Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Political Reality String Theory

So I transcribed a number of notable quotes from Lou Dobbs book “Independent’s Day” and started adding some commentary. First I sorted Dobbs quotes into 5 or so categories and started looking at which I would comment on first. I had to add a category of sorts that I’ll call string theory. My first concern is the lamentable progress in the War on Drugs. I have 3 young kids and the prevalence of drugs is a serious concern to me as a parent. Following closely on the heels of the war on drugs is a concern for what I will call Disorderly Immigration (illegal only speaks to a small portion of the problem) followed by our disjointed Political Process aggravated by an overwhelming prospect of staggering national debt. The political string theory goes like this in my thinking tonight. The drug trade largely underwrites and necessitates illegal immigration of refugees from this war. Their trips are often subsidized and capitalized by acting as couriers of very harmful substances (far in excess of marijuana). And nothing productive will emerge in the foreseeable future because of the corporate shills on Capitol Hill namely the Democratic and Republican parties. And on that note I’ll quit for tonight—there isn’t much need to frill reality up with a bunch of fluff. We have serious problems to address. We need leaders to do it. And true leaders seldom emerge from the partisan cesspool of the GOP / DNC.
Out.
Randy

From Lou Dobbs “Independent’s Day”

As is often the case, the Bush administration and I don’t appear to be looking at the same statistics. Or perhaps we just have different concerns. Or perhaps I simply have an unrealistic expectation of what our government leaders’ responsibilities are to ensure all Americans “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” How can anyone of any ideology, political persuasion, or religion who claims to value each and every American and treasure his or her rights as citizens tolerate our government’s failure in the war on drugs? p. 188.

“The Democrats like eliminating the borders between the three countries because they see potential voters coming out of Mexico. The Republicans see benefits because big business, one of their big constituencies, sees cheap labor and resources from Mexico and even Canada to be exploited.
“So both parties, in other words, Lou, have a vested interest in keeping this all hushed up.” p. 167.

Five decades ago, there were only four congressional caucuses. Today there are approximately two hundred, most of which are dedicated solely to particular countries, regions, races, ethnicities, specific issues, and special interests. We should be better served if we rid Congress of these spurious and divisive caucuses that serve narrowly focused special interest groups and instead create the “We the People” Caucus. p. 163.


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