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| Eisenhower had no idea . . . |
| 2016-04-15 |
| Several weeks ago I had an online discussion with a colleague about the ethics of abstaining from voting this November, no matter who the nominated presidential candidates turn out to be. However, I long ago decided that voting for president today is an exercise in self deception and that for both Democrats and Republicans (who are together a unified party usually called the Political Class) the Marxist theory of elections is present reality: elections are intended to do nothing more than give the voters the illusion that they actually have a say in how the country is to be run. But we are long, long past that point. What Eisenhower cautioned about the military-industrial establishment long ago became true for many other government entities and civilian industries. That is, there are greatly overlapping Venn diagrams of far more than just the Pentagon and defense industries. No wonder that Americans have lost confidence in everything. Here is one of many excellent reasons, provided by US Senator Mike Lee: Behold my display of the 2013 Federal Register. It contains over 80,000 pages of new rules, regulations, and notices all written and passed by unelected bureaucrats. The small stack of papers on top of the display are the laws passed by elected members of Congress and signed into law by the president. That is why come November, you can "Vote all you want. The secret government won’t change. The people we elect aren’t the ones calling the shots, says Tufts University’s Michael Glennon" |
| Posted by:g(r)omgoru |
| #1 Note well they always skip over the following from Eisenhower's speech - Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades. In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government. Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers. The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded. Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientifictechnological elite. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2016-04-15 22:19 |