The Great Debate

My last post generated 46 comments and it became difficult to stay zeroed in on any one argument. This post piggybacks the prior one and is directed at my legal eagle friends Andrew and Esteban....

I agree with you that Brown vs. The Board of Education was a landmark case and radically changed the education landscape for millions of children - black and white. The previous Plessy vs. Ferguson decision (late 1800's and also mentioned in your comment), while doomed to fail, lasted for over a half-century. Something had to be done since the quality of education was anything but consistent and equal. Opposition to Brown v BOE stayed around for decades, longer in the deep south and was followed by Rosa Parks not moving to the back of the bus (not a SC matter obviously) and thus began essentially the civil rights movement in earnest.

I think you will agree with me that that case B v. BOE will NEVER be overturned where the Roe v. Wade decision MAY be changed and that my friend is why I believe Roe vs. Wade is the most polarizing decision the Supreme Court has handed down.... ever. But then again, I'm no lawyer so what do I really know?

Lawrence vs. Texas? C'mon man, even I had to look that one up. Big deal.

Dred Scott - VERY inflammatory at the time but obviously we're not going back to slavery so that decision's not going anywhere.

Marbury vs. Madison? Judicial review...yada, yada, yada....

I'm not even sure what your other cases were but Roe versus Wade has been, in my opinion, the single most discussed, debated and argued case of all time.

And dude, I'd want to hide under a rock when you're done with me? ROFLOL. I eat you guys for lunch.

I'll let you know when the FJ lease expires - what are they going for?

To My Sons: You Will Always Remember Today

REVISED




Barack Obama's election to the presidency of the United States is one of those ultra-rare moments in history where, when we each look back in a few years or even a few decades, we will recall, precisely, where we were and what we were doing on this historic night. Sort of like when the Phillies won - I'm serious.

I disagree with a lot of Obama's politics however he is now our president and I'm behind him. We all better get behind him. I look forward to seeing who he appoints to such key positions as Sec. of Defense, Sec. of Treasury, and the host of other political appointments that will be done over the next 76 days. I hope that he reaches across the political divide and appoints some republicans to his cabinet too. Enough of the partisianship - we're Americans first and foremost.

I thought Obama's speech tonight carried a slightly more stern tone than his campaign addresses. I also believe it was a great speech. Now comes the hard part: Fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; a financial crisis rivaled only by The Great Depression... the list goes on. To be sure, it's an "In Box" from hell yet all of these problems are essentially people problems - they can be fixed. Let's get behind the new administration and rock this country again. Let's rock the world.

I was glad to see the apathy of the American voter restored last night - white, black, latino, asian, young, old....the turnout was impressive. No voting issues. One guy didn't win the popular vote and lose the election.

Future history books (rather, history websites) will note that the United States of America elected an African-American as President in 2008. That fact barely scratches the surface of the struggle of Afro-Americans. Only a generation ago we witnessed the great Martin Luther King die for a cause he believe in (civil rights for you heathens who don't know). How many of us have that kind of courage? In the 1960's the United States was deeply divided over race and King lost his life attempting to bring equality to our country. We lived in an age where blacks had separate eating and sleeping quarters...separate water fountains to drink from.....what brand of kool-aid were white-Americans drinking back then? I joke about a lot of things and racial stereotypes (all of them) are fun to perpetuate just because they are so outdated and irrational yet I do it ONLY for the comedic effect. We all bleed red. It's time we slam the door shut on racial bias - all of use - for good.

Barack Obama will be sworn in on January 20th, 2009, and later that day he and his family will formally move to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Imagine that sight! The very same office where Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery will see a black man take his seat to lead our nation. This is historic...unprecedented....and to use the vernacular of our modern-day youth, AWESOME.

I remember the riots of the 1960's....Vietnam and Civil Rights were the issues of that day. Fast forward 40 years. We still have wars and they are always unpopular. But civil rights.....we're getting there....And it's about time.

Let's hope we move forward....one nation, under God, INDIVISABLE, with liberty and justice for all.

Alec, Jake - I know that you will always remember this day.

My CNN Post Today

Jack Cafferty File

November 4th, 2008 5:34 pm ET
Your comment is awaiting moderation.

Jack,

What a great transfer of power our forefathers provided for us! There are certainly some things that 230+ years of experience have shown us that should be updated however:

1. We need to dump the electoral college. To win the popular vote and lose the election? That’s just wrong.

2. Just as there is a minimum age to run for POTUS, we should; set a maximum age for Presidential candidates too.

3. The election process is too long - Obama has been running for POTUS almost as long as he’s been a United States Senator. What about the people of Illinois who elected him to the senate? Don’t they deserve better representation? Candidates should resign from their current political office when running for POTUS and not have the consolation of going back to their old job.

4. Have an integrated, hacker-proof voting system that is universally used by all states. Elections cannot be compromised - this isn’t the Middle East.

