I Wish I Had a Government

I’m so jealous of countries that have governments. How cool would that be?

Many years ago, the United States had a government that did impressive things such as winning wars, spreading democracy, and solving huge social issues. In time, it turned into a government that was good at getting blown and tattling. Then we had a government that was too incompetent to do even that. Now we no longer have a functioning government of any kind. The good news is that we seem to have reached a plateau.

Recently our so-called Speaker of the House was meeting with the Syrian government while our so-called Vice President was on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show reminding the world that the so-called Speaker of the House doesn’t speak for the United States in foreign policy. Foreign policy is the job of the so-called President who doesn’t speak to governments that don’t already agree with him.

Today I read that the Defense Department is releasing a report that there was no link between al-Qaeda and Iraq, at the same time that so-called Vice President Cheney was repeating his mantra that there was indeed a link. My tax dollars paid for all of that. I don’t think I got my money’s worth.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are poised for a big win during the next election based on their excellent track record of doing nothing for years. Doing nothing might not sound like a good strategy to you, but if you compare it to what happens when the government actually does something, you can make an argument.

A good test of whether you have a government is this: Can your country do anything big and important? For example, could the United States start a new war, or end an existing one, or change its dependence on foreign oil, or provide health care to all citizens? Apparently not.

At this point, the so-called government does little more than provide content for news channels and blogs. I think they should do more. For example, I’d like to see Congressmen and Congresswomen run across a field of rakes every morning to get to work. For me, it would only take a few rakes in the face per day to make me feel as if my tax dollars weren’t a complete waste.

Is that too much to ask?

Comments

[coolpc]

Buyers of guns must take gun-safety courses

[coefficientnoisereduction]

I just don't have much to say right now, but I guess it doesn't bother me. Basically nothing seems worth thinking about. Nothing notable happening these days. Shrug. Not that it matters. My mind is like a void. I've basically been doing nothing , not that it matters. More or less nothing going on. I guess it doesn't bother me. Not much on my mind.

[2007 audi auto detroit show]

I've just been letting everything wash over me. I've pretty much been doing nothing. I've just been sitting around not getting anything done.

[beer pong professional table]

People should be allowed to go naked in certain recreational areas only

[formula boat used for sale]

Not much on my mind right now. Today was a complete loss. So it goes. I've just been sitting around waiting for something to happen. I've basically been doing nothing , but I guess it doesn't bother me.

[cigar v cutter]

Cousin dating is, is not okay

[Jean Gauthier]

A funny one.

Let me tell my story.

I was sitting at the back of a new york taxi cab. It doesn't take long for the driver to notice that I was a(french) canadian.

Then, from nowhere he told me
-"I forgive you".

I said
-"For what?"

He replied
-"For Brian Adams"

I though "what the fuck, if only he have said Celine Dion I could have understood his point".

Then I said:
-"I don't forgive you"

He said
-"For what?" with a suspicious look.

I said:
-"For Georges Bush"

[obscurifer]

You forgot to add that the rake-running would have to be broadcast on CSPAN.

[bubba]

To pick a nit, I think the "health care" complaints are rather bogus. We spend twice as much of our GDP (16%) as any European government (typically 8%) and as a result, provide a much higher quality of care and much higher discovery of new medicines. I recently spent some unplanned time in one of the top medical facilities in the world (located just by chance in the US) and it had a large number (majority) of patients who were on public assistance, for both daily living and medical expenses. This top hospital even had professionals dedicated to helping patients maximize their public benefits.

None of these patients were asked what they could afford to pay before receiving the life-saving treatments they needed.

Are there more people in the US who "lack health insurance" than in Europe, because they have the choice to spend their money on bling instead of taxes? Sure. Are they denied life-saving treatment as a result? No.

[Wind Energy Sucks]

I didn't read much here, but I have to respond to one thing:

"Where are all of these wind energy production plants? My state doesn't have any, we are still primarily run on coal energy and are unlikely to change since we don't exactly have the cash to invest in wind energy."

Frankly, wind energy sucks. The only reason anyone builds wind mills is to make nature nuts happy. They are unreliable and produce very little energy, especially for the cost and the space they take up. Coal energy does not suck. But it's dirty. If you want clean and efficient, you want nuclear. And preferably a big hole in the ground somewhere to put the waste it does make. But what with the strife in the middle east, we should have an abundance of big holes in the ground in a couple years pre-made for us anyway, so it's all good.

[Alyen]

Theres actually many parts to the government. The huge lumbering ineffective part that wastes most of our tax dollars is the federal government.
The part of the government that actually works is the local government. In most parts of the country local governments keep the streets repaired, the public parks open, the fire department ready to put out fires, and the police forces ready to bust the bad guys.

[bob]

There is only 1 solution to this dilema ...

IT'S TIME TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD

Then there is no problem with "my goverment sucks" or "The govt is wasting my money" because I am the goverment and my ivory butt scratcher is more important than universal health care.

[SlowMovingTarget]

We have a government, but it is a government of the professional politicians, for the corporations, by the media. Can this government get important things done (like fixing Social Security)? No. But just watch how fast the legislation comes through for things like extending copyright (looking forward to that entry).

Laws like the DMCA are written by lobbyists and handed to their representative for nearly immediate passage, in spite of the fact that they've proven to be very bad law.

[XX EE]

Scott, this post was absolutely brilliant and dead on. What an accurate yet funny summation of the benighted Bush administration and the Dems who enable it. However, you didn't go far enough when you said, "For example, I’d like to see Congressmen and Congresswomen run across a field of rakes every morning to get to work. For me, it would only take a few rakes in the face per day to make me feel as if my tax dollars weren’t a complete waste." [LOL!!] I'd also like to see Bush, Rove, Cheney, Rice, Gonzoles, and the rest of them run across the field of rakes, too -- on their way to and from work (if you can call what they do work). Maybe I wouldn't get my taxes' worth from it, but I'd at least feel a little better about seeing them get a little restitution for how badly they've screwed the country, the Constitution, and the world at large.

[Steve Styrus]

One technicality you got wrong Scott, your President does occasionally talk to Governments that don't agree with him. About a week ago he met with Helen Clark (Prime Minister of NZ) and they had a nice lunch together. The catch was, she wasn't allowed to talk about anything that they disagreed on such as Iraq/Iran, Nuclear Weapons, or Free Trade deals.

So he said "thanks for sending your SAS to Afghanistan", and she said "Thanks for lunch" and that was pretty much that. I think she also returned the invite, but he was a bit cagey, probably he doesn't know where New Zealand is yet.

[Carl_Spackler]

The only way to fix our system of government is to remove the ability of a person to be a career politician.

If we get teachers, businessmen, etc to server one term a piece in our federal government we'd find out two major points.

1) Our country has too many people riding the gravy train of our federal government for work.

2) Most people get into politics because of it's financial benefits, not because they truly want to help.

[The Dude]

To Rollthebones:

Wow, you have actually fallen for the propaganda launched by the hard line conservatives, try thinking for yourself for a change.

