Shame on You Yahoo!
As much as things change over in red China, some things unfortunately still remain the same.
According to recent reports, Internet-giant Yahoo helped Chinese authorities convict a journalist by providing the government with detailed information that led to the journalist’s ten-year prison sentence. This information apparently enabled the Chinese government to link the journalist’s personal e-mail account with the specific message containing information treated as a “state secret” to the IP address of his computer.
Check out the story that is still flying under the radar screen.
According to recent reports, Internet-giant Yahoo helped Chinese authorities convict a journalist by providing the government with detailed information that led to the journalist’s ten-year prison sentence. This information apparently enabled the Chinese government to link the journalist’s personal e-mail account with the specific message containing information treated as a “state secret” to the IP address of his computer.
Check out the story that is still flying under the radar screen.
posted by Money Politic$ at 3:20 PM
111 Comments:
Talk about a day late and a dollar short. This story was reported by AP, CNN, MSNBC, ABC News, BusinessWeek, USA Today, New York Times, Miami Herald, San Francisco Chronicle, etc. at the same time as the site that Larry found.
Learn to Google before posting uninformed comments like "check out the story that is still flying under the radar screen."
Well it's news to me, and very disheartening news at that.
Yahoo should be called to task for that - where's Sheehan on this moral issue? Shouldn't Maureen Dowd have some "moral authority" on this one?
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Stop by when you have time.
Easy there "Lifetime Fiscal Conservative," not everyone has as much free time at their disposal as you apparently do. Relax, take a deep breath, put your newspaper down for a second and breath in deeply. Goooood......
I had not heard about the story either, and it disheartens me that Yahoo would hop into bed with the Chinese so easily.
I hope someone in the Bush administration does some arm-twisting to get this poor journalist out. Unlikely though..
ive posted this story here before -- its from Feb 5th of THIS year . KUDLOW IS DEAD WRONG in BLAMING YAHOO . the chinese government is to blame . Kudlow doesnt realize he would be put in jail for authoring this blog. Oh these forced labor camps sound rosy.
China Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2004
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
February 28, 2005
The People's Republic of China (PRC) is an authoritarian state in which, as specified in its Constitution, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP or Party) is the paramount source of power. Party members hold almost all top government, police, and military positions.....
The Government's human rights record remained poor, and the Government continued to commit numerous and serious abuses. Citizens did not have the right to change their government, and many who openly expressed dissenting political views were harassed, detained, or imprisoned, particularly in a campaign late in the year against writers, religious activists, dissidents, and petitioners to the Central Government. Authorities were quick to suppress religious, political, and social groups that they perceived as threatening to government authority or national stability, especially before sensitive dates such as the 15th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre and other significant political and religious occasions. However, the Constitution was amended to mention human rights for the first time.
Abuses included instances of extrajudicial killings; torture and mistreatment of prisoners, leading to numerous deaths in custody; coerced confessions; arbitrary arrest and detention; and incommunicado detention. The judiciary was not independent, and the lack of due process remained a serious problem. The lack of due process was particularly egregious in death penalty cases, and the accused was often denied a meaningful appeal. Executions often took place on the day of conviction or on the denial of an appeal. In Xinjiang, trials and executions of Uighurs charged with separatism continued. Government pressure continued to make it difficult for lawyers to represent criminal defendants. The authorities routinely violated legal protections in the cases of political dissidents and religious figures. They generally attached higher priority to suppressing political opposition and maintaining public order than to enforcing legal norms or protecting individual rights. According to 2003 government statistics, more than 250,000 persons were serving sentences in "reeducation-through-labor" camps and other forms of administrative detention not subject to judicial review. Other experts reported that more than 310,000 persons were serving sentences in these camps in 2003.
Throughout the year, the Government prosecuted individuals for subversion and leaking state secrets as a means to harass and intimidate, while others were detained for relaying facts about Chinese human rights issues to those outside the country....
