9/11 DECADE OR “WE’LL SHOW ‘EM HOW TO BE IRRATIONAL!”
Freedom Tower! Ground Zero! Sacred ground. Hallowed ground. Patriot Act! Here we are on the tenth anniversary of the second attack on American soil in 50 years (Remember Pearl Harbor?). But it was a totally different kind of war, this time. A small group of religious fanatics (Muslim) were able to attack the biggest icon of America, incredibly only killing 3000 mem, women & children. Not only did they bring down the two tallest buildings in New York, a nearby 47 story building also totally collapsed, and maybe we don’t even know why. How did the other 40,000 workers escape the holocaust? The Masterminds, who sent these poor suicidal bastards to their deaths (and Paradise of unlimited sex for the rest of creation), could not have dreamed that their work would have such an impact on the American public.
Reacting without thinking, we immediately formed the third largest government agency (Patriot Act), went to war with a country that was not involved with the attack (Iraq) and involved our country in another civil war (Afganistan). Our military advisers, who were still ordering nuclear submarines & aircraft carriers, seemed to be unaware that we the cold war with communism was over 20 years ago, and it was no fun ordering very small groups of Seals around when they had some really big hardware that they kept ordering for their friends in the arms industry. But don’t get me started.
My rant here is about the attitude that the costs be damned, we must fight back by throwing our money around in a totally irresponsible and reckless manner that will be a heavy burden on the workers who will be commuting to the site for the next few decades (the increased fees on bridges & tunnels). Take the most important building, “Freedom Tower” or now called 1 WTC. This is supposed to be the tallest building in US, but only due to the 800 foot narwhale spear on top of it. High rise buildings are generally rated by the top occupied floor, not any spire. And they had to get it up to 1776', is that hokey or what? And why is this the most expensive building? First of all they placed it right next to a major highway, full of terrorists driving 737's around to crash into it with a bomb. So they made the first 65 feet a blast wall of steel & concrete, no rentable space here, with a glass skin of super super fragilistic tempered glass for what reason, to hold back a 737? One of the more important designers on the project was a security “expert” who decreed anti terrorist elements, no matter what the costs were. 3.3 billion dollars.
After wrangling for ten years, 19 public agencies, 2 developers, 33 architects, ended up with a melange of 5 skyscrapers, set in a crescent, which could give some protection to Freedom Tower from an aircraft attack, leaving the original site a memorial park, no matter what the cost. We’ll just buy up the surrounding properties to build the replacement buildings, for a total cost of 11 billion dollars. Of course, you must have a frivolous metro station by Calatrava, already over budget by $1 billion, his trademark, emulating a Brobdingnagian spiney mollusk.
I wasn’t ready for “Flag Day” on 9/11, why don’t we just make Labor Day (An obsolete Holiday) into “Ground Zero” Day? Worse than that, I saw our real heroes, professional footballers, all wearing little bumper sticker ribbons on their uniforms, after, of course, “Amazing Grace” was played for the thousandths tear jerking time. I can understand the terrible loss for the families of all the victims of this new type of warfare, but the rest of the country didn’t know these people, yet we act like “we are family”. Look at the idotic outpouring when the royal Diana got killed eluding papparotsi with a rich lover. I didn’t know her.
We might as well get used to these attacks by simple Muslim youths for the rest of our lives, as they are building new suicide bombers Dailey in their madrassa (schools) throughout the world.
Me? I don’t support the idea of any religion.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Friday, September 09, 2011
THIS IS GOVERNMENT?
BOOK REVIEW - A RATIONAL STUDY OF WHY OUR GOVERNMENT IS NON-FUNTIONAL
THE FUTURE OF FREEDOM By Fareed Zakaria
Why are US citizens disenchanted with our political system? Why has engagement in Public & Civic affairs declined 40% since the mid ‘60's? Attitudes toward our government shifted from positive to negative during the three decades of extraordinary growth & social stability. Something has gone wrong with American Democracy. Strangly, Zakaria believes there has been one big change - The Democritization of Politics. Sounds crazy, eh? We have opened ourselves up to greater public contact & influence in an effort to become more democratic. Organized groups - Special Interests - now run Washington. It’s not that politicos are unwilling to hear our pleas. It is that they do scarcely anything but listen to the American People. Public opinion is too important for them - lobbyists, activists, consultants, pols use this info for the basis of their actions. As the pandering has gone up, the public attitude toward pols has gone down.
Meanwhile, some of our major institutions are distinctly Undemocratic - For instance our Court Systems - power by unelected judges (for life!). Political parties - Candidates & platforms are chosen by party hierarchies. But his was done internally before going to the public. Representatives & senators met in committees to trade, barter & compromise. The legislature is the best indirect democracy. We choose who will legislate for us. They do not write or pass bills. James Madison didn’t regard America as a democracy. Democracies are governed directly, thru popular assemblies, (like ancient Greece). He said the better term is a republic, where citizens delegate the task of governing to it’s representatives.
