[MD] Contents of Moq_Discuss Digest, Vol 21, Issue 8

[MarshaV]

Ham,

On the one hand you write criticizing the general public, "It isn't 
that that our elected bureaucrats are operating in secret, but that 
the general public could care less about what's going on in 
Washington until election time comes around.  And then they echo the 
sound bytes of politicians, typically the negative ones about their 
opponents."

On the other hand you write criticizing those who do care enough to 
be upset when leaders abuse power, "My first question would be: Where 
on this planet would they find comparable freedom and 
opportunity?  Then I would ask: Why don't they move there?"  Love it 
or leave it?   Is that what you're suggesting?

It seems you've put citizens in a lose/lose situations.

Marsha









At 10:46 PM 8/5/2007, you wrote:

>Marsha --
>
>I watched about 20 mins. of  the Weiner interview.  (I lost patience
>downloading the 203-page Adobe document, and canceled it.)
>
>What Tim Weiner was able to get in (between Rose's continuous interruptions)
>was interesting and probably a fair appraisal of covert operations
>undertaken by an open society.  Certainly the U.S. cannot expect to match
>Israel's intelligence-gathering capability, inasmuch as their nation's very
>existence is imminently threatened.  The British probably do it better
>because they've been at it longer and are less bound to political concerns.
>
>Of course there have been incidents of abused power, such as the attempted
>overthrow of the Chilean election, and incomplete or outdated intelligence,
>as in the case of Iraq's (scuttled) WMD arsenal.  But CIA activities are
>hardly a representative example of America's morality or cultural standards.
>No other nation contributes more to the education, health, and disaster
>relief of third-world countries, nor has any nation been more active in
>liberating people oppressed by dictators and tyrants.  America may be
>resented and feared as a military power, but I think it is fair to say it is
>admired by an overwhelming majority of the world's people, including those
>of former enemy nations like Japan, Germany, and Soviet Russia.
>
>It is the nature of democratic governments to be political, just as it is
>the nature of elected officials to be bureaucrats.  Unfortunately, the
>"lobbyism" has become a cottage industry of bureaucratic government.
>Equally unfortunate is that citizens who benefit from entitlements like free
>education and subsidized healthcare tend to take their freedom for granted
>and become dependent on a burgeoning paternalistic government.  (That, in my
>opinion, is what feeds the political aspirations of the Democrats.)
>
>I always wonder about fellow citizens who are quick to condemn a country
>that has given them the right to express their opinions, elect their
>representatives, practice their religion, choose their career, and seek
>their fortunes.  My first question would be: Where on this planet would they
>find comparable freedom and opportunity?  Then I would ask: Why don't they
>move there?
>
>Anyway, thanks for the CIA references, Marsha.  It always helps to learn the
>kind of things that influence other folks' opinions.
>
>
>Regards,
>Ham,
>
>
>
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