The Latest Polls

[MG]

I saw online tonight a press release by Rasmussen Polling, which bills itself as the most accurate and reliable polling organization in the galaxy (not sure where they come up with that assertion). According to them, the Senate races right now show 48 seats for the Dems and 48 for the Reps with 4 too close to call.

Well, I'm no pollster. Nor am I very good at prognostication (although I can generally tell you what tomorrow's weather is going to be like without consulting the forecast!   )  But the news suggests that the House is going over to the Dems and the Senate is going to be far more evenly divided than before.

I'm not sure what that means.   The Dems are just as bad as the Reps except they shed tears when they cut your heart out. The Reps stomp on it and laugh. What a country. I suppose if I had to assign a value to the Congress in terms of effectiveness and trustworthiness, I would have to employ negative numbers to convey my sentiments accurately.

Honesly now, how many people give two hoots and a holler WHAT happens next Tuesday?  Will it put any money in your pocket or change your daily life?  Other than providing fodder for the pundits, what else will be accomplished?

Speaking of pundits, how do you get one of those jobs? When I was a wee lad, and the adults always asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, one of the options was NOT "pundit."  And yet, I think I would be a very good pundit. I have a sharp tongue and a ready wit.  I have a ton of opinions that I am only to glad to share. I think I am fully qualified for a high paying job as an "analyst". Or perhaps I just need to SEE an analyst. 

Anyway, the door will be open if you want to come by and watch election results with me.  Its cheaper than the movies and, unlike fiction, the results will be beyond belief.  Fiction has to mimic reality or people won't buy into it. Reality has no such constraints. It can be as unrealistic as you can possibly imagine.

Vote early and often!   

[Rich]

Actually, around here the local election all the way to the gubernatorial (I've always thought we should call the guv'nor "guber," but that's another thread) has a great deal to do w/ my business and property personally.  Naturally, I'm watching those pretty closely and hoping for the best.  The worst case scenario hardly spells disaster, but there is definitely one side more favorable to "my" interest than the other.

Nationally, on the other hand, has just made me sick with the realization that one's as bad as the other when it comes to the (R) or (D) behind their names.  Don't see much more that could be going worse than it already has, however, so maybe that's the solace.

FWIW

r

[Ultra]

Honesly now, how many people give two hoots and a holler WHAT happens next Tuesday?  Will it put any money in your pocket or change your daily life?  Other than providing fodder for the pundits, what else will be accomplished?

Not me, no and not much.  I firmly believe the puppet show will continue no matter what I do in the private, adults only booth.  Hence, I shall spend my alone time here at home on Tuesday.  I have never been one to share my alone time in a public place. 

[MG]

maybe that's the solace.

You are easily solaced there amigo!   

[Rich]

My greatest sadness always occurs when I realize what we, as a country, could have been.

Lately, I find myself agreeing more and more with individuals who state that only radical circumstances will effect radical change.  Bill Maher recently touted some statistics concerning the U.S.' worldwide rankings on various educational, economical, and sociological variables.  Said statistics hardly support the oft-heard claim of the U.S. being "the greatest country in the world."  It seems that only a swift kick in the head to our populace will awaken same to the fact that we cannot war ourselves to greatness.  Greatness as a country requires individual sacrifice, intellectual reflection, social action, and prudent planning; pretty much the same elements that go into running a successful business, or at least an ethical one.

Strange that in my lifetime we've done a 180 from JFK's inaugral battle cry.  The cry of the new Amurrica:  Ask not what you can do for your country; Ask what your country can do for you.

Conservatism is dead.

[Ultra]

I pray that when radical change comes, it doesn't come for anyone in violence.  Other than that, I welcome and relish the thought of real change in the structure and operation of government within the borders of the United States of America.  I know in my heart that what once united all these states together is well and truly dead.   I think that idea is becoming more apparent to more people as time passes me by.  Possibly Rich might be needlessly lamenting what this country could have been.  I think it may well have fulfuilled its role in mankind's continued governmental evolution from tyranny of others to the actualization of the individual.  Perhaps we as citizens of this benchmark country in the history of our species lament that our country didn't live up to our own romantic notions of what we thought it could and should be.  Keep in mind we were all younger and more idealistic then.  This country is the first to succesfully create the idea in its citizens that the government is owned by the people.  Though that idea is dormant in much of this country now, it still truly is this countries greatest gift to mankind.  As horizontally organized social structures continue to replace the vertical structures of the past as models for the interaction of mankind within his society, the need for legalized force will continue to be obviated.  That, IMHO, is mankinds best hope for a peaceful tomorrow. 

[Rich]

Great post, C....

When you're German and from North Dakota, you've a tendency to be a bit pessimistic............

[Ultra]

Great post, C....

When you're German and from North Dakota, you've a tendency to be a bit pessimistic............

Its not the doom you see that focuses the mind, rather the sliver of light piercing the dark.

Look to the light.

