The links between crime and politics are ancient and well documented. The caveman hunter would bribe his chieftain with a choice cut of mastodon for a choice mate or soft rock for his head. When Nero fiddled, contractors lined up with bribes for large urban renewal contracts. During the age of discovery politicians stole from the natives and lost their piles of loot to pirates who bought their way into the political power elite.
Americans claim exceptionalism from the evils of the Old World, but it was settled by refugees and schemers from that world. The American exception was its fresh opportunities for criminal and political inventiveness. There was money to be made in America. Laws were written for maximum profit. Criminals installed their own politicians creating machine politics, which governed for the benefit of criminal mobs. Mobs came to own many local governments. Old World get rich quick gangs flocked to the New World. Violent turf battles raged across the country. Crime bosses sent their children to the best schools and they return to the family business.
This new generation knew how to leverage their power and laundry their loot. They invested in their criminal enterprise with Wall Street moves, campaign donations along with support for arts and charities. A cloak of legitimacy wrapped the same old violent activities of extortion, drugs, robbery and murder and the profits grew larger.
No longer strong arm “hoods” it is now respected public figures that exerts criminal influence on national and international governments. Dirty money is laundered through municipal and national triple “A” bonds. The mobs' interests are now tied to the safety, surety and profitability of these financial instruments. The mobs maybe fronted by “respectable” bosses but they have a host of “knee breakers” to deploy when their fortunes are threatened.
Congress is playing political “chicken” with the nation. The rhetoric is hot, loud and dis-information. The budget problem is a congressional problem brought on by both parties over a number of years. The Constitution clearly gives that responsibility to Congress but it has failed in its duties. The beginning of the fiscal year was moved from July to October because Congress couldn’t pass a budget by July first. Congress couldn’t even draft a budget so the Executive branch began to submit a draft based on legislative appropriations, which obligated more than expected income. Planning to spend more than comes in is called deficit spending, which becomes national debt when actually spent. National debt grows because Congress repeats it failures year after year, which is compounding not only the problem but also interest on the debt.
The political circus in Washington for the past few weeks threatens the economy, the national standing among states but also the fortunes of linked criminal enterprises. It is probable that mob’s polite influence on Congressmen and Senators will not be enough to prevent an economic slide. If mob “soft power” is not adequate then it maybe time to send in the knee breakers to the halls of power to protect national economic interest.
It’s like leading an American Mule; first you have to get its attention with a sharp crack between the ears.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
News 071411
America is in danger of spiraling down into the molasses that binds the undeveloped nations to the bottom of the barrel. That molasses is comprised of debtor states unable to pay their bills or govern in the interest of the people.
Molasses is thick brown sugary syrup that in America is poured on the country by modern day journalism. Despite a legal verdict being rendered, the media is still attempting to incite a mob against Casey Anthony. Journalism has become the entertainment industry. Journalists no longer report the news they have become “talent” who entertains by making news. Stories are drawn from the “Social Media” that is a self generating, amplified voice of a mob. Important stories are ignored in favor of mob hysteria creating higher ratings.
This trend is not lost on politicians who gleefully bandwagon on social media, spinning and spinning to deceive, placate or incite the mob. What is lost is that magical ingredient of democracy, “an informed public.” An informed public requires facts not entertainment. Back in olden days of paper and ink the news media was known as the “Fourth Estate” of government. Even then the media was not always responsible, but columns of print separated facts and opinions. Today facts are few, failing to fit the one liners embraced by public malaise.
A malaise that brings the country to the point of decline. In Washington the country is gripped by another crisis of politicians’ ideological interest over public interest. In its simplest form the issue is that the Right want to free the haves from tax and the Left wants spend more tax money. A hundred years ago when income tax became law it was stated that the power to tax is the power to destroy. Twenty years later during the great depression the government embraced spending as an investment in the country. Then politicians went wild spending and destructively taxing for votes. Responsible budgets became history; deficit spending became the norm. Unlike most third world countries America was able to rock along for years on lack of international competition. The bill is now due, economic competition is surrounding a declining economic base. The debtor nation must pay up or step aside.
