Back in the good old days, the campgrounds of America were very nearly free for all Americans. For a dollar a month, or one-time annual fee of 12 dollars, the government issued any American a Golden Eagle Pass. This pass was truly golden for it offered its bearer the right to enter, and stay for up to two weeks, any of the nation's hundreds of national parks. No overnight charge, no daily use fee. Occasionally some parks had a coin-op machine on a hot shower stall. Otherwise, once the annual fee was paid our national parks were truly a free gateway to beautiful vistas and incredible natural phenomena, to be shared by all citizens equally.
These services were afforded because every tax paying American paid a small stipend to the government which went toward the upkeep of one of the nation's most treasured resources, the national park system. Hiking trails were built, campgrounds leveled, and tables and fire pits provided so anyone, regardless financial means, could afford to commune with nature. Living in tents and sleeping on the ground, breathing clean air and swimming in crystal-clear lakes and rivers, hearing the night sounds of insects and rumbling brooks and, above all, leaving the sirens and lights of the city behind was, and still is, psychic balm for the soul.
What happened? As far as I know a portion of our tax dollars still goes to fund those same parks. It can't possibly cost as much to maintain these parks as it cost to develop them in the first place. And remember, inflation raises the price of everything, but nothing inflates faster than the tax bite on our earnings. Now a night stay in a national park is a long way from being free. People with motor homes can expect to pay as much as nights stay in a motel room to park their camper and hook up to the electric and water. People staying in tents are paying about half the cost of a night in Motel 6 to sleep on the ground. With the nation's parks filled to overflowing, the parks system must certainly be self-supporting by now, but we still contribute hundreds of millions of dollars annually in taxes to "support" the system.
Camping in national parks (state parks are following suit) is no longer within the reach of everyone in this nation. To be able to stay in a park during the "season" a substantial deposit is required months in advance. Just to enjoy a parks vistas or lakes while driving through can cost a pretty penny. At the rate the government is usurping the prerogatives of the people I would not be surprised to find one of our legislative revenue agents proposing a "free air tax" sometime in the near future.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Unexpected Consequences
There have been some unexpected consequences to an administration gone bad or mad or both. The first of these is an unusual vocal disrespect for the President, as witnessed by popular TV shows like Bill Maher, Keith Obermann, and Bill Moyer. A few of these men have come out calling the gruesome twosome, Bush and Cheney, outright fascists. While it has always been popular for late-night hosts to poke fun at the president, especially Bill Clinton, never before has there been such a torrent of rage and disgust. Our nation's leaders are held in outright contempt. This must signal a new low for the country. The next president will have a great deal more than just the economy to fix.
How about the invasion of our privacy? Whether or not, we have anything to hide most people feel uncomfortable knowing someone is (in effect) opening their mail and listening in on their phone conversations. Again, the benefit to our security is hard to estimate but tangible results don't seem to be forthcoming. Tapping our phones and e-mails is as offensive to most people as requiring public disrobing would be.
How about the tailspin our dollar is experiencing against the world's major currencies? In the not so distant past, we had the strongest currency on the planet. Now an economy as small as Canada's has a currency stronger than the dollar. Our stock market, real estate market, and financial markets seem to be in lockstep with the decline of the dollar. America's assets are selling at a huge discount; the equivalent of buying Tiffany jewelry at Kmart prices.
Another phenomenon, according to Chris Matthews's popular Hardball TV series, is the conferencing going on around the nation's water coolers. Office worker gossip has been replaced with earnest discussions about the candidates and their positions over wide variety of national issues. Issues like the expansion or contraction of the war can be expected to be hot topics. But not around the water cooler. National health care and the stumbling economy likewise are hot topics usually reserved for the cocktail hour.
