The rot that is politics...

Over the last several years, I have found myself deeply fascinated with the political churnings of our still great and proud nation. Though I fell short of reading every article/magazine, or visiting every website, I still took it upon myself to remain informed of the daily proceedings occurring in federal, state, and local legislatures. I felt as a reasonably proud citizen, it was not only a privilege, but a duty and responsibility that one should take seriously and therefore I made certain that I not only educated myself but also applied an informed decision at the ballot box each election. I knew who I liked in politics and was painfully aware of those who I felt had no business having a say in how my country was run.

That all being said, in the last six months or so, I have found myself increasingly disenchanted with the political machinations of lawmakers in general. My overwhelming disgust with partisan shenanigans being played on both sides of a very wide aisle has been enough to turn me away from politics in general, only allowing myself to tune in periodically to maintain some level of awareness. Regardless, the attraction to the convoluted world of politics is eternally there and I have found myself seeking out information more and more, paying more attention to events as we steer closer and closer to a November presidential election.

Now I am a fairly black and white thinker - you are either in or you are out, you are either right or you are wrong - there is no grey area, no compromise, no abstract ideology...  So one might think because of my overall thought processing, I would be more inclined to approve of the constant stonewalling in the Senate and Congress, not to mention, the President himself. Nothing could be further from that notion with my growing disdain for a government that is so bloated and full of itself that it has long forgotten the people it is supposed to represent. The absolute arrogance displayed by the members of our legislature, our judiciary branch, and the presidential administration is astonishingly abhorrent and appalling.

We have two branches of the legislature with majorities that are ideologically at odds and appear to be more interested in roadblocking each other and getting themselves re-elected than finding real and plausible solutions to an ever growing financial and economic crisis. We have a President who has spent the large majority of his first term campaigning for a second with nothing of real merit aside from the ill-conceived health care bill and astronomical government spending to show for his less than meager accomplishments. Our government is acting like a poorly organized circus and I do believe the American people largely are less than entertained at this point.

News wouldn't be complete if some Senator, Congressmen, secretary, or whatever hasn't come out on a daily basis to say something so incredibly ridiculous that it makes one ponder why they were elected to such a position in the first place. I have no doubt that those who have sought political office in the past, did so with the best of intentions, regardless of their philosophical ideals. However, due to no term limits set for legislators, we have a mass of lawmakers who have made politics their career and therefore have remained in their position for far too long. The adage, "Absolute power corrupts, and power corrupts absolutely" comes to mind when I think of our representative men and women. Our esteemed lawmakers have lost much of what connects them to reality and I say this of both parties...

The icing on the cake for me was Senator Harry Reid recently coming out and stating that Governor Romney  has paid no income taxes in the last 10 years. He claims that he got his information from a single unknown source, which he refuses to reveal. He also refuses to provide any sort of evidence/documentation to substantiate his accusations, stating that it isn't about him and that if Governor Romney wants to clear his name then all he has to do is prove that he paid taxes... Since when is it acceptable for a prominent leader in our legislature to make outlandish unsubstantiated accusations with no evidence to back them up? I suppose it is within reason then to accuse any one political figure of any sort of heinous act and then expect them to be held accountable regardless of the supporting evidence or lack thereof. As a politician, it is a clever tactic but one condemned by Democrats decades ago. And since Reid is not seeking re-election, he has little to be concerned with in regards to any sort of backlash. Regardless the damage has been done and Governor Romney will have to deal with the consequences and Senator Reid will go down in history as a lawmaker who is more than willing to stoop to despicable means to achieve political gain.

Unfortunately, there is little to no accountability present anymore in our government. The checks and balances that were put in place at our nation's founding have all but completely failed. Recent Supreme Court decisions have affirmed this as it was demonstrated that justices can be bought with political favors...

All in all, we have a system that oozes dis-function and chaotic disorder. With career politicians raking in well over twice the average household income annually and being allowed up until recently to engage in practices that essentially qualify as illegal insider trading on the stock market, there is absolutely no one holding these people's feet to the fire. A Senator or Congressman can serve for 20-30 years and make a comfortable living doing so without accomplishing much. A complicit media also shows that there isn't even any accountability from the press let alone the American people. We are sheep being tended by a bunch of very overfed wolves....

Until we can rid the rot that is currently at the center of our ever increasing government, we will continue to experience more regulation, more taxation, and more crisis - all as a result of the limited efforts of our lawmakers who enjoy the proverbial fatted calf and wine at the expense of our hard earned dollars....

Libertarian : To be or not to be....

With the political winds whipping about in an almost frenzied state in these troubled yet interesting times, many people seem to be striving to find what their identity or affiliation is in the political sense. In the last 50 years or so it has always been relatively easy to determine one's line of thinking as well as his/her political tendencies by reading into whatever stereotype their appearance, behavior, and lifestyle seemed to display. Yet, as of late it seems that attempting to discern one's leanings without more than a word or two in conversation is becoming more and more difficult as people are grasping on to more obscure lines of thinking. Increased disenchantment with the two mainstream political monoliths in our country is causing more and more individuals to seek something or someone else to identify with and put on a pedestal.