Edmond Burke (English) said “Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgement : and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion”. And Sen. Bradley said “If a politician adopted a policy without regard for it’s popularity, he is considered not brave, but stupid”. Most politicians that have left said our political system is out of control. But most voted for the changes that turned American politics into the hyper-responsive, poll - driven system, it has become. Under the banner of Democracy, “Good intentions have gone haywire”.
About 1970, Civil Rights, Vietnam, Watergate, Urban Violence were the challenges of our government. We had to “fix it”. In America, that meant democritizating. It was too closed & heirarchigal, we had to move power out of the hands of the leadership into the entire body of the members. They had to be more accountable & with greater scrutiny. Thirty years later, almost all agree it made matters worse. “Campaign finance laws, Independent Council statutes, nothing turned out the way it was supposed to” (Biden).
The House of Representatives ,1972, democritized the method of choosing committee chairs by party elections instead of seniority. The number of subcommittees expanded 50%, allowing unlimited numbers of new bills & amendments, from any member of the house. To do this, staffs grew by individual members, not committee chairs. From an institution dominated by 20 + powerful leaders, congress evolved into a collection of 535 independent political entrepreneurs, their own interests uppermost , e.i., to get re-elected.
With our open committee meetings & recorded votes, now each member has to vote publicly on every amendment. The purpose of these changes was to make congress more open & responsive. And it has - to Money, Lobbyists & Special Interests.
These activists ensure that the groups they represent are well taken care of in the federal budget & legal code. Well organized interest groups, no matter how small, - can ensure that government bends to their will. Reforms designed to produce majority rule have produced minority rule. “It isn’t that these groups don’t have a legitimate interest but they distort the process by wrangling over the smallest issues, leaving congress paralyzed & the public disgusted” (Sen. Bumpers).
As our government has become larger & more open, lobbyists have become Washington’s largest growth industry. In the mid ‘50's, there were 5,000 registered lobbyists, 10,000 in the ‘70's, 20,000 in the ‘90's. In 1979 there were 117 health groups in D.C., by ‘93 the number was seven times that. The rise of interest groups has made our government totally dysfunctional. D.C. is unable to trim, let alone eliminate - nearly any government program, no matter how obviously obsolete. Spending real money on new problems or opportunities in the U.S. has become close to impossible.
The industries, problems & opportunities of the future do not have lobbies ; Those of the past do. When government seems unable to apply reason or logic to it’s priorities & spending, people lose faith in it’s ability to solve new problems. We have evolved into a self-organizing structure 20% under control of politicians & voters and 80% under control of countless thousands of client groups. Any serious attempt at change produces instant well-organized opposition from the small minority who are hurt by it & these are the minority who really run Washington.
James Madison in his famous Federalist Paper 51, placed his faith in the size & complexity of America. Small factions wouldn’t be able to have their way because other factions (outnumbering them) would thwart them (He was wrong).
Take Cuba for instance - Obvious to most Americans, 30 years after the cold war, they realize Cuban Communism no longer possess even the remotest geopolitical threat to us. However, Anti-Castro Cuban Americans have controlled the issue because they live in two electorally significant states, (Florida & New Jersey). Thus a handful of Americans have been able to dictate American Foreign policy for decades.
Here’s something surprising - political parties do not really exist in America anymore. They have become so open and decentralized that nobody controls them. The party is , at most, a fund-raising vehicle for a telegenic candidate (Looks good on TV). The bullet that killed the American political party was the primary election. Choosing a candidate was the most important decision a party organization made.
Campaign finance reform has suffered the same problems. Now a candidate must spend and entire year before the election wooing “Masters of the Rolex” to find enough galas & breakfasts to get enough cash for a campaign.
The growth of referendums is another aspect of the disease. In 1960, there were 88 issues, by 2000, it had risen to 204. As a result, 85% of our California state budget is outside of the legislature or governor’s control. I guess that could be called “Government by the people”. But then, if that’s the case, why do we need a legislature?
One of the biggest problems Zakaria sees, is there is probably no way to get out of this mess. I’m afraid I agree with him on that score.
THE FUTURE OF FREEDOM By Fareed Zakaria
Why are US citizens disenchanted with our political system? Why has engagement in Public & Civic affairs declined 40% since the mid ‘60's? Attitudes toward our government shifted from positive to negative during the three decades of extraordinary growth & social stability. Something has gone wrong with American Democracy. Strangly, Zakaria believes there has been one big change - The Democritization of Politics. Sounds crazy, eh? We have opened ourselves up to greater public contact & influence in an effort to become more democratic. Organized groups - Special Interests - now run Washington. It’s not that politicos are unwilling to hear our pleas. It is that they do scarcely anything but listen to the American People. Public opinion is too important for them - lobbyists, activists, consultants, pols use this info for the basis of their actions. As the pandering has gone up, the public attitude toward pols has gone down.
