Indiana Senate Bill 5 – A Joke

I normally have a national view. Excuse me while I slip for just a bit into Indiana politics.

I stumbled across this post on Masson’s Blog. He points out a new bill being introduced in the General Assembly this session. I hope he will forgive me for quoting his post in its entirety. It’s not very long.

Senator Errington has introduced SB 5 which expands the permissible forms of voter identification.

Included among the permissible forms of identification are: 1) a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check, or another government document that shows the name and address of the individual; 2) A driver’s license or state identification card issued by a state other than Indiana; and 3) an affidavit executed by two precinct election officers who are members of different major political parties declaring that they have personal knowledge of the individual and that the individual is the individual whose name appears on the poll list.

Sounds reasonable. It won’t, however, see the light of day in the Republican controlled Senate.

Sounds reasonable? On what planet??? Just because I have a utility bill showing that person A lives at address B doesn’t show that I’m person A! In fact, it doesn’t give any new information at all. From the registration information, we already know that person A lives at address B. That’s why we registered the person there.

Hopefully he’s correct about the bill’s chances, but not because it’s a Republican controlled Senate, but because it’s a truly awful bill.

Saying Goodbye to 2008 and Mediocrity

I read GigaOM for the technology news. I’ve long since realized that my political views differ radically from most of the posters there.

However, this article is a rare gem. Om Malik gets straight to the heart of what we’ve done wrong the last few months: embraced mediocrity.

In offering money to bailout failed bankers who couldn’t bank, car makers who couldn’t make good cars and chipmakers who have seemingly no business acumen, we stood on the top of the roofs and said: Mediocrity is OK. In the meantime, not one person has been held accountable for bringing fiscal, moral and social Armageddon to our doorstep.

He also looks at it from a technology perspective:

Our acceptance of mediocrity is the reason why Apple’s iPhone hasn’t had a credible competitor. Today, RIM Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis, in a chat with CNET Asia, compared the BlackBerry Storm — an iPhone rival — to a netbook. I recently had a chance to use the touchscreen Storm and within an hour of using the device, it was more like a Touch Scream Storm. It is beyond bad! Any self-respecting company should think twice before putting that device into the market, but as I said, in 2008 we came to learn and reward mediocrity.

I disagree with Om on one thing, though. This embracing of mediocrity is hardly new with 2008. It just accelerated then. He is correct in his conclusion, though. If we continue to embrace mediocrity, we will never again make this country great.

Great Article on Bush by Byron York

If you read nothing else about President George W. Bush (R-USA), read this. It’s a view into the inner workings  of the White House and Bush the Man.

Here’s a sample:

But the president’s political fortunes haven’t affected the intense loyalty that those who know him best feel for him. The people who have worked with George W. Bush in the White House for many of these past eight years have seen a different man from the one reflected in so much negative press coverage. And as they prepare to leave on January 20, their feelings for him are, if anything, stronger than when they arrived.

 

Well worth a click.

Republicans and democrats – Faith and Trust

Republicans often have little trust in big government and instead put their faith in big corporations.

Democrats often have little trust in big corporations and instead put their faith in big government.

Both are somewhat correct. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

In this instance, I believe that there is a clear winner, but I admit my bias.

One could also argue that the misguided faith and misguided trust of these institutions has led to our current financial mess.

Republicans and Democrats – Point of View

Republicans tend to think that what is good for America will be good for Americans. This makes them support the a strong armed forces, low corporate taxes, things like FISA wiretaps, etc.

Democrats tend to think that what is good for Americans will be good for America. This makes them support the unions, national health care, the Department of Education, etc.

One could argue that neither viewpoint is a) completely right, b) completely ywrong, c) very healthy and d) very intelligent.

Happy New Year

I hope the coming year is good for you no matter your political persuasion. I also hope that it’s a great year for America and Americans and the world as a whole.

Celebrities that Lean to the Right

Interesting slideshow on WCBSTV.Com entitled “Celebs Who Lean To The Right”. Take a peek. It’s worth it.

Any surprises here for you? I was surprised to see Susan Lucci. On the other hand, maybe I shouldn’t have been. She’s not only the “Queen of Daytime TV”, she’s probably the smartest person in it, as well.

For How Many Years…?

Interesting article.

Geologist Dr. David Gee, chairman of the science committee of the 2008 International Geological Congress, currently at Uppsala University in Sweden asks, “For how many years must the planet cool before we begin to understand that the planet is not warming? For how many years must cooling go on?”
That’s a vital question for Americans to ask. Once laws are written, they are very difficult, if not impossible, to repeal. If a time would ever come when the permafrost returns to northern U.S., as far south as New Jersey as it once did, it’s not inconceivable that Congress, caught in the grip of the global warming zealots, would keep all the laws on the books they wrote in the name of fighting global warming.

As they say, read the whole thing.

Can We Declare Victory in Iraq Now?

James Robbins at The Corner asks that question and it’s a good one. As he points out (emphasis mine):

The number of daily attacks in Iraq has fallen almost 95% from levels a year ago. Also of note, the murder rate in Iraq in November was 0.9 per 100,000 people. That is lower than the rate from before Saddam was overthrown. For those keeping score, the 2007 murder rate in the US was 5.9 per 100,000. Can we declare victory yet?

It's Been A While...

...since I've posted here. I have to apologize for that. I've been quite busy with project work and projects around the house. Also, I admit that I suffered from lack of enthusiasm to post much once the financial market meltdown occurred and it became obvious that no Republican could win in 2008.

However, I'm ready to get started on 2009, and I'll make a few statements on how this blog is going to function over the next few years.

First, I hope that President Barack Obama (D-USA) is an incredibly successful President. In fact, I hope he’s the most successful President ever. Unlike some of my more liberal counterparts over the last 8 years, I’m not going to wish him or the country ill just to satisfy my own desires for vengeance or conservative revivals.

Second, I’m not going to resort to ridiculous name-calling as we’ve seen elsewhere “Smirking Chimp”, “Bushitler”, etc. (Although I may occasionally call our VP “Clueless Joe”, just because that one is too easy and too good to resist—and I’m a “Shoeless Joe Jackson” fan.)

Third, I will point out when the new administration does things I agree with and when I disagree. I expect there to be far more of the latter than the former, but perhaps I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Fourth, I will continue to push for GOP 2.0, and a new Republican Revolution (with Republicans who remember what it means to be conservative).

Fifth, I’m going to try to avoid swinging at pitches in the dirt. If I go after Mr. Obama on something, I want it to have substance. Hopefully this blog won’t get mired in pointless non-controversies like the Valerie Plame affair (I expect to have very little to say about Blagojevich).

On a final note, I just want to say Merry Christmas to all, and I hope the holiday season finds you well and that the new year brings good tidings to you and yours.