Regulations
There are so many people living on this crowded planet, there must be regulations. Traffic lanes, "No Swimming" signs near dangerous waters, etc.
Some folks, however, want more regulations and government bureaucrats are quick to accommodate.
Some years ago I had an advertising client who operated a small meat packing operation. In the meat-cutting room, there were, unavoidably, scraps of meat that hit the floor. The Dept. of Agriculture arbitrarily determined that this floor be cleaned up and mopped every two hours.
An OSHA inspector checked the plant soon after one mopping and decided it was unsafe for the butchers to work with their sharp knives while standing on a wet concrete floor. He ordered that the butchers be forbidden to work until the floor was dry.
Obeying both orders would essentially shut down the operation.
Shortly after I heard this news, I attended a marketing meeting. Something was said about government regulations and I immediately started grousing. One attendee, Chairman of a large Chicago direct marketing advertising agency challenged me, demanding "Are you suggesting there be no regulations?". I began to criticize Michael Pertschuk, then Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, and immediately became invisible. The others just turned away from me and proceeded to discuss another subject.
Okay, as a teen may have said, "My bad." In a discussion with any liberal - or even a sane person - never lead with your emotions.
No, I do not believe there should be no regulations. I do insist, however, that regulations which serve to control the behavior of others, whether in business or personal life, are a serious matter. They should never be taken lightly or imposed without adequate scrutiny.
Given the government's abject failure at managing almost anything, I believe no government should be empowered to formulate regulations without public input.
It is a fact that some government agencies do offer proposed new regulations for public comment before final enactment. Even this, however, has shortcomings.
About fifty years ago, the Federal Communications Commission proposed new rule making governing the way broadcasters maintain program logs. At the time, broadcasters were required to maintain a log, recording the beginning and ending time of every program, the time every commercial was broadcast, etc.
The proposed rules included a requirement that a station log every time the station's call letter was announced. In those days of analog electronics, dial position was difficult to determine on radio sets, so stations promoted their call letter. Most disk jockeys announced their call letters several times during every break. It would be impossible to record every time.
I proposed that the new rules require that station ID announcements be logged on the hour and half hour... but not every time in between. While I was at it, I proposed several other changes.
I couldn't imagine that the mighty FCC would incorporate my suggestions. When the new rules were finally published, they did, to my amazement, include every one of my proposals.
Conclusions? 1. The bureaucrats who originally wrote the new rules had no idea what they were writing. 2. People in the industry are too busy trying to do their jobs to read and respond to proposed rule-making.
Maybe we should just adopt only regulations warning of an immediate matter of public safety. The only permissible punishment for breaking the rule would be to suffer the consequences of the unsafe situation, and no one could file a lawsuit.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Things that irk!
George Mason University's Distinguished Professor Walter Williams recently wrote: "There are a lot of things, large and small, that irk me. One of them is our tendency to evaluate a presidential candidate based on his intelligence or academic credentials."
Well.. that started me thinking... what was Dr. Williams talking about? So I decided to look up the formal education credentials of the presidents.
First, a few of the "good" presidents:
No. 1: George Washington has long been described as First in War, First in Peace, First in the hearts of his countrymen. His education was rudimentary, probably being obtained from tutors but possibly also from private schools, and he learned surveying.
No. 2: Abraham Lincoln gained what education he could along the way. While reading law, he worked in a store, managed a mill, surveyed, and split rails.
No. 3: Thomas Jefferson attended the College of William and Mary and read law (1762-1767) with George Wythe, the greatest law teacher of his generation in Virginia.
No. 4: Ronald Wilson Reagan earned a BA degree in 1932 from Eureka (Ill.) College.
No. 5: Harry S. Truman attended the public schools in Independence, Mo.
And, a few "stinkers":
No. 1: (Thomas) Woodrow Wilson. A Princeton graduate, he turned from law practice to post-graduate work in political science at Johns Hopkins University, receiving his Ph.D. in 1886. He taught at Bryn Mawr, Wesleyan, and Princeton, and in 1902 was made president of Princeton.
No. 2: Franklin Delano Roosevelt. A Harvard graduate, he also attended Columbia Law School.
No. 3. Theodore Roosevelt. A Harvard graduate.
No. 4: William Howard Taft. A Yale graduate.
