I grew up in a house that valued 'safe and sane' over 'dumb and dangerous', so my experience with fireworks has been limited to the ones that, if grossly mishandled, would only blow off one finger, not the whole hand. Where's the fun in that, I ask you?
Speaking of dumb and dangerous, now that the DC area election cycle is in full swing, there has been a lot of talk about DC getting an actual voting representative in Congress, mostly by folks who oppose it, oddly enough. Why, here's an interview that DCist posted yesterday with a candidate in Virginia, who offers a great solution for DC citizens who want a voice in our national legislature:
Just move. Genius, if not for it's idiocy.
Here's the thing that burns me: everyone knows what the sticky wicket is in this issue: Republicans will always oppose DC voting rights , simply because it will always be a Democratic seat. And, to be fair, DC is not going to elect a moderate. We'd be sending another Bernie Sanders. Which would be awesome, if you ask me
The opponents wrap themselves in a strict interpretation of the constitution, stating that the constitution only allows people to be elected by "the several, states". Of course, the constitution also states that federal taxes should only be levied by "the several, states", and, I can assure you, we pay federal taxes.
And, many of these opponents are the same folks that loosely interpret the second amendment (militia v. individual rights), so a little consistency would be nice.
My opinion? There is no logical argument to be made against DC having a voting member. If it takes statehood to do it, so much the better. Consider these two facts:
- The population of DC (599, 657) is greater than Wyoming (544,270). Yet Wyoming gets two senators. Huh?
- DC pays over 2 billion dollars in federal taxes each year, yet do not have a say in how it is spent. Didn't we fight a war over a similar type sitch in the 18th century?
P.S. Way to go HOLLAND! Finals could be in the cards!
Since I obv agree w/ your DC-voting (and I'll raise you full statehood) stance, I'll turn my attention to firecrackers.
ReplyDeleteThey were completely VERBOTEN in my house growing up. My parents were of the "you'll lose a finger/eye" school. Kudos to them, I guess since how else could I procrastinate work without reading blogs/commenting?
The closest I was allowed were sparklers and I got at least 2 blister burns from those, so... thanks, Mom!
liked the reasoning on representives being too liberal for the republicans as well as dc vs wyoming.
ReplyDeleteYou are obviously correct, sir. Well said. Is there an email of the "guy in charge" to whom I can forward this blog post? Because I think it would seem obvious what the course of action needs to be.
ReplyDeleteAnd nice shout out to Bernie! Love that guy. Could use another Bernie in the Senate. Of course, you may LOSE Bernie himself if Vermont manages to succeed in seceding.