Federalist Paper #9—For Central Government Over The Powers Of The States

Federalist Paper #9, written by Alexander Hamilton, is a winner.

In Federalist #9, Hamilton speaks for the Union of the States under a central government.

The intent of the Federalist Papers was to help win ratification of the Constitution in the New York State and elsewhere in the nation.

The 85 Federalist Papers were written by Hamilton, James Madison  and to a lesser extent, John Jay.   

(Above–Hamilton as painted by John Trumbull in 1806.  A book to consider reading about Hamilton is Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Please click here for the review. The review also includes the names of other authors who have written about Hamilton.)

A central government strong enough to aid the people in a central thought of political liberalism as it is defined in the United States today. 

Hamilton was a not a liberal in the sense we now understand it in America, but we owe him a debt for his advocacy of the powers of the federal government in relation to the powers held by the individual states.   

Here is information about the life and works of Alexander Hamilton.

Here is information about the Federalist Papers.

 Here are all the Federalist Papers from the Emory University Law School.

You can also buy a cheap mass-market book copy of the Federalist Papers that would fit in your purse or back pocket.

It is up to you learn about your history. As much as you may respect your teachers, your parents, your co-workers or whoever is in your life, you can’t count on anyone but yourself  to learn about your past. 

Here is Federalist 9—

A firm Union will be of the utmost moment to the peace and liberty of the States, as a barrier against domestic faction and insurrection. It is impossible to read the history of the petty republics of Greece and Italy without feeling sensations of horror and disgust at the distractions with which they were continually agitated, and at the rapid succession of revolutions by which they were kept in a state of perpetual vibration between the extremes of tyranny and anarchy. If they exhibit occasional calms, these only serve as short-lived contrast to the furious storms that are to succeed. If now and then intervals of felicity open to view, we behold them with a mixture of regret, arising from the reflection that the pleasing scenes before us are soon to be overwhelmed by the tempestuous waves of sedition and party rage. If momentary rays of glory break forth from the gloom, while they dazzle us with a transient and fleeting brilliancy, they at the same time admonish us to lament that the vices of government should pervert the direction and tarnish the lustre of those bright talents and exalted endowments for which the favored soils that produced them have been so justly celebrated.

From the disorders that disfigure the annals of those republics the advocates of despotism have drawn arguments, not only against the forms of republican government, but against the very principles of civil liberty. They have decried all free government as inconsistent with the order of society, and have indulged themselves in malicious exultation over its friends and partisans. Happily for mankind, stupendous fabrics reared on the basis of liberty, which have flourished for ages, have, in a few glorious instances, refuted their gloomy sophisms. And, I trust, America will be the broad and solid foundation of other edifices, not less magnificent, which will be equally permanent monuments of their errors.

If I Register My Car For Two Years At A Time, How Will The Clerk At The County Keep Her Job?

This morning I went to the Harris County Administration building in Downtown Houston so that I could register my car.

I know you can do it online and I understand why many people might take advantage of that option.  

But I often go Downtown, and I feel that clerks at the county building need jobs.

The clerk who helped me today was very nice.

She told me I could register my car for two years if I wished.

I told her that I like to come and register the car each year so folks can have jobs.

If we don’t do business with real human beings, where will people find work?

Heat Emergency Guidelines

Below are some heat emergency guidelines from FEMA.

Here is the complete infromation from FEMA on how to deal with extreme heat. 

(Above–The Sun. Here are facts about the sun. )

It is very hot in Houston.

Maybe you live in the Houston-area or maybe it is very hot where you live.

While you may be able to handle the heat, be certain that you are taking the right steps.

Consider if anybody you know might need some help.  

The guidelines from FEMA—

• Stay indoors as much as possible and limit exposure to the sun.
• Stay on the lowest floor out of the sunshine if air conditioning is not available.
• Consider spending the warmest part of the day in public buildings such as libraries, schools, movie theaters, shopping malls, and other community facilities. Circulating air can cool the body by increasing the perspiration rate of evaporation.
• Eat well-balanced, light, and regular meals. Avoid using salt tablets unless directed to do so by a physician.
• Drink plenty of water. Persons who have epilepsy or heart, kidney, or liver disease; are on fluid-restricted diets; or have a problem with fluid retention should consult a doctor before increasing liquid intake.
• Limit intake of alcoholic beverages.
• Dress in loose-fitting, lightweight, and light-colored clothes that cover as much skin as possible.
• Protect face and head by wearing a wide-brimmed hat.
• Check on family, friends, and neighbors who do not have air conditioning and who spend much of their time alone.
• Never leave children or pets alone in closed vehicles.
• Avoid strenuous work during the warmest part of the day. Use a buddy system when working in extreme heat, and take frequent breaks.

