Musings
By Spencer Lehmann, RHU


A New Year and New Beginnings

It is January 1st, 2008. We are beginning a new year. Some cultures and countries also consider New Year’s Day to be analogous with a new birth, such as Australia, which celebrates New Year’s Day as Australia’s Birthday (ABC Australia ).

New Year’s Day is often associated with “New Beginnings”. Resolutions are made, some to be kept, some not. “This year I’m going to lose weight!” “This year I am going to stop drinking booze!” “This year I’m going to quit smoking!” “This year I am going to get healthy!” “This year I am going to listen to my spouse when they are talking!” “This year I’m going to learn to be more sensitive to other’s feelings!”

Americans will have some real opportunities to make, and keep some important resolutions. This is a Presidential Election year, and a lot of politicians will be campaigning hard to keep their seats in Congress as well. 35 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate will be “up for grabs”. 23 are held by Republicans and 12 by Democrats. It will be interesting to see if and “in what direction” that number will change after the elections in November.

All 435 House of Representatives seats are up for election this year (every two years, in even numbered years, 2002, 2004, 2006 ...). As Donna Gayler, our Wresting Arena Administrator might say, “Guess What?” This is an even numbered year! We Americans are in for a whole lot of politicians doing a whole lot of campaigning. That means that if we Americans are to have a fair to middlin’ understanding of how each candidate stands on the plethora of issues facing us, we had better be ready to do a whole lot of asking, and a whole lot of listening!

We have some wonderful opportunities waiting for us to change America’s Policies, Foreign and Domestic this year. Some of them are: Our presence in Iraq; Issues in which we are involved in the Middle East (Israel, and its neighboring Arabic countries); Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Taliban and al-Qaeda; the Issues surrounding our approach to dealing with Illegal Aliens, NAFTA related problems; Energy related problems and Global Warming; Issues related to Separation of Church and State; the American Public Education System (we have a myriad of opportunities waiting for our input regarding education!); Issues related to the Homeless and the Mentally Ill (often one and the same). This year will require that we do an excellent job of asking and listening, if we are to come to astute and educated decisions!

Are Americans up to the job; are we capable of asking the right questions and listening to make sure that we are hearing the answers we need to hear to assure that we will not find ourselves facing New Year’s Day 2009 with regret? Absolutely, we are. We are Americans! Will we do the job we must in order to create a better future for our and future generations? We must! Opportunities such as these don’t come along every year!



Spencer A. Lehmann, RHU is a Registered Health Underwriter with many years of experience in working with Insurance companies to help develop and market Long Term Care insurance products. He also has many years of experience in working with the Federal Congress and State Legislatures in developing consumer protection oriented rules and regulations.

Just how high do we want to set the bar in this election? Do we really want a Congress and Administration from the same party? Didn't we learn anything from the first 6 years of the current fiasco? Today it is looking to be a pretty safe bet that the Democratic party will control the White House, and both houses of Congress for the first time in a long time. I'm not so sure that would be a good thing for the country. But, by November, that picture may change quite a bit.

Every voter has to ask serious questions and decide where they are willing to compromise. Is a politician OK for office if he/she opposes the war, but also opposes birth control in any form? If he/she favors birth control, but wants to raise taxes; what do we do? Do we make all of them take lie detector tests to screen out the obvious liars in the group... oh wait... we're discussing politicians. They are all, by definition, liars.

Wouldn't it be nice if all students could take a class about our government and how it is supposed to work? That way we would be able to separate the BSer's from the serious public servants. Wait a minute... Didn't we used to have something like that at one time? We called it Social Studies, or Civics Class and it was very helpful in teaching us how to become good citizens. Darn shame it gave way to "modular teaching", "new math", "sensitivity training", or some other such BS. What with all the teaching time needed to enable Jr., or Princess, to pass the newly required national testings, there is little, or no, time left for such arcane subjects as Civics.

What can we do to make sure we get the "creme de la creme" this time around? Ask questions at every opportunity. If you hear something on the radio and it doesn't make sense... call in and demand the truth. If you read an article claiming that a particular person did something you know didn't happen... write the editor and demand a retraction. Keep the media honest. Don't let them get away with another "Swift Boat" campaign, or Terry Schiavvo fiasco. Attend the meetings in your area, write the people in office now and let them know that you are watching them for a change. Nothing stops a sneak faster then the knowledge that they are being observed and held accountable.

The good news is that you can do all of this from the comfort of your home up until election day. Then you have to get to the polls and flip the lever (or push the X) next to the crook you trust the most to act in your best interests.

Just some random thoughts on a late cold night.
GP

quote:

Just how high do we want to set the bar in this election? Do we really want a Congress and Administration from the same party? Didn't we learn anything from the first 6 years of the current fiasco? Today it is looking to be a pretty safe bet that the Democratic party will control the White House, and both houses of Congress for the first time in a long time. I'm not so sure that would be a good thing for the country. But, by November, that picture may change quite a bit.

Absolutely not, GP. Quite frankly, I think it provides a far better balance when the Administrative Branch and the Congress are from separate Parties. I shudder to think what the results might be were they from the same Party, and were attempting to pass unwarranted, "consumer unfriendly", or "anti-Constitutional" Legislation.