The fact is that neither tax cuts nor increased spending will serve the nation. The fact is that political ideologues are holding the country hostage to their election self-interest. The fact is that the media is failing to clearly inform the public. The fact is that this is self-destruction of a great power. The fact is even with an eleventh hour resolution of the present crisis, the damage has been done, and the international bond of economic trust is broken.
The three-year Anthony media circus should pass into historical darkness and the same intense light should be focused on Washington. What little remains of journalistic responsibility should publish broadsides and banner headlines on the impending fall of a great power. Washington power politics must be made to quiver before the mob of public opinion.
Molasses is thick brown sugary syrup that in America is poured on the country by modern day journalism. Despite a legal verdict being rendered, the media is still attempting to incite a mob against Casey Anthony. Journalism has become the entertainment industry. Journalists no longer report the news they have become “talent” who entertains by making news. Stories are drawn from the “Social Media” that is a self generating, amplified voice of a mob. Important stories are ignored in favor of mob hysteria creating higher ratings.
This trend is not lost on politicians who gleefully bandwagon on social media, spinning and spinning to deceive, placate or incite the mob. What is lost is that magical ingredient of democracy, “an informed public.” An informed public requires facts not entertainment. Back in olden days of paper and ink the news media was known as the “Fourth Estate” of government. Even then the media was not always responsible, but columns of print separated facts and opinions. Today facts are few, failing to fit the one liners embraced by public malaise.
A malaise that brings the country to the point of decline. In Washington the country is gripped by another crisis of politicians’ ideological interest over public interest. In its simplest form the issue is that the Right want to free the haves from tax and the Left wants spend more tax money. A hundred years ago when income tax became law it was stated that the power to tax is the power to destroy. Twenty years later during the great depression the government embraced spending as an investment in the country. Then politicians went wild spending and destructively taxing for votes. Responsible budgets became history; deficit spending became the norm. Unlike most third world countries America was able to rock along for years on lack of international competition. The bill is now due, economic competition is surrounding a declining economic base. The debtor nation must pay up or step aside.
The fact is that neither tax cuts nor increased spending will serve the nation. The fact is that political ideologues are holding the country hostage to their election self-interest. The fact is that the media is failing to clearly inform the public. The fact is that this is self-destruction of a great power. The fact is even with an eleventh hour resolution of the present crisis, the damage has been done, and the international bond of economic trust is broken.
The three-year Anthony media circus should pass into historical darkness and the same intense light should be focused on Washington. What little remains of journalistic responsibility should publish broadsides and banner headlines on the impending fall of a great power. Washington power politics must be made to quiver before the mob of public opinion.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Road to dictatorship 030311
The Internet shutdown in Libya, condemned by the American government, involved a new way to turn off web access for an entire country, lesson learned. Earlier this year, the total Internet blockade in Egypt backfired, emboldened protesters. China is known for blocking Internet services, but it’s not just China. Last June Senators Lieberman, Collins and Carper introduced the “Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010″. One vague provision in the bill gave the president the power to “authorize emergency measures.” Devil in the details, it became known as the Internet “kill switch” bill even though the words ‘kill’ and ‘switch’ are not found in the bill.
We couldn’t condemn the action in other countries while at the same time plan it here. No one would even suggest such a thing, right? Right?
Failing to pass in 2010 the legislation was re-branded the “Cybersecurity and Internet Freedom Act of 2011.” Note the buzz of Freedom in a bill that gives the government power suppress freedom. Ironically, it was re-introduced on the same day as the Egyptian shutdown when President Obama called on the Egyptian government to reverse its interference with Internet access.
The new bill however, doesn’t give the president control of a “Big Switch” rather little switches are given to bureaucrats at Homeland Security. Everyone knows how responsible Homeland Security bureaucrats are; they took the fun out of flying and created a rainbow of alerts. Envision a vast warehouse of ten’s of thousands of bureaucrats with one hand hovering over their kill switches as they surf the Internet looking for something that offends. The rainbow becomes a blinding White light kill alert when government missteps are publicly exposed.
