Political Correctness Inc

What can I say about political correctness?





Not for me.

Government Corruption

Someone has suggested that even the best of intentions by the best and most honorable men are subject to corruption.  I tend to agree wholeheartedly.  Just look at the mess.  The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775; after 234 years, it is broke.  Social Security was established in 1935; after 74 years, it is broke.  Fannie Mae was established in 1938; after 71 years, it is broke.  The War on Poverty was started in 1964; after 45 years, $1 trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the poor" and they only want more.  Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965; after 44 years, they are broke.  Freddie Mac was established in 1970; after 39 years, it is broke.  The Department of Energy was created in 1977 to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. It has ballooned to 16,000 employees with a budget of $24 billion a year and we import more oil than ever before; after 32 years, it is an abysmal failure.  Now, here comes the health care law.  I didn't bother to look for a picture to post with this blog. 

Government and Politics

If you want to learn something crucial about how politics and government work, simply try to find out why the flat tax cannot and never will be implemented.  

Frank Lloyd Wright

"Bureaucrats: they are dead at 30 and buried at 60. They are like custard pies; you can't nail them to a wall."  This was said by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.  I wholeheartedly agree.

Politics

Politicians are people too. They may start out by trying to do good for the people they govern but eventually get taken over by ego and greed and dishonesty and special interests. There is no such thing as an incorruptible man or woman - Republican, Democrat, or Independent.

Despots and thieves

The President of a tiny little African country died yesterday. His name was Omar Bongo Ondimba. Already, many heads of state are proclaiming their deep regret and offering condolences. This man was a thief with a capital T, not unlike so many other leaders. He reminds me of Ferdinand Marcos and Carlos Salinas de Gortari. His little country of almost one and a half million (1,400,000) made him and his family filthy rich because it exports great amounts of oil. His people, in the meantime, are dirt poor. There are so few of them they could all be rich. This is fair? This is kind? Please. In the meantime, the condolences keep coming. Many historians credit Bongo with keeping his country peaceful. (It's not hard with less than two million people.) Bongo's private police force numbered 1,500. There has to be a better way. Please.

Democracy

This is why I think Democracy isn't necessarily the greatest thing since the year 1200: Guatemala is a democracy, Iran is a democracy, Iraq is a democracy, Mexico is a democracy, the United States is a democracy, Venezuela is a democracy, Panama is a democracy, Italy is a democracy, India is a democracy, Turkey is a democracy, Russia is a democracy, and any number of African nations are democracies. The corruption and lack of justice and dignity are everywhere to be found in these democracies. Democracy guarantees nothing. It is just a smoke screen for wily and astute men who like to beguile and control people. Please. Is there an alternative?

Kasparov arrest

If you follow the news, you already know about this, but in case you don't and in case you care, here it is:

“At least 100 people were arrested Sunday at opposition protests in two major Russian cities organized by Kremlin critic and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, police and witnesses said. Dozens were detained and forced into police buses at Triumfalnaya Square in central Moscow, where Kasparov and other activists had planned to hold an unsanctioned "Dissenter's March," an AFP journalist said. The arrests came a day after Kasparov and fellow government critics launched a new opposition group, Solidarity, and vowed to "dismantle" the regime of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Several hundred yards away on Pushkin Square an AFP photographer saw about 15 elderly people who said they were retired military officers being detained by police as they prepared to head for the march. "Around 90 people were detained," police spokesman Viktor Biryukov told AFP, adding they may face administrative measures, a term that usually means fines. The detained activists included writer Eduard Limonov, founder of the National Bolshevik Party, a banned radical group, his aide Alexander Averin told AFP by telephone from a bus where they were being held. It was not immediately clear what happened to Kasparov. Hundreds of police filled the area around Triumfalnaya Square ahead of the planned demonstration, surrounding it with trucks and metal barriers. Kasparov and his allies had vowed to hold the Dissenter's March there to protest what they view as Putin's undemocratic policies, despite not receiving police permission. Ahead of the arrests, a spokesman for the Moscow police told the Interfax news agency that authorities would be "tough but lawful" in dealing with the unsanctioned protest. The retired officers were detained as they prepared to head toward the Dissenter's March, an AFP photographer said. Kasparov's website reported that they included retired general Alexei Fomin, head of a group called the Union of Soviet Officers, which had gathered to mark the anniversary of the Decembrist uprising of 1825, a revolt led by officers against Tsar Nicholas I. About 10 people were detained at a parallel Dissenter's March held in Saint Petersburg, an AFP journalist witnessed. Some 300 people gathered in the northern city to chant slogans including "No to the Amendments," referring to proposed constitutional amendments that would extend presidential terms from four years to six. "What is happening in this country is a catastrophe," said Alexander, an engineer who attended the protest. Sunday also saw a police-sanctioned protest of about 100 people in central Moscow organized by The Right Cause, a liberal party created last month with Kremlin approval after a merger of three other parties." It is so easy to dissent when you have nothing to lose; in Russia, you cannot disagree with the government without expecting to be detained, possibly arrested, possibly fined, and possibly beat up. Ciao.