Initiatives and Referendums are Bad; the People Unqualified to Participate

A friend sent me a link to an editorial from the Hartford (CT) Courant authored by Robert Satter. Mr. Satter is a judge trial referee in Hartford Superior Court and author of “Under the Gold Dome — An Insider’s Look at the Connecticut Legislature.” He is also, in my opinion, a very dangerous man. He has power and influence and is using them to undermine the foundation on which our country was built.

Connecticut votes in November on whether or not to hold a Constitutional Convention to amend or revise its constitution. Some want to do so to give citizens the right to directly petition their government via the Initiative and Referendum (I&R) process. I&R allows an issue to be voted on by putting it put on the ballot by citizen request as opposed to legislative action.

The I&R process is not well liked by politicians as it usually limits what they can do. It may curtail their ability to raise taxes at will or to take your property if you don’t want to sell. As such, it is not easy for citizens to actually get something on the ballot. I&R may be granted by a state’s constitution but laws governing the process are made by the legislature. Lawmakers determine how many signatures are needed to get an issue on the ballot and the length of time available to collect them. Such power often impedes the process so effectively it’s a wonder initiatives manage to get on the ballot at all. But If Mr. Satter had his way, you wouldn’t even have that right. Mere citizens aren’t qualified to speak to issues.

Satter starts out well enough.

The right of initiative is the right of citizens to propose laws or constitutional amendments that, if approved by a majority vote, have the force of law.

From there, his description of I&R makes it appear those desiring the power to propose a law are selfish, power mad and out to corrupt the process. Well, he’s right about that, too. He just got the subject wrong. Satter thinks voters are like that. In reality it’s a better description of lawmakers. I&R is a powerful tool for citizens to curb the excesses of government, not the other way around.

When Mr. Satter says I&R proposals

… are drafted by private lawyers representing narrow interest groups. Their wording frames the issue and cannot later be changed.

he’s arguing that’s bad for citizens. Has Satter never heard of lobbyists, lawyers and lawmakers? Are outsider Environmentalists OK as a narrow interest group when seeking to impose their view on the state but citizens who actually have to live with the laws passed too narrow an interest group to have an interest in the law?

Mr Satter says,

Those signatures are not spontaneously given by the public, but must be actively solicited. In the initiative states, a cottage industry of signature solicitors has sprung up. In California, it typically costs $1 million to obtain the requisite number of signers.

Does he not understand support for a bill in the legislature does not spontaneously arise? Lawmakers expend huge amounts of time and energy actively soliciting the support of their colleagues. He dismisses the labor by which I&R signatures are gathered and ridicules those doing the work as a “cottage industry”. He misleads readers by irresponsibly using the figure of $1 million with no context. If signature gathering is a cottage industry, what sort of “industry” is lobbying the legislature to get an issue on the ballot? Satter does not say where the money comes from to pay for signature gathering, just that it is spent. But these are not tax dollars, they are privately raised funds. If private money should not be used to influence the legislative process, I’ll have to point again to lobbyists. Satter doesn’t provide the total spent on lobbying the Connecticut legislature when it is in session. Something tells me it’s more than $1 million.

But Robert Satter’s worst insult to the intelligence and character of voters is saved for later.

And how is the campaign over initiative proposals waged? It is waged by slogans, bumper stickers, 10-second sound bites and by TV ads as if selling toothpaste. The vote is yes or no, up or down.

There is not the deliberation and accommodation of the legislative process in which bills are carefully scrutinized by committees of cognizance, subjected to a public hearing, debated in both chambers and ultimately signed by the governor. In that process, all sides of the issue are explored, its relationship to other matters of public policy considered, negotiations between opposing sides conducted, and compromises and changes of wording made.

In lawmaking by plebiscite, people rarely read the exact language of the propositions. They vote their general impression of the issue.