No. 5: James Earl Carter, Jr. Graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis
And, we must not forget:
No. 6: Barack Hussein Obama obtained early education in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Hawaii; continued education at Occidental College, Los Angeles, Calif.; received a B.A. in 1983 from Columbia University, New York City; studied law at Harvard University, where he received J.D. in 1991
I could go on, but no need... I now think I see what Dr. Williams was talking about!
George Mason University's Distinguished Professor Walter Williams recently wrote: "There are a lot of things, large and small, that irk me. One of them is our tendency to evaluate a presidential candidate based on his intelligence or academic credentials."
Well.. that started me thinking... what was Dr. Williams talking about? So I decided to look up the formal education credentials of the presidents.
First, a few of the "good" presidents:
No. 1: George Washington has long been described as First in War, First in Peace, First in the hearts of his countrymen. His education was rudimentary, probably being obtained from tutors but possibly also from private schools, and he learned surveying.
No. 2: Abraham Lincoln gained what education he could along the way. While reading law, he worked in a store, managed a mill, surveyed, and split rails.
No. 3: Thomas Jefferson attended the College of William and Mary and read law (1762-1767) with George Wythe, the greatest law teacher of his generation in Virginia.
No. 4: Ronald Wilson Reagan earned a BA degree in 1932 from Eureka (Ill.) College.
No. 5: Harry S. Truman attended the public schools in Independence, Mo.
And, a few "stinkers":
No. 1: (Thomas) Woodrow Wilson. A Princeton graduate, he turned from law practice to post-graduate work in political science at Johns Hopkins University, receiving his Ph.D. in 1886. He taught at Bryn Mawr, Wesleyan, and Princeton, and in 1902 was made president of Princeton.
No. 2: Franklin Delano Roosevelt. A Harvard graduate, he also attended Columbia Law School.
No. 3. Theodore Roosevelt. A Harvard graduate.
No. 4: William Howard Taft. A Yale graduate.
No. 5: James Earl Carter, Jr. Graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis
And, we must not forget:
No. 6: Barack Hussein Obama obtained early education in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Hawaii; continued education at Occidental College, Los Angeles, Calif.; received a B.A. in 1983 from Columbia University, New York City; studied law at Harvard University, where he received J.D. in 1991
I could go on, but no need... I now think I see what Dr. Williams was talking about!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Memories From My Youth - III
Clang, clang, clang went the trolley. Those were the opening words of a song about street cars. Amusing to me, that noise was the thing most remembered about those old electric-powered rail cars that once clattered through the streets of America's large cities. They were not all noisy, of course, especially the latter ones, and I loved them.
When I was young, street cars were reasonably fast, they were clean (no exhaust), comfortable and convenient. They were frequent - you never had to wait more than a few minutes - they stopped at almost every other corner, and were very low cost. Fare was 10¢, or you could buy three tokens (for three rides) for a quarter.
By using transfers, you could jump from one line to another, and transfers were free. You could ride all over the city for a dime.
In my home town of Kansas City, the geography is defined by two rivers - the Kansas River (known as the Kaw) flowing east across Kansas and the Missouri River flowing south from Montana. Reaching higher ground at Kansas City, the Missouri takes a hard left turn, just where it is joined by the Kaw, and heads east across the state toward St. Louis to mix with the Mississippi.
Downtown Kansas City, Missouri is on high ground, but a west bound street car line had to transport passengers across the West Bottoms, through Kansas City's famous Stock yards and packing house districts, into Kansas City, Kansas.
The drop from Kansas City, MO into the West Bottoms was essentially a cliff. To make the descent, the transit company dug a tunnel, starting several blocks short of the cliff's edge, then making a gentle drop to the lower ground. I frequently rode that line and loved entering the tunnel on a hot summer day to glide through the cool darkness and emerge into the sunlight on the lower side.
One street car memory was from August 15, 1945. Radio news had informed that the Japanese government was about to sign General MacArthur's unconditional surrender documents and a large crowd began to gather on 12th Street. When the announcement of the surrender came, the huge crowd burst into joyous song, and all the boys started kissing the girls. I was soon smeared in lipstick from ear to ear.
A street car operator, on his assigned route down 12th street, edged into the crowd. Someone went to the back of the car, grabbed the rope to the trolley and pulled it down, disengaging the car's source of power. Throughout the evening that street car sat there in the middle of 12th Street, the operator in his seat watching the celebration.
