OT-The End of Senator Hatch? Lets Hope

The Fed intentionally crashed the entire stock market under his Presidency and wiped out millions of pension plans.

Reply to
Jerry Irvine
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zoot wrote in news:p242tvgjbk1l6qbur9q689vcjf5l740kr1@

4ax.com:

Reputedly, his army driver. Seriously. Her name was Kate Sommersby.

len.

Reply to
Leonard Fehskens

They left that little tid bit out of my 8th grade history book. ; )

Randy

Reply to
Randy

Have to agree with you there - there's no vision any more, in general... politics these days is more about partisanship for its own sake than anything.

-dave w

Reply to
David Weinshenker

Sad... but seemingly true.

Randy

Reply to
Randy

Isn't that actionable?

Reply to
Jerry Irvine

Reminds me of a recent action on r.m.r.

The problems with Congress and the political system are, IMHO, symptoms of the real disease. Zoot alluded to it and the real question is, "What DO politicians care about?" As Dave points out, it does not concern visions nor the Big Picture.

I mean, this political crap has been going on since day two in every government that ever formed. Founders are usually seen to have been visionaries of some type. Not always "good", mind you, but at least capable of implementing their vision. Statesmen. (Even despots need a support group.)

The lesser men that follow usually gunk the works up. Loosing sight of and interest in the original vision, they change priorties and mutate the structure and interrelationships within the vision; after a while the basis of the original vision is lost and what made it successful in the first place no longer applies. What you are left with may, or may not, support a "new vision". Any number of reasons are given to justify this course as the politicians proceed along their merry way. Factions necessarily develop. (A little opposition is needed to provide control and restoring signals in a feedback loop - my technician's evaluation of "checks and balances")

The "Patriot Act", for instance (although it is by no means the worst example). When we need to limit the fundamental precepts of the original vision for America (Constitution), what does that say? Either the original vision was flawed in the first place. Or, the precepts of the original vision contradict the precepts of the "current vision".

Change is the only constant in the world. Governments need to adapt without simply discarding the vision which established them in the first place. There are costs (a very apropos analogy for America) in relation to one vision as compared to another. You pay those costs, or you change visions. It requires statesmen and visionaries to consider the merits of doing either, or both. Currently, IMO, we have neither. People, generally, have respect for those whom we call the "Founding Fathers"; they successfully implemented a vision. Today, "politician" is a word used to describe someone you cannot trust, someone who could not stick to a principle or belief to save it's undisciplined life.

We (the masses) implicitly, if not explicitly, understand and recognize the negative effects of "politicians" running our government, but routinely elect them to office and waste time justifying, hence acknowledging, our poor choices after the fact.

Solutions or answers? Maybe, impose some job qualifications for holding office? Its done everywhere else in America, why not for the most important jobs in the country? Specify a degree requirement. Make previous local/state experience a requirement. Make two digit IQ a minimum requirement. Give em a qualification exam. Something. Something to demonstrate a talent or propensity for service other than having more money or a better smile than the next guy. You are more apt to receive support in an election by demonstrating a willingness to compromise than by adhering to principle(s), even fundamental democratic and Constitutional ones. The public is demonstrably incapable of electing statesmen to office, which, I believe, dissuades potential statesmen from even running for office. Therefore, we need to narrow and improve the pool of candidates. If I knew how, I'd propose an actual idea. The Republic is structured to express the will of the majority. Currently, we either get what we actually want and deserve in elected officials, or, as I can only hope, we simply get the relative best out of an overall poor selection.

Reply to
Gary

Even our founding fathers had trouble with these tendencies, see for example the saga of the Alien and Sedition acts of 1798:

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I think setting up more hoops to jump through for elected office and even term limits are misplaced treatments of symptoms. IMO the fault really lies with the electorate forgetting who is in charge. Until we all accept responsibility and act accordingly the system will continue to decay.

Brad Hitch

Reply to
Brad Hitch

snipped-for-privacy@tda.com (Brad Hitch) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com:

I think the electorate knows who's in charge. The problem is that they fall into two classes; those who believe the promises made by demonstrated liars and re-elect them, and those who know they'll be lied to and don't see any point in electing anyone.

len.

Reply to
Leonard Fehskens

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