Do only I&R campaigns use slogans and sound bites? Does Satter really believe every bill passed is carefully read, deliberated and analyzed before being voted on? Is Satter actually arguing amendments hung on bills at the last second are completely understood and their ramifications tested and deemed acceptable? Is he seriously arguing citizens are incapable evaluating the impact their proposed I&R will have? It is true citizens don’t debate the possible impact of the law for a couple of weeks before passing it and hoping for the best as the legislature does. Citizens are forced to live with the actual results of those laws. Tens of thousands of hours of debate and analysis then take place in legislative chambers known as kitchen tables, water coolers, carpools and the like. By the time an I&R is proposed, the issue is well known. Usually because citizens have already asked the legislature to fix the problem and they have refused. In such cases, I&R is often the citizens last resort.

But Robert Satter thinks that’s a bad thing. The people of Connecticut, or anywhere else, shouldn’t be able to insist their lawmakers really represent them. Citizens are ignorant peasants without the requisite intelligence, interest, time or ability to understand the workings of government. That lofty pursuit is best left to better men. Satter’s premise is flawed. His conclusions are wrong. His arrogant contempt for citizens he seems to believe should be ruled over as opposed to represented is offensive. I&R is precisely what Connecticut and every other state without it needs, including my state of Tennessee. Without it, we are at the mercy of elitists like Robert Satter. While he may consider that a good thing, I find the prospect terrifying.

Blue Collar Muse.

Waterboarding Hitchens

It was a dark and stormy night….

Oh wait.  Not really.  As told by one-time Sexiest Man Alive (A2ML = according to Media Lizzy) Christopher Hitchens in the newly minted August issue of Vanity Fair, the story Believe Me, It’s Torture reads thus: (excerpt)

“In this pregnant darkness, head downward, I waited for a while until I abruptly felt a slow cascade of water going up my nose. Determined to resist if only for the honor of my navy ancestors who had so often been in peril on the sea, I held my breath for a while and then had to exhale and—as you might expect—inhale in turn. The inhalation brought the damp cloths tight against my nostrils, as if a huge, wet paw had been suddenly and annihilatingly clamped over my face. Unable to determine whether I was breathing in or out, and flooded more with sheer panic than with mere water, I triggered the pre-arranged signal and felt the unbelievable relief of being pulled upright and having the soaking and stifling layers pulled off me. I find I don’t want to tell you how little time I lasted.”

A couple of things come to mind.  First, being an American man takes more than becoming a naturalized citizen.  Second, I find myself quite disappointed in Hitch.  Empathy, even sympathy, for the terrorists is hinted at.  By the end of the article - it was all too clear that for Hitch, the pendulum has departed and is swinging inevitably Left.

Alas, some things are too good to be true.  Hitchens held that place in my political heart that was once occupied by Sting aka Professor Gordon Sumner in the “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” video fantasy about a million years ago.  Like so many soft-handed intellectuals, Hitchens predictably finds arguments for either side - talks about moral relativism - and defends his position on waterboarding as “torture.”

I am not here to debate the reasons for or against waterboarding.  Or what does or does not constitute “torture.” Clearly the issue has complexities and implications mere mortals have a tough time comprehending.  For me, anything that our men at SERE experience should be fair game.  And the opinions of men who have never served, or the opinions of men that served only to fulfill a domestic political ambition, lack the credibility inherent in the first-person accounts shared throughout the active-duty ranks among those in non-integrated units, deployed behind enemy lines, who occasionally share the brutal truth of their day-to-day existence.

SERE ain’t for the faint of heart.  It ain’t for a man who clings to childhood memories.  It ain’t for a man who hasn’t the capacity to disassociate home-fires from hostile-fire.  And as a girl, who has washed the sand away… absorbed the emotional crash landing when the debrief is over… I am reminded of the breathtaking sacrifice our Special Forces men make.  With every life saved, every terrorist captured, every sleeper cell broken up, every weapons cache destroyed, every target that gets painted, every HVT (high value target) that gets nabbed under the dark of night or light of day- our world is improved with every breath they take.  Every move they make. They stand watch so that we don’t have to.

And while Hitchens certainly wrote in earnest, I find myself closing the Hitch chapter and book.  Instead, I am pleased to curl back up in the blankets of freedom provided to me every night by the men in unspeakable places, facing unspeakable dangers from an enemy who would never be so kind as to consult the US Army Field manual before taking actions that would by any definition constitute torture with a capital T.

