USING NAMES TO DISGUISE REAL MEANINGS
Old friend Ben Blankenship gave me permission to pass on his article to you, below:
"Doing your "civic duty" or else.
"Did you get your tax return in on time? Attaboy, citizen. I'm sure Washington appreciates your timely "contribution."
"That's the term also used for your portion of the payroll tax that goes to fund Social Security.
"The term is a misnomer in both cases. You have no choice in either. But it's par for the course among bureaucratic agencies.
"Back during my own government days fronting for USDA programs, it was a no-no to call handouts to farmers by their real name, "subsidies." And in those early days of what we now have come to know as political correctness, a much bigger no-no was to call the Soviet Union and its satellite countries "Communist." Too harsh: The correct designation was Centrally Planned. How loopy.
"Similarly, Washington economists don't refer to a decline in the gross domestic product as such, but a period of negative economic growth.
"We have clearly reached the point of letting big government shape, not only our lives to a great extent, but also our expressions. Without government, who in the world would have thought up "affirmative action?"
"Worse, as we bend over backward to be fair to all for the sake of cultural diversity, sensitivity and such, bad things can result.
"How about the stout convict (er, detainee) who was led into an Atlanta courtroom last month, without cuffs, by a small female officer. There were no cuffs because "studies" have shown that jurors are unfairly influenced when a person on trial is wearing handcuffs. Result: Brian Nichols broke free and killed four people, including his guard. They paid a dear price for political correctness.
"As hard-right columnist Ann Coulter put it: "I have an idea that would save money and lives: Have large men escort violent criminals. Admittedly, this approach would risk another wave of nausea and vomiting by female professors at Harvard. But there are also advantages to not pretending women are as strong as men, such as fewer dead people."
"Speaking of the consequences of bending over backwards for the sake of political correctness, how about that recent dog-bite death in Spotsylvania County. According to news accounts, police had already answered several complaints about the dogs before the fatal attacks occurred.
"Common sense, back in the days when there was still some, would have meant hunting down the dogs the first time they misbehaved and shooting them on the spot. Problem solved. But do it today and those PETA and ASPCA lawyers would tie up county courts for years extracting payoffs.
"Reminds me of the time a few years ago when a man in south Stafford encountered a bear threatening him and messing up his garbage. He shot it dead. I cheered. Yet, Sheriff Charlie Jett's boys (er, deputies) landed on him and exacted a stiff fine. He was lucky they didn't throw him in jail.
"It's not that governments set out to control your every action. They start with tiny steps. First they encouraged the development of filter-tip and low-tar cigarettes. Then you could no longer smoke in the office, then not outside closeby. It's for our own good, you see.
"Now there's a push on for a national ID card for the sake of protecting us against illegal immigrants and other bad guys. It sounds logical, simply replacing an existing drivers' license, right?
"No, that's just for openers. I liked the idea until the other day when I read a column by Melanie Scarborough in the Washington Post about what some states are already doing to extend the drivers' license reach. Do you have any books overdue at the library? Your license is suspended. By the way, if your license is your de facto national ID, how come the yo-yo's at DMV manage them?
"Failed to separate recyclables in your trash? Pay the fine or give up your license to drive. It could happen.
"The same fear was behind another columnist's opposition to the proposal to create private investment accounts in the Social Security system. That good idea would likely lead, columnist Robert Samuelson wrote, to much greater Washington control over the stock and bond markets. Bureaucrats would decide which funds workers could invest in, and then begin controlling the funds themselves. Stocks of cigarette companies and gun makers and casinos would be barred for sure.
"Meanwhile, snoozing over in the corner are our congressional guardians of the public purse. According to the blogger, Power Line, "Entitlement programs are a disaster: they are out of control budget-busters, on automatic pilot, that are eating up the federal budget and, if left unchecked, will guarantee tax increases for a generation. [The Senate has rebuked] the Bush administration's effort to make even token reductions in the rate of growth of Medicaid, voting 52-48 to restore all Medicaid reductions. The administration had proposed trimming the proposed Medicaid budget by a whopping 1 percent--as usual, not cutting Medicaid, but merely reducing its exploding rate of growth. Even this modest effort was too much…"
"Trusting my tart remarks haven't upset the grief counselors, I'll sign off for now as your friendly watchdog, occasionally angry but never vicious, and on a short leash."