"Oil dependence? Have you not noticed the huge increase in wind energy production in the past 5 years? Didn't you know that most of the big auto makers already have hydrogen engines designed and ready for production? "

Where are all of these wind energy production plants? My state doesn't have any, we are still primarily run on coal energy and are unlikely to change since we don't exactly have the cash to invest in wind energy.

I will agree that most of the big auto makers have hydrogen engines designed, but they are no where near production ready. For one thing there is no infrastructure to support hydrogen cars at the moment, you can't exactly produce a car that can't be fueled. Not to mention the fact that even if they were to produce the cars they would be about as expensive as high end luxury cars at the moment so the average consumer couldn't afford one. So how exactly does this lower our dependence on oil?

"There is no need for the government to intervene because free people in our free society will move the nation away from oil dependence in due time."

Again unless our government does something to finance the infrastructure there is no way anything is going to happen. Most states don't take in near enough money to build the infrastucture on their own and the states don't have the borrowing power of the federal government.

"As for the war, it isn't our fault that terrorists are slaughtering innocent civilians and children. But look at it this way: almost every Democrat-voting stronghold in this country is rife with crime and violence. Baltimore, Minneapolis, Chicago, DC, Detroit--the list goes on. We can't even stop the bloodshed in our own urban communities, so what makes you think we can stop it in Iraq?

As long as a terrorist is alive to target civilians or gangbangers are free to roam the streets to do drive-by shootings nothing will change."

Way to pick the most crime-riden metropolises that you could find as representative of "Democrat-voting strongholds", what about the entire state of West Virginia, we are a so-called Blue State with 2 Dem Senators, and 2/3 Dem Representatives, but we have some of the lowest crime in the nation. Of course I do agree that there is little to no way that the US will be able to stop the violence in Iraq, most of it stems from centuries of religious contention that we have little to no understanding of. Do you have a proposal as to how to stop all gang violence? It's not like the police aren't trying, but there is only so much they can do when the federal, state and local governments are making cuts to the number of officers on the streets, judges in the courts, etc.

"And health care? Take a look at the economy of Germany to see what a drag socialized medicine is on an economy. Or take a look at England and see how dentists are moving into private practice--and patients are following--because the quality of care under socialized medicine is so poor.

Seriously, read up on healthcare in Europe. See how much it costs the economy and see what the quality is like. The last thing the US should do is mandate socialized medicine."

What about the economy of Canada? They have universal healthcare and their economy isn't that bad off. Yes Universal Healthcare can be a major burden on society, but wouldn't it be easier for the poor and homeless to find jobs and be gainfully employed if they were healthy? A fair number of the homeless have serious mental disorders (Schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, etc) and they can't afford the medications (a 30 day supply of some of those meds can run $500-800), if they had access to the meds they would be able to remain employed and in control of themselves, how would that not benefit society as a whole?

"The true fact of the matter is that the elderly are the ones driving the cost of healthcare. Yet, most left-wingers demand that the cost of healthcare be born equally by all. So what do we get? We get a situation where the youth are subsidizing the elderly. Instead of just supporting themselves, the youth must support themselves and an old geezer."

Yes longer life spans translates into higher healthcare costs, but whatever happened to taking care of our elderly, shouldn't those of us who are gainfully employed help out those citizens on a fixed income? Why is that such a tough pill to swallow. I bet you change your tune when you hit 70/80/90 years of age and can't work any longer.

"My state a couple of years ago considered universal health insurance. It was estimated that it would cost every person $350 per month regardless of age. It was also reported that an 18-year-old male could currently purchase health insurance for a cost of $80 per month. Yet under the left-wing universal plans the 18-year-old would need to pay 3-1/2 times more for insurance."

Again yes the elderly having higher healthcare costs, that's why the health insurance is cheaper for someone in the prime of their life the likelihood of them getting sick or injured is much lower. But does that mean we should abandone our elderly? What happened to our society that getting old is seen as a disease in itself? Look at the Japanese and Chinese, they cherish their elderly and gladly support them because they are a source of great wisdom and life experience.

"Yes, we need universal healthcare so we can keep those bed-ridden 80-year-olds with Parkinson's Disease alive longer so they can continue to collect Social Security...and stare blankly at the ceiling. Not!"

And this is why doctor assisted suicide shouldn't be illegal, as long as the patient is the one who wants it, to avoid situations like this.

Your statements here remind me of a classic Sliders episode where all of the people over 30 or 40 were essentially executed by the government because they weren't young enough to remain useful to society. I think it was also a Twilight Zone episode, either way there was a lesson to be learned and you apparently never learned it.

[Ashwin R J]

Dear rollthebones,

Ur post made me think for a while ! All that was missing is a "Heil Hitler" at the end. I think half the thinks in your post was contradictory to th truth.

1.) "Oil dependence? Have you not noticed the huge increase in wind energy production in the past 5 years? Didn't you know that most of the big auto makers already have hydrogen engines designed and ready for production? "

Really...thats News to me , can you tell me by what percentage of total power consumption this wind energy has increased to in the past 5 yrs. Also as for the Hydrogen engines, what are the carmakers then waiting for ? Maybe the rising oil prices has something to do with it....

2.) "almost every Democrat-voting stronghold in this country is rife with crime and violence"

Well actually they are also opressed, poverty ridden, and marginalised who see through people like george bush and his cronies. Maybe we should have more executions like texas and our country will be crime free....

3.) "Yes, we need universal healthcare so we can keep those bed-ridden 80-year-olds with Parkinson's Disease alive longer so they can continue to collect Social Security...and stare blankly at the ceiling. Not!"

yah and exterminate the jews....Heil Hitler !

[Alexandra]

I had a 6th-great-grandfather who fought in the American Revolution and he'd be spinning in his grave. He was an Adams and 8th cousin once removed of John Adams.

When you have a president that allegedly said that the Constitution is a "g**d***ed piece of paper" and his actions indicate that that is his opinion of the Constitution, that's a good sign this country is getting the hose.

[Neil (Perth, Western Australia... go find it on a map!)]

Scott

OK - lemme get this over with: love your work.

Next: here in Australia, it is compulsory to vote in state and federal elections - you get fined if you don't participate. Really. I think we may be the only authentic democracy in the world that works this way.

While I'd love to tell you it makes our politicians smarter and better (it doesn't), there is one thing it does make them: perpetually wary of the people who voted them in. In this land, a rainy election day isn't enough to keep the incumbent in power.

Now if only we could make them scared of us, instead of just wary... hang on, isn't that why your constitution gives you the right to arm bears? (Looks like it didn't have the desired result... ouch.)

[fij]

Ya should have voted. Would you delegate your restaurant hiring to complete strangers? Then why the employees your taxes are paying?
Oh yeah, I reckon it's pretty weak to throw stones at evolution on the basis it fails your sniff test. It's simply a theory, a particularly elegant and powerful one, which explains the vast amount of diversity in the living world as well as the vast amount of similarities in biological systems shared by species, and it does it using only physics and chemistry. Beat that.

