Why Politicians Deserve No Credit

The sage insight and wisdom provided this week by recognized leaders from both the Republican and Democratic parties will be tossed aside by the self-absorbed politicians striving to enshrine themselves as demigods of their respective political philosophies. While it is more indirect, assessing the position that Tea Party members would take is likely to place them at immoveable odds with key aspects of the guidance being offered as the life-saving medicine for our nation. For a party that advocates fiscal responsibility, I suspect that in their heart-of-hearts tea party members mean they want to have what they want, and they want it now; but they don’t want to have to be held responsible for anything. Particularly they won’t be accountable for what they benefitted from in the past that they never paid for. You can hardly blame these weak-tea patriots, they have only recently been required to face the facts or consequences of their inattentive lifestyles. And even here, they managed to turn their mind’s eye inward on a utopian view of their future, where they expect anyone who is willing to lie to them to fix everything by promising to go forth and do what they want as long as it doesn’t affect anything that they see as good for them.

Who are the enablers of these irresponsible Lazarus-es of the American “Do Nothing” party? They are our politicians! Be they Democrat, be they Republican, or be they Tea Partyites or any other fractal variant of a party; these media crafted, sound-bite limited, issue distorting, bloviating sychophants are the bane of our democracy. These politicians always have the solution but never deliver it. They always promise to restore America to its rightful place in the world, but seem to do everything in their power to diminish, degrade and debase the vitality of America and its values.

Every politician in office today and those shortly to join the ranks of the incredibly incompetent will continue to avoid their primary responsibility; they will evade their responsibility for protecting the nation as obligated by their oath of office. The country is in debt. For decades politicians, particularly Congressional politicians, have been the sole builders of the debilitating debt deadfall that increasingly threatens America’s very way of life. Our politicians have done this by actively and knowingly passing budgets and legislation that either directly incurs greater debt or by ignoring the existing debt as if there were no consequences.

So let’s continue to follow these lackluster leaders and their new band of latter-day lackeys in pursuing the preservation of tax-cuts for everyone; thus advancing the day that crushes everyone under the uber-deficit created by their selfish partisans pandering to their respective special interests parasites. But since tax-cuts won’t pay off our debt, this chest thumping exhibition is just another log thrown onto the deficit deadfall we all get to enjoy when the trap collapses.

We certainly cannot depend on our political leaders, and extending them the country’s line of credit is just repeating the same act over again, and hoping for a different outcome. Yes, just going more insane.

If only there were an American value that we could live by, or some example from our history that illustrated the collective sacrifice that Americans made to protect the nation from destruction and preserve our principle of freedom, or even some document that provides some guidance that “as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness”. But we would appear to be devoid of any such lessons from our past that might illuminate a fiscally responsible path we must find to escape this labyrinth of self-imposed liabilities.

After Stand Up Comes What Again? – American Intelligence Test #8

The mid-term elections have come and gone, and the world (more precisely the world-view) has turned upside down for many folks. The Democrats have lost their unilateral partisan initiative in Congress. The Republican elite have lost their established internal party leadership control. The Tea Party has gone from “I’am not going to take it anymore!”protester status to student drivers of the family car. And Independent voters have affirmed that they don’t like either party (or any party if you consider the Tea Party other than a sub-species of Republican) and want to kick out the current contenders for most egregious Congressional incompetents of the moment.

Now will this reconstituted amalgam of extreme positionists accompanied by a sprinkling of moderates and a couple of independents be able to address and more critically solve the core problems facing America? Before you think you have the answer, it’s test time. To solve these problems even the best and brightest of these dullards require the same thing that the worst and dimmest ideologue would require to solve these problems; and now you have our test.

Scoring is your responsibility to assess. As always a willingness to deceive yourself, as to the correctness of your answers or beliefs, is just another measure of the actual intelligence being measured. To paraphrase Lincoln:

Some of us can fool ourselves all of the time, and all of us can fool ourselves some of the time, but all of us can not fool ourselves all of the time.

The opportunity to fail is at hand.

Question 1: What is the most important issue that must be addressed if America is to guarantee its future as a free, democratic and competitive world-class society?

A. Taxes B. Gov’t Spending C. Deficit D. Education. E. Employment

Question 2: Does reducing taxes guarantee that the economy will improve?