The Government maintained tight restrictions on freedom of speech and of the press, and a wave of detentions late in the year signaled a new campaign targeting prominent writers and political commentators
11:23 PM
Kudlow is wrong?
The Chinese government is to blame?
Whose Kool-Aid are you drinking "itsmypartytoo?"
Any half-wit knows the Chinese are wrong. But how their culpabilty takes Yahoo off the hook is beyond me my man.
And your comment about posting your story on Feb 5th of this year? What exactly is your point? The Yahoo story didn't break until September 6th of this year smarty-pants.
Kudlow doesnt think the Chinese are wrong . he highlights their "progress " on Human rights rather than shortcomings.
So there you have your half-wit
Easy there "Lifetime Fiscal Conservative," not everyone has as much free time at their disposal as you apparently do.
It took about 60 seconds to do a search. This is a basic skill that Larry should learn if he's going to make blanket statements.
And if you like irony, you'll love the fact that I compiled that list of organizations that covered the story by searching Yahoo News! (It's hardly complete.) At least Yahoo doesn't censor their site in the U.S.
BTW, there are apparently a number of large companies that adhere to certain rules concerning censorship per the Chinese gov't, including Microsoft, Cisco, and Google. Right, wrong, or indifferent, it's the price of admission to get into the Chinese market.
You seem like a fairly intelligent individual Lifetime, so you ought to be able to see the distinction between the adherance to certain rules regarding censorship (by the likes of MSFT, CSCO, etc) and actively assisting in the conviction of an individual which lead to incarceration as Yahoo did in this case.
They are two completely different things...
I must be pragmatic. I have seen stories and read only the first paragraph of so. If we expect our companies to operate in the world, we have to accept that most of the countries in the world do not live by our rules. I am no more surprised by this than finding a company had to pay a bribe to do business in a country. The problem is when the company is prosecuted here for following law or customs there. If we want globalization, America should accept a little reality going in.
so you ought to be able to see the distinction between the adherance to certain rules regarding censorship (by the likes of MSFT, CSCO, etc) and actively assisting in the conviction of an individual which lead to incarceration as Yahoo did in this case.
I'm not willing to jump in on one side or the other since I just don't know enough about what these companies are required to do. Yahoo apparently turned over records to the Chinese gov't concerning speech that is illegal in China. (I don't like the fact that it's illegal, but it is.)
There are people in the U.S. who scream about the law forcing companies to turn over Internet usage information if music piracy is even suspected. Music piracy is illegal in this country. Should courts be allowed to request this information if they don't have other evidence of music piracy?
I just get the feeling there's some easy black and white cases (and the case of Shi Tao may be one of those), but then there's a big squishy gray zone that I don't know enough about.
LFC -
You may be right that we are all late getting to this story, but I watch two or three hours of television news per night when I can, split between cable news and C-Span, and I read two or three papers most days, and I missed this story. i don't doubt that it was reported, but I am confident it was not given much weight or prominence.
But it isn't about missing the story as much as it is about what the appropriate reaction is. No one has said that the Chinese government isn't completely wrong here. The question is what to do about Yahoo acting as an enabler for the repressive, dictatorial behavior of a giant political and economic force that is still in the larval stages.
The Gipper is correct - we should be disappointed at Yahoo's behavior if in fact they helped implicate a journalist as a criminal for merely doing his job. And if, as you point out, that Google and others have conceded censorship issues to the Chi-Coms, then they are suspect players as well.
The question becomes, if this is a widespread cost of admission, then is it not appropriate for their western trading partners to make a widespread declaration that companies shall not collude with repressive regimes and aid and abet in abusing traditional liberties?
RoadtoSerfdom said... The question becomes, if this is a widespread cost of admission, then is it not appropriate for their western trading partners to make a widespread declaration that companies shall not collude with repressive regimes and aid and abet in abusing traditional liberties?
As a reality check, even the U.S. gov't does it. We allow the Saudis to tell us that military women stationed there must wear a veil off base, can't drive, and can't sit in the front seat of a car. To us, that's an abuse of "traditional liberties".
