A Modicum of Varacity is Felicitous (A Bit of Clarity is in Order)

mo·di·cum noun.  Definition: a small portion: a limited quantity.

ve·rac·i·ty  noun.  Definition: 1. devotion to the truth; truthfulness. 2. power of conveying or perceiving truth.  3. conformity with truth or fact; accuracy.  4. something true <makes lies sound like veracities>

fe·lic·i·tous adjective. Definition:  1. very well suited or expressed: apt <a felicitous remark>.  2. pleasant, delightful <felicitous weather>

Source:  Merriam-Webster (http://www.merriam-webster.com/)

Or in black & white: a bit of clarity is in order.

Okay, so what’s my point?  I’ve been reading so much debate about how we’re becoming a blood-sucking socialist society, overrun by capitalist pigs, or undermining our democratic principles that I thought it was time to take pause.  Sorry.  Read my bio.  I went to college, okay?!  I just like to get my facts right before poking at others’ misuse. 

So now for a little intellectualism.  Courtesy of Merriam-Webster, I have summarized some of the most misrepresented words I’ve come across in the debate.  Take a moment to reflect and commit to your permanent memory.

Let’s start with the basics:

de·moc·ra·cy noun. Plural. Definition:  1(a). government by the people; especially; rule of the majority. 1(b). a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.  2. a political unit that has a democratic government.  3. [if] capitalized: the principles and policies of the Democratic party in the United States.  4. the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority. 5. the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges.

By the way, the query for democracy, brings back four entries:  1) democracy, 2) pure democracy; 3) social democracy, and 4) Tory democracy.  Just so you know, here in the U.S.A., we are NOT a pure democracy.  Pick up Plato’s The Republic for much enlightening coverage of that (yes, seriously).  While we are a republic, we are also a social democracy: “a democratic welfare state that incorporates both capitalist and socialist practices.”

Which brings me to the next series of definitions:

re·pub·lic noun.  Definition:  1(a)(1). a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president.  1(a)(2).  a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government.  1(b)(1). a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law. 1(b)(2). a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government. 1(c). a usually specified republican government of a political unit <the French Fourth Republic>.  2. a body of persons freely engaged in a specified activity <the republic of letters>.  3. a constituent political and territorial unit of the former nations of Czechoslovakia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or Yugoslavia.

so·cial·ism noun. Definition: 1. any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.  2(a). a system of society or group living in which there is no private property 2(b). a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state.  3.  a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done.

cap·i·tal·ism noun.  Definition: an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market.

com·mu·nism noun.  Definition:  1(a). a theory advocating elimination of private property. 1(b). a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed.  2. [if] capitalized: 2(a). a doctrine based on revolutionary Marxian socialism and Marxism-Leninism that was the official ideology of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.  2(b). a totalitarian system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of production.  2(c).  a final stage of society in Marxist theory in which the state has withered away and economic goods are distributed equitably.  2(d). communist systems collectively.

While idealistic in terms of imaging that the ultimate innate good in our human nature might prevail, we are not a communist form of government.  But we are also, ultimately selfish.  Thus the Soviet Union, China, etc., have never been able to advance the theories of communism to the final bucolic stage, but rather remained in the totalitarian government stage.  Funny how what we think of as communism in modern society by definition is not.

The same generally goes for the rest of the definitions above, which is what drives me crazy about the Black & White rantings of those who “think” they know what these words mean.

As long as you are expanding your horizons (or refamiliarizing), join me in subscribing to the Oxford Dictionaries “Word of the Day” at: http://oxforddictionaries.com/.

I Am Against Government Regulation! (except when it protects my own best interest)

We have a mandate America!  Right?  Let’s adhere to the perfection of the Constitution. Let’s lower taxes.  Let’s reduce the deficit.  Let’s get RID of all this ridiculous government regulation.  (Uh, that is with the specific and distinct exception of when said regulation might actually protect our own personal property or interest.)

Hmmm.  Can we say oxymoron?  Double standard?

Someone recently brought to my attention a wonderfully controversial case in point in the Town of Flower Mound, Texas.  The lovely, affluent town of Flower Mound, a bastion of north Texas conservatism in Denton County, seems to have no problem at all with “Drill, Baby, Drill!” (with respects to Sarah Palin), as long as it’s Not In My BackYard (NIMBY).