My wife also remembers street cars. when she was a small girl her father worked for a time as a street car operator. Sometimes at night, when passenger traffic was light, he would let her ride along to the end of his line and return. Truth be known, he even let her operate the car at times. No cause for alarm here... street cars rode on tracks - no steering required.
Most street cars have disappeared from cities across the country. Happily the city of San Francisco has restored a few of the cars which now ply Market Street. You'll even see one with Kansas City Public Transit Company lettered on its bright yellow side. If that old car could talk, it might remember cool summer nights in Kansas City when a small girl sat at its controls on Troost Avenue.
Clang, clang, clang went the trolley. Those were the opening words of a song about street cars. Amusing to me, that noise was the thing most remembered about those old electric-powered rail cars that once clattered through the streets of America's large cities. They were not all noisy, of course, especially the latter ones, and I loved them.
When I was young, street cars were reasonably fast, they were clean (no exhaust), comfortable and convenient. They were frequent - you never had to wait more than a few minutes - they stopped at almost every other corner, and were very low cost. Fare was 10¢, or you could buy three tokens (for three rides) for a quarter.
By using transfers, you could jump from one line to another, and transfers were free. You could ride all over the city for a dime.
In my home town of Kansas City, the geography is defined by two rivers - the Kansas River (known as the Kaw) flowing east across Kansas and the Missouri River flowing south from Montana. Reaching higher ground at Kansas City, the Missouri takes a hard left turn, just where it is joined by the Kaw, and heads east across the state toward St. Louis to mix with the Mississippi.
Downtown Kansas City, Missouri is on high ground, but a west bound street car line had to transport passengers across the West Bottoms, through Kansas City's famous Stock yards and packing house districts, into Kansas City, Kansas.
The drop from Kansas City, MO into the West Bottoms was essentially a cliff. To make the descent, the transit company dug a tunnel, starting several blocks short of the cliff's edge, then making a gentle drop to the lower ground. I frequently rode that line and loved entering the tunnel on a hot summer day to glide through the cool darkness and emerge into the sunlight on the lower side.
One street car memory was from August 15, 1945. Radio news had informed that the Japanese government was about to sign General MacArthur's unconditional surrender documents and a large crowd began to gather on 12th Street. When the announcement of the surrender came, the huge crowd burst into joyous song, and all the boys started kissing the girls. I was soon smeared in lipstick from ear to ear.
A street car operator, on his assigned route down 12th street, edged into the crowd. Someone went to the back of the car, grabbed the rope to the trolley and pulled it down, disengaging the car's source of power. Throughout the evening that street car sat there in the middle of 12th Street, the operator in his seat watching the celebration.
My wife also remembers street cars. when she was a small girl her father worked for a time as a street car operator. Sometimes at night, when passenger traffic was light, he would let her ride along to the end of his line and return. Truth be known, he even let her operate the car at times. No cause for alarm here... street cars rode on tracks - no steering required.
Most street cars have disappeared from cities across the country. Happily the city of San Francisco has restored a few of the cars which now ply Market Street. You'll even see one with Kansas City Public Transit Company lettered on its bright yellow side. If that old car could talk, it might remember cool summer nights in Kansas City when a small girl sat at its controls on Troost Avenue.
Blagojevich is found guilty!
Well, the jury has found former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich guilty on 17 of 20 counts levied against him!
It isn't over, of course. There will be appeals until there is no higher court to which to appeal, and someone will then decide how he is to be punished.
Here is how I see it: They went into a forest teeming with skunks. One was a little noisy and unlike the others, failed to slink away in the shadows. The skunk police grabbed him by the tail and dragged him out of the forest. "You are stinking up the forest", they declared, "and you must be punished!".
Rod Blagojevich has been punished. Ignoring the decision of the electorate, he was thrown out of office and dragged into court. "He must be punished more!", vowed the skunk police.
Surely he will be punished more - perhaps not until after the November, 2012 elections, and after Rahm Emanuel is well established in his office as Chicago mayor -
Rod Blagojevicjh will be punished more... and, the forest will still stink.
Well, the jury has found former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich guilty on 17 of 20 counts levied against him!