—Media Lizzy

Can I get an “Amen?”

Sooo…. the news is public now, thanks to J-Mart @Politico.  It’s been in the works for awhile - and it will reassure the inside the beltway crowd.  Former operators that play ’source’ have been itching, scratching and salivating for the McCain campaign to get down to business.

It’s official.  Steve Schmidt is assuming control of the McCain campaign operation.  Can I get an AMEN!  Sometimes billed as a Rove protege… the truth is that Schmidt ain’t new on the political scene.  Schmidt’s years of hard work for Congressional, Senatorial, Gubernatorial candidates, being an adviser to Vice President Cheney and a stint in Iraq make Schmidt formidable.

Perhaps Schmidt’s biggest success was wrestling the Governator’s flailing brand to the ground, re-building it and steering Arnold Schwarzenegger into second term as Governor of California - despite the clear anti-Republican, anti-incumbent, mood of an electorate that was screaming for “change.”   Sound familiar?

All I can say… hallelujah.

—Media Lizzy

Leftists Blame W for Gas Prices or Look for the Union Libel

On a recent Sunday morning drive to church, I saw this sign. I was immediately struck by two things.

First, it hasn’t taken long for players on the Left to start marching to the beat of misinformation, deception and lies that must be part of Obama’s campaign if he is to win. He cannot be seen for who he really is or he will lose. Second, this is the Union’s marquis, not just Greg Stallings’. How many members believe gas prices are Bush’s fault?

Lies and deception? Those are harsh words. However, the question is, are they justified? An objective consideration of facts says they are. The sign’s point is the price of gas has increased from $1.46 p/gal to over $4.00 p/gal since 01/01. It was Bush’s watch so it must be Bush’s fault. Voters should, therefore, punish Bush and the GOP for their mismanagement and vote Democrat this Fall.

However, questions must be asked. Can only politicians impact price or might other factors explain the increase? If politicians are to blame, might a politician other than Bush be responsible?

Will the Circle be Unbroken, Part I

What Circle? 23 Music Circle East - Nashville, TN to be precise. And broken may be the kindest way to describe what the owner of the business at that address faces. Shattered, decimated, mercilessly hounded into oblivion all come to mind to describe what Joy Ford, owner of Country International Records (CIR), is facing at the hands of Nashville’s Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA).

For almost 30 years, Ford and her late husband Sherman, have operated one of the first studios on what would become Music Row at that address. While much of the rest of the Row has gone corporate with multi-million dollar facilities, CIR remains privately owned. This earns CIR the classification of an Independent label or “Indie” as it’s known in the trade. Usually reserved for recent entries into the field who don’t have the juice to or don’t want to compete with the big boys, in the case of CIR, it’s deceptive. Joy and Sherman Ford were making music, writing songs, developing artists and cutting tracks at Country International Records long before many of the current Music Row elite were born. The walls of Ford’s business are filled with pictures of the legends she’s personally worked with. Stars like George Jones, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Tracy Lawrence, Tim McGraw and more.

If government has anything to say about it, that won’t be true much longer. Chas Sisk at The Tennessean, who has covered the story since March, reports,

The Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency filed papers in a Nashville court Friday to start a process that would take the offices of Country International Records at 23 Music Circle East.

The action, the city’s first test of eminent domain since the state legislature tightened condemnation laws two years ago, was taken after the agency determined that negotiations with building owner Joy Ford would not work, said Joe Cain, the agency’s development director.

“We’re not having any conversation,” Cain said. “We’re hopeful that now she will meet with us.”

The government is filing papers to take Ford’s property. When they asked her to sell she said, “No”. Problem was, Joe Cain and MDHA didn’t like that answer. Having determined “negotiations with the building owner Joy Ford would not work” (read: this woman doesn’t want to sell her property at any price) they are having her property condemned as “blighted”. If she will not sell, they’ll force her out. With the pressure on, they’re “hopeful that now she will meet with” them. Mr. Cain and the MDHA seem to be confusing conversation with coercion.