Ben called it by it's right name(s), didn't he? Good for Ben!
"Doing your "civic duty" or else.
"Did you get your tax return in on time? Attaboy, citizen. I'm sure Washington appreciates your timely "contribution."
"That's the term also used for your portion of the payroll tax that goes to fund Social Security.
"The term is a misnomer in both cases. You have no choice in either. But it's par for the course among bureaucratic agencies.
"Back during my own government days fronting for USDA programs, it was a no-no to call handouts to farmers by their real name, "subsidies." And in those early days of what we now have come to know as political correctness, a much bigger no-no was to call the Soviet Union and its satellite countries "Communist." Too harsh: The correct designation was Centrally Planned. How loopy.
"Similarly, Washington economists don't refer to a decline in the gross domestic product as such, but a period of negative economic growth.
"We have clearly reached the point of letting big government shape, not only our lives to a great extent, but also our expressions. Without government, who in the world would have thought up "affirmative action?"
"Worse, as we bend over backward to be fair to all for the sake of cultural diversity, sensitivity and such, bad things can result.
"How about the stout convict (er, detainee) who was led into an Atlanta courtroom last month, without cuffs, by a small female officer. There were no cuffs because "studies" have shown that jurors are unfairly influenced when a person on trial is wearing handcuffs. Result: Brian Nichols broke free and killed four people, including his guard. They paid a dear price for political correctness.
"As hard-right columnist Ann Coulter put it: "I have an idea that would save money and lives: Have large men escort violent criminals. Admittedly, this approach would risk another wave of nausea and vomiting by female professors at Harvard. But there are also advantages to not pretending women are as strong as men, such as fewer dead people."
"Speaking of the consequences of bending over backwards for the sake of political correctness, how about that recent dog-bite death in Spotsylvania County. According to news accounts, police had already answered several complaints about the dogs before the fatal attacks occurred.
"Common sense, back in the days when there was still some, would have meant hunting down the dogs the first time they misbehaved and shooting them on the spot. Problem solved. But do it today and those PETA and ASPCA lawyers would tie up county courts for years extracting payoffs.
"Reminds me of the time a few years ago when a man in south Stafford encountered a bear threatening him and messing up his garbage. He shot it dead. I cheered. Yet, Sheriff Charlie Jett's boys (er, deputies) landed on him and exacted a stiff fine. He was lucky they didn't throw him in jail.
"It's not that governments set out to control your every action. They start with tiny steps. First they encouraged the development of filter-tip and low-tar cigarettes. Then you could no longer smoke in the office, then not outside closeby. It's for our own good, you see.
"Now there's a push on for a national ID card for the sake of protecting us against illegal immigrants and other bad guys. It sounds logical, simply replacing an existing drivers' license, right?
"No, that's just for openers. I liked the idea until the other day when I read a column by Melanie Scarborough in the Washington Post about what some states are already doing to extend the drivers' license reach. Do you have any books overdue at the library? Your license is suspended. By the way, if your license is your de facto national ID, how come the yo-yo's at DMV manage them?
"Failed to separate recyclables in your trash? Pay the fine or give up your license to drive. It could happen.
"The same fear was behind another columnist's opposition to the proposal to create private investment accounts in the Social Security system. That good idea would likely lead, columnist Robert Samuelson wrote, to much greater Washington control over the stock and bond markets. Bureaucrats would decide which funds workers could invest in, and then begin controlling the funds themselves. Stocks of cigarette companies and gun makers and casinos would be barred for sure.
"Meanwhile, snoozing over in the corner are our congressional guardians of the public purse. According to the blogger, Power Line, "Entitlement programs are a disaster: they are out of control budget-busters, on automatic pilot, that are eating up the federal budget and, if left unchecked, will guarantee tax increases for a generation. [The Senate has rebuked] the Bush administration's effort to make even token reductions in the rate of growth of Medicaid, voting 52-48 to restore all Medicaid reductions. The administration had proposed trimming the proposed Medicaid budget by a whopping 1 percent--as usual, not cutting Medicaid, but merely reducing its exploding rate of growth. Even this modest effort was too much…"
"Trusting my tart remarks haven't upset the grief counselors, I'll sign off for now as your friendly watchdog, occasionally angry but never vicious, and on a short leash."
Ben called it by it's right name(s), didn't he? Good for Ben!
posted by Old Neocon at 8:03 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home