Crumugeon Report: Those Damn Noisy Jets!

Wesley Crusher will tell you about the time he and his Star Fleet Academy team tried a very dangerous maneuver that was banned by Star Fleet because it previously killed several cadets. He got in trouble partially because of the accident, but mostly because of the cover up. Picard had some great speeches in that show talking about truth and honor and serving the highest purpose -- not loyalty to buddies, even though that seemed to be the right thing to do.

It raised the question: Why be loyal to an idea like truth or the constitution, vs. a man?

I reflect on this when I see the sweet sweet gig of a Bush Republican croney. You get medals when you screw up, no-bid contracts worth billions, cushy jobs in FEMA, and get nominated for one of the few lifetime gigs in America. Just do a few distasteful things (and maybe they aren't even distasteful to you) and profit. What's not to like? Just Two Rules: Be Loyal to Bush Over All Else and Keep Your Mouth Shut.

You can be greedy, ignore the wishes of the American people, screw up and cost people's lives. Just be loyal to a man. Not the institution he represents, not the greater ideals that the institution is built on, heck, not even the law (since it can be changed when it is messy). This should make us ALL upset. It flies in the face of what it means to be an AMERICAN. Reasonable people understand why rules and guidelines are in place to prevent cronyism. It is bad for our success as a country and it is bad for America's soul.

Today the Blue Angels flew over San Francisco and Star Fleet Academy and I thought about choosing competence over cronies. What would this magnificent waste of fuel and display of military muscle look like, if we had on the team, Jenna Bush?

Jenna isn't a licensed pilot. She can't fly jets. But she has the qualification that matters more than all that: her dad is the President and he has appointed her to the team. What might their future flights look like?

I know that most of us couldn't have the arrogance to ignore our lack of skill. We would realize that for some things you MUST be qualified and be really good or PEOPLE DIE. That is a huge responsibility and most people take that responsibility to heart. So when we see someone who is unqualified, incompetent and corrupt being placed in positions of life and death over others we want to SCREAM. No! Not this time! What gives them the Right?

This critical task goes to them just because of who they know? Sometimes it is not a disaster, but people who aren't Republican elites know that sometimes you have to say: Not this job! This is too important. and finally, "How DARE they? "

When Jenna's plane (or the US economy) crashes to the ground. Will we follow the lead of that idiot Sean Hannity and blame everyone else but the pilot? Will we believe people who say, "We couldn't have anticipated it happening?" Opine that, "No one could have imagined jets being used in that way?"

Will we act surprised that the massive debt to China or our no-bid contracts to Halliburton has a negative impact on our economy?

Cause and effect baby. Cause and effect. When you feel the effects of incompetence and cronyism remember who is behind one of the primary causes.