tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28138784568470257072011-07-28T13:58:36.498-07:00Where the Political Rubber Meets the Psychological RoadAlan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.comBlogger341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-40032950341439579832011-07-04T17:58:00.001-07:002011-07-05T01:01:24.666-07:00

The Gladiatorial Model The U.S. model of jurisprudence is based on the notion of adversarial conflict between prosecution and defense.  The basic presumption is that the Truth will prevail as a result of the two sides fighting it out  in front of a jury of twelve citizens who must all agree on a verdict of guilty or not guilty on each charge.  The gladiatorial nature of American court room

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-27240007225401937352011-06-09T19:53:00.000-07:002011-06-09T19:53:45.557-07:00

The American Pledge of Allegiance ends with the familiar phrase “with liberty and justice for all.” We all recite this pledge automatically, as we were taught in childhood. But, does anyone anymore really think of the meaning of these words, or have they become just words? On a recent telecast, Nancy Grace, the argumentative news commentator, spoke of seeking justice for the dead toddler, Caylee

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-29991627867705126442011-06-05T19:12:00.001-07:002011-06-11T13:09:03.932-07:00

  Photo by Jonathan Horowitz Hello, Everyone.  I haven’t posted here for more than a year and the site desperately needs updating.  However, I’ll have to attend to this task later.  Just ignore the stuff in the right-hand margin.  That being said, I want to share some thoughts that have been weighing on my mind of late.  As I ponder and lament the landslide rush to judgment which has been

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-29717833342800135142010-03-12T20:31:00.001-08:002010-03-12T20:31:27.604-08:00

Many people are inclined to think that a write-in candidacy is guaranteed to fail.  If they are only thinking of the ordinary, run-of-the-mill, write-in vote, which is not backed by a WELL-ORGANIZED effort to mobilize the electorate en masse to write in the same candidate, then they are probably right.  In many states, and Texas is among them, a write-in vote, will only be counted, if it is

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-64916239965386081042010-03-01T01:32:00.001-08:002010-03-01T01:33:36.620-08:00

Cartoon from Tales from Wonderland The GOP has become the party of Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum.  Pick whichever you prefer, because it really doesn't matter which you choose.  BOTH the GOP and Democratic Parties have become two heads of the same Big Government monstrosity which threatens the liberty of all Americans and the survival of the Republic.  We are merely stopping for rest on the

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-53878825772179669082010-02-21T19:44:00.001-08:002010-02-23T02:33:18.005-08:00

   Debra Medina: Still Voter Ignorance Despite Glenn Beck’s “Gallant” Effort I suggest that there are a number of reasons for this phenomenon.  SOME of the potential answers are already well known, following the marginalizing of 2008 Presidential candidate, Ron Paul, by the media and by Republican, political operatives.  We saw this in the Republican debates where the other candidates were

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-13779905234066801132010-02-20T14:05:00.001-08:002010-02-20T20:29:22.069-08:00

The battle for Texas’ sovereignty is brewing again in the state that was an independent Republic for ten years before voting to enter the federal union.  The first major confrontation between the forces of sovereignty and those who support the ever-extending reach of the federal leviathan into state affairs will occur on March 2, 2010, the 174th anniversary of Texas’ independence from

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-73168234564935547602010-02-10T21:05:00.001-08:002010-02-10T21:29:11.446-08:00

Is this a trick question?   The title of this post repeats a question asked recently by the LA Times.  In response, the Internet exploded with postings that screamed “Scott Brown is no Debra Medina.”  The posts were all clones of an article written by Alex Wallenwein, who concluded with the following: People like Debra Medina are what every state government needs, whether in the governor's

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-49023759095152323322010-02-10T00:23:00.001-08:002010-02-10T01:02:42.684-08:00

Today, I commented on an article on Politico about Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is running, or should I say “sputtering,” in her quest for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Texas.  The article mentioned her buying Super Bowl air time to run an advertisement attacking incumbent governor Rick Perry.  It was a case of the “Kay Kettle” calling the “Perry Pot” black, while the “other”

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-57106968398391703782010-02-07T18:46:00.001-08:002010-02-08T12:16:38.931-08:00

  [Credit for this photo goes to Jim Oliver Photography. See his lovely website at: http://www.jimoliverphotography.com/] What Makes a Political Poet? what did the red rooster say to the crow? i dont know. and neither do they. but that doesnt stop them from babbling, that doesnt stop them from traveling, down the same dead road again. -- Roopa Singh, Political Poet, Lawyer, and Hip

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-18003931150398293862010-02-06T17:08:00.001-08:002010-02-06T23:39:28.385-08:00

  The Great Partisan Divide in the politics of this country manifests even in the Super Bowl.  Check out this AP article in The Oregonian. Fancy that!  How often I have likened partisan political bickering or attack to an ongoing Super Bowl Game in which onlookers choose sides and sit together calling out insults across the field to their counterparts. Today, in perusing recent postings on the

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-2379833871187453902010-02-05T18:08:00.001-08:002010-02-05T23:26:07.072-08:00

