Shirley Sherrod

I just heard the Secretary of Agriculture say that they had a review/meeting to determine how someone was fired based on a five minute YouTube excerpted clip could happen :eek: A meeting? Really?

Of course the WH had nothing to do with it.

Dear Mr. Obama, Perhaps you think we are as stupid as your Sec. of Agriculture appears to be. We aren't. I voted for you, but won't next election. Matter of fact I will not vote for any incumbent. Personally I think all politicians are in the stupid grocery and the fact you are in aisle 2 or 10 doesn't really matter. And would you tell your buddy Chris Matthews that though we may not be as well educated as the two of you, it isn't polite to call us stupid to our face.

This entire episode is just another example of how our Government and "News" media have failed us.

It's terrible, but this has happened to Rush Limbaugh and numerous other white people.

Oh look, american politicians being stupid. That never happens.

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Originally Posted by MaximilianMayrhofer

Oh look, american politicians being stupid. That never happens.

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Well almost never ;)

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Originally Posted by dbasnett

This entire episode is just another example of how our Government and "News" media have failed us.

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I read about this on the BBC News and did a ROTFL in my mind. Typical of the knee-jerk reaction one expects from the US of today. Incidents such as this one would soon turn running a government into a farce.

Of course, India would be no different had it not been for the inherently tolerating and patient nature of the people here.

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Originally Posted by honeybee

I read about this on the BBC News and did a ROTFL in my mind. Typical of the knee-jerk reaction one expects from the US of today. Incidents such as this one would soon turn running a government into a farce.

Of course, India would be no different had it not been for the inherently tolerating and patient nature of the people here.

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I find the word "would" amusing. I hope zero incumbents are re-elected.

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Originally Posted by dbasnett

I find the word "would" amusing. I hope zero incumbents are re-elected.

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There are certain things built into the Indian culture which have so far prevented the politicians from falling to the levels, but going by the current situation we might be there within the next decade. After all we have copied all the bad things from the western world.

No hopes with politics. Even if you have new incumbents elected, they will invariably turn out just like their predecessors.

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Unless we do it every election cycle for the next 10 years.

The problem with the 'non-incumants' stance is that it only addresses the elected portion of the government, i.e. politicians. While these are nominally the decision makers of a government it's actually the permanent element ,i.e. civil servants, charged with informing and implementing those decisions, that holds the power. I've often wondered whether you could elect this portion of the government but I doubt it would be workable. A degree of permamanence is probably needed for them to fulfil their role.

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Originally Posted by FunkyDexter

The problem with the 'non-incumants' stance is that it only addresses the elected portion of the government, i.e. politicians. While these are nominally the decision makers of a government it's actually the permanent element ,i.e. civil servants, charged with informing and implementing those decisions, that holds the power. I've often wondered whether you could elect this portion of the government but I doubt it would be workable. A degree of permamanence is probably needed for them to fulfil their role.

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Many of those positions are political appointees. The people that do the actual work are many levels below those, at least that was the case in the government agencies that I worked for.

But the only thing I am confident in is that this ain't workin'. I know a lot of people that think they can pick the "right" person. To me they are all the same. (How do you tell if a politician is lying? Their lips are moving.) My opinion is that if we keep voting out the incumbent then the legalized form of corruption we call lobbying would be harder.

Lets see what happens to Mr. Rangel. I think they have no choice but to impeach him in the current environment.

Would you be assured of being able to choose a new face? Except for a few changes here and there, for e.g. a new face as the Vice President, or change in the portfolio of some of them, I doubt if the politicians will be willing to tow your line here.

Thankfully, again, we have less of the political appointments in the key areas, such as the Supreme Court Judges. The only political appointments are of governors of state, who are more or less there for the sake of the name, having not many executive powers. So they can do only limited damage. Since they are pretty much unable to do anything, there have been cases where they actually did a good thing or two LOL.

While the real people who make things happen may be way below the elected government, I do also believe that unless they see a good leadership up above them, they won't be willing to do anything different. The current lot at the top in India, Dr Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee are the pros and not the politicians (Pranab da is actually a mix of both, but a good mix). So that's probably the best team we have had at the top. And that has shown in a few strategic steps that this government dared take.

Sadly whether this team will be re-elected is anyone's guess.

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I hope zero incumbents are re-elected.

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I sort of see the logic behind this, but i dont see how it will actually work.

Them getting elected in the first place is the problem as once in power 4 or 5 years is plenty of time to bugger things up !

I Firmly believe that in a democracy you tend to get the kind of government that as a country you deserve and that reflects your society.

It may not represent you personally but that does not matter. Your politicians grow up in your system and learn the morals prevalent in your society and are elected (normally anyway) by the majority of people in your country.

Most Western democracy are skewed towards various interests and this is reflected in the governments that are elected.

For me i find it difficult to get to excited by any politician, i just try to vote for the ones that i think will do the least damage.

We also tend to get people who are electable. All that means is that they triangulate in on some acceptable mean for the population of voters. In the case of national politics, the mean of the population can be quite mean indeed.

How was your walkabout Shaggy? Glad to see you returned safely.

It was very high. All went so very well that there really weren't any interesting stories from the hike. I wouldn't say that it was boring, as it wasn't for me, but it's not the kind of hike where there are lots of entertaining stories. I chased no bears, messed with no moose, encountered no naked ladies, and had virtually no inclement weather. Nothing much to say, but it was good.

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Originally Posted by Shaggy Hiker

It was very high. All went so very well that there really weren't any interesting stories from the hike. I wouldn't say that it was boring, as it wasn't for me, but it's not the kind of hike where there are lots of entertaining stories. I chased no bears, messed with no moose, encountered no naked ladies, and had virtually no inclement weather. Nothing much to say, but it was good.

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I am glad you had a good time(sorry about the naked ladies;) Glad you are back!