Comments on: Trusting the Government

By: the commentator

the commentator — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 22:10:13 +0000

Governments are run by humans – or monkey’s. Hence, they are flawed and should not be trusted – humans that is. Yet, we need governance to maintain some resemblance of order and stability. Ironic stuff.

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 19:56:15 +0000

This has been a non issue for me so forgive my ignorance. What would any american citizen have to worry about “the man” looking at what they do? If it was an “illegal” wire tap or such then even if I were breaking the law, it couldn’t be used against me in court. So what do I have to worry about? Now on the other hand if I were listening and heard about some stuff going down in France (we would all ignore it because France sucks) by someone, we could take action on it.

Remember the famous quote “We are from the Government and here to help”

By: TLC

TLC — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 06:18:26 +0000

I think you have a fallacious argument. It is possible to trust some aspects of the government, while distrusting others. I don’t trust the administration currently in power, but there are checks and balances that protect us. In the case of the highway bridge: there are regulations, codes that were enacted to keep us safe; to keep the bridges, buildings and other structures we live with safe.

For a case of why I don’t trust the government: Hurricane Katrina. It is an excellent example of what happens when the government doesn’t do what it is supposed to do: protect the interests of the people.

Of course, what came after that is really no surprise. When you have an administration that doesn’t care about the people they are supposedly serving, they cease to think of those people as individuals with rights. Those people become a means to an end.

Do you doubt this? Ask Richard Nixon about the Watergate Tapes…and why he did what he did. The tapes were a means to an end. That end was power. The same thing is going on here. A President, spying upon American citizens. Domestic spying to gain power.

By: USELESS MAN

USELESS MAN — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 13:13:05 +0000

I was going to make a comment but I didn’t want “The Man” to track me back..

By now, I’ve already said too much…

By: gkatsoufis

gkatsoufis — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 15:16:27 +0000

From your post I think you defeated your own argument. Civil engineering works and financial transactions are acute, measurable acts that have a direct affect on the public good. Moreover, the people responsible for them are legally and contractually bound by the licenses the government grants as well as in the by-laws of their trade associations. Moreover, the statute of limitations on civil engineering works spill over the grandkids’ generation. In other words, if the bridge you signed off on were to collapse due to poor design (construction and maintenance are separate entities), and you and your children were no longer alive, your grandchildren would be liable for the design flaw. They would not necessarily go to jail but their finances would be in jeopardy. This is a digression…

On the subject of wire tapping, the individuals involved are not readily transparent. The action is not readily transparent. The reasoning for the action is not readily transparent. The system in place for these checks is not readily transparent. As a society we have to take our government for their word and hope that those that do have access are checking up on it.

You know the saying, “Absolute Power, Absolutely Corrupts.” We are not there, yet, but to think that the possibility to reach that point is never going to happen, to me, means that you don’t pay too much attention to human history, let alone current affairs. One need only look at the past sixty years and see, time and time again, a “benevolent” ruler brought to power by the dissatisfaction of the old regime only to turn up to be less considerate of the populace. If, as a society, we do not want to repeat the mistakes that our neighbors have (neighbors that are like us in many more ways than we wish to admit), then we all need to be active and willing to keep an eye on our government.

And if you think that our checks and balances are in good shape, let me just remind you of an event that I will never forget; Hurricane Andrew (1992). In the aftermath of Andrew the homes left standing in Andrew’s wake were built before 1969 because the code had such high a factor of safety that it would be close to impossible for wind to knock the homes down. The reason why the homes after ’69 didn’t make it was not due to poor design but poor governmental inspection.

If our government did not take the task of inspecting the construction quality of our homes seriously, what makes you think they’ll do it for some of our freedoms (let alone our security)? The human equation is just way too large and too complex for there to be any absolute certainty as to what to expect from it. The only certainty about us is that we never know what to expect and that’s the point after all.

By: Turnip

Turnip — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 14:48:54 +0000

I heard about that cigar video podcast on Leo’s “Tech Guy” show…I keep meaning to check it out. I’ll have a gander.

Good call.

By: Robbie

Robbie — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 14:17:30 +0000

I think a certain amount of trust, balanced with distrust is necessary when dealing with anything. It’s like how the three branches of govt. are supposed to work–each being able cancel out the other. Unfortunantly, that’s not really the case right now, but that’s another rant.

BTW- have you seen the cameo John C. Dvorak and Steve Gibson have in the podcast sitcom? It’s pretty random, but funny.

http://cigarvideopodcast.com/episodes/index.html