Saturday, May 24, 2008

Progressive Ways by Conservative Means

The Good Side of Conservatism
Boy of boy the British have it spot on. It keeps getting better. Leadership definitely sets the tone. How is this for a campaign ad. Pretty sappy you say. Well if you notice at the end of the video you’ll see the plea to vote May 1. Well they did and the liberal party took a beating at the hands of the conservatives. Their media called it the May Day massacre.
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http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=campaigns.display.page&obj_id=142460---------------
This is what I’ve been calling bottom up politics. Previously I blogged about why it seemed that the opposite is happening in England as in America as to which party was winning. Almost exactly opposite down to the special elections after the mid terms. I made the case that the people were fed up with failed government policies that were only making things worse while sapping the energy of the people. They were throwing the bums out no matter who they were.
-----link to my blog-----
http://conservativeinmuskegon.blogspot.com/2008/05/cycles-through-bums-out.html
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David Cameron the leader of the Conservative party in England in the next link, pretty much sums up what the new conservatives across the pond are running on. Also what I’m trying to figure out how to copy here on this side of our little pond in our piece of paradise.
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http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=news.story.page&obj_id=144994
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In this short fact and link filled article, he refers to pursuing progressive ways by conservative means. Not only clever but true to conservative traditions of fiscal responsibility and personal responsibility for involvement. Re involvement of the people. Making the government the facilitator of that desire for involvement not an impediment. This is the kind of ad I can get behind. An issue ad. More than that an uplifting ad. Kind of like an updated Reagan speech. Or Reagan Esq. in a Multi media sort of way. Perhaps if Newt would of presented his Contract With America in a less serious and scholarly way with more sincere smiles it might of caught on.

To be fair to Newt, this British conservative revolution has yet to fully come about. The British Conservatives have yet to even win their elections. When they do, I’m sure they will run into the same type of entrenched status quo that Newt and the Gang of Seven ran into. Perhaps however, the fresh, positive and downright happy attitude found in David Cameron and his message will give a better alternative to the status quo. Instead of the pounding away at personal responsibility and burdens of citizenship as I, and most US conservatives tend to do. That British sense of humor and gayety is a better selling point. Everyone knows that for generations people have died to keep our freedoms. I think now it’s time we focus on the wonderful thing freedom is. The joy it can bring, how strong we can feel when working together. Why it is indeed worth fighting for.

I’m going to start smiling more. It’s the least I can do.

Not because I should --- but because I feel better when I do.

Regards, Proud to be Living Dangerously As A Conservative

BREAKING this morning. Related news off the Socialist Web. Yeah I know, I guess I’ll read anything. I’m serious though read it. You’ll be amazed, the liberals are saying the same thing we conservatives are saying here and the liberals there are suffering the same defeats we have been. I keep posting about this. I think it's important. It’s like the old Superman Bizzaro World comic book. I still stress my Mantra.
IT’S THE GOVERNMENT STUPID. Make the government work better, Then find ways to diminish it’s scope.
-----link-----
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/may2008/byel-m24.shtml
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See also my side bar under “Xtra links for Current Posts” Also other related British stuff is located near the top of the side bar titled “Updates From Across the Pond”