[MG]

As horizontally organized social structures continue to replace the vertical structures of the past as models for the interaction of mankind within his society, the need for legalized force will continue to be obviated.

I would like to hear more on this theme as, at first blush, I do not see this occurring here at home or in the world. Perhaps I need more input.

I am confuzzled at the moment about whether to be optimistic or pessimistic. Cartainly, our country appears to be running off the rails. BUT....we still have the power of the voting booth.  That too is now under attack as electronic voting machines threaten to disenfranchise us all. After all, Josef Stalin said it best:  "Those who vote decide nothing. Those who COUNT the votes decide everything."  As I recall, that sentiment was NOT good news for Mother Russia.

The people who put our country together were damned smart when it came to understanding human nature. They KNEW that men tend to seek power more than money, or sex, or fame or position. From where I sit, it seems that the transfer of power from "the people" to the faceless few is just about complete.  Conspiracy theorists are usually dismissed as nut jobs and sent somewhere for "treatment."  Once again, Stalin was a leader in this concept, having consigned hundreds of thousands to "psychiatric facilities" - usually located in Siberia.   

In my mind, what we need is not a violent revolution but a re-ordering of procedures.  Across the hal;, Meteorite has just posted an excellent compare and contrast piece on the American and Canadian political process. Not to say that Canada is some sort of Nirvana, politically, but many of their practices make far more common sense than ours.  Allow me to share his thoughts with you:

Move to Canada.

Anywhere in the country that you live you get at least three major national parties to vote for, or independents, or Green if you want to waste your vote "significantly". In Quebec you are offered another extra choice which significant number of electors favour.

This tends to resut in a "pizza Parliament" where no one party has a secure majority, so the wild ideas mostly get voted down and out - if the minority governing party dares risk an upset by introducing them in the first place. If the government loses a confidence vote, it is autoatically dismissed.

Elections can't be bought. Fundamentally, individuals can contribute to campaigns, but organizations, businesses, or unions may not. Spending is capped nationally and in each constituency.

Pressure groups - PACs or under other names (think tanks, etc.) risk their tax deductability if they indulge in partisan advertising of any sort in the election period.

The media can be as biased as anywhere, but with a very non-partisan fully national public radio and television network holding them up to comparison and account, their misbehaviours get embarrassingly documented and very widely exposed very quickly.

The national temperament, for whatever reason, responds very negatively to attack ads.

Paradise? Yeah, about as nice and orderly and functional as the governments of Britain, France, Italy, even Israel for that matter. 

The same collections of con artists, glamour boys, con men, bitches and sons of bitches get elected. But, because they and their government can be tossed out of office at any time, and because they actually have to deal with real people to get elected (they can spend only restricted money from restricted sources, see above) they tend to be and stay rather more responsive to the electors.

Won't say it works, but it does work better than the setup you're all bitching about.

Our "first past the post, winner take all" election process is a major component in promoting this dysfunctional government process we have.  So is our "two sides of the same coin" alleged two party system.

But probably the MOST dangerous trend in American politics today is the toxic, scorched earth tactics introduced by Lee Atwater and brought to the fore by Newt Gingrich.  We simply cannot continue to lambast each other and tune out anyone who doesn't agree with us.  There USED to be a tradition of giving the opposition a respectful hearing. No more. Now, anyone who dares to object is hammered into submission by a VERY sophisticated assemblage of spin doctors.

I cannot stress how strongly I believe that Neil Postman's "Amusing Ourselves To Death - Public Discourse In The Age of Television" is a primer on just how much the political tectonic plates shifted in 1960 during the Nixon Kennedy debates. Absent television, Nixon probably would have won. And I do NOT argue that there was anything wrong with the fact that Kennedy won. I merely offer the suggestion that from that point forward, the trend in this country has been AWAY from reason and rationality - the province of the printed word - and TOWARD emotion and shoot from the lip thinking. Television may well have caused the death of the "philosopher kings" way of thinking. And after all, weren't those who gathered in  Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention as close to our own collection of philosopher kings as the young country could muster at that time?

The Age of Reason is dead. The Age of Passion is upon us. The framers of the Constitution were deathly afraid of the mob rule that comes with pure democracy.  It appears, from current events, that mob rule is the wave of the future and that those wise men had every reason to fear the passionate tides of "the people".


Red States? Blue States? Who the fuck woulda thunk that we would be dumb enough to fall for that trick?  But we have, lock, stock and barrel.  Anti-intellectualism is rampant across the land. People who think are considered dangerous. Better we should just talk to God and follow his advice rather than resort to history or critical thinking.

Okay, I am REALLY depressed now.  Think I'll go check the water level in my hookah.   

