John Stewart Patterson

no sillies. this one.



clearly, a huge difference.

Did anybody see Governor Patterson's speech on TV last night? Or receive a phone call from him afterward (a recorded message, of course) with his news? He elected a new Deputy Governor, who would take over in case Patterson was not able to fulfill his duty. While the right or duty to appoint a Deputy Governor is not outlined as one of Patterson's responsibilities in the New York State constitution, it doesn't say anywhere that he can't. Naturally, the Republicans are outraged, because as it were, if something happened to Governor Patterson, Pedro Espada, the Senator involved in the June 8th Coup, would have become Governor. They are considering legal action, but I don't think there's much they can do.

Patterson of course blamed this on the economy (can we say cop out? I'd love some transparency in my state government!!!), but I think that he did this because he is going to be getting surgeries for his cataracts soon, and he was just nervous in general as to what havoc Espada could wreck. Serves Espada right; looks like someone is beating him at his own game. The guy Patterson elected, Richard Ravitch, seems like a cool dude. I think New York State is gonna be just fine, when push comes to shove.

Here's a link to the video and transcript of the speech:

http://www.state.ny.us/governor/

Awesome. So what does this have to do with John Stuart Mill?

Mill says that “over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign”. He says this to oppose the “tyranny of the majority”, where those who are in unelected power can do “horrific things”.

!!!!!!!!

I think that Patterson did what he did in order to become the tyranny of the majority. The majority became Republican, when the voters had chosen Democrats. Tyranny happened. Tyranny would happen if Espada became Governor. Patterson did something to stop it. Patterson acted as a sovereign when he appointed a Deputy Governor.

Did Patterson make over himself when he got elected to office? I think yes. He went from having zero responsibility to ALL the responsibility. He had to take over a huge role in the middle of an economic hardship, and New York State has not let him rest since he has taken office. I've been to Albany almost every other week from the time he was sworn in, and the capital sure has been busy! I used to think that he did not have the people's best interest in mind (what with the TAP cuts and the tuition money being taken from SUNY and CUNY), but after seeing this move, along with his dabbling in gay rights and medical marijuana legislation.....I think he's coming around! Does this have anything to do with the Harm Principle? Does Patterson think that gays should be allowed to marry as long as it does not harm others? That would be pretty awesome of him, if he was thinking in that direction; unfortunately, one can only speculate.