Day: April 4, 2011

2011 Dumbass Statement #1

Info Ink we give an annual “Assie” award for the most anal statement made during the year…..we have so many statements that could qualify as anal that we decided to try and eliminate some of the lesser anals and instead give “Dumbass” awards as we find them……

The first one goes to freshman US Representative from Polk County Wisconsin, Sean Duffy (R)…while holding a town hall meeting he was talking about his finances as a Rep……

I can guarantee you, or most of you, I guarantee that I have more debt than all of you. With 6 kids, I still pay off my student loans. I still pay my mortgage. I drive a used minivan. If you think I’m living high on the hog, I’ve got one paycheck. So I struggle to meet my bills right now. Would it be easier for me if I get more paychecks? Maybe, but at this point I’m not living high on the hog.  (thanx to TPM for the quote)

He is struggling on a salary of $174,000…..and probably the highest paid person in the room would be lucky to make $50,000…….and in a state where workers and the middle class are under attack he also said that he supported Gov. Walker in his attack on the public workers and their representation…..

He lands the “Dumbass” Award for whining to working people that his salary that is about 3 times larger than theirs…….arrogant comes to mind!

Washington Needs A Civics Class

From the VOMITORIUM

The clowns that we have elected are in the process of debating (if you call appearances on cable as debating) how to get a budget without shutting down the government…..but as usual some politico just has toi say something stupid….this time it is the House majority whip, Eric Cantor……

House Republicans will introduce legislation, likely by the end of this week, that would make it so that if Congress is unable to come to an agreement over an operating budget, the GOP’s version would simply become law of the land.

Announced by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Wednesday, the legislation would make it so that “if the Senate fails to pass a measure before April 6, 2011 providing for the appropriations of the departments and agencies of the Government for the remainder of fiscal year 2011, H.R. 1 (as passed by the House on February 19, 2011) becomes law.” The bill also stipulates that Members of Congress and the President will not get salary payments in the event of a shutdown or the U.S. debt limit being reached.

First of all…….WTF?  Did I miss something while I was asleep?  NOTHING and I repeat that for those that may have not been paying attention…..NOTHING becomes law without a vote in the House and a signature of the president……I think Cantor needs a “F” in Civics 101…..or maybe this what they want…..total control and no need for a process that has served us well in the past (unfortunately it is NOT working so well in the past 20 years)…….

Is Democracy Breaking Out In The Middle East?

College of Political Knowledge

Subject:  Democracy/Political Theory/

Meanwhile back in the Sands of the Middle East……..

For a couple of months now protests have been held all across the Middle East….and some, even Pres. Obama, have said that it appears democracy is being born in the region….at least the beginnings of democracy….but is this a true observation?

What was it that your grandma use to say…”Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched”……

My personal opinion is ….NO!  First of all, the reporting on the conflicts in the ME are viewed through the prism of the west style thinking…..if one spends a little time looking at the situation in the ME a few things point to the possibility of democracy is very low……marches and demands and slogans does NOT make a democratic movement……here are a few observations that will explain why I say this…..

The ME is NOT the Eastern Europe of the 90’s when the USSR was slowly dissolving…….as some have likened the situation in the ME…….there a a couple of things that are needed if there is to be a successful democracy in the making….

First, there needs to be some past flirtation or some history with democracy…….

Second, is there availability of some political leadership……..

Third, the support of the outside world for the transition to democracy….

The Arab world lacks all three features.  Firstly, it lacks a memory of functioning democracy;  its past experience is about autocrats ruling through family-member appointments in key state positions, top-heavy armed forces, and omnipresent state security services. Moreover, if one listens carefully to the demonstrating crowds, they are not unanimous in demanding democracy above all. Depending on national or local circumstances, they raise demands that are perhaps more vital to their individual survival than democracy – unemployment, food price inflation and poverty, religious and ethnic differences, police repression and brutality, minority status, political corruption.

The ME lacks democratic political leadership….without the experience of democracy and an understanding of it…there will be NO democracy in the short run…..the best we can expect is political reform….women voting, equal status, etc……but that will the best we will get……and the people will most likely return to an authoritarian ruler……someone who can maintain order…and you know what that means?

Without a couple of other ingredients democracy will NOT come to the ME.  1–construction of a constitution.  2–Dismantle all authoritarian institutions.  3–abolition of restrictive laws.  Without these then the fruit of democracy will die on the vine….NO matter the country.

And then for democracy to become entrenched in the lives of the people it must conform to certain principles…..1–guarantee democratic institutions, 2–extend the democratic process, 3–prevent any authoritarian reversals…..another massive mountain to cross for the people of the ME….

And finally, for any ME democracy to succeed there needs to be toleration, compromise and civility in the process…..if you have ever been to the ME then you would have noticed that those things are in short supply………

I suggest that the West temper their enthusiasm for Arab democracy…..that way their disappointment will be less in the future…..Just do NOT sound the horn of triumph for democracy in the ME too soon.

In short…..democracy is NOT coming to the Middle East….not now and any belief it will is just delusional and wishful thinking…….sorry for the buzz kill!