Friday, May 23, 2008

Jonn McWhorter's book

Link below is to a part of John McWhorter’s book
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http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5628075
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I found his insights into human nature pretty well insightful. All I ever have to judge the truth of things is to compare something I have in common with that thing something from my experience I know to be true to me. What could I have in common with the black experience? Mr. McWhorter’s book brought up one fringe aspect. Being a nearly professional hippie back in the day, I could relate to how he talked of idle protest and theatrical rage. I was part of that theatre though not based on race but rather on age. With my new found age I can look back and agree with Mr. McWhorter that I found it easier and more fun to as we say now, being part of the problem than part of the solution. Well John McWhorter says it better. I quote him.
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“ Here is where legendary Civil Rights activist Bayard Rustin became dismayed as a new generation of black activists began embracing the "heroics" of idle protest and theatrical rage, uninterested in rolling their sleeves up and working out concrete plans for change”
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Were the abuses of society on me as bad as those abuses upon black people, I’m sure they were not. But how can I know that anyway. No offence but to me on a personal level it doesn’t matter. If I get slapped in the face, it doesn’t matter at the time whether someone else had been slapped harder. Things are relative. I was better off by almost any standard of measurement during my youth than my parents were during theirs, yet I was complaining about all the abuse they laid upon me. I remember sitting around with other hippies as we came up with new and better abuses for us to rant about. Even then, I would get upset at “my people” for not being willing to do more than talk. But then under the “haze” of communal type of atmosphere I would quickly mellow out. “Be cool man go with the flow”.

The excerpt I read of Mr. McWhorter’s book I liked. I gained some insight from his into my own makeup. What makes me what I am. What makes it easier for me not to roll up my sleeves. It’s nice to think perhaps I share these things with others.

One part of the article that I can relate full well to and will draw conclusions from is the following.
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Two new conditions were necessary for alienation among blacks to so often drift from its moorings in the concrete and become the abstract, hazy "race thing" that whites just "don't get."
One condition was that blacks had to be prepared to embrace therapeutic alienation, and ironically, this could only have been when conditions improved for blacks. When racism was omnipresent and overt, it would have been psychological suicide for blacks to go around exaggerating what was an all-too-real problem.
Second, whites had to be prepared to listen to the complaints and assume (or pretend) that they were valid. This only began during the countercultural revolution, within which a new openness to blacks and an awareness of racism were key elements. Certainly this frame of mind was not true of all or even most whites. But it became a common wisdom especially among educated and influential ones, such that it quickly infused university curricula and grounded governmental policies intended as progressive.
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I conclude from this that as the concrete legal barriers were brought down through the passage of the civil rights laws ect., The battle became more abstract. Not that there was no longer bigotry or other wrongs, but they were not as concrete. They were more of a mental kind of thing. It was harder to change a persons attitudes than to change a law. That logic I relate to. It was the path of least resistance that I would fall back into. For all the talk of how people need to change the way they think. The real roll up the sleeve work is usually shunned. I think this is human nature to do this. I know I’m good at shunning work. Lol.

While I understand the need to stoke the home fires to get people fired up enough to actually do the real roll up the sleeves work. I think we will be better off if somehow we can get more into the actual work part and less into the stoking the home fires part.

Thanks for listening.
Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

Thursday, May 22, 2008

BOBBY JINDAL, WHO IS THAT ??

Bobby Jindal. WHO is that?

I started following Bobby since I first heard of him from his failed bid then his election to the US House, and then fell in love with him during the whole mess of Katrina. He seemed one of the silver linings in that dark cloud. Not much was made mention of his efforts during that traumatic time. He was always on the edges of the news. Others were in the spotlight. Like Sean Penn rowing a boat, the national guard helping a pollitician scurry back to save his slush money, and the media making sure people were able to see the misery up close and personal. Well Bobby was doing what he has always done. He brought his positive can do attitude or better yet the selfless what can I do attitude to the mess. Then with what little power as a member of the US House he had he was able to use it to make a dent in the bureaucratic mess unfolding in his state. In his heart he knew what I’m just learning, Actually helping people directly has become almost illegal, in most cases it is. The next election, the people of Louisiana recognized what he did if the Mass Media wouldn’t and elected him governor. The article I linked is a long read but it fleshes out quite well the man I call Bobby Jindal. I lifted it from The Red State blog they from The Criticle. The author is Ben Domenech.
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http://www.redstate.com/stories/elections/2007/bobby_jindal_saves_louisiana
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I’m glad to see McCain has him on the list as a possible running mate. I got the link off of Drudge, see my side bar, “Old Standby Links“.
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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080521/D90Q9VF00.html
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He fits all the Politically Correct requirements the pundits condescendingly say McCain needs. You know the ones that have to do with counteracting the perceived age problem and let’s just say “diversity appeal”. Even because of all that I would urge McCain to select him lol. The one thing in Bobby’s favor I think is that he is not the flamboyant type, he won’t be trying to steal the spotlight. He’s my favorite kind of person, he’s a doer. The article below shows what he does and some of what I’ve said. I hope John McCain can see the common ground they both share in their get things done no earmark attitude, which is labeled in the Media as their Maverickness. It would be a great political risk for Sen. McCain to take, besides all the chance for negative punditry, there would be the risk of Bobby out shining John in the Media’s eyes. But then great leaders are sure enough of themselves and their ideas that they are willing to take gambles. If, the Next President of the United States wants someone by his side that will help him do what is possible to fight the bureaucracy to make government work, then I would urge John McCain to pick Bobby Jindal for his right hand man. His major drawbacks seem to be that Bobby is quiet, borders on genius, dislikes obstacles to getting things done. The list is long. Lol. I think though that I could over look them. The question is can the people who run those obstacles allow him to run? He was bad enough in Louisiana , dare they allow him loose in Washington. The article below once you get past the agenda stuff sprinkled here and there is really good about the abilities of Bobby Jindal and an excellent depiction of the problems of unlimited Bureaucracy run wild showcased by the catastrophe that was Katrina.

