The USA becoming the SL... right now!

Some time ago, I posed the question of whether the USA id more like the PRH or SL.

http://forums.davidweber.net/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1437

Now I think I have my answer:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ ... story.html

(You may not like George F. Will, but I think his points are well reasoned in this op ed).

The federal bureaucracies seem to be out of control. They're making policy now, not the Legislative and Executive Branches. How long before we find ourselves with actual Mandarins?

captainofthelist wrote:Some time ago, I posed the question of whether the USA id more like the PRH or SL.

http://forums.davidweber.net/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1437

Now I think I have my answer:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ ... story.html

(You may not like George F. Will, but I think his points are well reasoned in this op ed).

The federal bureaucracies seem to be out of control. They're making policy now, not the Legislative and Executive Branches. How long before we find ourselves with actual Mandarins?

Hate to admit it, but you are soooo right.

Hmmm, maybe if Congress could actually get some work done instead of drawing lines in the sand we might get a representative Government once more. Today the parties are screwing us all, BOTH of them.

BrightSoul wrote:Hmmm, maybe if Congress could actually get some work done instead of drawing lines in the sand we might get a representative Government once more. Today the parties are screwing us all, BOTH of them.

+1

Blaming congress for the IRS, EPA and USPTO activities? That's the administration's responsibility. Congress is trying to find out what type of BS is going on in the IRS but the AG assigns a political hack to oversee the investigation. The IRS and EPA loses data and scrubs hard drives totally against what the law demands and you blame the congress?

More than a bit unreasonable.

BrightSoul wrote:Hmmm, maybe if Congress could actually get some work done instead of drawing lines in the sand we might get a representative Government once more. Today the parties are screwing us all, BOTH of them.

They're enough blame to go around to all 3 branches.

Here's the latest poll on confidence levels http://www.gallup.com/poll/171992/americans-losing-confidence-branches-gov.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_content=morelink&utm_term=Politics

Congress has 7%, President Obama has 29%, and the Supreme Court has 30%.

To address your specific points, if congress got things done, the exercise of its oversight authority would allow it to drastically curtail the sorts of activities you cited.

PeterZ wrote:Blaming congress for the IRS, EPA and USPTO activities? That's the administration's responsibility. Congress is trying to find out what type of BS is going on in the IRS but the AG assigns a political hack to oversee the investigation. The IRS and EPA loses data and scrubs hard drives totally against what the law demands and you blame the congress?

More than a bit unreasonable.

BrightSoul wrote:Hmmm, maybe if Congress could actually get some work done instead of drawing lines in the sand we might get a representative Government once more. Today the parties are screwing us all, BOTH of them.

I agree with your point. My issue in the prior post was with the poster's disregard for the administration's culpability. It seems to me that the courts are doing there jobs for a change. They have limited the administration and by extension the bureaucracy in their recent rulings.

Donnachaidh wrote:They're enough blame to go around to all 3 branches.

Here's the latest poll on confidence levels http://www.gallup.com/poll/171992/americans-losing-confidence-branches-gov.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_content=morelink&utm_term=Politics

Congress has 7%, President Obama has 29%, and the Supreme Court has 30%.

To address your specific points, if congress got things done, the exercise of its oversight authority would allow it to drastically curtail the sorts of activities you cited.

BrightSoul wrote:Hmmm, maybe if Congress could actually get some work done instead of drawing lines in the sand we might get a representative Government once more. Today the parties are screwing us all, BOTH of them.

My point was that if we had a functional house that did its job the executive over reach would near impossible due to said congressional oversight. I figured that went without saying but as usual someone on either side will nitpick to avoid the point until someone shoves it in their faces. Thanks for taking care of that for me Donnachaidh.

PeterZ wrote:I agree with your point. My issue in the prior post was with the poster's disregard for the administration's culpability. It seems to me that the courts are doing there jobs for a change. They have limited the administration and by extension the bureaucracy in their recent rulings.

Donnachaidh wrote:They're enough blame to go around to all 3 branches.

Here's the latest poll on confidence levels http://www.gallup.com/poll/171992/americans-losing-confidence-branches-gov.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_content=morelink&utm_term=Politics

Congress has 7%, President Obama has 29%, and the Supreme Court has 30%.

To address your specific points, if congress got things done, the exercise of its oversight authority would allow it to drastically curtail the sorts of activities you cited.

BrightSoul wrote:Hmmm, maybe if Congress could actually get some work done instead of drawing lines in the sand we might get a representative Government once more. Today the parties are screwing us all, BOTH of them.

BrightSoul wrote:My point was that if we had a functional house that did its job the executive over reach would near impossible due to said congressional oversight. I figured that went without saying but as usual someone on either side will nitpick to avoid the point until someone shoves it in their faces. Thanks for taking care of that for me Donnachaidh.

What, pray tell, can the House do about the IRS? Should the withhold funding as is their prerogative? Didn't go over well when they tried that last year. Impeachment of IRS officials? Senate won't convict so why bother. I am not trying to be snide. What can the house do?

I believe he was meaning the entire legislative branch (House and Senate) when he said Congress.

PeterZ wrote:

BrightSoul wrote:My point was that if we had a functional house that did its job the executive over reach would near impossible due to said congressional oversight. I figured that went without saying but as usual someone on either side will nitpick to avoid the point until someone shoves it in their faces. Thanks for taking care of that for me Donnachaidh.

What, pray tell, can the House do about the IRS? Should the withhold funding as is their prerogative? Didn't go over well when they tried that last year. Impeachment of IRS officials? Senate won't convict so why bother. I am not trying to be snide. What can the house do?