One Of The Best Pictures On The Web—Picture Of Happy People

Above is a photo of my friend Kelly and her husband Mark. They live in New York State.

This picture was posted by Kelly on Facebook. She said I could use it on the blog.

This picture is one of the best pictures I”ve seen on the whole of the web. These are happy people.

Life is often difficult. Yet we can’t forget that things often go quite well.

Texas Progressive Alliance Round Up With Picture Of El Paso In 1903

Below is the weekly Texas Progressive Alliance round-up. The Texas Progressive Alliance is a confederation of the best political bloggers in Texas.

Above  is a picture of the streets of El paso, Texas in 1903. The picture is from the Library of Congress American Memory Project. Please click here for more details about the photograph. 

The round up—

President Obama, Bill White, and John Sharp are all in the same sinking DOMA boat. The Texas Cloverleaf comes off of hiatus to tell you why.

CouldBeTrue from South Texas Chisme cheers the impeachment of Judge Kent. Four articles passed without a single nay. Let’s hope the Senate is through with him by August.

BossKitty at TruthHugger finally signed up for Twitter to get updates on the Iran protests. What a day of drama and emotion it brought: Icons and Martyrs: All Day On Twitter Watching Iran. But he was really meaning to highlight the regressive influences causing upheaval in personal lives, especially in Texas: Immigration Policies and Gay Rights Contradictions.

Unlike Nevada Republican Senator John Ensign, Neil at Texas Liberal makes a promise he’ll keep — He’ll never cheat on his wife! Also, Neil sings the Damned’s Wait For The Blackout at the Houston Ship Channel.

Off the Kuff takes a look, then a second look, at the bills Governor Perry vetoed.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson knows in order to solve big problems it takes leadership. Who is willing to lead, who has enough LBJ in them?

Death Of Michael Jackson

While I don’t want anybody to die, I felt that Michael Jackson was disgusting with children.

Mr. Jackson was found innocent of molestation charges and we have to accept that verdict as the final legal judgment on the matter. Yet I don’t have to respect him.  

I’m sorry for anybody in Mr. Jackson’s family or for any personal friends who are feeling his loss today. That’s the sympathy I can muster.     

Above you see people mourning the death of Michael Jackson. I just can’t understand this kind of reaction. Don’t people have more in their lives?

History Of American Women Is A Great Blog

If I had the time, the kind of blog I would write beyond Texas Liberal is the blog called History of American Women.

Here is the link to this excellent blog.

(Above–From the History of American Women post about Revolutionary War patriot Dicey Langston-Springfield.) 

Run by a woman who goes by the name Maggiemac in North Fort Myers, Florida, History of American Women is about women from colonial and revolutionaryera  America. The blog offers profiles and, where available, paintings of these women.  

Maggiemac also provides historical overviews of the colonies and addresses topics such as slavery in the colonies, witchcraft trials and the lives of Native Americans.

From my own experience as a blogger, I can only imagine the time Maggiemac puts into her blog to make it such a enjoyable and useful resource.

Here is Maggimac’s profile of Lydia Chapin Taft.  Ms. Taft was the first legal woman voter in America. She first cast a  vote in a Massachusetts town meeting in 1756. 

Here is a post about rights held by early 18th-century Cherokee women.

From the post–

Women in Cherokee society had the same rights as men. Long before the arrival of the white man, women enjoyed a major role in the family life, economy, and government of the Cherokee. They lived in villages built along the rivers of western North Carolina, northwestern South Carolina, northern Georgia, and eastern Tennessee. When white men visited these villages in the early 1700s, they were surprised by the rights and privileges of Indian women.

Sometimes you see something in life that merits your recognition and time. I can’t recommend History of American Women strongly enough.

Malignancy Known As The Texas Legislature Metastasizes Into Special Session

The malignancy known as the Texas legislature is set to metastasize into a special session. The session is planned to begin on July 1.

(Above–Bad cells that are part of a growth in the nervous system. Photo from the National Cancer Institute.)

They did not get all the work they needed to complete done in regular session.

The Texas legislature meets once every two years.

Instead of worrying about health insurance for children or poverty or other issues of merit, a silly voter identification measure took up much the legislature’s time.

Our Texas legislature does, to be fair, a little that is good. But it does much more harm than good.

I am sorry to see it come back so soon. Usually we get a two-year remission.

Houston and Texas political blogger Charles Kuffner discusses here some of the particulars of the special session.

Notes On Various Topics

Here are some notes about life and about the world—

*I’m very glad Governor Mark Sanford got busted and I hope his career is ruined. Governor Sanford was as a far to the right as you see in elected office and cared more about his right-wing ideology than he did about the people of South Carolina. He refused stimulus founds that would have helped people in South Carolina deal with these hard times.

