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spacer.gif   Society and Politics: Where are the Republican Options?
Posted by : bob on Saturday, December 19, 2009 - 09:40 PM
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  Society and Politics
1098 Reads

I received a call from a close friend the other day. After "catching up", he shifted to the reason behind his call. He and his wife were bothered by the debate on health care. Knowing that I was involved with the Republican Party, he called to express his concerns.

His concerns were simple. In all of the reports on the Health Care debate, he did not see a true debate. He heard over and over that the Republicans were against the bill, but silence when it came to Republican commentary as to what alternatives they were proposing.

Discussing this concern with his wife and coworkers, they summarized their position with two questions;
  1. If Republicans believe there isn't a problem with Health Care, then they need to show why they are taking that position.
  2. If the Republicans acknowledge that there is a problem with Health Care, then they need to present counter proposals on how to help deal with those problems.

Since I agree with his assessment, it is my intention to ask these questions on as many forums and mail lists as possible, until I can get a clear answer to present to him.




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spacer.gif   Society and Politics: Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy
Posted by : bob on Tuesday, October 06, 2009 - 10:44 PM
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  Society and Politics
1425 Reads

Noted author Jerry Pournelle coined the following:

In any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children, vs. union representative who work to protect any teacher including the most incompetent. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions.

That sure describes what I've been seeing these days in many organizations, private and public.

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spacer.gif   Society and Politics: The Role of Government
Posted by : bob on Sunday, September 06, 2009 - 11:24 PM
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  Society and Politics
959 Reads

Recently, Clint Reilly posted a message in his blog about how he came to hold his positions. The thing that struck me was that he was really co-mingling two things.

His final point in the article, which I can agree with, was "I believe strongly that government is the sole institution large and formidable enough to protect the interests of people who lack the money and power to promote their agenda." To me, that is one of government's important roles. Namely, to be a referee, defending those who cannot defend themselves, leveling the playing field to ensure balanced competition and to ensure that no one is cheating.

However, his confusion is found in an earlier statement. "... government can improve lives, drive progress and increase the odds that average people will get a fair shake."

Click for the rest of the article

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spacer.gif   Society and Politics: Extraordinary Rendition
Posted by : bob on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 02:33 AM
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  Society and Politics
886 Reads

Extraordinary rendition is the CIA activity of "transferring" or "flying captured terrorist suspects from one country to another for detention and interrogation" without the benefit of "formal legal proceedings." Below is a link to a clip from a TV show that explorers the morality behind these types of actions. By behaving without honor, we have given our enemies permission to behave in the same manner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5l3g2d3qf0

[Click Title to Continue]



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spacer.gif   Society and Politics: In Political Protests, Things Might Actually Be What They Appear To Be!
Posted by : bob on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 01:48 AM
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  Society and Politics
889 Reads

There has been a lot written in the papers lately about the anti-health care protestors. On Sunday, August 23rd alone, you had “Race takes center stage” [Mike Swift and Josh Richman, PageA1], “Drowning out the health care debate” [Mike Cassidy, SJ Mercury News, 23 Aug. 09, Page E1] and multiple letters and editorials on A14 and A15.

What none of these seem to address clearly is why are these people so angry. They came the closest in “Race takes center stage”. After describing Ex-Marine Jack Burke's reactions, they summarized his feelings as, “The retiree said it all felt so wrong, so contrary to how he was raised.” But, they again returned to describing the anger in the crowds and again missed the reasons.

[click title to continue]

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If we set up a system that is optimized for surveillance, this government may not and probably won't use it. But then another government comes to power, one that sees the potential to use their 'keys' to destroy their opponents. It could be the last government we ever elect.

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