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The Good...The Bad...The Ugly
Good
The State Department’s decision to leave private security personnel in place in Iraq was a good one.
There had been much whining from the Iraqi government of late about the use of Blackwater USA and other operatives to guard American and Iraqi officials. It has been alleged that Blackwater people were shooting first and asking questions later.
In the end, it was decided that Blackwater people do a good job and provide a needed service.
There will be new regulations put in place regarding the use of firepower and State Department vehicles in Iraq will be rigged with cameras of the type used to such good effect by American police and the Cops program.
While these cameras underline the American police mission in Iraq and seem a little absurd in a war zone, if these measures keep Blackwater in place and the Iraqis quiet, it will be worth the effort.
Bad
The main candidates for Missouri governor in 2008 have a lot in common.
Both are political professionals.
Current Gov. Matt Blunt was born into politics, the son of neo-con Congressman Roy Blunt. After attending the Naval Academy and a stint in the Navy, the governor went straight into the family business, bypassing the aging process and any real venture in the world where the rest of us live. He served in the General Assembly, was Secretary of State and then governor.
Similarly, current Attorney General Jay Nixon is a longtime politico. While he does have an actual trade - attorney - he has been a state senator and then 16 years as attorney general, taking up the majority of his adult life.
Both are using their offices and the associated perks to further their efforts to keep public office.
Both have used state cars and other transport for campaign swings. Both are catering to the electorate through their offices, crafting positions and actions to appeal to red or blue votes respectively.
Both appear more interested in keeping a job with a taxpayer paycheck than making any bold statements of purpose that might cost them a vote or two.
Both are young, energetic and fully capable of earning a living if they are not elected - perhaps
Nixon leads in this, but surely Blunt could find something to do.
The bad news is that come November of 2008 Missouri voters will elect a governor who is a professional politician and who will bring all the negative baggage that entails.
Ugly
The media and political operatives have tried to put an ugly spin on the California fires.
Of course news by its nature is focused on the negative. ‘House Does Not Burn Down’ is not much of a headline.
There was plenty of news involved with the fires. As fire swept down the canyons and consumed homes and everything in them, there were endless tales of suffering and disaster.
But in a post-Katrina world, disaster is not enough. Blame is the real name of the game.
In New Orleans there was plenty to go around. Generations of institutionalized corruption led to a man-made disaster that far exceeded the damage done by water and wind.
Using that mess as a template, politicians and some news people immediately pounced on what was wrong with the system upon which to blame the charred homes. News people asked rhetorically if more could not have been done to prepare - perhaps organized rain dances. Politicians turned to ‘the California National Guard is in Iraq with half its equipment.’ In point of fact, a mass armed attack on the fires would probably be less effective than letting the firefighters do their job.
In the event, the California system worked. People were evacuated and given places to wait out the firestorm. At the stadium where many gathered, massage tables and psychiatrists were in place to ease the pain. The firefighters turned out, did their best to protect lives and property and eventually got a handle on the fires.
People who live in a desert full of dry brush should not be surprised when the annual Santa Anna winds sweep fire through their neighborhood just like people who live below sea level in a riverside swamp should not be surprised when the water comes.
The difference in these two situations is, that for all its faults, government in California works. There has not been a government worthy of the name in Louisiana or New Orleans since federal troops pulled out at the end of the Civil War.
The news in California is the firestorm. The effort to make it anything else is an ugly error.
(The opinions expressed in "The Good...The Bad...The Ugly" do not represent the opinions of LakeExpo.com, LakeOzarkClassifieds.com LLC or any of its affiliates.)
Subscribe To Lake AlertsThe State Department’s decision to leave private security personnel in place in Iraq was a good one.
There had been much whining from the Iraqi government of late about the use of Blackwater USA and other operatives to guard American and Iraqi officials. It has been alleged that Blackwater people were shooting first and asking questions later.
In the end, it was decided that Blackwater people do a good job and provide a needed service.
There will be new regulations put in place regarding the use of firepower and State Department vehicles in Iraq will be rigged with cameras of the type used to such good effect by American police and the Cops program.
While these cameras underline the American police mission in Iraq and seem a little absurd in a war zone, if these measures keep Blackwater in place and the Iraqis quiet, it will be worth the effort.
Bad
The main candidates for Missouri governor in 2008 have a lot in common.
Both are political professionals.
Current Gov. Matt Blunt was born into politics, the son of neo-con Congressman Roy Blunt. After attending the Naval Academy and a stint in the Navy, the governor went straight into the family business, bypassing the aging process and any real venture in the world where the rest of us live. He served in the General Assembly, was Secretary of State and then governor.
Similarly, current Attorney General Jay Nixon is a longtime politico. While he does have an actual trade - attorney - he has been a state senator and then 16 years as attorney general, taking up the majority of his adult life.
Both are using their offices and the associated perks to further their efforts to keep public office.
Both have used state cars and other transport for campaign swings. Both are catering to the electorate through their offices, crafting positions and actions to appeal to red or blue votes respectively.
Both appear more interested in keeping a job with a taxpayer paycheck than making any bold statements of purpose that might cost them a vote or two.
Both are young, energetic and fully capable of earning a living if they are not elected - perhaps
Nixon leads in this, but surely Blunt could find something to do.
The bad news is that come November of 2008 Missouri voters will elect a governor who is a professional politician and who will bring all the negative baggage that entails.
Ugly
The media and political operatives have tried to put an ugly spin on the California fires.
Of course news by its nature is focused on the negative. ‘House Does Not Burn Down’ is not much of a headline.
There was plenty of news involved with the fires. As fire swept down the canyons and consumed homes and everything in them, there were endless tales of suffering and disaster.
But in a post-Katrina world, disaster is not enough. Blame is the real name of the game.
In New Orleans there was plenty to go around. Generations of institutionalized corruption led to a man-made disaster that far exceeded the damage done by water and wind.
Using that mess as a template, politicians and some news people immediately pounced on what was wrong with the system upon which to blame the charred homes. News people asked rhetorically if more could not have been done to prepare - perhaps organized rain dances. Politicians turned to ‘the California National Guard is in Iraq with half its equipment.’ In point of fact, a mass armed attack on the fires would probably be less effective than letting the firefighters do their job.
In the event, the California system worked. People were evacuated and given places to wait out the firestorm. At the stadium where many gathered, massage tables and psychiatrists were in place to ease the pain. The firefighters turned out, did their best to protect lives and property and eventually got a handle on the fires.
People who live in a desert full of dry brush should not be surprised when the annual Santa Anna winds sweep fire through their neighborhood just like people who live below sea level in a riverside swamp should not be surprised when the water comes.
The difference in these two situations is, that for all its faults, government in California works. There has not been a government worthy of the name in Louisiana or New Orleans since federal troops pulled out at the end of the Civil War.
The news in California is the firestorm. The effort to make it anything else is an ugly error.
(The opinions expressed in "The Good...The Bad...The Ugly" do not represent the opinions of LakeExpo.com, LakeOzarkClassifieds.com LLC or any of its affiliates.)
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C. Anthony Ince wrote on Nov 24, 2007 8:21 PM: