Page 6 Friday, January 27, 2012 Longboat Key News

statement.This is one of the most shocking descriptions of the

politicization of the country. No one spoke up and pointed out that the Supreme Court is supposed to be above politics.

By accepting the premise that the justices are members of a politi-cal party, you are saying that every decision of the Supreme Court is merely a reflection of their political agenda and not their considered legal judgments. This is talking abut the most respected jurists in the land. I don’t know about you, but to me this is scary.

Another anomaly that bothers me is this new approach by the United States Senate that every controversial issue should be filibustered makes the idea of a majority vote no longer the valid operative procedure.

I added up a recent vote where the minority of 40 Senators held up a decision. The dissenting Senators rep-resented 20% of the overall population of the country. In short, 80% of the electorate was disenfranchised by a relatively small minority.

Now I understand that if you are a Republican or Tea party person, you might say, this is the way it should be. But if you are watching the news, people are getting restless and ignoring the view of eight out of 10 voters, selecting Presidents, deciding important issues involving life changing decisions, some care should be taken.

The Founding Fathers in Philadelphia knew that if

KeyOpinion

After I finished my latest column and was preparing it for mailing, the death of Joe Paterno was announced. As I watched the TV and especially the two-hour long tribute to JoePa, I couldn’t help but remember that wonderful last scene in the movie,” Goodbye Mr. Chips” where one after another, former students give testimony to what a single teacher in one small place can accomplish.

Joe expected two things from his players: one, they play as hard and as well as they can and two, they do the same with their academics.

On the bulletin board at the entrance to his office that he saw every day, was the list of the players and their current academic averages. If a reporter asked about a player and Joe answered he could do better, he could as easily be referring to his GPA as his play on the field.

I once asked Joe if he would ever reveal his All Paterno Team that is the best of the best in each position. It would have been a best seller. He said he never would. “What you give to one, you take away from another” and in Coach Paterno’s book, you were successful if you did the best you could, on and off the field.

He will be missed.• • •

I attended a seminar on governance last week where the speaker referred to the makeup of the Supreme Court as five Republicans and four Democrats.

Not one single person in the audience appeared to disagree or even comprehend the implications of that

they wanted to get anything done, they were going to have to make little states feel like they had a say so they allocated two Senators to each State. They also avoided the issue of slavery and it eventually killed more Americans than all other conflicts that we fought put together. They didn’t mean for that to happen but they surely didn’t intend for the small states to control the Senate.

This problem also shows up in the Electoral College. It created a racist South because of the compromise in the disputed election of 1876 (Hays vs. Tilden) and could have had severe consequences in the Nixon/Kennedy election and the Bush/Gore contest. If you really think that democracy works, why not have a national refer-endum on the presidency? At least everyone would understand it.

For the moment, latent racism, gun rights, gay mar-riage, abortion, immigration have pretty much split the working class and diminished their clout. But if the recession gets worse and if the Republicans win the White House and don’t do any better than we are doing, currently, that could change. This could happen if this majority ever figures out they haven’t been participating in the fruits of their labor and in many cases pay more taxes than some of their “betters”.

We continue to think we are just figures in a Norman Rockwell painting but as the Tea Party and the Occupy Wall Street movements both demonstrate, the natives are getting restless.

AL GREENContributing Columnistgreen@lbknews.com

GREEN

Musings on JoePa and the world of politics

LUNCHEON MEETING(PAID RESERVATIONS REQUIRED IN ADVANCE)

Tuesday, February 14, 2012Social Hour 11:30 AM – Lunch 12:00 PM

Harborside Dining Room at Harborside Golf Course Longboat Key Club and Resort

Guest Speaker: KEITH FITZGERALD, DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR U.S. CONGRESS

"FOCUS ON THE ELECTION ISSUES FOR 2012- JOBS, FINANCIAL REFORM, REAL GOVERNMENTAL REFORM, SOCAIL SECURITY AND MEDICARE, TAXES, IRAN"

Keith Fitzgerald lives in Sarasota with his wife, Angela and their three children. He was born in Springfield, Ohio, graduated from the University of Louisville, and earned a PhD from Indiana University. He moved to Sarasota in 1994, where he teaches political science at New College of Florida. He was elected to the state legislature in 2006. Keith is an experienced legislator who is personable, knowledgeable, and practical in dealing with substantive issues. In the state legislature, Keith established himself as an independent voice focused on common sense solutions and a watchdog for taxpayer dollars. He was the leading force tackling corruption in government and working to make politicians more accountable. He partnered with members of both political parties to create jobs and cut taxes for small businesses in Florida. He earned a 100% rating from the Florida chamber of commerce. Keith is also one of the strongest advocates working to protect Florida’s coast from offshore drilling. He is a leading voice in making critical investments in Florida’s Schools. Luncheon Entrée: 5 Spice Crusted Chicken Salad, Sliced Daikon, Mandarin Orange Tomato and Crispy Shitake tossed in with Chopped Greens in a Ginger-Palm dressing.Luncheon Dessert: Key Lime PieLUNCHEON COST IS $23 PP. RESERVATIONS DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 9TH. PLEASE MAIL RESER-VATIONS AND CHECKS TO LBK DEMOCRATIC CLUB, PO BOX 8025, LONGBOAT KEY, FL. 34228. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE CALL: JANE ALBAUM 362-0520DIRECTIONS: GULF OF MEXICO DRIVE TO THE TRAFFIC LIGHT AT BAY ISLES ROAD (PUBLIX) PROCEED TO THE GUARD GATE. INFORM THE GUARD YOU ARE ATTENDING THE LUNCHEON AT HARBORSIDE. TURN LEFT AT THE GUARD GATE. PROCEED ABOUT 1000 FEET. THE ENTRANCE WILL BE ON YOUR RIGHT.H. MURRAY BLUEGLASS, PRESIDENT__________________________________________________________PLEASE COMPLETE THIS RESERVATION FORM AND MAIL:NAMES ATTENDING _________________________________________________

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Longboat KeyDemocratic Club

We continue to think we are just figures in a Norman Rockwell painting, but as the Tea Party and the Occupy Wall Street movements both demonstrate, the natives are getting restless.

Maggie Hicks

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