And still another consequence to this administration is the early start to the presidential campaign. Whether or not the early stumping is a result of a reaction to the war in Iraq is hard to determine. One thing is clear. Candidates of both parties began their countrywide sweep for delegates nearly a year ahead of schedule. Perhaps the Democrats saw an opportunity to capitalize on a 75% disapproval rating for a Republican president. How they will turn this in their favor is hard to imagine, since the democratically controlled Congress enjoys an even lower rating than the president.
Anyone who has traveled lately has experienced the incredible inconvenience thrust upon our air traveling public. The debate is about whether any of these additional disruptions to our routine are accomplishing anything at all. On every occasion the Homeland Security's additional measures were tested they failed miserably. Agents posing as terrorists were able to smuggle components for all kinds of explosive devices through customs and onboard airplanes. On a cost to benefit ratio the cost is astronomical, and the benefit is near zero.
Lastly, how about the nations fear factor? Homegrown terrorists like those from Montana or Waco Texas have done extraordinary damage in the past, but never before have our leaders felt it was necessary to remind us on a daily basis to tremble in our boots. Nor have they used such occasions to strip us of our rights and dignity. We have plowed billions into a Gestapo like bureaucracy, Homeland security, which was supposed to have made us more secure. In my opinion, and that of almost every national commentator I listen to, it has had the opposite effect. Once these bureaucracies are built is next to impossible to dismantle them. Putting all of our security forces under one umbrella answerable only to the president is a fascist move if there ever was one. I felt more secure when all of our nations spy agencies were running their own shows. At least then there were checks and balances.
In the final analysis I believe the goodness and common sense of the American public will come to the aid of the republic in time to stave off disaster. The damage done to the nation's prestige and self-respect won't be restored overnight. But a talking American public is a healthy sign that we are taking stock of our perilous position and intend to do something about it. In the upcoming election there is a promise of change. One change which cannot be overestimated is the introduction of the internet into the equation. I believe the incredible amount of support and money raised by the grassroots/internet campaign waged by Ron Paul has not gone unnoticed, although he apparently has. When candidates feel the need to distance themselves from special interest groups and refuse their money, as has been done by Barack Obama, and can successfully run their campaigns without that fragrant grease, we are headed in the right direction.
Hoorah!
How about the invasion of our privacy? Whether or not, we have anything to hide most people feel uncomfortable knowing someone is (in effect) opening their mail and listening in on their phone conversations. Again, the benefit to our security is hard to estimate but tangible results don't seem to be forthcoming. Tapping our phones and e-mails is as offensive to most people as requiring public disrobing would be.
How about the tailspin our dollar is experiencing against the world's major currencies? In the not so distant past, we had the strongest currency on the planet. Now an economy as small as Canada's has a currency stronger than the dollar. Our stock market, real estate market, and financial markets seem to be in lockstep with the decline of the dollar. America's assets are selling at a huge discount; the equivalent of buying Tiffany jewelry at Kmart prices.
Another phenomenon, according to Chris Matthews's popular Hardball TV series, is the conferencing going on around the nation's water coolers. Office worker gossip has been replaced with earnest discussions about the candidates and their positions over wide variety of national issues. Issues like the expansion or contraction of the war can be expected to be hot topics. But not around the water cooler. National health care and the stumbling economy likewise are hot topics usually reserved for the cocktail hour.
And still another consequence to this administration is the early start to the presidential campaign. Whether or not the early stumping is a result of a reaction to the war in Iraq is hard to determine. One thing is clear. Candidates of both parties began their countrywide sweep for delegates nearly a year ahead of schedule. Perhaps the Democrats saw an opportunity to capitalize on a 75% disapproval rating for a Republican president. How they will turn this in their favor is hard to imagine, since the democratically controlled Congress enjoys an even lower rating than the president.
Anyone who has traveled lately has experienced the incredible inconvenience thrust upon our air traveling public. The debate is about whether any of these additional disruptions to our routine are accomplishing anything at all. On every occasion the Homeland Security's additional measures were tested they failed miserably. Agents posing as terrorists were able to smuggle components for all kinds of explosive devices through customs and onboard airplanes. On a cost to benefit ratio the cost is astronomical, and the benefit is near zero.