A casual read of the issue sounds like a business deal moving along, working out small contractual differences as it goes. A “win-win” in the buzzword parlance of business. Except Joy doesn’t want that sort of victory. Her idea of winning is Joe Cain and MDHA leave her alone to continue the dream she and her late husband pursued for years, making music. This being America, she should be able to do exactly that. The property is hers. She owns it free and clear. She pays all her taxes. To most Americans that means that she can do what she wants with her land as long as it’s legal.

Welcome to the real blight in this story. Just a week after Kelo v New London’s 3rd anniversary and in a week celebrating the quintessential remembrance of American freedom from governmental tyranny, the spreading blight of governmental abuse of Eminent Domain has arrived in Nashville. The arrogance and hubris of Joe Cain and MDHA reminds one of the royalty we opposed for our freedom over 230 years ago. If Joe Cain has his way, Joy Ford’s dreams and right to do what she pleases with her own property will be bulldozed to make room for a $100 million dollar development deal with a private company in Texas.

At it’s heart, this is the real issue. True Eminent Domain is about the government requisitioning property for Public Use for the good of all the citizens. This is just a business deal. And it’s the stuff of Hollywood, not Music City. It reads like a boilerplate movie script, not a hot Billboard single. The widow v the conglomerate. MDHA signed a deal with Houston based Lionstone Group, a private developer, to sell them the property they wanted at cost. They inked this Music Row deal in March of this year. At the time, Ford’s property was not theirs to sell yet they sold it anyway! Now, they are using strongarm tactics to keep a promise they had no right to make. In doing so, they are not simply trampling on the rights and dreams of one woman. They are making a mockery of our Constitution and rights and values paid for with the blood of tens of thousands. The question is, will this movie script, as yet unfinished, have a happy ending? How will this sad country song finish after the bridge?

I met Joy Ford just this afternoon. But three weeks ago I wrote ‘Eminent Domain, the other ED’ in which I said,

New ED will be eradicated when Americans choose to reclaim their constitutional rights and responsibilities. We must trust ourselves and our neighbors more than those in government when making decisions about our property. We must reject the idea government is our source and reclaim the notion we are responsible for ourselves and have specific rights, including to own property. And we must be willing to defend our Right to private property ownership by exercising our other Rights as needed. The Right to Free Speech, to Assemble, of the Press and perhaps even to Keep and Bear Arms will be needed to stem the encroachment of government on our Rights.

Joy Ford is going to fight. She’s going to need some help. I’ll stand with her. This is just the first of several posts I have planned. Phil Valentine will stand with her. Metro Councilman Mike Craddock will fight for Joy. There are some country music legends chiming in, too.

I’m inviting you to stand with her as well. I’m asking you to be like Bill R. from Washington, DC. He read Joy’s story in the Tennessean and walked from downtown’s Renaissance Hotel to Joy’s part of Music Circle. Having seen her place and her plight, he wrote her a check and an encouraging note. His actions said he believed this is a fight Joy can win but it will take more than just her. Watch this space, tune in to Phil and other talk radio shows for more information. Call Mayor Dean and your Council member. Put the pressure on and keep it on. The MDHA is saying they are doing this to benefit all the people, not just one developer. Tell them there are limits to how far you want them going in your name.

Blue Collar Muse

If it’s Sunday Night, it’s Pat Dollard

Sure…some folks will wince at the obvious reference. And while I appreciate their sensitivity… it is meant honestly. On Sunday mornings, very often - we can predict the questions, the answers, and the roundtable analysis - and recite it all along with near 100% verbatim accuracy. Seldom do we hear something new. The occasionally insightful analysis is often buried underneath caveats, which are in abundance.

Choosing our next president is a matter of critical importance. But let’s be real - Politics is part expectations game, and part roulette. Governance is about the issues, the specifics, the plan. If it were only about politics…there would never be an election. We’d be in a third world country.

We debate, fight, discuss, and vote because we are Americans. Because we are different. Because our Representative Republic is unique. Because we honestly believe, to our very bones, that We the People have a choice - and inalienable rights.

