The People Have Spoken!

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Democracy is government that substitutes election by the incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few.

George Bernard Shaw

Along with millions of my fellow "incompetent" citizens, I held my nose and cast my vote yesterday. All of the candidates for whom I voted were elected -- including those who did not inspire nose-holding efforts ("Go Hillary!") -- as part of the landslide for Democrats in this interim election. The Iraq policy and leadership of G.W. were rejected by the American people. The country wants a change. Voters demand a new pack of rats in office.

In New Jersey -- and other enclaves of organized criminal involvement in politics and courts -- little will change, since the same pack of rats were returned to power. This was mostly a result of the sobering discovery that their opponents may be even worse than Democrats, although they are unlikely to be as dishonest as machine politicians. "Pick your poison," said the person at the polling place. Exactly. Familiar speeches were made by familiar faces. Politicians with nothing to say, said nothing -- usually at great length. "Only in America ..." How true.

What does all of this mean? It means that politicians better figure out some way to get our asses out of Iraq pronto. It means that we should avoid departing in such a way that we have to return to Iraq with massive force a few months after we leave. It means that we should not screw up the faltering economic recovery -- economic catastrophe is usually a Democratic achievement -- while leaving religious fundamentalism and idiotic "life-style" prescriptiveness out of politics, which are typical forms of Republican idiocy.

The people have spoken and what they want is less partisanship; more good government in the public interest; fewer sweetheart deals and less corruption. Menendez only won because people voted against Bush. It is time for a graceful exit by Secretary Rumsfeld to some shady green campus and a multi-million dollar book deal. G.W. should be planning his Presidential library soon, thus bringing joy to the good people of Crawford, Texas. The forces are aligned for a Presidential race between Senator Clinton ("Hi, I'm first gentleman, Bill Clinton!") and Senator John McCain. Obama scored the upset!

Meanwhile, American prestige is at an all-time low; the U.S. has become a pariah in the world on human rights issues, allowing tyrants everywhere to point to the haunting and disgusting images from Abu Ghraib whenever the American government objects to human rights abuses by anyone. China -- and maybe India -- will soon surpass the U.S. in economic influence and power. So we are told. Both are more popular in the world right now than the U.S., so is every other country. Politicians will continue to scheme about how to get friends to share in federal funds they have "procured" that will then "come back to papa" when no one's looking.

American courts in the most dismal jurisdictions, like New Jersey, will rationalize and cover-up torture, discriminatory legislation, unfair punishments and penalties, profitable child porn and prostitution rings, their own dishonesty (intellectual and otherwise), unethical and incompetent decisions, while hypocritically judging the actions and characters of others. At least, New Jersey's Chief Justice Deborah T. Poritz is gone, finally. On election day, yet again, a report of corruption and criminal behavior among New Jersey's Democrats appeared in the press:

"A former Salvation Army manager was sentenced yesterday in Federal District Court to 37 months in prison for stealing $385,760 from the charity over seven years, prosecutors said."

John Holl, "Newark: Charity Ex-Manager Sentenced," The New York Times, November 7, 2006, at p. B7.

New Jersey's Attorney General Stuart Rabner, who was appointed by Democrat Jon Corzine, missed this stealing spree. The local law enforcement network was out to lunch. Democrats in the legislature "did not know from nothing." Once again, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney, Chris Christie, was on the job. The people who won this election and were returned to office in the Garden State are (mostly) the very same officials who failed to prevent hundreds of examples of such theft over the past several years and decades. They will continue to look the other way when their friends are stealing; corruption will continue to thrive; the Turnpike and New Jersey Assembly will continue to stink.

On the Trenton agenda, however, is the burning question of whether metal baseball bats should be banned. As for the reduction in property taxes, they'll make up for it by increasing other "revenue enhancement measures." New Jersey should make you sick.