[Jim]

I'll go with Jon Stewart on this one. "Our country might not be too good at nation building but we're still pretty top notch nation unbuilders.

[rollthebones]

Given the general incompetence and inefficiency of government, as you seem to agree with, I don't think I'd want the government to do anything.

You see, in a free society the government doesn't mandate things. Free people operating in a free society with a free economy do.

The government doesn't say: Scott Adams, go work in a coal mine.

Oil dependence? Have you not noticed the huge increase in wind energy production in the past 5 years? Didn't you know that most of the big auto makers already have hydrogen engines designed and ready for production?

There is no need for the government to intervene because free people in our free society will move the nation away from oil dependence in due time.

As for the war, it isn't our fault that terrorists are slaughtering innocent civilians and children. But look at it this way: almost every Democrat-voting stronghold in this country is rife with crime and violence. Baltimore, Minneapolis, Chicago, DC, Detroit--the list goes on. We can't even stop the bloodshed in our own urban communities, so what makes you think we can stop it in Iraq?

As long as a terrorist is alive to target civilians or gangbangers are free to roam the streets to do drive-by shootings nothing will change.

And health care? Take a look at the economy of Germany to see what a drag socialized medicine is on an economy. Or take a look at England and see how dentists are moving into private practice--and patients are following--because the quality of care under socialized medicine is so poor.

Seriously, read up on healthcare in Europe. See how much it costs the economy and see what the quality is like. The last thing the US should do is mandate socialized medicine.

The true fact of the matter is that the elderly are the ones driving the cost of healthcare. Yet, most left-wingers demand that the cost of healthcare be born equally by all. So what do we get? We get a situation where the youth are subsidizing the elderly. Instead of just supporting themselves, the youth must support themselves and an old geezer.

My state a couple of years ago considered universal health insurance. It was estimated that it would cost every person $350 per month regardless of age. It was also reported that an 18-year-old male could currently purchase health insurance for a cost of $80 per month. Yet under the left-wing universal plans the 18-year-old would need to pay 3-1/2 times more for insurance.

Yes, we need universal healthcare so we can keep those bed-ridden 80-year-olds with Parkinson's Disease alive longer so they can continue to collect Social Security...and stare blankly at the ceiling. Not!

[Jim Robertson]

Politicians crave power, and most of them genuinely believe that if they have it they can use it to do something to improve the human condition. But the exercise of political power very seldom produces the desired results, and invariably does produce many unintended consequences. A wise leader does as little as possible but conserves his energies to react to the unexpected. It can be difficult to hold this line in the face of public demands to "do something". But the American constitution, with its institionalised stalemate, provides a generally benign environment for this. It's a form of Brownian Motion in which the illusion of activity generates employment for thousands of otherwise unemployable lawyers. On the rare occasions that all the particles decide to move in the same direction, such as Iraq, the results are not good.

[J.Doe]

Minority Theory
++++++++++++++++

The people who own/control the Banking and News Media will control the government. Through government control they will siphon the wealth of the nation until a revolution turns the tide to re-establish equality in the society.

Never let minority communities dominate your banks and the press!

[mike]

If this comment actually made sense you might sway someone to believe that you have a point. Today was not your day.

"I find the vast amount of ignorance of how our government actually works, how trends in human events take longer than a 30 minute TV show and the total gullibility of most people to be endlessly amusing.

Posted by: Jim | April 06, 2007 at 03:22 PM "

[mike]

If this comment actually made sense you might sway someone to believe that you have a point. Today was not your day.

"I find the vast amount of ignorance of how our government actually works, how trends in human events take longer than a 30 minute TV show and the total gullibility of most people to be endlessly amusing.

Posted by: Jim | April 06, 2007 at 03:22 PM "

[mike]

If this comment actually made sense you might sway someone to believe that you have a point. Today was not your day.

"I find the vast amount of ignorance of how our government actually works, how trends in human events take longer than a 30 minute TV show and the total gullibility of most people to be endlessly amusing.

Posted by: Jim | April 06, 2007 at 03:22 PM "

[jc]

I see it this way. The government is supposed to represent (a subset) of the people it's governing. Most people are at least partly stupid - and sometimes even outright morons. The government can only correctly represent its people if they act ludicrous themselves. So actually Bush is just doing democracy a favor. Or he just likes to squander money and wage unfounded wars that are practically unwinnable. One or the other.

[Shawn]

Worth repeating here:

"the President's job is not to wield power but to distract attention away from it" -- Douglas Adams

[Scott Sobel]

Steve Ferry,

I appreciate the sentiment of your chimp remark. But, please don't insult chimps. They wouldn't elect Bush ... either.

[ex CC boss]

To FGK:
How many times do we have to tell you brain dead people?
The poster's name is under the post. Is that so hard to understand?
(my name is ex CC boss. It is under my post. get it?)

[Michael Gorsuch]

Scott, while I mostly agree with your article, you have to know that our government is certainly competent in *starting* wars. They just lack in morality of any kind. And planning skills. And execution. And the humility to admit a mistake of any kind. And tolerance for anything different than themselves. And souls.

OK. I'm done. Thanks for the quality work.

[ex CC boss]

Once again, you have hit the so-called nail on it's so-called head. The government by the people, for the people, and of the people has perished from this earth. Is there another Earth we can go to? Please?

[WGShort]

I agree with GO FAR WITH A CAR; if we could only get rid of the AARP, Sierra Club, Whale Watch, etc lobbies; everything would be much better.

[jomama]

It appears that most governments will soon have done enough
to leave a large part of the planet in rags:

http://djomama.blogspot.com/2006/12/first-world-government-junk-bonds-on.html

[Peter Canessa]

You're lucky you don't live in England. Here we are the most policed but crime-ridden society in the Western world with the most corrupt and totalitarian 'government' we've had since the 1600s. 'Liberalism' has been translated to mean 'banning things', 'social concern' to mean 'banning things for other people'. Oh, and we're run by Scots, who have their own parliament, but aren't allowed to have our own.

Mind you, since Bliar and co learnt all their 'news-management' from the USA and there's a Clinton back in the race you may well end up going down the drain with us.

[RavenBlack]

"on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show reminding the world"

I assume this is the Bush definition of 'world', where it means 'right-wing Americans'.

As in "leader of the free world".

[canajian]

I have to tell you that you were wrong. You still have governments. Not singular. Plural.

The most significant job of a government is to collect taxes. Your taxes. And all US governments at federal, state and city levels are doing their job too well.

What even hurts you more than making this fatal mistake is that, you are paying these taxes.

[Billy B]

Democracy = A bunch of monkeys fucking around with each other. The children (or the child in the adult) trying to get the parents into having things their way.

But only mature parents should be allowed to run a country.

[bill]

You don't vote, so you get what you vote for.

