Washington's 'Warnings of a Friend' Against Political Parties

   The America of today, deeply divided by political parties, is the America George Washington warned against.
   Actually,  he warned against political parties, period, warning us "in the most solemn manner." 
   And we, collectively as a nation, left his words at the podium where he offered them, walking away from that farewell address to join into political parties. And, we've been in them ever since, often having as much loyalty to them as we do for the nation, itself.
   If Washington's words, by chance, could echo down through the years, what would they tell us? They would tell us that for governments, the spirit of political parties "is truly their worst enemy."
   He said, "worst enemy," but we didn't listen. We didn't listen then, and we're not listening now.
   In that great address, Washington warned of "the danger of parties."
   He warned "against the baneful effects of the spirit of party."
   He warned against the "alternate domination" of one party over the other, "sharpened by the spirit of revenge."
   He warned that their fights might result in "the most horrid enormities" and become, in themselves, "a frightful despotism."
   He warned against "combinations and associations," including groups championing the interests of the various regions of the country.
   He warned of "artful and enterprising" people being in such groups.
   He warned such combinations and associations could "become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men" would rise to power.
   He warned such groups could cause divisions among the people. Their "designing men may endeavor to excite" differences among the people, he said.
   He warned that parties "tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together."
    As if he could foresee the campaigns of our day, he warned such groups would "misrepresent the opinions and aims" of others.
   He warned that such groups would "put in place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party."
   He said the spirit of party, "is a spirit not to be encouraged." 
   He closed his comments on parties by saying, "A fire not to be quenched, it (the spirit of parties) demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume."
   Washington characterized his warnings "as the warnings of a parting friend." His farewell address is replete with these warnings against political parties. They are warnings that have gone unheeded. Instead of discouraging parties, we have embraced them.
   Perhaps there remains room to speculate whether Washington would not have had us join parties at all, nor to have had us run for office on them. We only know he spake so gravely ill of them in his farewell address, and said a wise people would "discourage and restrain" the spirit of party.
   And, we know he, himself, walked the talk. He is the only president ever elected without a party.
   

You Cannot Vote for Just Anyone You Want

   You cannot vote for just anyone you like in Utah. Nope, can't do it. Your vote won't count.
   You can only vote for candidates registered with the state. If you write in someone's name, your vote will be trashed. It won't count unless that person is registered as a write-in candidate.
   Are we to be told who we can and cannot vote for? Are we to cast our vote only from a state-approved list of candidates?
   I guess I do think this is wrong. A small thing, in ways, but in principle, it is a big deal. Isn't voting for whomever we choose a basic American right? Somehow, I assumed we've had this privilege ever since Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and a few others sat down and drafted the documents making this the free-est nation on earth.
   I say, change the law. This is America. We deserve not only the right to vote, but the right to vote for anyone we choose.

The Children's Bill of Rights

If you were to write a Bill of Rights of the Child, what would you put in it? Here's a draft, of what one might include:

Be it enacted, that we, the people of America, acting in the interest of children, do hereby declare that these rights will be extended to all the children of our nation.

1. That unborn children have the right to life.

2. That children have the right to two parents, one being female and the other male. We pledge to hold divorce to a minimum, even enduring uncomfortable relations with our spouses, in order to provide our children this right.

3. That children have the right to a stable home, where parents love and show affection for each other, a home united, not divided. We pledge to hold divorce to a minimum, even enduring uncomfortable relations with our spouses, in order to provide our children this right.

4. That children have the right to our love. We pledge to love our children, to tell them we love them and to treat them with love. We pledge to give them the positive re-enforcements to make them feel appreciated and worthwhile in life.

5. That children have the right to our care. We pledge to provide them food to keep them healthy, and a home to keep them comfortable and clothing to keep them warm. We pledge to make the sacrifices required to provide them care and comfort.

6. That children have the right to not be abused. We pledge to never unduly harm our children, neither through mental abuse, nor physical abuse, neither through sexual abuse nor emotional abuse.

7. That children have the right to respect. We pledge to not treat them as subjects, but as a heritage and gift, as a trust and a treasure.

8. That children have the right to learn what is right and moral, to learn to treat other people respectfully, and to have values. We pledge to teach our children these things.

9. That children have the right to education. We pledge to take advantage of the formal education opportunities of our land, to keep them in school, and to engender in them a love of learning.

We, the undersigned, therefore, acting of our own accord, do so proclaim these rights, with this document being signed by every parent, and every adult who should so wish to enter their signature. We proclaim these things in solemnity, not attaching government punishments, but placing our names before the world, that each of us will so treat our children in accordance with the promises of this document.

A Tale of Saving the Starving People of Africa

The jobs report came in, but not the one I was looking for. "No," I said. "I need the report for eastern Africa."  

My secretary scrambled to find one, but couldn't. When she had finished searching, I looked up from my desk and replied, "Well, then, for all we know the unemployment there is as high as any place on earth." I paused, then added. "Tell me, are there not 13 million people starving there?"