Every day, I read dozens of mainstream press articles from across the globe. I work the rolodex I spent the last 15 years building. And in my search for boldness, naked truth, and uncompromising love of country - I read through Pat Dollard’s site. But…since being an American also includes a few vices, I choose Sunday nights to indulge my Oo-rah, Hoo-yah pro-America sensibility by listening to the JihadiKiller Hour, hosted by Pat Dollard on Sunday evenings at 11PM eastern / 8PM Pacific.

For my politics, it is Johnny Cash meets Hunter Thompson authenticity, putting to bed the schoolgirl fantasies of Prince Charming - and trading him in for the 21st Century Lancelot-Arthur hybrid. Amen.  The next generation of politicos should take note, truth is what matters.  And that it what Dollard offers.  The current generation should also pay attention, because voters are not asking permission to be insiders any more.

Last week, I celebrated one year with BlogTalkRadio.  I’ve interviewed many a patriot.  But none so willing to lead the political troops.   And my Prada shoes (cause I don’t wear hats) are off to Pat - because its about damn time someone got bold.

I love my country - and its nice to know - I am not alone.

—Media Lizzy

Hypocrisy wrapped in ignorance wrapped in sheer stupidity

Hello all,

So I’m officially pronouncing June 2008 as the “Month of the Gay” - every day there is something in the news. People love us, people hate us, but everybody is talking about us.

Yeah yeah…I’m sure you’re getting tired of it. I certainly am. I’m really not that different from the rest of y’all, which I’m sure you’ve figured out by now.

To continue the march of the “far right” tripping up all over themselves to “out-hate” each other, a group of 10 GOP Senators have….drum roll please…. REINTRODUCED a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage!

Now, beyond the fact that this has been tried soooooooo many times without avail and is probably more a reflection of the desperation of the lackluster GOP leadership on the national level that they have to pull a page from Karl Rove’s 2004 strategy book.

The most entertaining part, however, is exactly who is involved. Yes folks, two of our most illustrious and moral US Senators, David Vitter and Larry Craig are both co-sponsors of this piece of legislation.

Yes, David Vitter who was caught hiring prostitutes and Larry Craig, who…well…we all know what Larry Craig did (and yes, I will be tracking down that bathroom for a souvenir photo when I go to MSP in August for the GOP Convention).

I think it is reprehensible, beyond the sheer hypocrisy obviously present, for these two individuals to be riding the moral high-horse in the “defense of marriage” given their own personal actions that have made their own marriages and the Republican Party a national joke when it comes to morality.

The more they push this kind of agenda, the more it reminds us of their own failings as individuals. I take pitty on them and hope their wifes can escape the shame they continue to bring to their families.

Happy Sunday all…I’m off to church.

-OxyChaz

TN Democrat, Jim Cooper, Alleged to be Under FBI Investigation

Remember Nancy Pelosi’s comments as the Democrats took back the House in 2006? She said,

‘”The American people voted to restore integrity and honesty in Washington, D.C., and the Democrats intend to lead the most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history.”

The emphasis needs to be placed on the word “intend”. At the time, the ability of the Democratic party to keep that promise was shown to be questionable by their handling of their own in the high profile cases of men like William Jefferson, Alcee Hastings and John Murtha.

There may be another stain to the Democrat’s reputation in yesterday’s allegations Tennessee’s 5th District Representative, Jim Cooper, is under investigation by the FBI. For the moment, the matter is in “He said, she said” mode. The allegations of an FBI investigation have been made, Rep. Cooper’s office has denied any knowledge of an investigation and an FBI spokesman said, “The FBI does not comment on statements or accusations made by others concerning its investigative activity.” What we do know is this.

The charges came up in the course of Cooper’s investigation into the practices of a Texas electric co-op. The Tennessean’s Bill Theobald reports,

Thursday’s hearing by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee focused on salaries paid to leaders of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative Inc. in Texas and to spending by the cooperative.

Cooper used the Texas case as a stepping-off point for his longstanding contention that some cooperatives are mismanaged and that they fail to return excess revenue to their members.

