ilBLOGical tidBITs

So how do we begin to get a handle on government? I’ve come up with a short list that might get things moving again and eliminate some of the issues that have more to do with human nature and people with a little power, than anything else.

First, we need term limits. Six years should be about right and then that’s it. Public service should be just that — public service. It should not be a career choice that provides a multitude of opportunities for bad behavior fueled by delusions of grandeur and entitlement syndrome. This is how the special interest groups and lobbyists are able to weld so much power. If they get someone in their pocket early in their political career the voices of that politician’s constituents gets lost in the noise.

Second, taxes that were instituted for specific reasons should be fenced to preclude mismanagement on the part of elected officials. The ability to rob Peter to pay Paul might make Paul happy, but it also leads to financial fiascos and blown budgets.

Third, let people vote with their tax money. When individuals file their income taxes they could designate where they want that money spent. Of course, the categories would have to be broad — national defense, social services, transportation infrastructure, education, health care and so on — but it would allow people to put their money where their mouths are. Once the tax returns were processed, the governments would have to set its budget accordingly. This would be another way to take lobbyist and special interests out of the equation. If they want to push their agendas, they would have to spread their money far and wide to educate and persuade the public instead of lining the pockets of a few key elected officials.

“Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.”

—    Paul Valery (1871–1945)

I know my voice has been absent from the blogosphere recently, but as I watch, listen and read what passes for news with today’s media, the same thought keeps going around and around in my mind: Where’s the change?

The president is still battling congress and the opposing party over any and everything.

We are still embroiled in two conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan with no clear end in sight, as the new president and his advisors mull over the political ramifications of their options in the face of what military leaders have said all along — and people continue to die.

The rich are still getting rich and the rest of us are still holding on.

Small businesses continue to fold, as the price of gas fluctuates depending on whether or not the government is paying attention; and the media shift between instilling fear and promoting ignorance in a public that is either to numb to care or too dumb to know better.

Of course, I am not the first to make these observations, but I found myself overwhelmed by the lack of progress or real change on any front. Raging against a system that has atrophied into a political glacier only made me feel more helpless.

I came to the conclusion that perhaps instead of railing against what is NOT happening; I could open discussions about what we could do to turn things around. I do not pretend to know precisely how to fix our governments, but perhaps talking about it will generate ideas that may.

Say what you will about former President Jimmy Carter, who is probably one of the most intelligent men to ever hold the office, his honesty concerning the racial overtones of protests against President Obama was on the money.

For years, the closeted racists on Capitol Hill have smiled outwardly and played nice with others, secure in the knowledge that when it came right down to it this nation would always be led by a white president. The election of Barack Obama changed all that, and the prejudice that was hidden from public view has spilled out into the light of day.

Most important, the fear associated with racial bigotry is driving the hyperbole of everything associated with the president.

As a nation, I think most of us would like to think that racial hatred is a thing of the past; however, based on recent events it is clear that we have a long way to go.

“Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.”

—    Albert Einstein (1879–1955)

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/carters-racism-charge-sparks-war-of-words/?hp

“Sometime they’ll give a war and nobody will come.”

—    Carl Sandburg (1878–1967)

During the 1960s, protesters were fond of using Sandburg’s quote, but based on recent world history it looks like no one wants to miss the opportunity.

U.S. military leaders are pushing for more troops in Afghanistan, but they can’t seem to provide the public with a clear, concise explanation of the mission. Is it nation building, a regime change, a police action — what? Of course, they may not know because the Obama administration hasn’t shared that information with them.

They won’t give an estimate of how long we will be involved in Afghanistan either. Is it because they really have no idea, or will answering that question have substantial political fallout that the administration does not want to deal with — especially in light of pressing domestic issues.

As the civilian leaders in Washington dither, the fate of U.S. forces in Afghanistan is on the line, even as members of the Afghanistan National Army are reported to have attacked the contracted Afghani guards protecting a U.S. compound.

I hope an answer is coming soon, but I will not hold my breath.

“America is a large, friendly dog in a very small room. Every time it wags its tail, it knocks over a chair.”

—    Arnold Toynbee (1889–1975)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/world/asia/16mullen.html?hp

http://www.military.com/news/article/gis-afghan-guards-clash-with-afghan-troops.html

After the political fallout over the “You lie!” comment by South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson, it looks like the reward of campaign money may herald a new era for politicians behaving badly. How soon before we see our elected representatives talking smack and challenging one another to no-holds-barred cage fights over legislation?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/11/wilson.fundraising/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

There’s a new baby in Washington, D.C. It may have been born of frustration, hubris, ignorance, fear and missteps by the Obama administration, but it has taken nine month of hard labor by the Republican Party to ensure that this baby brings down the White House.