[Veggen Skrik]

What's with the Americans and wars? I really thought this text would be worth reading, but crap like 'winning wars' and 'starting wars' convinced me otherwise. Your country goes around destroying lives for it's pathetic goals (my town has been bombed and I sure as hell know I haven't deserved it) while you whine 'we can't even start a war anymore'. I'm discusted. Please go to a war and make sure you get killed, so that I can stop worrying about running into a nonsense of a text like this ever again.

[The writer formerly known as CC]

Is it just me or did Richard Branson (governer of New Mexico) just get people to approve a tax hike to built a Spaceport in NM for *his* space tourism company??

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6532383.stm

What the hell is wrong with you people?

You'll pay extra money for a fucking spaceport but you won't support public health care, your educational system is a disaster, half your popultion is below the poverty line and a chimpanzee-wannabe is running the country! Unbelievable...

[Michael LaRocca]

In response to your latest newsletter, since as usual I never reply to the blog entry in question...

Big Woody

[Dom]

I wish I had a government too. (I'm from the UK).

[Josh]

Dear Scott,
My nifty response to your rake theory is to copy something somebody else already said: We should impose Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" standards upon the election of government officials. The part I like about that system is that the politicians would have to perform some meaningful public service, or at least gobs of demeaning and useless labor, fo a period of years before ever being allowed to hold ANY OFFICE. That standard would've weeded out every member of our current Executive Branch (except for the military-oriented cabinet positions) before they got on the ballot. (GW's less than outstanding National Guard service would have resulted in a Bad Conduct Discharge that would bar him from even holding the office of traffic cop.)
It's not perfect, but all I'm looking for is a system that works satisfactorily.

[Go Far With A Car]

If we, in the USA would abolish lobbyists, we would eradicate 90 percent of the problems we have.

[Don]

Thank you for an insightful column. I think Dogbert could do a better job of running the country than Dick and George. The only reason Pelosi went to Syria was to convey to the Syrians that we don't all suffer from cephalo-rectal inversion. They may have gotten the wrong idea after 6 years of cretin like foreign policy of our current administration. Thanks for keeping me laughing and sane with your cartoons and writing.

[PGK]

I can't tell who made the first comment by just looking at it. Is it "Bob," or is it simply not signed by anyone?

[Jason Allen]

Bob stated "For those of you who may have forgotten, it's a simple three step plan: Step 1 : Don't allow gay people to get married. Step 3 : Profit!"

It's not all our fault. It's at least partly God's fault for punishing the US for not killing us homos in the streets. I liked it better when the underpants gnomes mostly ignored us homos and focused on outlawing abortions. Back then the plan was:

Step 1: Ban abortions and bomb all baby-killer doctors.
Step 2:
Step 3: Profit!

[D. Mented]

Certain West African tribes have a ceremony known as "dundunba"
It is done when two men can't resolve theri differences non-violently and the elders think they may divide the tribe into supporters of one or the other.
It requires
The two men
A bunch of drummers
A big stick
The drummers start up a (really cheerful, bouncy) beat
The two men take turns whacking eachother on the back with the big stick until one of them says he's had enough.
Problem solved.
Our government should do this instead of declaring war ...I believe if we put Bush Vs. Bin Laden in dundunba (or Saddam )on pay-per-view we could clear off the national debt, (and it would be somewhat cheaper to run than the current war.)
If we could get Bush, Cheney, or any member of congress vs.Anybody from France, we could fund Social Security for the next ten generations.
And We think of the rural Africans as uncivillized.
D. Mented

[DAN RATHER]

Government is so 20th century. I am a big capitalist but sometimes the drive to make things private has immense lobbying power to make government inefficient on purpose.

[Kevin]

I don't have much to add to this except: this is the best damn thing I've read all year. Keep it up.

[Jason Allen]

You forgot the two main things the government is good at no matter which site is in control: needlessly giving tax dollars to corporations (in tax breaks and free cash) and corruption. Unfortunately, our government is a reflection of prevailing culture in America. We're reliving the fall of the Roman Republic. I'm pretty sure that if a Republican wins the Presidency in 2008, his inaugural speech will begin "Friends, Americans, countrymen, lend me your ears! I come to bury Bush, not praise him..."

[George Gooney]

i read its really a bitch to make u235

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enriched_uranium

[Udok]

[According to the constitution the three branches of government are equal, they have checks and balances to each other so that in theory no one branch is more powerful than the other. You even pointed out the checks and balances except you got one point wrong. The Congress cannot "change" the constitution to say whatever they want, they can make amendments to "clarify" the interpretation of the constitution, the Judicial branch then has the right to tell congress that their amendment is unconstitutional and needs to either be rewritten or repealed. --the dude]

I'm sorry, but you have the amendment part wrong: the the supreme court has no power over amendments. They can't strike any one down, and the amendment does infact become part of the constitution. The check on this power however is that the state legislatures (or on one rare occasion, special state conventions) must ratify said amendment with 3/4 of the states agreeing. The special conventions are always allowed, just have only been used once. It is even possible for 2/3 of the states themselves to propose an amendment for ratification - by no action of the federal legislature-, though this has never been done.

In any case, the supreme court CANNOT repeal these amendments and acctualy must consider them part of the constitution all the time, but most especialy when exercising judicial review (when they call the actions of other branches unconstitutional).

For proof that amendments aren't just clarifying language, all you have to so is read them. Some remove entire sections of the constitution and rewrite them in a completely different way. Amendment XVI is a great example:

"The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration. " (income taxes)

heres what the constitution used to say:

"No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken. "

anyway, I just wanted to clear that up, Oh and here is the cornell law school site I found those 2 quotations on: http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.table.html

Sorry if there are any spelling errors: Bad spellers of the world untie!