Lastly, how about the nations fear factor? Homegrown terrorists like those from Montana or Waco Texas have done extraordinary damage in the past, but never before have our leaders felt it was necessary to remind us on a daily basis to tremble in our boots. Nor have they used such occasions to strip us of our rights and dignity. We have plowed billions into a Gestapo like bureaucracy, Homeland security, which was supposed to have made us more secure. In my opinion, and that of almost every national commentator I listen to, it has had the opposite effect. Once these bureaucracies are built is next to impossible to dismantle them. Putting all of our security forces under one umbrella answerable only to the president is a fascist move if there ever was one. I felt more secure when all of our nations spy agencies were running their own shows. At least then there were checks and balances.
In the final analysis I believe the goodness and common sense of the American public will come to the aid of the republic in time to stave off disaster. The damage done to the nation's prestige and self-respect won't be restored overnight. But a talking American public is a healthy sign that we are taking stock of our perilous position and intend to do something about it. In the upcoming election there is a promise of change. One change which cannot be overestimated is the introduction of the internet into the equation. I believe the incredible amount of support and money raised by the grassroots/internet campaign waged by Ron Paul has not gone unnoticed, although he apparently has. When candidates feel the need to distance themselves from special interest groups and refuse their money, as has been done by Barack Obama, and can successfully run their campaigns without that fragrant grease, we are headed in the right direction.
Hoorah!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Split Personality
Whether we choose to believe it or not, the facts are in. America has a split personality. For the most part, the good people of this country are in denial. While we deserve to be congratulated for the good deeds we do as free citizens, we refuse to acknowledge the evil done by our government in our name. Our hearts and our money pour out to the less fortunate, and to the victims of atrocities like genocide perpetrated by misguided regimes in Third World countries. Meanwhile these lawless regimes are more often than not supported by our own state department. We then invade sovereign nations whose religious convictions run contrary to ours under false pretenses. After blowing up our "alleged" enemies, at a cost in the billions, we then follow up by spending even larger amounts to rebuild and repair the damage we did.
Private institutions and individuals provide massive assistance to the malaria and HIV victims in Africa. We are in the process of providing laptop computers to the most remote villages on the planet to speed their arrival into the 21st century. We give aid to disaster victims everywhere; no disaster worldwide goes without our support and assistance. These are great acts of kindness done by private people and institutions in our country’s name.
Our alter ego, on the other hand, invades countries (Iraq is not the first and more than likely not the last) in an attempt to steal their natural resources. Our rich corporations export pollution and take advantage of cheap foreign labor. We export our jobs solely to take advantage of the poor and starving in less developed countries. Our continual military campaigns cause death, destruction, and dislocation to millions of innocent civilians. For our trouble we get a gross and bloated military budget. We give lip service to a war on terror in spite of the fact that we haven't had a terrorist attack in over six years in our own country. We commit crimes in the name of national security; crimes which were deemed so heinous they were banned from use by the Geneva Convention during World War II. We send our children to die in countries which were our allies and imprison and spy on our own citizens.
While the good people in this country strive to do the best we can for all people everywhere, a few disgrace our country and give us a black eye the world over. Their sole ambition is to increase their own wealth and power at everyone else's expense. They manipulate our government and our media and seek to undo the very principles which made our country the envy of all the world a few short decades ago.
We need to regain control of our evil twin, before all is lost. We need to dismantle an ever larger war machine. A machine which is being used as an instrument of destruction and mayhem. A machine which is sucking up so many resources we are bankrupting ourselves and putting the entire world's economy at risk. We need to put our resources into projects like clean air and renewable energy resources. Projects which will provide a secure and constructive future for our next generations. If we learn nothing else from history, we must learn the consequences of a government with an irresponsible military agenda and which is controlled by big business interests. This could be the first generation of a lasting peace throughout the world. But first, we must put Mr. hide behind bars where he belongs, and throw away the key.
