Posted on 03/11/2022 7:26:04 AM PST by poconopundit
As all government, in its essence, is organized exploitation, and in virtually all existing forms it is an implacable enemy of every industrious and well-disposed man.
In theory, it invades his liberty and collars his money only in order to protect him, but in truth it always makes a stiff profit on the exchange.
That profit represents the income of the professional politicians, nine-tenths of whom are simply professional rogues.
They employ a great many technicians to carry on the ostensible functions of government, and some of those technicians are honorable and competent men, but the politicians themselves are seldom either. Their only object in life is to do as little honest work as they can for the most profit, whether in money, in power, or in glory.
The typical politician is not only a rascal but also a jackass, so he greatly values the puerile notoriety and adulation that sensible men try to avoid.
The prevailing view seems to be that the lower orders of the governmental camorra are the most parasitical and anti-social, but this is not really the case. The minor job-holders that everyone disclaims are actually much better fellows than the political big-wigs that most people find it so hard not to venerate.
Consider, for example, the Post Office. It's rank and file is made up of poor men and woman who work hard for every nickel they get, and are so closely watched that the slightest aberration means disaster to them. In return for the relative security of their jobs, they have to show a constant competence, and to submit, more often than not, to brutal overloading.
But as one goes up the line one finds less and less diligence and less and less capacity for the work in hand, until at the top one commonly encounters a professional politician of the most crass and shameless sort, bent only upon serving his party machine.
It is the same in the City Hall. People who go there on business for the first time are usually greatly surprised to find so many polite, industrious and expert people behind the desks. They expect a gang of lazy, impudent ward heelers, but what discover is a body of functionaries at least as well qualified as those they are used to meeting in stores and banks.
But the higher offices are seldom so decently manned, and in the highest of all, that of the Mayor, it is so rare to find reasonable real and genuine competence.
When the Governor of an American State turns out to be a man of ability and honesty it is a miracle indeed, and of a very rare sort, for most American Governors are shabby and scurvy politicians, and some of them are obvious knaves.
Feel free to steal this meme and widely distribute this story. Vote in Georgia Primary May 24, 2022 to kick the corrupt Kemp out of office.
Read my profile.
Today Mencken would be canceled at once.
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Shades of 17th century Algernon Sidney.
Paraphrasing, it wise to assume everyone in government is a rogue and knave whose first purpose is his own enrichment.
“...but what discover is a body of functionaries at least as well qualified as those they are used to meeting in stores and banks...”
Try going to Chicago City Hall.
Mencken is my favorite author when I’m angry.
He may have underestimated.
If I had a nickel for every honest politician, I’d be in deep debt....................
Sorry about the private reply earlier. Eyes are crossed
this AM = wrong key hit
Mencken is far too kind w/his words.
These days, it’s more like withered, pork bellied, fat ass, thieves/murders.
On the bright side, a true man of the people will be
gathering patriots to his side come Saturday night.
Can’t happen soon enough
Jussie got justice How sweet it is.
His point is, the worker bees get it done because they have to. And they tend to be the most knowledgeable. While their bosses are some of the laziest and dumbest of all, especially the crooked ones that are elected and/or appointed.
Ah! Great, another Mencken fan. Many here appreciate the Sage of Baltimore. I’ll try to step up the frequency of posts from his essays.
Taken all together, Mencken is what most every FR commentator would like to be: Brilliant, insightful, witty, honest, and humorous.
Mencken is far too kind w/his words.
These days, it’s more like withered, pork bellied, fat ass, thieves/murders.
* * *
Nice, V K. And I would say your reply has that signature Mencken brazen and irreverent quality to it.
The political appointees number around 4,000 which an incoming administration can appointee, of which about 1,200 require Senate confirmation. Note that’s a 2016 number.
In my experience, incoming Rat administrations increase the number, incoming GOP adiministrations leave the raw number they find alone but usually if not lazily replace with their own supporters. I will say GOP’ers rarely try and reduce it, I never heard of it happening.
They fall into these categories
1.Presidential appointments with Senate confirmation (PAS): These are the highest level officers of the United States. As of 2020, there were 1,118 PAS positions in all.[5]: 212 These include the Cabinet secretaries and their subordinates at the Deputy Secretary, Under Secretary, and Assistant Secretary levels; and the heads of most independent agencies.
It also includes the 93 United States Attorneys and 93 United States Marshals (one for each federal judicial district), roughly 189 ambassadors and various special envoys for particular regions or issues.
2. Presidential appointments without Senate confirmation (PA): As at 2016, there were 353 PA positions, most of which were in the Executive Office of the President; as of 2020, there were 354 such positions.
3. Non-career Senior Executive Service (NA): means an individual in a Senior Executive Service position who is not a career appointee, a limited term appointee, or a limited emergency appointee.
4 Schedule C appointments (SC): subordinate to the other appointees in short lickspittle positions for lower level party strap hangers. 2020 numbers 1656 such positions.
I know it doesn’t sound like like a lot but the positions have a lot of power over the career staff. Such as budgets, assignments, performance reviews, step increeases & promotions. That’s a big club when you consider the cost of living in the DC area. Its gravy if you’re FedGov outside of the DC area. However tose outside the DC area do report to the DC area, so rebels are not rewarded.
Anyone know if Kemp has been confronted about the new owner of Rivian Motors and what steps, if any, will be taken to combat the coming tsunami of Soros influence in Georgia? He and his son already have Stacy Abrams in their hip pockets.
PING. Thank you for this valuable and alarming data, Reily.
We see stories of Senate approval of presidential appointments, but I never knew we’re talking about 4,000 offices. It’s outrageous!
Where can we find a list of all these PA offices?
From the old movie, “One-eyed Jack” staring Marlon Brando:
“You big gob of spit.”
“You tub of guts.”
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