It isn't over, of course. There will be appeals until there is no higher court to which to appeal, and someone will then decide how he is to be punished.
Here is how I see it: They went into a forest teeming with skunks. One was a little noisy and unlike the others, failed to slink away in the shadows. The skunk police grabbed him by the tail and dragged him out of the forest. "You are stinking up the forest", they declared, "and you must be punished!".
Rod Blagojevich has been punished. Ignoring the decision of the electorate, he was thrown out of office and dragged into court. "He must be punished more!", vowed the skunk police.
Surely he will be punished more - perhaps not until after the November, 2012 elections, and after Rahm Emanuel is well established in his office as Chicago mayor -
Rod Blagojevicjh will be punished more... and, the forest will still stink.
Friday, June 24, 2011
DÉJÀ VU all over again!
So said Yogi Berra - to the consternation of both French and English language police and many others. But we common people knew exactly what Yogi meant... "more of the same old crap"! Today, when it comes to politics, we add "...and again and again!"
I was only five years old when President Franklin Roosevelt gave us the AAA. It had nothing to do with automobiles - it was the Agriculture Adjustment Act, intended to protect farmers from price drops. (It lives on in today's Dept. of Agriculture subsidies. Wasn't that smart???).
Before I was eight years old, FDR also gave us the CWA, CCC, FERA, FDIC, NIRA, NYA, PWA, REA, SEC, Social Security (for pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid to blind, deaf, disabled, and dependent children!) TVA, NLRB and WPA.
Obviously, as a small farm boy, I was not aware of the significance of all these misguided acts, but I saw adults shake their heads and agonize over their implementation... I knew there was something bad about what FDR was doing.
But, at the same time, we often sat in front of our old Atwater-Kent radio set, listening to the rantings (in German) of someone called Adolph Hitler. That was more ominous, and Americans accepted living with The New Deal.
We are still suffering from Roosevelt's stupidity (ask Boeing about the NLRB), yet, our current president is trying to do it all over again... just let us manage things and we will recover from this recession we inherited!
FDR stayed in office because World War Two had caused Americans to crave stability. Thus, the 1930 economic slowdown (which the Dems labeled a recession they had inherited from Herbert Hoover) turned into a depression that lasted well into the 1940s.
Please, please, America... we cannot let this conclusion occur "all over again"!
So said Yogi Berra - to the consternation of both French and English language police and many others. But we common people knew exactly what Yogi meant... "more of the same old crap"! Today, when it comes to politics, we add "...and again and again!"
I was only five years old when President Franklin Roosevelt gave us the AAA. It had nothing to do with automobiles - it was the Agriculture Adjustment Act, intended to protect farmers from price drops. (It lives on in today's Dept. of Agriculture subsidies. Wasn't that smart???).
Before I was eight years old, FDR also gave us the CWA, CCC, FERA, FDIC, NIRA, NYA, PWA, REA, SEC, Social Security (for pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid to blind, deaf, disabled, and dependent children!) TVA, NLRB and WPA.
Obviously, as a small farm boy, I was not aware of the significance of all these misguided acts, but I saw adults shake their heads and agonize over their implementation... I knew there was something bad about what FDR was doing.
But, at the same time, we often sat in front of our old Atwater-Kent radio set, listening to the rantings (in German) of someone called Adolph Hitler. That was more ominous, and Americans accepted living with The New Deal.
We are still suffering from Roosevelt's stupidity (ask Boeing about the NLRB), yet, our current president is trying to do it all over again... just let us manage things and we will recover from this recession we inherited!
FDR stayed in office because World War Two had caused Americans to crave stability. Thus, the 1930 economic slowdown (which the Dems labeled a recession they had inherited from Herbert Hoover) turned into a depression that lasted well into the 1940s.
Please, please, America... we cannot let this conclusion occur "all over again"!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Memories From My Youth II
The other day I heard again Roger Miller's old recording "King Of The Road", wherein two hours of pushin' broom bought the guy a place to sleep. About the same time I heard mention of some event from 1945. My mind blended the two scraps of information and came up with a memory.
In April, 1945, I was 16 years old. Proving that a 16-year-old boy is near the top of the list of the most stupid of creatures, I loaded onto a Greyhound bus in Kansas City and headed for San Diego, CA.
