Couple of things (catching up)
- I know, I know ... I said I'd be back sooner, but, again, kinda busy. Plus, sleeping an extra 20 minutes in the morning is kinda nice. I'll try to get back into the swing of things.
- Since I've been gone, Zach Johnson won The Masters. A lot of folks talked about how boring the tournament was due to the weather - and it was absolutely brutal on Saturday - and the tougher course conditions, but I thought the final round was the most exciting one in a couple of years. Five different players held the lead over the span of an hour early Sunday afternoon, and until Johnson birdied No. 16 and Tiger Woods was forced to scramble and save par at No. 15, it was pretty much anyone's tournament.
- Along with Matt, I was fortunate enough to go see Sen. Barack Obama speak in Atlanta. Very, very cool. Matt even got to shake his hand as he worked his way through the crowd. I don't want to be overdramatic and say it was life-changing or anything, but I was left thinking that an experience like that must have been what it was like for a Democrat in the 1960s to see Bobby Kennedy or a Republican in the early 1980s see Ronald Reagan. More than 20,000 people crammed Yellow Jacket Park at Georgia Tech to make it the largest crowd of his young campaign. As expected, the man gives a good speech so no surprise there. My favorite line was 'Too many folks today view politics as a business, and not as a mission.'
- I posted University of Georgia President Michael Adams's letter to the campus community regarding Virginia Tech.
- Posturing for the 2010 race for governor has already begun as Rep. Glenn Richardson attempts to distance himself from Gov. Sonny Perdue after the latter vetoed the budget (which, by the by, he should have done, so good for Perdue). First time in 40 years the budget has been vetoed. Wow. I don't know why we Democrats are considered the party that fights among itself. The Georgia Republicans are doing a fine job of grabbing that mantle.
- Well ... I actually somewhat agree with the Bush Administration here, though it's baffling to me why the District of Columbia isn't a state yet (or Puerto Rico). I suppose I could get really picky and point out that Virginia technically isn't a state either as it's a commonwealth.
- This is actually one of the most informative columns I've read in a while. My three crepe myrtles are awful looking after that cold snap.
- Since I've been gone, Zach Johnson won The Masters. A lot of folks talked about how boring the tournament was due to the weather - and it was absolutely brutal on Saturday - and the tougher course conditions, but I thought the final round was the most exciting one in a couple of years. Five different players held the lead over the span of an hour early Sunday afternoon, and until Johnson birdied No. 16 and Tiger Woods was forced to scramble and save par at No. 15, it was pretty much anyone's tournament.
- Along with Matt, I was fortunate enough to go see Sen. Barack Obama speak in Atlanta. Very, very cool. Matt even got to shake his hand as he worked his way through the crowd. I don't want to be overdramatic and say it was life-changing or anything, but I was left thinking that an experience like that must have been what it was like for a Democrat in the 1960s to see Bobby Kennedy or a Republican in the early 1980s see Ronald Reagan. More than 20,000 people crammed Yellow Jacket Park at Georgia Tech to make it the largest crowd of his young campaign. As expected, the man gives a good speech so no surprise there. My favorite line was 'Too many folks today view politics as a business, and not as a mission.'
- I posted University of Georgia President Michael Adams's letter to the campus community regarding Virginia Tech.
- Posturing for the 2010 race for governor has already begun as Rep. Glenn Richardson attempts to distance himself from Gov. Sonny Perdue after the latter vetoed the budget (which, by the by, he should have done, so good for Perdue). First time in 40 years the budget has been vetoed. Wow. I don't know why we Democrats are considered the party that fights among itself. The Georgia Republicans are doing a fine job of grabbing that mantle.
- Well ... I actually somewhat agree with the Bush Administration here, though it's baffling to me why the District of Columbia isn't a state yet (or Puerto Rico). I suppose I could get really picky and point out that Virginia technically isn't a state either as it's a commonwealth.
- This is actually one of the most informative columns I've read in a while. My three crepe myrtles are awful looking after that cold snap.
posted by Jmac at 7:00 AM
10 Comments:
About D.C. -- it was intended to be federal territory when it was carved out of Virginia and Maryland. The place had statehood before it was intentionally taken away. I'm trying to figure out why they did that. Does anyone know this history and how citizen and voting rights were addressed? There has to be some explanation for why it was set up the way it is. And that bill that wants to give it representatives is worthless under the constitution -- what a waste of time. Could the territory be returned to Maryland? The Virginia part was returned to that state long ago.
There is no legal meaning for the word "commonwealth." They're all states (Va., Penna., Mass.).
The federal district exists as a byproduct of the general weakness of the Articles of Confederation. It is also a result of conflict between Congress and the individual states. DC was established to allow the federal government to protect itself (esp. from angry Rev. War veterans that crashed Congress in Philadelphia) and to give some territorial integrity to the government intentionally separate from the states. Congress has ultimate control of the district.
Right, Paul, and I would just add that I think it's the good and proper arrangement. D.C. is federal territory, not under the jurisdiction of any state, which means it cannot be a state itself, either. This would defeat the purpose. Also, it isn't good to allow one of the states to become the very seat of the national government. States are states, feds are feds.
Also, "commonwealth" is just old school for "state." Locke was all "commonwealth" this, and "commonwealth" that. I prefer the ring and etymology of "commonwealth," personally, over the cold and clinical-sounding "state." But I'm just weird (I've been told).
I love how the license plates in DC say, "Taxation without representation."
It seems to me that the bill would be a fair idea - I would not give DC representation in the Senate because it is not a state. But the House is set up to be representatives of the PEOPLE, whereas Senators are at least nominally still representatives of the states at large.
Well, Puerto Rico is not a state yet because, as I understand it, statehood has never won in a binding territory-wide referendum. Neither has independence.
As far as DC statehood, that would probably require a Constitutional Amendment (don't ya think?), or a major act of Congress. The freedom from any state's dominance that Paul and Xon bring up might have been the fear back in the day - and which was a real fear with the way things were back before probably 1945. One of the reasons our government is set up like it is was to balance the powers of the several states, and the existence of DC as 'not a state' makes perfect sense.
Pre-1945. However, since the dawn of the nuclear age, it has been a matter of survival that the US government be able to function from anywhere within or even above the territory of the whole United States of America. This negates, IMHO, the need for a seperate district.
But then again, if it is one of those old tenets, changing it will be difficult. But not impossible. The Senate, too, was set up to balance the powers of the states, but even they had to change, by Constitutional Amendment, to direct election as opposed to State appointment.
I really must disagree with Obama. Way too many people these days view politics as a mission.
Because 'business' can be either an abstract thing ("They're in the business of evening the odds.") or a specific concrete thing ("Go down to that local business on Five Points and cite them for this.")—and even then there are the nuances in both of those—it also makes for an ambiguity in 'mission'. Is it a specific military combat operation assigned to a unit or a group? Is it a building in a foreign land where religious services are held? Is it a conviction to proceed forward with an agenda? Is it the group sent out to preach and convert or the group whom others preach to and convert?
I guess context matters.
Your business IS your mission!
-Martin Luther
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