Yet another 4th of July post

jasonwrites — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:14:59 +0000

I wish people would call it by its proper name, instead of the so-generic “Fourth of July.” Every country on the Roman calendar has a Fourth of July… it comes after the 3rd and before the 5th. But in the USA it is our INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Just to stand on my soapbox a minute: There’s a lot of people, especially in an election year, who are full of doom and gloom about the state of our nation. But this nation has survived a lot in its 232 years, including being literally torn apart. However bad our economy may be, it’s been worse. However misguided, ineffective, or simply corrupt our leaders in government may be, there’s been many who were more misguided, even less effective, and even more corrupt. However much power you think we’ve lost in the world, there was a long time when this country was much, much weaker.

I for one am proud to be an American today and all the other 364 days of the year, I hope you are too. No matter our disagreements, we all have that in common. What happened to that one brief shining moment of unity after 9/11? We need to recapture that. Stop focusing on what divides us and start to believe in what unites us. And…

May all have a fun and festive Fourth. (for the sake of alliteration =)

Not representing me

jasonwrites — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 17:25:50 +0000

I drafted this a month ago and never posted it. So, the issues are not “fresh” as then, when Congress had just voted, preventing, again, for this stupid initiative and others of its ilk to be considered further. But they’ll surface more and more– it’s an election year, after all.

Meanwhile, I’ll admire my “Jesus is a Liberal” bumper magnet.

“The overwhelming majority of the American people support traditional marriage,” said Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (news, bio, voting record), R-Colo., sponsor of the amendment (from Yahoo! News).
Interesting, when substantially less than 100% of American adults are married, and of those who do get married, fully half don’t uphold the “till death do us part” vow. That qualifies as an “overwhelming majority”?Why must states I reside in elect individuals with either loathsome or simply downright stupid views to Congress? I was ashamed enough to be a native Georgian when Newt Gingrich was spewing his rhetoric back in the ’90′s, and now I must live in Colorado, represented by such luminaries as Musgrave and my district’s own execrable Tom Tancredo.I am so sick of this nonissue, and continue to be unamused at the party who trumpets belief in smaller, less-interfering government expressing utter hypocrisy by actively seeking to legislate the relationships of consenting adults. It’s not government’s job, and moreover, there are so many real issues pressing for attention. I could have more respect for conservative Republicans if they could grow up and address such issues, that might actually improve citizens’ lives, rather than being dogmatically hung up only on issues that somehow relate back to sex (abortion, gay marriage, stem cells… see the trend?)

You Mean We're Still Learning!? » politics

Yet another 4th of July post

Not representing me