Day: November 23, 2009

Let’s Get Those Damn Terrorists!

While surfing the other day I came across the recent Quinnipiac national poll….there was much in there about Obama’s popularity, personal and policy, but the part that fascinated me was the question and answers on Afghanistan.

When asked if they, the people who answered, do you approve or disapprove of the Obama handling of Afghanistan…..38% approve, 49% disapprove…..then they were asked: do you think the US is doing the right thing in Afghanistan?…..45% is yes, 41% say no…..when asked if a democratic government in Afghanistan a worthwhile goal……34% yes, 56% no…..

But now the telling question that was asked:  do you think that the elimination of terrorists in operating in Afghanistan a worthwhile cause?……65% said yes and 29% said No…….

I will bet you are asking why is that a telling question, right?

To me it shows that the normal American is not paying attention to the situation in Afghanistan….why would I say that?

I believe that Al Qaeda, the terrorist organization that we originally went into Afghanistan, to get is now operating from the mountains of Pakistan…..the Taleban did not have anything to do with 9/11 other than letting AQ use some training facilities within their borders….the Taleban maybe a terrorist group, but it is against its own people and not an international one….

The original plan was to get terrorists but since the invasion of the country, we have been playing defense more than offense….why?…..the Taleban is fighting to rid their country of what they see as occupiers that threw them out of their position of power….they only want to return to the “ivory tower”….nothing else…..

Americans, with their answers show they do NOT have a grasp of the situation….only what they hear on FOX or MSNBC or CNN…..in other words, I return to one of my favorite things…..rational ignorance effect……(look it up…my page will help)

Federalism–The Series–Part 3—The Why?

Inkwell Institute

Professor’s Classroom

Subject:  Political Theory/Government/American History

Now the question must be asked…..Why Federalism?

The Framers of the Constitution created a federal system with a national government strong enough to unify the states in their pursuit of common goals without completely robbing the states of their independence. If they had not done so, it is unlikely that the ratifying conventions in the several states would have approved the Constitution. Indeed, the inclusion of the federal principle in the Constitution was a critical factor in its ratification. The benefits of federalism, however, have reached far beyond the ratification debates.

Federalism contributes significantly to the protection of individual rights and liberties in this nation. While many of the opponents of the Constitution were fearful the national government would not respect the rights of the people, there have been several instances in which the national government has stepped in to stop the abuse of individual rights at the state level.

A noble sentiment, but unfortunately it has not done a very good job at protecting the people from abuses……..but that would depend on what we define as an abuse….it will be different in its meaning depending on what side of the political spectrum you stand….

But from the beginning it was more about property rights than the rights of the individual…..if it were all about protecting the people then the property would not have been slaves that they were concerned with…..that was a major problem because most of the people that favored federalism were slave owners and wanted the institution to continue.

Perhaps the most important contribution of federalism to this nation has been the experimentation and “policy borrowing” it has fostered. Because states are free to develop, among other things, their own educational, law enforcement and economic development policies, at any given time there are several different approaches being utilized in different states to address the same set of public policy problems. As the programs and policies implemented by states succeed or fail, other states can learn from them and adopt, or choose not to adopt, similar policies.

Given the ability of states to experiment with different approaches to the problems they face, former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis called the states “laboratories of democracy.” In each of fifty “laboratories,” state policy makers can adopt “riskier” policies than a national policy maker would because when a program is implemented in only one state it can fail only in one state.

If only this was true….policy today is NOT made to help the people they are made to assure the continuance of the governing elite….

Another significant benefit of federalism is that it keeps many political leaders, the decisions they make and the implementation of public policy close to the people.  Federalism, with its multiple levels of government, keeps government much closer to the people than would otherwise be possible.

It is a real shame that above statement, while sounding like a good thing has been anything but good for the people of the different states.  What it has done is put the people second behind business interests and once that is done the premise of federalism being a concept that keeps the people close to government is nullified.