  According to a recent Rasmussen Poll (2/3/10) Debra Medina’s Texas gubernatorial campaign is well positioned with regard to the issues of spending and taxation. Sixty-three percent (63%) of voters in Texas say the government should cut government spending. Six percent (6%) favor an increase in spending, while 21% think a freeze on spending is the best way to go. Sixty-six

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-26370294946980563112010-02-05T14:32:00.001-08:002010-02-05T23:28:33.406-08:00

    Paying People to Recruit Voters An article in the Dallas Morning News, which was picked up by the web site Raw Story reports that Governor Rick Perry’s campaign… …has unknowingly paid convicted felons as part-time workers under its incentive program to turn out voters for the Republican primary. The campaign lists about 300 part-time workers on the financial disclosure forms it

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-32265095248452033602010-02-05T00:22:00.001-08:002010-02-05T00:31:06.244-08:00

Debra Medina, according to a headline in the   Austin Statesman,  “has fundamentally changed the GOP race for governor” in Texas.    Observe her cool, collected exterior in an interview today with Judge Andrew Napolitano, who is one of the strongest advocates of freedom and allegiance to the Constitution in the country.  She seems to know that she is awaking a giant on the political scene.

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-52402401287621089802010-02-02T23:41:00.001-08:002010-02-02T23:44:35.544-08:00

Here is an interview that shows clearly the straight talk that is attracting a rapidly growing number of people to Debra Medina’s campaign for Governor of Texas.  It was taped January 21, 2010 and broadcast the day of the second ‘Republican debate on January 29, 2010.  Shortly afterward, she surged to 16% in the Rasmussen Poll on 2/1/10, as noted in a previous post. When asked by the Liberal

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-51982304737582414452010-02-02T17:55:00.001-08:002010-02-06T23:33:06.363-08:00

According to the most recent Rasmussen Poll, Tuesday, February 02, 2010, Incumbent Rick Perry's lead over Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has grown a little bigger in the race for this year's Republican gubernatorial nomination in Texas. Tea Party activist Debra Medina also has gained ground, and her gains appear to come at the expense of Hutchison. The latest Rasmussen Reports survey of

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-31572182100944238062010-02-01T23:02:00.001-08:002010-02-02T00:05:02.578-08:00

Debra Medina is “another horse” in the Texas gubernatorial race.  This upstart filly is raring at the bit and running like there was no tomorrow.  And, that may well be true.  The stakes are incredibly high and many do not as yet realize this fact.  This race has national implications for the future of our Republic.  If you love freedom and are tired of the follies that surround you daily, then

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-65067974107316620232010-01-30T20:10:00.001-08:002010-01-30T20:26:32.680-08:00

I could have asked the same question substituting the name of any of the other 49 states or even the United States as a whole.  The issue of truly “living” or just “existing” would have pertained equally well in any case.  Most people are totally oblivious to the extent to which their individual freedom has been eroded in the USA and thus they are truly existing rather than fully living, which,

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-34239140375805341362010-01-28T18:32:00.001-08:002010-01-28T18:32:10.315-08:00

Recently, I happened on an interesting blog that has taken me in some very interesting directions, which articulate with my current thinking and which have provided multiple resonances.  One whimsical resonance continues to reverberate hauntingly in my mind’s eye and ear, viz., a video entitled, “Miss Sarah Chan’s Two-Wheeled Adventures.” Perhaps, the reason for the persisting mental echoes

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-25968108745209559222010-01-24T16:41:00.001-08:002010-01-24T16:45:27.647-08:00

"It is the artists of the world….who will ultimately save us; [those] who can articulate, educate, defy, insist, sing and shout the big dreams." -- Leonard Bernstein, Conductor Bernstein’s comment succinctly spells out the role of the artist in society.  And, by artist, I mean more than the common understanding of artist as merely someone gifted in the graphic arts.  Artistry extends, as well,

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-36300771204613515262010-01-21T15:06:00.000-08:002010-01-22T10:09:30.883-08:00

"Consent of the governed" is a wonderful, iconic phrase enshrined in the history of the American experiment in representative democracy.  It has been articulated as kind of guarantee of freedom, a protection against tyranny.   But, does it really exist, did it ever actually exist, or is it simply a "feel good" slogan for masking a grotesque failure of the human intellect to create a truly

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-6165476709877016892010-01-19T12:37:00.000-08:002010-01-19T12:40:35.462-08:00

Our current struggles to preserve our freedom from the encroachment of an ever-increasing and more powerful, federal government are, indeed, nothing more than follies.  Mired as we are in divisive, partisan thinking, we have ceased to be accelerators of human, social evolution and have become, instead, millstones around the ankles of humankind's march upward out of the prehistoric slime. 