Private institutions and individuals provide massive assistance to the malaria and HIV victims in Africa. We are in the process of providing laptop computers to the most remote villages on the planet to speed their arrival into the 21st century. We give aid to disaster victims everywhere; no disaster worldwide goes without our support and assistance. These are great acts of kindness done by private people and institutions in our country’s name.
Our alter ego, on the other hand, invades countries (Iraq is not the first and more than likely not the last) in an attempt to steal their natural resources. Our rich corporations export pollution and take advantage of cheap foreign labor. We export our jobs solely to take advantage of the poor and starving in less developed countries. Our continual military campaigns cause death, destruction, and dislocation to millions of innocent civilians. For our trouble we get a gross and bloated military budget. We give lip service to a war on terror in spite of the fact that we haven't had a terrorist attack in over six years in our own country. We commit crimes in the name of national security; crimes which were deemed so heinous they were banned from use by the Geneva Convention during World War II. We send our children to die in countries which were our allies and imprison and spy on our own citizens.
While the good people in this country strive to do the best we can for all people everywhere, a few disgrace our country and give us a black eye the world over. Their sole ambition is to increase their own wealth and power at everyone else's expense. They manipulate our government and our media and seek to undo the very principles which made our country the envy of all the world a few short decades ago.
We need to regain control of our evil twin, before all is lost. We need to dismantle an ever larger war machine. A machine which is being used as an instrument of destruction and mayhem. A machine which is sucking up so many resources we are bankrupting ourselves and putting the entire world's economy at risk. We need to put our resources into projects like clean air and renewable energy resources. Projects which will provide a secure and constructive future for our next generations. If we learn nothing else from history, we must learn the consequences of a government with an irresponsible military agenda and which is controlled by big business interests. This could be the first generation of a lasting peace throughout the world. But first, we must put Mr. hide behind bars where he belongs, and throw away the key.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Plus/Minus of an early campaign
On the surface it sounds like a big win for the country. Voters have nearly a year’s head start learning about the candidates’ backgrounds and politics. As Jay Leno's jaywalk series plainly shows, most people of voting age don't even recognize the faces of the candidates, let alone have knowledge of any particular candidate's position on major issues.
When thousands of lives and billions (trillions) of dollars are being sacrificed to a war which may extend over several generations, we owe our undivided attention to the policies and promises of a future president.
From the perspective of the baby boomers, I relish the switch to politics from the mind numbing and never ending exposés about Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Since we are putting the nation's future in hock past their eyeballs, we at least owe those future generations the courtesy of knowing why. However, it may only be wishful thinking to suppose the public will stay tuned to these most important of concerns. In all likelihood they will simply change the channel. As Jay Leno again says, “We get the government we deserve.".
One huge minus to an early campaign involves the early elimination of candidates whose campaigns couldn't raise enough money to gain parity in the Caucasus. Well-financed candidates were able to gain early momentum while late bloomers like Ron Paul got sacrificed on the altar of grassroots. It looks as though special-interest groups will trump the mamas and papas every time. Five dollars here and ten dollars there don’t amount to much when parking fees alone can amount to $500,000 in the year before the primary. The fact that Hillary Clinton had to "lend her campaign" $5 million at this stage in the process just to "hang in there” with Senator Obama shows how big a role early money plays in today's political climate.
Only time will tell whether the nation's affairs will hold sway over our celebrities’ affairs. We can't, after all, expect a nation whose rocket scientists aren't smarter than a fifth grader to pay serious attention to a two-year discussion of election politics. One thing that should be clear after such lengthy debate, however, is that we should have forced the candidates to have clearly expressed their opinions and positions. Their party’s platform should also be abundantly clear.
