Emerald Princess Cruise – Day 2

Another beautiful day at sea. The weather was perfect clear skies with a temperature around 80 degrees. Spent the morning getting some sun and reading. Then napped after lunch and played trivia before getting ready for dinner, It was a formal night, so I needed a Jacket and tie. Had a very nice dinner and then played Beatles Trivia – did well but lost, saw a production show – corny but fun, played a game show, and then sang and here I am . Every Monday should be like this. Have to get up early tomorrow as we get to Antigua and I have a morning excursion – so it's off to bed for me.

Do Corporations Have Rights?

The Pragmatic Liberal find it sad that often, so-called "corporate rights" take precedent over the well being of the people of this country. From the RIAA claiming that it has a continued right to obscene profits using an obsolete business model simply because it has successfully profited in the past to big pharma convincing The Congress to scuttle any legislation that might help people bring affordable perscription drugs into the country from other western nations; it seems that ever since I can remember the corporation has been the important focus in our nations debate. This obession with the health of our corporate "citizens" has brought us back to the bad old days of the robber barons.

It was recently reported that more than 19% of this country's wealth is tied up in the hands of less than 1% of the population while the bottom 20% of us eke out a living on 3.4% of the bounty of our economy. This imbalance is greater than at any time since the Stock Market crash in 1929 that heralded the Great Depression. I am hoping that the rising tide of Populism can force our elected representatives to realize that their fortunes lie not with big monied interests but with the "common folk" who actually work to produce the abundant wealth of this country.

Living in a "former" industrial state, I will say that the economic "recovery" that the White House and the pundits go on about has not materialized for a great number of people in the United States. As the stock market grows at unprecedented levels wages hardly keep up with inflation. We are talking about maybe a 3% annual growth in the Pragmatic Liberal's income each year - which is pretty stagnant by any measure. And I consider myself one of the lucky ones. the Pragmatic Liberal has a great job that pays enough to maintain a home. The it's lucky that he chose not to reproduce because a college fund would be a tough thing to finance.

The only weapon we have is the ballot. I'm getting ready for 2008. I will support candidates with a true progressive, populist agenda. I won't let myself be blinded by single issue appeals or slick attack ads. I will get of my complacent ass and volunteer for candidates I believe in and work to get them elected. Maybe - just maybe - if enough of us do this, the current atmosphere of corporate rights will fade to one where the needs of the population dominate.

Why a Blog?

Sometimes you just have to share what your thinking, you know? This blog is meant to be an outlet for my opinions and feelings. I Sometimes it may deal with politics, sometimes religion, sometimes philosophy and sometimes it will just deal with what I had for lunch. It will really depend on what I've read, heard and experienced on a given day that has started me thinking. I don't expect many people to read it (though I will be thrilled when I get my first comment) but it can at least function as an outlet for me to express what I'm thinking and feeling. Ideally, it would be great if people found my blog and started conversations in the comments.

Now a little bit about me. Like the title of the blog says I consider myself a pragmatic liberal. What does that mean? Well, in my mind it means that while I do have mostly liberal opinions, I am no ideologue - opinionated, yes, but always willing to listen to contrary arguments with an open mind. I'm a 40 year old, corporate trainer living in purple state. I was among the first generation on both sides of my family to attend college. My first experience with government was to be irritated that the Watergate hearings were preempting cartoons on a Saturday morning. I can't escape from my Catholic background - and don't know that I really want to, though the rest of my family seems to have managed.

Well, that's me in a nutshell. I'm sure that I will reveal more about myself as I continue to post to the blog. For those of you who have stumble upon this little diary, all I have to say is "Make yourself comfortable, pull up a chair, and tell me what you think about..."