Professional Politicians

I had always thought the term "professional politician" would always be meant as an insult. In the present administration, where words take on new meanings, professional politician is meant to impart confidence. So much for term limits to prevent these types.

Please view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYA9tw8UTWk&feature=player_embedded, pay special attention at about 45 seconds into it.

We, the unwashed public, are paying attention to the deficit, the debt and lack of a budget to run this country, and we do not need professional politicians to tell us that we are wrong, that we stupidly spend our hard earned money, and (near to my heart) are too dangerous to exercise our second amendment rights.

As Steven Chu (Secretary of Energy) sees it, he is protecting us from ourselves from the stupidity of purchasing cheap, bright incandescent light bulbs rather than those silly ass, crazy-straw-shaped fluorescent glow worms, "We are taking away a choice that continues to let people waste their own money." Like my tax dollars are spent wisely.

I am not a toddler who needs to be given carefully chosen choices of green beans or broccoli rather than a frigin Twinky. If I screw up, it effects me and mine, and perhaps a few bystanders if extreme. A government program screws up and it can effect thousands, or millions or generations. The rule of law is quickly dissipating in this administration. Sometimes overtly as in the take down of General Motors and giving it to the Union rather than the legal owners, sometimes attempts to be covert fail as in the Fast and Furious fiasco, and sometimes by just piling it high and deep by professional politicians.

There is something wrong with a government that talks about taking away choices for our own good, that plays fast and loose with written law, and dismisses us, the rabble. I guess they never read Galton, "In 1906, visiting a livestock fair, he stumbled upon an intriguing contest. An ox was on display, and the villagers were invited to guess the animal's weight after it was slaughtered and dressed. Nearly 800 participated, but not one person hit the exact mark: 1,198 pounds. Galton's insight was to examine the mean of these guesses from independent people in the crowd: Astonishingly the mean of those 800 guesses was 1,197 pounds: accurate to fraction of a percent." (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Galton). I have read that this was reproduced fair after fair. Leave 1000 business or people alone, and as a group they will make better choices than 1 business or professional politician. Perhaps this is why free market capitalism works so well.

When a government goes wrong, the need to prepare for small and large catastrophes increases as the governement's response will be ineffective. The floods in the west were barely newsworthy because the population was prepared -- beans, bullets, bullion and buddies. The governmental adult care were barely needed in Minot, ND. FEMA in the aftermath of Katrina is still newsworthy as an example of Federal responses to a crisis -- generally wrong.

I do not want to ever need the Feds to save my (kosher) bacon; I don't think they could. Look at what they have done to air travel. In case the Feds haven't noticed, hijackings are a thing of the past because the passengers realize that cooperation will not lead to a safe passage and more likely than not, will bum-rush the hijacker, whether or not he is wearing a suicide-vest or kneeling on a rug of some sort. We know that at least 'home grown' terrorists -- sort of groomed in jail-house mosques -- have an interest in missiles to shoot down jets. Is there chaff and flares on commercial jets? I guess the Feds will wait until one is shot down before implanting basic security against such an attack.

And now the TSA has expanded outside of airports. Thousands of times, screening passengers exiting trains... and there is no outrage. History repeats itself.

16 July 2011: As far as 'professional politicians' go ... wasn't Anthony Weiner one? A career starting right out of college? And Obama?