[Rachel]

~~~~~~~~Hey Aussies - you have good weather and speak English, have you got a government that you're not embarrassed about? If so, I think there are few hundred million American's who might want to immigrate.~~~~~~~~~

Unforunately at the moment we have a Prime minister who thinks the US foreign pollicy (bleh can't spell) is the way to go. Although we are having a federal election later this year

[Ashley]

I refuse to read through the 105 comments posted thus far, so my apologies if this has already been mentioned:

Duh Scott, you can have your own government. Hell, you can even have your own country! Ever here of www.nationstates.net? Based off of Max Barry's book, Jennifer Government? (You'd probably really enjoy that book if you haven't read it already. And if you did read it already, well, my guess is that you really enjoyed it. Yes? Yes.) Anyway, go check out the website. I see you creating an outwardly libertarian government that is secretly ruled by a lemon-eating, backwards-shirt-wearing tyrant (you).

:)

[DWH]

Not only a field of rakes to get to work, but once there the capital building floorspace is completly filled ,wall to wall, with set mouse traps.That would sure slow down the work ethic there(ie,save some tax money by doing nothing),and shame the first senator that showed up to work early.

[Steve Ferry]

You could just shave a chimp and dress it in a suit. Sit it behind a desk in the oval office and tell it to go ook if anyone asks it a question. Oh wait a minute, you already did that. I'm out of ideas

[WillTingle]

Many years ago, the United States had a government that did impressive things such as winning wars, spreading democracy" I can't think of a war the US won on its own. I don't recall any sort of democracy they spread either. I remember many democracies they destroyed (think Chile or Nicaragua) and I know they aided lot of fascist dictators and generally brought death destruction and torture to many poor countries.

[rd]

sorry, would you please remove the link
though i liked two jokes in it, others are kinda too spiteful
coz i like humor for purely humor sake
and don't care much about american politics or politicians
thank you

and when everybody spits on somebody my first impulse is to side with the weaker side
though i can change my mind after second thought
bush jr i think can't be that bad person if women surrounding him are these nice people - barbara bush, laura bush, condoleeza rice

[Billy B]

I want a monarchy, fuck democracy and the illusion of freewill.
Billy B

[Bison]

While I agree with you, I do take exception to one line,
“Democrats are poised for a big win during the next election based on their excellent track record of doing nothing for years”
What would you have us do? We had no power, no voice and nobody was listening to us anyway!
You folks who are now so outraged at the state of our country and our government did nothing when Bush threw all of our people out of positions of authority, you did nothing when the media ignored and belittled our positions on issues and you stood by as the republican slime machine dragged our political leaders threw the mud.
Democrats did not hold power in any branch of government and were excluded from participating in the political process by the republican majority.
You may call this wining or passing the buck but I call it reality. Time and again Democratic leaders would take stands against Bush only to be attacked and marginalized. After the attacks of 911 you all wanted blood and you didn’t much care who’s it was, any democrat who went against the will of the people at that point would have been strung up by their thumbs, even so, some did stand up and as the American bloodlust ebbs more and more are coming out of there fox holes to stand up and be heard.
Yes, we did nothing for years, but you are the folks who made that decision for us.
Our message has not changed the only difference is people can hear us once again.

[Ummm]

Maybe the Democrats would have accomplished something if the Republican Congress had allowed them to bring a SINGLE one of their bills to a vote these past few years.

[Erika]

I have the feeling if we didn't have a government, we'd be run by a religion. I'll take my chances with government, personally.

[jerry w]

It's really sad that all the politicos ever will care about is being elected (or re-elected), none seem to have the balls (or female equivalent) to stand up and speak the truth: "It's all been lies, from day 1 of the Bush theft of the office of president, IMPEACH that bastard before what's left of the Constitution goes out the window."

If just one person running would say that and then simply ask the voters to look at the facts (yes, I know about "facts" from previous blogs) and make a decision on how they will vote based on what they will see.

I agree with previous posts that there is for the most part no difference between a republican or a democrat. Simple research would show that the big money interests had gamed the system years ago so no third party could ever be a viable choice. The "electoral college", the existance of which is something harder to justify than daylight savings time, really seals the deal air-tight.

Being old enough to remember that this once was a great country, this ongoing downhill slide is terrible to watch. Much in the way that younger people don't know what it was like when gas was selling at .26 a gallon, they also don't know how good it could be here, and assume that this ongoing loss of privacy and so many other basic dignitys is normal.

http://boskolives.wordpress.com/

[Bob]

It's those same-sex people. They get into the military and make it less effective. If it weren't for them lowering morale, we'd have this war won already and Iraq would be a flourishing democracy and would be cloning and incubating thousands of copies of our founding fathers (Lincoln, Adams, Paine, etc) in giant democracy farms, preparing a new army of AK-47 toting Freedom Fighters to spread democracy to the rest of the middle east with macho macho gusto and flair! (And all without using stem cells too, in case you're wondering.)

I don't think that we need a new plan to win the war. We just need to execute the plan we already have. You know it - it's the same plan that got Bush elected in the first place. It goes by many names, such as "family values." It's really a simple plan! It's an awesome plan. It works for everything! It works for providing health care to everyone who needs it. It works for winning random unnecessary and pointless wars. It can even fix any problems a country might have with the education system, or even traffic control problems or even potholes in the streets... So the next time you're wondering who to vote for, remember the plan, and be sure to vote for not ONLY whoever you think will *support* the plan, but ALSO vote for someone who will do a better job than Bush of *executing* the plan! We don't need another politician who is all "blah blah blah" like Bush. We need someone who will actually take action on his pre-election promises.

For those of you who may have forgotten, it's a simple three step plan:

Step 1 : Don't allow gay people to get married.

Step 3 : Profit!

[Robert Hamilton]

I'm sorry Scott, but as someone who does not even have enough courage to vote, you have no right to complain. Not even the first amendment right of free speech. That should be amennded to read, FOR VOTERS ONLY:

Non voters should legally be considered second class citizens. They are to me. Being a taxpayer is not a sufficient excuse as that is done just to stay out of jail. Not that I disagree with what you said. I agree 100 percent. Bush is clearly a war criminal. But he had 60 million accessories to the crime in the form of non voters. As for the people that voted for him, at least they tried. Don't you get it Scott?(sob)Don't you GET IT MAN? You're so well balanced in most areas of your life, but somehow got too smart to vote and too smart to believe in God. I still love you and all. You're a notional treasure. Yesterdays post on Scientific Facts should win a Pulitzer and a Nobel Prize. But you need to re-evaluate some things. Can't you see we love you mannnn? (Sob!)

[Jim]

I heard that we might be going to war with Iran soon due to their so-called plans to make nuclear warhea- I mean, plants.

[Ronaldo]

I wish we had Reagan here in Brazil, so he could fire ALL air trafic controllers after their strike. I mean, mutiny. They're almost all military.

[chuck]

Scott, what huge social issues have our past governments solved?

[scott n.]

I assume many posters don't realize that glaring spelling errors in their posts completely undermine any argument they might be trying to make.

hah.

[locomotivebreath1901]

You wish you had a government. I thank God you do not. I mean, who needs more cubicals?

[kls]

Of course our government does stuff - it's very busy, expanding, and inventing new ways to draw blood without drawing too much attention.

Our tax code, 67,000+ pages and counting ...

[Jim]