Yes No

Question 3: The Government cannot create jobs?

True False

Question 4: American’s tax rates are ____

A. to high B. to low C. appropriate D. a choice

Question 5: Who benefited from creating the American deficit?

A. Government bureaucracy

B. Wealthy class (say over $1M/year)

C. Middle class

D. Poor and welfare state

E. Industrial/Military complex

F. Everyone

The Critical Question X: What is the only rational, logical and acceptable requirement for addressing America’s top problem?

A. Reduce taxes B. Reduce spending C. both A & B D. there is no problem E. Pay off the debt

That’s it, you are done, and you can now decide if you scored high, low or in the middle. For anyone with an interest, here are the/my answers.

1: C    2: No    3: False    4: D     5: F     X: E

The problem is that our politicians, bureaucrats, special interest lobbyists and stupidly ourselves agreed to go into debt. We choose to indebt ourselves at any price rather than stand up and be responsible for our country and democracy. We ignore that our Constitution gave the responsibility for Federal spending to Congress, and we naively not only listen to but we believe (actually believe) politicians.

Can a people that stupid, that unprincipled, that devoid of the American values of our founding fathers have a chance at preserving our life, liberty and happiness? Naaa! Let’s fight about Constitutional Originalism.

Let’s Try Something Different – Smart Politicians

Many Americans are confronted with a persistent, periodic and pernicious problem: who to vote for. Most of those assailed by this dilemma of choosing between the lesser of two evils are non-aligned Independent voters. Although there are even some amongst the ranks of the Democratic and Republican parties’ faithful, that actually think before they vote, that are just as confounded and perplexed about whom to support.

There are a number of reasons contributing to this consternation of the electorate, not limited to: distortions and lies in negative campaign ads; pathetic and paltry attempts by the news media to scrutinize the campaigns of either encumbering party; or the enfeebled, addle pated, and intellectually challenged candidates. With this dearth of worthy aspirants to the highest offices of our nation, we can hardly blame the majority of Americans from being disenchanted with the choices they must make among the insipid and misguided standard-bearers of their respective parties.

While it is far too late in this election period to seek out better choices, to quest for worthier representatives; perhaps there is a lesson to be gained from the bleak political landscape we travel. After our populace is plagued by the consequences wrought by these legislative mites, and their myopic societal visions weave their defective governmental fabric; we will have the opportunity viewing the on-going travesty as our American tapestry unravels into another season of self-serving, special interest driven, unreasoned congressional misrepresentation. Whether the Democrats retain majorities in the House and/or Senate, or the Republicans gain a plurality in either; the vitriolic and divisive uncompromising posturing of each partisan tribe will ensure that the American people will be disregarded in favor of power politics and extremist policies. From this corrosive and poisonous atmosphere, our citizenry must find an antidote to this dysfunctional dichotomy of a free society where neither the left nor the right seems to comprehend the basic principles our Founding Fathers conceived of in the establishment of our constitutional democracy.

Recognizing the need for a rebirth of American values in our government, our politicians and particularly our political parties; the independent voters of America, who control the outcome of our elections, need to look for candidates that are worthy of their votes. When polled prior to the elections, if neither party’s candidate measures up then they need to say they will choose from an alternative party but not the Democratic or Republican incompetents endorsed by the cultish rabble of their respective party members. There is only one way to evolve these pandering parties into organizations that strive to serve the American people, and that is to apply the ‘survival of the fittest’ principle to them. The Parties can adapt and respond to the needs of the independent voters; or they can go the way of other dead-end organisms unable to meet the challenges of their new environment.

What qualities should we seek in viable political candidates? Well, if you were hiring someone to work for you in a position that required sound and reasoned judgment, and who was going to determine how to establish the approaches that we would follow to achieve our common interests and goals; then I would advocate that you look for someone who you think is actually smarter than you are. What business man would consciously hire someone for such a job that they think is less qualified than they themselves would be? Would you really want someone who is just able to understand the world and issues as well as yourself? If so, then you have the results of your criteria. The lagging economy, the loss of status and prestige in the world, the deterioration of our national infrastructure, and the decline in America’s standard of living are the fruits of your quality of leaders.