[Ultra]

This link wil help you to understand how I feel about the "power of the voting booth."   

http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php?topic=483.0

Just as water can be dammed up for only so long until it either bursts through or circumvents the structure kept in its way, life energies will continue to seek their expression. To the extent a civilization welcomes such expression, it will prosper and extend its beneficent influences to the rest of mankind. Indeed, in recent decades, Western society has been exhibiting a sufficient resiliency to overcome many of the institutionalizing tendencies of a pyramidally-structured world. Organizations have been moving from systems of centralized, vertical authority, to decentralized horizontal networks. The pyramid has been collapsing in favor of what I call a holographic organizational model, wherein authority is distributed throughout the system rather than concentrated at the top.

Well-managed business firms now recognize the greater productivity and profitability of having increased decision-making decentralized into the hands of employees. Alternative health care, educational, religious, and dispute resolution systems have been challenging the Kafkaesque bureaucratic structures of the institutional order. The recent proliferation of private schools and homeschooling reflect such transformations. The Internet, and other computerized technologies, have decentralized the flow of information, as well as banking and other business practices.

These decentralizing changes have been occurring in the political realm as well, with the collapse of the Soviet Union providing the most vivid example. Secession movements are challenging centralized political authority in cities and countries throughout the world. The erstwhile solidity of a mass-minded culture – exemplified in the phrase e pluribus unum – has centrifuged into numerous hyphenated identities based upon race, gender, religion, nationality, or lifestyles of various groups.

Our current social and political disharmony has been brought on by an exaggerated commitment to the vertical structuring of society – under the micromanaged direction of a central state authority. Thus, one approach to reorganization might involve the decentralization of political power back to the level of individual states. Under this possibility, "America" might return to a system akin to the "Articles of Confederation," a model that has served Switzerland well for many years. The growing interest in political secession may presage such a change.

Another possibility would be for a fundamental transformation to replace the formal, vertically-structured, coercive political systems with more informal, horizontally-networked systems grounded in voluntary relationships among individuals and associations. It is conceivable that this second condition might evolve, later, from the first confederation model.

The demise of the Soviet Union was the first major victim of the arrogance of centrally-directed authority. I also believe that the United States will likewise succumb to the fatal virus of coercive bigness as the European Union already is facing..  As I see it we are now merely in the throes of the expansion/collapse.

[MG]

OK. I understand your point better now.  The access to information has always been one of the attributes of power. By making information available in a widely distributed fashion on the internet, we are empowering those who previously were denied access to this information. But we are, at the same time, taking power away from those who have enjoyed it so far.  People who have power are pretty damn prickly about giving it up, which may help to explain some of the current tussles over control of the internet. You can be sure that those with power are pretty damn anxious to figure out how to control this new technology to bolster their control before it destroys them.

With all due respect, I think your ideas about a shift to horizontal systems is partly wishful thinking. I agree that the traditional, monolithic, vertical structure is stultifying, limits creative ideas, and discourages innovation.  Perhaps returning power to the states would make a good foundation for a new political organization. Perhaps we could entitle it The Nullification Party!?!?!

At the begining of the internet age, there was great excitement about how the technology could FINALLY unleash true democracy by making it possible for all citizens to participate in some sort of electronic version of the old New England town meeting. So far, that hasn't happened, and I suspect that those presently controlling our affairs are doing everything in their power (which is considerable) to make sure it DOESN'T happen.

One thing many of us agree on is that our present system of government is irretrievably broken and fragile to the point that a small shove may send it crashing to the ground.  Some think that cataclysmic event will take place on Tuesday.  One can only hope, huh?   

[Ultra]

With all due respect, I think your ideas about a shift to horizontal systems is partly wishful thinking.

Monarchies, serfs and slaves everywhere these days.   

The evolution of the governance of mankind to more horizontally oriented structures is documented throughout history.  That very evolution can be thanked for the creation and development of this country and the ideas it is based on.  It doesn't happen quickly, but it does happen.  Your impatience for it won't bring it about any quicker.   

[MG]

I want it and I want it NOW, dammit!!!!   

[Otto Puzzell]

Well, let's see...

The Iraq fiasco ends when the next Congress is sworn in; that's a given. 

One thing I know will happen - we will have a roll-bak of tax cuts, so 'rich' folks like me can get back to paying our 'fair share'. 

What do you wanna bet Congress never get around to rolling back the wire-tapping and other such crap they've been party to in the last 6 years. 

[Rich]

I wouldn't take that bet....remember reading somewhere that there's never been a case (outside of pure revolution) of a freedom being reinstated after it's been rescinded......

[MG]

Aw, geeze, Rich. We still have all our freedoms just like back in 1789, 'cept now you have to take off your shoes and your belt and present a digitized photo ID with your blood type, current medications and your "terrorist assessment index" as assigned by a really spiffy computer in Assington. I don't know what you are bitching about.

Some people are never sastisfied.

{PS>  I once knew a nice hispanic lady who used to add a few "esses" to her speach, as Spanish speakers are prone to do. She once told me that some people are never sastisfied and it has stuck with me ever since.  She called me EssSteve and drove her car EssStraight up EssSmith EssStreet. it has become sort of a family joke around here.}