Building a nation on the free exchange of ideas, the founding fathers institutionalized freedom of the press. However even Thomas Jefferson, an outspoken advocate of a free press, as President attempted to suppress that free press. Every administration since has attempted to control, suppress or distort the free flow of information. The last administration attempted to institutionalize a misinformation bureau with in government, which may have gone underground to a secret government when caught in spotlight for free information.
Jefferson failed to halt critical voices because he controlled no switches to shut down the voices of the people. Government control of information is the fast lane to dictatorships. Giving such control to faceless bureaucrats is building a dictatorship of collective irresponsibility where all are the ultimate losers.
We couldn’t condemn the action in other countries while at the same time plan it here. No one would even suggest such a thing, right? Right?
Failing to pass in 2010 the legislation was re-branded the “Cybersecurity and Internet Freedom Act of 2011.” Note the buzz of Freedom in a bill that gives the government power suppress freedom. Ironically, it was re-introduced on the same day as the Egyptian shutdown when President Obama called on the Egyptian government to reverse its interference with Internet access.
The new bill however, doesn’t give the president control of a “Big Switch” rather little switches are given to bureaucrats at Homeland Security. Everyone knows how responsible Homeland Security bureaucrats are; they took the fun out of flying and created a rainbow of alerts. Envision a vast warehouse of ten’s of thousands of bureaucrats with one hand hovering over their kill switches as they surf the Internet looking for something that offends. The rainbow becomes a blinding White light kill alert when government missteps are publicly exposed.
Building a nation on the free exchange of ideas, the founding fathers institutionalized freedom of the press. However even Thomas Jefferson, an outspoken advocate of a free press, as President attempted to suppress that free press. Every administration since has attempted to control, suppress or distort the free flow of information. The last administration attempted to institutionalize a misinformation bureau with in government, which may have gone underground to a secret government when caught in spotlight for free information.
Jefferson failed to halt critical voices because he controlled no switches to shut down the voices of the people. Government control of information is the fast lane to dictatorships. Giving such control to faceless bureaucrats is building a dictatorship of collective irresponsibility where all are the ultimate losers.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Whistle blowing 032411
It happens but some times a backlog of information accumulates which demands comment. Unfortunately the backlog is so great that there isn’t sufficient time to give adequate perspective to commentary, so readers are given only tidbits of stories, sorry about that, but I’m old. These tidbits will have little impact on me whatever the stories’ eventual outcomes. Current generations will have to deal with these issues and their actions or lack of action will impact their children.
Although Congress passed a Whistle Blower protection act, it seems that no one likes a whistle blower less than government bureaucrats and policy makers. Late in 2010 the electronic release of masses of U.S. government documents set off a bureaucratic firestorm that made the bombing of Dresden, Germany seem like a campfire.
Homeland Security immediately declared the Internet editor of WikiLeaks a traitor and started to build a rhetorical gallows on the Washington Mall. Department of Defense declared the papers nation security secrets and piled brush around the gallows to incinerate his dangling body. Isn’t there something about cruel and unusable punishment in the Bill of Rights? The intelligence community set a “honey trap” for him in a foreign country. The State department declared irreparable harm to American Foreign policy.
As the firestorm ragged some officials, probably fearful that they might be thrown in the fire, reviewed the documents and discovered lots of embarrassment from ancient to modern, but no real secrets. However, the bureaucracy was on a downhill roll and there was no stopping. Intelligence twisted foreign arms for an arrest and rendition of the editor. The military grabbed an Army private charged him with releasing the government’s “secrets”, branded him a traitor and threw him into a military dungeon. Always seeking the lime light the Air Force declared "If a family member of an Air Force employee accesses WikiLeaks on a home computer, the family member may be subject to prosecution for espionage under U.S. Code Title 18 Section 793." U.S. officials issued secret subpoenas for Wikileaks’ electronic accounts and credit card receipts apparently seeking names of readers. The government went after foreign officials on suspicion that they may have approved the release of documents.
The Pentagon and other government agencies have taken the position that even though the open source documents are freely available on the Internet, the government must treat them as classified. After all it is American Citizens who are the real enemy for Government abuse.
