I’ve always thought the State of the Union address was a fairly worthless endeavor and actually, as an American, somewhat embarrassing to watch. Kevin Williamson put it pretty well in an article he wrote last year for the National Review titled Great Caesar’s Ghost. If you’re interested in reading it, I’ve linked it here. The first paragraph is in the box to the right to whet your appetite.
The whole idea of a State of the Union address rises from Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution describing the powers of the President which says: “He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.”
From what I have gleaned, George Washington did meet with the Congress in what was the first State of the Union “report”, but when Thomas Jefferson became President, he deemed the practice of addressing Congress too “kingly” and began the practice of sending written reports. This proved satisfactory for 112 years until President Woodrow Wilson changed the tradition to a formal address to Congress. This has morphed into the political spectacle we’ll be subjected to tonight.
Lest this be considered just Obama or democrat bashing, let me heap some of the blame on President Reagan for making things worse. He is responsible for the odious new tradition of placing “guests” in the audience which serve as props for the political messages in the speech. And as Mr. Williamson says in his article, “The next Republican president should remember why his party is called the Republican party and put a stop to this.” Hear, Hear!
Consider the Sources: Almost totally Internet; some from Mr. Williamson’s article and some from other searches.
Monday night I went to the regularly scheduled meeting of the Culver Redevelopment Commission at 5:00 at the Culver Town Hall. I arrived to find the door locked. I looked at the notice on the bulletin board and it stated that the regularly scheduled meeting had been changed to 4:00 and that they had added a joint meeting with the Town Council which they had moved to the Culver Library at 5:00.
As I’ve said here before I tend to cut volunteer board members a lot of slack. They give a lot of time and often only receive slings and arrows from the public in return. I don’t think that’s an excuse for making public participation difficult. My position as Culver’s representative on the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation Board means that my representation there is closely tied to the work the redevelopment commission does. I attend almost every meeting of the redevelopment commission. It is on my calendar to be there on the third Monday at 5:00. It frustrates me to no end when I make a special effort to be at a meeting only to find that they moved the meeting, with private discussion between meetings. I’m not special. They don’t have to let me know. But I think it’s disrespectful and says something about their relationship with MCEDC. While they have fulfilled the letter of the law by posting it on the bulletin board at the Town Hall I also feel it does a disservice to the community. There is also a page on that same bulletin board listing all of the regularly scheduled meetings. If someone other than myself had gone down to see when the next meeting was, read that list and didn’t check later to see that the meeting had been rescheduled they would have been standing out there fuming like myself.
A few years ago phones were getting smaller and smaller to the point that they were hard to read and the idea of a phone/watch ala Dick Tracy didn’t seem too far away. In the last few years we’ve seen the trend in phones go the other direction, to the point that one handed texting and app control is just about impossible. The Phone/Watch has now evolved to become one of the myriad of phone accessories that are accessed via Blue Tooth or other means. My wife, Dr. Rebecca Berger, wears ReSound hearing aids which are wirelessly linked to her phone for streaming music and even cooler, making the phone work to isolate conversations in restaurants. (No, not other people’s conversations – the conversations at our table! Less repeating for me… though no less repeating for her…)
Phones continue to get thinner, but they are getting larger and larger screens. Great for watching videos, but that’s not why I have a phone nor how I use it most of the time. The last go round I got a new Droid Razr Maxx replacing my previous Droid Razr Maxx that I loved. Even though the increased size is minor, it’s enough to make it almost impossible for one handed use. My thumb just won’t reach that far!
So though it pains me to admit this, maybe Steve Jobs got it right with the size of the original iPhone… At least that’s what this article at Quartz posits. The rise of the tablet has caused this and I’ve already opined on why I think that’s a step backward here. I am pleased with the Swype feature for texting and typing on my phone (Something sorely missing from Apple products), but any additional growth in screen size will make this a two handed operation. That’s not what I want in a phone. I want a phone that I can put in my pocket.
