Ruminations

“We have met the enemy and he is us.”

Bryan Watson8 years ago06 mins

A favorite quotation from American founding documents is this partial quote: “We, the people.” Taken from the Preamble (and thus the first words) of the U.S. Constitution, “We, the people” is meant to illustrate the primacy of the people of the United States over other powers, especially the powers of the government formed by that same Constitution.
But this reading misses the mark. I take those opening words to reflect that the people and the government are one and the same.
This seems like an important point in the discussion of 2nd Amendment rights. It is also an important point in many other aspects of how the people and the government relate to one another. And understanding that point drives many of the policies we operate under, and advocate for or against, today.
If we hold that “the government” is some entity that exists outside of, separate from, and in enmity against, the people, then many of the policies of the Republican party follow quite naturally.

The Value of a Presidential Melee

Bryan Watson7 years ago02 mins

Trump emerged as the nominee through his ability to defeat 16 competitors, turning front-runners into challengers. It made him look strong, tough, smart, ruthless, powerful … presidential. Democrats should learn how to win by studying the winners.

Yes, he’s guilty, but I don’t care!

Bryan Watson5 years ago5 years ago03 mins

As we await the trial phase of the impeachment proceedings, it’s apparent that many members of the U.S. Senate are jumping past the first question – the question of fact – and starting on the question of punishment.

Does a Liar Tell the Truth?

Bryan Watson3 years ago02 mins

He’s a liar – a known liar, a fraud, a grifter, a thief. What is the point of asking him a question?

If he’s talking, he’s lying.

He’s a liar.

My Stand – do you have one?

jfrusch8 years ago01 mins

On being a liberal. What a liberal values.

Good Government

We Persist

Bryan Watson4 years ago4 years ago02 mins

We are now being tested, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. What progress we have won seems to be slipping away, not by the natural forces of time and change, but by the sinister forces of greed and wealth and power and deceit. Like our predecessors whose radical ideas have gone before, we must persist.

THEIR own self-interest? Or ours?

Bryan Watson8 years ago02 mins

I think people always operate in their own self-interest. Always.

And I think we rarely know what someone else sees as their own self-interest. Instead, we impose on them what we believe they should be interested in.

Good Government

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

Lisa Pruitt3 years ago3 years ago020 mins

But guns have long signaled something different in rural places than in urban ones. Just as significant, guns now signify something radically different than they did a few decades ago. In short, guns have become highly politicized, both a cause and a symbol of our nation’s accelerating polarization

There’s 7 New People Born

Bryan Watson8 years ago02 mins

Into this world came this song. It certainly wasn’t on the radio, but I had bought the album – my second Dylan album – and listened to it, late at night, in the living room, on the hi-fi console, with my headphones on, in stereo.

When I first heard it, it was just “the next track” on the album. But halfway through, I stopped and moved the needle back to the beginning. I listened. Then played it again. And again. And again.

I learned, in 5 minutes, about poverty. Farming. South Dakota. Pain. Helplessness. Desperation. Terror. Loss.

Promises made, Promises broken

Bryan Watson9 years ago01 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…

Message-Making: The Biden Speech

Nobody Likes a Sore Loser

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Is it still murder if the president orders it?

The Value of a Presidential Melee

President “Not My Fault” (Sad!)

“We have met the enemy and he is us.”

The Value of a Presidential Melee

Yes, he’s guilty, but I don’t care!

Does a Liar Tell the Truth?

My Stand – do you have one?

We Persist

THEIR own self-interest? Or ours?

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

There’s 7 New People Born

Promises made, Promises broken