Let's Talk
Out west in Utah, a state representative has a wiki site up to bring the grass-roots folks into the legislative discussion. Politicopia uses wiki pages to allow for pro and con discussions of bills before the Utah legislature. It's getting some national attention; I found it via the NCSL blog The Thicket.Representative Steve Urquhart says the idea started to develop some years ago:
Because I wanted to change the fact that people-related-to-me often outnumbered people-not-related-to-me at town meetings, I invited my constituents to join me in a hayfield for hot-air balloon rides and donuts.That didn't really get him any more input, but he kept thinking about ways to get more feedback from folks. A chain of friends, contacts, brainstorming and lucky breaks eventually led to the use of a wiki site to allow for community discussions of bills and issues.
I think this bears watching. And maybe adopting. Rep. Urquhart's blog is worth a look as well.
Does He Have a Prayer?
Presidential handicappers aren't too sanguine about Mike Huckabee's chances to get the Republican Party's nomination for President, but I like the guy. I have several colleagues in the GIS world who worked in his government in Arkansas and report that he is practical, no-nonsense sort. In the several interviews I've heard, Mr. Huckabee sounds like a decent and smart guy.
I found more evidence in a posting on the Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire blog: Huckabee: Families, Not Schools, Should Teach Prayer.
The family that prays together doesn’t have to worry about the absence of government-mandated prayer in public schools, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee told a group of reporters today.A good point. And:
Huckabee said he never could understand why so many people “railed against (the absence of) prayer in schools when they didn’t even pray at home.”Governor Huckabee was formerly a Southern Baptist Minister.
4 comments:
Huckabee was on All Things Considered today.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7244143
Thanks for the link. I heard the intro to that interview as I was pulling into my garage. I was tempted to sit and listen to it, but it was just too cold. I'd been planning on finding it on-line.
Briefly, praying at home compensates for praying in schools.
But if one's kids, who pray at home, are derided, bullied, and demeaned in a secular school system by those who don't pray at home, does the fact that they keep the faith at home, provide real comfort to them when they become surrounded by bullies inside the halls of a secular school?
No doubt, I am too closely involved with the secular school system to see this objectively. But, trust me, a vacuum exists in our public school systems right now that bodes ill for this generation passing through. The only children vaccinated against it are those as Huckabee says, have parents who provide and nurture their emotional stability at home.
But if bird flu raced through our school, acknowledging that only a few were vaccinated,and absolving responsibility by stating that it was entirely the parent's responsibility to see the doctor and have it done, would not be enough.
Sooner or later, someone would step in and vaccinate every child.......
I argue we need the same approach to our schools. Let's start with silent prayer; this option is the least offensive to all parties.
The anti-religion lobby argues that it won't do any good.....but no one has come up with any reason on how it could do any harm.
So try it....aren't our children worth it if it works?
One more comment:
As a citizen I know very little about Huckabee. Now, I understand you like him. This alone raises my interest in him, because I follow your blog, share your musical tastes, and now, will look into this candidate because you say he is interesting.
The point I am making, is that with forty candidates throwing in their hats, I won't have time to research every person. Therefore i will have to rely on endorsements. Newspapers are not trustworthy anymore. But a blogger is.
Why? A newspaper reflects the view of its owner. It is more of a propaganda piece than credible source. But someone who sits and types, could be telling a falsehood, but if he did, he would have twenty times the comments pointing it out.
So my brief point is that if you like Huckabee, you need to tell us why, sometime when you have time. I would love to click on the link, but will never find the time (I guess my wife is right,; I am a loser) until I become convinced that he is worth my changing my plans for.
This election cycle has the promise to break out into a brave, new world in the realm of politicking............so keep writing.......
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