[geeks] Marijuana Legalization

[Sandwich Maker]

" From: Phil Stracchino <phil.stracchino at speakeasy.net>
" 
" Sandwich Maker wrote:
" > " From: "Jonathan C. Patschke" <jp at celestrion.net>
" > " 
" > " 
" > " The problem is a lot bigger than which political football team scores a
" > " touchdown in any given election.  They're both ate up with assholes who
" > " think we need more government and less personal sovereignty.
" > 
" > the closer you get to the top, the better the totalitarian approach
" > looks...
" > 
" > power corrupts, and politicians are by and large a self-selected bunch
" > of power addicts.
" 
" It's not so much that power in and of itself corrupts, as that power is
" immensely attractive to the easily corruptible.

true, but they will go farther to satisfy their craving, including
dirty tricks and slinging mud at their opponents as well as looking
around for parades and running to get in front of them, then
proclaiming themselves 'leaders'- things more responsible folks would
stop short of - to get elected.  this is the achilles heel of the
democratic system, that by the nature of it the crap rises to the top.

since we're dealing with a natural facet of human psychology, i don't
see any way around it short of a law requiring paych testing [*] for
prospective pols, which is
a. unlikely in the extreme to ever be passed by folks who don't
qualify
b. would certainly contain loopholes big enough to pilot the queen
mary through, rendering it merely window-dressing

politics has always been like this, in every system that left records
we can read.  machiavelli's prince isn't so much a guide for despots
as an encyclopedia of the political process as practised by human
beings.

* it's well known in psychology circles that pols as a group score
well on only 2 of the 5 major personality dimensions, and
'responsibility' isn't one of them.  btw i recall a talking head back
in '00 saying that bush scored well on only -1- of the 5, based on
analysis of his public record.
________________________________________________________________________
Andrew Hay                                  the genius nature
internet rambler                            is to see what all have seen
adh at an.bradford.ma.us                       and think what none thought