We have finally gotten through the primary season in the US. (this piece was written when there were still five or six to go.) And, not surprisingly (unless you are a Republican muckety-muck), the majority of votes cast went to those railing against the existing powers. Whether it was The Donald, Bernie Saunders, Scott Taylor (who beat Congressman Randy Forbes), or a slew of others- that was the key point. “Other” wins in today’s cycles.
Why? Because our government – the one we need to provide us with basic services- has spent more time, money, and resources keeping secrets from us. Mostly these secrets are maintained to protect the bureaucracy, at the expense of our civil society and our civil rights- the right to know what our government is doing with our money and on our behalf.
This is not a new phenomenon. It reached a climax (at least as far as I can see) when Lyndon Johnson and Tricky Dick were Presidents. Lyndon’s problem is that he had his military executives perpetually lie to us. Telling us that we were winning the war in VietNam. You know- the one where, if you believed the military- we killed about 2X the entire country’s population according to their ridiculous data. A war, I might add, in which many of us wanted no part.
Tricky Dick just lied- about pretty much everything- but continued the BS about VietNam by “classifying” the Pentagon Papers, among other ills. Thankfully, Daniel Ellsberg rendered that moot. (He was tried for his actions, but the case ended in a mistrial. Which means there is no precedent anyone else has to use with which one can make critical information public.) And, where SCOTUS (the Supreme Court of the United States) ruled- 6 to 3!- that there was no justification for prior restraint, for precluding the New York Times or the Washington Post (or any other media) from publishing the document.
But, our government has decided to make more and more information secret. Even if there is no logical reason to do so. To be honest (please note that I am NO fan of Hillary Clinton), this is one of the problems Hillary has with her (improper) private eMail system. Because AFTER THE FACT, our government labels information secret. (Again, for no good reason, other than its convenience or to preclude embarrassment.)
(As an aside, I think Ms. Clinton should begin to break the bonds of secrets. Admit that she really maintained her own eMail system for NO OTHER REASON than to preserve her ability to write her memoirs, to preserve the fact that only she had access to the information she planned to divulge a decade or so from now.)
As if that were not enough, it turns out that computers can review documents to discern with 98% accuracy determine what could be considered to be classified. (Note: This does NOT mean a document should, indeed,be termed classified or secret. It means, given the “key words” that the government bureaucrats provide it, this is the “capture” rate the computers achieve.) By the way, this far exceeds the accuracy that humans provide- and, at speeds humans could never achieve.
But, don’t despair, the bureaucrats refuse to use computers, because the devices may miss that 2%. Instead, we keep (almost) everything classified. Until these bureaucrats get a chance to review it “fully”.
In case you don’t understand how our “intelligence” (sic) community works- that means f…..g never.
But, they still expect that we should trust them. Because even though the TV show has been cancelled for decades, they want us to believe that “Father Knows Best”.
Instead, the TV show we really see is “Brain Dead”.
Shh! A Secret! https://t.co/TVIPyfQRwH via @RAAckerman <-Make it a secret. Just, you know, because.
I am totally disgusted and stunned by not just how corrupt the system is – but how blatantly corrupt it is yet people still stand behind those doing the dirty deeds.
I agree that it is the desire to obfuscate the situation, to fool the citizenry that causes this, Danni.
And, that means they need to corrupt their decision-making to continue the chicanery.
Thanks for the visit AND the comment.
There was a time in our history when the people were able to get the information they needed to make good voting decisions. I think today’s elites think we are too dumb to make any decisions and we should leave it all up to them.What a mess they do make of things!
Barbara:
I am not sure they think we are too dumb. I think (1) they fear we will recognize how much lobbying carries the day, (2) that we will recognize they’ve made terrible decisions, and (3) image is all they care about.
Thanks for the visit and the comment.
Shh! A Secret! | https://t.co/tG61F0hWrH via @Adjuvancy
And now, even PBS lies to us (the fireworks last night). But seriously, tweeted.
Yup! But, that is not quite a classified object, Alana.
(It’s also why I’ve always watched the Boston Pops- with the best fireworks of all.)
PBS has lied before- or at least let it’s documentarians push the limits of truth.
RT @MarianAllen: Shh! A Secret! https://t.co/TVIPyfQRwH via @RAAckerman <-Make it a secret. Just, you know, because.
The government doesn’t want us to know the truth because, if we did, we would know that so much of our policy making is based on complete lies or on the ability of corporations (campaign donors) to make big profits. We had the Iraq war for no reason whatsoever. That was based on lies. Halliburton (Dick Cheney’s company) made out like a bandit with no-bid contracts. So we aren’t told that the process is corrupt and that the war was pointless. We are told that our troops fought in Iraq “to protect our freedom.” What the heck is that supposed to mean? And now, we have two major party candidates who can’t seem to tell the truth. What sort of disasters would they create should they become president? Will they say that their disastrous policies were put into place to “protect our freedom”? That’s why I’m not voting for either Clinton or Trump.
This is the most cynical that I’ve ever been about a presidential election. I really don’t see any hope for this country whatsoever. It is not a good place in which to be.
Fixed the original for you, Alice. This is being dumped.
Well, I am in 91% agreement with what you said here, Alice.
I’ve had my doubts since I was a young tyke. And, that continued during the 60s when we needed to change the rules so Blacks could vote, that Johnson be dumped, “To Seek a Newer World”- only to have Bobby join his brother’s fate to an assassination, to Tricky Dick and Spiro Boo Boo, to earnest Carter who couldn’t make a decision, to the Great Communicator- as long as it was obfuscatory and destroyed the government’s ability to meet the people’s needs, to Clinton who sold the Democratic Party soul away, to the worst and the dumbest …. you get the picture.
But, I can’t afford to not vote. Not because I like either candidate- but because one of them will lead us to fascism, racism, and ultimately to our ruin. So, I have to vote for a woman I detest- so the Supreme Court can begin to funciton again, along with the hope that the DoNothings lose their control of the Senate, and that most of the obstructionists are washed away in the House. (I expect the House to remain Republican- but not obstructionist.)