Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Mitt Romney and His Gifts

Welcome friends!

I was about to say how happy I am that the recent election is over and I can finally get back to the more light hearted and varied fare that I prefer, but I see that “severely conservative” (in his own rather revealing words) former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney managed to flip the majority of Americans the bird one last time before presumably leaving the national stage with his quip about President Obama essentially buying the election with gifts.  And you know I’m not very good with that type of thing.  When I hear things like that I always want to leap up to my computer and defend myself.  Of course, I realize the guy is probably a little upset right now.  A lot of very wealthy and very powerful people put a lot of money into his campaign.  And most conservatives had managed to convince themselves that pretty much any fool could take the Oval Office from Mr. Obama in a landslide of righteous indignation.  But that’s not how things actually played out so of course some people are bound to be a little on edge.  And I know it’s a sign of maturity to be able to just let things like that go by in these sorts of situations without unnecessary comment, but you know what?  I guess I’m just not really that mature quite yet.  Hey, we all need something to look forward to, don’t we?  Now in a decade or so I expect I’ll become the unflappable and ever smiling buddha of progressive bloggers who will respond only to the most thoughtful utterances of my conservative adversaries.  But I’m just not quite there yet.  So let me go ahead and say a few words about this whole notion that President Obama bought the election with gifts, which by the way I understand is not just Mr. Romney’s idiosyncratic take on the election but is actually a popular thesis among conservatives these days.  But just between you and me, I am really of two minds about whether I should even address this one.  You know, I hope you’ll forgive me for showing a lack of forbearance if that’s what I’m doing... Sorry but only selected archived (previous year) posts are currently available full text on this website.  All posts including this one are available in my annual anthology ebook series available at the Amazon Kindle Bookstore for a nominal fee.  Hey, we all need to make a buck somehow, right?  If you find my timeless jewels of wisdom amusing or perhaps even amusingly irritating throw me a bone now and then.  Thank you my friends!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Behold The Beauty Of American Democracy

Welcome friends!

Well, the presidential election cycle has finally ended here in the US and that’s something that I think we can all be thankful for, regardless of our political persuasion.  We haven’t seen such an incessant torrent of invective, distortion, rhetorical nonsense, and all around claptrap in many a year.  But that’s not the subject of my post for today.  No, my post today is actually about the beauty and power of American democracy.  What?  You think I’m being a little inconsistent?  I can’t get my story straight?  Oh, I beg to differ, my friend!

I think the point on which many casual observers can get themselves a little confused when trying to evaluate a democracy like the one we have here in the US is to make the conceptual mistake of viewing it as simply a technocratic system for determining optimal government policy... Sorry but only selected archived (previous year) posts are currently available full text on this website.  All posts including this one are available in my annual anthology ebook series available at the Amazon Kindle Bookstore for a nominal fee.  Hey, we all need to make a buck somehow, right?  If you find my timeless jewels of wisdom amusing or perhaps even amusingly irritating throw me a bone now and then.  Thank you my friends!