U.S. military women serving in Saudi Arabia
Other than perhaps Cuba, Syria, and Iran, is the U.S. really restricting interaction with "repressive regimes" at all?
I'm not saying I agree with this whole thing. I just think it's one small example of pretty common behavior for U.S. companies and gov't.
Com'on people, we're all complicit in enabling these animals. We made our deal with the Devils, long ago. We got our cheap T Shirts and DVR's. And we sent them our money. Let's move our hypocritical, worthless souls on along and try to ignore this just like we have everything else about our "Trading Partners." If we think about this too much, we might feel bad for a couple of minutes.
A change of topic, but I did want to note I found the commentary strange. I do not remember Jeffrey from Milbank, sorry, but if the President's base is unhappy because of excessive spending and lack of action on illegal immigration, how is spending more and more going to help? Who is he going to impress?
I think Republicans are tired of big government and waste. We want the tax cuts extended, spending reduced, and many want the problems of illegal immigration addressed. Who is advising the President these days? If it is the President who is guiding the leaders in the House and Senate, he should change his message to them.
I don't know if Tom DeLay broke any laws, but that shifty-eyed Cowboy was fibbin through his teeth. I would like to play some no-limit holdem with that dude. Sunglasses wouldn't help Him. Heck, a Privacy screen would be a waste of time. If he's innocent, he'd better stay that way. I don't think he's cut out for a life of crime. I think a couple hours in the interrogation room with Elliot Ness and he'd confess to downing the Hindenburg, killing Cock Robin, AND, writing all that nasty stuff on the black-board back in Mrs. McNasty's 3'rd Grade Geography Class.
He's got a great defense, though. "Everybody Did It!"
You must have seen Hume. I walked in on the last minute. I'll watch tonight. I doubt it will bring down the Republican Party.
Naw, Sharp; The timing's perfect. GW's had just about every brick fall on his head in the last month or so that can fall. It's all uphill starting around January. That's as good as you can ask for going into an off-year election. The Demo's have definitely peaked too early.
The second thing I will note is I disagree with the Republicans that congress can investigate the problems encountered in NO. I disagree with Democrats that it should be a big, public body.
The display so far is the usual embarrassing ritual of speeches and accusations which prove the ignorance of the members of congress on what ever topic is being investigated. Everyone knows their staffs do most of the tough work. The response cannot be investigated by the people who set up the DHS and FEMA.
Any inquiry should be private and held by disinterested parties. It could be retired military officers, judges, who else is impartial? This small committee could testify to congress. This show is a waste and it is damaging to the country.
Facts are needed. We do not need a whole bunch of change in the heat of a disaster again.
Too early being about 1994?
No, Sharp, I wasn't thinking about ninety four. I was just kind of thinking generically. BUT, thinking back, by the fall of 94, Bill C had just been through the Hillary-Care Debacle, and Time ( I think it was ) was running an itsey-bitsey sized BC with the head-line "The Incredible Shrinking Presidency."
So, now that you mention it, Billy Bob was getting all of his brick-bats right before the election, not the year before. I never really thought of it that way ( I was working for a living back then ) until you brought it up.
Instapundit: Another Great Article. This one about Dave Bing and Robert Thompson ( A white, retired, multi-millionaire businessman,) and the Grief heaped upon them by the teacher's unions when they tried to donate $200,000,000.00 to open some Charter Schools for deprived kids.
Important read. It seems there are a bunch of very rich people trying to help out in many different cities, and being met by the same inconceivable resistance.
I hate to see another energy bill in congress. Every bill seems to complicate the situation and solve little.
The discussion in the media seems to approach the problem of too few refineries from a set of beliefs that may or may not be true. It would seem reasonable to ask the people running the current refineries to explain the problems and decisions as a starting point. Lee Raymond told Maria he was surprised at the number of experts on refining that had emerged, and he has a valid point.