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

BIGGER STAGE - SMALLER BUT NOT LESSER PARTS

BIGGER STAGE - SMALLER BUT NOT LESSER PARTS

I’ve been recently getting so into the local scene, political and just plain local stuff, new business, neighborhood issues and the like, that I’ve seemed to be losing interest in the bigger picture stuff. The stuff that got me into this in the first place. Trying to campaign for local people like Karen Buie and losing my zeal for the bigger candidates, the bigger issues, that kind of thing. My other blog site deals with those “smaller” things.
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http://bottomuppolitics.blogspot.com---------------
Those things seemed more interesting. Then I realized it’s the personal touch that I find appealing. Being able to talk with the owner of Benson Drug. Having him say hi to me in the store, or talking with Karen Buie in the evening to see what I could help her with if anything. I’m realizing people like to just be acknowledged as human, me included. As Martha would say “It’s a Beautiful Thing”.

I was looking over some of my old posts on this site to find material to blog about when it dawned on me. “Big” politics can be personal too. For example. I had blogged about the bill in the State Senate, about making a constitutional amendment, about the ability for the state to raise taxes. It would have made it harder to do that. I had talked personally with our Senator once about it back when I blogged about it. Yesterday I had called his Lansing office and talked with his assistant Jeff Cobb (SP), trying to see what had happened to the bill. Jeff said he would talk with the sponsor of the bill a state senator Roger Kahn from Saginaw and he would get back to me. Well Jeff Cobb called me back today to tell me that the bill was in committee and would die there for this year. I said that there might be hope for it next year I put in my 2 cents. I let him know I was interested in it and how the bill failed to get the necessary 2/3 vote for passage by only 1 vote. The Republicans are in the minority so that told me we were getting some bipartisan support to get the vote that close. I made sure to tell him that I a private citizen support their position. A small Thing.

Well I then googled state, senator, Michigan, Kahn as that was all I knew, which got me to his website then his telephone number it was toll free and I called. Talked with a charming lady who seemed truly pleased to hear from an actual voter not a lobbyist. After showing my command of the subject (yeah I do have an ego) I told her thanks and to please make sure to tell Senator Roger Kahn thanks for the effort and to think about trying it next year. Then I also slipped in my support of the Transparency bill of Jack Hoogendyk and the efforts along the same lines by Mike Cox our Attorney General. It finally came home to me that I was again interested and that I had gained that interest because It had become personal, I had done that small thing. I reitterate, it became interesting to me again, in a small but no less important way I made it matter by doing something. If you think there’s not a difference think about it the next time your talking to and button pushing through a computer generated voice phone menue thing just to get to talk to an operator. Maybe it won’t get anything big done. But I felt better for doing it. To wax philosophical just for a sentence, that personal thing is the defining characteristic of how well a democracy works, the personal involvement of the citizens. Like giving out candy at the Fruitport parade this Memorial Day, I mean those kids can’t even vote. But it’s making politics personal, they feel good and I do too.