I find the vast amount of ignorance of how our government actually works, how trends in human events take longer than a 30 minute TV show and the total gullibility of most people to be endlessly amusing.

[rd]

may be you read it before somewhere
http://www.mujca.com/jokebook.htm
hilarious
especially the pattern recognition joke

[Len]

Sounds like your tax dollars are being squandered. I'd demand a refund if I were you. Or at least only pay, say 20% of what's being demanded by the IRS, because that's all the value you're getting (adjust the figure for what you feel is the real worth of the government). If all the citizens did that, things would change. But it would still take a long time.

I live in Europe and it's certainly no better here.

[MrBongo]

I like the rakes in the face idea....or paintball....more citizen involved.

Sadly, DC has become like a bloated pig - always wanting more and showing nothing for it, except it's own putrid excrement.

And we the American people have left it become the monstrosity that it is today by feeding it, through our whining and wanting to be coddled from cradle to grave.

We too have become fat, dumb and happy - more worried about who wins American Idol than how to build global businesses.

We rely too much on others, and the achievers are penalized (taxed) for their success, while the Oprah watchers - collect food stamps, have babies from multiple partners, deal drugs and milk the mother nipple of welfare.

If you study the early days of gov't and see how Washington through Lincoln ran things - you see a lean and functional govt for the people, by the people.

Today, the politicians want nothing more than power, money and control....and do whatever is necessary to maintain that lifestyle.

While working Americans rely on SS, the fat-cats get a fat pension for life with all the perks.

To fix this situation is very simple.

1. Term Limits for all of Congress.

2. Make them pay for their own staff.

Only then will we see "real" progress made for the good of all.

No more fat happy 3-martini lunches Ted Kennedy's running the show.

DOGBERT FOR PRESIDENT!

[synapticmisfires]

I just want to point out the irony in the fact that Scott was complaining about not having a government and someone suggested that he "vote libertarian". Why? So the next time he complains about not having a government the elected officials can respond, "I know, isn't it great?"

[Patrick Hillman]

Some would say its not the government's role to do big & important things; rather, it's the government's role to provide its citizens with the freedom to accomplish those big & important things through private enterprise.

[Melanie]

You made fun of the Libertarians the other day, but I believe they would do a better job of running the government than the Republicrats and Demopublicans.

[Allegra]

Robert Davis

"Socialist health care dosen't work. never will"

It works pretty well I think. In fact, it's thanks to it that my father can have the surgery he needs without losing his job and his house.

[Larry]

Amen. Voting is just a start. We need to keep the pressure on between elections. The lobbyists are herding congress 365 days a year -- long after the voters have shrugged their shoulders and wandered off.

[Henning]

Scott,
for a person proud of not voting You're wasting way too much time on thinking and writing about politics.

That said: Here in Germany I wish I had Your government. It may be far from perfect, but ours is still (a lot!) worse.

[George Gooney]

the US could kill off the rest of the planet with conventional weapons. it, unlike any of the other countries, doesn't need nukes. just lift the rules of engagement. for starts you'd have the rest of the navys sunk in the opener and pretty much ground and destroy all the other airforces and everyone with half a brain knows it. it is not good at sorting out insurgents from populace.

[JP]

A government that does good things would indeed be a nice thing to have. Unfortunately, those with a great deal of money are greatly benefited by having a government that does nothing - aka a free market environment. The philosophy of "the market will decide what is good" is of course wishing for a lack of oversight so that people are free to exploit the working class, dump waste where no one will find it for 100 years, create monopolies, steal elections, and do everything else that hurts the consumer without their knowledge. Creating a government that does horrible things gets them to where they really want - making a government that does nothing look pretty damn desirable.

The people who run this country wish the government did nothing more than maintained the armed forces. They don't need social security, public health care, foreign relations, or education for the lower classes. The best way to undermine the ability for the government to do any annoying interfering is to create problems that will preoccupy the Democrats for the next 10 years, and to make the government look so bad that no one has faith that it will ever be good for anything ever again. As they run the government into the ground with the Iraq war and use up the religious right's attention on gay marriage and abortion issues, the average citizen doesn't even care that they're giving themselves fat raises with tax cuts, appointing incompetent cohorts to positions of power, undermining the justice system, or ignoring trite Constitutional constructs. Everyone walks away with billions of dollars and the next guys are left to clean up the mess.

[Dee]

Well, at least someone in our government is making an attempt at diplomacy.

This is better than sticking your fingers in your ears saying "la la la la la! I can't hear you!" or aggressively pushing propaganda on the masses as the current White House does relentlessly.

What I want to know is where is Condi Rice? I haven't heard, or read, anything about her at all lately.

Isn't her actual job supposed to be foreign policy and any associated negotiations? Is she on an extended shoe-buying trip or what?

[Mike]

I find it so completely ironic that we are trying to push other countries in to Democracy when we are the living poster child for what NOT to do.
We dont have affordable health care. Our state and federal taxes do nothing but increase while we get less and less. Our jails are filling up so fast that we have to let go of the "only kind of bad" criminals early. Our president resembles a monkey but leaves us with the impression that monkey's are smarter.
Our foriegn policy is "do what I insist on or we will bomb you". It has been bad like this for a long time. The Bush tribe is just not smart enough to make it look like a good idea.
Remember all of that nuclear testing we did at Bikini Atol back in the 50's? Would we allow that if it were some other country? Hell no! Our government is a one-sided, close-minded, war mongering, great idea gone terribly wrong tyrant, with no end in sight.

[Nick]

Nonsense America has done a great service to the rest of the World who for the first time in history agree on the single opinion of:

We don't like the USA !

Well done, everyone needs someone to blame for everything, it used to be the British Empire but now its Uncle Sam, feel proud you have finally arrived :)

[JD]

So why do you keep voting for those "so-called" politicians?

VOTE LIBERTARIAN, FOR A CHANGE.
http://www.lp.org/

[Roman]

An outsider's view:

When I watch American politics now (I do cuz I am in America), I am reminded of the time when my little sis and I used to fight and argue as kids. No semblance of intelligence in our arguments, always eager to show the other in bad light no matter the relevance of the issue, frequent character attacks that totally miss the point, and all this with a heavy dose of mutual hatred.
I dont think a democratic form of government could stoop any lower!

[Eric]

Scott,

Pelosi went to the middle east, what keeps getting left out, is that two (2) TWO, Republican congressmen met with Syria the day before Pelosi. Let's not forget this fact!!!

[The Dude]

To Greg,

According to the constitution the three branches of government are equal, they have checks and balances to each other so that in theory no one branch is more powerful than the other. You even pointed out the checks and balances except you got one point wrong. The Congress cannot "change" the constitution to say whatever they want, they can make amendments to "clearify" the interpretation of the constitution, the Judicial branch then has the right to tell congress that their amendment is unconstitutional and needs to either be rewritten or repealed.

Part of our current problem is that previous congresses have ceded entirely too much power to the President (Fast Track authority on trade, the Patriot Act, etc), and as a result Bush has far overstepped and outright abused his power. An example of his abuse of power is his recent appointment of the new abassador to Belgium, he knew he didn't have the votes to get the guy confirmed so he waited until congress was in recess for Spring Break and made the appointment then using his authority to make recess appointments without congressional confirmation. Hopefully this current congress will put a stop to things like that, although I find that highly unlikely.