Whether we can keep a President accountable for his promises is another issue entirely. We have seen the powers of the presidency expanded to the point where it is fair to say Congress is now irrelevant. The fact that a democratically controlled Congress is now merely a rubber stamp to a Republican president is unprecedented. The fact that war crimes and blatant civil rights violations occur without redress by the President and his men doesn't bode well for our country's future. In a recent commentary by Keith Obermann he notes that our vice president needs to be careful what countries he visits after office, lest he be hanged for war crimes. It sickens me to witness our country's leaders compared to Hitler's henchmen. However, if we citizens allow our leaders to invade sovereign nations without provocation, we deserve the comparison. Lord help us if we continue to allow our leaders to help themselves to the nation’s wealth from positions above the law.
When thousands of lives and billions (trillions) of dollars are being sacrificed to a war which may extend over several generations, we owe our undivided attention to the policies and promises of a future president.
From the perspective of the baby boomers, I relish the switch to politics from the mind numbing and never ending exposés about Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Since we are putting the nation's future in hock past their eyeballs, we at least owe those future generations the courtesy of knowing why. However, it may only be wishful thinking to suppose the public will stay tuned to these most important of concerns. In all likelihood they will simply change the channel. As Jay Leno again says, “We get the government we deserve.".
One huge minus to an early campaign involves the early elimination of candidates whose campaigns couldn't raise enough money to gain parity in the Caucasus. Well-financed candidates were able to gain early momentum while late bloomers like Ron Paul got sacrificed on the altar of grassroots. It looks as though special-interest groups will trump the mamas and papas every time. Five dollars here and ten dollars there don’t amount to much when parking fees alone can amount to $500,000 in the year before the primary. The fact that Hillary Clinton had to "lend her campaign" $5 million at this stage in the process just to "hang in there” with Senator Obama shows how big a role early money plays in today's political climate.
Only time will tell whether the nation's affairs will hold sway over our celebrities’ affairs. We can't, after all, expect a nation whose rocket scientists aren't smarter than a fifth grader to pay serious attention to a two-year discussion of election politics. One thing that should be clear after such lengthy debate, however, is that we should have forced the candidates to have clearly expressed their opinions and positions. Their party’s platform should also be abundantly clear.
Whether we can keep a President accountable for his promises is another issue entirely. We have seen the powers of the presidency expanded to the point where it is fair to say Congress is now irrelevant. The fact that a democratically controlled Congress is now merely a rubber stamp to a Republican president is unprecedented. The fact that war crimes and blatant civil rights violations occur without redress by the President and his men doesn't bode well for our country's future. In a recent commentary by Keith Obermann he notes that our vice president needs to be careful what countries he visits after office, lest he be hanged for war crimes. It sickens me to witness our country's leaders compared to Hitler's henchmen. However, if we citizens allow our leaders to invade sovereign nations without provocation, we deserve the comparison. Lord help us if we continue to allow our leaders to help themselves to the nation’s wealth from positions above the law.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Can We Be Bribed?
Can We Be Bribed?
After enjoying the lowest approval rating in the nation's history, can both the Congress and the president buy their way back into the public’s favor? The proposed one-time tax refund of $600 per person or $1200 per household is designed to accomplish exactly that. Are we really that gullible? Can we really be expected to forgive all the lying, favoritism, and corruption perpetrated by this administration? After leading us into war and driving the nation into a recession, they propose to give the taxpayers some of their money back. Let us not forget that in order to give money back to us, they have to take it from us in the first place. And let us not forget if it weren’t for this administration wasting trillions of dollars on an illegal, immoral, and unpopular war in the first place, we wouldn’t be on the brink of a financial meltdown.