To return America to a strong, vibrant and prospering society we need leaders with sufficient knowledge to know what they do not understand, to see the errors of their (and their parties’ past), and to put the interest of the country and its people before their own. In other words, we need politicians that are nothing like the kind we have today. We need persons who can speak intelligently and meaningfully about the issues that confront us, and not that can barely nor accurately recite the meaningless sound-bite of the day given them by their handlers. We need American leaders, not the Democratic and Republican sophists we are shackled with intent on following some self-delusional path to paradise. In truth, we need the ‘best and brightest’ from amongst us to step up to the task of dealing with our real problems and in protecting our rights and freedom from those who would limit them.

Our nation was founded upon the exceptional efforts that our forefathers made; it will not be preserved by the mundane squabbling of politicians bought and paid for by the highest bidders.

Who Knows How To Create Jobs: Democrats or Republicans?

Come on! You had to know the answer to this one. Who has a better broad, in-depth and sound understanding of the economic factors that create jobs? Who has the experience and real-world knowledge of business and job creation? Who would you turn to to formulate a national strategy for revitalizing employment in the United States?

The answer, of course, is that both Democrats and Republicans are completely unqualified, clueless and delusional about their individual partisan approaches to what will create jobs in America. Both parties, particularly their leadership, are career politicians who barely understand what an economy is, let alone how to guide one. As politicians they are philosophically and intellectually unprepared to address the issues and problems that have to be confronted in a competitive and capitalistic economy.

So as we approach the mid-term elections with the economy and jobs as two of the front-runner issues, the public will be bombarded with political ads, speeches and talk-show discussions about how their opponents’ plans are misguided and inadequate to dealing with these issues. We may even hear every now and then about how they will however work to bring jobs back.

None of them will tell you however that a Government, neither Republican nor Democrat, actually create jobs; at least not jobs that are self-sustaining. You don’t get a robust and resilient economy and jobs environment because of what the Government chooses to do. At best a Government can take actions to minimize the negative consequences of bad economic conditions, to the best of their abilities (which of course if one of our problems); and all too often the Government will take actions that will actually harm the economy (thought that of course was “not their intention”).

After all, if the Government could fix an economic downturn or crisis, you have to ask yourself: How did the Government allow the problem to get to the point required to become a problem? But you don’t have to ask yourself this question: Hasn’t the Government been doing things (or not doing things) for years that contributed to the problems that we are suffering for now and have suffered for many times before? And haven’t both Democratic and Republican parties been the “leaders” that have cast the stones into the waters that are now inundating us today?

Here is the question that your preferred politician should answer for you: If small businesses create the most jobs in our economy (which I hear they do), what is the critical and essential requirement for them to be successful in terms of the US economy?

Oh, and if the answer you get is either a tax-cut (or relief) or easy access to capital then you are still dealing with a politician who doesn’t know.

Where Is Divine Guidance? The Mosque Controversy at Ground-Zero

What we have here is a failure to find divine guidance, heavenly inspiration or spiritual revelation. You would think that with all the different religious groups contributing to the controversy over the proposed Ground-Zero mosque that someone amongst the rabble would have seen the opportunity rather than the conflict. Surely somewhere in the tenets of their numerous faiths that, at least in one, there is some authoritative source that provides them with instructions on how to approach problems in their lives. Some principles to apply when there is a conflict that they need to deal with.

Wait! Perhaps it is not reasonable to expect the faithful of any of these religious groups to be knowledgeable practitioners of their faith’s orthodoxy or understand the practical application of their beliefs to real world situations. If only we had some recognized leaders or teachers of these faiths, or individuals that hold some authoritative position or standing within their respective communities involved in discussions and negotiations of the issues then we might hope for wise and sage guidance. I am not sure, but I do believe I have seen one or two acknowledged religious leaders attempting to weigh in on this issue. And thus with such knowledgeable spiritual leaders, particularly with their prayers and meditations on the dilemma confronting them, certainly we will see the wisdom of their faith illuminated in their comprehensive solution to the conflict.