My billfold was about as empty as my head. A friend, newly out of U.S. Navy boot camp and now stationed in San Diego had written me about the wonders of San Diego and the incredible employment opportunities there.
Arriving in San Diego, the first thing I learned was that in 1945 California, a 16-year-old youth had to attend high school. Forget about getting a job! In a few days I was almost out of cash and totally out of a place to live. Turns out my friend had an uncle in Azusa, CA who would pretend to be my guardian and help me get a job - if I came to Azusa.
I could take a bus the next morning... but where would I sleep tonight? I wandered into a YMCA and sat through some sort of religious service in an auditorium equipped with church-like benches. Today I have no recollection of what I watched there, my mind was hung up on the idea of going back onto the street when it ended.
When the service was over, everyone else filed out the door. I walked up to someone who appeared to be in charge and asked if I could lie down on the bench and spend the night. The person thought for a moment and decided I could earn the privilege. He produced a push broom and said if I cleaned up the place I could sleep on a bench.
I don't remember how long the sweeping took, only that I did the best job I could then stretched out on a bench. When I awoke the next morning, there was a guy sleeping on every bench in the auditorium. I headed for the bus depot.
Roger Miller's "King Of The Road" had fared better... he at least got an eight by twelve four-bit room!
The other day I heard again Roger Miller's old recording "King Of The Road", wherein two hours of pushin' broom bought the guy a place to sleep. About the same time I heard mention of some event from 1945. My mind blended the two scraps of information and came up with a memory.
In April, 1945, I was 16 years old. Proving that a 16-year-old boy is near the top of the list of the most stupid of creatures, I loaded onto a Greyhound bus in Kansas City and headed for San Diego, CA.
My billfold was about as empty as my head. A friend, newly out of U.S. Navy boot camp and now stationed in San Diego had written me about the wonders of San Diego and the incredible employment opportunities there.
Arriving in San Diego, the first thing I learned was that in 1945 California, a 16-year-old youth had to attend high school. Forget about getting a job! In a few days I was almost out of cash and totally out of a place to live. Turns out my friend had an uncle in Azusa, CA who would pretend to be my guardian and help me get a job - if I came to Azusa.
I could take a bus the next morning... but where would I sleep tonight? I wandered into a YMCA and sat through some sort of religious service in an auditorium equipped with church-like benches. Today I have no recollection of what I watched there, my mind was hung up on the idea of going back onto the street when it ended.
When the service was over, everyone else filed out the door. I walked up to someone who appeared to be in charge and asked if I could lie down on the bench and spend the night. The person thought for a moment and decided I could earn the privilege. He produced a push broom and said if I cleaned up the place I could sleep on a bench.
I don't remember how long the sweeping took, only that I did the best job I could then stretched out on a bench. When I awoke the next morning, there was a guy sleeping on every bench in the auditorium. I headed for the bus depot.
Roger Miller's "King Of The Road" had fared better... he at least got an eight by twelve four-bit room!
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
U.S.P.S.
Further proof that the Federal government today does nothing very well. The U.S. Postal Service has been around since, when??? Ben Franklin's days? Is that not time enough to learn how?
Our town of Las Cruces, New Mexico (population 100,000) is only about 45 miles from El Paso, Texas. Now the U.S.P.S. is considering shutting down the mail sorting operation here in favor of doing all the sorting for our area in El Paso. The sorting facility in Las Cruces currently serves all of the zip code 880 sectional center, which is much of southern NM.
Okay, I am a strong advocate of the government saving money, but El Paso is in another state, and our postal service is already lousy. Will their service be worth keeping if they make that change?
We receive a lot of invoices from a number of vendors. Most have now switched to copying their invoices to a Adobe PDF and sending them by e-mail. Saves them postage - we receive their invoices immediately, in perfect condition, we can easily print all the copies we need and the PDFs are easy to store on a hard drive or on a CD.
Among our clients, one, who is not entirely up-to-date in computer usage, still wants our invoice in paper copies. We recently mailed our May invoice (which included many pages) to that client, in a U.S.P.S. Priority-mail envelope. He just phoned to report that he received the U.S.P.S. Priority Mail envelope from us... mangled and empty! Yes, we have copies, will reprint them and mail them again.