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

SIMPLE IDEAS

Article below echoes a pretty common thread I hear and agree with about the
Republican party needs change. Most of the heavy hitters have singed on to the need for change, some more grudgingly than others lol. I’ve highlighted Peggy Noonan as she is my favorite. It does seem like the message is getting through to the leadership if for no other reason than they feel their jobs are threatened. Keep in mind, not all conservatives are wrong headed. Let's not throw the good out with the bad, Pete Hoekstra comes to mind. The link below is for an article by Victor Davis Hansen , I lifted it off of Pajama Media.
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http://pajamasmedia.com/victordavishanson/the-problem-is-not-conservatism-but-conservatives-who-arent-conservative/---------------
The point simply put was again stated that we Republicans need a clear basic common sense message, and more importantly we need to believe in it and not compromise on it. Also at the end Mr. Hansen said.
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In short, the Republicans’ problem? They forgot who they were and can’t explain what they might be. They need to go back to basics, adopt conservative principles to confront new challenges, and then find the most effective spokesmen they can to explain their positions—hourly.
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That sums up what is and what needs to be done and I reemphasize the word HOURLY. As I read the ideas of integrity and honesty kept bubbling up. From demanding a higher bar for ethics and gladly accepting that the bar will be higher for the messenger; to the concept of ignoring the slings and arrows and working the plan. Doing what you promise is the lens through which people out side of Washington will see and judge those they put their trust in. Trust to the voter is not some clever marketing slogan. Recruit new members, which will help create new leadership. Hey Mr. Smith did go to Washington after all. The stigma of the movie comes from what he found there not Mr. Smith or his ideas.

As far as a critique of the list Mr. Hansen came up with, well I don’t care about the specifics. They will come later, naturally. They will be formed by the new leaders. Point and click didn’t just pop up, it forced it’s way around and through and in spite of the arrogance of the colossus that IBM had become. It happened because the concept was clear, easy and unmistakable, dare I say user friendly. It reeked of common sense, luckily the people pushing it didn’t have to be overly heroic because the leaders of IBM ect were too inflexible to take what was offered. Those new guys became heroic later because they had the honesty of their concept and they stuck to it.

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

Monday, May 19, 2008

CYCLES (THROW THE BUMS OUT)

Broadening one’s outlook, has something in common with age. Since I’ve been researching the conservative movements over seas,(France Britain, and Germany) I’ve been noticing similarities. I’ve of course picked up on what they are doing right to use to help figure out what we can do right but the following article about how arrogant an snobbish ect that their liberals are struck home. Here is the article.
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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/william_rees_mogg/article3957974.ece--------------
Here is my light bulb moment. The liberals over there are being accused of everything conservatives here are being accused of. What is different? Liberal theology here and abroad are pretty much the same. Conservative theology here is about the same as there. The (light bulb clicks on) difference is that the group in power is the one acting bad and the ones out of power are not, well in our case there is a time delay, we aren‘t thoroughly out of power at least not yet. Hopefully by the time we get back to the ascendancy we will have changed. That was the first light bulb idea (power corrupts) The second idea is that our neighbors (voters) pick up on the change in the way politicians act when they have power as we become arrogant ect. Which ever party is in charge.

Getting back to the similarity of broadening one’s outlook and getting older, I can’t escape that they both help filter our view of the world through the lens of varied repeated experience. Both tend to show us trends and cycles once removed. They give us the pause and depth from which to judge things better.

The nut of what I’m trying to say is that it doesn’t matter what party is in power because the people get upset by the arrogance of government. The parties just seem to take turns sharing being disliked by those who voted for them as they merrily increase and make government more inefficient in order IMO to insulate themselves from the scrutiny of the voter.