$162 billion. It sounds like a lot of money. However, if we look at the Bush/Cheney welfare to Halliburton program it is a drop in the bucket. According to the latest Bill Moyer exposé 200 billion dollars of the 400 billion dollars billed by Halliburton to the American taxpayer recently has disappeared. By disappeared I don’t mean failed to show up in Halliburton’s account. I mean disappeared as in the services billed to and paid for by the government were never performed. Buildings billed and paid for were never built. Outrageous double or triple billing for products and services were never reimbursed, or credits issued. In a recent investigation by the Senate, Condoleezza Rice attributed these disappearing funds to "accounting" errors. Theft, by any other name, is still theft. Isn’t it?
Most economists agree that this proposed "stimulus package” won’t stimulate anything. Because businessmen realize the bubble is of short duration, they won't be adding payroll or capacity to plants. It is fair to say a portion will go to paying down personal debt, which won’t stimulate anything either. All this measure really does is drive up the nation's debt. According to Bloomberg analysts, this president has the nation on cruise control straight over a cliff. If anyone in the private sector proposed such a reckless policy, they would be on their way to an institution and fitted for a strait jacket.
We used to be able to tell the bandits from the good guys because the bandits had the decency to wear masks. Now the bandits are leading our nation and stealing us blind with the tacit approval of congress. Since the modern-day Bonnie and Clyde's are above the law they plunder and pillage at will. Unfortunately the scope of the nation's greedy plunderers extends around the globe. Because the country gets no benefit from the exploitation of our treasury, the value of the dollar is in steep decline around planet. Because our dollar is still the Globe's primary currency we are taking the rest of the world down with us.
Now the administration is proposing the largest federal budget of all time, at a time when we can least afford it. A large portion of this budget will go to increasing this war effort and increasing military spending. While the world should be at peace, this pugnacious administration is creating an ever larger war machine and using it to invade sovereign nations without proven provocation.. At the same time, they propose cutting popular programs like Medicare and Social Security and other social programs like health care for the nations’ poorest children. The Third Reich mentality couldn't possibly have arisen again, could it?
After enjoying the lowest approval rating in the nation's history, can both the Congress and the president buy their way back into the public’s favor? The proposed one-time tax refund of $600 per person or $1200 per household is designed to accomplish exactly that. Are we really that gullible? Can we really be expected to forgive all the lying, favoritism, and corruption perpetrated by this administration? After leading us into war and driving the nation into a recession, they propose to give the taxpayers some of their money back. Let us not forget that in order to give money back to us, they have to take it from us in the first place. And let us not forget if it weren’t for this administration wasting trillions of dollars on an illegal, immoral, and unpopular war in the first place, we wouldn’t be on the brink of a financial meltdown.
$162 billion. It sounds like a lot of money. However, if we look at the Bush/Cheney welfare to Halliburton program it is a drop in the bucket. According to the latest Bill Moyer exposé 200 billion dollars of the 400 billion dollars billed by Halliburton to the American taxpayer recently has disappeared. By disappeared I don’t mean failed to show up in Halliburton’s account. I mean disappeared as in the services billed to and paid for by the government were never performed. Buildings billed and paid for were never built. Outrageous double or triple billing for products and services were never reimbursed, or credits issued. In a recent investigation by the Senate, Condoleezza Rice attributed these disappearing funds to "accounting" errors. Theft, by any other name, is still theft. Isn’t it?
Most economists agree that this proposed "stimulus package” won’t stimulate anything. Because businessmen realize the bubble is of short duration, they won't be adding payroll or capacity to plants. It is fair to say a portion will go to paying down personal debt, which won’t stimulate anything either. All this measure really does is drive up the nation's debt. According to Bloomberg analysts, this president has the nation on cruise control straight over a cliff. If anyone in the private sector proposed such a reckless policy, they would be on their way to an institution and fitted for a strait jacket.
We used to be able to tell the bandits from the good guys because the bandits had the decency to wear masks. Now the bandits are leading our nation and stealing us blind with the tacit approval of congress. Since the modern-day Bonnie and Clyde's are above the law they plunder and pillage at will. Unfortunately the scope of the nation's greedy plunderers extends around the globe. Because the country gets no benefit from the exploitation of our treasury, the value of the dollar is in steep decline around planet. Because our dollar is still the Globe's primary currency we are taking the rest of the world down with us.
