Lessons in Effective Governance

 Lessons in Effective Governance

 

   What are the lessons learned in the recent House of Representatives shutdown, caused by the lack of an elected Majority Leader?  The lessons are many and this post deals with some of them in what I see, as their order of importance.

   First and foremost is “The Rule of The Rubber Stamp.”  This rule simply stated is: In a partisan organization, the majority party, when faced with a nearly equal distribution of the two party’s membership, must vote in a unanimous or nearly unanimous manner in order to reliably exert their power.  The event we recently witnessed was five or so MAGA (Morons Against Government Association) members ruling the entire body of a Republican majority House.  Less than ten MAGA faithful were able to force a unanimous vote of the Republican House members for one of their cult.  The Kamikaze few were willing to blow up the entire organization that they were elected to, in order to have their guy in control.  The Rubber Stamp is an effective method to apply power with, but a poor method of governing.

   How was this possible?  Well, in order to elect a Majority Leader of The House of Representatives a majority of the entire House must vote for a candidate.  This sounds logical but it most certainly isn’t.  It firmly places The Rule of the Rubber Stamp in power.  With all but a few of the majority party members voting for a leader and the opposing party voting unanimously, as a Rubber Stamp, for a minority candidate, no one will receive a majority.  The few dissenting Republicans will not vote for the Democratic candidate.   In the partisan world we exist in, only Republicans should vote for the Republican leader and only Democrats should vote for the Democratic leader.  Two separate elections.  This would return the power to the majority of each political party.  Is that not how a leader should be chosen?  The majority party would choose the majority leader and the minority party would choose the minority leader.  Kevin McCarthy, with some ideological opponents, would have been chosen on the Republican first ballot and Hakeem Jeffries would also have quickly prevailed, but also with some ideological opponents.  

   When did reason desert our government?  Long ago, when the two parties took over the power from your elected representatives, as opposed to those elected ruling their party.  The party is the major force in the supply of giant campaign funds.  They also control committee assignments.  In other words, the party determines who gets elected to office and what power they will have once there.  This is why a man of wisdom and morality, Mitt Romney, speaks his mind, but most often votes with his party.  While the party controls those who govern, large dollar interests control both parties.  So the chain of command is Large Dollar Interests, States’ Rights (The Senate) and last but certainly least The People.  The President does not determine the laws that govern us and our Supreme Court, who determines the meaning of the law, is not elected but is given members with lifetime appointments.   I’m not sure that this power structure is sustainable. 

Cheers, Old Buz                   10/26/2023

Iambloggerbuz.blogspot.com

Israel vs. Palestine

 Israel vs. Palestine

   Yes, they are at it again.  Muslims vs. Jews, the killing of the innocents.  As in any other war the wrong people die.  Bombing or rockets are the main killing device and they represent the best collateral damage device yet to be developed.  Somehow as in any war the leaders and the munition manufacturers go unharmed.  The duped, civilians and soldiers, take the damage.  Will this ever change (even after this blog post) unlikely.

   Hamas clearly started this hot war.  This will be forgotten by anti-Semites in the very near future.  Here is the stated position of Hamas: “We were born in Palestine, as were our fathers and were their fathers before them.  The Jews inhabiting our homeland and calling themselves Israel were dumped on our nation by England and given the right to form a nation on our land.  They have made us, the true believers in Allah (God) second class citizens and moved us to a reservation called The Gaza Strip.  We are fenced off of our own land.  Israel must be destroyed and the Jews living there must die.”

   Here is the position of Israel: “We are a nation of Jews who have been kicked out of our various homelands or murdered there for over two thousand years.  In 1948, after the end of World War II England used its mandate over Palestine, many of who's people were allied with Hitler in a desire to kill Jews.  The Holocausts' survivors were dumped into Palestine.  These new survivors from the cities of Europe had to quickly learn to farm the land and fight for their survival amongst overwhelming odds.   The bulk of these refugees had already been denied entry into The United States and England.  Many of these Jewish refugees considered the Sahara their biblical (mythological) home.  God said it was theirs.  Palestinian terrorists began a program of bombing city busses and attacks on Jewish elementary schools.  As a result, Israel took away Palestinians' access and moved them to Gaza and The West Bank.  The Jews of Germany, before Hitler, thought that they were Germans.  But, they learned once again that somewhere in the world there must be a Jewish nation, where they could live as citizens and survive.  They call themselves Zionists.  Israel is a small spot on the globe surrounded by Muslim nations.  The Hasidic Jews (ultra conservative) will not join the Army of Israel.  For them, survival is not an adequate reason to disregard God's biblical commandment. "Thou shalt not kill."  That might just be a good guiding philosophy for all people, but it doesn't function well if your enemies don't believe it.

  I am an agnostic living in America.  My parents were Jews so I am a Jew to an anti-Semite.  I have experienced very little anti-Semitism in my lifetime.  When I was young a country club would not accept Jews.  There are still very active anti-Semitic movements in the Deep South.  I don’t believe that Chris Christie would have been elected Governor of New Jersey if his name were Jew Jewie.  He might have made it to US Attorney of New Jersey .  Morons and some folks who place loyalty above logic still prejudge the “others.”     

"Take your place on the great mandala as it moves through your brief moment in time." – Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary                  

 

“To the common folk, religion is truth.

To the wise, religion is false.

To the leaders, religion is useful.”

- Seneca the Younger (4 BC – 68 AD)

iambloggerbuz.blogspot.com                                                       10/10/2023