Posted on 07/09/2002 6:04:57 AM PDT by ogre68
Scams, Pillow Talk and Me
by Jack Rain
I think all of government is a scam. I don't think there is one thing government does that couldn't be done better by free markets. For all I know, there might be some insider at Federal Express ripping the company off for $10 a week or $1,000,000 a week, but I don't care as long as they deliver my packages on time at a reasonable price.
There can be story after story about accounting irregularities at companies like Enron, WorldCom, etc., but I don't care. Although very active in the markets, I never went near those stocks.
What I do care about is government taking MY money, through taxation, for what they deem my "needs" and some so-called "needs of society." I can't ignore them the way I have Enron and WorldCom.
And it would be bad enough if the government actually attempted to deliver on what they say they are going to deliver, but it is much worse than that. As far as I can tell, most in and around government are a cynical, devious bunch who care not at all for my needs and the needs of society. They are not only philosophically off, they don't have a moral bone in their collective bodies.
By traveling often, I have had the opportunity to meet many interesting women. And every once in awhile, I meet a woman who has spent some time with someone who was either in government or close to the halls of power. And, well, you know, after a date or two, these women start to talk about their pasts.
Tale after tale, and it never ceases to amaze me the scams and stunts that those in and around government are pulling off, it seems, almost on a daily basis. From the United Nations to government consultants to political operatives, it's worse than you think.
I dated a woman for a short while who had previously been married for three years to a young dentist. I knew enough about this woman to know that she did not come from a wealthy background, to say the least. Yet she had a truly spectacular residence, which she told me was all hers from the divorce settlement. Three years of drilling teeth by her ex also didn't seem to justify the house she now lived in.
I once casually mentioned to her that it seemed nice of her ex-husband not to fight her over the house. She replied, "He wouldn't dare. You should see the new house he is building. He and his buddy at the United Nations set up a charity for a Third World country. They got the UN to give them $3.6 million. They spent $300,000 on charitable activities and split the rest between themselves. I know too much for him to give me a hard time."
No wonder those United Nations jobs are so coveted.
I once lived with a woman for approximately two years, who had the following experience.
To appreciate this story completely, you have to understand that this woman is a professional model. She is extremely beautiful, extremely bright and extremely poised. One evening at a party, a couple of years before I met her, she was approached by a matronly looking woman who told her that she was the assistant for the president of a consulting company that dealt almost exclusively with the government. The president of this company once or twice a month had some very exclusive "dinner" parties where there were some extremely powerful men, the matronly woman told my friend. She invited my friend to the next dinner.
Two days before the dinner party, the matronly assistant called my friend and told her that she should not wear any type of pants, that only a dress or skirt would do. It should be short but not too short. She also told my friend that she should wear high heels, but not too high.
When my friend arrived at the dinner party, it appeared that there were about a dozen men and a dozen women. The men, indeed, were from the halls of power. There was one senator, a cabinet member, Congressmen and other senior government officials from various departments. All the men were married. The women, of course, were not.
After dinner, apparently, the game plan was for the men and women to pair off, if they liked. Many did. This wasn't part of my friend's game plan, so she politely left, although it took some doing to let the cabinet member know that she was leaving alone.
I'm not sure if a "soft" money ban would be the way to legislate against this kind of government lobbying, but I understand these parties continue to go on regularly.
Very recently, I dated a lawyer who had seen a senior Democratic political operative for some time. She told me about an episode that occurred during the 2000 Democratic presidential primary in New Jersey. She was to hook up with her then-boyfriend at a hotel in New Jersey. He had arrived a few days earlier, she explained.
She continued her story by saying to me, "You know how in some precincts you have to pay people to vote?" I nodded, seeming to recall something about this in the news once. Although she seemed to tell the story as though it's something that occurs often and in many places.
"Well," she continued, "when I got to the hotel in New Jersey, he (the operative) had five boxes in the room. He told me to open them. They were filled with money. Somehow, he was able to sneak five boxes up to his room that were meant for the New Jersey primary." "We shopped in New York non-stop for a week," she told me. This one seemed to be a scam on top of a scam. Anyway, now when I hear about matching funds, I think matching shoes and handbags.
It's tales like these that make me glad I don't run into government types very often. I am not so naive as to think scams and stunts can't go on anywhere. But for top government officials, I think it is pretty much a full-time job. And they have men with guns to make sure I play in their game.
I can avoid Enron, WorldCom and a three-card monte game on the streets of New York City, but how, just how, do I avoid the scam called government?
I believe the correct phrase term is an Oligarchy.
BUMP for a good article.
Security. OPSEC. Pop up, post, then una** the area. Or a system glitch...
I doubt it. He probabaly crawled back under his rock. *nodding* had to be no other explanation
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