Now the administration is proposing the largest federal budget of all time, at a time when we can least afford it. A large portion of this budget will go to increasing this war effort and increasing military spending. While the world should be at peace, this pugnacious administration is creating an ever larger war machine and using it to invade sovereign nations without proven provocation.. At the same time, they propose cutting popular programs like Medicare and Social Security and other social programs like health care for the nations’ poorest children. The Third Reich mentality couldn't possibly have arisen again, could it?
Thursday, January 31, 2008
The Sellout
In true Barnum and Bailey fashion, the Bush administration has used the hucksters' credo, you can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, to great advantage.
According to Bill Moyer’s Journal, the Bush foreign-policy camp was investigated by two independent groups, The Senate For Public Integrity and The Fund For Independence In Journalism, to determine how many false statements were made prior to the invasion of Iraq. They concluded that the top seven officials, including the President, the Vice President and the Secretary of State, gave false or misleading statements at least 935 times. On at least 532 separate occasions, Saddam Hussein was said to have links to Al Qaeda and weapons of mass destruction; statements later proven to be false. In his words, Bill Moyer states “the war in Iraq was a public relations propaganda campaign based on one big lie". Nevertheless, we are still in Iraq for an indeterminate length of time and at a continuing cost in the billions.
We the taxpayers are spending millions of dollars annually for junkets to the Middle East to keep our lawmakers informed, but we should wonder what they do there. Congressmen and senators are the most highly paid and pampered public servants in our nation. However, only a few voices seem willing to speak out against "the lie" and to vote against funding a clearly illegal and immoral war. It would seem to be clear that laws need to be passed providing penalties for those lying to the American public while in the publics' employ. How this can be done is hard to imagine. After all, this group has been responsible for approving massive pay raises and perks for themselves while working Americans' paychecks have remained flat over the past seven years. For a group which considers themselves above taxation (that's right folks, congressional and senatorial salaries are not subject to federal taxes) it would be completely unrealistic to expect self-censure. Although they make a huge deal out of consensual oral sex, oral obfuscation and outright lying are under their radar.
Somewhere along the line the reason to become a public servant and to put the public interest first has become an ideal whose time has passed. With big government in bed with big business, the resulting bastard child is the sellout of America. The poor boy from the backwoods of Illinois has no chance of moving up the political ladder while keeping integrity and honor intact.
People who keep score have determined a winning presidential candidate needs a war chest of upwards of $100 million to win an election. If you think anyone stands a chance of raising that kind of money on principles, think again. Every politician begins his career (one would hope) as an idealist. After a few backroom compromises are made to get the support of special interest groups, idealism is replaced with pragmatism. The reasoning is simple. With ideals, I don't get elected; with compromises I do. By the time anyone reaches a high public office, he (she) has compromised their soul. To recall an old phrase, once you have them by their purse strings, their principles and politics will follow.
Bob Parmelee Parmsplace
According to Bill Moyer’s Journal, the Bush foreign-policy camp was investigated by two independent groups, The Senate For Public Integrity and The Fund For Independence In Journalism, to determine how many false statements were made prior to the invasion of Iraq. They concluded that the top seven officials, including the President, the Vice President and the Secretary of State, gave false or misleading statements at least 935 times. On at least 532 separate occasions, Saddam Hussein was said to have links to Al Qaeda and weapons of mass destruction; statements later proven to be false. In his words, Bill Moyer states “the war in Iraq was a public relations propaganda campaign based on one big lie". Nevertheless, we are still in Iraq for an indeterminate length of time and at a continuing cost in the billions.