No on has asked if it is reasonable to use any abandoned military base as a site for a refinery. It is ok for the President to say something that might ease the pain of BRAC, but what does a refinery require? Are any of the bases in a location that would be a profitable for a refinery? It seems if a site in the Arizona desert were a good location, it would be easier to find investors.
There are reasons the number refineries has shrunk from 325 to 148. The environmental regulations, aging, and lack of profitability would be some. Are there others? The current refineries have increased output, but there is still a 1.6 million barrels/day deficit filled with imports. The imports will decrease or stop with the newest upgrade that requires reduced sulfur. This is to be completed by 2006.
Removing MTBE will remove 1.6% of the volume. Adding ethanol will increase the volume 2-5%. I forget which. Rufus will know. That still leaves us short. Using more ethanol as it becomes available or the coal derived liquids when available will help.
Some of the refineries have plans for expanding current facilities which may make up the loss or not. It should be asked. This may be the more economical way to do it if some of the expansion is made to those on the east shore. Mr. Raymond also said any application required the plan for the refinery be submitted which is a $300,000 million investment up front.
These issues cannot be addressed in a three minute segment allowed on most shows (not yours Larry). There is little reason to build so many new refineries that they are not profitable and start the cycle over.
Like every other discussion, this is leaving out deisel, heating oil and all of the other products.
It also leaves out that congress left the refiners holding the bag for using mandated MTBE. That is another reason I hate to see congress messing with energy. Their record is not good.
Rufus is right, We have made our silk bed and now we have to lie in it. My hope now is that when the old gaurd dies off in the CP of China, then some sort of political reform will appear.
how far down the page on Instapundit?
Actually, I just picked a number. I could not take much news when C was in office. You are better as history.
I have two more gripes tonight.
My WalMart is out of Folgers.
I am tired of rich people telling me about WalMart and Target. I can see those myself.
I'm sorry, My mistake. It wasn't off of Instapundit. Go to National Review. Article by Henry Payne. "An offer they could refuse." I'm getting tired.
Damned, I'm REALLY TIRED! It's not National Review; It's Weekly Standard. I'm going to have a beer and go to bed.
NO FOLGERS?? Dang!! The whole deals falling apart. I'm with you, Sharp, on the WM Target, thing. I don't go to buy a jar of Folgers for the "Shopping Experience." I go to buy what I need. WalMart's close, and always has it. UNTIL NOW! No Folgers? This is a whole new Paradigm. Dang!
Another must read for those who care to understand Iraq.
Heart of Darkness
From Zarqawi to the man on the street, Sunni Arabs fear Shiite emancipation.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/
Pretty lame. Youd think corporations would have some sense of class, or a taste for actually doing good. But no, not a chance.
R2000
If anyone thought the UN had improved as a protector of human rights or stopped sexual assaults on those in its charge:
Indeed, most of the U.N.’s favorite NGOs would use international rulings to overturn democratic protections in their home countries. The U.N.’s vision of civil society, in other words, is a penumbra of activist groups that simply endorse its agenda of centralized economies, large welfare states, and massive social engineering.
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/loconte_gardiner200509280814.asp
Read, "Heart of Darkness," by Fouad Ajami. I'm Blank. I don't know what to say. Gotta sleep on this one. Thanks for the post, Sharp. I'm going to reread it in the morning. I feel like I've read something pretty important. One thing is for sure, "He is one HELL of a writer." I would love to take a class under him.
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The U.N.’s vision of civil society, in other words, is a penumbra of activist groups that simply endorse its agenda of centralized economies, large welfare states, and massive social engineering.
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Yeah, thank god those UN bastards didn't impose their twisted view of the world on Iraq; otherwise people there'd be blowing themselves up and shit.
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The Arctic ice shelf has melted for the fourth straight year to its smallest area in a century, driven by rising temperatures that appear linked to a buildup of greenhouse gases, U.S. scientists said Wednesday.
Scientists at NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center, which have monitored the ice via satellites since 1978, say the total Arctic ice in 2005 will cover the smallest area since they started measuring.
