. . .
K “When you find the need for the government to be there, it is nowhere to be found; when you need the government to be off your back, it finds a way to be in your face.”
J “To be or to be. That is the quandary.”
. . .
J “I find that so many individuals today do not want to work and do not want government to work so they go to work for the government and do not work and then the government does not work. They rationalize their studied indifference by saying they are getting government off our backs. At least this species of overpaid and underworked bureaucrats is not in your face, only in your pocket book.”
K “So many times the bureaucrat with all the resources of the bureau could have done something in the face of a clear need for action. If there is any possible downside to the bureaucrat or the activity requires effort, nothing is ever done. At all. And those terrified and overpaid bureaucrats include judges who are often the worst offenders.”
. . .
K “That is still a problem. There are those times when there is a need for the government to work. I am trying to make the government work.”
J “Sounds like a romantic to me.”
. . .
K “Some bureaucrats in the Environmental Protection Agency are trying diligently to protect the environment.”
J “There are exceptions.”
. . .
[See the e-commentary at “Go East, Young Person (August 25, 2014)” and “‘Titters’ v. ‘Self-Unemployed’ (September 1, 2014).”]
Bumper stickers of the week:
The system works for most journalists, so most journalists report that the system works.
“When you find the need for the government to be there, it is nowhere to be found; when you need the government to be off your back, it finds a way to be in your face.”
“I find that so many individuals today do not want to work and do not want government to work so they go to work for the government and do not work and then the government does not work.”
“All government, in its essence, is a conspiracy against the superior man: it’s one permanent object is to oppress him and cripple him. . . . The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane and intolerable, and so, if he is romantic, he tries to change it. And even if he is not romantic personally he is very apt to spread discontent among those who are.
The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.”
H.L. Mencken