Conflict of interest?

Nah...

You've gotta be kidding me...Emergency Manager Law?

This is the first installment of "You've gotta be kidding me..." - I have a feeling that title is going to come up a lot.

(Don't worry, I have still been [painfully] watching my Fox News since my last post and more to come on that, but in a moment of weakness I broke down and read some real news...)

Anyone else following this Emergency Manager Law thing in Michigan? 

If so, please help me understand how, in a country where the one of the few things everyone can agree upon is how important democracy is, can this happen?

Here's the gist, at least as far as I understand it (correct me if I'm wrong):  the Governor (Republican) passed a law that says that if he or his administration, or any company they may choose, deems a city to be in a state of  "financial emergency", they can appoint an "Emergency Manager" to come in and completely take over control of every aspect of that city's local government.  That includes, but is not limited to:

• suspending any or all elected officials (firing the people the town voted for)
• cancelling contracts
• stripping unions of their collective bargaining rights
• dissolving school districts and absorbing them into other districts
• dissolving entire towns
• or whatever else that person so chooses. 

And there is nothing anyone in that town can do.  Even if say the company who decided the town is in a state of financial emergency has conflicts of interest, and the new emergency manager happens to create new contracts to directly benefit that company.

Supporters of the law are painting a picture straight out of a comic book - the state government flying in to save the day, to keep the town from collapsing financially;  rescuing the residents from the imcompetance of their own stupid townie officials that they elected.

And as is par for the course, they're getting these types of laws passed by creating a sense of panic and taking advantage of peoples' fear.  Claiming that it's the only option and something must be done immediately or else the world will implode.

Wisconsin, among other states, is also considering adopting this law. 

This is just the latest example of the extreme right wing slowly but surely dismantling the country as we know it.

Thoughts?

Stepping Back

I was out with a friend last night and in our inebriated state, the topic of politics came up (don't ask me how). She mentioned that she doesn't really pay attention to it and doesn't really know much about Democrats and Republicans, but that her father is a Republican and what he says seems to make sense.

Hmm.  My friend and I are very similar, we come from similar backgrounds and have the same views on most social issues.  And yet when she heard what her father had to say, it sounded logical and reasonable. Of course my internal reaction was that he was probably just feeding her the party line about Republicans just wanting to keep taxes low and keep those dirty politicians out of our lives. That would make sense to me too.

But it made me think - why am I a liberal?  Was I simply influenced by someone who was feeding me the party line?  Have I ever really given both sides equal consideration to make an informed decision?  To be honest, probably not.

The way I look at it, there are four sides of the story: Democrats, Republicans, what each stands for in theory, and then in reality.

I've got the ideology part down for each side, and since my two favorite shows are Rachel Maddow and Bill Maher, I'm pretty clear on the seedy underbelly of the elephant.  But I can't honestly say that I've been open to hearing the Republicans' point of view about the dark side of my own party.  I'm well aware that there is corruption on both sides and the Democrats are far from perfect, but this is the area where I need some clarity.

So I'm going to do it.  I'm going to watch Fox News. I might even listen to Rush Limbaugh. I'm going to listen with an open mind and seriously consider what they have to say.  I know that these may be the conservative extremes (just like Maddow and Maher), but they're also the ones that a lot of the party take their cues from, so I want to get inside the minds of the average Republican.

Stay tuned, this could get interesting...

Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by!

I decided to start this blog because I needed an outlet for my frustrations with what I'm seeing in the news lately and didn't want to spew my opinions all over my friends' facebook news feeds.  I never was a news buff, I usually choose to watch crappy reality TV instead.  Lately though, Washington has been much more riveting.  And the more I watch, the more I want to look around to whoever is near me and say "Seriously?!  SERIOUSLY?!?"

I read these headlines and cannot believe how ridiculous our politicians are and how easily they get away with it.  I'm afraid of where the country is headed when I see people like Sarah Palin, someone who was a complete caricature of the right no less than two years ago, become the poster girl of the Republican "base".  The Tea Party, recently a small group of crazy super-conservatives, are now running the show. They're dragging the entire political spectrum so far to the right that the most staunch Republicans 30 years ago would look like Dennis Kucinich today.  When W starts looking like a moderate, I think it's time to stop, drop and roll back to reality.

Lastly, the disclaimer: If you're reading this, I assume it's by choice.  I'm not forcing my opinions on you, if you don't like what you read, then stop reading.  If you have an opinion on what I say, feel free to share as long as it's logical and constructive.  My intention is not to insult or offend anyone, although it's a risk I'm willing to take.  I think it's only fair considering how insulted and offended I am by most of what the Republican party stands for.

Cheers!