As of September 21, the Arctic sea ice area had dropped to 2.05 million square miles (5.31 million square km), the report said.
From 1978 to 2000, the sea ice area averaged 2.70 million square miles (7 million square km)
---
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Sinking villages perched on thawing permafrost, an explosion of timber-chewing insect populations, record wildfires and shrinking sea ice are among the most obvious and jarring signs that Alaska is getting warmer as the global climate changes, scientists say.
"We are the canary in the mine, unfortunately, and the harbinger of what is yet to come for the rest of the world," said Patricia Cochran, executive director of the Anchorage-based Alaska Native Science Commission.
Atmospheric temperatures in the remote state have risen 3.6 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (2 to 3 degrees Celsius) over the past five decades, according to the recently released Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, a comprehensive study by scientists from eight nations.
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Isn't the Ice pack in "Antarctica" growing? Just what I was afraid of, "Semi-Geo" Warming. Damn, now what are we going to do about that.
I got it. We'll use more Ethanol. Just like Bush said. He was ahead of the curve on this one, eh?
Doesn't it just make sense to cut the whole damned Government by, say, 3%? Defense, Homeland Security, medicaid, Rain forests in Iowa? Everything? No fights over, "If you don't cut that, you can't cut this."
Are you telling me that there's not a department in the Government that couldn't take a 3% haircut, and never know it happened?
What if " THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" went on TV and told the American People, " I need to cut the Government 3 cents on the dollar to get our house in order, and to help out the Hurricane Victims." Is there anyone out there who doesn't think the American People would say, " OK, that sounds fair?"
Well, I know, "Anything that simple just has to be an idiotic idea;" but I'd sure like to see him try it, JUST IN CASE I'M WRONG!!
I need to cut the Government 3 cents on the dollar to get our house in order, and to help out the Hurricane Victims.
------------------
Similarly, the President could say that the richest people in this country need to make some sacrifices and help out the poor people from Katrina. So I am going to raise the taxes on PEOPLE MAKING 1 MILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR OR MORE BY 3-5% FOR 2 YEARS.
Every story has 2 sides, you choose to see only one. So you are half blind.
Cut spending but also raise taxes on the wealthiest population. THEY WON'T EVEN NOTICE. That is the way to go.
That's a great idea kts, if your goal is "Slowing Growth and Inflation."
Rufus, in theory they'd all say cutting 3% is fair. But once you start proposing specific cuts, they may start singing a different tune. I forget who said it, but "every dollar of spending has a vocal constituency, no matter how small".
I suspect the quickest way to get meaningful spending cuts passed would be to turn the federal budget over to a group of non-elected officials. A group who will never be elected, never have to worry about noisy constituents, etc. Sequester them for a few months, give them a set of guidelines about what's crucial and what's not (and limit those guidelines to 1 page, double spaced, front and back), and get a pledge by Congress ahead of time to accept whatever they come back with, WITHOUT modification.
That's how you'd get the cuts in the most efficient and fair manner. Of course, I wouldn't seriously suggest doing this, because it cedes too much power into the hands of unelected officials. But our elected officials seem unwilling to face the problem responsibly, and the political system is set up to reward the politicians who perpetuate that behavior.
When are they going to indict Karl Rove?
Good thing. SEC upgraded their investigation into Sen. Frist's insider trading to formal status.
Let us review.
House Majority leader is indicted for money laundering.
Senate Majority leader is being investigated by SEC for insider trading.
Chief Strategist and White House Dy Chief of Staff is being investigated by a Grand Jury for leaking the identity of a CIA agent.
To be continued as more Republican crooks join the list. Stay tuned.
A BRAC Commission for tax cuts. Anything that works. My thinking was that the only possible way to get such a thing done, would be for the President to go over the Heads of the Congress and straight to the American People. It would have to be an "Impassioned" Speech in Prime Time, not some lame wandering around the country, sitting on a stool, and talking to Partisans.
