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Voltare -> RE: I am ready for Clinton, Obama and Clinton for President. Are you? (12/20/2006 1:21:04 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Petruchio
!!! SMART MAN !!! So few people separate their political leanings, sociall leanings, and economic leanings. A sensible person might be more liberal politcially than so-called 'liberals' and should be more economically conservative than so-called 'conservatives'.
It's also annoying that we Americans have come to confuse conservative with right wing and liberal with left wing. Naturally, it falls into the laps of propagandists.
Thanks. I'm always wary coming in a bit late to any debate, especially political ones.
Before I go sticking my foot in my mouth, I suppose I'll admit I know very little about the finer points of southern politics. I grew up in Michigan, and I've spent more of my adult (and voting) life outside of the country than in.[/font=georgia]
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A dose of Florida might sour you on strong local authority. You an lose your house if your community doesn't like how you maintain it or even paint it. You can no longer legally keep a boat in your driveway in Orlando. You cannot tether your dog outside. You cannot legally keep an unlicensed automobile. You cannot legally service your car in your own driveway.
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It's an example of right-wing conservatism gone mad (remember this is a heavily Republican state). In the state of Florida, we have Code Enforcement Boards which police your properties. In fact, they have more police powers than police and are often used by government (and vindictive neighbors) to 'get' those who can't otherwise be touched by the law. Violations are prosecuted under criminal law, not civil.
As our forefathers said, no government can be trusted to serve its people.
No question this is oversimplification, but I see two conflicting concepts here. On one hand, I believe that a local community should have the authority (indeed, responsibility) to police itself as it deems fit. On the other hand, is what an old teacher of mine used to call the 'left handed' tax - situations where a society heavily regulates or punishes a small minority (i.e. anyone left handed, born in June, or sticks a pink flamingo on their front lawn.) This is why I believe in strong Federal oversight - not unlike the system whe have in place to standardize motor vehicle laws, where the states are free to write the rules and laws as they wish - but to receive their portion of federal funds, they must conform to very specific guidelines (why do you suppose the drinking age - a state regulation - is 21 in all states now?)
Voter apathy does more to encourage the abuse of the legal system than any thousands of corrupt and greedy politicians, judges, and law enforcement officials. Seven solid years of electing non-Dem and non-Rep candidates would literally wash out the 'old' batch (the good and evil, as it were.) The downside is that the system would be replaced with political freshmen, many of whom would still end up with their hands in the various corporate cookie jars. Still, there are plenty of methods a voter might use to have the law changed. My personal method was to leave the country ;) Obviously, that's a luxury most cannot afford.[/font=georgia]
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