Perri Nelson's Website 

Taking the time to do it right

Here's yet another bit of the wisdom of our founders courtesy of the PatriotPost…

“A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” — John Adams

This is one of the reasons why a people seeking to establish a government that ensures the liberty of its people should take their time and carefully craft their constitution. It's why they should take their time to establish that government that will best serve their people.

Who hasn't heard our politicians decrying the time it is taking the Iraqi government to become effective? Who hasn't read about the deplorable amount of time that it's taken the Iraqis to build a strong, unified government that can keep the invaders from Iran and Syria insurgents under control?

Look at our own government. Our current Congress has accomplished very little since it came into power. Their lack of progress has the American people seething. Congress' approval ratings hover somewhere near 11%. To see the President's poor approval ratings (somewhere near 24%) a congressman has to look up with a telescope.

Some might think it unfair to compare the Iraqi government's apparent lack of progress with our current Congress' lack of progress. After all, we have a strong, well established government and those damned right-wingers are being obstructionists.

So let's not compare the Iraqi government's progress with our current Congress' lack of progress.

Instead, let's compare their lack of progress with that of our founding fathers.

So far the Iraqis are still working under their first constitution since we liberated them from the yoke of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. That is appalling. Our founding fathers went through two governments before they got it right after the revolution.

From the time the British surrendered at Yorktown in 1781 until the Constitution of the United States was drafted and signed was six years. It took another nine months before it was ratified. The Iraqis managed a similar feat in under half that time.

Considering the slow and deliberate pace of our founders in ensuring that they got it right, how can we expect anything less of the Iraqis? Especially when they're still under assault from foreign powers masquerading as insurgents?

Cross posted at NW Bloggers.

Trackposted to A Blog For All, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, 123beta, Adam's Blog, The Populist, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, The Bullwinkle Blog, Leaning Straight Up, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Wind storms, power outages and cable outages

Yesterday (10/18/2007) we were hit with a wind storm. It wasn't unanticipated, we get one or two of them every year. You would think by now that with several days warning the powers that be… or at least the power companies would be ready.

We lost power at work. Whole neighborhoods near mine were dark when I got home. My neighborhood at least still had power thankfully. It's one of the last to lose power in these sort of things.

My cable was out though. No television (not a big loss, I've got tons of DVDs). No telephone (we've got Comcast digital voice). Again not a major loss, we've got cell phones so we can make outgoing phone calls if we need to, and we don't have to put up with random telemarketers or rude people calling into the wee hours of the morning.

But also… no Internet. Now THAT irked me.

And if you're interested, having the cable go out in a wind storm is strange. Our cable service is delivered via underground cables. It had to be out over a widespread area, because the only aboveground cable has to be a good ways away.

Well, DVDs got me through the night satisfying my entertainment needs in some way. It could have been worse. We could have been without power too. Why then I might have had to read a book by the light of an oil lamp. At least I would have still been warm, we heat our home the old-fashioned way — with a wood burning fireplace.

Everything's back to normal at home now, and I'm grateful for that. Still, writing this has got me thinking.

Once, several years ago, shortly after my wife and I were married, we had a serious winter wind and ice storm. We were without power for a couple of weeks.

That meant no television, and no radio. Since we had an electric water heater it meant showers at a friends house or very stinky bodies. After all who wants to take a shower in ice water? It also meant cooking outside on a small propane grill. Try doing that in the wind and boiling water to wash dishes on one.

We managed then with a lot less. I guess I can survive a few hours without the Internet.

Update: I do like to read… really, I do. I read all the time, even when I'm watching television.

This linkfest is for the 19th, 20th, and 21st of October, 2007.

If you have something interesting you'd like to share, feel free to link it here and leave a trackback.

Just remember the trackback policy.

For the best exposure, go to the blogger's oasis and use the linkfest chooser to choose the posts you'd like to hook up with.