Ruminations

Declaration of Independence Day – A Weekly Remembrance

Bryan Watson8 years ago01 mins mins

We designate one historic day each year to serve as our “Independence Day” holiday, but what about the rest of the year? Perhaps, in today’s America, we need to designate one day per week, not one day per year, as a day to reflect on and celebrate the origins of our country.

That day should be designated as “Declaration of Independence Day” – a day set aside to revisit the document that expresses why we assumed a “separate and equal station” among other nations.

One day each week to be a citizen-hero, to look carefully at what our government is doing and measure it against the ideals of those 56 heroes who dared be traitors so our rights were protected.

Who needs democracy?

Bryan Watson4 years ago4 years ago02 mins mins

For most people, democracy only exists on election day. And for many people, the vote itself was lost long ago. For them, democracy has no place in their lives. They feel that their vote and their voice already don’t matter.

For them, losing democracy isn’t something to worry about

Facts and Emotions: Battling A Culture of Lies

Bryan Watson1 year ago02 mins mins

We need to answer emotion with counter-emotion. If we don’t trigger an emotional response, our facts won’t matter because they won’t be heard.

Politics Never Stops – That’s Good!

Bryan Watson7 years ago04 mins mins

But there’s no need to stop canvassing. Perhaps it’ll be less formal than a campaign might canvass – no mobile app, no careful selection of which doors to knock and which to skip, no glossy door-hangers to leave behind. But canvassing is a formalized version of that most basic political act – talking.

President “Not My Fault” (Sad!)

Bryan Watson8 years ago01 mins mins

As if on cue, a defender of the White House rushed to respond…. Yes, Benghazi. Still. Clearly, and unsurprisingly, this passionate defender missed my point (and, by doing so, reinforced my point).

Nothing that is going on now is about President Obama or Secretary Clinton. What is going on now, and in the future, is about Trump – no one else is making the decision about what we do next.

Yet he could not resist. He cannot speak unless he is attacking someone – he must always attack, always denigrate, always demean, and always cast himself as a victim of that other person’s failings.

“There Is No Accurate Information”

Bryan Watson4 years ago4 years ago04 mins mins

Because Republicans have such a long history of “voter-phobia”, they were particularly susceptible to claims of “voter fraud”. Since that claim has been popular among Republican spokespeople for decades, Republican voters were easy pickings in 2020.

CHANNELLING Behavior : Rewards and Punishments through the Tax System

Bryan Watson9 years ago01 mins mins

Channelling is an important element of the tax system. We have no other way of rewarding – therefore, encouraging – good behavior. And we can’t punish – therefore, discourage – bad behavior except by making it illegal, and our Constitution and other rights often prevent us from doing that.

Promises made, Promises broken

Bryan Watson9 years ago01 mins mins

Uncertainty damages business … and people too. Too bad about the student loan forgiveness plan. I remember (in 2012) when the Bush tax cuts of 2003 were scheduled to expire. Republicans raised a hue and cry about the “uncertainty” that this cast upon our economy. Businesses didn’t know how to plan – should they expect…

Good Government

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Bryan Watson8 years ago02 mins mins

I remember Nixon’s “enemies list” – a list of people and organizations that Nixon considered to be major political opponents. So I expect the new president – being far more paranoid and more sensitive to any criticism – to have an enemies list as well. And it would, of course, include anyone who is effective…

Nobody Likes a Sore Loser

Bryan Watson3 years ago3 years ago06 mins mins

We all remember that kid — the one on the playground who threw a tantrum when he lost. You called him a “Sore Loser”. And even though you were just kids, you knew — everyone knew — that nobody likes a sore loser. The Republican Party is the party of sore losers.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

How Do We Pay For it?

The Next Generation, and the Next

Review: ‘Gunfight, My Battle Against the Industry that Radicalized America’

Choosing Greatness

2020’s Woke Population

Declaration of Independence Day – A Weekly Remembrance

Who needs democracy?

Facts and Emotions: Battling A Culture of Lies

Politics Never Stops – That’s Good!

President “Not My Fault” (Sad!)

“There Is No Accurate Information”

CHANNELLING Behavior : Rewards and Punishments through the Tax System

Promises made, Promises broken

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Nobody Likes a Sore Loser