5. Limit campaign spending for all offices. It’s ridiculous the amount of money that is spent on Presdential and Congressional races. You should do a post-election report on the aggregate amount of money that was spent just for these races. I bet that number would turn some heads.

Keith A. Runyon
Las Vegas, NV


Some other questions: Will Hillary run against Obama in 2012? Will Palin have any significance in 2012? Who else will rise to leadership in the republican party?

Simple Pleasures

I saw this title on someone elses blog and immediately liked it. So what are the simple pleasures that make me tick? Here are a few of them:

Tivo
Wood-burning fires
Clean cars
High definition TV
No phone calls
Diet Pepsi chilled just right
Starched dress shirts and laundered golf shirts
Red Meat cooked medium well
Sharp creases in my slacks
Bands like The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Doobie Brothers, Dixie Dregs, The Rolling Stones, BNL
Golf with my regular crew - it's relaxing
Sports on TV
Philadelphia sports on TV
Philadelphia Eagles
The smell of cleaning supplies
My cats and dogs who love me unconditionally
A good BBQ
Polished shoes (I get this from my dad who was very fastidious)
Rain
Remote control
A visit by Alec and Tiffany
A well-struck golf shot
Going fast on the freeway with no one around
A good book that is hard to put down
Fours Seasons Hotels
My iPhone
Being greeted with a smile
Funny people
Joe's Stone Crab at Caesars
Hawaii
Corn on the cob
Clean sheets
The smell of fresh cut grass
Playing tennis but I don't do it enough
Golf - requires 2 postings
Flying First Class
The Right to Bear Arms
Spending time with my sons
Being in Utah
Room Service
Pistaschio nuts
Lower taxes
Getting Jake's emails from Ecuador each Monday
My mom's cooking
Loyal friends
Janae who has always rocked my world
Leaving the dentists office
A steam bath
Flemings
July in Las Vegas - hot and dry
The Super Bowl
Pinochle
The smell of an orange being peeled
Vanilla ice cream
Not wearing socks

And Blogging

Vote

I voted today. Early voting has been going on for a couple weeks and it ended today and I wanted to get in early before the crowds on Tueday. I don't do crowds. I don't do lines. I am just a tad impatient and do not like to stand around and wait FOR ANYTHING.

I found out today that there are other people out there like me. So we all stood in line together. I hated every second of it. It's easy to see how the elections get so screwed up. In Nevada you get a card and when you step up to the voting machine, you put the card in the machine and then follow the instructions on the screen. You touch the screen to vote and then press "next" and so on. Apparently this process can be difficult for some people, most of them democrats. If you are so stupid that you can't work a voting machine you are too dumb to vote.

My vote has been cast. Does it matter? The cynical part of me will say "No." The fact is, for the presidential election, winning the electoral college tally is surely more important than winning the popular vote as Al Gore found out it 2000. When Al Gore ran against George Bush he had 500,000 more votes than W and lost the election. I'm no fan of Gore, but that's just wrong man. Alas, it will take a constitutional amendment to eradicate the electoral college and we don't tred on the constitution very often - bottom line: the electoral college stays put. And that sucks.

I must confess my admiration for the presidential candidates and their repective running mates. They are road warriors. One day, Obama is doing a gig at Bonanza High School in Las Vegas, the next day he's in North Carolina....Pennsylvania the next day...on Sunday he will be back in Henderson. McCain? Who knows where he is?

Nevada has a grand total of 5 electoral college votes.....sort of strange that the dems are giving NV so much time considering our rather low electoral vote total. Me? If I were running I would focus on Florida, California, Texas, NY, Ct., NJ, and the Great Lake states.....toss in a few other states here and there and a candidate could conceivably NEVER set foot in 1/2 of the states of the union and still comfortably win the Presidency. Does this electoral college thing stink to anyone else?

Bottom line - go and vote.

Phinally

My love for Philadelphia is surpassed only by the love I have for my family. That the Phillies won the world series tonight made my heart swell. I am SO happy.

Our fine City of Brotherly Love has gone 25 years since celebrating a professional sports title of any kind. We've lost 7 finals during this spell - endured dozens of years of media scrutiny, jokes and through it all WE have remained steadfast in our love for all things Philly: Eagles, Phillies, 76ers and Flyers.....and cheesesteaks.

The history of the city is pretty cool too.

Go Eagles. We need to get on a roll.

Pssst..... Proposition 8 is in California

I have received mass emails on Proposition 8....the problem with all these emails and people getting all worked up about it is: IT'S A CALIFORNIA ISSUE.

I looked through my sample ballot and Nevadan's get to vote on things like a room tax increase and some amendments to the state constitution. Nowhere did I see a question about that thorny issue of same sex marriage.

While I am personally against marriage if it's not between a man and a woman, I find it interesting that people use bible verses to argue their position to support this argument yet I don't see anyone using biblical verses to support death to those who work on Sunday, etc.

Just something to think about.