After all, I would expect something much better than the trite and hackneyed positions offered by every media outlet, news anchor and politician salivating over the attention that they can glean from this strife-ridden conflict. The defense of religious freedom is a salient argument and position, but not exactly inspired. Most American’s of any religious or non-religious orientation know about the principle of freedom of religion; even if a surprisingly large number of them don’t seem to be able to apply the principle to anyone but themselves.

Religious tolerance is yet another argument put forth by some among the chosen, but clearly sprouting more from our traditional American values than a illuminating blessed vision from above. Not exactly the making of a new parable teaching the multitude or the faithful about the wisdom of the Almighty.

We even have the business moguls, diplomatic gurus and political luminaries offering to arrange for an exchange of site locations to alleviate the ire of the self-righteous hate and fear-mongers and to assuage the affront to the Islamic community of being ostracized. There is no indication whatsoever in the different versions of these proposals of a divine revelation toward a solution to the problem.

I just can’t believe that none of the leaders and representatives of the religious communities have even received a glimps of inspired insight about the opportunity presented by this conflict. That they are allowing the moment to slip away to demonstrate the bounteous rewards and blessings that their spiritual beliefs and principles gain for them, if only followed in the here and now.

Well there is still time. Perhaps a favored one will open themselves to the power of their God and hear the small gentle whisper that forces open the gate obstructing the way to paradise. Just make that simple choice to ask, “What can we do here to turn this turmoil of anger into a triumph of understanding?” With just a little thought, a little thinking out-side the box, a little opening of their own hearts, and a little faith in their Faiths; someone will surely find at least the mustard seed from which a powerful solution can grow. I suppose I could offer a hint, but then I think I have.

Burning Quran is to American Values, as Protesting Building a Mosque is to ___?

“As you sow, so shall you reap.” One of those often quoted sage insights into life that we rarely attend to because it is clearly too simple to be actually valid. Of course the same sages who would offer that advise would also council you that “to fail to learn the lessons of history will doom you to repeat them.” It makes you wonder what one can and should learn from our cultural legacies whether religious, political or societal.

Consider the Florida minister that plans to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack. What lessons has he learned from his religious background? Does his proposed action of burning another religion’s authoritative text spring forth from any particular biblical text or Christian principle? Surely burning a religious text is what we would expect from the teaching to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, or to “judge not, least you be judge”. But I am having difficulty reconciling his logic in connecting the “What would Jesus do?” test to assessing the righteousness of his position. And you have to wonder, even if the minister forgot to ask himself this question, did every member of his congregation also fail to see a lapse in the Christian values judgment that his decision suggests? Not clear that the minister has learned from his Christian faith much about how to treat others with humanity, charity or kindness.

But perhaps the minister is reacting from the teachings of his political milieu, from an American values tradition. Burning the Qurans would be protected by our American value in defending our freedom of speech or expression; however, while this value grants us the right to do such things the burning of books is certainly not viewed as an action that in any sense defends this right. And burning a religious text because you don’t approve of the religion yourself is not an action that supports or defends our right to religious freedom and tolerance. I suppose that here again members of his congregation can clearly explain how this event will bring honor or pride to their group even while they will have failed to live up to those American values that are so connected to preserving the freedoms our nation was founded to insure.

This leaves the minister with acting according to current social mores where hate and fear are common motivations for engaging in any number of behaviors. Now here we have a justification for his approach. In his narrow and primitive view that anyone who does not belong to his clan is a threat he is lead to take some offensive action that will cause them to be driven off. This reaction of hate and fear for anyone outside their own group is not uncommon in our country today. It resonates with the our political parties’ inability to work together, to find common cause, to compromise to achieve something of value for the public good, or to place country before party.

If the minister is wrong to burn the Quran based on any Christian, American or humanitarian value even though he lives in a society that recognizes his right to do so and will defend that right; then what do we conclude from efforts to stop a mosque being built ‘too near’ to the 9/11 Ground Zero site? Which American value is not betrayed in the case of the mosque that we see as being besmirched by burning Qurans?

Elections and the Economy – American Intelligence Test #7

Worried about the economy, concerned about your job, despairing over unemployment; then certainly you know what you need to do in the upcoming elections. At least this would be the conclusion one might reach in listening to the news anchors and political talking heads and wonks. But of course, what is obvious and patently clear to those with common sense and conventional wisdom need not be connected to reality nor demonstrate a modicum of wisdom or a smidgen of sound judgment. So what we have here friends and neighbors is another chance to gauge the vox populi’s intellectual gravitas.

