A More Perfect Union

Before the American Revolution people on the colonies would speak of the rights of Englishmen.

The great leap the founding fathers were willing to make with the U.S. Constitution was support of a paternalistic system that did not deem property as the great legitamizer for voting and other privileges.

Germans, Scots, some French, free Africans and varied people of mixed races gained their rights by helping to create this nation.

Still, it took more than a century for women to constitutionally evolve to full personhood. It has taken twice as long for various ethnic, racial, religious and immigrant minorities to approach that status, and for many, it remains an elusive goal.

You do not hear many people who appreciate egalitarian ideals talking about class struggles, reigning in the courts, or restrictions of hard fought and hard won rights.  People who remember being ignored, structurally underserved, and socially subordinated to the privileged do not look back on those times fondly.

The Irish rose out of their service in the Civil War. Women gained theirs through suffrage movements over 50 years, and grew it through liberating actions of the 20th Century. Italians and various Eastern Europeans emerged from  two World Wars with a bit more of it. Jews gained it through horror, hardship and determination.

Negros who became African-Americans and then just black, native Americans from Florida to Texas and New York to Alaska, Asian and Latin American immigrants and the disabled are still fighting for the incremental gains that lead to it. As are those of  those of nontraditional sexual orientations.

I'm talking about the basic right to be an American. It represents full citizenship .The total sum of rights and privileges that add up to no one attempting to limit your opportunities based upon bigotry, professed gender superiority, or other absurd traditions.

If what once was, conceptually represents something unfair, that should never be resurrected.

I cannot imagine my daughters or granddaughters living under the system my mother or grandmothers were forced to accept.  I do not want any of my young people, male or female,  to work in an economy where standing is determined by color, familial relationships or social association.

I won't embrace a time when contraception availability was a political or religious choice decided almost exclusively by men.

So-called social conservatives often speak of returning the nation to how it once was.  What they seem to desire is a vision of America where the will of a fortunate few is foisted on the many.

America's freedoms continue to evolve. Looking backward to a romanticized past does not mean more freedoms for all. Instead, it is a false hopes that somehow, conforming to the visions of a privileged few.

Anyone who thinks back to the pain of those who had to fight for rights and basic freedoms cannot possibly embrace that vision. America moves ahead and gets better as it evolves, those who long for the past want something that is not good for the rest of us.

Policies and  laws limiting any of us, deprive each and every one of us.That is the true and real threat to our freedoms and our democracy. It is not about returning America to anything it once was, it is really about a future no freedom loving person in their rational mind could ever truly want for themselves or for anyone else.

One More for the Team

President Obama's reelection campaign will need a lot of volunteers.  

Some will be involved in get-out-the-vote efforts, others will dedicate their time to fundraising. But tens of thousands will be use their talents to support the Truth Team. 

The campaign wants to recruit as many as two million people to pursue a single goal: combatting the misinformation pushed out consistently by the opposition.

"People don't just want tl hear from campaign statements ans ads-- they want to hear from family and friends they trust," said Stephanie Cutler, deputy campaign manager for Obama for America. 

This sounds like the kind of volunteer work I might enjoy.  You sign up online and then start joining the effort to stamp out bull _hit. 

The team will be divided into three parts.  Each unit will have its own Web portal: 

Attackwatch.com will combat basic and over the top nastiness:

KeepGOPHonest.com will challenge Republicans who lie about their records;

And KeepHisWord.com will promote the president's record. 

All of this is necessary because the opposition is willing to say and do anything to win the Whitehouse, retake the Senate and keep control of the House. 

One thing I've learned, over the years, is that you do not edit the president. Once an individual is elected leader of the free world, what he says, everything he says, is a matter of public record.

Honest communicators to not paraphrase, distort or mislead their readers or their audiences with words presidents have not or do not say. When the quotes are available, they simply provide the quotes and let the readers or their audiences form their own conclusions.

Since all sorts of positions, policies and statements are routinely attached to the president and repeated as though they were facts, the need for a Truth Team is obvious.  I think it's a very good idea. I wish them well.

On to New Hampshire

Well, Michelle Bachman found out that the people of Iowa weren't buying what she's been selling.

Now there are five men running for the Republican nomination. By this time next week we could be down to four. John Huntsman could be the next to go, despite a big newspaper endorsement  from the Boston Globe aimed at boosting his support in the Granite State.

We could see some nastiness in the days ahead. Newt Gingrich will calmly look into the cameras and say it is necessary for the good of the country. If he says it with a straight enough face, he may not come off mean-spirited. Question is, will it sway enough support from Mitt Romney to make any ultimate difference.

Rick Perry is looking beyond New Hampshire to South Carolina. He could limp into the Palmetto State hoping for a boost.

Ron Paul? Look for him to remain the choice of mischief voters. He will continue to glean support from those who find the whole game of presidential politics amusing.

And Rick Santorum? It is a big country. Can his pandering to the conservative wing of the Republican Party be calm enough to woo a consensus? Iowa is over and now he has to pull some numbers in real primaries.

Early primaries can be fun to watch.

On a side note: Getting on the ballot is as grassroots as political gets. While some may hire canvassers to collect signatures for ballot initiatives, should anybody really hire people to gather 10,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot in Virginia or anywhere else?

You set up an organization, you inspire volunteers and you work the streets. Money can't buy happiness. And in the Commonwealth of Virginia it apparently can't buy enough valid petition signatures. Hiring lawyers to  try and override ta 100 year-old process is not going to sit well with some of Virginia's Republican Party Faithful.

I've been saying that it is important to hear what the other side believes, so, on the way home, I have started tuning in for about 15 minutes of conservative talk radio. Gotta see what the angry white male are ranting about tonight. Get to know the opposition well enough and the surprise just won't matter.

Let's Play

Action Gaming


How about we invite everybody we know to play this multimedia electronic game.  Everybody has a shot at battling people they know or total strangers clear across the country. 

We get to follow anyone of several assorted characters as they pursue a great and noble quest.  We get to join them in epic struggles for wondrous prizes that will help them along the way.  We can help plan strategies, raise treasures and recruit allies to great causes. 

We can fight off loud and angry demons, expose deceit and from time to time, join huge crowds in cheering for our champions.  We can also challenge wealthy evil interests whose greed might leave us weak? 

Does that sound like something you've seen your kids play or you've been playing on the game machine or computer?  Is it the kind of thing they play for hours and hours in the middle of the night? 

Well, this is not a game you'll find on the rack at your favorite big box store.  It's actually pretty old.  Some of us have been playing it for years, and at least every four years we get a bunch of new characters added to keep it all interesting. 

The game is called U-S Presidential Politics. The 2012 edition is coming to a state near you very soon.  Now's the time to get in the game.  You can join the fun long before Nov. 6. 

Get in the game as soon as you can and whatever you do, bring along your whole posse.  The future of the free world is at stake, and the outcome could depend on you.