Former U.S. Senators Sam Nunn of Georgia and David Boren of Oklahoma have invited a bipartisan group of national leaders to meet on January 7 to discuss how to “stimulate a meaningful debate during the current presidential campaign on the important challenges facing our nation.” (Quote from Atlanta Journal Constitution.) Here is a portion of their letter, sent to (among others) former U.S. Senator Bob Graham, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former N.J. Governor Christie Todd Whitman, former Ambassador John Danforth and Senator Chuck Hagel:
“Our political system is, at the least, badly bent and many are concluding that it is broken at a time where America must lead boldly at home and abroad. Partisan polarization is preventing us from uniting to meet the challenges that we must face if we are to prevent further erosion of America’s power of leadership and example.
. . . To say the obvious, the presidential debates thus far have produced little national discussion of these and other fundamental issues and plans to address them. If this pattern continues through this important national election, it will produce neither a national consensus for governing nor a president who can successfully tackle these threats to our nation’s future. We understand the rough and tumble part of the political process, but without a modicum of civility and respect in our debates, forming a bipartisan consensus on the major issues after the election will be virtually impossible.”
Whether or not this meeting produces a third party candidacy (and whether or not you think that’s a good idea), it’s hard to disagree with their opening volley.
1. 
2. 
‘Tis the season for Fran’s ornament exchange party and it should come as no surprise to our loyal readers (the people who have married us, thus taking a vow to read our blog entries) that a certain amount of thought (or competitiveness, with a wee bit of fang-bearing animalism thrown-in) went into bringing JUST the right ornament.
So here, a gift to you from us for your bipartisan enjoyment is your holiday puzzler:
1. Which ornament(s) was Lea’s purchase. . . the conservative choice?
2. Which ornament(s) was Liz’s. . . the liberal’s best shot at the “W” (which I must clarify does NOT refer to the president, else I might get a holiday visit from the secret service for taking shots at “W”)?
3. Which ornament(s) got stolen 3 times, thus being retired and was therefore clearly highly desirable by nearly everyone in the room, probably on the planet, ensuring that this person became the Ornament Queen, a title that (while not at this writing accompanied by a crown) Princess Di would have far preferred as there is (at this writing) no paparazzi involved.
4. Which ornament(s) didn’t get stolen even once causing its purchaser to come down with a case of the Christmas blues, until the one person in the room who had the choice of ALL the ornaments in the room, retired or not, stole it, thus saving Christmas for this person, for the Whos down in Whoville and probably for all of mankind?
Since this puzzler will require study, contemplation and straight-out high IQ points, click on the ornament picture to get the full size image. Take your time, the stakes are high.
There will be prizes people. Really.**
**Those in attendance and those related by blood or by marriage to those in attendance to Fran’s ornament exchange are disqualified from participation. Chances of winning the prize are something like 1:1 since there’s a good chance if you answer you’ll win. We’re not telling what you win because we want you to think it might be a house or a car or a zillion dollars so that you’ll get all excited and tell your friends. Results won’t be supervised by Price Waterhouse or anybody really.
“We describe ourselves very proudly as a democracy. The preamble of the constitution, which I think is a wonderful preamble. I think we ought to think about it almost literally everyday and ask, well, to what extent is government organized to realize the noble visions of the preamble. The preamble begins “We The People” it’s a notion of a people who can engage in self-determination.
What I have discovered is a real fear of popular government. I think that for a variety of reasons having to do with the nature of politics in recent years, there is this incredible mistrust of people who don’t share your views, and you think that they’re out in some ways to wreck the country. . .
If you actually talk to Americans in their own homes in their own workplaces, it’s not that everybody agrees, but they aren’t so polarized as our current political system is. And there really is the opportunity to create a more democratic politics but I think frankly ,and somewhat sadly, more and more people are losing that faith in popular government.”
- Sanford Levinson on PBS’s Bill Moyers’ Journal
The following was forwarded on to me by one of my favorite conservatives, Bill Spann, who challenges all of his liberal friends “to join in a spirited and good-natured debate on this pressing and timely issue.” (Editor’s note: I made one small edit to Bill’s forward, find it in red.)
Oh, and first Dem who gets me an equally clever (and civil) greeting to his REPUBLIC friends gets posted. . .
TO ALL MY DEMOCRATIC FRIENDS:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee. Have a Happy Non-Denomination Winter Holiday.
TO ALL MY REPUBLICAN FRIENDS:
I wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.
“It seems to me that this country has become two choirs, each side listening only to its own preachers.” – Bill Moyers
America’s Energy Future?
There’s probably really no need for us to even bother finishing our series at this point. . .
I nearly fainted when this number from UK’s Daily Mail arrived in my inbox yesterday morning, sent by a friend who probably also nearly fainted.
The Pope condemns the climate change prophets of doom
Pope Benedict XVI has launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology.
The leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics suggested that fears over man-made emissions melting the ice caps and causing a wave of unprecedented disasters were nothing more than scare-mongering. . .
Right after my urge to quickly find a new planet to inhabit given that the primo Man of God on the planet we’re occupying would be that intemperate, I . . . uh . . . looked at what the Pope actually said (you see, he’s got his own website in all sorts of languages, very handy when one is actually trying to understand what the Pope says).
In the interest of refusing to cherry-pick, please just read the entire items under #7 and #8. It will take you 5 minutes max and you’ll be oh-so-much-more-informed than everyone else. The Pope offered up a fair caution to avoid hasty action based on ideology rather than fact, while still urging that we act. Suffice it to say that the Pope clearly strived for an intelligent, balanced assessment of the situation, sort of like what you’d like to hear from – er - a world religious leader.
Ah, but not so with the press. (And I believe in this case I am applying the term “press” loosely.) UK’s Daily Mail and “journalist” Simon Caldwell might want to keep an eye cast heavenward for bolts of lightening with their name on it. Not far behind them is Fox News who proclaims that “Global Warming Skeptics Have Friend in the Vatican” and proceeds to pick out only the parts of the Pope’s address that support their pre-existing opinion before they read his address, and by “reading” it I mean not reading it.
Then there’s the blogosphere. Conservative site “The Free Republic” posted the Daily Mail screed, to which readers made the predictable “you’ll never read this in the mainstream media” comments. Nor, I believe, will you find the big news that Elvis is actually living on a previously undiscovered Samoan island romping with primordial sea creatures and practicing his lounge act for Komodo dragons to prep for his big plans to re-debut on “American Idol” next season. Or did The Enquirer do that one already?
And the big Village Square civility thumbs-down goes to a blog on the left, Wonkette, for this beauty (cover the children’s eyes):
The Pope Sucks
Pope Benedict XVI has decided to stick his little Nazi head directly up Al Gore’s peaceful a** by calling global warming fears nothing but “scare-mongering.” He will make these completely unnecessary and regressive remarks, coincidentally, for World Peace Day on Jan. 1. That’s the same day when we’ll be wishing the Pope a jolly f***-you. [*My edits, they didn't bother.]
Let’s just say that today I’m not so worried that The Village Square will run out of work.
Do you have more questions from tonight’s forum? Comments? Do you see an outline of consensus? Lessons learned? Do you believe there were factual errors (help us try to resolve them by linking to sources for your position).
Keep in mind the concept that if you look at a bell curve, 68.2% of us are one standard deviation from the mean. Is there a solution that moves towards getting the support of that 68.2%? Is it this amendment?
Please remember as you post, this conversation will stay civil and constructive, which is why we moderate posts.
- The Management