My secretary scurried off to look that up, but I quickly called her back. "No, no," I said. "That won't be necessary. I already know it has been 13 million. If the number has changed, the pertinent thing is that it is a terrible, devastating amount. Tell me, Jurrultenna" (for Jurrultenna was her name), "Would it be helpful if we gave these people jobs?"

She gave me a blank look.

I rose from my chair, looked out the window and took a puff on my cigar. (Actually, I didn't puff on my cigar, for I don't smoke. But, to make the story read better, we'll leave that in.) "Jurrultenna, a good part of the problem in eastern Africa is that they are having droughts. Their farmers plant the crops and nothing comes up. Now, after a few years, you'd think they'd learn not to rely on those crops. Instead of starving while they wait for the weather to change, they ought to go down the street to the auto plant and take a job there and make a living that way."

She gave me another blank look, for it was obvious there were no auto plants in Ethiopia.

"Yes," I said, as I walked slowly toward the door. "Somebody just the other day was telling me that if you give a man a fish, he will eat it and return hungry the next day, but, if you teach him how to fish, he will be catching his own food that very next morning." I paused, and then continued, "Jurrultenna, the next morning has come. We will begin immediately on construction of a new auto plant in Somalia. We will be opening a grocery store there, as well, so when they get their first paychecks, they will have a place to buy their food. Oh, and we'll sell bottled water, since their wells are all so dried up."

As I got to the door, I stopped and smiled, and turned back to her. "Actually, Jurrultenna, I might be kidding about it being an auto plant. I'm not anxious to take jobs out of the United States. So, whatever product we do manufacture, we will not be selling it back to an American market. I have not studied the economy there, to know what products Africans are importing. But I shall this afternoon, and we will pick something that is being imported into the richer Africa nations from Europe and then we will make that same thing there, in Somalia, and export it to these other African nations."

I then strolled out my office door, wondering if I had truly just come up with a way to save the people in Africa from starving. As I walked down the stairs, I muttered, half-believing myself, "The problems of the world, they really aren't so difficult."

Put More Money Into Education to Avoid Being Last

Yes, I do think we should pony up, and give more money to education. We have been decrying ourselves for years for being last in the nation in per student spending, so let's take care of the matter and raise taxes enough to get more money into education. (If there is a way to divert more money without raising taxes, let's do that, but if not, raise 'em.)

But, not much.

Here's why: We are doing it, giving more money to education simply because we are not spending as much as the other states, not because we have a lousy education system and it needs more money to make it better. We rank 13th in the nation in ACT and SAT scores. Of the states having at least 95 percent of the students participating in the ACT, we rank second.

Who knows, maybe putting more money into education will help us rank even higher in the ACT and SAT scores. That would be good. But the real reason for putting more money into education is that we have been beating ourselves up for years about having the largest classrooms in the nation (23 students per class, is it?) and the lowest per student outlay ($6,064, is it?).

http://www.deseretnews.com/top/777/39/Utah-Which-state-has-the-highest-average-ACT-and-SAT-scores.html

Political Contributors Come in Types

    Political contributors come in types. It is Type 4 that is dangerous.
   Type 1 is the garden variety, doing no harm at all. These are the folks having a friend running for office who decide to help the friend out. Bless Type 1, for helping their neighbor.
    Type 2 are the ones approached about giving donations, who become sufficiently persuaded of the candidate that they do, indeed, lend some financial assistance. Bless Type 2, for contributing to a cause.
    Type 3 are the party loyalists. A good chunk of money comes from these folks. You need only to belong to the same party as them and they will readily offer up their assistance. Bless Type 3 -- I guess, maybe -- for giving to their party.
    Then, we have Type 4. These are all those with an agenda. These are the PACs and the corporations and the lobbyists of every sort. These are the pro-choicers and the pro-lifers, the education associations and the art guilds, These are they who bring you their money . . . in hopes you will remember their good and worthy causes (and many are, indeed, good and worthy).

    I think back to a man, owner of a construction firm doing business with the state, who contributed to a campaign. He was from out of state. Now, I ask you, what interest would a man in Colorado have in a race in Utah? He was not a personal friend of the candidate. Since when does one rich man just walk up and give another rich man (well, maybe not rich, but most politicians are often well enough off) some money? The only reason he would be offering up money is because he expected there might be a return on his investment.

    Don't bless Type 4. These are they who make it so legislation is bought and sold, who turn it into a commodity. These are they who bribe -- legal bribery, but bribery just the same; bribery that isn't called bribery, but bribery still the same.
    No, don't bless Type 4.

VOTE JOHN JACKSON FOR HOUSE DISTRICT 44

Call 1-801-566-4023 or visit the website newsasnewstravelsfast.blogspot.com

Vote for John Jackson, independent, over Christy Achziger, Republican, and Tim Cosgrove, Democrat.