Wikileaks and the Pro-Democracy Movement in the Middle East

One cannot help but take note of the fact that the unrest in the middle east that is geared toward democracy is taking place following some substantial revelations about the very countries that are experiencing unrest.

State of the Union - The Sky Brightens

A State of the Union Address is not - as a rule - a time for details and nuance. Nor should one expect the response to contain a lot of substance. Rather they are an opportunity to present a vision of the days ahead to the American people. When they “sing” it is because they have been well crafted and they speak to the issues that matter to us.

By that measure both the President’s address and the Republican response were right on the mark. Not because I agreed with everything that either President Obama or Represnetative Paul Ryan said but because they presented their visions clearly and well to the people - elevating the dialog and engaging with one another.

Over the next few days I will blog my observations about the details of the statements – and there is much to be said. For now, let it be said that there is every reason to believe that the price paid by the fallen in Tuscon was not in vain and that their sacrifice may have lighted a candle whose luminance has shown us a path by which we may begin to emerge from an accursed darkness

Ben Franklin's Prescription for Today's Congressional Gridlock

Sometimes the briefest speeches echo the most powerfully down through our history. As it has been with Lincoln's address at Gettysburg; such it is with the words of Benjamin Franklin at the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

Franklin, frail and unable to deliver the speech himself , asked his friend and fellow Pennsylvanian James Wilson to read the speech for him. It is a speech that every member of Congress should be required to read at the start of each annual Congressional Session for Franklin reminds us - in the wisdom of his age - that our obligations to our country must be larger than our egos.

Here in less than 720 words is a prescription for what ails the United States Congress.

I confess that there are several parts of this constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them: For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. It is therefore that the older I grow, the more apt I am to doubt my own judgment, and to pay more respect to the judgment of others. Most men indeed as well as most sects in Religion, think themselves in possession of all truth, and that wherever others differ from them it is so far error. Steele a Protestant in a Dedication tells the Pope, that the only difference between our Churches in their opinions of the certainty of their doctrines is, the Church of Rome is infallible and the Church of England is never in the wrong. But though many private persons think almost as highly of their own infallibility as of that of their sect, few express it so naturally as a certain french lady, who in a dispute with her sister, said "I don't know how it happens, Sister but I meet with no body but myself, that's always in the right — Il n'y a que moi qui a toujours raison."

In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a general Government necessary for us, and there is no form of Government but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered, and believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other. I doubt too whether any other Convention we can obtain, may be able to make a better Constitution. For when you assemble a number of men to have the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assemble with those men, all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests, and their selfish views. From such an assembly can a perfect production be expected? It therefore astonishes me, Sir, to find this system approaching so near to perfection as it does; and I think it will astonish our enemies, who are waiting with confidence to hear that our councils are confounded like those of the Builders of Babel; and that our States are on the point of separation, only to meet hereafter for the purpose of cutting one another's throats.

Thus I consent, Sir, to this Constitution because I expect no better, and because I am not sure, that it is not the best. The opinions I have had of its errors, I sacrifice to the public good. I have never whispered a syllable of them abroad. Within these walls they were born, and here they shall die. If every one of us in returning to our Constituents were to report the objections he has had to it, and endeavor to gain partizans in support of them, we might prevent its being generally received, and thereby lose all the salutary effects & great advantages resulting naturally in our favor among foreign Nations as well as among ourselves, from our real or apparent unanimity. Much of the strength & efficiency of any Government in procuring and securing happiness to the people, depends, on opinion, on the general opinion of the goodness of the Government, as well as of the wisdom and integrity of its Governors. I hope therefore that for our own sakes as a part of the people, and for the sake of posterity, we shall act heartily and unanimously in recommending this Constitution (if approved by Congress & confirmed by the Conventions) wherever our influence may extend, and turn our future thoughts & endeavors to the means of having it well administered.

On the whole, Sir, I can not help expressing a wish that every member of the Convention who may still have objections to it, would with me, on this occasion doubt a little of his own infallibility, and to make manifest our unanimity, put his name to this instrument.

The Metamorphosis

"Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black" - Tim Wise

A very thought provoking and provocative piece here.

Let’s play a game, shall we? The name of the game is called “Imagine.” The way it’s played is simple: we’ll envision recent happenings in the news, but then change them up a bit. Instead of envisioning white people as the main actors in the scenes we’ll conjure - the ones who are driving the action - we’ll envision black folks or other people of color instead. The object of the game is to imagine the public reaction to the events or incidents, if the main actors were of color, rather than white. Whoever gains the most insight into the workings of race in America, at the end of the game, wins.

More

O'Dowd Comes Out Swinging Against Corruption within Church

"I am a Catholic down to my DNA. I will always be a Catholic. I will not surrender my church to the corruption that infects the hierarchy and corrodes the Church from within. It's time not only for regime change--although Benedict surely must go--but also for a thorough redesign of church governance and elimination of traditions and policies that have long since outlived their usefulness." Maureen O'Dowd

Read the piece in the Times.

Launch at the Dells



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Remembering Granny D

"Granny D" Dies at 100

Doris Haddock, better known as "Granny D" passed away quietly at her home in the Monadnock foothills last night. Surrounded by family and friends Granny D departed a world made richer by her example and spirit.

At 89 Granny D had garnered international attention walking across America to bring attention to the need for reform of campaign finance laws. Shortly thereafter, she ran for the United States Senate against incumbent Senator Judd Gregg. Gregg himself remembered Granny D fondly today remarking on the passion of her beliefs and the grace with which she conducted herself.

Granny D demonstrated the power of one individual with passion and an idea in public life. We are all richer for her gift.

Google consolidation of stories on Granny D's passing.

James Heckman: An Economist's Perspective on Education

From prison populations to dropout rates and college attendance, educational investment can have a dramatic effect on the economic vitality of a nation. Dr. James Heckman speaks to the Chautauqua Institution with an economists perspective on Education.

We invite you to view this one hour lecture and to comment on this blog or the FORA TV Blog.

This link will take you to FORA TV where you can choose a portion of the program - based on topic - to watch or to watch the program in it's entirety.

Indian Moon Mindscape

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