Thoughts on bureaucracy, ordinary, LE, and military

The problem is not Conservatives or Liberals or Libertarians. The problem is the Organized Political Crime Families known as Republicans and Democrats. The business they have chosen is fleecing the tax sheep for as much tax revenue as can be sheared without causing a revolution, and disbursing it and other federal assets to their cronies, contributors, family members, constituents, etc. As long as these Families maintain their stranglehold on the American political process and system, NOTHING will change.

It's naive to identify them with the Republican and Democrat parties. They tend to be Republicans and Democrats because that's the best way to get into office. As Willie Sutton replied when asked why he robbed banks, "Because that's where the money is." When or where the odds of election are improved by labeling one's self a Libertarian, Tea Party supporter, or member of the Monster Raving Loony Party, rest assured that the kleptocrats will claim to have been loyal members all their lives. When the Rs and Ds lose their strangle hold, we'll discover that the rats will have been among the first to abandon them in favor of a better ship.

Not said in the article, but inadvertantly implied - the Tea Party is the way to go!

Ken:

I called them Democrats and Republicans because that is what they currently call themselves. Other than that, you raise very valid points. The system itself has to be changed, but as brilliant as I am, I am at a loss as to how to keep the kleptocrats from taking over regardless of what system is devised. It has always been that way with political systems from the earliest tribes until today.

Long time lurker/first time poster here. I am also at a loss as to how to ensure that people who are elected have the best interest of the country/constitution in mind. I think Douglas Adams said it best in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy; "Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job." I.e. lie through your teeth attempting to pacify and sucker a majority of votes until elected, then screw everybody.

Change the word "president" to any general politician you care to.

There was a SciFi story (IIRC, either Clarke or Asimov) in which a secondary character is the newly selected President of Earth. This person is chosen by first eliminating all those who have proven themselves to be career criminals, mentally ill or otherwise severely disabled. Then anyone who has ever indicated any desire to seek public office or positions of power of any sort is also eliminated. Then someone is selected at random from those remaining in a world-wide lottery, and that person, willing or not (though usually the later), becomes the next President.

I have long believed that imposing term limits on Congresscritters would be an enormously helpful first step. Make 'em go back and live under the laws they pass (they can't ALL become lobbyists or talking heads on TV) and you begin to connect the legislature to the real world again.

I actually drafted an amendment as a mental exercise. My solution: you may not serve in Congress in more than 12 calendar years. Normally that would be 6 House terms, 2 Senate terms, or 3 and 1. (However, the guy who is going to fill Barack Hussein's old Senate seat from IL from the day after the election until he's sworn in to his regular term in January 2011 would use up one of his 12 calendar years for that 2 month lame duck period, and could not stand for reelection to the Senate in 2016.) Simple, easy to understand, can almost be done on two hands for the mathematically challenged.

My draft amendment also had a second cause that prohibited a member of Congress from receiving any compensation, benefit or other thing of value after leaving office. No gold plated pensions or medical care, no special trips, office support, no nothing. You get paid while you're there, but once your service is done, you're just a regular citizen like the rest of us.

Term limits are problems, too. The Pols just trade the positions around, and then the career staffers become the power source. The solution, if there is one, seems to be really competitive races. One party rule makes people stupid, careless, and really sloppy in fleecing the tax sheep. Split government seems good, too. If the Dems have the White House, the GOP should have the Congress so that the bastidges keep an eye on each other.

It's impossible to get rid of kleptocrats. Term limits won't do it, for the aforementioned reasons, and "good government" oversight regulations only increase the complexity of the bureaucracy. The kleptocrats and power brokers thrive on governmental complexity.

The answer is, of course, to reduce the federal government to its core constitutional functions. Get rid of the corporate welfare, the slush funds, the pork projects, and quit funding the community agitators and leftwing foundations. The thieves will always be with us, but there wouldn't be very much to steal if government weren't so damned big.

Government and business are mutually parasitic. There wouldn't be any incentive to buy a congressman if he couldn't do anything for you, and you could tell him to "stuff it" if he didn't wield any power over your business.

You really want to limit the power of Congress? Increase the size of the House of Representatives to about 1800 congressmen.