Lately the term libertarian has become a common one. With Ron Paul on the campaign trail promising fiscal and economic conservatism, he has gained a cult-like following among those who have a wide array of varied beliefs - all of which could be construed as libertarian. I myself, took an interest in this utopian concept of maximum personal liberty and thought, "Hey, that can't be so bad". It was only when I started to get into heated arguments and debates with other self-proclaimed libertarians that I had to take a step back and examine what it actually means to be one of these so-called bastions of ultimate liberty and freedom.

As I began to delve into the subject of libertarianism, what I found both astonished and appalled me at the same time. At first glance, a libertarian strives to achieve maximum personal liberty through limited to non-existent government. The typical American libertarian is conservative when it comes to money and the economy yet is very liberal when it comes to social issues/questions like abortion and gay marriage. Ultimately in a nutshell, a libertarian believes in achieving his/her own maximum liberty without any regard for other people's choices and what sort of consequences they might face. That being said, however, there are many facets to libertarianism like with any political affiliation. Some libertarians are actually quite conservative all around with a few wacky ideas here and there, others are simply and bluntly put, socialists and anarchists.

In my mind, there is so many things wrong with the whole concept of what is libertarianism. First of all, the concept in its purest, undiluted form is absolutely impossible to achieve. You cannot build a society based on the notion that any person can do whatever they like short of murder and suffer no consequences.

"Some libertarians consider libertarianism to be a lifestyle and not a political philosophy... These "lifestyle" or "cosmopolitan" libertarians, some of whom - to the detriment of their cause - are condescending, pompous snobs, are not content with personally and culturally conservative libertarians (like Ron Paul) tolerating diversity; they want them to likewise celebrate depravity. They apparently don't know the difference between libertarianism and libertinism." - Laurence M. Vance

Anytime I think of the word libertarian, I think of Utopia and anytime I think of Utopia, I remember an old Laurel and Hardy movie aptly named, "Utopia". Long story short, in the movie, the two bumbling idiots inherit a fortune and buy a boat. They then find an island in the middle of the ocean and call it their own, inviting everyone and their brother to the "land with no rules". Obviously attracted by the notion of lawlessness, the island quickly became crowded with scoundrels and miscreants alike and when anarchy ensued and the venerable Mr. Hardy attempted to instill order, they simply told him, "There are no rules here, GTFO!!!" This movie, exaggerated as it is, still displays what ultimately can occur with a true libertarian state. The concept might look good on paper and perhaps in a world where everyone shared the same culture and thought the same way, it might even pan out, at least for a little while...  All good things surely come to an end...

Obviously, there are many different notions of what libertarianism is and doubtless, there are many individuals far more intelligent than I who have a firmer grasp on the supposed philosophical genius of all things libertarian and/or anarchy. I, on the other hand, know what I see before me and all I can say is that it reeks of selfishness.

First time blogger....

So I have always been somewhat aloof of blogs and bloggers alike, treating them with a minute level of disdain and have mocked them more than a little on an infrequent basis. I always thought, "Who has the kind of time to lay out all their thoughts and opinions for the world to see? Who even cares, why would the world want to see anything that you have to say? The world as a whole will continue to move on regardless of your supposed individuality and seemingly unique thoughts, etc....."

Now you might be thinking, "Well, what seemed to have change your mind?"

Good question....      I am still trying to figure it out....

Over the last few years, I have become better "connected", more "in-tune" with today's technology, enmeshing myself in what seems to connect everybody these days: social networking...   In fact, once upon a time, I treated Facebook with every ounce of vitriol I could conjure up, I had no desire to subject myself to the virtual manacles that so many people seem to be bound by. Once I realized that I would soon lose all communication with family, friends, etc, I had to make a weighty decision :   Give in to an ever-changing world or become disconnected from everyone I loved and respected.

I chose the latter....

Since then, I have experienced some of the wonders an entity such as Facebook has to offer. I am able to argue, debate, concur, and discuss with friends and family, issues and concepts that probably would otherwise never be brought up in normal conversation. I began to realize that I actually enjoyed writing out my thoughts and ideas, they could take full bloom in a wall of articulated script unlike the stumbling, erratic vocalizations that issue forth from the lips of a less than eloquent man. I began to attempt to engage in debates and arguments with friends and family in avenues other than social networking sites via email, group pages, and the like. I discovered that it can be difficult to voice one's thoughts in text where the nuances and inflections of face-to-face conversation are not present. Feelings have a tendency to get hurt, misunderstanding and misconceptions are rampant in a seemingly impersonal manner of communication.

So I thought to myself, "Why purposely engage in an argument where someone can take offense so easily where no ill intentions were meant, when I can write out my random musings in a blog where people can choose to engage or not to?"

Hence the reasoning behind my decision to create a blog...   I really do enjoy writing my thoughts, my brain has a tendency to be a convoluted soup, teaming with a vast assortment of ideas, opinions, etc. When I write, those said thoughts have the ability to sort themselves out in a seemingly articulate and semi-intelligible manner. My lack of eloquence is ever present, however. So hopefully as I continue to write in the future, I will only become more proficient in voicing my mind without causing too much confusion on the part of the reader.

So there you have it, my first blog....