Folly all around us

Observations while leafing through the Sunday News over coffee and a bran muffin:

1) “Father, 3 sons found guilty of tax evasion” The Watchdog doesn’t  know the Bitterman family, but I assume their mindset is a cross between narcissism and tribalism, whereby they do not perceive themselves as being part of a greater community, as partners in the Judeo / Christian / Islamic creeds (as well as the other great religions) of “Doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Sure Democracy is messy, but to paraphrase Winston Churchill, it is better than any other form of government.  The Watchdog regrets many things government does, but has always believed that to cheat on taxes was to steal from children and the needy.

2)      “Massacre at Mexico party”: “Gunmen stormed two neighboring homes and massacred 13 young people at a  birthday party in the latest large-scale attack in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.”  Prohibition didn’t work for alcoholic beverages and it won’t work for illegal drugs.   When the world’s largest industry (with the possible exception of prostitution) and biggest money maker is turned over to the worse elements of society, we cannot expect anything different.   If we do not tax, regulate and control marijuana and provide for the prescription of hard drugs to addicts when nothing else will work, we can expect here in Lancaster someday what is an ongoing occurrence in Mexico.   Prohibition doesn’t work.  Period.

3)      “Facing foreclosure mess” : “But, as [Assistant Attorney General Patric]Madign wrote in a paper more than three years ago, ‘foreclosure no longer makes economic sense for the holders of most mortgages.  Instead, investors and servicers should modify loans to keep as many borrowers in their homes as possible…’” Correct.  But until Congress passes a law empowering mortgage service organizations to act on their own on behalf of the multiple ownership interests in the preponderance of mortgages that were sliced and diced and sold in different parts as securities, mortgage service organization do not have the authority to change the terms or conditions, even though to do so would serve the interest of all concerned.

4) “Iraqis unsurprised by revelation in WikiLeaks release”: “Americans carelessly opened fire at checkpoints when Iraqis failed to stop.  Militias and insurgent roamed the streets, randomly killing members of the opposite sect.  Iraqi security forces rounded up suspect at will and tortured them.” For those of us who lived through or studied the Viet Nam War, this does not come as a surprise.  Do George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have a sense of responsibility for what they brought to pass through their grandiose scheme and fear mongering?

The coffee from Starbucks and the raisin bran muffin from Rics Place were very tasty.  It is the news that was hard to stomach.