All politics is local

[Johnny O]

"All politics is local" is an old saying from Tip O'Neil.

Lots of outrage in PA over the state legislature voting themselves an unconstitutional pay raise through the back door.

My letter to the editor appears in this morning's paper, on election day. I cut out of work to vote and get to the dry cleaners'.

My state senator walks into the dry cleaner right behind me. He knows who I am.

"Morning senator!" [Broken External Image]:

Oh well, I thought it was funny. Somehow this isn't translating as funny as it was.

 

[John Zuber]

What are you complaining about--come to Florida and have all the "growth and population expansion" you want. Its killing us!

 

[Thomas Rogers]

I am somewhat blessed to live in Southestern PA. The economy may not be booming here, but at least it isn't totally stagnant.



As a moderate who shares many conservative values our big election day issues is the local high school board elections. Activist parents are calling for other parents to vote for the more "liberal" candidates; those that want to keep school budgets higher, increase services, update school buildings, etc.; and they are opposed by the "fixed income" lobby of mostly older retirees that feel they are getting squeezed out of their homes of the past 30 or 40 years because they can't afford to pay the ever increaing real estate taxes. Its the battle in the burbs (happening all over the country I suspect)....young affluent yuppie parents many new to the area vs older, set in their ways retirees sitting on $1M estates.



It will be interesting.

 

[Johnny O]

Yeah, I used to want to move to Florida. Now with all the traffic, I visit my folks there in the winter, I'm not so sure. I don't like being cold though.

 

[j Schmidty]

It is the same where I am at in California, on the central coast. In my town the population has doubled in the past 10 years and they had to close one of the two elementary schools, due to declining enrollment!!! I think I live in a retirement community sometimes.

 

[A K]

JohnnyO,



I spent the last two summers with the House of Representatives for Pennsylvania. There are respresentatives and senators that do their job faithfully every day. However, these are easily outnumbered by slackers. The representative I worked with actually voted against the pay raise, and when it was approved, promised to donate the full sum to a local charity. I commended him, not because of his morals, which were in the right place, but because his wife was expecting their first child, and Lord knows it wouldn't hurt to save that money for when the child grows.



Regardless, I think even more important than the pay raise was that it was agreed to knowing that after that last raise, their pay would follow the US Congressional increase calendar. And, conveniently, that is to occur (if memory serves me right) sometime next year.



The pay raise SHOULD be repealed, so long as the house and the senate can agree to a bill that satisfies both. I believe it stalled in the house today after the senate amended it in unfavorable ways. I wonder if it'll die on the floor or if both legislatures will keep pushing it...

 

[Charles Dentler]

Yeah, I live in Dover PA and it was actually getting a little bit heated here. Not really about the Intelligent Design thing though, just because we want to keep our taxes down.

 

[Johnny O]

they had to close one of the two elementary schools, due to declining enrollment!!! I think I live in a retirement community sometimes.

Where I live, every town has at least one former school building that's been turned into apartments or an assisted living facility. I live in the town I grew up in and the school graduates literally half as many as my class had in 1978. Florida is an old state because old people move there, in a constantly replenished supply. Pennsylvania is an old state because young people move away. I'm waiting for the local real estate values to utterly crash in about 10 years when all the senior citizens are dead and umpteen empty houses hit the market.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

I suspect enrollment in Kansas schools will decline if the Intelligent Design issue passes. I'm not taking sides or anything, but most parents will pull their children from a school that teaches things that will definitely lower SAT/ACT scores, and reduce their childrens' chances of getting into college. Science scores will plummet in the State if this is passed, because the National standardized tests will not agree with the theories presented under the Intelligent Design program.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Intelligent Design is interesting conjecture but in many ways I feel it closes ones scientific mind instead of opening it and for those reasons should not be taught in a science classroom.



ID too conveniently attempts to brush under a rug the most difficult questions man has been asking of himself since the beginning...how did we get here, why are we here?



Likewise, I don't think it is necessarily the role of science alone to answer such questions, but it certainly isn't the role of faith masquerading as science to close the door on the search for those answers, and that is what I feard ID does.



If we make matters like this truly Science vs Religion then I am afraid both sides will lose more than they gain.



TJR

 

[Gavin Allan]

Don't you all know that God created the fossils and monkey skulls? He has a sense of humor too!

 

[Ryan Schaecher]

I am a firm believer that Evolution and Creation (Not ID) can co-exist and I personally believe that both are true. But that's another debate all together.



I am in North East Arkansas, I have lived in Kommiefornia, Illinois and Missouri. It's no secret that I am a staunch independant conservative. I have seen my share of amazing politics (especially in the last 10 years since I have been able to vote). My questions come more for my disdain of modern politics than from idealology.



What ever happen to the fact that the founders of this country did not want career politicians? What happened to all candidates having meaningful dialog and debate?



I have DirectTv with "local" channels from New York. My wife and I laughed at all the commercials from Corzine and Foresster (anyone from New Jersey, first question is WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!! Secondly, my condolences to those who actually had a brain and voted for Foresster). The negativity was absolutely astounding. Instead of debating each other, one got quotes from the other's ex-wife and the other equated his apponent with the president. Amazing.



Whatever happened to the politicians representing the people?? It used to be that the politicans were paid very little. It was an honor for them to be representing us. Now it's a right for them to have anything they want. Minority rule has come into call. Two sets of parents have a problem with somehting that 98 other sets do not but we have to change because of the offended ones. Well, that offends me. Now what? Are they more important than I?



I'm ranting...

 

[Thomas Rogers]

NJ gets what NJ deserves. Corzine is another rich politician not in touch with the little guy.

 

[Gavin Allan]

Right on, R Shek!