| straydog 2005-04-26, 3:57 am |
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On Mon, 25 Apr 2005, alexy wrote:
> Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2005 20:52:59 -0400
> From: alexy <nospam@asbry.net>
> Newsgroups: sci.research.careers, alt.computer.consultants
> Subject: Re: thank you,
> alexy...was: Re: alexy's weak coundter attack...was: Re: (more trolling
> for
>
> straydog <advocacy@sdf.lonestar.org> wrote:
>
>
>
> Ralph Nader, Millard Fuller, John Muir, Ingrid Newkirk, Gary Haugen,
> etc.
Well! Its about time. Good.
Some of those I believe from observation or reputation to have
> these traits, and others I am speculating on based on what they have
> accomplished or are accomplishing. I doubt if you will find many
> unambitious passive people making a big impact (good or bad).
Actually, there are/were a few very quiet but very powerful people. One
generalization, not made by myself, is that CEOs are generally much more
reclusive than most if not all of our politicians. As an aside, let me
comment that the next issue we should visit is "If CEOs are (mostly) a
bunch of crooks, then what shall we call politicians?" Of course, its easy
to point a finger to 'the other guy' if we are on one side of the aisle,
but I can find much fault with BOTH parties (one trait is unwillingness to
compromise). Getting back to the powerful quiet types, Griffin's book (The
Creature...) describes the rich people who were responsible for creating
the Federal Reserve Act (and the [central] Banks in the US).
I remember 1-2 years ago how you, arrogantly, advised me to read some
economics when/after I hosed economists in general (largely on the
impression that the majority of the articles I read authored by them; i)
didn't make sense, ii) were written in an obscure way, and iii) it was
easy to find economists who disagreed with each other and cited "solid"
rationalizations to support their views). Well, Griffin's book on the
Federal Reserve was: i) clearly written, ii) written in a way that, after
reading it, I felt that I was learning something, and iii) a majority of
it was valid or merrited further study. So, you can put that in your pipe
and smoke it. Where I had to stop was with his goal to abolish the FRB and
system. This is a general finding with many authors with grand analyses of
some social/economic/etc problem but with simplistic solutions.
So, what about CEOs (and their infrastructure)? I've seen so many articles
on the fraud, the lies, the manipulations, the scheming (all with more
personal gain than public good) and so few articles on something actually
good, useful, and really needed (not just feel good) that the only
solution which is practical is to educate the public (but special
interests really want a passive, bland, obedient, and docile public).
Yeah, I generally like Ralph Nader (not that he is a 100% angel, though)
and I could make my own list. I'd nominate Robert McNamara for coming out,
decades later, and admiting that the whole Viet Nam War was a mistake and
writing two books (I read all of one) and working to promote
understanding. Smedly Butler is another one. Lee Butler, a former hawk
and high ranking officer, came out with an article in a sunday magazine (I
think I still have it) saying, essentially, that nuclear weapons are
dangerous and we should get rid of them (his fellow officers have a very
different opinion). I met and shook hands with Admiral LaRoque, once head
of the Center for Defense Information (www.cdi.org, I think), which is
made up of mostly retired Navy officers in favor of peace and reduction in
our military budget. I've been giving them money every year for the last
30 years. Are they doing any good? Hard to say. At least by giving them
money I'm doing more than talk.
A whole lot of book authors have attempted to make the public aware of all
manner of injustices, wrongs, and bad things. Sometimes these books have
effects on decision-makers. I think, otherwise, it just makes the rest of
us who care (not very many, not enough) mad and  .
But, the names of those who are ambitious and agressive and do bad things
stand out in my mind more prominently than those who do good things. But,
it is useful to be able to give recognition to those who do good things
and try to spread that ethic. We need whistle-blowers. The Pentagon
Papers. And many more. There is some evidence that public opinion is
something that powerful/rich people are a little bit affraid of.
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