The test format is just five questions plus a bonus question, and in some instances commentary to place a particular context to the question. Following the questions, I provide my answers. However you don’t use my answers as a guide to correctness. Your score is your responsibility to assess. A willingness to deceive yourself, as to the correctness of your answers or beliefs, is just another measure of the actual intelligence being measured. To paraphrase Lincoln:

Some of us can fool ourselves all of the time, and all of us can fool ourselves some of the time, but all of us can not fool ourselves all of the time.

Prepare yourself to be employed in a brief endeavor.

Q 1: Which political party is primarily responsible for the current economic environment?

Democratic Republican Neither Both Other

Context: Your answer should be able to withstand the ‘test of time’, it should encompass governmental actions and decisions over the last twenty, thirty or more years. In essence, it did not take just one or two years to get to where we are.

Q 2: Which political party’s policies and principles are best suited to deal with the current economy and restore the country to a sound prosperity?

Democratic Republican Neither Both Other

Context: Your answer should account for what a given party actual did when they were in power or not and not just what they said they were going to do when they were pandering for you vote.

Q 3: Which governmental action(s) are most likely to solve the problems in our economy?

  A. Tax cuts

  B. Stimulus packages

  C. Infrastructure projects

  D. Federal Deficit reduction

  E. Government spending reductions

  F. Reform Foreign Trade policy

  G. Reform government bureaucracy

Q 4: After the election, how quickly can the government turn the economy around?

  A. Within 1 year

  B. 2 to 3 years

  C. 4 to 5 years

  D. Over 5 years

  E. Never

Q 5: Who has the most power to address and solve the nation’s economic woes?

  A. Presidency – the administration

  B. Congress – the legislative body

  C. You – the public

  D. Financial industry – banking and investment companies

  E. None of the above

Context: The power to control something necessitates the possession of the means to affect change and the ability to enforce adherence.

The Critical Bonus Question: During the upcoming political campaign which of these issues will be most important to your choice of candidate(s)?

  A. Tax cuts

  B. Education

  C. Immigration

  D. Family Values

  E. Jobs Creation

  F. Deficit reduction

  G. None of the above

Ding! Times up. You’re done, and you can now evaluate if you scored high, low or in the middle. For those with an interest, here are my answers.

1: B   Both parties have eagerly created their contributions to the economic policies and structures that have culminated in our current distressed conditions.

2: N   The parties only have policies and principles that they espouse often and loudly, especially during their campaigns; but neither appears to understand that they have to build upon and be held accountable for delivering on those policies and principles for them to even have a chance of mattering. And more importantly, they have to acknowledge and accept responsibility for the failure of their efforts when they have demonstrated that they did not understand or appreciate the consequences of their actions.

3: C,D,F   These activities come the closest to positive initiatives that the government could engage in to help the economy; but these items don’t directly address the underlying factors that cause our economic problems. The other items on the list can help treat the symptoms but are not agents to cure the economy.

4: E   The government can’t actually fix the economy, the best that they can hope to do is to provide stabilizing actions to help contain the extent that the economy goes completely off the rails. So the government can never deliver the turn around, no matter how much time you allow them to stumble around trying.

5: C   The economy is a product of the public’s behavior. “You reap what you sow” comes to mind. To add to those direct responsibilities that you need to own up to, the extent that the government contributes to the solution or the problem is derived from your choices anyway. See Question 1.

Bonus: G    If you haven’t figured it out by now, the items in the list are not solutions. They are just political bait dangled before you to tempt you into swallowing the hook. If your candidate cannot clearly explain how they will implement a policy or program that will address any of those slogan issues and then explain clearly how that will produce a positive effect on the economy then welcome to the cook-out, you will be served up for dinner shortly.

You don’t have to care about this test or your view of my answers. But you are about to take a test that you won’t be able to shrug off, whether you pass it or fail it. The election doesn’t give you as many choices for each question, and it doesn’t give you any latitude in the consequences resulting from your choices. You will get what you asked for; because the reality of the world is that for every action/cause there is a reaction/effect.