As the affair grinds along, now out of the public’s spotlight the Army private still sits degraded in naked isolation in a military dungeon, probably expecting eventual rendition to some foreign torture chamber out of view of justice and restraint.
Remember we are trying to sell the American rule of law globally, in a world more aware of American abuse and hypocrisy than its own citizens.
Although Congress passed a Whistle Blower protection act, it seems that no one likes a whistle blower less than government bureaucrats and policy makers. Late in 2010 the electronic release of masses of U.S. government documents set off a bureaucratic firestorm that made the bombing of Dresden, Germany seem like a campfire.
Homeland Security immediately declared the Internet editor of WikiLeaks a traitor and started to build a rhetorical gallows on the Washington Mall. Department of Defense declared the papers nation security secrets and piled brush around the gallows to incinerate his dangling body. Isn’t there something about cruel and unusable punishment in the Bill of Rights? The intelligence community set a “honey trap” for him in a foreign country. The State department declared irreparable harm to American Foreign policy.
As the firestorm ragged some officials, probably fearful that they might be thrown in the fire, reviewed the documents and discovered lots of embarrassment from ancient to modern, but no real secrets. However, the bureaucracy was on a downhill roll and there was no stopping. Intelligence twisted foreign arms for an arrest and rendition of the editor. The military grabbed an Army private charged him with releasing the government’s “secrets”, branded him a traitor and threw him into a military dungeon. Always seeking the lime light the Air Force declared "If a family member of an Air Force employee accesses WikiLeaks on a home computer, the family member may be subject to prosecution for espionage under U.S. Code Title 18 Section 793." U.S. officials issued secret subpoenas for Wikileaks’ electronic accounts and credit card receipts apparently seeking names of readers. The government went after foreign officials on suspicion that they may have approved the release of documents.
The Pentagon and other government agencies have taken the position that even though the open source documents are freely available on the Internet, the government must treat them as classified. After all it is American Citizens who are the real enemy for Government abuse.
As the affair grinds along, now out of the public’s spotlight the Army private still sits degraded in naked isolation in a military dungeon, probably expecting eventual rendition to some foreign torture chamber out of view of justice and restraint.
Remember we are trying to sell the American rule of law globally, in a world more aware of American abuse and hypocrisy than its own citizens.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Learning 020711
A Florida legislator has proposed a law to give teacher the authority to grade parents. Granted there are good parents, bad parents and those in between but what are the standards to be met?
There is however a more important question. What qualifies a teacher to grade parents when they are not trusted to fairly grade students in their classrooms? In the last half century the nation has generated distrust of teachers and at the same time institutionalized their failure at a very high cost. If teachers could be trusted for honest grades there would be no need to subject students to a barrage of external testing. Test developed by "professional educators," to get more of the public education pie, extorted from those failing parents.
There is no question that parents need to pay attention to their children’s development and education while they work two and three jobs to pay for non-teaching professional educators. The flunking parents are really those that don't take an interest by ensuring that those professionals are providing effective and efficient basic learning opportunities.
It may be interesting to note that the rise of “Johnny can't read” and America's declining education standing is in direct correlation to the rise of professional educators’ theories.
Forget bigger budgets and blaming each other, the real issue is the future of kids. They are the nation’s future give them a chance. The cost of education continues to rise as the knowledge of students fall, cost benefit analysis would seen to indicate that education has diverted most to a dead end track. Parents, teachers and educators are guilty of past failures and serve as a declining cultural model for the next generations, institutionalizing substandard education, greater failure and ultimately the “decline and fall” of another great power. Great nations aren’t defeated they commit suicide, a first step is ignoring the real education requirements of a nation’s future generations.
There is however a more important question. What qualifies a teacher to grade parents when they are not trusted to fairly grade students in their classrooms? In the last half century the nation has generated distrust of teachers and at the same time institutionalized their failure at a very high cost. If teachers could be trusted for honest grades there would be no need to subject students to a barrage of external testing. Test developed by "professional educators," to get more of the public education pie, extorted from those failing parents.
