[aklug] Re: OFFTOPIC: Re: Re: ACS Google Gateway

From: Arthur Corliss <acorliss@nevaeh-linux.org>
Date: Sat Oct 19 2013 - 12:13:36 AKDT

On Fri, 18 Oct 2013, Greg Schmitz wrote:

> Arthur,
>
> I thought you were a better of student of history and not one to drink to
> much political kool-aide(R). Looking back at the history of our government
> (us) esp. with regard to our Federal Govt. much good has come from
> government, at least before R. Raygun (and Westinghouse), Ailes and crew
> shuffled the deck; corporate control fucked things up. Really I thought you
> were a deeper thinker than what your comment reflects? Perhaps you've
> forgotten about the Office of Technology Assessment (one of the first Federal
> Agencies Raygun deep sixed) or the Government Printing Office (did you ever
> fill in the check boxes for "free" info about how government works printed by
> GPO?). FWIW, the GPO secured the position of US printers for at least 3
> decades. If you do a little research you will find out that the GPO, in
> order to be more efficient, realized that paper conditioning was key to
> printing and GPO employees invented tools - like the first meter to read the
> humidity level of paper rolls (word has it that this was done by GPO folks on
> their own nickle.) Back off Arthur and get with the program. Fuck computers
> - there is a big heap on the technological pile.

I think your view of history is less than adequate. Governments like ours
can have benefit, yes. But, in terms of a general statement, they are
*never* models of efficiency. That's just a fact. The moment you allow a
band of people to spend other people's money they are going to do so with
much less dilligence than they would they are. It's the inherent laziness
of human nature.

Commercial entities keep that wastefulness in check usually by using
financial incentives. Lower expense, increased bonus, etc. Somethng the
government has never leveraged effectively.

And we haven't even gotten into the slow spiral of corruption that extends
back to the early Republic. Regardless of the ideals this nation was
founded on the slow erosion of those ideals started early and steadily
progressed. Not because the American form of government wasn't a good idea,
but because people of baser character will always find a way to exploit and
subvert any system. It's inevitiable.

I hold it to be true, and find it laughably easy to support, that most of
what our modern government does damages our country and undermines our
children's future. I also hold it to be true that even when the government
does good, it will do so at such an expense and inefficiency that it would
have been far better if the American people had taken those tax dollars and
instead gifted it to charitable organizations at our own discretions.

You may disagree, but I would have to think it's *you*, not me, that's
hopelessly naive, and perhaps, even willfully ignorant of history.

         --Arthur Corliss
           Live Free or Die
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Received on Sat Oct 19 12:13:59 2013

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