Monday, January 22, 2007

TGI...M?

...Yes, I am thankful it is Monday. The roads are clear, school starts up again after a weeklong vacation and yesterday we finally got to get out of the house for a while. It felt good!
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I watched a few movies this weekend. One was World Trade Center. What a moving, heart-wrenching film. It highlighted the good of people, the heroism of those that risked their lives for others and captured the fear and sadness of families. Oliver Stone directed this PG-13 movie and it is said that this was his first non-R rated film. No bad language at all, which was nice to see.
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I am not really a person that gets fired up about politics, but I have to tell you some things that are ahead for Oklahoma legislation. They have 2,316 bills and resolutions filed and here are some that the paper said to watch for:
*House Bill 416: Designates English as the official language of Oklahoma.
---Ummm, if English isn't the official language of Oklahoma, then what is? And they have to have a bill for this?
*Senate Bill 874: Would require a voter to produce identification before being allowed to vote.
---They don't already do this? I am new to Oklahoma and have not voted in an election yet, but I thought that was just commen sense.
*House Bill 1587: Would require motor vehicle inspections.
---Isn't it funny? Being from Texas, we got our car inspected without thought. When we moved here and found out that we didn't have to, we were scratching our heads. Think about it-there may be so many unsafe cars on the road. It is scary. Even though getting your car inspected is a pain, I hope this one passes!
And last one:
House Bill 1466: Would enter Oklahoma into an agreement with other states to elect the president of the United States by national popular vote, replacing the current Electoral College system.
---Whoa. I didn't know about this! Did any of you? Replacing a system that has been around since our forefathers? I will have to keep up this one. Especially since the next presidential race will be mighty interesting, especially since 3 minorities are vying for the Democratic ticket.
***
This week I hope to start painting my bathroom. I found some towels yesterday at Kohl's so I am using those for my color scheme. I'll post pictures when I am finished!

Have a great Monday!

6 comments:

Krista said...

I'm glad you're able to get yourself (and the boys!) out of the house.

I like the idea of getting rid of the electoral college. Last presidential election, since I'm a "blue" voter in a "red" state, it was frustrating to know that my vote wasn't going to matter. Plus there was no real campaigning in my state because it was kind of a foregone conclusion that it would go Republican. (Actually I'm not sure that I want all the campaigning, now that I think about it, but still.)

Anonymous said...

The repainting bug must be contagious! Both you and Krista are repainting your bathrooms.

I also like the idea of doing away with the electoral college. It was originally instituted because our forefathers believed that the common person didn't have the knowledge to be entrusted with something as important as choosing the leader of the country. And since most people were neither literate nor educated in the 1700s, that was probably right. However I think that now more people would vote if they thought that their vote was really counting for something other than an unknown elector.

OK, I will climb down off of my soapbox now and leave you with the wish for a great day!

Mom

aimee said...

Mom you bring up an interesting point and for that matter, so do you Krista. America has one of the lowest voting percentages of anywhere in the world and I wonder if people thinking there votes "don't count" because of the electoral college is one of the reasons.

Abbey said...

It has finally warmed up here too! I'm anxious to see before/after pics of your bathroom.

Also thanks for the political lesson. I'm scared to drive in OK now that I know they don't inspect cars!! :)

Anonymous said...

While I certainly respect your opinion on the electoral college, I have to disagree. Our forefathers were afraid of the common man, but I think more importantly they were afraid of the "masses". While the common man today is much better educated, I think that the general public still lacks a realistic understanding of a lot of issues. (I can say this because in many ways I would be included in this group.) Some of the worst leaders this earth has seen have come to power mainly as a result of the fact that they knew how to manipulate the masses - some of which were relatively well educated. The electoral college is not perfect, but I still like it better than the popular vote.

Seth

H Noble said...

Very good points from everyone. Obviously I feel at a loss for any intelligent response, since I don't keep up with politics at all. Anyway, I don't think watching West Wing qualifies as political education!

That said, I've only voted once (when Justin made me) because I don't feel that its going to matter one way or the other. J is trying to teach me the error of my ways... we'll see.

I'm with you guys on the vehicle registration and for sure the English language! That's a topic I might embarrass J on if I get started!!!
H