When we called the Post Office to complain, they shrugged... the contents of our mailing are just lost! If we wanted to recover our $4.75 postage, the client would have to contact the post office in his town, produce the empty Priority Mail envelope and file a claim. So advised, the client said to forget the refund.
So, thanks to the folks currently running our U.S.P.S., postal service is now lousy, and they want to reduce it even more. It would cost a little more to send our invoice to this client via Fedex, but it appears it would be worth it. The Federal government just manages to mess up everything it touches! Does anyone actually believe they will improve health care costs?
Further proof that the Federal government today does nothing very well. The U.S. Postal Service has been around since, when??? Ben Franklin's days? Is that not time enough to learn how?
Our town of Las Cruces, New Mexico (population 100,000) is only about 45 miles from El Paso, Texas. Now the U.S.P.S. is considering shutting down the mail sorting operation here in favor of doing all the sorting for our area in El Paso. The sorting facility in Las Cruces currently serves all of the zip code 880 sectional center, which is much of southern NM.
Okay, I am a strong advocate of the government saving money, but El Paso is in another state, and our postal service is already lousy. Will their service be worth keeping if they make that change?
We receive a lot of invoices from a number of vendors. Most have now switched to copying their invoices to a Adobe PDF and sending them by e-mail. Saves them postage - we receive their invoices immediately, in perfect condition, we can easily print all the copies we need and the PDFs are easy to store on a hard drive or on a CD.
Among our clients, one, who is not entirely up-to-date in computer usage, still wants our invoice in paper copies. We recently mailed our May invoice (which included many pages) to that client, in a U.S.P.S. Priority-mail envelope. He just phoned to report that he received the U.S.P.S. Priority Mail envelope from us... mangled and empty! Yes, we have copies, will reprint them and mail them again.
When we called the Post Office to complain, they shrugged... the contents of our mailing are just lost! If we wanted to recover our $4.75 postage, the client would have to contact the post office in his town, produce the empty Priority Mail envelope and file a claim. So advised, the client said to forget the refund.
So, thanks to the folks currently running our U.S.P.S., postal service is now lousy, and they want to reduce it even more. It would cost a little more to send our invoice to this client via Fedex, but it appears it would be worth it. The Federal government just manages to mess up everything it touches! Does anyone actually believe they will improve health care costs?
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Congressman Weiner
should resign. On Fox news, June 6, columnist Juan Williams said Weiner should NOT resign... that his occupying a seat in congress is the business of voters in his district.
That would be fine, Juan, if Weiner's (or any Congressman's) decisions affected only the voters in his district. But that is not the case. A congressman represents those voters in his/her district. His votes, on the other hand, affect all Americans along with our children and grandchildren. Indeed, America herself and her allies may be affected.
Another columnist, Dr. Thomas Sowell, wrote yesterday:
"In the course of any given year, Congress votes on taxes, medical care, military spending, foreign aid, agriculture, labor, international trade, airlines, housing, insurance, courts, natural resources, and much more.
There are professionals who have spent their entire adult lives specializing in just one of these fields. The idea that Congress can be competent in all these areas simultaneously is staggering. Yet, far from pulling back-- as banks or other private enterprises must, if they don't want to be ruined financially by operating beyond the range of their competence-- Congress is constantly expanding further into more fields."
One may argue that while members of congress may lack competence in these fields, they hear from expert witnesses and serve as something like a jury to reach a reasonable conclusion of the facts.
But, would you accept a juror who is a deliberate, aggressive liar, as Weiner has admitted to being? Much less being some sort of narcissistic pervert?
Anthony Weiner is patently unfit to participate in any deliberation, the outcome of which is important to America, Americans or our allies. If he does not resign, he should be thrown out of office and prohibited from ever seeking political office again.
should resign. On Fox news, June 6, columnist Juan Williams said Weiner should NOT resign... that his occupying a seat in congress is the business of voters in his district.
That would be fine, Juan, if Weiner's (or any Congressman's) decisions affected only the voters in his district. But that is not the case. A congressman represents those voters in his/her district. His votes, on the other hand, affect all Americans along with our children and grandchildren. Indeed, America herself and her allies may be affected.
Another columnist, Dr. Thomas Sowell, wrote yesterday:
"In the course of any given year, Congress votes on taxes, medical care, military spending, foreign aid, agriculture, labor, international trade, airlines, housing, insurance, courts, natural resources, and much more.