I'm sure the White House would view this as "Using Political Capital." They are so far removed from the ordinary American that they don't realize this might very well be a chance to "Accumulate" some Capital.
I agree with you on the method, rufus. But ultimately Congress has control of the purse strings, and I'm very pessimistic about the odds of getting Congress to make significant cuts in spending.
I think I've mentioned it here before, but at times I think Congress' job could be better done by 5 accountants, 3 generals, and 1 lawyer. At least spending would be under better control.
Bush thinks he has political capital. Lobbyists think they can influence the capital. Delay thinks he can launder the capital. Bill Frist thinks he can benefit from insider trading the capital.
Bush is a lame duck. With an approval rating of just under 40%, he can't do anything. If he does succeed in privatizing social security, his approval rating will go 20%.
Privatizing social security...DEAD
Making tax cuts permanent..DEAD
Estate tax reform... DEAD
Immigration reform...DEAD
Corruption in the Republican party..ALIVE AND WELL.
I think that would be taxation without representation. There must be a way to excercise control over the politicians who run for re-election every minute of every day.
I will not support cutting the budget of the DOD. Sorry. I will support cutting other departments including the budget for congress by up to 20%. They are out of touch with the people.
Are they going to let BRAC go through?
the richest people in this country need to make some sacrifices and help out the poor people from Katrina. So ----------------------------Who are you to decide who should sacrifice what?
Liberal media is trying its darnest to get liberals elected...
Americans are smarter than that
Ronald Reagan went straight to the people. It worked for him.
Rufus
I read what I could of the rich man's difficulty in giving away 200 million. Do you subscribe? I never got to the part of the NEA's opposition.
I think Fouad Ajami might make a good guest on a television program.
We'll get this right, yet, Sharpie. Go to Kausfiles, scroll down to "Someone had something nasty to say" about Dave Bing........
Unbeliever, I can go along with your idea to a point; but that "Lawyer" has got to go.
KTS, Congratulations. You made me chuckle while ago. That was a humorous paragraph. I knew you could do it.
I don't remember the specific case, but I suspect the NEA's objection is that it creates private school jobs while reducing the need for public school teachers (since students who previously attended public schools would now be going to private schools). Since the NEA is a teachers' union for public school employees, this would cause some of its members to lose their jobs.
The bigger issue, of course, is that teachers would have to compete for the private school jobs, and would be less likely to unionize. And the public school teachers may feel that they would not be competitive if they applied for these jobs. Free market competition for better paying jobs would attract higher quality candidates; and if these better teachers offer a superior alternative to public schools, they would eventually steal the public sector's "market share" of students.
In short, the union is mostly worried that charter schools (and school vouchers which would let students attend them) would reduce the unions' power and membership. Hmm, where have we heard this problem before...
Don't worry rufus, the lawyer wouldn't be given any real power. He's just there to generate pages of legal nonsense on top of the other members' decisions, since I doubt generals or accountants would want to worry about such filler.
I would have replaced the lawyer with a skilled secretary, but after thinking about all the additional stuff they would have had to do, I felt sorry for the secretary.
I'm still deeply concerned.
One of four delegates to the Democrat National Convention was a member of the NEA.
I did not know this. From the Kausfiles:
Just a reminder #2: Habitat for Humanity is getting lots of attention, and donations, given the need for housing in the hurricane-damaged Gulf region. President Bush mentioned Habitat for Humanity in his televised address this evening. But Habitat for Humanity is a bit of a fraud. The people who move into Habitat homes don't actually own the homes the way we usually think of homeowners owning homes. Habitat's affiliates typically retain a "right of first refusal" that limits the ability of the "homeowners" to sell their homes and realize their full value (what some affiliates call reaping "windfall profits" ).That means Habitat's "homeowners" don't have the full traditional incentive to clean up their neighborhoods, increase property values, etc. They have more of a financial incentive than renters, presumably. But less than real homeowners.
Finally found the article, and it is a must read. This is the best way to fight poverty.
