The buck stops here.
—President Harry Truman
It’s hard to imagine Truman saying he didn’t know about the extent of the National Security Agency spying. The story is Obama didn’t know the NSA was listening in to the private phone calls of foreign leaders. Do you think anyone believes that? And even if it is/were true, does anyone think that’s really a good excuse? Is cluelessness really a good defense?
Before the 2012 election someone wrote,
The majority of Americans don’t care about big government vs. little government. They want effective government.
Between Congress and the NSA and Obamacare debacles, does anyone think the American people will ever get their wish?
I think that the USA, the UK and India deserve better governance. All three countries are currently being ruled by totally ineffective legislature and executive branches with some hope still being offered by the judiciary.
I agree.
“Government should be transparent. Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing. Information maintained by the Federal Government is a national asset. My Administration will take appropriate action, consistent with law and policy, to disclose information rapidly in forms that the public can readily find and use.” Barack Obama
One lesson I remember from social studies is that sometimes legislative gridlock is a good thing, depending on what it stops from happening.
That’s great! Thanks. I thought at first that was something he said years ago, but he has the nerve to still have it posted.
Andy agrees with you about gridlock.
Here’s another one I found today (10/29/2013 — 5:15 PM CST), the statement on the White House website on keeping the healthcare you have if you like it:
“For those Americans who already have health insurance, the only changes you will see under the law are new benefits, better protections from insurance company abuses, and more value for every dollar you spend on health care. If you like your plan you can keep it and you don’t have to change a thing due to the health care law.”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/healthreform/healthcare-overview
Wow! He reminds me of James Randi, who gave talks exposing how charlatans worked. In the talk Andy and I went to he said scientists tend to be gullible because they have trouble believing not everyone is as interested in the truth as they are. The real truth is, he said, “People lie!” Oh, yeah. He told us that almost 40 years ago, and we still remember.
The Affordable Care Act sounds like a modern version of snake oil or a perpetual motion machine — everyone wins, health care costs come down, etc. What’s there not to like? Yeah, sure.
“Between Congress and the NSA and Obamacare debacles, does anyone think the American people will ever get their wish?” NO. But then I’m a pessimist. 🙁
Tom would say Yes, problems tend to get worked out eventually. But then he’s an optimist. 🙂
No sense getting upset about things we can’t change. As I’ve said, I’m a cheerful pessimist.
With the recent government shutdown, we were able to see how big our government is. Though shorter than the 21 day shutdown of the Clinton era, it was no less painful. The word that comes to my mind: incompetence.
As for the two quotes… Truman dropped the bomb, whereas, I believe Obama is a bomb looking for a place to happen. (Interesting, Jean.)
Otherwise I agree with bikehikebabe!
I tried to post comment below, but your “prove you’re not a robot” didn’t work –3 times. Then when I went back to your blog “Trick or Treat” wasn’t there. A new post was.
++++++++++++
Comment that didn’t get published:
Nice fairy tale you’ve heard OR did you make that up?
Love the pictures.
bikehikebabe
This is a note for Dixie.
Incompetence in leadership is more the norm than the exception, but the present scene seems especially insane.
It will be interesting to see if Obama starts losing support from the Democrats in Congress. Although his approval rating ranges from around 43 to 49%, depending upon the poll — that’s a lot higher than what Congress gets.
To bikehikebabe: your comment posted. Maybe it’s time to remove the robot thingy! Thanks so much.
I doubt anyone believes Obama didn’t know.
Effective governance won’t come from the big house (whether in Washington or Canberra). In my view the crisis is to do with professionalism and bureaucracy. Voters are no longer engaged in the formulation of policy directly (at best, and its not very good, through focus groups and surveys).
As to security. I think this is best addressed by having people invested in the process of governance (see above); minorities aren’t marginalised (so that they will have friends in the mainstream who will know of any terrorist plots); and feel engaged in creating a future that they have a worthwhile stake in.
Unfortunately the bigger the country, the harder that is to do. I’ve heard the Scandinavian countries have competent governments. On the other hand, here in our little (~25,000 people) county our elected officials will hear what people want and often do the opposite. That used to surprise me, especially because we don’t think any corruption is involved. They just have different priorities. We’ve stopped bothering to give our opinions.
I am not up with gov’t issues – either abroad or here. I know I should be but I have too many other “fish to fry”
I don’t think you should pay much attention unless you find it interesting. As you say, you have better things to do with your time.