The blog problem for me is that I often forget what I consider my best thoughts. If I could blog simultaneously while driving, I would be famous by now because I swear I am brilliant when I drive. By the time I get to my computer, the great thoughts are just so much pablum. Here I am trying to remember the great idea I was going to write about. Was it politics? Religion? Education? Who knows.
I must say, on the political side, I can almost bear to watch the news these days. For a while there I had pretty much given up any hope. The tax compromise that Obama signed this past week was pretty hard to swallow. Many commentators wondered if he was just too soft to do the job. And I started to wonder too. What happened to the guy who actually ran on a platform of increasing taxes? For the first time in my memory, a president said he would raise taxes and then went back on his word and didn't raise them (on the wealthiest Americans). His explanation for this was that it was good for the country and that was the best deal he could get with the Republicans.
Was this just a case of hard nosed pragmatism? Or was it something weaker and less noble? Can a person who actually looks out for the well being of most of us (a utilitarian) still govern today? I started to wonder. And then, before I knew what was happening, Don't Ask was repealed and they were passing the STAR treaty and they even managed to make commercials less offensive. One congressman who voted against this last measure was reported to have asked, "when are we going to stop... will we start controlling what can be advertised soon?" Moments like these really make one wonder if there should be a minimum test for members of congress.... Anyway, I have a bit of hope for the future of American Politics... for now...
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