29/08: A Blessing of Federalism
One of the blessings of a Federal governing system, as opposed to a Unitary governing system, is the 50 Experiments at Once.
Each state is working on its own problems, responsibilities, and challenges. So we have Fifty groups of smart (I hope) and dedicated public servants trying out solutions to various issues. Two heads are better than one, and 50 better yet.
Of course, many of the problems are similar, such as roads.
My home state of Missouri has had a good road system as long as I remember. And it is getting better, with efficient use of its money. Now, it can provide a model that some other states may want to imitate.
Do you really think that a single group of Federal officials in Washington can come up with as many good ideas as fifty groups, one in each state?
Viva Federalism.
Each state is working on its own problems, responsibilities, and challenges. So we have Fifty groups of smart (I hope) and dedicated public servants trying out solutions to various issues. Two heads are better than one, and 50 better yet.
Of course, many of the problems are similar, such as roads.
My home state of Missouri has had a good road system as long as I remember. And it is getting better, with efficient use of its money. Now, it can provide a model that some other states may want to imitate.
Do you really think that a single group of Federal officials in Washington can come up with as many good ideas as fifty groups, one in each state?
Viva Federalism.
Category: American History and Politics
Posted by: an okie gardener
Today is the anniversary of the Wymondham Rebellion, another in the long line of acts of resistance to unjust power that form the backbone of British Liberty. We are their heirs. Our founders understood themselves to be defending their rights as Englishmen.
From the Revolutionaries through the reformers, union organizers, populists, civil rights activists, and ordinary citizens who challenged injustice, on our side of the Atlantic we have a rich heritage of men and women determined to--in the words of the New Hampshire state motto--Live Free or Die.
How sad that Britain today has devolved into a people ruled by bureacrats, and who are being handed over by their elites to Brussels bureacrats.
This fall, let's pay attention to politics here at home.
From the Revolutionaries through the reformers, union organizers, populists, civil rights activists, and ordinary citizens who challenged injustice, on our side of the Atlantic we have a rich heritage of men and women determined to--in the words of the New Hampshire state motto--Live Free or Die.
How sad that Britain today has devolved into a people ruled by bureacrats, and who are being handed over by their elites to Brussels bureacrats.
This fall, let's pay attention to politics here at home.
Category: American History and Politics
Posted by: an okie gardener
This morning I listened for a while to Mark Davis on the radio He is broadcasting his talk show live from the Democratic Convention in Denver. One of his on-air guests today was Faye Wattleton, former head of Planned Parenthood and currently at something called the Center for the Advancement of Women.
In the interview she described her emotional experience of stepping into the booth to vote in the New York Democratic primary and having a choice between a black man and a white woman. She said that she felt elated and awed to be part of this historic moment, and she spoke highly of our country and its progress in rights.
Then she made this statement. And I am paraphrasing: as a black person part of my identity pulled toward voting for Obama; but my "gender-identity" (her term) was stronger and I voted for Hillary.
Mark Davis, a great talk-show host, let this statement pass because he was charging ahead into a discussion/debate of abortion.
I think this woman put into words the process by which many liberals make their voting choice: identity politics. They vote for the candidate that speaks to, or shares, their personal identity of gender or race or sexual preference or whatever. Not positions rationally considered. Not the common good. Not answers to the issues facing the nation. But identity.
I realize this manner of vote decision is not new. Many of Andrew Jackson's supporters voted for a fellow frontiersman, Southerner, self-made man, masculine man. Either their identity or their wished-for identity.
But, making voting decisions in terms of "identity" is a dangerous practice. You can wind up voting for an incompetent who shares your race or sex or class.
In the interview she described her emotional experience of stepping into the booth to vote in the New York Democratic primary and having a choice between a black man and a white woman. She said that she felt elated and awed to be part of this historic moment, and she spoke highly of our country and its progress in rights.
Then she made this statement. And I am paraphrasing: as a black person part of my identity pulled toward voting for Obama; but my "gender-identity" (her term) was stronger and I voted for Hillary.
Mark Davis, a great talk-show host, let this statement pass because he was charging ahead into a discussion/debate of abortion.
I think this woman put into words the process by which many liberals make their voting choice: identity politics. They vote for the candidate that speaks to, or shares, their personal identity of gender or race or sexual preference or whatever. Not positions rationally considered. Not the common good. Not answers to the issues facing the nation. But identity.
I realize this manner of vote decision is not new. Many of Andrew Jackson's supporters voted for a fellow frontiersman, Southerner, self-made man, masculine man. Either their identity or their wished-for identity.
But, making voting decisions in terms of "identity" is a dangerous practice. You can wind up voting for an incompetent who shares your race or sex or class.
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