There is no question that parents need to pay attention to their children’s development and education while they work two and three jobs to pay for non-teaching professional educators. The flunking parents are really those that don't take an interest by ensuring that those professionals are providing effective and efficient basic learning opportunities.
It may be interesting to note that the rise of “Johnny can't read” and America's declining education standing is in direct correlation to the rise of professional educators’ theories.
Forget bigger budgets and blaming each other, the real issue is the future of kids. They are the nation’s future give them a chance. The cost of education continues to rise as the knowledge of students fall, cost benefit analysis would seen to indicate that education has diverted most to a dead end track. Parents, teachers and educators are guilty of past failures and serve as a declining cultural model for the next generations, institutionalizing substandard education, greater failure and ultimately the “decline and fall” of another great power. Great nations aren’t defeated they commit suicide, a first step is ignoring the real education requirements of a nation’s future generations.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Politics American style 010911
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A gunman nearly unloaded a semiautomatic weapon at a busy supermarket Saturday during a public gathering for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, wounding the Democrat and killing Arizona's chief federal judge and five others in an attempted assassination that left Americans questioning whether divisive politics had pushed the suspect over the edge.
Twelve others were wounded and all the electronic medias are running LOUD with condemnation, blame, justification or calls for more.
I am sorry for the dead and wounded but I worry about the future victims of radical rhetoric calling for violence. Left and right radicals are both guilty of letting their mouths run away with ever increasing claims of justification and moral correctness. The USA has its electoral processes, which have never been totally clean, but today’s processes are more open to manipulation through electronic medias. There are always those individuals, unable to distinguish between corrupt electioneering and reality that may answer the calls for violence. Yes there is corruption in government, which begins with corrupt candidates, corrupt self-interests and even corrupt voters. Clear losers of elections now delay government with calls for recounts, losing all appeals they attempt recall elections on ideological justifications, all of which spend precious tax dollars for limited self interest.
Democracy depends on the votes of an informed public, not voters whose only information comes from a witless twitter pundit. If you don’t like your government remember your civic lessons, study, learn the facts, participate, write legislators, petition for change, dampen down electioneering rhetoric and use your vote to demand good government. A citizen must take the time to obtain the good government the USA must have to survive another century. The USA was born on a cry for representation; today it suffers from over representation and lack of services. Today’s American Revolution should be an informed vote not the guns and bombs of 1776.
Twelve others were wounded and all the electronic medias are running LOUD with condemnation, blame, justification or calls for more.
I am sorry for the dead and wounded but I worry about the future victims of radical rhetoric calling for violence. Left and right radicals are both guilty of letting their mouths run away with ever increasing claims of justification and moral correctness. The USA has its electoral processes, which have never been totally clean, but today’s processes are more open to manipulation through electronic medias. There are always those individuals, unable to distinguish between corrupt electioneering and reality that may answer the calls for violence. Yes there is corruption in government, which begins with corrupt candidates, corrupt self-interests and even corrupt voters. Clear losers of elections now delay government with calls for recounts, losing all appeals they attempt recall elections on ideological justifications, all of which spend precious tax dollars for limited self interest.
Democracy depends on the votes of an informed public, not voters whose only information comes from a witless twitter pundit. If you don’t like your government remember your civic lessons, study, learn the facts, participate, write legislators, petition for change, dampen down electioneering rhetoric and use your vote to demand good government. A citizen must take the time to obtain the good government the USA must have to survive another century. The USA was born on a cry for representation; today it suffers from over representation and lack of services. Today’s American Revolution should be an informed vote not the guns and bombs of 1776.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Armistice 110610
It's a little early to commemorate the eleventh month, eleventh day, eleventh hour but any silence after a final furious cannonade is no less welcome. Unlike the bombardment that signaled the end of World War One, today's random shots and the floating wisp of gun smoke signal maneuvers for the coming 2012 battle.
No sooner had the polls closed on this year's viscous election campaign than the victors fired their first shots in search of glorious greater victories. The minority party victors claim they now have a mandate to rewrite history taking the country back to a fundamentalist ideal, continue the war to victory, cut taxes, drive out immigrants and abandon the Bill of Rights.