http://blog.myspace.com/167329113

[Tyler]

"In most of third world countries voting is obligatory for all citizens. You do the math."

Oh come on. Wikipedia is just a click away. It is sooo easy to get a rough outline of a topic. And while there are many good arguments against compulsory voting, this is not a list of rogue states.

---------------------------

Countries that enforce compulsory voting:
Argentina
Australia
Austria (presidential elections only)
Belgium
Brazil (non-compulsory for 16 & 17 year olds and those over 70)
Chile (enrollment voluntary)
Cyprus
Ecuador
Fiji
Greece
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Mexico
Nauru
Peru
Singapore
Switzerland (Schaffhausen)
Turkey
Uruguay

[Mark Thorson]

On the contrary, our
government has accomplished
great things. Starting a war
between the Sunni and Shi'a
_and_making_it_look_like_an_
_accident_ was a masterstroke.
Nobody will believe it was
planned that way.

And yet, that will do more
than anything else to consume
the energy and lives of
Islamic militants for another
generation.

The part where the President
pretends to be a bumbling
idiot -- that was brilliant.
An unnecessary twist, perhaps,
but maybe it wasn't obvious
in advance how well the plan
would work.

[Francesco Orsenigo]

US is not free enough to seriously criticize democracy.
Democracy is ill, in US and in most developed, democratic countries.
The system should be revised: direct democracy, random rapresentation... there are several options, but most importantly, i think it's a matter of people's education.

People should be taught in schools how to be critic, skeptic, and able to find information beliving nothing until satisfying and reliable information has been retrived.
Example: every month, each class takes an current issue and each kid goes home and tries to find informations as close to the source and as reliable as possible.

I know it is not THAT stupid idea....

[CLB]

How about dodge ball instead of rakes? By regular citizens everyday. More personal involvement. ;)

[Serge Grinholz]

"If you want a government that does something, Vote. I know you are against voting because you think it's pointless, but imagine a country where 70-80% (or more) of the population voted. In that country the corporations wouldn't have as much power because the politicians would actually have to listen to the people."

This presupposes that those that do vote are not a representative sample of eligible voters. If they are then a larger pool of voters should not make a considerable difference in election results. The size of the population is less important than the distribution of interests within the population. In the U.S. I think that the primary common interest of the electorate is party affiliation and the accompanying memes, and that this preference is strongly inheritable and tends to cluster. It's like expecting to do a complete census of Boston and find that most Boston baseball fans actually root for the Seibu Lions.

The second matter regarding the decreased influence of corporations in the face of a larger participating electorate also presupposes a decreased effectiveness in marketing with volume. That is after all what a lot of those political contributions are donated for: selling candidates to the electorate through advertisement. I think that it's safe to say that corporations have considerable expertise when it comes to shaping public opinion, and given the same profit motives that drive them to have their tentacles in the government now, would drive them to do the same regardless of the size of the number of voters.

[Paula]

I want a government that stays true to the ideals it was founded on. Protect my life, protect my liberty, and leave it to me to work on my pursuit of happiness and property.

Right now we have a police force that is more focused on enforcing laws that help them bring in cash, from speeding tickets when a road is empty, to trying to bust recreational drug users. Set our police forces to breaking up violent crimes, cleaning up violent neighborhoods, and helping citizens. More people die from alcohol-related issues than marijuana, and which one is illegal?

Hands off my phones. And my internet. Tapping ATT's network to monitor and packet-sniff in inexcusable. Using the effects of a tragedy to label dissent as treason is abhorrent. Trying to force religious-based morality onto people who wish to marry or adopt, trying to propose creationism as an equally valid concept as evolution, trying to put up the ten commandments in a public place... it's frightening.

If I work harder, don't tax me more or less. Give me a flat tax, a simpler tax code with fewer exemptions, and we can save all the money we spend on running the IRS and the many, many tax services around the country.

Let reason trump favoritism and power exchanges.

That's the government I want. Maybe I should get some hotel mini-bar keys and play with the Diebold voting machines next election to get it...

[peter]

Why did you write this rant criticising the behaviour of people you don't think have free will?

[Frank Paine]

Scott, do you really want a government that does something? Personally, I think the less that it does, the better. Let's not start wars--if we don't start them, we won't have to end them. Let's not have it try to fix social problems--that just creates a bigger cookie jar for folks to steel from/lobby for. Leave the money in people's pockets and let them ACTUALLY fix things..I could go on and on...I'm not convinced that spreading democracy is such a great idea---look at the mess it's gotten us into...Of course, what do I know--I'm a quasi-anarchist...

[Ralph Woods]

"imagine a country where 70-80% (or more) of the population voted. In that country the corporations wouldn't have as much power because the politicians would actually have to listen to the people."

In most of third world countries voting is obligatory for all citizens. You do the math.

[Vader1941]

Scott,

In India, I have less of a government.

The most significant achievements credited to the Congress-led government include the following:

-Reservations for "backward-castes" in colleges (it's now at 50%!), so that they will be educated enough to take advantage of mandatory corporate reservations (still being worked out, but expect 99.99%).

-A nationwide crackdown on "obscenity", which includes showing one's stomach, on-screen smoking (imagine Sherlock Holmes without his pipe), and news channels.
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/nmirror/mmpaper.asp?sectid=2&articleid=8282006224153765828200622406875&pubyear=2006&pubday=29&pubmth=8

All this happened while thousands of indebted farmers committed suicide, millions got AIDS (5.7 million in all, the highest anywhere), and half a billion went hungry.

I get through most of this by keeping in mind that Pakistan is worse off.

[Maria]

Oddly enough, it was a friend in New Zealand who told me about this post. She knows how I feel about our current state of affairs. I'm so sick of the lies and bickering and failure to achieve anything. Yes, I vote. But what good is it when there isn't anyone to vote for who is capable of setting things right?

[db]

Over the last 15 years or so it has become apparent that all our government is capable of doing is attacking and tearing down people that are different than they are. Well....that and borrowing money that they have no intention of paying back (say goodbye to your social security everyone younger than baby boomers).

I think the rake theory is a good start, but I think MM is correct - it would be too expensive as you have described. I suggest that we have a 'national rake lottery' or perhaps a series of daily rake auctions on eBay. Winners of the lottery/auction each day get to swing a rake at all congresspeople on their way to work and home each day. You could auction off a rake per day per seat in congress. Do a rake for the way to work and a rake for the way home from work. That's over a thousand rakes a day. All proceeds would go directly to retiring the national debt and the government would not be allowed to borrow any more money.
Start a cable news channel just dedicated to the daily rakings. Televise each day's 'raking's' live. While Congress is actually 'in session' (note I didn't say working or accomplishing anything) they could fill programming with reality shows and human interest stories about dying children who get to fulfill their last dying wish of raking their incompetent and corrupt congressperson on the way to work. Hire Ann Coulter and Al Franken to be play by play and color commentators for the live segments. The proceeds of all advertising would be used to further pay down the national debt. Any injuries incurred by Congresspeople or their staffers would be required to be treated exclusively at their friendly local government funded VA hospital.
You can't tell me that this wouldn't instantly become the highest rated show in the HISTORY of television.
The lottery/auction and advertising revenue would likely retire the national debt within 18 months.