We the taxpayers are spending millions of dollars annually for junkets to the Middle East to keep our lawmakers informed, but we should wonder what they do there. Congressmen and senators are the most highly paid and pampered public servants in our nation. However, only a few voices seem willing to speak out against "the lie" and to vote against funding a clearly illegal and immoral war. It would seem to be clear that laws need to be passed providing penalties for those lying to the American public while in the publics' employ. How this can be done is hard to imagine. After all, this group has been responsible for approving massive pay raises and perks for themselves while working Americans' paychecks have remained flat over the past seven years. For a group which considers themselves above taxation (that's right folks, congressional and senatorial salaries are not subject to federal taxes) it would be completely unrealistic to expect self-censure. Although they make a huge deal out of consensual oral sex, oral obfuscation and outright lying are under their radar.
Somewhere along the line the reason to become a public servant and to put the public interest first has become an ideal whose time has passed. With big government in bed with big business, the resulting bastard child is the sellout of America. The poor boy from the backwoods of Illinois has no chance of moving up the political ladder while keeping integrity and honor intact.
People who keep score have determined a winning presidential candidate needs a war chest of upwards of $100 million to win an election. If you think anyone stands a chance of raising that kind of money on principles, think again. Every politician begins his career (one would hope) as an idealist. After a few backroom compromises are made to get the support of special interest groups, idealism is replaced with pragmatism. The reasoning is simple. With ideals, I don't get elected; with compromises I do. By the time anyone reaches a high public office, he (she) has compromised their soul. To recall an old phrase, once you have them by their purse strings, their principles and politics will follow.
Bob Parmelee Parmsplace
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Actors As Politicians
When Shirley Temple Black, child actress, was appointed Ambassador to Ghana I figured, strange, but why not. After all, supporters of political parties had been rewarded with special appointments since time began. Besides, she was loved both here and abroad. She did such a great job she was given a much more sensitive appointment many years later as Ambassador to Czechoslovakia.
My jaw hit the floor when Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California, and then, of course, president. It didn’t seem to me that a movie idol turned Screen Actors Guild president had the background to lead a state government, let alone the country. But as history is my witness, he is credited with doing a great job and is considered one of the nation’s best and most popular leaders.
Others like Sonny Bono and Jesse Ventura and Clint Eastwood have further proven that show business is as good a background as political science to be a spokesperson for the people. And, obviously, being a household name before running for public office doesn’t hurt one’s chances at getting elected. In fact, a previous career in front of a camera may be one of the better foundations for public speaking. It sure wouldn’t have hurt the king of gaffs, George Bush, to have gotten some practice before stepping in front of an audience.
It is unfortunate, in my opinion, that our constitution prevents another great actor from becoming president. I am speaking of Arnold Schwarzenegger, of course. He is proving to be a very capable governor, following in Ronald Reagan’s footsteps somewhat. The fact that he was not born in this country would seem to have little to do with his leadership ability. As we can certainly see, being born in this country has little to do with a person’s ability to lead this nation either.
Bob Parmelee
My jaw hit the floor when Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California, and then, of course, president. It didn’t seem to me that a movie idol turned Screen Actors Guild president had the background to lead a state government, let alone the country. But as history is my witness, he is credited with doing a great job and is considered one of the nation’s best and most popular leaders.
Others like Sonny Bono and Jesse Ventura and Clint Eastwood have further proven that show business is as good a background as political science to be a spokesperson for the people. And, obviously, being a household name before running for public office doesn’t hurt one’s chances at getting elected. In fact, a previous career in front of a camera may be one of the better foundations for public speaking. It sure wouldn’t have hurt the king of gaffs, George Bush, to have gotten some practice before stepping in front of an audience.
It is unfortunate, in my opinion, that our constitution prevents another great actor from becoming president. I am speaking of Arnold Schwarzenegger, of course. He is proving to be a very capable governor, following in Ronald Reagan’s footsteps somewhat. The fact that he was not born in this country would seem to have little to do with his leadership ability. As we can certainly see, being born in this country has little to do with a person’s ability to lead this nation either.
Bob Parmelee
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