The business of government and the fate of the nation place a distant second to the driving priority to ruin anything the current administration tries to do. There is no guilt or remorse about the legacy that Republicans left this nation — and the world — during the previous eight years. It only matters that  Obama fails — by any means necessary.

Whatever it takes; whether it is casting doubts on the citizenship of the president or spreading malicious lies to derail any proposal, they will not be dissuaded by evidence or facts. They will use the bully pulpit of their ravenous radio and television hosts to besmirch, besmear and belittle, not because they have better ideas — but just because.

The new baby has been adopted by many groups that might have legitimate grievances against the government. Unfortunately, they have also been duped by those who would have their power back at any cost. This new baby, spawned by the Republican Party, is mean, needy, colic and needs its diaper changed — badly — much like the diarrhea spews of Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-09-08-march_N.htm?csp=34

An outspoken opponent to the U.S. President’s war, this representative from the State of Illinois, called the former president’s war a quest for “military glory.” An advocate for company’s rights, he even worked to maintain tax exempt status for a well-known Illinois transportation company. Eager for a quick resolution of the war he inherited, and to appease the media, this president was constantly frustrated by his generals’ lack of success on the ground. An experienced orator, his speeches emphasized his party’s morality, yet, once in office, he was not above using his new-found power to federalize private enterprises in an effort to protect the nation’s infrastructure. 

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Abraham+Lincoln

Some lessons are harder than others to learn and when it comes to involving the U.S. military in conflicts halfway around the globe, U.S. political leaders haven’t learned a thing.

An Associated Press article filed by Alfred de Montesquiou out of Dahaneh, Afghanistan, illustrates how the current rules of engagement are hampering military operations on the ground and in the skies over Afghanistan, just as they did in Vietnam.

No one wants to harm innocent civilians and other noncombatants, but U.S. and allied forces are facing an enemy in Afghanistan that has no problem hiding behind human shields or in protected structures.

I am sure some would argue that this enemy has no choice when faced with a superior force and modern technology and is using whatever advantage it can to continue the fight — after all, it isn’t suppose to be fair, and therein lies the problem. The U.S. and other armed forces in the region are expected to “fight fair”, which only increases the probability of friendly casualties and prolongs the fighting.

What is needed is a two-pronged approach that uses the skills and abilities of civil affairs units to win the hearts and minds of the Afghani people, and offensive combat operations that engage enemy forces and decisively end their resistance. Anything else will only drag out this conflict until it is politically untenable and we withdraw to leave the region worse off than before we got involved.

“The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it.”

— George Orwell (1903–1950)

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHANISTAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-08-13-11-01-25

What’s the difference between the Democratic Party, the Republican Party and an outhouse? Two of them are out-dated decrepit structures full of offensive gas and smelling of human dung, and the third is a place where people used to go to void body wastes.

I know that there have been a lot of terrible things that have happened in Washington since Pierre Charles L’Enfant wrestled the future U.S. capital from the swamps, but over the last few years, the partisanship and machinations of both major political parties have firmly place the welfare of the people and the good of the nation well behind getting political revenge for past wrongdoing, slights and general shenanigans.

I don’t anticipate any real progress in the future, but should someone promise “change we can believe in” again, it will have to be someone from a viable third party candidate. In other words, the same old….

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/12/us/politics/12firings.html?hp

If you’re like me, you probably have been reading about, and listening and watching news concerning the extremely agitated mood of audiences attending various town hall meetings around the country about the proposed Obama health care plan.

Personally, I have no problem with people being passionate about government actions that may directly affect them, but the really disturbing part is the lack of a definitive explanation or answers about the plan. In short, it appears as if the whole thing is one big trial balloon that is shifting and changing according to the feedback from the public.

As usual, the media is feeding the fire by focusing on the actions of the audiences instead of holding the government representatives’ feet to the fire and getting real answers, as opposed to the vague responses that leave more questions than they answer.

Unfortunately, we will probably never find out what this plan is really about since the corporate and politically-motivated opposition will obfuscate the issue until it is DOA like so many other plans trotted out in recent history.

“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”

— Krishnamurti