Postcard from Paris
Did you know that France has 7 political parties? And you thought we had it bad…
Add comment July 24th, 2008
Posts filed under 'Uncategorized'
Lea & Liz: Primary week in Florida
Oh my gosh, it is really here…. the primary in FLORIDA? ugh, I am
not good at voting and I finally figured out why. It has to do with my
test taking competencies (or my lack of those skills)…
You see, the election (the big one next november) is like a true false
test. You only pick one side out of two sides. TRUE or FALSE. I was
never good at true/false tests…. yes, there is that sense that you
have a 50% chance of getting it right, but I always lingered on some
questions like “is this really really true all of the time or only in
months that have a ‘R’ in them?” and “isn’t that just a tiny bit false
with some truth on the sides to decorate it?”
And the primaries are like a multiple choice test. and again… not my
strongest test taking skill area. “Umm, I like A but only if you mix
in a bit of B, take C totally out of the equation, and use D as your
back up in case of power failure” or “None of the above, but I will
pick a bit from each answer and make a brand new E”. And if I settled
on one answer, I always looked back over all the choices and thought
about how it might have really been one of those and what was I
missing out on. Yeah, you did not want to be sitting next to me during
the S.A.T. Saturday.
The election should be one long essay (bloggers must have been the
kids in school that LOVED essay tests). You can even give me a word
limit (and really, you should give me a word limit because without
it… I shudder to think…) I should get to write all the things I
want and all the things I don’t want in a president and then suddenly
that perfect person would appear and I could pencil in the little oval
thing next to his name. Now that would be some election reform.
Of course, who wants to read all those essays?
2 comments January 21st, 2008
Hello to the world outside of Tallahassee!
If you read about The Village Square in Kathleen Parker’s column, we’re delighted you stopped by for a visit. While you’re on hold with Mayflower Van Lines you’re booking so that you too can be a part of our Village Square (for the time being we’re only in Tallahassee), we’d like to suggest a less extreme alternative. . . join us online.
We’ll be having a conversation between neighbors that remembers the whole borrowing-a-cup-of-sugar neighborly thing. Hard to know exactly where that will go, but we’ll start by agreeing that no one will be calling anyone else a nazi. We’ve done all sorts of peer-reviewed scientific study that suggests that usually doesn’t go so well.
We think there’s something very American about real discussions across ideologies seeking the very best ideas we’ve got, so we’re jumping right in to do just that. We’re expecting a serious amount of disagreement, but we’re going to “Fight Like Founding Fathers” - have it out when need be, but stay connected and keep right on talking. Maybe we’ll even go out for a beer.
And, after all, you are our neighbor in this land of blog. So pull up a kitchen chair (and sign up for our “not-Tallahassee” email list here, we’ll let you know when we’re coming to an oh-so-very-civil city near you.)
17 comments January 4th, 2008
Saving contempt for our grandchildren
This video clip is PG-13 for language (and gesture).
Add comment July 31st, 2007
9/11
Add comment September 11th, 2006
Bipartisanship or just capitulation
Digby has a post up about Bipartisanship, or the lack thereof…
Since 1995, when Republicans took control of both sides of the Capitol, the negotiating sessions often have been limited to GOP senators and representatives, with the Democrats locked out along with the press.
That arrangement has been reinforced by the “Hastert doctrine,” the policy enunciated by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert that he will bring to the floor only bills that are supported by the majority of the Republican caucus. Because of that policy, bipartisan coalitions have become rarities in the House. The emphasis now is entirely on shaping bills in conference that most House Republicans can embrace
David Broder
Add comment August 7th, 2006