I think that the rake lobby would support this plan.

[Sam Thornton]

[My tax dollars paid for all of that. I don’t think I got my money’s worth. -- Scott Adams]

No, Scott, we all got MORE than our money's worth. We got all positions covered from all angles, even the silly, ludicrous, and merely insane positions. That's bang for your buck. And don't even get me started on the Kama Sutra positions.

[Serge Grinholz]

"Yes, it will have waste and incompetence and will be the butt of any number of jokes, but seriously is that not far superior to overturning practically everything each 4-6 years (senate and presidency)!"

I don't know which United States you're referring to, but in this one incumbents maintain their positions in the majority of cases (we in fact have numerous members of Congress who checked out a decade ago mentally that still retain their seats) and the turnover from administration to administration for appointees often entails jumbling similar faces from previous administrations around. In the run-of-the-mill government employee, there is nowhere near a 4-6 year turnover rate. There is a certain de facto professional civil servant whose most obvious deficiency is being able to sit in the pocket of the larger SIGs everyone complains the government is run by, and when he leaves his appointment or his elected office he works as a lobbyist for until being selected for another job in government.

[Christian P]

That beats my idea of strip-oration.

[Flabaya]

Be careful what you say, Scott. You sound like a socialist and a communist.... The FBI is going to put you on their list for making sense.

[Bob]

Kat -

That well-worn "if you don't vote, you get what you deserve" line seems logical on the surface, but falls flat when exposed to real scrutiny.

Image a country where another 50 million folks suddenly get motivated to vote. Now, consider that these 50 million have, by and large, been too busy watching American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, etc. to actually learn anything about the issues, get their news from the Daily Show, and who then take the all-too-common shortcut of simply parroting what they heard some celebrity say or what they saw upvoted on Reddit.

Is that REALLY the folks you want "fixing" our democracy?

[Simon Robert]

Avid reader, first-time commenter here. Im a British Politics student at university, and I thought I would wade into this debate.

Im my opinion, one of the most serious failures in politics is that the manifesto that the politicians lay out in the run-up to an election is rarely followed, because they are never held to account except at the following election, by which time their original promises are either forgotten, or replaced with new(ish) bright(ish) proposals. Surely it would be better if a government had a legal obligation to act on at least 10% of its manifesto pledges each year, or be forced to submit itself to re-election, with an independent body set up to ensure that this is followed. This could help to prevent single-issue elections, and would also show people that they are getting what they vote for. Would this restore some of your confidence in politics?

[Sean]

I think that a law should be passed that says apart from roles that are "first billed", all movies/tv shows featuring the house or the senate must use the actual representatives (and said representative must willingly participate). This would lead to numerous actors running for office because of the guarented roles. And while the quality of government might not improve, it would probably be better looking and more entertaining.

Of course, I am not an American, so my opinion does not matter.

[Randolph]

The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.

[Charlotte]

Democracy is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.

[D Mall]

We get the politicians we deserve.

[niCk(MemBeth)]

There is no hope. We should just surrender to Canada and drink beer.

[Tim P]

Let’s take “America’s Greatest Embarrassment” and drop them naked into downtown Baghdad, maybe armed with said rake for self-protection. Of course the rake would have to be made out of substandard materials supplied by the lowest bidder. That would be the REAL war on terror.

[Brad]

I consider my taxes as a bribe to keep those incompetent goobers in congress from doing anything and driving the economy into recession.

Sure it would be nice if they insured children or fixed our illegal immigration issues, but its more like Mob-style payola. I pay taxes to keep them from burning down my business. As long as my business isn't burning, I'll keep paying.

[Sondra]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Can I be there watching, in person? (I assume it will be televised.)

[Greg]

To Paul O:

What you referred to as the "Administrative branch" is called the Executive branch and is far and away the largest branch of the Government. The three branches are not equal, nor are they meant to be, but each does have oversight authority over the other branches.

For example, the Congress may override a veto by the President and they must confirm Judicial appointments. The President may veto a bill by the Congress and must nominate for Judiciary positions. The Judiciary may strike down any legislation or orders issued by the Congress or the President at any time if they conflict with the Constitution. So that the Judiciary does not wield supreme power, the Congress is allowed to change the Constitution.

The bottom line is that you are incorrect - the President is, in fact, answerable to the Congress, and ESPECIALLY to the House of Representatives. It is the House that can bring formal charges against the President, after all.

[Will Von Wizzlepig]

Perhaps we have reached the sweet spot politicians have been dreaming of for decades now: Highest cost to taxpayer with least accountability.

Mike Judge's 'Idiocracy' is seeming actually poigniant as I think this over. Ow.

[Andrew]

Back in the 1980s, my late mother worked for a school district in San Diego County that got federal money to teach English to migrant workers, many of whom presumably were in this country illegally. Meanwhile, the same federal government was spending still more money to keep those people out of the country. I used to think this was irrational, but then I learned about pluralism. A republican form of government has different constituencies with different values, and it has to do things to satisfy all of them. All in all, I think that's a good thing. If we had a dictator, he or she might believe in securing the borders at all costs, rounding up and deporting anyone who "didn't belong," and spending zero dollars on helping those people acclimate to society, but we don't have a dictator, so we have to throw a bone to the anti-immigration zealots, the rich people who want a supply of cheap housekeepers, nannies and gardeners, and the liberals who want everyone to just get along (and who want surprisingly well-paid teaching jobs).

[Matthw Kovich]

Good Point.

[Clay]

Sorry Scott, but I think our government could still kill nearly everyone on the planet with nuclear weapons, which is pretty big and important in my book.

[The military could do that. The government is incapable of deciding to order it done. Fortunately. -- Scott]

[DanW]

Unfortunately, both of our major political parties are more interested in their respective political parties and not the interests of the US. Of course, there is no way to change that or even to get anyone else elected to make the changes.

I always thought a system that allowed percentage of representation, like Britian, is the way to go. That is, if the Green Party gets 5% of the vote, 5% of congress would be comprised of the Green Party. I would feel better about sending my vote to these other parties that more closely match my ideas.

[Tyndall]

Seems to me that the US is always telling the UN that the restoring of democratic ideals all over the world is the most important undertaking of our time.
So lets rally some support for the full scale, multinational invasion and over through of the US government! Hoorah!
You guys have done so much good invading other countries to give them democracy; it's time for us to return the favour.
Best part is your citizens are so indifferent to governmental change no one would notice.
Fox would just keep reporting on the Dems. CNN would be all, "Katrina was a tragedy". And then BAM, democracy will be installed. Who knows? We might even be greeted as liberators.

Interesting points as always. You do forget that we have these guys called ambassadors who have pretty good jobs--especially when our countries aren't talking that much. It is even better for Syria. Imad Mustafa is the Syrian ambassador to the US. He gets to live here on a stipend, go to dinner parties and smooze with the infidel American women.

Now we don't currently have an ambassador to Syria, at least not since the prime minister of Lebanon was assassinated. I guess our guys prefer to smooze with the women here. I hear that we'll appoint an ambassador again soon.

Thanks for providing me with more blog fodder...