* I don’t enjoy going to the grocery store as much as I once did. I was for some years friends with a bagger named Johnny Castille at my grocery store. Johnny died in 2007. Johnny was a black man and an active Democrat who would have been so glad to have seen Mr. Obama elected.

* I’m listening to a best of the Cure CD as I write this blog post.

* If you don’t often visit my blog, I most often include many links with my posts. But today, like yesterday, I’m a bit rushed. It can be hard to find the time to do this each day. I will though add a picture to this post. Maybe a picture of an animal of some kind. (Look above–I found a winner.)

* If you are thinking of starting a blog, be sure to include pictures and facts about animals. You can’t go wrong with animals. You could include with the animal posts, facts about the politics of the nations where the animals live. Or facts about environmental threats faced in the world. 

Or you could just write about animals.

* Be kind to the people you meet in life not just because you are courteous as a matter of habit, but because you see kindness as part of what being alive in the world is about.

Elvis & Communication

Sometimes I send out e-mails to be my friends just to keep in touch and to relate thoughts I’m having at the moment. Below is one such e-mail I sent today. Though I only sent it to half my list because I’m just that strapped for time today. Here is a link to read about the Elvis book I referenced in the post.  

 

Hello folks. This is an e-mail to stay in touch that may double as a blog post. Time is short. Today and always.

 

I’ve been reading a biography of Elvis Presley called The Rise Of Elvis Presley—Last Train To Memphis. It’s the first of two volumes.

 

I’m only to page 65, but I’ve been so interested in the author’s discussion of the emotional vulnerabilities that Elvis had and was able to convey to others. The author, Peter Guralnick, writes that in the way a young Elvis sang and interacted with others, there were clearly evident, if mostly non-verbalized, insecurities and emotional needs.

 

While maybe this is true for many of us, when you think of the connection Elvis gained with a wide public, it gives rise to the idea of unexpressed vulnerabilities as a starting point of communication.

 

If we understand our own vulnerabilities and try to reach a respectful understanding of the vulnerabilities of others, we will then have a very good starting point for useful and meaningful communication.

 

By communication in this context, I mean interactions that bind together our personal lives with our more public existence. Like it seems Elvis was able to accomplish at the beginning of his career.  

 

I’ve long held, but have yet to muster the discipline to fully express, by either direct commentary or personal example, the needed connection between our private selves and our more public selves. When the two are connected, both have more value.

 

By “public selves” I mean the full range of interactions with people other than ourselves.

 

Drawing this connection is a project I need to take up soon.

 

I hope all are well. 

Crazy Far-Right South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford Set To Reappear From Secret Trip—-Update–The Secret Trip Was An Affair!

Extreme states-rights conservative Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina has been missing. The story excerpted below suggests where he may have been and says that he has decided to reappear.

Update 6/24—It now turns out the Governor was in Argentina instead of hiking on the Appalachian Trail. 

Update 6/24—Ohhhh—He was having an affair in Argentina.

Update 6/27–Here is a portion of one of the love letters Governor Sanford sent his mistress in Argentina-

“Do you really comprehend how beautiful your smile is? Have you been told lately how warm your eyes are and how they softly glow with the special nature of your soul.” 

Here is the link to a more complete story about the love letters.

Update 6/30—Governor Sanford talks about other women he has been involved with and says that his mistress is his “soulmate.” Above is a picture of the Governor. He is shown here with the family he skipped out on over Father’s Day weekend.

Maybe he does not love his family.

Governor Sanford has fought the acceptance of federal stimulus funds in South Carolina.  I really don’t care if he loves his family, because it does mean much in relation to the harm he would do the people of South Carolina who need help in these hard times.  Here is a story where Governor Sanford says the stimulus package may lead to slavery. 

Governor Sanford is so far to the right that the conservative South Carolina legislature recently overturned 10 of the Governor’s vetoes.

Some have suggested that Mr. Sanford may run for President in 2012. Would it not be best if first he could master the obligations of being Governor of South Carolina?

Here is the full story about the Governor disappearing.

From the story—

A spokesman for South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said Tuesday the Republican checked in with his staff and was surprised by the attention given to his secretive vacation and planned to cut it short and return Wednesday…Sanford hadn’t spoken with his staff since last Thursday. He left the state on what Sawyer called a routine post legislative vacation to unwind. His absence left fellow state leaders scratching their heads…

The lieutenant governor couldn’t figure out where Gov. Mark Sanford was. Calls from a state senator and close friend rolled to voice mail. Even his wife said she hadn’t talked to him for several days. The explanation came late Monday night from his spokesman: The second-term chief executive was hiking along the Appalachian Trail “to kind of clear his head after the legislative session.”  The Republican governor left town on Thursday, Sawyer said, with plans to hike the trail, which passes through 14 states but not South Carolina. Sawyer said he didn’t know where exactly Sanford was along the 2,200-mile route and declined to discuss if anyone was hiking with him… 

Some questioned who was in charge of South Carolina if he couldn’t be reached. The National Guard and the state’s top law enforcement agencies report to him, said Senate Minority Leader John Land, D-Manning. Lt. Gov. Andrew Bauer said he’d been rebuffed by the governor’s staff when he tried to find out where Sanford was and had not been put in charge in his absence. “I cannot take lightly that his staff has not had communication with him for more than four days, and that no one, including his own family, knows his whereabouts,” said Bauer….

