An American Chernobyl?

The American Thinker ^ | June 24, 2010 | Jim Mahoney

[Scanian]

The calamity in the Gulf has the markings of the disaster that led to the demise of the Soviet Union. Our federal government led by our god-like president, an omnipotent structure in the starry eyes of many, shows itself to be an incompetent, uncoordinated monster, capable only of interfering with productive efforts to salvage our coastlines and livelihoods. The once-Olympian Obama is reduced to a sniveling nebbish bemoaning his inability to suck it all up with a straw.

The whole spectacle is too familiar to anyone who's ever tried to develop a productive enterprise. Such people see the same bureaucratic nonsense devised by lawyers to frustrate creativity and strengthen the government's grip on the citizen. From building permits to oil drilling, the motivation for the rules is always wrapped in some noble-sounding, abstract notion. The execution is inevitably callous, mindless, and ruthless. Too often, it's also corrupt.

With the kind of luck that used to be credited with accompanying fools and drunks, America is getting an object lesson in the stupidity of believing in an all-knowing state-god. As the horror goes on, this lesson, if learned, could last generations, and it arrives as we begin our final descent into serfdom.

[Apparatchik]

Bureaucracy of the kind Mahoney describes used to be a mere hindrance to enterprise and innovation - regulations and rules had to be dealt with in order to get a small business off the ground. But what has changed under this administration is that government control is more purposeful; as we pass new laws, spend outrageous amounts of money and grow government at an epic pace under this Legislator in Chief, we further and deliberately squelch any chance of our economy’s recovery under the capitalist model.

[missnry]

The once-Olympian Obama is reduced to a sniveling nebbish ...

Oh yeah, Obama the Gold Medalist "Olympian!"

[gusopol3]

That was a profound piece.

[grey_whiskers]

Obama is trying to turn this into a "Three Mile Island" for oil.

The problem is, neither Obama nor Soros *are* Americans, so the psy-ops they are running to try to topple the US aren't working: they're just pissing people off.

Short of a Reichstag Fire, or Martial Law, the Democrats will lose for a generation over this: since the MSM is no longer universally trusted as in the 70's.

And "OBAMA" will become a cliche for failure for the next generation, just as Carter was earlier.

HINT: I need to write a vanity on this, entitled, "Sawing Off The Branch"..

Cheers!

[gulfcoast6]

The Prez is as lost as a goose in a hen patch. We suffer here on the gulf coast and fact is, he has no idea of what to do, maybe he can play golf a couple or three times to ‘think it over’

[jazzlite]

...”we’ve built a bureaucracy at federal, state, county, and municipal levels that would be the envy of any Soviet apparatchik. Our apparatchiks receive salaries 45% higher than those earned by the private-sector serfs who pay them”...

I have heard that most departments in our government bureaucracies are very chaotic, making little sense to those who are called upon to function there. Most, I am sure, stay quiet because of the high salary, perks and benefits. This system needs to been cleaned out and restored from the ground up, beginning with the IRS.

[Apparatchik]

I have heard that most departments in our government bureaucracies are very chaotic, making little sense to those who are called upon to function there.

That is absolutely true- each department has become a fiefdom unto itself. Most employees do not have an understanding of how they fit into the system, since it is so disjointed and inefficient. What is worse is there is a growing class of people in this country who are becoming more and more adept at milking the system. Organizations like ACORN and the official in Ohio who retired from her job with full pension and then gets rehired to the exact same position at 75% of her pay (double dipping) are just a couple of examples of this. As real workers and entrepreneurs who contribute to the system are supplanted by slackers and government employees who take from the system, the entire system is being stretched to its breaking point.