That Other Political Blog

Well, it's time.

I've had this blog's name saved for many moons, while I decided whether I should take the leap and create a political blog.

You see, I'm not a politician. I don't have a degree in economics, or political science, or foreign affairs. There is nothing in my background that qualifies me to pontificate on political topics with the gravitas of a William F. Buckley or the humor of a Molly Ivins. I'm not a lawyer or a Constitutional scholar.

So why bother?

Because I have something to say. I have opinions based on years of being an involved citizen, keeping up with current affairs, and being a political junkie. I am a policy wonk wannabe. I've always said I don't want to be a politician, but I wouldn't mind owning a couple. (Insert tongue-in-cheek HTML tag here.) I think I am representative of thoughtful, reasonably well-educated citizens who take an interest in government and participate in the political process.

You probably won't agree with me about everything. I describe myself as fiscally conservative and socially liberal. When the two conflict, I tend toward the left of center -- but not too far left. (However, I notice I become more liberal as I get older.)

So here I go. Wish me luck.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

More on Prop 8

Regarding those of you upset by this ruling, I wonder: How does it feel to be on the trailing edge of progress, or, if you will, on the wrong side of history? For those of you old enough to remember, how did you feel about the legalization of interracial marriage? Or school integration? Or public accommodations being required to serve people of all races? Conservatives opposed all of these changes, blaming them on an "activist judiciary," and predicted dire consequences. Do you believe now, decades later, that those enormous changes in "what was and always would be" have disintegrated the fabric of society? Do you believe the apocalyptic changes predicted by their opponents have taken place? Conservatives, by their very nature (and by definition ), desire to preserve the status quo. I can think of three underlying reasons for such a desire: 1) Fear of the unknown. (Things may not be great now, but at least we KNOW how they are -- but if we change some...
Read more

Freedom?

This week, the Supreme Court ruled in the Hobby Lobby case.  Everyone should be concerned and upset about this ruling, especially women. Reproductive Rights and Equality for Women I'm still in my 40's, so I can't claim to be a groundbreaking feminist, though I have had to fight for equality a few times.  But mostly, the heavy lifting was done before I came along.  I grew up expecting my reproductive rights to be there.  By the time it affected me, Roe v. Wade was old news.   I took an interesting medical ethics class in college, and we studied the law and controversy around abortion, around things like frozen embryos, cloning, etc.  It was one of my favorite classes.  (I took it the same quarter I took a logic class -- and I think the combination of the two proved very beneficial for my ability to analyze an argument!) The problem, as I see it, is that these same arguments continue today.  I'm a bit shaken because this is supposed to be se...
Read more

The People's Business

I'm sure you've all been waiting with bated breath for me to weigh in on the meaning, import, and consequences of the recent election.  Well, I'm not gonna.  (Except to agree with what my friend Jana says in her excellent blog, that the world is a safer place with Christine O'Donnell at home.) I think our politicians have collectively lost their way -- at least the ones at the congressional level, both federal and state.  In my state, the Democrats kept the senate but lost the house.  The new house minority leader said his highest priority for this session is to regain the majority. Really?  Well, that sucks.  Because it means you intend to play politics instead of doing the people's business. That's exactly what the Republicans did for the last two years.  It worked for them politically -- they gained quite a lot of ground in this midterm election.  But at what cost?  The ugliest, most divisive political rhetoric in decades.  The...
Read more