Now you have to understand this is about as Republican-red, right-wing, tea party turf as you can find anywhere in the red and purple states.  So the principles and ideals which so richly imbue such quotables as “I don’t want the government messing with my Social Security,” are a good fit here, except folks in most neighborhoods in Flower Mound likely have a pretty good tax shelter already covering their retirements.  But I digress.  Back on topic: government deregulation (except when it affects me).

Texas is oil and gas country.  It’s what’s helped make us Texas what we are today (good, bad or ugly).  And the community of Flower Mound seems to be all for that EXCEPT when it affects Flower Mound.  This excerpt from the blog site “Flower Mound Citizens Against Urban Drilling” (http://stopthedrilling.blogspot.com/):

“Our Mission: To work in a legal, ethical, and civil manner to stop urban gas drilling in the highly residential areas of North Texas. We are not against all gas drilling, but rather that which will adversely affect the public safety, the enjoyment of our homes, and our overall quality of life. We support the need for better regulation and accountability of the Oil & Gas Industry in rural and urban areas of Texas.”

Again, friends of Joe the Architect, I cannot make this stuff up.  I mean…we’re not against gas drilling per se…We just need more REGULATION and ACCOUNTABILITY.  Really? 



Credit to:  http://stopthedrilling.blogspot.com/

 What I love the most are all the great videos with close zoom-in / zoom-out shots of the drilling rig as traffic passes by.  But the saddest thing is how this group can be quick to vilify the workers at the sites, truck drivers, guys in hard hats, etc., who just happen to be doing their jobs.  Hey, it’s economic development, right?  More jobs, more tax base for the community.  (Not to mention the $$’s in pockets of the neighbors who sold their mineral rights to the company.)

Come on.  If this community was serious about leadership that would protect the environment and neighborhoods, they wouldn’t have reflected a county voting outcome of 59,352 (74.51%) out of 79,652 straight party votes for the Republic ticket.

Just a Little Bit on the Constitution and the (Im)Perfection of our Forefathers

For those strict Constitutionalists among us, beware of the hallowed perfection bestowed upon those saintly founding fathers.  (Especially those whom upon further investigation, we find paid homage to Providence yet were agnostic in practice.)  But mostly let’s remember that it took little more that a fortnight before these few good fellows, realized that their perfect document was in need some major edits.

In no time at all, they began the task of appending that which initially seemed so perfect with the likes of a First Amendment, Second Amendment, Third Amendment, etc.  (Re: First Amendment, see my blog of Oct 21, 2010.)  And you know, this is REALLY a very good thing.  Had we been unable redress the fundamental premise of our governing law of the land as our society evolved, then women will still be suffering without suffrage and African Americans would have remained African chattel without the American suffix. 

So while Trusting in God, let’s also THANK God that as Americans we are able to recognize our imperfections, few though they be (come on we’re AMERICANS!).  Really, though, let’s recognize during this thanksgiving season and in our post-election euphoria (or distress), that this democracy of governing (i.e., lawmaking, bill passing, budget setting, etc.) and consensus building (otherwise referred to as cat-herding) is not a perfect system.

Our elected officials are human, as were our founding fathers.  And they are not perfect.  TARP initiated under Bush and implemented under Obama, along with the Recovery Act, may not have been perfect, but I think most of us can reasonable agree we are out of the most significant tails spin.  Invading Iraq may have cost hundreds of American, American allies, and Iraqi lives (and trillions of dollars), but at least we have ended major combat operations in that country.  Was bailing out Detroit the best idea of the economic crisis.  I don’t know the answer to that.  But I’m delighted with the GM announced IPO this earlier this week.  And is our healthcare system a mess?  Well, have you gone to the doc lately, made a variable co-pay, picked up a generic prescription, and then tried to decipher the difference in a subsequent doctor bill or insurance statement “stating this is not a bill”?  Let me tell you:  Healthcare needed an overhaul.  It has been a non-comprehensive, unaffordable, inefficient labyrinth of a mess!  Was healthcare reform a perfect bill?  I think not.  Some refused to come to the table and the remaining participants forged ahead with a single-sided perspective.  Believe you me, it will need tweaking.

And that’s the beauty of our checks and balances, three branches of government, multi-party, crazy mixed up system.  It’s a reflection on our humanity.  And after all, we are only human.  Let’s just hope that like our Constitution, we will continue to improve.