LSJ Blogs: People's Politics

Thanks to the day

Every year around this time we read and hear about Thanksgiving from a number of perspectives.  Some are framed from the classic pictures of the God fearing Pilgrims and noble Indians while the other extreme gives us the story of the horrible atrocities rained down on the Indians by the evil white men, the predecessors to the greedy Wall Street financiers of today.  While I suspect neither of the extremes are true, I find Thanksgiving to be a day for which we can really be thankful.

Are People Born Gay?

Many groups that fight against gay rights argue that being gay is a "choice," therefore, if gay people want equal rights, they should "behave straight."  There are even fringe groups that claim to "cure" homosexuality, with generally disastrous results.

In the other corner, many LGBT rights groups argue that one is born destined to be gay or straight, and therefore deserve equal rights because one cannot help being what one is.

Regarding the issue of civil rights, I have some serious concerns with both these arguments.

Fairness Doctrine and the Democrats

One of the most dangerous things I’ve heard since the election is the obvious glee the Congressional democrats have displayed on the concept of overturning the “Fairness Doctrine.”

For those of you that don’t remember, it was introduced in 1945 at the height of the communist scare.  It basically stated (actually it didn’t say this but was interpreted by the lawyers and bureaucrats this way) that broadcasters had to present both sides of any controversial topic if it dealt with a something of public importance.  On the surface it sounds somewhat reasonable; even the Supreme Court supported this blatant attack on free speech in a 1969 decision.   However, it became used as a partisan tool to stifle or attack political opponents; another of the unintended consequences our Congress seems to find frequently.  Finally in 1984, the Supreme Court changed their minds and said the clearly unconstitutional law had the effect of “chilling free speech.”  In 1987, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) finally got rid of the Fairness Doctrine by a 4-0 vote.  

What is going on with Obama?

A man who ran one of the most disciplined campaigns who virtually never got off message (except when he talked to Joe the Plumber) seems to be falling apart during the transition and appointment process.  With the economy the number one thing on everyone’s minds, he has shown an incredible lack of leadership since the election.  I believe it was intentional that he resigned his Senate seat right before the “lame duck” session of Congress so he would not have to get involved in the details of the financial mess that we are currently facing.  Since he has done nothing to help or hurt the economy, he can always blame W, the republicans, and greedy capitalists for the problems.

Jubilee

There has always been an advantage of a lender over a borrower, and the greater the need of the borrower the greater the advantage. The temptation to exploit such an advantage is older than recorded history. Enough farms were taken over and enough debtors sold into slavery by the time the old testament was written for that text to prsscribe a Jubilee every fifty years. During the Jubilee year, all debts were to be forgiven and lands returned to there original. The purpose was to rebalance society by counteracting the tendency of wealth to multiply, even as the disadvantaged grew more desperate.

Obama's Picks

I liked Obama’s first appointment of Rahm Emanuel, but I can’t say the same for what looks like is coming down the pipe. 

For Attorney General I understand he is looking at Eric Holder, former US Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno in the Clinton administration.  I give Holder high marks for not being another Harvard lawyer, but he is still an Ivy Leaguer which gives me pause as he is undoubtedly more liberal than I like.  He does seem to have a decent sense of justice as he helped prosecute Dan Rostenkowski, D-IL, and John Jenrette, D-SC, for their misdeeds.  It appears he is not a democrat ideologue which is good.

Same Sex Marriage

While many countries, including our neighbor to the North, have quietly made same sex marriages legal and suffered no ill effects - no plagues, no lightning strikes, no massive tragedies, not even significant protests - our country can't seem to get our act together on this.

This topic is big in the national news, now that California has narrowly passed a ban on it, after first legalizing it and having thousands of couples wed there.  Several states have banned gay marriage in recent years, and several states have approved same sex marriages or civil unions. 

Why is this such an issue here?

The Global Economic Summit

I have watched the news reports and pundits on the recent economic summit with a good bit of amusement.  A real shocker was that the rest of the world seems to think the global problems are all America’s fault and that it is a good thing Obama is coming along to save the world.

“The First Time I Really met Him”

Bill Ayers finally speaks.  On Good Morning America (GMA) this morning, Chris Cuomo interviewed the unrepentant 60s terrorist Bill Ayers to clear up his relationship with Barack Obama.  While I’m not sure he cleared anything up, I am sure he is a wart on humanity and a lier.  He was such a conscientious citizen he did not want to speak earlier as it might have damaged the campaign of Barack Obama since the republicans were trying to demonize him; what a guy.

What do the election results mean?

I’ve been trying to figure out what happened on November 4th, but haven't gotten it yet.  I somewhat understand why Obama was elected President; he was a fresh face with no particular baggage except his execrable acquaintances and promised amorphous change to the current situation.  I don’t understand the Congressional races at all though.  How could a country looking for “change” and “hope” turn away from a candidate who (arguably) represented the past and a roughly 27% approval rating and vote for more power to people that had about a 10% approval rating, the lowest in history.