tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57606742011-04-21T17:49:38.640-04:00Talk Radio likes ideas to be black or white. Political arguments have more color when you expose them to light....Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.comBlogger161100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760674.post-1145934455986166232006-04-24T22:44:00.000-04:002006-04-24T23:07:38.470-04:00

I've listened lately to a lot of political commentary concerning the war in Iraq, terror/security, health benefits, ... the list goes on. Inevitably, the commentary comes down to one of two viewpoints on the role of government."Conservative" vs. "Liberal"? Nope."Mommy" vs. "Daddy".Most of us were raised in a traditional family where Dad made and enforced the rules, settled fights, rendered

Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760674.post-1115523508731468652005-05-08T22:05:00.000-04:002005-05-08T22:08:32.770-04:00

Every year around April 15th, you'll hear a lot of cries for more "fair" taxation, usually from people who owe taxes at the end of the year. They claim it's not "fair" that rich people pay a larger burden of taxes than poor people. They claim it's not "fair" that some people have figured out how to pay no taxes or to get a refund without having paid any taxes.My question for them: since when is

Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760674.post-1109392312073019652005-03-02T23:04:00.000-05:002005-03-18T07:39:22.886-05:00

Two big trends in "education reform" are "choice" and "accountability". Both trends sound completely reasonable. But it's all just a bunch of baloney.First up: "choice". Also known as "vouchers", this scam hides a bigger lie inside of a smaller one. The small lie is that if our tax dollars were given back to us to send our kids to the schools of our choice, the poor schools will be "forced" (

Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760674.post-1107923117543826142005-02-08T22:44:00.000-05:002005-02-08T23:29:02.966-05:00

Although we've had this debate several times in the recent past, President Bush has made "saving Social Security" one of the cornerposts of his second term. The recent Congressional Budget Office report on Social Security provides some insight into the exact status of Social Security. According to the CBO's projections, if absolutely NOTHING changes -- either with current demographic trends,

Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760674.post-1106798828609086212005-01-26T21:56:00.000-05:002005-02-08T22:43:13.106-05:00

Over 30% of US police departments use them. The military is having some of their rifles modified to incorporate them. Civilian versions are available for those who want them. "Them" are stun guns. Tasers. Devices that deliver a 50,000-volt charge pulsed several times over a 5-second interval. The effects are usually debilitating, causing involuntary muscle contraction and loss of muscular

Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760674.post-1076603642542948342004-02-12T11:34:00.000-05:002005-01-07T14:27:27.320-05:00

In 1996, Congress passed and President Clinton signed into law the "Defense of Marriage Act", which defined marriage as being between one man and one woman and permitted states to deny recognition to same-sex marriages. Since then, 37 states have also added laws or amendments to their constitution defining marriage the same way. And now President Bush is ready to endorse a constitutional

Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760674.post-1067171308617300262003-10-26T07:53:00.000-05:002005-01-07T14:27:47.526-05:00

Why is the ACLU sometimes used as a punching bag for so-called "liberal values"? In the 1988 Presidential campaign, then-Vice President George Bush referred to his opponent Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis as a "card-carrying member of the ACLU." Not only did this charge -- along with the Willie Horton scare -- effectively brand Dukakis as a "leftist", but it also helped establish Bush's

Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760674.post-1066166456706650952003-10-14T17:20:00.000-04:002005-01-07T14:28:44.126-05:00

The 2003 federal deficit soared to $375 billion. A quick census check and you'll see that your portion of that deficit is about $1450. That's not $1450 you get to pocket, by the way. That's what your government spent on your behalf without collecting matching revenues. Our national debt -- not the budget deficit, but what our government has borrowed in order to continue to operate -- is

Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760674.post-1064606677397366102003-09-26T16:04:00.000-04:002005-01-07T14:29:04.633-05:00

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) lies in the northeast corner of Alaska. The area under consideration for oil drilling by the Bush Administration and its minions in Congress is The Coastal Plain, a sliver of land on the northern coast of ANWR, less than 100 miles to the east of Prudhoe Bay (Prudhoe Bay, by the way, currently pumps about one million barrels per day of oil for use within

Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760674.post-1063904127221792652003-09-18T12:55:00.000-04:002003-09-27T08:22:39.486-04:00

I hate Sport Utility Vehicles. It's that simple. SUVs are the fastest growing segment of automotive passenger vehicles in the USA. People buy them because they're easier for carpooling kids, toting the dog, and can be pretty stylish as well. However, in my town, I mostly see SUVs riding around with exactly one person in each. Congress regulates SUVs like regular passenger automobiles, even

Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760674.post-1063490596566882322003-09-13T18:03:00.000-04:002003-09-27T08:23:11.406-04:00

I've heard and read far too many people proclaim that now that "we've kicked some ass in Iraq" that we're strong and powerful again, not like we were before Bush came to power. From Gustave Gilbert's Nuremberg Diary, which included a conversation with Hermann Goering, Nazi Reichsmarshall and Luftwaffe-Chief: We got around to the subject of war again and I said that, contrary to his attitude, I

Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760674.post-1063465676759796842003-09-13T11:07:00.000-04:002003-09-27T08:23:38.080-04:00

The staunchly conservative columnist in my local newspaper today proclaims that the Democratic Party "with the possible exception of U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), simply cannot be trusted to act decisively without international approval in the war on terrorism." (AJC, 9/14/2003). He also refers to Gov. Dean as "anti-war presidential candidate." First, let's disabuse this notion that by not

Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760674.post-1063149359584020542003-09-09T19:15:00.000-04:002003-10-08T10:08:55.156-04:00

Once again, Amtrak -- the passenger rail service primarily operating in the northeastern corridor of the USA -- is in financial trouble. Amtrak provides much needed and desired transit service between and within the big cities of the Northeast, but is a money-losing enterprise. Congress passed the 1997 Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act, which prohibited Amtrak from using any federal funds

Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760674.post-1062795259011727062003-09-05T16:54:00.000-04:002005-01-07T14:30:08.036-05:00

Whenever someone complains that an industry is polluting our air, water, or land, conservatives immediately brand him an "environmental wacko", dismissing the complainant with name-calling or "the science is not absolute" argument. President Bush and his administration adhere to this view of the environment: it's ours and we can do with it whatever is best for our friends and ourselves. We're in

Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760674.post-1062637937803511592003-09-03T21:12:00.000-04:002003-09-27T08:24:32.440-04:00

Let's start with a quick discussion of politics. I'm disappointed by the tone of most political discussions these days. They tend to degenerate into yell-fests or name-calling. I can't tell if we're learning too much from the Europeans or from talk radio. It's politics as entertainment instead of politics as a way to enlighten and enrich. Yes, enrich. Politics is basically the interaction

Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5760674.post-1062538205954212882003-09-02T17:30:00.000-04:002003-09-03T08:23:20.903-04:00

Welcome to my Blog. In spite of the highfallutin' description, this Blog will be dedicated to maybe trying to illuminate some political discussions instead of the current trend of "yelling in the darkness" where everyone insists on name-callin' or race-batin' or just saying something dumb in an authoritative manner. This ain't talk radio. You can reach me anytime through my company's web site:

Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232370659540078948noreply@blogger.com0