Tuesday, March 20, 2007
65 - 67 Percent Disapproval
Have you noticed the ad nauseum posting of the President's approval rating? I swear every two days that thing is flashed on the screen and we are reminded that somewhere between 33 and 35 percent of Americans approve of what the President is doing. What I'm wondering is who are these people? Either they are folks who simply aren't paying any attention, or they're folks who are getting something out of the party in power. Another option is that they actually like corruption. That's one third of the country just going along with some really vile government activities.
Instead of concentrating on those who agree with the President and his cronies, how about we report the President's disapproval rating? Between 65 and 67 percent of Americans have had enough of this administration. By George, that's a majority! Why can't we get this administration out of office, or at the very least, hold them accountable for their actions? I, for one, would like to see not only Karl Rove and Harriet Myers subpoenaed, but the President and Vice President, too.
Instead of concentrating on those who agree with the President and his cronies, how about we report the President's disapproval rating? Between 65 and 67 percent of Americans have had enough of this administration. By George, that's a majority! Why can't we get this administration out of office, or at the very least, hold them accountable for their actions? I, for one, would like to see not only Karl Rove and Harriet Myers subpoenaed, but the President and Vice President, too.
Labels: america, approval, disapproval, president
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Someone Else's Convenience
How often in life do we do things for the convenience of other people? I was thinking about this in relation to my youngest son. He has a scattered organizational sense and teachers are forever trying to get him to remember to bring things home for us to sign. Ostensibly, they are trying to teach him how to be responsible and organized, but really, it's more for their convenience in that this is the organization that they prefer. My son has one teacher whose organizational style matches his. This teacher requires that all handouts stay in a folder in the science room; nothing goes home with the kids. This works extremely well for our son. No bothersome papers to remember.
Thinking about this topic reminds me of a phrase I've heard many times the last few days - "U.S. Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President." Barring the vaguely sexual connotations of this phrase, in essence what the White House is saying - and most often they are saying it in order to convince us that they did nothing wrong in firing U.S. Attorneys for political reasons - is that U.S. Attorneys are there for the President's convenience. Frankly, I didn't give U.S. Attorneys much thought until this, but it seems to me that they are actually supposed to be serving for the convenience of the U.S. public. I guess it's my bad for making the assumption that our government should be serving us.
So, given those two examples, whose convenience do you serve? Is a service you chose? Is it a service you enjoy?
Thinking about this topic reminds me of a phrase I've heard many times the last few days - "U.S. Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President." Barring the vaguely sexual connotations of this phrase, in essence what the White House is saying - and most often they are saying it in order to convince us that they did nothing wrong in firing U.S. Attorneys for political reasons - is that U.S. Attorneys are there for the President's convenience. Frankly, I didn't give U.S. Attorneys much thought until this, but it seems to me that they are actually supposed to be serving for the convenience of the U.S. public. I guess it's my bad for making the assumption that our government should be serving us.
So, given those two examples, whose convenience do you serve? Is a service you chose? Is it a service you enjoy?
Labels: convenience, organization, president, school, service, son, u.s. attorneys, white house
