Guy Conner's Blog, page 12
January 31, 2015
Accountability
Accountability is the fourth Principle of Political Life. All officeholders are accountable, and should be held to be accountable by the voters.
Unfortunately, once again there is a problem. The average voter simply doesn’t know enough about the purview and duties of public officeholders to properly call them to account. See my post on Civics. In order to hold someone accountable, you have to be aware of what he or she is doing. And in this country, and in my state of California, the Press now...
January 29, 2015
Objectivity
The third Principle of Political Life is Objectivity: appointments and similar decisions should be made on the basis of merit.
At first glance, this would appear too be the purest of principles: who would argue for appointments on any basis but merit? Well, I would, sort of.
Proposition 140, the second greatest mistake the voters of California have made (after Proposition 13) did several pernicious things with regard to the Legislature:
it established term limits, thus assuring that the legislat...
the semicinquain
The cinquain, a haiku-like verse-form, was invented in 1915 by Adelaide Crapsey
Here is an example of a semicinquain, a verse form I invented in 2011. The semicinquain is a variant of the didactic cinquain and consists of five lines, the first of which is one syllable, the second two syllables, the third three syllables the fourth four syllables, and the last one syllable again. Unlike the didactic cinquain, there are no rules as to what the syllables can express.
Guilt
Festers.
Set it free.
Give...
January 28, 2015
Book Giveaway
I am giving away free copies of my book of children’s verse A is for Arnyx. The giveaway is managed by Goodreads.com. Visit my Book Pageto enter. It just takes a click.
The post Book Giveaway appeared first on Guy Conner.
my books
a typical illustration from my children’s adventure story, Elizabeth and Parr
The post my books appeared first on Guy Conner.
Integrity
Integrity is the second principle of political life as discussed here. No financial obligation should be accepted if it undermines the politician’s position.
Once again, the wording of the principle raises difficulties. What does it mean, to undermine a politician’s position? In my view, the simple acceptance of a financial contribution says nothing about a politician’s integrity. Jesse Unruh said it best ( this is the cleaned up version) “If you can’t take their money and vote against them,...
January 27, 2015
Desi speaks: a haiku
Your role: to seek out
Itching skin behind my ear.
Mine: to softly purr
The post Desi speaks: a haiku appeared first on Guy Conner.
Meeting Bill Kortum
I attended the memorial for Bill Kortum last Saturday. It was an appropriate, modest ceremony, in keeping with Bill’s personality. No one mentioned the fact that he was one of the most important environmental leaders in the history of California.
Someone asked at the ceremony where we had each met Bill. And it struck me – I didn’t remember. I pride myself on my memory, I remember when I met Pat Brown, Jerry Brown, and Lyndon Johnson. I remember meeting Ann Richards. But in Bill’s case, it seem...
January 26, 2015
Religious Experience
The following little piece from 1971 has stuck in my mind ever since. It is a kind of sonnet, as well as a kind of introduction as to how I approached spiritual matters in those days:
Mystery. And warm desire.
Tending to the sacred fire
Frees a young girl’s sacred urges
Religion. And the sacred stone
Thinking she finds herself alone
Saving, of course, the thaumaturges
Who, like holy men everywhere,
Have no urge to stop and stare.
Shivers, and a melting feeling
Emerging from the cloth concealing,
Her bod...
Selflessness
Selflessness is the first principle of political life, as described here. The admirable idea is that a politician should always act solely in the public interest. But what does that mean? If a politician is ambitious, he or she will need to raise funds beyond what is necessary to attend events in the district and to run a reelection campaign. Such activity, while neither illegal nor inappropriate, cannot be considered to be directly in the public interest. It is not a bad thing for a politici...
