[IP] more on Blame the government...whoever that is.....;
Begin forwarded message:
From: Stephen Fulton <ip@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: September 6, 2005 10:44:15 PM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [IP] Blame the government...whoever that is.....;
Dave,
This is for IP, if you wish.
> I don’t think the “government” is the problem. I don’t think
> “bureaucracy” is the problem. The problem is that the people running
> the government, the people running the bureaucracy, won’t take any
> responsibility for anything.
First of all, I am Canadian and perhaps have the benefit or ignorance
of being an outsider, but Mr. Jackson's words above struck me as
quite an accurate observation. American politics is very partisan,
and recriminations on many issues fly in both directions, though
rarely is the anonymous bureaucracy brought into the picture (apart
from the big government/small government debates, or the
occassional). Regardless of which side is in power, it is the
bureaucracy which carries out the policies of those in power, and
this is a significant power of itself, apparently without the checks
and balances which make up the rest of the US government. I believe
this power is often ignored.
For example, the contents of the US Patriot Act seemed to shock many
after its' passage, but to those who have observed the US justice and
intelligence system, it was not a surprise. The powers within it had
been on a wish-list for many years by the those within law
enforcement and intelligence, and while they may balk at this
suggestion, they too are part of the bureaucracy.
Another example could be the philosophical doctrine which encompassed
the "big picture" reasons for war in Iraq. This was aptly documented
by the New York Times in, I believe, 1994, when it published a paper
by Mr. Cheney and Mr. Wolfowitz, while they spent time at the
Pentagon as part of its' civilian bureaucracy.
I spent my time in university training to be a historian, and I am
not attempting to pass any kind of judgment on these sensitive
issues, but I do feel that the power of the bureaucracy, however it
is exercised, deserves closer examination.
-- Stephen Fulton.
David Farber wrote:
Begin forwarded message:
From: Tom Jackson <tom_jackson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: September 6, 2005 6:24:35 PM EDT
To: 'Dave Farber' <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Blame the government...whoever that is.....;
Pardon the screed – for IP if appropriate.
I thought my ability to be outraged was nearing exhaustion – until
I read this….
President Bush and Congressional leaders vowed today to find out
what went wrong in the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, with
Mr. Bush declaring that "bureaucracy's not going to stand in the
way of getting the job done for the people."
The posting on the NY Times web site continues…..
On Capitol Hill, meanwhile, the chairwoman and the ranking
minority member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee said hearings would be held. "Government at all
levels failed," said Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine
and chairwoman of the panel, who appeared with the ranking
Democrat, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut.
"It is difficult to understand the lack of preparedness and the
ineffective initial response to a disaster that had been predicted
for years, and for which specific, dire warnings had been given
for days," Senator Collins said.
So bureaucracy and government are the problem?
Well, yes. The government eviscerated FEMA to build “Fatherland
Security”. The government slashed spending on dikes. The
government is led by a man who “couldn’t foresee” the situation in
New Orleans. The “bureaucracy” is busy sending troops and
hundreds of billions of dollars to support a boondoggle of a war,
but wastes days and days before sending troops to Americans in
need – and then sends troops with the order to “shoot to kill”.
I don’t think the “government” is the problem. I don’t think
“bureaucracy” is the problem. The problem is that the people
running the government, the people running the bureaucracy, won’t
take any responsibility for anything.
A good starting point would be for Bush, Collins, Lieberman, and
about 48 other Senators to admit their incompetence, or to put it
more kindly, indifference. Rather than more Republican anti-
government rhetoric, more scape-goating, and more spin, why can’t
the responsible parties simply stand up and admit to errors?
Failure to do so is every bit as shameful as the needless human
suffering in New Orleans.
Our elected and appointed governmental officials will find
structures and processes and people to blame, but they will never
admit that their skewed priorities and contemptuous disregard for
the poor and the sick among us are the root causes of the post-
Katrina tragedy of New Orleans.
Tom Jackson
tom@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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