Of all the problems that plague our government, none infuriates me more than the "Pardon Season". Although Presidents typically pardon people throughout their terms, controversial pardons are usually avoided until this time of year. This is the part of the election cycle that America suffers a "lame duck" President. That is, a President who is nearly powerless, but has nothing to fear from voters. He doesn't fear the voters because he's already been voted out or termed out and his Party has two years before another election. Let's face it, no one can ever remember who any President ever pardoned anyway, much less two years later. The Pardon Season starts sometime just after the Presidential election cycle and can last right up to the very last day of the departing President's reign. Each departing President tries his best to do this outrageous act in a way that draws as little attention as possible. Maybe during a hot news day, or after a major sporting event.
Monday, November 24, 2008
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AND SO IT BEGINS |
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
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TWO DAVIDS VS. TWO GOLIATHS |
The banners have all come down, the streets are all swept free of the confetti, and the last party has been thrown. Now comes the time to analyze the election, the blame and the credit. To be sure, a lot of the credit for the big win on the Democrat side has to go to Barack Obama and a lot of the blame for the loss has to go to John McCain. That's just the way it is, the buck stops at the top. The McCain campaign leaders (not to be confused with the RNC) have thrown Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin to the wolves. This is to be expected, they certainly don't want to take the blame themselves, after all, they're all hoping to work on another campaign in the future and that's not likely to happen if they blame themselves. Governor Palin is doing the right thing. She's defending herself while pointing out that these attacks aren't coming from McCain or the RNC. Her future, from my point of view, has to be bright, I can't picture the RNC throwing away anyone with that much star power and name recognition. On the Democrat side, everyone wants in on the credit, as can be expected. But who was really the brains behind the impossible? From everything I've seen and read, it was two relatively unknowns that brought down the the twin Goliaths of McCain and Clinton; David Plouffe and David Axlerod.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
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WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES |
On September 11, 2001 all of our lives changed forever. On that fateful day, Americans were no longer black, brown or white, we were all Americans. The attacks on the World Trade Center unified us all in a way I have never seen. In the face of an enemy that didn't care if they killed who they killed or what color they were, we suddenly all became Americans, brothers and sisters. But time has a way of making us forget the significance of a single day, of a single moment in history. Whether it's April 4, December 7, or September 11, we slowly drift back into all the things that divide, not unify us all.