There are professionals who have spent their entire adult lives specializing in just one of these fields. The idea that Congress can be competent in all these areas simultaneously is staggering. Yet, far from pulling back-- as banks or other private enterprises must, if they don't want to be ruined financially by operating beyond the range of their competence-- Congress is constantly expanding further into more fields."
One may argue that while members of congress may lack competence in these fields, they hear from expert witnesses and serve as something like a jury to reach a reasonable conclusion of the facts.
But, would you accept a juror who is a deliberate, aggressive liar, as Weiner has admitted to being? Much less being some sort of narcissistic pervert?
Anthony Weiner is patently unfit to participate in any deliberation, the outcome of which is important to America, Americans or our allies. If he does not resign, he should be thrown out of office and prohibited from ever seeking political office again.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
The dressing down of America
Do you remember the 1944 hit song "The Trolley Song"? It was the story of a young woman who went out to ride the trolley for fun and found a new love.
She boarded the old street car in her "high starched collar and her high top shoes with her hair piled high upon her head." The young man, "in his light brown derby and his bright green tie was quite the handsomest of men".
I remember riding street cars and public transit buses as a youth when the vehicle and the passengers were clean and courteous. I remember when flight on an airliner was occasion for shirt and tie, and a sport coat, which you could fold neatly and lay in the overhead bin to keep it from becoming wrinkled during the trip.
Today, two or three other passeners would cram their backpacks on top of your jacket. The last time I rode a city bus in a big city, a disheveled drunk had vomited on the floor in front of his seat. And we all know of stories of passengers stabbed or beaten on public transit vehicles.
There was a time when ladies would not go out without their gloves. Today... well, you know what some wear.
What has happened? What has become of pride in personal appearance? What is the cause of such widespread slovenliness?
For some time I was very critical of rock music stars for their weird apparel and makeup - then I realized they had simply discovered a new way to make a living. But, are they setting the standards for appearance?
Does it begin in the home? As a small boy, I remember my mother grabbing me by the ear and dragging me back into the house if I headed out for school looking dirty or unkempt. Where are the mothers of boys who can best be described as unwashed slobs?
Are there no longer standards at school? I will always believe that one of the best tools in the hands of my early teachers was the paddle. Misbehave in any unreasonable way and you were marched to the cloak room where the teacher ordered you to grab your ankles while she swatted your bottom with the dreaded paddle.
Whatever the cause, I believe that a major problem with the use of public transit is the natural aversion to being seated next to a smelly, unpleasant person... something almost certain to happen if anyone else is riding!
Do you remember the 1944 hit song "The Trolley Song"? It was the story of a young woman who went out to ride the trolley for fun and found a new love.
She boarded the old street car in her "high starched collar and her high top shoes with her hair piled high upon her head." The young man, "in his light brown derby and his bright green tie was quite the handsomest of men".
I remember riding street cars and public transit buses as a youth when the vehicle and the passengers were clean and courteous. I remember when flight on an airliner was occasion for shirt and tie, and a sport coat, which you could fold neatly and lay in the overhead bin to keep it from becoming wrinkled during the trip.
Today, two or three other passeners would cram their backpacks on top of your jacket. The last time I rode a city bus in a big city, a disheveled drunk had vomited on the floor in front of his seat. And we all know of stories of passengers stabbed or beaten on public transit vehicles.
There was a time when ladies would not go out without their gloves. Today... well, you know what some wear.
What has happened? What has become of pride in personal appearance? What is the cause of such widespread slovenliness?
For some time I was very critical of rock music stars for their weird apparel and makeup - then I realized they had simply discovered a new way to make a living. But, are they setting the standards for appearance?
Does it begin in the home? As a small boy, I remember my mother grabbing me by the ear and dragging me back into the house if I headed out for school looking dirty or unkempt. Where are the mothers of boys who can best be described as unwashed slobs?
Are there no longer standards at school? I will always believe that one of the best tools in the hands of my early teachers was the paddle. Misbehave in any unreasonable way and you were marched to the cloak room where the teacher ordered you to grab your ankles while she swatted your bottom with the dreaded paddle.
Whatever the cause, I believe that a major problem with the use of public transit is the natural aversion to being seated next to a smelly, unpleasant person... something almost certain to happen if anyone else is riding!
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