There are a lot of good folks out there...

Really, they are everywhere. Well, maybe not on television unless you are watching Leave it to Beaver, but more good folks than bad. But as one notices, bad folks seem to take power way too often - and I am sure President Obama is less blood thirsty than the recent ruler of Libya, but he is piling up dead bodies blasted by drones and military operations in pursuit of less than victory. I only say less than victory - since Congress didn't declare war, and no one has said what is a victory in our operations. I served for many years under that type of lack of leadership, so getting back home was always the victory on our (so low we are never asked) level. Oh, President Obama has fewer deaths than LBJ, Nixon - but Reagan and elder Bush proved that they could project power and leave pretty clean quickly. But my victory score was always the same - not body count, just getting back to home. And I don't think of President Obama as EVIL, I am sure he is ineffectual and misguided as to what is a good thing for government to do. He is not alone, there are thousands in the centers of power that are ineffectual and misguided and are either looking for more control and power or money (which seems to be power).

I have always held that there were two national leaders that I would shoot on sight, because they have destroyed their people and cultures - just so they can stay in their magnificence. Only two, since the only way their stupid "leadership" would end is with their death, and how many of their nations would die before that time all men (even the most powerful) must face? Most other nations have elections, revolutions and financial collapse and change the leadership - the best things the Junta in Argentina did was attack the British Empire in its final days... because they were defeated, the country changed leadership and some better has come out of it. They still have problems but the soil is good, the pampas broad and nice horses and cattle.

The human world, as I see it, is in trouble - because it thinks that government will be able to control all the changes (weather, water, air, space, technology, science, religion, morality, value of a dollar, health, wealth, power) but only adaptation will work, and governments and other institutions don't adapt well - too fat, too slow, too conservative, too afraid of its weaknesses (which it believes that only those insiders know about). I mentioned somewhere that not only the Euro is under stress, but the idea of nationality, it could all breakdown back to tribalism. Yeah, it could never happen, except the Soviet Union broke up, Yugoslavia broke up badly and nastily, even the United States had to help. If the governments shrunk to defense and justice, the people might be able to make the changes that would work to solve some of the problems. Remember the BP problem, that neither BP nor a slow moving government could handle - and offers of help were denied by law, and stupidity? So sad an example but true.

Democracy, everyone has a voice - unless the Union doesn't allow free thought, or the majority of voters are all vampires looking for fresh blood. But like I said earlier, there are a lot of good folks out there, making those adjustments in their lives, work, and service that will improve more than just themselves. Everyday, when given a problem/opportunity they make the right choice and take action ---- and NEVER make the NEWS, which is always spoken of with excitement to catch your attention... I was once under rocket attack, lovely 122mm Communism's best, and woke up to find lack of communication with higher - higher wasn't under attack but needed information to save us (only they thought they could), I took the mike, asked the questions face to face with those that knew - processed a quiet answer and said it calmly into the mike to still the insistent questions. And the firebase did what it had been trained for, organized to do, and properly responsed - adapting to those nasty rockets and their effect, without the Commander in Chief, the Department of Defense, the Congress, the lobbyists, the American and RVN commanders of the theater, of the news reporters (media never gets too close during the most interesting of my times in stress - wonder why?). Blackhawk Down, the President makes a decision, the ground commander makes a plan, and the enemy does also. The conflict was that no one coordinated their different plans - and the soldiers, ground and air, did the very best they could with what they had, provided by the brilliant minds in Washington, DC, the local headquarters and the enemy (which had so many of so little to worry about).

The government of the United States, which is really failing to represent and serve the wonderful larger population of the country - the good people, will fail. Trying to do too much, by threatening all those good people with terrible things if they don't take their shoes off at the TSA check points, read all the pages of the tax code to make sure the government gets its fair share of our production. Anyway you cut it, when all you have left to maintain your power and authority is force, you have become a ruler - probably not a Noble King or Queen, but certainly not a leader (someone must follow or you can't be a leader), nor facilitators (helping two sides get satisfactory transaction or commerce). Just a ruler, which when slapped hard against the palm hurts. No, the government has already picked its Epitaph: Too Big To Fail. Sigh, we started small, we can restart at that same level, small, lovely likely locals... lots of good people out there.