In addition to the schools, it would be good if some of the wealthy or the foundations bought up distressed properties in any area and held lotteries. People could afford to own who would be willing to fix up. It is not so difficult to find banks who will loan for the repairs to these motivated owners, or the loans could be backed by the foundation.
Been over at Wuzzadem. It's quickly turning into one of my top 3. They're giving MSM hell for the implied "Racism" in their all to rapid acceptance of the wild Murder, Rape, Cannibalism, etc. Rumors.
Liberal media is trying its darnest to get liberals elected...
Americans are smarter than that
--------------------------
About the Iraq war:
Seventy-two percent of those questioned said the conflict has made them feel worse about the use of military force "to bring about democracy" down the road, compared to only 20 percent who said it made them feel better about such a prospect, the survey found.
AMERICANS ARE DEFINITELY SMARTER! YOU CAN'T FOOL THEM!
you guys are all so out of touch w/ reality . Turning over the budget to an outside party. Never happen in the next 20 years.
fighting poverty by making people fix up their houses. Sounds great. I dont think anyone was smart enough to think of that before.
and BTW Congress cant sped a dime w/out the President signing off on it. Its comical how you complain about the energy bill and yet Bush was so pleased with it he went on the road to sign it.
Its just easier just to blame congress but we got a pres who wont use his veto power.
May be Bush doesn't know what veto means. Somebody ought to explain to him what it is.
President Bush:
"And Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." —George W. Bush, to FEMA director Michael Brown who resigned 10 days later amid criticism over his job performance, Mobile, Ala., Sept. 2, 2005
magicStix, I'm not advocating that idea as an actual solution. Hence my statement immediately following the suggestion: "Of course, I wouldn't seriously suggest doing this".
What I am saying is that it would be easier to get spending cuts if they were done by people who weren't more interested in the next election than in their duty to the country as a whole. That's just a sad fact of our current political reality.
As for the 5 accountants and 3 generals, I truly believe they'd make better decisions than all 435 members of Congress. That doesn't mean we should abolish Congress, it just means I wish we had fewer politicians and lawyers in there and more people who come from a useful background.
What I am saying is that it would be easier to get spending cuts if they were done by people who weren't more interested in the next election than in their duty to the country as a whole.
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That is why we need term limits. The Republican party supported it ages ago. That was before the lobbyists started taking over the Republican party.
Term limits would only stop the problem in the last term they serve; otherwise, Congress members would just keep business as usual to serve as many terms as they're allowed. What might help solve the problem would be repealing the 17th Amendment, making the Senators responsible to state legislatures again. This would re-strengthen the states in the federal equation, making it harder for lobbys to target individual Senators or blocs of Senators for with political pressure for favors, since those lobbyists would have to target entire state delegations across many states.
I'm not entirely sold on the idea of repealing the 17th Amendment yet, but the arguments I've heard for repealment seem to make sense.
And KTS, if you think that the Dems haven't been taken over by lobbyists and radical special interest groups, you must've been living in a cave for the past few decades.
Election of a Democratic President is the only way to get our fiscal house in order. The Repubs have had 3 shots; Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II, and all ended up failing miserably in terms of being fiscally conservative. The track record is clear. In the last 25 years, deficit spending leaps under Republican Presidents. Clinton's record is much better.
That being said, if the Dems gain the control that the Repugs now enjoy, we'd once again have many power abuse problems. I'm sure they'd be different, but they'd still be problems.
"Power corrupts, and absolute power..."
"Power corrupts. Absolute power is kind of fun."
But seriously: the different set of problems we'd have with a Dem President would be pretty bad. Without a specific Dem candidate to talk about, I'm guessing defense spending cuts, tax hikes, entitlements growth, anti-business regulations, etc... until the result is that other Democratic Presidential legacy: recessions. We argued this ad infinitum on another post, and I've no wish to re-open it, but the Dems' last "three shots" all ended with recessions: Johnson, Carter, and Clinton.
This isn't a defense of Republican deficit spending, but rather a caution against thinking of a Dem presidency as a solution.
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