I was going to respond to Doug Hughes comment about not letting the ignorant vote but you said it so much more eloquently than I could have.

You know I have my own blog. But if you don’t mind I would like to post another off topic rambler of mine……………

Responsible tax cutting and some questions for the Right.

Is not one of the fundamental principals of modern conservatism that we must work? Got to work before we get paid? Get a job. No giveaways, welfare is bad? Shouldn’t we approach tax cutting and government spending the same way? Cutting spending is work don’t you agree? (so hard in fact it never seems to get done) Tax cuts are the payoff, (I want some money). Cutting spending requires consensus (sometimes referred to as compromise), tax cuts only require a signature (where do I sign), almost like credit (bad credit)? Establishing spending priorities is tough stuff. Giving a tax cut is really easy, almost like a giveaway to anyone who will take it and vote.

Do you want to take the easy way out?
Do you ever get paid before you work?
Do you want tax cuts before we cut spending and get out of debt?
Do you want to wage a fighting war on credit?
Do you think corporations will grow us out of debt?

If your answer is yes to at least two of these questions then you my friend are a modern conservative. You want the money before you do the work. You want to win the war without really fighting. Your aim may actually be to bankrupt the government.
What in the fuck are you thinking about?
Are you really conservative?
Or are you just a conservative?

“I like the small black marks on my hand, I’m a conservative”~ Iggy Pop-Soldier.

Yes the beauty of freedom, Most of us are free to chose: ignorant or informed. But for the hateful, freedom is stolen from them, and informed is only a myth.

I guess the one largest complaint about these “debates” I have is just that the politicians never actually say anything. They spent the first 16 minutes talking about the health care plans and Clinton didn’t answer if her plan would mandate us all to buy health care. I don’t feel comfortable having government tell us precisely how to live my life. Though I buy health insurance, I just feel better knowing I could always choose to spend money in a different manner. How can anyone not feel uncomfortable with this gradual reduction of personal decisions we can make on our own without government deciding for us? Anyway, I get carried away about these things sometimes.

I propose - in this era of computerization a test for the voters. If you can’t pass the test, you can’t vote. Nothing hard - be able to identify which candidate is the Democrat and which is Republican. Which one is in favor of extending the war in Iraq indefinately, and which one is for a speedy withdrawl. Which candidate favors universal health care, and which one wants to continue the current system with a few tweeks. Which candidate was a POW in the Vietnam conflict. Which candidate was an organizer in Chicago?

You laugh, because anyone reading this blog would blow such a quiz away. But let a media group try it as a random poll; I suspect we would eliminate a third of the electoarate. And it’s frightening to me that the ignorant have the same power on election day as the informed.

I keep giving Russert the benefit of the doubt. I think I’ll stop doing that, now.

Maha, if you get a free moment, could you drop me an email at jazzshaw@gmail.com?

Thanks!