rising but there are some day to day fluctuations which can cause the debt to actually go down for a day or two. The long term averages however, show that the Debt just keeps getting higher and higherWhy does the debt sometimes decrease?The Public Debt Outstanding decreases when there are more redemptions of Treasury securities than there are issues.It would be nice if the answer to this question was because we are paying down the debt. I can't understand how this problem gets little or no attention. The chart below paints a disturbing picture. The debt may have dippe ...