How to fix American government

End gerrymandering of voter districts.  Mandate that all districts have as equal as possible the number of Democrat voters as Republican voters.  

I wish I could remember where I got this idea, sometime in the last couple of weeks, but the more I think about it, the more sense it makes.  Ask yourself, why do we tend to have extremists, both liberal and conservative, as our political representatives in government?  Because most districts have been cooked so that one side or the other has a huge advantage.  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, second in line to ascend to King Emperor Obama’s throne, was elevated to that position by virtue of representing a district that is crazy liberal.  On the other side, Rep. Eric Cantor represents a district that would sooner undergo full body cavity searches before boarding planes than elect a liberal Democrat.  The system is broke. 

“Call your Congressman” only works when your Congressman might actually give a hoot what you have to say.  If you are in the vast minority, either as a conservative in Speaker Pelosi’s district, or as a liberal in Rep. Cantor’s district, you are, not to be too cliché–shit out of luck. I happen to be a staunch conservative who lives in Cantor’s district, so this is not just sour grapes. 

Make the bastards earn our votes.  I would rather live in a district that is close to 50-50 Democrats and Republicans. First, it would be much easier to throw the bums out.  The country would be much better off without all these professional politicians who stay in Washington and in the state capitals for decades.  We would not need term limits so desperately, since every election would be hotly contested. 

Second, it would make the representatives more responsive to “We, The People.”  Instead of coasting to victory with no primary opposition, and developing the attitude that they could care less about what their constituents thought, our elected officials would be forced to scramble for each and every vote.  They might actually care what we think.

Third, it will lead to more bipartisanship.  If all districts are competitive, politicians can not just pander to their extremist base, they will have to garner at least some support from the other side in order to get elected, or at least not take too extreme a position. 

Fourth, it will increase voter participation.  How many times have we all been to the polls and cast a vote that was essentially worthless, either because our candidate was a shoo-in, or had zero chance of winning.  With competitive districts, all votes matter.

Moderates should love this idea.  As it is, we have very few moderates as representatives, at least at the federal level.  When districts are so lopsided one side or the other it leads to more liberal or more conservative representatives being elected, period.  Moderates would have more say, and more actual moderate representatives. 

Conservatives should like this idea.   America is a center-right nation on most issues.  If all districts are close to 50-50 Democrat to Republican in composition, conservative values will win out.  No, not ultra-conservative values, but conservative values. We will have to actually work to convince a majority of voters to accept our ultra-conservative values, and many times we shall fail.  But at least we would have a fighting chance in every district.   As it is, we only have a chance in the conservative districts.  Don’t know about you, but I would rather take my chances in a scenario where all districts are competitive than I would where at least in half of the districts conservative ideas don’t have a chance of even being considered. 

Hmmm. Who might not benefit as much by changing the system and having the make up of voters in districts approximately equal between Democrats and Republicans?  Liberals.  But so what? Only approximately 20% of Americans consistently self-identify themselves as liberals.  Under the current system, the liberals have way too much power commensurate with the percentage of self-professed liberal voters nationwide.  Under the current system, moderate or slightly conservative Democrat representatives are forced to take their marching orders from Pelosi.

What do you think? Go ahead and comment.

LipDub worth wasting 3 mins of your life watching

Epic win.  Glad to see the youth putting their energy and brain power into something positive. It put a smile on my face!

This is your deficit on crack

Bush was a drunken sailor.  Obama, Pelosi and Reid are crack heads on steroids.

Any Questions?

The chart was published in the Washington Post March 21, 2009.  They had this response after the CBO compared its own projected deficits with those projected by the White House:

“In the first independent analysis, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded that President Obama’s budget would rack up massive deficits even after the economy recovers, forcing the nation to borrow nearly $9.3 trillion over the next decade.”

Remember, Bush’s deficits included the two wars and 9/11, and he had his own crash early on in his first term after Bubba’s internet bubble burst.  Here’s an excellant article from the Heritage Foundation about how bad BushII was, and how worse Obama is. 

Old news, but worth keeping in mind why we are fighting.

Democrats keep shoveling deeper into the healthcare hole

Shhhh.  Don’t alert them to what most intelligent people already know: if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.  E.J. Dionne wrote another dumb ass article advising Obama and the Democrats to keep fighting for healthcare and pass legislation or President Obama “will have a miserable time for the rest of his term.”

But the real story for me is a comment made by someone at the end of Dionne’s article.  It is so sweet that I wish I had written it:

“I have awakened again today with a renewed sense of outrage at how far we have come from a representative form of government. Democrats…you have temporary legislative majorities and control of the executive branch. You earned that in the elections of 2008 and 2006. These majorities are however not a mandate for every bit of socialist crazy you can envision. The electorate have told you to reconsider your actions every way short of violence. Your poll numbers and support for your proposals are plunging. You must see health care reform as being so important to be done your way that you are willing to close the doors, make corrupt “deals” and ram it through with parliamentary tactics rather than listen to the people who want you to start from scratch with new ideas. You are hopelessly addicted to spending what we do not have for something we do not want. The spring thaw is coming, and with it millions of Americans in the streets protesting as they have never done before. Stop asking more from us when you cannot control yourselves. Americans will not be your tax serfs, and the fragile bonds of a polite society hang in the balance.”

The Republicans are the stupid ones.  They won.  What they ought to do is exactly nothing.  Don’t show up at Obama’s “summit.”  That’s like the New Orlean Saints going back onto the field after time expired because the Colts dared them to keep playing another two quarters after the Super Bowl ended.  Don’t do it. It’s a twwwaaaappp!

Flint Michigan to cut police force

Run for your lives.  Flee that hell-hole.  The city where I was born and outside of which I lived for my first twenty years, and which is consistently ranked as being a city with the highest crime rate, is about to get even worse.  Flint officials have announced the impending lay off of fifty-seven police officers and twenty-three fire fighters. 

Here is a link to the crime statistics for 2006.  Not sure how authoritative it is but it lists Flint as having double the national average crime rate, and six times the national murder rate.  Not sure which year, but this link lists Flint as the 4th most dangerous city in the United States.  

The police union president was interviewed here:  “He said three years ago there were 225 police officers in the city, and now there are 150. When the announced layoffs take effect, the city will be down to less than 100, he said.”

I have no actual knowledge of the politics of this, but I know politics in general, and I know liberal politicians.  I would wager a bet that what is going on is that the city leaders want to increase taxes.   The first thing that liberal leaders do when they want to raise taxes is cut vital services.   Hit ‘em where it will hurt, and soon the populace will be clamoring for higher taxes.  I know, Flint is a dying city, and it must be difficult to manage that vermin  infested but once great city with the loss of its tax base, but this is just ridiculous, and the city leaders must know it.

I’m flying in and out of Flint this week.  Pray for me.   But at least I won’t have to see any butt cracks.  Flint has apparently outlawed low pants.     

Note to self: wear belt on flight to Flint