The Pedernales Electric Cooperative is a member of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). NRECA’s CEO, Glenn English, was testifying before the committee and made his allegation during his testimony as Cooper sought to expand his probe from Pedernales in particular to coops in general. MSNBC reports English charged:

The reference that he made was with regard to a private Web site and gave even a Web site that provides access to members’ 401ks and also their retirement benefits. NRECA’s counsel has advised me that Mr. Cooper is currently under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for his unauthorized access and downloading of information from NRECA’s password-protected Web site, and that is in violation of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Mr. English’s allegation came after Rep. Cooper displayed a report and asked English to comment on the information it contained. Some of that information came from the NRECA’s site. Cooper also published information from the site in an article in the Harvard Legislative Review and sourced the password protected site in a footnote. WSMV-Channel 4’s Cara Kumari has excellent video, here.

At issue will be Cooper’s right to access the material in question. Cooper admitted in the committee meeting that he viewed the site and obtained information from it. He did so using someone else’s password and username. Cooper claims a person authorized to access the site provided him with his login codes after NRECA denied Cooper’s request for access to confidential NRECA material. Cooper claims the NRECA material should be public, in his opinion, and maintains he did no wrong in accessing the private site, downloading and making the NRECA’s private material public. Channel 4’s Kumari notes the station asked an attorney whether Cooper’s behavior is illegal and was told the law was constantly changing in this area. What Cooper did may or may not be a violation of the law.

Which brings us back to the question of Democrats and integrity, honesty and ethics. It is not required that one commit a crime to demonstrate a lack of character. If there are criminal charges filed in this case, it simply makes it worse than it already is. But Cooper’s behavior fails all three tests even if he doesn’t face criminal charges.

His admission to personally using material he knew he was denied access to may not be the evidence of a crime it appears to be. But neither is it evidence of integrity. Claiming the use of someone else’s access codes is the same as having authorization to access the material himself may not be the laughable attempt at CYA it looks like, but that doesn’t make it ethical. Justifying his actions by applying an issue which impacts government to a private entity may not be an ignorant application of the question of Open Records, but it cannot be classified as honest.

Regardless of how the criminal aspect of the matter plays out, Jim Cooper’s arrogance has revealed he believes his opinions are a better gauge of conduct than the law or common sense, that he is unwilling to be bound by respect for the rights of others if he can score political points by behaving otherwise and, that one of his prime guiding principles is that the end justifies the means.

Those characteristics are horrible in an elected representative at any level of government! They do, however, work well for defense attorneys. I wish Rep. Cooper the best of luck in finding one that well qualified to represent him in the event he goes to trial.

Blue Collar Muse

Move America Forward Raises $1Million!

The surge is working. The men and women serving our nation abroad are the difference. With the leadership of Melanie Morgan and Michelle Malkin, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Matt Lewis, and many others - an unprecedented “web-a-thon” turned out the grassroots - and thousands of average Americans…

The masterminds of this project, Melanie Morgan and Michelle Malkin, brought Conservative luminaries together with UStream, new media, and the blogosphere to raise more than $1 million dollars for care packages for the troops. ($1,055,719 at the end of the web-a-thon) The eight-plus hours of UStream video, Skype calls, and even an appearance from Matt Sanchez in Paris - brought together thousands of voices, in support of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines.

Even though the Live Stream is over, you can still contribute. Call 1.866.866.6372 to donate! Or visit www.moveamericaforward.com to learn more.

—Media Lizzy

GOP Convention: Lunchtime Chats

Eat. Ask. Watch. With GOP Convention Communications Director Matt Burns on Friday, June 27th at 12Noon Central. Seriously, you will be sitting at your desk, with your Starbucks and snack. Here are the deets:

Via GOP Convention on Facebook:

Got any lunch plans? We’d love to get together and tell you about the preparations being made in advance of the 2008 GOP Convention, we are launching a weekly online conversation with convention staff called “Lunchtime Chats.”

With the help of Ustream.tv, the convention’s live video streaming provider, Lunchtime Chats will offer informal, interactive, and LIVE question and answer sessions with convention organizers. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the convention progress as senior staff members answer your questions LIVE from their desk at the convention headquarters in Saint Paul, Minn.

Email chats@gopconvention2008.com to submit questions prior to the LIVE chat.

Only 67 Days to go!

—Media Lizzy

more about "Republican National Convention 2008 -…", posted with vodpod