The whole concept the British are using, bottom up politics, works. It always works. It worked for the Dems here when it was “power to the people”, It has been called many things by many parties. Even I admit to trying to take back the government. The one thing that doesn’t change is that whoever is swept into power by that cry, is soon swept out by the same cry.

Slogans don’t mean squat unless and only as long as they are truly believed and backed up with hard work and integrity. The more government is made the end all to our problems the worse it gets. The quicker those good ideals become corrupted.

I know this may seem simplistic, but so was the constitution; until we messed it up with details.

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative.

PS If you haven’t noticed it’s time to start doing the hard work.
pss The more people rely on the government to make their decisions the more they are going to be upset.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

FINGER POINTING

I guess it’s human nature to point fingers. I do it in my life, after all my children get their brains from me. But I do try to be fair and add their good looks come from their mother. Well in politics niceness isn’t as important I guess. The finger pointing though seems pretty universal, the first step in change. Kind of the crude way ignorant people are forced to look at and admit a problem. Don’t like that? How’s this. Finger Pointing is the first step necessary for people whose lively hood depends upon a system that they realize needs changing but don’t know how to change it nor want to. Beautiful example of this in the article linked below in Politico by By JOHN BRESNAHAN & PATRICK O'CONNOR
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http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:oYwlSPs46MYJ:www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10371.html+House+warning+gop+20+page&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us--------------
The leadership doesn’t seem to be bubbling over with good ideas. From House member Cole this comes..
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“A large segment of the American public doesn’t have confidence in the Republican Party to deal with the issues in front of us,” Cole said. “What we have to do is look in the mirror a bit and ask how we lost our way.”
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My opinion is they have to buy a bigger mirror and get a chair and stare. Better yet, break the mirror they’re using and buy a hearing aid. There have been ideas bubbling up from the lowly precincts for a long time, except they had the earmuffs on. Those earmuffs were joyfully provided by countless study groups with power point presentations based on computer models about what is needed to make the projections look better. They probably hired the same computer model maker Algore uses. Really stirs my blood.
Is this a Republican thing or a Democrat thing. Gee let’s hire somebody to take a poll, seems like that too, like finger pointing is pretty universal. The problem is the government is broke, for 50 years the government has been breaking. The people know this. Maybe we should just stand up and say “IT’S THE GOVERNMENT STUPID” A hat tip to that crazy bald headed guy, you know the one that married that smart intelligent woman. lol Hint for those in Rio Linda "It's the economy stupid"

The media as predictable as clockwork were eager to jump on anyone willing to admit even the slightest possible chance of making a mistake. The pundits were quick to spell out all the possible outcomes for the next fifty years and project their own projections far into the future. Still no one talking about fixing government.

I’m a Republican so I’ll talk about Republicans. Congressman Cole said “look in the mirror a bit“. A BIT? Oh well. Forget about change from the top, at best we might get a BIT. Lol. I’m going to start building a new party at my level, I can do my BIT. At worse it’ll be as much as we are likely to get from the top. Maybe if it’s good what I build they will come. You know like “build it they will come” I really did like that Costner movie, a bit sappy, but hey I’m a Republican I liked it, it‘s in my blood.



Feel free to join.
I’m having a meeting at McDonalds downtown for local conservatives in the neighborhood if there are any only bring with you a desire to make government work better.. Coffee not on the house buy your own. But the talk is free. Just keep it toned down as it’s a public place.
First Meeting next Sunday at 8:00am. As no one is likely to show up let me know if the time is inconvenient . Lol I will be there though of that I’m certain. Look for an old guy, and a table with a red Detroit Red Wing hat in the middle. I’m sending Peggy Noonan an invite, I realize she probably has other commitments but who knows, remember “Shoeless Joe Jackson” from the movie showed up. All I know is I’m having fun.

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative
Always feel free to comment on the comment section about this post or any other thing on your mind.