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Tag Archives: reactions
Abolish Earmarks
photo credit: Skrewtape For some time I have been internally conflicted on the issue of congressional earmarking. Many people, including such diverse characters as President Obama and Congressman Chaffetz, have been vocal about calling for an end to earmarks. Others … Continue reading
Posted in General
Tagged earmarks, Elevated, government, Jason Chaffetz, Jim DeMint, money, Obama, reactions, Rob Bishop, thoughts
27 Comments
A New View on the Flag and Pledge of Allegiance
photo credit: eschipul I had some interesting thoughts this morning after reading an article I would normally not bother to read. It was talking about a specific historical flag, but my thoughts were turned to the flag generally and then … Continue reading
Howard Dean is Right
Few people would predict that I would agree with Howard Dean as often as I do, fewer still should be at all surprised that I agree with him when he says of the Health Care Bill: This is essentially the … Continue reading
Questions of Legitimacy
I found Power, Authority, Legitimacy at Electric Politics to be a very interesting article. It talks about these three important elements to effectively government and how they interact with each other. The focus is on legitimacy, but George Kenney also … Continue reading
What Are Your Fundamental Assumptions?
photo credit: quarksteilchen In the midst of a recent comment the author revealed a fundamental assumption that he and I don’t share that clearly explains why we have differing views on government: Federal mandates are about the only power the … Continue reading
Posted in culture
Tagged Elevated, federalism, political philosophy, reactions, thoughts
17 Comments
2074 Pages of Loopholes
With Thanksgiving weekend behind us all politically interested people can look forward to the Senate opening work on the healthcare bill. According to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: . . . senators {will} work on weekends if necessary to hammer … Continue reading
Posted in General
Tagged Bob Bennett, Harry Reid, health care, issues, legislation, Orrin Hatch, reactions, senate
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Of Big Tents and Purity
It’s a busy holiday time so I’ll spend more time quoting and less time expounding. Back in May, Jim DeMint expressed the very opinion I still hold about How Republicans Can Build a Big-Tent Party by holding to one key … Continue reading
Posted in General
Tagged ideals, Jim DeMint, parties, reactions, Republican, Wall Street Journal
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Constituent Communication Can Innoculate Against Insiderism
When I wrote about a legislator’s role as an information analyst the comments initially centered on Sen. Bob Bennett because of a quote I had used despite my desire to not single anyone out. Later in the comments on that … Continue reading
Posted in State, technology
Tagged 2010, Bob Bennett, civic participation, connections, discourse, Orrin Hatch, reactions, senate, twitter
4 Comments
Our National Emergency
I was surprised when I learned that Obama declared swine flu a national emergency late on Friday. My first thought was that I had not heard anything to suggest that things were any worse than they had been previously. Looking … Continue reading
We Should Make That Illegal
I heard a report of a store robbery this morning and the description of the perpetrator sounded very familiar – dark clothing, dark beanie hat, you know the drill. As I heard it I discarded the remote possibility that there … Continue reading