Jenny Sanford said Monday she had not spoken with her husband for several days, including Father’s Day. The Sanfords have four sons.  “He was writing something and wanted some space to get away from the kids,” she told The Associated Press while vacationing at the family’s Sullivans Island beach house. A message left for her wasn’t returned after the governor’s hiking plans were disclosed. “It’s one thing for the boys to go off by themselves, but on Father’s Day to leave your family behind? That’s erratic,” Land said. “And when those officials can’t get in touch with the commander, it’s really weird. That’s not responsible.”

Immense Punk Rock Blast On August 15—Top Blogger To Host The Event

Below is the poster for the punk rock blast of the year. It’s being promoted by Cincinnati’s Aurore Press. Please click here to read about all that is going on with Aurore Press. Aurore Press is the forum for dissenting views in Cincinnati and in the entire tri-state area. And that’s just the beginning for these folks! Today Cincinnati and tri-state—Tomorrow Michigan and West Virginia.

Please note on the art below that this blogger is on the bill. I’ll be hosting the event.

I hope to see you there and please keep reading Texas Liberal.

Neda Video—Ongoing Iran Protests

Above is the Neda video of the young woman shot and killed during street protests in Iran.

Her full name was Neda Agha Soltan.

The video is graphic and disturbing to watch.

The New York Times blog on the protests in Iran has reports on Neda. You have to scroll down to find the reports.  There is one entry with a link to what is said to be a picture of Neda’s grave.

Update 6/23—Here is a New York Times article about Neda. 

Update 6/24–The latest from Iran.

Update 6/25—The latest from Iran.

Here is a Neda Facebook memorial page.

Global Voices has links to more Iran videos and to bloggers writing about Iran.

Reporters Without Borders says that both traditional journalists and bloggers have been detained by the government.

A mix of traditional journalists with the resources of so-called mainstream news outlets, along with bloggers and people using Twitter have all been essential to reporting this story.

Nico Pitney’s Iran liveblogging in the Huffington Post has been of value.

Instead Of Blowing Off Your Fingers While Shooting Fireworks During A Drought, Why Don’t You Read A Book Instead?

Why is it that people feel the need to buy fireworks? And why do people buy fireworks when drought conditions are ongoing or likely upcoming?

The Houston Chronicle recently ran a story about the varying regulations in counties in the Houston-area and in counties throughout Texas regarding fireworks. Today the Chronicle reported that a fireworks ban in Harris County has been extended through July 6.

( Above—Fireworks in Sydney Australia. You cannot recreate this at home.)

With much of the Houston-area in drought or near drought conditions, it is not certain to what extent the sale of fireworks will be permitted this year for Independence Day.

The sale of fireworks is banned in the City of Houston.

From the Chronicle story—

Between 2000 and 2007, there were 259 reported fireworks mishaps in Harris County, causing more than $2 million in damage. …In 2007, at least 21 Texans were taken to hospitals with fireworks-related injuries, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The risk of injuries and fire and all sorts of trouble is the big point here. Just what are the odds that people buying fireworks are using them in as safe a manner as possible? As safe as possible to the extent fireworks can be used safely at all? 

Here is what the Centers for Disease Control says about preventing fireworks injuries—

“Remember- the safest way to prevent fireworks-related injuries is to leave fireworks displays to trained professionals.” 

Here is some more information on fireworks safety from the CDC. 

Instead of launching fireworks and maybe blowing your fingers off or torching your neighbor’s home, I propose that you read a book instead.

A novel I’m reading at the moment is Johnny Tremain. It is the story of a boy in Colonial Boston who sees all the great events in Boston leading up the American Revolution. There is plenty of action and you will learn about what it was like to live in Boston in the 1770’s.

 Please consider reading a book instead of losing an eye this summer when the fireworks you light go off course and leave you maimed. 

Protests Ongoing In Iran

Protests in Iran are ongoing.

Global Voices has links to blogs and people using Twitter who are reporting about events in Iran.

Here is the blog Revolutionary Road. This blog is based in Iran. 

Here is the BBC on Iran.

These protests have been taking place for a week now. These are people serious about being more free. They merit our support.