Your comments here:

quote:

What can we do to make sure we get the "creme de la creme" this time around? Ask questions at every opportunity. If you hear something on the radio and it doesn't make sense... call in and demand the truth. If you read an article claiming that a particular person did something you know didn't happen... write the editor and demand a retraction. Keep the media honest. Don't let them get away with another "Swift Boat" campaign, or Terry Schiavvo fiasco. Attend the meetings in your area, write the people in office now and let them know that you are watching them for a change. Nothing stops a sneak faster then the knowledge that they are being observed and held accountable.

are precisely the point I'm trying to make in my essay.

I think that, as a generalization, we Americans have a history of voting without knowledge for those who "look" the best to us. We don't ask the important and hard questions. When we do, should the response not "feel quite right", we don't normally take it to the next level and demand an accountability or clearer response than the one given.

Instead of voting as an uneducated Public, we must all begin to "stretch out" in an effort to better educate ourselves regarding the platform under which the candidate is running. We really need to know where they stand on the issues, instead of just accepting the "Sound-bites" that seem to flow from their mouths with such ease.

Your comments about students receiving the best possible education about Civics is "dead-on". Students are not taught how politics really work, including "Earmarked" Monies, which represent nothing more or less than "Pork barrel" Politics. What is worse about Earmarks, and the fact that Civics classes don't teach our students these kinds of"Behind the door" politics, is that in Congress any piece of Legislation can have Amendments attached which have absolutely nothing to do with the actual Legislation, versus State Legislative Bills that require that any amendments attached thereto must be germane to the Underlying Bill.

One of my favorite sayings about politics is: Politics is like sausage; if you knew what went into it, you wouldn't eat it". I find that to be even more accurate today than the first time I heard that saying. How very sad.

I was told a long time ago that people will will rise as low or as high as the expectations we have of them. I still think that this holds true today. If we say "Hell no, we won't accept anything less than integrity!" then that's what we'll get. If we say "Oh well, same 'ol, same 'ol." then that's what we'll get.

Spence is right, we need to start holding politicians' feet to the fire and make them OUR servants, not the other way around. We need to stop being sheep drinking the koolaid at the politicians' water trough.

Thank you, Donna!

You certainly got the message I was trying to impart!

I love that "graemlin"! So, ya think it should go up with the others?

Yeahhhh...

quote:

Originally posted by Spencer Lehmann:
Thank you, Donna!

You certainly got the message I was trying to impart!

I love that "graemlin"! So, ya think it should go up with the others?

Yeahhhh...

I'd love it!

quote:

Originally posted by graypanther:
Just how high do we want to set the bar in this election? Do we really want a Congress and Administration from the same party? Didn't we learn anything from the first 6 years of the current fiasco? Today it is looking to be a pretty safe bet that the Democratic party will control the White House, and both houses of Congress for the first time in a long time. I'm not so sure that would be a good thing for the country. But, by November, that picture may change quite a bit.

Sadly, there are too many issues on which there isn't a dime's worth of difference between the two parties.

The Democrats were given control of Congress in 2007 to make some changes.

What they've done is give pretty much what the Republicans gave, and they've not figured out how to rein in the Republicans on their filibuster threats. Then, when a filibuster is called for, and a bill deserves to be soundly defeated for breaching about half of the Bill of Rights, they roll over and vote 'Aye!'.

The new beginning I'd like to see is restoration of the Constitution.

At present, I'm afraid I'll not live long enough to see it happen.

quote:

Originally posted by Lillibet:

quote:

Originally posted by graypanther:

Just how high do we want to set the bar in this election? Do we really want a Congress and Administration from the same party? Didn't we learn anything from the first 6 years of the current fiasco? Today it is looking to be a pretty safe bet that the Democratic party will control the White House, and both houses of Congress for the first time in a long time. I'm not so sure that would be a good thing for the country. But, by November, that picture may change quite a bit.

Sadly, there are too many issues on which there isn't a dime's worth of difference between the two parties.

The Democrats were given control of Congress in 2007 to make some changes.

What they've done is give pretty much what the Republicans gave, and they've not figured out how to rein in the Republicans on their filibuster threats. Then, when a filibuster is called for, and a bill deserves to be soundly defeated for breaching about half of the Bill of Rights, they roll over and vote 'Aye!'.

The new beginning I'd like to see is restoration of the Constitution.

At present, I'm afraid I'll not live long enough to see it happen.

Lillibet, don't give up the hope, please. When we give up the hope, we simply give up.

I know you better than some, and what i see in you, what I've always seen in you, is a strong woman who has hope.

I'm betting that a lot of women would have given up by now, if it weren't for you.

So, don't let them down. Don't let me down.

Hope emanates from you. Please, never take it away.

Light shines upon you, Lillibet!

Good Essay, Spence!
I, for one, would like to see an honest leader for our country.(Yeah, I'm dreaming). One who will balance fiscal responsibility with moral responsibility. A government who will help provide accessible health care to those who need it, but with a reasonable cost. Who will spread the costs of government programs among all the "classes", not just the middle class. And who will also put some teeth into our immigration laws! Okay, that's a small portion of my wish list.

Dreaming is good. They taught us in psych school that it's okay to build castles in the air. It's when we try to live in them that the problems set in!

Our government at every level is in such a state of disarray (to put it kindly), that it will take quite a person or set of persons to even begin to set it straight. I'll never give up hoping and believing that it's possible. Someday maybe it could even happen.