Meanwhile, some of our major institutions are distinctly Undemocratic - For instance our Court Systems - power by unelected judges (for life!). Political parties - Candidates & platforms are chosen by party hierarchies. But his was done internally before going to the public. Representatives & senators met in committees to trade, barter & compromise. The legislature is the best indirect democracy. We choose who will legislate for us. They do not write or pass bills. James Madison didn’t regard America as a democracy. Democracies are governed directly, thru popular assemblies, (like ancient Greece). He said the better term is a republic, where citizens delegate the task of governing to it’s representatives.
Edmond Burke (English) said “Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgement : and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion”. And Sen. Bradley said “If a politician adopted a policy without regard for it’s popularity, he is considered not brave, but stupid”. Most politicians that have left said our political system is out of control. But most voted for the changes that turned American politics into the hyper-responsive, poll - driven system, it has become. Under the banner of Democracy, “Good intentions have gone haywire”.
About 1970, Civil Rights, Vietnam, Watergate, Urban Violence were the challenges of our government. We had to “fix it”. In America, that meant democritizating. It was too closed & heirarchigal, we had to move power out of the hands of the leadership into the entire body of the members. They had to be more accountable & with greater scrutiny. Thirty years later, almost all agree it made matters worse. “Campaign finance laws, Independent Council statutes, nothing turned out the way it was supposed to” (Biden).
The House of Representatives ,1972, democritized the method of choosing committee chairs by party elections instead of seniority. The number of subcommittees expanded 50%, allowing unlimited numbers of new bills & amendments, from any member of the house. To do this, staffs grew by individual members, not committee chairs. From an institution dominated by 20 + powerful leaders, congress evolved into a collection of 535 independent political entrepreneurs, their own interests uppermost , e.i., to get re-elected.
With our open committee meetings & recorded votes, now each member has to vote publicly on every amendment. The purpose of these changes was to make congress more open & responsive. And it has - to Money, Lobbyists & Special Interests.
These activists ensure that the groups they represent are well taken care of in the federal budget & legal code. Well organized interest groups, no matter how small, - can ensure that government bends to their will. Reforms designed to produce majority rule have produced minority rule. “It isn’t that these groups don’t have a legitimate interest but they distort the process by wrangling over the smallest issues, leaving congress paralyzed & the public disgusted” (Sen. Bumpers).
As our government has become larger & more open, lobbyists have become Washington’s largest growth industry. In the mid ‘50's, there were 5,000 registered lobbyists, 10,000 in the ‘70's, 20,000 in the ‘90's. In 1979 there were 117 health groups in D.C., by ‘93 the number was seven times that. The rise of interest groups has made our government totally dysfunctional. D.C. is unable to trim, let alone eliminate - nearly any government program, no matter how obviously obsolete. Spending real money on new problems or opportunities in the U.S. has become close to impossible.
The industries, problems & opportunities of the future do not have lobbies ; Those of the past do. When government seems unable to apply reason or logic to it’s priorities & spending, people lose faith in it’s ability to solve new problems. We have evolved into a self-organizing structure 20% under control of politicians & voters and 80% under control of countless thousands of client groups. Any serious attempt at change produces instant well-organized opposition from the small minority who are hurt by it & these are the minority who really run Washington.
James Madison in his famous Federalist Paper 51, placed his faith in the size & complexity of America. Small factions wouldn’t be able to have their way because other factions (outnumbering them) would thwart them (He was wrong).
Take Cuba for instance - Obvious to most Americans, 30 years after the cold war, they realize Cuban Communism no longer possess even the remotest geopolitical threat to us. However, Anti-Castro Cuban Americans have controlled the issue because they live in two electorally significant states, (Florida & New Jersey). Thus a handful of Americans have been able to dictate American Foreign policy for decades.
Here’s something surprising - political parties do not really exist in America anymore. They have become so open and decentralized that nobody controls them. The party is , at most, a fund-raising vehicle for a telegenic candidate (Looks good on TV). The bullet that killed the American political party was the primary election. Choosing a candidate was the most important decision a party organization made.
Campaign finance reform has suffered the same problems. Now a candidate must spend and entire year before the election wooing “Masters of the Rolex” to find enough galas & breakfasts to get enough cash for a campaign.
The growth of referendums is another aspect of the disease. In 1960, there were 88 issues, by 2000, it had risen to 204. As a result, 85% of our California state budget is outside of the legislature or governor’s control. I guess that could be called “Government by the people”. But then, if that’s the case, why do we need a legislature?
One of the biggest problems Zakaria sees, is there is probably no way to get out of this mess. I’m afraid I agree with him on that score.
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