What the victors chose to ignore is that neither the minority nor the majority party have enough votes to elect their candidates. Even within the parties is there no consensus for radical platforms. While their extremists are the loudest and have capture the parties' agendas much of their membership is more reasoned. The real power however, lies with the largest body of the electorate, independents that are quite and still free of partisan demands of party loyalty.
It was the independents that carried the bi-election. They didn't vote radical change rather they voted for a hoped for better and more secure future. When campaign cannons fire salvos of hate and fear the independents drag their feet at blind trust. Their vote was for change, but changes that improved their conditions. Improvements that have been to long in arriving, “lets give the other guys a shot.”
A shot is not a mandate, it is an opportunity. If the victors become hung up on the barbwire of radical ideology they will face disenchanted and hostile independents in another two years.
The two party system has been institutionalized in American elections, but it is not written in stone or the constitution. What has happen is that the two parties cooperated on one issue, legislation and procedures that make it virtually impossible for any third party to succeed at the polls.
What the silent independent majority must do is fire shots across the bow of both parties. The independents have the power to demand good candidates that will serve the people not radical party platforms. Candidates committed to oppose corruption and vested interests and serve the people. The independents must exercise their power before the parties lock in on candidates and platforms not in the interest of the whole country.
The independent must find spokesmen of reason and compromise in the interest of the country. Care must taken in choice of leadership for charismatic leaders are often borderline dictators in search of power.
The independents fired a broadside in this election. It is a step forward but not enough to just vote incumbents out of office. Independents must also insure that the applicant pool contains the very best candidates for future election. The founding fathers never envisioned career politicians; rather wider participation by qualified citizens. They knew that government was too important to trust to politicians.
Independent must bombard candidates and elected officials with the third way of reasoned government.
If the parties continue to fail, then independents must fire a their big gun barrage each election voting the incumbents out of office until they recognize the peoples interests.
No sooner had the polls closed on this year's viscous election campaign than the victors fired their first shots in search of glorious greater victories. The minority party victors claim they now have a mandate to rewrite history taking the country back to a fundamentalist ideal, continue the war to victory, cut taxes, drive out immigrants and abandon the Bill of Rights.
What the victors chose to ignore is that neither the minority nor the majority party have enough votes to elect their candidates. Even within the parties is there no consensus for radical platforms. While their extremists are the loudest and have capture the parties' agendas much of their membership is more reasoned. The real power however, lies with the largest body of the electorate, independents that are quite and still free of partisan demands of party loyalty.
It was the independents that carried the bi-election. They didn't vote radical change rather they voted for a hoped for better and more secure future. When campaign cannons fire salvos of hate and fear the independents drag their feet at blind trust. Their vote was for change, but changes that improved their conditions. Improvements that have been to long in arriving, “lets give the other guys a shot.”
A shot is not a mandate, it is an opportunity. If the victors become hung up on the barbwire of radical ideology they will face disenchanted and hostile independents in another two years.
The two party system has been institutionalized in American elections, but it is not written in stone or the constitution. What has happen is that the two parties cooperated on one issue, legislation and procedures that make it virtually impossible for any third party to succeed at the polls.
What the silent independent majority must do is fire shots across the bow of both parties. The independents have the power to demand good candidates that will serve the people not radical party platforms. Candidates committed to oppose corruption and vested interests and serve the people. The independents must exercise their power before the parties lock in on candidates and platforms not in the interest of the whole country.
The independent must find spokesmen of reason and compromise in the interest of the country. Care must taken in choice of leadership for charismatic leaders are often borderline dictators in search of power.
The independents fired a broadside in this election. It is a step forward but not enough to just vote incumbents out of office. Independents must also insure that the applicant pool contains the very best candidates for future election. The founding fathers never envisioned career politicians; rather wider participation by qualified citizens. They knew that government was too important to trust to politicians.
Independent must bombard candidates and elected officials with the third way of reasoned government.
If the parties continue to fail, then independents must fire a their big gun barrage each election voting the incumbents out of office until they recognize the peoples interests.
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