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-12378007026122701402010-01-12T15:21:00.000-08:002010-01-19T10:26:12.766-08:00

[Note: This post is a copy of my letter of this date to Senator Daniel Kahikina Akaka, the junior senator (albeit an octogenarian) from Hawaii.] Senator Akaka, Thank you for your reply to my concerns regarding the health care reform bills pending in Congress. You wrote: "These bills were crafted in each chamber by combining reform proposals developed by the committees that share jurisdiction

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-90710835813437452342009-12-25T23:14:00.001-08:002009-12-26T22:50:54.660-08:00

Phil Hart has recently addressed this question and has answered in the affirmative.  Mr. Hart is the author of the book, Constitutional Income: Do You Have Any? Excerpts from a recent article, “Obamacare Income Tax Surcharge Unconstitutional,” follow: December 24, 2009 The current attempt by today’s White House Administration to impose more big government on the American People by way of

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-73123409780813149482009-12-13T15:42:00.001-08:002009-12-13T16:36:35.891-08:00

On the social networking site, SodaHead.com, Gulliver responded to another participant regarding the previous post on this blog, viz., “The Pollyanna Follies.” [Note: You will have to scroll down about half-way on the page since for some reason the link is not going directly to Gulliver’s comment, which begins “Ramone, you are so right….”] …about the Pollyanna, "hole in the sand" thinking of

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-28211809854101835132009-11-28T16:44:00.001-08:002009-12-12T11:31:29.493-08:00

“Freedom Follies” often take the form of “Pollyanna Follies,” when the issue of individual liberty is center stage in the American political drama.  The crucial importance of preserving personal freedom from the ravages of government is currently being upstaged en masse in the United States of Americana by those individuals  who adopt a kind of idealistic “pollyannaism.”  Individuals who manifest

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-34908222775150903062009-11-17T20:23:00.001-08:002009-11-30T16:20:54.485-08:00

In the preceding post, I spoke of the justifications offered by those who would legislate federally regulated health care. What these justifications lack is that they give no consideration to factors that have been driving the cost of medical care through the roof for decades and to the very curious fact that, of all of the powers that Congress has chosen to appropriate unto itself, through

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-56608923962650981622009-11-16T18:13:00.001-08:002009-11-17T02:06:11.940-08:00

Asking if the Health Care bill, recently passed by the House of Representatives, by the narrowest of margins, is constitutional, is like asking “Does the Bible say that God created both Adam and Eve in his image?”  No matter how much you may desire to promote the equality of women in the cosmic scheme of things, the answer to this question is NO!  The Bible tells us that God made Adam first and

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-12314323988641945172009-11-15T00:52:00.001-08:002009-11-28T17:51:46.559-08:00

This is the final installment of a 3-part post to the blog referenced in the preceding two installments: I wrote in conclusion: What gets lost in the "General Welfare" [reference to U.S. Constitution] discussion is the obvious conclusion that the Founding Fathers would not have gone to the bother of enumerating the seventeen, limited [arguably, twenty-two,], delegated, and discrete powers of

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-69753543095596165502009-11-14T23:14:00.001-08:002009-11-28T17:22:35.421-08:00

This post is a continuation of my recent, 3-part commentary to the blog referenced in my previous post: As one blogger recently asserted , "No two words [reference to “General Welfare” in the U.S. Constitution] have taken greater abuse in our country, and it has become a ticket for federal politicians to exceed the limits placed upon them by the very Constitution [in which] these words are

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-75377066152005232322009-11-14T22:57:00.001-08:002009-11-15T01:23:55.795-08:00

Technorati Tags: partisan,progressive,Constitution,education,critical thinking,brainwashing,coercion,freedom,federal government Recently, I happened upon a blog that caught my interest.  The post that I read was entitled: "Just a Little Nudge? There is No Compassion Through Coercion." http://humaneconnectionblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/just-little-nudge-there-is-no.html I was intrigued by the

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-20667841184275034062009-11-14T11:43:00.000-08:002009-11-14T11:44:45.605-08:00

Technorati Tags: freedom,beliefs,computer programs,irrational belief,Andrew Napolitano,nation of sheep,Constitution,federal government,health reform,House of Representatives I have spoken of the illusion of freedom in previous posts.  The average U.S. citizen naively "believes" that we live in the world's quintessential citadel of freedom.  Note the emphasis on "believes," for our beliefs

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-19842323313711847102009-11-07T21:22:00.001-08:002009-11-14T21:54:47.066-08:00

Technorati Tags: freedom,illusion,self mastery,Epictetus,Stoics,Victor Frankl,response vs. reaction,autopilot,beliefs,automatic thoughts,internal vs. external control So, what is the freedom that comes with self mastery to which I alluded in the previous post? The following is an excerpt from an article describing the philosophy of Epictetus, one of the ancient Greek Stoic philosophers.

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813878456847025707.post-33242665040297642572009-11-07T16:37:00.000-08:002009-11-11T19:58:59.001-08:00

So much has been written, of late, regarding the continuing loss of freedom in the U.S., as big government has relentlessly assumed more and more control over our lives. The Bush Administration's assaults on the Constitution and personal liberties, following in the wake of 9/11 and the resulting inception of the "War on Terror," however, pale in comparison to the Blitzkrieg waged by the Obama

Alan D. Price, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06268453268649865791noreply@blogger.com0