As with most trends, there will probably be ups and downs over time. I hope functionality wins out or at least “optionality”… so I can have a phone that does what I need at a size that doesn’t split pocket seams and cause thumb strain…
Source: Dick Tracy Image from www.pmag.com
Source: Thumb Reach picture from www.qz.com
Source: Thumb Strain picture from www.hartchirocenter.com
We’re entering the silly season of politics again. Does it ever strike you how many politicians say, “Vote for ME” when they meet you? I understand name recognition and why putting that name out there is necessary. But in the constant litany of “Vote for ME”, some of them never get around to what they will do for YOU. They’ll talk about their platform if you ask them, but generally you don’t get much opportunity. They’ll badmouth their opponent WITHOUT you asking, but that’s not much better than hearsay at that point.
Next time a politician says, “Vote for me”, put them on the spot and tell them, “No, if I go to the polls, I’m voting for me. Now tell me why it’s worthwhile for me to spend that time and invest my vote in you.” Voting is important. Be an educated voter and make sure you’re voting for the right person for you. Not for the flashy ad or for the party that your parents voted for… Vote for YOU!
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At the August 12th Culver Town Council meeting there was follow-up discussion on properties in town that “should be cleaned up”. The goals are laudable, though I’m aware there are extenuating circumstances in some cases mentioned. In other cases, it’s a personal decision and I’m not sure how far we should go with that. Many subdivisions have covenants that stipulated what color your house can be, what color your curtains can be and how long a vehicle can sit in your driveway. Neighborhood covenants are one thing since they are usually developed before people move in and are modified with the consent of the neighborhood association. Aesthetic choices are personal and I do take some issue to having those applied after the fact. While there should be limits on a property being allowed to become dangerous, I think there is some danger of trampling personal property rights when aesthetics are dictated.
Buckhorn Plantain
As with all things, the Town Council needs to be cognizant of unintended consequences. They had a recent dispute on mowing with a property owner, so part of their discussion revolved around setting a maximum height for grass. The owner in question stated that in lieu of a lawn, he had a naturalized habitat with native plants. The Town made the judgment that this area was overgrown weeds and forced them to be mowed. Does that mean they’re going to require lawns? There are at least two properties in town that have planting beds in lieu of lawn. Who will determine whether those plants are acceptable? Who will determine if there is too much planting area and not enough lawn? Who will determine whether the grass is decorative (like some at our office and at the Town Hall) and therefore exempt from the height ordinance? In late summer when most lawns go dormant, will the random stalks of Buckhorn result in mowing orders? Part of the most recently annexed property on the south side of town has been left fallow. It’s currently returning to somewhat of a native prairie habitat. Will that be illegal? I may have to rethink my willingness to have some of my property annexed…
The discussion also went into the condition of buildings with people wanting enforcement of standards that included missing shingles and boarded up windows… clearly aesthetic issues, not safety issues. I found that discussion amusing considering we were sitting in the Town Hall… a building that currently has missing shingles, a gutter hanging loose on the front and boarded up openings on the north and south. (Would the bird’s nest visible in the picture to the left be considered vermin? There was another complaint about building openings allowing vermin to enter…)
A quick drive past the Water Plant and you can see an overhead door that is off track and not closed completely. Drive up to the entrance of the Sewer Plant and you’ll see a deteriorating shingle roof on a shed roof adjacent to the tanks. Drive by the Town’s Sewer Lift Station on Madison Street and you can see a boarded up window on the back side. (Does paint make it okay? How will you define when a boarded up window is objectionable?)
None of these things particularly bother me. What bothers me is that my property would not meet the standards being discussed and it seems unreasonable that the Town would exempt themselves. Easterday Construction has buildings with openings that are boarded up. We have a pole building that has access under the doors. Might the Town want to get its own house in order before pointing fingers?
I’m sure when I bring some of these things up, I’ll get the standard, “That’s not what I meant! You’re twisting my words… You know what I mean!” Uh, huh… But when you try and define it in legally enforceable language, it takes on a new life. Unintended Consequences…