[Peace-discuss] Blago-Burris circus

[E. Wayne Johnson]

There is a great difference between one willingly laying down one's 
"psuche" (life) for others (John 12.25, John 15.12-13)
and having it unwillingly taken away by force into captivity.

E. Wayne Johnson wrote:
> "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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