[Peace-discuss] Blago-Burris circus

[E. Wayne Johnson]

"They dont want people capable of critical thinking...they want Obedient 
Workers." - George Carlin
http://wideeyecinema.com/?p=161

C. G. Estabrook wrote:
>     "People should not be afraid of their governments.
>     Governments should be afraid of their people. --'V'"
>
> An unlikely Guy Fawkes, Michael Moore said the same thing at the 
> conclusion of
> "Sicko."
>
> My primary doubt about the claim that "we are in danger of losing the 
> republic *totally*" is that we ever had a republic (sc. a 
> representative democracy) to lose.
>
> That doesn't mean it wouldn't be a good idea to have one.  --CGE
>
>
> E. Wayne Johnson wrote:
>> A December 30, 2008 NewsGazette online poll with 2083 votes showed 
>> 74% of
>> responses opposed the seating of Burris in the Senate, 17% in favour, 
>> and 10%
>> unsure. Removing the "unsure" votes gives a whopping 82% opposed to be
>> represented in the Senate by Burris
>>
>> Although this is not a 'scientific' poll, it is an indication that 
>> the readers of the NG don't want this appointment.  We cannot discern 
>> whether
>> they don't want Burris himself, or if they just dont like the 
>> circumstances.
>>
>> Since the percentage of opposition is so high, I am going to make the 
>> assumption that this result is reflective of the opinion of Illinois 
>> as a
>> whole.
>>
>> The insidious aspect of this Blagojevich - Burris Debacle is that the 
>> whole
>> process of government as a representative democracy is being quite 
>> obviously
>> derailed by the action of one single man acting as a monarch. This is 
>> not
>> about partisan-ism.  It's about a fundamental malfunction in the 
>> machinery of
>> the Republic.
>>
>> From Wikipaedia:
>>
>> A republican democracy is a republic which has democratic forms of 
>> government. One of the key principles is free and open debate prior to
>> casting a vote. The United States of America is a Democratic 
>> Republic.  (I'm
>> not talking about partisanship) *A republic in the modern 
>> understanding is a
>> nation or state where the people are sovereign. * *It is not a monarchy,
>> where the king or queen is the head of state*. By this definition 
>> there are
>> abundant examples of states that are republics but not democracies, 
>> and of
>> states that are democracies but not republics. *Another 
>> characterization of a
>> republic * *is its emphasis on law and rule of the people through 
>> elected representatives*. In this sense it refers to the notion 
>> representative
>> democracy, as one meaning of republic is a system of restricted 
>> democracy. *Representative democracy* is a form of government founded 
>> on the principles
>> of the people's representatives.
>>
>>
>> The key issue here is not whether or not Burris will make a good 
>> Senator.
>>
>> /*The problem is that there has been a coup d'etat, such that the 
>> government
>> of the people by the people for the people is no longer responsive to 
>> the
>> people. */ As long as this is the case, you can send your letters, 
>> call your
>>  representative, wear your buttons, vote, plant signs, carry signs, make
>> t-shirts, paint your car, hang off bridges, blog, rant, and preach to 
>> the
>> non-existent crowds in free-speech zones, and your efforts will be 
>> totally
>> ineffectual.
>>
>> They know that you will squeal, maybe even kick, but the steely 
>> machinery of
>> the state will drain your life-blood and make merchandise of you with
>> engineered efficiency.
>>
>> /With bright knives He releaseth my soul. He maketh me to hang on 
>> hooks in
>> high places. He converteth me to lamb cutlets, For lo, He hath great 
>> power,
>> and great hunger.  - from "Sheep". /
>>
>>
>> If we cannot get the republic to respond to us --- if the 
>> neurocircuitry from
>> the people to the central processing is not functioning--- if the 
>> hotline
>> from the people to the government terminates in a never to be read 
>> voice mail
>> box --- then we have a problem far more fundamental than our absurd 
>> foreign policy that is bankrupting us and costing millions of 
>> precious lives--- we
>> are in danger of losing the republic *totally.*
>>
>> People should not be afraid of their governments. /Governments should be
>> afraid of their people. / - "V"
>
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