jaebrysonblog

A joke: A grocery clerk is approached by a big, strapping Texan in the produce section, who says: "Son, I want to buy me half a head of lettuce. Can you help me?" The young clerk, who knows the store only sells full heads of lettuce, replies. "Just a second, I'll be right back." And, he heads off to the employee section, but unbeknownst to him, he has the big Texan right behind. As soon as the door shuts behind the both of them, he shouts out to his friend, "Lou! Some idiot Texan wants to buy half a head of lettuce!" Before he can laugh about it, he sees that his friend is looking over his shoulder at something; he turns around and sees the big Texan.

..." and this fine gentleman wants to buy the other half," he adds.

In my opinion, the clerk's fast thinking is pretty much the daily strategy for the federal government and increasingly, local and state governments: make fun of the rank and file until you're busted and then vamp your ass off.

It's grown to such an artform, this lack of respect for the electorate, that I'm not sure Harriet Miers was ever a "real" candidate for the Supreme Court. In the convoluted poli-thinking of of our two groups of lords and masters, Miers may have just been a dodge, a ruse to get Bush's base riled up and back into fear mode, where they are easily manipulated. Since Roe v. Wade can't be overturned by conservatives (how could they replace its galvanizing effect without re-instituting slavery?), they've got to slap their base in the face ("See? We're considering a moderate," they warn) and then offer something more to the conservatives' liking -- ineffectual, but more to their liking.

The Dems get a free pass with their constituency, too. They get to crow that their push for a moderate brought Miers to the fore, but, "Oh! those horrible Republicans have torn her down!" I almost laughed when I read Barbara Boxer, a Democrat, offer this backhanded support of Miers.

"They wouldn't have done that to a male candidate," she said.

It's getting pretty thick.

I blog here because I am positive that we know less and less how real government operates. Looking at it logically and scientifically (sorry, Intelligent Design people), the culture of money and politics that has supplanted diplomacy has to have evolved over the course of 200+ years. Lobbying is a billion-dollar business and, like advertising, it learns new tricks each season. We aren't privy to those tricks and politicians aren't inclined to share.

So, we are the the United Secrets of America, and rule No. 1 is don't share information with the public. How on earth, then, are we to be an informed electorate? The cliche is that we can't handle the truth. I don't think we can handle the lies.

jaebrysonblog
Rant. Muse. Eat. Sleep. Recycle.
About Me Name: Jae Location: Minneapolis, MN View my complete profile Previous Posts Religion as a marketing tool Coupla tid-bits I appreciate you guys CB, you refer to a set of social problems... CB on Black Conservatism: Millions More Socialists I'm going to have to take serious issue with the $... Racial Politics, Part Deux: And, now for a rebutta... Being the reasonable one has its drawbacks Dems are having it too easy in these posts Fighting swords with safety pins Fellow Bloggers Assimilated Negro, The City Pages Blogs Ethnic Loft Grandiose Parlor Is That What You Thought? Renegade Eye Revenge of the Flying Monkeys Un Femme Liberee Zimbabwean Pundit, The Graeme Anfinson blog Unbrainwashed Thoughtstreaming Desert Peace Black Looks Mikael's Impeachment Blog Links diaphaneity dot com One Nation News PM Dawn Infinite Dedication Save the Internet! The Wire, the Best Show on TV" Dexter, 2nd Best Show on TV" Who links to me? My blog is worth $1,693.62. How much is your blog worth?	Friday, October 28, 2005 Half a head of lettuce A joke: A grocery clerk is approached by a big, strapping Texan in the produce section, who says: "Son, I want to buy me half a head of lettuce. Can you help me?" The young clerk, who knows the store only sells full heads of lettuce, replies. "Just a second, I'll be right back." And, he heads off to the employee section, but unbeknownst to him, he has the big Texan right behind. As soon as the door shuts behind the both of them, he shouts out to his friend, "Lou! Some idiot Texan wants to buy half a head of lettuce!" Before he can laugh about it, he sees that his friend is looking over his shoulder at something; he turns around and sees the big Texan. ..." and this fine gentleman wants to buy the other half," he adds. In my opinion, the clerk's fast thinking is pretty much the daily strategy for the federal government and increasingly, local and state governments: make fun of the rank and file until you're busted and then vamp your ass off. It's grown to such an artform, this lack of respect for the electorate, that I'm not sure Harriet Miers was ever a "real" candidate for the Supreme Court. In the convoluted poli-thinking of of our two groups of lords and masters, Miers may have just been a dodge, a ruse to get Bush's base riled up and back into fear mode, where they are easily manipulated. Since Roe v. Wade can't be overturned by conservatives (how could they replace its galvanizing effect without re-instituting slavery?), they've got to slap their base in the face ("See? We're considering a moderate," they warn) and then offer something more to the conservatives' liking -- ineffectual, but more to their liking. The Dems get a free pass with their constituency, too. They get to crow that their push for a moderate brought Miers to the fore, but, "Oh! those horrible Republicans have torn her down!" I almost laughed when I read Barbara Boxer, a Democrat, offer this backhanded support of Miers. "They wouldn't have done that to a male candidate," she said. It's getting pretty thick. I blog here because I am positive that we know less and less how real government operates. Looking at it logically and scientifically (sorry, Intelligent Design people), the culture of money and politics that has supplanted diplomacy has to have evolved over the course of 200+ years. Lobbying is a billion-dollar business and, like advertising, it learns new tricks each season. We aren't privy to those tricks and politicians aren't inclined to share. So, we are the the United Secrets of America, and rule No. 1 is don't share information with the public. How on earth, then, are we to be an informed electorate? The cliche is that we can't handle the truth. I don't think we can handle the lies. link \| posted by Jae at 7:39 AM \| 2 Comments: Frank Partisan commented at 10:07 AM~ I believe modern politicians, are always in campaign mode. Statesman mode is rare, particularly with Dems. An example is the prelude to Iraq. The debate was more honest amoung Republicans. The masters of the shill, are the Clintons and Rove. Clinton had intelligent people believing he was "the black president." It is not going to get better in the 2 party shell game. Arielle commented at 5:20 PM~ Good Post. Scary thought: what if democracy is the same pipe dream that communism was? We always say, if only the Democrats could do this, if only the conservatives would do this, and if only money did control parties. The coexistance of capitalism and democracy can only produce an imperfect and money driven republic. Our founding father didn't believe the masses could handle the truth or make informed decisions. Our country is only as good as its foundations. Gosh, I am getting cynical. Want to Post a Comment? back to main page
powered by Blogger \| designed by mela

About Me

Previous Posts

Fellow Bloggers

Links

2 Comments: