“Forward” Music Video

There’s always a part of me that feels just a little naive and sentimental when I post a video like this one.  But I suppose I am a little of both those things.  I strongly believe in the essential goodness of human nature, and that when a society offers people an opportunity to excel, most will rise to the occasion.  Congressman Barney Frank once said, that government is simply the name we give to those things we choose to do together.  That is the view taken in this video, and it is one thing I like about it.

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Register to Vote! Preserve your Options!

Jason Mraz urges you to “Register to Vote”

Sometimes when I ask people to register to vote they express frustration with the political system, dissatisfaction the candidates that are running, anger at the role of money in politics, or some other annoyance. Because of these things they say that they’re not sure they want to vote at all. I certainly understand the frustration, but voter registration deadlines are upon us.

As they come I urge you to remember one thing: If you register to vote before the deadline, you still have until election day to decide if you actually want to cast a ballot. If you don’t, you’ve closed the door. You will not be able to vote, no matter how much you feel like you want to come election day.  Obviously it is the Presidential elections that are getting most of the attention, but they are not all that’s going to be on your ballot.

In addition to House, Senate and Presidential races, there are state and local races, as well as local and state ballot initiatives. For example, let’s say you you are a Massachusetts resident who has strong feelings about the legalization of marijuana. Medical marijuana is the subject of a statewide ballot question, but it is not getting a great deal of coverage. In fact, I’m noticing many people don’t realize it’s on the ballot at all. Should those who care about the issue come to realize that the question is there before the election, they will be able to voice their opinion and potentially make a difference only if they have registered before their state’s deadline. If not, they are out of luck, except in the few states that offer Election Day registration.
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Egypt Decides! Let’s Stand Back for a While

Saturday, 12 February 2011, Day 1 Freedom - Victory Tahrir Square, Photo by Darla Hueske, Creative Commons license, Some rights reserved

These are exciting times! The citizens revolution in Tunisia started a tidal wave of pro-democracy protests across the Arab world, and the resignation of Hosni Mubarak form the Presidency in Egypt proves there is no stopping it.

Fortunately, this wave has not caused the death and destruction tidal waves usually do, because it is the people themselves who are the wave, and it is the elite who are being swept away, not in a bloody coup, but through real people power. Final costs have yet to be assessed. People were jailed and others killed, but violence and destruction to property have been minimal. The police were brutal and ruthless and far too many were killed, but protests continued and the police disappeared quickly. After that, the one significant effort of Mubarak loyalist to crack heads, backfired terribly.

Most Americans are excited by this wave of democracy and have an innate tendency to support it. Others got very nervous when the wave hit Egypt. What happens if the Muslim brotherhood takes over? There are even voices who get far to much airplay in the media and too much ink in the press who say that people in the region are incapable of self governance and need strong arm leadership. The most looney voice has to be Glenn Beck who fears Mubarak’s fall will open the door to a Islamist Caliphate that will spread until it meets and joins forces with a Chinese-led “red” wave on a quest for world domination.
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Third-Party Groups Taking Over the Election

The President has begun slamming campaign commercials paid for by funds from third-party independent groups that, thanks to Supreme Court decisions in January, are now able to spent unlimited amounts promoting candidates and agendas. Democrats are outraged about these groups because the GOP-leaning ones have spent $24.8 million on Senate and House ads from Aug. 1 to Sept. 20, but Democrat-leaning groups also spent $4.9 million according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group. Here’s the ABC News Report. The article is at this link.


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This year it is Liberals who are are upset, because Conservative groups are outspending them 5 to 1! I worry about that, too. But while I’d be more comfortable about the outcome if the ratio were inverted, it would still bother me. I don’t see how unidentified, undisclosed contributions are good for a democracy. If, as Supreme Court justices have argued, spending money is a form of speech, shouldn’t it be clear who is speaking?