…you know, like the pundits and media were saying would happen if he got elected. And then the Congress said ever since he got elected. And then the same thing after he got re-elected. Still no destroyed economy. In fact, the economy seems to keep getting better and better.
So…if the economy hasn’t been destroyed like they said it would…maybe Obama isn’t the stinking Kenyan socialist they said he was?
Naaaaaah. Don’t be ridiculous.
Mr. B & C
Mr. Blunt and Cranky was reminded of this old saying while listening to the latest Postal Service brouhaha. For those who have not heard the noise, here is a brief recap: the Posties are broke; indeed, they are as broke as the Ten Commandments. And every time they try something to fix their problem, all Hell breaks loose.
This is because the agency is required to be “partly pregnant”: a constitutionally-mandated government agency that is simultaneously expected to run itself like a private business. That is confusing enough as it is, but wait- there’s more.
The USPS is required by law to serve everyone, anywhere in the U.S., no matter how remote, at the same price, quality and speed. Oh, and Congress can veto many actions of the USPS, and add additional mandates as it sees fit, whenever Congress takes a fancy to.
The USPS tried to cut costs by closing and consolidating under-used post offices. They got smacked down. They tried other ways to save money, and got spanked again. Notice that private concerns like FedEx did similar things to become leaner and meaner, and no one turned a hair.
So we have a government agency, regulated to a ludicrous degree, that is expected to somehow compete with lightly-regulated private-sector businesses like FedEx and UPS. That’s like expecting a duck-billed platypus to outrun a thoroughbred at Churchill Downs.
You can’t be partly pregnant. You can’t be partly private or partly public either. Demanding that the Postal Service be held to two incompatible standards is like baking a Limburger-sour-cream-chocolate-and-onion birthday cake with ketchup icing: you can make it, but no one will be happy with the results.
Mr. B & C
Lots of people have been conned by the gun industry (and their stooges at the NRA) into stockpiling weapons and ammunition so as to be “ready to resist a government takeover” or some such twaddle. Millions of dollars have been taken from the gullible and deposited in the bank accounts of weapon merchants, and of course all for naught.
Naught, that is, if it’s overthrowing a tyrannical government you’re wanting to accomplish. First of all, your knock-off versions of Mattel toy rifles will accomplish doodly-squat against a trained and well-equipped military force; and secondly, there are better ways to take over the the reins of power in America. Ways that have already succeeded, and that you probably didn’t notice.
Example: the “Republican” takeover of the United States of America, which occurred between 1976 and 2007. Never a shot fired, done legally, and very effective indeed. You missed it, you say?
Short version: after Nixon, the Reeps and their corporate paymasters got their collective wedding tackle kicked in so far they had craters in their crotches, they got together and planned their revenge: said plan contained in the Powell Memo. The gist? To take over the media, deregulate businesses, concentrate wealth, rig elections, rewrite laws and create think tanks that would re-invent reality a’la Orwell: all for the benefit of the “conservatives” involved.
Here are two sources that explain how the Elephants planned and executed their coup:
Number A: a thoughtful (if somewhat partisan) analysis along with source documents for the wonkier folks: Should be Required Reading
Letter 2: a shorter version that hits the high points and captures the essence (focus on the lyrics ): Ignoreland by REM.
Needless to say, the “revolution” was quite successful indeed: look at the results in terms of law, media, income inequality, gerrymandering, government philosophy, and a host of other elements of modern American life. The “conservative” “republicans” have managed to largely remake the nation on their terms and to their benefit, and to the detriment of the majority. Nary a single assault rifle was used in this overthrow. Hell, not even a single round from a BB gun was fired.
And now you, with your little gun safe full of crappy little imported weapons, are going to do better than that? This writer rather thinks not.
Mr. B & C
bluntandcranky 