Here I offer you yet another one of my pet peeves. I seem to have a very full treasure trove of them but this ranks high on the list.
Government should be run as a business, so they say. One of the problems is that they are so ignorant of government, and possibly of business as well, that they actually believe it. Business seems always to get lots of undeservedly good press.
Don’t try to count the number of times you’ve heard it today. I’m not lending you my fingers and toes.
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Have you ever acknowledged that there was something you didn’t know? Fortunately, it’s a problem I need seldom confront.
I have a pet peeve. I constantly see politicians and others pontificate on issues as though they actually know what they are talking about.
Given the certitude with which they deliver their dicta, one would think they are the ultimate gurus. They need to be laughed off the stage. Absent that, they need to be asked questions.
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First a little quiz.
It is said that there is a tradition at the Supreme Court where every Justice shakes the hand of every other Justice prior to entering the courtroom to take their seats.
The question is: how many handshakes are involved? Do you think the answer is obvious? Not once has anyone answered me correctly on the fly. A few get it right if given some time for reflection and figuring.
Send in your answers as comments. I promise to provide the correct answer and not embarrass those who didn’t get it.
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Yes, class warfare has been waged against those of the middle class and the poor for decades. No, the middle class and poor have not been fighting back, at least not yet.
I am suggesting a new and different strategy for at least the first significant counterattack. The plutocrats have handed us the weapon we need. They and their toadies have maimed the economy. Would you believe that can be turned into a weapon?
While they are somewhat cushioned from the results of their mischief, I have found a way to turn their weapons against them. Jujitsu is a method of using your opponents force against him rather than directly confronting that force. Everything old is new again.
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Have you ever been angry? Surely you have experienced it at least once.
Would you consider that time of anger the optimal time for making consequential decisions?
The two definitions of mad often get so close to each other that they actually become entangled. There may be occasions when that serves a purpose but probably not while you are standing in the voting booth.
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It isn’t the prettiest word in the dictionary. Don’t skip this. You might become an evictee and I have an idea.
It isn’t bad enough that people are losing their homes. The banks and mortgage companies are doing everything possible to make matters worse for their customers. In the process, they are stretching out this recession for years longer than it need be.
Do you remember the Bailout? Most people misremember it. No. It didn’t happen after Obama took office.
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All of the attention is on the Republican Pledge. Its 21 pages are supposed to tell voters what they promise.
Not really. It’s simply a distraction. They deceived the people with the Contract in 1994. The Pledge is supposed to do the same in 2010.
They will not accomplish any of the things they promise. They can not accomplish any of the things they promise.
Actually, they don’t want to.
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Who is the handsome guy in the picture?
The frame is taken from the movie Blackboard Jungle. The credits give the name of Jameel Farrah. Later, he changed his name. Does Jamie Farr ring a bell? Would he be more recognizable in a dress? Don’t you remember Corporal Klinger?
Interestingly, though still off the point, he was the only member of the television cast of M*A*S*H to have actually served in Korea.
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Is anyone satisfied with the state of education? Silly question.
Everyone has complaints but most of those complaints are specious. Most of the proffered solutions miss the point.
There is no doubt that our schools are not producing results that generate pride. The first matter at hand is to determine why. That will lead us to at least part of the answer.
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John Maynard Keynes said, “Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.”
Ben Bernanke, of the Federal Reserve, tells us that the market will cause the too-big-to-fail banks to get smaller. He assures us that the people who caused this mess just need to be left to their own devices for the problem to be solved.
Did Ben listen to Alan Greenspan’s comment that he had been wrong to think that the market and self-interest would manage everything for the best? Alan. Give Ben a call.
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