Re: [tlug] OT: government getting ready to inspect your iPod, laptop without probable cause

["Gernot Hassenpflug" <aikishugyo@example.com>]

On Fri, May 30, 2008 at 1:20 PM, Shawn <javajunkie@example.com> wrote:
>
>> ------------------
>> Reader, suppose you were an idiot.  And suppose you were a member of
>> Congress.  But I repeat myself.
>
> Well said but have you been following how much it takes to run a
> campaign these days?  Where do you suppose that money comes from?  What
> are candidates to do?  Be ethical?  Do what's right?  Tell the truth?
>
> Who is going to support that with $$$ and without $$$, how are they
> going to campaign?

Well, a gladiatorial ring might be a good start <snarf>. That way,
nobody would be sniping about what a poor Commander in Chief the
incumbent was.

What about equal representation on public channels? Of course, amout
of available money can determine the private advertising campaign, and
"cash in lieu of trust" is the operative expression. But how about a
comparison between private and public schools (analogy not to be taken
too far), and how government funding works? Should politicians have
the right to be the "privileged" private scholars where a wealthy part
of the population funds them to the best of its ability; or should
they have to conform to (fairly) equal constraints on what their
resources are? Is that still compatible with what we understand about
capitalism, is it good to stifle "innovation" in terms of fund raising
abilities in the interests of the public good, and how far should all
these concerns affect one another? Many difficult questions!